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Have you ever walked away from your CC debt?

Also - for the future - don't put medical bills on credit cards, just pay them off as you can a little each month, paid my gall bladder off at about $50 a month.

Diane is right...hopefully you will not have any other medical emergencies, but God forbid if you do. Do not pay anything on a CC. Tell them to send the bill to you. Then you can call them and set something up with them. I have never had a hospital or doctor not work with me with it comes to making payments and I have never paid interest.

Does anybody want to hear my vacation from hell story that took me three years to pay off? I promise I will keep it short.:lol::lol:
 
mickey134870 said:
Just throwing this out there.... Why would it be ok for one not to pay for their expenses when I have to pay for mine? I do not come from a wealthy family, have had to work for everything I have. I like most people have emergency's that come up. Yes I have very little cc debt and a very low intrest rate 8% have had that for many years, credit score plus years at job equal better credit. It is not a fair system, I believe that schooling is overrated(never will I tell my kids that)but while you were out get your education and graduating (in debt) I put in 4 years of work in and am at least 160,000.00 ahead of you. So very hard to make that climb uphill. Scary for our youngens.
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You don't, you aren't being forced anymore than OP is being forced. Can I ask what it is that you do that is so well protected from any economic hardships at such a high rate?
 
Presumptious and and arbitrary...you don't know that...maybe you owe $160K more on your house yet they are worth the same in the current market. You have zero chance of knowing how far ahead of her you are.

mickey134870 said:
Just throwing this out there.... Why would it be ok for one not to pay for their expenses when I have to pay for mine? I do not come from a wealthy family, have had to work for everything I have. I like most people have emergency's that come up. Yes I have very little cc debt and a very low intrest rate 8% have had that for many years, credit score plus years at job equal better credit. It is not a fair system, I believe that schooling is overrated(never will I tell my kids that)but while you were out get your education and graduating (in debt) I put in 4 years of work in and am at least 160,000.00 ahead of you. So very hard to make that climb uphill. Scary for our youngens.
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Swale2010 said:
Also - for the future - don't put medical bills on credit cards, just pay them off as you can a little each month, paid my gall bladder off at about $50 a month.

Diane is right...hopefully you will not have any other medical emergencies, but God forbid if you do. Do not pay anything on a CC. Tell them to send the bill to you. Then you can call them and set something up with them. I have never had a hospital or doctor not work with me with it comes to making payments and I have never paid interest.

Does anybody want to hear my vacation from hell story that took me three years to pay off? I promise I will keep it short.:lol::lol:
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Sure go for it but KEEP it short :hurt::hurt::hurt:
 
icoupon2 said:
Presumptious and and arbitrary...you don't know that...maybe you owe $160K more on your house yet they are worth the same in the current market. You have zero chance of knowing how far ahead of her you are.
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What I am trying to say is that College Ed is stressed if not needed these days. Yet many of the college graduates graduate with hefty debt. They are already trying to dig out (of debt)when they are just entering the work force. Also they are trying to buy a house and many are having families. So time spent working and earning money rather than educating and collecting debt could actually put you ahead in this economy. I could be way off but I have read that many college graduates have 20,000.00 in debt when they graduate. I could not imagine that at such a young age.
 
kewpon addict said:
I ask because I am in seriously over my head...have tried calling these companies and NO ONE cares...I am seriously afraid of being taken to court if I quit paying my CC's but honestly I would have so much more money to work with If I DIDN"T have the debt. So I am asking seriously has anyone been here and done that? If so can you please tell me what will happen? Will it just trash my credit score or will they take me to court..any advice is appreciated! TIA.
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:huggy::huggy:
I feel your pain! I don't have a lot of advice to give, I just wanted to say that I know how you feel.
I was in a similar situation about 9 years ago. My Dh and I bought our 1st house and had 2 cc, one for 300.00 and another for 1.000. We did everything by the book, no car payments, no cable, living very frugal. Then my husband lost his job, I became pregnant with many complications and no health insurance, so I was unable to work. We finally had to sell the house and we where hardly making it, we sold everything just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. We had to stop paying the cc, I hated doing it but at that point had no choice. By the time we got back on our feet (which was about 3 years ) the cc where closed and sold to collection companies, they refused to work with us. The 300.00 cc was up to 2.000 with all the added **** and the 1.000 cc was up to 3.000. I know it isn't the largest amount of money but to us it was over whelming. We where making half of what we use to and I was still dealing with some health issues and all they would except was 3 installments of large sums. It did finally go to court and we had to make payments to them.
I do understand that sometimes things just become overwhelming. I know now that maybe if I would have done this or changed that it could have been better, but when your in it and things are so far over your head you have to do what ever it takes to survive. Good luck and keep your chin up, it will get better and you will find your way through this.
 
Thanks everyone! Wish I could sell my house but I owe more on it then what it is worth in this current economy...so can't sell the house...worse yet I have to refi soon since I am in an arm and then I will REALLY be in trouble. There were so MANY things I didn't know when I first got married and if I knew then what I know now I probably would have just kept renting. At the time though everyone was like you need a house you'll have a sound investment, blah, blah, blah. My mother was like you're going to have a baby you can't live in a run down apt. That place(the apt.) really was a dump..we should have just moved to another apt. but live and learn as they say. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF WALKING AWAY FROM MY DEBT but just wondered what would happen if I did. Now I see it would be a bad idea...I will just keep making minimum payments but what bums me out is NOT being able to save money for an emergency. And unfortunately there is ALWAYS some emergency here..my luck just seems to run that way. I have NO land line and have a cell contract but when that is up I am going to stick w/magicjack and a prepay for power outages. Thanks everyone for your honest responses and again I appreciate people NOT making judgments...not everyone in debt is in it because of buying frivolous things...some are just trying to make ends meet. I will definitely check Dave Ramsey's stuff out. Thanks again!
 
I have contacted my CC companies and asked to speak with the hardship department ~ explain your situation and I was able to tell them what the minimum payment that I can pay and they lowered or gave me 0 percent until my debt has will be paid off ~ I did this well over 2 years ago and will soon be debt free ~ just find out what they are willing to help you with ~ the cc companies want to get paid also so most of them are willing to work with you
 
mickey134870 said:
What I am trying to say is that College Ed is stressed if not needed these days. Yet many of the college graduates graduate with hefty debt. They are already trying to dig out (of debt)when they are just entering the work force. Also they are trying to buy a house and many are having families. So time spent working and earning money rather than educating and collecting debt could actually put you ahead in this economy. I could be way off but I have read that many college graduates have 20,000.00 in debt when they graduate. I could not imagine that at such a young age.
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College only doesn't pay off if you get a worthless degree or you really shouldn't have gone to college to begin with. DH has $20,000 worth of college debt and I don't have any because I had scholarships. He pays less than $200 a month on his loans. They stretch the loan over 20 years, so you really pay nothing, but do accrue quite a bit of interest. (We will be paying much larger payments once we get a house.)

We are both 26, have over $50,000 in retirement, have enough money saved for 20% down on a $200k house, zero credit card debt, and can afford to send our 3 year old son to private preschool that costs $5,000 a year. I am able to stay home during the day, and work a part-time job (not making much) and take two college classes per night which are paid for in cash.

Man, I wish my husband would have worked full-time at $11 an hour job instead of going to college, just so he wouldn't have had the $20,000 in student loans.... :sarcasm:
 
Going back to your original question, what would happen if you dont pay your credit card bills what would happen. Your credit score would drop drastically & have collections on your back. Unfortunately not making your minimum payments sometimes forces the credit card company to be more willing to negiotiate for Lower interest for an extended period.
I am not recommending filing bankruptcy, but should you decide to take that route you can exclude certain debts (ie mortgage) from the bankruptcy if you want to continue making your payments.

You might also want to talk to your mortgage company about getting into one of those hardship program. Mortgage rates are at a all time low and I know with the program people have been able to get the mortgage rates lowered to 2% for several years.

I hope this helps and sorry that you are going through this.
 
mrs.melton08 said:
Do you have student loans now? If you do, you can postpone those payments pretty easily.
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DO NOT DO THIS! You will only accrue more interest and student loans pretty much follow you to your grave. Even if you declare bankruptcy, you cannot get rid of student loan debt. I'd pay on your house and student loan debt and then worry about the rest.
 
crdnlsfan said:
DO NOT DO THIS! You will only accrue more interest and student loans pretty much follow you to your grave. Even if you declare bankruptcy, you cannot get rid of student loan debt. I'd pay on your house and student loan debt and then worry about the rest.
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If you have subsidized loans, interest will not be charged/accrured during deferment- the govt pays the interest during that time- and it does not effect your credit rating. Further, unless you have some type of private loan, your interest on your student loans is far less than the interest on credit cards and deferring a loan will not cause you to have to go to court and have a judgement or lien put on your home where as "the rest" will.

But it is all a matter of personal choice I guess, I would be most concerned about my home and other property, and figuring out how to pay off all my debt.
 
crdnlsfan said:
DO NOT DO THIS! You will only accrue more interest and student loans pretty much follow you to your grave. Even if you declare bankruptcy, you cannot get rid of student loan debt. I'd pay on your house and student loan debt and then worry about the rest.
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It could be a wise move take her loans into deferrment for a time. During that time additional interest does not accrue.

Think of it this way Kewpon. If your student loans are $200/mo and you defer them for 12 months, that is $2400 in your emergency fund! There is not much $2400 won't take care of!


No one has ever asked you. How much do you owe?

PS: I edited this post because I had "forbearance" instead of "deferrment". My bad!
 
You are brave to ask this question and good for you for trying to find out!

I've seen cc debt pile up in a few ways. My SIL has always lived beyond her means. She has declared bankruptcy twice in the 20 years I've known her.

We have accumulated too much for my comfort due to pay cuts that my hubby has received. One year it was $15,000 which is hard to make up. We pulled the kids out of private school and made several other drastic changes, but with 4 kids we still we were having a hard time making ends meet and started using the cc. Now we are just paying on it, but things come up that I haven't saved for ($900 in school registration fees) and then there's the cc.

Baby steps is what you can do. Start selling stuff you don't use - I've sold football cleats, toys, a camera....no I didn't get hundreds of dollars, but it was something to pay on that big balance. I've also scored a temp job where I'll work just in September and that money is going to cc debt.

Try not too focus on the amount, focus on what you can do. Read a Dave Ramsey book and it will help you understand you're not the only one with this problem and you can fix it.
 
skincarekathy said:
It could be a wise move take her loans into forbearance for a time. During that time additional interest does not accrue.

Think of it this way Kewpon. If your student loans are $200/mo and you defer them for 12 months, that is $2400 in your emergency fund! There is not much $2400 won't take care of!


No one has ever asked you. How much do you owe?
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Just to clarify, interest doesn't accrue if you are in deferment, it DOES in forebearance. If you are eligible for DEFERMENT you should DEFINITELY take it, forebearance there are pros and cons...
 
You are brave to ask your question. I know what it is like to toss and turn worrying. We had $20,000 to $25,000 worth of CC debt about 5 years ago and I just finished paying it all off this year. These days medical bills are making me restless as dh injured his back and we have a stinky $7000 deductible plus no vision or dental, and, I must say my teeth are feeling it! We are still current with everything though, but it is a source of anxiety for me. Couponing and being on sites like this that share wonderful ideas helped me tremendously and I am sure are also helping you. We weren't frivolous either but we did have a different way of thinking. If a disaster or two had been added during the time we owed so much who knows what would have happened. I give you credit for trying to educate yourself and making changes. This economy is frightening and a real wake up call for those who choose to be awoken (cause there are plenty who still live in denial). I'm doing the best I can to make better financial decisions. Thankfully we have excellent credit, but there is so much I don't know in regards to smart financial decisions. It's not like they actually teach people in school about this stuff. I also totally agree and want to emphasize don't roll any unsecured debt into your house! There is an order of importance for things and the basic necessities are first (shelter, food, hmmmm......clothing only to be covered i.e. thrift store). Keeping the lights and gas on would probably be next. I feel for you and wish you the best.:huggy:
 
mrs.melton08 said:
If you have subsidized loans, interest will not be charged/accrured during deferment- the govt pays the interest during that time- and it does not effect your credit rating. Further, unless you have some type of private loan, your interest on your student loans is far less than the interest on credit cards and deferring a loan will not cause you to have to go to court and have a judgement or lien put on your home where as "the rest" will.

But it is all a matter of personal choice I guess, I would be most concerned about my home and other property, and figuring out how to pay off all my debt.
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Yes, the payments can be deferred. With forbearance the interest will still accrue. However, if I was looking at declaring bankruptcy, I'd be most worried about paying on my house, heat/electric, and my student loans. While the interest rate is far less on student loans, they won't go away, while the CC debt will.
 
crdnlsfan said:
Yes, the payments can be deferred. With forbearance the interest will still accrue. However, if I was looking at declaring bankruptcy, I'd be most worried about paying on my house, heat/electric, and my student loans. While the interest rate is far less on student loans, they won't go away, while the CC debt will.
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Not if you defer and that is what I was saying, that is the point of a subsidized loan. I am not sure if your family has bank secured loans, instead of loans through your school/goverment. But subsidized loans do not accrue interest (that you pay that affect you, the govt pays it) while in deferrment.

She appears to be able to apply for an economic deferrment. And she never said bankruptcy she said just walk away from the bills and what would happen...the answer they come after your house.

So I can understand what you are saying, but deferrment and forbearance are two different things and bankruptcy was not waht she was talking about either. It appears we are just not talking about the same situation, so that would be why we can't get what each other is saying.
 
Someone mentioned that if you stop paying they will work with you. That is how I stumbled upon a few payment plans. We know we can not sell our house right now so we keep chipping away, but not to the point where we are stressed out. We don't do vacations, but will still so something that we will only spend cash. We will be going to the zoo with the free tickets from Meijer. We will make sure to buy something small as a rememberance. Our kids should not suffer because we made bad choices or the economy tanked.
 
OP do what you need to do to "live". By this I mean, actually enjoy your life. IMO what's the **** point of living if all you are doing is working & breathing.

Personally, I had my first job at 14. I worked every day up to age of 24 when I had my second child. When I met my ex I had triple AAA credit, a savings account, & my car that I bought brand new was paid off. I was going to school & working two jobs. Within 5 years of being together I was $50K in debt. I don't put all the blame on him as I allowed that behavior. We bought a house & I continued to make bad choices there as well. At the end of the day, I paid back over $70K in CC debt, but my credit is currently shot & I don't feel any better then I would have just filing bankruptcy. However if you opt for such a thing, I would make sure it is because you have no other choice and because it is going to be the one & only time you do it. I've know people who've filed bankruptcy owing $3K!!
 
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