Welcome to General Chat - GAW Community Area
This General Chat area started off as a place for people to talk about things that are off topic, however it has quickly evolved into a community and has become an integral part of the GAW experience for many of us.
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I appreciate the response and I have worked toward cutting down expenses. I also have a decent paying job. My problem is my debt is so large, it will take many years for me to pay it down. I am looking for a reputable debt relief program or company to reduce my interest in the interim.
It's been a long while since I lived in America, but I got wrecked with long periods of unemployment under the Bush/Obama economy. I went through a debt consolidation program for a couple of years. Long story short, those programs essentially wreck your credit score regardless. We ended up just filing for bankruptcy, did a short sale on our home, clean slate, and made a new life overseas. The bankruptcy lawyer said that those consolidation programs are essentially the same, but the more painful route.
Check out Dave Ramsey. I'm pretty sure he considers those companies scammers. Think about it, how do THEY make money? I've heard of people who sign up for those debt consolidation things and wind up`paying and paying and still owing just as much. Just a warning. Maybe there's some out there that are actually helpful.
As for your debt - is there any of it that can be off loaded? For instance, perhaps you have a car that you owe 25k on. If you can get rid of that, you get rid of the payment, and the debt. Buy a cheap but decent beater to get you by for a few years. Do take on extra work. Take on a room-mate or two. Keep your chin up and remember, this won't last forever.
Oh, and I do recommend Dave Ramsey's baby steps and debt snowball program. If you don't know what that is, it is essentially, this:
List all your debts;
Personal loan ----- owe $500 --- $50 monthly payment 2nd person loan ---- owe $1,000 --- $75 monthly payment Credit cards ---- owe $12,0000 --- monthly minimum - $400 Car ---- owe 32,000 --- monthly payment, $650 School loans --- owe $100,000 monthly payment --- $1,200 House ---- owe $300,0000, monthly payment $2,500
First, sock away 1-2k for emergencies. Once you've got that built up, don't touch it unless you need it. Then concentrate on the first thing (lowest owed) on your list. Deliver pizzas if you have to, but get that thing paid off in a couple of months. Then, take that $50 you were making in payment for that loan and add it to your next loan, the one you pay $75.00 per month on. Now you're paying at least $125 per month. Try to get that paid off in a few months, then take that original $50 and that $75 for the second loan, and add them to the $400 you're paying on the credit cards. Now you're making at least a $525 payment on your credit cards. See how it works? Of course, you can monkey around with it and pay the bill with the highest interest off first, etc. He calls this the debt snowball and it works because seeing each thing get paid off juices you up to keep going and get the next thing out of the way. Good luck!
Thank you so much for that insightful comment. I will look into Dave R. Great ideas! It’s just so rough knowing how much these evil bastards have taken our money via taxes. I sure hope the world gets reparations from all of the money they’ve sucked out of us through the generations.
Yes, via unjust taxes AND inflation that devalues our money. I completely understand your frustration. I just hope you can stay positive and focused. And I'm sorry, I didn't realize that my list of debts didn't format as a list when the comment was posted. I hope it made sense to you.
Dave Ramsey has helped tens of thousands of people get out of debt and build wealth. A quick search will lead you to videos, books, etc. I wish you all the best. You can do this, you can succeed. Plenty of others have done it before you and you might find inspiration from their stories if you look into Dave. All the best.