The Light at the End of the Tunnel

This certainly has been a productive last seven days.  As was reported in the last post, I had trimmed my debt from $70,000 on 11 cards to $30,000 + on three.  It gets better:

With interest, the largest one had grown to over $34,000 and I was given the opportunity to settle the debt for half of the balance.  Excitement grew until I attempted to get a loan from the three banks with which I have accounts.  I was sadly disappointed that the credit union I belonged to since 1980 would not give me a signature loan.  There has never been a loan with a late payment with them.  I was sadly disappointed.  Sure, the realization is that the credit union is a business and has to answer to the shareholders, but I, too, am a shareholder.  That account will be closed soon.

Back to the settlement: I was able to secure $8,000 to offer as a settlement and called them up with the offer.  I believe it was all in the presentation.  At first they balked as my offer saying that it was less than 25 cents on the dollar.  I presented the fact that they haven't been able to collect even one cent on the dollar lately and that I was sadly considering bankruptcy as an option.  If bankruptcy was pursued, they would get nothing, as this is an unsecured debt.  They then offered to take my $8,000 as a down payment and to pay $900 a month for nine months. 

Unacceptable.

I stood firm on the $8,000 as it was a "take it or leave it" offer.  They took it.  Of course I have to pay $100 a week until the $8,000 is paid off.  If there is overtime available at work, it will be paid off much sooner. 

My other card balance of $1,720.08 was paid off with an offer of $1,032.05.  It is done. Finished.  I have paid over $9,000 in the last week, but I was able to erase over $26,000. 

What a relief!

If I can, so can others...keep the faith!

Have a great day!

Back to it!

After a while away, I am returning to what I love to do:  I love to write about things and want to share my struggles and successes in getting my financial life back to where it belongs.  I started out over three years ago with 11 credit cards, over $60,000 in debt and seemingly no way out of the bad situation in which I had gotten myself.  Fast forward to now and the situation is not great, but it is definitely better than what it was.

I am down to roughly $37,000 in debt (I am rounding off the numbers) and only three cards.  The smallest is less than $2,100 and will be paid off in full by the end of 2013.  This was negotiated for a monthly payment and no interest so as to not further myself in debt in the process.  The second one was dismissed with prejudice by the circuit court as the company dropped the case (although they could retry suing me for the $6,000).  The other big one (for over $28,000) stands unpaid and uncollected and is currently awaiting my summons being served. Once it is, I will get my attorney to fight it for me as I have yet to receive valid proof that this debt is mine. 

My lifestyle has changed dramatically as I have largely forgone eating out (cooking at home save a ton of money), going to movies, wasting money on trivial things, and I drive an 18-year old car that is owned outright. 

I want everybody to know that nothing is impossible and can be done with determination and a plan.  Stick with me and the plan that I am using will be brought to life.

Have a great day!

Twenty Is Plenty?...

...for some, but as the Carpenters song goes: "We've only just begun". On the quest to eliminate credit card debt, twenty days have passed, and so has the $100 mark. For those keeping track (I know that I am) the total now stands at $104.30. The only shopping at the grocery store that has been done has been for perishibles like bread, eggs, and milk because those have a limited shelf life. The amazing thing is that there is still plenty of food to be had in the pantry (it is certainly more than enough to last 10 days, and one might estimate that there should be enough to last for sixty days).

New, and frugal, habits have certainly been engrained into my lifestyle and I hope that you can find some habits that will help you to save money where you have been wasting so that you can pay down your credit card debt, or, if you are fortunate enough to have none, save for the future or for whatever dreams you may have.

Being broke and struggling to pay even the bare minimum on your credit cards is a drain on you mentally, physically, and spiritually. I have worked nearly sixty hours a week for the last five years in order to stay afloat, and it has only been in the last year that the credit card debt level has plummeted from $71,154.15 to the present $61,926.44 (one of the "secrets" of gaining control over your credit card debt is to know exactly where you stand at all times). It may hurt to sit down and actually calculate where you stand, but the pain will make you stronger.

One of the best sources on the Web is dinkytown. Better than the calculator that comes with your computer, they have 350+ calculators including mortgage, retirement, credit card and debt,...so forth and so on. Or you can set up your own spread sheet in excel (or for some of us "old school" people, you might use Quattro Pro). Whatever method you decide to use, just choose and use, it makes you more in control of your life.

Until tomorrow, have a great day!