Debt consolidation help

Hi guys,

So I was laid off and had accumulated unfortunate Credit Card debt. While I do make payments to the CCs consistently, I find that with 22% interest, I'm not getting close to paying it off.

I've contacted my bank in regards to a consolidation loan; they offered me a good rate but they said the requirement would be for me to hold no credit card at all.

This isn't acceptable to me as CC is necessary in many transactions. It's not that I can't pay my CC bills, i just can't stand the interest and the time it's gonna take me.

I just want to make sure my payments are efficiently reducing my debt.

What can I do?

I'm working now but the job isn't that high paying so I'm not able to clear them up quickly.

Please share your advice, thank you.

If you own your home, get a HELOC .

If your credit is good, get a personal loan. The fact that you are making payments, I don't see any reason why a bank wouldn't loan you that money, they would certainly want your business.

If your credit isn't good, try applying for a credit card that gives you an introductory rate. Lots of cards offer 0% or 1.99% for the first 10-12 months if you do a balance transfer, plus a 1% fee.

Just off the top of my head. There might be better ways, but I don't know.

It's hard to give you a very detailed plan without a lot more personal info... that you probably don't want to post online. I'd recommend talking to a professional, banks are usually brutal to work with unless you're bringing them new money

HELOC or personal loan from the bank.

Also, if at all possible, sell your shit to get ahead of this. If you drive a nice car, sell it and drive a shitbox until you can get your financial house in order.

Paying 22% is as damaging for you long term as starting a meth habit.

i would at least in the short term look at a td emerald card and transfer your balance and get rid of the other card

my wife has an interest rate of 4.7 on her cc

I called my bank and they're willing to give me a personal loan. However, the requirement is that i cancel all CC's, and thats the only condition not acceptable to me.

I'm making payments and making extra payments as well. For the time being, my income isn't so high that i can just blast off the debt completely; but if/when i'm in better condition I would be doing that.

This is the first time i've ever accumulated debt on CC, otherwise I never had cc debt. I've had a CC since 18 and I always made sure to pay it off right away.

But yeah..being laid off fcked me over

Can you cancel your cards and get a pre-paid card to use on transactions that require a CC?

Get the loan and cancel the cards. Then apply for another credit card with a different bank/company.

Quote:

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Originally posted by roopi
Get the loan and cancel the cards. Then apply for another credit card with a different bank/company.

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would the new bank not see the loan on my credit history? (along with the requirement that I'm not to hold cc) ?

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Originally posted by Hero_X


would the new bank not see the loan on my credit history? (along with the requirement that I'm not to hold cc) ?

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They will definitely see the loan. I'm not aware if they would see any requirements though. I'm guessing they wouldn't. Companies like capital one and mbna hand out cards like candy.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Hero_X
I called my bank and they're willing to give me a personal loan. However, the requirement is that i cancel all CC's, and thats the only condition not acceptable to me.

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That seems really weird. Have you tried a different bank? Unless we are talking about 20K+ you should be able to get an unsecured LOC without much hassle.

Its hard to give actual advice without knowing the full financial details. Go to your bank and flip the card to a low interest card immediately.

Most banks have one. If its TD its the emerald. You don't need a appointment, the teller can do it for you. Its just a button they press and signed form and that's it. This should be the first thing you do. Your bank who offered you a personal loan should have recommend this the first time. If they did not its pretty evident then they are not looking out for you. But then again its a bank, they would not.

If you close the card it may be really hard to apply for a new one in the future and past history is a indicator of future habits. They would be able to see your credit card debit, missed payments etc.

Basically credit is based upon four things, income, debit, savings and credit score. Thats why its different for everyone. The idea of going to a bank and they giving you a ULOC just like that does not work. The four factors are at play here.

You need to pay off the CC right away. I get the new job is not paying much. But draw up a plan with things you need to exist like food, rent, gas. Then focus on paying it right down.
Do not joke with credit card debit, ive seen clients get screwed over several times years later.

Can you just work out a deal with the bank to lower your credit card to $1K or so?

Just cancel the cc's to please the bank, after you get the funds released, call the cc company and have them re-open the account, most cc's will reopen the account no questions asked within 30 days

Thanks for sharing all the tips guys.

I'm definitely gonna check out the low interest CC, and contact bank for the personal loan.

Shop around to a few banks as well.

I was in a similar spot in November, did some shopping and was able to get a consolidation loan through First Calgary.
That loan put me on track to have my debt completely clear by the end of this month!

Good luck man, with some discipline that debt will disappear quicker than you think.

Any update, how is it going OP?

If they don't know you lost your job, sign up for an unsecured LoC, they hand those out like candy with 5% interest rates. Then use that to pay off your CC so you are only ever paying 5% instead of 20%. They might even still do it if you can show you make regular payments.

TD used to call me about those almost every month back when I was 17 years old offering me $10K LoC lol. I still get letters in the mail all the time offering me the same thing even though I already have one (and never have used it). They want to give them out so bad.