Credit Card trouble

[calgarys_finest]

Kinda embarrasing to ask this here but i dont really have anyone to go to and i exhausted google with my little knowledge of the subject.

About a year ago my wife lost her job 6 days after we found out she was pregnant and since then we have been putting a little too much on the credit card. I am already taking more shifts at work and she doenst have enough experiance to make it worth the daycare costs if she does find a job. At this point my cards monthly payment is getting to be too much and i can barely pay the intrest. For getting a low with a lower interest rate to pay off the card what are my best options.

I know nothing on loans and i tried google and my banks website but it doesnt really help.

Any input would be great.
Thanks.

[Meback]

Well, what is the current rate. I believe that a typical card can be some where around 19%. There should be cards out there that are around 4%. If you can get one of those, transfer the balance and that should help.

Debt can be crippling man. Best thing to do, is also see where you can cut back on. Life style changes are neccessary if you are finding yourself in trouble.

[flipstah]

If your card is with a major bank, ask if you can transfer the debt to an LOC with a lower interest rate.

You can also ask other banks for an LOC for the purpose of debt management. I'm sure a bank out there would love your debt.

[krazykhoja]

Best options would be a low rate credit card (can be anywhere from prime + a % up to around 12%).

Or if you can get either a consolidation loan to help pay off the CC debt (but that will usually require the closing of your current credit card).

Otherwise a LOC would be another great option if you can get one.

If you have other questions, feel free to PM me, I work at a bank and might possibly be able to help you out. I've seen debt get out of control for a lot of people, and if you can get a handle on it early it's better! Good on you for trying to get in front of it.

Another good thing is to make a budget see if there is anything extra you can find to put on your debt. I see in your profile you drive a 2009 vehicle, if you making payments towards this every month, an option would be to sell the vehicle pay off the debt and buy something cheaper (it might not be an option you would like to hear, but it is something that could help you out).

Originally posted by flipstah
You can also ask other banks for an LOC for the purpose of debt management. I'm sure a bank out there would love your debt.

This is not always true...yes banks like to take on debt as it makes them money. But only debt they feel will be paid off. A bank won't take unnecessary risk by taking on debt they feel will get written off (just does not make good business sense). Of course as a bank judges a debt's risk to rise so will the interest rate the individual will need to pay to compensate for this risk.

[sabad66]

Which credit card do you have? Most have a low rate option.

If your credit is good you could also just open a new account with a low introductory rate and transfer the balance to that.

[bignerd]

Do you own a home?

[Dave P]

I think your best bet would be to schedule a sit down with someone at your bank. They will be able to go over all your options and guide you.

[a social dsease]

some suggestions: sell new car and get something older, if there's is anything around your house you haven't used in 2 months or more, sell it on kijiji, cut all unneccessary spending (ie: eating out, new clothes, liquor, disposable diapers etc), get all the baby stuff as hand-me-downs or used, instead of new, move closer to your work as this will help you save on gas $ and insurance, as well as give you more time with your family.

I'd check out http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ , great site for learning how to spend moeny wisely. There's an article with tips on how to minimize baby spending, as well as lots of other helpful articles.

[Sugarphreak]

...............

[l/l/rX]

If you own a home, my advice would be talk to your banker/ mortgage broker about consolidating your debt.

[Feruk]

Wow, the solution isn't percent reduction on your credit card so you can make a minimum payment, it's figuring out how to live within your means! If you're that badly into debt, you're living a lifestyle you cannot afford. Sounds like your family has less income, more costs, but have not reduced spending. Cut up the credit cards and find a way to run a monthly surplus (inclusive of minimum credit card payment) and start paying off the balance on your debt. Prolly gonna take some very big lifestyle changes, but "a social dsease"s post gives some ideas.

You can take the suggestions about interest reduction above, and they are good, but if you keep spending like you are, you'll be in an even bigger mess a few months down.

[TaiChino]

Originally posted by Feruk
Wow, the solution isn't percent reduction on your credit card so you can make a minimum payment, it's figuring out how to live within your means! If you're that badly into debt, you're living a lifestyle you cannot afford. Sounds like your family has less income, more costs, but have not reduced spending. Cut up the credit cards and find a way to run a monthly surplus (inclusive of minimum credit card payment) and start paying off the balance on your debt. Prolly gonna take some very big lifestyle changes, but "a social dsease"s post gives some ideas.

You can take the suggestions about interest reduction above, and they are good, but if you keep spending like you are, you'll be in an even bigger mess a few months down.

A good point but the OP stated that there were circumstances which caused this that were out of his control, not bad spending habits.

OP - the above advice leaning towards lower interest rates and LOC are great, I would check out the bank, see what the best options are to move current debt into a consolidation with smaller payments. You and the bank would be much happier with that than a bad credit file due to delinquent payments and such. Take it from me, I experienced it first hand, I'm just finishing crawling my way out of a bad credit fiasco and if I could do things differently...

Long story short, get a consolidation loan (bank may not call it that) from the bank at a good interest rate before you have a few delinquent payments and your credit score is so low they will not lend to you anymore.

[Canmorite]

Track every dollar you spend and record it in Excel or some other program. Putting it into perspective is really eye-opening! At the end of the month, look at where you're large items are or what you could do without.

I started doing this 6 months ago. Have been saving $1K a month for a few months now and paying down student loans. Wish I had done it sooner!

[Feruk]

Originally posted by TaiChino
A good point but the OP stated that there were circumstances which caused this that were out of his control, not bad spending habits.

Wife lost job and kid came into picture were the circumstances. I'd say assuming you can spend the same with less income qualifies as a bad spending habit.

[TaiChino]

He never said he was spending the same...

[BrknFngrs]

Originally posted by Canmorite
Track every dollar you spend and record it in Excel or some other program. Putting it into perspective is really eye-opening! At the end of the month, look at where you're large items are or what you could do without.

Agreed; great place to start.

For a lot of people, when you do this you realize that it isn't your big purchases that are killing you, it's all of your high frequency little purchases (coffee, food, etc)

[codetrap]

Watch a few episodes of Till Debt do we Part, then get a copy of quicken.

[phreezee]

Along with a consolidation loan, WWW.MINT.COM is free to track your expenses and expose your spending habits.
It's by Intuit, a trusted company.

[LOLzilla]

If you can't get a LOC, rack up the CC a little further then declare bankruptcy.

Good article written on it just lately.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/stor...tcy-myths.html

[Mar]

intrest