Seem like we are both doing the same thing. I sort of went to the extreme on the high limit cards, it is so difficult to sneak and pay off these cards. I refuse to let my husband know what I did, it will be an argument all over my house because I always said that I was paying (using debit) for all this stuff that I accumulated over the months. I went a little wild this time.

YOU AND ME BOTH, MEYA! MY HUBBY WOULD FLIP HIS LID IF HE KNEW!!!!!:

Meya, it's time to go back to the drawing board.

Never that! One thing I do love now, is that I can handle it when I used to just give up. I know I sort of messed up, and I love that you are so upfront with me. I am just glad that I did not get beat down by you.....lol. JK, I got it pretty much in hand, what I am doing is paying more so that I do not have much money to run around here spending when I should not be. Once I put everything in excel, it is a done deal. I strictly go by that formula:laugh:

Congratulations hjm331, I remember those days. Same here, Kellbell, I really could care less about credit right now, I just want to be debt free and that is my overall objective for 2009.

Meya, it's time to go back to the drawing board.

My goal isn't so much my score anymore as much as it is just paying off my existing balances and never using credit again...unless it's a dire emergency

Seem like we are both doing the same thing. I sort of went to the extreme on the high limit cards, it is so difficult to sneak and pay off these cards. I refuse to let my husband know what I did, it will be an argument all over my house because I always said that I was paying (using debit) for all this stuff that I accumulated over the months. I went a little wild this time.

I agree with this premise but the thing is the world now runs on credit. Credit is now a mirror image of cash and never has that been more true than now.

Credit is now a convenience that no one wants to give up. It just needs to be managed more effectively. Even the pleasurable things in life you need credit.

Think of going on vacation. Would you be better off taking cash or credit ? If your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere will you have the $1000 dollars on hand to get it fixed or is it as simple as swiping that card through the card reader, getting your car repaired and moving on ?

KIEJON9's blog is great but I think society is in the mode of self gratification that it will be hard to break the habit. Also, I think society will still go down that road of "buying things we can't afford to impress people we don't know"

The only thing that I don't do is use cash. I may have $2.00 on me if I want a candy bar or soda out of a vending machine. It takes a lot of discipline to use your credit cards for everything and PIF every month.

Would it surprise you to learn that there are only three steps to living a debt-free life? The concepts are simple, but living them out in real life can be quite a challenge. Nonetheless, if you follow all three steps, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever suffer the painful consequences of high debt again

Step 1]

In order to get out and stay out of debt, you must learn to live beneath your means. Spend less than you make. It sounds simple, but for most of those who are in debt, this is the biggest challenge of all.
Living beneath your means requires a conscious choice on your part to live a lifestyle that enables you to have extra money left over every month. In our culture, that can be hard. We feel compelled to spend to keep up with everyone else, or to have the biggest, brightest, and newest of everything.
Changing your mindset can be the hardest thing to do, but it’s the only way to successfully get rid of debt. You don’t need as much “stuff” as you think you do. Learn to enjoy the challenge of seeing how far you can stretch a dollar – by furnishing your house with flea market finds, buying your wardrobe at a thrift store, and scaling back on gifts at the holidays.
Figure out how much money you make, and what your expenses are. If you are spending more than you make, it’s time to cut back. Some people can just make a few changes – such as eliminating extravagant vacations – and be back on track. Others need to make drastic changes, such as trading in expensive vehicles for more modest cars, moving to lower-cost housing, or canceling cell phone and cable TV service.
In order to eliminate debt, you must live on a pay-as-you-go basis. This means paying cash (or check) for everything. You must commit to not using credit except in the most dire of emergencies.
Step 2]

Once you’ve analyzed your spending and trimmed it back, you’ll have generated a surplus amount each month. You’ll use that to pay off your debt.
Make a chart of all your – credit cards, auto loans, school loans, loans from mom, whatever. For each loan, list the total amount due, the monthly payment, and the interest rate. Then total up the minimum monthly payments to discover how much money you are paying on your debt each month.
Using the surplus money that you found in your budget in step one, begin applying it against your debt. If there are several small debts you can get rid of quickly, you may want to put the surplus against those just to pay them off quickly. Otherwise, put the surplus money against the debt with the highest interest rate, while still paying the minimum payments on the other debts.
When you get rid of debt number one, take the money you were using to pay that debt off, and apply it to debt number two (still paying the minimum required payment on all other debts). When debt number two is paid off, take that chunk of money (payment money for number one and number two) and apply it to debt number three. Continue this way until all your debts are paid off – whether it takes you two years, ten years, or more.
As your debt principal shrinks over time, creditors may lower your minimum payments. But don’t fall into the trap of paying less, or you’ll never be debt-free. Continue paying as much as possible against each debt until it is paid off. As long as you don’t add to your debt by taking out more loans or running up more credit cards, this method will guarantee you success.
Step 3]

If you don’t want to end up right back where you started, it’s important to stay focused. Here are a few tips to help you stay on track.

• Continue to spend on a cash only basis as much as possible.
• Don’t buy anything on payments unless absolutely necessary.
• Save for the big stuff, don’t finance it.
• Create an emergency fund that you can turn to instead of credit cards.
• Always, always focus on spending less than you make.

A debt collection is one of the worst entries on your credit report . A collection is a severely past due account that will make it difficult for you to get approved for new credit and loans.
If you have a collection account on your report, it’s likely affecting your credit score . This is especially true for more recent collections. You can improve your credit score by getting these collection accounts deleted from your report or reported as “Paid” or “Current.”
Before you pay off a collection account, first negotiate with the debt collector to have your credit report updated to something favorable. The only unacceptable scenario is to pay the collection without having having fact reflected in your credit report.
Here are some possible payment scenarios and outcomes, listed from most ideal to least ideal (but still acceptable).
Ideal

Negotiate with the debt collector to have the account deleted from your credit report in exchange for payment. Send a written request (a pay for delete letter) to the collector offering a settlement payment if the collector deletes the account from your credit reports. Wait for a written response from the collector before taking any action.
If you prefer, you can contact the collector by phone to negotiate pay for delete. However, you risk inadvertently saying something to the collector that conveys responsibility or liability for the debt. You don't want to do this if you're beyond or nearing expiration of the statute of limitations . Even if you choose to negotiate by phone, you still need to have the agreement in writing. Have the collector mail or fax you a letter including the terms of the agreement before making a payment.
MyFico forums has a sample pay for delete letter you can use. Remember, debt collectors don’t have to remove accurate entries from your credit report.
Next best thing

Most collectors want payment in full and will not delete the account from your credit report for a settlement payment. When this is the case, offer to pay the account in full in exchange for the collector deleting the account from your credit report. Again, send your request in writing and wait until the collector responds in writing before making a payment.
Not as good, but still ok

Ideally, you want the entry completely removed from your credit report. Unfortunately, not all collectors are willing to do this even in exchange for payment. If you cannot have the entry completely removed, you should have it updated as “Paid in full.” Offer the collector a settlement payment some % less than the full amount owed. Get the collector to agree to update the account as “Paid in full.” The agreement should be in writing.
Acceptable

Settle the account with the collector and accept an update of “Paid. Settled.” Keep in mind that a settled entry on your credit report will not boost your score as much as “Paid in full.” If you want your account to state “Paid in full” but cannot get the collector to do so for partial payment, then pay the account in full.
Acceptable

Pay the collector in full. Be sure to keep proof of payment. Monitor your credit report to make sure the collector updates the account as paid. If the collector does not update the account, dispute the account with the credit bureau, providing proof of payment if necessary.

Hi guys/gals,

As you know, my ultimate goal right now is to continue with my credit building endeavours and to get my Fico up. Right now, my Equifax is 632 and Transunion is 634. I've gottem several baddies off and have my inquries at TU 3, Equif 2, Ex 8(but 2 will fall of on 08/06/08 and 1 in 09/06/08).

I have about $1400 this month that I would like to distribute over various cards that will hopefully result in a bump in my scores. I am not sure which cards to apply them to. My theory is the Dave ramsey therory which is to pay off or down the little cards first so here is my plan.

Orchard owe $370/$500 limit Pay $250 to get the bal to $120 -20.29% util
Sam's $290/$500 Pay $170 to get the bal to $120- 20.2% utilization
HSBC $1020$1200 Pay $230 to get bal to $790 -65.83% util
CAP1 $850/$1200 Pay $250 to get bal to $600- 50% util
CAP1 $1881/$2300 Pay $250 to get bal to $1631 70.94% util
WAMU $4225/$4500 Pay $250 to get bal to $3975 88.82% util


All of my other cards are either $0 bal or have utilization rates under 20%. My goal is to get the Orchard and Sams with just a $100 bal so I can keep it active with a very low util rate and to put it away.

CAp1, WAMU and HSBC, my goal is to get them down to 35 by Dec 08 and WAMU is a special challenge. Realistically, I would like to get it down to 65% util by Dec 08 and by 06/09 get it down to about $2000 which is about 45% util.

I would really like opinions or suggestions about how to use the $1400 to pay downthe above cards to get the best look on my credit report. I know the overall utilization will be the same regardless of how the money is spread out but for individual creditors, I am looking to positively influence them so that I may get more CLIs in the future which will also decrease my UR.

Thanks.

My husband and I started a budget once we got married to break down our expenses based on our income. I worked out a very detailed budget that included everything from emergencies to savings to dating. It gave me a good estimate of how much we spend a month and where we needed to cut back. Every thing was rounded up and some things exaggerated a little to leave room for the unexpected. Once it was all said and done, all the bills are taken care of on time and we each get a nice little spending bonus twice a month just to treat ourselves. It doesn’t hurt the budget because that amount was already subtracted from our take home income in the beginning. My husband is the type of person that spends without thought, so it works out great. He gets to feel like he’s in control and I get the comfort of knowing the bills are paid.

Sanjay, your cousin bought shares/stocks? From what company?

well i want to tell that my cousin has splurged all his money in shares and now he is in serious debt.I am trying to help him but he is not paying heed to bring himself out of debt.

Does anyone know what the exact process is, if you can't afford to pay your credit cards. Say your income has declined due to loss of job or something. Are they likely to work with you and set up a small payment plan or go straight out and try to recover their funds?

I believe this is pretty much up to each bank or company. Like all those stories of best/worst banks, some of them will work with you and set up a payment plan but others will be jerks.

Originally posted by mrsjprice
ONLINE Posted]

Does anyone know what the exact process is, if you can't afford to pay your credit cards. Say your income has declined due to loss of job or something. Are they likely to work with you and set up a small payment plan or go straight out and try to recover their funds?