You can pay the debt down with determination. Find the extra money where you least expect it to pay down the debt. Skip eating out at lunch, and bring it from home instead. That can be $5 savings a day, which translates to $100 a month. Use it and pay for the credit card balances. Examine your normal expenses you can find the money. We all have luxuries, and you know what yours are. Give up happy hour. Eliminate desserts. Watch movies on Netflix instead of watching them in the movie theaters.
Moving to 9% from 18% interest could mean substantial savings to you. You’ve seen the ads. Transfer your credit card balances to us, and pay just 9% until next January. Another way to transfer higher interest debt to a lower interest card is to take advantage of the promotional offers many banks use to entice you to their line of credit.
Renegotiate terms with your creditors. Let them know that you’ll have no other recourse but to declare bankruptcy. Request a lower interest rate. Appeal to their desire to receive payment, and ask for a really new and lower repayment schedule. Faced with the prospect that you may resort to this drastic step, creditors will do what they can to protect themselves against a total loss.
If you are in too deep, you may consider bankruptcy filings. However, bankruptcy stays on your credit report for at least 10 years and dramatically lowers your credit score. You won’t be able to get any new credit during the 10 years. Having said that, Chapter 13, sometimes called the wage earner plan, is an option. You incur no interest charges on the indebtedness throughout the repayment period. Court approves a repayment plan depending on your financial resources that provides for repayment of all or part of your debt over a three-to-five-year period. You keep your property but surrender control of your finances to the bankruptcy court. You emerge debt free from the bankruptcy, when all conditions of the court approved plan been fulfilled. During that time, your creditors are not allowed to harass you for repayment. Besides, it may be worth it.
Reducing your outstanding debt balance even further, the money saved in interest could be applied ward the principal every month. You may not qualify for complete relief, bankruptcy laws have gotten a lot tougher in recent years. As odd as it seems, additionally it costs money to file for bankruptcy. Ensuring you will have a tough time obtaining credit you can afford during that period, your credit record will contain this information for 10 years. Attorney and court filing fees cost in the hundreds of dollars, and they must be paid to obtain the relief sought.
