Need advise how to lower my credit cards?

My husband and I are way over our heads in debt. Ya i know we should have been more careful spending. But a few things have happened in the last couple of years.

1. Death in the family that we paid for.

2. My husband broke his back in 3 places two months after the death and was out of work for about 4 months.

3. We took custody of a third child to help a family member and all she came to us with was a small suit case of clothes!

We had to buy a bed and clothes and spend extra $$$ on utilty bills etsc...

The interest rates are getting higher and higher and higher every month because we can%26#039;t even afford to pay the min.

Need advise how to lower my credit cards?

My husband and I were in the same situation and are just now getting to the point where we can pay everything every month. It may be possible to do it the way it is working for us.

You have to make a list - it will seem very scary but you have to actually make yourself do it. Make a list of every credit card you owe - what the minimum payment is, what the due date is and what the APR is

1. start by taking a calander for this month and write in when you get paid and how much, then write in every date that a card payment is due and how much. This will give you an idea of what you owe as opposed to what you make. See if you need to save more from the beginning of the month to pay a bill at the end of the month to get minimum payments paid

2. Also add to your calender any other bills you may owe on the date due. Rent, food, gas, laundry, utilities, allowance for personal items

3. after adding all of that in do you have anything extra at the end of the month at all, if so put that towards the card with the highest APR

4. every month continue to pay minimum payment on every card except the one with the highest APR until you finally get that paid off. After that is paid off which for my husband and I is still going to take a couple years you can take that large payment and put it all onto the next card with the highest APR

5. you will be able to see the progress your making really quick this way. Most of your money is probably going into interest like ours is. You can figure out what your interest is for the next month ahead of time really easily if you want

Here is an example

Say you have a card with $3,000 on it - minimum due is $110 and your APR is 32% -

3,000 x 0.32 (apr) = $960 per year in interest / 12 (months) = $80

so you may be making a 110 minimum payment but 80 of it will be going toward interest

If you could add so the payment is 150 so your paying $40 extra this month on the card the next month your balance will be 2930 and you interest will be lower

2930 x 0.32 = 937.60 / 12 = 78.13 - your interest will have already dropped by two dollars - this may not seem like much but within a year it will be huge

Need advise how to lower my credit cards?

Start with Dave Ramsey. He will change your life - and you can do his program without spending any money. Go to the library and check out his books.

Prioritize your spending. 1) Food; 2) utilities; 3) shelter; 4) transportation (so you can get to work) and 5) debt. Do NOT pay Mastercard no matter what a collector says (they all lie anyway) before you make a rent/mortgage payment. It won%26#039;t do you any good to get evicted while your card payments are up to date.

From Dave%26#039;s website:

%26quot;Dave has taught these principles to millions via radio, books, Financial Peace University, and online.

Now its your turn! Use the Baby Steps to get your finances in order and on track. Then pass them on to someone you know.

1) $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund

2) Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball (see Dave%26#039;s website for more info)

3) 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings

4) Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement

5) College funding for children

6) Pay off home early

7) Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate%26quot;

http://www.daveramsey.com/

Need advise how to lower my credit cards?

contact consumer credit counseling QUICK, to prevent from having to file bankruptcy, they will advocate to alll your creditors to lower your payment and interest rates so that more of what your paying go to the principle and so not everything you are paying is late fees and over the limit fees. CCC is a non profit org. beware of other counciling agencies as they may be costly and non effective.

Need advise how to lower my credit cards?

The best way is to tell yourselves this is the most important thing in your life for the next 6 months to a year depending on the amount of debt.

Then go out and get a second job EACH, (baby sitter if applicable is NOT an excuse you just alternate shifts) pay every dime of those funds to the debt.

Take the highest balance (against Dave Ramsey%26#039;s advice which makes no sense at all) and put the extra funds to that account making only the minimum to the other accounts until paid off.

IF that high balance is a VERY low interest rate compared to another account then pay off the one with higher interest first.

Next do away with everything that is not necessary, internet account, cable, cell phones, eating out etc. until the debt is paid down.

Good luck.