Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Okay, this has little if anything to do with the whole gender thing.... well it does but dosnt...

Im in a bind... my credit is shot and I have too many things to pay in a too short period of time...  Im working my tail off trying to just catch up let alone keep up......

I do have colatoral in the form of my car... its worth 7-8k in its current shape....  I need to get a loan but none of the banks in town do personal loans anymore and the credit unions require that you be a member and I dont have the spare funds to open an account with any of them...

Because the majority of my debts are not buisness, though they are contractual I dont qualify for a consolodation loan.....  All I need to do is get everything paid off and make one lower monthly payment a month rather than being just over broke after each paycheck.....

Does anyone have any ideas of what I can do or where I can turn to inorder to get this all straightened out?

Thanks  *Hugs*

             Once your credit slips and you get behind, no one besides evil semi legal loan sharks with impossible interest rates will help. There are non profit credit councelors that will call the creditors and set up an affordable payment plan at lower interest rates.  Another option is to sell the car and use other transportation or buy a cheaper car. Good luck.


beth

If I were in your circumstance I'd look for a reputable credit counselling service who would assist you in coming up with a payment plan and negotiating with your creditors.  Be careful though, and research whomever you choose carefully because some of these firms are rip off artists while others are very good.

I hope this works for you.  Losing your car, I mean selling it, probably wouldn't be the best option since you probably need it to get to work, etc.

Hugs & Smiles
helen

Well, my credit isnt actualy that bad... but its not good either...and I allready tried the credit counciling thing.... they said the best thing to do was get a personal loan to take care of it all..... problem is the dept isnt to buisnesses... its mostly to people and they dont negotiate with people.....

Selling my car is not an option.... public transportation here ranks among the worst in the nation and getting to work from my side of town would be impossable...... its allmost a 50 mile round trip per day heh.... Id never make it if I had to take the bus...

After my transition was complete, I had an incredible debt load. A lot of it had to deal with legal fees.  I had lived on credit cards for a while.  I was working a full time (plus) silly con valley job and just couldn't seem to get my head above water.

I tried credit counselors and they advised me to declare bankruptcy since they could not deal with a good share of my creditors.  I was in serious trouble.

It wasn't a new problem.  I just could no longer deal with the load.  I was just barely making the payments and fortunately, I had not been late on any of them. Even though it may have been the prudent thing to do, I decided not to declare bankruptcy. I didn't feel that I could stiff people or companies for the problems I had created for myself. I called them all myself.  I told them that I had every intention of paying but I needed some help.  Most were unwilling.  But I did get a break on the interest rate on a couple if I made certain payments.  I then took a look at all the loans I had out there.

Then I took all of my credit cards out of my wallet and put them in a drawer.  The only card I would carry would be my business card I used when traveling.  And I made a commitment not to use it for personal reasons.  For the next two years, I would purchase nothing for myself. The clothes I had were the clothes I wore. When my makeup ran out, I went withougt.  I made soup and froze it in single serving portions. I did not eat out... ever.  I only drove to work.  I did not use my car for any other purpose.  I relied on friends for entertainment.

Some loans were of small amounts at high interest rates.  I decided to pay those off first.  I was able to get an advance on a line of credit (or credit card), which consolidated 3 of them.  And then I put every extra cent I made on that loan.  I made payements often, sometimes a couple times a week.  Since simple interest accrues on these types of account every day, that further reduced the total I would need to pay.

I just continued paying them down; the highest interest accounts always got extra payments.  It took me a little over two years.  But I paid them off.  I didn't miss a single payment.

I've never carried a credit card balance since.  I still use my cards and sometimes I'll use one to cover an emergency.  But they always get paid off in a couple months.  I make it a point not to pay interest to use my money!

Sorry Lynn, I don't have a quick fix.  It's just a lot of hard work.  But while you have no housing commitments right now, it is the time to address the problem.

Cindi

                    You can do your own consolodation.   Write the people you owe, tell them you may not be able to keep up with payments and may have to file bankruptcy.  Tell them a new payment plan will avoid that. List a payment and interest rate you can live with and tell them you will keep up the payments until it is all paid off if they agree to it in writing.  Do that to all of them. Send the letters in duplicate already signed by you. Have legal aid or someone (attorney) you know help with the letters so the creditors can just sign them and send them back. Maybe all or most of them will accept.

beth

Those are some very good tips that I may employ myself.  I'm in a similar situation to you Lynn.

Melissa

When the current .gov administration allowed the credit card companies to up their interest rates and required a higher monthly min, I busted.  I had been using credit cards, just to get by here and there.  Here and there has added up to about $30K (would pay for surgery and a few other things, yes?).  And I had almost had all of it paid off just a few years ago.

I contacted the only reputable credit counselor I could find.  Most are con artists making a quick buck.  This has been a nightmare because one particular credit company did not want to work with them at all.  It has taken me months to get them to agree to a proposal and they are doing that today.

The one creditor that immediately signed dropped my interest rate down and suspended the ongoing fees.  You will probably be required to have all of the creditors listed and also close all but one emergency account.  Part of my holdup was that one of my creditors did not close my account after the first phone call.  Once I had that info, it was definitely closed (two days ago) out.

Your credit report will more than likely reflect that you are under credit counseling.  You will not be able to open any new accounts until you are no longer being counseled or they will not work with you.  After you are done your credit will look like a battlefield but if you take baby steps you will "repair" your credit 3-6 years down the road.

Now with everything squared away I can start making a dent against the debt and in about five years be debt free (other than my home and utilities).  Then I will be set to save for surgery and truly start over.

I hope everyone reads this thread.  It is so important to be able to manage your money.  Especially if you need to pay for your surgery.  Other than my transition, getting my debt paid down and keeping out of debt have been my largest life challenges.

Cindi

Transition can be expensive...that is for sure.

I made a budget when I started out, but still ended up $30K over the initial budget, I had set.

My divorce cost me 10 times that financially and I will not clear off my debts until  the end of 2008 at the earliest.

I sold all my old LP's (yeah Vinyl!) and old sports equipment, fishing equipment and also did some part time work (in a bar),which killed me from a tiredness point of view to keep my debts down.

My transition clothes all came from the cheaper end of the retail market and it wasn't until I went back to work that I upgraded my clothes and I also brought and used cheaper cosmetics.

My priority was electrolysis and this is what I used any extra money I got for.

Becky