“Dear Steve,
I have about 25,000 in credit card debt on 3 cards.. 10000 on 2 cards and 5000 on one card. They are maxed out. I have paid all my bills on time all my life, and never late on a payment. but my wife lost her job recently and money is running thin. i am current on all the cards but soon i will not be able to make the mininum payments (probably next month). I only need about 6 months till my wife gets a job then i should be back on track again. If i had lower monthly payments i probably could survive. I am paying 15% on one card, 13% on another and 10% on the other.. Credit score is 690. Is there anything i could do to lower my payments? I’ve read about DMP but not sure i wanna go that route. What should I do? Thanks.
Is there anything i could do to lower my payments? I’ve read about DMP but not sure i wanna go that route. What should I do? Thanks.
Chris”
Dear Chris,
I invite you to click here for credit counseling information and learn more about a debt management plan. The more you know by researching it, the better prepared you will be to make an informed decision that is right for you.
My concern is that a credit counseling debt management plan is not going to lower your minimum payments. In a DMP the terms of the program are dictated by the creditors and they don’t lower payments, while they may lower interest rates.
The reality is that there is no program that will allow you to force the creditors to accept less than the full amount due. However, you can call your individual creditors and ask if they have any in-house special programs to help lower the payment. Any creditor that agrees to take less than the full amount will note that on your credit report. Special programs by the creditors typically last no longer than six months.
If you wanted to repay what you could reasonably afford based on your new income, avoid collections, have a repayment plan that was binding on the creditors and would prevent you from being sued, thats a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. I suggest you click here to find a local bankruptcy attorney and go talk to them as well.
Please update me on your progress by
You are not alone. I'm here to help. There is no need to suffer in silence. We can get through this. Tomorrow can be better than today. Don't give up. Do you have a question you'd like to ask me for free? Go ahead and click here.
