Pete
“Dear Steve,
I’m $90,000 in CC and loans. My income was slashed by $50,000. Barely make minimum payments
I need advice?
Pete”
Dear Pete,
You’ve really made it hard for me to give you a lot of specific advice since I only have limited information.
Do You Have a Question You'd Like Help With? Contact Debt Coach Damon Day. Click here to reach Damon.
Your level of credit card debt is high for many but I’ve helped plenty of people that would think that $90,000 of debt was not much at all. It is all relative.
What I can tell you is that you absolutely need to avoid using the credit cards to get by right now and don’t spend down what savings you might have just making minimum payments each month because you are afraid to fall behind.
Time and time again I’ve watched people spend down their savings, afraid to make some tough decisions, only to reach the end of their savings and have no options at all.
If you are not able to make the minimum payments and still put some money in a boring old savings account then you’ve got real trouble brewing.
If you are just limping along right now I would suggest that your first step, the logical first move, would be to see if a debt management program can lower your monthly payment and give you a bit of breathing room.
Click here for debt management information and if that doesn’t solve the current problem then get back in touch with me and we’ll move to Plan B.
Remember this, your lifestyle is based on your income. When your income is cut you’ll also need to make lifestyle choices and that’s where it really hurts. This might mean going out to eat less, less bar hoping, and less things you used to enjoy. It’s not fatal, just difficult to adjust your lifestyle at first.
