“Dear Michael, “Working with a debt relief company recommended by the bank. Have a visa credit card, was behind in payments because of job loss. Bank sold my debt to a collection agency (just received the letter). Sent the letter to my debt relief company. Prior to this, we have set up a budget. I am job hunting and want ... Read More »

Over the past few years my wife and I have accumulated over $50,000 in debt. Job losses, attorney fees, medical bills have gotten us in this situation. While my wife has a very good job and we continue to pay all of our bills on time, we are only able to make the minimum payments and cannot seem to get ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, My situation concerns Bank of America. Last november BoA lowered my limit from 16000 to 15000. at the time my balance was around 14700. When my minimum payment hit me it sent me over my new limit and defaulted me and I was charged with a 27.99% interest rate. The extra interest fees i was paying sucked up ... Read More »

“Hi Steve, I have one credit card with a $20,000 balance with a $450 minimum monthly payment. I’m not getting too far at paying this off. I would like to start paying higher payments to pay this off faster but im not sure how to figure out how much is the most I can afford to pay each month so ... Read More »

Jairo “Dear Steve, I opened that Bank of America Clean Sweep six months ago and I keep paying every month a little more than the minimum but the amount is almost the same and they reduce my credit card from $7000 to $500. My wife’s job is giving her less hours every month and she is the head of household, ... Read More »

Amy “Dear Steve, I have always had good credit – not excellent, but been able to make payments. I am starting to believe that I have made some pretty poor financial decisions. I have paid all of my debts on time, but primarily only paying the minimum payment. I have numerous credit cards and three loans. I have a CD ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, Well we are to the point where we are basically paying the minimum payment on everything, using credit cards for grocerys and gas to get to and from work. we cant refinance our house cause our value of our house really dropped and now we owe to much than what the house is worth. we are truthfully about ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, If I find a consolidation company to help me pay my bills will my bad credit go away? Lauren” The Answer   Dear Lauren, It is usual for people to search for a magic wand that will make their debt go away without impacting their credit report. There really is no such solution, and here’s why. In order ... Read More »

Annette “Dear Steve, I owe $94,023 total. I owe $41,089 on my mortgage, at 6% interest, and $2,754 on my car, at 6% interest. I owe $50,189 on my credit cards and line of credit, at interest rates ranging from 3.99% to 12%. My annual income is $56732. My house payment is $549, my car payment is $353, and my ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, We are keeping up to date on our credit card minimums barely. We have regular income, but now all of our minimums have increased with the new regulations. We have about $50,000 in credit card debt and we make about $65,000 a year. We used our tax check on some bills but are not even making a dent ... Read More »

Sheri “Dear Steve, My Chase credit card balance is approx $3,500. Most of the balance is 4.99% for life of loan. I haev automatic deduction for minimum payment (2%). They are increasing my minimum payment to 5% which I cannot budget for. Can they do this legally? They offered to keep the payment near $70 but increase my interest rate. ... Read More »

“Dear Steve, Hi! I have 3 credit cards that have over $2000 each on them. I have not been paying on them for about 6 months. I have collectors calling me but I can avoid them easily. The only thing that bothers me is that now the minimum payment on them is between $600-$800 each. Of course I cannot pay ... Read More »

Brenda “Dear Steve, I helped my parents in their late 80’s transfer balances to a low 3.99% till pay down, because they had been solicited by a number of credit card companies to go ahead and use the convenience checks for a low promotional which grew to over 36% interest. They used it to pay their property taxes, insurance, heating ... Read More »

Karen “Dear Steve, Have a lot of credit card debt – struggling to keep my head above water. Interest rates are going up, minimum payments are going up, and I am falling behind. which causes the rates a payments to keep going up and my credit score to go down. What is the best way to negotiate lower payments and ... Read More »

Shawn “Dear Steve, I have about $100k of unsecured consumer credit card debt spread out amongst several (about 15) cards. My wife and I are both in very stable jobs, and combined we make about $110k a year (about $6000-$6500/mo take-home after tax, health insurance, etc). We “own” our house, in other words, we pay $2k a month mortgage on ... Read More »