Family Pays off $106,000 in Debt

[creditcardfree]

Five years ago, the Hildebrandt family of New Richmond, Wis., was juggling more than $100,000 in credit card and personal debt. Through frugality, determination and hard work, they are now -- other than a mortgage -- debt-free.

At the time, Russell and Kandy Hildebrandts' credit card balances totaled about $89,000, and they owed $17,000 to a family member...


Family Pays off $106,000 in Credit Card Debt

[investingnoob]

Wow, I can't imagine being in that much debt..That's a huge accomplishment, they should be very proud. Hopefully they won't get into that much of debt again.

[Scanner]

I saw that article. They actually reminded me of a poster here with the church tithing and all that. I can't recall who that was.

[creditcardfree]

They worked hard and made it happen. I commend them for that!!

[wincrasher]

They are amazing.

I know where they were coming from. Last year was the year I turned my life around. I peaked at $96k of high interest credit card debt and $50k in auto loans. It's coming up on 1 year since I paid it all off. Now I have money to do all kinds of things.

I thought I was headed for bankruptcy. Instead, took the risk and started working for myself and increased my income. I didn't struggle like these folks, but edging back from the brink, I changed my thinking about debt and priorities and the future.

[Radiance]

I changed my thinking about debt and priorities and the future.

That was the key for me too! I have 18k but I am coming from 50K and I have an aggresive plan to get rid of my debt

Then I will:

have money to do all kinds of things.

It can be done, it should be done.
Of course avoiding this craziness would have been moch better. Oh, well

[rizzmo]

When I see an article like this it makes me wonder how much they paid for the luxury of repaying their own debt.

[Radiance]

Originally Posted by rizzmo

When I see an article like this it makes me wonder how much they paid for the luxury of repaying their own debt.

Lots! I am sure I paid 2-3 times for the items I charged for.
But, why do you call repaying debt a luxury?

[rizzmo]

I was being sarcastic about it being a luxury. As I understand it these company's basically charge you a fee for dividing up your payments and sending them off to creditors. I think they call it a maintenance fee.

I have a friend who signed up for one of these. They charged him $50/m to divide up his monthly payment to them among 10 different creditors. He could have done this himself for nothing, or in the worst case the cost of 10 stamps. I just don't see where these companies are providing any benefit to the client.

[Radiance]

I see your point. But I disagree, they do benefit and provide value;

I consulted with the same company CCCS, they are great, but after they helped me analyze my situation I chose not to hire them and do it myself, which is what I have been doing. They continue to help me for free over the phone and via email.

But I didnt have 106k in debt and I felt capable of doing it on my own.
I think it does make sense in some cases to pay someone else to do it for us , we need to be accepting of our own limitations.

What is worse?,To pay $50 a month to have someone manage your debt for you and get out of debt OR

Not pay $50 a month but stay on debt because you are not capable of doing it alone?

I hire services, I dont do my own landscaping, not even my own taxes, I see how someone need to hire services to manage debt. It is not a reflection of a person being defective or stupid, we are not good at everything.

Good for them for getting the help they needed, it takes courage.

Can you do it on your own, for free? Absolutely! Will you? That is another story.

[Savealot]

That's incredibly impressive!

[paymydebt]

Wow and I thought I had a lot of debt...which feels bad enough... but I can't imagine having four times that. That is inspirational to those of us who are down about our debt, wishing for some kind of anchor.

[TurnDebtIntoDebt]

I know it took hard work and dedication and time to get that paid off. That is a lot of debt to be in!

[payoutless]

Originally Posted by Radiance

I see your point. But I disagree, they do benefit and provide value;

But I didnt have 106k in debt and I felt capable of doing it on my own.
I think it does make sense in some cases to pay someone else to do it for us , we need to be accepting of our own limitations.

What is worse?,To pay $50 a month to have someone manage your debt for you and get out of debt OR
Not pay $50 a month but stay on debt because you are not capable of doing it alone?

I hire services, I dont do my own landscaping, not even my own taxes, I see how someone need to hire services to manage debt. It is not a reflection of a person being defective or stupid, we are not good at everything.

Good for them for getting the help they needed, it takes courage.

Can you do it on your own, for free? Absolutely! Will you? That is another story.

You are correct, they do provide a value or else they would not be in business. I see rizzmo's point that if you want to get out of debt then why pay someone to help you? As I understand it these companies do not make the payments for you but merely setup a payment plan, which if you follow, will result in the payoff of your debt. Do I have that correct?

I also see your point that some people cannot do it alone and need some accountability, or they could feel that it is too daunting of a task. You both have good arguments, but I think it comes down to personality.

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by payoutless

As I understand it these companies do not make the payments for you but merely setup a payment plan, which if you follow, will result in the payoff of your debt. Do I have that correct?

Not necessarily. The companies do what their customers require them to so. Each customer is different in what they need.

Some companies will call your creditors and negotiate down on your behalf and require that you close out your CC accounts (so as not to be charging more on the account while you pay the company) and they (the company) divides up the payments among all the accounts you've asked them to handle. You can and do pay a fee for any of the services.... though many "fees" are hidden. Nothing in this world is truly free. You pay for that peace-of-mind that someone else will take care of it for you.

Yes, they do provide a value, but that "value" is not "free." Every user of these services pays more than they need to pay by their customers not learning how to accomplish the lessening of debts on their own. People who don't learn how to resolve spending problems on their own, and just hire someone else to help them plan a way out, may be destined to repeat the same events and recreate the same problems.

Radiance learnt something along the line.... we all can learn if we choose to.

[payoutless]

Originally Posted by Seeker

People who don't learn how to resolve spending problems on their own, and just hire someone else to help them plan a way out, may be destined to repeat the same events and recreate the same problems.

Radiance learnt something along the line.... we all can learn if we choose to.

Thanks for the clarification. I agree that some people may be destined to repeat the same mistakes. The family that paid off 106k hopefully learned their lesson. I thought about using these services but instead decided to take it on myself, of course I have been reading all the information I can.

[Broken Arrow]

At the risk of sounding like a jerk but, $100k in 5 years seem doable. It's certainly not easy (guessing relative cost of living in the midwest), but doable nontheless.

Regardless, their achievement is certainly commendable.

I wasn't as deep in debt as they were (after divorce), but I do remember wondering just what I could have done if I simply didn't have my debt to begin with. The possibilities and the progress that could have been made.

Oh well. Can't live in the past of course. I'm debt-free now anyways and I'm just going to keep doing whatever I can.

[Credit Girl]

I saw that feature and I think it is amazing that they were able to pay off all that debt. That is very inspiring to families everywhere who are stuck in the same situation. The Hildebrandt family is an exceptional example to sticking together to pay off debt.

[MamaBird06]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

At the risk of sounding like a jerk but, $100k in 5 years seem doable. It's certainly not easy (guessing relative cost of living in the midwest), but doable nontheless.

Regardless, their achievement is certainly commendable.

I wasn't as deep in debt as they were (after divorce), but I do remember wondering just what I could have done if I simply didn't have my debt to begin with. The possibilities and the progress that could have been made.

Oh well. Can't live in the past of course. I'm debt-free now anyways and I'm just going to keep doing whatever I can.

i don't think you sound like a jerk, but then again i agree! I know working numbers on a free snowballing site, our families debt (49k) at the time could have been paid off by just snowballing the minimum payments and about 200$ extra a month in 5 years, so i know that is possible, especially if you still to the snowballing. As long as you have enough income it can be done! We are working on our debt still and it will not take us 5 years to pay it off i'm sure. You just have to know your numbers and have a plan and stick to it, and if you deter, you must get back on the debt eliminating train.

[Mike75]

Great job But how did you get under so much debt in the first place?