Bankruptcy?

[green_goblin12]

If possible, switch to a high-deductible health insurance plan. Drop dental and vision. You're young and presumably healthy. You don't need those. This might free up a little cash. You're missing out big-time by not taking advantage of your employers 401k match. How did you even get a car loan for that much? Baffling. Good luck.

[Petunia 100]

One more thing. I have NO idea how I ended up with $15,000 in debt at such a young age. When I was going over that number yesterday I walked around the house looking for antying of value and didn't find anything. So I dont know where that $15,000 went to

This is a cop-out. If you don't know, then review your statements. If you haven't saved your statements, then log on to your credit card lender's website and print them out.

[breathemusic]

I agree with cutting dental and vision (especially if you make an effort to brush and floss and all that jazz so that you minimize expenses). And as much as I normally would never recommend not contributing to a 401K, since you're only 22 and money is so tight, I'd say don't contribute for a year while you get rid of the personal loan and things of that nature.

And while you may work hours that change, there's got to be something you can do on the side for some extra cash, even if it's not steady. Be a dog walker on days when it works with your schedule. Take online surveys that can build up to be redeemed for gift cards. Clip coupons for food. There's always a way to make at least a little money on the side.

I agree with cutting TV, even if you can't cut the internet. If nothing else you can get a netflix membership for $10 a month or something.

For that matter, how long have you been at your current job, and how long has it been since you got a raise? Is that something you could consider asking for?

[gostumpy]

You need more income to fix this situation, you need a part time job.

An evening job of some sort that goes directly towards your debt could pay it off without bankruptcy...

Are you able to sell the car & keep making payments? That depends whether or not you're the registered owner or if the financing company is... Your car, insurance, and gas are 50% of your take-home pay. FIFTY PERCENT! You need to find someone selling a early 90's Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta, or something similar for $500-$1000 and drive that. They will get you from A to B just as well as your debt-trap car will!

A real working budget is the first step. You've listed all the expenses you can think of right now, keep a piece of paper and write any others you may be forgetting... At 22 I was in almost as much trouble as you (without the car loan) and I consolidated into my mortgage twice (bad idea), my parents bailed me out a few times (another bad idea), and I am now at 27 finally learning my lesson... it literally took me over 5 years to learn my lesson.

That is the main reason Bankrupcy at a young age is such a bad idea, it is the quick way out, which is what got you into trouble in the first place... credit cards and car loans are the quick route, get it now, I'll pay it later... well that rarely works out well.

You got yourself into a pretty big mess, and you are going to have to get yourself out of it! It is possible, you can do it, and people have been in MUCH worse positions than you... what you need is a PLAN. I assume you are current on all your debts? That is a huge plus, a lot of people in your position are already 2-3 months behind on their payments, which makes it even harder to move forward when getting caught up takes a while!

[gostumpy]

I know a lot of my CC debt when I was younger was things like restaurant meals, groceries, consumables that leave you nothing to show for all the debt accumulated... Eating out was the big one for me... I could spend $6-$900/month at restaurants while still feeling like I didn't eat out a lot!!! I basically created debt and all I had to show for it was poop. Literally.

The main question I have that you need to ask your car loan lender, are you able to sell the car and put that money towards the loan, and continue paying the loan? If you can, sell the car for $15k or what you can get, use $1000 of it to buy yourself a decent condition early 90's Honda Accord (very reliable vehicle) and put the rest towards that loan. This way it will be paid off in one year or less instead of 3 years!

And in the meantime, get a part-time job delivering pizza, at Target, Walmart, anything to provide extra income. You need to get yourself out of this mess that you got yourself into!

You need to think of all the things that got you into this mess, why did you buy a $25,000 car when you only bring home $2000/month? When we both know a $10,000 car can be just as good looking and reliable while costing less than half as much...

Cars are wealth-sucking parasites, car-loans are one of the biggest problems keeping young people from moving forward financially!!!

[gostumpy]

For that matter, how long have you been at your current job, and how long has it been since you got a raise? Is that something you could consider asking for?

While this is a great idea, make sure not to mention your financial situation to your employer, nobody gets a raise because they need more money for debt, people get raises for working hard and deserving them..

Make sure you ask for a raise because you deserve one, not due to your own situation

[gostumpy]

If I trade it in for a beater lets say a $5,000 dollar one



I dont know what else to do with the car.

A $5000 is not a beater, you need a reality check on vehicles dude! A $5000 car is what a 20 year old should be working for while driving their $1000 car!

[usbp456]

So the vehicle is wrecked? I'm guessing that you didn't get it reparied because you didn't have the money to cover the deductible? How much will it cost to get it repaired?

It actually is repaired my grandma lent me the 500 bucks for the deductible and the inurance paid the rest

[usbp456]

If possible, switch to a high-deductible health insurance plan. Drop dental and vision. You're young and presumably healthy. You don't need those. This might free up a little cash. You're missing out big-time by not taking advantage of your employers 401k match. How did you even get a car loan for that much? Baffling. Good luck.

I was putting in the 6% into my 401k but realized I needed the money to pay bills than in the retirement so I changed my deduction to only 1%

[siggy_freud]

It actually is repaired my grandma lent me the 500 bucks for the deductible and the inurance paid the rest

Insurance should have paid you for the depreciated value of the car, in addition to repairing it, especially if the wreck was significant enough to change the title to salvage, rebuilt, etc. If the title is still clean, and the car was repaired to new standards, the decrease in value should only be a few thousand compared to a non-wrecked version.

Is the different in value vs. what you owe 100% based on the wrecked status, or is part of that the market of the car (or negative equity rolled into the loan)?

[jpg7n16]

What is the value of the house?
What is the balance of your 401k?
What is the balance of your checking account?
Any savings accounts? CDs? Brokerage accounts? Stocks? Company stock options?


What sort of work do you do?

[usbp456]

Insurance should have paid you for the depreciated value of the car, in addition to repairing it, especially if the wreck was significant enough to change the title to salvage, rebuilt, etc. If the title is still clean, and the car was repaired to new standards, the decrease in value should only be a few thousand compared to a non-wrecked version.

Is the different in value vs. what you owe 100% based on the wrecked status, or is part of that the market of the car (or negative equity rolled into the loan)?

Its a bit of both. I bought the car brand new last year (I know bad idea) rolled about 5-6 thousand in negative equity into it.

The wreck wasnt that significant to warrant it as salvaged but I did have to replace the hood, fender, bumper, grill and driver side panel.

It was repaired and looks like new.

[usbp456]

What is the value of the house?
What is the balance of your 401k?
What is the balance of your checking account?
Any savings accounts? CDs? Brokerage accounts? Stocks? Company stock options?


What sort of work do you do?

Value of house about $85,000

Balance of 401k - $10,000(roughly) company does not allow any loans or anything like that unless its hardship loans.

Balance of checking accounts (2) about $500

Savings accounts (2) - $0 as I need to pay bills, I used to have an emergency fund but had to use it to pay for my wisdom tooth surgery as my insurance did not pay for all of it.

No brokerage, stocks or company stock options.




Im a defense contractor at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona.

[theduc]

I know it's been 2 months but if you're still checking this site...

If you have not already sold the car... DO IT NOW!!!

Your Debt:
CC: $15K
Car: $25K
Loan: $2,600
Home: $73,500

Your Total Debt: $116,100

Your Assets:
Car: $17K
Home: $85K
Bank: $500

Your Total Assets: $102,500

Difference (Assets minus Debts): $-13,600
Difference without selling the house: $-25,600

If you sell everything and buy a $500 car (OR NO MORE THAN $1,000) you could put a HUGE dent in the debt. As most everyone else agrees you should sell the car first and ASAP! Don't sell it to a dealer... put it on craigslist and you can get a lot more than a dealer will give you.

Do you live close to your work? $200/month on gas for the car seems high to me but i live pretty close to my work and spend less than $100/month.

Cancel the Internet... It will cost you $484 to cancel it now or it will cost you $1,600 to keep it for the next 32 months.

Cancel the DirectTV... this will give you an additional $960 over the next 32 months for a combined savings of $2,560 for Internet/TV. This gives you $80/month to put towards additional debt.

Another benefit of a $500 car is that your insurance will drop drastically!

Other suggestions...
- Look around the house for items you can sell on craigslist.
- Do you have a stereo you can sell?
- Do you have a Playstation/XBox/Nintendo/Etc.?
- How many TV's do you have/need?
- Surround Sound/DVD/Blueray?
- How many Computers/Laptops do you have?
- How many bedrooms are in your house? Maybe you should rent a room to someone... craigslist is a great place to find roommates as well. If the average rent in your area is $700-$800/month then you should be able to rent a spare room for $400-$500/month and that would more than cover your mortgage payment plus give you extra money to put towards your debt.

This is very doable... you just have to attack it in every way possible! It won't be fun to begin with but you will soon see the difference it all makes. Plus, not filling for bankruptcy will allow you to refinance your house in the future for potentially lower interest (DO NOT GET CASH BACK IF REFINANCING).