How to get back on track

[Kirus93x]

I'm currently in a minor rough situation, one that will definitely get worse if I don't take some sort of action now. I'm 21 years old, and I financed a brand new 2014 car 7 months ago.

My father co-signed the loan with me with the expectation he was going to be able to hook me up with a job at the company he works at, and I'd be making good money. That didn't happen and this cars been pulling me down since. DRASTICALLY.

Due to this car, I was forced to quit my city job, which wasn't the greatest job, it costed me 350$ to commute into Boston from where I lived, plus now I have to pay my car loan and insurance, so it forced me to make a decision. Get the car repo'd, or get a new job. I got a new job, and it was a sales job, and it sucked.

Long story short, I've been struggling to find decent work, and I don't know what to do. I recently took on a part time job with a decent company and they'll be giving me full time for a few months when a woman I'll be filling in for goes on maternity leave in a few weeks...

The ultimate goal is to find a job that can pay the bills, but I'll list out to you my outstanding debt.

-----------------------------

Car - I owe roughly 20,000 dollars on, and I'm not sure about the rest of the info but I can find out. It costs me 325 dollars for the next 5 years.

Car Insurance - 225 a month

One CC - Nearly maxed out with 650 dollars on it, cap being 750.

Sprint Phone - I owe them 400 dollars and had the phone shut off, can't afford it anymore.

-----------------------------

That's my current debt... I realize it's not too bad, but I've already gotten 2 months of breaks from the finance company for my car, I'm all out of breaks, if I'm late on a payment they're probaby going to take my car, and the fee's the come along with being late are just going to make my situation worse.



My dad talked me into this car loan, I don't have any family to give me financial advice, they're all absolutely terrible with money.... so I could really use some solid advice on what I should do... because I see the writing on the wall, if I don't take appropriate action soon, I know things are going to go south quickly.

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Some people are suggesting I just dump the car on my dad because he co-signed the loan, because the car will only drag me down as time goes on. I don't want to do that, I need a car, but I feel like I don't have any other choice. It's too new of a car to trade it... and I simply can't afford the car.

Others are suggesting I try and get a loan for bill consolidation to give me more time to try and get a better job? Since I've been getting my hours cut and such I've been applying for a second job but haven't had much success at the moment so I'm thinking this could hold me over for that time?


Any word of advice helps.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

PS. If you need anymore info on my situation to better help me just ask. Thanks.

[Petunia 100]

What about your living expenses? Do you live with your dad?

It sounds as though you simply cannot afford this car. The solution is to sell it. What is it worth compared to what is owed? If there is a shortfall, do you have the ability to borrow the difference?

Is your dad aware of the problem you are having? What is his opinion? Does he want to take over the payments and keep the car himself?

[TheKayla]

You need to sell the car, no matter how much you love it. It's about to be repo'd anyway -- so you're not going to have it here soon, whether that happens or you sell it. Sell it immediately to a dealer; you're probably going to take a big loss on it but its better than getting nothing for it.

After that, buy an older, more affordable car, pay off your debts, and learn from the mistake. I, and many on here would also suggest never paying for a new car, you take thousands off the value from just driving it off the lot. A used car is perfectly fine -- it'll get you from A to B. Even in more stable financial situations, the smart thing to do is buy a 'new' car you that you want still used. At 21 with unsteady work though, get an older car. You don't need a 20k+ new car at this time in your life.

Also, being 20k+ in consumer debt and almost having a CC maxed out is that bad! Change your attitude about debt before its too late, please!

[disneysteve]

Keep in mind that everything you are doing isn't just impacting you but your father as well. When he made the very poor decision to cosign your loan, he became 100% responsible for that loan. If you let the car get reposessed, you trash your credit score AND his.

Sell the car privately for the most you can get for it. Sit down with your dad to figure out how the two of you (because you're in this together) are going to cover the difference between what you owe and what you get for it. Does he have any savings? Maybe he can take a home equity loan. Do something to get rid of this car before it gets reposessed.

[dcperilli]

I'm currently in a minor rough situation, one that will definitely get worse if I don't take some sort of action now. I'm 21 years old, and I financed a brand new 2014 car 7 months ago.

My father co-signed the loan with me with the expectation he was going to be able to hook me up with a job at the company he works at, and I'd be making good money. That didn't happen and this cars been pulling me down since. DRASTICALLY.

Due to this car, I was forced to quit my city job, which wasn't the greatest job, it costed me 350$ to commute into Boston from where I lived, plus now I have to pay my car loan and insurance, so it forced me to make a decision. Get the car repo'd, or get a new job. I got a new job, and it was a sales job, and it sucked.

Long story short, I've been struggling to find decent work, and I don't know what to do. I recently took on a part time job with a decent company and they'll be giving me full time for a few months when a woman I'll be filling in for goes on maternity leave in a few weeks...

The ultimate goal is to find a job that can pay the bills, but I'll list out to you my outstanding debt.

-----------------------------

Car - I owe roughly 20,000 dollars on, and I'm not sure about the rest of the info but I can find out. It costs me 325 dollars for the next 5 years.

Car Insurance - 225 a month

One CC - Nearly maxed out with 650 dollars on it, cap being 750.

Sprint Phone - I owe them 400 dollars and had the phone shut off, can't afford it anymore.

-----------------------------

That's my current debt... I realize it's not too bad, but I've already gotten 2 months of breaks from the finance company for my car, I'm all out of breaks, if I'm late on a payment they're probaby going to take my car, and the fee's the come along with being late are just going to make my situation worse.



My dad talked me into this car loan, I don't have any family to give me financial advice, they're all absolutely terrible with money.... so I could really use some solid advice on what I should do... because I see the writing on the wall, if I don't take appropriate action soon, I know things are going to go south quickly.

---------------------

Some people are suggesting I just dump the car on my dad because he co-signed the loan, because the car will only drag me down as time goes on. I don't want to do that, I need a car, but I feel like I don't have any other choice. It's too new of a car to trade it... and I simply can't afford the car.

Others are suggesting I try and get a loan for bill consolidation to give me more time to try and get a better job? Since I've been getting my hours cut and such I've been applying for a second job but haven't had much success at the moment so I'm thinking this could hold me over for that time?


Any word of advice helps.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

PS. If you need anymore info on my situation to better help me just ask. Thanks.

First off congrats on recognizing the issue at hand. Not many do until it's too late and even then they don't get it.

My suggestions:

• Sell the car

• Transfer your CC balance to a card that offers 0% introductory APR on balance transfers (this will save you money in interest)

• Get a pre-paid phone until you get back on your feet.

Hope this helps.

[kimb]

I really like the saddle pad and loin blanket. I put those on my mare right after I take her blanket off and keep them on her after we are done our ride/cool out for a bit.

[Permanent Temp]

Up top it sounds like you have many excuses for why you can't use the suggestions posted here. I understand the commute to the city was costing you a lot of money. I don't understand why your car insurance is so high though did you shop around?

See if you can change your living situation like living with your parents and lower your monthly bills. I temp which brings in good money when I'm employed and that helps. I also save as much as I can to get by until the next job and hold down a part-time job. I live with my spouse and we split expenses. If you don't want to live at home see if you can live somewhere cheap with a roommate or 3.

Get a prepaid phone and see if you can work out some kind of payment plan with Sprint on the $400 balance. Also before your credit goes down the tubes try to apply for a 0% interest card for the charges. That way you might be able to charge the $400 (if all else fails) and transfer the rest and pay those off.

The car in NOT too new to trade in. Bring it to a dealership and take a hit on the loss. It would be way better than trashing both you and your fathers credit. Talk to him about this and see if you can put your heads together to get rid of the car. If you are in MA I know that there are plenty of places to get junkers under $1000 that will be able to get you from A to B easily. And if you can drive stick you can get them for even less. If public transportation is at all possible try that although I understand that unless you are in the city it pretty much is out of the question. The other thing although its not a great idea would be to trade it in for a lesser car on the lot (something for 3K or less) and put the upside down part on the new loan if neither of you can cover the difference. If you can keep the payments reasonable to what you can afford you could keep paying on it until employment gets better that way it would be like paying installments. This could could backfire if the car breaks down but it is a worse case scenario last ditch effort I would take if I had zero savings and had to keep things going somehow.

And finally don't let you dad talk you into things. He put the cart before the horse. And at your age I would have never bought a new car. I got an used one and was worried about making payments on that a junker wasn't an option due to the 50 mile daily commute. Keep your expenses as low as possible until you have a higher paying job and even then live below your means. Having a job is never a guarantee of being able to pay your bills. Emergencies happen, people get laid off etc. Always live beneath your means and save for both emergencies and retirement. Take responsibility for yourself and make sure you are covered no matter what. Don't rely on others to take care of things for you. And have a backup plan when you make a move. Don't purposely cut off all your income if you have no way to pay your bills or no savings to get you through until the next gig.

It's a mess right now but if you take the right steps you can avoid a potential credit disaster. You did the right thing by coming here and asking for advice. Now just take the advice and act on it. Let us know how it all works out for you.

[snafu]

Kruis, unfortunately there is no magic wand to wave and make prematureose to hire. choices go away. The biggest problem with letting your credit rating crash is that employers often check credit scores as part of their screening process when selecting who to hire.

As others have explained you need to swallow hard, sell the car and pay off CC.

[cashinasnap]

Well I too would suggest you to sell off your car, which is troubling you & your dad. While paying off the debt is good idea to get rid of unwanted debt.