Diablo6178 said:OK I'll throw my idea out there. This is what I have done. Well done !

I thought about personal loans for OP as a venue of low(er) apr credit to pay down the 20%ish cards, but his mentioning that further cards are not available to him due to his current utilization strikes me as probably true, and further credit inquiries that end up in him being turned down is not in his best interest.

However, if he has a stable, good relationship with a bank or credit union, they may be more willing to offer a personal loan. Another option might be to take out a loan secured by the cars.

In any case, all these strategies are stop gaps to cut down on interest payments. If he does not pay down the debt aggresively during the low apr window (probably by trimming his discretionary spending and applying it to the debt), nothing good will come of it.

I feel your woes OP. Pulling out of debt here ourselves. We just paid off one card and paying 4 off in a week. We started in $150k debt in 2000. We were almost paid off in 2004 when we were hit with $20k in out of pocket medical expenses. We've recently been socked with $3k in car repairs which has impared our pay off. Our rates are from 0%-$4.99%.

This is what we are doing to get out of debt.

-Surveys. I do NFO surveys online. My husband does online surveys and surveys in person for $50-$200.

-Sell what we do not need
(A)We purchased a MM tv last year for our 2 yo son. He never uses it so when a free one fell in our lap, we sold his MM one.
(B)I purchased a Step 2 bookcase/toy box at a garage sale for my son. He used it a few months and we resold it for $13 more than we paid.
(C) Sold cds, books, childrens clothes, furniture we never used
(D) Sold Target deals for profit. You need to over to Hot deals and watch the Rolling Thunder Target thread. During non-holiday seasons, bonus pack items tend to get marked down with other various items. There is a rebate for the Senseo coffee maker for a $50 Visa gift card. The Senseo was marked down to $15. So I mailed in all the rebate information and I found someone on Craigslist who paid $20 for it. I make $55 on the deal that all goes towards debt. Did the same with the recent keyboard deal for a purchase of 2 and a instant rebate at register for a $20 gc. I made $15 on the deal. Many people do not follow Targets deals in my area so they jump on the deals. If I can't sell it for profit I can always return it within 90 days with receipt.
(E) We went to an event last weekend for a local radio station that gave Staple gift cards and gift certificate game cards. The three of us got one each and we sold the gift cards to someone for $100.
(F) Rebates. We are going to the movies for free this weekend thanks to Sunny D. We only had to spend $.50 per each rebate for 2 large containers of Sunny D and a free movie (Super Target had a large $ off Sunny D).

We shop Super Target heavily for grocies. I saved $90 shopping there during our last grocery run.

We also walk alot. We do get free gas through work but we still walked a lot this summer. It puts less wear on your car, less gas and great for the environment.

Lastly, look at your cleaning supplies. All you need is white vinegar, baking soda, club soda and 2 spray bottles (check walgreens at 75% off in their summer aisle). Also look at Sears laundry detergent. A $24 tub will last 2 people almost 2 years and was rated one of the best detergents by consumer magazine.

Auto loans - $650 (both up in 7/08)
Auto/renter insurance - $280
Student loans (after recent consolidation) - $325
Credit card minimum payments - $1115
Rent - $1350 (been here 4 years, rent hasnt gone up and never will per the lease, landlord is basically non-existant)
Electric/water - $150-$200 depending on season
Cable/cel/internet - $200
Gas - $75 per week (will begin carpooling in fall/winter reducing this number)
Groceries - $200 per month

$200 on grocies for 2 people is high. We pay $60-$75 for 2 adults and a child who never stops eating (growth spurt).

Auto insurance and renters 280 a month? Ouch. We pay $720/6 months for renter and 2 cars.

You need to look at the Cable/cell/internet. We pay 100 max and we have comcast . If you have Comcast, they will give you both Cable and internet for $19.99/each for a year. Tell them you are in debt and it is not a necessity.

Also check your deductions at work. You should be able to claim 7 or 8 without having to pay much to the government. You will get the money now when you need it against a interest free loan refunded from the government at the end of the year.

Our expenses and income is exactly as stated - I have nothing to gain from giving false information (remember, I'm the one asking for help/advice)

Jswede, thanks so much for the advice, I'll be calling Comcast shortly.

We were just approved for an additional 10k on our AMEX card (they said it'll take 48-72 hours to show up because of the amount so I'm still holding my breath to see if it'll actually happen) - I haven't inquired about the balance transfer rate, but I'm going to more or less beg, kick, scream and/or grovel to get the 3.9% lifetime rate we got back in June when we opened the account, or something very close to that. They said we could be approved for more if we send in our past 2 W2's, which we'll be doing sometime this week.

I'm guessing that I should use the 10k on the AMEX, assuming a good BT rate, to move the whole 20.99% card and use whatever's left on the 16.99% card (even though the amount left to pay is still huge)?

If we are able to get another 10k on the AMEX and a good rate, this could all work out well as we'd move the 20k of 16.99-20.99% over to the AMEX at (hopefully) a much lower rate. If we could get it all on the 3.9% lifetime BT deal I'd do a backflip, as I'd essentially have a light at the end of the tunnel in being able to attack the 0% cards and pay them off before next July, all while making the minimum payment on the huge AMEX balance, and then going after that aggressively as well.

Keeping my fingers crossed that it works out like this....

jswede4722 said:
$200 on grocies for 2 people is high. We pay $60-$75 for 2 adults and a child who never stops eating (growth spurt).


I know there is a grocery thread so I will try to keep this to one post. I am amazed at what people here on FWF can do with groceries. Do you guys buy 50lb sacks of rice and eat nothing else?

$60/(3 people* 30* days * 3 meals (I hope for the sake of your kid he gets at least 3 meals))= 22 cents a meal!

Will 22 cents even buy you a banana, a piece of bread, and a glass of milk? How are you averaging 22 cents a person for a kid let alone an adult? How are you getting vegetables and fruit and keeping it this cheap? Are you in the US using US dollars?

Personally I think $100 per person per month is extremely reasonable. I'd focus more on never putting youself in the position to have two car payments. I think you could also cut from the $200 a month for cable/phone with dying from malnutrition.

You are right, calvinandhobbes. By the OP's logic (asked about BK and once said, "so my only options are HELOC and BK") everyone should buy a house with a big fat mortgage, take on a little credit card debt, then free house for everyone!!!! I know the OP isn't doing this to scam a house but it was a little weird how with a positive cash flow they were so quick to jump into BK.

strajay said:I'm surprised to see no one has asked where the additional $800 is going to? With $5400AT take home and ~4600 in expenses where is the extra $800 going? Put that on the CC's.
OP quoted minimum CC payments, but were assuming the $800 is paying the CC's off.

mst3k said:jswede4722 said:
$200 on grocies for 2 people is high. We pay $60-$75 for 2 adults and a child who never stops eating (growth spurt).


I know there is a grocery thread so I will try to keep this to one post. I am amazed at what people here on FWF can do with groceries. Do you guys buy 50lb sacks of rice and eat nothing else?

$60/(3 people* 30* days * 3 meals (I hope for the sake of your kid he gets at least 3 meals))= 22 cents a meal!

Will 22 cents even buy you a banana, a piece of bread, and a glass of milk? How are you averaging 22 cents a person for a kid let alone an adult? How are you getting vegetables and fruit and keeping it this cheap? Are you in the US using US dollars?

Personally I think $100 per person per month is extremely reasonable. I'd focus more on never putting youself in the position to have two car payments. I think you could also cut from the $200 a month for cable/phone with dying from malnutrition.

I agree I wonder sometimes if people do not tell the truth to seem extra frugal.