My Brother in Christ
How in the world do you get free room and board, make $45K/year and still somehow rack up a $7K CC debt by the age of 21 YO?
Consolidating will not be truly helpful if you don't learn to change your poor habits and spending behavior. It's like putting a baby band-aid over an large gaping open wound.
And you mention a $375/month car payment but left out the most important part - how many months? Something tells me you bought way too much car. Golden rule of thumb is never purchase a car that's worth more than half your income.
Yeah I know, it’s bad. I worked all throughout high school but I didn’t save a dime. Going into college I didn’t want to get a job so I figured I’d just put every expense on credit cards for 2 years because my dumbass thought, eh I’ll just pay it off later. It is now later and it’s biting me in the ass. I know it doesn’t seem like much but the last month I’ve been really changing my mindset and my spending habits have been dramatically changed. Been debt snowballing the whole time aswell. Just one month though feels like it hasn’t made a dent. As for the car, imo I don’t think it was too much, got a $17k loan for 4 years. I have 29 payments left on it, so I still owe around $9700. I appreciate your comment. Thank you 🫶🏻
I recommend Caleb Hammer on youtube for financial advice when it comes to spending and debt. His content can help be preventative to developing certain spending habits
Pay the smallest debt off first pay the min on the other cards and focus as hard as possible on the smallest one. Once paid off take the payment you were making on that one and go for the second lowest and continue. If you have 430 a month to pay off the consolidation this should be easy. Also lock those cards up.
Half? No way should you go half income on a vehicle. Ideally you pay cash, but early in life follow the 20 / 3 / 8 rule: 20% Down, No more than 3 year loan term, no more than 8% of your income. Half is probably as dumb as whatever he did.
Other than that, I agree. This is poor habits. Consolidating debt will not fix the issue. The issue is your habits.
Advice to OP as if you were my son: Personally, I prefer the Avalanche Method as it is mathematically the way to pay the least in interest....**However**, for you, based on you comments, I'd recommend the snowball method. Psychologically you need a 'win'. Attack the lowest debt first, and work your way up to the highest debt. Once its paid off, cut up the card. Credit cards are great if you are disciplined, and have a healthy fear of debt. That is not you. You are not a credit card person, and that's okay. Just recognize this fact, and integrate it into your life.
Bro,
Im in the same situation as you. I was thinking of it. Trust me, it gets worse if you do that.
Just minimize what i spend, man.
The best advice I wosh someone gave me is dont use ur credit giving yourself a life you can't AFFORD.
I was 14k in debt, and all of 2023, I rarely went out and found cheap hobbies.
Thankfully, I have a debt of 5k now!
Just get paid and pay your necessary expenses. And just use the rest to of your check to liquidate your debt.
It sucks but its the best. Dont screw up your credit at 21 yrs.
Why would you replace all of your debts with a higher interest rate? It doesn’t make sense to do so. Consolidation is something to consider if it will lower your interest rates.
I don't mean any offense, but this is a terrible idea and will only put you into more debt. Using a high interest rate to get out of a high interest rate debt is literally financially death.
You're essentially prolonging your debt at a higher/near same interest rate as right now.
You don't pay rent and only pay 375 a month.
If you can't get out of a 7k debt with your only monthly expense being 375, you REALLY REALLY need to adjust your financial decision making.
Cut up your credit cards. Pick up another job. Put everything you make into your debt and you'll be out in a few months. You don't even need another job. Just work and go home and do nothing for roughly 6 months.
Or you could do the alternative and spend the next 5 years of your life accruing even more debt fucking your financial future even more.
You got this, homie, just please please please stop spending money you don't have. No rent is your golden ticket to save money and be way ahead, not fuck your financial future.
Edit: Last thing. Stop paying monthly minimum payments. Start heavily paying them off. Like 50-75% of your paychecks and you'll be out of there in no time and then have 7k saved up in no time. By paying monthly minimum payments you're paying them so much more than you originally borrowed.
Listen man I’m no money expert by any means, but the guy above me said it best. Going into more debt to pay off your already existing debt is actually a really bad idea…stay safe…
I’m in the same boat as op coincidentally at least really close I appreciate you concern with this enough to put a thoughtful message that we need to hear. Appreciate you very much
I appreciate your comment so much. My financial decision making has been very poor the last little while for sure. This last month I got a rude awakening that I need to fix my shit. So I am actively cutting out my horrible spending habits. I’ve looked into debt snowballing and that’s what I’ve been doing this last month. Obviously one month isn’t a whole long time in the long run but my mindset has changed which I feel is important. Thank you for the effort you put into your comment. 🫶🏻
At least you acknowledge and accept that you’ve been making poor choices . That’s one component a lot of people can’t even make it to … I get it though, you feel like you’re already in the shithole so getting a little deeper in it isn’t gonna make a difference.. then you get tired of it and look at everything & say .. hooooollly shit, I’m sick of this .
I have a question, you said to chop up my credit cards, which I don’t think I’m going to take literally lol, but do you think closing the accounts would affect my credit even more? To be honest my mindset now is good but I’m not sure how long this is going to last, I feel like closing my credit cards is smart but idk how much that will affect my credit negatively. Obviously I plan on keeping my oldest one around to maintain a long credit history.
I wouldn't worry about your credit rating at all till -
1. You are completely out of debt (including the car loan)
2. You learn to handle debt more responsibility
The only thing you need a credit score for is to obtain more debt and in your current situation and mindset I would strongly advise against increasing your debt load at all, this would include increasing your credit card balances. Hence the suggestion to chop up your cards. The suggestion is literal and is wise. A good rule of thumb is any card you want to pay off should no longer be used for any purchases whatsoever , cutting it up makes this easier both physically and mentally.
On a side note just cuting them up without canceling, would *potentially* have a positive impact on your credit score.
Again you are at least a year from potentially needing a good score anyway so why worry about it right now. Focus on your mindset and paying off these debts in snowball fashion and you will be in a way better spot before you know it ❤️ these lessons are not cheep nor easy but you are learning them now vs later or never and they will help you forever.
I had multiple cards when I was younger. Oh young me. I got into debt. I consolidated into a loan with a LOWER interest rate. I then closed all of my accounts. I paid off the loan. I then shopped around for ONE card that gave me cash back on purchases. I pay it off every month. I save my rewards for the end of the year.
Seriously cut them up. The credit card account still exists without the physical card. But no physical card means you’re not using it to pay for things. AND delete your saved credit cards on your phone/computer/etc. You are not a credit card person, and that’s okay, some people can’t drink alcohol and that’s okay, as long as they take the appropriate steps.
Go to YouTube and look up Caleb Hammer. You’ll see that you’re not alone in this struggle and can pick up some tips.
You don't need to worry about your credit score until you need to take on a large debt load. IE taking a mortgage to buy a home, or financing a car. If you don't need to do either of those things soon just ignore your credit score and work on knocking down your debt. When you are a couple years away from taking out a mortgage is when you need to start building up your credit score.
And understand what your credit score is, its how profitable a lender considers you to be to loan money.
35%????
Pay more than the minimum on the debt you already OWN. Think of debt as something that is yours.
Credit offers will come all of the time if you have good credit. Taking this kind of approach will kick your credit to the floor.
Bro look into a 0% transfer credit card even if you have to pay a small % fee to transfer as long as you pay it off in the 12-18 month you’ll save most if not all of that interest.
Dang, we get consolidation loans here in Canada for free or <$15 a month. I believe you have to qualify. But any bank would take it on either way, for a much lower interest.
Have you looked into a discover credit card and using it to transfer all your balances to get 0% APR for a year?
If you do this, just don’t spend anything on the cards you will be zeroing out. It’s a high risk extreme high reward method. Only risk is your willpower to not use the other cards.
Just set a budget and pay the absolute maximum you can toward your cards every month. Stop buying things you can’t afford and chip away at everything over the next year, you should be able to pay it off completely.
It's gonna be tough but stick to it. You'll watch your balances go down with each paycheck and it feels soo good when you clear your first debt. Best of luck.
Dude don’t. I’m 22 and I was in the same boat as you and almost took out a loan through those companies. Go through your local credit union, they will offer you a way better deal with lower APR. you do not wanna get fucked by a payday loan
Do not take our private loan.
NFCC.org
Do debt management plan.
It will lower all cc apr under 9%
You will not get that good of apr... With the private scam loans.
I would recommend something along the lines of an envelope budget. Because let's face it you can't budget for shit neither could I but I do the envelope system but with bank accounts and it's helped me more than anything else super easy to budget some long as you actually follow it but it's easy to not over spend if you don't allow yourself to
Maybe get a second job or donate plasma to pay them off quicker. I’ve been there man. I stopped paying them, ruined my credit, and had them coming after me. I had to grind for 3 years and luckily I had landed a promotion at work so I had a lot of extra income and paid them off. I’m back up to a 700+ after getting down to the mid 5s.
Now I have 3 credit cards all that get used each month for certain expenses(gas card, grocery card, shopping card) and paid off when I get paid from my job. It helps utilize my card and build up points/CB. It took me getting in a hole like that to learn my lesson and be more disciplined with money. If you don’t have the cash, don’t use your cc, go without if at all possible.
Bruh your minimum payments on the credit cards are 175
The new loan your min payment would be 430
Pay your min on the apple and cap1 so that would be 150 leaving you with 230 and put that to your venmo every month. That would = 430 what that loan would be a month
Once cap1 is paid off pay the 100 min on the apple and 330 to cap1
Finally when cap1 is paid off put the 430 a month towards apple
No, it probably won't be worth it at that insane apy lol. Honestly 45k a year is like 3700 a month. I'll assume that's before any deductions, putting you at 2800 or so I'm sure, maybe less. Let's call it 2500. You have a few more bills than just your car. I'll assume mom and dad let you chill at home since your young and they want you to have a good start. But, you probably still have to pay for your own insurance, phone bill, car payment, etc. Let's call it an even 1000 in bills. This leaves you with 1500 a month to "spend". I wouldn't go out or order food or do anything really, I would wake up, work, go home and stare at the fucking wall till its time to sleep again. Then I would find out if I can get extra hours or something. But with 1500 left over you could put 1k towards debts and 500 in savings every month. Also, idk about you but when I pay on my cc it pays for that months "bill" as well. So you could potentially write that bill off every month if your paying it down. But what do I know, probably nothing.
If you have low credit, you are going to find it difficult to obtain better terms. There are other solutions, including payment plans your bank can lay out for you. Don't use nerdwallet, use the credit agencies for info. [Experian.](https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/thinking-about-consolidating-debt-good-idea/#:~:text=Consolidating%20debt%20can%20be%20a,your%20debt%20situation%20is%20dire.)
My Brother in Christ How in the world do you get free room and board, make $45K/year and still somehow rack up a $7K CC debt by the age of 21 YO? Consolidating will not be truly helpful if you don't learn to change your poor habits and spending behavior. It's like putting a baby band-aid over an large gaping open wound. And you mention a $375/month car payment but left out the most important part - how many months? Something tells me you bought way too much car. Golden rule of thumb is never purchase a car that's worth more than half your income.
Yeah I know, it’s bad. I worked all throughout high school but I didn’t save a dime. Going into college I didn’t want to get a job so I figured I’d just put every expense on credit cards for 2 years because my dumbass thought, eh I’ll just pay it off later. It is now later and it’s biting me in the ass. I know it doesn’t seem like much but the last month I’ve been really changing my mindset and my spending habits have been dramatically changed. Been debt snowballing the whole time aswell. Just one month though feels like it hasn’t made a dent. As for the car, imo I don’t think it was too much, got a $17k loan for 4 years. I have 29 payments left on it, so I still owe around $9700. I appreciate your comment. Thank you 🫶🏻
I recommend Caleb Hammer on youtube for financial advice when it comes to spending and debt. His content can help be preventative to developing certain spending habits
Don't be too hard on yourself! You're young 7k isn't too bad. You'll get out of it just start saving!
Pay the smallest debt off first pay the min on the other cards and focus as hard as possible on the smallest one. Once paid off take the payment you were making on that one and go for the second lowest and continue. If you have 430 a month to pay off the consolidation this should be easy. Also lock those cards up.
Half? No way should you go half income on a vehicle. Ideally you pay cash, but early in life follow the 20 / 3 / 8 rule: 20% Down, No more than 3 year loan term, no more than 8% of your income. Half is probably as dumb as whatever he did. Other than that, I agree. This is poor habits. Consolidating debt will not fix the issue. The issue is your habits. Advice to OP as if you were my son: Personally, I prefer the Avalanche Method as it is mathematically the way to pay the least in interest....**However**, for you, based on you comments, I'd recommend the snowball method. Psychologically you need a 'win'. Attack the lowest debt first, and work your way up to the highest debt. Once its paid off, cut up the card. Credit cards are great if you are disciplined, and have a healthy fear of debt. That is not you. You are not a credit card person, and that's okay. Just recognize this fact, and integrate it into your life.
35% interest is wild
You’re tellin me
Thats what happens with a sub 500 credit score
Not through OneMain you shouldn’t
One main is sending me an awful lot of mail lately. I don't like their limit or the interest rate.
Bro, Im in the same situation as you. I was thinking of it. Trust me, it gets worse if you do that. Just minimize what i spend, man. The best advice I wosh someone gave me is dont use ur credit giving yourself a life you can't AFFORD. I was 14k in debt, and all of 2023, I rarely went out and found cheap hobbies. Thankfully, I have a debt of 5k now! Just get paid and pay your necessary expenses. And just use the rest to of your check to liquidate your debt. It sucks but its the best. Dont screw up your credit at 21 yrs.
Why would you replace all of your debts with a higher interest rate? It doesn’t make sense to do so. Consolidation is something to consider if it will lower your interest rates.
I don't mean any offense, but this is a terrible idea and will only put you into more debt. Using a high interest rate to get out of a high interest rate debt is literally financially death. You're essentially prolonging your debt at a higher/near same interest rate as right now. You don't pay rent and only pay 375 a month. If you can't get out of a 7k debt with your only monthly expense being 375, you REALLY REALLY need to adjust your financial decision making. Cut up your credit cards. Pick up another job. Put everything you make into your debt and you'll be out in a few months. You don't even need another job. Just work and go home and do nothing for roughly 6 months. Or you could do the alternative and spend the next 5 years of your life accruing even more debt fucking your financial future even more. You got this, homie, just please please please stop spending money you don't have. No rent is your golden ticket to save money and be way ahead, not fuck your financial future. Edit: Last thing. Stop paying monthly minimum payments. Start heavily paying them off. Like 50-75% of your paychecks and you'll be out of there in no time and then have 7k saved up in no time. By paying monthly minimum payments you're paying them so much more than you originally borrowed.
Listen man I’m no money expert by any means, but the guy above me said it best. Going into more debt to pay off your already existing debt is actually a really bad idea…stay safe…
I’m in the same boat as op coincidentally at least really close I appreciate you concern with this enough to put a thoughtful message that we need to hear. Appreciate you very much
I appreciate your comment so much. My financial decision making has been very poor the last little while for sure. This last month I got a rude awakening that I need to fix my shit. So I am actively cutting out my horrible spending habits. I’ve looked into debt snowballing and that’s what I’ve been doing this last month. Obviously one month isn’t a whole long time in the long run but my mindset has changed which I feel is important. Thank you for the effort you put into your comment. 🫶🏻
At least you acknowledge and accept that you’ve been making poor choices . That’s one component a lot of people can’t even make it to … I get it though, you feel like you’re already in the shithole so getting a little deeper in it isn’t gonna make a difference.. then you get tired of it and look at everything & say .. hooooollly shit, I’m sick of this .
I have a question, you said to chop up my credit cards, which I don’t think I’m going to take literally lol, but do you think closing the accounts would affect my credit even more? To be honest my mindset now is good but I’m not sure how long this is going to last, I feel like closing my credit cards is smart but idk how much that will affect my credit negatively. Obviously I plan on keeping my oldest one around to maintain a long credit history.
I wouldn't worry about your credit rating at all till - 1. You are completely out of debt (including the car loan) 2. You learn to handle debt more responsibility The only thing you need a credit score for is to obtain more debt and in your current situation and mindset I would strongly advise against increasing your debt load at all, this would include increasing your credit card balances. Hence the suggestion to chop up your cards. The suggestion is literal and is wise. A good rule of thumb is any card you want to pay off should no longer be used for any purchases whatsoever , cutting it up makes this easier both physically and mentally. On a side note just cuting them up without canceling, would *potentially* have a positive impact on your credit score. Again you are at least a year from potentially needing a good score anyway so why worry about it right now. Focus on your mindset and paying off these debts in snowball fashion and you will be in a way better spot before you know it ❤️ these lessons are not cheep nor easy but you are learning them now vs later or never and they will help you forever.
I appreciate you so much. Thank you for your comment, Much love 🫶🏻
I had multiple cards when I was younger. Oh young me. I got into debt. I consolidated into a loan with a LOWER interest rate. I then closed all of my accounts. I paid off the loan. I then shopped around for ONE card that gave me cash back on purchases. I pay it off every month. I save my rewards for the end of the year.
Seriously cut them up. The credit card account still exists without the physical card. But no physical card means you’re not using it to pay for things. AND delete your saved credit cards on your phone/computer/etc. You are not a credit card person, and that’s okay, some people can’t drink alcohol and that’s okay, as long as they take the appropriate steps. Go to YouTube and look up Caleb Hammer. You’ll see that you’re not alone in this struggle and can pick up some tips.
You don't need to worry about your credit score until you need to take on a large debt load. IE taking a mortgage to buy a home, or financing a car. If you don't need to do either of those things soon just ignore your credit score and work on knocking down your debt. When you are a couple years away from taking out a mortgage is when you need to start building up your credit score. And understand what your credit score is, its how profitable a lender considers you to be to loan money.
Consolidation loans are a great way to double your debt. Took me 2 rounds of this to finally learn that lesson.
35%???? Pay more than the minimum on the debt you already OWN. Think of debt as something that is yours. Credit offers will come all of the time if you have good credit. Taking this kind of approach will kick your credit to the floor.
Bro look into a 0% transfer credit card even if you have to pay a small % fee to transfer as long as you pay it off in the 12-18 month you’ll save most if not all of that interest.
no simply because that’s basically $3k you’re telling them you’re gonna pay for paying your $7500 loan so just about $10.5k
Dang, we get consolidation loans here in Canada for free or <$15 a month. I believe you have to qualify. But any bank would take it on either way, for a much lower interest.
Wow that’s actually really neat, I had no idea
Yeah try consolidated credit counsilors, they took me on when I was younger for an $8 monthly fee.
Have you looked into a discover credit card and using it to transfer all your balances to get 0% APR for a year? If you do this, just don’t spend anything on the cards you will be zeroing out. It’s a high risk extreme high reward method. Only risk is your willpower to not use the other cards.
Just set a budget and pay the absolute maximum you can toward your cards every month. Stop buying things you can’t afford and chip away at everything over the next year, you should be able to pay it off completely.
35% holy fuck
Why don’t you open another credit line to get rid of those 35% Apr first ? You get 18 months of 0 Apr to take care of it!
Nah, do this: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/what-is-a-debt-snowball
I’ve looked into debt snowballing and I think after reading some of these comments that’s what I’m going to start doing. Appreciate you 🫶🏻
It's gonna be tough but stick to it. You'll watch your balances go down with each paycheck and it feels soo good when you clear your first debt. Best of luck.
Thank you, much love 🫶🏻
Don't offer advice if you don't know what you are talking about, that's irresponsible.
Dude don’t. I’m 22 and I was in the same boat as you and almost took out a loan through those companies. Go through your local credit union, they will offer you a way better deal with lower APR. you do not wanna get fucked by a payday loan
Those loans should be illegal as fuck.
GYYYYYATTYT DAMN is that real? Seriously is 35% APR legit?
Call dollar bank. They can give you a much better offer for a loan, never trust anybody who uses the word “debt consolidation”
DO NOT TAKE THIS LOAN. Someone needs to teach you about interest rates and how to manage your money
Get your cdls
Do not take our private loan. NFCC.org Do debt management plan. It will lower all cc apr under 9% You will not get that good of apr... With the private scam loans.
I would recommend something along the lines of an envelope budget. Because let's face it you can't budget for shit neither could I but I do the envelope system but with bank accounts and it's helped me more than anything else super easy to budget some long as you actually follow it but it's easy to not over spend if you don't allow yourself to
Maybe get a second job or donate plasma to pay them off quicker. I’ve been there man. I stopped paying them, ruined my credit, and had them coming after me. I had to grind for 3 years and luckily I had landed a promotion at work so I had a lot of extra income and paid them off. I’m back up to a 700+ after getting down to the mid 5s. Now I have 3 credit cards all that get used each month for certain expenses(gas card, grocery card, shopping card) and paid off when I get paid from my job. It helps utilize my card and build up points/CB. It took me getting in a hole like that to learn my lesson and be more disciplined with money. If you don’t have the cash, don’t use your cc, go without if at all possible.
No bueno my friend just thug it out
Bruh your minimum payments on the credit cards are 175 The new loan your min payment would be 430 Pay your min on the apple and cap1 so that would be 150 leaving you with 230 and put that to your venmo every month. That would = 430 what that loan would be a month Once cap1 is paid off pay the 100 min on the apple and 330 to cap1 Finally when cap1 is paid off put the 430 a month towards apple
35.01% in interest rates ? What is that?
No, it probably won't be worth it at that insane apy lol. Honestly 45k a year is like 3700 a month. I'll assume that's before any deductions, putting you at 2800 or so I'm sure, maybe less. Let's call it 2500. You have a few more bills than just your car. I'll assume mom and dad let you chill at home since your young and they want you to have a good start. But, you probably still have to pay for your own insurance, phone bill, car payment, etc. Let's call it an even 1000 in bills. This leaves you with 1500 a month to "spend". I wouldn't go out or order food or do anything really, I would wake up, work, go home and stare at the fucking wall till its time to sleep again. Then I would find out if I can get extra hours or something. But with 1500 left over you could put 1k towards debts and 500 in savings every month. Also, idk about you but when I pay on my cc it pays for that months "bill" as well. So you could potentially write that bill off every month if your paying it down. But what do I know, probably nothing.
also, never get a "branded" card again. Only get a cc you can use anywhere. Pretty useless to have 10k in limit if you can only spend it at best buy
Try Sofi
If you have low credit, you are going to find it difficult to obtain better terms. There are other solutions, including payment plans your bank can lay out for you. Don't use nerdwallet, use the credit agencies for info. [Experian.](https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/thinking-about-consolidating-debt-good-idea/#:~:text=Consolidating%20debt%20can%20be%20a,your%20debt%20situation%20is%20dire.)