Financial - Somers Point,NJ

We did one just one time. When hubby got laid off we could no longer do the $1300 per month to them. We simply informed them we had to stop the program.

Debt consolidation companies are pretty much a scam.
The best thing to do is not worry about the debt and hope that the creditor stops trying to get you to pay. That usually takes 3 to 7 years.
Main lesson you need to learn is DON'T LIVE ABOVE YOUR MEANS. If you cant afford something, you CANT afford something. That gives you the goal to save for it or to find a job or position in your current job that pays better. The more you make the better "toys" you get to have. If that is what is important to you- you have to earn it.
Bankruptcy costs about 1300 bucks now.... is it worth it? I think not. I'd ignore your current creditors, cut up all your cards and close those accounts, dont buy anything you dont have immediate cash for and just wait and see if any of your creditors want to put a judgement on you. If they DO decide to sue you THEN you go file for bankruptcy.

The best advice I could give you is to get O. of Dave Ramsays books.
You can dig out.
Cut up your credit cards!!!
Keeping them after a consolidation ( notice the CON in that word?) is known as financial suicide.

Oh gees... Those debt consolidation companies are in business for 1 thing.... Their priority which is their profit! They could care less about you.

You can consolidate debt on your own if you are self disciplined. If not... Get with a program where you are not paying them to work for you which puts you in more debt!

Live beneath your means, understand and follow delayed gratification.

I have not dealt with this personally but I've heard many success stories from people who follow the plan of Dave Ramsey and Suze Ornam.

Bottom line.... You need to be cash only and use no credit cards. Debt is evil and it will suck you dry if you don't live beneath your means and have self discipline. Remember ... Delayed gratification!

In the meantime, YOU call your creditors and work
out your own plan. There's no need to pay someone to do something you can do yourself!!

It does take effort to do it yourself but why allow someone else do much control over something you can control if you put your mind to it and do it.

Best wishes

If things are particularly bad you may want to consider bankrupcy. It isn't the end of the world but it may give you the fresh start you are looking for.

I agree with others who are talking about financial responsibility and budgeting and spending.

I would also look into how you can make additional money. It is always seemingly easy to cut back but when there is nothing left to cut why not take the effort and energy to see how can doing things you love to do earn you some additional money along the way. I think the hardest part would be figuring out what it is you love to do and how to earn money from it.

This is the company I used when I was in a mountain of debt and I also went to paying cash for everything and at the end of the process I had a credit score of over 730.
http://www.christiandebtcounselors.net/

I wouldn't pay someone to pay my bills unless they were my accountant.

Get your bills together along with your paycheck and figure out what you have. If you have a budget, take it out and revamp it. If you don't have a budget, then get one in place. There are a lot of tools on-line that will help you set one up and allow you to track your expenses, etc.

If it's that bad? Consider bankruptcy. Also realize bankruptcy is not free. The consultation with the lawyer might be free but the actual process is not. You will have to pay cash to the lawyer - they won't accept checks - and it will be about $1,500 to $3,000.

If you are using credit cards? Stop using them. You aren't helping yourself. If you own a home? See if you can get a HELOC and pay the debt off and stop using credit cards.

Live within your means. I know it's not easy. Especially when prices are going up. It took my family 2 years to climb out of debt. It was not an easy road but it was worth it.

Kaycee:

You are paying someone to pay your bills for you, right? sorry. Go to the library and borrow books from Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman. Then read them and start applying them to your life. You realize that this is a business, right? They are not doing this for free. Look how much they take out for themselves before they pay your creditors....if you want someone to use your money to pay your bills - heck - call me - I'll work it for you!!

Stop using credit cards. Cash only.
Make a budget and stick to it.
Call your utilities company and see if they have a flat-rate plan. If they do - get on it. It will help with your budget.
Cut back on things you do NOT need.
Stop buying retail and go to consignment shops and Goodwill to buy clothes - you can get quality clothes there if you look!

Know the difference between WANT and NEED. Need means you cannot live without it. Want - will make your life better or easier - or is it impulse to keep up with the Jones'?

Your child's father needs to pay child support - if he's behind - take him back to court for payment.

Stop paying people to pay your bills. Do this yourself. You can contact the people you owe and set up payment arrangements. DO NOT pay another company to do it for you.

You need to read the contract you signed with the debt consolidation company - what happens if you don't pay them? You don't need another debt on top of the ones you already have.

You CAN dig yourself out. YOU CAN DO THIS. Will it be easy? Nope. But you CAN.

A debt consolidation company just pays your bills and you pay them your bills and an amount for them to pay your bills.

Take all your bills and put them on your table. Then look at the ones that charge the most interest and put them together. Thake the ones that have the lowest balance and highest payment and pay that one off first. That will give you a greater amount of money to pay the next one off. Then repeat. If you have a low interest rate bill that is one or two months away from being paid off but has a very high payment then pay it off.

What you are trying to do is to have more of your money each month to pay off bills.

Then, change your buying habits. You are obviously buying things you don't need or are buying things where you are paying other people to do things for you your could be doing for yourself. Example: Ore Ida potatoes are 80 cents per pound or more. Potatoes in a 10 lb bag are $1 to $2 per 10 lb bag. $8 for OreIda or $2 for a bag of potatoes. Your choice. You want to help the CEO of Ore Ida buy another mansion or do you want to pay off some more bills?

Good luck to you and yours.

Hang in there Kaycee!! We were in a similar place in 2010 and are just now starting to get ahead. Sold our home, downsized, got an older car etc. Did a Dave Ramsey course and did it hard core and are just now reaping the benefits. It's not easy but you can do it!!