Hey everyone, I just talked to the bank yesterday, after my appointment last week (which I cried at actually, not outright sobbing or anything but still I am embarrassed) and they have agreed to increase our line of credit to cover the debt on the line of credit, the Visa (we only have one credit card) and the 18 mo we have left on our truck (it would do no good to sell it, we bought it as a 2 yr old used, would only probably get enough just to pay off the loan but no extra to put to a different vehicle hence needing a loan again). There is no "extra" wiggle room on the line of credit, at my request. We are changing our Visa to the lowest possible interest rate, no fee, and no frills (why have it for points when you are not able to pay it off each month?) and locking it in the safety deposit box at the bank actually. We can always go get it if we need to book a hotel for a trip or something.
Total of these 3 debts is 25,000.00. Yikes. I have never been in such a hole before. Our Investors Group guy came and planned a few things out with us, and he said he had seen alot worse. Whoa! Like people approaching him with 40 or 100,000 credit card debt wondering if they should buy a house!
To pay this debt off in 5 yrs with an automatic withdrawal would be only 25.00 more per month than our current vehicle payment. So, that is manageable. Buuuut...the key is to STAY OUT OF DEBT! Hence the credit card out of the house. Too often it is in our wallet, a purchase in the store goes a bit over the cash we have, we whip out the card, and we just didn't pay attention to how it all snowballed until it got to 9000.00!
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What really made me scared about all this, despite me making a fairly "decent" wage as an RN (although a part time one) is how we were/are so close to what I deemed personally as disaster. NOt close to losing the house, or unable to buy food, but sitting at the bottom of this @*&t-pile of debt and wondering how to get out of it and being very shook up when you realize how out of hand you let it get. Very sobering. Dh was in paramedic school and failed out (and we have student loan debt too) and Dh fell ill this year with an autoimmune type disease (sarcoidosis) greatly affecting his ability to work (and this summer, even WALK). He does not get sick time from work, or unemployement insurance because of the few hours he worked last year (we homeschool and he works around me) and he is a per diem employee with no benefits. Hence I had to work more. He is working more now and appears to be going into some sort of remission, so that is good.
I am sooooo thankful for this new start! Never have had to do something like this before, we have always racked up smaller balances on our card and paid it off in one fell swoop, but boy have I learned my lesson let me tell you. We have always budgeted but obviously lacked discipline in some areas. I read once and article stating most North Americans are a broken leg away from a fincancial disaster, and now I believe them.
I have told myself we are lucky that the bank is letting us do this (we do have excellent credit rating so that helps too!) and the KEY is to change our habits! I have really felt what the yoke of debt feels like and I DON'T want to go there again.
Total of these 3 debts is 25,000.00. Yikes. I have never been in such a hole before. Our Investors Group guy came and planned a few things out with us, and he said he had seen alot worse. Whoa! Like people approaching him with 40 or 100,000 credit card debt wondering if they should buy a house!
To pay this debt off in 5 yrs with an automatic withdrawal would be only 25.00 more per month than our current vehicle payment. So, that is manageable. Buuuut...the key is to STAY OUT OF DEBT! Hence the credit card out of the house. Too often it is in our wallet, a purchase in the store goes a bit over the cash we have, we whip out the card, and we just didn't pay attention to how it all snowballed until it got to 9000.00!
: What really made me scared about all this, despite me making a fairly "decent" wage as an RN (although a part time one) is how we were/are so close to what I deemed personally as disaster. NOt close to losing the house, or unable to buy food, but sitting at the bottom of this @*&t-pile of debt and wondering how to get out of it and being very shook up when you realize how out of hand you let it get. Very sobering. Dh was in paramedic school and failed out (and we have student loan debt too) and Dh fell ill this year with an autoimmune type disease (sarcoidosis) greatly affecting his ability to work (and this summer, even WALK). He does not get sick time from work, or unemployement insurance because of the few hours he worked last year (we homeschool and he works around me) and he is a per diem employee with no benefits. Hence I had to work more. He is working more now and appears to be going into some sort of remission, so that is good.
I am sooooo thankful for this new start! Never have had to do something like this before, we have always racked up smaller balances on our card and paid it off in one fell swoop, but boy have I learned my lesson let me tell you. We have always budgeted but obviously lacked discipline in some areas. I read once and article stating most North Americans are a broken leg away from a fincancial disaster, and now I believe them.
I have told myself we are lucky that the bank is letting us do this (we do have excellent credit rating so that helps too!) and the KEY is to change our habits! I have really felt what the yoke of debt feels like and I DON'T want to go there again.
