I only have 1 credit card and it has a 00 limit only. I hear online about people saying they racked up ,000 or ,000 in credit card debt and can’t pay the creditors. My first question is how in the world did a credit company let this happen? And don’t most of these people have credit card limits?

I know for credit cards, you suppose to pay within 30 days or so and if you don’t pay, interest is piled on. But wouldn’t after say 6 months where a person can’t pay off their credit card bills, then the credit card company would shut down their account? I hear people talk about maxing out their credit cards but what in the world are they buying where they rack up credit card debt that is ,000? I mean, you can’t buy a car with that since i don’t think you can buy a car with a credit card right? And don’t most people have limits? I would think most credit card limits are max ,000 a month unless they have a very decent job.

Can someone explain how people rack up so much in credit card debt? Do they get 10 credit cards with 00/month max and then max it every single month for 5-6 months? I understand when people rack up debt in medical bills, student loans, taxes and those things but i just don’t get how can people rack up so much in credit card bills. I mean after a person owes ,000 to the credit card company and can’t pay it back, why would they continue using it? I understand if you use it to buy food and support yourself and your family but do people rack up credit card bills b/c of food? I don’t think so right?

And if a person cannot pay it back, i assume they can file bankruptcy right in the united states? And i hear people talk about fleeing the country because of credit card debt. Do they do so successfully? And usually what countries do they flee to? I’m sure canada isn’t one of them right since you can only say 6 months max? What countries do people flee to? Do they ever get caught? So if they stay there after a certain amount of time, wouldn’t they be there illegally? And since they have to support themselves and make money, wouldn’t the us government know that they are making income and thus could garnish their wages even if they live in the other country? Or do these people just try to make money off the table and just live and hide? I mean, are there people that have huge debt , leave the us and then become successful later on in the country they flee to and then become rich? Because if they do become wealthy, wouldn’t they be caught eventually for fleeing the country? If they then decide to pay back their debt after they made money, would everything be fine or would they face huge penalties for fleeing the country? Or do they just have to stay below the radar and can’t live in a nice place because of it?

I’m very curious about this because i read so much about credit card debt and people leaving the country. I just can’t believe a person could have credit card debt this high because i assume the CC company would freeze their cards after they don’t pay after a few months if the balance is high.

Technorati Tags: amount of time, bankruptcy, canada, credit card bills, credit card company, credit card debt, credit card limits, credit card right, credit cards, creditors, decent job, medical bills, student loans, united states

My wife moved out of our house and got her own apartment. Now I am stuck with a house payment I can’t afford and I also have a car payment and a bunch of credit cards in my name. She didn’t give me any warning of this move. Now the mortgage payment is due and I can’t afford it by myself. What would be some options or paths I could take at this point. Can someone explain how the different chapters of bankruptcy work? Should I just let the house foreclose if I can’t afford it? Can I file bankruptcy on my car and credit cards by thereself. If I took all my credit card bills and my car payment out I might be able to afford the house by itself. What chapter would this be callled? Someone explain to me every option I have at this point that has had experience with this same situation.

Technorati Tags: apartment, bankruptcy, car payment, credit card bills, credit cards, foreclose, mortgage payment

They was a question on here from another user on settling his debt. He said he settled with other creditors for half what he owed but american express wouldn’t settle for less than 85% of his debt. Well he wanted them to take a lump some of 50% and they refused to take it.
If you have they money to pay the lump somes to all these creditors,why can’t they pay what they owe.
If you can’t pay your credit card bills you have 2 options. 1 Debt management the other bankruptcy.

Technorati Tags: american express, bankruptcy, credit card bills, creditors, debt management, money, somes

I just got separated from my husband a few months ago and ever since then he has not helped me pay for any of our credit card bills. We owe a little over ,000 and most cards are unfortunately under my name because I had better credit score than him. One of the creditors started raising up the minimum monthly payment over 200% and the APR went up to 34 and I hadn’t even been late on it yet. I have not been able to pay on this particular account for a couple of months now and I’ve been getting letters where they say they can help me lower the APR and what not but first they want me to pay 00 to see IF I qualify. Would it be better to do debt settlement, consolidation or should I keep trying to work w/ the credit card company myself? And what companies would you recommend me using if any at all? Help!

Technorati Tags: cards, consolidation, credit card bills, credit card company, credit score, creditors, Debt Settlement

It’s always nice to start the new year debt-free, don’t you think? Not credit card bills but those small sums you normally borrow from friends/family members. Better pay up soon otherwise you might not be able to borrow anymore.

Technorati Tags: credit card bills, debt free, family members, friends family, new year, sums

I have good credit but too much debt. Which one would be better?
I have a good credit score but I do not make enough money to pay my credit card bills. Should I consolidate them or should I file for bankruptcy?
I have close to ,000.00 in Credit Card debt.

Technorati Tags: credit card bills, credit card debt, credit score, enough money, should i file for bankruptcy

I’m 23 years old, a student, and physically becoming ill due to the amount of stress I have between school and work, in which I still struggle to pay my credit card bills. What is the step by step legal way of settling my credit card debt? I understand the ramifications that my credit report will suffer, but my debt to income ratio is already too high to get any loans or credit anyway (student loans). What is the worst that can happen? Are there any companies that help students in my situation? Thank you.

Technorati Tags: 23 years, credit card bills, credit card debt, credit report, debt to income ratio, ramifications, stress, student loans

Live in NJ and have more deposits in are bank accounts then what are take home pay is, does that matter or will they ask about this. they are all cash deposits from my husband doing side jobs for us to keep up with the credit card bills, now their are no more side jobs,so we have no choice but to file for bankruptcy.will they want to know why we have all these extra cash deposits? we did use all the money to pay all our credit card bills and we have 5 kids, does this matter?

Technorati Tags: bank accounts, bankruptcy, cash deposits, credit card bills, extra cash, jobs, money

I have read alot and heaard from others about debt settlement. Is it best to check with my debtors directly or to go through a debt settlement company? Any of these recommended? Also, if I am paying on credit card bills, but cannot get ahead, will a company talk with me about debt settlement?

Technorati Tags: credit card bills, Debt Settlement, debtors, settlement company

Has anyone ever gone bankruptcy? If so, what was it like? Did it completely destroy you financially.? Or were you able to tough it out and survive? I wanted to be able to buy a house in the near future, but my credit is totally screwed due to my recent separation (divorce pending) from my ex.

I have over ,000 in student loans, over ,000 in medical bills, a ,000 consollidation loan, an ,000 car loan, a 00 car loan (it will be mine in June of 2009), over ,000 in credit card bills. Not to mention that I am over the limit on all the cards. I have not been able to pay bills like I should because my husband left me and now I have to take care of 2 small children (22 months, 7 months), daycare and all the expenses at home–rent, lights, gas, cable, insurance, car payments, etc.

There is no way I can get another job. My school district doesn’t allow us to work more than 12 hours on a second job and we can’t work past 10p.m. on a school night. I am a teacher in MS and make only ,000 a year…that’s a good salary, but my debt exceeds my salary.

So should I file bankruptcy???
Yes I have a discover card and a sears card .
No teachers don’t make much but are required to work miracles. I am thinking of changing professions.

Intellectual cupcake, thanks for the help, but I live in MS. That is a long way from San Diego…I wish I lived there!

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Since day one everything has been separate. Like bank accounts, credit cards ETC. While I was working he wanted all bills split down the middle which was unfair considering he made twice as much as me. So he told me I needed to get a second job. I didn’t. Credit card bills were piling up on me because I couldn’t afford gas or he expected me to buy grocery’s. I became pregnant with our first child he found out about my debt so we refinanced the house to clear my debt so I wouldn’t have to work. Well I then re-rang up my credit cards and then had to file bankruptcy myself without him because nothing was in his name. We then had a second child. All this time he still does not give me any money for anything. So I then began to use his card. He found out about it almost divorced me, put me in therapy for it almost 2 1/5 years ago. I have no desire to spend like I did but I’m telling you what he wont let me have . I cant get a job because Ive been out of work for so long. My credit is completely screwed up. I still have ,000 unpaid that he refuses to pay, a state garnishment. I’m really stuck!!

Technorati Tags: bank accounts, bankruptcy, credit card bills, credit cards, desire, money, second job

I owe a LOT on my credit card bill (my minimum payment is 5/month) and my interest rate is 12%. Please understand that this has taken almost 2 decades to get to this point and it was unintentional. Anyways, I have good credit with a score of 771. I don’t want to ruin that by filing bankruptcy. I am wondering if there is an alternative where I can cancel the card, pay say /mo and not have interest accrue. I will pay til I die if I have to but I cannot afford this anymore. I know you can do something similar with medical bills, so I thought maybe there is something out there for credit card bills. If it helps, I am disabled and receive SSDI, so maybe there is a government program, I don’t know. Thank you for any/all suggestions.
Just some additional thoughts, what would trash my credit worse? Filing bankruptcy or debt settlement of some type as one person mentioned? Also wondering, if I just ceased paying or only paid the very minimum I could, and lets say they end up putting me in collections, etc., and let’s say they sue me for it, could they put a garnish on my monthly SSDI check? I don’t have any assets they could take (savings, house, etc).

Technorati Tags: 2 decades, assets, collections, credit card bill, credit card bills, Debt Settlement, filing bankruptcy, garnish, government program, interest rate, medical bills, minimum payment, score, ssdi

Alright i honestly got myself into this problem. I wasnt very smart, but i dont intend to not repay any debt i owe i just need help getting my credit cards paid off. Right now im starting to get to a point where im feeling really stretched out on my income.

I owe ,000.00 in credit card bills and i want to start getting it paid back is there any way to cancle the card and stop the interest from compounding without it destroying my credit rating?

Technorati Tags: credit card bills, credit cards, credit rating

My boyfriend is around ,000.00 in debt. He almost signed up with one of those debt consolidation companies online. What they told him to do in a nutshell is to pay them X amount each month and not pay his credit card bills for about 2.5 years, then they would take the money he sent them and "settle" the debt and save him thousands of dollars. This would supposedly work because since he wouldn’t have paid for those years, they would think he was about to declare bankruptcy and be afraid they wouldnt get any of their money, so they would settle for much less. He was guarantted to save atleast 5grand. Has anyone ever tried this and succeeded? it sounds odd to me.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, credit card bills, debt consolidation companies, money, nutshell, thousands of dollars

I am almost exactly 0,000.00 dollars in debt and I am single with one income and earn around ,200.00 per month.

The highest paying job I had after 5 years on college has been at .00 an hour where I worked for two years before getting laid off. Ever since, I have not been able to get a really good paying job with my degree.

Here are my debts:

,000.000 (and rising) to the IRS. After I bought my home, the IRS stopped working with me and everything became all threats with them answering every question with "I see you have a home, we don’t have to work with you-we can simply put the tax lien against your home) which they did.

I’m desperate to get from under this debt and I have heard stories about people making ridiculous settlement offers to the IRS and paying pennies on the dollar but the only settlement they will offer me is around ,900.00 (a 0 dollar reduction) IF I pay right away.

And this amount is originally ,000.00 with the rest being penalties and fees.

I owe ,000.00 on my home
I owe ,000.00 in medical bills
I owe ,000.00 in credit card bills
i owe ,000.00 in miscellaneous bills
I owe the utility company ,500.00
I owe Sallie mae (I had my student loans consolidated) ,000.00.

I can’t pay on any of them right now besides my home and my payment on that is 2.00 per month. I also live away from my home out of state and I pay 0.00 dollars for an efficiency.

Should I file bankruptcy? Which chapter should I file and how do you think it will help me?
PS-

I forgot to mention I just had a judgement filed against me by the lawyers for my HOA for 1,700.00 dollars and NOooooooooo I DO NOT want to sell my home. It will be lightyears before I’m able to buy another one.
The first answer given is why I want only "knowlegeable" folks to answer because they take the home if you file Ch. 7 NOT Ch. 13.

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i have cut down expenses in the household and still cannot pay these credit card bills. My credit scores are already low and about 3 of 6 credit cards are delinquent. should i ask a debt relief agency to help me settle these debts? I understand this will have a negative impact on my credit scores but i am still young and i have time to repair it. My main concern now is to pay off my debts asap.

Technorati Tags: credit card bills, credit cards, credit scores, debt relief, debts, household, negative impact

A friend referred me to this company and their website. I want to use them to help me reduce my credit card bills but would like to know if anyone has any experience with them.

Thanks!

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I receive a couple collection letters and wanted to know if I should pay the settle or pay the total amount—>>>(on a budget) how would it look on my credit report? any information will help… thanks
Not credit card bills: they are medical, old cable, cell phones…
*credit card up to date and my car note too…

Technorati Tags: budget, cell phones, collection letters, credit card bills, credit report

I’m 25 and owe more than I make on credit cards and now that I had an accident at work, my hours had been cut and my mom is left to pay some of my credit card bills but I pay some of the bills yo help out.
Is it hard to file for bankruptcy? Expensive? How long does it take?
I’m from California

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, credit card bills, credit cards, mom

I am going through some bad times, and I need to file but I have a judgement against me and a few more possible from not paying my phone and credit card bills. What can i do?

Technorati Tags: credit card bills, judgement

Hi, I am about ,000 in debt. I have about ,000 of student loans to repay, about 00 in credit card bills and the remaining 00 is phone bills and other unpaid bills. I am interested in some kind of consolidation that will allow me to pay off my bills in a quicker, and cheaper fashion than just paying them myself. Does anyone work as a financial planner, or work for a debt consolidation firm? Would it be better for me to file for bankruptcy? How would my credit be affected by both?
Any and all help is appreciated, as I have no clue what I’m doing!
Thanks!

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, clue, credit card bills, debt consolidation firm, fashion, financial planner, phone bills, student loans, unpaid bills

I have so much debt. I can pay for my house mortgage and my car payment but it’s my credit card bills that kill. I have been choosing to pay only my mortgage and car bills. What can I do? I know I can’t make payments on my cards without it effecting me being able to pay for my house and car. Can I file for Bankruptcy? I know I made a mistake charging up a storm. If I file for BK I don’t what to lose my home.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, bk, car payment, cards, credit card bills, mistake, mortgage

Laid off twice last year for several weeks, then this year for four months. Now back to work but haven’t paid credit card bills since September of 2008, with a credit settlement company, but not going good cause haven’t been employed. Even though back to work could I still file for bankruptcy?

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, credit card bills, credit settlement, four months, settlement company

Ok, I will take the blame for my credit problems. But over the past year I’ve been hospitalized several times and the combination of both credit card bills and hospital bills have accumulated quite a bit of debt. I work a job which is straight commission and because of the bad economy on top of the fact that I recently took a leave of absence from work and am collecting temporary disability I currently have about 50 dollars to my name.
I’m in a serious relationship now and want to straighten thisw mess up but I don’t have any money for a lawyer.
My question is should I file for bankruptcy? How do I file? Should I get a lawyer if I don’t have any money or should i represent myself?

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I am 23 years old, in college part time and working part time. I am recently divorced and have about ,000 in loans and credit card bills I got stuck with that were all aqquired during the marriage. Since I can only afford minimum payments (and receive no financial aid) I feel like I should look into bankruptcy.
I have two credit cards, so If I file bankruptcy on just my loans (,000) and one credit card, does keeping the one credit card plus an account balance with Dell (for a laptop I financed) help my credit score at all, as opposed to filing on everything I owe?
And everyone says to do it before I get any older if I’m going to do it. And I don’t expect any new bills (I have a dependable car and low rent) anytime soon.
Sometimes I feel like bankruptcy is "cheating" but I had an extra income at the time I signed for the loans, and of course didn’t expect to get divorced. I feel helpless, as the balances barely go down and i’m spending money I need to live, or I’m going to have to quit school.

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I am failed financially and about to seek protection under the bankruptcy law. I run up credit card bills while being married to my to-be-ex-wife, but I don’t want her to be responsible for my failure. Should I file BK before or after divorce is finalized? How can I be sure my creditors wont go after my ex-wife just because we were married when I over-extended myself? Also, I’d like to be sure that her credit wont be killed because of me. Thanks.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy law, bk, credit card bills, creditors, divorce, failure