would you look into one of those debt settlement programs if you were me?

[MrFreakinMiyagi]

Ask me how I know...

tis the American way.

What a relief.

Nobody can accuse me of being a bad American!!

[Skull and Bones]

I have around $22,000 in credit card debt.  I wanted to do a debt consolidation loan and cancel all credit cards and applied for one with BOA last night but they wanted to charge us 21% interest.  We said no and they lowered it to 18%(which is interesting in itself) but we still said no.  The other route we could take is to get one of those companies that negoiates deals with your creditors but it screws up your credit somewhat.  What should I do?

[mjs020294]

I have around $22,000 in credit card debt. That is from 10 years of letting my wife handle all our finances. I wanted to do a debt consolidation loan and cancel all credit cards and applied for one with BOA last night but they wanted to charge us 21% interest. We said no and they lowered it to 18%(which is interesting in itself) but we still said no. The other route we could take is to get one of those companies that negoiates deals with your creditors but it screws up your credit somewhat. What should I do?

Do you own a home?

[Skull and Bones]

yes but we bought it in Dec. 2006 with no money down so there is no equity.  With the $25,000 loan from BOA our payments would be $500 something a month for 96 months.  We pay around $700 a month now on our ccs.  Obviously by paying more than that we would pay less interest but 18% still sounds like a rip off to me.  The letter they sent us advertised "as low as 8.99%". 

[BucsGuru]

Any route you take other than paying off the debt will cause you to negatively alter your credit.  If paying it off isn't an option, try this:  Don't pay your credit card payment for several months.  They will constantly harrass you day and night to pay.  Then they will attempt to contact you to settle.  I had a young couple that had a similar situation as yourself and did this and ended up paying a third of the balance to settle.  Again, it will affect your credit score, but so will everything else.  I pray that things will work out for you financially since this is one of the leading causes for divorce in America.

[mjs020294]

Try calling Capital One their rates are more competitive than BoA in most cases.

[MrFreakinMiyagi]

I have around $22,000 in credit card debt. That is from 10 years of letting my wife handle all our finances. I wanted to do a debt consolidation loan and cancel all credit cards and applied for one with BOA last night but they wanted to charge us 21% interest. We said no and they lowered it to 18%(which is interesting in itself) but we still said no. The other route we could take is to get one of those companies that negoiates deals with your creditors but it screws up your credit somewhat. What should I do?

I fell ya, bro.

My (soon to be ex) wife ran the CC bills through the roof. Much of it behind my back.

Look into tranferring to other CC deals that offer 0% for the first year on balance transfers. It might not cut into your payments much, but it will help with the interest.

Good luck, dude.

[BucsBullsBolts]

Any route you take other than paying off the debt will cause you to negatively alter your credit.

Just so I'm clear, a consolidation loan wouldn't negatively affect his credit, right?

[mjs020294]

Ask me how I know...

tis the American way.

[The White Tiger]

A consolidation loan would not hurt your credit. It is just a loan.

I would suggest some credit counseling, budget training after a consolidation loan - otherwise the same behavior that got you here will immediately take over when the pressure is relieved.

Ask me how I know...

[The White Tiger]

It was 20 years ago but I still whince everytime I pull out a credit card.

I cut my card up and we used only cash for 3 years.

That did it. If you wouldn't use cash - then don't reach for the card...

[MrFreakinMiyagi]

It was 20 years ago but I still whince everytime I pull out a credit card.

I cut my card up and we used only cash for 3 years.

That did it. If you wouldn't use cash - then don't reach for the card...

You editted to put the "h" in "whince".

OCD??

[The White Tiger]

Yeah - it probably came from making sure I sentin the right payment when the creditors would call...

It's really a compulsion I picked up over on the TBBB....

[ufojoe]

Skull, making a deal with the credit card companies is not a bad idea. If you're not going to get the
loan, then go for the settlement. But be a hard ass about it. Get them down as far as they will go.
Say no to an offer and then wait for a couple of days. Once they don't call you back, that may be
their best offer.

It's hard for you to file bankruptcy with the new laws. But in the old days, you could tell them,
Fine, I'm filing bankruptcy and you will get nothing." They will sometimes settle on an even lower
amount at that point.

[BucsGuru]

Any route you take other than paying off the debt will cause you to negatively alter your credit.

Just so I'm clear, a consolidation loan wouldn't negatively affect his credit, right?

That's right, but he stated that it wasn't an option for him since he had no equity in his home.