Community Chat

[CherryHugs]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I do appreciate them!

First of all my husband is so mad at me for getting us into this debt.

He hurt his back so has had time off of work.  ( He didnt hurt it at work)

So his hours have been less.

I work as a caregiver and cannot take on another job.

Got into this debt during the pandemic and it has snowballed after..Yes did buy alot of things we did not need. So that is on me.

Plus paid for alot of car repairs with the card too.

Have asked a couple of family members but they would not help us out. I only wanted the money to pay it off or down and then would pay them which would be good cuz no interest then to them. But sadly no.

Up until all of this we always paid off the balance every month.

I need to Not use this card at all now and get it paid down!!

Only said  discover  card cuz a cousin last month said they got one and transferred their balance to it and had no interest payment.

I am so upset over this right now...and I really do appreciate all your helpful comments. HUGS

[Tori3569]

---

@CherryHugs wrote:

Thank you everyone for your replies. I do appreciate them!

First of all my husband is so mad at me for getting us into this debt.

He hurt his back so has had time off of work.  ( He didnt hurt it at work)

So his hours have been less.

I work as a caregiver and cannot take on another job.

Got into this debt during the pandemic and it has snowballed after..Yes did buy alot of things we did not need. So that is on me.

Plus paid for alot of car repairs with the card too.

Have asked a couple of family members but they would not help us out. I only wanted the money to pay it off or down and then would pay them which would be good cuz no interest then to them. But sadly no.

Up until all of this we always paid off the balance every month.

I need to Not use this card at all now and get it paid down!!

Only said  discover  card cuz a cousin last month said they got one and transferred their balance to it and had no interest payment.

I am so upset over this right now...and I really do appreciate all your helpful comments. HUGS

---

Don't beat yourself up too much, it happens.  Just google zero interest balance transfers and I'll bet you will see several to choose from. Discover is always a solid choice, but you can also look for well known banks like Bank of America or Chase.  Also check the number of months zero% is good for.  Best of luck.  

[sunshine45]

discover was my first BIG credit card many years ago.

i think it was affiliated with SEARS at one point? i think that is how i applied for it.

[Q-Checker]

@CherryHugs 

Yes, don't beat yourself up over this. You have taken the first important step toward financial solvency by your honesty in recognizing  how your current debt situation happened. You courageously offered no excuses but only a clear acknowledgement! And I think, as a result, you are better positioned now not to get caught in another credit trap. Take it as  a "lesson learned" while you look for a way to deal with your current interest rate. Once you get past this, keep in mind how you felt about dealing with your debt when you are tempted in the future to buy things you cannot immediately afford. Just say no. I am confidently rooting for you! You are a better person than the "stuff" that got you into credit card debt!

[catwoman48]

I lost my job in the Recession in 2010. I was way overextended with mortgage and credit card debt. Took me 6 months to find any work at all, and it was temp work, far less than I was making previously.

Long story short, I was forced into a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, working (finally had a @permanent” job) and paying the bankruptcy trustee 25% of my income every month for 6 long years. But I didn’t lose my home and it finally ended.

In all those years I used my debit card. Last year I thought it might be a good idea to get a credit card, rebuild my credit. My FICO was already in the high 700s and my credit was excellent. I got a Discover card with zero interest for 12 (15?) months. Now my FICO is over 800, my card has a zero balance and I do not plan on paying a penny of interest at their usurious rates. I don’t have any major purchases planned at my advanced age and am very grateful to Discover for helping restore my good credit. I have had absolutely no problems with Discover and would recommend. Visa and American Express were not cooperative when I lost my job, bloodsuckers!

[elated]

---

@Tori3569 wrote:

---

@CherryHugs wrote:

Thank you everyone for your replies. I do appreciate them!

First of all my husband is so mad at me for getting us into this debt.

He hurt his back so has had time off of work.  ( He didnt hurt it at work)

So his hours have been less.

I work as a caregiver and cannot take on another job.

Got into this debt during the pandemic and it has snowballed after..Yes did buy alot of things we did not need. So that is on me.

Plus paid for alot of car repairs with the card too.

Have asked a couple of family members but they would not help us out. I only wanted the money to pay it off or down and then would pay them which would be good cuz no interest then to them. But sadly no.

Up until all of this we always paid off the balance every month.

I need to Not use this card at all now and get it paid down!!

Only said  discover  card cuz a cousin last month said they got one and transferred their balance to it and had no interest payment.

I am so upset over this right now...and I really do appreciate all your helpful comments. HUGS

---

Don't beat yourself up too much, it happens.  Just google zero interest balance transfers and I'll bet you will see several to choose from. Discover is always a solid choice, but you can also look for well known banks like Bank of America or Chase.  Also check the number of months zero% is good for.  Best of luck.  

---

There are many cards that offer 0% interest for balance transfers. Some offer up to 21 months and this may give you more leeway to pay off your debt. 

[geezerette]

It probably would be a good idea to "shop around" for the best deal on no-interest balance transfers since the terms you end up with depend on your specific credit rating and history.  (Always read that fine print!)  So just because one card is offering certain terms doesn't necessarily mean you will get those same terms.

And as was stated previously, make sure you can pay off your debt within the given no-interest period or most likely the interest rate will jump precipitously once that grace period is over.

Best of luck to you in tackling this problem.

[Beacon girl]

Yes , you have to pay more then they are asking.
It’s hard to bring balance down but paying a little more does help . Also if you can -don’t wait until bill is due sent it right away. And yes, stay away from those easy pay. I learned that yrs ago !

[greencardigan]

@CherryHugs  I'm so sorry you are dealing with this now.  I went through it a few years ago due to some vet bills.  I was glad to read that you are considering your credit Union.  I got out if debt but used a Discover Personal Loan.  It was through the credit card people but a loan not another card. There are commercials for folks like SOFi who do them too.

i calculated that I could pay it off in 3 years but then applied for the loan for 5.  I still made the payments as if it was a 3 year and paid it off early.  Yes, I paid a slightly higher interest rate (around 7% vs just over 5%) but I wanted the cushion of the lower payment in case I needed the room in my budget.  I did not want to risk getting sucked back into credit cards and their crazy high interest.

I encourage  you to talk with your credit union first about a personal loan before doing a balance transfer.  I know it's hard but good luck!  

[wagirl]

I use a Discover card too and no issues at all. Have had one for 20+ years now. I have used their balance transfer too. I normally don't use credit cards much but had a rather large vet bill for my old cat girl that I did a balance transfer on--worked great. Paying no interest for that 12 months really helped alot.