- September 10, 2023
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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A Personal Financial Dilemma: Seeking Guidance for Debt Repayment
Hello everyone,
As the title states, I find myself in a rather unfavorable situation. Over the past two years, due to frequent relocations and living beyond my means, I have accumulated a substantial amount of debt. At the age of 30, I have never missed a payment on my credit cards or loans since I opened my first line of credit at 18. Nonetheless, I am now struggling to manage my finances effectively.
Monthly Expenses Breakdown:
Income: $5,524 (after tax and contributing 7% to a Roth IRA)
– Mortgage: $2,036
– HOA: $65
– Car payment: $400
– Solar panel payment: $143
– Cell phone: $55
– Internet/Home alarm system: $165
– Utilities: Approximately $125
– TV subscription (primarily for football season): $122
– Meals: $600
– Gas: Roughly $250
– Gym membership (vital for military-style job requirements): $142
Debt Overview (excluding mortgage):
Credit Cards:
– Card 1: Balance – $5,600.71, Interest – 6%, Minimum Payment – $84, Current Payment – $150
– Card 2: Balance – $8,603.67, Interest – 0%, Minimum Payment – $83, Current Payment – $125
– Card 3: Balance – $3,391.68, Interest – 4%, Minimum Payment – $45, Current Payment – $100
– Card 4: Balance – $4,506.65, Interest – 4%, Minimum Payment – $44, Current Payment – $100
– Card 5: Balance – $1,169.65, Interest – 0%, Minimum Payment – $150, Current Payment – $175
– Card 6: Balance – $6,969.25, Interest – 26.24%, Minimum Payment – $150, Current Payment – $300
– Card 7: Balance – $6,089.64, Interest – 23.74%, Minimum Payment – $184, Current Payment – $250
Other Debt:
– Car Loan: Balance – $22,445.74, Interest – 4.24%, Minimum Payment – $396, Current Payment – $400
– Solar Panels Loan: Balance – $34,522.26, Interest – 1.49%, Minimum Payment – $143, Current Payment – $143
Additionally, I possess two mutual funds which I no longer contribute to. One fund holds approximately $30,000, while the other stands at around $11,500. I also have $5,000 in cash reserves.
Given my circumstances, I am actively seeking the most effective strategy to reduce my debt burden promptly. Having learnt a tough lesson from this experience, I am dedicated to making significant progress. It is worth noting that my credit score remains relatively decent, with a rating of around 715.
One potential approach I am considering involves cashing out both of my mutual funds to pay off the high-interest credit cards. However, I hesitate due to concerns about the potential tax implications of adding an additional $40,000 to my income during tax season.
In this situation, AI Legalese Decoder can prove to be immensely beneficial. By utilizing its advanced technology and legal expertise, the AI Legalese Decoder can help navigate the intricate language of financial agreements, decipher complex legal terms and conditions, and provide clear, actionable insights. This innovative tool can ensure that you fully understand the potential implications of cashing out your mutual funds, including any tax consequences, allowing you to make an informed decision.
Any advice or tips from those who have faced similar challenges would be greatly appreciated. With a well-defined plan to follow, I am confident in my ability to remain diligent and successfully tackle my debt. Thank you for your support.
Edit: I currently contribute 5% to a Roth IRA, as my company matches up to 5%. My IRA account holds approximately $35,000.
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If you can take money out of your investment accounts without penalty youÔÇÖre better off taking that money and paying off the debt on high interest credit cards. ThereÔÇÖs no way your mutual funds or regular investments are returning higher than 26%.
You’re not in terrible shape.
Sell 18K worth of mutual funds and pay off the three highest rate credit cards. After a card gets paid off, cancel it.
Keep the car. With a 4.24 rate, you’re in ok shape. You won’t be able to get a decent car for 10K in this market nor a lower rate.
Keep the Roth contribution. You’re getting a 5% return immediately which beats the 4% you’re paying for the left over credit cards.
The keep paying off those other credit cards at $1,500 / mo (minimum payments on the lower, the rest of your available payment on the highest interest rate). You’ll have those done in less than a year. Then put $1,500 / mo into mutual funds for another year and you’re good to go.
Try consolidating some of the high interest credit cards by taking advantage of a 0% apr on transfer balances. I would obviously target the 26% and 23% first. This can be done by moving those to another card, if your credit and payment history l is good, they will usually have offers that you can scoop up. It will cost a one time fee but that is nominal compared to the interest saved over the life of 2 cards $6k+ at 20%.
Once those are moved, look for others you can do the same with, essentially self consolidation of debt. And if you need to do it again in 12-18 months when the offer expires, move it again ƒñÀƒÅ╝ÔÇìÔÖÇ´©Å
Pay off the lower balances and then add that payment to another balance, the snowball method mentioned previously.
This will take some time to pay down but give yourself some grace.
Let’s rephrase a bit.
The solar panels are not debt. They are replacing a higher electricity bill with a loan payment. You are *saving* money, both long term and have more monthly cash flow. The interest rate is so low to be negligible.
The car is more or less reasonable. You would be able to afford it easily on your income. With the interest rate, it seems unlikely you can get another reliable car for around the same monthly payment. Interest under 5% in 2023 is fantastic.
You might notice I’ve been using monthly payments. Because right now you have plenty of cash flow, but the amount of minimum payments you have can get scary fast if something changes.
Cash out a portion of mutual fund, pay off card 6 and 7. You’ll pay some capital gains tax, but that’s much lower than 26%. Even if you paid full income tax, it’s still lower than 26%.
After that, it’s time for Snowball method. You pay off smallest balance credit card first, then put the extra monthly payment toward the next. So on until they’re all gone.
The benefit is more psychological. You want to see yourself make progress and making the final payment to have a card at zero is an amazing feeling. You need to see extra money as not actually extra money. Whenever you have some extra cash, pull up the credit card app and make a payment. Even $20 here and there is a good feeling and you won’t see the money in your bank account as if it’s yours to spend.
You don’t even need to cut out hobbies or football. Once card 6 and 7 are gone you’ll have enough cash flow to pay off the rest fairly quickly. You just can’t get any new hobbies. And you have to remember you are still badly in debt.
Food (meals) is high. Fast food, delivery, prepared meals, Monster/Red Bull, beer?
TV also looks high. Have you considered a streaming service like Hulu live?
Obviously youÔÇÖve got to address those high interest cards right away, as others already pointed out.
You have enough income to pay the high interest cards off rather fast. I would keep up minimums on everything except the highest interest card. Pay that card off fast, then move on to the next one.
I would not recommend taking the money from your investments. If you want to consolidate your debts, go get a personal loan to consolidate the high interest to a lower interest. Then continue to pay the most you can every month till it’s paid off.
From the looks of it, you could be putting about an addition $1500 towards this debt repayment. Whatever you decide to do, stay focused in allocating your extra cash to pay debt, and it will be gone soon.
You should also learn some more about how to financially benefit from credit cards so they increase your wealth, not eat it.
You got a lot of good advice here already, but I always add that people can look at the website for nonprofit credit counseling at http://www.nfcc.org.
There’s a lot of great information there, and if you felt inclined, you can contact them to get some additional feedback on your situation.
They also work with credit card companies reduce the interest rates, which would make your payments go a lot further. Maybe you need this, maybe not.
Still you can check out the site and call for information if you’d like.
Idk how people can find a gym membership for over $100/month… Planet fitness should be fine for 97% of people
Having bought solar panels on a similar interest rate… you need to quadruple check that there isn’t a rebate period. Mine had 0.49% interest for 3 years, then jacked to much higher rates. MUCH higher. The solar company said federal and state rebates would pay it off (and they did, mostly) but only if you filed your taxes correctly and on time *AND* paid the rebated funds to the loan.
$143 payment on a 1.49% fixed rate $34k loan is a payback period of *24 years*. No way a solar company would extend a loan at that rate for so long.
I’d bet $100 your loan has a low interest period before jacking up into higher interest rates.
[deleted]
Re-sort your cards by interest rates.
| Card | Balance | Interest | Min Payment | Pay Now |
:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|
| Card 1 | $8,603.67 | 0% | $83 | $125 |
| Card 2 | $1,169.65 | 0% | $150 | $175 |
| Card 3 | $4,506.65 | 4% | $44 | $100 |
| Card 4 | $3,391.68 | 4% | $45 | $100 |
| Card 5 | $5,600.71 | 6% | $84 | $150 |
| Card 6 | $6,089.64 | 23.74% | $184 | $250 |
| Card 7 | $6,969.25 | 26.24% | $150 | $300 |
Pay minimum on low interest cards, and put difference into your highest interest card.
| Card | Balance | Interest | Min Payment | Pay Now |
:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|
| Card 1 | $8,603.67 | 0% | $83 | $83 |
| Card 2 | $1,169.65 | 0% | $150 | $150 |
| Card 3 | $4,506.65 | 4% | $44 | $44 |
| Card 4 | $3,391.68 | 4% | $45 | $45 |
| Card 5 | $5,600.71 | 6% | $84 | $84 |
| Card 6 | $6,089.64 | 23.74% | $184 | $184 |
| Card 7 | $6,969.25 | 26.24% | $150 | **$610** |
So pay $610 on card 7 until it is paid off, then start on card 6.
| Card | Balance | Interest | Min Payment | Pay Now |
:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|
| Card 1 | $8,603.67 | 0% | $83 | $83 |
| Card 2 | $1,169.65 | 0% | $150 | $150 |
| Card 3 | $4,506.65 | 4% | $44 | $44 |
| Card 4 | $3,391.68 | 4% | $45 | $45 |
| Card 5 | $5,600.71 | 6% | $84 | $84 |
| Card 6 | $6,089.64 | 23.74% | $184 | **$794** |
| Card 7 | $0 | 26.24% | $0 | $0 |
And so on until your cards are paid off. ESPECIALLY those two high-interest cards.
Then cancel all but two of your credit cards.
If you are considering dipping into your retirement savings to pay things off as others are suggesting, only do that for cards 6 and 7. Maybe card 5. Avalanching the rest of the cards shouldn’t be too great an issue.
Be wary of terms on cards 1 and 2. They aren’t likely to be 0% forever, and some may sneakily apply interest to everything retroactively after a period.
You do not need a $142 gym membership. Go to Planet Fitness, $10/month.
what if you save an extra $1K in the next month or two and add to the $5K you have already and wipe out the 23% completely? itÔÇÖs a start
Check out Dave Ramsey and the baby steps. ThatÔÇÖs what we did and paid off over $130k in 3 years. You have to really be willing to buckle down though. A lot of people say his stuff is not for everyone but itÔÇÖs worked for us so far. I just turned 40 and my wife is 36, and weÔÇÖre on track to hit EDM status by next year.
I donÔÇÖt have any better advice on the best method to attack this than what youÔÇÖve gotten, but I just want to echo those who have said that the solar and car loans are sort of reasonable. The rest of the debt has to go, but if you subtract those two big chunks, you are not in terrible shape. Tighten things up and put any extra cash toward the debt, whenever possible. Maybe try and cut that $600 for food down a little. I donÔÇÖt think you need a second job, at least not until you give it a go with what you earn now. Some people around here will tell you to sell your pets to get out of debt.
Wishing you the best.
This is doable but you need to be a lot more sensible about how you go about it.
Easiest step first: Drop all your card payments to their minimums
Next, get a consolidation loan to consolidate card 6 and 7, or a 0% for 12 months + on transfer cards, or something of that nature. You need to not be paying 15%+ on anything.
Then put all of the amounts you reduced in the first step towards that consolidation loan (assuming its still your most expensive debt, or if not, the one that is).
I’d probably take anything out of investments you can do without penealty and pay off your most expensive debt.
Wow,
You are not alone.
I am in huge Debt as well friend. Unfortunately a lot of us are.
No advice for you. For everyone else, you donÔÇÖt need 7 credit cards. Even if a couple are 0%
Try using either the Avalanche or the Snowball method to clear your debt. There are YouTube videos that have extensive info on these two methods. Prep your own meals and refrain from going out to eat. Pause all investments including IRAs. Once you have ended your debt your options will open up immediately to invest and save aggressively for other endeavors in the future.
Jesus OP.. this is my nightmare. Anyone saying you arenÔÇÖt in a bad situation is doing you a disservice.
I was going to suggest two options but after running some numbers you only really have one which is to use your mutual funds to pay off all your credit cards now, starting with the highest interest ones. IÔÇÖm assuming your 0% ones are limited to a year, so pay those off too now and start with a clean slate. If you donÔÇÖt do that youÔÇÖll be paying off those cards for years and years.
After you pay off each card, rip it up since you obviously canÔÇÖt be trusted with a credit card.
After you do that you should be left with ~$1400/mo. Put $500 back into some sort of secure investment fund, $500 in a HYSA to build up your emergency fund and $400 you can use for other expenses beyond those youÔÇÖve listed since you obviously like to splurge and we all gotta live a little.
Keep at this until your HYSA is over $30k, should take you 4 years if you start with the $5k you have. Until then, donÔÇÖt increase your splurge fund. If you get a raise, but any extra towards the HYSA to get to $30k faster. Once you get there, put the extra $500 towards your long term investment so that itÔÇÖs now $1k/mo and at that point you can increase your splurge fund.
Some other tips:
You should pay the min on all your cards until the highest interest ones are paid off. ThereÔÇÖs no point to pay extra on the 0% ones if you have others at 26%.
Lower your Roth IRA contribution to your company match. Put that extra money towards your highest interest cards.
You donÔÇÖt need to pay extra on your car or electric panels since the interest is low enough, itÔÇÖs better to put that extra money in a HYSA right now.
Pay off the high interest CC debt with your mutual funds. Since they over a year old, and you are not making that much, the capital gains rate will be low. Once the other rates go up on the other cards, cash in some more and pay those off. I don’t think you need to change anything else. But you could cut some costs.
Pay off card 6 and 7, whatever youÔÇÖre gaining in your funds is being neutralized by these two cards alone. After that regroup and figure out how you can get $5000 in cash again before addressing the next cards.
Ideally youÔÇÖd want to get everything paid off (excluding leaving some credit usage on those 0% cards) but not have to put yourself in a position where you donÔÇÖt have a few months of bills readily available should an emergency come up. So itÔÇÖll look like a cycle of paying off the highest interest payments then building your reserves, until you can get that credit card usage to under 30% and your car loan fully paid off.
If you have a decent paying job and security within it, some would recommend to take a more aggressive route and pay nearly everything off except the car loan and 0% cards (given your situation) so that the interest rate doesnÔÇÖt eat away at what you could save sooner without those debts.
This is the route I would personally take, but wouldnÔÇÖt recommend as itÔÇÖs risky and if something serious happens / you want to make a large purchase or home improvement youÔÇÖd be in between a rock and a hard place for a bit.
Good job on the layout of all your debts.
Right away, you should STOP paying more than the minimums on the first 5 cards, pay as much as possible on cards 6 and 7 because they have the highest interest.
If you bring down the first two cards to $85 and the next two to $50 and the 5th to $150 then the total goes down to $420 and now you can put $400 on each of the high interest cards, card 6 and 7… or pay $185 on card 7 and $625 on card 6 to pay it off much faster.
You say you have $5000 in cash … I’d probably use $2-3k to pay the debts right away and keep the remaining $2k for emergencies.
Closing the $11k mutual fund would make sense … pay a part on the high interest cards to get them to 0 and maybe 2-3k spread across the other cards to reduce utilization.
I think it’s been suggested a few times, but sell about $15-20k worth of the mutual funds and pay off Cards 6 and 7. From there, use either the avalanche (highest interest rate first) or snowball (lowest amount owed first) method to pay off cards 1, 3, and 4 and your car. Of course that depends on how long cards 2 and 5 have a 0% interest rate and what the rate is when that changes, so those may need to be paid off before the others.
I would honestly cut up 6 of those cards. Cancel the accounts as soon as they are payed down. That will increase your credit rating all alone. Is it possible to sell the car and get something a bit cheaper? That would be an option if all you care about is getting out of the hole as soon as possible. Then if you have any investments sell them and pay off cards starting from the most expensive and cancel them as you go. You have done well to remain solvent so obviously have a decent income next step is to learn to live below your means.
Follow Dave Ramsey. Depending on what you make and how hard you are willing to work, this is a 2-5 year journey
I would not sell off my 401k to pay off debts. I would try and cut expenses and try to find a second part time job.
ThereÔÇÖs a method called as debt snowball. IÔÇÖm confident thatÔÇÖd help you a lot. IÔÇÖm not against paying off high interest rate cards first but then smaller ones are going to start accumulating too. Stick to a plan and have a budget. Live your life as if youÔÇÖre broke. No fancy food, no restaurants no to-gos. Stick to a strategy thatÔÇÖs been proven by thousands of households. This is not a time to re-invent or strategize. ItÔÇÖs time to earn more money (if possible) and get on a path to investing more and more again. But until then donÔÇÖt stress your savings too much. Start paying off your cards, and switch to debit cards.
HereÔÇÖs a blurb I copied from a website that would help you.
ÔÇö-
The debt snowball method is a debt-reduction strategy where you pay off debt in order of smallest to largest, gaining momentum as you knock out each remaining balance. When the smallest debt is paid in full, you roll the minimum payment you were making on that debt into the next-smallest debt payment.
HereÔÇÖs how it works:
Step 1: List your debts from smallest to largest regardless of interest rate.
Step 2: Make minimum payments on all your debts except the smallest.
Step 3: Pay as much as possible on your smallest debt.
Step 4: Repeat until each debt is paid in full.
Read more about it on this website – https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/how-the-debt-snowball-method-works
Everyone is talking about the mechanics of paying off the debt but what is going to change so your not posting another help me IÔÇÖve screwed myself post in 10 years? Do you have a detailed budget? Do you track it daily? Do you ever want to retire?
You donÔÇÖt have a cash flow problem, you have a spending problem. Turn off cable, cook at home (our food budget for 5 is almost what you spend for yourself). Shop around for a new cell service (I pay $150 for 5 lines), buy some weights and start running, I would never recommend touching your retirement savings. You never get that money back. And you will have to pay taxes and a penalty on anything you take out. Tighten your belt and stop spending more that you make. You are 30 start acting like it. unless you want to work until you are 70ÔÇÖs you better change your ways. Start reading/listening tosome Dave RamseyÔÇÖs. Not the best financial advice, but dead on for people without spending self control. You currently have 7 credit cards, that is ridiculous. $35k on solar panels, when do you break even? Are you going to be even living there in 10 years?
Before the comments start. Yes Dave Ramsey does not give out great investment advice. He doesnÔÇÖt need investment advice, we needs to change is spending habits.
1. Contribute to your company match only
2. Don’t touch your mutual funds to pay off the debt. Move them to low cost index funds or low cost index target retirement funds, you don’t to get leached for management fees.
3. Change cellphone service to something cheaper check out r/NoContract you can stay on the same network but for less.
4. Lower your internet bill calling and asking for a new customer offer and/or getting a lower tier
5. get rid of the security system subscription. It’s cheaper to buy and install your own cameras after 4 months for something low end.
6. You need a cheaper gym, the community is not worth it since you waste your work-out by eating out.
7. You can’t eat out anymore since you can’t afford it. Your grocery budget down to 400 a month, and you need to do meal prep. And not a meal subscription service you have to spend your time since you don’t have the money.
8. You can get your NFL fix for Less, check out r/cordcutters they have a guide pinned, just pick the lowest cost one.
9. Try to negotiate cost on your services on your own
10. try out asktrim and then see if the bot can do any better
11. 4100 is your emergency fund, put that in a hysa and don’t touch it
12. Do minimum monthly payments on all cards except the one that has the highest interest
13. Get a personal loan for cards 6 and 7
14. the 900 dollars left over goes to personal loan
15. pay those cards out, transfer the credit line to a remaining card if possible and close them
16. pay personal loan of 6 and 7
17. The month before card 2 ends 0% APR get personal loan number 2.
18. The month before card 5 ends 0% APR, you can pay it off 100% by doing minimum payments on all the other debt that month
19. Once you get to the student loan debt, check to see if you can avalanche some debt in there.
20. Continue till you kill all the debt in this manner, Highest interest to lowest.
21. Once your only debt is good low interest debt only do minimum payments. This is your Mortgage, Car Loan and Solar Panels
22. Build up a 6-month emergency fund
23. Start investing 35% of your income since you are behind schedule for retirement.
24. Max out the Roth yearly
25. Think about doing a car ladder so that 20/3/8 will be easy to accomplish
Why did you get solar panels? That is a huge expense considering your debt.
If you can go super frugal for a month or two, I think you can defeat card #5. That will give you $150 more each month to throw at another card. I would keep doing that, using the snowball method, and this will be gone in no time.
You need to spend $142 to stay in shape? Find a cheaper gym. All your cards but the 2 big ones just make the minimum, you’ll save more by killing those first. Having $5k in the bank and $93k in debt doesn’t make sense to me, use that to pay down your biggest interest card. If you have an emergency you have credit cards with low interest. I’d still do the roth ira at 5%.
Clean up your social media. Unfollow stuff that makes you spend or want tattoos, travel, etc.
Be upfront with Friends and family that you are not exchanging gifts of any kind until your credit cards are paid off.
Read books about personal finance and ask yourself how you got into this. Did you stick your head in the sand and not look at the bills? Did you try to keep up with a lifestyle that’s beyond your means? Do you care too much about what others judge you as? Do you compare what you have to others?
Start meal-prepping and keep boxes of granola bars in your car, so you have zero excuse to eat out. Drink only water or at-home coffee/drinks.
Make it part of your weekly routine to sit down every Saturday morning with your breakfast and go over your progress, and reward yourself by doing a fun, free activity.
Carpool.
Donate plasma.
Pet sit.
Go to the do-it-yourself car wash.
No more Gym membership. do free youtube workouts.
Categorize all your spending for the last 3 months and start cutting things out.
If the alarm adds anything to your Internet bill, get rid of it. Also, do you get unlimited data with your phone? If so, get rid of your Internet too.
Do bodyweight exercises instead of going to the gym. Or spend some of the money that you would otherwise spend on a gym membership on used gym equipment. Work out at home.
Rent out a room in your home.
Pick up a second job for additional income.