Credit card debt is not going to get paid. my husband is laid off. we were living above our means. we rent,?

have a 1/2 paid off truck, and i make enough to pay rent and lights. ok- i've been talking to the creditors who i'm already late with, i cannot pay them any money right now. should i keep talking to them so they don't take us to court? i may be able to start paying when we get our refund, but i'm not sure ONE DAY AT A TIME literally, in my case. my better half is no help. i know i owe the money, i want a strategy to get through the next six months. any advise? they have started calling my work, but i have told them that is a problem.thanks
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THANK YOU EVERYONE! i cut off all the plasic, there is nothing i can do right now. i'm fixing my bike up unless we lose the truck. i set aside money for rent and lights. i was hoping there was a method to the madness.

If I were in your shoes I'd sit down and hammer out a budget. I'd sort the bills according to priority:
1. Rent/food (be as cheap as possible on food)
2. lights/possibly phone if husband is searching for a job.
3. car/car insurance
4. Credit cards

Then I'd focus on reducing expenses as much as possible. Use lights/heat/air sparingly. I'd wear a freaking coat in the house if I had to. (Don't let the temp fall below 60, but cut it back as much as you can stand.) Use coupons if you can. (If you don't subscribe to the newspaper, pick up a copy of the Sunday paper for coupons and the job section. See if you can save on gas by carpooling to work. Cut extra services like caller id from the phone. If you have items that you haven't used in months, list them on craigslist.

And finally, tell husband to shape up and get another job. Look into unemployment in the mean time. If he doesn't qualify, tell him to take a low paying job if he has to until he can find something better.

As for talking to the creditors, keep them in the loop. Once you have your budget done, figure out how much you will have left after covering all the basics and promise that to them.

Last but not least, take care of yourself mentally/emotionally. If you belong to a Church, speak with the minister about your situation. You'd be surprised how much talking can help.

Coming from personal experience, even if you talk to them 3 times a day/7 days a week/365 days a yr... they will turn you over to an outside collection agency or sue you in court. it just gets nastier. they don't care what your financial status is... THEY WANT THEIR MONEY. have you talked to them about any special programs they offer. most cards offer programs with lower payments or that stops your interest. i'm not trying to be nasty about this...just giving you the honest truth because its happened to me. i know you're having a rough time, but trust me they do not care.

Sisal85 is wrong. They cannot just take out their money from your bank accounts without a court order.

Call creditors and ask about hardship programs, payoff programs
Always at least pay interest and late fees, try to pay on time even if it isn't the full amount
Cut cost wherever you can
Call the phone company and say you will cancel unless they have a hardship program
Call cell phone companies and ask for plans that only have the minutes you use (not extra minutes) or rollover or something like that
Cut out cell phone internet use, text messaging, and ringtone purchases
Pay off debt with the highest interest rates first
Make a budget and stick to it the best you can
Cut out eating out or ordering in
Carpool
Turn heat down a couple degrees and wear warmer clothes inside
Turn heat down at night (when sleeping under blankets) and when leave the house
Turn off lights and computers when not in use

These are all things that will cut back on bills.

Credit card debt is a nightmare, I have been there myself. You may want to consider a credit counseling agency such as Take Charge America or something like it - a NON-PROFIT AGENCY- who will negotiate with your creditors to lower your monthly payments. Please be aware, however, that no one can erase your debt, no one can fix your credit, so if you hear of "credit doctors", people who say they can wipe your credit clean, that is a fraud.

Credit counselors can work with you to negotiate lower payments. I tried working with TCA for a while- I know the way they work is that you will talk to them about how much you make monthly, and you will make one payment to them monthly, and they will in turn disperse it to your creditors. Eventually, I decided to resolve my debt differently- I paid things down one by one because the maintenance fee to stay in the program was better spent towards the debt (it was about $30 /month), but I was in debt about $3,000. For me, that was a lot. For other people, that's nothing. Check out a non-profit credit counseling agency and see how they can help you.

Stop using the credit cards at once, if you have not already. Do not use payday advances.

While your husband is laid off, it would be a good idea for him to look into some temporary work. If you think he will get his job back, great, a temp job will help in the meantime. If you're not sure if his job will be back, a temp job can turn into a permanent job in some cases. Either way, it will give you some money.

Call your local food closet or charity, see if they have a free food program or discounted food program. There is absolutely no shame in that. The money you save on that can be used to help pay down these cards.

If your job is on the bus route, take the bus. It will save you gas money. If not, consider carpooling with someone- take turns evenly- it will save gas as well as wear-and-tear on your car. If your job is close enough to walk to your home, walk.

If you are paying for medications out of pocket, contact the pharmaceutical company and see if they have a patient assistance program.
If you are renting movies from the video store, rent them from the public library instead, and don't rack up late fees.
Instead of dry cleaning your clothes, use Dryel kits instead.
Instead of buying a pop out of the machine, flavor a bottle of water (brought from home) with some lemon juice and sugar. This will save you at least a dollar a day.

I am a broke college student trying to pay my way through a school that costs $20,000 / year - looking for any way to stretch a dollar, find a dollar, save a dollar. Look for ways in your day, every day, to do the same, and you can get out of this mess you are in.

Good luck.

First, they can't call you at work. That is harassment. Tell them that. Second, try and negotiate with them. If they won't work with you. tell them you will have to file for bankruptcy. Then look into doing that. Tell them to wait till you get your refund. Your worst half should do something. Flipping burgers is better than nothing. I don't know why so many women stay with deadbeat guys.

first a question for you .where are you living?and are there any jobs avaliable for your husband to go to work ?

Tell your husband to get another job, even if it's flipping burgers and McDonalds, there's money coming in.

Be sure to talk to them and like others have said just make minium payments on the debt. If you stop paying one day you will go to your bank and find it negative or at a balance of zero. It isn't your banks fault, it is the fact the card companies are basically taking their money. The banks can't stop them and lets be honest they are not about to anger the card companies by trying. Also file for unemployment if you can.

Hello,
Sorry you are in such a situation. Just stopped in to let you know that you are not the only person.
We are hurting all over America.

I think you should keep talking with them. Let them know what is going on. Also start living within your means. If that means buying a used vehicle so be it. Better then getting the new one repode. If you have cable cut it off. Cut the things you do not need out for now. Quit using the credit cards, use cash and money orders for now. Why give the banks any more of your money in fee's etc?
Do you see the next six months being any better?

Good luck and remember many people are in your same boat right now.

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