Total Debt after February's payments: $105.954.70.
Sadly, I was unable to pay my "pay it in full" card in February. So I still owe them some money that was due in February, plus the new charges I incurred. I'm at my credit limit with them, so I can't use the card any more.
Total minimum payments due: $2377.60
Plus "due in full" charges of $3012
Total Payments due: $5389.60.
Ouch. I don't know where I'm going to come up with that. And my property taxes are due - another $750 or so. I usually charge them on my "pay in full" credit card, but I can't do that this time because they cut off my charging privileges since I didn't pay in full last month.
And in six months, I've paid off less than $5,000, despite paying out over $2000.00 per month.
Most of my payments go to interest, of course. At this rate, I'll never get the debt paid off. Lately, I just want to give up. Bankruptcy is looking better and better....
Showing posts with label monthly totals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label monthly totals. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Update for June
As of the beginning of July, here is where I stand.
I forgot a small-balance credit card when I calculated my initial balance in April. So my debt amount was even worse than I thought, and should have been $112,065.63 total debt (including the car loan).
The required minimum payments were $2062.07, plus the new charges on the card I pay in full every month, of approximately $1650, which is where I came up with the approximately $3700 in credit payments I need to make every month.
But since I have to pay those new charges on the one card in full every month, I decided to recalculate the minimum payment amount to reflect only the revolving credit payments. That amount varies depending on the balances, but is around $2000 - $2200 each month.
Since April, I have transferred some of my higher interest rate balances to the 0% promotional interest rate CitiCard mentioned previously, and made payments on some of the cards. The thumbnail sketch is as follows:
April:
Total debt before payments this month: $112,065.63
Total minimum payments due: $2062.00
Payments made: $ 680.00, plus transferred $8400 to CitiCard with the 0% promotional interest rate.
Note that I did not meet my goal of paying $335 "extra" in April. I didn't even make the $2062 minimum payments. All I did was move money around. Not very helpful.
May:
Total debt before this month's payments: $106,671.82
Total minimum payments due: $2099.07
Payments made: $2173.00
Extra payment above minimum: $73.93
It appears the debt has decreased by nearly $4000, but it hasn't. Some of the balance transfers had posted to my "payee" accounts, but not yet posted to the Citi card, so my total debt looked a lot less than it really was.
June:
Total debt before this month's payments: $110,233.39
Total minimum payments due: $2191.07
Payments made: $2555.00
Extra payments above minimum: $363.93
This month the minimum payments have gone up. That is because of some new charges on one of my revolving charge accounts - and also because of the new payment required for the Citi card. It may go up again for July, as I needed to purchase clothes for my kids and pay property taxes of $750 and had no other funds available. I already had reached my $1600 credit limit on the card that I pay in full every month.
The total debt at the beginning of June is accurate, though, and includes all the balance transfer debt plus all the previously existing debts and credits.
Also note, I met my goal in June of paying at least $335 "extra" above the minimum payments! (Although, to be honest, I charged more than the $335 "extra" on my revolving accounts, so I'm not sure this really counts, as it did not go to debt reduction, but to paying for things I bought this month. But at least I paid extra instead of just paying the minimum and running up the cards.)
July:
Total estimated debt before this month's payments: $110,104.
Summary:
So, during these three months, I have made payments totaling $5408.00, and reduced the total debt by approximately $1961.00 ($112,065 - $110,104 = $1961.00).
That's a lot of money going to interest payments. But at least I can see some progress, which is encouraging. Certainly it is better than it was before I embarked on this project. It used to be that every time I added up the debt it was more than the last time I added it up.
Wish me luck as I continue this ridiculously hard battle to get rid of credit debt.
.
I forgot a small-balance credit card when I calculated my initial balance in April. So my debt amount was even worse than I thought, and should have been $112,065.63 total debt (including the car loan).
The required minimum payments were $2062.07, plus the new charges on the card I pay in full every month, of approximately $1650, which is where I came up with the approximately $3700 in credit payments I need to make every month.
But since I have to pay those new charges on the one card in full every month, I decided to recalculate the minimum payment amount to reflect only the revolving credit payments. That amount varies depending on the balances, but is around $2000 - $2200 each month.
Since April, I have transferred some of my higher interest rate balances to the 0% promotional interest rate CitiCard mentioned previously, and made payments on some of the cards. The thumbnail sketch is as follows:
April:
Total debt before payments this month: $112,065.63
Total minimum payments due: $2062.00
Payments made: $ 680.00, plus transferred $8400 to CitiCard with the 0% promotional interest rate.
Note that I did not meet my goal of paying $335 "extra" in April. I didn't even make the $2062 minimum payments. All I did was move money around. Not very helpful.
May:
Total debt before this month's payments: $106,671.82
Total minimum payments due: $2099.07
Payments made: $2173.00
Extra payment above minimum: $73.93
It appears the debt has decreased by nearly $4000, but it hasn't. Some of the balance transfers had posted to my "payee" accounts, but not yet posted to the Citi card, so my total debt looked a lot less than it really was.
June:
Total debt before this month's payments: $110,233.39
Total minimum payments due: $2191.07
Payments made: $2555.00
Extra payments above minimum: $363.93
This month the minimum payments have gone up. That is because of some new charges on one of my revolving charge accounts - and also because of the new payment required for the Citi card. It may go up again for July, as I needed to purchase clothes for my kids and pay property taxes of $750 and had no other funds available. I already had reached my $1600 credit limit on the card that I pay in full every month.
The total debt at the beginning of June is accurate, though, and includes all the balance transfer debt plus all the previously existing debts and credits.
Also note, I met my goal in June of paying at least $335 "extra" above the minimum payments! (Although, to be honest, I charged more than the $335 "extra" on my revolving accounts, so I'm not sure this really counts, as it did not go to debt reduction, but to paying for things I bought this month. But at least I paid extra instead of just paying the minimum and running up the cards.)
July:
Total estimated debt before this month's payments: $110,104.
Summary:
So, during these three months, I have made payments totaling $5408.00, and reduced the total debt by approximately $1961.00 ($112,065 - $110,104 = $1961.00).
That's a lot of money going to interest payments. But at least I can see some progress, which is encouraging. Certainly it is better than it was before I embarked on this project. It used to be that every time I added up the debt it was more than the last time I added it up.
Wish me luck as I continue this ridiculously hard battle to get rid of credit debt.
.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
How Bad Is It?
Answer: truly awful.
You won't believe it, but it's true. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't just added the numbers up myself, three times in a row.
I checked.
I double-checked.
And then I checked again.
So I know it's true: $88,271.63 in credit card debt. Plus a $23,418.41 car loan. That comes to $111,690.04 in loans.
The minimum payments on that debt are $3705.07 every month.
That's $44,460.84 per year, just for the minimum payments on my credit cards and car loan.
And I made only $24,000 in income last year from my business, before operating expenses were deducted. My net income from the business was closer to $10,000. I also earned about $6,000 in wage income from a part time job.
No wonder I ended up deeper in debt over the course of the year. The $111,000 figure isn't even counting my basic living expenses, such as the mortgage, the utility bills, and food. Well, some of those expenses got paid with credit and are included in that amount, since I wasn't making enough money to pay it all. But to climb out of the hole, I am going to have to make enough money to pay the debt and my monthly expensess.
It has hit me. Hard. I have to fix this. I have to climb out of this hole.
The sad thing is, that is $44,460.84 per year, that, if I didn't owe it to my creditors, I could put toward my living expenses. Or my kids' education. Or my retirement fund. Or charity. Or anything else but lining the pockets of Citibank and Chase and MasterCard and Visa.
The interest rates range from temporary 0%, scheduled to rise to 8% in a few months, all the way up to 29% interest. On $111,690.04, at an average of, say, 15% interest, that comes to $16,753.50 I am paying each year, just in interest.
That's all of my net earnings last year, going to pay just the interest on my debt. And three times my net earnings to make the payments. I had to borrow more money last year just to make the minimum payments on my existing debts.
If I were to pay only the minimum amounts due each month, it would be *years* before the debt is paid. (How many years? I don't know. It's one of the things I'll have to look up.) And of course if I keep borrowing money to make the minimum payments and pay living expenses, it will never get paid. Plus, eventually my creditors will "wise up" and quit loaning me more money.... and then what?
I do not want to file bankruptcy. I just want to get out from under this debt.
************************
So, to summarize:
Total outstanding credit and loan debt: $111,690.04
Total monthly payments due: $3,705.07
************************
This blog will be devoted to erasing that debt, hopefully without filing for bankruptcy. In the next posts, I'll explore how it got this bad, strategies for debt reduction (which debts should I pay first?), ways to make more money, and ways to spend less money. In other words, I'll start by analyzing and figuring out a course of action. Then, I'll post about things I try and about what works and what doesn't.
You can watch me try. I hope you'll offer your prayers and send good wishes my way.
I hope I'll succeed, and not fail.
I'll also post an update around the same day each month regarding the total outstanding debt.
Forgive me for "monetizing" this blog. I am not asking you to click on the ads (unless, of course, something catches your interest and you just want to). I am assuming it won't earn anything at all, or not much anyway, but maybe it will help a little if some good ads come my way and people are interested in what is advertised. I've got to try whatever I can to make some extra money.
And the accountability of a public blog is the main thing I am looking for, here. (Well, sort of public. I'm keeping my identity private, as I don't want my friends and family to know just how bad this is. It's pretty embarrassing. I just want to climb out of the debt hole and start living again.)
All I'm asking for is your encouragement, support, suggestions for ways to improve my finances, and accountability.
Oh, and if you happen to win millions in the lottery and are feeling happy and generous and want to send me $10 or so, just email me. I'll let you know where to send it!
.
You won't believe it, but it's true. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't just added the numbers up myself, three times in a row.
I checked.
I double-checked.
And then I checked again.
So I know it's true: $88,271.63 in credit card debt. Plus a $23,418.41 car loan. That comes to $111,690.04 in loans.
The minimum payments on that debt are $3705.07 every month.
That's $44,460.84 per year, just for the minimum payments on my credit cards and car loan.
And I made only $24,000 in income last year from my business, before operating expenses were deducted. My net income from the business was closer to $10,000. I also earned about $6,000 in wage income from a part time job.
No wonder I ended up deeper in debt over the course of the year. The $111,000 figure isn't even counting my basic living expenses, such as the mortgage, the utility bills, and food. Well, some of those expenses got paid with credit and are included in that amount, since I wasn't making enough money to pay it all. But to climb out of the hole, I am going to have to make enough money to pay the debt and my monthly expensess.
It has hit me. Hard. I have to fix this. I have to climb out of this hole.
The sad thing is, that is $44,460.84 per year, that, if I didn't owe it to my creditors, I could put toward my living expenses. Or my kids' education. Or my retirement fund. Or charity. Or anything else but lining the pockets of Citibank and Chase and MasterCard and Visa.
The interest rates range from temporary 0%, scheduled to rise to 8% in a few months, all the way up to 29% interest. On $111,690.04, at an average of, say, 15% interest, that comes to $16,753.50 I am paying each year, just in interest.
That's all of my net earnings last year, going to pay just the interest on my debt. And three times my net earnings to make the payments. I had to borrow more money last year just to make the minimum payments on my existing debts.
If I were to pay only the minimum amounts due each month, it would be *years* before the debt is paid. (How many years? I don't know. It's one of the things I'll have to look up.) And of course if I keep borrowing money to make the minimum payments and pay living expenses, it will never get paid. Plus, eventually my creditors will "wise up" and quit loaning me more money.... and then what?
I do not want to file bankruptcy. I just want to get out from under this debt.
************************
So, to summarize:
Total outstanding credit and loan debt: $111,690.04
Total monthly payments due: $3,705.07
************************
This blog will be devoted to erasing that debt, hopefully without filing for bankruptcy. In the next posts, I'll explore how it got this bad, strategies for debt reduction (which debts should I pay first?), ways to make more money, and ways to spend less money. In other words, I'll start by analyzing and figuring out a course of action. Then, I'll post about things I try and about what works and what doesn't.
You can watch me try. I hope you'll offer your prayers and send good wishes my way.
I hope I'll succeed, and not fail.
I'll also post an update around the same day each month regarding the total outstanding debt.
Forgive me for "monetizing" this blog. I am not asking you to click on the ads (unless, of course, something catches your interest and you just want to). I am assuming it won't earn anything at all, or not much anyway, but maybe it will help a little if some good ads come my way and people are interested in what is advertised. I've got to try whatever I can to make some extra money.
And the accountability of a public blog is the main thing I am looking for, here. (Well, sort of public. I'm keeping my identity private, as I don't want my friends and family to know just how bad this is. It's pretty embarrassing. I just want to climb out of the debt hole and start living again.)
All I'm asking for is your encouragement, support, suggestions for ways to improve my finances, and accountability.
Oh, and if you happen to win millions in the lottery and are feeling happy and generous and want to send me $10 or so, just email me. I'll let you know where to send it!
.
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