Featured Discussion: Common Reasons You May Be in Debt

I am bi polar and although I am on meds I still go through manic stages where I shop on 

line. I don't do it because I need the stuff because most of the time I don't. I just can't stop myself. I am in debt because of it. I have maxed most of my credit cards and use my debit card until the money is gone.  I need help.

Is a debt consolidation loan better than a Debt Settlement Program or vise versa?  Which is better and why.  They both have pros & cons

GOOD

Help in debt,paying off cards one at a time .Is this a good way???.Any other suggestions 

Thanks for the information..very helpful

I have Two Credit cards that total  $4,500 respectively,(My only negative debt) .I was doing excellent in paying my monthly payments,  But because of a drop in my income,  my payments became irregular  to the point I could not keep up and had no choice but to stop all together, The whole process became worrisome for me, because  it is my obligation and I can't continue. My cards are Locked and no longer used.(One acct. is closed by Creditor)

My rent pyt went up, my Utility pyt went up as well as my Car insurance. This has put a dent in my monthly income. I'm a senior citizen who lives on Social Security Benefits and Alimony. I'm retired/Single/Live alone.

When I access "Overview" it shows my total Debt Amount, but then when I access the TOTAL DEBT Link it shows my Total Debt as $0. This I do not understand.

I'm not married, but have a long-time Significant Other. We were struggling each month to pay bills on time, and wasting a lot of money too. I knew in my head that we were making enough money to live off, as well as being able to afford a car payment, it just wasn't working out in reality.

My solution was to make a list of all the fixed bills each month - tv, internet, insurance, rent, etc. and came up with a grand total. I divided that by 4 and came up with a dollar amount needed each week to pay the basic bills. Then I took my SO to the bank and we opened up a joint checking account for bills only. We both direct deposit enough money each week from our checks to cover those bills, with the balance going into our own individual checking accounts. The money in those accounts goes for gas, groceries, savings, impulse spending.

It's surprising how easy it's been to stay on track this way. The evening before payday, I see how much is left in my individual account, and allocate half of it to erasing past debt, and the other half into my emergency savings account. We've gone from being behind every month, to caught up and saving money every month now!