Debt help low credit score

[Dave Ervin]

• A close family member is deep credit card debt $8k and needs help. His credit score is low and cannot get some help. Anyone have any ideas on how he can get some help. Any suggestions is appreciated.
  thx Dave

[juice780]

Does he have a mortgage? Maybe he can refinance and borrow money to pay off his credit card. I think I treat rates are still pretty low.

[C0MRAD]

He could get a second job.

[bassnpro1]

It is time to make sacrifices and cut expenses everywhere. Also time to work hard and pick up a second or third job and get that debt paid off. Not easy, not impossible. Depends how bad they want it.

[bzbrent]

He could get a second job.

Please don't bring common sense into the discussion. A "magic debt relief" pill is what's needed. They're on the same isle as the "lose weight with no exercise" pills.

-b-

[skeeterator]

It is time to make sacrifices and cut expenses everywhere. Also time to work hard and pick up a second or third job and get that debt paid off. Not easy, not impossible. Depends how bad they want it.

That's too logical.

[boneil]

Fortunately the 2 problems you mention, credit card debt and low credit score have the same solution. Pay on the credit card debt on time and as much as they can, more than the minimum payments. Set priorities. Either money is being wasted on things like drinking, smoking, drugs, eating out, hobbies, or they don't make enough money to cover living expenses, so they need to work more.

[magfluker]

Pay the card down as much as he can monthly. Don't add to the debt.

Can try to find a good balance transfer rate to another card. Any lower rate than what he is paying now, even it it is an introductory rate for 12 months or so. It consolidates the purchases made and he can get ahead of it better. Credit card companies offer this sometimes to new customers.

Research credit repair service or debt consolidation loans. 8k is not astronomical so I don't think that bankruptcy is on the table

[Condor482]

He could take out a 401k loan. Credit score isn’t usually a factor, and he won’t have to pay penalties like he would on a straight withdrawal out of it.

[Perchpro]

More work and less play is the only way.

[djb750]

I don't think another loan is going to be beneficial here. Usually, these types of situations are 100% behavioral. Modify behavior, see better results down the road.

FWIW - My guess is, there isn't a funded 401K here he could bail himself out with.

[Almag6]

what's he got to sell? Guns? Fishing Gear? Golf Clubs?
What bills can be cut? Internet? Phone Plan? Cable?
Can he CArpool? or walk? or ride a bike?
Can he stop going to 7/11 for $2.50 soda? Mcdonalds for lunch @ $10 a day?

Seccond job? Deliver pizzas on the weekend?

Time to hide the pride and get'er done.

When you put pen to paper, 8k isn't that hard to come up with.

[D_Wade85]

If he doesn’t know who Dave Ramsey is, he should. That’s where I would start.

A WRITTEN budget and plan of action down to the penny should be top priority.

Like Dave says “you can wonder into debt, but you can’t wonder out of debt.” “There is no such thing as debt Tylenol.”

[bass.man65]

What I have seen with people in CC debt is if they do pay it off with any kind of loan. These people always will have it charged right back up within a year.

[gehol]

Fortunately the 2 problems you mention, credit card debt and low credit score have the same solution. Pay on the credit card debt on time and as much as they can, more than the minimum payments. Set priorities. Either money is being wasted on things like drinking, smoking, drugs, eating out, hobbies, or they don't make enough money to cover living expenses, so they need to work more.

100% agree
Behavioral modification; without this, everything else is a waste of time. The credit score is not the problem, you can not borrow your self out of debt.

[04_triton]

Moonshine

[1stindoor]

Probably stating the obvious...but has he contacted the credit card company and asked for a lowered rate? Has he reached out to one of the companies that will do the same for him and help him restructure his payments?

[dawg1419]

With 8g as my only dept I could pay it all off in 2 months selling/flipping stuff online.

[BP in ME]

• A close family member is deep credit card debt $8k and needs help. His credit score is low and cannot get some help. Anyone have any ideas on how he can get some help. Any suggestions is appreciated.
  thx Dave

There's way too many unknowns here to give you a practical answer other than what others have already suggested--cut spending, sell stuff, pick up extra work, etc. To really get into it would require knowing his debt-to-income ratio, whether or not he is employed, are there a stack of other bills not being paid, etc. My BIL volunteers at a non-profit debt counseling program. If he qualifies for that, they would set him up with a budget, work with creditors, and help him stop the bleeding. The important thing is to stay away from the debt relief vultures that just make it worse.

My BIL gets alot of satisfaction from helping people but it can also be frustrating since they are often dealing with mental health issues and often aren't in the top percentiles for IQ either. So they'll get someone on the right path and then a collection agent will call and convince them to make just one payment but as soon as they have the account info they put the rest of the charges through and wipes out the account. Then checks bounce and you're right back where you started.

[BP in ME]

Does he have a mortgage? Maybe he can refinance and borrow money to pay off his credit card. I think I treat rates are still pretty low.

Don't think you'll get a refi without a decent credit score to support it.