Credit Cards and defaulting - what can they do?

[Zeste]

Yeah, insurance is a top goal. They won't insure a pregnant woman, so we have to just let this baby be born for cash. Wife wants to do a home birth.

I think I should definitely look for a part time job that can give insurance though.

[Eomer]

Not to be a dick, but it's kind of something I'm good at. But weren't you just posting on these boards a couple weeks ago about a new motorcycle helmet? I dunno, it seems you realize on the one hand that you're in serious shit right now, but on the other hand are still making poor decisions. A couple hundred bucks against your CC debt at 30% is a savings of 5 bucks a month in interest, is one way of looking at it.

As far as the overall topic goes, I have zero input. From what I can see, you're fucked the second anything goes wrong in terms of health or income.

[Etoille]

Hon I know youre trying but....

my answer to you is going to be: suck it up cupcake.

I have 150k in student loans.
12k in a personal unsecured loan thru BOA wherein I rolled much of my 30k plus college stupidity (credit card debt)
9k on my discover (only 20k went on the BOA loan)
A mortgage that I pay about 1/3 of
Until about a year ago I had a 230/mo car payment.

And I dont make much more than 10% more than what you do.

And I STILL spend too much.

It can be done but you really have to rein in your spending.

I know it seems completely and totally hopeless. Its not. I promise hon. You just gotta suck it up and take responsibility (not saying youre not - I'm saying thats just how it is).

I've paid off about 8k in CC debt in the last 3-4 years. Its not going to be fast, nor will it be easy. But it can be done. It just means you actually have to make a concious choice to stick to a budget. Which is really really friggin hard to do. At least for me. But it can be done.

Coupon clipping is a HUGE help. People dont realize how much money they can be saving. Groceries, toiletries, going out etc. It just takes a lot of discipline.

[Ancalagon]

To anyone who has read this thread but is having trouble piecing the moral of the story together, please allow me: LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS.

[Lyenae]

Originally Posted by Ancalagon

To anyone who has read this thread but is having trouble piecing the moral of the story together, please allow me: LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS.

I dunno, I live well within my means, investing/saving well over 50% of my income for the past 4 years. With the stock market crash, real inflation at around 10%, and shitty interest rates, sometimes I wonder if I shoulda been like Zeste and a bunch of other Americans and just fucked over a ton of debtors by saving nothing and maxing out any/all credit limits available.

I'd probably have enjoyed a much higher standard of living for those years, been able to settle my debt for real low inflated dollars somewhere down the line, and possibly would end up getting a piece of bailout pie that's incoming. Assuming worst case scenario, I coulda put a small portion of that consumption debt toward portable, hideable liquid assets (gold coins) and perhaps a few years worth of emergency food. Except for maybe a shitty credit history for a few years, it seems like I'd have ended up ahead.

[Cad]

To answer the original question, they can sue you, and as a result of the judgment which they will get, they can garnish your wages, attach assets not protected by law (houses usually are, one car, etc) and basically take your stuff. Declaring bankruptcy is a better idea than simply not paying at the amounts you're talking about if you really have no assets. Bankruptcy won't discharge your student loans though.

[Zeste]

Originally Posted by Eomer

I dunno, it seems you realize on the one hand that you're in serious shit right now, but on the other hand are still making poor decisions.

As far as the overall topic goes, I have zero input. From what I can see, you're fucked the second anything goes wrong in terms of health or income.

Yeah I don't have any safety net if there was a total stop in cashflow or a medical emergency.

And I definitely was a bit of a "shopaholic", but I've cut that out. The helmet thing and shit like that is sort of just window-shopping, I haven't bought anything in a while, and sold everything I could. I even sold my AR15 since I posted in this thread last.

Originally Posted by Etoille

my answer to you is going to be: suck it up cupcake.

Presently, there's nothing that's not being sucked. I have 2 late credit card payments that are each 1 month behind, and that's it as far as delinquencies. Granted, there's alot of debt there, but it's not like I just didn't give a shit - I've never once been late on a payment in my life until the last few months, when my paychecks started bouncing and not being able to be cashed.

As far as cutting corners, I've canceled my TV service, got the cheapest phone plan ATT has, ride a motorcycle instead of a car, don't eat at restaurants, don't spend money on recreation, don't go to doctors (for myself). I eat 2 out of 3 meals at my friends Cafe where I trade him graphic design and website work for food.

I mean, up until 1.5 years ago, things were pretty fine. Then as our kid turned 2, we started to notice that he wasn't developing normally, and hence he's been diagnosed as Autistic, and not the fun kind, the "not sure at this point if he'll be able to attend normal schools or ever live on his own" kind. So my wife no longer works and is basically taking care of him most of the time.

Originally Posted by Ancalagon

To anyone who has read this thread but is having trouble piecing the moral of the story together, please allow me: LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS.

Yes.

[Zeste]

Originally Posted by Cad

To answer the original question, they can sue you, and as a result of the judgment which they will get, they can garnish your wages, attach assets not protected by law (houses usually are, one car, etc) and basically take your stuff. Declaring bankruptcy is a better idea than simply not paying at the amounts you're talking about if you really have no assets. Bankruptcy won't discharge your student loans though.

Won't credit card companies sell the debts to collection agencies? I've never heard of a credit card company suing someone for 8-10k. Maybe they do, I have no idea.

I have no assets other than my house. My wife and I each have a vehicle, which are upside down. And other than that, there's nothing. This morning, I had 210 dollars to my name, period. Was able to finally cash my paycheck from 11 days ago, so safe for another 3 days!

People are jumping on this like I said I was moving to China - I'm not. I just spent all 6000 bucks of my "new homeowner" tax credit last month on credit card debt.

And yeah, if the shit hits the fan and I am hit by a car or get a bad disease, I'll probably lose everything and be living in my grandmas basement again, except this time with a wife and 2 kids.

I am trying to generate as much money as possible in large lump sums to pay this stuff of fast as possible, since my job is always up for question. Presently, my brother and I am trying to sell off more of my dad's shit to get some lump sums coming in. Hard as fuck to sell an exotic powerboat and a nice Harley during this economy, but we plan to liquidate both. It's not like I am keeping shit that could be sold.

And if that job does evaporate and I get the call that the company doesn't need me or they've folded, then I have to start choosing what bills to pay, and what to skip.

So really, I was mostly curious about what happens if I do end up without a job and income. And without savings, it only takes about 2 weeks from that day before stuff starts getting late, and within a month, everything is late.

This thread has really given me some good food for thought though. I hope I've made it clear I'm not proud of this, I felt like I am LEARNING a lesson as this goes along, and I'm not trying to pull a heist and smugly skip out on debt.

[Cad]

I hope my post didn't come off as criticism, I didn't mean it that way. I'm just telling you what could happen.

There's not a lot you can do in your situation, the preferable thing would be to not get in that situation in the first place, but it's a little late for that.

Criticism mode on:
Having children with no medical insurance is just damn irresponsible, if you didn't have your shit together, shoot it in her fucking eye and wait until you do. Kids deserve better.

[Zeste]

Originally Posted by Cad

Having children with no medical insurance is just damn irresponsible, if you didn't have your shit together, shoot it in her fucking eye and wait until you do. Kids deserve better.

Definitely a huge mistake on my part.

It's gonna sound retarded as fuck... but when they told me you can't insure a woman for a pregnancy unless you've had the police a YEAR before you GOT PREGNANT, I Was like "Oh..."

[r3probate]

Originally Posted by Zeste

Definitely a huge mistake on my part.

It's gonna sound retarded as fuck... but when they told me you can't insure a woman for a pregnancy unless you've had the police a YEAR before you GOT PREGNANT, I Was like "Oh..."

I giggled. If you could walk out to the nearest agent or call BC/BS for a new policy as soon as you're diagnosed with something (pregnancy, cancer, teh AIDS) then insurers would cease to function, that's adverse selection for ya. When we discussed this in my risk and insurance course the "pre-existing condition" window was given to us as 9 months, for your exact reason.

[Bizanich]

Originally Posted by Zeste

Won't credit card companies sell the debts to collection agencies? I've never heard of a credit card company suing someone for 8-10k. Maybe they do, I have no idea.

We do both, depends on what our models say have a higher chance of getting the money back while being able to maintain the cost of pursuing said avenue.

You have a job currently, so let me ask again since it sounds like you have more then one card, have you checked with a debt management company?

[Etoille]

Originally Posted by Zeste

Yeah I don't have any safety net if there was a total stop in cashflow or a medical emergency.

And I definitely was a bit of a "shopaholic", but I've cut that out. The helmet thing and shit like that is sort of just window-shopping, I haven't bought anything in a while, and sold everything I could. I even sold my AR15 since I posted in this thread last.






Presently, there's nothing that's not being sucked. I have 2 late credit card payments that are each 1 month behind, and that's it as far as delinquencies. Granted, there's alot of debt there, but it's not like I just didn't give a shit - I've never once been late on a payment in my life until the last few months, when my paychecks started bouncing and not being able to be cashed.



As far as cutting corners, I've canceled my TV service, got the cheapest phone plan ATT has, ride a motorcycle instead of a car, don't eat at restaurants, don't spend money on recreation, don't go to doctors (for myself). I eat 2 out of 3 meals at my friends Cafe where I trade him graphic design and website work for food.

I mean, up until 1.5 years ago, things were pretty fine. Then as our kid turned 2, we started to notice that he wasn't developing normally, and hence he's been diagnosed as Autistic, and not the fun kind, the "not sure at this point if he'll be able to attend normal schools or ever live on his own" kind. So my wife no longer works and is basically taking care of him most of the time.





Yes.

Yeah as I said later in my post - I didn't say suck it up cucpcake to be a bitch - it is what it is. Everything is always fine until its not. I am sorry to hear about your son - consider having your wife work into something which combines both your strengths - like a very well done blog about life with a son with autism. Any extra income is good - and if you can get ad revenue thats a bonus

Definitely agree with Cad on the whole being a responsible parent thing though. Having another child without checking the whole insurance thing - especially in light of the fact that 1.5 years ago you found out that your first child is autistic.....wasn't probably a good choice.

Personally, it might be time for your wife to find a way to get some revenue on the side in terms of an at home business and you might want a second job.

It will suck, it will put a strain on your marriage, but if you all are meant to be, youll be.

[Sharmai]

[quote=Zeste];1401704]They won't insure a pregnant woman....
I/QUOTE]

Um what? Yes they will.They have to by law. Pregnancy cannot be considered a pre-existing condition to be used to deny medical coverage.

[Zeste]

[quote=Sharmai;1401926]

Originally Posted by Zeste

;1401704]They won't insure a pregnant woman....
I/QUOTE]

Um what? Yes they will.They have to by law. Pregnancy cannot be considered a pre-existing condition to be used to deny medical coverage.

Not according to my insurance agent.

I don't have a "job", I'm a 1099 contractor who works from home.