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How can I get my mother out of credit card debt?
Question : How can I get my mother out of credit card debt?
My mother owes $ 40,000 in credit card debt across 6 credit cards. Apparently this has been going on for a while but I have just found out about it very recently. Today I gave her $ 2,200 to pay off one of her smaller cards with a high interest rate (department store card) and that was all of the money that I had. I am a 22 year old full time college student and I do not have a good job right now and cannot afford to help her out, she only works part time at a clothing store making around $ 8 an hour and cannot handle all the minimum payments. I am graduating this semester with a degree in Finance and I have always been fiscally responsible so this absolutely disgusts me but I cannot turn my back on my mother. Can anyone please provide some advice on how I can help her situation? Should I get her to consolidate? Attempt to re-negotiate directly with her credit card companies? I will be calling the National Foundation for Credit Counseling tomorrow.
Thank you for the responses, I actually have all of her credit cards in my possession hidden from her and I make sure that she is not charging anymore. I am so disgusted with her but I’m still trying to help her. I have been telling her to pay off the credit cards with the lowest amounts on it first so she can start eliminating the number of cards that she has. I am hoping that me paying off one will set the example. She still has not deposited the money so I am contemplating taking it back and having her speak with the NFCC before I do anything.
national foundation for credit counseling
Best answer:
Answer by CatDad
It’s probably in your mom’s best interest to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. At best, NFCC (CCCS) can reduce the interest and payments on the cards….making $ 8 an hour she’d be paying on this debt for 15-20 years….with the big banks that we bailed out getting richer and your mother living in grinding poverty.
All the financial gimmicks and wizardry in the world will not remedy a situation where a person has $ 40K in credit card debt and makes just $ 8/hour. Credit card companies will at most reduce interest to 9 or 10%…the same rate that NFCC can negotiate. Even the “debt snowball” method isn’t really going to help here given the huge debt vs. the very low income….
There are many on this board, especially the Dave Ramsey people, who like to exaggerate the consequences of filing for bankruptcy. It does not destroy your credit rating forever…and in as little as 3 years you can have good credit again. There is no shame to making this decision…esp. in light of the egregious behavior of the big banks. Your mom needs to what what’s in her best interest….Of course it should be avoided it at all possible…but sometimes circumstances call for it…which appears to be the case with your mom.
If she files, she’ll have to really change her ways…because once she files for Chapter 7, she won’t be able to file bankruptcy again for 8 more years. As her son you’ll have to closely monitor her financial affairs.
Seriously, I would not waste time with NFCC….see a bankruptcy attorney. FYI: NFCC/CCCS is funded/supported by the credit card industry, and as such they have a vested interest in not telling people to file for Chapter 7 when they probably should.
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#2 written by My Take on It 1 year ago
Why on EARTH did you give her $ 2200? Especially when as you say, that was all the money you had? Are you nuts? That is like giving a crackhead more crack! Your mother is an adult who got herself into this mess. You cannot bail her out and expect her to learn anything from it!
What you should do is NOT give her your last pennies, but give her the number for NFCC and have HER make the appointment. She has to be an adult and get herself out of the mess she has created. Even if that means bankruptcy.
You need to look out for yourself. I could see if you were paying her rent or utility bill so she wouldn’t be homeless..but a dept store card?
Nuts.
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Your main problem is not going to be getting the credit paid off but keeping her from running up the cards again once everything is paid down or off. Someone who cannot handle minimum payments but still runs up additional debt has a different problem then being fiscally irresponsible. My advice would be that if you are going to help her, place the condition on the help that the accounts being paid on get closed out and the cards ripped up/shredded. you can try renegotiating with the card companies, get a freeze on interest and penalties, etc., but you should also get the card accounts frozen so she can’t use them any more and the limits decrease with the balance. Your mom needs some tough love right about now.