Debt Dumpers 2024

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

No. I thought it was 345% APR interest. It is NOT. It is indeed 522% APR. It's one of title loan places, not a credit card. Heck, my car loan is at 26%. Not sure on my 2 credit cards though.

Is that supposed to say 3.45%?

Normally it's good to get a very small emergency fund available before tackling debt, but if you have something that charges more interest than your credit card I'd suggest tackling that first. The idea of an emergency fund is so you don't have to put an emergency bill on your credit card. HOWEVER, you're not going to be earning anything to speak of on that money, so it would actually cost you less to pay down a higher interest debt and if there's an emergency you may have to fall back on the credit card. It happens, just don't do it unless you have to and this route makes sense.

If it makes you feel better to have a few bucks set aside instead, then there's nothing wrong with that. Just be aware it's not the most economical option.

 

[princesscinderella]

No. I thought it was 345% APR interest. It is NOT. It is indeed 522% APR. It's one of title loan places, not a credit card. Heck, my car loan is at 26%. Not sure on my 2 credit cards though.

Is there a prepayment penalty in place to pay the principal balance off early? Even if there is calculate what’s more expensive the penalty or how much completing all the payments will cost you at that insane interest rate.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

No. I thought it was 345% APR interest. It is NOT. It is indeed 522% APR. It's one of title loan places, not a credit card. Heck, my car loan is at 26%. Not sure on my 2 credit cards though.

That's horrific! It shouldn't even be legal for places to charge those kinds of rates
If I were you I'd definitely tackle that first. If an emergency does crop up, you're not going to be doing any worse than that.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I stopped by the loan place yesterday on the way home from work, and I talked to them. The only way to pay on the principal was to refinance it. So, we refinanced it for another 6 months (12 payments every 2 weeks). However, we set the payment date for every other Friday, when it's pay day. And that was the key. Here's why.

When she took out the loan, she set the payments up on Thursday thinking they were in line with her pay days. However, she gets paid on the 15th and 31st. She tried to line up payments for those days, but they wouldn't do that. So, when Thursday rolls around, she turns off her card. Turns it back on on Fridays, so the payment comes out a day late. Unbenounced to my wife, they charge a $200 fee if you're a day late. So every single payment she's made has only covered the late payment fee. She hadn't paid anything on the principal. I asked how long that would go on. She said we could pay 10 years, every 2 weeks, and not put a single penny on the principal. I asked the lady why they didn't tell my wife that, and she said it was in the small print in the contract.

Since we made a payment Friday to cover the late payment, that caught us back up. So we were able to pay on the principal. My wife didn't want to. She just wanted to pay the $228 every other Friday. She said lets just keep it how things are becuase we might need the extra money down the road. But I talked her into refinancing it.

We paid $300 today. The refinance was around $82. That means $220 or so went onto the principal. It dropped our payments to $170ish every other week for 24 weeks (12 payments). The loan was sitting at around $710. But with the refinance fee, we'll end up paying $840ish off by the end. I did some quick math today. On the $800 loan, we'll end up paying $2,100. I asked about paying a little extra each time we pay (maybe like $50), and she said that it would be put on the principal. However, my wife doesn't want to do that. She wants to just pay the $170 and save the extra $50 every 2 weeks.

So that's the update. We had to refinance to be able to pay on the principal. So, it's another 6 months of payments every 2 weeks at 522% APR.

How did this turn out? Did they let your last payment be applied to the principal?
If they don't, please don't let this discourage you. We're all human and none of us were born with this knowledge. We all keep on learning from our past mistakes as we go through life.
You can't change the past but you can change your future.
Like Nemo says, Just keep swimming!!

Just curious if they fixed it for you? I really hope they did.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I asked how they could legally do it. She said don't talk to the company, that I needed to talk to my governor because he's allowing it.

That's horrific! It shouldn't even be legal for places to charge those kinds of rates
If I were you I'd definitely tackle that first. If an emergency does crop up, you're not going to be doing any worse than that.

 

[afan]

I stopped by the loan place yesterday on the way home from work, and I talked to them. The only way to pay on the principal was to refinance it. So, we refinanced it for another 6 months (12 payments every 2 weeks). However, we set the payment date for every other Friday, when it's pay day. And that was the key. Here's why.

When she took out the loan, she set the payments up on Thursday thinking they were in line with her pay days. However, she gets paid on the 15th and 31st. She tried to line up payments for those days, but they wouldn't do that. So, when Thursday rolls around, she turns off her card. Turns it back on on Fridays, so the payment comes out a day late. Unbenounced to my wife, they charge a $200 fee if you're a day late. So every single payment she's made has only covered the late payment fee. She hadn't paid anything on the principal. I asked how long that would go on. She said we could pay 10 years, every 2 weeks, and not put a single penny on the principal. I asked the lady why they didn't tell my wife that, and she said it was in the small print in the contract.

Since we made a payment Friday to cover the late payment, that caught us back up. So we were able to pay on the principal. My wife didn't want to. She just wanted to pay the $228 every other Friday. She said lets just keep it how things are becuase we might need the extra money down the road. But I talked her into refinancing it.

We paid $300 today. The refinance was around $82. That means $220 or so went onto the principal. It dropped our payments to $170ish every other week for 24 weeks (12 payments). The loan was sitting at around $710. But with the refinance fee, we'll end up paying $840ish off by the end. I did some quick math today. On the $800 loan, we'll end up paying $2,100. I asked about paying a little extra each time we pay (maybe like $50), and she said that it would be put on the principal. However, my wife doesn't want to do that. She wants to just pay the $170 and save the extra $50 every 2 weeks.

So that's the update. We had to refinance to be able to pay on the principal. So, it's another 6 months of payments every 2 weeks at 522% APR.

Sorry but you need to put your foot down on this one. There's nothing you need to save that 50 bucks for just in case when you owe that with that high of am interest rate. Especially when nothing that's been paid actually did anything.

This loan needs to be gone and that means no extras. It doesn't seem your wife is learning anything if she thinks this is all ok.

It can't just be one of you working to pay the debt off, you both have to come to an understanding of what needs to happen for the debt to get paid off. I worry that that extra 50 each we that she doesn't want to pay because it may be needed will actually be used for a want, which you can't have right now.

All the money that's gone to the late payments is already a waste because she thought she could game the system without actually reading how it worked. There's very few places that are ok with a late payment that don't charge a fee.

 

[AmyAnne]

I stopped by the loan place yesterday on the way home from work, and I talked to them. The only way to pay on the principal was to refinance it. So, we refinanced it for another 6 months (12 payments every 2 weeks). However, we set the payment date for every other Friday, when it's pay day. And that was the key. Here's why.

When she took out the loan, she set the payments up on Thursday thinking they were in line with her pay days. However, she gets paid on the 15th and 31st. She tried to line up payments for those days, but they wouldn't do that. So, when Thursday rolls around, she turns off her card. Turns it back on on Fridays, so the payment comes out a day late. Unbenounced to my wife, they charge a $200 fee if you're a day late. So every single payment she's made has only covered the late payment fee. She hadn't paid anything on the principal. I asked how long that would go on. She said we could pay 10 years, every 2 weeks, and not put a single penny on the principal. I asked the lady why they didn't tell my wife that, and she said it was in the small print in the contract.

Since we made a payment Friday to cover the late payment, that caught us back up. So we were able to pay on the principal. My wife didn't want to. She just wanted to pay the $228 every other Friday. She said lets just keep it how things are becuase we might need the extra money down the road. But I talked her into refinancing it.

We paid $300 today. The refinance was around $82. That means $220 or so went onto the principal. It dropped our payments to $170ish every other week for 24 weeks (12 payments). The loan was sitting at around $710. But with the refinance fee, we'll end up paying $840ish off by the end. I did some quick math today. On the $800 loan, we'll end up paying $2,100. I asked about paying a little extra each time we pay (maybe like $50), and she said that it would be put on the principal. However, my wife doesn't want to do that. She wants to just pay the $170 and save the extra $50 every 2 weeks.

So that's the update. We had to refinance to be able to pay on the principal. So, it's another 6 months of payments every 2 weeks at 522% APR.

Maybe you could show your wife how much less it would cost if you paid the additional $50 toward the principal, compared to not paying the extra $50. She's thinking about having $50 less but maybe that could be reframed as she's saving $150 (that's just a guess about the difference).

 

[amylevan]

I stopped by the loan place yesterday on the way home from work, and I talked to them. The only way to pay on the principal was to refinance it. So, we refinanced it for another 6 months (12 payments every 2 weeks). However, we set the payment date for every other Friday, when it's pay day. And that was the key. Here's why.

When she took out the loan, she set the payments up on Thursday thinking they were in line with her pay days. However, she gets paid on the 15th and 31st. She tried to line up payments for those days, but they wouldn't do that. So, when Thursday rolls around, she turns off her card. Turns it back on on Fridays, so the payment comes out a day late. Unbenounced to my wife, they charge a $200 fee if you're a day late. So every single payment she's made has only covered the late payment fee. She hadn't paid anything on the principal. I asked how long that would go on. She said we could pay 10 years, every 2 weeks, and not put a single penny on the principal. I asked the lady why they didn't tell my wife that, and she said it was in the small print in the contract.

Since we made a payment Friday to cover the late payment, that caught us back up. So we were able to pay on the principal. My wife didn't want to. She just wanted to pay the $228 every other Friday. She said lets just keep it how things are becuase we might need the extra money down the road. But I talked her into refinancing it.

We paid $300 today. The refinance was around $82. That means $220 or so went onto the principal. It dropped our payments to $170ish every other week for 24 weeks (12 payments). The loan was sitting at around $710. But with the refinance fee, we'll end up paying $840ish off by the end. I did some quick math today. On the $800 loan, we'll end up paying $2,100. I asked about paying a little extra each time we pay (maybe like $50), and she said that it would be put on the principal. However, my wife doesn't want to do that. She wants to just pay the $170 and save the extra $50 every 2 weeks.

So that's the update. We had to refinance to be able to pay on the principal. So, it's another 6 months of payments every 2 weeks at 522% APR.

Technically you are “saving” more than $50 every 2 weeks by putting it towards the principal. You will pay more in interest than you would save. Pay off that loan first, as fast you are able. You need to show her that how much interest you are paying and how much you would save with the extra.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I stopped by the loan place yesterday on the way home from work, and I talked to them. The only way to pay on the principal was to refinance it. So, we refinanced it for another 6 months (12 payments every 2 weeks). However, we set the payment date for every other Friday, when it's pay day. And that was the key. Here's why.

When she took out the loan, she set the payments up on Thursday thinking they were in line with her pay days. However, she gets paid on the 15th and 31st. She tried to line up payments for those days, but they wouldn't do that. So, when Thursday rolls around, she turns off her card. Turns it back on on Fridays, so the payment comes out a day late. Unbenounced to my wife, they charge a $200 fee if you're a day late. So every single payment she's made has only covered the late payment fee. She hadn't paid anything on the principal. I asked how long that would go on. She said we could pay 10 years, every 2 weeks, and not put a single penny on the principal. I asked the lady why they didn't tell my wife that, and she said it was in the small print in the contract.

Since we made a payment Friday to cover the late payment, that caught us back up. So we were able to pay on the principal. My wife didn't want to. She just wanted to pay the $228 every other Friday. She said lets just keep it how things are becuase we might need the extra money down the road. But I talked her into refinancing it.

We paid $300 today. The refinance was around $82. That means $220 or so went onto the principal. It dropped our payments to $170ish every other week for 24 weeks (12 payments). The loan was sitting at around $710. But with the refinance fee, we'll end up paying $840ish off by the end. I did some quick math today. On the $800 loan, we'll end up paying $2,100. I asked about paying a little extra each time we pay (maybe like $50), and she said that it would be put on the principal. However, my wife doesn't want to do that. She wants to just pay the $170 and save the extra $50 every 2 weeks.

So that's the update. We had to refinance to be able to pay on the principal. So, it's another 6 months of payments every 2 weeks at 522% APR.

Does this company send you a statement detailing all of this? Whether this type of loan should be illegal or not is debatable, adults entered into an agreement of their own free will. What should be illegal is the company keeping you (legally, your wife) in the dark about additional fees and how payment have been applied. If statements have been sent to her, then she is the one keeping you in the dark, not the bank.

Also, it sounds like your wife is not really commited to eliminating debt. That is the first step, having the mindset to making a commitment to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Did she genuinely not know she was creating all of these late fee?

I was in denial for a long time. Years. I'd barely read my statements, just quickly send in the minimum, or a little extra, just to get through the month. I didn't feel like changing my ways. Eventually it all catches up with you and then one is forced to face it.

Keep the lines of communication open and keep expressing how you feel. Paying down debt while a spouse is not onboard with it will be harder but not impossible. Don't give up. Stay involved with the bill paying process and paying attention to where money is going. There is nothing stopping her from getting a loan like this again if she's not interested in curtailing spending for her wants.

Show her the progress of the paydown. That is a powerful motivator. Remind her that with zero debt, you can both have more wants than you ever thought possible and you'll both sleep better with money in the bank. I am still amazed at how much we can save now with no debt but then again, April will be 11 years since I first found this thread and made the commitment to myself and dh that we were going to make it happen.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Also, is it possible to do a balance transfer from another cc to just pay it in full and have no future obligation to this company? Part of our paydown plan was getting a balance transfer on Discover cards when they were offering a 0% for 12 months promotion for a 2% fee. It saved a lot on interest charges while paying down other debts that were higher up on the list. By the time the 12 month promo expiration was getting close, those other debts were gone and I was ready to attack the Discover card balances.
This may not be possible if your credit score is low or your debt to income ratio prevents you from getting more credit.

The key to this scenario being successful is knowing that the Discover card (or whatever card) was strictly a vehicle to reduce the accumulation of interest and not as a credit card to charge additional purchases. That would completely screw up the plan and make the situation much worse. This is because future payments get applied to the balance transfer balance first, not to the purchases balance. Then the purchase balance keeps accruing more interest. So what starts out as let's say $1000 balance transfer at 0% interest, then you charge $50 to fill your gas tank, all payments go to the $1000 balance. That $50 charge keeps growing because payments are not applied to it but it still accrues interest because it's not part of the 0% promo. Yes, I learned this the hard way.
This requires willpower; hide the actual card so it's not readily available and stay strong in your commitment to debt reduction.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

This is old but lessons are unchanged.

 

[MamaBelleRN]

Sunday night and ready for a quick weekly recap

First, we had an amazing time at Disney on Ice! After that intense stretch of 12 shifts in a row (ending on Friday), it was absolutely wonderful to unplug and enjoy the time with my family. And a little taste of Disney helps too While I was hesitant to spend money once we started this debt free journey, I’m glad we didn’t cancel the weekend. While I want to be and plan to be 100% focused, I also have to remember this is a marathon and not a sprint.

Speaking of sprinting, I certainly felt like I was doing just that this week. I worked an extra 32 hours for call pay. Our benchmark for debt pay off is an extra 16 hours at base pay, so we’re well above that for this past week. We won’t actually see any progress until February, but just knowing we’re making the right strides towards changing our financial situation is alleviating so much stress!

Back to the grind tomorrow Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Weekly recap before the new week starts (not tackling the cash store loan I've been talking about yet, that will be in a longer post sometime tomorrow)

- Paid a payment on my CC that was due. Paid $10 more than what my minimum payment is supposed to be (paid $50 instead of $40, I know not much, but every little bit helps);
- Refinanced our loan at the cash store, so we had to pay $528.28 for that ($228.28 in late fees becuase we were 1 day late on our payment, $220 on principal and $80 for their refinance fee);
- Sold a few baseball cards and got some money in my paypal for "just in case." Only about $150, but that's $150 we didn't have coming into the week. And I want to keep selling oddball stuff around the house. We did a house clean today, and I grabbed several clothes that still had original tags on it to try and sell on eBay.
- Put $250 from paycheck into our rent fund. Our rent is due at the end of the month, and it's $1,950. So we've been trying to put $250 from our 1st 3 paychecks of the month into our rent fund, so that when the 31st hits, it's not such a hit to our finances. That way we're not suck for a week with no money.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Weekly recap before the new week starts (not tackling the cash store loan I've been talking about yet, that will be in a longer post sometime tomorrow)

- Paid a payment on my CC that was due. Paid $10 more than what my minimum payment is supposed to be (paid $50 instead of $40, I know not much, but every little bit helps);
- Refinanced our loan at the cash store, so we had to pay $528.28 for that ($228.28 in late fees becuase we were 1 day late on our payment, $220 on principal and $80 for their refinance fee);
- Sold a few baseball cards and got some money in my paypal for "just in case." Only about $150, but that's $150 we didn't have coming into the week. And I want to keep selling oddball stuff around the house. We did a house clean today, and I grabbed several clothes that still had original tags on it to try and sell on eBay.
- Put $250 from paycheck into our rent fund. Our rent is due at the end of the month, and it's $1,950. So we've been trying to put $250 from our 1st 3 paychecks of the month into our rent fund, so that when the 31st hits, it's not such a hit to our finances. That way we're not suck for a week with no money.

Feels like you are making a good start. Hopefully you will be able to get your wife fully on board over the next few weeks if she sees some progress. It is really difficult when the two parties have different attitudes / understanding of finance matters. I would recommend making any emergency savings accessible but not too readily so you have to think about getting to them to slow down the ability to access them for a want rather than a need.

 

[softballpooh]

We paid $300 today. The refinance was around $82. That means $220 or so went onto the principal. It dropped our payments to $170ish every other week for 24 weeks (12 payments). The loan was sitting at around $710. But with the refinance fee, we'll end up paying $840ish off by the end. I did some quick math today. On the $800 loan, we'll end up paying $2,100.

Do you know the total payoff amount of what you owe right now? Not the $2100 at the end, but if you walked in there this Friday and paid the loan in full? Is there a pre-payment penalty since you just refinanced?

I ask because I can see you working SO hard to make this right. You're learning and growing and I'd like to send you some funds so you can make an extra payment to the principal to help get this loan off your plate before the 6 months. I hate that they have taken advantage of your wife and it makes me so angry that it's even allowed. I know it probably sounds crazy for an internet stranger to offer, but I just felt led to ask.

 

[Jsharp13]

Weekly recap before the new week starts (not tackling the cash store loan I've been talking about yet, that will be in a longer post sometime tomorrow)

- Paid a payment on my CC that was due. Paid $10 more than what my minimum payment is supposed to be (paid $50 instead of $40, I know not much, but every little bit helps);
- Refinanced our loan at the cash store, so we had to pay $528.28 for that ($228.28 in late fees becuase we were 1 day late on our payment, $220 on principal and $80 for their refinance fee);
- Sold a few baseball cards and got some money in my paypal for "just in case." Only about $150, but that's $150 we didn't have coming into the week. And I want to keep selling oddball stuff around the house. We did a house clean today, and I grabbed several clothes that still had original tags on it to try and sell on eBay.
- Put $250 from paycheck into our rent fund. Our rent is due at the end of the month, and it's $1,950. So we've been trying to put $250 from our 1st 3 paychecks of the month into our rent fund, so that when the 31st hits, it's not such a hit to our finances. That way we're not suck for a week with no money.

Curious how ebay is working for you? I used to sell things there years ago with great success. Then a year or so ago, I found it cumbersome. Bidders never paying, nothing selling because there are so many duplicates. Does it work alright for you? Should I give it a whirl again?

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Weekly recap before the new week starts (not tackling the cash store loan I've been talking about yet, that will be in a longer post sometime tomorrow)

- Paid a payment on my CC that was due. Paid $10 more than what my minimum payment is supposed to be (paid $50 instead of $40, I know not much, but every little bit helps);
- Refinanced our loan at the cash store, so we had to pay $528.28 for that ($228.28 in late fees becuase we were 1 day late on our payment, $220 on principal and $80 for their refinance fee);
- Sold a few baseball cards and got some money in my paypal for "just in case." Only about $150, but that's $150 we didn't have coming into the week. And I want to keep selling oddball stuff around the house. We did a house clean today, and I grabbed several clothes that still had original tags on it to try and sell on eBay.
- Put $250 from paycheck into our rent fund. Our rent is due at the end of the month, and it's $1,950. So we've been trying to put $250 from our 1st 3 paychecks of the month into our rent fund, so that when the 31st hits, it's not such a hit to our finances. That way we're not suck for a week with no money.

I think it is time to have a Come to Jesus meeting with your wife about her not making good financial decisions. She’s making it very hard for you both to get ahead with her financial illiteracy and refusal to change. You absolutely should be putting that extra $50 toward the payday loan. You would have it paid off in no time if you did. Unfortunately she needs to not be in the position to make financial decisions that impact you both until she makes the effort to learn about finances and the commitment to help you dig out of the hole she helped put you in.

 

[amylevan]

I hate that they have taken advantage of your wife and it makes me so angry that it's even allowed.

Not that predatory lending practices aren’t crappy, but his wife purposely turned off her card on the days the payments were supposed to come. She attempted to take advantage of the lending company just as much.

 

[softballpooh]

Not that predatory lending practices aren’t crappy, but his wife purposely turned off her card on the days the payments were supposed to come. She attempted to take advantage of the lending company just as much.

Fair point.

 

[barkley]

I think it is time to have a Come to Jesus meeting with your wife about her not making good financial decisions. She’s making it very hard for you both to get ahead with her financial illiteracy and refusal to change. You absolutely should be putting that extra $50 toward the payday loan. You would have it paid off in no time if you did. Unfortunately she needs to not be in the position to make financial decisions that impact you both until she makes the effort to learn about finances and the commitment to help you dig out of the hole she helped put you in.

unless both people are on the same page it can be near impossible to get on good financial footing. i've known a fair number of people over the years whose efforts were futile due to their spouse's habits/actions. i know some that believe that b/c they and their spouse have separate bank accounts/credit (loans, cards...) that it protects them when in reality it does NOT where we live-community property state that specificaly allows for a creditor to collect against a spouse if the debt, even if only in one spouse's name, occured during the course of the marriage. the work themselves to the bone getting what they believe to be all their debt paid off only to find they are on the hook when-

push comes to shove on collections the spouse is in (that other spouse is unaware of),

the marriage disolves (and all the financials are laid to bare),

(the truly devastating)-the spouse passes away and the surviving spouse finds that not only has their household income plummeted but they are on the hook for upwards of hundreds of thousands in debt (had an 8 1/2 month pregnant co-worker this happened to when with no warning her 30 something husband died of a massive heart attack).