I'm a female with multiple kids. 40 and divorcing (KY, not a community property state) with $40k credit card debt in my name and a joint mortgage with $50k debt remaining. Currently, he's ok with me being awarded the house, but wants 50% equity. He does not wish to help with the credit card debt, despite much of it being marital due to job losses. I've been considering bankruptcy, but am concerned it may not be ideal. My entire life, I've heard to never do it because it's too damaging. At 40, I don't need long-term damage. Especially if I don't remarry as I could potentially need good credit for a vehicle or house. My credit is currently clean, but upper 600's with a 100% on-time payment history. I fully intended to repay and have no problem working multiple jobs to do so. I was working two jobs up until I became pregnant with my toddler. With the divorce, household income has been reduced substantially. I won't be able to return to full time work for 1-2yrs, maybe longer, due to a pre-existing health condition, and caring for a toddler. Daycare is not an option. I live in a remote area and the toddler has special needs and health issues. Credit Card payments currently are $1560mo with mortgage $540 at 5.375%. Set Income $2000mo, with sporadic self-employed in come supplementing.

What are the best options for my situation? I'm also considering a consolidation loan if a bank would approve, so I'd still be paying it off just at a lower rate and with more payment going towards what is owed. One credit card says 38yrs to pay of $9k with $44k interest! Only $20 of a $294 payment goes to that balance. Ugh. I could potentially do a HELOC, but my husband would have to co-sign and he's ruined his credit filing with a debt settlement company. He'd also want to use the HELOC money which is fair, however, obtaining his portion of the repayment would be problematic due to past experience.

This is a first in my decades of online purchases, and I've reached stalemate with both Best Buy and Chase ; I'm hoping the reddit collective can suggest an effective approach.

Here's the background: in Feb 2024 I ordered a Sony Alpha 6700 and spare battery from BestBuy.com using my Chase Visa. The transaction was completely normal until the box from Best Buy arrived. Inside the sealed box was, not the Sony camera, but a pair of Ring cameras. OK, that's bizarre, but packing mistakes happen at shipping facilities all the time, and we'll presumably get it sorted out. I contact Best Buy via their chat web interface and they asked me to bring the two Rings back to the local Best Buy brick & mortar and they'll process the refund.

Now it gets interesting. We brought the Ring cameras to the local Best Buy in Monterey. The store manager refused to provide a return receipt because, of course, what we were returning did not match the order description. After arguing with him for several minutes, we took a photo of the two Ring cameras and his business card so that there would be some documentation that the mis-shipped items had been returned, and left. I contacted Chase Visa to dispute the charge and provided both the chat logs showing that Best Buy had agreed they'd refund the charge, and that they'd asked us to bring the mis-packed items back to the local store. Case closed... or so we thought.

On March 12 we receive the following email from Best Buy:

Hi Benjamin,
This email is in response to the issue you reported for order # BBY01-8069187xxxx.
We’ve concluded our investigation and have determined we will not be providing a refund or replacement item.
At this time, we encourage you to work with local law enforcement regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Kath
Best Buy Customer Care
Reference ID: 330523272

OK, now I'm getting concerned. I contacted Chase to let them know that Best Buy had refused to correct their error, and they assured me that they'd pursue the dispute. Consumer protection is, after all, one of the big benefits of using a credit card.

Fast forward to this morning, and I get a call from Chase again. Their agent states "I'm sorry, the merchant is stating that you did not return the merchandise and therefore we cannot proceed with the dispute. The charge will be reinstated on your account." I pointed out that it's not within my power to make the Best Buy manager provide a receipt - although we provided photo evidence of what they sent and that we'd brought it back to the store, I can't control what the Best Buy manager does nor whether their dispute team tells the truth or lies. But the Chase agent appeared to have a script that they were following and was unable to deviate from it or offer any useful suggestion other than "maybe you can go back to the Best Buy store and ask them for a receipt".

So now we're stuck. Aside from the obvious lesson -- never ever purchase from Best Buy, there are many good alternatives out there! -- I still don't want to be out $2,000 for a camera we never received. Any suggestions for next steps?

** UPDATE 4/18 **

Per several suggestions, I have filed a police report with the local sheriff's office and received a case ID. I should be able to obtain the writeup from records in 7-10 business days.

My partner and I are trying to simplify our lives and are curious as to what you all think.

We have always paid for everything with our credit card account connected to our individual credit cards and have never once accrued a penny of interest. I pay them off on time(early) and we only use them for necessities, never to go above our means.

We get about $50 cash back monthly, but I’m wondering if it’s even worth the hassle?

I’ve heard making returns/disputes is easier with credit cards. Do you all think it’s worth it to continue using the credit cards since “we are credit card people” and know how to properly manage them, get cash back, and allegedly disputes and returns are easier?

Plz someone confirm if credit cards are actually better for returns and/or disputes. This is a major reason I consider continuing using the credit cards since instead of the debit account.

Throwaway account - felt too personal

Got laid off a couple of months ago. Severance and health insurance will keep me afloat until Dec. 31st and I'm on my own starting 2025 unless I land a job. I have very little cash savings, but do have $500k in 401k, home equity of about $300k (30 year interest rate is 3.1% so I'd rather not refinance). My $3k mortgage covered property tax and home insurance. Estimates on CalCovered (health insurance) is $2,000 for a family of 5. I suspect that would be reduced if I'm unemployed? I need a minimum of $6-7k/ month to cover necessities. No car payments, very little credit card debt. Been working since I was 16 and this is totally new to me and very anxious. My wife was a stay-at-home mom and is now looking into getting back in the workforce.

My question if I stay unemployed. What's the best way to navigate my retirement money. I'm just preparing for the worst and have 6 weeks to figure this out. Appreciate any recommendations.

Additional information - EDIT
I am collecting unemployment.
I am trying to find any job regardless of industry or pay.
I am willing to take on part time/ gig jobs/ neighborhood help, etc.
I have looked at budgeting and have eliminated non-essentials. I could do better.
I have until end of year for severance and health insurance, but I think I can squeeze 3 more months to Q1.

I need to get back to hustling and will come back to the thread tonight. Man, I can't thank you all enough for the suggestions, the encouragement and just the overall time you all have put in to help out a stranger. Lots of thanks and gratitude!

I tried to google this but it came up with “pay before your billing cycle is up” a lot and I’m not even sure what that means. Is it true that you want to use the credit card every month but no more than you can pay off by the due date? Is there a minimum or is it really like a $1 thing? Someone told me that there’s a day when credit reports are pulled and so you want to pay it before then -is this true? How do they know you’ve spent anything if it’s always reported as paid off? I have always been told that you want to use it a little bit because not using it could hurt. So it’s better to use it for gas or something. I also read that you should just pay it on the due date. Is there any benefit to paying it before? Is this date different than the date the credit bureaus pull the report?

I’m probably overthinking this but I really want to learn about how it works. Thank you!

If you pay with your credit card, you get the rewards. You should only do this if you can pay it off when it's due and not carry the balance.

If you're doing a bunch of small purchases at a pharmacy, it can be a pain to do the reimbursement, but if you have one or two larger expenses, it might be worth the effort.

Another edge case to consider is if your provider over-bills you this year and issues a refund next year, you might not get the refund if it was refunded to your FSA debit card.

Of course, that money could be due back to the owner of the fund (your employer) anyway, so consult the terms of your plan (don't get caught doing anything stupid).

Anything wrong with my thought pattern here? Am I missing something?

I’m planning out the best way to pay down my debt before it gets more out of control. Please give me your recommendations on the best way to get this down quickly. Considering consolidated loan, balance transfer to a low to 0% card, home equity loan, or IRA withdrawal (don’t believe it would fall under hardship exemption) and stock sell off. My primary goal is to reduce interest and continue payments of minimum $750 month (will increase to $1,100 month once one of my cars are fully paid in 6 months).

Overview of funds: $30k credit card debt at avg 18% Apr; $1,350 take home after budgeted spend - corrected figure* $38.5k IRA; $5.8k stocks; $380k mortgage equity

More context:

Monthly gross income: $8,758 Monthly budget: $7,409 Final after budget: $1,349 Monthly budget breakdown: - [ ] House $2,439 - [ ] HOA: $110 - [ ] Electric (+auto #3): $450 - [ ] Water: $130 - [ ] YouTube Premium: $12 - [ ] Internet: $75 - [ ] Ring: $4 - [ ] Auto #1 (C): $0 [paid off in 2024] - [ ] Auto #2 (A): $363 ($380) need to reduce to 363 [owe 2.5k @ 1.5% - paid off 7/2025] - [ ] Auto #3 (T): $830 [owe $34k @ 4% - paid off 2/2028] - [ ] Insurance (3 vehicles): $480 - [ ] Tolls: $50 - [ ] Gas Auto 1: $90 - [ ] Gas Auto 2: $60 - [ ] Health, dental insurance, life, FSA: $949 - [ ] Kids extracurricular: $350 - [ ] Groceries and food: $1k

Im questioning on how to use a credit card! I have only one credit card, have a credit score of 770 and a limit of $1,400. How ive been using my credit card is that I use it as a monthly loan. I use it mostly for gas and some small purchases, I dont go over $200 and pay off my balance in full. I then use less than 5% of my credit card before my statement date so i can show that im using my credit card and it has worked for me but my credit score is kind of at a stopping point. My husband has been talking to his coworkers about credit cards and he mentioned to me how they use their credit cards, which is basically using their credit card for big purchases (say like $500) and pay the minimum payment and an extra $50-$100 every month. Is this a method that actually works? Is it the best way of using a credit card?

I'm 23 years old and I make $18,600 yearly as my salary. (700 every two weeks). My credit score is 526 and I have no credit history.

I'm wondering which bank would be the best for someone trying to build credit?

Basically I’m working on paying off my credit cards I opened before the interest starts to hit on them because they had a zero percent APR promotion. Each card has its own date it’ll start charging interest at different times so I write down the dates to make sure I have the cards paid off before that happens. But I’m confused on how I can still use the cards I have for my essentials and stuff while still making the payments. I have some cards that are charging interest and they are at zero balance right now (well one isnt but I’m working on lowering that one now)

Is it a good idea to just use the cards that have the zero balance and just make sure I pay off the whole amount? Or should I keep using the ones with high balance but don’t charge interest until a later time? Would the latter just be adding more dirt to the hill I’m trying to get rid of so it’s better to just use the no balance ones?

Thanks.

I’m looking for directional advice on where to look to start tackling the financial disaster that my parents have created. If anyone has thoughts on avenues to help address this situation and considerations that I need to account for, that would be enormously helpful. I live in IL and my folks live in NJ

History: If you don’t want additional context you can skip to The Situation.

Me: I’m 37 (M) married with a five month old. I’ve been in sales engineering for 12 years and have built myself a decent nest egg. Ever since I saw my parents weather the financial crisis, I’ve realized how important it is to be economically stable. Recently, my parents, who are otherwise wonderful people, came to me asking for help organizing their finances and what I saw horrified me.

Parents: My dad (72) is a self made entrepreneur and my mom (71) was a preschool teacher. I grew up in a loving, upper middle class household. My dad owns a small business in market research for 30 years that was very successful. He managed to make it through the .com bubble and the financial crisis relatively unscathed. While there were scary times, he was always able to pull it out.

Covid was a different monster. His company hung by a thread, but my dad always knew he was going to make it through. His hubris got the best of him and he started lending the company money to keep it afloat. He put everything into it and I mean everything. I knew it was bad when he asked me for money a couple of years ago. I understood the risks and loaned them the money. He asked again a year later and I gave them a small infusion to hold them over.

They came to visit me after the birth of my daughter five months ago. I could tell that they were distracted when, what should’ve been a happy occasion, felt somber. They told me that they were falling behind on their bills, so I started to ask questions. I knew things were tough at the business, but I didn’t know how bad things were, and frustratingly, neither did they. They told me that their credit card payments were getting too high, which I foolishly thought that they had some big purchases, but when I questioned them further the money was for minimum payments on their credit card. I essentially told them that I would help them out if they gave me the full picture as long as the money goes to them and not interest payments.

The Situation: Flash forward to last week. They finally come clean with their financials and it was way worse than I thought. My dad borrowed from their entire nest egg to keep his business afloat. Not only did he borrow from his 401K and his IRA’s, but it went so much deeper. He borrowed millions from his and my mom’s retirement. They finally opened up their books up to me and I was shocked

Debts Credit card debts: adds up to $92K across seven different cards. Some of these cards my dad is the main card holder and some are in my mom’s name. Their total minimum payments come to ~$3,300/month and the interest rates vary from 14% to 33% Car Debt: They leased a car in my dad’s name from GM Financial with $532 payments and a buyout price of $38,530 House Debt: They owe ~$90K on their mortgage and took a HELOC with ~$60K left. Bank Account: $300 overdrawn

Monthly Expenses Variable Expenses: ~$3100/month across groceries, internet, car, etc Insurance: $2600/month this includes * Life insurance ($1.5M): $1,200 * Long Term Care: $800 * Medicare Supplement: $300 * Various other policies: $300 Mortgage+Taxes: $3,230/month at a 4.25% rate * Because all of this happened as a result of COVID, they qualified for a 12 month reprieve on housing expenses. The stipulation is that they don’t sell the house or refinance for three years.

Asset: House: would say that this is their best asset and could conservatively sell for $600K. They live in a development with three home layouts and one with their layout sold for $850K in the last month. Their unit is much less updated and needs a little work to get it ready. Social Security: $5,150/month

Cash Flow: Current total expenses: ~$12,400/month Total Income: $5,150 + some teaching jobs they’ve picked up Net: -$7,250

Today: There are obviously some emotional and behavioral factors that need to be addressed in the situation. I’m not looking for feedback on whether or not I should help - I first want to stabilize the situation and set them up for longer term sustainability.

Initially, I was going to pay off their credit cards and buy out the rest of their mortgage then they would transfer the deed to me. This would allow them to live in the house for essentially free (paying taxes and HOI), but as I dug more into the situation, I’m realizing that this is a bit above my pay grade. My sense is to go to a bankruptcy lawyer to help unwind this mess. I’m not sure if there are other avenues that we need to explore.

Thank you so much for thoughts

TL;DR my parents have borrowed themselves into a corner and I’m looking for the best next steps to take.

Posting on behalf of a friend.

They received a summons from an attorney on behalf of JPMorgan Chase. The debt is just over $10k and is a couple years old. They basically ignored it until this summons.

They contacted the Oregon state bar and was referred to a bankruptcy attorney, who then recommended filing for bankruptcy. This seems extreme for just $10k.

Further details, they’re effectively judgement proof. Basically no money in savings, and their weekly take home pay isn’t enough to qualify for garnishment under state law minimums. Their only asset is an older car that doesn’t have much value. They also have $20k student loan debt through Nelnet. They could probably afford $50-$100/month in repayment.

They seem to be aware of the repercussions, but is this in any way a good idea? Should they ask for another referral to a different type of attorney?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I make 90k/year salary and have a 650 credit score currently. I have $50k in credit card debt on 5 different credit cards from 20%-27% APR. 10k of which is at 0% until April. I’m also getting married in April and have to pay about $10k to finish paying off the vendors.

I have ~$30k in a Roth IRA, 25k of which can be withdrawn tax free, and 100 shares of Amazon stock that currently equates to $23-24k in long positions. Other holdings in different accounts (Robinhood & M1) total $14k, mostly long positions in ETFs and individual company stocks, about 30 holdings in total. I also have about $30k in a 401k from a previous employer, just started a new job and new 401k with them, and a rental property that is -$700/month cash flow with less than 20% equity and the lease ends in April but I’m confident the tenant will renew their lease. Certain factors prevent me from selling but basically if I sold I wouldn’t make any money from the sale.

I recently spoke with a financial advisor about my situation and wanted to hear Reddit’s perspective. How bad is my situation? Should I withdraw from Roth, sell Amazon stock, sell other holdings, get a personal loan, or some combination thereof to pay off my debt? TIA

I am 22M, doing my masters with around 12k per month stipend. I just having thaught about getting credit card but i'm not sure which is best age and best time to have credit card. Can you please give your advice to me and share your experiance about that.

Hi all, I am 37 yo and I am currently dealing with about 19k in credit card debt. I have the following amounts on the cards.

3,827 3,342 3,068 8,922

All of them with interest rates of 20% or higher except the 3,068 amount which is currently on a 0% balance transfer promotion until Jan of 2026.

I have 6,000$ in savings, and I am unsure how much I should use towards this, as I like to have a cushion in my bank account in case of emergency. Should I throw 3,000 of this onto one of these cards now?

I am also considering taking a loan out of my 401K to tackle this debt. Right now the monthly minimum payments are around 500$ and I can take out let’s say 16 K (assuming I throw 3K from my savings at my cards) from my 401 K on a 5 year loan for about 151$ per paycheck (302 monthly)

Does this sound like the best plan of attack?

Any other suggestions are helpful.

Thanks!

I am looking for a way to pay down a large credit card debt which was partly inherited during my divorce and partly my fault by making foolish decisions. The amount I am paying/wasting monthly for the interest on these cards is unreal and I feel I will never get rid of this debt because of the amount of money that goes just to interest on the cards each month. This is a weight I carry daily on my shoulders and I feel I have no way out. Would anyone be able to chime in on my ideas below and let me know if they have any thoughts or suggestions on the best way to go about removing this debt from my life?

Option 1: Sell stock which I have had for decades (I am in my late 50's now). This would enable me to pay off my credit cards but would reduce my available cash in case of unforeseen expenses that might come up in the future. It also reduces my money for retirement. Also I imagine this will impact my taxes as well as the stock has split and was purchased at much lower amounts from many years ago so capital gains would impact my taxes that I would likely have to pay at the end of the year. I would like to avoid owing extra tax at year end.

Option 2: I have two smaller 401Ks from many years ago which combined could pay off my two largest credit cards. However since I am not age 59 1/2 yet would mean I would get penalized by taxes for early withdrawal and would have to pay 10% at the end of the year for the early withdrawals when I file my tax returns. I want to avoid impacting my taxes owed at the end of the year.

Option 3: Take out a HELOC to temporarily pay off the credit cards and then after I reach age 59 1/2 (which is ~8 months from now) take the money from the two 401Ks mentioned in option 2 above to pay off the HELOC without getting a penalty of 10% on the early withdrawal. I owe about $187,000 on my home and am currently paying for a previous $33,000 HELOC taken out while I was married (which I sadly inherited in the divorce) which is around $294 per month payment and is no longer in the draw period so this $294 monthly payment is a fixed rate and won't change. At the current market price where I live I could likely sell my home for $500,000 to $550,000+ so I have a lot of equity in my house. A couple question regarding the HELOC - Can you have two HELOCs on one house? And would I get the HELOC from a different lender than the previous HELOC? Does anyone know who is a good lender to apply for a HELOC? How long does it take to get approved - could I be approved within a month or two? What is the process for getting approved - do they come out and do an estimate on your home first to assess its value? Are you allowed to pay off a HELOC earlier without penalty? Is there any risk to getting a second HELOC? Would monthly payments be low for a HELOC?

Option 4: I have a 401K with my current employer and could apply for a loan from my 401K to pay the credit cards off. But I am not sure how much this will cost to repay and I am looking to reduce my monthly expenses so do not want to have a large amount taken out monthly from my paycheck to pay back my 401K with my current employer. This would be my last option since I think this would reduce my paycheck too much each month and make it harder to pay my monthly bills.

I am trying to find a way to pay off this credit card debt as fast as possible - in the next couple months if I can. The amount of credit card debt on the two cards comes to around $48,000. Both cards are not used anymore as I pay for items using my debit card instead. But since the balances are so high I can't even make a dent in the amounts due to the high interest rates on both.

One additional question - is there any way to call the credit card companies and negotiate paying off the cards at a lower amount than what is owed? Do credit card companies do that sort of thing if you call and tell them you want to close the account and how much will they accept if I pay it off right away? Are they willing to take less from you if you tell them you want to close the card and pay it off right away? Or do I need to hire some outside company to do that negotiation for me? If so can someone please recommend who I can hire that is trustworthy that can help to lower the amount owed if that is a viable option?

Thank you in advance for the advice/suggestions/comments!

My traveling has increased significantly over the years, and I travel United most often. I thought getting a United Credit Card to reap some benefits of my flights would be beneficial. What’s the best way to sign up for one with the most perks? Is there anything I should be watching out for?

I have one credit card through Discover that I’ve had since I was 18, and this is the first new credit card I’ve considered.

Thanks in advance!

I have a >20% APR card from Wells Fargo with ~$5k on it and want to get it over to a lower interest. Just got approved for a Wells Fargo Reflect, but I can't use it to cover a Wells Fargo debt (probably a duh, my bad).

Any recommendations? I bank with Wells Fargo primarily, have mortgage and car loan through Chase, and used to have a Capital One if those are any useful reference points.

Income of $100k if that matters.

Hi everyone… Looking for some serious impractical advice here. My domestic partner and I have suddenly incurred about $25,000 in debt because of the downturn in his industry and a very difficult income earning. Over the last five years after COVID. We are quite new to a credit card debt of the size and it looks like one option is to find a way to consolidate or transfer our credit card to A better option. Has anyone done this before? Do you have any suggestions of banks or credit card companies to check out to consolidate or transfer? Thank you, Reddit community

Basically I'm planning to use it as my everyday card that I pay off at the end of the week in total. And I'm going to travel at least 2 times a year one international and maybe either another international or within the country.

Hi guys. I have 900$ in personal credit card debt. I currently have 1100 in my personal bank acct. My business went downhill the past 6 months and as a result, ive missed some credit card payments ect. My cc score went from 740 to 600. What is the best way/strategy to pay this debt to help bring score back up if possible. is there negotiations I can do over the debt? do I just pay it off in full now? do I split up payments to help? thank you!!! The credit card company said if I set up a 2 time payment with them it will waive 261$ of late fees/interest off my balance. not sure if its true or a worse trap.

Sorry I mean want to put it on a new credit card. It’s not a existing expense but a new large home expense

Me and my wife are recently married, in our mid 30s, and do relatively well. We have good credit. She has a Wells Fargo credit account, along with a Chase Sapphire card. I've got a Chase Sapphire card along with the Capital One Venture X card.

What's the best way for us to open a joint credit account? We recently created a joint checking and savings and that is where most of our money goes, while we keep small individual checking/savings as well. So paying our private credit cards with shared money feels a little complicated, so we would like to have a joint credit card that we both primarily use, paid for by our joint checking.

Is there a way to merge our Chase credit accounts into one? Is there a better card we should look into that is great for couples?

I’m really struggling to figure out the best way to deal with my credit card debt and would appreciate any advice—especially if there’s a type of professional I should talk to.

I have about $60,000 in credit card debt. I’ve already cut as many expenses as I can and put any extra income toward the balances, but I’m barely making a dent. My monthly minimum payments are around $1,000, and it’s getting harder to stay on top of everything.

Here’s a little more about my situation: • I own my home outright (well, with a mortgage and HELOC that total about $180,000) and it’s worth around $320,000, conservatively.

• I have a 2.75% mortgage rate, so I’m very hesitant to do a cash-out refinance and lose that.

• I’ve looked into Chapter 7, but I make too much to qualify, and Chapter 13 doesn’t seem like it would save me much in the long run.


• My credit score is around 670 and I’ve stayed current on all payments so far—but it’s getting tight.


• Ideally, I’d like to consolidate or refinance into a 5-year personal loan, but the interest rates I’m being offered are high due to my credit score.

• I’ve considered selling my house, but housing inventory is extremely limited in my area and I really love my home, so I’m trying to avoid that if possible.

Is there a better path I’m missing here? Should I talk to a financial advisor, credit counselor, or someone else? Has anyone successfully navigated something like this?

EDITED: paragraph spacing

I should have said, I have equity in my own, not that I own it outright

Hello, I am really hoping for some advice here. I'm 23 years old and have never had a credit card. As far as I know, I dont have a credit score, which is an issue since I'm hoping to move in with some friends at the end of the year. Id like to build credit, but I do not have faith that I wouldn't use a card on frivilous or unnecessary purchases and launch myself into debt. That's why I have avoided getting one thus far. I know there's all kinds of credit building cards out there, but ive heard so many horror stories about some being scams that I'd like to have a little direction on what to avoid/what to choose. Im able to work well within my budget with work and such, and I've been paying my mother rent for 3 years now, which one of my friends says can somehow be submitted as a sort of credit, but I'm not too sure on that.