A rant and your 2014 goals?

[Drazil65]

tthoma49:

It is a very realistic and doable goal but it means a lifestyle change. Make your mind up and just do it. You can make hotel and car rental reservations with a debit card (we keep a debit card tied to a bank account that has a certain amount of money in it just to use for reservations), we have been doing it for a couple of years now and travel often. The freedom you feel when you only report to yourself is beyond freeing and liberating. You make a choice to save for everything you want and if you need more income coming in then you get more income, its not rocket science. If you have a current mortgage and or car payments then start making extra payments (something extra) for those items each month to pay it off sooner. That emergency account is paramount and should be a priority from the beginning.

The best of luck with your goals and decisions it sounds like you are on the right track to achieve them. Then if things go bad in the future again with jobs or the economy you will already be living a debt free, cash basis lifestyle and will be better for it.

[nioka]

I thought I would include my medical bill story.

I have always been the type to get a bill and pay that bill. Every medical bill I that was sent to me was paid within thirty days.
A co-worker and friend did the same. I guess that was the way we were brought up. Ten years after retiring we are both broke mostly from medical bills. I will soon be filing chapter 7.
I have another friend who was one of those people who can step in crap and come up smelling like roses. His mother died and her will paid off his mortgage and he inherited the remainder of her estate. At about the same time he got a large settlement from the company he worked for because of an age discrimination suit. With him owning his house and somewhere around a quarter million in investments and bank accounts he pleads poor. He never paid a medical bill in full. He had radiation treatment for prostrate cancer. His portion was $16k. He told them he had no money and agreed and did pay them $100 a month. Two years later he got a letter from that medical facility stating they wrote the debt off and not to send anymore payments. He had a major surgery and managed to get the doctor not to charge him a dime. He even has his MD giving him free meds. I could go on but you get the idea.
If your first approach to get needed medical treatment is to reach for a credit card I suggest you find other ways. Use you credit card only when there is not other way.

Incidentally, I thought I was going to be unable to buy on the internet after I stopped using my CC's. I found that between Paypal and my bank debt card with a Visa logo I can buy everything I used to buy without any problems.

CC's are like an addiction. There is always another reason to use them. It's like a TV commercial that blasted CC use. The woman in the commercial said, "$5000 in debt and I don't even know what I bought."

[PhillyGuy]

Update on 2014 Goals:
1. Have my bk7 asset case finally closed before my years anniversary of my discharge (March). Meeting Soon!
2. Apply for one (1) unsecured cc and get approved for over $1000.
3. Have all three FICO scores over 700 (One there, 2 to go) by December 31, 2014.
4. Have $12,000 in my emergency account. Done!!
5. Payoff my car loan, making December of 2014 my last payment. Already knocked off 3 months on my loan, 9 more to make this Dec my last payment

[nioka]

Phillyguy,

Go going on hitting your goals.

Did you get approved for the unsecured CC?

One question; with $12K in reserve why would your want a CC?

[PhillyGuy]

Phillyguy,

Go going on hitting your goals.

Did you get approved for the unsecured CC?

One question; with $12K in reserve why would your want a CC?

I have not applied yet, waiting for complete closure of my asset case, then wait a month or so.

The reserve cash is in case of job loss, I can live for a while if I do not find a job quickly. The cc would be for emergencies.

[spidge]

I am not sure how effective having many cc vs a couple would be on my score, but my choice is to only have a couple to ease managing them. I need to look into what "all" goes into building a better score for an informed decision though. Also, what about how monthly income vs mortgage and bills effect the score? How do assets effect it if at all?

Why will a good score be important to me? Well, even though I thought we would retire in this house I think just in case a good score would help us later. Also if I decide to take a less demanding and likely lower paid job I would be able to refinance the current home into an appealing loan situation. There are other reasons too but that was fresh in my mind.

My 2014 goals not prioritized;
1. Get a handle on taxes owed outside my BK13.
2. Pay off my BK13 by the end of the year.

It will be close on both fronts, but if I can get heeled up and back to my job I may be able to do these things.

Time will tell.

[PhillyGuy]

Update on 2014 Goals:
1. Have my bk7 asset case finally closed before my years anniversary of my discharge (March). Trustee's report approved by court, asset checks have been mailed to creditors. Getting closer, I see the light!
2. Apply for one (1) unsecured cc and get approved for over $1000.
3. Have all three FICO scores over 700 (One there, 2 to go) by December 31, 2014.
4. Have $12,000 in my emergency account. Done!!
5. Payoff my car loan, making December of 2014 my last payment. Already knocked off 4 months on my loan, 8 more to make this Dec my last payment

[tobee43]

r & r
sunshine
and LOTS OF: click please


http://jeparleamericain.files.wordpr...ose-bottle.jpg

[trock]

Completely agree. Paying cash for everything is the way to go. Just recently received my first post-BK credit card and this new card will be the only major card I will ever have.

[grizindabox]

Credit Cards are not evil if you use them correctly. I use my CC's for every purchase and then pif every month. When I make a large purchase, I pay it off as soon as it is posted. If I am only making my daily purchases, I pay it weekly or biweekly. Credit in itself is not bad, but a lack of discipline makes them hole that many people can not dig out. If you don't have the cash already, credit is not the answer. It is like the old saying, "it takes money to make money" but for credit, "it takes money to manage good credit"

I use credit cards to live a cash only life...if that makes sense.

[ksgirl38]

Credit Cards are not evil if you use them correctly. I use my CC's for every purchase and then pif every month. When I make a large purchase, I pay it off as soon as it is posted. If I am only making my daily purchases, I pay it weekly or biweekly. Credit in itself is not bad, but a lack of discipline makes them hole that many people can not dig out. If you don't have the cash already, credit is not the answer. It is like the old saying, "it takes money to make money" but for credit, "it takes money to manage good credit"

I use credit cards to live a cash only life...if that makes sense.

It does and sometimes not having any credit can hurt you as much as not having good credit.

[TXskyblue]

Completely agree. Paying cash for everything is the way to go. Just recently received my first post-BK credit card and this new card will be the only major card I will ever have.

I understand your point of view, but what if your single credit card is stolen? What if the creditor becomes difficult to work with or closes your account? You will have no backup.

Two is one, and one is none.

[ksgirl38]

I understand your point of view, but what if your single credit card is stolen? What if the creditor becomes difficult to work with or closes your account? You will have no backup.

Two is one, and one is none.

Agreed! There are a lot of situations where cash won't help you. Sadly we're becoming more of a credit card society.

[trock]

Good point TX! An additional emergency backup card is good to have.

[collics]

Hi this is my 1st post.

I filed bk7 Feb, sched discharge May 2.

I had ZERO credit card debt. Not one.
I'm under 30 years old, and as a working adult I've never had a CC. Last time I can remember was when I was 19/20.

My debt has come from medical bills, high auto loans, and apt evictions.

I plan on getting 2-3 cards to help utilization and for emergencies.

For example, the South had some bad ice a couple months ago. I got stuck at the job. We're surrounded by hotels within walking distance.
Called the locations, and the cost for a room was more than the cash I had until next payday.
Had I had a cc, I could have charged the room, then simply paid the card off a little over a week later.
But unfortunately, I was forced to sleep on the floor under my desk for nearly 2 days.

About 2 years ago at another job, payroll dept some f--ked up and NO ONE received their paychecks or direct deposit.
Said it would take a week to fix the issue and get us our money.
I couldn't get gas, food, or pay a couple bills I had due.
A cc would have def helped.

Anyway, as long as we all learn what a cc should be used for, the number we have doesn't matter. Just use them properly.