Debt consolidation guidance

[Hopeful1]

Long story short I made some bad choices last summer and got myself into some serious debt that I have been unable to keep up with. I do not currently have a job but I do have about $150 / month in passive income. My partner has been sending me the difference to pay my bills each month and it has put a significant strain on our relationship. The interest alone is crazy high which is why I am looking into getting a debt consolidation loan or personal loan to lower the total monthly payment amount.

I have about $15k in debt spread across 12 credit cards and two affirm loans. My credit score took a hit going from 705 to 675 (Fico 8 from Discover card statement) and 690 to 575 (according to Experian VantageScore 3.0). I would like to get a loan and still keep the credit cards open if possible but if I must close some that would be okay.

I've received a few prequalified mailers for personal loans from Upstart. I’m not sure if that's worth looking into. If I could get my payments down to 150-200 a month that would be great but I could manage 300-500. If anyone has any guidance on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

[pizzadude]

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@Hopeful1 wrote:

Long story short I made some bad choices last summer and got myself into some serious debt that I have been unable to keep up with. I do not currently have a job but I do have about $150 / month in passive income. My partner has been sending me the difference to pay my bills each month and it has put a significant strain on our relationship. The interest alone is crazy high which is why I am looking into getting a debt consolidation loan or personal loan to lower the total monthly payment amount.

I have about $15k in debt spread across 12 credit cards and two affirm loans. My credit score took a hit going from 705 to 675 (Fico 8 from Discover card statement) and 690 to 575 (according to Experian VantageScore 3.0). I would like to get a loan and still keep the credit cards open if possible but if I must close some that would be okay.

I've received a few prequalified mailers for personal loans from Upstart. I’m not sure if that's worth looking into. If I could get my payments down to 150-200 a month that would be great but I could manage 300-500. If anyone has any guidance on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

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It may be difficult for you to get approved for a loan right now if you do not have steady income coming in.   Or you may not be approved for the entire $15K

It would help if you listed the balances and interest rates to determine where to start applying funds first.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Hopeful1 wrote:

Long story short I made some bad choices last summer and got myself into some serious debt that I have been unable to keep up with. I do not currently have a job but I do have about $150 / month in passive income. My partner has been sending me the difference to pay my bills each month and it has put a significant strain on our relationship. The interest alone is crazy high which is why I am looking into getting a debt consolidation loan or personal loan to lower the total monthly payment amount.

I have about $15k in debt spread across 12 credit cards and two affirm loans. My credit score took a hit going from 705 to 675 (Fico 8 from Discover card statement) and 690 to 575 (according to Experian VantageScore 3.0). I would like to get a loan and still keep the credit cards open if possible but if I must close some that would be okay.

I've received a few prequalified mailers for personal loans from Upstart. I’m not sure if that's worth looking into. If I could get my payments down to 150-200 a month that would be great but I could manage 300-500. If anyone has any guidance on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

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I can't say that I have any experience in applying for credit while not employed, but I suspect you will need a cosigner. Your best bet I think is to wait until you have a job and can say that you have income.

[ForwardLooking]

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@Hopeful1 wrote:

Long story short I made some bad choices last summer and got myself into some serious debt that I have been unable to keep up with. I do not currently have a job but I do have about $150 / month in passive income. My partner has been sending me the difference to pay my bills each month and it has put a significant strain on our relationship. The interest alone is crazy high which is why I am looking into getting a debt consolidation loan or personal loan to lower the total monthly payment amount.

I have about $15k in debt spread across 12 credit cards and two affirm loans. My credit score took a hit going from 705 to 675 (Fico 8 from Discover card statement) and 690 to 575 (according to Experian VantageScore 3.0). I would like to get a loan and still keep the credit cards open if possible but if I must close some that would be okay.

I've received a few prequalified mailers for personal loans from Upstart. I’m not sure if that's worth looking into. If I could get my payments down to 150-200 a month that would be great but I could manage 300-500. If anyone has any guidance on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

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First of all, I am sorry you are in this situation.  How are you getting $150 a month in passive income?  Is it from stocks or other assets you could sell to get rid of this debt quickly?  Without a job or a commitment from a cosigner, I do not think you will be able to get a loan that will be in your managable range.  Upstart charges origination fees that are tacked onto your loan, so expect them to add $1500 on top of the $15,000 you are looking for, and probably at a high APR too.

[Hopeful1]

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@pizzadude wrote:

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@Hopeful1 wrote:

Long story short I made some bad choices last summer and got myself into some serious debt that I have been unable to keep up with. I do not currently have a job but I do have about $150 / month in passive income. My partner has been sending me the difference to pay my bills each month and it has put a significant strain on our relationship. The interest alone is crazy high which is why I am looking into getting a debt consolidation loan or personal loan to lower the total monthly payment amount.

I have about $15k in debt spread across 12 credit cards and two affirm loans. My credit score took a hit going from 705 to 675 (Fico 8 from Discover card statement) and 690 to 575 (according to Experian VantageScore 3.0). I would like to get a loan and still keep the credit cards open if possible but if I must close some that would be okay.

I've received a few prequalified mailers for personal loans from Upstart. I’m not sure if that's worth looking into. If I could get my payments down to 150-200 a month that would be great but I could manage 300-500. If anyone has any guidance on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

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It may be difficult for you to get approved for a loan right now if you do not have steady income coming in.   Or you may not be approved for the entire $15K

It would help if you listed the balances and interest rates to determine where to start applying funds first.

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Thanks for your response. Here is the requested information. I tried to edit my original post but I don't think this forum allows editing of posts. 

Loans/Credit Cards	Balance	Annual % Rate	Next Payment Due	Minimum Payment
PenFed Platinum ($3.5k)	$3257.44	17.99%	04/01/2024	$66.00
Target RedCard ($700)	$483.91	28.15%	04/02/2024	$30.00
Discover Card ($2.5k)	$2333.14	21.24%	04/02/2024	$64.00
Credit One ($400)	$284.73	29.24%	04/03/2024	$30.00
Capital One Quicksilver ($500)	$379.13	30.74%	03/09/2024	$25.00
Amazon Prime Chase ($1.5k)	$1488.06	27.49%	03/12/2024	$48.00
Capital One Secured ($700)	$611.25	28.49%	03/14/2024	$25.00
Affirm Loan 1 ($1.8k)	$1140.77	15.99%	03/15/2024	$163.31
Wells Fargo ($1k)	$925.78	0%	03/18/2024	$25.00
Indigo Card ($300)	$173.22	29.90%	03/21/2024	$40.00
Credit One ($1k)	$867.36	29.65%	03/22/2024	$44.00
Affirm Loan 2 ($2.3k)	$1245.78	15.99%	03/28/2024	$208.68
Apple Card ($3k)	$2908.24	27.24%	03/28/2024	$99.00
Credit One ($500)	$0	29.24%		$0.00

[Hopeful1]

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@ForwardLooking wrote:

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@Hopeful1 wrote:

Long story short I made some bad choices last summer and got myself into some serious debt that I have been unable to keep up with. I do not currently have a job but I do have about $150 / month in passive income. My partner has been sending me the difference to pay my bills each month and it has put a significant strain on our relationship. The interest alone is crazy high which is why I am looking into getting a debt consolidation loan or personal loan to lower the total monthly payment amount.

I have about $15k in debt spread across 12 credit cards and two affirm loans. My credit score took a hit going from 705 to 675 (Fico 8 from Discover card statement) and 690 to 575 (according to Experian VantageScore 3.0). I would like to get a loan and still keep the credit cards open if possible but if I must close some that would be okay.

I've received a few prequalified mailers for personal loans from Upstart. I’m not sure if that's worth looking into. If I could get my payments down to 150-200 a month that would be great but I could manage 300-500. If anyone has any guidance on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

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First of all, I am sorry you are in this situation.  How are you getting $150 a month in passive income?  Is it from stocks or other assets you could sell to get rid of this debt quickly?  Without a job or a commitment from a cosigner, I do not think you will be able to get a loan that will be in your managable range.  Upstart charges origination fees that are tacked onto your loan, so expect them to add $1500 on top of the $15,000 you are looking for, and probably at a high APR too.

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Thank you for not condemning me right off the bat for exhibiting such irresponsible behavior. I've never been in debt like this before and I didn't realize just how hard it would be to keep up with the interest alone until it was actually happening. I thought I was depressed/anxious/overwhelmed before I had financial trouble... now I’m really in a bad place mentally. 

I think I used the term "passive income" correctly but I may not be. The passive income is from past modeling jobs. When they make money from my photos I get a cut of the profit. They deposit a payment once a month. The company gives me a 1099 at the beginning of each year for tax purposes.

You said that without a cosigner I will not be able to get a loan that will be in my manageable range. What do you mean by manageable range?

That origination fee from upstart sounds bad. I really don't have anyone to co-sign unfortunately. Any other options you can think of?

I replied to someone else with all of my balances and aprs if you want to take a look above. 

Thanks again, the help is very much appreciated.

[Hopeful1]

@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Hopeful1 wrote:

Long story short I made some bad choices last summer and got myself into some serious debt that I have been unable to keep up with. I do not currently have a job but I do have about $150 / month in passive income. My partner has been sending me the difference to pay my bills each month and it has put a significant strain on our relationship. The interest alone is crazy high which is why I am looking into getting a debt consolidation loan or personal loan to lower the total monthly payment amount.

I have about $15k in debt spread across 12 credit cards and two affirm loans. My credit score took a hit going from 705 to 675 (Fico 8 from Discover card statement) and 690 to 575 (according to Experian VantageScore 3.0). I would like to get a loan and still keep the credit cards open if possible but if I must close some that would be okay.

I've received a few prequalified mailers for personal loans from Upstart. I’m not sure if that's worth looking into. If I could get my payments down to 150-200 a month that would be great but I could manage 300-500. If anyone has any guidance on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

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I can't say that I have any experience in applying for credit while not employed, but I suspect you will need a cosigner. Your best bet I think is to wait until you have a job and can say that you have income.

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I’m not going to be employed in the near future. If I am it's going to be 1099 income. I haven't been employed with a w2 in over 15 years. The skills I had at that time no longer hold any value so getting a job in that field isn't going to happen.

I was in college when covid hit and that was the beginning of my troubles. I got covid and started having debilitating musculoskeletal pain and cognitive dysfunction that has not resolved. It was the strangest thing when I got covid... I had visible knots and spasms lining my upper back. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life and my back has never been the same. Not just that it has spread to other areas of my body.

Then 5 months later I got Covid a second time which caused severe GI issues that have not resolved either. All I've done since then is researched how I can how to fix myself from a holistic perspective, gone to one doctor appointment after another, had tons of imaging, blood testing, procedures, and physical therapy that ultimately hasn't done anything helpful enough to get me back on my feet (or more importantly back in college).

I'm desperately trying to avoid disability but the more time that goes by the more it looks like that is my only option. I was a very healthy individual before covid so it's not like there was much I could improve on in the first place when it came to healthy eating habits exercise etc.

My partner has been paying my bills each month but it's put a strain on our relationship. If I could just get some lower payments, I think that it would go a long way to fixing that. Co-signing is not an option though so I'll have to find another way. 

Thanks for your help.

[og-aliensfan]

I'm sorry to hear about your struggles.  I would suggest contacting your creditors and asking to be placed in their hardship programs.  If eligible, they will close or restrict your cards, but they will also reduce or suspend interest while you pay them off.  

An alternative would be a Debt Management Plan administered by a non-profit NFCC affiliated Credit Counseling Organization.  This is not to be confused with debt settlement or debt relief programs.  A DMP works similar to hardship programs, except the Credit Counseling Organization contacts your creditors. You pay the plan one payment per month and they disburse the payments to your creditors.  The fee is normally ~$50 per month.  The plan will not tell you to miss payments (like debt settlement/relief programs will.  You can find a DMP through nfcc.org.

Good luck to you!

[FlaDude]

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@Hopeful1 wrote:

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Thank you for not condemning me right off the bat for exhibiting such irresponsible behavior. 

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A lot of us are here because we've had our own credit problems in the past (or still do).

[ForwardLooking]

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@Hopeful1 wrote:

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Thank you for not condemning me right off the bat for exhibiting such irresponsible behavior. I've never been in debt like this before and I didn't realize just how hard it would be to keep up with the interest alone until it was actually happening. I thought I was depressed/anxious/overwhelmed before I had financial trouble... now I’m really in a bad place mentally. 

No one here should condemn or make you feel uncomfortable.  Most of us are here because we had some sort of financial issues in the past ourselves.  Believe me, I understand how financial trouble can make you feel and affect your mental health.  Be sure to find someone you can talk to and trust to help keep your mental health intact.

I think I used the term "passive income" correctly but I may not be. The passive income is from past modeling jobs. When they make money from my photos I get a cut of the profit. They deposit a payment once a month. The company gives me a 1099 at the beginning of each year for tax purposes.

I don't think it was used incorrectly.  I was thinking you perhaps had some stock or other investments that you could sell and help reduce some of the debt, but it does not sound like that.  But it is awesome you were able to get long term royalities for your modeling jobs.

You said that without a cosigner I will not be able to get a loan that will be in my manageable range. What do you mean by manageable range?

You mentioned 300-500 was managable.  I don't think you will be able to get a loan that can consolidate all you debts and be within that monthly payment range because interest rates are high right now and you do not have income to support those types of payments.  A co-signer would essentially let you borrow their credit and income statements to potentially get better terms.  However, I would advise against that because if for somereason things go bad later and they get stuck paying the loan, you will more than likely have a rough relationship with whomever the co-signer is.

That origination fee from upstart sounds bad. I really don't have anyone to co-sign unfortunately. Any other options you can think of?
No, but if it is getting unbearable and hard to manage both financially and mentally, you may want to talk to a bankruptcy attorney about options.  Most will give you a free consultation, and it could be a good option to put the financial obligations behind you so you can start focusing on the future and your own health.

I replied to someone else with all of my balances and aprs if you want to take a look above. 

Thanks again, the help is very much appreciated.

Your welcome and I hope you can come up with a plan to get out of this.

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