not paying off credit card
 

What will happen if I totally ignore my credit card balance and just live my life using cash? I have a credit card balance that I cannot totally pay off and the interest and cash advance interest is adding up every month that I can't even pay the minimum payment every month.

Is there any possible way to have the credit card company/bank totally shrug off the debt and not deal with me again?

Like will they cancel the card and not chase after me again? Or is the only way to get away is by declaring bankruptcy?

dont plan on having a credit card / mortgage / loan again for a long time..unless of course you plan on paying a very big premium

absolutely not. they will take any income that they can get- literally. other than paying it off, there are other debt solution options. if extremely bad, then bankruptcy is one of the only solutions. but dont think it's your only option. there are many debt management tools and organizations out there to help.

by not paying your minimum balance, your credit rating will get decremented to the point of being unable to take out even simple loans (<1000). depending on your age, that means no mortgage (unless you plan on renting your whole life), no car loans, no student loans, etc. it can seriously handicap your financial needs in the future. cash is great but its hard to accumulate enough cash for a house and car.

i was in your position, but luckily i was able to get out with some personal help and promised myself not to ever do what i did (ie rack up a bill like what i did). the best thing is to explore all your options, and with the help of family members or financial guidance make the best decision for your circumstances. it is definitely not a good idea to stop paying the bill

paying in cash can only get you so far in today's world. hope this helps :thumbsup:

Debt management tools and organization, what do those offer? How can those help? And can you recommend me to some?

i dont know any off the top of my head. theres a number of ads on transit that are apparently not for profit. if you have any family members very finance oriented that would be another choice. try the yellow pages as well, and cross reference those with google searches for reviews.

they help by devising ideas to help you handle your debt. some (usually for a fee) build a plan with your income and expenses to tackle your debt in a systematic way.

another option (again depending on your current situation) would be to reconsolidate any debt with the help of a bank. essentially they pay off your high interest loans with a line of credit which is a much smaller interest rate so theres less of an interest payment. but if you dont have good credit to start, you wont be able to use this.

sorry i dont know any names of places- but they do exist. just requires a bit of work to find a credible one. be wary of some as i would assume they tend to take advantage of your situation and try to milk you out of money.


*DISCLAIMER* Please take these ideas at face value. I'm not a financial expert, and just talking from experience. Please, along with the ideas put forth in this thread, try to seek the help of a financial professional/adviser to ensure you get the right help. What helps one person may not work for another. :)

m3thods has some good points, but some i wouldn't consider any debt management solution unless you're looking upwards of say 40k or so in debt. It will assume OP is in his late teens - early 20s so the methods you are considering are a little bit to deep.

Any suggestions or ideas you have about not paying your credit card, is just plain idiotic. Go ruin your life chances for buying a home/car for bout 7-10years. That would be the smart idea if you don't want those.

I don't know how much you owe, but consider sucking it up and asking your parents for money to help pay off.

Obviously if you can't pay the minimum balance, you probably are not working. And can't get a loan or help that isn't family (aka banks). Or your credit card debt is around 25k and by then you would of known you were deep by about 10k.

yea... i would definitely not skip out on credit card payments and things...

short term, it may seem ok if you live life out by cash, but somewhere down the road you will need credit in some way shape or form.

What if your car breaks down and you need some emergency money for repairs and don't have enough cash?

What if you want to buy a car and need a loan? What if you want to buy a house someday? What if you want to buy something online?

Really try to push your parents for something to help you get through the tough times... and if you can't pay off your minimum payments, you need to be looking for a job

Get a few more CC's rack em up and claim bankrupcy.

Don't forget cc company can always get loan sharks go after you, they will fuck your credit score up and still make up pay the money + interest

What did you buy? just curious..

I wonder how could you NOT be able to pay off even the minimum payment?

I think my credit at highest was at about $18,000... and the minimum payment was like only $50 or so.. (but i paid in full, just used CC for the points, lol)

Then again, i guess different CC issuers do have different % of minimum payment...

^ Usually, but depending how well/long you've been with them PNF.

If they know you're a big time spender but pays off every single month, you'll see those 50 bucks minimum payments. But if you hold a balance, they charge 5% of balance each month with like 4.9% of that 5% is like interest so you're not even lowering your principal.

x2

What did you spend it on and how did you end up there? Tell us your life story so that other members can be helped by it and try to avoid it.

Consumer proposals..

http://www.bankruptcy-canada.ca/cons...r-proposal.htm

Do not go into Consumer proposal.... it's basically 1 step before declaring bankruptcy. Your better off going into a credit counselling program. They will negotiate a settlement with all creditors you owe to and they will help you manage your money better so you can pay off all of your debts.

thanks for clearing that up.

Now this makes more sense. I have always have very low "minimum payment" due, regardless of my balance for years.


If they charge 5%/ month, that is also way too high? I am assuming you're saying that they charging 5% compounded MONTHLY!? If so, we're talking about about 80% APR!? Correct me if I'm wrong here.. but thats high!

haha what i mean is they want you to pay 5% of your balance each month. Yah sorry for not stating it clearly.

80% APR would = loan shark. lol

no, you meant kids, not loan sharks

80% APR = kids

I've had a credit card for 4 years now. Never realy use it other than gas here and there just to pay it off/build up credit. My credit limit kept going higher and higher for paying my bills on time.

I was out of town last month and missed my credit card bill which had my driving course on it. Will this affect my credit even if I payed it off in full the next month?

call your CC company and get them to chon ange your credit card to the low-interest rate one. Sure you pay some sort of annual fee like 30 bucks a year. but u save soo much more in terms of interest.

Most Low-int rate cc offer rates around 10% or less right now. compare that to the 20% u normally pay.

gambling habits + cash advance = gg

should of learn more about cash advance interest before taking cash out of cc.

thanks for all the input guys.

You and diesel_test sound a lot alike. I would suggest you both go to counseling for your debt and gambling habits.

that is a good question, i think if you always pay it of they let is slip, but do not take my word

Naw, I've quit gambling a year ago already. Not gonna take that path again.

So if I miss a payment or two, there are consequences other than a bigger payment the following month?

minor dent to your credit.. but probably something that will be overlooked but if its chronic then thats a way different game