Good credit has made me broke! Anyone else?

Question

I have excellent credit, but am now in serious debt because of our irresponsible spending. We are ready to walk away from our mortgage to rent instead and try to get back on our feet. I know my credit will be ruined, but it might be better than getting deeper into debt. Can people survive in this country by paying cash? I think we need to learn to save when we want something rather than buy on credit.

Answer 1

I think you summed it all up in saying, "because of our irresponsible spending."  Before that you were on a good track it sounds.  Credit is important for many more reason then you may think. Right now you have one of two choices, ruin what you have worked hard to obtain and struggle for a at several years, or increase your means to live a more comfortable lifestyle. I would chose the second, and have.  There are several ways to increase your means. Below is a just a few different things that you could do to increase your means.

-Get a second job

-Change jobs to a higher paying job.  This might require more                education.

-Sell unwanted items.

-Make a plan and budget to get out of debt.  In doing this you will see where your money goes and how to make adjustments when need. See where you stand financially.

-Create a business in your spare time.

Hope you chose the right path.

Answer 2

It's not good credit that's made you broke. You said it yourself. It's irresponsible spending. That's your fault. The best thing to do is keep your balances under 30% of what the credit card amount is on all your trade lines.

Answer 3

I understand you perfectly, you tryand build the perfect

credit but its all an illusion you still owe everything you own.

Ive been learning from myhusband, he doesnt buy anything

unless he can afford it, he has a couple of credit cards, but

no outstanding debt, I on the other hand, since I had good

credit, I got O% offers in the mail and I took themnow im in

debt, no job, no money, so now all my credit cards took away

my credit, theylowered or closed my accounts. Were also

thinking of selling our home but not rent I was thinking of more

in the lines of a mobile home, it would still be ours, but you

pay way less property taxes and once you reach 65 you dont

pay taxes on m.homes. thats what ive been told. We were

calculatingthe amount of money wre spending each year to

maintain our home.  4000 property taxes, 900 insurance,

electricity 300 a month in 3 or 4 years thats a lot of money

I have afriend who moved to a mobile home 4 years ago

she showed me her bank statemenmt, 100thousand she

can go on vacation when she wants, she still maintains her

job, her kids are in college so she doesnt worry about that.

So I agree we have to learn about how to handle our

finances, our credit, our retirement, Im 43 and I still dont

have a 401k thats hard to swallow you know. So before

you buy, thinkdo I really really needthis, and cut up all your

cards.  Good luck!!!

Answer 4

People can live very comfortably on a zero debt all cash lifestyle. The first few months do take some getting used to.

I do use a credit card to pay for things, but only what I can pay for that month, never carry over a balance to next month.

Having good credit is greatly to be desired when you urgently need it, but it is not the objective, it has to be a means to an end that we keep for important needs. Otherwise we become credit slaves.

Answer 5

" I think we need to learn to save when we want something rather than buy on credit."

The whole country needs to learn that!

Did you know that bad credit...cost's you even more money.

Bad credit..will effect how much you pay for car insurance, home insurance , renters insurance ,

Car loan rates, utilities require a deposit, even you cellphone plan could be changed..

Fix your credit...don't kill it.

There are non profit places out the that can help...