Who should we turn to? Who should we trust?

We need help...we%26#039;re in big trouble. We have a TON of credit card debt. We have a decent income, SOME equity in our home. and our credit scores aren%26#039;t THAT awful. We bought this house 2 years ago and thought we could afford it. Due to unforseen circumstances, turns out we couldn%26#039;t and we HAD TO rely on CC%26#039;s for anything extra we needed...groceries, kid%26#039;s clothes %26amp; school supplies, gas, etc. This has been going on for about 20 months. We were doing all right paying all of our bills on time, but it looks like this may be the last week we will be able to do so. It%26#039;s gotton to the point that after we pay all of our bills, there is no cash left for the living expenses, so in a vicious circle, we use credit cards to live. Currently, the breakdown of our monthly income is as follows: Mortgage 46%, Auto Note 12%, Utilities %26amp; insurance premiums 18% and Credit Debt 34%. Notice, this ALONE adds up to 110% of our income...there%26#039;s nothing left to live on.

Who should we turn to? Who should we trust?

You can%26#039;t afford the house. Sell it. Yes, the market is bad but you are sinking lower and lower into the pit.

Check this site for a NFCC member in your area: http://www.nfcc.org/ These are legit non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling Services. They can look at all your finances and advice you how to proceed. They even have debt management programs available.

Who should we turn to? Who should we trust?

If you have equity in your home..... roll the credit card debt into it. Rates are extremely low right now.

If you unsure about a company... research them on the Internet. Check if their articles of incorporation are active, contact previous clients, check website, licenses, etc.

Who should we turn to? Who should we trust?

I see 2 large problems, first your mortgage payment is way to high for your income, nobody should ever exceed 30% of their income for a mortgage payment and I am amazed that your lender let you do that.

Second is your credit cards, I would suggest calling Consumer Credit Counseling Services at 1-800-388-2227 they are the oldest and largest non profit credit counseling service in the nation and have offices in all major cities.

Who should we turn to? Who should we trust?

I would try to open up a home equity line of credit and use that money to pay off all of your high interest debt. The payments will be lower, and best of all the interest can be written off on your taxes, unlike your credit card interest.

I really do wish you the best of luck.

Who should we turn to? Who should we trust?

I agree, if you have equity you should look at refinancing, maybe for a longer term, to get rid of that credit card debt. That%26#039;s what%26#039;s killing you, the high interest rates. If you can re-fi, it%26#039;ll pull that monthly payment off your books (lower it substantially) and let you keep your head above water.

Beyond that, try to maximize income. Get a second job if you can, and put that directly to debt servicing, get it down at any cost.

Who should we turn to? Who should we trust?

Your debt ratio is too high to qualify for a refinance or HELOC....bad idea anyway....

Get tough....lose the cable.....lose the cell phone......somebody better delivering pizzas at night.....garage sale......lose the internet....sell the computer....have the kids clean the neighbors garage and give half to the household.....

You need to list your debts and decide which ones need to be paid......and focus on them one at a time.....