Consolidation loan...

Unless there isn't one.
Preconceived notions.
I was thinking of someone I knew who didn't and you were presuming everyone does. Or, am I presuming too much?

 

She traded debt to get you, so I think you're fine.
Evidently (at least at the time), you're worth it.

 

I don't like to speak ill of others but I work with a guy in his early 70s who makes a high 6 figure income and has for years. A couple years ago there was some downsizing and he was offered a very nice package to "go away". He ended up staying and taking a big demotion. We I asked him about it he said he didn't have a choice....still had debt to pay. Still boggles the mind.

If I'm still working when I'm 70+ it will be because I want to or because I had a run of bad luck....not because of past decisions and bebt.

 

Yeah, I worked for almost 35 years and couldn't wait to quit.
So, when opportunity knocked when I was 52, I did. We don't have as much money as we did (by far), but we also don't have as much debt, or stuff.
Tradeoff that I wouldn't tradeoff. I ran the hamster wheel waaaay too long.
Didn't like the idea of working until I was 70, then croaking right after I quit. Wanted to enjoy life while I still had one. Everyone's vision of that is different.

 

Both my mother and father in-law are close to retirement age I think they will be in the same situation.

She has huge spending problems and he just pays off the debt every so often by getting a loan.

We both have talked to him about her spending problems (she wont even discuss the issue, nor sees that there is one) but he doesn't want to confront her.

Ugggg.

 

A lot of good advice in this thread, but this post lays it out in a simple way that's easy to understand. Most people aren't willing to make the sacrifices that will dig them out of the hole. Hard choices need to be made that in the end aren't really that hard to live with. Whether you consolidate or not doesn't really matter. What matters most is changing your lifestyle and behavior.

 

Sounds like Matt is heading in the direction that will help him financially.
I like that.

 

GO Dave GO...

 

Didn't get a chance to read all posts, but there is a finance guy named Dave Ramsey who has great advice on getting out of debt. I would recommend looking him up. Check out his book from the local library. Basically, get on a monthly budget, which will give you an instant "raise" in pay (because you are making your money behave), then when paying debt, pay your smallest debt, then go to your largest (Regardless of interest rate). what this does is get you "fired up" and able to keep the "debt snowball" rolling. Wife and I paid of about 14 grand this way. No tricks, no gimmicks, just roll up your sleeves, and begin digging! you can do it.

 

I quit working at 52 also, quit working for a paycheck anyway. If I still worked, we wouldn't be nearly as comfortable as we are. We don't really want for anything. Both of our lives are very low stress because of me not working as well. When my wife comes home from work, dinner's on the table. She doesn't need to do anything but relax and have a beer.
If I still had a job, our lives would be a lot more hectic and fast paced and I doubt we'd be any better off financially and I know we'd be worse off psychologically and look 10 years older too.

 

I tried loan consolidation, didn't work. believe me when I say it takes both spenders to make that work. finally bit the bullet and went to Credit Counseling of _________ (fill in the blank with your state's name).
for a VERY low monthly fee they will negotiate lower interest rates for your debt and will send in the monthly payment. you will have to make a monthly payment to them. ours was MUCH less than we had been paying. took us 5 years to get out from under; aint never going back.
been paid off for a year and don't have a credit card even though my credit rating is strong. yeah, I can hear some of you saying I should get one to build my credit rating. tried that once, big mistake. told the wife that I don't want a card. she says we should have one for emergencies. told her if we got one, and it got used and not paid off, in full, at the end of the month that I would cut it up. still don't have one.
I understand the stress you're going through. just rips your guts out. I ain't never going back. tough row to hoe but you gotta start somewhere. blessings on ya.

 

It's a little off subject but it would interesting to know about you Norky and papadave have done to get you to where you are. Stuff like spending and saving habits, etc. so you could retire early.

 

Can we get a quadruple like button!

 

Great advice...I think having patience is key to paying down debt. Don't get frustrated that it's not going away fast enough, stay the course and it will go away.

 

You are not different, you are in a place that many of us can not find our way to. Very similar to alcoholism, you can not force someone to realize they have a debt spending problem. They must realize they have a problem, and be willing to make significant changes to their lifestyle in order to get out of debt. People arrive at this realization with different levels of commitment. No two are alike. If one is not ready to fully accept Dave Ramsey's strategies, then you'll most likely not be successful.


The definition of debt is going to differ from person to person. For example, you see internet and smart phones as a want. As someone that is in IT, both of these items are needs for my work. Fortunately for me, my work pays for my smart phone. Whereas I must pay for my internet access. You could argue with me that internet access is still a want. I do not work out of an office. When I am not onsite with a customer, I work from home. Thus my internet access goes from a want to a need.


Cable TV and or satellite are a want. So long as an individual can budget that cost into their monthly budget, it should not be an issue. If however; they are upside down owing more than they make in a month, then cuts like cable tv are warranted.


Most people are only looking to payoff the money that sits on credit cards and or loans. I am one of them. If all of my credit card/loan debt were paid off, I'd have a good amount of extra money each month to save and or invest.

 

schlot, nothing special.
Got rid of CCs, paid off a bunch of debt with money from retirement, then began living a simplified life. That took longer than I hoped it would, but I don't live alone.
I don't "need" the same stuff I thought I did back in the day.
My wife still sews (something she's done since she was a young girl), and I have my shop (something I've dreamed of having for decades).
We don't drive a new vehicle, although that may change next year or so (and we may keep the old one).
We have chickens and use the eggs, and also plan to have them butchered this fall. Pretty sure this isn't saving money.
We don't buy new clothes on a regular basis, just to keep up with trends that change with the wind. We turn lights off most of the time if not being used. Luckily, this house stays fairly cool in the summer until it gets close to 90 outside, so we only have a window shaker. I didn't put it in last year, and may not need to this year.
I make my own coffee. I can buy a whole container of coffee that lasts a month or more for the price of a couple CUPS from Starbucks. That's just stupid. Sorry if that offends, but that's how strongly I feel about it. Takes me less than 2 minutes to set up the coffee maker, which I do the night before. As I'm walking past in the morning, I hit the button. It's done by the time I get back from the bathroom. Done. $7 a month, or $7 a day. Think what that $210/month can do other than buy coffee. Whatever. BTDT.
If FIL wasn't here, we wouldn't have DTV. Don't need it, although we really enjoy Game of Thrones.
We are FAR from perfect, but we've learned a couple things in our lives. We're happy.
Pay attention to MM's post above. Extremely smart advice.
Personally though, I'd consider the 6 months as a minimum.


I think I'm ranting again, so I'll stop.