When Your Credit Card Debt is More Than You Can Handle
A Light at the End of the Credit Card Debt Tunnel
If you're way in over your head when it comes to credit card debt, it may seem like your future is bleak (if you see a future at all). No one can understand the despair of choking on the debt of credit cards unless you've been there yourself. When you're in the middle of the muddied waters, finding a way out may seem impossible. If this sounds like you, there are indeed solutions to your credit card woes. Here are some you might not have considered.
A Home Equity Line of Credit
I usually don't advise taking a home equity loan to pay off credit card debt. In some situations, however, there really isn't any other option. If you can't make your minimum monthly payments you're just going to keep drowning.
If a home equity loan is available to you and if you're absolutely positive you'll be able to make that equity payment, then it is a solution you might want to consider. Just remember, you have to be absolutely sure you can make that payment because your home is going to be on the line.
A Reverse Mortgage
If you're a senior citizen who has significant credit card debt with no hopes of being able to bring the situation to a head, a reverse mortgage may be the answer to your prayers. You worked hard for your home. Now let your home work for you.
A reverse mortgage might be able to get you the money you need to completely pay off your credit cards. The best part is that you won't have to worry about paying that money back. The mortgage doesn't become due until you pass away or until you decide to sell your home (at which point the money from the sale of your home will pay off the loan).
Chapter 13
If you qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you really might want to consider it. Most people think that bankruptcy means losing your home and everything else you own. With a Chapter 13, that's just not the case.
With a Chapter 13 bankruptcy simply pay off your unsecured debt according to terms set out by the Chapter 13. You still pay your debt, you just do so at no interest or lower interest, and you get to keep your possessions.
So there you have it -- three solutions that can help you eliminate your credit card debt once and for all. Just remember, if these solutions work for you and you do manage to get rid of your credit card debt, then you need to make sure you keep free of it. No more charging, and if that means closing all your credit card accounts, so be it.