In Nov 2005, my dad did my husband and me the 'favor' of helping us get out of debt for about $20k. I was so humiliated by this that I promised him that I wouldn't use another credit card - and I haven't. In Jan, 2009, I found out that my husband borrowed $3k. After pulling our credit reports, I found he had racked up $27k in bills and we have nothing to show for it! We also had a balance of about $10k on a car loan, which I knew about. My husband kept telling me not to worry about it, that he was taking care of it. After a couple months, I let it 'retreat' to the back burner because I didn't want him to think I felt he was inadequate. Mistake! At the end of Oct 2009, I received a phone call from our mortgage lender - the Oct payment hadn't been made. I pulled our credit reports the next day and found that our total debt had increased from $37k to $41k. For several months, I begged my husband to be honest with me about the debt, but he refused. I had to open my own account just to make sure the mortgage was paid. I have read your book and have the software, but just can't seem to get my husband on board. He says he is, yet he still comes home with a toy or DVD or something for both of our kids when he runs to the store. All of the bills are behind, including what he used in my name. I’ve tried to refinance our house, but my credit is now so bad that I can’t. I’ve been thinking about selling our house to help some. His lying and secrecy has torn our marriage apart and I don't know what to do. I don't trust him at all because he still won’t be honest about where the money went. Please help me!

Lisa August 19 2010 1:57 PM

Ive tried to find on here and I have read all of Financial Peace and I am half way through Total Money Makeover and I havent seen this answer. What do you do when you have 2 car notes and one of them is high because we are upside down in it. We have no funds to purcase a car and must have a car. So what does Dave recommend? Selling it and getting a little car with a loan that is less than the current loan for a time? We are working on his baby step 1 plan and really dont know what the best decision would be.

Sandy August 17 2010 3:20 PM

Our newlywed daughter is working, but her husband isn't. She recently changed jobs and needs to pull her retirement money from the first job. She has about 6 or 7K. Should she pay off 6K student loan or pay down the 16K school loan. She's been told she won't be taxed as heavily if she puts the money on a school loan. They are drowning in debt. Help please. She is a hard working person and the debt is making her sick.

Cindy August 17 2010 1:14 PM

We have nearly $50,000 in CC debt, a $21,000 second mortgage, and a $132,000 first mortgage. We both work full time, and our cars were bought used for cash. We've been trying to sell our home for under the market value for five years; no offers. We live in a small town where even part-time jobs are very rare. How can we start a debt snowball when we can't even find part-time jobs or sell our house?

Dale July 07 2010 1:06 AM

One of my friends has 60,000 dollars of student loans. How can they be debt free? Thank you.

Ruth June 28 2010 8:37 AM

Carol: Once you've become debt free, your FICO score won't really matter anymore. Why would you need a credit score except to create more credit/debt for yourself? If you follow Dave's plan to eliminating your debt, you will eventually cut up (and cancel) your credit cards. Technically, this will lower your FICO score as well. Don't worry about it, and just worry about getting rid of the debt. Each debtor you pay off is one less bill each month, and that's a great feeling, trust me. Don't buy into the hype of your credit score!

Mike June 24 2010 10:16 AM

My FICO score has recently gone up because of a school loan I've been paying. I am finally in a position where i can pay off old debt (mostly utility bills and some medical). I heard that paying old debt to credit collectors can actually hurt my score. How do I do the right thing and pay my debt without it hurting me? thanks Carol

Carol G. June 22 2010 5:10 PM

I have alot to pay.I did not have much money to pay my debt.Can anyone help me to pay my debt amounting to $2000.00.I owed debt due to my decision making.

Seru K V June 07 2010 9:50 PM

I signed up for debt consol. prior to hearing about Dave Ramsay, they have helped me get things managable, since I tried on my own to get interest rates down, and I never missed a payment, I just have a lot of CC debt, so now that I am reading and working on the Dave Ramsey plan..I am scared I have messed up my credit (which has always been good) and I am hurting myself..I don't know what to do, should I opt out and try it on my own again or what??

Dawn May 26 2010 10:28 AM

First off, I am not debt free yet, we are working on it very aggressively. It takes time to get out of debt. The thing is everybody with their credit card debt want a quick fix. It wasn't quick getting into debt it took time. Now is the time to be the adult and get a plan and pay down the debt. Like Dave says get a plan write it down so you can see your progress that will give you satisfaction. As far as medical bills try to negotiate some places will and some won't. It is a long road but with a plan and a goal it is doable!! Yes everybody needs Dave's plan not being on it is what but you in the mess. If you listen to Dave he tells you not to go to a debt consolidation place why would one still consider it???

Sue May 18 2010 7:17 AM

good!

Ronald V. Dagostino May 05 2010 10:20 AM

Barb-we are in a similar situation. We have amassed close to 100K in cc debt and are trying our best to figure out how to get out of debt without any extreme measures like bankruptcy or debt mgmt. I have tried to speak with my credit card people to no avail. It seems no one wants to work with us because we are not more than 30 days late on our payments. I would love to hear more about how you were able to successfully negotiate with your companies.

Tish April 22 2010 10:59 PM

If I have $210,000.00 in investments but have a debt of about the same (mortgage and school loans) do I take it all out of my investments to pay this debt off or do I keep some in? The interest on both is about the same (5.5%-6.5%). I love the idea of being mortgage free!

Susan Bennett April 19 2010 11:54 AM

Sharon, never borrow money to pay another debt. You say your home is paid for so use your current income to pay off the $8600 as quickly as possible.

John April 14 2010 2:06 PM

"EVERYONE WITH CREDIT CARD DEBT" We currently have 110k in CC debt. I looked into a Debt Management Program to see what they could do for our 31 credit cards! After reviewing the proposal I thought about contacting each creditor on my own? To be honest, I could negotiate just as good if better? A lower payment(almost 1/2), lower interest rate, 40-60 mo payment time length and the cards are closed for any future use. Some went from 22% down to a 0% and some only went down to 6-9%. But a whole lot better than what they were? Ask to be on a hardship program? Some will say you have to be 1-2 payments late before you are eligible or no credit card activity for 6-8 weeks. To all, take the time to do this on your own before taking the leap to bankruptcy or a debt settlement/management program. It will be well worth your time and on your way to a sooner debt free way of life! We have a long way to go, but I am truly excited to start this journey:)

Barb March 27 2010 3:40 PM

I have $8600 in credit card debt on one card. I have 0% interest until October. At that time it will switch to 17%. My home is paid for. Should I use the equity loan to pay this off or take from my retirement fund come October?

Sharon March 26 2010 10:42 AM

I see that your teachings are mainly about people that put themselves in debt by overspending, do you have anything that would help people that have mostly outrageous medical bills? We could not afford the almost $700 a month on health insurance for many years now and finally found a state program for our kids that we pay a fair amount monthly on, as $700 is my rent each month but what do we do about all the old bills from before? I have waited with some bills a couple of years and then payed like 10% of the bill and they go ahead and take it off my credit but I still have bad credit doing it that way. There must be a better way to get this off my credit. As far as credit cards we have 1 that has a $300 limit and it still has about $200 credit on it right now and 2 old credit cards owing about $1500 that I have not paid off but why would I when I will still have terrible credit due to thousands of dollars in medical bills. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

heidi March 22 2010 10:57 AM

We got ourselves in big financial trouble after medical crisis that lasted over 3 years. We went to a debt management company. They have paid of 1 out of 4 debts but we are living hand to mouth. We have reduced our lifestyle to the bare minimum and live off of change on a daily basis. How can we get out of this debt management company and improve our day to day life. We can and will pay our debts - we just want to be able eat too! What should we do after we break the contract with the debt consolidation company?

cathy March 20 2010 3:09 PM

Natalie, Check your State's Statue of Limitations, if you are beyond the time period then you may not owe the money. might be worth some legal advise.

Todd March 07 2010 8:43 PM

I have a problem. I have decent credit, me and my husband are trying to build a house. Well a credit card that I cut up ten years ago has come back to haunt me. The balance was a whooping 400 dollars now i have people out of the blue calling me threating to sue me and cursing me out over it. I have tried to contact the source to pay and they refuse to help me. I am scared we won't get our house over this. We are 27 years old have not a single credit card quite a bit of money in the bank and it's frusterating. We are trying to do this right and we keep getting knocked down. The creditors that keep threatenig was 3000 for a 424 balance that has been bought twice. I don't know what to do and I'm freaking out. Please help!!!

Natalie March 03 2010 10:19 AM

Wes, you can call your student loan company to see about consolidation or other payment arrangements if you're under difficult times. Some payment is better than a black mark for no payment, and you can always pay more on there. You may also get a rate reduction for paying on time and/or auto pay. And others who've commented before, I've been through the FPU, and they had comments from people in like situations with tens of thousands of debt, and you can get through this! I should also add, my husband lost his job nearly 2 years ago, and while I don't make a lot, we've only held our total credit debt increase (not house related) to about 2,000 in that first year, and that was with college tuition and without going all-out with the envelope system. We did slip some for a few months with some major unexpected expenses, but we're getting back on track! Thank the Lord!

Robbie February 21 2010 4:03 PM

My husband took a significant pay cut for 6 months and then ended up losing his job all together, plus the guaranteed bonus we were counting on to pay off the credit card debt from the loss we took on the sale of our home. He was out of work for 8 months which resulted in us draining our savings and retirement. We are thankful that he has a job, but it is at an even lower pay than the reduced pay before he was let go so we have had to supplement our income with credit cards. With 130K in credit card debt is bankruptcy our only option. Will credit card companies work out settlements if we aren't behind on our payments or will we need to fall behind before they will consider a settlement payoff? Is Dave Ramsey's program worth it for us?

Kim February 18 2010 11:56 AM

I HAVE ABOUT 90K WORTH OF CREDIT CARD DEBT. I FELL BEHIND ON MY PAYMENTS. CONSIDERING A DEBT RELIEF SERVICE COMPANY OR BANKRUPTCY. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST APPROACH.

Henry February 10 2010 7:34 PM

I see all of your information around debt management companies and I am up to over 100K in credit card debt after losing my job and having to take a 20% reduction in salary. I had to use credit cards to supplement my income. I was looking into one of these debt settlment companies but after listening to your show for the first time on yesterday and doing some research on your website. I appears this would be terrible mistake. I am upside down with income, credit payments and my mortgage. What do you recommend that I do. Please help!

Sophia February 09 2010 7:43 AM

I have 53,000 in unsecured debt is bankruptcy my only option.

Phil February 05 2010 2:27 PM

My daughter had a nice scholarship and decided to work at a theme park for a semester while taking classes online from college. She "said" she was doing fine but after getting a letter from the collegeI found out she didn't complete 2 of the classes and was given an incomplete. She does what she wants(she is 1000 miles away) and won't open her mail or call anybody to get her act together. She has maxed out a credit card of $500 and she gets by paycheck to paycheck. She owes us a car payment,insurance and cell phone and has yet to pay. She extended her stay at the theme park and as far as I know no longer enrolled in school. Everytime I ask anything I get the "I will get to that Mom," or "I know Mom," so I just quit asking. I want to try and help but the only time she calls me is when she need some money for groceries or gas. What do I do? I need some guidance please!

Kady February 02 2010 8:51 AM

I'm paying more than I can afford on an old student loan. But at this rate, it'll take me another 16 years to pay it off. I'm looking for advice I can use and have not found anything of value to me yet.

Wes January 21 2010 4:31 PM

My wife and I find ourselves with $65,000 in credit card debt. One of the main reasons are due to 1 of our daughters was in an abusive marriage with an 18mo. old and had to move back in with us. I am on disability due to some major health issues but, have been developing a custom label bottling business as well as a private ecommerce franchise through Amway Global. My wife works full time and works about 60hrs. a week in a high stress job. I work 40-60hrs. from home and do as much as I can when I am healthy. Our daughter and grandson lived with us for 2yrs. and it cost us about $30,000 with attorney fees and living expenses for her to return to schoo and to raise her son. For either of us to get another job is not feasible for us, we have no extras, do not eat out and have not had a vacation for several years. What can we do?

Larry January 18 2010 4:43 PM

We're currently hold nearly $100,000 in credit card debt that has accumulated over the past 2 years. My husband thinks we should cash in my retirement and start over. I'm only 40. All the financial advise I've heard says to keep retirement funds "sacred". That said, I'd like to understand what the bible teaches about storing a harvest for the future when we're so indebted. Can you help me?

Audra January 10 2010 12:26 PM

I'm a widow. Should I have a bigger emergency fund or start on Baby step 6?

Cynthia January 10 2010 9:51 AM

We are planning on using our tax money to clear out some debt. We have 3 children and using that money will get us out of a 6,000 debt. We want to buy a house and want the best credit score we can get. If we have all the $ we need to pay off the debt, is it smart to pay it all off at once or make payments? We have never owned a credit card and really dont want to. But everyone is telling us to get one to increase our credit score. Whats your advise?

Sara January 08 2010 9:29 PM

Jane, you can't do anything. There is nothing more unwelcome than un-sought-for advice. All you can do is show how your financial house being in order gives you peace. When / if he is ready, he'll know whom to call. You can also pray, and pray fervently, for him to ask. Also, a little further advice, don't own problems that weren't given to you.

Blair December 02 2009 10:16 AM

"Laziness is a sickness, and it will get you absolutely nowhere in life". I agree, Dave, but in my 32-year-old son's case, it wasn't laziness. Itwas depression. He was living on his credit cards. When he finally got out of it, he had (and still has) a huge amount on debit cards, plus school loans to be paid back... He's an adult and we can't tell him what to do anymore. We're available (although we live in another country...), but he prefers to keep his distance. What can be done? What can we do? sincerely.

Mrs Jane E. November 25 2009 2:50 PM

I contacted our utility company and started level billing. Since I had budgeted a higher amount than they needed each month I put the difference toward the smallest bill.

Suellen November 09 2009 10:17 AM