Throwaway account because I don't want it linked to my main account (sweet, sweet karma)
My mother is about $32,000 in debt from two credit cards (Chase and Amex) with an APR of 23% and ~25%+ respectively. She quit her job in mid-2018 due to the mental stresses of her workplace at that time, and did not secure her new job until January of 2020. Since then, she's depleted all her savings, and relied on these cards to get by (I won't get into the semantics of why she did not secure a job sooner; not pertinent to this case imo). She had been very responsible in paying off these cards until 2018, and does not want to end up in this situation again.
With such a high APR, she's struggling to stay afloat - she's considering consolidation offers, as well as balance transfers through various credit union and banks. All the offers thus far seem to need to be a combination of options, e.g. several thousand here at x%, several thousand there at 0% introductory, but must be paid off in one year. There seems to be a stipulation Ultimately, it seems the majority of what she is paying back to the credit cards are going to interest, rather than principal.
Are there any private or public programs that can help her in something like this? If not, would it make sense to transfer a portion of balances to various 0% APR cards, and pay those down? Open to any suggestions on getting out from underwater in a reasonable timespan. Raw numbers are below for consideration. I'd really appreciate any help in pointing to a right direction, short of bankruptcy suggestions, ideally!
Income: $70k/year paid bi-weekly
$2750/month expenses: This has been cut down to barebones; no frivolous spending whatsoever. $60 for basic cable and internet. I let her use my multimedia entertainment, and pay for our phones/lines. She rents, so no equity or collateral, and she's paying undermarket for her space. Car will be paid off in July, so this should free up an additional $400. Working from home until 2021 so commuting costs are nil. She eats very little, so food costs are low.
$3700/month net (after retirement contributions)
Submitted June 09, 2020 at 08:27PM by Snoo38757 https://ift.tt/3dOjtyz
