OH my, Profman, oh my indeed! I do feel for ya brother, as so many in today’s society have got caught up in the wave of easy credit, as well as they being offered such a variety of options now-a-days, such as buying a home with an interest only mortgage, or leasing a car with all the owed particulars at the end residuals and that treacherous mileage charge many forget about. Such as it is in the gotta have it now idealism, which seems to have engulfed our masses so harshly these past 10 years or so. It comes and comes there before you as the credit cards pour into the mailbox, and most we never asked for, but hey, I must be successful and doing things ok or I wouldn’t be getting them in the first place, right? We get so overjoyed and such a feeling of pride, as we remember our parents sometimes struggling to get just an American Express and a Master Charge Card, maybe a Sears or Monkey Wards. hey, Rockefeller how did you get a Gas Card too? It comes there with-in that pride, and in those feelings of making it where one can so easily lose sight of the consequences they lay just over the horizon while basking with-in the glow of the pay tomorrow for what we want today household. BAM~CRASH~SLAM! I do feel for you Profman, and my suggestion to you is to make an appointment with a credit counselor to allow one to view the options they have, as well as remove that feeling of dread that we are alone with that crashing down all around you. Many times the professional credit administrators can contact all of your creditors the plastic cards, and remove most and sometimes all of the interest that one would’ve had to pay, and then come-up with a viable and workable payment structure to ease the stress, and allow one's household to get on track. They will snippety snip those cards, but usually set one up with a very limited balance card, with no fees, and low interest rate, as most know that at least one credit card is needed in today's society. You will be put on a budget, and things will surely be tight for awhile, but you will survive, as they will always be they to help in any way they can. do some investigating, as just with Doctors and Lawyers, there are those good ones, and also those bad ones as well. I wish you the best of luck with this tidal wave upon your life, and remember, there is help for you, so don't despair. Be well, and Peace!

Profman, I'm sorry to hear about your situation. However, I can point you in a good starting direction. Dave Ramsey has a show on the radio, and its also on XM and Sirius Satellite radio. He gives lots of advice on what to do about debt problems, and has a debt relief system that I would recommend you look into. Please go to http://www.daveramsey.com/ for more information on his systems, and you can also call him during his show and get some info, or possibly a copy of one of his systems for free. Basically he recommends "7 Baby Steps" for getting out of debt. They are: 1. $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund 2. Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball 3. Three to six months of expenses in savings 4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement 5. College funding for children 6. Pay off home early 7. Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate. This is just a short overview, please check out his website, and if you can manage, purchase one of his programs or give him a call! Just remember there is a way out of this, and he has helped hundreds of thousands of people get out of debt.

Read Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" (probably available at your library, but if not, find a cheap copy on ebay), and start his system for debt elimination and wealth-building. If you stick it out, it will work.

You are not alone, my friend. its a plastic world full of articles bought with credit. First cut all credit cards in half, except one. keep it for emergencies only. you are going to have to change your spending habits dramatically. if you have not done so, sit down and construct a budget and stick to it. Here is the key question for your financial future: ask your yourself.."do we really need this item or service".? make no your favorite future word. At all costs, try to avoid bankruptcy court. it will ruin your credit......forever. You can do this. if you need further help, look in the yellow pages of your phone book. there are numerous credit counseling services available to assist you and to throw you a life preserver from a death of over extended credit.

Yes, you are over your head. EverydayCheapskate.com also has regular articles on getting out of debt. With that amount of income, you should be able to do it. One thing I did to cut expenses was to figure out how much disposable income I have per day--disposble has to pay for food, clothing, utilities, medicine, doctor visits, and luxuries. In my case it comes out to twenty dollars and it is very easy to see whether I spend less than I earn each day--every buck is 5%. I've made a game out of it and have often figured out ways to make do with things I already own instead of buying new. Good luck!

Simply put, put asmuch extra money as you can into that credit card debt while still paying the mortgage, those credit debts really get out of control. Your going to have to pay that pronto, maybe if your family could help you out? because with what those companys charge that 60,000 credit card debt will accumulate almost $10,000 worth of interest in one year, the quicker you get that gone the better. Maybe your wife can do some part time work? or just help cut down on the expenses. Dont forget to get all your debts into a file and write them all down, so you can show what debts you have, and then check howmuch each debt will cost you over the year in accumulated interest and highest % interest, go after them first if possible.

have you got any charges on the credit cards? as you can claim them back as charges are unenforceable. also i would request the credit agreements as without these the debt is unenforceable. (now all this is english law and i am assuming that you are not in england as you are using the $ sign, so i would get advise on this) there are english sites that are available one is penaltycharges.co.uk you can try there.

I think thats a lot to have on credit cards. But overall, im sure yo can manage, its not as high as a lot of peoples debt levels for a similar income. You should (if you have not done already) look at getting a new credit card which will give you a low or no interest balance transfer from your other credit cards.

First, does your wife work as well? If she doesn't then nows the time she should look for a job, even part time would help. It takes two incomes in today's financial world to survive and thrive! Even if she had to pay someone to babysit she'd still come out to the good and be able to pay some of the bills! Second, have you thought about taking on an extra job? Maybe on the weekends or whatever, just long enough to pay down some credit cards or pay off some of the principal on your mortgage loan. Once you pay down on your mortgage, maybe you can refinance and make the payments lower! Third, stop charging anything on your cards until you get things straightened out. Its not going to help matters if you keep on charging! If this is what you are doing then you just keep digging a deeper hole and eventually you'll burry yourself over and wont be able to get out! STop charging anything. Pay cash for everything until you can get your finances straight! Okay, the credit cards will never get paid down if you are paying just the min payments each month. This is why I say take on a second job and push that your wife get a job. This is the only way to get this debt down. You've got to stand up and take control. Getting another job will help tremendously. Take the entire amount you earn on that second job and pay it on one card and only one card. Keep paying that one card unti you pay it off. Then go to the next card. Start with the lowest balance card, then work your way on in that order. The lowest to the biggest. It will take some self control, hard work, long hours, and cooperation from your wife! Don't save any money at this point. You can't afford to. Whatever money you have extra should be paid on your credit card debt until you get it under control. This is not going to happen overnight, it's going to take some time. So be patient and work hard. Now, it's time to cut deep. Look at your expenses vs your income. There's always corners you can cut to minimize spending...such as do you really need netflix? Do you really need to be eating out every day at work? Pack your lunch! There's a million ways you can cut corners and save money...take whatever you can and pay it toward those credit card balances! Okay once you cut back on spending...and be firm...look at what your wife spends as well...does she spend too much on specific things that can be cut out until these credit card debts are cut??? Look at your grocery spending???? Set a budget for groceries and stick to it...there's always ways to buy cheaper brands...larger packs of meat and put them back in the freezer...etc... Set a budget...I'm sure you have a check card right?? Most people in America today have one and its connected to their checking account...deposit all your check into the bank and use your check card for everything and be sure to keep up with what you spend...this keeps cash out of your hands and in the bank. Eat breakfast at home instaed of eating out adds up. Look for every way to cut costs. Believe it or not, a lot of money is wasted that could be paid directly on your cards! Look at all your bills and see what can be eliminated and what is a "must". Some things you can eliminate may be the high cable bill...cut it down...you really don't need HBO or whatever...not until you pay off those cards! Does your wife go the salan often??? cut that out too...She can do without pampering until the cards are paid down! It takes both of you to get these paid down! You must sacrifice and so must she! There's a million things families do that can be cut! Its great to have all these extra things in our lives...but when we are stressed out and having a hard time paying bills...then it's time to take a stand and get things in order...later after these credit cards are paid off then you can do the things you used to do and live easy about it! Do you have other bills as well? Do you have furniture payments? Car payments? Four wheeler or boat payments as well? If so, then it's time to look at the one that has the lowest balance on this as well. It's time to take whatever you can (by working this extra job and your wifes income) and pay on this lower balance as well. Eliminate the lowest first, then go on up! Always start with your lowest loans because those will get paid off faster and rid you of a payment quicker! Now...once you've eliminated all spending that is not necsessary and took on another job, your wife a job, and you've cut all costs that is not needed, now it's time to look at your credit card debt closely. Can you do a balance transfer to get these cards combined?? This would eliminate all these small payments into one payment. If you're already close to your limits on your cards then you may want to look at getting one more card, a high limit card, with an offer for 0% for 12 months and low after that, with also 0% balance transfer percent, and transfer all your credit card balances to this one card and have only one payment! This is a smart way to consolidate all your credit card payments and eliminate interest for a year. Go online and look at offers. Look for cards that typically give high starting limits and go for it. You must transfer all of your other balances to this one card!!!! If you can do this then you have one card and one bill, and trust me the bill on one card would be much, much lower than having several cards with a bunch of mid payments. And this way you have no interst on your balance for a full year! Another option: Add up all your balances on your cards. Go to your local bank and put in for a loan for that amount. Look at any other debts you may have that can be added into this loan...such as a low balances car payment, a furniture payment, anything else??? Tell them it's to do some improvements on your home. This will get you a good interest rate. Take this and pay off all your credit cards! Now you have one payment with probably a much lower interest rate than you are paying now. Another option: If you have enough equity in your home. Take out a second mortgage and pay off all your credit cards. This is a better option if you have enough equity. This wont make your payment go up any, but will just lengthen how long you will pay your loan off. It eliminates all your credit card bills and gets you on track fast. It also cuts out all that money you are paying and will be paying in interest on your cards! Okay: Now it's time to talk honesty. Do you have a boat in your driveway? Do you have two or three four wheelers? If so, then maybe you should sale some of these things to pay off credit cards? Do you have an extra vehicle that nobody drives? Do you have anything you can liquidate to pay off any of your cards or loans? If you have three vehicles in family then that's too many with all these debts its time to cut one of them out! Liquidate whatever you can and pay these debts down while you can! Now...once you get all your cards paid off. Take your best card and keep it in your wallet but don't use it. Take your other cards and put them in a drawer and don't use them. Don't close them out...it will effect your credit score to close out all these accounts! It's okay to close out some of these if their lower limits and haven't been open that long. Older accounts should be left open and not used. A large portion of your credit score depends on the length of your credit and older accounts remaining open...so keep this in mind when closing any accounts! Plus your credit available counts a lot, this is why I say keep the cards open, just don't use them...keep them in a lock box if you must...but don't close them out! I wish you the best! Remember: You've got to cut deep and hard to make this work. You've got to get a second job and if your wife isn't already it's time she gets a job and helps out with these bills. I'm sure she helped add to these card debts, and thus she must help in cutting and paying! It's called team work! Once you get all these debts under control don't do this to yourself again. The problem with most people is once they get things lined out, they start charging themselves into a huge debt again! This is a big NO NO. Credit cards should be used logically. If you charge something on a card, then pay the balance in full every month. If you can't do this, then don't charge anything. If you can't pay for it within the 20 or 25 day grace period where you aren't paying interest then you don't need it! Again, good luck!

There's a lot of execellent advice here. That Dave Ramsey is really great, too. One thing that has really been encouraging for me has been to make out a goal list. I catagorized the small dollar amount to the largest dollar amount. As I crossed off all of my successes - I celebrated. I celebrated even the smallest dollar amount. My celebration was simple, but it just recognized one less bill to pay. It was amazing to me that in 6 months to a year all that I accomplished. Also, the best thing that has happened in my marriage is that we talk, talk, talk about how we can improve our financial situation. If you are both understand what the family's fiancial situation is then you are going to be more successful overall.

I've been there and I can tell you that with time and Dave Ramsey's advice and other kinds of help (including eating "humble pie" with creditors), it is possible to gradually emerge. There is hope. Try to get some rest. It will not get any better from worry (easier advice to give than implement).

You Have Got To Be KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you can, I would recommend taking out a 2nd mortgage to pay off the credit card debt. The interest can be written off, and will certainly be much, much less than your credit card interest. Next, start paying on a cash-basis only.

Know this: many, many of us have done the same thing. it's so easy to do. I hope you and your wife are pulling together and not apart. My husband and I came very close to ending our marriage over bills. It's been 4yrs of doing the back stroke, we can finally see the beach HAHA. You can do it, as a team. I wish you wisdom, in your journey out of the American way (DEBT).

My honest advice? What APR are your cards at? What are your FICO (credit) scores? What interest rate is the mortgage, how far are you into it, and what type of loan (30 year fixed, ARM, interest-only, etc.) is it? How old are your children? Do they go to day care? PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR MORTGAGE. Seriously! The credit card companies are the first to call and the squeekiest wheel because it's an unsecured debt and not much they can do. A roof over your head is much more important than making the calls stop. I'd suggest transferring your balances to new 0% intro APR cards and paying at least the minimum payment on time EVERY time. Pay when the bill comes in the door, not waiting for the due date. When the intro period's through, transfer to another 0% intro APR card. Be aware, however, that there may be a 3% fee to do a balance transfer, so do so wisely and read the fine print. Stop accumulating further debt if you can avoid it. If there are medical expenses in the mix, there isn't much you can do, but here are some tips: * don't eat out (this also goes for getting coffee... get some from the office pot) * cut your entertainment budget (and learn the wonders of the library) * drink filtered tap water instead of sodas (it's healthier, too!) * get out of gym contracts * learn to say "no" to your children's wants (but not their needs... an XBox is not a need) Most of the time, debt creeps up little by little as people make minimum payments and interest adds up. If you don't want to do the balance transfer thing, you can do the following, which will get you out of debt FASTER than Dave Ramsey's advice: - gather all of your credit cards - gather the credit card junk mail you've been getting - call your card issuers and try to negotiate a lower interest rate, using the mail offers as leverage - sort your cards from highest interest rate to lowest - make minimum payments on all but the one with the highest APR, putting every available penny to the debt - once the card with the highest APR is paid off, start on the next card - do NOT close down old cards because this will likely lower your FICO score and may trigger an interest rate increase Dave Ramsey has helped a LOT of people, and I'm grateful for that, but his advice is not always what's best for people. He argues that it may not make the most financial sense, but it works. If you can keep with this, it will work. You need to be motivated, not exasperated, so keep in mind your goals. Envision yourself without the constant weight of debt. When you're about to hand over $3 for a latte, ask if it's a NEED or a WANT and don't sabotage yourself by justifying wants as needs. You should make a cashflow journal and, from that, try to design a realistic budget. Try to cut back sensibly (you can't live without food, but you can live without junkfood) where you can. The adults don't need new clothes, the kids do. But the kids should be able to make due with gently used clothing from a consignment shop, a thrift store, eBay, yard sales, etc. Look up "The Tightwad Gazette" at your local library (most have a copy) for ideas on how to live a thrifty life. No one else needs to know that you're on a budget, but it may help to have an accountability partner (like an AA sponsor to help you stay on-track). By the way, if you get to the point where you cut up your credit cards, cut up your debit cards as well and get a simple ATM card. It's just as easy to spend out of control with a debit card as it is a credit card and if a debit card is stolen, your money is gone until the bank's investigation is complete, which can take MONTHS!

Dave Ramsey. A thousand times... Dave Ramsey..

First order of the day is to find a pair of scissors and have a credit card cutting party. destroy them completely. This is a mammoth step forward for you. you can do it, just shut your eyes and apply pressure. Next, look in the yellow pages for a company to help you trim your credit card debt down. you will be amazed at how much interest you are paying. Now that your credit card debt has been lowered, you should have sufficient money to pay your mortgage with money left over for essentials. You are going to have to be "lean-conscience" for the next two years, until your plastic debt is dissolved. If you are a determined person, you can do this for yourself and for your family.

get professional help soon

call a nonprofit credit agency ... they will help

does your morgage really count? At least its a asset :) start with your credit card.... you'll get there

cut down all your expenses. reschedule all debt make deals how much you can pay. and stick to it . live according to your means. remember many out there barely make 20 000 a year

rnaybe you can try declaring bankruptsy

You need to stop putting shit on your credit cards, homie. I disagree with most folks about the credit cards on here. Don't cut them all up. You should keep no more than two and close the rest of the accounts. Closing all your accounts will not help your credit score. Pay them all down and use them sparingly, paying them off each month.

Why do you need to support your wife? Is she disabled? I suggest you cut up the cards, and both of you get another job! Yeah and if the kids are old enough to sling papers, mow lawns, or babysit, put their butts to work too so they can buy their own cool clothes and shoes if they don't like thrift store stuff! Or fancy individually wrapped snacks or special toys. Teach them if they want something other than the basics of survival they need to earn it themselves. Limit your purchases to only what you need to survive. And that doesn't include recreation, entertainment, alcohol, recreational drugs, tobacco, sodas, or sugar snacks. Use the thrift store, yard sales and Aldi or some other local discount grocer. Check out the tightwad gazette and hillbillyhousewife.com. Dave Ramsay and Suze Orman. Stop living like you earn 80,000 a year and start living like you earn what's left over after your bills are paid. If nothing's left over that's how you need to live! Like you have nothing!