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This post comes from a guest blogger, Mike, who is the creator of CreditCardForum, a site for deals and reviews. He’s struggled with massive credit card debt himself, which he discusses below.
I did a search for creative ways to pay off credit card debt and everything I saw was very vanilla advice. Everyone seems to be giving the same boring tips like spending less, getting a side job, and other common sense approaches you probably already thought of. I’m going to go out on a limb here and bet you are looking for more creative ways than that, right? Well here are three extreme methods.
#1. Peddle credit cards to pay off your own debt
Let’s be honest… the credit card industry is a total cash cow. Lately they haven’t been doing the best because of all the people flaking on payments but more often than not, they are making money hand over fist. Why not get a piece of the action for yourself?
After getting in a severe car accident when I was 18, I was left with some big medical bills that I had to pile on plastic. In fact “big” would be an understatement because we’re talking monstrous, colossal, debt that’s the size of Mount Everest. Because it consumed my life I eventually started a forum dedicated to credit cards and shortly thereafter, I realized that the forum could be used to make money advertising cards. That income could then be used to pay down my credit card debt faster!
You can do the same thing I did. Just pick out a sweet domain (like Debt Sucks Blog!) and then start blogging about credit cards. You won’t make money right away but if you put a lot of effort into it, down the road it will pay off. For example, write a Chase Slate review and they will pay for each person that is approved through your link. Now in all honesty the Chase Slate card doesn’t pay much, but you can make some nice money with higher end offers, like the Citi Dividend World MasterCard. Not all banks participate but most of the big ones like Citibank, Bank of America, Chase, Capital One (like many, Jake hasn’t had the best experience with Capital One), American Express, and Discover pay affiliates to market their cards. This is how I paid off my insane credit card debt and if it could work for someone as technically challenged as me, I’m pretty sure anyone can pull it off!
#2. Risk your life to raise funds
For liability purposes I should probably be clear that what follows is “for entertainment purposes” only and I by no means advocate someone actually doing these things!
A couple months ago you might have read the story about the 17 year old Chinese boy who sold his kidney to buy an iPad. Allegedly, this boy named Zheng searched online for a buyer to sell his kidney. How much did he get? 22,000 yuan which works out to be around $3,400 USD. So if you want to risk your life and permanently jeopardize your health to chip away at your MasterCard debt by a couple thousand, then just head on over the China!
Now for some less controversial ways to put your life on the line, you may be able to raise a few bucks by being a guinea pig for the pharmaceutical industry. I actually contemplated this myself a few years ago but the payouts I were seeing were lousy. Basically when you added up the gas + time it would take to drive back and forth to the facility, I could make more money working minimum wage (which I did).
#3. Become a surrogate mother
This one is solely for the ladies out there who are struggling with debt. Best of all, not only could it help you, but it could help a mother who is medically unable to have children on her own.
To be completely honest with you, I don’t know a great deal about how the process works but did read up a bit on it so I could write this. Apparently you can earn up to $25,000 and maybe more. The money is placed in an escrow account and paid out to you in increments over the course of the process. Best of all, I think by law your employer will have to give you some time off once you get further along.
Of course there are a ton of drawbacks to consider with this. First of all, someone’s life is being placed in your hands so this really requires some major responsibility. That includes no smoking, no drinking, etc. Then of course there is the time and discomfort, not to mention what that puts your body through. In short, this is a major sacrifice! The way I look at it is that unless your #1 motivation is helping out the couple to become parents, this option is definitely not for you! Only do it if your heart it is in.
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From September 2 to October 6, my net worth increased an average of $41.16 per day, or $1,234.84 overall, to -$32,766.10. This is a 3.77% increase, and results in a projected zero net worth on 5/16/2014.
Things and stuff of note
September was my best non-triple non-bonus income month so far this year, and those two fat checks carried me through this net worth update like a champ. I really needed that, especially with the Financial Bloggers Conference having happened, which was… expensive. My writeup on that is coming soon, and will likely be a vlog. Haven’t even unpacked yet.
While one good month isn’t enough to bring my various short and long term goals back in line, it did bump my zero net worth date two weeks closer, and reduced my magic number to $1,151.65 (previously $1,162.37).
While this month would’ve been a couple hundred better had I not gone to FinCon, it looks like my presence there and the connections I made will soon pay for the whole trip already. Not only is that pretty fucking amazing in itself, that also means sustained increased income. Long term.
While loops are annoying. Then again, I don’t code anymore. Sidebars updated.
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Remember when I didn’t pay my taxes almost six months ago? Yeah, that was pretty sweet. Now that I finally did, though, it kind of complicated things. Not being entirely sure of the math even now, I just sent in what I knew, knowing full well that the nice folks at the Internal Revenue Service would happily send me a bill for the difference.
Send a bill they did, and I gotta tell ya, this is like nothing I had expected.
It’s to the point where I’m not even sure what to do about it. I was expecting something like $20, but this is just unreasonable. So, I leave it to you, oh wise readers of mine, to tell me what exactly I ought to do about this:
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This article is a guest post by UK money writer Les Mitchell, who regularly writes about finance topics across the web.
Most people with bad credit feel they are out of options when it comes to getting any type of loan, but that isn’t always the case.
Although you need decent credit to qualify for low-interest loans and credit cards, there are financial products out there that are extended to people with a troubled financial past.
If you’re in a bind and need cash quickly, payday loans are the easiest option. These are short term cash advances that you get the same day you apply.
Payday loans come with high interest rates and must be paid back with your next paycheck, hence the term “payday loan.”
You can apply for paydays loans in person, on the phone, or even online. The majority of companies that offer these loans don’t require a credit check. All you need is proof of employment in the form of your last paystub.
The disadvantage of payday loans is that they are costly. You can expect a fee of around $25 for every one hundred dollars you borrow. If you borrow $500, you have to pay an additional $125 in fees.
Aside from payday loans, personal loans may be available to those with bad credit.
Although these require credit checks, it’s not impossible to get one with less-than-perfect scores. You just have to pay a higher interest rate than someone with a high credit score.
Alternatively, bad credit credit cards are another option. While you will be more limited in the types of cards you can apply for, it’s relatively easy to get a bad credit credit cards.
Most of these cards come with low credit limits and high interest rates, but if you can manage the credit card responsibility, it’s the best way to rebuild your credit in a relatively short amount of time.
You may also consider a secured credit card. These work like debit cards in that you pay a certain amount in order to establish your limit. They even help you rebuild credit, just like unsecured credit cards.
Although secured credit cards won’t do much good if you find yourself in an emergency situation, you can treat them like savings accounts and pay into the balance every month before an emergency arises.
If you find yourself completely out of options, talk to a trusted friend or family member about co-signing. This may work better if your financial troubles are in the past and you’ve been living responsibly for a while, since most people may be wary of taking responsibility for someone else’s loan if they cannot pay.
Never borrow more money from a loan or credit card than you know you can afford to pay back. That will only get you into more financial trouble.
If you find yourself unable to get back on your feet without taking out a loan, it may be time to seek credit counseling.
Contact local non-profit debt counseling services to see what they can do to help you get back on track. You may find that you can rebuild your credit quicker than you thought.
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Well, things have certainly been busy around here. So much so that this isn’t really a mid-month update, but more of a “what I’ve been doing” update. First off, Lee happened. We got about 14 inches of rain here.
This picture is pretty tame, but the quickest I could find, and from just up the street. As a result, there were several deaths around the midstate, including a couple right here around town. For a bit, there was pretty much no decent way out of the county, with major roads either flooded or badly damaged all around. Records from Agnes were broken. Lucky me, I live a whole 5 blocks from work, which was of course, busy as all hell. First it was pumps (out and in and out again). And then water heaters. Way after the fact, and things still haven’t slowed down – I pulled 65.5 hours last week, including two 15 hour shifts, for a total of 116.5hrs in the pay period. I’m gonna be rich, sure, but was it worth it? To not even have time for 8 hours of sleep between shifts? Hell no.
I would imagine my spending is pretty much in check, as I simply haven’t had the time to be spending any money. One thing I have been doing, though, is cracking down on my Japanese studies, as I’ve been slacking hard there. And I’ll tell ya what, this video is a horrible way to learn anything.
This one, on the other hand, I am in love with. It’s pretty awesome to see a darker side to Hatsune Miku, and it just… works. So well.
And as a result, I so very much want this figurine, but really can’t see spending 16,000 yen on it (about $200), especially when I’m trying to reduce my possessions and *not* take on stuff like this. But it’s just soooo nice.
So yeah. That’s where I’ve been.
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