Ask Bill a Debt Question

What is the debt snowball?

Any ideas how to best deal with my debts, and ever heard of a debt snowball?  We have a large credit card debt with high interest rates and are making no headway to pay them off. Should I withdraw money from my retirement funds to pay off or pay down our credit cards? 

My wife defaulted on $70,000 in credit card debt I knew nothing about. Can we lose our house? Am I liable?

I learned recently my wife defaulted on $70,000 in credit card debt. Most if not all of this debt she took on before we met. I had no idea she had these credit cards, and I am not a cosigner or authorized used on the accounts. Given we are now married and own a home, can her creditors come after our home? Does it matter if the home is owned in joint or common tenancy (California)?

I have a Citibank Sears MasterCard credit balance of $12,000 I cannot pay. They offered me a settlement of $207 for 5 years. Is this a good deal?

I have a Citibank  Sears MasterCard credit balance of $11,979.19. I am going on two months without making a payment. I was paying about $386.00 monthly. Last night I received a phone call from Citibank Sears card, the customer service rep was nice and pleasant. She offered to help me get back on track with my payments. Citibank is willing reduce my monthly payments for $207.00 for 60 mo...
Read full question

Does credit card debt have to be paid out of my estate after I die? What about unpaid dental bills?

Does credit card debt have to be paid out of my estate after I die? What about unpaid dentist's bills?

My credit card account is in collections, and this appears on my child's credit report? Why? What can we do about it?

In 1999 my husband and I opened a credit card with Citibank. It was open until 2009. In that time I got a card with my daughter's name on it for convenience. It was our account and not hers. Our credit was good until their was an accident in our family. That account went to collections. It has since been paid. This bad report of Citibank is showing up on my daughter's credit report. ...
Read full question

I have a private student loan from WyoTech that I cannot afford to repay. They are threatening wage garnishment. What are my options?

I reside in Wisconsin, and went to WyoTech in Laramie, WY in 2008. I received a personal loan through the school itself for roughly $28,000. There was no grace period. I made a few payments here and there but nothing substantial. The interest rate is 18.9% and I cannot even afford the monthly accruing interest. They have no options for forbearance or deferment because it is not ...
Read full question

I need to know how to repay or get relief from my $120,000 in student loan debt.

I have questions about student loan relief. I don't have credit card debt, don't own a home or vehicle. I just need to know how to repay or get relief from my student loan debt, est $120,000.

I cannot pay my business line of credit. What are my options?

I received a $50K unsecured business line of credit from Wells Fargo in 1994 for a business established in 1987 - which closed in 2005. This line of credit helped me to grow the business and keep afloat during the lean years, but I found it impossible to stay in operation with the economy as it was. I kept current on payments until 4 months ago after they had jacked up the interest rate and ...
Read full question

What form do I need to report my paid mortgage to the credit reporting agencies?

I bought a home, never a late payment ever. The loan went through my realtor company and payments were made to Century 21 Mortgage. i have the title and all documentation that the home is mine free and clear. I never would have been able to do it with out my two daughters help along the way, over the years. I am disabled, getting worse all the time, unfortunately. I contacted Century 21 Mort...
Read full question

I am in a debt consolidation program and the creditor is suing me. What can I do?

Two years ago I got very sick (brain tumor) and wasn't able to work for many months. At that time I had to rely on credit cards and I accumulated over $15,000 of debt. During that period I was late with one payment and Citi raised my APR from 14.99% to 29.99%. I was paying them monthly around $400. After few months I noticed that most money that I am paying off is just for interest and m...
Read full question