Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyers & Attorneys

1) You are only making the minimum payments on your credit cards. You think that you’re ok because you are managing your debt. However, consider this fact:

On a 5k debt at 18.99% interest, the minimum payment is $200.00 per month.
If you continue to pay the minimum payment, you will eventually pay off the debt in 12 years and 10 months. You will have paid over $3,155.00 on a 5k debt. And that’s assuming you don’t make any future charges on the card. The credit card companies would love for you to just make the minimum payments.

So, if you are just making the minimum payments, you are in trouble.

2) You’ve been turned down for credit or you’ve seen your credit line decrease.

In making credit decisions, creditors utilize information obtained from the three credit bureaus. They view your credit worthiness based upon your FICO score. If you’ve been declined or if you’ve seen your credit limit decrease, creditors are screaming out that you are a credit risk and that you are already over-extended. Take heed to their warnings.

3) You’ve exhausted your savings and you’re taking cash advances to pay your monthly bills.

You are flat-out, over-spending when you need to take cash advances to pay bills. It’s bad enough that you’ve depleted your savings. Now you’re taking cash advances which come at a premium, including high interest. You must gain control of what you bring in and what you pay out.

4) You are living pay check to pay check.

If you are relying on your upcoming pay check to pay your current monthly obligations, then you are just one payday away from a crisis. What if you miss time due to an illness or worse, lose your job. Unemployment doesn’t kick-in immediately and the benefit amount will certainly be less than your current pay. Living pay check to pay check is a sure-fire, debt warning sign.

5) Creditors are calling you.

You’re getting endless calls from bill collectors, computerized, automated calls at all hours of the day, at home and at work. Ducking these calls will not make the problem go away. Ignoring the creditor can lead to lawsuits, court appearances, wage garnishments and even bank account seizures. Creditor calls are the most obvious financial reality check and complete the top 5 countdown.