Tweet
Hello,
I am a second-year medical student currently on a LOA. Long story short, I am repeating second year starting the Fall of 2022. Due to my school being in a HCOA and giving us an insufficient amount for cost of living, I took out three credit cards to make up the difference. Now, I have $10,979.38 in credit card debit amongst 3 cards that I am struggling to make the minimum payments on. Below are my monthly expenses. My school gives us approximately $19,588 dollars per year to live on. My yearly expenses total up to $30,583. The leaves me with almost an $11,000 difference to make up.
My question is two-fold. Firstly, what do I do about the credit card debt? I attempted to do a balance transfer through Chase to a zero percent APR card, but I was not approved to do the transfer or for the card. I called Chase and asked them about their balance liquidation program. The person I spoke was a customer service person and said I would have to speak to a person in account management, but I was not eligible to do so until I began to miss payments and fall into delinquency (I have been making the minimum payments). It seems like I only have two options at this point; continue to make the minimum payments until residency (I have no idea how I am going to afford residency applications given that most people end up using a credit card and mine are maxed out already) OR file for bankruptcy. I am considering meeting with a bankruptcy attorney for a consultation next week. I know it temporarily destroys your credit, but I am young and not planning on buying a house for many years.
Secondly, where can I reduce my expenses? My rent is the average cost for a 1BD in the city I live. I attempted to get a roommate last year, but all my friends either wanted to live alone or had roommates from the previous year. This upcoming year will likely be even worse given that I don’t know anyone. Even if I were to find another person, the lowest rent I have seen is $600 a month without utilities. That puts me at approximately $23,383.00 a year for the cost living. I would still have a $3795 difference to make up. I am considering living out my car and renting a storage unit to keep my stuff in for the next year or two. I don’t really see another viable option. Other than that, I don’t really see where else I could reduce my expenses.
I am truly at a loss as to what I should and would greatly appreciate any help.
I am a second-year medical student currently on a LOA. Long story short, I am repeating second year starting the Fall of 2022. Due to my school being in a HCOA and giving us an insufficient amount for cost of living, I took out three credit cards to make up the difference. Now, I have $10,979.38 in credit card debit amongst 3 cards that I am struggling to make the minimum payments on. Below are my monthly expenses. My school gives us approximately $19,588 dollars per year to live on. My yearly expenses total up to $30,583. The leaves me with almost an $11,000 difference to make up.
My question is two-fold. Firstly, what do I do about the credit card debt? I attempted to do a balance transfer through Chase to a zero percent APR card, but I was not approved to do the transfer or for the card. I called Chase and asked them about their balance liquidation program. The person I spoke was a customer service person and said I would have to speak to a person in account management, but I was not eligible to do so until I began to miss payments and fall into delinquency (I have been making the minimum payments). It seems like I only have two options at this point; continue to make the minimum payments until residency (I have no idea how I am going to afford residency applications given that most people end up using a credit card and mine are maxed out already) OR file for bankruptcy. I am considering meeting with a bankruptcy attorney for a consultation next week. I know it temporarily destroys your credit, but I am young and not planning on buying a house for many years.
Secondly, where can I reduce my expenses? My rent is the average cost for a 1BD in the city I live. I attempted to get a roommate last year, but all my friends either wanted to live alone or had roommates from the previous year. This upcoming year will likely be even worse given that I don’t know anyone. Even if I were to find another person, the lowest rent I have seen is $600 a month without utilities. That puts me at approximately $23,383.00 a year for the cost living. I would still have a $3795 difference to make up. I am considering living out my car and renting a storage unit to keep my stuff in for the next year or two. I don’t really see another viable option. Other than that, I don’t really see where else I could reduce my expenses.
I am truly at a loss as to what I should and would greatly appreciate any help.
| Rent | $ 1,110.00 |
| Utilities | $ 20.00 |
| Haircut | $ 40.00 |
| Gym membership | $ 47.70 |
| Credit card payments | $ 410.32 |
| Gas | $ 200.00 |
| Groceries | $ 360.00 |
| Prescription | $ 40.00 |
| Spotify | $ 9.99 |
| Xbox Live | $ 10.59 |
| Spending money | $ 200.00 |
| Miscellanous | $ 100.00 |
| Total | $ 2,548.60 |
Comment