KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to start this topic but I think I need Financial Advice from Parents out there.

I have made BAD financial decisions starting from 2 years ago when I enrolled my girl in enrichment courses and paid through credit cards and i took my time paying it. Then WE made the BIGGEST mistake by getting a loan to play in stocks and bombed it Badly. Then we took a bigger loan to cover all the credit card debts and loans but it didn't cover it. In total, I was in $25 000 in debt with the credit card company. We managed to pay $15000 in 1 year and still have $10000 to go but we made another BIG mistake. We let go of our maid thinking that it will save us money and allow the children a more structured environment.
ALthough the kids are doing well, we are now struggling to make ends meet as we are swamped with bills and credit card company is charging us interest and late payments and I haven't been able to pay my girls school fees on time.

I need advice to how I can better my situation.

I'm sorry to hear the state you're in. I would think the best people to approach are the pros. There is this non-profit organisation called Credit Counselling Singapore that should be able to help you. Their website is here ==> http://www.ccs.org.sg/

may be you can approach the org to structure a repayment schedule for the S$10k....do not incur any more interest or debt, self-impose a period of austerity till every cent of the debt is repaid....and you will enjoy a great tangible sense of freedom from debt

If you have been able to repay $15k in a year, so I assume S$10k is not a problem for the next 10 month.

I know this sounds like 'grandfather' advice : don't borrow to buy stock and shares, and don't live on credit cards

credit cards are meant to be a tool to facilitate payment without bringing lots of cash or different currencies when travelling. It is not meant to be a permanent loan.

sorry it sounds obvious

on_plus_kiasu wrote:Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to start this topic but I think I need Financial Advice from Parents out there.

I have made BAD financial decisions starting from 2 years ago when I enrolled my girl in enrichment courses and paid through credit cards and i took my time paying it. Then WE made the BIGGEST mistake by getting a loan to play in stocks and bombed it Badly. Then we took a bigger loan to cover all the credit card debts and loans but it didn't cover it. In total, I was in $25 000 in debt with the credit card company. We managed to pay $15000 in 1 year and still have $10000 to go but we made another BIG mistake. We let go of our maid thinking that it will save us money and allow the children a more structured environment.
ALthough the kids are doing well, we are now struggling to make ends meet as we are swamped with bills and credit card company is charging us interest and late payments and I haven't been able to pay my girls school fees on time.

I need advice to how I can better my situation.

Do you have any life insurance policies? Perhaps you can take it as a loan if they do have decent amount of cash values. you can take your time to pay where the interest varies from different insurance companies.

Hi,

try to negotiate with the cc company to reschedule the repayment. I don't think they will want to squeeze you hard especially since you have already repaid 15k. Not sure what other bills you have but if you are referring to HDB mortgage loan, you can similarly approach them to work out a repayment plan. Not sure if this helps but wish you all the best. Hang in there for your kids.

is there anything you can monetise?

any insurance polices you can surrender?

do you own a car? can give it up even though it might mean inconvenience? car really sucks up a lot of money monthly. bear with the inconvenience until you are out of the red.

best thing to do is to clear the debt asap, otherwise interest will snowball further.

consider renting out a room?

titank wrote:Do you have any life insurance policies? Perhaps you can take it as a loan if they do have decent amount of cash values. you can take your time to pay where the interest varies from different insurance companies.

I agree...this is one of the fastest way to raise cash. You can loan up to 90-95% of cash values in your policies and you can receive your cheque within 7 working days. Interest is around 8%p.a. whereas credit cards is at 24%p.a. The best thing is that you can make instalments payment from as low as $50 per month, and when you have bonus or extra money, try to make partial or full lump sum payment back to insurance company.

Xmasbaby wrote:

titank wrote:Do you have any life insurance policies? Perhaps you can take it as a loan if they do have decent amount of cash values. you can take your time to pay where the interest varies from different insurance companies.

I agree...this is one of the fastest way to raise cash. You can loan up to 90-95% of cash values in your policies and you can receive your cheque within 7 working days. Interest is around 8%p.a. whereas credit cards is at 24%p.a. The best thing is that you can make instalments payment from as low as $50 per month, and when you have bonus or extra money, try to make partial or full lump sum payment back to insurance company.

Yes can return the $$ not so being pressure. Can even don't bother to pay as in the event of the claim the paid out would less out the $$ being loan with accured interest.

Hope this would helps the TS solve his/her problem.

I have a friend who had this dilemma. She talked to the bank and worked out a repayment scheme, at an amount she'c comfortable with (about $200 pm if I'm not mistaken). However, she had to cancel the card, but the interest charged was much much lower. Talk to your bank.

Banks will usually listen and empathise if you go and see them

They also don't want to make customer worse

No need to be pai seh one !

Pick up the courage, give them a call, make an appointment to see them

All the best !