I've cut out everything I possibly could to save an extra penny, I eat less, and I still can't keep up with these payments for debt.  Someone suggest that I take out a personal loan with a lower interest rate than the credit cards I'm trying to pay off but don't know much on the matter.  I have 3 credit cards that have a pretty penny racked up on each and have cut them up but I can't seem to make a dent.

 Any suggestions on what to do or if taking out a personal loan is smart?  Can I even get a personal loan if my credit is bad and I don't make much money?

Welcome to the Dollar Stretcher. I don't know how long you've been reading this website but from what you are saying, it sounds like you need outside help and not necessarily in the form of a personal loan. I recommend that you start digging deep into this website and forums. You may need to contact an agency such as Consumer Credit Counseling Services. They will go through everything with you. Be very very careful not to sign up with some company that offers to solve your problems for a fee. That will compound your problems. Its hard for forum members to offer specific advice without knowing more details. You may also want to look into Dave Ramsey's programs.

First, what exactly have you done? If you list your expenditures, we can probably come up with ways for you to cut.

Secondly, taking a loan to pay off a loan is never a good idea unless it's a last ditch effort. Even then, I would never recommend it.

Welcome Corgee, I totally agree with Pat.  We have actually taken out the personal loan thinking we would pay off debt, make one payment and be done with it.  Well that was in 2006, we still have 2 years left on that loan and our credit card is back up to $16,000.00. Obviously it didn't work for us because we didn't change our behavior when it came to money. 

What helped me was sitting down and writing out our income and expenses, no cheating here.  Once you have it in writing it is a real eye opener and will also give you a starting point.  I don't know if this is a possibility for you but I took a second job last winter and that really helped.   I'm getting ready to start doing it again. DH also sold two weeks of his vacation.    Everyone on this forum has wonderful advice as well and they are a wealth of information.

Hang in there.  Its never as bleak as you think it is.

Lee

Corgee,Have you sit down with a pencil and paper and added up all of your monthly bills mortgage or rent,car payment,power bill,phone bill,gas bill the amount you spend spend on eating our and your groceries,cc payments and child care if you have that expense, if you haven't done this yet it would be a good place to begin if you own your own home have you thought of taking in a roommate I know I would not like that but some people deal with it better than I do you just have to do what you have to do to get where you want to be oh I forgot home insurance and car insurance gas for car and don't forget the money you may be spending in a vending machine at work if you do use it.

In the current economy, there are credit card companies and banks that are having to work with customers concerning lowering interest rates and minimum payments due. Call your card companies and tell them that you cannot pay the interest, much less the minimum due on your credit cards. Tell them you want to pay what you owe but you can't unless they drop your interest rate drastically. Keep asking to speak to a supervisor or to a manager who can do this for you. The card companies can cancel your card so you can't use it, can create a payment plan for you, lower the interest rate, and work with you, but you may have to fight for this. Besides Dave Ramsey, you may want to look into Suze Orman, Carmen at MSNBC, and Gail from Til Debt Do Us Part (you can find their sites via internet searches). You may find that bankruptcy is something you want to look into in order to discharge your credit card debt so that you can move forward.

 I agree with Pat that taking out a loan doesn't work to cover credit card debt. From personal experience it becomes to easy to go right back loading up the credit cards, then you have the loan and credit cards to pay. Better to search out every other alternative before looking at a personal loan.  Edey

Thank youfor the advice.  I will look deeper in the forums for a better understanding of the site.

You mentioned that you have cut up the credit cards and that is a step in the right direction but I'm not sure it was the best move. I like the suggestion that others here have made of putting the credit cards in a zip-lock bag of water and then freezing it. That way you have to take the time to think about a purchase before using them. That way they are available for a truly necessary purchase like a water heater or brakes for your car.

Taking out a loan that has a lower rate than the credit cards MAY work for you, but ONLY if you have the self-discipline to not use the credit cards again until that loan is paid off. The trap that many fall into is racking up the credit cards again so then they have high credit card debt and the loan to contend with.

A possibly better strategy is to pay the most you can on the cc with the highest rate and the minimum payment on the others. When the highest-rate one is paid off, then go after the next-highest rate credit card.

But the underlying problem is that you have been spending more than you earn. That is the only reason anyone has high cc debt. As the others have suggested, track your spending carefully and look for what you can eliminate or reduce. Your mortgage or rent is fixed and there's not much you can do to reduce that other than move. But you can control what you spend on food, clothes, entertainment and the like. Getting serious about those expenses can make a world of difference in living costs.

 Do you have a slashed to the bare bones budget in place and are you following it?

Start selling the accumulated "stuff" you have.  It is replaceable. 

Can you pick up a part time job to help get the debts paid?