[Chloe]

My husband and I have found ourselves in minor debt after having an unexpected bout with under employment.

We have the following debt:
18k truck loan
3k van loan
1100 0% interest credit card
7k credit card debt

All 4 debts are solely in my husbands name. He has a 700 credit score.

Employment is better, but still slightly rocky and will be underemployed another 12-18 months, but gets better each month.

We were wanting to open a 0% balance transfer card to transfer the 7k onto so that we could at least save the interest on it while we pay it down because they’re charging nearly $145/month in interest so our payments aren’t bringing down the balance very much.

We are snowballing what we’re able to, though it is minimal, and we’re starting with the van because we can pay it off quickest.

He applied for the Citi Double Cash card. It was denied. They said they will mail us a letter with more info.

We’ve never had a credit card denied.

(Although we each only have 3, so it’s not like we’re opening a bazillion cards).
Where do we go from here?

Do we wait for the letter and call to request reconsideration? Do we try for a different 0% interest balance transfer card instead?

We’d really like to get this 7k onto a card that has 0% interest on balance transfers.

[Kelly]

Uber eats, pet sitting, dog walking, pressure washing, gutter cleaning.

[Lori]

The last credit card application caused a ding to your/his credit, even though you weren’t approved for the card.

I’d wait a few months, wait for credit score to rise higher, then apply for a 0% card again.

I successfully paid off our mortgage by utilizing credit card balance transfers. But you gotta stay on top of it.

[Mark]

$20k in vehicles. sell em and buy something cheaper. stop applying for credit cards.

credit card transfer is the last thing u should be doing. its pointless. moving debt isnt paying it off.

[Shereen]

Are you both income producing?
What is your credit score?

Is your Credit Utilization too high? Credit Karma (or a similar site?) for suggestions.

I wouldn’t apply for another card. Once you understand the reasons for being denied on the City double cash card then reevaluate.

Why under employed for another 12 to 18 months – but it gets better each month?

Why focus on paying off the van if you’re paying higher interest on your credit card?

Is it necessary to keep truck? Can you sell and clear enough to pay off the truck loan?

Add a side hustle?

Short term sacrifices now can reposition you and your husband quickly.

[Ann]

Citi denies me for random reasons and I have a good number of credit cards. Wait to see the reasons – probably not bc of your level of debt.

[Laura]

And it doesn’t matter if all the cards are in his name, and the credit is in his name, and the cars are in his name.

You’re still equally responsible for paying them.

[Rob]

Call up citi and ask why you were declined. Might be able to convince em

[Justine]

You can get a 0% interest card in your name and transfer the balances to it. Just read the terms first to make sure there’s nothing preventing it.

[Nicole]

Is your van loan a higher interest payment than your CCs? That seems unlikely. Tackle the CCs first

[Mike]

Your biggest debt is the truck, and monthly payment, do you really need it, or would a beater work just as well, sell the truck, use any surplus for a beater if you need that extra car, and throw any left at the 7K.

[Stef]

He applied / we were denied – who applied? Who was denied? If it was him being denied you may want to apply for a card in your name.

Even though it’s in his name, you’re married so it’s your debt too (I would never encourage taking on a boyfriend’s debt! But husbands are different.).

Another tactic would be to ask the current creditors for a interest rate reduction.

[Jacob]

$145 a month in debt isn’t the issue, use that as motivation to light a fire and take on side gigs and anything else you can do to pay off the cc debt fast

[Angela]

Just know that some cards charge interest back to day one if the entire balance is not paid by the deadline. Always read the fine print!

[Adam]

Why did he apply for the CC? You can apply (assuming your credit score is better than 700). You can balance transfer his CC debt onto your 0% CC with no issues.

Some issuers also allow balance transfers from auto loans. Take a look at this link.

I can confirm BofA will allow personal loan transfers to a CC.

I would consolidate as much as possible to a 0% card in your name.

[Ronke]

First try to apply for the 0% card by yourself…. And if you get the card then you can transfer the 7k.

If not then call the owner of the other 0% card and see if they have any balance transfers promotion. Remember to factor in the transfer fee.

All that fails then put as much as possible toward the $7,000 credit card debt while making minimum payments on the truck loan, van loan, and 0% interest credit card.

Automate all these payments so you don’t fall behind.

[Bill]

Credit card companies are pulling back. The economy is cooling down and they are preparing for defaults to rise.

That credit score is on the edge of what might get approved normally, so it might be challenging right now.

You can try again, but these hard pulls are going to lower your score even further.

Fortunately, this is a relatively small amount of debt and interest.

If you are currently underemployed, a few months of a part time job fixes this problem for you.

Probably not what you want to hear, but the thing that fixes money problems the fastest is money.

[Susan]

Not sure if there is a particular reason why all the debts are in his name, but if your credit is good, applying for a card in your name might be the fastest way to get a 0% card.

[Laura]

Your credit limits are probably either too high on each card or too low in which case it looks like you’re spending right up to the limit on the card.

Too high enters in when they think that you can charge even more and get deeper in debt.

That and haven’t had the same job long enough for any period of time.

[Rich]

“they’re charging nearly $145/month in interest so our payments aren’t bringing down the balance very much” If you aren’t bringing the balance down very much, that means you’re not paying enough to that bill. Pay more toward it.

If you can’t afford to increase your payment, then you should stop saying “the cars are here to stay”

many cc’s charge a transfer fee to get onto that 0% rate. is it worth paying 1-2% to do that? The math says no.

[Twyla]

You got this. Before you apply for another card you need to take a step back. Look for derogatory marks in your husband credit.

Very important look at the income he put down on his application and calculate your debt to income ratio.

I would also make sure your credit card is with a different company even though Chase seems to be an exception.

It is important to understand your credit worthiness on paper.

If you apply for a different card you may get rejected too.

As other said there are apps that do this for free.

I would be tempted to pull my free credit report to make sure

[Author]

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