JavaScript is disabled
Our website requires JavaScript to function properly. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings before proceeding.
I would:

Eat eggs and ramen for a whole year, spend no money on anything outside of dire necessity. I'd imagine your debt would be paid off sooner than you think.

Create a plan, stick to the plan, have some self control. Whenever I want to keep myself from doing an impulse buy I just go clean some guns. Seems to work.
100% This...laser focus.
 
My financial position has been primary focus for about the last 2 years. I'm down to the remainder of my mortgage and am on track to have that cleared by 11/2020. Problem at my house is getting my wife to get on board 100%. She doesn't spend MY money but certainly isn't pulling her fair share when it comes to contributing. I'll still make it with or without her help.

To answer your question. Keep the guns and just tighten your belt. Stop the bleeding first. Most of us can live on faaarrrr less than we make if we want to. Pay the card with the smallest balance first until it's gone, then on to the next smallest one. Cut em up.
 
ive never had a credit card. if i dont have the cash, i wont buy it. that being said, making minimum payments on all but 1 and paying as much as you can afford on the 1 is a solid plan. once thats paid off, take that amount that you can afford(since you know you can afford it) and pay that same amount plus the minumum to the next card...and the next card and the next card until youre done! i wish you luck, you can do it!
 
I am for compromise. Get rid of your safe queens and lower your debt, then follow all the savings and budgeting recommendations in your post. If after some further time you are comfortable with how things are going stay the course. If debt still bothers you sell and become debt free or closer to debt free. Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard offer good guidance but remember it's guidance not gospel. Good luck.
 
I would print up your last few months of bank statements and see what you have spent money on.
Put it in two or three categories.
Need
Wanted
Waste

Cut out the waste and wanted.

When I was getting deeper in debt, I bought a desk calendar and wrote out all my bills and needed payments.

I worked extra hours, picked up side jobs, and even a second job at times.
And I stopped buying guns and gun stuff.

I had fairly low debt but I had it paid off within a few months.

It amazing when you print out your bank statement how much money you spent that you didn't need to.

What's your home situation?
Renting or home owner?
Girlfriend? Wife? Kids?
These can all play a factor in debt management.

If you have a smart phone stop looking at email ads and offers from the dozens of companies that send you junk mail.
That was one of my traps. Oh that's a good deal, there goes $200 I didn't need to spend.
Just start erasing them without looking,
On here stop looking at the classified, and stop going into stores you don't need to.
Take away the temptation.

Stop eating out and/or buying coffee out.
Plan out your meals through the week.

And make a budget for food for the times in between pay checks.

And what everyone else said
 
Guns are lifetime assets. However, they can be bought again down the road when times are better. If it's a matter of feeding your kids, then definitely sell them, except one for personal defense.
 
Paying off Debt, in my opinion, comes before owning large quantities of anything.

That's my opinion no matter what the thing is. Cars, boats, gear, tools, and even guns. Outside of a mortgage, debt is just greed in my opinion. Simply put, if you couldn't afford it, you were greedy to make it so.

If much of this debt was created establishing the amount of guns and ammo and gear you have, you owe it to yourself to be honest about how you obtained the goods and figure out which is worth more. The goods or the freedom of owing no one anything.

I had one credit card when I was younger I got up to 15000. It sucked big time. I used it to buy stuff I simply couldn't afford but "HAD" to have. Looking back now I know that I didn't really need any of it.

It took me quite some time to pay it off. The first thing I needed to do was come to the realization that I'd rather be debt free than have all the stuff that I bought with the "free" money. As in reality, it wasn't actually free.

If you are at 3% you are relatively good to pay this off in good time. Honestly I think that's an amazing interest rate, and I'm curious if your holding back on what the rates really are? Most credit cards these days are upwards of 20%. My 20 plus year old US Bank visa is at 9.99% and they are always telling me I'm very lucky to have that rate as there is no way these days to get a rate that low.

Another route might be to consider a debt consolidation loan. These usually have fixed interest rates and at times might even be able to negotiate lower debt amounts depending on the program or products available. Get all the debt into a loan fashion and get rid of the cards which could tempt you to use on other purchases.

However you go about it, I wish you the best of luck. Credit card debt is horrible, I watch my older brother buy his way into essentially a lifetime of debt due to credit cards and whatnot. Watched his vehicles get repossessed, my parents harassed weekly by creditors and collecting agencies because of his actions.

Moral of the story, if you are wise enough to know you can't afford it, don't buy it.
 
What would you do if you were in my shoes?
depending on your age & other demographics, it was those very shoes I wore until Ramsey advise penetrated into my cranial cavity with enough force to actually make an impression.

Perhaps some/most of that debt was in the accumulation of your various safe queens. While "you can always buy new stuff" is an old theory, the reality is 'DEBT' is far easier to acquire and harder to escape, an old/new/constant FACT.

I literally cut all my cards in tiny pieces & burned them circa 1995. Surprising how smooth my life became after not choosing to swallow little financial caltroops 1569083135325.png with each round of 'credit card' use/abuse.

Yes I did reserve use of a 'debt card' which cost me nothing & could only be used to spend what was already on deposit in my account---ie, MY money..... A blessing, it help me learn the serious lesson grampa/parents/clan depression relatives all tried to teach. Without credit debt I immediately benefited by getting the equivalent of a 29% pay raise. 'Tax free' as they say.

If you can trim down your pile of really uneeded stuff to repay some debt, & not waste your life/time/blood/breath/CASH on any more petty stuff, you can learn a healthy balance between goodies & financial freedom.

Good luck.
 
Last Edited:
No judgmental comments from me regarding how people end up with credit debt. I was there for a year or two last century (young born again bachelor). What I will say, though, is how good it feels when you're out from under the crushing blanket of financial doom and gloom however you choose to do it. Congrats on your resolution to escape.

Saw Dave Ramsey mentioned above. He wasn't around when I piled up my debt, but I stop channel surfing and listen to him now when I hear his voice on the radio. Good stuff! Incidentally, my debt-prone 22 year old was offered a free 9-week financial fitness seminar (maybe Dave Ramsey, I'm not sure) by the Army. Makes sound financial sense for the military to invest in education/training to get/keep our forces out of that distracting, crippling quagmire.

Here's my concern. If you considered temporarily selling off something like an extra vehicle, scoot, boat or RV, I'm confident you could buy a better one when it's time again. But guns? Hmmm. Will the ones you like still be available when you're ready to replace them? Even if your favorites aren't prohibited by rabid grabbers, there may be a reactive run on everything, then scarcity and rapacious prices (again). Sadly, there are loudmouth hacks and voters actively trying to make that happen.
 
Last Edited:
Soft sellers market.

With that said, take a really good look at what firearms you would consider selling & the market that they are being sold for (not listed for). Wouldn't make much sense (to me) to sell them at a loss unless you HAVE to, or want to trade for something you've had an eye on for a while (meaning a unicorn here, not something you could pick up anytime).

As others mention, get on a budget and kill your debt.

Easy ways are to look at your day to day expenses.

Bring meals to work vs buy them etc. Change habits if you eat out a lot/do take out, entertainment just "because", drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco. Cut down.

Transition to inexpensive/free enternament, weekly "date nights" revolving around a nice hike&/or free entertainment in a park (although the season is changing, and fewer of such are available), "nice" home prepared meal/barbecue etc. ie a treat to look forwards to weekly that is also inexpensive.

Movie buffs? Transition to DVDs/Blu-ray and peruse Goodwill, trade with friends & do movie nights at home.

Have cable? How much do you all actually watch? Is it worthwhile? Are there ways you can cut it and still get what you want going internet only (Hulu/Netflix etc). No idea here what system has what services & what's worthwhile...we cut cable AND internet...weren't using either very much for the expense. Our internet is cellular hot spot now.
 
I have a substantial amount of credit card debt. The total of my balances is equal to about 20% of my yearly gross income. I also have a relatively substantial gun, ammo and accessories collection. I would fairly value my collection to be about equal to the current total of my credit card debt balances. My balances are almost strictly on low interest (less than 3%) card offers and I juggle them around to keep them that way.

I am considering liquidating a bunch of my collection to speed up my debt repayment and get these cards paid off for good. Then I could rebuild my collection with cash only purchases after my debts are all paid off.

What would you do if you were in my shoes?
This is exactly what you should do. Get rid of debt.
 
Eat eggs and ramen for a whole year, spend no money on anything outside of dire necessity.
Eggs are actually very good for you provided you aren't susceptible to high cholesterol. You may experience some minor side effects such as an uncontrollable urge to cluck or scratch around for grubs. I wouldn't worry to much about that, though.
 
ive never had a credit card. if i dont have the cash, i wont buy it.
After several yrs of doing this I finally gave-in... sort of.

First thing I did, besides shredding the dozens of CC offers I get every month, was to put a couple Gs on a secured Visa through my bank. It's only a bad move if you don't pay it off every month.. use it like a debit card and you'll never pay interest on your own money.

I also keep a low limit CapitalOne MC on hand for emergencies. I use it now and then just to keep the credit line active, but again, pay it off fully before the due date and there's no interest.

If your current balance(s) equal 20% of your take-home pay, try to dedicate 10-15% of your income (more is better) to knocking those balances down. Having some debt is not a bad thing as long as it's manageable.

When I got divorced I had to take on a lot of unsecured debt, most of it I didn't even know existed. I made the mistake of letting my wife "handle" expenses... I knew it was a terrible idea (found out just HOW terrible in the settlement) but let it go for a lot of yrs because I didn't want to deal with it. I've spent the last 5-7 yrs un-effing that mess and I'm rebuilding now and it feels GREAT.

BTW, I don't know what or where it stems from (grew up solidly middle-class), but I've always had some money anxiety... worried about not having enough, always being broke, etc. Taking charge of my money and managing it has become addictive... get 5g in the bank and now it's a game to make it 8. Then 10. Then 15. And so on. Sometimes I gotta take a bite out of it (home or vehicle repairs, whatever) and that's a bummer, but then I challenge myself to put it back ASAP... no, I guess I didn't really need that DW 1911 after all... maybe later.

Anyway, that's my own personal psychosis, has 0 to do with the OP.
 
Last Edited:
What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Do whatever it takes to get out of debt now, including selling off part of your collection. High interest consumer debt is the most toxic. It is doing nothing for you, but it is flushing good money down the drain. Yes, it is a buyer's market for firearms right now, but those interest payments are relentless. If you have the time and energy, take on a moonlighting gig to bring in some extra scratch.

Granted, I, or rather we, abhor debt of any kind and have $0 on our debt column. Not easy, for sure, but doable, with focus. The one and only reason I'd ever take out loan is for real estate and then aggressively pay it off. We do use a credit card for most things, but it is paid off every pay cycle, so we are paying nothing in interest and picking up some funds via rewards each month.

Good luck. :)
 
When I got divorced I had to take on a lot of unsecured debt, most of it I didn't even know existed. I made the mistake of letting my wife "handle" expenses... I knew it was a terrible idea (found out just HOW terrible in the settlement) but let it go for a lot of yrs because I didn't want to deal with it. I've spent the last 5-7 yrs un-effing that mess and I'm rebuilding now and it feels GREAT.

I hear ya, brother...that was my situation as well. Mine ended in bankruptcy. Rebuilding has been a long road. I didn't want anything to do with credit, but unfortunately it's hard to accomplish some major things without it. :s0025:
 
That's why I've always gone with cash. Not just sage advice from my elders but through successful examples set by them.
Debt seems to be the way of life for most now days. In my mind, you have no autonomy ( such as it is) when you are beholden to others. Nor can you have a feeling of security or any personal satisfaction while in debt. I love guns, but family and self come first, so if you have plenty, one for self defense and one for hunting. Sell the rest.
Remove yourself from debt ASAP, consider a second job, Sell what you can. Divest yourself from car payments and cable TV. Never buy a new car or even used on credit.
Move forward hereafter as you have the cash to do so. Make credit card purchases but only when you have the cash to pay it off before interest is due to keep up your credit score. Do not default on utilities.
Any debt considered should be for home purchase only, and then apply enough saved monies for the down to ensure you have reasonable equity in the transaction. Use 30 year fixed to hedge possible down turns in life, then pay it off in 15 or less if possible. When making double payments, all of the second payment will go directly to the principle reducing the lifetime of interest paid considerably. Any windfalls like inheritance, tax returns, work bonus, personal cash gifts etc. should go to debt payment first, with any leftover in to savings. Don't blow it on "stuff".
Do not dine out until you are flush with cash and debt free (except for the house).
Always put 10% of everything you earn into an never touch savings account (separate from other savings accounts) even if you have to eat beans and ramen to get by.
At least that worked for us. Some years were tough, but most were not. We even had some devastating set backs from medical bills from the 80's (nearly a hundred grand) we paid off. While were not rich, sacrifices we made paid off in spades. We are comfortably retired and enjoying life, still debt free for nearly 30 years now thanks to our paid for home which is now worth 9 times what we paid for it. (if the outrageous property taxes don't eat us up)
 
My family found ourselves in about $45k in credit card debt due to some really unfortunate medical problems that occurred with an extended family member and my wife at the same time. We were basically having to pay $400 on three cards per month. That was almost as much as our mortgage. The worst is seeing almost half of that payment reappear as interest. Pay $400 and it only really counts as $280.

I went through all of our expenses and found some efficiencies. I had a goal to have it all paid off in 24 months. I mapped out all of our income and dedicated two tax returns to the debt. I basically had to pay $2200 a month at the interest rates I had to meet that goal. I was able to pay it off in 14 months by doing as much OT as I could and even took a second job at a bar. On the weekends.
 

Upcoming Events

Tillamook Gun & Knife Show
Tillamook, OR
"The Original" Kalispell Gun Show
Kalispell, MT
Kids Firearm Safety 2 Class
Springfield, OR
Teen Rifle 1 Class
Springfield, OR

New Resource Reviews

New Classified Ads

Back Top