Buried In CC Debt - Need Budget Help

[elsee]

This is long, so I thank you in advance for reading it all!  I've been a lurker here for a while (actually, I used to lurk back in the MSN days until this forum was created to replace it and then just recently found you all again) and decided I need to get some honest advice on how to dig myself out of this mess.  I have buried myself in CC debt and am starting to get to a point where I am feeling a major weight over my head.  I have only used one credit card once ealier this year and that was to pay a professional licensing fee to keep a license current and I didn't have the cash on hand at the time - sadly it was only ~$200 - but other than that I have not used my cards to make ends meet like I had been before I got my last couple pay raises. As you can see when you add everything up, I am spending more than I am making. My income just got back up to where it was three years ago at my last job (left last job at $50k. I started at my current job at approximately $35k, but have since been promoted a couple times and have raised my pay significantly in the 2 1/2 years I've worked here).

Current income:

$50k salary (I expect to see another raise later this year, but am not sure how much - it will be at least $2,500)

~$5k "on-call" pay (I just started getting this about a month ago - it is $100/week so an extra $200/paycheck gross)

I am paid every two weeks and currently gross $2123.07, net $1479.64.

Net pay is after all fed/state/FICA taxes (total $490.79), and pre-tax deductions for 401(k), medical, dental, and vision insurance (totals $152.64, majority is 401(k) contribution).

I just barely started contributing 6% of my income to my 401(k) at the beginning of May so I'm way behind on retirement savings. I'm 32 years old, single.

Assets:

401(k) balance is $732.38

Emergency Savings balance: $1398.53 (I just upped my automatic deposit to $100/paycheck here from $50/paycheck - this goes into effect this Friday).

Home valued approximately $190k, possibly more if I go by some of the recent sold comps (bought in 2006, refinanced to get lower rate in 2009 - no cash out).

Monthly Debts (minimum pmts)  :

CC#1: $90, I have been paying $175 ( $3,390.60 balance, 19.8% interest rate, $6,000 credit limit)

CC#2: $237, I have been paying $250 ($11,110.67 balance, 13.24% interest rate, $11,900 credit limit) 

CC#3: $280 ($12,437.30 balance, 13.9% interest rate, $14,630 credit limit)

Mortgage: $1253.51 (PITI - $903.89 principle and interest, $349.62 escrow; $151,700 is approximate mortgage balance, 4.875% fixed interest rate)

Other monthly bills (some are not paid monthly but I averaged what I spend per year):

Savings: $200

HOA fee: $100

Natural Gas: $39 (equal payment plan so it is the same all year)

Electric: $70 (equal payment plan)

Home phone and internet: $78 (I also have a cell phone bill of $67/mo that is 100% reimbursed by work)

Netflix: $17

Food: ~$250 (this includes personal items and cleaning supplies)

Auto Insurance: $35 (full coverage on 2004 vehicle that is paid off)

Gas for car: ~$125

  The below bills are not always paid each month - some months are more/less.

Auto registration (incl inspections): $17 ($200/year)

Auto maintenance and repair: ~$50.00

Dog food/vet care/boarding: ~$50 (two dogs)

Medical copays: ~$5 (maybe $60/year)

Clothing/shoes: $45

Gifts: ~$100 (more is spent around holidays/birthdays - some months is $0)

Travel: ~$100

Possibly some other things that I'm not thinking of at the moment....

I know I blow some money on other un-needed things every month, but have been much more aware and unlikely to do so this year when I stopped carrying my credit cards with me. I really need to get my cards paid off to have some breathing room so I have stopped using them for every day expenses. I've been looking into part time work but it is hard because I am "on call" for my regular job (I rarely get calls after hours, although I never know when I might get one and how urgent it may be so I would have to have a second job that would allow for these calls to be taken).

I can see that I could cut out gift and travel spending and be "ok" but it won't be enough. With real estate going up, I've considered selling my townhome and possibly renting an apartment (which average about $700-$1200 for a 1 bedroom, yowza) or moving in with my boyfriend, but would rather wait until we are engaged for various reasons. I've also thought about keeping my house and renting it out (it's too much house for one person anyway w/ 3 br 2.5 bth), and then moving somewhere cheaper myself. I'm not sure what the best solution is. What would you do?

[TheHaitian]

Hi,  Welcome and thanks for posting... hope you will like us and stick around.

Based on your numbers you have a total of $26,938.57 in credit card debt. And it seems you have learn from your past mistakes and looking to do better moving forward.

-> I would say refinance the house and cash out but you seem exactly at that 80% ratio and wouldn't qualify for a cash out.
-> 4.875%.... aren't rates lower? can you refinance and maybe that will save you some money there that you can throw towards your debt.
-> How good is your credit? Can you open 0% credit cards and do the balance transfer game till you pay them off?
-> Can you work a second job on days you are not on call? Do you have like set days when you know you are absolutely not on call?

Wishing you the best of luck...

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

HI! I'm glad you're here. 

Have you looked into transferring the CC balances to lower-rate cards? 
That would allow your payments to be a bit later plus send more to the actual balance.

[TheHaitian]

Whew.... I am NOT crazy!

Welcome aboard again OP

[Deleted]

I would not be upping savings at this point. Not while paying 19% interest. In fact if you can't do balance transfers like someone else suggested, I'd stop saving to your EF now. Send all of that to the smallest card and then when the smallest card is at 1300, the amount of your EF, pay off that card and use that card as your EF until all the high interest debt is paid off.

I'll be back with more once I run some numbers...

[Deleted]

Ok, I must be missing something or you are...

I'm getting 705 total sent to cc. 1968 sent to mortgage and monthly bills (not counting savings). And 362 on odd bills.

That is 3035. If you are netting 1479.64 a pay, that works to 3205.89 a month. Meaning covered plus a bit.

Until high interest rate is gone I'd 1) give up travel. 2) significantly reduce gifts that cost $. 3) stop savgs as I said above, 4) consider a roomate,

[The Captain]

Jul 21, 2015 7:36:52 GMT -5 oped said:

Ok, I must be missing something or you are...

I'm getting 705 total sent to cc. 1968 sent to mortgage and monthly bills (not counting savings). And 362 on odd bills.

That is 3035. If you are netting 1479.64 a pay, that works to 3205.89 a month. Meaning covered plus a bit.

Until high interest rate is gone I'd 1) give up travel. 2) significantly reduce gifts that cost $. 3) stop savgs as I said above, 4) consider a roomate,

also, I'd consider getting a part time job - the objective of which is to solely pay of the CC debt and build up an EF to "X" amount.

Did this when I first got out of school.  Worked like a charm.  I didn't have spare time to feel sorry for my self and engage in retail therapy.  In my case I wanted my student loans paid off asap!

I don't see student loans in there so you're ahead of a lot of folks.

[janee]

Welcome!  If I read it correctly, you have a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home?  Get two roommates at $1000 each and you'll be out of debt in a year.  This will be the quickest fix.  Before I was married, I bought a small home and my friend paid me rent.  Helped a lot!

Definitely try to get lower interest rates by either zero balance transfers as suggested, or call the credit card companies and ask for lower rates.  If your credit it good, you might get a break there.  Good luck!

[elsee]

Jul 20, 2015 22:34:56 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Hi,  Welcome and thanks for posting... hope you will like us and stick around.

Based on your numbers you have a total of $26,938.57 in credit card debt. And it seems you have learn from your past mistakes and looking to do better moving forward.

-> I would say refinance the house and cash out but you seem exactly at that 80% ratio and wouldn't qualify for a cash out.
-> 4.875%.... aren't rates lower? can you refinance and maybe that will save you some money there that you can throw towards your debt.
-> How good is your credit? Can you open 0% credit cards and do the balance transfer game till you pay them off?
-> Can you work a second job on days you are not on call? Do you have like set days when you know you are absolutely not on call?

Wishing you the best of luck...

Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm ashamed that I've gotten myself into this mess, but glad to have some friendly posters to help me come up with options I may nit have thought of on my own.

I thought about refinancing my house to get cash out, but yeah I don't think I can do that since I only have 20% equity.

Yes, rates are slightly lower but not sure I can qualify for the best rates at the moment. I signed up for credit karma last week and it said my score was only in the 680 range. My score has gone down due to my debt utilization (nearly maxed out cards). I used to have higher credit limits but they've all been lowered.

I've thought about doing a 0% balance transfer (and have received offers in the mail), but I'm hesitant to open yet another CC. Part of this mess was caused by taking advantage of those offers in the past and I didn't get it paid off in time.

I'm on call 24/7 basically, unless I go on vacation and then someone will temporarily cover for me. The thing is, I get maybe one or two calls a week (or none at all) but that could change. I just don't ever know when a call will come in.

[elsee]

Jul 21, 2015 7:36:52 GMT -5 oped said:

Ok, I must be missing something or you are...

I'm getting 705 total sent to cc. 1968 sent to mortgage and monthly bills (not counting savings). And 362 on odd bills.

That is 3035. If you are netting 1479.64 a pay, that works to 3205.89 a month. Meaning covered plus a bit.

Until high interest rate is gone I'd 1) give up travel. 2) significantly reduce gifts that cost $. 3) stop savgs as I said above, 4) consider a roomate,

I must have not done my math correctly. It's also possible I missed a category (like "shit I really don't need" ). Thanks for your advice! I will go back and change my direct deposit again to stop my savings temporarily (hard to do since I have so little saved!).

[zibazinski]

Roommate may be the best option. I'd only do one because most people won't want to share a bathroom Even a grand a month would help a lot.

[elsee]

Jul 21, 2015 8:59:32 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Jul 21, 2015 7:36:52 GMT -5 oped said:

Ok, I must be missing something or you are...

I'm getting 705 total sent to cc. 1968 sent to mortgage and monthly bills (not counting savings). And 362 on odd bills.

That is 3035. If you are netting 1479.64 a pay, that works to 3205.89 a month. Meaning covered plus a bit.

Until high interest rate is gone I'd 1) give up travel. 2) significantly reduce gifts that cost $. 3) stop savgs as I said above, 4) consider a roomate,

also, I'd consider getting a part time job - the objective of which is to solely pay of the CC debt and build up an EF to "X" amount.

Did this when I first got out of school.  Worked like a charm.  I didn't have spare time to feel sorry for my self and engage in retail therapy.  In my case I wanted my student loans paid off asap!

I don't see student loans in there so you're ahead of a lot of folks.

Thanks! I have been looking for a PT job that would work with my day job schedule and also allow me to answer a call or two if needed (which could be a rare event or there could be days where I get lots of after-hours calls).

Yes, I feel lucky that I don't have student loan debt or anything else besides what I listed (which is bad enough!).

[phil5185]

Gross check = $2123/biweek, that's $55,200 income.

You are borrowing money at 19.8% and using it to fund   a no-interest savings account?? ($2600/yr)   lol - left hand needs to talk to the right hand.
It might be better to stop adding the $2600, and also use your $1400 EF to payoff that $3390 toxic loan.

The $3312/yr that you are investing in the 401k, at 11%/yr, will be $730,000 when you are age 62. So, after you get your loans leveled out (and transferred), you might want to bump that up to 8%, that gets you to a million.

[elsee]

Jul 21, 2015 9:12:56 GMT -5 janee said:

Welcome!  If I read it correctly, you have a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home?  Get two roommates at $1000 each and you'll be out of debt in a year.  This will be the quickest fix.  Before I was married, I bought a small home and my friend paid me rent.  Helped a lot!

Definitely try to get lower interest rates by either zero balance transfers as suggested, or call the credit card companies and ask for lower rates.  If your credit it good, you might get a break there.  Good luck!

Thanks! I called my card companies last see to try to lower my interest rates. None of them would budge. It would have been funny if it wasn't so maddening when I called CC company #1 to lower my 19% interest. I told them my others were at 13% and wondered why they wouldn't even lower it to that. They said it was due to age of account (longer it was open, the better the rate) and utilization. I explained that it was,my oldest card and has the lowest balance/utilization. They didn't have an answer for me on why they still wouldn't lower it.

Maybe I'll really look into doing 0% BT with a new card, as much as I don't want to.

[Formerly SK]

Your mortgage (PITI plus HOA) is much too high for your income.  This is probably the elephant in the room.  Will your income increase dramatically in the next 3+ years?  If so I'd get a roommate until it does.  If not, I'd sell and get something more sustainable at your income.  

[HoneyBBQ]

Jul 21, 2015 10:30:36 GMT -5 Formerly SK said:

Your mortgage (PITI plus HOA) is much too high for your income.  This is probably the elephant in the room.  Will your income increase dramatically in the next 3+ years?  If so I'd get a roommate until it does.  If not, I'd sell and get something more sustainable at your income.  

I agree. Roommate or sell/move is a must to get on solid footing IMO.

[milee]

Can you explain a little more about the "on call" requirement? Is this something where you just answer a phone call and have to talk on the phone? Or is it something where you get a phone call and then have to go somewhere to do the actual work?

[Ombud]

Jul 20, 2015 22:16:37 GMT -5 elsee said:

Emergency Savings balance: $1398.53

Monthly Debts (minimum pmts)  :
CC#1: $90, I have been paying $175 ( $3,390.60 balance, 19.8% interest rate, $6,000 credit limit)
CC#2: $237, I have been paying $250 ($11,110.67 balance, 13.24% interest rate, $11,900 credit limit)
CC#3: $280 ($12,437.30 balance, 13.9% interest rate, $14,630 credit)
................
Savings: $200
Clothing/shoes: $45
Gifts: ~$100
Travel: ~$100

Leave EF alone so you don't slip into habit of using credit as your security blanket - they are 2 separate things BUT stick extra savings, clothing, gifts, travel against card #1 till its gone. It's just 6 bad months. Then put 1/2 back into 'life' and the rest against card #3 (next highest interest rate)

Since you won't have $$ for holidays this year, make gifts. Or figure out how to explain to loved ones that the 'gift' is helping everyone stay on budget. Tough love time

[justme]

It sounds like it might almost cost her as much to go to an apartment. I'd definitely look into a roommate. Even 700 a month would help out a lot - more than half your mortgage! It really looks like the best option due to being on call.

[elsee]

Jul 21, 2015 10:17:17 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

Gross check = $2123/biweek, that's $55,200 income.

You are borrowing money at 19.8% and using it to fund   a no-interest savings account?? ($2600/yr)   lol - left hand needs to talk to the right hand.
It might be better to stop adding the $2600, and also use your $1400 EF to payoff that $3390 toxic loan.

The $3312/yr that you are investing in the 401k, at 11%/yr, will be $730,000 when you are age 62. So, after you get your loans leveled out (and transferred), you might want to bump that up to 8%, that gets you to a million.

Thanks Phil! When you point it out like that, it is pretty silly to be saving when I'm paying such high interest.

I definitely plan on bumping up my 401(k) contributions when I'm able. What would really be nice is if the company matched too.

[alabamagal]

I would lower or stop 401k if there is no match.

If you can't do 0% transfer then I would consider doing credit counseling plan. We did this several years ago. Do it through non profit. They contact creditors and negotiate much lower interest rates ( even 0%) and you make one payment to them. Usually do a 5 year plan. We did one paid on it for 4 years then paid off early when I got a lump sum payment for layoff. It probably lowers your credit score for a while but it comes back quickly when you are done.

I have never heard anyone who was in debt be able to lower interest rates.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

You are punishing yourself for years if you do not take advantage of 0% BT offers. 
There is no acceptable reason to do that. 
Transfer as much of the money as you can to lower rate cards. Continue to pay as much as possible to the higher rate cards. 
When the BT term is up, transfer the money again. It's a game you must learn to play or you are going to be adding to your debt instead of paying it down.

I second the roommate idea. You're in the perfect position to have one. 

[elsee]

Jul 21, 2015 10:43:46 GMT -5 milee said:

Can you explain a little more about the "on call" requirement? Is this something where you just answer a phone call and have to talk on the phone? Or is it something where you get a phone call and then have to go somewhere to do the actual work?

The "on call" requirement could be either of those two things. I'm taking after hours "emergency" tech support calls. Depends on what the problem is if I can resolve it on the phone or if I need computer/mobile device access.

But honestly I rarely get any calls at all, because we don't usually have those types of major problems. If anything, I expect to get calls if the server is down or a random person calling for something simple (which is all I've had so far and I've gone ahead and helped even though I don't technically have to because they're not "urgent"). The server was down briefly the other day but no clients called in. Was a Sunday evening so probably not many were working at the time.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Thanks! I called my card companies last see to try to lower my interest rates. None of them would budge. It would have been funny if it wasn't so maddening when I called CC company #1 to lower my 19% interest. I told them my others were at 13% and wondered why they wouldn't even lower it to that. They said it was due to age of account (longer it was open, the better the rate) and utilization. I explained that it was,my oldest card and has the lowest balance/utilization. They didn't have an answer for me on why they still wouldn't lower it.


Fortunately, that highest interest rate is your lowest balance.  For a BT, you really need to look at the math to determine if it is going to be worthwhile for you to do this.  If there is a 5% BT fee, you're going to get hit with that fee too.

If you take the $175 you are currently paying and add $200 that you are diverting to savings, you will be sending nearly $400/mo to that.  

One suggestion to make extra money is to sell your plasma.  You can make a couple hundred $$/mo if you do this regularly.  I'd be throwing that at that 19.8% CC too.

[Ombud]

Jul 21, 2015 10:45:25 GMT -5 Ombud said:

Jul 20, 2015 22:16:37 GMT -5 elsee said:

Emergency Savings balance: $1398.53

Monthly Debts (minimum pmts)  :
CC#1: $90, I have been paying $175 ( $3,390.60 balance, 19.8% interest rate, $6,000 credit limit)
CC#2: $237, I have been paying $250 ($11,110.67 balance, 13.24% interest rate, $11,900 credit limit)
CC#3: $280 ($12,437.30 balance, 13.9% interest rate, $14,630 credit)
................
Savings: $200
Clothing/shoes: $45
Gifts: ~$100
Travel: ~$100

Leave EF alone so you don't slip into habit of using credit as your security blanket - they are 2 separate things BUT stick extra savings, clothing, gifts, travel against card #1 till its gone. It's just 6 bad months. Then put 1/2 back into 'life' and the rest against card #3 (next highest interest rate)

Since you won't have $$ for holidays this year, make gifts. Or figure out how to explain to loved ones that the 'gift' is helping everyone stay on budget. Tough love time

do the above + add 1 roommate @ $700 month to card #2 = CC#1 gone in 6 months, CC#2 gone in 1 year. Are roommates hard to come by?

[cronewitch]

I suggest a combo solution, random extra work like Friday night babysitting a kid over 8 years old so you can be on call and the kid can be quiet and read a book for a few minutes. Even $100 a month is a help at this point. Get a roommate a few hundred a month would be fantastic until you pay down the 19% debt and if you like them keep them for several years. Urgent is to stop all gifts, people don't need gifts so limit gifts to a home knit potholder or something costing under $1. Tell your family and friends you are saving every dime not giving gifts the next few years, they will understand or not their choice but if they buy you something say thanks but don't be tempted to make it up to them.
Focus on the lower balance debt until it is gone then the debt with the 247 payment putting at least 500 a month towards it, if you have a roommate make sure you pay $1,000 a month towards that debt.

[emma1420]

Getting a roommate (or 2) is a great idea to increase your income.

Doing some balance transfers to 0% interest cards is a great idea if you can get approved.   

However, if you don't qualify for 0% interest cards (and I would certainly try that first), then you might consider a credit counseling program.  It's not an ideal option, you will take a credit hit, but a good credit counseling program will negotiate with your credits to get your interest rates down, and will give you a fixed monthly payment over the course of several years.   If you pay it off early that's great, and if you don't at least you have an end date in mind.  I did a program of this nature from 2007 to 2010.  The company told me that they required me to do the financial counseling part of the program, but they never enforced that and I never did it.  Like you, I knew I had been stupid and just wanted to dig myself out of the hole.   I found it helpful to have a structured payment plan and to see the balances going down.  My credit rebounded very quickly after I completed the program. 

Those kind of programs aren't for everyone, and 0% balance transfers and getting a roommate are better options, but I found it to be a reasonable option.

[snapdragon]

"Current income:
$50k salary (I expect to see another raise later this year, but am not sure how much - it will be at least $2,500)
~$5k "on-call" pay (I just started getting this about a month ago - it is $100/week so an extra $200/paycheck gross)

I am paid every two weeks and currently gross $2123.07, net $1479.64.

Net pay is after all fed/state/FICA taxes (total $490.79), and pre-tax deductions for 401(k), medical, dental, and vision insurance (totals $152.64, majority is 401(k) contribution).

I just barely started contributing 6% of my income to my 401(k) at the beginning of May so I'm way behind on retirement savings. I'm 32 years old, single.

Assets:
401(k) balance is $732.38
Emergency Savings balance: $1398.53 (I just upped my automatic deposit to $100/paycheck here from $50/paycheck - this goes into effect this Friday).
Home valued approximately $190k, possibly more if I go by some of the recent sold comps (bought in 2006, refinanced to get lower rate in 2009 - no cash out).

Monthly Debts (minimum pmts) :
CC#1: $90, I have been paying $175 ( $3,390.60 balance, 19.8% interest rate, $6,000 credit limit)
CC#2: $237, I have been paying $250 ($11,110.67 balance, 13.24% interest rate, $11,900 credit limit)
CC#3: $280 ($12,437.30 balance, 13.9% interest rate, $14,630 credit limit)
Mortgage: $1253.51 (PITI - $903.89 principle and interest, $349.62 escrow; $151,700 is approximate mortgage balance, 4.875% fixed interest rate)

Other monthly bills (some are not paid monthly but I averaged what I spend per year):
Savings: $200
HOA fee: $100
Natural Gas: $39 (equal payment plan so it is the same all year)
Electric: $70 (equal payment plan)
Home phone and internet: $78 (I also have a cell phone bill of $67/mo that is 100% reimbursed by work)
Netflix: $17
Food: ~$250 (this includes personal items and cleaning supplies)
Auto Insurance: $35 (full coverage on 2004 vehicle that is paid off)
Gas for car: ~$125
The below bills are not always paid each month - some months are more/less.
Auto registration (incl inspections): $17 ($200/year)
Auto maintenance and repair: ~$50.00
Dog food/vet care/boarding: ~$50 (two dogs)
Medical copays: ~$5 (maybe $60/year)
Clothing/shoes: $45
Gifts: ~$100 (more is spent around holidays/birthdays - some months is $0)
Travel: ~$100
Possibly some other things that I'm not thinking of at the moment...."

Hello and welcome to the boards!

Good news you are in a tight fix but you can get out it will just take some time. I HAVE been in a similar boat to you so don't feel horrible about it. At least you have recognized that you are drowning.

Here's what I would do --

You already have the savings so I would just keep it as is and not touch if possible.

I would stop the auto transfer to savings ($200) and travel ($100) for now and cut the gift budget to $50 and put my food budget at $200 or $150 per month. Equaling an additional $400 to $450 per month to put on your lowest balance card. Making it $575/mo. You can have that puppy paid off in 6 months or less.

If you manage to get 1 roommate it could really help you out. I did not do that but I had factors that would not have made it work for me. 

If you like you can check out the WIRR and join our motley band. 

[The Captain]

Jul 21, 2015 11:35:43 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Thanks! I called my card companies last see to try to lower my interest rates. None of them would budge. It would have been funny if it wasn't so maddening when I called CC company #1 to lower my 19% interest. I told them my others were at 13% and wondered why they wouldn't even lower it to that. They said it was due to age of account (longer it was open, the better the rate) and utilization. I explained that it was,my oldest card and has the lowest balance/utilization. They didn't have an answer for me on why they still wouldn't lower it.


Fortunately, that highest interest rate is your lowest balance.  For a BT, you really need to look at the math to determine if it is going to be worthwhile for you to do this.  If there is a 5% BT fee, you're going to get hit with that fee too.

If you take the $175 you are currently paying and add $200 that you are diverting to savings, you will be sending nearly $400/mo to that.  

One suggestion to make extra money is to sell your plasma.  You can make a couple hundred $$/mo if you do this regularly.  I'd be throwing that at that 19.8% CC too.

Some states don't allow this, in IL for example it's not allowed to sell blood products.  Which makes it really hard for the blood banks because it really is 100% volunteer.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jul 21, 2015 11:54:21 GMT -5 Ombud said:

Jul 21, 2015 10:45:25 GMT -5 Ombud said:

Leave EF alone so you don't slip into habit of using credit as your security blanket - they are 2 separate things BUT stick extra savings, clothing, gifts, travel against card #1 till its gone. It's just 6 bad months. Then put 1/2 back into 'life' and the rest against card #3 (next highest interest rate)

Since you won't have $$ for holidays this year, make gifts. Or figure out how to explain to loved ones that the 'gift' is helping everyone stay on budget. Tough love time

do the above + add 1 roommate @ $700 month to card #2 = CC#1 gone in 6 months, CC#2 gone in 1 year. Are roommates hard to come by?

Where do you get roommates at $700-1000/mo?  Hell, my rent on my 2 BR place was $600/mo and at $750, I would have all utilities/cable covered and more than a bedroom, with a shared bath/kitchen/LR.

It's not a bad idea, but probably more reasonable at $400-500/mo but there is still the risk that you are going to have someone skip out on the rent.  If they can't get an apartment under their own credit, there is very likely a reason.  The OP needs to decide if this risk is reasonable.

OP.....your house is nearly 4x your income, which makes your housing expenses more almost 40% of what you bring home.  At this point, your home is a liability to you and it's not going to take much for you to wind up even more in debt if something fails.  It really might make more sense to get rid of your house.