BUEA, Cameroon (AP) — A woman cried out upon seeing what looked like a corpse, a sheet-covered form lying on a stretcher. As volunteers wheeled it onto the stage, Boris Taleabong Alemnge recited a poem whose title spoke the unspoken: “Death.”
Other alternatives include reaching out to a credit counseling organization or transferring your credit card debt to a 0% interest card, though that typically comes with a fee.Defaulting on a credit card will mean serious consequences for your credit score, and that will limit how much you will be able to borrow in the future, and how much it will cost you. If you don’t pay your credit card bill for a month, your credit score will likely fall between 60 and 100 points, said Bandebo. While there is not an specific amount of points that your credit score will fall should you default, it will appear on your credit report for seven years, added Bandebo.
Bandebo often uses the analogy of credit scores being similar to reputation; it takes a long time to build up but one mistake to set you back for a long time.“There’s not miracle solutions that once you’ve missed a payment, or you’ve gone to default, to simple go back to where you were. You can’t just flip a switch,” said Bandebo.If you find that you cannot regularly make payments to your credit cards, Sotir recommends you start by looking at your budget to find which expenses can be cut, and or considering whether you need an extra source of income.
“For most people, it’s really about understanding how much money is coming in and where it’s going,” added Sotir.If your expenses outweigh your income, Sotir recommends looking for a temporary second job, find if you have assets that you can sell, or asking family if they can help you while you get back on your feet. Additionally, some banks offer hardship programs that provide assistance for people who can’t afford large and high-interest credit card balances.
Bankruptcy should be considered the last option if you have exhausted all other alternatives, added Lupo.
If your budget doesn’t allow you to resume payments, it’s important to start looking for alternatives as soon as possible, recommended Bandebo.Scarlett Johansson and Erin Kellyman at the photo call for “Eleanor the Great” at Cannes on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Scarlett Johansson and Erin Kellyman at the photo call for “Eleanor the Great” at Cannes on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)“At some point, I worked enough that I stopped worrying about not working, or not being relevant — which is very liberating,” Johansson says. “I think it’s something all actors feel for a long time until they don’t. I would not have had the confidence to direct this film 10 years ago.”
“Which isn’t to say that I don’t often think many times: What the hell am I doing?” she adds. “I have that feeling, still. Certainly doing ‘Jurassic,’ I had many moments where I was like: Am I the right person for this? Is this working? But I just recently saw it and the movie works.”So does “Eleanor the Great,” which Sony Pictures Classics will release at some future date. That’s owed significantly to the performance of Squibb, who, at 95, experienced a Cannes standing ovation alongside Johansson.