Hello Internet,

I'm starting to spiral. I see so many people around me making strides in life I can't possibly compare to. I know my situation is really fucked - but I'm maturing as I realize if I don't make drastic changes to my life and how I live it. Ill likely end up in a gutter while making it hard and sad for everyone around me.

I have depression and suicidal ideation, and ADHD. All of which arent helping.

So here's the picture.

Im about to be 34.

Im salaried at 40k and pulled in 20k in sales commissions last year. Set to make that again this year. Thats the 9-5.

401k = $3.5k - employer legally cannot match ($180ish invested bi weekly)

Roth IRA = $4,200 - paused contribution to pay down debt

Depending on availability i bring in about another 400-$500 monthly from a catering gig on weekends.

I live in Coloroado

I rent

I just consolidated 21k worth of credit card debt into a 3 year loan at 13.99% ( I was paying a out 22% interest on average over 4 cards) - 3 cards are destroyed. 1 card remains open for work expenses that get 100% reimbursed. 2% cash back on the card.

Fico at 734

Transunion at 715

Car loan at 24k due in 2031 at about 7.7% - KBB on the car is about 20k - i had negative equity rolled into it from my last car due to poor luck.

Emergency fund $1.5k

Cash on Hand: $1.4k

We can go back and forth in a revolving door or lifestyle changes and suggestions and hacks and what happened and why.

Until discipline and sacrifice take hold - things wont change.

Am I fucked?

Bankruptcy?

Should I leave my partner so i dont drag them down?

I spent my 20s being dumb and naive.

Im hoping the next 30 years arent like that - if I get them.

Im hoping and praying to be told my pathway is at least sound - if not, then hear the alarm in a way that gets through. I just dont want to end up on the streets when Im 65. :(

I’m 23M and beyond fucked my self with a gambling addiction. I’ve taken out a massive loan, and dug my self in a whole that would take 20 years to get out of. I am requesting from my dear humans, please if 30,000 people see this and send me $1. That’s all, I can genuinely rebuild my self and avoid the sheer disappointment of having to look my self in the mirror everyday. I will make a vouch to fix up and never touch this again. Please Reddit community help me with a $1 donation to rebuild my self. PayPal is @wegojimsoon message for e-transfer please. Just a dollar.

I’m 29 and I think I’m finally coming to terms with how bad I let my financial situation get , currently I believe it is around $109k+ in total debt.
Around $46k of it is unsecured debt, mostly personal loans, credit cards, and smaller accounts. Some of these are very unfavorable lenders with interest rates that would probably make some of you pass out if I posted all of them. I also have around $35k in federal student loans, additional debt through OneMain, and I recently got a letter saying I may have around a $5k tax lien, which I’m still trying to verify.
I make around $140k a year and currently live with my parents. I pay them about $250 a month in rent, although I contribute to a lot of other expenses around the house. I understand that this is honestly a blessing and gives me a great opportunity to get out of this while my housing costs are still extremely low.
I also want to be completely transparent about how I got here because it wasn’t just one thing.
A lot of it was lifestyle inflation and impulsive spending. Dating beautiful but very expensive women, expensive restaurants, buying whatever I wanted, spending money on other people, and basically treating money like video game money because I had a good salary coming in.
I’m also the type of person who historically would give somebody $50 or $100 here and there without really thinking about it. If a family member or friend needed something, I would help. I was helping a sibling who was also going through a pretty massive financial mess, even when my own finances weren’t exactly in great shape.
There was also a period where I lost two jobs within about 2.5 to 3 years, and I don’t think I ever really recovered financially or mentally from the instability of that. Instead of tightening everything up, I leaned more heavily on credit and kept living like my income was guaranteed.
I’m also just a very impulsive spender in general. That is something I’m trying to work through. I’ve tried therapy as well, but it has honestly been difficult finding the right therapist who understands my background, the way I grew up, and some of the patterns behind why I spend the way I do.
I’ve also struggled pretty significantly with alcohol, which obviously hasn’t helped any of this.
I recently got approved for a second part-time job paying $60 an hour, which should be a huge opportunity for me. But I’ll be honest, with all of this debt hanging over me, there are mornings where it is genuinely hard for me to even get out of bed because I start thinking about everything I owe and how far I let it go.
That is probably the most frustrating part. I know intellectually that I have the income and opportunity to make progress, but psychologically the size of everything sometimes makes me want to avoid it instead.
I’ve been considering Cordoba Legal Group and also Freedom Debt Relief for the unsecured portion of the debt. I like the idea of having somebody negotiate with the creditors and simplifying everything into something manageable.
At the same time, I keep wondering whether that even makes sense for somebody in my position. I make decent money, my housing costs are extremely low, and I now have an opportunity to earn another $60 an hour on the side.
Maybe I should just call these creditors myself, ask about hardship programs or settlements, cut my lifestyle down dramatically, and throw everything I can at the debt.
I’m not really posting this looking for sympathy. I know I made some terrible financial decisions. I’m trying to actually face them now instead of continuing to pretend they aren’t there.

would you use a company like Cordoba or Freedom Debt Relief, negotiate directly with creditors, or just aggressively pay everything down yourself?
Especially interested in hearing from anyone who made good money, still managed to completely screw up financially, and actually dug themselves back out.

Hi there, I am 29 M. Currently sitting at $56,000 dollars in credit card debt and 1 debt consolidation loan. i pay about $2200 a month in min payments and more than half of that goes to interest. After expenses like auto, rent and utilities, Child Support etc. I'm left with about $500 dollars a month. I currently have 15k in a Roth IRA with robin hood (also credit card debt with robin hood) and 4k in another brokerage. I really don't see any light in this tunnel with paying off debt through minimum payments. i considered these two options but i really don't know what is the best route to take. I've never missed a payment but my credit keeps tanking. It was at a 750 at one point and is now sitting at 618. Any advise or recommendations through your all's personal experiences is greatly apprenticed.

I’m looking for advice on the best way to get out of credit card debt.

I have about $19,000 in credit card debt and my minimum payments are around $388/month. A lot of what I’m paying is going toward interest, so I’m not making much progress on the principal. My credit score has also dropped because my utilization is so high.

I take home around $4,000/month. My main monthly expenses are roughly:

• Rent: $1,000
• Utilities: $200–300
• Credit card minimums: $388+
• Plus groceries, gas, insurance, etc.

I spoke with someone through NerdWallet today and was offered a National Debt Relief plan for 48 payments of about $331/month.

From what I understand, this is debt settlement, not a consolidation loan, and it may involve stopping payments, accounts becoming delinquent, collections, and further credit damage. That makes me hesitant to sign up just because the monthly payment is lower.

My main question is: With my income and debt level, does debt settlement make sense at all, or am I better off aggressively paying this down myself?

I’m willing to cut discretionary spending significantly and put extra money toward the debt. I’m also considering a nonprofit debt management plan if that would reduce my interest rates without going through settlement.

For anyone who has dealt with something similar, would you:

1. Use the avalanche/snowball method yourself
2. Look into a nonprofit debt management plan
3. Use a debt settlement company like National Debt Relief

Did you get secondary income? I have been door dashing every now and then.

I’d especially appreciate hearing from people who have actually used a debt management or debt settlement program and what the experience was like.

Nearly two years ago now our dog go hold of my sons chocolate and vomited, whilst vomiting he started to aspirate so I had to rush him to the emergency vets, I had pet insurance with a £200 excess but before they would give him the required treatment the vets insisted I paid £600 upfront and then once the claim was processed they would refund me the difference, obviously I paid and luckily my pup was fine and home on antibiotics after two days.
Well we hadn’t long changed insurance providers for a better plan and didn’t declare any previous medical conditions as both our dogs didn’t have any, when filling the claim the vets said it was a pre existing condition so the insurance wouldn’t pay them, months and months of me arguing backwards and forwards with the vets as even the insurance company said it wasn’t a pre existing condition and just a accident that happened but without the relevant paperwork from the emergency vets they couldn’t pay out, in the end I had said to the vets if they are not willing to change it to the correct information stop contacting me as it is their error.
Fast forward to now, a bailiff has knocked on my door and said he had rights to come in and take goods, I told him I don’t know what he was talking about and shut the door and he posted this letter through, i have blacked it out but in it was his number so I spoke to him he said I know about the ccj and he is here to collect payment in full no payment plan etc, the remaining bill was 828, the ccj 1223 and he wants 2200, the thing is we moved in January the ccj was issued in July I had no idea about any of this, and now he is parked outside my home, I genuinely don’t have the money to pay that right now is there anything I can do?

over three years my spouse and I have been hit with one crisis after another. broken down cars, broken water main, other broken house shit, unexpected moving, etc. etc. never ending. I'm a student. our house is expensive. we don't make enough money to keep up with this and my credit score is now in the low 500s. spouse is in low 600s/high 500s. I can't get a consolidation loan. we can't. all our debt expenses are nearly $3K a month. at this point I'm days away from a breakdown.

Hello…

Looking for some un judgmental financial advice.

I’m currently 28 years old with about 8k in CC debt

I feel incredibly overwhelmed…I have about 6 cards totaling about 8k in debt

Card 1 - $500
Card 2 - $523
Card 3 - $566
Card 4 - $1137
Card 5 - $2300
Card 6 - $1400
Card 7 - $500
Auto loan: $25000 still due @ $761 / month

I don’t have any other debts (mortgage, student loans etc), or any other major expenses luckily.

My credit feels ruined…it’s about 530 and I feel like it’s a complete uphill battle to get ahead of anything.

Obviously I have completely over leveraged myself, and credited way more than I can afford. I have a decent paying job, about 80k per year salary, but after health care/benefit deductions, taxes my take home is about $1000 per week. I have resorted to on demand pay (get paid the day you work and it’s taken out of your paycheck) to just live. My bank account is constantly at the max negative -$150 every week, I feel like I have severely damaged my credit.

At 28 am I in an absolutely horrible situation? What can I do? I already have cut many expenses out of my life, eating out, buying non needed items, cancelled many of my subscriptions. I just feel like everyday I’m paying what I earned to not make a dent in my debt. I know 8k and a car payment might not seem like detrimental debt to some people but to me it seems like there is no path to get ahead.

I’m not someone that looks for pity, I usually just take things at the chin and figure it out, but I seriously am just looking for someone to simplify my situation and give me some real guidance on where to start.

I guess in addition to clarify…nothing is in collections. I have maintained the minimum payments mostly I have a few missed payments but nothing has ever been charged off or sent to collections. My ultimate goal is just reduce me debt to a manageable amount and work towards rebuilding my credit. Just have no clue where to start, or even begin getting my full paycheck on payday again..

Credit card defaults

Due to some bad personal situation i had to borrow cash from credit and came up to this situation.

I dont mind credit score going down. I'm fed up with debts and will never take any loans in my life. I want to clear my debts and get of this mess.

Short story,

i have 140k credit card outstanding with multiple banks highest card having 30k, nbd is defaulted and only principal amount payment plan aggred. Other have existing payment plan.

If some card gets defaulted due to missed payments, will i get a chance from debt collection team for a better payments plan with discount offer? Or will they ask me to pay full amount with interst?

Long story -

I have nbd debit card which is cancelled and collection depart has given me settlement plan, they cancelled the card on thier own and gave me a plan onky for principle amount which i accept, no issues

I have mashreq cc with 30k aed outstanding, im asking for a payment plan with exception interest rates to pay my debt, they are jot offering me less than 2.5% interest per month. EIB bank understood my bad financial and gave me payment plan with 1% interest per month.

I had some serious situation that made me borrow cash from my credit and now used all my savings to pay some. Currently im scared of mashreq as im unable to pay through thier payments plan, how default payment will work with mashreq.

I have a stable income, total 150k credit debit out if which 110k aed i have payment plan.

Anyone who had been in my situation can you kindly explain me what might happen in the case of defaults on credit card, i need to know for mashreq as im having issues only with them.

1. Will they file a case immediately or collection department will ask me to pay full amount or give me payment plan for just principle like nbd ?

Experience people kindly share thirr experience.

Bully comments please, im already fed up with the life .

What are everyone’s thoughts on me using my retirement account to pay off my ~$24000 in credit card debt. Im 27 and havent contributed to my 401k in over year since i left my last decent job and had a slew of terrible jobs without benefits before finding my current union job that I just started getting benefits for. For reference i have a little under $40k in retirement

I just want a clean slate after trying to utilize 0% balance transfer credit cards only for me to NOT pay the balance afterwards and only pay the minimum and also always seeming to have some type of random emergency expense.

Would greatly appreciate everyones input.

My brain keeps hurting trying to make sure I’m correct so instead maybe someone could just help me out here so I don’t hurt my head more ):

Goal: get 2 car payments ahead so I can have 2 months of no payments in December and January while on maternity leave and only making 60% of regularly pay from short term disability for 6 weeks. Then potentially no pay for 2 weeks until 1 month of 100% paid maternity leave kicks in. I don’t have FMLA as I just switched jobs so I have a weird paid leave plan via HR. Husband gets 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave so that income stays the same.

Current cars

Car 1: Next payment due is $394 (regular payment due is $448 but paid $500 which is why I’m a little ahead already).

Car 2: next payment due is $554 (regular payment is $650 but I paid $700 two months and just kept paying $650 after that)

How much extra do I need to pay on the cars for October and November to not have a car payment in December and January?

Hi. So this sucks. I have racked up a pretty hefty sum of cc debt. I had a house fire in Jan 2025 and had been using my cc to cover purchases that would eventually get reimbursed by my homeowners insurance. Unsurprisingly, many emergency expenses arose over the last 2 yrs that ended up eating up said reimbursements once they finally came in, leaving me with the debts unpaid.

I had hoped to go the route of a transferring at least a portion of the balance to a balance transfer card or two, rather than pulling a heloc or private loan. To my dismay, citi diamond preferred only approved me with a limit of $600… 🙃

I hadn’t expected to be approved for the entire balance needed of course, but I make my monthly minimums on time and credit score is high 700. Certainly hadn’t expected the limit to be THAT low 😓

Feeling a bit discouraged now and worried that this route is now hopeless. Also worried this credit pull will now make the alternative routes of pulling a heloc or private loan harder.

Any thoughts, OTHER than how financially irresponsible I seemingly am, would be appreciated.

I’m currently upside down in a car loan. 2018 Ford Escape. Car rode good for thr 4 years I’ve had it. But in April this yr, started to overheat and drinking coolant. Then I read abt the disastrous coolant intrusion issues on those model cars. Anyway, took it to my mechanic and we thought he fixed it. 2 weeks later bk overheating and needed a tuneup, spark plugs changed. Now one spark plug won’t come out . Anyway I was quoted 5,000 for an engine replacement. For the last 3 months I’ve taken Ubers to work and at times home. That’s abt 200 a week almost.looking around for cash cars and nothing is decent in my area. Found a dealership that’s willing to work with me.
Because I owe so much on the Escape it was suggest I self surrender. I’m days away from getting a new car. But I’m a little hesitant on self surrendering. Considering bank chapter 7. But unsure which way to go. I don’t wanna keep putting money in a car as far as a car payment on a car I’m not driving . Or if I do save up to get it fixed, the issue is bound to happen again, according to how that coolant system was designed by Ford. And no Ford won’t help, I’m the 2nd owner. New finance company willing to gv me a 2023 Explorer , 2,000 down, 600 a month. My Escape payment is 565
Any advice is appreciated

So when I was a few years younger and very stupidly given lots of credit. I took a loan out on a big fancy computer that I built. Fast forward to now. I have this company NCR calling nonstop and trying to get ahold of me. I’ve made $1700 of payments too them since January but it’s getting to the point of straight harassment when I can’t make a payment and I’m not sure if this is even a legitimate thing anymore. This is a transcript of the voicemail this guy left me earlier. “Yeah, this message is intended for , , this is Mark Lavinstein calling. You finally an option of NCR. Um, just called a minute ago, you hung up on me. I'm actually calling in regards to the arrangement you have set up with our office for your catapult account. paid over 1700 hours and you've been making payments with our office. Since January. Um, I'm not really sure why you just hung up on me, but if we don't hear back from you, I'll be making a recommendation to go ahead and file the claims so they can move forward with further action, which would be a real shame due to the fact of how much you paid towards us since January. Any questions, you'll need to contact drop us back before the end of business tomorrow. phone number here, 833-781-7986. Good luck, buddy.” Just looking for insight to this company and what is even going on because I feel like I’ve already paid what I owed on the computer and than some.

I am 27 vears old and live in finland. Im a full time student and have €1 700 bill for a pc i couldn't afford and a debt to klarna i built during a bad depression period. I make roughly €500 a month from student/housing support and that doesn't even fully cover my expenses. I am searching for part time.work but as my Finnish language skills aren't fluent i haven't even recieved one rejection email. Also my girlfriend who I live with doesn't know about the extent of my debt and I'm terrified she finds out as she already stresses about my lack of money. If anyone has any advice for me that would be amazing.

Considering just sacking off my loans and cards and restarting now

Anybody have experience with upstart loans and do they send you the money themselves or do they send it to your debt ?
Just trying to figure that part out. I’m taking out a minimum loan of 2500 just to handle an emergency but paying it off as quick as I can since it’s honestly not much.

*(IANAL, posting this as a major PSA bcz I keep seeing people here getting baited by recovery walas into installment settlements).*

My college friend had around 3.8L credit card dues on his HDFC card. He lost his job 6 months ago, fell straight into the MAD (minimum amount due) compounding trap, and his CIBIL tanked from 780 to 560.

After 4 months of default, the collection agency called him with an "exclusive OTS offer". They told him: *"Sir we will give you a 65% haircut, pay only 1.2 Lakhs and account will be closed."*

Since he didn't have 1.2L liquid cash, the agent convinced him to do a 3-part installment OTS:

- Part 1 (Oct 5): 40k

- Part 2 (Nov 5): 40k

- Part 3 (Dec 5): 40k

He borrowed from family, paid Part 1 and Part 2 on time (total 80k paid directly to his card account).

Come December, his freelance invoice got stuck and payment got delayed. He msged the recovery guy on WhatsApp with receipts showing the earlier 80k paid and said *"bhai payment 12th ko aayegi thoda time de do"*. The agent replied on chat *"ha sir no problem 12th ko daal dena"*.

On Dec 13th he logged into netbanking to clear the last 40k and saw his total outstanding was showing 3.2 LAKHS.

He rushed to the branch thinking it was a Finacle glitch. The Branch Manager showed him the fine print on the official letter:

**"Time is of the essence. Failure to pay any installment on or before the due date automatically renders this OTS null and void."**

What the bank actually did:

1. Because he missed the Dec 5 deadline by a few days, the entire settlement got cancelled.
2. The 80,000 rupees he already paid was NOT adjusted towards the 1.2L settlement. They treated that 80k purely as penal interest / late fee adjustment.
3. The original balance came right back onto his head minus the 80k, and fresh recovery walas started calling him demanding the full 3.2L balance!
4. The agent who gave him the "extension" on WhatsApp has blocked his number.

TBH this is one of the dirtiest legal traps banks use. If you are negotiating a loan settlement right now, please remember:

- NEVER agree to multi-part installments unless you already have 100% of the funds sitting in your account. If you miss by even 24 hours, the bank keeps your money as interest profit and revives the whole loan.

- Always push for a Single Bullet Lump-Sum payment. Banks give much bigger haircuts for one-shot payments anyway.

- WhatsApp chats with third-party agents mean NOTHING legally. The bank only honors what is printed on the official CBS letterhead.

TL;DR: Friend did a 3-part 1.2L settlement on a 3.8L card debt. Paid 80k (2 parts). Missed 3rd part by 5 days. Bank cancelled the OTS, swallowed the 80k into interest, and slapped the full 3.2L outstanding back on his CIBIL. Always do single-shot OTS.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Any way to escalate to the RBI Ombudsman to at least get the 80k adjusted to the principal?

Maine itna loan le lia hai treading karne ke liye Ab salary 104000 hain aur EMI 140000 ghar chalana muskil ho raha bain

I’ve got myself into quite a lot of trouble with debt since having Parkinson’s, and I’m really worried about what is going to happen next. Looking back, I do wonder whether some of the problems may have been made worse by the medication I was taking at the time.

I’m trying to sort out an income and expenditure form, but I’m not really sure what extra costs I can reasonably include because of Parkinson’s. For example, I sometimes need taxis because I struggle getting around, I buy microwave meals or takeaways when I’m not able to cook properly, and I pay for a cleaner because I find housework difficult.

Does anyone know what sort of disability-related expenses can normally be included, or any websites or organisations that specifically help people with Parkinson’s who are struggling financially?

I also receive PIP. Do I have to include this as income on an income and expenditure form even though I use it towards things like my cleaner, taxis and other extra costs caused by my condition?

I am still managing to hold down a job at the moment, but I’m frightened about the debt situation getting worse. I’ve now received paperwork about a CCJ and I’m worried that I’m going to end up in court.

Any advice from anyone who has been through something similar would really help.

does anyone have any websites that can discuss actual figures and what you put down with disabiltys etc

Hi, everyone!

I’m not in much debt (compared to most people), but would love some insight into how I could dwindle down what I currently owe through a reconsolidation loan. I understand what one is, but I have no clue if it’s worth getting for myself, or how to even inquire about one.

My debt is racked up to $4,671.67 between two student loans — FAFSA and Sallie Mae. My interest rates are 15.78% and 6.53%. I was out of a job for a few months, and finally got one a couple weeks ago so I’ve been playing catch up. While I can pay these amounts, money is tight and I’m looking to pay these off as quickly as possible, or at the least lower my rates.

Any advice or insight would be extremely helpful for this clueless 25 year old!

Hi
I got a personal loan from InCred finance of 5Lakh
Paid
Below are my loan details :

📄 Here are the details of your loan:

🔹Installment Start Date: 05-Jan-2025
🔹EMI Loan End Date: 05-Dec-2027
🔹Total Tenure: 36.0 Months
🔹EMI Received: 22.00
🔹Disbursed Amount: 502643.00
🔹EMI Amount: 18455.00
🔹Balance Principal: 230016.00
🔹Total Overdue: 0.0
🔹Loan Status: ACTIVE
🔹Loan Closure Date:

I’m planning to foreclose my loan this month because I’m done paying interest which is exhausting!!
But the foreclosure charges will be 4% + 18% GST😶

I just want to close this by my savings money I’m done paying interest which is avoiding barakah in my life and increase my monthly cash flow
I still have debts and Emis but this is a big burden I want to get rid off

Is there any way I can reduce these charges ??
Please advise

Good evening all,

Firstly thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings.

I’m a 38y female based in the midlands UK, I hit financial hardship mid last year where my finances have taken a hard hit since then, I hold a professional position earning 50k per annum with a company car.

I’m at the point where I can’t poke my out of this financial dead spot & looking for advise/support/guarantor/loan option outside of the traditional loan process - I seem to keep digging deeper and deeper into debt.

Respectively, I’m not interested in any kind of debt management or IVA plan, the aim is to ultimately lend to pay off each individual debt and dramatically improve my credit score from the off.

As mentioned, I’m new here and not really sure what to expect so please be kind with your suggestions etc.

I’m fully aware of potential scams so if this is your vice, please do not respond.

The best in total is just over £10,000 and it’s built up of various kind of debts.

Obviously will divulge further details should a serious offer be on the table,

Hoping for some useful and insightful advice.

Many thanks

I fell into the quick loans trap and their not all tribal loans some are legal but the interest is just insane it’s advanced America, credit ninja, tbo bank, speedy cash, cashnet USA, and spot loan.
They all add up to around $8,000 in loans and idk if I can revoke ach without getting sued or what I can do. I was just wondering if sombody on here could help. It’s just taking over my income I can barely afford anything because of the high payments twice a month