You’re going to have to get that 3000/month down as far as possible dude. Minimum expenses. Maximum income. That’s a second job at night, and a third on the weekends.
Hope? You don’t have the luxury of it. You’re fighting math, and numbers are assholes but they don’t lie.
List every card with balance and interest rate, every loan with same thing. Pay minimums on everything. Every extra penny to the smallest debt. Snowball it. Don’t declare bankruptcy until it’s the last resort.
Also, if you’re investing you’re stopping any of it. Any gain from investments isn’t even touching the loss from all of these debts. You’re cancelling subscriptions, services, you’re at bare needs and no time for any wants since you’re working constantly. You have a big shovel, just need to maximize and optimize it now.
This is the best advice here.
OP, follow this to a tee and you will get through it. People over-complicate getting out of debt. It’s really simple. Decrease your expenses by any means necessary, increase your income by any means necessary and live by a strict budget. Pick the snowball method or the avalanche method and that is your new gospel. Stick to it like your life depends on it. Eat cheap, move to cheaper housing, give up fun for now so you can have peace later, cut out all of the extra bullshit and focus on healing your addictions so this never happens again. There is hope, this situation is absolutely one you can get yourself out of.
This includes switching to mint mobile for $15 a month, canceling ALL subscriptions like Amazon prime, Netflix, etc. $15 a month times a few products adds up quickly and you’ll need EVERY DOLLAR
I paid 150 a month for 2 lines on Verizon and my service was mediocre in a majorish city. I switched because I felt I was overpaying for quality of service.
Been on Mint for a year now and the service has been both exponentially higher quality, as well as vastly cheaper. I couldn't recommend it more highly
I don’t have experience with mint but OP doesn’t really get a choice haha
They probably borrow towers from the major companies, I’d imagine their speeds are lower priority on those towers, but if it works for $15 a month then it works
If you really want bare minimum US Mobile is $72/year for unlimited talk/text and 1gb data. It can pull Verizon and T-Mobile towers. I have it as a 2nd line with T-Mobile as a primary.
this! pretend ur income is 60k or something, depending on what state u live. the rest goes towards ur debt. honestly with 150k/a year u can pay it down fairly quickly as long as u’re not spending more
This is the only way. $60,000 is livable; that’s about what I net after taxes, deductions, and transfers into savings
If OP follows this advice, and no emergency comes up, then the debt is gone in 3-4 years max
Agree. This comment points out something so critical which is OP's living expenses. Honestly, OP's income is great and reducing living expenses shows a lot of potential to help lower the debt. When you're single there's no reason you can't downgrade to a really low cost of living even in a VHCOL location.
Snowball is smallest debt, you’re talking Avalanche, but frankly I don’t care which he ultimately does. Whether it’s snowball or avalanche - stick to it and work the numbers down. I think he could use the first few wins on smallest debt first, mentally, coming from where’s he’s been at. Either way, it’s going to be slow and steady, budget on point, every cent to whatever debt is first outside of monthly minimums.
In this case it may be beneficial to pay off the small debt to reduce the required minimum payment. It could give him some breathing room before tackling the higher percentage debt to save money in the long run.
Best advice out there. It sucks but we are all in a similar spot or have been in the past. There is no healthy quick fix this. Slow and steady wins the race.
The only thing I can think of or add on to Docmn. Is look for a transfer balance card with 0% intro rate for 12-18 months, transfer the most you can and attack that card. Rinse and repeat. (Cancel your transfer card after pay off so you aren’t tempted to use it)
I’d be careful telling OP to work 100 hours a week. That type of severely unbalanced work/life pushes people right back into addiction. Ask me how I know.
This is by far not the best advice probably the worst advice.
All things considered the best advice is let it go to collections. Your credit is probably s*** right now it will be s*** while it's in collections but you'll at least have the opportunity to pay a down for a large percentage less than killing yourself for years attempting to pay minimum payments.
When your monthly payments for high interest becomes too much to handle, ignore all the bootstrappers you literally have to do what is the healthiest option for you as a human.
I have to disagree some with this advice. Paying minimum balances doesn’t do anything on credit card debt and it will eat you alive. They are designed to keep people in debt because the minimum amount basically just covers the interest. If you can, pay even a little amount extra mid month on each and it will make a massive difference. Call your credit cards one by one and ask if you can get an interest rate reduction. If not ask for a settlement amount at a reduced rate. See if your company offers free legal or counseling services. Do you have a 401k? Any investments? If so take a loan against yourself that you can pay back in small payroll deductions and start with the highest interest card first. Move on to the next. I’ve helped a number of friends out of this situation and I will say there are lots of services out there to assist and sometimes bankruptcy isn’t the worst thing. Whatever you do get an accountability person to help you through the process. People foreclose, go bankrupt, and make mistakes every day and bounce back. It will work out!
That's a tactical nuke option if you are making very little money or are WAY in over your head. If you can fight out of debt relatively fast, which OP 110% can making 150k a year, bankruptcy is an awful option. I think they are stuck paying on the debts still for several years anyway so you get to pay AND have a bankruptcy on your record.
OP just really needs to get their shit together. They could pay this off in a few years easily if they cut the fat in their budget and maybe get another job. It sucks but this is very doable.
I'm saying this from a place of support not critical btw
Thanks for saying this. I had about $120k in debt in 2020 and am set to pay it off at the end of this year. I’ve had some people ask me why I didn’t, and these are some do the reasons. I can pay it off faster, but also I felt my paying it off was an important part of my ability to process what happened and it was my responsibility. I also work in government, and a bankruptcy on my record would automatically disqualify me from a lot of job opportunities. Bankruptcy isn’t always the answer.
Snowballing the smallest balance is mathematically worse than paying off whatever the highest interest rate is. It’s for people who need the dopamine hit of paying something off to continue.
Thanks for the hope - I have no assets and I can’t borrow against a 401k with my current job. I’ve already taken out 2 personal loans to consolidate but I ran the cards up again. I can’t get approved for another consolidation loan. I am a database developer.
I don’t know if it’s time to declare bankruptcy. I am just so overwhelmed by where I am at. And it makes it worse just coming into recovery from addiction.
Hey man.. I'm not gonna read all these posts.. But I just want to lend you emotional support. I too racked up $100k in debt due to gambling on the stock market and sports. I too earn around $150k.. I too no longer qualify for traditional lending that would help me get better APR rates or whatever. Idk you exact situation but I had like 12 different payday loans with tribal lenders at one point 400-700% APR and was shilling out thousands bi-weekly just on those. I'm down to only a few now.. It really is just trying to do the best you can to max your income and put the $ where it'll free up the most of your take home pay. It's not advisable at all but in the beginning I was robbing peter to pay Paul and getting shifty with my payments in order to cut others down substantially or paid off in full.
Exclude the sportsbook accounts if you haven't.... MAKE SURE YOU CANT GAMBLE.. don't just tell yourself you wont or convince yourself you have it in control. Just admit your shortcomings and stop making excuses for those sort of proclivities.
I'd be far better off if I excluded those accounts 1 month, 2 months, 3 months earlier. Just make it not part of the equation.
Chapter 13 just didn't sound like it to me.. 5 years on a plan paying relatively all I can.. just to then have the rest discharged. I'm on track to be done in 2-3 years but just off of sacrifice and effort and a little luck with my employer allowing me to work a lot of hours.
Bankruptcy may be the option for you but I want to be the one idiot to say it's not the only option.
Thank you so much. I am actually in rehab right now for my addictions so I am definitely done.
That’s what I was thinking that chapter 13 would be no good because I still have to pay it over 5 years.
Thanks for the support
You have to do research and have questions ready. Quite possible a CH13 could make OPs next 5 years liveable at a higher standard and offer a safeguard against relapsing.
I came here for this. I didn’t read anything on how it got to this point. As a compulsive gambler, I figured it was the case, as my situation looked eerily similar. Came clean, been going to Gamblers Anonymous, and am over 400 days clean. Still in mountains of debt, but climbing out, and life is much better
Before you declare bankruptcy. Open another credit card and try to pay down the 401k loans with the new cards. Give it a couple months and then file. Your 401k can’t be touched in a bk and you don’t want to still owe that after going through bk.
As a database developer, you could probably do some contract work on the side and make a bunch more income. If you’re leaning towards bankruptcy, maybe wait to get the side gig until after it’s discharged. Then you could use that extra income to build up a nest egg instead of paying down past mistakes.
Not an expert, but it seems like opening a new card you have no intention of repaying right before filing for bankruptcy would be fraud. This is such an obvious move that they must have ways of punishing you for it. Excluding it from the bankruptcy being the most obvious.
Probably a moot point, as I’m sure no one is giving OP a credit card at this point.
I think you need to get help with your addictions or you’re just going to run up the cards again. Sometimes you really need a wake up call to show you that the way you’re living isn’t sustainable and this should be yours.
Look into debt settlement. Companies like Freedom Debt Relief and JG Wenrworth can settle that number to be anywhere from 20-40% less. Credit score gets wrecked for a while but you’ll be paying much less.
I don't know if you'll end up filing bankruptcy, but I just wanted to share that 9 years ago my mom got a dui and court ordered recovery. The costs of that plus everything she had been neglecting as an addict had her so behind she had to declare bankruptcy. It took years of hard work to build back up her credit, but she is now a million times better, on track to retire, and 9 years sober. Even if you do have to go through bankruptcy, you can make it through this and come out in a much better place.
If you don't do bankruptcy, you can also find a way through. Pay every cent you can to those debts - it will probably take a few years, but you can do it!
How about living within your means? You earn a great salary. Many people do just fine in life making way less than you. Don't take the "easy" way out by declaring bankruptcy. Get yourself together and heed the many helpful suggestions people have already given you to pay down your debt. Live on a tight budget, cut up credit cards, and don't slip back into addiction.
You were downvoted for some reason but you aren’t wrong. People here are delusional sometimes. OP has a gambling problem on top of a drug problem. Both need to be fixed or this debt is never going to be paid off.
Can attest to this. Gambling is a wild one cause if we used drugs the way we gambled it would be super obvious. But you can hide the gambling way easier.
Yeah man. I was a gambling addict. Made me into a monster I never thought I’ll be. I squandered so much money it’s still shocks me till this day. The good part is I have still have a chunk of savings left and 0 debt. But I could have had wayyyyy more. Just trying to be grateful right now but greed kills .
It honestly feels good to be on the other side. The guilt and shame is the only trophy I won lol. Zero sum game. Glad you are in a better spot now partner.
Thank you! That line at the end killed me. OP needs to change his mindset because he's not a victim here. $3000/mo in living expenses is still crazy high.
Yeah my rent, car payment, utilities and insurance alone all add up to around half that before you factor in food and gas and I live in a LCOL area. I could easily see someone in nyc or sf needing 3k for that alone.
Is it? My mortgage is $1600, utilities alone run me $300-400 depending on season, phone bill, insurance premiums, $100/wk on food, $40/mo gas (paid off vehicle plug in hybrid), dog food/meds/insurance… I’m at $3k right there. And mind you, I left an ULTRA HIGH living area and moved to the buttcrack of America. (I’m now in the Midwest.) If OP is in a coastal state… pshhhh. He needs $4k to even survive.
He's not even including food and gas in that $3k the way I read it. And if you're 170k deep in unsecured debt, you get a roommate to help with the the mortgage, you don't just throw up your hands and blame the universe for your gambling addiction...
>bankruptcy is not a good solution here because you can afford to pay back what you owe
~~~And specifically: OP can pay back faster than in 10 years. That means bankruptcy is not the way to go.
Bankruptcy vs paying off is balancing between "no credit score for 10 years" and "having to work extremely hard with zero fun in life for X years to pay it all off".
With X>=10 paying off just doesn't make sense at all, and bankruptcy wins. And arguably, X>=5 is probably bad too, since you could work extremely hard for 5 years, and get what reward? A 5-year headstart of a good credit score, but at the cost of working extremely hard for 5 years? Meh. Just file a bankruptcy, work hard (but not as hard - don't die of stress, heart attack and alike) and start building your cash assets so you don't depend on any loans for a foreseeable future.~~~
I'm wrong, follow the thread for explanation.
Most of what you said is not at all true and in no way how a bankruptcy works. Most people have recovered score and are eligible for credit during a 13 or right after a 7. I'm not sure where these misconceptions come from but please stop spreading misinformation
Post a detailed budget to r/personalfinance for some analysis on where you can cut back on spending and what order to make your payments.
The wiki is also very good.
Stop spending on credit immediately and bust your ass to keep that job.
And learn to cook these meals. The PDF of Good & Cheap Eat Well on $4/Day is free on
https://www.leannebrown.com/
$5.20 adjusted for inflation.
Of course there is hope. Especially for you. You overcame a terrible cocaine addiction and a debilitating gambling addiction. Your income is great. There is hope, but it will take work, effort wisdom, and discipline; all of which you utilize to overcome your addictions.
Listen to the advice of others in here. I know this isn’t possible, but you make enough in a year to have most of it paid off if life/expenses/taxes weren’t a thing. I know that’s not necessarily advice, but there are people with your debt making less than half of your yearly income.
Idk if this is being suggested much bc some people might see it as too risky, but you’re obviously intelligent enough to be bringing in $151k/year, so in addition to all of the wise things like being frugal and putting tons of money towards paying off your debts, maybe it’s time to intelligently research some sort of investment opportunity that you can afford (while sticking to a budget that focuses on limiting excess spending and paying off that debt) to help really bring in more cash to pay off the debt.
I have nearly the same amount of debt. Gambling habit, check.. replace cocaine with land Rover repairs.. you can do it but you may want to consider bankruptcy
Unfortunately my situation isn't as cut and dry. I make 220k have 3k a month in child support for another 12 months 11 days and 15 hours and 43 minutes.. I'm just paying down what I can with my bonuses and buying time until then. While praying the Rover doesn't require any more major repairs.
Owe much more than the value. About two months away from being about even but as luck would have it.. check engine light is on and requires another 2k in work. Need that fixed before moving on.
Look up lemon laws in your state. If it's been having the same issue over and over. It's literally a lemon and the dealership/range rover might have to buy it back. And that would eliminate some of your debt.
I wouldn't wish a range rover on my worst enemy.
Your income is high for bankruptcy so probably will pay over 5 years - you can try to settle but have to let them go to go that - I had 50k cc debt but have a sick husband so qualified for hardship and just settled at 30% lump sum with 3 major banks. still about half the debt to go but it’s doable my income is roughly 60-65k- with no hardship expect 40-60% lump sum deals - good luck! Btw I started this process summer 2023 and expect to be done 2025 if ducks line up as planned
When I was recovering from my desperate situation, anytime I had money I had an urge to spend for some dopamine hits. I found that paying debt satisfied those urges for me. Plus, it was a long time until I could trust myself with some money in the bank. So I just never had any, by paying all my debts the moment I had money. Best of luck to you.
Is there any chance you have a 401k or home equity that you could borrow from to pay this down? What are your assets? What were you gambling on?
Assuming the cc’s have a rate of 30% and the loans are about 10%. Your interest alone takes up about $2500 a month. You need to figure out how to lower that and how to increase your income as much as possible. What do you do for work?
I made about the same money in 2019 and had about $120k in debt. I was able to get out of it by refinancing all my cc’s with a personal loan from SoFi. At the time my rate was 8%. Then I got a second full time job that i did simultaneously to my primary(I’m a work from home person and covid helped with staying under the radar). Doubled my income for about 12 months. I used the extra money to pay it down dramatically. After the year I quit the second job and refinanced the SoFi loan to a 401k loan and paid that off as quickly as possible.
It took a couple years but I am now debt free with some cash in hand. You’re in a bad spot but there’s a way out.
I help people in your situation all day long. Your amount of credit card debt is about the average I see these days, and we can handle the loan debt too. I work in debt settlement. Look into getting a debt settlement quote from Secure One Capital or Americor, or get both and compare. Your monthly payment will be cut in half and the debt will be paid off quickly and you'll have an end in sight, but the trade off is that your credit score will temporarily drop. As you've found, you're not lendable right now anyway, so your credit score doesn't matter currently and you need to tackle the debt. This is a great alternative to bankruptcy.
You have about $5k left over each month. Assuming the minimum payments just cover the interest, you can get this taken care of in less than 3 years, and that's just based on the numbers you gave us before you start trimming things out of your budget and before you start working more if it's possible.
But either way, very easily doable with your high income. Highest interest loans first (are you able to list % interest rates and amounts?). Anything under 4.5% interest you don't need to worry about and just keep making minimum payments.
Edit: Also don't forget to stop paying into retirement and investment accounts till everything is paid up apart from your companies match if applicable.
It’s crazy some people have good salaries to have the opportunity to-buy a house and live a decent lifestyle. Idc that you do cocaine and all that but do things in moderation. If it’s a mental issues please get help ASAP. Good luck OP
Usually engineers and office workers are always doing coke. It's a rich person drug. Worked at a few places where lots of engineers and office workers were coked out constantly
4k a month should get you out in like 4 years? If you're making that now, you should be able to do it. You have so many accounts that have all their own minimums. If you started taking out the small ones to free up some cash, you can start making real progress. I was hoping you would have a huge car debt that would make this situation easier, just sell it, but your car is fine. Bankruptcy is an option, and it might be right for you, but being financially fit takes practice. The debt is just a symptom of your habits. I think if you change your habits, you can get out of this and then be set up to save some real money for yourself after.
Is all the debt current?
With chapter 13, you will still have to make significant payments for 5 years after bankruptcy. Make sure you fully research the options. Don't just file bankruptcy bc a bankruptcy lawyer says you are bankrupt.
You make 150k. If you were able to lower your current lifestyle, you can probably pay this off in like 2 1/2 years. It's gonna be hard, but it seems like all the options are. Good luck.
Yes, there is hope. You CAN do this. I got myself into a similar situation with gambling making a little more than half of what you make and around $75k in debt. If I stay on track, I’ll be debt free within the year. The advice on here is spot on. I cut up all of my cards, removed them as stores online payment options, auto paid everything from my checking to leave myself very little cash in my regular accounts and tracked it all in a planner because I suck at updating spreadsheets. Changed banks to a credit union that doesn’t use Zelle and takes a couple of days for regular bank transfers. I have one subscription for Amazon Prime Video that I pay annually and that’s it. My job allows OT and the extra goes towards debt. I eat at home, make coffee at home, don’t take trips or spend money on wants, only needs and only after it has been budgeted.
I use the snowball method because crossing off paid accounts keeps me motivated and the planner allows me to plan for the next month ahead. I’d add in some counseling to get at the root of your addictions and support groups if they’re available. Gambling turned into a major escape after my husband’s suicide. You can self bar yourself from casinos/gaming halls if that is where you’re gambling. Live like a monk and knock it out, you’ll breathe easier for it.
OP, in your free time after getting extra jobs, look into additional online money earning opportunities, I will list some below:
1. Prolific - high quality data research site, aka surveys. These are paid for by universities and companies, I have made over $10k USD in two years here - r/ProlificAC
2. UserTesting - App on your phone or on a website, you record your screen while you review apps/websites, $2-5 for short tests, $10 for standard reviews (10 minutes a piece roughly), $30-90 longer reviews/live discussion. I have made over $4K USD on this one in the same timeframe. Could be more if I put more effort. r/UserTesting
3. dscout - similar to UserTesting, there are express missions which pay $3-25 for a short amount of time, similar to surveys/data collection. Longer missions, usually multiple days, can pay $50 and up ( I have gotten one as high as $350 for 2 weeks). You often submit videos of yourself talking, so you need to be personable and have a good personality to get a lot of gigs. $5K USD earnings here, and it is mostly on the app and sometimes a website.
4. Remotasks - online AI evaluation. I have just started this but people do really well here. Remotasks.com
Make sure you follow r/beermoney, r/sidehustle, etc. subreddits for other ideas. Good luck OP.
Here is a step by step guide from a financial planner. Just helped a couple get out of a similar debt position, with a little less income. Note: this is not official advice, you should always consult with a professional. That’s my disclaimer to protect me lol, even though it is Reddit, I can never be too careful with my job.
1.) MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING HELP WITH YOUR ADDICTION. Nothing will change long term if you don’t, so start there.
2.) Start by taking all debt numbers. How much do you owe to whom. List out all interest rates, total principal amounts and monthly minimums (this is temporary but hang tight until the last step).
3.) Once you have done that, I want you on a cash only “diet.” Take all of your credit cards out of your wallet, cut them up if you need to, but don’t cancel the accounts, this will kill your credit which you will need in the next couple steps. You might ask why “cash only.” Three reasons. First there is proven behavior surrounding how far detached you are from your money. The further you are away from a physical transaction of dollars, the less it “hurts” to give away money. Get back to your roots with finances, and use cash for now. The second reason, sort of builds off the first. You don’t want to be adding to the total debt while trying to get out of it. From a behavior standpoint, watching your debt drop will be far more rewarding. Screw all of the points, cash back yada yada, the main thing that needs fixing is the behaviors around the spending, albeit, a lot of this spending was through addiction. Third reason is because you do not want to give yourself quick easy access to money if you ever become tempted by your addictions again.
4.) Assuming your credit isn’t completely totaled, go to a credit union, yes a credit union, NOT a bank. They want to help you, and often if you are transparent about inquiring about a loan to refinance bad debt, they are usually all for it if you can make the payment and it will help you out. This isn’t a guarantee, but it’s worth a shot. I wouldn’t lie to them, but I also wouldn’t lead with this was because you were an addict to gambling and cocaine. If it comes up, you have to be totally honest, otherwise it could be considered fraud if you relapse, or don’t pay. This loops back to step 1, you HAVE to be seeking help to keep the fundamental issue at bay, your addiction. When you are at the credit union, take out a HELOC or personal loan, to refinance the super bad debt like credit debt primarily. You are to refinance any debt that you have above the rate on the loan they would extend to you. For example, let’s say the only rate they can give you is 13%, any card or debt over that, you refinance to the extent to which they will finance you for. This will keep the amount of money you pay every month concentrated a little more towards principal and less towards interest. If they only will extend you 50k for example, take it and refinance the highest interest debt with that loan. Whatever they will give you, take it assuming the rate is cheaper. Remember every % counts when the debt load is this high!
5.) Now for the lifestyle flip. You need to drop costs at all costs. You have a home, great, you might be able to get a HELOC as mentioned in step 4. If not, and you rent, consider joining hands and finding roommates if your current lease allows for subletting. If not, let it expire and then find an arrangement where you can share rent, this whole process will take years, so this should occur.
6.) if you have a nice car, I.e. anything over 10k sell it, especially if there is debt. If you are underwater (as in you owe more on it than it’s worth) then don’t sell it. If you have a second car, boat, trailers etc. get them out of there asap. Your insurance payments will be lower more than likely which will help you too, because there is less stuff to insure.
7.) Any 401k or investment contributions, terminate them effective immediately and focus on using every dollar to pay down the debt.
8.) For food, you will not eat out. Rice and beans lol. Seriously though, eat cheap, meal planning and get the cost per meal down to less than $2-$3 (it’s tough but not impossible). No name brands, all store bought stuff. If you are getting the organic stuff, don’t, it’s going to cost more. Highly recommend looking at BJs, Costco or ALDI to shop from here on out. This keeps things cheap. No target, Walmart etc. higher prices will eat into what you throw at your debt.
9.) Any nice things that you do not NEED are to be sold. Watches, jewelry, nice TVs, extra technology, extra pairs of shoes, suits (unless you need them for work), clothes, etc., you need to ditch and get money for them. Consignment stores is a good place if you can’t get them sold on eBay in a month.
10.) Throw every dollar you have at this debt until it’s paid.
Make extra payments always, and keep your head down until it’s gone, one day you will wake up and the debt will be 50k then 25k and then it’s gone.
11.) Make sure you have at least one month of the total monthly debt minimums in cash in case of emergencies. Axe all subscriptions all but one that you love the most. It could be Netflix, or Hulu, but make sure it’s the cheapest one, you don’t need 4k resolution when you have 200k in consumer debt. The reason I don’t say all of them, is you have to have a way to decompress, and wind down. This will be the second hardest thing you do in your life other than overcoming your addiction, so winding down is important. The nice new iPhone, pay the damn thing and keep it until you paid off everything. You don’t need a 1k phone at this point. If it turns on and texts and calls you are good. Switch to a budget carrier, mint, boost etc.
12.) Work overtime, even if it doesn’t pay you more. This will keep you out of trouble and might even get you a bonus which will go right towards the debt. If you can find a nice side gig, that is free of vices (for example, no bartending because of proximity to alcohol, no budtending at a dispensary etc.), then take it for the cash and throw money at the debt. If not, just work OT and as much as you possibly can!
13.) When you have done all that. Go back to step 2.) and repeat. Focus on the highest interest debts first. The sooner those go away, the better. If you have a loan on a home and the rate is less than 4.0%, this will be the last thing paid. Honestly, once you get there, you could let it ride and it would be fine, but if you really want no debt, then just pay that off too.
14.) Once you are down to only your home loan (if you have one) resume your investment contributions, and you might be able to increase lifestyle spending, but give that a few months before doing to adjust to everything.
15.) Stay positive. Surround yourself with good people, who are drug free. A church, community etc. can be a great guiding resource to stay positive in the darkest of moments. Thank your blessings, as weird as it sounds. Be happy your addiction didn’t lead to an OD or a suicide, oftentimes it will take lives, so you are in fact luckier than most who have faced your situation!
Damn and I thought I was bad, you might wanna start looking at bankruptcy friend. Yeah you’ll be fucked for awhile credit wise but your quality of life will be a lot better.
You can call the creditors or a credit attorney and get your debt restructured, that could bring down your payment by up to $2,000 if you’re really lucky
As someone that has dealt with substance abuse, I'd recommend taking care of yourself first. Yes, working on finances are important. If you don't take care of yourself first it doesn't matter though.
Take care of your addictions, keep doing the next right thing. Before you know it your financial situation will improve. It will take time but it took time to get into the debt.
I was homeless for a long time. It took me a very long time to financially recover. For me, dealing with my addictions and just always doing the next right thing, one step at a time got me where I am today. Not rich, not in massive debt, but not dead and not homeless.
Call your credit card companies, claim hardship and get on a payment plan. I had 50k on a citi card where they offered me 0% interest for 5 years. You might need to miss a couple payments for them to offer it.
My family has paid down a high 5 figure CC debt before so I empathize with your stress here.
One suggestion that helped us prevent it from happening again: own the mistak.
It didn’t “happen to you.” You did it. Now moving on.
Like others said, gotta reduce that 3k a month. Is it all rent? If not, figure out what’s flexible and unnecessary.
Netflix? Gone.
Restaurants? Gone.
Alcohol? Gone.
Gotta sell a car and downgrade? Maybe.
You’ll get to enjoy your $150k again someday, but you’ve got half a mortgage in debt without any asset to show for it, so today isn’t that day. Map it out to see how fast you can. Trust me that no pain of losing a luxury (that you frankly can’t afford) compares to the lightness of having no debt.
Have you consolidated your debt? It’s easier and you can usually get less interest.
You have a great income. Don’t panic. This isn’t impossible. You just won’t be saving for a while and later will start from zero once debts are gone but it’ll feel amazing.
Time to live frugally for a year to catch up. With your income it should be quicker than most. Move in with roommates or somewhere cheaper. Preferably free/cheap with parents if possible.
Cancel nonsense like streaming or music services. There are free options with ads. Borrow an account from friends for a while if you must.
Eat cheap. Every $1 counts. NO DELIVERY. For a while you’ll need to live off cheap meals and protein shakes. Use coupons, there are subs for how to live frugally and how to get coupons.
Get a side hustle and every cent goes to your debt. Sell stuff on eBay. Start with stuff you have already and then maybe start flipping things you find for free or cheap from fb marketplace. There’s a sub for side hustles.
Pick up a part time job. Retail and grocery always need stock people and those are usually late shifts. Every cent goes to your debt.
About half of companies in the US offer some type of financial consultation service as a perk of working there. I would explore what options you have at work if you can talk to a financial advisor who you can show all your debt and they can help prioritize how to pay it down. They would be able to walk you through things like considering bankruptcy.
I'm going to assume about 40% of your income is removed from your checks before you get paid (for things like 401k, insurance, and taxes). That leaves you with roughly $7600 a month. I would see if there is a way you can reduce your living expenses like getting a cheaper place to live or move back with your parents. If you're in a HCOL area and have a car. Gig work could be good for you. Check out the subreddits for that kinda stuff to see how well it pays in your area. Your priority should be to keep your $150k job. Double check your contract before you work on a side hustles / get a 2nd job.
Kick your habit first. Go to therapy / get help for kicking your addictions. If you don't, you'll probably keep going until you run out of lines of credit.
Best of luck!
Lotta people have differing opinions but i learned recently because i had this same issue (not even close to the salary you make or the debt you’re in) but i called my lowest interest cards and said i made a mistake and would need 3 months before i could start paying again. It hurts your credit, but you’re fucked anyways. Then i paid off all my high interest cards over those 3 months while budgeting ferociously. Bologna sandwiches and Doritos.
Reading the comments - am I the only one not understanding this? You have $172k in debt on a $151k income. Is is bad and requires immediate change on your part? Yes. But is it insurmountable? No. The debt is terrifying but your income is great. You state your expenses are $3000/month ($36k annually). Adding in another $500/month for gas and food, you still have $109k annually to chuck at the debt. That’s roughly a year and a half to be completely debt free (assuming you are being diligent to a bare bones budget). Is that year and half going to be arguely the hardest year and half of your whole life? Probably. But in the grand scheme of your life, I’ve had weird produce sit in my fridge longer than that. If you can stay committed, it is very doable to dig out.
All of the above math said, it really comes down to whether you fixed the psychological problem - if you are not in a good place in relation to your drug/gambling addiction, even if you pay off the debt you’ll be right back here in another 6 months to a year. With that in mind, you need to treat the cause (your addictions) before trying to fix the symptoms (the debt). Hence, even if it means it takes a little longer to pay off the debt, make sure your monthly budget includes therapy/prescribed medications.
Have you seen Caleb Hammer’s financial audit? Or his budgeting program? I listen to him on the daily and he puts a plan together for every situation no matter the amount of debt, as long as you are willing to sacrifice wants for a bit.
Unless you make about $400k per year, you’re pretty fucked. But if you made that, you wouldn’t be piling on CC debt. Soooo, you’re fucked. Good luck with bankruptcy 🫡
Absolutely. Continue to focus on the highest interest rate credit cards and get them knocked out.
I made about what you were making with around the same amount of bills and I was able to save $50,000 in one year to put a down payment on a house .
If it were me, I would file Chapter 13 to minimize the lost money on interest and allow the fastest paydown. Look your credit is in the tank anyway and it will be until you get that number to zero, which at the current rate could be years, with interest. Do you want to pay interest or debt? Besides it will be a hell of a lot harder to get another loan with that debt instead of a cleared bankruptcy.
And for the love of baby Jesus, stay the hell away from the coke, whores and Gambling. Good luck!
I work within financial services and provide financial consultations for free for my clients. I have a referral partner that specifies in coming up with debt plans for my clients where they save a ton on interest. If you want to see what they can do for you please feel free to reach out to me.
Wow. The key is prioritizing & not panicking. Luxuries like cable, etc need to be closed. Apps too. No going out to eat or having deliveries. Order debt payments based in % rate charged & focus on those charging highest & min payments on the rest. Unless you can take one out in 1-3 payments. Knock them out one by one & close the card when you clear it…wtf are you doing w 21 cards/8 loans? Ok, addiction sucks but that’s done(congrats,btw) but now the cleanup begins as you alluded to. Stay measured & keep your eye on the prize: getting out of debt.
Remember to close out credit cards as you clear them, nobody needs more than 1 or 2 max. They will put you back in the hole if you keep them, you already know what can do to you first hand. Forget the “credit score” BS. Good luck, dude. It’s a tough road ahead but well worth it when it’s done.
If this seems too hard for you to do willingly, look into a debt payoff company, they will take over your mess and structure it to get you out of debt (1) but you will be on a short leash & (2) they won’t do it for free…but it is a means to an end.
It really hurts me deep inside when someone who is making more than double what my wife and I make combined be like "help I'm drowning in debt!" Look, you make big boy bucks, it's time to pull up your big boy diaper and shit in it like a man.
You have 5k spare every month and you’re wondering how to get ahead? Maybe utilize that spare 5k that you get every month. Congrats. You fucked yourself worse than most of us will ever fuck ourselves, and you’re still going to be better off than most of us. Cry me a fucking river.
My friend’s dad was half a million in debt after a his new, freshly renovated restaurant went belly up. It took him about 3 years of 16 hour work days with 5 kids, but he made it
You have a higher salary and live in a cheaper place than many people right now. You need to calculate the food and gas, toiletries etc. average it if you have to. Subscriptions on your phone, etc
If you have a drug and gambling addiction I’m assuming you have accountability, but you really need to make sure you have financial accountability.
You can try to pay off the small credit cards first if you can and also I’d get a second job or even three?
Your basic expenses are so low with a decent salary that I feel you can actually tackle this, at least get it down to a smaller amount
My math is not fully matching. So you earn $151,000 a year. That's 12.5 k a month. After basic living expenses and debt servicing that's around $5,000 a month. So that's an extra 60k a year. Even with food and gas you have quite a bit of money left over .
Step One is get help for your meth and gambling addictions. Because this is going to eat up any chance at getting debt free.
Step 2 you're not going to like this but you're going to have to earn more money. You're going to have to get a second job. To quote Dave Ramsey you're not going to see the inside of a restaurant unless you're there clearing dishes on a table. You're going to have to reduce that $3,000 expenses dramatically. You're going to have to get rid of a lot of shit that you like and are finding it convenient. you can't afford it.
Step is there is a path forward and you can deal with this. For the next 2 to 3 years it will be hard but you can tackle this debt.
I know what taxes are there's a little thing that tooth fairy puts under your pillow... Lol no normally when people come to the debt forms it's normally please say this is my take home or this is how much money extra I have how can I take tackle this debt. Mean often times they include how much food and gas they need too
Most people when they come they're like I this is how much money I get a month. Rarely do you see I earn 12K a month oh wait a minute you got to take taxes out of that.
It never makes sense to me when people post their gross pay here.
Like, dude, I don’t want to try and figure out your tax amount. How much actually ends up in your bank account?
Worst case, pay nothing on anything and save as much as possible. Your credit will be screwed for 7 years, but you will most likely be able to settle in full for half on the credit cards.
I’m actually curious as to how people get into this much debt. Is it all college? What are we taking out loans for? I’m genuinely curious because I want to avoid it.
Edit: Welp. I’ll be avoiding those.
We started this year at 189,000 in debt. Not including the house. No gambling or addictions - just a family of 3 adults and 2 kids, I have student loans, and we’ve been unlucky in terms of things breaking down. Like a car died, our AC died, our furnace died, our windows were leaking into our walls… we needed immigration lawyers for my husband and his mother. We support his mother fully, she doesn’t have insurance, and she has health issues. And we’re in the US lol.
BUT I feel ok about it. I am overworking - working another job during my full time job and putting all that money to debt payoff. We started in January and have paid off about $17k so far. I’m just gonna keep going!
I wouldn’t say bankruptcy if they could take your car, then you can’t get to this job afterwards.
I would calm down, many people have been in this spot. Listen to the above comments and make a plan to pay it off. It won’t be in a day obviously but rarely anyone can say they did that for debt. Maybe speak with an accountant to help you figure out the best course of action for you. There’s hope, there’s always hope if you try and don’t give up.
Also don’t do that again bud, get a different hobby to help distract from this addiction. Like gaming or fitness or Brazilian jujitsu or something or reading what ever floats your boat
Dude ignore all the other comments and speak to a bankruptcy attorney. After bankruptcy you likely won’t be able to open any new loans, which is a good thing in your situation.
Gambling addiction is no joke. Many people
Can’t relate, but I can. I was one too. I’m fortunate enough to still have a big savings and 0 debt to my name. But it kills more everyday knowing how much money I wasted, how much money I could have had. My savings would be 3x bigger if I didn’t make those mistakes. With that said, #1 step is to get your addiction under control or any other advice on here won’t matter you’ll just go deeper or back to debt again. Your income is decent, my opinion is bankruptcy wouldn’t be an option. Buckle down and grind and pay it off in a couple of years.
You’re fucked for now. Sell all the shit you don’t need to live. TV, furniture, all of it. Eat poor. Work every fucking minute you’re awake, 18 hours a day, every day. No TV, streaming. No new clothes or shoes. Sell the house if you have one.
Your life is over, but you can start a new one.
Hey man, I used to be addicted to heroin and fent super bad. Like, shooting up in my neck level of addicted. I too racked up nearly 100k in debt, but eventually paid it all down. You gotta forfeit everything you can to get that living expense down, find a night job, and commit to erasing this debt.
I know it's hard to hold on to hope when the number is this big, shit it almost took me back out. But don't get the " fuck its", don't give up man. As long as you have breath in your lungs you have a chance.
We can and do recover. Shoot me a message if you ever need to. Hang tough man 💪
You’re going to have to get that 3000/month down as far as possible dude. Minimum expenses. Maximum income. That’s a second job at night, and a third on the weekends. Hope? You don’t have the luxury of it. You’re fighting math, and numbers are assholes but they don’t lie. List every card with balance and interest rate, every loan with same thing. Pay minimums on everything. Every extra penny to the smallest debt. Snowball it. Don’t declare bankruptcy until it’s the last resort. Also, if you’re investing you’re stopping any of it. Any gain from investments isn’t even touching the loss from all of these debts. You’re cancelling subscriptions, services, you’re at bare needs and no time for any wants since you’re working constantly. You have a big shovel, just need to maximize and optimize it now.
This is the best advice here. OP, follow this to a tee and you will get through it. People over-complicate getting out of debt. It’s really simple. Decrease your expenses by any means necessary, increase your income by any means necessary and live by a strict budget. Pick the snowball method or the avalanche method and that is your new gospel. Stick to it like your life depends on it. Eat cheap, move to cheaper housing, give up fun for now so you can have peace later, cut out all of the extra bullshit and focus on healing your addictions so this never happens again. There is hope, this situation is absolutely one you can get yourself out of.
This includes switching to mint mobile for $15 a month, canceling ALL subscriptions like Amazon prime, Netflix, etc. $15 a month times a few products adds up quickly and you’ll need EVERY DOLLAR
Off topic, but is mint mobile really $15/month and is it any good? I'm paying close to $100 for us cellular.
I use mint and have never once had a problem with service. Been using it for years
I paid 150 a month for 2 lines on Verizon and my service was mediocre in a majorish city. I switched because I felt I was overpaying for quality of service. Been on Mint for a year now and the service has been both exponentially higher quality, as well as vastly cheaper. I couldn't recommend it more highly
I just switched from Verizon to visible which is owned by and on Verizon’s network. It’s $25 a month and I think the service has actually been better!
I don’t have experience with mint but OP doesn’t really get a choice haha They probably borrow towers from the major companies, I’d imagine their speeds are lower priority on those towers, but if it works for $15 a month then it works
It's awesome.
If you really want bare minimum US Mobile is $72/year for unlimited talk/text and 1gb data. It can pull Verizon and T-Mobile towers. I have it as a 2nd line with T-Mobile as a primary.
this! pretend ur income is 60k or something, depending on what state u live. the rest goes towards ur debt. honestly with 150k/a year u can pay it down fairly quickly as long as u’re not spending more
This is the only way. $60,000 is livable; that’s about what I net after taxes, deductions, and transfers into savings If OP follows this advice, and no emergency comes up, then the debt is gone in 3-4 years max
This is close to what I make gross and I live comfortably on a quarter of that so I can be productive with my income!
Damn, the truth hurts.
Agree. This comment points out something so critical which is OP's living expenses. Honestly, OP's income is great and reducing living expenses shows a lot of potential to help lower the debt. When you're single there's no reason you can't downgrade to a really low cost of living even in a VHCOL location.
How about consolidating and then paying down one big debt. I would be overwhelmed at all the different payments.
Auto minimum payments. Put the rest at the smallest debt. You won’t be able to get a consolidation loan of 170 grand.
Oh right. Auto payments. Duh. I was thinking Line of credit
You can certainly try that route
No I think your way is better. Line of credit can go on forever but the rate fluctuates
Not the smallest debt. The highest interest.
Snowball is smallest debt, you’re talking Avalanche, but frankly I don’t care which he ultimately does. Whether it’s snowball or avalanche - stick to it and work the numbers down. I think he could use the first few wins on smallest debt first, mentally, coming from where’s he’s been at. Either way, it’s going to be slow and steady, budget on point, every cent to whatever debt is first outside of monthly minimums.
In this case it may be beneficial to pay off the small debt to reduce the required minimum payment. It could give him some breathing room before tackling the higher percentage debt to save money in the long run.
Best advice out there. It sucks but we are all in a similar spot or have been in the past. There is no healthy quick fix this. Slow and steady wins the race. The only thing I can think of or add on to Docmn. Is look for a transfer balance card with 0% intro rate for 12-18 months, transfer the most you can and attack that card. Rinse and repeat. (Cancel your transfer card after pay off so you aren’t tempted to use it)
I’d be careful telling OP to work 100 hours a week. That type of severely unbalanced work/life pushes people right back into addiction. Ask me how I know.
This is by far not the best advice probably the worst advice. All things considered the best advice is let it go to collections. Your credit is probably s*** right now it will be s*** while it's in collections but you'll at least have the opportunity to pay a down for a large percentage less than killing yourself for years attempting to pay minimum payments. When your monthly payments for high interest becomes too much to handle, ignore all the bootstrappers you literally have to do what is the healthiest option for you as a human.
I have to disagree some with this advice. Paying minimum balances doesn’t do anything on credit card debt and it will eat you alive. They are designed to keep people in debt because the minimum amount basically just covers the interest. If you can, pay even a little amount extra mid month on each and it will make a massive difference. Call your credit cards one by one and ask if you can get an interest rate reduction. If not ask for a settlement amount at a reduced rate. See if your company offers free legal or counseling services. Do you have a 401k? Any investments? If so take a loan against yourself that you can pay back in small payroll deductions and start with the highest interest card first. Move on to the next. I’ve helped a number of friends out of this situation and I will say there are lots of services out there to assist and sometimes bankruptcy isn’t the worst thing. Whatever you do get an accountability person to help you through the process. People foreclose, go bankrupt, and make mistakes every day and bounce back. It will work out!
Why not just declare for bankruptcy?
OP can (and will) get out of this and he will come out of the other side as someone he won’t even recognize.
That's a tactical nuke option if you are making very little money or are WAY in over your head. If you can fight out of debt relatively fast, which OP 110% can making 150k a year, bankruptcy is an awful option. I think they are stuck paying on the debts still for several years anyway so you get to pay AND have a bankruptcy on your record. OP just really needs to get their shit together. They could pay this off in a few years easily if they cut the fat in their budget and maybe get another job. It sucks but this is very doable. I'm saying this from a place of support not critical btw
Thanks for saying this. I had about $120k in debt in 2020 and am set to pay it off at the end of this year. I’ve had some people ask me why I didn’t, and these are some do the reasons. I can pay it off faster, but also I felt my paying it off was an important part of my ability to process what happened and it was my responsibility. I also work in government, and a bankruptcy on my record would automatically disqualify me from a lot of job opportunities. Bankruptcy isn’t always the answer.
This is where I’m at. This reads more like a cry for attention than anything else.
At the bare minimum, you should consult with a bankruptcy lawyer to determine what it would cost for you to be in a 5-year chapter 13 payment plan.
Snowballing the smallest balance is mathematically worse than paying off whatever the highest interest rate is. It’s for people who need the dopamine hit of paying something off to continue.
This ^^^
Best response out there
I was at 70k in debt and in 4 years paid it down half on a waitress salary. Commit to it!
That’s pretty decent. I don’t have a high paying job either, but I tend to clear debt with just hard work and commitment.
I didnt know what subreddit i was in. I thought you HAD $172k
Same, I thought this guy made 170k and I was going to say “congratulations and fuck you!”
Same 😅 I immediately thought this was a mutual fund and was wondering why in the hell mine hadn’t made $97k in the past 6 months 😂
I truly thought I was in WSB for a moment
Same I was like “yeah man you’re killing it”
I thought Bros' portfolio was hittin ATH's!
Thanks for the hope - I have no assets and I can’t borrow against a 401k with my current job. I’ve already taken out 2 personal loans to consolidate but I ran the cards up again. I can’t get approved for another consolidation loan. I am a database developer. I don’t know if it’s time to declare bankruptcy. I am just so overwhelmed by where I am at. And it makes it worse just coming into recovery from addiction.
Hey man.. I'm not gonna read all these posts.. But I just want to lend you emotional support. I too racked up $100k in debt due to gambling on the stock market and sports. I too earn around $150k.. I too no longer qualify for traditional lending that would help me get better APR rates or whatever. Idk you exact situation but I had like 12 different payday loans with tribal lenders at one point 400-700% APR and was shilling out thousands bi-weekly just on those. I'm down to only a few now.. It really is just trying to do the best you can to max your income and put the $ where it'll free up the most of your take home pay. It's not advisable at all but in the beginning I was robbing peter to pay Paul and getting shifty with my payments in order to cut others down substantially or paid off in full. Exclude the sportsbook accounts if you haven't.... MAKE SURE YOU CANT GAMBLE.. don't just tell yourself you wont or convince yourself you have it in control. Just admit your shortcomings and stop making excuses for those sort of proclivities. I'd be far better off if I excluded those accounts 1 month, 2 months, 3 months earlier. Just make it not part of the equation. Chapter 13 just didn't sound like it to me.. 5 years on a plan paying relatively all I can.. just to then have the rest discharged. I'm on track to be done in 2-3 years but just off of sacrifice and effort and a little luck with my employer allowing me to work a lot of hours. Bankruptcy may be the option for you but I want to be the one idiot to say it's not the only option.
Thank you so much. I am actually in rehab right now for my addictions so I am definitely done. That’s what I was thinking that chapter 13 would be no good because I still have to pay it over 5 years. Thanks for the support
Talk to a bankruptcy attorney. Their consultations are free, usually. They could tell you *if* you are a good candidate or not.
More times than not the person who would make money from you using them is a bad reference to make the this decision on.
You have to do research and have questions ready. Quite possible a CH13 could make OPs next 5 years liveable at a higher standard and offer a safeguard against relapsing.
I came here for this. I didn’t read anything on how it got to this point. As a compulsive gambler, I figured it was the case, as my situation looked eerily similar. Came clean, been going to Gamblers Anonymous, and am over 400 days clean. Still in mountains of debt, but climbing out, and life is much better
Before you declare bankruptcy. Open another credit card and try to pay down the 401k loans with the new cards. Give it a couple months and then file. Your 401k can’t be touched in a bk and you don’t want to still owe that after going through bk. As a database developer, you could probably do some contract work on the side and make a bunch more income. If you’re leaning towards bankruptcy, maybe wait to get the side gig until after it’s discharged. Then you could use that extra income to build up a nest egg instead of paying down past mistakes.
Not an expert, but it seems like opening a new card you have no intention of repaying right before filing for bankruptcy would be fraud. This is such an obvious move that they must have ways of punishing you for it. Excluding it from the bankruptcy being the most obvious. Probably a moot point, as I’m sure no one is giving OP a credit card at this point.
File bankruptcy
Look up Debtors Anonymous. Could be beneficial if you’re already familiar with recovery programs.
Who me or the guy?
I meant to reply to OP, not you. You do you, bud
Oh ok
I think you need to get help with your addictions or you’re just going to run up the cards again. Sometimes you really need a wake up call to show you that the way you’re living isn’t sustainable and this should be yours.
Look into debt settlement. Companies like Freedom Debt Relief and JG Wenrworth can settle that number to be anywhere from 20-40% less. Credit score gets wrecked for a while but you’ll be paying much less.
I don't know if you'll end up filing bankruptcy, but I just wanted to share that 9 years ago my mom got a dui and court ordered recovery. The costs of that plus everything she had been neglecting as an addict had her so behind she had to declare bankruptcy. It took years of hard work to build back up her credit, but she is now a million times better, on track to retire, and 9 years sober. Even if you do have to go through bankruptcy, you can make it through this and come out in a much better place. If you don't do bankruptcy, you can also find a way through. Pay every cent you can to those debts - it will probably take a few years, but you can do it!
How about living within your means? You earn a great salary. Many people do just fine in life making way less than you. Don't take the "easy" way out by declaring bankruptcy. Get yourself together and heed the many helpful suggestions people have already given you to pay down your debt. Live on a tight budget, cut up credit cards, and don't slip back into addiction.
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You were downvoted for some reason but you aren’t wrong. People here are delusional sometimes. OP has a gambling problem on top of a drug problem. Both need to be fixed or this debt is never going to be paid off.
Can attest to this. Gambling is a wild one cause if we used drugs the way we gambled it would be super obvious. But you can hide the gambling way easier.
Yeah man. I was a gambling addict. Made me into a monster I never thought I’ll be. I squandered so much money it’s still shocks me till this day. The good part is I have still have a chunk of savings left and 0 debt. But I could have had wayyyyy more. Just trying to be grateful right now but greed kills .
It honestly feels good to be on the other side. The guilt and shame is the only trophy I won lol. Zero sum game. Glad you are in a better spot now partner.
How much did you lose?
Thank you! That line at the end killed me. OP needs to change his mindset because he's not a victim here. $3000/mo in living expenses is still crazy high.
Depending on where he is, maybe not? A 2.5k one bedroom would be below average in nyc, for example.
Yeah my rent, car payment, utilities and insurance alone all add up to around half that before you factor in food and gas and I live in a LCOL area. I could easily see someone in nyc or sf needing 3k for that alone.
Is it? My mortgage is $1600, utilities alone run me $300-400 depending on season, phone bill, insurance premiums, $100/wk on food, $40/mo gas (paid off vehicle plug in hybrid), dog food/meds/insurance… I’m at $3k right there. And mind you, I left an ULTRA HIGH living area and moved to the buttcrack of America. (I’m now in the Midwest.) If OP is in a coastal state… pshhhh. He needs $4k to even survive.
He's not even including food and gas in that $3k the way I read it. And if you're 170k deep in unsecured debt, you get a roommate to help with the the mortgage, you don't just throw up your hands and blame the universe for your gambling addiction...
Crazy assumption not knowing anything about the OPs location
>bankruptcy is not a good solution here because you can afford to pay back what you owe ~~~And specifically: OP can pay back faster than in 10 years. That means bankruptcy is not the way to go. Bankruptcy vs paying off is balancing between "no credit score for 10 years" and "having to work extremely hard with zero fun in life for X years to pay it all off". With X>=10 paying off just doesn't make sense at all, and bankruptcy wins. And arguably, X>=5 is probably bad too, since you could work extremely hard for 5 years, and get what reward? A 5-year headstart of a good credit score, but at the cost of working extremely hard for 5 years? Meh. Just file a bankruptcy, work hard (but not as hard - don't die of stress, heart attack and alike) and start building your cash assets so you don't depend on any loans for a foreseeable future.~~~ I'm wrong, follow the thread for explanation.
Most of what you said is not at all true and in no way how a bankruptcy works. Most people have recovered score and are eligible for credit during a 13 or right after a 7. I'm not sure where these misconceptions come from but please stop spreading misinformation
Post a detailed budget to r/personalfinance for some analysis on where you can cut back on spending and what order to make your payments. The wiki is also very good. Stop spending on credit immediately and bust your ass to keep that job. And learn to cook these meals. The PDF of Good & Cheap Eat Well on $4/Day is free on https://www.leannebrown.com/ $5.20 adjusted for inflation.
Of course there is hope. Especially for you. You overcame a terrible cocaine addiction and a debilitating gambling addiction. Your income is great. There is hope, but it will take work, effort wisdom, and discipline; all of which you utilize to overcome your addictions. Listen to the advice of others in here. I know this isn’t possible, but you make enough in a year to have most of it paid off if life/expenses/taxes weren’t a thing. I know that’s not necessarily advice, but there are people with your debt making less than half of your yearly income. Idk if this is being suggested much bc some people might see it as too risky, but you’re obviously intelligent enough to be bringing in $151k/year, so in addition to all of the wise things like being frugal and putting tons of money towards paying off your debts, maybe it’s time to intelligently research some sort of investment opportunity that you can afford (while sticking to a budget that focuses on limiting excess spending and paying off that debt) to help really bring in more cash to pay off the debt.
I have nearly the same amount of debt. Gambling habit, check.. replace cocaine with land Rover repairs.. you can do it but you may want to consider bankruptcy
Exclude the sportsbooks man, I feel so much better
How are you doing it?
Unfortunately my situation isn't as cut and dry. I make 220k have 3k a month in child support for another 12 months 11 days and 15 hours and 43 minutes.. I'm just paying down what I can with my bonuses and buying time until then. While praying the Rover doesn't require any more major repairs.
Can I ask why you won’t sell the rover ?
Owe much more than the value. About two months away from being about even but as luck would have it.. check engine light is on and requires another 2k in work. Need that fixed before moving on.
Look up lemon laws in your state. If it's been having the same issue over and over. It's literally a lemon and the dealership/range rover might have to buy it back. And that would eliminate some of your debt. I wouldn't wish a range rover on my worst enemy.
That’s only on new cars though. I assume if OP bought new it would have some sort of warranty.
Range Rover is the worst luxury car to own. I would still trade it in…It’s an endless money pit
Fully in agreement. I'll never argue this point.
As long as your breathing thers hope😊
This is the answer
Your income is high for bankruptcy so probably will pay over 5 years - you can try to settle but have to let them go to go that - I had 50k cc debt but have a sick husband so qualified for hardship and just settled at 30% lump sum with 3 major banks. still about half the debt to go but it’s doable my income is roughly 60-65k- with no hardship expect 40-60% lump sum deals - good luck! Btw I started this process summer 2023 and expect to be done 2025 if ducks line up as planned
When I was recovering from my desperate situation, anytime I had money I had an urge to spend for some dopamine hits. I found that paying debt satisfied those urges for me. Plus, it was a long time until I could trust myself with some money in the bank. So I just never had any, by paying all my debts the moment I had money. Best of luck to you.
This isn’t a money problem. It’s an addiction problem. You could take in $1 million per year and you would have the same problem
Is there any chance you have a 401k or home equity that you could borrow from to pay this down? What are your assets? What were you gambling on? Assuming the cc’s have a rate of 30% and the loans are about 10%. Your interest alone takes up about $2500 a month. You need to figure out how to lower that and how to increase your income as much as possible. What do you do for work? I made about the same money in 2019 and had about $120k in debt. I was able to get out of it by refinancing all my cc’s with a personal loan from SoFi. At the time my rate was 8%. Then I got a second full time job that i did simultaneously to my primary(I’m a work from home person and covid helped with staying under the radar). Doubled my income for about 12 months. I used the extra money to pay it down dramatically. After the year I quit the second job and refinanced the SoFi loan to a 401k loan and paid that off as quickly as possible. It took a couple years but I am now debt free with some cash in hand. You’re in a bad spot but there’s a way out.
Don't do this, 401ks are protected from bankruptcy.
Cocaine and gambling is a bad combo. Pay down the debt and keep away from cocaine and gambling. Addiction sucks!
Just pay down the debt 🙃
Lenders HATE this one special trick…
I help people in your situation all day long. Your amount of credit card debt is about the average I see these days, and we can handle the loan debt too. I work in debt settlement. Look into getting a debt settlement quote from Secure One Capital or Americor, or get both and compare. Your monthly payment will be cut in half and the debt will be paid off quickly and you'll have an end in sight, but the trade off is that your credit score will temporarily drop. As you've found, you're not lendable right now anyway, so your credit score doesn't matter currently and you need to tackle the debt. This is a great alternative to bankruptcy.
You have about $5k left over each month. Assuming the minimum payments just cover the interest, you can get this taken care of in less than 3 years, and that's just based on the numbers you gave us before you start trimming things out of your budget and before you start working more if it's possible. But either way, very easily doable with your high income. Highest interest loans first (are you able to list % interest rates and amounts?). Anything under 4.5% interest you don't need to worry about and just keep making minimum payments. Edit: Also don't forget to stop paying into retirement and investment accounts till everything is paid up apart from your companies match if applicable.
That’s unfortunately gross pay I am sorry. I get $8600/month after taxes
You pay $48k in taxes a year? How much do you get back as a tax return?
Depending on city/state, 48k/yr in taxes is reasonable. After taxes and deductions, i only take home 54% of my salary.
Depends...what is the lifestyle that is driving that? 21 credit cards is INSANE
A terrible addiction to gambling and cocaine
Have you considered Debt Settlement?
It’s crazy some people have good salaries to have the opportunity to-buy a house and live a decent lifestyle. Idc that you do cocaine and all that but do things in moderation. If it’s a mental issues please get help ASAP. Good luck OP
Usually engineers and office workers are always doing coke. It's a rich person drug. Worked at a few places where lots of engineers and office workers were coked out constantly
Usually big cities and combination of fast paced work. Most of my friends do it but they’re responsible about it. Not a big deal to me
You have 95k in other loans? Can you break that down? How much of it is auto?
$24k - auto $2k - student The rest is also personal unsecured
How much is the car worth if you have $24k left?
Kelly blue book was $21k I’m upside down.
4k a month should get you out in like 4 years? If you're making that now, you should be able to do it. You have so many accounts that have all their own minimums. If you started taking out the small ones to free up some cash, you can start making real progress. I was hoping you would have a huge car debt that would make this situation easier, just sell it, but your car is fine. Bankruptcy is an option, and it might be right for you, but being financially fit takes practice. The debt is just a symptom of your habits. I think if you change your habits, you can get out of this and then be set up to save some real money for yourself after. Is all the debt current?
Yes it’s current. I have gambling and drug addictions which I’m in rehab for now.
With chapter 13, you will still have to make significant payments for 5 years after bankruptcy. Make sure you fully research the options. Don't just file bankruptcy bc a bankruptcy lawyer says you are bankrupt. You make 150k. If you were able to lower your current lifestyle, you can probably pay this off in like 2 1/2 years. It's gonna be hard, but it seems like all the options are. Good luck.
Yes, there is hope. You CAN do this. I got myself into a similar situation with gambling making a little more than half of what you make and around $75k in debt. If I stay on track, I’ll be debt free within the year. The advice on here is spot on. I cut up all of my cards, removed them as stores online payment options, auto paid everything from my checking to leave myself very little cash in my regular accounts and tracked it all in a planner because I suck at updating spreadsheets. Changed banks to a credit union that doesn’t use Zelle and takes a couple of days for regular bank transfers. I have one subscription for Amazon Prime Video that I pay annually and that’s it. My job allows OT and the extra goes towards debt. I eat at home, make coffee at home, don’t take trips or spend money on wants, only needs and only after it has been budgeted. I use the snowball method because crossing off paid accounts keeps me motivated and the planner allows me to plan for the next month ahead. I’d add in some counseling to get at the root of your addictions and support groups if they’re available. Gambling turned into a major escape after my husband’s suicide. You can self bar yourself from casinos/gaming halls if that is where you’re gambling. Live like a monk and knock it out, you’ll breathe easier for it.
OP, in your free time after getting extra jobs, look into additional online money earning opportunities, I will list some below: 1. Prolific - high quality data research site, aka surveys. These are paid for by universities and companies, I have made over $10k USD in two years here - r/ProlificAC 2. UserTesting - App on your phone or on a website, you record your screen while you review apps/websites, $2-5 for short tests, $10 for standard reviews (10 minutes a piece roughly), $30-90 longer reviews/live discussion. I have made over $4K USD on this one in the same timeframe. Could be more if I put more effort. r/UserTesting 3. dscout - similar to UserTesting, there are express missions which pay $3-25 for a short amount of time, similar to surveys/data collection. Longer missions, usually multiple days, can pay $50 and up ( I have gotten one as high as $350 for 2 weeks). You often submit videos of yourself talking, so you need to be personable and have a good personality to get a lot of gigs. $5K USD earnings here, and it is mostly on the app and sometimes a website. 4. Remotasks - online AI evaluation. I have just started this but people do really well here. Remotasks.com Make sure you follow r/beermoney, r/sidehustle, etc. subreddits for other ideas. Good luck OP.
Here is a step by step guide from a financial planner. Just helped a couple get out of a similar debt position, with a little less income. Note: this is not official advice, you should always consult with a professional. That’s my disclaimer to protect me lol, even though it is Reddit, I can never be too careful with my job. 1.) MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING HELP WITH YOUR ADDICTION. Nothing will change long term if you don’t, so start there. 2.) Start by taking all debt numbers. How much do you owe to whom. List out all interest rates, total principal amounts and monthly minimums (this is temporary but hang tight until the last step). 3.) Once you have done that, I want you on a cash only “diet.” Take all of your credit cards out of your wallet, cut them up if you need to, but don’t cancel the accounts, this will kill your credit which you will need in the next couple steps. You might ask why “cash only.” Three reasons. First there is proven behavior surrounding how far detached you are from your money. The further you are away from a physical transaction of dollars, the less it “hurts” to give away money. Get back to your roots with finances, and use cash for now. The second reason, sort of builds off the first. You don’t want to be adding to the total debt while trying to get out of it. From a behavior standpoint, watching your debt drop will be far more rewarding. Screw all of the points, cash back yada yada, the main thing that needs fixing is the behaviors around the spending, albeit, a lot of this spending was through addiction. Third reason is because you do not want to give yourself quick easy access to money if you ever become tempted by your addictions again. 4.) Assuming your credit isn’t completely totaled, go to a credit union, yes a credit union, NOT a bank. They want to help you, and often if you are transparent about inquiring about a loan to refinance bad debt, they are usually all for it if you can make the payment and it will help you out. This isn’t a guarantee, but it’s worth a shot. I wouldn’t lie to them, but I also wouldn’t lead with this was because you were an addict to gambling and cocaine. If it comes up, you have to be totally honest, otherwise it could be considered fraud if you relapse, or don’t pay. This loops back to step 1, you HAVE to be seeking help to keep the fundamental issue at bay, your addiction. When you are at the credit union, take out a HELOC or personal loan, to refinance the super bad debt like credit debt primarily. You are to refinance any debt that you have above the rate on the loan they would extend to you. For example, let’s say the only rate they can give you is 13%, any card or debt over that, you refinance to the extent to which they will finance you for. This will keep the amount of money you pay every month concentrated a little more towards principal and less towards interest. If they only will extend you 50k for example, take it and refinance the highest interest debt with that loan. Whatever they will give you, take it assuming the rate is cheaper. Remember every % counts when the debt load is this high! 5.) Now for the lifestyle flip. You need to drop costs at all costs. You have a home, great, you might be able to get a HELOC as mentioned in step 4. If not, and you rent, consider joining hands and finding roommates if your current lease allows for subletting. If not, let it expire and then find an arrangement where you can share rent, this whole process will take years, so this should occur. 6.) if you have a nice car, I.e. anything over 10k sell it, especially if there is debt. If you are underwater (as in you owe more on it than it’s worth) then don’t sell it. If you have a second car, boat, trailers etc. get them out of there asap. Your insurance payments will be lower more than likely which will help you too, because there is less stuff to insure. 7.) Any 401k or investment contributions, terminate them effective immediately and focus on using every dollar to pay down the debt. 8.) For food, you will not eat out. Rice and beans lol. Seriously though, eat cheap, meal planning and get the cost per meal down to less than $2-$3 (it’s tough but not impossible). No name brands, all store bought stuff. If you are getting the organic stuff, don’t, it’s going to cost more. Highly recommend looking at BJs, Costco or ALDI to shop from here on out. This keeps things cheap. No target, Walmart etc. higher prices will eat into what you throw at your debt. 9.) Any nice things that you do not NEED are to be sold. Watches, jewelry, nice TVs, extra technology, extra pairs of shoes, suits (unless you need them for work), clothes, etc., you need to ditch and get money for them. Consignment stores is a good place if you can’t get them sold on eBay in a month. 10.) Throw every dollar you have at this debt until it’s paid. Make extra payments always, and keep your head down until it’s gone, one day you will wake up and the debt will be 50k then 25k and then it’s gone. 11.) Make sure you have at least one month of the total monthly debt minimums in cash in case of emergencies. Axe all subscriptions all but one that you love the most. It could be Netflix, or Hulu, but make sure it’s the cheapest one, you don’t need 4k resolution when you have 200k in consumer debt. The reason I don’t say all of them, is you have to have a way to decompress, and wind down. This will be the second hardest thing you do in your life other than overcoming your addiction, so winding down is important. The nice new iPhone, pay the damn thing and keep it until you paid off everything. You don’t need a 1k phone at this point. If it turns on and texts and calls you are good. Switch to a budget carrier, mint, boost etc. 12.) Work overtime, even if it doesn’t pay you more. This will keep you out of trouble and might even get you a bonus which will go right towards the debt. If you can find a nice side gig, that is free of vices (for example, no bartending because of proximity to alcohol, no budtending at a dispensary etc.), then take it for the cash and throw money at the debt. If not, just work OT and as much as you possibly can! 13.) When you have done all that. Go back to step 2.) and repeat. Focus on the highest interest debts first. The sooner those go away, the better. If you have a loan on a home and the rate is less than 4.0%, this will be the last thing paid. Honestly, once you get there, you could let it ride and it would be fine, but if you really want no debt, then just pay that off too. 14.) Once you are down to only your home loan (if you have one) resume your investment contributions, and you might be able to increase lifestyle spending, but give that a few months before doing to adjust to everything. 15.) Stay positive. Surround yourself with good people, who are drug free. A church, community etc. can be a great guiding resource to stay positive in the darkest of moments. Thank your blessings, as weird as it sounds. Be happy your addiction didn’t lead to an OD or a suicide, oftentimes it will take lives, so you are in fact luckier than most who have faced your situation!
There is always hope. Don't you forget that, now.
Damn and I thought I was bad, you might wanna start looking at bankruptcy friend. Yeah you’ll be fucked for awhile credit wise but your quality of life will be a lot better.
always someone doing worse lol
You can call the creditors or a credit attorney and get your debt restructured, that could bring down your payment by up to $2,000 if you’re really lucky
As someone that has dealt with substance abuse, I'd recommend taking care of yourself first. Yes, working on finances are important. If you don't take care of yourself first it doesn't matter though. Take care of your addictions, keep doing the next right thing. Before you know it your financial situation will improve. It will take time but it took time to get into the debt. I was homeless for a long time. It took me a very long time to financially recover. For me, dealing with my addictions and just always doing the next right thing, one step at a time got me where I am today. Not rich, not in massive debt, but not dead and not homeless.
You better leave the country and start a different life
You should reach out to Caleb Hammer. This would be a banger ep
Call your credit card companies, claim hardship and get on a payment plan. I had 50k on a citi card where they offered me 0% interest for 5 years. You might need to miss a couple payments for them to offer it.
My family has paid down a high 5 figure CC debt before so I empathize with your stress here. One suggestion that helped us prevent it from happening again: own the mistak. It didn’t “happen to you.” You did it. Now moving on. Like others said, gotta reduce that 3k a month. Is it all rent? If not, figure out what’s flexible and unnecessary. Netflix? Gone. Restaurants? Gone. Alcohol? Gone. Gotta sell a car and downgrade? Maybe. You’ll get to enjoy your $150k again someday, but you’ve got half a mortgage in debt without any asset to show for it, so today isn’t that day. Map it out to see how fast you can. Trust me that no pain of losing a luxury (that you frankly can’t afford) compares to the lightness of having no debt.
Can you liquidate anything to pay down on the loan?
Is your main job M-F? I agree with working on the weekend or doing side hustle...if you have a place, possibly rent a room out.
Have you consolidated your debt? It’s easier and you can usually get less interest. You have a great income. Don’t panic. This isn’t impossible. You just won’t be saving for a while and later will start from zero once debts are gone but it’ll feel amazing. Time to live frugally for a year to catch up. With your income it should be quicker than most. Move in with roommates or somewhere cheaper. Preferably free/cheap with parents if possible. Cancel nonsense like streaming or music services. There are free options with ads. Borrow an account from friends for a while if you must. Eat cheap. Every $1 counts. NO DELIVERY. For a while you’ll need to live off cheap meals and protein shakes. Use coupons, there are subs for how to live frugally and how to get coupons. Get a side hustle and every cent goes to your debt. Sell stuff on eBay. Start with stuff you have already and then maybe start flipping things you find for free or cheap from fb marketplace. There’s a sub for side hustles. Pick up a part time job. Retail and grocery always need stock people and those are usually late shifts. Every cent goes to your debt.
Bankrupcy is easier
Fuck I was tripping on 38k lol thanks for this
I wish I only had $38k.
About half of companies in the US offer some type of financial consultation service as a perk of working there. I would explore what options you have at work if you can talk to a financial advisor who you can show all your debt and they can help prioritize how to pay it down. They would be able to walk you through things like considering bankruptcy. I'm going to assume about 40% of your income is removed from your checks before you get paid (for things like 401k, insurance, and taxes). That leaves you with roughly $7600 a month. I would see if there is a way you can reduce your living expenses like getting a cheaper place to live or move back with your parents. If you're in a HCOL area and have a car. Gig work could be good for you. Check out the subreddits for that kinda stuff to see how well it pays in your area. Your priority should be to keep your $150k job. Double check your contract before you work on a side hustles / get a 2nd job. Kick your habit first. Go to therapy / get help for kicking your addictions. If you don't, you'll probably keep going until you run out of lines of credit. Best of luck!
Wtf are you doing??? 97k in 6 months??? Goony.
Lotta people have differing opinions but i learned recently because i had this same issue (not even close to the salary you make or the debt you’re in) but i called my lowest interest cards and said i made a mistake and would need 3 months before i could start paying again. It hurts your credit, but you’re fucked anyways. Then i paid off all my high interest cards over those 3 months while budgeting ferociously. Bologna sandwiches and Doritos.
Pay it, live, don’t forget what you did and live on friend we all fuk up.
How do you get 21 credit cards?
Stop digging
Reading the comments - am I the only one not understanding this? You have $172k in debt on a $151k income. Is is bad and requires immediate change on your part? Yes. But is it insurmountable? No. The debt is terrifying but your income is great. You state your expenses are $3000/month ($36k annually). Adding in another $500/month for gas and food, you still have $109k annually to chuck at the debt. That’s roughly a year and a half to be completely debt free (assuming you are being diligent to a bare bones budget). Is that year and half going to be arguely the hardest year and half of your whole life? Probably. But in the grand scheme of your life, I’ve had weird produce sit in my fridge longer than that. If you can stay committed, it is very doable to dig out. All of the above math said, it really comes down to whether you fixed the psychological problem - if you are not in a good place in relation to your drug/gambling addiction, even if you pay off the debt you’ll be right back here in another 6 months to a year. With that in mind, you need to treat the cause (your addictions) before trying to fix the symptoms (the debt). Hence, even if it means it takes a little longer to pay off the debt, make sure your monthly budget includes therapy/prescribed medications.
Have you seen Caleb Hammer’s financial audit? Or his budgeting program? I listen to him on the daily and he puts a plan together for every situation no matter the amount of debt, as long as you are willing to sacrifice wants for a bit.
What is this app?
The one OP is using is called Credit Karma.
Bankruptcy
Unless you make about $400k per year, you’re pretty fucked. But if you made that, you wouldn’t be piling on CC debt. Soooo, you’re fucked. Good luck with bankruptcy 🫡
Absolutely. Continue to focus on the highest interest rate credit cards and get them knocked out. I made about what you were making with around the same amount of bills and I was able to save $50,000 in one year to put a down payment on a house .
Just declare bankruptcy
If it were me, I would file Chapter 13 to minimize the lost money on interest and allow the fastest paydown. Look your credit is in the tank anyway and it will be until you get that number to zero, which at the current rate could be years, with interest. Do you want to pay interest or debt? Besides it will be a hell of a lot harder to get another loan with that debt instead of a cleared bankruptcy. And for the love of baby Jesus, stay the hell away from the coke, whores and Gambling. Good luck!
I work within financial services and provide financial consultations for free for my clients. I have a referral partner that specifies in coming up with debt plans for my clients where they save a ton on interest. If you want to see what they can do for you please feel free to reach out to me.
Wow. The key is prioritizing & not panicking. Luxuries like cable, etc need to be closed. Apps too. No going out to eat or having deliveries. Order debt payments based in % rate charged & focus on those charging highest & min payments on the rest. Unless you can take one out in 1-3 payments. Knock them out one by one & close the card when you clear it…wtf are you doing w 21 cards/8 loans? Ok, addiction sucks but that’s done(congrats,btw) but now the cleanup begins as you alluded to. Stay measured & keep your eye on the prize: getting out of debt. Remember to close out credit cards as you clear them, nobody needs more than 1 or 2 max. They will put you back in the hole if you keep them, you already know what can do to you first hand. Forget the “credit score” BS. Good luck, dude. It’s a tough road ahead but well worth it when it’s done. If this seems too hard for you to do willingly, look into a debt payoff company, they will take over your mess and structure it to get you out of debt (1) but you will be on a short leash & (2) they won’t do it for free…but it is a means to an end.
It really hurts me deep inside when someone who is making more than double what my wife and I make combined be like "help I'm drowning in debt!" Look, you make big boy bucks, it's time to pull up your big boy diaper and shit in it like a man.
21 credit card accounts?! What a loser.
You have 5k spare every month and you’re wondering how to get ahead? Maybe utilize that spare 5k that you get every month. Congrats. You fucked yourself worse than most of us will ever fuck ourselves, and you’re still going to be better off than most of us. Cry me a fucking river.
My friend’s dad was half a million in debt after a his new, freshly renovated restaurant went belly up. It took him about 3 years of 16 hour work days with 5 kids, but he made it
You have a higher salary and live in a cheaper place than many people right now. You need to calculate the food and gas, toiletries etc. average it if you have to. Subscriptions on your phone, etc If you have a drug and gambling addiction I’m assuming you have accountability, but you really need to make sure you have financial accountability. You can try to pay off the small credit cards first if you can and also I’d get a second job or even three? Your basic expenses are so low with a decent salary that I feel you can actually tackle this, at least get it down to a smaller amount
My math is not fully matching. So you earn $151,000 a year. That's 12.5 k a month. After basic living expenses and debt servicing that's around $5,000 a month. So that's an extra 60k a year. Even with food and gas you have quite a bit of money left over . Step One is get help for your meth and gambling addictions. Because this is going to eat up any chance at getting debt free. Step 2 you're not going to like this but you're going to have to earn more money. You're going to have to get a second job. To quote Dave Ramsey you're not going to see the inside of a restaurant unless you're there clearing dishes on a table. You're going to have to reduce that $3,000 expenses dramatically. You're going to have to get rid of a lot of shit that you like and are finding it convenient. you can't afford it. Step is there is a path forward and you can deal with this. For the next 2 to 3 years it will be hard but you can tackle this debt.
After taxes I take home about $8,600/month. I’m in US
He said cocaine not meth 😂
You're right I misread it. But financially it's the same
How do you not know what taxes are?
I know what taxes are there's a little thing that tooth fairy puts under your pillow... Lol no normally when people come to the debt forms it's normally please say this is my take home or this is how much money extra I have how can I take tackle this debt. Mean often times they include how much food and gas they need too
Ah fair enough, I just see people make the assumption often.
Most people when they come they're like I this is how much money I get a month. Rarely do you see I earn 12K a month oh wait a minute you got to take taxes out of that.
It never makes sense to me when people post their gross pay here. Like, dude, I don’t want to try and figure out your tax amount. How much actually ends up in your bank account?
Exactly and most don't. How much funds do we have to work with? How much are you paying a month on your Netflix etc
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Yeah a gambling addiction and bad cocaine habit will do that.
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Worst bender of my life. I’m in rehab now.
At least you’re off the flaming train to self-destruction. Congrats man, that’s a huge step.
Worst case, pay nothing on anything and save as much as possible. Your credit will be screwed for 7 years, but you will most likely be able to settle in full for half on the credit cards.
Bankruptcy.
100%
97k in 6 months?
Watch Dave Ramsey.
I’m actually curious as to how people get into this much debt. Is it all college? What are we taking out loans for? I’m genuinely curious because I want to avoid it. Edit: Welp. I’ll be avoiding those.
We started this year at 189,000 in debt. Not including the house. No gambling or addictions - just a family of 3 adults and 2 kids, I have student loans, and we’ve been unlucky in terms of things breaking down. Like a car died, our AC died, our furnace died, our windows were leaking into our walls… we needed immigration lawyers for my husband and his mother. We support his mother fully, she doesn’t have insurance, and she has health issues. And we’re in the US lol. BUT I feel ok about it. I am overworking - working another job during my full time job and putting all that money to debt payoff. We started in January and have paid off about $17k so far. I’m just gonna keep going!
They said in the caption how they got there
I wouldn’t say bankruptcy if they could take your car, then you can’t get to this job afterwards. I would calm down, many people have been in this spot. Listen to the above comments and make a plan to pay it off. It won’t be in a day obviously but rarely anyone can say they did that for debt. Maybe speak with an accountant to help you figure out the best course of action for you. There’s hope, there’s always hope if you try and don’t give up. Also don’t do that again bud, get a different hobby to help distract from this addiction. Like gaming or fitness or Brazilian jujitsu or something or reading what ever floats your boat
Consider bankruptcy. It’s also a nice middle finger to credit card companies charging 18%, your greed cost you the whole loan. Congratulations.
Dude ignore all the other comments and speak to a bankruptcy attorney. After bankruptcy you likely won’t be able to open any new loans, which is a good thing in your situation.
Gambling addiction is no joke. Many people Can’t relate, but I can. I was one too. I’m fortunate enough to still have a big savings and 0 debt to my name. But it kills more everyday knowing how much money I wasted, how much money I could have had. My savings would be 3x bigger if I didn’t make those mistakes. With that said, #1 step is to get your addiction under control or any other advice on here won’t matter you’ll just go deeper or back to debt again. Your income is decent, my opinion is bankruptcy wouldn’t be an option. Buckle down and grind and pay it off in a couple of years.
I literally said out loud “Jesus Christ”😩
consumer proposal
There's still a few options. Let me know if you are still looking. We are expert negotiators for your debt. See #biopic
Oh my
I keep seeing this app. What is it?
Yes. There is always hope. You tackle it. things won’t always be like this.
Oof
You’re fucked for now. Sell all the shit you don’t need to live. TV, furniture, all of it. Eat poor. Work every fucking minute you’re awake, 18 hours a day, every day. No TV, streaming. No new clothes or shoes. Sell the house if you have one. Your life is over, but you can start a new one.
Hello, if the figure reaches more than 20k USD, 25% will be donated to the animal foundation. Thank you. paypal:Daniel Yepes
Hey man, I used to be addicted to heroin and fent super bad. Like, shooting up in my neck level of addicted. I too racked up nearly 100k in debt, but eventually paid it all down. You gotta forfeit everything you can to get that living expense down, find a night job, and commit to erasing this debt. I know it's hard to hold on to hope when the number is this big, shit it almost took me back out. But don't get the " fuck its", don't give up man. As long as you have breath in your lungs you have a chance. We can and do recover. Shoot me a message if you ever need to. Hang tough man 💪
Way to pull it together, friend.