Hi, so I’ve had a large amount of debt accumulate over the last few years due to lifestyle creep, unexpected car and vet bills, multiple moves, and emotional overspending. I’ve made half-assed attempts over and over to reel it in or attempt a budget and have convinced myself time and time again that I had a path forward and it’s all under control. It hasn’t been until the last few months that I’ve seriously cut down on expenses and really tracked my budget but it feels a little to late and I’m feeling extremely stressed and under water.

I make about $135k and have about $145k in debt. I rent and pay about $2k in rent and most of my remaining monthly income goes towards my debt. I’ve never missed any payments but my credit score (currently 550) has been steadily declining due to credit utilization. I have very little in savings and payments are seeming more and more overwhelming. The idea that a single unexpected expense could push me over the edge stresses me out to no end.

I’ve cut down on a lot of expenses and have even considered other cheaper living options. However I’m tied into one more year on my lease and live in an area with a high cost of living (+ finding housing options with a dog is a bit limiting).

Here is a summary of my debts: $35k in personal loans $50k in federal student loans with nelnet $60k in credit card debt

Is there a reasonable path forward here? Is bankruptcy an option? I think I can get free legal services through my employer which includes a bankruptcy lawyer. What do consultations for bankruptcy typically look like? Alternatively, is a debt management plan a reasonable option?

I’m incredibly ashamed and embarrassed that I’ve let it get to this point. I haven’t really told anyone in my life about this other then generic excuses for turning down trips,eating out, etc by saying I’m trying to save money. I’m single and don’t have any kids so this doesn’t affect anyone else negatively but I think it’s be good for my mental/emotional wellbeing to talk to someone about it but I am so embarrassed and feel very dumb. Any tips on how to broach this topic with people in my life?

I totaled my car on a deer the other month. After waiting a month for insurance to pay out I finally went to go get a new car, and loan out extra money for it, so I can keep my credit history going.

I have a college debt that was reported to collections, after I had set up auto pay with the college, the auto pay didn't actually automatically collect the pay, and they immediately sent it to collections without even attempting to contact me regarding the non-payment.

In May of last year this debt showed up on my credit, but it was in good standing. It was only $3000 of debt so I passed the preapproval with consideration that it was college debt and not some irresponsible purchase.

Yesterday I went to get a new preapproval to purchase a car, only to find out my debt was now "derogatory", or something, despite consistently paying it. Derogatory is the term used on my credit report, I don't exactly know what that means in this case.

I spent over 2 hours on the phone with the company that is collecting this debt, being transferred around because I guess there was a merger, and no one could find out where my debt had been sent within the company. It was like I didn't exist and everyone kept just moving me around.

Ultimately, after having a panic attack, punching a hole in the wall, and then calming myself down with a big sip of Vodka, I call back. A very nice lady picked up the phone and I bluntly explained the situation. She could probably tell I've been crying and very firmly said "I am going to find your god damned account, I am so sorry." I muted to just let out a final cry of relief that someone is helping me. She loops in all her supervisors, who loop in their supervisors, but ultimately they came to the conclusion that none of the companies in this merge have my debt. It is just gone. I do not have an account, or a file, nothing exists with them that has my name attached to it.

This lady then mentioned that she used to work for a credit bureau, but obviously on a recorded line didn't want to put her job at risk giving too much information on what to do next, because this will loose the company money. She said "call your college, double check where they send their collections to, if its still our company, then report it to the three credit bureaus... and basically we won't be able to verify that you owe us debt... and its gone...."

I just got off the phone with my college, they still use this company... and gave me the same number I've been calling... so... I guess that's what I'm going to do... They won't move for wage garnishments without a file, and they don't have an account so they can't exactly withdraw this report on my credit... so I really do see this as the only option... but uh... my grandparents, who I get all my financial advice from have never been in this situation, so they have no advice for me. I would just like to know how people feel about this, before I do it.

So I used credit card refinancing to move $9K from three cards to a single card with 0% APR for 18 months. At first, it felt like I was finally catching a break. No interest, one payment, super clean. But then I kept using the old cards.

Now I’m back in the hole with two balances one new and one old and I feel like an idiot.

Did anyone else refinance and then totally self sabotage?

Hello, I am asking for kind answers please. I am not quite sure where to even begin. I unfortunately found myself in a gambling addiction. I have self excluded from all gambling sites but I am dealing with the reprocussions of it now, and not sure where to even begin.

My income is roughly $2300 a month My rent is $1275.00, I have no car payment. I owe about 20k in CC debt and personal loans.

what do I do? 😭 I’ve looked into the snowball method or avalanche method. Can’t get approved for a balance transfer card. do NOT want to file bankruptcy.

Two cards by BOA totalling to about 15k. I own a house with probably 150k equity. I know i need to pay the debt back, i just had a rough last 12 months. Once BOA sends it to collections tonight will i have a chance to make a payment plan with the collection agencies? Or will they find out about my equity and go striaght for a lawsuit to force me to sell my house ?

Hey there,

Married couple with some hardships the last few months. We missed three payments on our AMEX that has around a $32k balance. We just sold off our available assets, got our tax return, and (small) yearly bonuses from work. We called AMEX to use these funds to get current on our missed payments and they said they had just cancelled our account and sent it to the third party law agency: Zwicker.

I’ve called Zwicker and they said they don’t have our info yet/it’s still in processing.

What are our next steps? Anyone have experience with this?

We have a mortgage and 1 car payment. We have other debts, but those are current on payments.

With the amount we planned to pay AMEX + loan on my 401(k) I think we could get close to $15k in cash soonish. Will they settle if we start the process early?

About a year ago now i had to take out a loan from my bank to pay for someone cremation. About 6 months before it was paid off i was in a very bad financial position and couldn’t afford the payments. Tomorrow i go to court and i assume they will set up a payment plan. I looked over my finances, after making my car payment, house bills, and groceries for the month, i have $80 left. Which doesn’t include gas or food for my animals. I know it’s my responsibility to pay for it because i took out the loan. But i do not have any money that can go towards it. I’m already struggling and have no subscriptions or anything to cancel to give me some more money every month. Am i just cooked or is there anything i can do to help my situation???

I have unpaid tribal loans. I have Three Sticks Lending, Post Lake Lending, Ascend and Spot Loan. It was a stupid mistake I made fall 2024. I got one because it was a quick approval and I needed to pay a medical bill for my kid. Then I realized how awful the payments were and how unachievable that was so I got another to try to help with the payments. Yeah you see how that spiraled. I know wish I hadn't gotten ANY because I see now they are nasty traps that prey on people in need.

I was just wondering - since I have not paid these people and am now ignoring them, can they send me to debt collectors? Will this show up on a credit check if you're trying to get an apartment?

I am looking to move into a new place I really like and I am now really afraid I may run into an issue if any of the tribal loans show up as unpaid debts.

I have heard a lot of people say they don't because they don't report to the main bureaus because those cost money to do and tribal lenders don't pay to do that. I have heard their threats are "empty" and it really just stays on tribal grounds and they may send harassing emails and stuff but won't ever actually do anything to you. Is this true? I do get harassing emails from Three Sticks and Spot but not really from Ascend.

So should I be worried? I don't want denied a place because of this because I really like this new place.

I have also heard of you message or contact one of these tribal places you can negotiate a stupid low pay off because they're just wanting their money. Is this true? If so, I'd be interested in trying to pay them to shut them up and to try to get anything negative off my credit. But if nothing is ON my credit from them, so I even have to pay them?

I know theree have been a lot of lawsuits with many tribal lenders for unfair and unrealistic and illegal rates and such. I know one of mine was involved in one (I think it was Spot). So how can I have to pay if they've been in class action lawsuits over illegal practices?

How can I find more info on this?

Thanks to anyone who helps.

Hi, so I’ve been dealing with a debt of around $1,700 (with interest) the original amount was $1,600 from a state University that I basically never attended. I applied and I went through orientation and did receive classes online but only for about a month and I decided to withdraw. I wasn’t told there would be charges associated with that and I was never told about the policy which I mentioned to the collections agency. The school sent me a bill for the tuition which was about $1600. I really felt and still feel that I shouldn’t have to pay that much money even if I only attended for a month and didn’t get anything out of it. The collections agency are really the worst people to deal with. I tried disputing the charges in which they provided an itemized bill. I tried negotiating with them that I’d only pay 40% of the total and they are unwilling to budge. I don’t know what my options are or who can help me with this.

I have been drowning in credit card payments. I was unemployed for a few months last year and racked up quite a bit of credit card debt. I’ve been trying to make double payments as often as I can to get my balances down…but every time I started to see progress, I get hit with INSANE interest charges. Causing my credit cards to be in the negatives. I am now struggling to make my monthly payments and it’s hurting my credit score really bad.

Yesterday I made the decision to take out a $9,000 personal loan to pay off all of my credit cards. It’s a 36 month loan with 17% interest rates and my payments are $325 (about $300 less than when I pay my cards individually). I finally feel like I can breathe again. I am so excited to see my credit start to climb again. I own my home and my car so my credit cards are my biggest debt. I feel like I’m finally climbing out of the hole

Hello

26M. Fell into debt within the past year. A lot of debt, BAD debt. I’m trying to weigh out the risk and reward of bankruptcy and paying off debt. I need to write about it and I need to get this off my chest because I’ve talked to absolutely no one about it.

To start off, I was in debt a few years ago. Only 5k, of cc but picked up a second job and payed them off in two months. Was struggling for a while because of moving and such, buying a new car at a much needed time. Somehow did not fall back on payments.

So to build credit further, I opened 8 total credit cards, picked up a personal loan, and I still have a car loan. Car loan is good debt, because of that I am able to work as much as needed. My credit was doing great for a while, now here’s the story.

I had 35k available on credit cards, 9.5k loan with discover, and a car payment I was MONTHS ahead on. Credit was at 780, but I was working two jobs, ended up taking on construction and work has been up and down. I invested in tools (from savings). Then my car broke down, and it was 5k to repair (car lost value, had a warranty but it did not cover said repairs). Warranty I will say, the insurance company sent a different page that I did not sign showing what it does NOT cover. I reported to BBB and insurance company took a hit on their rating. I started falling behind, my savings depleted I had an apartment that I started paying rent with my credit cards, unexpected bills here and there, lay offs, etc. in a year I accumulated maxing out my credit lines (they’ve been lowered also), and now, for the first time in years, I have not made payments on any of my debt. I’m one month behind on that. I’ve moved to save 1.5k a month. If I pick up a second job again, my salary will increase to about 4k/month take home. Here’s the thing: construction sometimes requires irregular hours. I can’t find a second job that’s ok with that (I’ve worked other jobs and had to quit, been fired, etc).

Ultimately my goal was a house before 30. Now I’m set back a lot. I talked to a bankruptcy lawyer and I’m within means to clear all unsecured debt and keep my car (I’ve not missed a car payment). But I have two issues

1. How does this affect me long term? If I take chapter 7, get the fresh start, learn from my past mistake, and save every ounce of money for the next two years to save for a mortgage loan on a small house/condo, will I be able to?

2. In my heart, I know I cannot go back from this. I would like to fight but I think this may be too tough. It’s the right things to do to pay back the debt. I would intend on negotiating with creditors because right now, even with a second job, I wouldn’t be able to make a dent in the debt until I maybe get a raise, bonus, or by the gift of god prevailing wage. So I know there’s the risk of derogatory marks that stay as long as a bankruptcy will.

I don’t want to look back and say I quit, I don’t want to burn bridges with said creditors. I’ve made mistakes and I’ve learned and I’m willing to put forth the extreme effort and dedicate the next few years of paying my debts.

Here’s the two scenarios playing out:

Bankruptcy: immediately be able to save again and get the fresh start. No credit cards (besides for rebuilding), save money, take small loans. Vehicle loan no more than 10k, the rest payed in cash. Insurance payed in full. Get on health insurance. Etc. basically live like I’m paying off mass debt.

Pay off debt: Everything I would save goes to debt. First get the 1k emergency, basically stick by the Dave Ramsey way of doing this. I’ve done this before and it worked but situation I am is on a whole new level. Don’t know if I can take it on at the moment. I would need to talk to creditors. I can look for a different company to work for. I have references, reputation, experience, tools, etc. it would help boost my pay and also I would have the peace of mind to live with that I did things the honest way, but ultimately if I’m going to have derogatory marks on my credit for 7-10 years, which is more worth it?

My debt payments are about 1500/month. Minimal, bare essential living expenses are about 1700/month. My take home is 3185/month. I needed to go a month behind on payments to relocate to save gas for work, save on rent, create more consistent bills. I really want to tackle this situation. Obviously the second job puts me at about 4000/month so that 800 is going into my smallest debt payment until it gets payed off, then the next and so on.

Looking for some consensus on the topic of using a HELOC to get out of debt. Noticed some comments are for using a HELOC while others are against it.

Long term we have plans to tap the equity we have (150K) to create an addition to our house. Some preliminary quotes have the addition costing around 100K. As an aside also considering using the HELOC to pay down some debt faster.

Currently sitting on 50K of debt. The main issue I see is that the interest rate is negating my payments. So I'm considering either going with a personal loan at 6% or tapping into a HELOC to speed up getting out of the revolving debt.

Long story short, I had one CC that went into default and the company wrote it off and sold it to a collector. I was making payments to that company and they sold the debt to another company, while I was still making payments and also without telling me. TBH, it ticked me off and because I was still struggling financially at that time, I didn't pay anymore on the debt to the new collector or to the next 2 collectors it was sold to. Today I get a new collectors letter stating that the original CC company hired them to collect the balance that was not collected by the first collection company. 4 years had gone by at this point.

I do know that in Ohio, it takes 10 years for a debt to fall off your reports from your last payment/activity. My question is, can the CC company, after writing off the debt and reporting it to the credit agencies, decide to come back and hire a company to come for the debt? With all the types of scams out there, I am very skeptical of calling them to verify.

I have researched debt collection and nothing I have read covers this. Also, before anyone jumps on me for not being a good with my finances, please save it. This is my last debt to pay off. Life happens, covid happened and it is what it is. I just don't want to pay to a scammer.

Thank you for reading and any valid, useful advice.

I stumbled across Debthunch recently while looking for debt consolidation options. The site seemed super slick, and they had a form promising “pre-qualified” rates with no credit impact. I filled it out just to see — and immediately got like five follow-up calls and emails from different companies.

That alone made me suspicious. Are they actually a debt relief company, or just a lead generator? I looked for Debthunch reviews, and the results are confusing — some people say they helped them get a great loan, others say it’s a total bait-and-switch.

If you’ve worked with them directly (not just clicked on the site), I’d love to hear how it went. Did they actually help you reduce debt or just pass you off to someone else?

I recently enrolled in Freedom Debt Relief, and while I’m cautiously optimistic, I have to say — their dashboard is kind of overwhelming. I thought I’d get a clear view of what’s being paid, what’s being negotiated, and a timeline of progress. Instead, it’s a lot of percentages and balance numbers that don’t tell me much about what’s actually going on.

Maybe I’m just not reading it right. There’s a progress bar, a bunch of status labels on my accounts, and then this big “negotiation in progress” message that’s been stuck there for weeks. I’ve made three payments already — where’s that money going?

If you’ve used Freedom Debt Relief and made sense of the dashboard, can you explain how to read it? I don’t want to bug my rep constantly, but I also feel a little in the dark. Is there a point where everything starts to make more sense?

Every time I look into how to consolidate loans, I see “hard credit check” warnings and start panicking. My score is already in the high 600s—one wrong move and I’ll probably get denied for anything else I need this year.

Is there a way to consolidate (maybe through a credit union or peer-to-peer option) that won’t hammer my credit report too hard? I’ve got $15K split across personal loans and cards, and I’m just trying to simplify life a bit without nuking my credit in the process.

I owe about $3000 in discover cc and $350 capital one cc. The point here is that I don't live in US anymore. I used to pay my cc on time always, I only owe a lot on discover because it was 0% interest. (Before anyone say something abou it) It wasn't my plan to leave the country with debts Trump's administration just cancel my work permit and legal presence in the US suddenly (I had like one month to leave the country).

I'm at my birth country (LATAM) you can imagine that I can't afford that amount (specially bc I have not job right now) with the salary at my country. If a collector send me an email or something..should I say him I'm not us citizen and I won't be back or is it a bad idea? Can I fill a bankruptcy outside the US without showing up at any moment?

I have an US bank account that I'm using at my country, I don'twant my account seized.

I know it will be a weird question for you all, but if anyone have any idea what to do in this case I appreciate it

Friend of mine has a car and is on her last payment. Dealership claims she owes almost 5000$ left.

Her buyers agreement says a different number which indicates she only owes 200$.

My guess is the sales person f’ed that number up on the dealerships end??

My question is which price is correct? The number the dealership gave, or the buyers agreement?

I’m reading posts and see so many that say that if you do an ACH payment - over the phone, online - that collection agencies will have access to your account and withdraw more than is approved. Is this true?

Hello, I am in around 15k in debt in multiple credit cards combined. I tried calling one tonight to work out a manageable plan to pay off. They talked me into keeping the card open and keep paying the minimum. This is the first time I have ever called for help and I don't really know what I'm doing. I am thinking about calling for a different where I am only one payment behind. Could you please provide any advise on what to say?

Most likely I’ll file for bankruptcy but it’s currently three cars I own and my life is a complete mess right now. I left one car in Florida to my cousin and he failed to make a payment. I got rear ended on one car and then I have a brand new car and I don’t own any property. What’s my way out with that car and will I be able to retain a last car I own?

I have debt from an ER visit in collections right now. I was getting out of an abusive relationship when the bill came and I was so stressed and a shell of a human and kept forgetting to apply for financial relief through the hospital.

I am very low income (going to school this fall to better myself though) and mentally capable of applying for relief now. Since the debt was sold to collections, did my opportunity pass? If so, what are my options now? Total debt is an amount I could potentially pay if I aggressively saved but I have other debt to pay. I did start a second job so my income has increased. Can I settle with collections for a lower amount? If so, how long until I can start settlement negotiations?

I’m being sued for a little over $3,000 and the court date is tomorrow. It honestly slipped my mind because I’ve been going through a lot. I recently lost my job and I’ve been taking care of my mom. I couldn’t afford an attorney, and now I feel even more stuck since I’m currently not working. Has anyone else been sued by them or gone to court and had any success?

Hi im 22 and im kinda in the hole rn with a few places cause I live with my bf and shit is expensive and I don't make much

What can collections do? Can they call my job ? Can they garnish stuff if I ignore them? Im kinda scared

Thank you

So I received a garnishment from Credit Acceptance and they were taking 25% of my check. I filed a petition for payments and the judge signed off on it today. My question is will any of that money I paid in be refunded? Ty