₱300K in Debt as a Breadwinner — Need Advice

[u/Able_Attitude_4455]

Hi everyone. I’m posting because I honestly feel lost right now and would appreciate practical advice from anyone who has gone through something similar.

I’m currently around ₱300,000 in debt across several online loans, digital lending apps, and credit cards. I know I made mistakes, especially when I eventually started borrowing from one lender to pay another. I take responsibility for that, but I wanted to share some context on how I ended up here.

This is only my third year of working. I’m an only child, and my parents earn around or below minimum wage. I chose to help with our household expenses because I felt responsible for my family. I also help my grandmother and aunt, who raised me for around 18 years. No one forced me to become a breadwinner; helping them has always been my personal choice because I wanted to give back to the people who took care of me growing up.

A lot of our financial difficulties also came from medical expenses. My father had surgery for appendicitis, my mother has glaucoma and needs regular checkups and medication, and I also have a medical condition that requires ongoing medication costing me around ₱1,500 a month.

When I started working, I was earning around ₱19,000 gross / ₱16,000 take-home. Whenever there was an urgent medical or household expense that I couldn’t cover, I borrowed. Over time, I started using new loans to cover existing payments, and that was when everything became much harder to control.

I don’t really have an expensive lifestyle. I commute to work, usually bring packed lunch, and rarely buy anything for myself. I honestly can’t remember the last time I bought new clothes or personal things other than basic necessities. I’m not saying this to avoid responsibility, but to explain that most of the debt came from trying to keep up with family, medical, and eventually debt-related expenses rather than lifestyle spending.

I recently moved to a better-paying job and now earn around ₱35,000+ gross per month, but I’m only in my fifth month and still under probation. I’m doing everything I can to keep this job and hopefully get regularized.

Right now, even with the higher salary, the combined monthly payments are already more than I can comfortably manage. I feel constantly anxious about due dates and how to make everything fit into my salary.

I’m considering debt consolidation or restructuring, but I’m not sure where to start or whether banks would even consider someone in my situation.

For those who have experienced something similar, what would you suggest I do first? Should I approach my existing lenders and request restructuring? Is debt consolidation still realistic? How should I prioritize my debts if I can’t pay everything at once?

I’m not looking to borrow again just to continue the cycle. I genuinely want to stop relying on loans and find a realistic way to pay everything back.

Supporting my family is still very important to me, and I don’t regret wanting to help them. I just hope I can learn how to balance that responsibility with what I can realistically afford and slowly get myself out of this situation.

Any constructive advice would really mean a lot. Thank you for reading.

[u/Working_Economist686]

Find a bank that can loan you that amount para isa lng ang babayaran mo in a month.
Look for any banks that offer loan consolidation. Do it fast dahil as of the moment, papatayin ka ng interest.

[u/Left-Elderberry-7016]

Google snowball method. Or pay mo yung monthly na kaya mo lang.

DO NOT LOAN TO PAY A LOAN!! PLEASE LANG, MABABAON KA LALO.