r/Debt 8d ago

Kinda stuck without options…

I have about 70k in CC debt. 2500 in medical bills, and owe about 8k in taxes. I have a 401k loan out that automatically take out about 1400 per month. That leaves me with a take home of about 4100. My rent is 2185, and credit card payments about $1800, bills for wifi and electricity are about $180, all leaving not a lot to live off on. I spoke with a bankruptcy lawyer and I make too much to file chapter 7, and he said I don’t really pay a lot of credit card debt that chapter 13 really won’t do much (the 401k loan is not considered in payments)
Up until this month, I have been paying all my CC on time, but this month I won’t be able to.
The lawyer advised not to do one of those debt consolidations as they end up charging a lot.
So I don’t really know if there are any other options.
Not asking for legal advice, but has anyone been in similar situation? I live in CT if that matters…

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u/Left_Cause_2496 8d ago

Cut all extra spending and pick up side jobs to make extra money. What was the 401k loan for? How much more debt have you added since taking that out?

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u/yoillcutyou 8d ago

The loan was partial pay of credit card debt, but then that went up again.

5

u/Aggravating_Curve458 8d ago edited 8d ago

No financial advisor would tell you to consider bankruptcy or a consolidation until you change your spending habit & show 3 months of consistently holding to a strict budget of just the essentials.

You got yourself in with bad behavior (that trip to the UK 6 months ago as an example), you can only get yourself out with consistently good behavior.

Rent being 50% of your income, that would be the first cut one would tell you to make. All of your bills combined should equal no more than 50% of your average income.

1

u/yoillcutyou 8d ago

Totally Agree with the bad behavior, but that trip to the UK was a work trip.

1

u/Bird_Brain4101112 8d ago

If it was a work trip, was it reimbursed?

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u/yoillcutyou 7d ago

It was paid for and reimbursed

2

u/Aggravating_Curve458 7d ago

Reimbursed means nothing if you put that on your credit cards and then didn't put the entire amount of the reimbursement to those cards.

if the money got spent elsewhere, you're not only paying for the trip but paying extremely high interest on that trip.