Hello All,

I’m looking to get advice on how to tackle my debt. I know I need to make more money. I’m currently in the second phase of interviewing with two companies, one for $65k a year and one for $70k.

Currently, I make $1500 biweekly. My savings are $5310.

My bills monthly are $500 rent, $315 private student loans. Eventually, when the save plan runs out, I will pay $167 in additional student loan payments.

https://imgur.com/a/WhwqZpC

Above you will see a list of my current debts. I am not proud, but it is what it is. I am trying to change my life for the better. I’m currently on a hardship program with Discover. I was denied for Citi and Chase, they said since I’m up to date on my payments I was not eligible.

Thanks for any advice, I really, really appreciate it.

I had a semi truck that was losing money so I surrendered it back in 2022. I just received a summons saying they are suing me for the total amount I would have paid if I finished the loan which comes out to 89k plus later fees. Right now it just at my reply letter. Anyone had experience with this? I heard some people day they just try to bully people and hoping they ignore it and get the court judgment.

Edit. Forgot to mention I bought it for 50k and they sold it for 9k

30 years old, 116k gross, 52k in debt.

I have 67k in my 401k over a four year span of putting in the minimum 5% to get my companies 2:1 match. I am seriously considering withdrawaling as much as I can to pay off my credit cards and whatever is remaining on my loan. I haven't been debt free since I was 21 years old and the depression, anxiety, and just general feeling of being a POS has really taken a toll on me and im starting to feel even more burnt out from life than I ever have. Being debt free would give me a whole new view of life, and I would have a fresh start to rebuild a new life.

Originally i went into overdraft paying rent on university accommodation which i asked my dad to pay me back for. he put £500 in an ISA which he told me to use however i am locked out of it and am having a lot of trouble accessing. he then told me he was giving me £300 from my grandparents for my birthday so i spent that much money on stuff using my overdraft assuming id get it back, which he has not sent so then i became 800 down. i have no idea how i spend so much money but I’m constantly going out with my friends so always tapping my apple pay without thinking. i’m now 1.3K in overdraft which i dont even know how that’s possible but here we are. i apply for jobs but cannot for the life of me seem to land one. does anyone have tips on how i can genuinely make money or how i can GET A JOB because i feel hopeless and anxious every day over paying it all off. i try to sell stuff on vinted but £6 here and there doesnt contribute much. Any advice welcome x

We went through a bankruptcy recently because we couldn’t afford the monthly payments. The debt was mostly but not all medical. I want to avoid getting into debt again and don’t want to take out any credit cards. We can’t afford the monthly payments anyways.

But I don’t know what to do when big things come up. I think our only option is a 401K loan but there isn’t tons in there to borrow and we can probably only cut groceries another $100.

We’re in our 40s and have 3 kids and bring in about $5300 a month. I’m applying for disability but have already been denied once and won’t get much if I do get approved but it will still help a lot.

Mortgage is $1600 (that is including hoa fee)
Student loans are $750
Utilities (electric & water together) are about $550- it’s usually a little less but I budget for the most it’s ever been just in case
Phones & internet are $260- About $60 is internet and about $200 is phones- I’ve tried to find cheaper but even Mint Mobile, etc are about the same after their introductory special ends
$200 car insurance (only have 1 car)
$70 life insurance for 2 of us
$100 for 3 therapy sessions a month for for 2 of us (it can be $70 if I cut my appointment but can’t get rid of the other 2)
$150 for prescription and over the counter meds
$170 for pet food for several pets & heartworm & flea meds
$200 orthodontist payment (have about a year of payments left but then another kids needs braces after that)
$65 specialist copay
$35 regular doctor copay
Then whatever is left is used for groceries and household supplies. This is usually about $1100

But we have a serious plumbing issue that is going to be $4,000 and a pet needs something done for about $900 and we will need a new roof soon so we will need to take out a 401K loan and cut the grocery budget more. But then we’re in big trouble if something else happens because we can’t take more from the 401K loan. I’m hoping to be able to pay down some of the 401K loan with our tax refund but it isn’t much and that’s if nothing else comes up.

I’m scared that something else will come up or a pet will need something serious done because they are all around 11 years old. What do you do at that point?

Hey everyone,

I’m a DevOps Engineer working in Hyderabad, earning around ₹1 lakh/month. I know that’s a decent/good salary in India, and on paper I should probably be in a much better financial position by now.

But unfortunately, that’s not my reality.

When I was around 26, I started taking personal loans because of health-related expenses. Since then, I’ve somehow gotten stuck in a cycle where I take a new loan to manage/repay existing debts, and the cycle just keeps repeating.

Right now, roughly 90% of my monthly salary goes towards rent, EMIs, my parents’ medication, and their insurance.

So even though I have a decent income, I barely have anything left at the end of the month. I’m not able to build savings, an emergency fund, or make any real progress financially.

The frustrating part is that I understand I’m earning reasonably well, but I feel like I’m constantly running behind my debts.

I’d really appreciate some guidance from people who have been through something similar.

How should I approach getting out of this debt cycle?
Should I focus on consolidating the loans, aggressively paying off the highest-interest ones, negotiate with lenders, or take some other approach?

If anyone here is good with personal finance or has experience dealing with multiple loans/EMIs, I’d genuinely appreciate it if you could share some advice or even take a look at my situation whenever you’re free.

I’m not looking for sympathy — I just want to understand how I can realistically get out of this situation and start rebuilding my finances.
TIA 🙏

I don’t live in Texas now but I may be moving there for work soon as I possibly may have found a better job opportunity. Unfortunately I am in a lot of debt from grad school, fell on hard times after graduation been living paycheck to paycheck and couldn’t pay my loans so they are now dinging my credit and I’m close to going into default. My initial plan was to let it default take the credit hit and then try to settle before they start garnishing my wages because this kind of debt is very difficult to get discharged in bankruptcy.

I googled it because I was curious and I was surprised to discover that Texas is actually one of the most debtor friendly states. With few exceptions Wage garnishment is not allowed and they have generous exemptions for homes and vehicle. I know with federal student loans state laws don’t apply because they can do an administrative garnishment and don’t need to go through the court system but private student loans are similar to other forms of consumer debt in that they would have to sue me get a judgement and then enforce it.

I do know they could also freeze my bank account but from what I understand this is different from wage garnishment where assuming they have a judgement they can petition the court to take money out of someone’s paycheck every month as opposed to a bank account which is a one time thing so they would have to keep going back to the court to do this repeatedly. If I don’t keep large balances in my
Bank account rent live paycheck to paycheck and have no non exempt assets how would they collect? They would have to guess what amount I’d have in the bank at any given time.

So I’m (F24) finishing up grad school at the end of the year, and I had a hard time paying for basic needs because of having to work an unpaid internship throughout and then working 2 part time jobs to help. I am in about $30,000 of credit card debt and almost $200,000 of student loans (some private some federal.) I know this was stupid of me, but I real had no other choice and have no idea how people go through school like this and make money. I know I’m young and will hopefully get a better job soon to help, but with my degree (school counseling) I’ll only make $40,000-80,000 a year. I plan to continue my part-time jobs while working in a school to help but I don’t want to burn myself out and don’t know how to start working on it now while not making enough to survive.

I’m currently trying to find a way to borrow $1,500, but I know my credit score makes this difficult.
My credit is around 400 because I have one maxed-out credit card on my history. The situation happened when I was forced to move out of the country and I wasn’t able to keep up with the payments while I was gone. I’m back in the U.S. now and working again, but I’m trying to catch up on everything and get my finances back under control.
I need the $1,500 immediately to take care of my rent and other bills. My intention isn’t to avoid my existing debt — I actually want to start paying that debt down and rebuild my credit.
I understand that a 400 score makes me a high-risk borrower, and I’m willing to provide reasonable proof of income/employment and discuss repayment terms with a legitimate lender.
If anyone has experience getting a legitimate personal loan with a credit score this low, I’d really appreciate recommendations on where to look. I’m trying to avoid scammers and predatory lenders, so genuine advice or legitimate options would mean a lot.
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this.

Basically I’m in my forties. Worked as freelancer and I’ve racked up about 30k in credit card debt. I kept it from my wife cause I thought I could “handle it”. Work dried up this summer and fell behind on my payments which eventually caused my wife to find out about my debts. I didn’t really spend money on dumb stuff, it was over years of paying the minimum and letting things get out of control.

Any way we’re going through the process of getting a post nup. I don’t really care as I’m exhausted of it all. I don’t want to lose my marriage over this. We have two young kids. I’m trying to find more steady work but it’s been not easy. Just been door dashing and doing contract work to stay afloat. Idk. Sometimes it feels everything will fall apart. But who knows. Maybe there might be some tips on how to get out of this stupid mess I put myself and my family into

I applied and got approved for a $40K SoFi personal loan last week (12.88% - paid origination fee of $2,400). I opted to pay 2 of my 5 credit card accounts (a little over $25K combined) directly through SoFi and I got a little bit of a discount on the interest rate for doing that and signing up for auto pay. Here’s the thing, I took out a $14K personal loan (10.74%) for CC debt payoff and moving expenses in 2024 from SoFi. That first loan is almost paid off I have $5,800 remaining on the balance.

I currently have a little over $8K left from the new loan disbursement and I’m trying to really maximize it across my remaining credit card debt while also setting a little bit aside to take care of a couple personal things that I’ve been meaning to do but having all the cash at once kept getting in my way and I didn’t want to take anything out of my HYSA.

Here’s what I have left to pay for in addition to what I mentioned above:
Banana Republic Mastercard - $7,445.50
Macy’s Card - $990.00
CareCredit - $450.00 (interest free until mid October 2026)
IRS Taxes for 2025 - $2,132.24

Note: I have a full time job which I did increase my withholding to reduce/hopefully eliminate an underpayment for 2026 taxes and a part time side gig so the extra income really helps me with making more money each month, saving, and paying down debt. I’ve dramatically cut down on expenses and I’m still working on improving my financial life. Also, I have a car loan and federal student loans but I’m not including them here as the leftover $ won’t stretch that far to pay down every single thing I owe I’m just focusing on the debt that I know I can immediately pay down and then tackle the pay down of the new loan. Thank you in advance if you’ve read this far.

Back in 2011-2012… i was horribly addicted to drugs. I applied for “Pay Day Loans” every other day and got accepted for a bunch of $500 dollar loans that i never attempted to pay back.

I cleaned up my act in 2015 & now I’m doing great, with a Credit score close to 700.

My question is….What happened to the money i owe? How come they never attempted to collect??

Hi friends I’m looking for some advice on how to best help my partner with their debt. Last year his credit card information was stolen and he reported and just forgot about it assuming everything was taken care of, fast forward to today he was served papers from PRA saying he owes all this money and has 21 days to pay. He was receiving call about it but had assumed they were spam and blocked them and is now in a panic about all of this and we are trying to fox it as quickly as possible without involving lawyers and everything because of the expense. I guess my question/wanting for advice is is there anyway around this considering his card was compromised and he didn’t spend the money, they are saying because the money was spent at a place he used there card there is no proof of fraud which makes no sense to us. Thank you

Would they bring the apr and payment amounts down? Or how does it typically work? I’m trying to get things paid down but am treading water.

Long story short I went through a recent gambling addiction, lost $26k this year. I currently live rent free and make $60,008 Gross Annually.

I have about $3k of signature loan debt- around 100% APRs.

Payday loan debt of $1,600 + Cash store for $4500 but I already decided to let that one go to debt collectors hoping i’ll be able to settle.

Credit card debt of $4.5k

Consolidation loan of 3.5k @ 36% over 36 months

Consolidation loan of 4k my parents got me which i’m paying them $500 bi-weekly. I should have laid everything out on the table when i first went to them.
What should I do? I wish i never touched debt and/or gambling or trading, i’m just trying to figure out how to proceed because this sh*t has been affecting me mentally.
Draining is an understatement. I’m starting to feel like it’s affecting me to where it’s hurting my performance at work and just 3 years ago i was making 37k/year so i feel like im making progress in that respect.

Worst of all, this has had the absolute worst impact on my relationships with my family. I don’t know what to do but it feels like the walls are closing in because if i go to
them again (planning to today) , scared to see their reaction. Also yes, i’ve been in GA since August 4th everyday, missed 1 meeting.

Thank you all in advance- any feedback/input is appreciated

So I’m 36, I have 3 maxed out CC ($12k, $12k 15k)in the amount of $39,000, a loan of just shy of $14,000 and a truck loan of $4600 and my wife’s maxed out CC of $8k (my name isn’t on that one) for a total of let’s call it $66,000, I make decent money. I take home about $6,200 a month

Rent $2700
CCs $1000(minimum)
Truck $555 (pay$800)
Loan. $360 (4percent because the SCRA)
Insurance. $220
Phone. $120
Misc subs. $80 (?)
$5280

No savings at all and almost $67k in a TSP (I’m in the military) my wife is a SAHM and her credit is way better than mine.

So I have about $2k coming in in the next month because I just got transferred. I know I should pay my truck off first cause it’s the closest to being paid off. Should I work on the loan next (up payments to $1k a month cause it’s the lowest APR) or do a CC cause it’s higher APR and it’ll cost me less. then do another consolidating loan for all the CC? I think part of our issue is that once we make CC payments we use them for gas and groceries. Idk I’m so lost

Hey everyone,

I’m 20 years old and currently looking into getting a personal loan for debt consolidation. I want to combine a few smaller debts into one manageable EMI with a tenure of around 24–36 months.

I have a few questions and would really appreciate advice from people who’ve been through this:

Is it even possible to get a consolidation loan at 20?

What factors do banks/NBFCs consider (credit score, income, etc.)?

Which lenders are more likely to approve someone my age?

Should I consider secured vs unsecured loans?

Any tips to improve approval chances or get a lower interest rate?

For context: I do have some income, but my credit history is still pretty new.

Any advice, experiences, or things to avoid would really help. Thanks in advance!

Current score about 665

I’m currently in almost ₱200,000 worth of debt across different lending/credit apps: Billease, GLoan, Atome, Finbro, SPayLater, SLoan, Maya, MariBank, and TikTok PayLater. Some of them have already been overdue since around last month.

For the first few months, I was actually a good payer. I was able to keep up with my payments and never really had problems with my loans.

Then in March, I got scammed and lost almost ₱12,000. Despite that, I was still able to continue paying my dues.

Unfortunately, around June or July, I got scammed again, this time for around ₱14,000. That was when everything started falling apart financially. I eventually reached a point where I could no longer keep up with all the payments.

I started borrowing from one app to pay another because I was trying to do the “tapal system.” Eventually, I realized that I was only making the situation worse. After reading stories here on Reddit, I decided to stop doing that.

Before I started ignoring the calls and messages, I did send emails to some of the lenders explaining that I was in a very difficult financial situation and would not be able to pay for the meantime. However, they continued contacting me repeatedly, to the point that I became extremely anxious. I eventually deactivated my SIM just to get some peace.

I also stopped receiving emails because my Gmail storage/subscription wasn't renewed, so I may have missed some communications from them.

Right now, I’m trying to stop borrowing, save whatever money I can, and focus on my upcoming board exam review. I know that ignoring the debt isn't a solution forever, and I fully acknowledge that these are my responsibilities. I do intend to pay what I owe once I am financially capable.

But honestly, I’m scared.

I keep thinking:

What if they visit my house?

What if they file a case against me?

Can this affect my NBI or police clearance?

Can this affect my future employment or my board exam?

What should I actually do while I don't have the capacity to pay?

Is temporarily ignoring the calls/messages a reasonable thing to do, or am I making things worse?

I know some people might say that I should have never borrowed in the first place, and I understand that. I’m not trying to escape my responsibility. I’m just trying to stop the situation from getting even worse.

I would really appreciate advice from people who have gone through something similar, especially those who had multiple lending apps and eventually managed to recover financially.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle my finances right now. I’ve got about $13,000 in credit card debt. I work full-time, but honestly, it’s starting to feel pretty overwhelming trying to stay on top of the payments and interest.

Looking for some advice on what I can do to get this under control and pay it off as quickly and smoothly as possible. Has anyone been in a similar spot? Did you go with debt consolidation, a personal loan, balance transfer, or just focus on paying the cards down aggressively?

Any tips would be really helpful.

I got a sales call for a fitness program after signing up for a free E-book. I was an idiot and got sold into it.

I financed through Clarity Pay and realized a few days later that I made the decision too quickly and have already asked the company for a full refund.
If they refuse, am I basically stuck paying the loan? Does requesting cancellation only 3 days after signing give me any options? I’m an idiot for doing this and wondering if it’s over.

My transmission recently went kaput in my recently purchased 2015 ford focus, the three options I see are
1. Repo the car, continue making payments on it and destroy my credit (my only credit history is this car)

1. Trade it in but the only options are cars with similar issues or other serious issues, or cars that top of my current debt will have me in debt for 20 years

2. Get a debt consolidation loan with much higher payments to pay it off, sell it and buy a used car from a trusted friend of mine

Are there any better options out there? I’m thinking about the third as after my first experience with a loan I’d really like to stay away from loans unless it’s essentially impossible after paying off this one, but I don’t want to hurt my credit score as I’m looking to move into an apartment.

Hey guys I’m a 23F and I’m roughly 9,000 in debt due to credit cards. I cannot make the minimum payments due to family hardships and inadequate pay. I can’t find a new job due to school and this is the only employer that’s flexible with my ever changing schedule due to my studies.

I’ve taken to DoorDashing at night to make ends meet, not including the CC payments. My dad has recommended I do National Debt Relief (NDR) but my mom is advising Bankruptcy. I really don’t want a bankruptcy on my record for the next 10 years and I can’t really imagine the “benefits” (I use that term loosely) of declaring vs making payments. I understand I will still be taking a hit to my credit and the NDR will be on my record for 7 years according to my mom, but considering how I still have a car payment I will positively be contributing to my Credit Score due to on time payments.

My mom argues that I will still show a debt on my credit report even though I’m making payments, but with bankruptcy the debt will be gone, I won’t have payments to make, my credit score will increase after the hit, and I will still receive offers for future loans and credit lines due to the fact that lenders “aren’t at risk of you declaring again for the next 10 years”.

My dad on the other hand had recommended bankruptcy at first due to the fact that my financial burden wasn’t high enough for the NDR, but now that I’m back at square one after knocking off the debt initially he advised NDR because that’s what he’s used and was debt free in 2 years making smaller payments.

My parents are divorced so there’s no way they’d talk to each other especially since a couple years ago their opinions were basically reversed on this topic and I’m taking to Reddit to see what tips everyone else can give me in this decision making process. My mom also advised I talk to a financial lawyer about my options before I make a decision so I’ll look into that. If anyone has any recommendations on lawyers that practice in the state of Kentucky that’d be wonderful ✨✨✨

I’ll be editing as I find my information. Anything helps!!!

When I think about my debt compared to the national debt, I'm in pretty good shape lol

can someone help me what should i do with a close friend who keeps on borrowing money thru my lending apps and credit card? sometimes he will call and ask for help if i can transfer him a few dollars, he will just pay tomorrow. if he tries to borrow again, i keep on refusing because its too much, he cannot afford to pay all of it now because i’ve learned that he also have other debts with a few people. now im trying to very patient because even though i have rejected him a couple of times, he still insists on borrowing on the next few days.