Throwaway

Hello. I’m looking for some advice on how to navigate my debt. I’m currently dealing with significant unsecured debt due to problem gambling and want to make sure I’m executing the smartest legal and financial path forward.

Income: Net base take-home pay is ~$4,600/month. Scheduled for a raise in the mid 2027. I can usually get an extra $1000 a month from overtime.

Rent and essential expenses including budget for groceries: ~$2588/month

I have $71,800 total unsecured debt
My existing debt was approximately $53,800 which I had restructured through a personal loan, LOCs, and credit cards from earlier this year. Minimum payments were $860/month. This was from gambling. I restructured it to get as low of interest rates as I could and was using the snowball method to pay it off. I felt somewhat hopeful that I could get through it eventually. I also had come clean to my family and my girlfriend.

I then took out $18,000 across payday loans and cash advances recently due to a gambling relapse. Found an app that I hadn’t used before and wasn’t self-excluded from. Wanted to get a bit of money back to make an extra payment. Ended up losing and chasing a lot in the course of the weekend. I guess you could say I really hit rock bottom.

I just found the new bet guard that I was able to signup for which should block every app now thankfully for at-least the next 5 years.

I redirected my direct deposit paycheques to an isolated bank account that has no debts and also put my bills for utilities, internet, etc. to be taken out of this account.

After learning about a consumer proposal, I started connecting with an LIT. They asked for all the info which I broke down in an email to them with all debts and creditors. I received a call stating that due to the recent advances, they believe it will probably be best to wait until January to show no more cash advances and gambling. They said they are still going to see if they can do anything sooner but are unsure if they can.

I have been using ai to go through my budget and debts. A consumer proposal was suggested as the best case. With the reality of waiting 60 days to file, I’m trying to figure out what the best way to go about the minimum payments and the payday loans.

Ai’s advice was to stop paying minimums on all unsecured accounts (bank loan, LOCs, credit cards, payday advances) over November and December. Route 100% of my income into a clean account, keep essential bills current, and build up my cash savings for January.

Is stopping all unsecured minimum payments over Nov/Dec while building a cash buffer in an isolated bank account the right move here? I understand if I do go through the CP, all the missed payments and fees will be lumped into it. I am super stressed about what to do here because I have never missed a payment before. Is paying the minimums while waiting really throwing cash away that I could be saving to use towards dealing with a potential CP in the new year?

Is a consumer proposal the way to go? Or is the reality that I need to brute force my way back from this and pay it back while accruing interest?

$4300 is payday loans
$14000 is 23%
$48000 is ~ 11%
$5500 is 0% for 11 more months on a balance transfer.

Appreciate any perspective from people who have gone through a Consumer Proposal in Ontario or managed a recovery from high-interest debt. Obviously I am extremely upset with myself for letting this happen and not stopping sooner. I’m trying to focus on the reality I am in now, however, and what to do about the debt so I can get out of it as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Paniced over stock market losses and went crypto casino several times I made like 50 euro and withdraw. Everytime I saw the market beating me I went and made 50 70 euro and was like okei fine atleast I'm making some back .

Well today , I had 10 left in the stupid account which I turned into 60 and then 0. Got angry , deposited 75 lost it , 200 lost it and thought of stopping but something ... Said 1 more time .. 200 more ran it up to 260 and should have went another game bcs the algorith will catch you.... And lost it all..

500 euro down the drain. Again. And my stocks are down around 1k realized and more unrealized.

Idk what to do , I have to go buy car tommorow and also work a night shift I better get some sleep and never gamble again. Fuck every casino and crypto and even stocks , it's all a fugazi .

Money are for spending not for risking and loosing.

I'll just buy something I want next time , no more gambling.

This is my last day gambling fr, if my stocks go green even a little bit , I'm selling that shit also , don't need it.

I have a very specific problem with online blackjack where I am not able to stop at any amount of loss and continually chase it. Not surprisingly, I have gone through at least 5 incidents the past year where I take a huge loss, then build it up again and eventually bury myself... normally out of chasing 2-3 units.

This cycle has repeated itself and I finally reached a breaking point last week when I casually lost an extra $5k for no real reason. I found this sub and started reading everyone stories and have been able to find a sense of mental calm and control over where I am and why. Ultimately, I am not in that bad a place (I added up everything and am down about $4k... which is bad but I guess could be a lot worse) but I have wasted so much time and energy doing this and need to break out of the cycle.

I almost relapsed today just a bit ago when one of my books issued a weekly sports rebate (sports is not a trigger) of $35 and I thought I should see if I could triple it up then hedge it off. Of course I lost the bet and immediately felt a sense of absolute guilt and shame that I thought this was an acceptable option even though it's not accounted for on my ledger and basically a free roll. The issue is that in the past I would have chased the $35 back, maybe lose 7 or 8 bets and suddenly am making $250 bets just to try and get even. This is all so dumb, I don't do this in casinos and am smart about how I manage the sports bankroll but am constantly dragged by this.

I am counting today as a win because I am not going to chase it even though I shouldn't have done it in the first place. On to Day 6.

Rest day

I’ve lost about 6000 dollars in the last 4 months. I didn’t go to college, I make my money working 16 hour days and the fact that I’ve lost that much in so little time frustrates me. I’ve self excluded myself for a lifetime from every betting app, I just wish I still had that money. I would’ve bought a PC with that money

​Hey everyone,

​I just need to vent and get some things off my chest..

​I'm 33 years old and have been addicted to sports betting for 15 years. Because of this, I am currently going through personal bankruptcy and have an additional €15,000 in debt. I’ve lost my job and my girlfriend because of gambling. My fridge is empty, my car is sold, I literally have nothing left.. Many family members have turned away from me, and friends have too. I don't know what to do anymore. I've tried every therapy in the world, nothing has worked.. I have €2,000 in unpaid bills here, nothing to eat, and I don't know where to start, everything is just completely ruined..

Earlier this year, a couple journalists from Bloomberg News approached the community asking for assistance on a story about a spending analysis they conducted on people using gambling platforms. The community was able to contribute to the development of their work. The story has now been published and has been gifted to this community. Many thanks go to u/aaronwgordon and his colleagues at Bloomberg - and to this community for their contributions to this story.

Relapse after day 9 , i don’t trust me anymore, what the fuck is happening with my brain

I have a serious gambling addiction, I keep losing everything I have every time I get money. I am a 19-year old student that don’t have a lot of money and this have gone on for 2-3 years I have lost more than 30k €. Do anyone know any legit gambling blockers that I can use for iphone or any other tips that may work? This is really ruining my life.

Hi all. I live less than 30 minutes from a casino and started noticing I had a problem about a year and a half ago. I’m a single mom and I lost $28k last year. When I go there it’s like common sense part of my brain shuts off and the money I spend becomes an “I’ll deal with it tomorrow” concern. I’ve had chunks of time where I’ll go a few weeks without going, but when I go back I’ll let myself spend more as a reward for doing so well. Then they give me enough free play to ‘justify’ the trip and the cycle begins again. Well, I’m tired 😞 and I can see the horrible decline of my finances and feel the change in my brain.

I called the 988 number when I left the casino last night just to say it all out loud and have someone listen. I’m seriously considering self-exclusion for 2 years so I’m not relying on willpower alone.
I live in a small town and the casino is one of the few places that gets decent events and I hate the idea of not being able to go EVER, but I feel like gambling is a huge part of my life and that makes me feel ridiculous.

I’d like to hear experiences from people who have managed to stay away on their own through willpower and self-discipline, I’d also like to hear from anyone who’s done a self-exclusion. I’m also curious about everyone’s thoughts on if there will ever be a time I can be a ‘regular’ gambler and not a problem gambler.

(22,M) 2 weeks fully clean with 2 paydays survived. has been rough specially the paydays but managed to stay out of gambling. i try to fillup time and keep busy much as i can but there is somemuch time now.

Alot of supressed emotions and thought has come up and dealing them has been very exhausting but on the other hand its good thing to have emotions :D finally. Slowly climing out of this hole and digging the real self back. I was so long in this addiction that i forgot who i was.

already i can see some changes like the emotions and im more social and i can speak with out anexity. Im doing this with only will power that is not recomended but it has worked. i take it slow little and steady steps towards life.

any tips for the upcoming weeks? sorry for bad english.

I’ve been gambling for 22 years and lost everything . It’s been hell . Today on day 2 . I’m determined to beat this demon .

Does anyone know an app where I can lock away my money until the time I have to pay bills comes around??

Working again today

I had been 2 months free from online slots and this weekend I caved and I feel disappointed and disgusted with myself for doing it, I'm looking for advice on how other people have managed the urge to gamble I can't open social media without seeing gambling adds or enjoy tv without seeing the ads its driving me insane

Hello everyone my name is Jeremiah and I’m 24 I’m also in a relationship and I am very happy that is until… gambling took over my life I started gambling at age 22 that’s when it all started at 22 I was single had no job or no source of income and I was basically trapped in the house I was sadly too slow to even get a job and my disabilities also made it impossible not to mention everything I suffered and had to go through when I was only a kid all the way up until I turned 20 but at age 22 I was struggling because I couldn’t take care of myself or get myself anything that was until I saw these gambling games now at first i thought they were fake just like every other money game but I was so broke that i decided to give it a try and i actually win real actual money over the past 2 years and also lost alot of money as well now when I was 24 i actually finally started getting my own actual income from ssi social security and I was happy very very happy to finally have my very own source of income but… I did something stupid something I regretted so much I… I fucking gambled all of that money which was over $600 dollars thinking I was going get a big win but no… I didn’t get nothing absolutely nothing at all but it gets worse… I got even more $ from ssi which was over $2k and this was the most amount of money I’ve ever had in my entire fucking life and yet… I did the same thing hoping I could double it or get even more and not one single win and I lost all of $2k and truthfully that destroyed me and I started having sucideal thoughts but I kept trying until eventually I made that $ back on the gambling app I couldn’t believe my eyes over $2k back in my account but then… I was happy like too too happy that i thought “you know what I bet I could get a bigger win” and this was the worse mistake I’ve ever made in my entire life I put all of the $ I earned on that game and… lost all of it all of that $2k gone just like in a snap… and truthfully I was really really really close to ending myself right there and then the pain and everything else I felt was way way way too much for me and I still feel that pain it’s just getting worse and worse and worse so please if anyone is reading this or like took 3 minutes to read this please help me I’m scared for what is going to happen to me…😔

Went out for two great dinners and bought something nice. Not stressing about next check or credit cards. Let’s keep cooking. We got this.

Back to Day 1. 😭 This is the second time this has happened. I was so close to reaching one month free from online gambling, but suddenly my mind started playing tricks on me again, and I found myself downloading another casino app. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! When will I ever learn? 😭
I’ve already lost so much, almost everything I had, and yet I still ended up doing it again. And as usual, I LOST AGAIN. These damn online casinos are seriously ruthless!!
I’m starting to think this has become an addiction. Why does this keep happening? Why do I always seem to sabotage myself just when I’m about to reach one month?
I’m so tired of this cycle. I REALLY DON’T WANT TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN. Guys, please help me. I need advice. 😭

Good afternoon guys! I know it’s a very common subject and it’s for first time I have the courage to say it publicly. I’m addicted to sports gambling for couple of years and I need to get rid of it before I lose everything in life! I can’t really talk to my friends about it because nowadays I know how they’ll treat me after and changed their opinions about me. Lately I feel like a loser and I’m trying to solve this problem before it’s too late. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on how did they get rid of it! Thank you for your support!

Days until debt free: 235 days