r/Debt

I owe almost $400 in debt to a hospital, I genuinely don’t have the money. Should I make a payment plan or just let it go to collections?

I’m 22. I live in Norway. For two or three years I had a gambling problem that ate everything. I took out loans just to keep playing, chasing the money I’d already lost, convinced the next one would fix it. A year ago I hit the wall hard enough that I anonymously applied for gambling rehab. I’ve been in it ever since. The program has done what it was supposed to do: I now genuinely hate gambling, and I hate the people who make money off other people’s addiction even more. This isn’t rare. A lot of young people are drowning in the same thing, even if their version isn’t as deep as mine.
Nobody in my life knows about the debt. I move through the days wearing a happy mask so no one sees what’s underneath. The part that hurts the most, the part that actually pisses me off, is that I still haven’t told my parents. I love them more than anything. The thought of watching their hearts break is what keeps the words locked in my throat. So for the past year I’ve been trying to claw my way out of the hole while also going to college. Working one or two days a week and still keeping up with school feels almost impossible, but I keep doing it because I don’t know what else to do.
I keep wishing for a miracle. Sometimes I let myself imagine a life with no debt and, for a second, it feels like someone sewed my wings back on and I can fly again. I’m tearing up writing this because that image is so sharp it hurts. Then I open social media and watch people throw fifty thousand away like it’s nothing, and all I can think is what a dumbass I was for ever walking into this. At this rate I’ve built my own prison. I needed to get this off my chest. If anyone has a take on how to get through the rest of it, I’m listening.

I'm so upset to even have to be filing for bankruptcy but have no other options. Lots of circumstances leading up to this hard decision... BUT I'm legitimately broke. Like, broke broke. I work part-time as a Paraprofessional and my entire paycheck is spent before the lawyer wanting they're fees. I haven't even been abke to make a payment yet.

How are we realistically supposed to make it work? Any advice? I'm 1000% not against working to get the money to pay for this but dont think I'm supposed to be adding on more work/income when I already confirmed all my income details? A rich relative would be nice right about now... lol

I'm dealing with a relative's estate in New York and one of the things I'm stuck on is an outstanding loan they left behind. We already have a probate attorney involved, but getting clear answers has been a headache. I've asked a few times whether this is something the estate has to pay in full or if there's room to negotiate with the lender. The responses have been pretty vague, and sometimes it takes days just to hear anything back. I'm not trying to avoid paying a legitimate debt. I just don't want to agree to something without knowing what the estate is responsible for. At this point I'm wondering if negotiating with creditors is even something a probate attorney normally handle or if I'm supposed to find someone else for that.

So to sum it up things got… bad? Basically everyone I lived with was unable to pay rent for what was supposed to be like a month and turned into 6.

I’ve spent the past 6 months in a diffrent living environment trying to recover but it’s actually gotten worse

To sum up what I owe

7k on a dead car (lasted 4 months)
5k on a dental loan
2k in credit cards two of which got closed because everytime I tried to make a payment, someone else got to the money first.
4k in medical bills
7k to an old apartment (not a broken lease. Just a bill they charged after due to me being unable to clean the place due to family/car issues)
2k loan to some loan place.
Annnnd 6k to the irs due to a mix of me being a dumbass and not updating my mailing address. I don’t actually think bankruptcy prices that but I would like to be in a position to pay that off.

I’m drowning in everything and almost every payment is a month behind. According to Credit Karma I have a credit score of 528.

I do have a different car with a different car loan. Jesus himself could not tell me why they approved me for 13% interest but I’d like to keep the working one. I live in an area where driving is nonnegotiable. I’m about 10 miles from anything, and there is zero public transit. Ubers would also cost me 800 a month minimum, and between car, gas and insurance I’m paying about 600
I owe about 7k on it. Besides that I have no assets.

My monthly expenses sit around 2000 a month(including car) and I make 50k a year but monthly it varies on the season.

No ged, no college, and I work in an industry where I could have a felony and employers would probably get over it so I’m not worried about finding a job with a bankruptcy.

Honestly is bankruptcy like… something I should call a lawyer about?

I made a personal notarized loan from my wife a few years ago and have paid it down by 86% since then but she contests the payoff balance by at least another $20k from the balance due that I owe her. Can a spouse take you to court to get a judgment for her claim and if court agrees, would they garnish my trust? I am retired with no other income except monthly SS benefit.

I guess this is a tactic they use to try and embarrass you but essentially when I entered repayment I couldn’t afford to pay what they were asking and I live paycheck to paycheck and they were absolutely unwilling to work with me when I reached out so I had to decide between paying my living expenses and not paying Sallie Mae. So now I’m pretty close to default and I got a call from a “case manager”. I didn’t answer and a few minutes later I get a text from my mom with the same voicemail from a “case manager” saying my file reached his desk and I need to act now before it’s out of his hands. I don’t have a co signer so they can’t go after her or anything but of course this led to an argument but my mom has not been in the loop of all this because I understand I need to make more money so I’ve been applying for jobs for literally months but the job market isn’t the best right now.

Hi, so my parents took out a parent plus loan when I was in college to help me out. I said I would help pay it off once it was time to pay. That started last November with the loan provider CRI, I've seen only one statement in the beginning (I live far from them now, about 4 hours away) and I have asked to see them every month cause the payment changes every month. Some months its around 45$ the next few it's 80$??? Their excuse for not showing me is that it won't look right because my parent plus loan is grouped with my little sister's loan cause she also had to take one out for school. I've started demanding to see the statements and I keep getting deflected or guilt tripped for not draining my savings to pay it off immediately. (Which I can't do! I don't make that much and thats all my savings!) Is CRI crazy with their payment amounts? Now my parents want me to get another loan to take this one off their credit. Please, some advice is so needed here.

Has anyone had multiple MCA loans bought out by a company called SHA or Safe Harbor Advisors? Will you please share your experience and thoughts? Thank you. I’m in Texas.

Hi, I could use some advice i (33yrs) have a house i bought pre covid, with a rate of 3.75% (i know) and about still 188k owed. I think i could sell for 410k and walk away with about 200k after closing and fees. I have a car loan of about 17k (car is worth less) cc debt of about 20k, a personal loan from already consolidating, of 1k a month, 2 401k loans as another attempt to consolidate, of about 150$ a week (that i can't pause) and a current take home income of 2400 a month without overtime, which isn't always available, but i do work ALOT of. But OT is going to dry up from January to about April. I have slowly eaten through my savings and im in trouble. Im thinking my best options are to sell and get an apartment near work (rent is about 2600/month) and use my proceeds from the sale to pay off my debt and supplement my income. Or do I file bankruptcy? I have talked to a professional debt consolidating company and they recommend bankruptcy, In my state, i guess they don't come after your house or car, but everything else and my 755 credit score :/. Does anyone have advice? Or an alternative? Thanks.

What are the consequences of a repossession or voluntary repossession, does it matter which?

In a situation where my nephews license was revoked, his loan is upside down and insurance are through the roof, so we are trying to figure out if it’s worth just letting the car be repossessed. What are the future consequences for his credit? Is this doomsville?

Thanks in advance!

I’m about 18k in credit card debt. Biggest card being my AMEX at 13k. I just got a 13k loan from my personal bank and immediately paid off my Amex. But now I’m having anxiety about it. Was this the right decision? I’ve been paying on this card for years with no budge, even tho I RARELY use it. But now the loan payment is higher than the monthly payment I was paying. Am I paranoid or did I do the right thing?

Hi there,

I have posted in the past about having a judgement placed on me by Capital One, however I never received the summons. I looked on the court docket and I was at work when the summons were issued and there was no process server or certified mail sent to my address (I'm in Illinois FTW).

I have been trying to find an attorney that will assist me with vacating the judgement. However, it's been well over 30 days (judgement was issued in May, I did not find out about the judgement until August) and I am unable to find a lawyer to file the paperwork.

I am looking for a way to negotiate the deal with the law firm (Zwicker and Associates) for this $3900 balance. I want to do monthly payments but I don't know if they will accept it (I can't afford anything more than $100/month). If anyone has any tips, please let me know. I don't want my wages to be garnished or bank account seized so I am trying to be proactive. There is also a court date in November I am tempted to sit in on.

Hello. So, Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my credit card debt back in 2017. It was around 9k at the time. To date, I have only payed off 30% of my debt, so I have about 6k left. I ended up delaying most of my payments. That is, until the beginning of this year, when I was no longer able to delay payments anymore. So for about nine months they have been pulling automatic payments from my account. But this year has been absolutely horrible for me, and I am struggling to pay. So I'm wondering if there is a better way to approach this.

What are my options and/or my course of action? Does the age of the debt give me any advantages? Have I messed things up by delaying those payments or making payments the past few months? I'm really not sure what to do.

Also I live in PA.

This is just a rant, I just need to get this off my chest because I cannot tell anyone close to me. It’s credit card and loan debt and I’ve been trying so hard to pay it off but it just never ends. I’m working 2 jobs and all of the money goes to debt and everyday bills. I can’t even save up for a ticket to go see my parents overseas and either way i can’t take off work because im one paycheck away from being behind on everything. I was trying to avoid filing for bankruptcy at all costs but I don’t think it matters much since I probably wouldn’t qualify for it. I’ve ruined my life im so stupid and irresponsible. My bf doesn’t know how bad it is because I hide it as well as I can. I pay for my share of things so he has no reason to suspect I’m drowning. A few months ago I was so depressed a coworker gave me a “legal” happy pill that numbed the anxiety and now I’m addicted to those too. I’m making bad decisions left and right. I make minimum payments and if I can I’ll add more but sometimes I’m short on actual cash and have to use the credit cards again. I don’t know how to get myself out of this cycle I got myself into. My mom is the only reason I’m still here, what is the point otherwise. I’m so embarrassed and overwhelmed I pray I win the lottery and pay it off so I can breathe again. Thanks for listening

I have maybe 11,000 in consumer debt that I accumulated paying for essentials and rent after loosing my job, and 2000 of unpaid rent for my last month in my apartment before moving back in with my parents. I just graduated and have been job hunting for a year. I worked part time substitute teaching to make monthly payments but I am still struggling to keep up until I find gainful employment. I fell ashamed and don't know if I should file, especially over such a small amount of money. Will it hinder my ability to get an apartment in a new city? Apologies for the angst.

What’s a good place I can get a loan for a debt consolidation? I can’t find anything worth it I’m assuming because of my credit score right now. Or should I just pay down the debt myself?

48k in credit card debt (including a 12k loan for plumbing).

I took out a second mortgage in 2022 as well as refinanced my home to pay off debt back then. 😬🥴 Total payments between the mortgage and 2nd mortgage is around $2100

Which direction should I take?

debt consolidation company?

heloc? (Confused how these work but I do have a good amount of equity in my home)

personal loan through Sofis/BHG?

any other ideas?

I bring home decent money, but with two kids in sports and everything being so expensive (gas and food), I never have anything leftover. My bills are all paid on time, never late. I try to throw $50-$100 extra on top of minimum payments, but life is kicking my butt financially right now! I’m a salary employee and really do not have extra time in my week for another job. I also do not have any savings.

Credit cards are nearly maxed out. Plumbing loan is $300/month and 1/2 of it is going to interested. APRs on 5 cards are on the higher end.

Apologies if this qualifies as talking about business, it's more for context of why I have the potentially personal debt/collections I'm dealing with due to a personal guarantee for a business card.

Quick summary: One of my LLCs dissolved 2 years ago and we had a credit card balance on one of the company cards issued through USBank with a personal guarantee. Several more automated charges racked up on it before we fully dissolved the business and as part of a deal to leave me with the company property, I paid it down for a while before abandoning that option about a year ago when my (now) estranged business partner reneged on the deal.

I got a notification of a charge-off a couple weeks ago. I have spoken to the folks at USBank about options - settlement or payment plan. My limited research seems to indicate that a settlement will report to my personal credit and cause a major dip and possibly other problems for both me and possibly any other business I'm involved with. It also indicates that a payment plan for the full amount should prevent negative personal credit reporting.

I spoke with the collections officer at USBank and they verbally assured me that either way - settlement (for about half) or payment plan for the whole amount - would not be reported to my personal credit, but said they couldn't send me this in writing.

I'm skeptical of both at this point, as 1) what would be the incentive to pay the full amount if there was no personal consequence either way, and 2) some things I've read online indicate the collections officers will straight up lie to you about personal credit reporting. The woman I spoke to was insistent that for small business cards, USBank never reports to anything but D&B and SBSE, but I can't take that at face value since they won't put it in writing.

The total debt is $12,690, so not a giant amount. I've been offered a payment plan of $217/month for 5 years, not great but manageable. But I'd still rather not have to make what amounts to a cheap car payment for the next 5 years if I don't have to, and if it will affect my personal credit either way, the settlement looks a lot more enticing ($6000).

Does anyone have any experience with a situation like this? I realize the easy answer is just do the payment plan, however, if that will still somehow end up on my personal credit, I don't see a huge reason not to take the settlement and just be done with it and let the damage happen.

I’m really stressed and could use some advice.

When I was in high school, I did dual enrollment at a community college. I had to pay for parking every time I went to campus, and I was going at least twice a week for about 9 months, so I made a lot of parking payments.

Today, I received a letter from a debt collector saying I have 4 unpaid parking citations. The current amount is $100 per citation, so they’re claiming I owe $400 total.

The problem is that I’ve already found proof that 2 of the 4 citations were paid. I’m still trying to find records for the other 2, so I’m not even sure whether those are legitimate either.

The citations were issued when I was 17 years old, which is one of the things I’m especially concerned about. My biggest worry is whether this could affect my credit score.

EDIT: I don't even go to this community college, I'm going to a 4-year college in a different state now so I definitely won't ever have to park there again.