r/debtfree

I get paid once a month, on the last working day of each month.

Money goes to bills, cc debt, personal loan, and savings. I try to keep ~$1000 in my checking account until the next pay day but I also want to be paying off debt more aggressively…

So just wanted to take a poll in this group, how much are you leaving in your checking account after you pay bills/debt/etc to leave in there until the following payday?

The national debt continues to spiral upwards. The Art of the Deal.

Hello, I'm looking for some advice on getting my personal loan paid off early. The loan is currently at $9,765.00. The interest is at 8.49% and I pay approximately $320.00 per month. I get charged about $2.27 per day and I want this loan ​gone as soon as possible. It's a 36 month loan term and the original amount was $10k with a $1,345 finance charge. There's no prepayment penalty but I don't get the finance charge back or a portion of it back if paid off early.

I started making about $63k a year and this is my only debt. I just got the loan in July of this year. I messed up this year thinking I could win big gambling so my savings took a BIG hit and I had to fund a large purchase and put it on my credit card . Thats why I needed a loan to help me breathe for a bit. I know, I was so stupid and I'm not gambling again. I wish I would have just paid the card off over time and took the interest hit. I wish I never gambled.

Anyway, I can't change the past but I'm wondering if I should adjust my savings so that I put the $320 I usually pay on the loan to savings and the amount I put into savings (anywhere from $500-$1000) on the loan? That way, I'll be saving but mainly getting this debt over and done with. I pay my credit card in full every month.​ I only have $6k in savings now. Is this a good idea? I want to be debt free so that everything I earn is mine to keep. Any suggestions and feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Hello, I am struggling a lot with credit card debt and am stuck only being able to make the minimum payment, and I am thinking about a debt relief program or Chapter 7 bankruptcy

My current debts are:

Discover: $8,700

Citi: $2,900

USAA: $3,330

Upgrade Loan: $1,700

I couldn't find the APR on the cards, sorry. I'm making $16 an hour while living alone with $1,080 in rent. Not to mention other bills like electricity, phone, WIFI, gas, and groceries. I'm looking for a better-paying job and/or a second job to help out. Ideally, I'd like to make more money and pay it off myself, but that seems unlikely. I've also made some eBay listings. This is the worst I've been financially, and it's stressing me out. Any advice would be appreciated.

At 48 years of age I have sent in my last mortgage payment. I have had no other debt for years, no credit card debt or car debt for at least a decade. Now I am no man’s slave. I have no master aside from myself. I can give as freely as I want, live how I choose, and disappear quietly. This race is over; here’s to the next adventure!🍻

Hi all. So I graduated medical school last May, started residency, all the things. I let paying student loans slip my mind, and in doing so, my credit score dropped tremendously (as I was documented for missing about 10+ payments). My credit is so terrible now (480), and i feel like there are no viable loan options. I got my loans set up last month and have so far made one monthly payment (of many in the future), but haven’t extra money would be nice. I have decent income about $2500 semi-monthly, but GOSH it is so hard getting approved for anything.

Please help. This is my CC debt that I have. I have been trying to let the smaller monthly payments go through per month and chugging down my capital one card as hard as I can. I have $553 school payment once a month, $300 rent, and am trying to still put $550 into savings once a month so we have an emergency fund. I am planning on stopping putting money into saving on Oct 2nd when I reach a set safe amount. From there I’ll be putting $600 towards debt once a month, as well as whatever money I have to spare which can change monthly. What should I be attacking first? Should I open another card/loan w/lower APR and put it all together? Open a card/loan w/lower APR just for one or two debts, like just for capital one? Should I be trying to aggressively crunch down one or spread the $600 across the board? Am I screwed? I’m willing on getting a part time as well, I just don’t even know where to begin. Is a year too short?

Here is all of my current debt:

Capital One
- Balance: $4,667.17
- APR: 28.99%
- Minimum: $175/month

PayPal Credit
- Balance: $2,018.56
- APR: 32.99%
- Minimum: $70/month

Affirm
- Balance: $775.82
- APR: 24.89%
- Minimum: $83.34/month

Affirm
- Balance: $237.54
- APR: 35.98%
- Minimum: $39.58/month

Total debt: $7,699.09
Total minimum payments: $367.92/month
Monthly income: $3250

Edit: improved math

Hi all,

Due to working in education for most of my early career, I am struggling with a high debt-to-income ratio, and while my finances have been manageable, the mental nag of it has been annoying. I am 31, and my situation is this:

Income & Job

• $51,000 annually in NC state employment
• $2100 part time professional development
• $1500 honorarium
• $1750 in one-time state bonus

Debt & Savings

• Personal Loan: $40,000, monthly payment $821 and 9.25% interest rate; estimated payoff early 2031
• Credit: $4204, no monthly minimum, and 11.25% interest rate
• Student Loan: $92,000, monthly payment on IBR is $129, estimated payoff mid-2029 with PSLF
• 403b savings: $10,500, monthly payment $100
• Wealthfront HYSA: $100

For me, the $821 personal loan payment is the hardest mentally, but I am thankful to be supplemented by my wonderful partner. Much of this was debt consolidation after surprise car or vet bills, and I am not proud of it, but I am trying to be better about my savings. Any tips or creative recommendations?

i'm in my mid 30s and by most measures doing okay. putting away money every month, no new debt, actually feel like i have a system. but the overall balance doesn't seem to move much and every time i look at the total it's discouraging. i think part of it is just that i started late and interest is slow, but i'm starting to wonder if i'm optimizing the wrong thing. has anyone else had this experience where you're doing everything right but the number doesn't reflect it? and how did you decide whether consolidating was actually going to speed things up or just reorganize the same problem?

R/debtfree - I could sue some guidance.

My wife and me are preparing for the future, we got the new family car and moved beginning of last year. Jointly, our account is pretty good. We’re in our early 30s. We put away a good amount per paycheck to cover rent, expenses, bills, etc.

Personal account however, could use some major help. When I was younger I took out multiple cards and I am feeling the burden of it now. Between 5 cards - roughly 30k in debt. I never took personal finance seriously but now I gotta put on my big boy pants and get this right or in the right direction.

I’m considering a consolidation loan to get me to a point that I can have a single payment and more or less daylight, it’s suffocating looking at what I’ve accrued.

The thoughts of NDR and getting shredded on credit scares me and filing for bankruptcy could jeopardize a move in the future.

I am turning to you fellow redditors, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you to everyone who commented on my original post. Just wanted to update that I have paid off ~$15k in debt like I planned, as well as paid off my car, and boosted my savings a bit. There's still a little to go but my credit score has even jumped almost 100 points and the relief I have been feeling is immediate! I appreciate the advice <3

Hey guys, I’m 20 years old and I recently went into roughly 2200 in debt for some orthodontic treatment, the payment is only about $74 a month and it’s INTEREST FREE. Whenever I go online I always see “debt bad debt bad” but is it really considered debt if I can literally pay it off right this instant I just choose not to because it’s interest free

My thinking and what I’ve done is I just threw the whole 2200 into the stock market and I will continue to pay the monthly payment with money from my checking account

I recently finished grad school and just started my career. During grad school, I not only incurred a lot of student loan debt but also credit card debt. Dumb dumb dumb. I’m getting married soon and want all my credit card debt to be gone beforehand. Any advice? I’m thinking of just clearing my balances with my savings obtained through my first year of working and starting fresh.

CC#1) $10,674.23 at 26.49% APR;

CC#2) $384.43 at 26.24% APR; and

CC#3) $13,711.47 at 26.24% APR.

I have $29,419.34 in savings and my annual gross salary without deductions is $100,000. My fiance covers all of our living expenses and I just paid off my car so my only other monthly expense is parking which is $110/month and groceries.

What should I do? Would it be dumb to drain my savings and pay the balances in full?

Edit to add salary/monthly expenses!

Another edit - I just want to thank everyone for your responses. I have paid it all off and I feel such a weight lifted off of my shoulders. Thank you thank you thank you!

What $ amount should I keep if I am in significant debt?

I'm (26F) and make roughly 85k a year. I grew up poor and had no financial literacy or guidance from my parents or advisors for background. I accumulated a lot of debt helping my family out with bills and emergencies so I racked up a lot of credit card debt..

Anyway, I feel like I'm drowning in debt with no end in sight. I have 5 credit cards, a car payment, and student loan debt.

For a breakdown:

CC1: $12,800 - 28% APR min payment: $380. Actual payment: $1,150.

Cc2: $11,000 - 0-1.99% APR until 10/2027 min payment: $171. Actual: $300

Cc3: $2,900 - 0% APR until 04/2028 min payment: $30. Actual: $100

Cc4: $4,329 - 0% APR until 08/2028 min payment: $41. Actual: $100

Cc5: $2,900 - 0% APR until 03/2028 min payment: $30. Actual: $100

Car: $37,200 - 4.99% APR (72 months) min payment $649. Actual: $700.

Fed. Student loans: $16,775 (2-5% APR) - min payment $60.00. Actual: $225.

Ref. Student loans: $27,800 - 5.99% for 6 years. Min payment: $460. Actual: $520.

Savings: $850 a month. Currently have $2,400 in a HYSA.

Retirement: Company match at 4% in 401k pre and post tax. Also have a Roth IRA. All of these are through vanguard.

I still live at home with my parents and don't plan on moving out for another year or two due to my financial situation. My mental health is deteriorating from my parents toxicity and financial irresponsibility.

I bring home roughly $2,200 twice a month. I thought about taking out a personal loan or withdrawing from my 401k to help pay off the credit card debt, but I've heard bad things about both. I'm struggling a lot and have completely cut out dining out, impulse buying, and put my foot down when it comes to my family spending. If I want something I pay for it with cash and if I don't have it, I just don't buy it.

It took me a long time to realize that when I feel stressed or even depressed, I just want to spend money to fill a void. I've been cutting back a lot and removed all of my cards from shopping apps. I'm taking the steps to really limit my spending.

Any advice is welcomed.

I can make $7000 a month after rent and a few other living expenses $5000 would remain. If I did not pay any credit card of bill now pay later accounts I could pay off all my credit cards in 5.5 months but it seems like paying the minimum will take 12-18 months.

I’m trying to decide what makes the most sense financially as I prepare to get married.
I currently own a home with $200K left on the mortgage at 2.87%. I also have $100K in cash that I could put toward the mortgage, bringing the balance down to about $100K. My future husband would be moving in with me, and he’s completely comfortable with us staying in the current house and working together to pay off the mortgage.
My other option is to use the $100K toward a new $450K–$500K home, but I’d be looking at a mortgage rate of roughly 6.6%–7%.
So I’m torn between:
1. Put the $100K toward my current mortgage, keep the 2.87% rate, and aggressively pay off the remaining $100K together.
2. Keep the 2.87% mortgage and buy a new $450K–$500K house at 6.6%–7%.
3. Keep the current mortgage and hold/invest the $100K instead of paying down the 2.87% loan.
I know 2.87% is an incredible rate, so part of me feels like I should never give it up. But there’s also something very appealing about starting marriage with a plan to become completely debt-free.
What would you do in this situation? Would you prioritize keeping the 2.87% mortgage, paying it off aggressively, or buying the new house?

I struggled with impulsive, risky financial behavior for years. Over about a year I ended up taking out 5 personal loans that added up to nearly my annual salary.

I knew I needed to make a change. I got professional support and started attending regular recovery meetings. I'm 4 months into real progress.

Just paid off loan #4, so I'm down to 3. Using the avalanche method, tackling the highest interest rate first. I try to celebrate every milestone, big or small. (loan getting paid off, or just watching the total tick down past another 10k mark) It keeps me going.

So I'm 25, I have one card with about 3,700 in debt on a 10,000 limit. Now I haven't touched the card in about a month or two. My interest payments are about the same as my minimum payments(I have auto deposit on). Amy tips for how the hell to get out of this bind. My score is starting to tank(around the high 600s) and my wedding is coming up next year. I currently live with my mother and need to get the heck out but I need to clear this first. What's the best strategy for doing this. Sorry for the ramble but I was never taught any of this. Any help would be appreciated.

Hey everyone. Long-term lurker and admirer of all your stories. I finally threw in the towel today and met with GreenPath Financial.

The program seemed good and I’d say roughly $ 300 a month on the program. And be debt-free in max 57 months. Seems too good to be true.

Does anyone have experience using them or similar programs? From my understanding they basically negotiate the interest tack on a $50 fee bada bing bada boom. They don’t default on loans or anything. Basically just looking for some experiences people have had.