Two years ago I made a serious financial mistake and I’m still dealing with the consequences.
During a very unstable period (final exams, lack of sleep, emotional stress after a breakup), I tried to recover money quickly after a bad crypto loss. I invested money that wasn’t mine. That was my responsibility, and I fully own that mistake.
Since then, I finished university, moved to another city, and I am currently working, but my income is unstable and not enough to clear the debt at a reasonable pace. The debts are to friends, which makes the pressure mainly moral and psychological, not just financial.
I am not asking for donations or handouts. I am asking for practical advice from people who have been in similar situations or who understand financial recovery:
• ways to stabilize income fast
• realistic side hustles or remote work
• strategies to repay personal debts without resorting to high-interest loans
• how to communicate and structure repayment plans with people you owe money to
I’m actively working and willing to put in extra hours. I just want to handle this the right way and close this chapter through responsibility, not shortcuts.
Any concrete advice or direction would be genuinely appreciated.
Help a brother out. I need peace.
byu/Impressive-Bad-6923 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Impressive-Bad-6923
13 Comments
Why is your income unstable? Do you have a budget?
What is your monthly income? What is your total debt? What is your monthly debt? Is there interest on any of these debts?
You didn’t give many details so my advice may be off base. Speaking from personal experience of “just uber or doordash”, the money isn’t worth the cost of doing the work. Unless you just have a highly efficient car that you don’t mind putting miles on, it’s usually a wash. I found much more success by doing side-hustles that were more specific to my skill sets. Mainly math tutoring. It’s hard to make a ton of money that way unless you just have a crap ton of clients, but it’s not nothing. You could also get a simple job and just work it part time. Honestly I think I would’ve had more success delivering pizzas for dominoes that I ever did doing doordash.
You probably already know it by now but don’t use debt to invest. And if it doesn’t have intrinsic value, if the profit proposition is based on “Greater Fool Theory”, then it isn’t investing, its speculating. I’m sorry you had to learn in this fashion, it sucks.
Sounds like you need a new career or picking up side hustles to the point that you’re working 7 days a week/10 hours a day at least.
> • ways to stabilize income fast
The solution here is budgeting. Think of it like driving on a bumpy road, you need good suspension on your car to absorb bounces by spreading out the impact. The way to do that with finances is to put your money on paper and spread it out over time. Pay your bills for the next three months on paper, and then budget with the rest of the money. Keep some cash in reserves.
> • realistic side hustles or remote work
I’ve got nothing here. If you like working with people, look for jobs in sales or real estate or something.
> • strategies to repay personal debts without resorting to high-interest loans
Assign a priority to the debt based on how badly the lender needs it. I would treat any loan from a friend as a high interest loan. So that means no new high interest debt or luxury items until it gets paid off.
> • how to communicate and structure repayment plans with people you owe money to
This 100% depends on your relationship with those people. Do they need the money back ASAP? Is it poisoning your friendship? Do they know you lost their money on crypto speculation?
First, write down exactly what you owe and to whom, then propose a written plan with dates and amounts you know you can hit, even if it’s small. Pay something every month and give updates, people are usually calmer when they see steady progress. For income, try local temp agencies for admin or warehouse shifts, they pay weekly and can bridge gaps fast. If you want remote work, watch out for scammy listings and ghost jobs on big boards, and keep applications tight and short. I’ve had decent luck with basic customer support and data entry gigs, and wfhalert has been useful too, it’s just a simple email that sends vetted remote jobs so you’re not wading through junk. Keep your expenses brutally lean for a few months, sell anything you don’t need, and throw every extra dollar at the highest priority debt first while keeping minimums on the others.
stop trying to do stuff fast and quick fix things.
you’re a personal trainer.
what would you say to someone 50 lbs overweight that wants a six pack?
slow and steady…do the right things. one day at a time. one meal at a time. that’s the only way.
increase your hours training. if you can’t get enough, find a second job – in the industry or not. post your services privately.
you don’t have to worry about structuring payments to friends when you have no $. maybe just send them a monthly email with “I owe you x. I won’t forget”. as you start to get $ paypal them with your monthly email.
What did you major in?
Bottom line is this – cut costs AND increase income. (live within your means is another way of putting it)
how is the next part. Start tracking your expenses and cut where you can – necessities only. My workmate pays 150 per month on mobile phone plans. I pay 60. He has the best phones. I don’t. that sorta things..
From there, you are forcing a “surplus” .
I follow this strategy but tweaked depending on needs (not wants). – but i’m an employee not self-employed (you are)
10% EF
10% Wants (when i was in debt this was 0 to say 2%)
20% squash problems
60% – is your day to day – live off these – thats’ why you need to track costs and get it to this level.
anyway — lots of strategies if you google them. — especialy as we call you sole trader / business person. — it has it’s own way of doing things.
Uber and stop stealing from your friends.
“invested money that wasn’t mine” is a nice euphemism for embezzlement.
That sounds to me like you’re on the edge of making another mistake trying to get money fast. They are your friends. Talk to them and tell them you’re doing what you can to make it right.
Donate blood.
Find a service job with decent tips on the side.
Investments on any money you won’t need in the next 5 years. I recommend VOO for conservative and QQQ for more aggressive.
Probably not helpful but whenever I loan people money I just expect to not get it back. I always say to them, “zero interest, pay back as much or as little as you can but make sure you’re buying groceries, taking care of bills and taking care of yourself.” IMO if you are loaning someone $20, $200 or $2,000+ consider it gone and you’re helping a stranger, friend or family member in need. When or if they pay it back it says something about them.
If you’ve taken loans from family or friends I would make sure yall are on the same page. No need to beat yourself up about things if those that helped you just love you and wanna do whatever they can. There is compassion in the world.