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    Young and Dumb, Advice Needed.

    Throwaway account because Im embarrassed on this getting to anyone I know.

    I’m in my early 20s and honestly just trying to figure out how to get out of debt before it completely buries me. I make ~$50,000 at my main job and I’m ~$14,000 in debt. I work full time (40-50 hours a week) and I do delivery driving after work and on my off days for extra money, so I’m trying. That’s the part that’s frustrating. I’m not ignoring it or blowing money nonstop, I just feel like I can’t get ahead no matter what I do.
    I’ve been trying to get a debt consolidation loan so I can stop getting killed by interest rates and just have one payment, but I keep getting denied everywhere I apply. My credit has dropped because my balances are high, even though I’ve still been making payments. At this point most of my paycheck goes straight to minimum payments/bills and then I’m using side gig money just to stay afloat. I know I messed up and I’m trying to fix it while I’m still young.
    I guess I’m posting because I want to know what people actually did that helped.
    I don’t really have anyone in real life I can ask about this stuff, so any advice is appreciated.

    Young and Dumb, Advice Needed.
    byu/Few-Emu-2950 inpersonalfinance



    Posted by Few-Emu-2950

    4 Comments

    1. Mission-Future3741 on

      You’re actually doing the right things already… working full time, side gigs, and still paying down debt is discipline most people don’t have. Since consolidation isn’t working, focus on aggressively targeting highest interest balances first while maintaining minimums elsewhere. And consider calling creditors directly for hardship or reduced interest options.

    2. filwi on

      I’m going to assume that you’re in the US (things work differently here in Europe – for example, in Sweden, we’ve got a law that puts the burden of discovery for repayment on the loan giver: if a reasonable person would conclude that you couldn’t repay a new loan when it was given, you can get it annuled, basically take the money and walk.)

      That said, I used to watch YouTube clips of Americans negotiating with their credit card companies, just escalating until they got to a manager with the right to freeze their interest, get them zero interest extensions etc. All of that because the value of the loan remains only as long as you don’t default. 

      So a loan that generates zero interest allows the credit company to claim it as an asset in the books and make new loans against that, while if you default, that’s a pure loss. 

      (Don’t know if this helps, but it might be worth fifteen minutes to look into it.) 

    3. meganeh35 on

      You are doing good. Don’t worry, it will take some time but eventually that debt will get paid off. Just think about what you’re spending money on like rent, gas, any other bills and then after that, besides food, think of any other expenses you have… If you don’t really have any, then if you can maybe with the money earning from your delivery driver job you could just tell yourself you’re not going to spend that money, you’re going to just keep saving and let it build up.

      I say this cause I’m actually a part-time Uber Eats delivery driver and if I can help it I don’t touch that money. I let it sit on my Uber card and just build up. Think about how much you could set aside per month to pay towards your debt whether it’s a say roughly $200 or $500.. Just take a deep breath and let it out, and think to yourself “it’ll take time but everything is going to be all right”…

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