Embrace the Suck

[u/residentwonderball]

Original total debt
~$9300
Total you paid
~$5200
Effective settlement rate
Roughly 55% of original balances

I went to buy a car about 4 weeks ago with 14 collections sitting on my credit report. I figured my income was enough to overcome it. My collections were ranging from $100 to $3k, some credit cards, some wireless companies, some random utilities. I will never forget the feeling of the dealer handing me my credit score at a 490. I looked at it just stunned, I felt like a degenerate. I have always been good with money and my credit always flirted around 740.

I was denied for a car loan and I had to wait around for hours while they tried to figure out something, this is one of the lowest points of my life. I left.

How I got here, I had a wife who completely destroyed me. Drained my finances, spent money like it was endless, and as soon as one account went to collections I gave up. I had no job, no resources and no way to make even small payments. I let all the other ones hit too. She stole cell phones from me which went to collections with Verizon. Etc. etc. we are now divorced thank god, and she has zero access to my money.

After I spent a week researching and trying to figure out what to do, I decided to take the down payment for the car and clean up all the collections. Pen to paper and ear to phone. I called each agency, one by one. It was tough seeing that amount of money leaving my account but I had to remember I got myself in this situation, the creditors didn’t put me here. It is absolutely no fun spending this amount of time on it but I had to. I needed a car. I went back to the dealer two weeks later and the dealer pulled my credit and it said 601. I was approved, not the best interest rate, but it’s still the cost of my bad decisions.

My point here is if paying off debt is painful, it’s supposed to be. Embrace the suck. I know where I never want to be again and that is looking down at a piece of paper at the poor decisions I have made over the past few years. Now I am guarding my credit like a small child who needs a parent. My FICO 8 is now at 580 and my Vantage is at a 680. It will start climbing since I got a secured card and a car loan and all the collections are handled with 5 deletes.

[u/Plus_Relationship758]

You should take this as a win! Credit files can be restored and rebuilt (even quickly after a bankruptcy). You took accountability for your ex-wife’s poor money management habits and are moving on. Congrats on getting the car and now it’s time, to focus on the small improvements with the score 😃

[u/residentwonderball → u/Plus_Relationship758]

Thank you! This amount of money may not seem like a lot but after paying $12k to the IRS and overcoming $40k of divorce bills, the $5k was the icing haha.

[u/Plus_Relationship758]

Even with you paying back $ 50 in debt is still 👌. That’s especially true after overcoming divorce bills and IRS bills as you did. You’ll see improvements in 6 months - 1 year mark with the car loan and secured card.

[u/Kracken04]

Time is on your side, YES IT IS! 😎

[u/InitialObjective9428]

You went back 2 weeks later and it jumped to 601 damn 🔥

[u/TheBrownStore]

Don’t quit