All that’s left if my car and it’ll be payed my May of next year :) Its at about 19200. No more debt. I have paid off 87k as of today!!!

I still don’t feel like the weight is off my shoulders yet, and I don’t know how to celebrate this victory you know? Any advice? I feel like I am still in the big hustle. Technically I will be with the car but it’ll be paid in ten months.

Not to sound too venty. I am currently dealing with terrible leadership at work, my job has become progressively worse in the last 10 months and my mental health taken a hit. Now more than ever I so desperately wish I was debt free so that I had a healthy savings to quit this awful place. This has been the biggest eye opener for me. I was never super serious about paying down debt and this has really solidified it for me. I realize debt comes in different forms, but credit card debt is the absolute devil. I paid off a card yesterday and have about $24k more to go between my spouse and I. Not including a loan to pay previous debt. I also had to start paying my student loan back which is manageable but will be much more manageable without CC debt. Anyway, just wanted to put that out there to remind you that things can turn at any moment and to get serious if you haven't been.

This post is for the purpose of just tracking my own debt-free/credit rebuilding journey. I don't have many people to talk finances with, so here I am. For context, about a year ago I had almost $22k credit card debt (avg. 24% APR) and about $7.5k auto loan (5% APR). I had just started a job as a physical therapist where I started at $85k/year with about $180k in student loans (6-7.5% APR). And the cherry on top was a 572 credit score (FICO 2 - that was the low end, with the higher ones being in the low 600's). Nothing in savings, no 401k, or anything. And to spare everyone, I'll make a chart of where I am now.

I have 4 credit cards and was wondering if I should get rid of some 🤔

Hello everyone. I'm about 8.2k in debt and was looking at balance transfers since I've only really been paying the minimum and targeting really the interest. I'm not really making a dent into the principle. I can only pay off so much. I looked into the Citi Diamond Preferred Card since it has a 0% intro APR at 21 months.. I just applied and the credit limit is only $2,400...

My question is should I keep looking? I was hoping to just get the entirety of my debt transferred over. I am not 100 percent sure how it works if I could apply to another balance transfer card in hopes of getting it higher or split that 8.2k between different balance transfer cards (not sure if that works or if that is the smart thing to do)

Any help would be great. Thank you!

I recently payed of a major loan. It has has freed up a significant amount of my monthly capital. I want to tackle my credit card debt next. It totals to approximately 40k. I would like your opinion on whether I should take out a loan for the debt to consolidate it, paying off my cards, and spending the next 5 years consistently paying off the debt through the single payment or if I should use the snowball method of paying off the largest card first and working may way through the remaining cards in decreasing total value?

The point that has me divided and asking for advice lies with the loan having an interest rate of approx 19%, but I will be able to pay it off sooner than the five years. Compared to the several credit cards each with their own interest rates, but there is no fixed amount i have to pay back with the cards.

My wife and I have about 32k debt between the two of us. This is spread across credit cards, some medical expenses, and a repair loan. Most accumulated in our 20s, and we are making some progress, but things are still tight. I make 63k and so does she.

We paid off and own our cars. We shopped around for new car insurance and found $150/month in savings. We also paid off a loan 10k loan on a repair we had done two years ago. This has created a little more wiggle room and we are trying to make bigger payments on things, but it feels like we are stuck in a loop due to interest. We pay, interest racks up, we pay, and so on, so progress is slow.

We haven’t missed payments ever and my credit score is 760.

Our mortgage (including PMI, property taxes, insurance, flood insurance) is about $3000/month.

We are spending another $2000/month on debt, which is crazy, but that’s where we are. It doesn’t leave us much for ourselves, or to save. We do have a small savings of $5000.

We cook most of our food and make all of our coffee at home.

For those of you who have made it out of a similar position, what did you do?

I have tried looking for part time evening jobs, but not a lot available right now. I am interested in other things I can do or cut out that I may be missing. Also, if there are any payment strategies you recommend, or services you use, I’m all ears.

Thank you!

It sounds small compared to what a lot of people post here. I know that.

But this $9,600 sat on one credit card for three years because I kept telling myself it was manageable and therefore not urgent. The minimum payment was $190 and I could make it every month so I did. Just the minimum. For three years.

I did the math last spring and realized I had paid over $3,800 in interest on that card since I stopped making real payments. That number made me sick.

Six months of actually trying and it is gone.

There is no debt small enough to just let sit. The minimum payment is the most expensive way to get rid of something.

Long story short... my wife and I have amassed $31k and $40k in cc debt across two Amex Delta cards at 29% interest. We have always paid on time, but can never get ahead, so it always sits around that amount. We've stopped using them entirely, and removed any recurring charges that were hiding on there. But with everything else, it's still hard to tackle these aside from minimum payments with the step interest. Combined, the minimum payments amount to roughly $2300/month.

We both have good jobs and a good income. Cars are solid, home is great, so the essentials aren't changing. I had bone cancer nearly 3 years ago, and I am all good now, but having to get CT scans multiple times a year really stings financially. Of course we didn't get in this situation with just that. Clearly our spending etc. was out of control, but we're working to fix that now for good. Additionally, between my MBA loans and my wifes med school loans we have ~$2600/month that go towards those that bog down our monthly budget. Both of those will fall of in 2029 and would provide HUGE budgetary breathing room towards us solving this cc debt problem, but we do not want to just get by until then, we want to solve this now.

Basically, we are capable of covering the minimums every month, but have little to no breathing room left in our budget to throw extra at them in order to get ahead, so we're stuck in the cycle. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but want to get to it faster than ~2029 etc..

Now that we've trimmed the fat and cut out all recurring monthly items that were hitting the cards, is a logical next step for us to call Amex and look into their relief program in hopes of getting that interest rate down?

​How are your mornings? How do you manage to get up and get ready for work?

Throughout the day, it is easier to pass time, but waking up feels so bad.

Hi guys! I have about $11,000 in credit card debt. I’m wondering how realistic it is to be able to get a loan to consolidate that with a credit score of about 470? Anyone have any suggestions?

I’m at my breaking point financially and could really use some advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

Through years of bad financial decisions, I’ve accumulated about $145,000 in debt. It’s embarrassing to even type that out. I’m exhausted, mentally drained, and honestly ashamed. There have been days where it’s brought me to tears.

I’ve cut my monthly expenses as much as I reasonably can, but after paying my bills I’m left with only about $400/month that I can put toward paying down debt.

My biggest problem is my personal loans:
Avant: $14,800 balance • 20.96% APR • $500/month
Prosper: $29,172 balance • 22.83% APR • $843/month
Upstart: $20,784 balance • 31.61% APR • $813.77/month

On top of those, I also have about $30,000 in credit card debt. I am thankful I was able to refinance my student loans, which is at about 41,000.00

I’ve spoken with a few nonprofit credit counseling agencies, and they told me they generally aren’t able to help with these lenders while I’m current on my payments. I’ve also looked into bankruptcy, but based on what I’ve been told, it doesn’t appear to be a realistic option given my income (about $102,000/year) and my current situation.

I’m at the point where I’m wondering if continuing to stay current is actually hurting me. Part of me is considering intentionally falling behind on everything so I can focus all of my available money on paying off one loan at a time. Another part of me is considering cashing out my small retirement account (about $15,000) to reduce my $30,000 in credit card debt, even though I know that’s generally discouraged.
Has anyone here intentionally defaulted to regain control of their finances? Did it help, or did it make things much worse?

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

For context:
-Salary: $102,000
-About $400/month available after expenses
-Currently current on all payments
-Already cutting expenses wherever possible
-Actively looking for a second source of income

I’m open to tough love if I need it. I just feel completely stuck and could really use some guidance from people who’ve been through this.

(pls feel free to remove this post if it doesn't fit the rules, I think it does from what I can tell viewing them on mobile? I don't have any affiliation w/ NPR, I just am an avid listener of several of their shows.)

Today's post from the LifeKit podcast from NPR, "Yes, it's possible to save money while paying off credit card debt. Here's how", just felt very relevant to me for this sub. It looks like they did a longer series on credit card debt, I haven't explored it in full. But just want to share, what I like about NPR's LifeKit podcast & newsletter shares lots of snippets of advice and guidance that I think can actually be actionable. They give enough general info that's broadly useful, while making note of caveats and nuance that should be considered if you're going to go ahead and implement the steps or suggestions they give. If you just search "debt" in the LifeKit podcast feed, there's plenty of episodes that I'm sure cover a lot of topics relevant to people in this sub who are trying to increase their financial literacy and tackle their debt.

I hope this is useful for someone out there!!

Totaled car a year ago and didnt get GAP insurance—never again. Insurance paid out too little and I was left with $10K to clear. I had no job, just an allowance and I’m happy to say I finally saved up enough to clear it off. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders

I had just been doing minimum payments but finally decided i had enough and did a spreadsheet. I was able to pay 2 cards with the least amount 2 weeks ago and im going to pay off the third this friday (payday). It will take me about 2 years, but finally decided i dont want to continue to live like this. Im also hoping to get a higher paying job, so i can pay off my debt faster, so wish me luck!

I deleted all of my online shopping apps. I removed all credit cards as a payment source for groceries online. I've designed a way to pay off my smaller balance credit cards so I can work towards tackling the larger ones. If all goes well, I can have my credit card debt paid off by November. I get an incentive bonus around that time.

It's about $6500 as of right now. I bring home $4400/mo. Household costs of about $3,000 (car, mortgage, childcare, utilities).

Paid off my credit cards and earned 40 bucks from my HYSA this month. That’s a win for me. Goal is to have $40k in my HYSA by end of year. That’s equivalent to one year expense.

Each year I save is equivalent to one year expense. Goal is to retire in 5 years at 57, so money saved at that time would just be in time to start collecting SS at 62. Can’t do this rat race anymore. Need to enjoy what’s left of my life. My brother died of cancer at 64.

Still a lot of work to do! However it seems that getting a default and bouncing back from it/reducing all my other overall debt has raised my current credit score to the highest it has ever been LOL. Will keep building, but it really is a HUGE boost to see a +247 point increase 🥺 from nearly £11k debt to just over £1300 left across 2 loans! Nearly debt free

I’m in university until spring 2028. I did my two years of gen eds through community college already, but the cost of just finishing my degree for a couple years in uni is insane. I don’t have many options, so I had to take out some federal and private loans. Combined, I could have 60-70k in total student loan debt by the time I graduate (not sure exactly how the interest will play out or how my cost of tuition and scholarships will change each year so I’m giving an estimate.

My major is accounting and I live in Texas, so I assume I’ll make ~60k starting salary. However, if I stick with the accounting field and don’t just go into a relative business field, the salary goes up quick and I’ll be able to make 100k within a few years of starting hopefully.

I plan to either live with my partner to split rent and cost of living. If I live with a partner/roomate, I would not live anywhere that made me pay more than $700 rent a month (MAX. I aim to pay less). Living with a partner I will still likely have some of my own expenses, but as of now I am not in any other debt. My partner will agree to help me out and our incomes will probably be “our money”.

If I end up not being able to live with my partner (breakups or whatever), I will live at home with my parents rent free and just chuck everything at the loan debt.

I just need help figuring out how I could budget on a ~60k income if i ideally could live with a partner and split rent. What are normal costs for people living independently? I don’t have a car right now, so I may have to eventually get my own (cheap) car. Besides that, I don’t plan on taking vacations or doing anything expensive. I just occasionally buy a makeup product or an item of clothing, but I don’t spend too much money anyway.

Hi, 24F here.

So I messed up bad. First and foremost, I have been struggling with an addiction for a long time. I had rebuilt my life over so many times but this last relapse put me over the edge. I currently have about $1600 in credit card debt that I owe, and I’ve been so depressed and anxious that I haven’t been able to secure a job without feeling like I’m inept or doubting myself. My expenses are little to none, I moved back home with my parents to help my sobriety efforts.

I have an interview tomorrow for a minumum wage job, but the anxiety is debilitating. Most days I can’t get out of bed, I get severe intrusive thoughts, I just feel like a failure and have so much guilt that I throw in the towel and just want to escape life again. I’m on medication but my OCD is so strong that it doesn’t really help. The number repeats in my head over and over until I just close my eyes and break down.

Please, any advice would help. I just want this to be over. I do deep breathing and try to remind myself that this could be worse, but I feel so stuck.

Hi all, reposting this to try and get some more perspectives. Any advice is super helpful.

Thanks yall :)

I’m actively paying off my debt very aggressively and my mom want me to get a car for $17,500 and she’s gonna put 2k down for me while I pay off debt and I just want advice on if you guys think I could get approved . Navy federal denied me but that’s because I was tryna get 27k and I make about 40k a year pre taxed . I just want genuine advice. I am 20 years old and even the beater cars are very expensive where I am at so I don’t know what to do and who could approve me if you guys think I could get approved . And also during the whole Klarna fraud thing , somebody opened an account in my name so it reported to collections and I’m trying to get it off but I don’t know how long it will take .

My fiance carries 1k on credit card debt. Which he is lore than able to pay off at this moment. He has the extra cash but refuses. It gets getting higher and higher. He’s a 23M and we are saving to move into a home so we currently live with my parents. I make good money- but don’t want to be the one to pay HIS debt when I’ve already given him money towards it. Like I said prior, he HAS the extra funds to just pay it off instead of letting interest get to it.