cdb7833's letter

CDB7833 wrote:

I really like your blog. I think it's amazing that people are so open with telling you things and trusting what you have to say. It's a cool thing to read.

That said, here is my issue: I am in financial ruin. I am 33 years old and have over 80,000 in debt. I've thought about filing for bankruptcy, but I hear it's tougher now, so I don't really know what to do. It's so depressing. None of my friends know and I try to not let them in. For all they know, it's life as usual. How do I fix this?

CDB7833

Well to start with, don't go on living life as usual. All of that money you may be blowing by hanging out with your friends could be going toward knocking down some of your debt. Filing bankruptcy isn't a good option, it's the option to use when ALL else fails. Stop buying things except food, cut your expenses (stop going out or if you DO go out, just have one beer), and make every effort to pay down some of this debt. Also, try contacting some creditors or collectors to see if they're willing to make you a deal to settle your debt. In this day and age, many creditors are just looking to have the debt off of the records. Show them you're willing to work with them and they'll work with you.

The point is, is that you can always win when you're behind in a race, but you can't keep doing the "same old thing" because that's what got you there in the first place. Make some changes and you'll have this debt whittled down in no time.