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Thinking about dealing with the money just made an intolerable situation worse. But, finally forcing myself to deal with it put an end to the bleeding and that little positive was the key to starting some forward momentum and finally getting through the legal process.
Aside from resisting the urge to ignore it, the only tangible bit of advice that worked for me is I opened some new cards with large credit limits, cheap balance transfers, and 0% APR on those transferred balances for 12-24 months. That afforded me a lot of breathing room and time to work hard and pay them off. I had great credit and no debt before this so may not be applicable.
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Best of luck to you.
Unemployment wasn’t paying sh**. My electric was about to get shut off. It was winter time and, I had little ones.
Although still gritting my teeth because of my back, I reached out to a friend I knew for several years who relocated from Portland to the Seattle area. We worked together at a few different shops. He helped me get a job doing the remodel of the Paradise visitor center on Mt Rainier. I worked out of town away from home while splitting two households. I did it for over a year before finally moving my family up here.
I was able to return home after the first week, pay all my bills and, finally breath a little. I learned two things. I learned you will learn quick who your real friends are when the chips are down. Also, never put as much faith as I did in any company regardless of being friends with the owner.
At the end of the day, it’s just a job.
Lost my old job in Miramar, was over 30 unemployed living with the parents again, came really close to defaulting on some stuff and going bankrupt.
I vowed to never let myself be compromised financially again… or work for a family owned business. Because I learned people who think corporations treat you like a cattle number and screw you have never worked as an outsider for a family owned joint.
Thankfully never got too serious, but it was a scary time.
It isn't the end of the world, trust me. You can recover quickly and likely get CC applications the next day.
You're allowed a mulligan.
Hire a lawyer, get your affairs in order, wipe the slate clean and start over.
It’s sounds like you’ve done a lot of the below (as I did 15 years ago), but a daily reminder keeps you on the right track.
Make it real and your post does just that. Every dollar counts. Instead of Starbucks, or eating out, or even buying a 12-pack, etc. etc. it’s Folgers, bag lunches, and water. A reminder everyday you’re not out of it (financial issues) yet.
Treat it like you’ve lost a job or your life depends on it.
It’s all about being in a state of survival and believing in yourself. “This too shall pass”. There is no magic pill, but living like your poor and scrutinizing every dollar (EVERY DOLLAR) spent is healthy. And, as you know, running your engine a little lean makes the most power.
Be honest with yourself. Identity the problem and fix it. May require a career change, working 7 days a week for a while, a move out of the State, a resource for what caused the problem…ie. could be an addiction of some kind or credit card / shopping problem, etc etc.
It’s a day by day journey and getting freedom (from debt) happens 1 day and 1 dollar at a time.
And I believe fitness doesn’t get the pub it deserves. It’s positive effect on the mind is unquestioned.
Every aspect of your life needs a sharp edge for the long term. If you haven’t watched Cinderella Man in a while, watch it again.
Back to family, friends, co-workers, colleagues. They’ll see this transformation and new (better) opportunities begin to “magically appear”, but this time you’ll have the necessary tools in your toolkit to take advantage. The right (and realistic) way.
I had an excavation business in my 20’s and got hooked up with a crooked developer that wouldn’t pay after I had about 100k worth of utilities in the ground for him.
I ended up just talking with the creditors and struggled and got them paid off. But it was tough. The bankruptcy path would have been easier, but my pride wouldn’t let me. Back then it seemed like a bigger stigma than it is now. But like Dave said, it might be the best option.
The second wasn’t as bad, but take my advise and don’t ever buy any over the road trucks. I told people I had to keep my flying job to support my trucking habit.
Bottom line is keep your head up high, whether you gut it out or do what’s probably the smart thing and file chapter 11. Most people don’t have the fortitude to take a chance on something. And more business ventures don’t work than what do.
I guess the best advice I can give is like I hinted at above - cut and run right now. Sell everything that you don't require to keep breathing, and rebuild starting now, rather than dragging out the inevitable.
Far too often people try, WITH THE BEST INTENT, to try and dig out, but it's just too deep and you spent too long and too much trying to dig out, when you knew all along it really wasn't feasible.
Rule typically was you got hit for 7 years on your credit, and that seems like a long time, but as an old guy (now), it's not. Cut your losses, file BK now and move on with your life. I know for a fact people will throw all kinds of credit at you not long after you complete your BK.
I do not know about California, but in Florida we are a Homestead property state, so even in a BK, they can't take your home....That's why OJ moved here.
So, I do not know California laws in regards to BK and homes/property or if that is a consideration.
If you have a good faith belief that you can dig out, then do so. Dig out.
But, based on your asking the question, I get the feeling that may not be a realistic possibility.
If that's the case, cut your losses and move on. No shame in it. Only shame would have been in not trying to do what you did.
I tried like hell for 2 years to pay my way out of it, then I had a real hard conversation with myself and decided that going BK was my only option.
It was a tough pill to swallow but now looking back on it over a decade later it was the right decision.
Like flarider said, you will instantly be able to start rebuilding your credit....go to a Credit Union and get "secured" credit cards and use them and pay them off each month. I was advised that is the best place to start.
You're young, you can bounce back from this.
I know some guys in the road racing world who are in an insane amount of debt but continue to race at a level which takes far too much money. Racing is a heroin addiction that take credit cards as payment.
After 2000 it took off and started doing really well, growing between 15%-25% every year.
Like an idiot I thought it would keep going like that.
Starting with Katrina when fuel prices jumped it leveled off, then in 2008 it took a nose dive.
I lost my 2 best tracks, had a multi million dollar lawsuit against me, my dad got colon cancer, and my numbers dropped to 30% of what I was doing the years before, and had several runs of wet weather about the time the sport transitioned to Fairweather riders. I had also purchased 65 acres to build a facility on, got shut down on work for permits, and couldn't sell it for anywhere close to what I paid.
I was distracted and took my eye off the ball. Ended up with major credit card debt.
I had a job offer to go do pipeline work as an operator, and like a complete fool, I opted to keep running races.
Finally quit in 2014, with about $50k in debt.
Did without so much to finally get it paid off, along with the land, but it fills good.
Don't know exactly what your situation is ML, but I think I would try some of the options mentioned here. Certainly the negotiations, maybe the bankruptcy.
Whichever you do, just know that a lot of us respect you taking a chance on a dream that unfortunately didn't work out.
I alway enjoyed this by teddy Roosevelt
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Independence day
Pit Row
With it comes always living on a bit of an edge.
Pay check to paycheck, or sometimes nothing at all.
Knowing that work always seems to come along when needed, but never steady enough for long range plans.
Couple that with two addictions of, skydiving and racing mt bikes, both x-c and dh, and you have times when you're happy as shit, but cash poor.
Luckily never in much cc debt.
Along comes my current GF and for the past 12yrs we've been focusing on finacial security.
Today we have two homes outright paid off.
One a lake house on watts bar lake in TN.
The other a cabin in the NC mts.
Plus 3 short term rental cabins around the GSMNP.
Two are paid for.
Seven figures in property assets, only one with a mortgage.
She definitely had more financial knowledge than I ever had.
The short term cabin rentals are the smartest decision we ever made.
A huge risk for the first one, but snowballed into being able to get a second, and now a third.
Now we just gotta hope people keep taking vacations to the tourist traps surrounding the smokies.
Without her help I'd still be stuck just getting by week to week.
So we did. A year later I had a credit card, A year after that was buying a new truck, and 10 years after we bought our house. A for effort, but shit happens. It’s not like we were blatantly spending money on toys. My problem was accounts receivable, i’d be owed a bunch of money and then have to put more parts on credit cards, A little bit at first, and then it snowballed into where we couldn’t keep up with the interest. I was a better pool man than businessman and learned the hard way. I tell guys that want be a pool service guy or start any kind of business to take a business class first. That was my mistake, good pool guy, Bad businessman. Not sure what the details of your situation is but hey A for effort. No sense killing yourself so the credit card companies can keep raking in huge interest payments every month.
Failed business attempt combined with piss poor decision making got me there.
https://www.balancepro.org/resources/articles/counseling-programs-debt-and-budget-counseling/
I already had a house and within 5 years I was back around 675 fico which was enough to get a car loan.
Like mentioned above. Do it early, before you are bled of everything. I was selling bikes, guns etc for months to try and keep my head above water and in the end I did a 13 anyways. Should have done it right away.
If it’s a very large sum that is pretty much insurmountable to pay back, then file for BK and be done with it.
I’d be interested in knowing how much debt you are talking about. It may feel like a lot but perhaps it’s manageable. Of course it could be a six figure sum and that’s a different story.
Agree on the excel budget. Back then (for me) listing all the debts on a spreadsheet and creating a plan to pay them down felt very liberating. It transferred that financial stress into an action plan.
ML- wish you the best. Many of us have been in similar situations- with time and hard work you’ll recover just fine.
One thing he preaches is if you can't afford to buy in cash you should not purchase.
Financing and interest is money down the toilet other than a home of course.
Credit card interest otherwise known as revolving interest is the worst kind of interest you can possibly have it compounds and multiplies. Nobody should have a CC balance. I zero it out each month and just collect the points.
If you have huge credit card debt maybe you should see about trying to get a low interest loan and pay off all the credit cards first.
If that is not possible then yes take the others advice and file BK.
Good luck and have no regrets, you gave it a good attempt and put your team and Cody Schock on the map.
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