The plain and simple truth is that I have absolutely no idea!
I have spent the past six months ignoring my debt, once again. I got into a frame of mind that left me saying “Why bother?” I wasn’t going to be able to pay on my debt and I wasn’t sure when I would be able to again. So I took the very worst approach possible when living with debt. I ignored it.
Denial, thy name is Jessica.
Want to know where that got me??
I currently have TWO lawsuits against me from two different creditors. I spoke with one of them (Capital One for a current balance of around $2100) and have made payment arrangements. And the other, well I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them. The current balance with them is over $6000. I’m fairly certain they will not be agreeable to the same payment arrangement I made with Capital One.
I am still unemployed at the moment but working on getting that remedied. I have signed up to substitute teach in the area that I’m now living in, I’m putting up fliers for tutoring jobs and I’ve been looking for some freelance writing opportunities out there. In the meantime, I have my student loan money to cover living expenses.
With that money:
* I have funded my emergency fund (which isn’t exactly real, I’ll need that money come December to pay for rent unless I’m able to put enough away to cover it by working.).
* I paid off my taxes from 2008, it was stupid of me to have waited this long, it was only $60. But they hadn’t sent a reminder in months and I just forgot about it.
* I’ve paid off my chiropractor bill which had been slowly going down but I hadn’t paid on it in a few months.
* I’ve also paid back a friend who loaned me money back in 2009 (another thing that wasn’t a lot of money but I always seemed to put it off).
Now it’s time to really focus on the debt while also making sure that I have enough money to live off of while going to school.
Rent is covered with my loans so I am hoping to be able to put a decent amount of money towards debt over the next few months.
My plan is as follows:
Mastercard – Bal $500 – Pay minimum $150 each month starting Nov. and fully paid off no later than January 31.
Dell – Bal $700 – Pay $25 a month until Mastercard is paid off and then pay minimum $175 a month, paid off by March 30.
Capital One -Bal $2100 - Pay $100 a month until Dell is paid off and then pay a minimum of $275 a month
I also need to take action with other debts to Chase (two accounts) and Discover. Honestly, I’m not sure what will happen with Discover. I can’t offer them much so I’m not sure how to stop a judgement from being laid against me. I can’t afford an attorney and I’m not sure how the process of responding to it goes. I will just take it one day at a time.
I’m not sure how much I can put towards the other three remaining debts but I’m going to do my best. This is just a guess right now since I don’t know how much money I’ll be bringing in on a regular basis. I hope to substitute a minimum of three days a week which would bring in around $1200 a month.
Other areas I need to consider:
-need to put away for rent during July-Sept. when there is no loan money to cover it.
-need to put away money for a car as Marquis Mark is not doing so well
So there you have it. That’s where the Debt is for September 2011. Hopefully I’ll have more positive things to say come next month.
I think that you should call about your $6000 debt. At least that way you will know exactly where you stand. You never know they may be more agreeable that you expect.
Good luck with all of it. I am cheering for you.
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Sunny(Quote)
Thank you Sunny, and thank you for replying, I think this is the first time I’ve seen you here!! I am going to all them. I’ve also been thinking I need to contact a debt relief company to see if they can help me or if it’s too late. It’s on my list of things to do next week.
Jessica The DebtPrincess(Quote)
This was a really interesting read for me, you are so open with your situation and I have kept mine secret for so long.
I was in a lot of debt, over 4x what you have listed above but my mum helped me out of a lot of it, for some silly reason when I was telling her how much debt I was in I lied and didnt tell her the full amount – which was stupid as he cleared what she thought was the “full amount” for me but then I could not ask for more.
I am now in £3k debt to a credit card and its killing me, everytime anyone rings me up to do anything that costs money I view them as a pest and I snap at them. Its really bringing out the wost in me!
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Lessa(Quote)
Thank you so much for reading!
I have wanted to be open about it all from day one. I want to put a face and remove the shame from being in debt. It’s a part of our society and I think talking about it is going to help us eliminate our debt as well as educating the next generation.
I do not want my kids or anyone elses going through what I’ve gone through by being in debt. I hope to someday reach more people and help educate them on financial literacy.
Jessica The DebtPrincess(Quote)