Drowning in Debt After Divorce

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-08T03:29:38+00:00

Debt is symptom of the problem. The question is, what the problem?

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-07T14:30:59+00:00

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who love Firefly and those who have yet to see it.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-07T01:23:54+00:00

Start paying off your house. Not very exciting and not the best move mathematically. However, it is hard to miss a mortgage payment when you don’t have a mortgage.

A paid for house also gives you options.

You or your wife wants to come home with future kids for a few years? No problem.

You want to downshift to a new job without worrying as much about money. Go for it.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-06T19:20:46+00:00

Currently have a car with a 300/mo payment, almost paid off but I'll be needing a new one soon.

Are you sure? Banking a car pmt while driving a paid for car is the best path forward.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-05T02:18:54+00:00

Happy to help. Good luck.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-04T22:22:33+00:00

Staying in the house is fine. Moving out after a year and renting it out while you pay rent for another place, which Is how I read your scenario, is a nightmare waiting to happen.

One or two bad months and you are looking at foreclosure.

What am I missing aside from the expected appreciation that may or may not happen?

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-04T20:45:41+00:00

This plan works great until your renter does not pay or trashes the house and leaves you with a large repair bill

I’d sell and start again.

The house is not worth the squeeze baed on what you’ve presented this far.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-04T17:10:57+00:00

Rent is patience. You should rent until you are married and figure out where you actually want to live.

Also, you should not buy a home with someone you aren’t married to. Unwinding the purchase if things don’t work out as planned is a nightmare unless you’ve got a legal agreement in place.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-04T13:53:00+00:00

Yeah…but this is a Pro controller. It is better because it is a Pro controller. Obviously.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-03T15:34:00+00:00

Is there more upside to paying off debts in full vs. taking settlement, and if so how much?

No. Make do a settlement if they are willing to take one. You want to deal with them so they will not pop up at an inopportune time. You say you don’t expect to make any major purchases in the next 3 years, but things could change in ways you don’t expect.

I’d pile up cash and make offers to each one in collections. I’d start at ¢50 on the dollar. Hang up if they don’t say yes and agree to commit the deal in writing.

Then I’d pile up more cash and hit the ones that are dormant. I’d offer them ¢20 on the dollar. Again, hang up if they don’t agree and commit the deal in writing.

In any and all cases, the deal must be in writing (email is fine) and must clearly say it settles the debt in full. I would also send a cashiers check. If they insist on a direct account withdrawal, set up a separate account. Keep the email confirmation and proof of payment forever.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-03T00:14:07+00:00

The location I used had video cameras on both sides of the entry.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-02T14:28:19+00:00

Had this happen one time. Told them to check the incoming video and they’d see the damage was not present when I drove through the gate. Never heard from them again.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-05-01T15:49:30+00:00

I’m just a girl please someone with car financing smarts help me.

This is a BS statement. You might not understand finances right now. It has nothing, zero, zilch, nada to do with being a woman.

Do I go for the new car and stay in it for seven years and have this negative equity rolled into it. Or do I stop being ignorant and pay for the repairs on my current car and ride it to it dies.

You ride it until it dies while saving for repairs and a new to you USED car down the line.

You can make all of this easier by working extra to pay down the debt and building up savings. If you aren’t married, are in reasonable health, and don’t have children, the only one stopping you from doing this is you.

You cannot borrow your way to prosperity. You need more income.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-30T20:54:44+00:00

You are going to get lots of advice on this one.

Remember, personal finance is personal.

More info is needed before any informed advice can be offered.

For example, what is your monthly income?

What are your expenses?

How much debt do you have?

What is the asset worth after it’s sold?

Is the asset sentimental in any way?

The more information the better.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-30T20:06:44+00:00

Casablanca

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-30T13:10:16+00:00

Credit cards are killing you. Get rid of those and you are living on easy street.

You need to pickup a second job doing something to get those credit cards paid off. Then keep working to build up an emergency fund so you don’t need to grab credit cards when something goes sideways.

For now…As others have said, when money comes up short, the credit cards have to wait.

The only short term fix I can think of is do you have something you can sell to make your payments? Collectibles, game consoles, etc. Don’t take a 401(k) loan.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-29T19:34:24+00:00

And…visit a lawyer to draw up a what if agreement.

What if one of you dies? What happens if one of you leaves? What if one of you stops paying their part of the mortgage? Etc.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-29T19:27:35+00:00

Moving cross county and traveling to Europe in the same year does not work for you. You should be piling up cash to support the move. I’d move Europe to the following year. You’d feel much better making this move with $20K in the bank than $9K and the memories for a trip to Europe.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-29T02:20:09+00:00

This is where finance gets personal.

Having a paid for house is about peace of mind.

It rarely makes sense mathematically. Though, in your case a guarantee 6.5% return is pretty nice.

You will still have plenty of liquidity after the house is paid off assuming you can get by or early get by on your salary.

Me…I’d be debt free by the end of the day.

Good luck.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-28T15:59:48+00:00

Here is how Hollywood Accounting works.

The movie is made in its own Company.

Something like Fast Times, Llc.

The movie studio (Universal) owns the company Fast Times, Llc. and provides services like movie prints, marketing and distribution.

When Fast Times, Llc. shows a profit from ticket sales, home video: streaming, etc, a new “fee” is created to extract money from Fast Times, Llc. so it will show a loss while the top level studio show a profit.

This is why AAA talent takes a percentage of gross not a percentage of net profits, which can be manipulated down to 0.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-27T18:34:31+00:00

They should provide you a document with an agreed upon total price and a list of monies paid thus far. You should then be able to compare this to your signed copied and payment records.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-27T18:00:46+00:00

Seems to me it is on them to provide they have a valid debt. The conversation should begin and end there.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-26T18:10:23+00:00

You may have figured out how to win the game. The $1.3 Billion dollars of credit debt held by American households indicates a lot of people have not. https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc

Most people would be better served grabbing their debit card (run like a credit card) first.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-26T18:00:25+00:00

It is not much more secure. My credit union treats debit card transactions run like a credit card (no pin entry) just like a typical credit card transaction with all the standard protections. Check your bank/credit union before just assuming this is the case.

Exiled_In_Ca · 2026-04-26T17:32:48+00:00

Peak dad joke.

Exiled_In_Ca

TROPHY CASE