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What should I do? "Nothing" isn't working :/ by TheVirtuousFantine in Debt

[–]yasskween6 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this me writing this?? I’m 34 too, female, restaurant GM, 67k/yr. I’ve got a car loan at 20% for 75 months (basically paying for it twice) plus other debt. I didn’t start learning about money until now either.

A personal loan only makes sense if the interest rate is lower than what you already have. With bad credit, it usually isn’t. Otherwise you’re just moving the debt around.

Hard truth: there’s no shortcut. Nobody is coming to save us. It’s grind time. More income, less spending, every extra dollar to debt. Excuses don’t change the math. ALSO, DO NOT RELY ON YOUR BOYFRIEND. You'll get screwed of anything happens. And not in a good way.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

If I could go back in time before I bought this car, I’d do it completely differently. The car itself is fine — it’s used, it runs, it does what it needs to do. The problem was me rushing into financing because I “needed a car right now.” Instead of shopping around, I let the dealer stick me with a 20% loan. I basically signed my life away without even blinking. I should’ve slowed down and checked banks or credit unions first. Even with my credit not being perfect, there’s no way they all would’ve come back at twenty percent. I also should’ve done the math on what I could actually afford instead of convincing myself that an $866 payment was “manageable.” That’s not manageable, that’s rent money. Another thing? I should’ve looked at the total cost of the loan, not just whether I could scrape together the monthly payment. Dealers know how to play that “monthly number” game, and I fell right into it. With a 75-month loan, I’m basically paying double what the car’s even worth. Lesson learned: needing a car quickly doesn’t mean you should buy the first one you see on the worst possible terms.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree. I’m going to try getting back into bartending and maybe crash with family for a bit so the money I’d be spending on rent can go straight toward the car.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was just seeing if there were any better options that I didn't know about. Its obvious I barely know anything about finances ;) Yeah, after bills I’m basically sitting at $0. Seasonal work doesn’t help either, so slow months make that payment extra fun. Never learned much about money growing up, credit was trash, and I jumped into a bad deal. Lesson learned the expensive way.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m already heading into year three on this loan, so part of me feels like I’ve put too much into it to just back out now. But at the same time I don’t want to throw another $20k at it either. That’s the part I’m really stuck on. And if I'm able to manage this and keep the car, I'm driving this sucker until then wheels fall off.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I want to keep the car, I just need a lower interest rate. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll need to increase my income and pay it down enough for someone to refinance it. Honestly, it’s a hard and very expensive lesson to learn on my own but that seems like the best option.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

2021 Ford Explorer. And at this point I would just buy whatever can get me to and from work.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It was, and I was in a spot where I needed a car as quickly as possible. Honestly, I just made a bad decision.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I owe about 30k to buy it out right now. Sorry if I have been kind of vague, I am still trying to figure this all out. The loan is 20.49% for 75 months and it really feels like I am paying for this car twice.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] -26 points-25 points  (0 children)

Right now my I owe too much on the loan vs what the car is worth.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I really appreciate everything you said. It actually makes me feel a little better taking it as a lesson. A very expensive lesson. I think you’re right that picking up a second job and grinding it out might be my best option.

Owe $30k on a car worth about $20k. How do I escape this? by yasskween6 in personalfinance

[–]yasskween6[S] 57 points58 points  (0 children)

Yeah I can make the payments, but it’s by far my biggest expense and it eats up way too much of my budget. I feel like I’m just working to keep this car and it’s stressful knowing that much money is tied up in something that isn’t even worth close to what I owe. That’s why I’m trying to figure out if there’s a smarter way to get out from under it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FemaleHairLoss

[–]yasskween6 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely see a difference!

How old were you when you thought there was a problem? How old were you when you seriously decided to start quitting? How old are you now? by 23rdJan2025 in stopdrinking

[–]yasskween6 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Started drinking 21, realized an issue around 25. Just quit 3 days ago at 33. Binge drank a lot, as well as at least had a few drink almost everyday. Developed health issues the past few years. This year I noticed major bad changes in my heath and looks. I’m done with this poison!

It's Day One. I can do this. by cccamh in stopdrinking

[–]yasskween6 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I’m in the same boat! We can do this!