So this is half getting things off my chest and half looking for advice. Kind of a long story but I'll keep it simple.
5 years ago I got a pretty big promotion, about an additional 30k per year plus lots of overtime and not much stress. I was commuting 10 minutes to work, moved into a much nicer, more expensive apartment with my then girlfriend, and treated myself to a dream car after having crank windows my whole life. My girlfriend was working part time but it was a job she loved so I didn't mind paying all the rent, she took care of food and utilities. Her car ended up dieing and her credit was horrible, mine was right around 770. We we're planning on getting engaged soon so I got a car in her name that she could just pay me monthly for, about $150 a month.
Fast forward to 2 years ago and where I work went through a major financial review, and overtime disappeared entirely, about 15k per year worth of bonuses are gone, and my office was moved to over 30 miles away, so my commute is now about 45 minutes plus $250 in tolls per month. I had to start using credit cards and a loan due to car repairs and lots of medical bills after we got in an accident in her car that was almost, probably should have been, totaled. We also booked a "dream" vacation months before most of it happened and couldn't cancel, so that was another few grand.
This past year we broke up, and since the car was in my name I'm stuck with two cars. Mine is still upside down and nobody wants the one she drove as a trade because of the accident, which I still owe 6k on. I have a loan through my credit union that I'm paying a couple hundred a month to try to pay off, plus I still have student loans. The worst mistake was having to live off of credit cards for the past year so I have a couple maxed out, Wich brought my credit score way down.
Since then our pay decreased, and I considered getting a 2nd job but my hours fluctuate a lot so it's not really possible. This past month the timing chain on my now ex's car went and it's still sitting at a dealer. They said they might cover some of it since it has less miles than the suggested milage. One thing I'm considering is trying to trade both cars for something extremely cheap and roll everything I owe into it, but I know my interest is going to be absurd and my current car loan is 1.9%
I've been considering tons of options, but feel like I'm just barely staying afloat. About 2 weeks every month my checking is overdrawn by a few hundred. I know I've made some stupid mistakes thinking that I'd keep my same pay but it went downhill very fast. I went from about 8k total debt on my student loans to a total of about 50k in total debt.
Again, just getting it off my chest. I've tried a few side projects to get more income but nothing has been successful yet.
Submitted October 30, 2018 at 06:07AM by incrdbleherk https://ift.tt/2Oecr8H
