My Story
From age 21-23 I accumulated day trading losses of over $250,000. I traded with money from loans as well as trading my mother’s account (to the tune of 150K in losses).
In other words, I was the stupidest kid ever.
I finally started getting my act together in Jan. of 2007, after a last ditch effort to convince my mother to let me trade more (with her money)…I hit rock bottom. I confessed what I had done to my family, and started to clean up. I saw a counselor for some time, short sold my home, lived in my office for 2 months, declared personal bankruptcy, and completely revamped my small business…and that was just the 2nd half of 2007.
I started this blog originally as just a journey to keep me on track, as well as have a place to process everything that was happening. That’s still pretty much the focus of the blog, though I do write some helpful posts like how to raise your credit score from time to time.
As of March, ‘08 I still have just over $250,000 in unsecured debt (not including student loans). Over 100K of that is business debt.
I don’t know what my future is going to look like. I do know that I’ve grown a ton in the past year, largely in part because of this blog. My readers keep me accountable and inspire me to keep going, even when I get overwhelmed with the enormity of the situation.
“a man must take responsibility for his actions” - Lee Adama ( Battlestar Gallactica, 1st Season)
- contact me: admin @ debtkid dot com
I’m open to interviews, and I could talk for hours on the follow topics:
- foreclosures, short sales (ie, how I short sold my home)
- bankruptcy (I did a Ch. 7)
- 20’s and money problems (I’m 24….)
- day trading/forex trading losses
- being frugal
- dealing with debt
Audio Overview
An interview I did with a finance radio show in Texas:
DebtKid on NetworthIQ
This # is a total debt calculation, it includes my student loans, my mom debt, business debt…everything.
Here’s an interview I did over at Geezeo that covers quite a bit as well.
Want to Follow My Journey? Subscribe. 
on March 5th, 2008 at 5:24 am
[...] I took some time to update my “about me” page yesterday. You can see the updated version here. [...]
on March 5th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Oh my… I thought I was in deep. I’m really interested to keep up on your progress. Hang in there! Nice touch sinking subscribe deally - at least your sense of humor has remained in tact : )
on March 6th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Good lord, dude! At 24 I was still in college… I didn’t get around to screwing up my financial future until atleast 26. I must be an underachiever.
Seriously though, that’s a helluva story. I don’t know what you do for a living, but even a quarter-million down is do-able.
I’m a quarter-mil down too, but only $150k is unsecure, the rest is mortgage… so I feel some of your pain.
Good luck with the rest, I’ll definitely be following
Mike
on March 7th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Debtkid: I love your blog. I am a geek too, but much older and also in DEBT! Stupid me, I let my husband do the bills. Bless his heart, he never really kept track of how much debt we owed. Once the monthly minimum payments increased last year, we were in serious trouble. In December, I took over the bill paying (and yes, creating a budget and following it). I am a few credits away from a MBA and have a MS in IT, so it just makes sense that I do the bills (duh!!!). We are debt $114,000 (counting my student loan), along with being parents to three small children from South Korea - ages 9, 7 and 4 years old - our oldest son just diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome (Autism). I am now trying to deal with the debt collectors (what fun!) and trying to convince the credit card companies to accept our low, affordable, monthly payments. I am also trying to start a small business (IT and accounting), along looking for a part-time job to pay off these debts quickly and selling our useless stuff on Ebay!! Hang in there! I appreciate your honesty! Good luck and keep posting your blog entries. You are an inspiration to us all!
Dawn
on March 11th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
[...] say it’s hard to lose $250,000. But it’s actually far easier than you might think. Take Debt Kid’s story, for example. He "managed" to lose that much in only two [...]
on March 12th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Wow… impressive in the worst way possible. Best of luck with everything. I’ll definitely be watching via RSS!
on March 24th, 2008 at 8:00 am
I thought I was in trouble with my $30,000 debt ( credit cards, car loan and personal loan) and a job loss, but this doesn’t compare with you. So I will be taking this journey with you. I hope I can be debt free by the end of this year.
on March 25th, 2008 at 9:42 am
This is definitely scary. I had $30k of debt at the beginning of this month and I’m also trying to get rid of it as quickly as possible. I thought I had a hill to climb, but you certainly have a mountain range.
on March 25th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I love all your info on short sales and foreclosures. You are very well versed in it. As for the tax implecations on a short sale, President Bush signed in to effect a bill that provides tax forgivness on short sales, which should help short sale sellers somewhat.
How do I become one of your recommended Realtors?
I work in the Metro Washington DC area, licensed in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC. I am very knowledgable and versed in short sales and foreclosures. I am honest and ethical and always educate my clients so that they may make an informed decision, not what I want them to do, but an educated decision on their own.
I love your blog!
Lisa
on March 25th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
@ Lisa, I’ll add you to my spreadsheet. Thanks for the comment!
on March 28th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Hey man,
Love the blog - sorry to hear about your problems but it’s great to see your working hard. Im 23 and can’t imagine that stress. Keep going - it will work out
on March 29th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Interesting story. It goes to show that you can’t dig yourself out of a hole.
I am curious though, since I am a mildly successful day trader- Tell me, when you started losing money, why didn’t you adjust your trading strategy? Did you not learn from your loses, or were you convinced that you had it right and the market would eventually go your way?
I have read many books on successful traders, and they are all different, but reach success all the same. I am very curious to hear about the mistakes you made in day trading, and why you continued to make those mistakes. Do you go too far out on margin, were you trading stocks, options, etc?
I look forward to reading more.
on March 29th, 2008 at 10:19 am
No, it is not a good figure. Yes, it is deeper than a lot. But there is always going to be someone else out there worse off than you.
You are not alone, and amazing things are going to happen along the road to get you out of debt if you take advantage of this unfortunate situation in the right way. Remember that. I’m hear commenting. There will be others. They will inspire you. Think of Dave Ramsey … his failure paved the road to his success.
You’ll learn how to achieve real wealth. I’m staying tuned to you …
on April 7th, 2008 at 7:24 am
[...] victim to the sunk-cost fallacy. I recently had coffee with “Debt Kid” and listened to his story. After some initial success with day trading, Debt Kid found himself down $2,000. Rather than [...]
on April 7th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
sadly enough, its somewhat comforting knowing you are not alone. I’ve spent 50k on a wedding and completely regretting every penny of it. your journey came from high intentions of an actual investment…mine, not so much = ( I admire your maturity and your willingness to share openly. I’m on the verge of filing for bk13 and finding your blog today has shed some sanity on my situation, if that makes any sense. I’ve been completely depressed over some time now and have pretty much disappointed myself completely. I wish you the best and will be checking in every so often.
on April 27th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
My profile is very similair to yours. I had a negative 60 K balance in my day trading account when I was 30 yrs old. Keep your spirits high because this experience is what transformed me. Now I have changed so much in life that my networth grows steadily every year, recession or not.
Wealth is not the destination. It is the path to the destination.
Atleast you are not shy to talk about this. I withdrew like a turtle.
on April 28th, 2008 at 8:25 am
“I’ve spent 50k on a wedding and completely regretting every penny of it.”
That must have been some wedding. Did you borrow money to pay for it?
on April 30th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
I really like in the audio clip where you and the host talk about “marketing with God”. I’ve never really known what to call it but nothing irritates me more than when people abuse that. It’s always made me avoid the topic for risk of unintentionally “marketing with God” myself.
Best of luck.
on May 8th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
DebtKid,
Love the blog. Like yourself, I am a geek who is blogging for the inspiration to keep paying off the debt.
Wow. That’s a lot of debt.
Good luck to you and your endeavor.
on May 21st, 2008 at 6:12 am
[...] wait just a second - isn’t debt a bad thing? Well, in the hands of those that don’t know how to manage it, yes, debt can be a bad thing. [...]
on May 27th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
DK, I admire you for not blowing your brains out or jumping off a skyscraper. My aunt is comtemplating suicide right now because after years of being on top and laughing at how poor my family was, she just seem to handle being broke.
Also, to the people considering bankruptcy (whatever chapter), really think about it before you royally screw yourself for the next decade+. My parents at 50 years old still can’t buy a home yet or co-sign for their daughters college loan. They chap13′d in 1998.
on June 5th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
@Jacqulene - I know from experiences with many many people that the problem lies with what they hear. It’s great (depending on how you look at it) when people are able to recover quickly from a bankruptcy, but it is such a dangerous thing to count on the possibility it work out the same way for them. I can’t tell you how many times I have begged people not to file when they have better options. Unfortunately, they have a buddy that has a buddy that was able to buy a house a couple years after bankruptcy. Sometimes it’s a sad shame.
on June 11th, 2008 at 12:01 am
[...] late to change. No matter what you’ve done, no matter where you are financially, no matter how much debt you’re in, no matter what, make the decision to do whatever it takes to change your current [...]
on June 12th, 2008 at 8:08 am
[...] Debt Kid spills it all in My Story [...]
on June 24th, 2008 at 2:06 am
it’s a horror story, i did something like you but on a smaller scale and i already felt horribly bad,
i wish you good luck to recover from your losses!!
on June 25th, 2008 at 4:53 am
I just started my own blog about being a 27-year-old with a lot of debt–mortgage, student loans, credit cards–and horrible money management skills. I’ve got no excuses, either; I just planned things very poorly. Feel free to visit or add me to your feed! I’ll definitely be following your story.
on June 25th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Dude, you are amazing for coming forward with this candid info. I applaud your efforts. good luck. i know you can do it just stay focused
on September 9th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Carrying credit card debt is crazy. I collect interest. I don’t pay interest. You pay for everything with cash or debit card. No credit cards. Only disciplined people can use credit cards and pay them off every month.No loans. If you don’t have the cash, you can’t buy it. Get a second job. Get a third job. Keep a daily diary. Write down every penny you spend. Use the diary to figure your monthly fixed expenses. Make a game of it. How much fat can I cut from my budget? How much money can I make with a 2nd job? … I have worked a 2nd part-time job for 21 years. It is 40 extra hours per month. I have invested that extra money. I have never spent any of it. How much have I saved? $396,127.23. What did I miss out on? I have never watched American Idol. I have never watched Dancing with the Has Beens. Obviously, I have not missed anything.
on September 29th, 2008 at 2:50 am
[...] learning to do it as I climb out of 300,000+ of debt, so you can [...]
on September 29th, 2008 at 3:36 am
Dude, incredible.
If you can get out of this, anybody can! I’ll be following.
on October 8th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I’m really impressed. I look forward to watching you grow though this. I went though something similar, but not as bad. I can tell you from experience that you will look back at these tough times and smile about them someday.
Cheers.