Emotions.
They are a good healthy thing. But sometimes they suck.
I did not realize the emotional impact all this debt was having on me, until I began dealing with it all last week. Having to tell my parents wiped me out for 2 days. Now, after a good 12 hour work day yesterday, I woke up this morning in the same spot…exhausted, even after a good 9 hours of sleep.
I need to go to the gym today, I think that will help me feel a bit better. I’ve been eating OK. It’s just alot to deal with at the moment. I have to:
- negotiate all my debt down to at least 6K in payments
- Bring my net income up to around 9K to cover those payments and business expenses
- Tell my brothers about my issue sometime early next week
- Start seeing a counselor as early as next month to deal with all this (parents orders)
- continue to run my small business with 5 part-time employees and myself
- try to have somewhat of a life
So, It’s just alot at the moment.
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Counseling? As in psych? Not credit counseling? I have found from my experience that most credit counselors are really not in the business for the sake of your best interest. I would avoid a credit counselor.
You should meet with a financial planner and your bank to see what you can do about restructuring debt.
My question is how on earth did you get this far into the hole? Did you have a margin call? I mean even a bad trader would see warning signs and perhaps take action sooner than later.
I think its great you are taking action. You should also review all your monthly expenses and trim everything that is not an absolute necessity. Skip a haircut every other month, get rid of cable, use only one phone. Drive a cheaper car… or sell the car and ride a bike!
To have a cash outflow of $6K in personal expenses you need to gross about $120K annually Live within the 60% rule that 60% of your gross income is all that your expenses should ever total.
With a 120K gross, the 60% rule affords you $6000 per month for your expenses.
Add to that your business expense and you need to gross a lot more. So… have you thought of putting your business on hold for a while and going out an getting a job? You are 23. You have PLENTY of time ahead of you to be self emplyed. Self employment is great if you can swing it, but it sounds like you are not quite prepared for that yet. You are still young. Work in the “real” world for 5 years, and focus on your own business after you have some real experience under your belt. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Hard decisions still are yet to be made. Perhaps closing up shop and working for the man for a while is a corrective step that you need.
Dude, hate to be a killjoy but sometimes the truth is not pretty. I haven’t read all of your posts but maybe the first 2. You have $300k of debt, you “had” XM radio subscription, you have your own business (lots of work), and one of your goals includes “having somewhat of a life” and you think you have time to write a blog and go to the gym.
Advice: take a really hard look at where you spending money (then stop it), get a part-time job (instead of going to the gym and writing a blog), use the part-time money to help pay off the loans. This isn’t going to dig you completely out of your hole but based on some observation of your situation, I think some of your poor decision making is part of the problem.
Good luck!
Chris, thanks for the advice! I actually had a friend cut my hair this weekend…price? Free!
This is an old post and I just stumbled across it, but while I say lose the gym membership I don’t think you should stop working out. Working out and being physically active (a moderate amount) pays out in dividends that working for the same amount of time ( say an hour a day six days a week six hours a week) doesn’t. You reduce medical costs, improve your serotonin levels (working out is as effective as many prescription drugs for mild depression, and dept can often trigger depression). Get dumbbells for free from freecycle and a decent pair of tennis shoes (buy online *much* cheaper than in the store) and you have a very cost effective exercise regimen (assuming you pay 50 bucks for a pair of shoes, and you replace them every 6 months that’s 100 bucks a year). Exercise also triggers creativity, and over time reduces your need for sleep, all of which can give you much needed money (bright ideas, and the need to refrain from fashion therapy). Good luck.
Dude, you’re 24 – time to stop taking orders from yr parents and get a life. Fuck those zombies and their credit rating generation. It’s just a bullshit con to keep your ass enslaved to folk you don’t even know. Don’t encourage their usury by trying to make your payments.
You should keep exercising because your health has value. Your health also enables you to work more.
Plus this blog can generate cash.
I recommend you get two jobs, whatever they pay, work 80 hours a week, and do this for 10 years straight. You should have a net worth of about $100,000 by then. With this you can put $50,000 into buying a cheap house in the country or in a developing countries and the other $50,000 can be put into conservative investment that produces passive income that covers your food costs. Then you can retire early (in your 30s or 40s) and live peacefully thereafter.