“Dear Steve,
I came up short on a bill and needed immediate help to cover the payment. Someone suggested that I apply for a payday loan to cover the bill. I applied for a loan and of course I was approved. That helped the immediate problem, but what happened further down the road is the real issue.
I have continued to come up short each payday and now I am afraid that things have literally snowballed. The minimum amounts owed on the payday loans are equal to nearly half of my paycheck. I don’t know how I can get out of this hole.
I feel so foolish. What in the world am I supposed to do now? I am struggling to make it to the next payday and I don’t know how I can ever pay of these loans. I have already paid them at least 10 times what was originally borrowed and I don’t know what to do to get out of this quicksand.
What can I do to get out this payday loan quicksand? I don’t want to go to one of those payday consolidation places and I can’t get a personal loan because my credit rating is suffering under the strain of missed and late payments. Can you please help me figure out what other options I have and what I can do to get back on track? I am sad, desperate and totally confused.”
If pictures can speak a thousand words, this one describes your situation the best.
You basically have a few choices:
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- Keep doing what you are doing.
- Attempt to negotiate a repayment plan with the payday loan companies that you can really afford.
- Increase your income.
- Intervene in the debt and eliminate it.
Eliminating your debt through bankruptcy is probably the most reasonable course to follow. The reason is that while your debt might not be huge, it is taking up over half of your modest check and does not leave you room to survive.
The reality is this situation has been building for some time and more loans will only accelerate the problem and leave you in a situation that is darn near impossible to crawl out from.
I’d suggest you first read How to Get Out of Debt. The Honest and Unvarnished Truth and The Truth About The Success Rates, Failure Rates and Completion Rates of Credit Counseling, Debt Settlement, and Bankruptcy. They will give you a great overview of what we need to deal with to get you moving in the right direction.
Then use the free How to Get Out of Debt Calculator to review your options.
Once you’ve identified a company you want to work with, then follow my step-by-step guide on how to check out a debt relief company.
Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.
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