I never thought I’d be doing something like this. Asking people for money. To be clear, I don’t want a handout; I intend to pay back every penny. Please, if someone would be willing to lend me a few thousand dollars, I will happily pay you back when I can. I’m married and we both work full time. My husband is an electrician and I’m a medical assistant. Money has always been tight, but we’d make it paycheck to paycheck. Recently I was diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis, and even with insurance I’m left with thousands of dollars of debt from hospital stays, MRIs, medications, infusions…I’m on payment plans but can no longer afford to make those payments. That on top of student loans, my creditors, auto loans, 401k and hardship loan payments, we no longer earn enough to make ends meet. I’m grateful to still be able to work because I love my job, but I’ve gotten in over my head and we need help. I thought I would try the kindness of strangers as a last resort. I’ve killed my credit score, and we can’t get a loan to consolidate my debt. All I could get were payday loans with impossibly high interest rates and fees. And now I’m afraid of losing our home along with everything else.
In an attempt to not fall behind on mortgage payments I took out a payday loan. Then I had to take out another to try and pay the first one off quickly and keep up with the other bills. I was stupid enough and desperate enough to keep doing this and I’ve dug a hole so deep I can’t escape. Just for payday loans I owe around $2500 every two weeks. That’s deducted from my bank account twice a month, or every time I get paid. I only bring home around $1400 (after taxes, with overtime) per paycheck. I’ve dragged my husband down with me and now we’re both broke with horrible credit and zero options. I realize it’s my own fault for making such poor and impulsive decisions, but I thought if I could work enough hours then I would make up the difference. I underestimated how quickly the interest would pile on the loans, making them significantly more than what I initially borrowed, and just a few months after the fact. I tried to pay off the loans one at a time with lump sum payments, but the lenders only apply a tiny percentage to the actual loan while the majority goes to “fees.” My bank account is currently in the negative at $1500 and I don’t know what to do. Everything is past due, and we have no way to pay. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated, and I promise to pay you back in full. Thank you for reading this to the end.