I’m desperate to be free of my crushing debt.
The beginning: I grew up with 3 siblings raised by a single mother. We were poor for most of my childhood while my father remarried and built a luxury home to enjoy with his new wife. I watched my mom work as many jobs at a time as she could handle and still skip meals and forgo her own mental and physical healthy so that we could eat, be clothed, have regular medical care. I never really learned how to handle money and was never taught how to budget or spend or save. I left home at 18 with only a few hundred dollars to my name. joined the Navy and did 4 years, I was frivolous and careless with my money not taking the time and energy to save for the future. When my contract was up I decided to go to school, I was almost immediately living beyond my means without even knowing what that meant. I mean I was working 2-3 jobs AND going to college I thought I was doing the most. My debt started small, an emergency plane ticket on my credit card that I was not able to pay back in full right away, then it was medical bills here and unexpected personal costs there, I was paying the minimum required payment without realizing what I was doing! My debt really sprang into bloom when my best friend since childhood began using me as a result of her addiction. She lied and tricked me into paying for things- I knew she was struggling and I thought as a young 20 something that I was doing the right thing. When my friend passed as a result of her addiction I completely gave up on life for a while, I allowed myself to go into default on my car and didn’t pay my credit card, I was barely making a living wage as it was but I was spending to cure my grief.
The Now: I am in my late 20’s with $25k in debt. I work hard full time for what many would consider to be a decent salary but my hole is so deep that it feels impossible and I am often choosing between paying all my bills on time but only the minimum due or forgoing one bill or another to make a larger payment on something else. I budget, I no longer use the credit card, I’m doing everything right but I will never be able to escape my current circumstances without help. Being able to pay off this debt would allow me to move out of the tiny apartment I share with my ex boyfriend. (Neither of us can afford to move out.) I could move close to my family and have their support and help in life. Paying off this debt would allow me to start a life! A real life, with vacations, and holiday gifts to give, family gatherings, the list is so long I won’t continue. The point is that right now I’m barely surviving and I will never be able to escape or better myself or my circumstances with the help of a kind person I could potentially become a real person who is able to live and contribute to this world.
If you’ve made it this far I’m grateful.
My current debt consists of
$14k credit card debt
$9k loan debt
$2k of medical bills
If you can help me I will be forever thankful and am willing to provide you with life updates, crochet projects, a pen pal! When the time comes I am able to repay you, you can chose if I repay you or pay it forward to another person in need.
Thank you for considering!
paypal.me/JMarigliano