Spending Addiction

[Casper476]

Hi! I tried posting this on Reddit but mods wouldn't let me because I have limited karma 😣

any advice is appreciated!

So I received $15k at the beginning of 2025 for a car accident settlement. Ever since then, I couldn’t stop spending. I spent another $15k from an old 401k, I spent most of my savings, and I had to borrow almost $30k to cover my spending. I also bought a new car with a $600/ month payment.

I’ve been working on this in therapy (I have two therapists plus I go to celebrate recovery which, if you’re not familiar, is kind of like AA but make it Christian). I also have a psychiatrist. I’m now seeing the benefits of that and I’m proud to say I’m starting to get my spending under control.

But in the aftermath, I have debt. I owe roughly $7500 on my credit cards which I’ve set up to pay over time the worst of it. But the real issue is my two personal loans with SOFI and Achieve. I pay about $700/ mo on these two tradelines. I don’t make enough to afford all my debts currently (I am working on getting a new job but the market is crap right now).

I’ve read a little about NFCC… does anyone know if they can help with my personal loan debt? Or if there are other things to consider with those? Or am I looking at a potential bankruptcy? Noting that my credit score is still in the high 700s for now.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

[Vinjints]

Good on you for finding CR, which can be a very good resource.

Where do you stand on the car for potentially selling and downgrading to something more affordable? Might be too new if you just got it 12 months ago.

Have you looked at your budget to see what can be adjusted (red beans and rice)?

How willing are you to make real sacrifices to get out of the debt? Eliminating entertainment, dining, vacations, etc.

What about instead of changing jobs, picking up a secondary hustle?

[pizzadude]

Can you list your debts by interest rates , amounts owed, and monthly payment ?

[Casper476]

A second job might be wise. 
The car I just bought less than a month ago and it's a lease.

for income $1754.69/biweekly after tax currently

[Casper476]

Debts

Car - $635.00 (Lease)

Private SL - $563.87, 4.41%

Government SL - $147.90, 4.25%

SOFI PL - $282.00, 14.10%

Achieve PL - $394.19, 24.74%

AMEX - $90.41, 24.49%

US Bank - $91.67, 17.74%

Chase - $137.69, 23.74%

Rent

$1489.00

Other Monthly Expenses

Car Insurance- $118.50

Phone - $70.00

Internet - $85.99

Electric - $50.00

Gas - $10.00

let me come back and update balances later. But I owe approximately $30k in personal loans and $7500 across my credit cards

[AndrewF]

First of all, good on you for seeking help. I know how difficult that can be due to my bipolar disorder.

Everyone in the family remembers what I was like before I got insurance and was able to continue seeing my psychiatrist and was more or less stabilized on medicine, and while binge spending was not one of my problems (it can be with that), I had other ones that were worse, and I can say that it destroys your reputation with people who knew you from way back and you can continue suffering even if things get sorted out and remain that way.

My Aunt is bipolar too, and unfortunately spending binges are one of the ways it manifests in her. One time, right after she got her Social Security Disability approved, the representative payee was supposed to be her caseworker, who would manage the money and make sure it went to reasonable things like rent, food, basic transportation, clothing, utilities, etc. But the SSA messed up and (in the 1980s when this was a gigantic amount) sent a check for over $10,000 to my aunt, which was her back pay from while they were deciding the case.

She got the check in the mail on a Friday, and by Monday when her caseworker came to check, it was all gone. She couldn't even account for where it had all gone. 

So while I don't understand binge spending, I know that it can happen and that it is very real, and it needs treated in much the same way that anything else bipolar disorder can cause (such as just bad overall decision making and risk taking behaviors, some of which I did suffer badly from).

Please continue your treatment, even if it includes medication. If they don't get medication right, maybe they need to try something else. It took them a long time to get me to where I could function and make more rational decisions and weigh risks.

[AndrewF]

---

@Casper476 wrote:

Debts

Car - $635.00 (Lease)

Private SL - $563.87, 4.41%

Government SL - $147.90, 4.25%

SOFI PL - $282.00, 14.10%

Achieve PL - $394.19, 24.74%

AMEX - $90.41, 24.49%

US Bank - $91.67, 17.74%

Chase - $137.69, 23.74%

Rent

$1489.00

Other Monthly Expenses

Car Insurance- $118.50

Phone - $70.00

Internet - $85.99

Electric - $50.00

Gas - $10.00

let me come back and update balances later. But I owe approximately $30k in personal loans and $7500 across my credit cards

---

Phone, car insurance, and Internet are always ripe for comp shopping. I pay my Mint Mobile up a year at a time and I am on the 15 GB of high speed data plan, pre-tax it works out to $20 a month, few bucks for tax. Paying $70 a month for postpaid is too much, especially if you also have to buy phones. Phones can last a long time and the worst way to get one is by paying for a plan that includes them. But even the plans that don't include them are too expensive. Prepaid is an overlooked gem. A goldmine for saving money.

A friend was paying T-Mobile Prepaid $57 a month, I got him on Mint Mobile which is also owned by T-Mobile and is prepaid, and he went down to $15 a month for unlimited high speed for the first year, paid in full for the entire year.

Internet of $85.99 is too much, especially if you are low income or get any of the qualifying benefits that let you get Comcast Internet Essentials, which is only $15.99 a month. Even if you do not qualify, Comcast has a prepaid internet plan that is only $40 a month, so you can still cut this expense by more than half if you live in a Comcast service area.

Car insurance: I just went through this one again myself. Progressive charged me $709.50 for my recent 6 month term so last night I quoted a new policy with the same coverage except $5,000 Med Pay instead of $1,000, and it came back as $475 for the 6 month term. They canceled my old policy this morning at 12:01 AM the same time as the new policy started. They are sending me a refund check of like $266 in the mail, because I didn't want to commit to the mistake of overpaying until the policy renewed on April 22nd.

Comp shop for insurance.

Reallocation of your existing income by getting better deals on recurring bills would let you pay down the debt faster.

[crystal626]

---

@AndrewF wrote:

---

@Casper476 wrote:

Debts

Car - $635.00 (Lease)

Private SL - $563.87, 4.41%

Government SL - $147.90, 4.25%

SOFI PL - $282.00, 14.10%

Achieve PL - $394.19, 24.74%

AMEX - $90.41, 24.49%

US Bank - $91.67, 17.74%

Chase - $137.69, 23.74%

Rent

$1489.00

Other Monthly Expenses

Car Insurance- $118.50

Phone - $70.00

Internet - $85.99

Electric - $50.00

Gas - $10.00

let me come back and update balances later. But I owe approximately $30k in personal loans and $7500 across my credit cards

---

Internet of $85.99 is too much, especially if you are low income or get any of the qualifying benefits that let you get Comcast Internet Essentials, which is only $15.99 a month. Even if you do not qualify, Comcast has a prepaid internet plan that is only $40 a month, so you can still cut this expense by more than half if you live in a Comcast service area.

---

Comcast prepaid internet actually starts at $30 for 100Mbps. It's $45 for 200. Internet Essentials is difficult to get pretty often as in addition to having to prove you qualify, it requires you to also have not been a customer in the past 3 months. I went through this with them before.

[AndrewF]

---

@crystal626 wrote:

---

@AndrewF wrote:

---

@Casper476 wrote:

Debts

Car - $635.00 (Lease)

Private SL - $563.87, 4.41%

Government SL - $147.90, 4.25%

SOFI PL - $282.00, 14.10%

Achieve PL - $394.19, 24.74%

AMEX - $90.41, 24.49%

US Bank - $91.67, 17.74%

Chase - $137.69, 23.74%

Rent

$1489.00

Other Monthly Expenses

Car Insurance- $118.50

Phone - $70.00

Internet - $85.99

Electric - $50.00

Gas - $10.00

let me come back and update balances later. But I owe approximately $30k in personal loans and $7500 across my credit cards

---

Internet of $85.99 is too much, especially if you are low income or get any of the qualifying benefits that let you get Comcast Internet Essentials, which is only $15.99 a month. Even if you do not qualify, Comcast has a prepaid internet plan that is only $40 a month, so you can still cut this expense by more than half if you live in a Comcast service area.

---

Comcast prepaid internet actually starts at $30 for 100Mbps. It's $45 for 200. Internet Essentials is difficult to get pretty often as in addition to having to prove you qualify, it requires you to also have not been a customer in the past 3 months. I went through this with them before.

---

They only check if you qualify once, so if you move and wouldn't pass the eligibility check again, make sure you do not CANCEL your Internet Essentials, but rather TRANSFER it to the new service address.

Otherwise, you won't be able to pass the eligibility check again.

Either way, $85.99 is pretty steep. Who is that with? If it's not Starlink because you're out in the boonies, then I don't think it's the best option.

[JamesS84]

You’re doing the right thing by seeking help! I would not be eager to declare bankruptcy if I were you. There are plenty of less drastic things you can try first. I’d start by calling your lenders and asking them about a hardship program. You might be able to get into a payment plan that’s more affordable. Since your credit score is still good, you could also look into getting a debt consolidation loan to at least simplify things. Selling whatever valuable assets you don’t need and looking into NFCC-approved financial advisers could be helpful as well. And, of course, rethinking your budgeting strategy is a must. You might be able to free up some funds by reducing or eliminating some nice-to-have expenses. There are lots of ways to go about this, but I find that using a budgeting app (I like WalletHub) is very helpful. The bottom line is that the situation still seems manageable to me, as long as you can adjust your habits a bit.