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| 📸: Credit |
Navigating a Financial Nightmare
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
They say, “When it rains, it pours.” And well, 2025 has not stopped raining. In fact, we’ve basically been flooding since our accident back in March. And it looks like we will be closing out the year with a lot of debt. It could be worse, I know, but this is probably the worst it has ever gotten for me. EVER. Between my husband’s unpaid time off after childbirth and the accident. Then, with all our medical bills, shortened hours at work, and not being firm on my “no,” things have gotten out of hand. And I don’t necessarily know how I’m going to get us out of it. I’ve narrowed our budget down as low as I can, and we are still in the red. And I’m getting further behind on payments.
At the beginning of 2024, something would always come up, or we’d have to dip into savings for some minor repair. I started telling my husband, “If we don’t start putting money into savings, we are one emergency away from major financial trouble.” Looking back, there was a lot I should have done differently. I should have managed finances better. After our son was born, I should have taken the medication offered to me when I was dealing with postpartum anxiety/depression. Maybe then I wouldn’t have been in such a crappy headspace for as long as I was, causing my husband to miss so much work. After the accident, I should have purchased a small SUV instead of letting my fear push me towards another larger vehicle. I shouldn’t have listened to someone’s advice and emptied my 401K two years ago to pay down debt as THEY had requested. It probably would have given us some breathing room this past year. And the list goes on and on. But I can’t go back. I can’t change it. And I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do.
It’s all very stressful. The words “bankruptcy” and “repossession” have been tossed around. Neither is an option I want to consider, but if things get worse, I might not have a choice. We are trying to liquidate the majority of what we own that has any value to help us get through each week. And as I take pictures of things to post, I keep asking myself, “How did I get here?” I never imagined that I’d have to pick and choose between whose doctor visit is more important, or whether we need to go to a food bank so we can pay a bill. And so, if we barely have enough money to get us through the week, credit cards are the least of my concerns. That said, I had worked so damn hard to improve my credit score, and for years, I made saving a priority. So, for us to be in this situation, I’m often left in tears and extremely panicked.
I’ve done a bit of research, and everything points towards financial counseling, debt consolidation, and/or bankruptcy. I’ve contacted two financial counseling services to see what kind of support they can offer me. I also have a call scheduled with an accredited debt relief company that I found through the government website. While I wanted to negotiate rates on my own, I don’t have time to sit down and go back and forth with each credit card company. I also have no clue what I’m doing, so I need some help. It’s been such a long time since I’ve been in a situation like this, y’all. Though this time is probably the worst it’s ever been. I remember telling myself all those years ago that no matter what, I would not let myself get to that point again. And well, here we are. I’m actually really disappointed in myself. I knew better, and I just didn’t stay on top of things as I should.
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