‘I Lost My Job, and My Debt Is Spiraling Out of Control’

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MyTwoCents: 'My debt is now starting to scare me, and it’s only getting worse'

Photo: H. Armstrong Roberts/Getty Images I’m 28 and was laid off from my job at a real-estate company in April once it was obvious that COVID was sticking around for a while. I applied for unemployment, but it took about six weeks for it to come through. In the meantime, I basically lived off my credit card, which already had a balance of about $5,000 on it from when I first moved to New York two years ago.

Debt is especially confounding right now, when it’s impossible to plan for anything. How can any of us trust conventional wisdom about finances when disaster has become normal and aid is promised but arbitrarily delivered? When some people get a break and others don’t? I don’t know, honestly. You’re in crisis mode for reasons outside your control, so it’s understandable that you feel powerless.

Secondly, look into cheaper health insurance. Losing your job qualifies you to sign up for a new plan through your state’s health-care marketplace, and you should be able to shave off a few hundred dollars at the very least. For that reason — and it pains me to say this — Sullivan recommends that you keep putting your expenses on your credit card while you scrape together some cash. “If you have credit, use it now, because you don’t know when it might dry up,” he says. “If you have no income or a very limited income, you need to conserve every dollar.” To be clear: Running up a credit card bill to save cash is normally a very bad idea! Credit card debt is expensive and hard to get rid of.

As for your student loans: You should absolutely call and request help. “Many private student-loan lenders are offering more flexible hardship programs during this time,” says Kimberly Palmer, a debt expert with NerdWallet. Just like with your credit card company, your lender probably won’t stop charging you interest, but they should be able to put you on a plan that won’t penalize you if you skip payments for three or four months.

 

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I don't know if still available - but perhaps a Tracer job might help in meantime - it's going to be a very very tough year in NYC economically.

You mean - when you do your kitchen economics - you don’t add - Free Money - like Corps to your budget . Should have been born wealthy- this government- then would give you more free money , to ease your pain . In other words- USA says -“ Die & do it quietly.”

As I saw this I was tweeting: I'm listening to Antonio Carlos Jobim's 'Finest Hour' LP as I work on my savings and spending plans through January 2021. Numbers confound me; this music soothes that savage beast and I gain clarity. awarenessconsciousness

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