I need advice.

[onefiftyone]

I'm 22, paying 14k on a car worth 5, I can get call center jobs that pay about 10/hr but I haven't had luck finding anything that pays more...

I want to go to college, have a life, behave like somebody in their 20's is supposed to behave

but I have to pay off this debt and get my own place before I can do that

I really just want to leave the pieces on the floor and walk away from this whole thing man..

[bjl584]

We need more info if we are going to be able to help you. Can you give more details about your income and a breakdown of your monthly expenses?

[disneysteve]

I agree that we need more details. I am curious how you owe nearly 3 times what you're car is worth. Did you roll over a previous loan into a new loan?

[Wino]

I agree that we need more details. I am curious how you owe nearly 3 times what you're car is worth. Did you roll over a previous loan into a new loan?

I'll bet we hear the phrase, "I thought I could afford the payments" somewhere in the explanation, and I also thought he rolled over another car or possibly "consolidated" his debts using his car as collateral. A third option is that he's been to one of those "title loan" places, and is now on that never-ending merry-go-'round.

OP, you're just depressed because you're looking at a few bad financial decisions you have made and it's... well, "depressing." You're young, so you have plenty of time to make things right.

The way you make more money is to develop a skill that people will pay for. Putting down the video game controller and TV remote control ,and picking up a book that actually tells you something is a good way start. Don't read fiction. Read text books, how-to books, books based on science, finance, or research. The more you know, the more you're worth.

Going to college for a low-value degree won't help. You need to decide what you like to do, and find a way to make money doing it. So, what do you like to do that doesn't involve the term "first person shooter" or have commercial breaks?

Once you know what you're going to study, then make plans for college. I suggest words like "mathematics, engineering, biology, chemistry, or business" be in a lot of places on your class schedule. I know very few engineers or doctors who are out of work even in today's economy.

Lastly, slow down. Breathe. There are very few problems you cannot solve if you're willing to examine your options, make considered decisions, and put forth the required effort.

So, what's actually happening to make you ready to throw in the towel?

[QuarterMillionMan]

If the OP walks away from it, what would be the ramifications? Are the loans secured or unsecured debt? Will it affect his credit scores?



A car loan is a secured debt which means that the lender can repossess the vehicle (from the Operation Repo TV show, it ain't no joke if you don't pay that note).




Also, walking away from the loan(s) will certainly affect credit scores negatively.

[YLTL_Dan]

From my experience, you are already acting like most people in their 20's. In fact, when I was in my 20s, I worked my way up to $50k in debt before I reached my "breaking point" and finally started paying it off.

You say you need your own place, where do you live now? If you're with your parents or somewhere secure like that, I wouldn't worry about rushing out too quickly just to "feel like an adult". I agree college would be great because if you play it right, you can vastly increase your earnings potential.

Until then, what else can you do to increase your income? Can you start a small business mowing lawns or doing odd jobs? Have you checked into other fields such as construction, electrical, plumbing, etc to see if you can make some more money?

[ua_guy]

You're talking about covering a $9k delta for that vehicle on wages of about $20k/year. Put together a plan to pay off the car and be done with it. It may seem like a monumental amount of money to you, but it's nothing in the grand scheme of things, and in the mean time you still have a vehicle to drive, even if it's worth less than you owe.

Agreed that we can't really offer good advice until we know the story behind the car and what else you spend your money on.

[annibe11e]

I wouldn't walk away from the car loan. It's not worth the hit to your credit. If you're not in school and don't have kids, it's a good time to get a second job and tackle that debt.

How did you figure the value of the car? I'm curious how you got a loan that's so much higher than the value of the vehicle.

[Gailete]

behave like somebody in their 20's is supposed to behave

Not sure if the OP is reading these messages or if he has walked away from this forum as well. But I can say this. Somebody in their 20's is supposed to behave like an adult now that you are. Sounds like you haven't had a good grounding on personal finance. It is possible to live on your own, support yourself, etc. but many 20+ year olds want to start at the same place their parents are at after 30-40 or more years of work, savings, investing and buying things over time. By real frugal measures, you can live independently, have your own place and do some of the things you want but probably not all, probably not yet. That is what goals are for. They aren't a shopping list to go and get them taken care of all at once. They are things to work towards with intermittent smaller goals to accomplish to get to the big goals.