I'm 27 and Paying For My Terrible Money Mistakes (File For Bankruptcy?)

Brought to you by the EveryDollar app. Start budgeting for free today. I'm 27, and I'm in dental assisting school, and I also own an online boutique, but I'm starting to pay for my mistakes I made when I was younger, and they were terrible. Like, I'm $40,000 in debt, and I'm like, I don't know what... So, half is from my car, a Honda Civic, I'm financing it. So, $20,000. So, you owe $20,000 on your car? Yes. And then, I was so young, I was young and dumb, and I decided to lease a Mercedes at like 23 years old. And when I returned the lease, the wear and tear, the miles, and all of that, I still have to pay for that. So, that's about $10,000. Okay. And how long ago was that? That was... I returned that car in 2023. Okay. So, they're not happy with you. Okay. All right. Two years ago. And then, what's the other $10,000? So, I did take out a student loan for about $5,000, because I'm in dental school, and that's all you paid for half, so I had to take out a loan. And then, the other amount is just from like personal loans and credit cards, and I'm not working right now. I lost my job. So, I'm like, should I file bankruptcy, or should I just drop out of school and just... What are you in dental school for $5,000? I don't understand. For dental assisting. Oh, dental assisting. Okay. I never knew any dentists that went to school for $5,000. Okay. So, you paid three out of pocket and got a loan for the other five? Well, FASFA paid for the three, and then I had to get a loan for the other. Okay. And what were you doing that you just got fired from? Well, I didn't get fired. I decided that I was going to quit my job and run my business. Oh. Tax season is coming up fast, which means a lot of you are paying more attention to your money and maybe realizing the holiday damage. So, if you're trying to clean up the budget and start the year strong, cutting your phone bill is an easy win. With Boost Mobile, keep the phone you love and pay just 25 bucks a month for unlimited data, talk, and text forever. No contracts, no traps, just predictable savings that help you stay in control. Switch now at BoostMobile.com slash Ramsey. Restrictions apply. See website for details. Well, I didn't get fired. I decided that I was going to quit my job and run my business. Oh. Because your business is bringing in a lot of income? It was until I quit my job and started having to pay my rent with the money I made from my online business. Okay. What are you making from the online business? Right now, I'm not making anything because I just put it on pause, but I was making about- Why are you stopping the things that make money? This is so illogical. Because it's so hard to juggle school and running a business. And it's like I'm- You're not running a business. You stopped it. Well, before I stopped it, before I stopped it- It was hard. It got hard because- Yes. Okay, hear me out. I started using it to pay my rent and my car and all of my insurance. So, it's like- That's good. Now, I can't even drop because I'm using- Okay. Let me go back. Let me go back. So, you're a student. You're a full-time student. Can you work at least part-time at the very least? Because you got to live because what's the other option, right? Because if you stop working at the other job, then you stop working at your business. What are your options to put your lifestyle on credit, right? And that's what you've been doing. Yes. I know. And it's not working. I know. That's why I'm telling you. You got to go back and get some work. So, the job that you quit, what were you making of the job you quit? So, I was a correctional officer for about three years and I was making about $4,000 a month. But it's just I wasn't happy. And now you're really not happy because you don't have $4,000 a month. Yes, because I'm broke. Yeah. So, here's what you need to do. You need to go get a job. Any job. So, here's the thing. Hear me out. I got an offer at the post office and they pay a pretty nice amount. It's just I'm scared it won't work with school. Try it. So, quit school. You need money. Cece. You called me and asked me if you wanted to file bankruptcy. That was your question. And then you're telling me you don't want to work and you want to go to school. Wrong answer. Is it just you, Cece? It's just you? Yeah, it's just me. I've been doing everything since I was like 17. And you're living by yourself or are you living with someone, a roommate? Or is it just you? No, I'm by myself. Okay. You got to do this. And the good news is, and I told the other guy this who called in, it's just you. You don't have to get home to a kid, to a husband, to a grandma you're taking care of. It's just you. So, this is time management. This is the problem. Time management. And you understanding that this is going to be hard for a season. How much time left in school? I graduate in June. That's why I don't want to quit. Okay. Then stay in school and work full time. And let your... For six whole months. Wah. That's it. And let your goal just be, I'm working and I'm going to school and I'm paying my rent and I'm just doing these, what I'm going to call just typical adulting tasks. I work, I go to school, I pay my bills. And that's it. So, something's going to be hard. Wise person chooses the hard thing they want to do instead of the hard thing happening to them. You're going to have something that's painful and hard. Ready, set, go. Now, you decide which one you want it to be. Now, I would rather be tired and a wee bit stressed from working all day and going to school than as broke as you are and scared as you are. That's hard. So, I would choose not to be where you are and choose to work full time and go to school like a crazy girl and then get out in June and go live your best life. Yeah. Let's talk realistically about your schedule. When you do the dental assistant thing, is it daytime or are you going at night? How does it work? So, right now, I'm in night school. That's the thing that's stopping me from finding a great job. That you're at night? Five to nine. Yeah, five to nine. What time is the post office job? So, I start Monday and it's at 8 a.m. Uh-huh, perfect. Someone told me that the post office, you could work 12 hours a day, six days a week and that's why I'm scared. Well, why don't you find out? If you start at 8 a.m., you want to know when you're probably off work? Three. Four at the latest, which means you can hop over there and get to your class at five. You can grab a bite to eat. Don't not do this because somebody told you. Because do you want to know what that tells me? I'm going to tell you, I'm being your friend right now. If an excuse that's that vague is enough to make you stop, it's because you don't want to do it to begin with. It's almost like you were looking for an excuse not to do it. That's what that tells me. So, you have to want this for yourself, Cece. I'm looking at the numbers. I'm looking at the schedule. You can do this. You got the job. Eight to four max. Hop over there. Do the school from five to nine. It's six months, like Dave said. You can do this. It's going to be hard, but you can do this. You have to want to do it. Choose your hard. Something's going to be hard. Be a big girl and decide which one you want it to be. Do I want to be sitting here terrified, broke? But you can't just be randomly walking out on stuff. You just go, I don't think I want to work anymore. Well, the pattern is, here's the pattern. Each one of them got too hard. You were the corrections officer. It's tough, man. It's mental load. I can understand that probably is a tough job, but it got too tough. You left. Then you started doing the online business because that seemed easier. You did it for a while and you realized, oh, this is harder than I thought. I'm having to use my profit. I can't invest my profit back in. I have to use some of it. It got hard. You quit that. Now you have this job on the table that could really break you free. And you're thinking you haven't even done it yet. You're just thinking it might be hard. And you're about to bail on that. That's a pattern CC. That's yours to break. It's going to be hard. Buckle up buttercup. It's going to be hard. It's going to be worth it. Suck it up. Go get it, girl. You can do this. Create your free every dollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.