my biggest shame

As time goes on the shame will go away. Don't be mad with yourself, just take it as one of those life lessons. Be happy in knowing that you have been able to pay your family and friends back. Take comfront in knowing that you are getting your financial situation back on track. Hopefully soon you will be able to help family and friends if they ever need your help.

Hi, welcome to the forums.

Good for you for paying back your personal debts..That's terrific. You have no reason to be ashamed, it's the opposite- you should be proud of yourself for taking care of this. It's obvious to me that you have character and integrity..I wish more people were like you.

Hi JMM I applaud you for making good on your debts. The shame and guilt will go away when you let yourself know that you are human and capable of mistakes. In order to overcome shame you have to find the root cause. The 17th century philosopher Pascal said "The only shame is to have none." So shame can be a good thing you just can't let it consume you. You are doing great, keep posting we will help

JMM

Nothing to feel shameful. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes. Those who learn from the past and never repeat the same thing are the real winners. For you, learn not to take a payday loan again, whatever the situation maybe.

Right now, pay your debts in the easiest ways as there are many debt management programs using which you can pay everything as you want to. There won't be a situation like you have to borrow money from someone. Actually, you will be able to save something by which you can pay everyone outside your regular payments.

You will get lower interest rates in doing the repayments and budgeting tips from a trained counselor. He will be there to guide you in a professional way. Sign up for a debt counseling session and begin from there. You will not be the same as you are feeling now.

Steg, thanks for the post.
I have managed to pay off my debts by selling my car and putting myself on a very strict budget. I have also been lucky enough to have OT available to me at work. I am sick of being at work over 60 hours a week, but it has been worth it. My credit score went from 520 to 600-630 in 2 months. I have paid off all the personal debt I felt so guilty about. I feel good about what I have done, but, I am still so mad at myself. At my age (I am 51)I should have a lot in retirement. I am scared of having to end up eating nothing but Raman noodles when I retire. I did sign up for more money to go into my 401K, but I had to borrow from my 401K for the downpayment on my student loan rehab. I did not have much in there to begin with. All of you out there who are young... do whatever it takes to get out of debt and start saving.

That's terrific advice, JMM. It's scary to think about..I have 401k and profit sharing, and until recently I put as little as possible toward 401k. My husband finally insisted I put more..I thought it was silly, I'm only 32, but the years come really fast. It's very important to look ahead and be prepared.

Jmm Welcome! How do you get rid of the shame? By doing what you are doing, making financial amends and learning not to repeat our same mistakes! We all do the best we can with what we have at the time. Hopefully, at some point we learn a better, diferent way and we do that. You are a good person who made some poor choices, like the rest of us,proves you're human!! Why don't you join and you can help others, too!..Karen

JMM---don't be ashamed. Be proud of yourself! I am the same age as you and wish I could be in as good financial shape as you are.

JMM, Please register and join us. You have nothing at all to be ashamed of. You are working and improving your life. You have learned from your mistakes. You could be a great help to people on this forum. KYSIDE38

JMM,

I applaud you for your efforts. You have made the sacrifices to become debt free. I was in the payday loan cycle a year ago. With the help of this forum, I was able to work myself out of it. Now, I have left a debt settlement program after eight months that only hurt my credit report. I was trying to rebuild it but I know that it will happen in time. Today, if I can't pay cash for it, then I just don't need it. I've learned not to live beyond my means but I still have much more to learn.