Anyone else here 25 or younger?

knic, I turned 25 in November.

Don't feel bad, everyone here is in the same boat.

I'm not 25 but I know what you mean. The thing is that once you have damaged your credit it takes time to correct it, but it can be done. You do what it takes to get your debts in order. Some of us are a little slower to learn that. I didn't get into debt trouble until I reached 45 and made some bad choices, but I am well on my way to correcting these mastakes. Just keep plugging along, it gets better. They always say we learn from our mistakes and I must agree.

I am 25 years old also. The thing is, many, many people get into debt this early. College students especially tend to leave college with a ton of debt. The good thing though is that you are starting to make your way out of debt now, rather then later one when you have a family to support, etc.

My credit woes began while in college and have been continuing till now. I have finally had enough of ignoring the problem and begining to resolve the issues. I have six judgements. I made many poor choices over the years, some of them were very necessary than others. You live and learn.

I know your situation, I am 20 years old, got my first credit card late in my senior year of HS. I was great at managing it till I moved outside of the house. Then it all started to tumble from there. I used credit for everything, and have taken payday loans to pay necessites, as well as borrowed from family and friends. Not a fun situation at all. But I am working to correct that, as my wife and I are looking into a house in the near future with any luck :D I know you can pull out, even if it takes some time, it will definitely lift a weight off of your shoulders.

You just have to reach that point where you know things have to change and then begin the process. The years will pass quicker than you know, believe me. Once you have a few years of good payment history, creditors will see you are turning things around. The smartest thing I ever did was to make sure I was never ever late with my morgage payment. Good luck and remember, You begin most journeys with baby steps!!!

Yep...Learning from our mistakes is what keeps us going...Being young we can learn early and NEVER let this happen again.

Think about it this way. If we get everything squared away now, and focus on building positive references, within the next 10 years (When we'll STILL be young) we'll be set...Negatives will go away, and in their place will be the positives.

Me and my husband are trying to do the same thing, get a house. He had open heart surgery last july, so we are a bit behind in our dreams. we are trying to do the right thing, but i am ashamed and afraid. Sometimes, they really get to your psyche. But I have experience in Judgements, collections, btw, DCS is rehabbing my husband's student loan, and they have been really awesome to deal with. We have 4 more loan payments with them and it goes back to Sallie Mae. Yippeee. Last year, him and I were both out of work. my husband was out sick for 6 months and has only been working part time till now. I was unemployed for three months myself. And to think, every year that we have been together, it's been 10, one of us has been either sick or laid off. Pretty crappy.

25 too...just last week!

I feel that even though we got ourselves into this bad situation so early, it only means we can repair it in enough time to save ourselves in the long run down the road when we're 40 and 50.

26, but had financial farces of my own in my earlier 20's. You get it all squared away in a couple of years, trust me, thats how I did it. Just have to keep going.

I wish I was in my 20's again, then i wouldn't be in this mess financially.

I'm 26, most of my debt is from 20-24 years old. We are all here to support eachother, young or not-so-young!! :) We are glad to have you here, kcnic :)

~Mary

20-24 is right about the same time I was wrangling my financial farces. That must be the age when we all lose clear financial vision, or take deperate measures during desperate times. 33 is not old though, you can expect your financial farce to be over by 36 Tammy.

I hope you are right Ari.

lol I hope the financial farce is over at 36 Ari, because I'll be 35 later this year. *hears crickets chirping* Darn I feel old now lol.

Dana

Dana, I'll be 35 this year too, actually in May. I was starting to feel like an old fogie to. I am so glad there is someone else here close to my age. I'm still single and keep thinking that God has kept me that way until I get my finances straightened out. I really hope this is my year. :)

So I'm not the only over-30? phew.
I'm sure there is the right person for you celticlass. :)

oops, I forgot to log in. I'm sure there are more than the two of us, and Tammy, that are over 30.

Ya know, that is when all my troubles began as well... Perhaps a trend. I'm 36 now, and unfortunately, for the last 10 yrs either myself or husband has been either on disability or unemployed. Most recently, my husband did not work for 8 months of 2005 and I was out of work for 3 months in 2005. what a rotten deal. But we are trying to get out of the mess.

I think this whole payday loan mess has added 10 years to me.

yeah me too.

I am not 25 in chronological years, but at heart I am still and will always be a toys r us kid!!!

Did you have a nice day off pollyandsay?

Polly, I still go through the toy department at Walmart and push all the "Try me" buttons...One time my friend Marilyn and I set all those Chicken Dance Elmos off at the same time..lol

jmid,

i most certainly did!

You people are making me feel old, I'm 42 but don't look it at all, I can easily pass for 35. Plus you're only as old as you feel and act and my 13-yr-old and his friends think I'm pretty cool most of the time. :)

and very awesome. cash today limited did not call me at all yesterday. Perhaps my couselor at T & C read them my letter to Mr. McKenzie. The letter you composed for me. Things that make you go hmmm....

here's another 30-something. I turned 32 on New year's eve.

Sue...Talk about not acting your age...My friends and I had a slumber party last night, and we TP'd someone's house...lol

I am also not happy with my credit situation. I'm 35.

It sounds like a fun bunch in here! I will be 30 on christmas eve. Sometimes I feel 60.

I'm 33 & NEVER thought I would be in this mess. It is terrible. :(

I'm 21. I think I am possibly the youngest on this forum. I am glad I learned my lesson now with credit cards and debt. I hope to be financially stable again in a few years :)

Hi Rhonda

Good to hear from you after a long time? Where have you been all these days? :) It will be nice if you can come often in the forum and be with us.

I am not 25 (actually I am 25x2), but when I was in my early 20's I remember my life was so full and so active that it was almost like I was fearless (I was single and had no kids yet). Unmanageable debt--no, way not me. I can get an extra job and make some big payments and everything will turn out right. This is how I was thinking. Until one day it catches up with you and BAM you are in debt up to your ears and then if you have been in school and have student loans it all comes down crashing down. Believe me---I have been there and 25 and am back again at 50. You are doing the right thing getting a handle on it now.

Reading these posts really makes me feel better about my situation. All of my friends had everything handed to them on a silver platter throughout school while I had to pay to keep up with them (couldn't let them all go out on the weekends without me). I feel so alone when they are buying nice cars with the same paychecks that I am barely scraping by on. That is why I love this forum - there are people of all ages and types in the same situations to discuss their stories and the ways they are getting out of "trouble". While my financial situation isn't any better today than it was a few weeks ago when I found this site - my stress level has decreased just knowing I have people out there to discuss this with who understand what I'm going through (even at the "young" age of 25).

Thats the great thing about this site. It is almost like therapy--we come on here, we can vent our frustrations and get great advice. We can either take the advice or not. There is never a dumb question, there is never too small of a concern. However, UNLIKE a therapist it's FREE!!!

Everyone here helps everyone else. It makes me think of a family, where everyone loves you (warts and all!), even when you have done dumb things and have not always made the best decisions, your family (or at least your mom) always loves you. Thanks to ALL!