Four Journeys Into Debt Hell

Today I found this article on MSN Money, called 4 journeys back from debt hell. It looked like an interesting one to read, and indeed I was right in thinking so. This article details the experiences of four people who’ve been down the debt road, and managed to get out of it. I think it can be a useful, if not comforting read.

Here’s a few lines from each of these stories:

• Danielle Rhoades still remembers the taste of debt: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tuna fish. That’s mainly what she subsisted on for a year — after living more extravagantly during her first year in New York and racking up a $10,000 balance on her credit card.
• Vige Barrie recalls the endless phone calls from collectors. They were coming after the $60,000 she owed on more than 10 credit cards. The worst part: She hadn’t even been the one saying “Charge it!” Her husband had made and lost millions of dollars, she says, and during the last few years of their marriage, she let him use her cards because he had declared bankruptcy. “His line was always, ‘I’ll make another deal and pay this off in one fell swoop’”.
• Thousands of young adults could tell a story much like Paul Canady’s: “I got my first credit card by filling out an application at the university center because they were giving away free T-shirts. I didn’t think I’d actually get the credit card, and lo and behold, not only did I get it, but it also came with a $2,000 limit . . . In retrospect, that’s just absolutely ridiculous.”
• Owing roughly $100,000 was not Susan’s biggest problem. Underlying her distress was the shame of not being able to support herself and her daughter, despite having a doctorate and nursing and medical degrees. “I was a mess,” says Susan (not her real name) in a phone interview from Los Angeles. “I borrowed money — from individuals and from student loans — with no idea how I’d pay them back.”