I Thought I Could Gamble My Way Out Of A Car Payment

Brought to you by the EveryDollar App. Start budgeting for free today. My question is, how do I settle a repo? Okay, tell us the backstory. So, my car, in reality, it got me, and I'll be honest, it got me into this position because I had a gambling addiction. I'm in Baby Step 1, which I've saved $1,000, but now with my car getting repo, how do I settle it? So I just want, I mean, that's the only thing I have on my credit. What was the connection? What was the connective tissue from the gambling to the car getting repoed? So I was, instead of making my payments, I was thinking I can go to the casino and double it to make payments and things like that. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Have you gotten control of gambling addiction? What are you doing to resolve that? So keep myself occupied, disconnected completely, everything with any advertisements that used to go to my email, block that. Have you gone to Gamblers Anonymous? I have not. Okay. I just want to make sure that we've resolved the root problem here before we just fix the repo, which we can help you with that. Are you driving another vehicle now? No, I'm not. Are you working full-time? I am. Okay. Is that remote or how are you getting transportation? The bus, which I don't have a problem. Luckily, I'm fortunate that I'm able to get transportation there. It leaves me close to work. Good. And what is your total debt, including the repo deficiency balance? The total debt on the vehicle is, based on the information, is 19,203. That's what you still owe? That's what's owed. And I got, when they got repo two weeks later, not only I got that letter, but I also got some letters from, I guess they were, when it was sold, they were going through this place where they have to pay and they weren't paying. So I was, I got that notice and I started opening all my letters and I saw that the car was sold for $3,000. And so they hadn't changed, I guess, any information for the new owner. And so getting billed as well for the toll road. So I did reach out to toll road. They did get confirmation, you know, that the car was sold with my information, the letter that I got. But the vehicle to the 19,203, I got that letter. I didn't get a letter saying it was already, it was going to be sold with dates or any information. It was just sold two weeks after that for 3,500 around there. So now they're charging me, they're asking for that 19,000. So because you owed like 24,000, whatever it was, 22,000 on it. Correct. Originally, they sold it for three, you owe the rest. Have you reached out to the company? I have not, because I want to make sure if getting that information over the phone, what are my options? Like, what do I, I mean, is it something that... I mean, you're going to have to, you can attempt a lump sum settlement and see if they would take less. You know, let's say you come up with, I don't know, $7,000. They might be willing to take that as a lump sum settlement as paid in full. And the key is you want to get any, all of this in writing, the full settlement terms, the exact amount due, a statement that the payment will, you know, satisfy the debt in full. And that will allow you to make sure that you don't get screwed on this. I mean, they're going to, they're going to take you for a ride. You're going to have to beat them over the head over and over. And at the end of the day, it's like, listen, guy, I don't have any money. My car got repoed. What you're getting are my last dollars. And this is it. There's no more where that came from. Right? That's the attitude you've got to have. And when they do this, they kind of know there's very little likelihood they're getting their money back. Exactly. And so, but you can at least clear this and move on with your financial life if you can come up with a settlement amount to make this go away. And that's going to take a little bit of time. What are you making right now, full time? $67,000. Good. And what are your other debts? So that's all I have for now. I do rent $1,300 on my rent. That includes electricity and water and everything. So transportation right now, I'm getting just the pass, so it's like $75 a month. So, you know, with food and everything, I think I can definitely come up with that. Is it just you or is there kids or? No, it's just me. That's why I have reached out because I figured I can do it since I'm now alone to where I don't feel too obligated or my responsibilities with my children. My children are adults now. So you clear this repo debt and you're completely debt free. Correct. That's amazing. How quickly could you stack up half of this? Half of the $19,000? Yeah, $7,000 or $8,000. How quickly could you do that? $7,000. I can probably do that in the two months because it's take home. I'm looking about almost $4,000 a month. Okay, good. So you're saying you could put away, I mean, you said your bills are likely what? $1,500 to $2,000 a month total? So you could save up about $2,500 a month. Let's say you did that for three or four months. That's, you know, $8,000 or $10,000. And then call them up and say, hey, listen, this is everything I have. Would you be willing to settle in full for this amount? And then don't give them access to your checking account. Get it all in writing and instead do like a cashier's check or a money order to solve this and then move on. And make sure you've dealt with that underlying gambling problem so this doesn't come back to haunt you in another form of debt. But I hope we're moving forward to the future. I know that's right. That's tough. Repo? I've seen those videos of cars getting repo like at a gas station. They just roll up real quick. And just drag that car away. I mean, it's heartbreaking to watch. Yeah, I feel like the emotional toll on that is just as painful as the financial toll, right? Yeah. Create your free every dollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.