You Can't Hide Forever

So part of becoming fiscally fit I realize is owning up to just how much debt you actually have and who you owe it to. I've known about this old credit card (I mean OLD - back when I was 18 or so) for years. And no, I can't claim Statute of Limitations. And I've been dodging them for way too long. The damage? $3001.95

It irks me because I never even use credit cards and this thing has been haunting me since I spent a semester in Washington D.C. and racked up $1800 in charges. I was paying the minimum for a while but then I moved around and lost track of it. So now the $1800 has ballooned to three thousand.

I DID try settling with the last collection agency this debt was assigned to a few months back but they were so rude and unreasonable that they refused to let me make monthly payments. A couple weeks back I get a "Welcome Letter" from another collection agency. I WAS going to call them back, really! But I just didn't get around to it yet (owing to the fact that I never have any spare money).

Yesterday I get a letter saying something to the effect that if I don't pay, I will be SUED. So, I decided to own up to the debt.

I must say, for collection agents, this company was really really nice. They even congratulated me on owning up to this obligation. I know this is how they make their money but I felt like a real responsible bill-payer for once.

We worked out a deal wherein I will pay 10% of the debt up front ($300) and make monthly payments of $125 for 21 months. Sounds good to me. I am proud that I finally addressed something that I've been too scared to think about for literally years.

The only problem is this $300 is going to totally kill my budget this month. I may have to resort to accepting a handout from my Dad. He offers several times a month and I've been trying so hard to resist him lately because of the "strings" the money comes with (judgement, unwanted advice, etc.) but then again, I really don't want to be poor either.