This all started in 2022 when I turned $2k to $80k trading options. I lost it all clearly and have had the chase mentality ever since.
I ended up taking out a personal loan for $20k which I lost and went to collections. I racked up $18k in credit card debt. Borrowed around $85k from my friends and family. I even went to the extent of taking money from work and applying for payday loans.
Young and ignorant and I know that. I’ve traded options, gambled, and played in crypto futures. I’ve just kept trying ways to get myself out of the hole I’m in without taking the slow and painful route. It has become a problem.
I am at the point where I’m going to let all my cards go into collections and destroy my credit but start to get my friends paid back first.
What would you do?I am making some $1000 a week with nearly no expenses as I’m living at home. Yes, my family or friends do not know about this as I’m ashamed of it and don’t think I can admit to it but figure it out myself. If I keep up with my debt payments ill be paying around $1000 per month minimum.
Look, you already know what the problem is. You even said it yourself: “I’ve just kept trying ways to get myself out of the hole I’m in without taking the slow and painful route.” That sentence right there is everything. It’s the root of your entire situation. And until you internalize it, you will keep making the same mistakes.
But let’s get specific.
You had a one-in-a-million moment turning $2k into $80k. And like most people who strike it big in a short time without understanding why, you assumed it was skill. But it wasn’t. It was luck. And luck is dangerous because it tricks you into thinking you have control when you don’t. That’s why you chased it all the way down to borrowing from friends, payday loans, and taking money from work. The chase wasn’t about getting back to zero—it was about proving to yourself that you weren’t wrong.
Here’s the reality: You were wrong. And that’s okay. We’ve all been wrong before. But the difference between people who bounce back and people who destroy their lives is whether they accept they were wrong or keep doubling down to erase the mistake.
The Path Forward—And It’s Ugly
You’ve got $1000 a week in income and nearly no expenses. That is your only leverage right now. Your credit is already torched, so let’s stop pretending like there’s a short-term way to fix it. Your priority now is trust, not credit scores.
If I were in your shoes, I’d do this:
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Stop gambling with money. Period. Options, crypto, futures—these are no longer for you. You’ve proven to yourself you can’t handle them responsibly. The urge to make back your losses fast is what got you here in the first place. Accept that you will not, and should not, be trying to flip a quick profit ever again.
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Be honest with at least one person. Keeping this a secret is a ticking time bomb. If you can’t tell everyone, fine. But pick one friend or family member and tell them everything. You don’t need money from them. You need accountability. When problems like this stay in the dark, they grow.
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Prioritize the debts that matter most.
- Friends and family first. You can recover from bad credit. You can’t recover from burning every personal bridge in your life.
- Work money next. Because the only thing worse than where you are now is where you’ll be if you get fired or face legal trouble.
- Everything else? Collections will survive. Your credit is already wrecked. Let it burn for now. In a few years, you can rebuild it.
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Use your advantage. Making $4000 a month with almost no expenses is a golden ticket if you have discipline. Even with just $2500-$3000 per month going toward debt, you can start digging yourself out. But only if you stop chasing.
Tough Love Time
Right now, you’re playing a losing game because you think the rules don’t apply to you. But they do. No one escapes this stuff without pain. The only way out is through. And the only way through is to accept that fast money isn’t coming to save you.
If you truly want your life back, stop looking for the easy way. Get comfortable with the slow, painful, boring work of fixing this. Because the faster you embrace that, the faster you’ll actually win.
And here’s the thing—if you do take the slow and painful route? Ten years from now, you’ll look back and wonder why you ever thought it had to be any other way.