The guru strikes

Well, I am really fucked financially. Really really incredibly fucked. Pretty much the result of the meeting today with the financial guru.

The debt has gone up slightly of late, although I hadn't noticed. $25,000 to $28,000. I can't ever pay that with what I'm earning now. Utterly impossible. There are some options however. 

The first one is to declare bankruptcy. That would wipe all my debts, but it would also mean I couldn't get any sort of credit for 7 years. That means even applying for another rental place privately I would very likely be knocked back. Or anything else remotely to do with credit I'd be fucked. I wouldn't even be able to buy groceries on a credit card when I had no money. This option is the last resort, and one I don't want to do.

Another option is to go the whole hog, give up work, and go on the Disability Support Pension. Without going into detail, it would provide me with the same amount of disposable income as I would get now if my daughter was paying rent. It's tempting, but I really do want to try and keep working if I can. I would rather my daughter learn to pull her weight, than me have to quit a job of nearly 13 years just to try and get by. Yes I am a bit stuborn about this. I'm only 49, relatively healthy, and see no reason why I should go into early retirement. 

Another option is to apply for my superannuation to be released to pay my debts. This is the option I am leaning towards. It's incredibly hard to get the funds released, even though I have $100,000, lurching it looks like from crisis to crisis and earning no interest. It involves huge amounts of paperwork and major documentation in my favour. The strategy is that I'm under so much stress from these debts that it has become a medical problem. The HIV viral load is directly affected by stress, as the immune system is. Therefore to release the funds would be in the interests of my health. The financial guru in this case takes charge.

He negotiates with the creditors, the superannuation company, and my doctors.

It also involves though the canning of my credit cards, telling the creditors that I'm unable to even pay the minimum monthly payment, which BTW I'm not. But only those cards that are not paid off. Those that are paid off escape. 

I've told him I need time to think about all of this. My core credit card is almost paid off completely, and I do want that one to remain. I've had that one for nearly 30 years, and all my regular payments go out of it. That way I can just pay over the next time period. I'll get that stuff in order if I'm going to go the way of getting my super out over financial stress. If the card is paid then it's not a debt, simple. 

Other than that I'm upset by it all. I have always been very good with money. Up until about 5 years ago I had $2,000 in the bank and everything was paid. Most of this debt has been right out of my control. 

Now look at it.........