Letters to the Editor
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ironically enough, things are much easier for people wth credit card debt
As somebody who got decked with the double-whammy of no-fault debt (job loss AND medical crisis), I can only say that I wish I had the luxury of solving things the way Sarah did (not to downplay Sarah's situation - I'm not going to invalidate what she's gone through, which is considerable - I can identify with the fear and reluctance to grow up! The fear of looking into the future is what led me to recklessly take out private student loans from multiple lenders, which I can't consolidate.)
I've spent countless hours calling and recalling various debt relief agencies and counselors, all of whom referred me back to the people I'd been referred by. All of them said that they could help me if my debt was brought on by overspending, rather than by medical debt. Upshot: according to the experts, I don't have any choice but to declare bankruptcy. However, I can't declare bankruptcy on my $75,000 of student loans from four different lenders ... nor can I afford the exorbitant, painfully ironic cost of being bankrupt (evidently, bankruptcy only for rich people). Furthermore, I can't even figure out how much I owe. With hospitals, pretty much every person who looks at you or even reads your name on a chart bills separately, with the result being that I have mountains of bills that all look like they're from the same place, but have different numbers on them. Many of these bills haven't even shown up on my credit report yet. It's a big, scary, confusing mess.
So, I'm getting calls from creditors an average of three times a day. I've been insulted, yelled at, told to get a job (after seven months of frenzied, painful, degrading,and demoralizing searching, I can't tell you how helpful that suggestion was), and told that I never should have accepted medical treatment in the first place if I knew I couldn't pay for it (yes, really).
I know I need to get this under control, but most days I just want to hide in a dark hole and pray that a Democrat gets elected next fall, so there's at least a slight chance that things might get better - if not for me, than for all the people who are lined up to get their godsmack and don't know it yet.