Brazilian, here. For some personal reasons, I accrued some debt. Nothing eye watering, specially when converted to dollars, but nevertheless a quantity that has to be paid. I’ve been in talks with the bank over possible ways to make it a bit more palatable, and in typical fashion they’ve been unhelpful, uncooperative and largely pretend I don’t exist until it’s time to make a payment. Well, just now, they cashed out too much money before I got to pay (for the stated purpose of paying the debt), so I can’t actually pay the damn thing. As a result, I’ll have to go through all sorts of hoops and probably get a huge hit to my financial situation, possibly even pay legal fees, all while they sit on their moneybags and do nothing. They also chose to do it at the worst possible time of the year, when everybody burns their cash to buy trinkets for each other, so I’m not even sure how I’ll get the money.
TL;DR: Don’t ever trust a bank.
What is your monthly income and what are your monthly expenses? Clearly you’re in the negative, but there’s not a whole lot here to help you with unless you just want to rant about banks and overdraft fees.
It varies a lot, since I make a living from commissions and they’re super irregular. Generally speaking, after necessities (food, water, rent and internet), I have less than 100 usd left over. Also, it’s not really an overdraft fee.
there’s not a whole lot here to help you with unless you just want to rant about banks
That’s pretty much what I wanted to do, yes. Never have I left a bank thinking “wow, I love what they do for me”.
Totally understandable you’d want to just vent, that’s a rough situation you’re in.
What’s the nature of your commissions? You mean sales commissions, or are you an artist?
Artist. Publicly, I keep my artwork on the same handle as I’m using here on Lemmy (although you might not find it too easily, DDG is only returning results for a different artist when I look).
Another option is to sublet the flat you are living in? Airbnb is usually offering the ability to rent out only a room from your flat, but you might check the local regulations first. Limit your food/entertainment costs by shopping at discounters.
There are food banks, and even opportunities to buy really cheap food that’s close to its expiration date.
Make a strict budget of how much you are able to spend per week for food, essentials, etc. and try to stick to it.
Try to advertise your artwork, to increase the visibility. Get some part-time job, etc. and good luck mate!
Airbnb
Is not really a thing around here.
Another option is to sublet the flat you are living in?
No way in hell I’m giving someone access to my pets without being acquainted to them for several years, first.
Limit your food/entertainment costs by shopping at discounters
Outside of Canada/US/Europe/Japan, things aren’t that easy. Entertainment costs for most people, me included, are already zero. We also only ever shop at a discount because that’s how we all grow up - only rich people get to pick and choose.
Make a strict budget of how much you are able to spend per week for food, essentials, etc. and try to stick to it.
Same as above.
There are food banks, and even opportunities to buy really cheap food that’s close to its expiration date.
We generally call that substandard living. At that point, might as well be a literal slave.
Get some part-time job
That doesn’t really exist here either. Besides, if I could “just get another job”, there wouldn’t be a problem to begin with, right?
roughly how many dollars is it?
Roughly 80 usd
Yeah, dealing with creditors really sucks, they’re far more interested in making money than helping people. That’s why I’ll always encourage people to look at options like charities and government programs before resorting to any kind of debt. Some debt is good (i.e. you get more value than you pay in interest), but any debt is bad if you can’t pay.
If you want advice, you’ll need to post your financial details (income, expenses, opportunities for extra income and reducing expenses, etc).
If you just want to vent, I’ll be the first to agree that banks can really suck. If it makes you feel better, you can probably get that money “back” through some kind of promotion. I don’t know what options Brazil has, but in the US, there are tons of banks offering cash for opening accounts, so I abuse those to make myself feel like I’m sticking it to them. When you get into a more stable situation, that can feel like a small bit of vengeance.
in the US, there are tons of banks offering cash for opening accounts, so I abuse those to make myself feel like I’m sticking it to them
No such thing here, AFAIK. You’d be lucky to get a plastic cup with the financial institution’s logo on it.
Dang. I’m sure you can be creative with petty ways to get back at them. :) Sometimes the small things feel the best.
At least you are dealing with a bank. Where I am coming from there are private creditors who are offering easy credits to anyone interested and then they hit you with unbelievably high interest rates that are almost always impossible to pay, so people are being blackmailed, and sometimes either beaten and/or losing the roof of their heads. So be grateful that you aren’t dealing with such thugs.
What you can do is actually inquire other banks what conditions they can offer you to transfer this debt to them and always prioritise your debt payments above everything else.
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Já passei por uma situação parecida. Não sei nem bem o que dizer, mas força aí.
And yeah, banks are horrible.
