ASK DAVE

Dear Dave,
 

A few years ago, I had a real problem with credit card debt. Since then, I’ve gotten much better at handling my money, and I’m making about $80,000 a year. Two weeks ago, I received a letter about a credit card I had in 2020. The amount owed is $7,688. The letter doesn’t say I’m being sued, but it says I have to appear before a judge in two months for a pretrial conference.
I live in Florida, and I’ve never heard of anything like this. I only have $1,000 in savings. Damari
 

Dear Damari,
 

I’m glad to hear you’re handling your finances better now than you did in the past. But at this point, you’re learning that old debts don’t necessarily die, aren’t you? Ignoring debts isn’t a good plan, because many times they come back to life like a zombie and come looking for you.
 

I’m not an expert on Florida law, but a pretrial conference in a case like this—over a $7,688 credit card bill—is highly unusual. I’ve been helping people with money problems for 30 years, and I’ve never heard of anything like this. It could be some kind of new tactic the collections attorney is using to try to intimidate you.
 

If I were in your shoes, I’d call the attorney who’s suing you and try to negotiate a payment plan or settlement. Do you have anything you can sell? Because I’ve got a feeling if you can come up with $3,000 or so and offer it as payment in full, they’ll take it. I don’t mean to be unkind, but these guys figure you’re a deadbeat because you’ve got a 5-year-old debt hanging over your head and haven’t tried to pay it. They’ll take almost anything they can get at this point.
 

In general, when you go to court over a situation like this, you’re going to lose. You have a legal debt, and you haven’t paid it. It’s that simple. So, if you don’t have anything to sell to make some money that way, you need to get busy working an extra job or two. I’m talking about doing Door Dash or something—in the morning before work or in the evening after work. Kiss those weekends goodbye too. Just go nuts for a few weeks, and make a bunch of extra money fast. It won’t be easy, and you’re going to be dog-tired for a while. But you can scrape together $3,000–4,000 before June easily if you’ll just put your head down and make it happen. Then, offer it up to the attorney. Demand a written release, with the debt declared settled and paid in full, and chances are, this thing will be off your back! — Dave
 

Dear Dave,
 

I have a roommate, and we’ve shared the same twobedroom apartment for about three years. During that time, we’ve always had an agreement that we would split the bills fifty-fifty. But for the last several months, he’s been very late paying his half of the bills. There have even been a few times when he didn’t pay his part at all, and I had to cover the entire bill. We both work good jobs, so money isn’t an issue. He says he’s broke, but when I ask him where all his money goes, he just shrugs and acts like he doesn’t know. We’re good friends, so I don’t want to be cruel. How can I approach him about the situation? Mikhail
 

Dear Mikhail,
 

No matter whether you’re talking about friendships or business dealings, to be unclear is to be unkind. Believe me, I understand you don’t want to be mean to a friend. But situations like this should always be addressed directly and quickly, before things get out of hand. You said you were good friends, and not just roommates, right? My advice is to suggest a night where you both just hang out at the apartment. Offer to pay for dinner to be delivered, and just relax and watch a movie or a game together. Before the night’s over, tell him there’s something you’ve been wanting to talk to him about, and begin an understanding—but firm—conversation-about the last few months and the situation with the bills. Let him know he’s a good friend, and you enjoy his company, but the roommate agreement isn’t working out because he’s not living up to his agreement to pay half the bills. Give him every chance to give a reasonable explanation for things, but make sure he understands that you two aren’t going to be able to be roommates much longer unless he starts paying on time.
Being understanding is key in a situation like this, Mikhail. You don’t want to approach him with a bunch of accusations, but at the same time, you need to know what’s going on. Maybe he needs help learning to budget money properly. You said both of you have good jobs, so that means his money has to be going somewhere. The problem is it sounds like it’s not going to the right places.
 

When a friend is having a rough time, you should always do what you reasonably can do to help. But in this case, he’s got obligations he needs—and agreed—to live up to. Do what you can, but in the end, he should understand it’s time for him to get his act together. —Dave