Parents are in massive debt and we don’t know where to start
My brother text me and my siblings recently saying that he thought our parents weren’t doing well and needed some help financially.
He’s the only one of us kids that sees them often. I said I could help some but oh boy. We dug a little deeper and didn’t know how bad it was.
My sister said she’d help with creating them a budget and getting their credit cards paid off. And that’s when we found out that they have $19,000 in credit card debt alone!
Needless to say we were stunned. None of us had any idea it was this bad. And I’m trying to talk to them, my sister said they got super defensive and emotional.
My sister said it was like talking to an addict. They kept reassuring her it wasn’t that bad and they were fine and could take care of it. But they’re obviously not doing well.
At this point, us kids don’t even know what to do or where to start. Should we call the credit card companies and try to negotiate a lower sim if we can pay it off and close the account? Is bankruptcy an option?
The other problem is their attitude. Even with all the debt, they recently got another dog. Which means another mouth to feed (they have 3 already). And when my sister pressed them in this topic, they got angry and hung up. I don’t know exactly what was said but my sister is now mad and doesn’t want to help.
Honestly, I feel so lost. We were never rich growing up and struggled with money. I always thought it was having 4 kids on a single salary. But I’m thinking it’s also just poor money management by my parents.