<prompt> Human: Hi Personal Finance. I am an idiot. I have been a complete dingus with my finances from day 1 of moving out of for college. Ive been crippled by mental health issues for the past year and now that Im back on my feet Im afraid I wont be able to survive. I have a dog to take care of and I need to eat. Please, please help. Heres what Im up against. I work for a popular outdoor retailer making 10.50 an hour. My hours fluctuate from 40 hours a week to 45-50 depending on how busy we are. Ive applied for a second job at Starbucks and another job within the same company for 12.37 an hour. Im not currently in school. I would like to go back for software engineering or computer science, but I need to address my finances first. Im riddled with anxiety over them and cannot focus on school with this. Debts Total: 37, 083Car 2007 Subaru Outback, Id like to sell it for something cheaper - 7851.67 300.00 month Visa Card I know I should be paying more on it but I cant right now - 952.24 25monthPrivate Student Loan no deferment - 915.56Target Credit Card - 80.00 Hoping to pay off soonUniversity Housing collections - 1000University Loan deferment - 1000Tickets Parking, University and City - 900Hospital Bills collections - 1763Federal Student Loans - 22622Monthly Expenses Total: 1280Rent - 550Car - 300Eating Out - 45Groceries - 100Gas - 120 Loan - 60Credit Card - 25Ticket - 30Other Ticket - 50As you can see, Im pretty much screwed. I have no idea how to handle money and I shouldve asked for help two years ago. My rent alone is so much that it gives me anxiety. I cant afford to create any sort of safety net for myself right now and I dont want to give up my dog. Anything else, Im willing to give up.Assistant: Besides the car payment, youre doing a pretty good job with your monthly expenses. If the Subaru has been reliable then it may not be worth taking a hit selling it for a cheaper vehicle. What is your interest on the car loan?Human: 3.1Assistant: In all honesty if the Subaru has been reliable I would just work on paying it off. 3.1 is a very reasonable rate. The car is probably worth well under the 7850 you owe on it, and itll be paid off in under three years. Human: What should I cut out? I dont have a safety net right now and I feel constantly on edge worrying how Ill pay for something bad if it happens.Assistant: The only unnecessary expense you have is eating out. Id start by cooking all meals for the time being. Human: Ive got things going into collections left and right. Do I just let them and then deal with them when I can?  <response>: Well it hurts to write this out.. but honestly with you already having stuff in collections it almost is better that way. When a collections agency buys this debt, they buy it at a very discounted price; because at that point the original lender deemed it not likely to collect the balance. What this means for you is, it is very likely to get discounts on the total amount you owe by negotiating with the debt collector. Most people will negotiate by offering a one time buy off, you can also negotiate by offering to sign up for a monthly installment. For example the 1000 in collections you owe for university housing. You may be able to call them up and negotiate to pay 55-60month for 12 months and then the balance will be expunged. 28 savings. I would read up on people successfully doing this, as Ive read about it on this subreddit, and see how you should approach it. 