This happened with me with consecutive ultra cheap used cars I bought.

One would break down and it would fuck up and I'd have to go into debt just to fix it. I finally scrapped it because it was giving me grief and replaced it with another cheap used car - that one also gave me grief. I couldn't afford to scrap it, but I couldn't afford to not drive it, so I had to go into credit card debt to pay for it.

I finally said fuck it, got rid of that one, got an '04 Toyota Camry that was extremely low mileage and driven by a granny. Yes, I did get a loan for it, but I paid for half of it up front and completely rearranged my finances to pay for it and to anticipate any potential things that need to be fixed.

Now it's a few years later and I'm free of that shit and ONLY use my credit card as a means to generate rewards. I pay off that shit the same day if I can. I have one dedicated to just gas and I have one "in case shit hits the fan" card that I never touch.

Phil had the option of getting the fuck out when he could - he could've sold that house off, used the money to pay for the rest of the mortgage and came off with a small amount of money to throw in something that could generate money for his retirement. Sure, it'll suck eating shit and paying for rent, but I'd rather be paying for rent and debt free rather than stuck underwater in a mortgage e-begging people online and hoping that money could pay for everything.

That debt sounds more like he was underwater on his mortgage. I also want to know where the fuck he's living where he has to pay for a $400k-$500k house.