Not a frequent poster to reddit, but I've been a long-time lurker (37/Florida).

My tale is more a tale of psychological triumph than financial/by-the-numbers triumph, and I'm sharing it so that I can say thank you to this community for all that I've learned from you over the past two years.

In brief, through a marriage in which I didn't take care of the finances, a twenty-month separation, a short-sale on my first home, unpaid medical leave from work, and (finally) a divorce, I came to fear trying to make sense of my finances. So much so that I consistently engaged the "flight" part of a fight-or-flight response. Mail went unopened, phone calls unanswered, didn't file taxes for several years, defaulted on student loans, and had other debts referred to collections

I'd figured out a decent budget a few months ago. It's amazing how empowering it is to know where my money is going before it disappears.

Spent the last week…

• totaling everything up,
• getting a quick-and-dirty emergency fund together ($800 for now, $1000 by next paycheck),
• filing—and paying—three years' worth of tax returns,
• beginning a ten-month rehabilitation program for student loans,
• contacting the one creditor that hasn't yet sent me to collections to arrange payment in the next sixty days (so as to not get this one referred to collections), and
• making a plan to pay off all of the debts currently in collections in the next one hundred-twenty days.

As it turns out, I'm currently $15k (USD) in debt, but my net worth is a (positive) $3k. I feel more encouraged than I've felt about financial matters in my adult life.

Next up:

• sell the contents of my storage unit and use the proceeds for car repair and to enhance my emergency fund,
• get student loan back into a non-default state, then work on paying it off, and
• figure out a plan for retirement savings.

Thanks to all who have shared their stories — it's good to know that I'm not alone in financial struggle. Thanks also to all who have shared excellent advice and encouragement. I appreciate it much.