Said It Here

How to pay off massive business EIDL and credit card debt

Massive EIDL loans combined with accumulating credit card debt create a financial trap where operators feel forced to stay in business for a decade just to work it off. Rising operating costs and tariffs swallow incoming revenue, preventing business owners from making a real dent in their balances without stripping operations to the bare minimum.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Prioritizing high-interest credit card debt before tackling low-interest long-term loans
  2. 2
    Building a 13-week cash flow forecast and detailed debt schedule
  3. 3
    Consulting a business bankruptcy attorney to review guarantees and collateral
  4. 4
    Cutting personal and business expenses
  5. 5
    Running lean and putting in extra hours
  6. 6
    Refinancing through SBA programs once qualified

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“I took out a $275k EIDL loan in 2020/2021 and I still haven't made a dent in it.”source ↗

“I haven't been able to pay off a single dollar. It's a house size loan, we struggled coming out of COVID times and we are doing better but I think I am forced to continue this business another ten years to work it off.”source ↗

“and since then another rough patch put me another $100k into CC debt. These tariffs, truckload costs skyrocketing, everything always increasing.”source ↗

Adventurous_Egg_9500 · r/smallbusiness · 17 upvotes

“Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel I am starting to feel like the stress was worth it, but there was awhile there that I felt like an idiot.”source ↗

frank11979 · r/smallbusiness · 2 upvotes

“We have paid off about $600k and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have had to get rid of everything extra and learn to run lean. It has been stressful to say the least.”source ↗

frank11979 · r/smallbusiness

Where this came up

r/smallbusinessentrepreneurshipfinancefinancial stressloanssmall business

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