I Owe The IRS $5,000 and Have $11,000 of Credit Card Debt — Now What?

Brown Ambition

iHeartPodcasts

Careers, Education, Self-improvement, Investing, Business

4.9 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week’s listener, “Beth,” is stuck between tax debt and credit card debt—plus the anxiety that comes when you’re a little bit of a rebel, chasing that nonprofit art life immigrant parents never signed off on. (We see you, Beth!) Mandi shares lessons from her own contractor journey, breaks down why the IRS is no joke, and gets honest about how hard it is to face down those phone calls and official forms.

You’ll hear:

• Why tax debt takes priority (because the IRS does NOT play, y’all)

• Smart ways to negotiate payment plans (and what “offer in compromise” means)

• Real talk on avoiding credit card traps, balance transfers, and why budgeting apps like Rocket Money and Monarch can help you see the whole mess clearly

• Which debt payoff method actually works for real people (snowball vs. avalanche, plus why momentum matters)

• How to keep your sanity and your community close—because shame and overwhelm are not welcome on this show

• Lifting each other up and why it’s ok to slow down, set boundaries, and put self-care first (even free self-care counts!)If you’ve felt stuck, overwhelmed, or just wish you weren’t facing those numbers alone, this is the episode for you. Write in, DM, or leave us a voice memo with your story—we’ll show up, judgment free.

RSVP FOR MY FREE WEBINAR 9/25: How to Use AI To Master Your Money + Career In a Challenging Economy

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

https://www.irs.gov/help/let-us-help-you

IRS PHONE DETAILS:

Individuals
800-829-1040
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time

Businesses
800-829-4933
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time

https://www.rocketmoney.com/

https://www.monarchmoney.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:06.4	I'm Marcus Grant.
0:07.9	And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast.
0:13.1	Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season?
0:15.8	Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies.
0:22.8	Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.
0:28.5	Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:44.9	Hey, hey, VA fam, it's time.
0:46.5	Wait, I sound a little pathetic.
0:49.9	I just realized, y'all, I'm not feeling too well.
1:12.7	It's been back to school, and one of my two little boys has brought back a bug already and I don't know what it is that I got. Maybe it's just a case of the mid-2020 blues or flu. I don't know, but not feeling my best. So for anyone who's listening who, oh Lord have mercy, there's a cricket on my microphone.
1:20.8	Okay, well, at least I was able to just liberate a cricket from my studio. Oh my gosh.
1:26.2	Am I like, is that, do I have like seven years of good luck? Not that aren't little tiny green crickets supposed to be good luck?
1:27.7	Or was that just from Mulan?
1:29.9	And I don't know.
1:32.2	But yeah, I'm not feeling my greatest.
1:33.8	That being said, I'm excited to be here and I'm really excited to listen to today's
1:38.8	question.
1:39.2	We actually had a listener who took the time to send a voice note to me on IG, and I just thought it was
1:45.5	really sweet. So I'm actually going to play the question for y'all. I'm into this listener who
1:49.4	shall remain anonymous. But before I do, I just want to say that all of the mixed feelings that
1:55.8	y'all are feeling in the wake of the assassination on Charlie Kirk's life this week, I am feeling the exact same
	...

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