Being in debt sucks. Most of us are familiar with at least one if not multiple, kinds of debt: student loans, credit cards, mortgages, owing your friend $50 for dinner but repeatedly forgetting to pay them back until it becomes a sore spot and your relationship never recovers.


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While it’s undoubtedly stressful, being in debt is also humiliating; having to worry about your finances as well as worrying about what other people are saying about your finances is too much for most people to bear, so we tend to keep our financial problems to ourselves.



Over on TikTok, Wyatt Wichman is challenging that taboo with his videos on how he’s managing his debt: $67,000 on credit cards, $172,000 in student loans and $13,000 in car loans. Eek!


In his videos, Wichman breaks his debt and expenses down in spreadsheet form, so we can see that he has several credit cards — 13, to be exact — that he owes money on. He’s candid about his spending and how he’s managing his debt, including participating in American Express’ financial hardship program that will consolidate his debt with them and give him a lower interest rate.



Wichman tells me that the debt began accumulating in earnest when he lost his job and business three years ago and went into a deep depression. At the same time, he was dealing with the end of a relationship. “I ended up doing six months in outpatient rehab, and the bills just piled up,” he says. “By the time I was getting a handle on the depression, it was just like a losing battle because the interest is so high.”


As for why he started making the videos, he explains, “I saw this girl talk about her finances on TikTok, and she was getting so much support so I wanted to try the same and see what I could do. I also know a ton of people are going through similar situations, and if I could help make people feel a little better about their situation or give them a better outlook, I wanted to do what I could.”


Countless commenters have asked Wichman why he won’t just file for bankruptcy, and he recently met with a lawyer who recommended he do just that. When I ask about it, he tells me, “I don’t want to admit defeat and close all my accounts I’ve worked so hard to build over the last 10 years.”


Wichman is far from the only person dealing with similar financial worries. Less than 44 percent of Americans can afford a $1,000 emergency expense, and roughly half a million people report falling into bankruptcy in part due to medical bills and missing work.


That said, Wichman always does his best to remain hopeful — an attitude that runs throughout his videos. “I’ve always just tried to stay positive because what else can you do,” he concludes.