How Do You Handle Your Debt?

It sounds like you have no extra money after paying all of your bills. It sounds even more like your expenses are more than your income. If this is the case you need to fix this first. If you have no extra money you'll never pay off your debt and it'll continue to grow. Something has to give. Either you need to get a second job or your fiancé has to get a part time job. There's usually no school on the weekends so maybe she can get a few hours at a retail store part time.

Next you need to figure out where to cut back. Easy solution is to stop eating out so much, sit down with your fiancé once a week and come up with a meal plan and commit to it. Also think about cutting back on other things like Cable tv. Remember, the goal isn't to be able to afford your bills, its to easily afford your bills and have money left over for debt payments.

Someone mentioned Dave Ramsey and I agree. Read his site and memorize it. Many good suggestions. I also use Mint and while I love the site it can be depressing and eye opening where your money is really going.

Is a huge commitment to get your debt paid off. If you're not disciplined you'll never pay it off. Think of paying your debt off the ultimate reward for all the hard work you put into everything.

 

A college degree is no guarantee of a job these days except for healthcare because of the growing surplus of sick people.

Plus two on Dave Ramsey.

You two are in desperate need of some financial tough love. The simple sound highly ordered financial approach Dave teaches is as effective as Alcoholics Anonymous is for drinkers. He can help to get you both sobered up.

Both my wife and I live by his principles, and we own our home outright with no mortgage, have two new vehicles with no finance payments, both of us keep zero balance credit cards, and I have an 812 credit score.

Dave is da man!

 

I used the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. No student loans (I've earned a BBA & MBA), Taco is paid for, 401k is doing well, no credit cards/debt, and I'm only 28. Basically, if I cant pay for whatever it is I want in cash I dont need it. This book also contains awesome sheets to create easy budgets. It's a pain to get out of debt but after you are...WOW!!!

Linky...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15...ils?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1378756595&seller=&sr=1-1

 

Decide your wants vs needs, and pick out what is more important right now, an education for your wife and 2 year old sounds pretty important to me. Car and truck parts will always come and go, and it helps if / when you can afford them. Don't put yourself in a bind is the best advice I can give.

 

While this may be the case, it is a LOT harder (almost impossible) to get a job WITHOUT a college degree.

I'd say with less than a year to go, it is worth it to finish up.

Bottom line is that you have to make getting out of debt a priority, and it seems like you are. If your aunt is flexible with the rent, maybe ask her if you can delay payments (or lower them) for a couple months, and offer to tack on a little interest for her good graces. But make sure the interest is LOWER than what you would be paying for the same amount on the credit cards. If the principal allocation is the same, you're better off getting rid of that high-interest credit card debt before anything else, and even if you are paying a lower interest by delaying rent payments you're still saving over the long run.

 

"if I cant pay for whatever it is I want in cash I dont need it."
GOOD For you--Most people that have NO DEBT have ALWAYS lived like this.

 

Dave Ramsey - Money maker over - Suzy orman - Blah Blah Blah....

here is my two cents for what its worth
(ive been in finance for over 12 years and deal with this stuff daily)

from my understanding -
you are 26 years old
dont have a house / car payment
have only 1 child and a girlfriend /wife
you seem to have a good enough job if they give you good raises
your girlfriend/wife is going to school - which leads me to belive you all are both somewhat educated.

So here it goes ........ R u ready .............

In the grand scheme of life - $8k in debt is nothing and yes I said it nothing.....
anyone with a decent job or skill set can pay that off in under a year or even a few months.

So dont sweat it .....

Its great that you are concerned and dont like to have debt especially at the age of 26 .... You are still young and got a whole life ahead of you

Once you get a house - maybe another kid or two - then you can start seeing some real debt.

managable debt of course - but debt nonetheless....

Best of luck - Dont sweat it and enjoy life
Before you know it your wife will graduate and she will be making more then you or the same and supporting you so or both of you supporting the household.

Anyone who cares to comment about what I stated in the above in a negative manner - please reread $8k is truly not that much money ........

 

I agree with this. However, I also agree with some of the other posts...you should either further postpone the wedding or elope if you are expected to pay for the wedding yourself (no help from her parents). It's just one day, not worth contributing to the debt over it. Also, you should find a tactful way of asking your fiance to cook. Sure, she may not like it, but that's life. I don't like doing dishes or throwing out the trash or going to work, but I gotta. If you're the breadwinner, she should show some appreciation by helping out and doing things she doesn't want to.

 

Wow thanks guys for the advice. I really do appreciate everyone's comments and there is some awesome advice. I'm definitely going to check out Dave Ramsey. Also the supercharger will be going up for sale once I receive another part necessary for the sale.

In regards to my Fiance going to school, that will not change. It makes no sense to postpone school for 9 months considering how hard it is to go back. I'd rather acquire 3k more in debt than have her work and potentially not finish. I've started talking with her regarding a budget and we are making more of an effort to eat at home (I've been cooking the night before). I do agree 8k isn't that bad, but 8 turns to 10 which turns into 20 very easily without careful watching.

Also in regards to the wedding, if it was up to me I would head to the courthouse tonight and be done with it. I'm not really a marriage believer myself so trust me I'd love to do it cheap and easy, but it's not just up to me. Part of her family is religious and a bit conventonal when it comes to these things. Her mom and grandmother would be crushed if we didn't have it. There is just no way around it, but we are going to get some help. The venue is at my mother in law's house (free) and tables and chairs are going to be borrowed from my mother in law's boyfriends work (free). It shouldn't be horrible and we definitely agree we don't want to go into serious debt for one day.

Thanks again guys and you've definitely got the ideas flowing.

 

I'm in the same boat, its easy as heck to rack up a lot on credit cards but hard to pay back fast. I think between my wife and I we have about $11,000-$12,000 in credit card debt. After we had our little girl (20 months ago) things have just seeming to get tighter and tighter. We may eat out 3-4 times a week but we've cut back on that(this week). Seems after we get paid, paying the bills for the week, daycare($130 a week), there's just not a lot left. Not sure if I make a decent salary or not. My wife makes a little more than I do. So we are in the process of starting to watch what we do more, put our credit cards away(not carry them around) and I guess do the snowball effect on the credit cards like Dave Ramsey says.

 

This comment is what is wrong with our society and why every country in the world hates us, you are promoting a lifestyle of living beyond your own means, and for what? So you can make it look like you make more than you do? Who cares.

Step 1, pay down the debt in a healthy manner, step 2, stay out of unhealthy debt, mortgages/student loans are just a part of western life.

 

Budgeting, let me tell you....

I am on a fixed income now (SS), you will find very creative ways to get lean, I get by on about $1100 a month and an occasional side job, have some CC debt ($4000), and get by somehow...it is the unexpected that wipes you out, my medical expenses the last 11 months has given me many sleepless nights trying to figure out how to pay anything other than what I have pared things down to....

You are young and have plenty of time, just keep the CC debt down....the extra CC for education I see no problem with that as it will pay off handsomely later on as that degree bears fruit, the interest will kill you is the flip side of that, you just have to make other choices that may hurt even more than it does now, like not spending the huge amount to attend another wedding, it hurts...

Good luck...

 

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Do a Dave Ramsey course and/or use his advice that is open source and free.

I have helped several veterans do this ... it was painful ... but they were very glad that they did it in the end.

I would say "good luck" ... but it is not "luck" that you need ... it is some "good financial planning & a financial roadmap" for your direction.

You can do this ...
.

 

Get rid of any un-necessary expenses....

Do you really need that data phone?
Do you really need that netflix, xbox, playstation, Xm radio yadda yadda yadda?
Do you really need the Sunday paper?

Look around at your 'stuff' - stuff that's collected in your home and things you don't need. EBAY EBAY EBAY
Put that money towards paying off debt.

Vehicles? Do you really need that car payment? (if you have one)

Before taking on a 2nd job - is there anything you can do 'on the side' that could get you quick cash? Doing odd jobs for family? Odd jobs for friends?
What other skills can you do? The reason I mention this - Craigslist is a great place to advertise to do 'odd jobs' for people/quick cash without the headaches of taxes, etc. Just gotta be careful since you're dealing with 'anything and anyone'

Stop eating out..... Become more involved with coupons, buying in bulk to save $$, going without certain things, etc.

Ever thought about having a room mate? Kinda weird...but... if it cuts your rent/utilities IN HALF.....temporarily. Gotta do what you gotta do.

 

... ^^^ ... Excellent advice ...
.

 

first - welcome to life, it's a great ride, just have to be ready for the potholes that show up every now and then.
i find that the more i save the less i seem to have, but i just deal with it and try to pay cash for the toys that i want. prior to getting married i sold some of my toys, (sailboat, 2nd vehicle) just figured i would replace them later down the road.
2nd - dave ramsey doesn't live in the real world, i have a nice salary, wife works as well, but the tax man cometh and takes more away each year and at over 50 i'll be damned if i want to go back to living off PB&J.

helpful hint for the kid - if you don't already, buy clothes and toys at thrift stores/yard sales/swap meets/consignment shops. my wife did that and god knows how much it saved us over the years. when kid out grows stuff turn around and sell back via thrift stores/yard sales/swap meets/consignment shops.

just my 2 cents worth - enjoy the ride & remember there is always someone out there that is worse off then you.

here you go something real easy to do - at the end of the day take any loose change in your pocket and throw it in a coffee can, (leave out the pennies) over time you will be surprised how much you can save, have done this for quite a few years, this is how i help fund my toys.

 

So much wisdom in here. I'm in college and i have only aquired about 6K in student loans, i know people who have already in 20k+ in debt, the difference? I decided to bite the bullet and join the military, they will be paying for my college instead of me and i'll be getting refund checks to pour into my savings,investments,future purchases,and mods. In that order.

I have been living on pretty much breakfast(cereal,bolgna,bread,soup)

I just drink water and tea, super cheap compared to soda(not going there)

I also have a mint.com account and i highly recommend the account, super easy to use, just take the time to organize the information and open your eyes... You realize how much money you actually spend when you look at it in the face. I eat out every now and then but most meals come from my bulk supply of food or i go to friends houses and eat there. A modest lifestyle for a kid in college but it could ALWAYS be worse, and with that in mind you gotta prioritize things. I understand that im not 20+,about to be married, have a kid ect. but take this for what it's worth, in life you gotta do some things you wouldnt normally do to get through life's obsticles.

1.Pritorize
2.Save
3.Discipline

Those have helped me get to where i am and im continuing to invest to build my nest of cash.

 

Nonsense. People throw money at a good plumber because the service they provide is so highly valued.

College degrees have become cheapened from an earned merit into a government funded entitlement. College teaches students that the only jobs they could ever have are those that are given to them by others.

Only a tiny minority of self motivated entrepreneurs know that the only jobs they could ever want are the ones they create for themselves.

Just as there was a mortgage debt bubble collapse... there is presently a collapsing college degree debt bubble. Outstanding student loan debt now tops one trillion dollars which is more than the total credit card debt of the entire nation.

 

x2. I just went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Universtiy and it is simply awesome! Life changing stuff about how to treat money and debt.

x2

We American's like to live above our means.

Well said and very true.

 

Fixed it for ya.
There are tons of jobs where you don't need a college degree.

Most people are unwilling to 'lower' themselves to that level of employment - which is a damn shame.