Any advice on how to save money?

Question

I am in so much credit card debt (about $15,000) right now and need advice on how to save money while getting out of debt?

Answer 1

Don't spend the money and you won't have that problem. You might try debt consolidation. Do a search. There are lots of them. Good luck!

Answer 2

I don't know how many credit cards you have that total that much, but always pay more than the minimum. Then, put back at least 10% of your paycheck. The 10% should be taken before you pay anything. My husband has a little box that locks and keeps his money in it. You could open a saving account but they don't pay any good interest now. If you pay yourself first, things will get better quicker. Maybe a debt consolidation place could help. They are usually free and can get all your bill payments lowered.

Answer 3

First, call your credit card company or companies and ask them to lower your percentage rate. Then consolidate your debt to the card with the lowest interest. If you have multiple cards, try to eliminate all but one.

Next, plan a strict, but realistic budget. Pay yourself first, meaning set aside a certain amount each month to pay down your debt. Put money aside for your home, food, car, gas, utilities, and a modest entertainment expense (eating out, movies, etc). Keep to your budget and do not live beyond your means. It is time to not be frivolous.

Lastly, see if there are anythings that you can sell or cut back on to help dig yourself out of the whole you are in. Can you downgrade to a cheaper car? Can you switch to basic cable? Can you cut down or eliminate a Starbucks habit? Asking yourself these tough questions will help you to free yourself sooner. It is a change in lifestyle that you are trying to achieve. It takes effort, time, and determination, but it will be better for you in the end. If you play your cards right, someday soon you should be able to start saving some money. Good luck!

Answer 4

Number one thing is to track your spending. When you know how much you are spending and where, then create a realistic budget for you. Once you have your spending plan in mind, make sure that you are setting aside money for paying off your debt as well as establishing savings for yourself. It does help if you direct deposit these funds to a different account, so that you don't feel like you are giving up so much

As long as you are able to make payments on your credit cards, you are MUCH better off to continue paying them off. It is true that you can negotiate with credit card companies to decrease interest rates and potentially decrease your pay off amounts. It's called a settlement, and its something you can do without the aid of a debt consolidation company, debt reduction company, and definitely without bankruptcy. These options have very negative impact on your credit rating, cost money, and may not assist you beyond what you yourself can do.

For more advice on saving money, getting rid of debt, and improving your credit score, I really like articles and tools on moneycentral.msn.com and bankrate.com. Yahoo finance also has some helpful pointers.

Answer 5

There are many different steps to save money. First of all, a lot of credit card companies charge a bunch of interest. For example: Let's just say you making a monthly payment of 30 bucks a month, however, only perhaps five of those bucks are going to towards the payments the the rest is interest. Try and make more the minimal payment. Next, one way to save money is to put about $100 a month in the bank, and don't take it out (only for emergencies). Lastly, get a monthly budget and stick to it.

Answer 6

Cut out on the small things you do that add up over time, like a trip to starbucks every day winds up to be a $120 per month habit or $1,440 per year. Find the small things that eat away at your savings and eliminate them.

Best book you'll ever read is Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It's changed our financial situation forever (we had credit card debt, too), and we have turned about a dozen friends onto it and they have all thanked us, even given us gifts when they made their final credit card payments. Get it NOW or check it out from your library. It'll change your life, I promise.

Answer 7

For two weeks, carry a little notebook with you and write down every time you spend even $.50. You must track every single penny you spend. I did this and was astonished at how much money I was wasting. Once you have a record of where your money is going, it's easy to see where you can scale back. For a while I had to leave my debit card and credit card (I cut them all up except one emergency credit card) at home, and carry just enough cash to get what I needed (gas, cigarettes (which are a huge waste of money, I know, I know) or shampoo or whatever). I started taking my lunch to work instead of eating out every day, and I started buying big jugs of water to take instead of paying for individual bottles every day. Again, once you see exactly where your money is going, it's easy to see where you can cut back (and you learn to ask yourself: Do I WANT this, or do I NEED it?). Remeber to write down every single penny you spend! It's not easy to save money when you're used to spending it how you wish, but it was something I had to do.

Edited to add: the other thing I did that was kind of cool (to me, at least) was to put all of my change in a jar every day (this was during my cash-only phase). At the end of a year I had several hundred dollars, which I used to finally splurge on something I wanted, instead of something I needed. I probably should have sent it to the credit card people but a girl's got to have SOME fun!

Answer 8

Big deal, I had $45,000 on credit card debt, but I still alive, the only way to getting out of debt is make more money.

Answer 9

Go to Walmart to buy your clothes instead of buying designer clothes.
Do not purchase extravagant cuts of meat, buy minced beef, chicken legs in bulk and divide up into servings. Freeze until ready to cook. Do the same with porkchops.
If you work, brown bag it, don't go out for lunch.
Buy only what you need, not what you see and want.
Write out a budget and stick to it.
Rent movies instead of going to shows.
Do not buy extravagant gifts for people.
If you have children only buy them what they need, not what they want.
Stay away from expensive restaurants
Stay away from alcohol and beer, you can't afford it.
Go for debt consolidation.

Answer 10

When you recieve your pay checks (I'm assuming you work) put a portion into your bank account and the other part take it out for you expenses. It works for me and I always have money to fall back on or in times of emergency.