How do people control their debt? I don't think I've ever kept my bills paid.?

Question

It is completely beyond me how people are able to do anything. I've worked my whole life and despite a flakely, short-term approach to careers, I've always made a decent salary. I just finished my 2nd degree and a new job. I make $1700/month and just can't seem to get things straightened out. I wait for paychecks and upon receiving them, I pay everything possible, leaving myself with $50 for two-weeks and repeat the same thing later. I always swear that I'll skip a bill, but it never seems to work that way. Is it because I've been single and dependent on a single salary most of my life? Is it because 30k/yr just isn't a decent salary? Is there some trick that I can employ to improve my credit such as getting 0%apr/12 month credit cards to eliminate debts or auto-pay and then just keep up with the credit cards?

Answer 1

How to people control their debt? Well this is simple, really... THEY STOP GETTING INTO DEBT! They DON'T use the credit cards. They live within their means, not beyond their means. So, step number one for you is going to be to CUT UP THOSE CREDIT CARDS!

Now, I will say, $30k/year is not a great sallery, especially not if you have 2 degrees. My wife brings home (after taxes) about $1550, and she has no degree, and works for a school district. It also seems that if you are making $30k/year, you should be bringing home much more than $1700. While you can live off of a salary like that, I would recommend getting a second job to get out of debt faster.

Since you are paying all your bills right now, the first thing you will want to do when you get a 2nd job is free yourself of the NEED of a credit card. This means putting $1500 in the bank for emergencies only. We are talking about needing car repairs, or maybe you got a speeding ticket, etc. This is not for Christmas, and not for bills unless they are going to turn off the electricity, etc.

We also need to look at what bills you have. Do you have any frivilous bills that can be eliminated? This would include things like Net Flicks, cable or satellite TV, cell phone, satellite radio, online games, any subscriptions, etc. Most, if not all, of these need to be eliminated. Some can also be downsized (we pay $3.50/month for basic cable along with our internet service, for example).

With the second job and some bills eliminated or reduced, it shouldn't take long to get the $1500 in the bank. Remember, any time you have to use that money, it should be TOP priority to get that money back in the account quickly.

Now it is time to start paying off that debt. List all of your debts, from smallest to largest on a piece of paper. Include gas cards, credit cards, school loans, car loans, mortgage, etc. Also write down the monthly payment of each card. For most people, their smallest debt is a gas card or department store card. Let's say your smallest debt is a gas card with a $300 balance on it, and your payment has been $25/month. Do whatever it takes to pay off that balance right away. Again, this shouldn't take you that long. Once that balance is paid off, and the $1500 is in the bank, you do not need to keep the second job unless you want to. Here is why... Now that you have paid off your smallest debt, look at your second smallest debt. Let's say it's a Sears Card with $800 on it, a monthly payment of $55. Well, instead of paying $55/month, we will be adding the $25/month we were paying on the gas card. So our payment is $80/month. As soon as that gets paid off we apply that $80/month to your next debt, and so on. You will be out of debt before you know it! Of course, if you keep the 2nd job for a while longer, you can get out that much quicker.

Answer 2

for one, stop spending more than what you're making. 2nd, if you have 2 degrees and you only make 1700 a month or about 21,000 a year its time to find a new line of work. walmart pays more than that.


Now, lets move onto your credit. yes there is a way


Take 500 and place in a savings account at bank 1. then take out a loan at bank 2 surrending you're savings account book as collateral. take that money and place in a savings account for bank two. now go to bank three and do the same thing again. Now all you have to do is pay the bills for three months at about 70 a month and you have three lines of credit from three banks.

lastly, Credit cards are evil. I own two homes, two cars and I'm in school with great crdit and no help from anyone except my wifes job. We don't have credit cards because they are an idiots game. If we don't have the money, we don't buy it. its that easy.

Answer 3

Bankrate.com
Saving when you're barely surviving
Monday August 28, 6:00 am ET
Don Taylor

Dear Dr. Don,
I am a husband and father of two young toddlers. My net pay is just enough to scrape by every two weeks. With health insurance premiums well over $400 per month, my net pay is only enough to cover the bills. Every time I set aside money, I end up having to use it all for some unforeseen expenditure, and then some with credit cards (whose balances continue to escalate). Where does one in my situation begin to save?
-- Underfunded Mike

Dear Mike,
Your question is one of the more difficult issues in personal finance. How do you work toward the future when you're having trouble getting through the week?
The key is to keep spending less than income. Easier said than done, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need to be done. Spiraling credit card balances aren't the answer. Credit cards just postpone the problem and have you spending money on finance charges that should be going toward meeting your family's needs.
Differentiate between what's necessary and what's nice in your monthly spending. Cutting out cell phones (or alternatively land lines), cable TV, dinners out, etc. brings down your monthly nut. Bankrate has a budget work sheet that you can download to put together a monthly spending plan. Talk to your employer's personnel department to see if there are ways of reducing the health-care costs while keeping family coverage. Taking advantage of flexible spending accounts to pay for medical costs with pretax dollars is one possible way of accomplishing this goal.
The other side of the equation is to increase income. Take a second job, or a third. Don't think of it as forever, just until you can get the credit card balances down and build a bit of a cash cushion. If your wife doesn't work, perhaps she should. Bankrate's "Should my spouse work, too?" calculator will help with that math.
The answers aren't easy, but you've got to ramp up income, throttle back on spending or both to get to the point where you move past paycheck-to-paycheck living and get to the point where your income is also building toward your family's future.
If you've worked through all this and still can't see a way, it's time to ask for help. Your state government might be able to help with health-care insurance for the children, for example. A Bankrate feature, "Finding help in hard times," has some other ideas, too.
To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the "Ask the Experts" page, and select one of these topics: "financing a home," "saving & investing" or "money."

Answer 4

It's great that you pay all your bills. The way I do it (and I have kids) so I have to work around a "most important system". Rent of course is always paid and on time. Then the other bills in order of importance most of the time I pay the electric and water etc. when they are cut off's since you can get extensions and stuff. That way I have the money I need to buy diapers and pay for extra crap like cable and cell phones. I have a boarder paying some of the rent and half the other bills to so on around 2200 a month it gets done and I still have a little money to save and a little to throw away.

Answer 5

You need to learn how to mangae your money a little better. A good place to help lower your bills, improve credit and get advice at no cost is http://www.nationwidebillrelief.com They have free budget calculators, budget worksheets, credit dispute forms and information and a lot of companies wanting to give you great rates on your monthly bills.

Answer 6

First thing you need to do is pull your credit, so you know what your working with. Don't get scammed into those "Free Credit Report" but you have to show credit card then they require you to join trial membership. You need to go to www.ftc.gov and on the left hand side under HOT TOPICS is a blue box with "Free Annual Credit Report" link...this should be a start.

Answer 7

You sound like you may be a little young- this is the best advice that I can give anyone- if you can't afford something- don't buy it! Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses!

Answer 8

find a trusted consolidation company, see this
http://debt-consolidation.50webs.org