How do we get out of dept?

Question

My fiance and I are in a world of dept..however not so much that we can't dig ourselves out in a year or so. I was un-employed for about 4 months which really put a bind on our money. Now that I've got a job it's kinda of tough saving money, when it's going right back out. What are some good ways to set a budjet to get out of dept?

Answer 1

This is a tricky one!
When you cash your entire paycheque, place the money into seperate jars for spending (one for groceries, one for housing (which can also include bills such as hydro, cable, phone, etc), one for clothes and one for fun stuff). When the jars are empty--tough luck! You can steal from the other jars, but only pay for things in cash. By not adding more things on a credit card, your saving yourself a lot of interest.

Keep some money in the bank for savings (say 50 bucks a paycheque or more if you can afford it). It is also a good idea to see about putting money aside for retirement NOW as I'm assuming you are young--you can set up a direct debit option from your bank that will allow you to contribute to an RRSP on a bi-weekly basis. It can be as little as $25 bucks every two weeks..it may suck now, but when you're 65 you will appreciate it!

As for paying stuff off--there seems to be two schools of thought on this one. One is tackling the largest bill first as it accumulates the most interest. The second is start by paying off the smallest bill first and then when you've finished paying that off, use the money that would have gone to that bill and apply it to the next larger bill.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I will assume you mean debt, not dept.

One of the easiest ways to shave off some expenses is to give up all eating out. All of it--and all convenience store purchases too. I watch people go into a convenience store for a pop, bag of sunflower seeds, and a candy bar. They have spent $6.00 by the time they have walked out. Buy your pop by the case and take one with you when you leave the house. Keep some snacks at home too to take along.
Another big expense is buying lunch during the work week. Even if you only spend 5.00 a day on lunch (and that is dirt cheap) that is $100.00 a month (5 days a weekx 4 weeksx $5.00.) Take a bologna sandwich from home or a $1.00 Banquet t.v. dinner.
Eating out is the biggest drain on a tight budget.

Answer 3

Budget tightly, make minimum payments on all bills except the one with the highest interest rate. Spend any spare money, windfall, spare change, etc on that bill. If you get a raise, keep to the same budget and keep reducing that bill. Once you get that one paid off, do the same thing with the rest, always aggressively reducing the bill with the highest interest rate. It's not easy, but it will get you out of debt if you work at it.

Answer 4

1. move to a cheaper place
2. get cheaper cars
3. eliminate expenses (bills)
remember, you control what goes right back out.
you incur all those bills by choice.
4. stop eating out.

Answer 5

Take your lunch with you to work. Rarely eat eat out. Remember fun is cheap entertainment is expensive.

Answer 6

First things first...BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET and stick to it.
If you have a high debt you can try a credit counselling service. They can pay your bills off and you pay them a set amount eachmonth. When I did it I paid $250.00/month to them, not to each creditor.

Answer 7

Go here.

Answer 8

stop spending money you don't have.

Answer 9

over time my dear,over time!

Answer 10

what department?