work hard but just can't get ahead on bills ,what to do?

Answer 1

You have to work smart then. :)

Answer 2

1. Know your numbers. How much more do you need a month to get ahead of the bills and get some savings going? Knowing that you need, for example, $100 more a week is better than saying 'I just need more money'.

2. Cut back. Track your spending for a while and find money wasters- dining out, expensive food choices, routine unneeded purchases or bills. A $5 coffee three times a week is $760 a year right there. It is scary sometimes how much we fritter away.

Some things to consider cutting, at least until you get ahead a bit: newspaper (you already have some on-line service right?), magazines, deluxe cable services (renting movies is usually cheaper), dining out and entertainment (don't cut to zero, just keep it controlled)...

3. Add income. Pick up a second job or earn as much overtime as possible. Sure, this cuts into a social life or could boost your taxes, but at least with a second job you can usually be more creative or have more fun with it. As a rule of thumb, working overtime gets you more money faster than a second job would.

4. Change your life. Look for a better job, a cheaper house, try a simpler lifestyle. It is frustrating to live at the edge of the paycheck, and it may be a signal that you need to rethink your life overall. Life should be fun, but it does not have to be expensive!

5. Consider hiring a financial planner- not one who does investments or sells a product (like insurance or credit relief), just someone who can help organize your finances and advise you. It costs to do this, but most of the time you'll save far more than you spend.

Answer 3

Stop all spending till you catch up. Pay only the essentials, like electric bill,, water bill, phone bill cable, etc. No high priced meals,, eat at home. don't buy anything till you catch up. If you still can't make ends meet,, figure out what you can do without. If you have movie channels on cable,, can you live without that? If you usually eat prime rib, can you live with a cheaper cut? If you drive a $50,000. car, could you get around in a $10,000. car?
If you smoke, quit,, that cost a lot of money now and will cost you more later in life.
Make a list of what you have to pay out. Things like rent, utilities, insurance, and estimate how much you need for food for the month. Then figure your total income for the month, deduct expenses from income and see what's left.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

1) Reduce financing charges.
With extra money pay down your highest interest debt 1st.
There are 2 options here depeding on how bad off you are.
a) sort-of-bad:
apply for lower interest (i.e. 0% for 6 months or 1 year on balance transfers) cards, transfer your balance and DON'T go late on a single monthly payment or your rate will sky-rocket. and DON'T charge anything on the cards (because what you charge will usually have a higher interest rate and doesn't count as paid off until last). at the end of the low-interest introductery period, make sure that you have another card waiting to transfer the balances to.
b)really bad:
talk to the credit card companies, explain you are struggling to make payments and ask them how they can help you (reducing interest/forgiving interest). they will cancel your credit cards and you will likely not be able to get another one until your credit cards are paid off.

2) Reduce spending
a) cancel unneccessary monthly bills:
you don't need: cable, to drink at bars, multiple phone lines (a land line and cell phones -- you might...but reevaluate what is REALLY needed there and if you can downgrade your phone plan -- or increase it slightly to get rid of another line), magazine/video subscription
b) Live for less money
reevaluate club dues/membership fees, reevaluate what activities you and/or your children are in (also ask if there are scholarships available for the activities they participate in), reevaluate daycare, eat for less (lots of pasta at home...think ramen and spaghetti. hotdogs, peanut butter sandwiches, and hamburger bun pizzas are also very inexpensive), don't shop (no clothing, electronics, shoes, make-up, purfume, toys, etc until the debt is paid off -- shop garage sales for absolutely necessary clothing replacements), before your housing lease is up look around for less expensive housing that will meet your needs (not every household member needs their own bedroom/bathroom!), watch all your expenses and look for yourself where you can make reductions -- including making a list of where all your cash goes

take walks or play in the park more for recreation (or find other free activities/events) and remember the only things that your absolutely need to shop for are pretty much food, personal hygene products and cleaning products

Answer 6

quit spending money on pot. dope money funds terrorism.