Financial Help?

Question

I hit a rough patch back in December/January were I was a little behind in everything. I called and explained myself and everyone worked with me. Last month I made my last BIG house payment (normal payment plus extra payment tacked to spread out Dec's payment) I have caught up on everything or so I thought. Today I get a call from my car financier saying that I needed to pay x amount by Thursday to catch up and if I did they would allow me a two month extention and in July I would be returning to my normal car payment. Now she told me that she was fixing to put a repo claim in or something along those lines and would if I did not pony up. Either way I paid my amount talked to a really nice guy who assured me I was out of repo status and no my car would not be taken, I am just wondering now that I am back on my feet what are some budget tips, techniques you guys have. I don't want this to happen ever again. Any idea why the car company did this?

I do not have any credit card debt as far-out as that sounds. This was a job situation, but I have since found a better paying job.

Thanks, I called earlier after I paid my amount and got a confirmation number and checked in double checked that I was not in repo status and not in danger. He said No, you did everything you were suppose to do, you are fine. So I made sure to check on that! She said she was "fixing" to put a repo claim out on the car if I did not pay the money by Thursday but I paid it today.

Oh I also got the extension on the car loan.

Answer 1

I have been in your situation and I know how you feel. The only advice I can give you is this. Sit down and write out all the bills you have. Make a budget and try to stick to it. First thing you do with your paycheck is pay yourself. I set aside $200 out of my paycheck to go straight into my savings account. I do not have this account linked to my debit card so if I want the money I have to take the time out to go to the bank and I hate doing that. I leave my debit and credit cards at home and have the money thats in my pocket. I cant spend the money if I dont have it on me. When my bills come in they are paid right away. If you can sign up for automatic bill pay on things like credit cards, car insurance and your car payment so that you wont get behind at all. If you can pay a few dollars extra on your car. This will help pay it off sooner. Not much even 5 bucks helps a bit. Try to save up enough money to where you have 8 months of back up. This was hard for me since I am a single mom but I managed to do it. I just cut out a few luxuries and sat back and looked at where my money was going. (Too many trips to McD's) When you go to work brown bag it. You save money there also.
Car companies are a pain in the butt to deal with. I got 2 months behind in 2005 when my dad died and I took leave for 30 days. My car company was calling me 3 times a day harrassing me. I also filed a complaint and told them what happened they still bugged me. I ended it up just sending in a payment to close out my account and pay the car off.
To get a better idea on some things you can do with money check out Women and Money by Suze Orman. It helped me get out of the same situation you are in.. Also call the car company and check 100% that your car is not in repo status. Last thing you want to do is walk outside and its gone. Good luck to you..

Answer 2

Sounds like the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing.

Biggest tip is not to spend dollars you don't have. Credit cards are the worst offender for many people since they gradually spend their entire limit and then have payments to make. Probelm is that they can't make the payment and buy the things they need with cash, so they take another credit card. Obviously, the only way to prevent this is to pay off your credit cards in full every month, or not use credit cards at all. That way, you know you're spending only what you can afford.

Answer 3

First of all did you verify with stmts that they've sent you that your definitely behind? It sounds like you thought everything was caught up? Sometimes there is a delay in systems within the financing depts & collections. I would get on that right away and make sure that you really owed that monies to the collections. Next I would find out what the lenders policy is on late pymts & their collections tactics, were they professional, you may need to address that issue with the collections supervisor.

2nd have you heard of Dave Ramsey? He's great he has a talk show about debt relief. And how to get out of debt through what he refers to as the snowball affect. You start paying off the smallest thing you have first, then apply what your payment was for that smallest to the next smallest until it's paid off, etc... And he suggests before paying anything off to get emergency funds in the bank of at least $1000 in case you need car repair/doctors visit/ etc....

It's really sound advise. I've told other friends about him and they've been really happy with the program. Check him out...at: http://www.daveramsey.com/shop/

check and see when he's live on a radio station near you, listen to his show....you'll problem get hooked to it. It's basically like Sunday when everyone repents, but this is people calling in and telling their past debt issues and how the program worked for them. And from listening to the show allot of the listeners seem to be able to get out from under their debt within a year or so. Good luck with this struggle!!! And hope this has helped.

Answer 4

It is hard to give you specifics on a budget, because I do not know your situation. However, a trick that works for my husband (who is a compulsive spender!) and myself is to give ourselves spending money each week in cash. We only use our debit cards for groceries and gas. It helps us save more money each week, and we have cut back on eatting out and fast food (It's harder to spend money when you know you only have a set amount each week).
Other than that, work on building up your savings. Every little bit helps! You are supposed to save 10% of your income, which most people don't, but even if you put away $25 a week that is something.

Answer 5

Yes, It involves Making you life a business. For example, you must invest in yourself, have product, and also Sell yourself * Your new higher paying job), and cutting out excess spending and expenses. I'd concentrate on the last part for a year and something socked away.