I spend more than I make and my debt keeps growing, how do I get out of it ?

Question

I've got a student loan and I've been paying my credit card off with my line of credit....I just got out of school and I'm a creative aspiring self employed person, but I'm not making enough and spending too much? Anyone understand how to live in this city within your means?

Answer 1

1. You ARE NOT paying your credit card OFF with a line of credit. RENAMING debt is NOT paying it off.
2. SPEND LESS.
3. Get a JOB until your business is earning enough to support you.
4. You asked how to live 'in this city', but did not say what city (or what country for that matter).

Answer 2

Obviously you already know where the problem is - spending more than you earn. Here is how to start budget yourself no matter where you live...

First gather all your bill and know how much you need to pay every month, that also including credit card bills. With credit card, you need to include the higher of minimum due OR the month interest accrued. Don't forget the auto insurance or any other insurance (or let's just say things you pay every six months or annually), and find the monthly amount for those bills. As for groceries and gasoline, you will need to start to see how much you need every month by tracking your spending. Now you are ready to total all the monthly amount required. Second, take your take home pay (after tax), and starting to subtract all the bills need to be pay. I hope is not a negative number. Okay, if you still have 15% of your income left, that is good. That means you live within your means. Save up all the 15% to a savings account. If you like to save even more than 15% of you take home pay, or you are negative after you deduct everything, start review your bills. Maybe your cell phone plan can cut down to $35 a month instead of $150 a month. Start to cut down the unnecessary stuffs. Start tracking your spending and know where your money is. If you owe more than one credit card, start paying off by focus on the highest interest rate first.
After you get a grasp of how to budget, start to look at bigger picture and focus on paying off your debts. Such as credit card debts...Well, I am glad you are willing to take on second job, because if you want to be more aggressively pay off you debts. You really should. Also go on websites, most of the home page of yahoo or msn have a section "money" or "finance" that teach people how to budget. Start reading some article there will also help you a lot. Good luck!

Answer 3

I think the very first thing you should do is to stop paying your credit card with your line of credit. That is paying a loan with a loan. You can never get out of it.

The next thing you should do is to list down what are your expenditures in a month. Look at the list and see what are the expenditures you REALLY can do without.

Once you have cut and trim your expenditure lists, the next thing is to stick to your planned expenditure. Set aside a small sum of money to pay off you student loans and save the rest.

After two months, take out a bit of your savings (say 5% or 20 bucks) to reward yourself if you have stick to your planned expenditure strictly. This reward system will keep you going till you are completely out of debt. Then you can think of making your savings work harder for you.

Hope it helps!

Answer 4

Sounds like you're an artist.

The problem with being an artist is that you need to make a name for yourself. Good artists starve for about 10 years, and only make ludicrously large sums when they are dead.

I would suggest that you get a part time job, to help with your debts.

I am in a similar situaton, although I am a lot older. Life threw me in this direction.

I don't know where your city is. But if you need to live cheap, I would suggest a true Asian diet. You will be a little hungry all the time, but your finances will start to look a little healthier.

Answer 5

Credit card debt consolidation comes as a great relief to all those who are plagued by multiple credit card debts. If new to credit card debt consolidation, all it does is to club up all your debts from multiple credit cards into single more manageable and easy to repay debt, which helps the credit card holder tremendously. Credit card debt consolidation has many benefits but the four listed below are typically more popular. If you are waiting to get rid of your multiple credit card debt, credit card debt consolidation might be the panacea for you. Here are the four great reasons.

To reduce the debt burden

This is the first and foremost reason of credit card debt consolidation. Too many credit cards, multiple credit card debts, varying repayment dates- all become too overwhelming , can rupture your financial well being and and impose a lot of burden. Credit card debt consolidation eases all this complexity and all your debts become one single entity and are now easier to repay.
The first, as we just mentioned, is because your current credit card or cards are costing you far too much in annual fee or APR.

Save on annual fee

If all your credit cards have some annual fee, these numbers add up quickly and can appear quite a sum. When you consolidate your credit card debt you also get rid of all these multiple annual fees and might end up saving a lot of money.

Prevent your credit ratings from getting worse

If your existing credit card debt repayment burden is causing too many repayment defaults and as a result your credit rating is getting quite a beating, credit card debt consolidation will bring welcome relief. It will salvage your credit history and prevent any further damage due to all those nagging credit cards. Read more form: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/credit_card_debt_consolidation.html

Answer 6

I think Victoria, though well meaning, gave you bad advice. You can most certainly control things. "You" make the choices you do about spending. You have to cut spending and/or increase your income..second job or whatever. Sell things you no longer need on eBay. Buy at Yard Sales and thrift stores. And check out this website: www.daveramsey.com. It can be a great help.

Answer 7

Uh, spend less and/or earn more? Or is that too obvious.

Maybe you need to find a regular job for awhile until your self-employment gets to a level where you can pay your bills and have a little left over.

Good luck.

Answer 8

Don't stress out over it. Im in the same situation but I didnt go to college. Just live your life happy and don't worry about things you can't control too much.

Answer 9

lower your spending

Answer 10

make a budget and stick to it...no matter what.....unless you gonna die.....
provide for good health.....that is it...