Buried in Debt

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Anyone here have any tips on paying off all your loans without driving yourself crazy?

I miss the days when a $50 parking ticket was worth complaining about.

if it is student loans, consolidate

if it is credit cards, blow them off until you have saved enough money to bargain a payoff amount.

this may actually be terrible advice.

You can use your money you got back in taxes to pay off the debt. Use all of it to help pay it off.

Do not borrow any money or put any money on a credit card. I hate to owe money and be paying every month for something I owe.

I would just pay little every month on those debts.

I have never been in debt so my advice might not be good. I have used a credit card but I would always pay it when the bill comes. I didn't go on a spending spree or go overboard is why. I didn't go spending $1,000 or $3,000 which is the maximum limit on the card I can spend.

So... no else has money problems? At all?

I would've guessed people with AS wouldn't do especially well financially speaking, but I guess I would've been wrong.

oh heck yes.

my real problem is staying employed though.

My problem is being obsessed with money and saving it I get too cheap and have anxiety when my husband wants to do fun stuff that costs money when I feel we have spent enough already. Same as when we go grocery shopping, I do not want to spend more money on food if he decides to get something new so I tell him he has to make a choice. It's either corn dogs or this for example.

I've always been thrifty when it comes to those things myself, it's the monthly bills that are killing me. Perhaps it's time I gave up my health insurance and traded my car for a bicycle...

I have no idea whether or not "money problems" might be typical around here, but I do know "money" is never the real problem. My problem has always been having no idea how to *handle* money ... but now that I have no money at all anyway, I just drop all my "money problems" into the waste basket.

Sure, I have money problems. I even did bankruptcy when I got too sick to work, and had to take disability payments. But I am slowly learning to manage what I have. I feel incredibly prosperous, when I follow a budget. My extravagances have dwindled down to gourmet teas, and organic foods. I no longer drive a car, so there are no car payments, insurance, and maintenance. I moved to Florida so as not to have so many winter expenses.

Managing money is doable, you just have to have a plan. A good book for living inexpensively, is this: http://amzn.to/bJwTfR

I don't have a car and ride a bike to do errands, It might not be a bad idea if it's possible to get around on a bike where you live. Not having a car is a huge savings. (it's a big help to have a rack on the back of the bike and a bungee cord to strap stuff onto it. I do all my food shopping this way.)

I don't know if it's a good idea to get rid of your health insurance. You might look into seeing if you qualify for Medicaid.

Other than that, I would suggest being ruthless about cutting down your expenses. Do you have both a cell phone and a landline? Can you get rid of one? (I don't have a cell phone, for instance.)

Can you get rid of any monthly expenses like subscriptions, gym membership, cable TV? (I have none of these, never had cable TV.)

Do you ever eat out? Even fast food or a cup of coffee is more expensive than eating at home. (I eat stuff like beans and pasta.)

In the winter, I keep my thermostat at 60. I don't have air conditioning.

There are other bills I haven't been able to reduce, like electricity and water. I pay $46 a month for the internet, which I consider a lot. If my phone line weren't defective I would consider dial up.

I don't have any debt, so I'm not sure how to advise you on that, other than put as much as you can toward the highest interest credit card every month, or see if you can take advantage of offers that let you transfer the balance to a lower interest rate. I have no personal experience with that. But if you want tips on frugal living... I can offer some.

I had horrible finances, especially taxes. Was clueless about it.

until i met my wife.

I feel like if anything is not perfect, money-wise, im unsettling her, im destroying the peace she needs, like I need my peace. I feel like she cant trust me, if i mess up financially.

im not really neat with everything, and all i owe is the standard mortage on the house.

depends on what kind of debt and how you got into it.

first step always is to stop using the credit cards. dont use them unless you need them for a really big purchase ($1000+).. if you cant pay less than 1000 in one sitting chances are its something you can live without and dont need (barring car repairs and medicines of course).

car/student/etc loans.. you can speak to a financial advisor at the bank and consolidate it to pay it off. You may even put the credit card debt into that consolidation.

...and just simply go into extreme money saving mode until you pay off the most critical things at least. No cable tv, no eating out, no drinking, no partying, no road trips..downgrade your internet service to slowest broadband...turn hot water heater once a day (or dont use it)... you wont believe just how much money those things can add up to.

student loans are my albatross. husband had some and declared bakruptcy, but i refure to give up on paying mine off. i think i have 3 years of payments left.

credit cards are almost paid off (down from about $20,000 - from years of having not enough money to live and getting cash advances for rent and food).

we paid off our vehicle last year, and husband wanted to get a new car because this one has required lots of repairs. but the repairs are still costing us less than a newer car, so we are saving money by driving a beater.

Step 1 is to stop the bleeding. Step 2 is to make a realistic budget, including everything you can think of from repairs/maintenence to gifts and annual fees. This can be harder than it sounds because many people just think of the basics like food, clothing, shelter and forget about things car registrations, doctor appointments, and thanksgiving dinners. It all adds up. It's not a bad idea to get in the habit of writing down every cent you spend for a year or so to get the most realistic idea of where the money's going. Step 3 is to make a payoff plan and stick with it.

There are all different views about how aggressively you should try to payoff debts. Ultimately you should try to have about 6-8 months of expenses in savings as well, in order to avoid future debt. I guess it's all a matter of comfort level. Do you focus on saving first while paying minimums (and interest)? Or do you spend every cent on reducing the debt as quickly as possible to reduce interest costs, but leave yourself vulnerable to unanticipated expenses? I try to work on both simultaneously, slowly but surely.

Other tips include calling your creditors to negotiate a reduced interest rate. Student loans, in general, should be the last to go - assuming they have a low interest rate. And be wary of financial advisors. Most of them are just in it to make a buck. You're way better off doing your own research about finances and how to handle them. If you need help, try to go to a nonprofit agency and always question fees. Even the nonprofits are funded by the banks. Good Luck!

In other words, be a boring loser.