Help Needed

[liveandchi]

I need some help reducing my expenses. I hope some people can give me some good suggestions. I have a lot of credit card debt. Almost $20,000 and even the minimum payments are starting to get hard to pay. it just seems so helpless. Do you think I should file for bankruptcy?

[maxfleischer]

Probably a stupidly obvious suggestion, but have you tracked your expenses for a month or so to see where all your money is going? Do you have a budget? What are your expenses now, so maybe we can see where you might be able to cut back?

[asrai]

http://www.daveramsey.com. Read his books, his strict followers call it gospel. HEHE ... but it's helped me a lot get back on track with finances.
Basically he calls for you to stop using credit cards, only use cash, and at the start of each month write on paper where ALL of your money is going to go. Account for every last cent and don't spend any money unless you have budgeted for it ahead of time. (still working on that one and the cash only).

[liveandchi]

I have a general idea where the money is going, but not specific information. I have never been one for budgets. I will try and put some basic numbers together where the money is going.

[terry1156]

Yes, please make a list if you can. That will help quite a bit in letting us make suggestions on where you may be able to reduce expenses. You may also want to take a look at <A HREF="http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2096&page=1">this thread</A> where another member is doing her best to reduce her expenses. I'm sure you can get some good ideas there.

[maxfleischer]

Even if you start with just the basics -- you don't have to post on this forum where every penny goes (although it's a good idea to track your expenses for yourself) ... but if you at least can give us the amounts you pay for your large items, like groceries, utilities, rent/mortgage, credit cards, other loans, food, etc., there might be some areas where readers can give you specific help.

[liveandchi]

OK here it goes

Mortgage: $1050
Student Loan: $220
Credit Card A: $170
Credit Card B: $120
Credit Card C: $100
Car Payment: $270
Garbage/Sewer: $50
Phone: $150
Cable TV: $80
Internet: $45
Electricity: $100
Groceries: $300
Gasoline: $300
Clothing: $150
Insurance: $320
Local RE taxes: $150
Other: $200

I think that covers most of my current monthly expenses.

[asrai]

How many people does this cover?

[liveandchi]

That is for 2 people, no kids.

[maxfleischer]

And what is your net income for the month? That way we can see how close you are to the edge, so to speak ...

The first things I see on your list are internet -- I have dial-up; not speedy, but it gets the job done for us -- and telephone. We have local service only, no cells and no lonfg-distance carrier; I got a ld card from BJ's (Sam's and Costco also have them) to make ld calls at about 3 cents/minute. I'm getting a tracfone to keep in the car for emergency use only. They'd be the first two things I'd attack, then I'd drop the cable down to basic level ... but without knowing your income, I don't know how many other things you might consider doing ...

[maxfleischer]

You have $3775 in expenses listed ... and you don't have kids. I don't know whether or not you intend to have children, but how wise you are to tackle your financial situation before you have any kids!

Can you tell me what the "other" category includes? And why is gasoline so high? Is public transporation available for work? How many more payments do you have on your car? And how much are your toal credit card balances and the interest rates for each?

One of the biggest differences we made in our budget was in groceries -- I cook nearly everything from scratch, use my crockpots a LOT, and shop at Aldi's/Sav-A-Lot, as well as shopping other local markets for their loss leaders. My husband brown bags ALL his lunches, including beverages, and my children take their lunches to school from home.

And to be honest, if you are even thinking of bankruptcy, I would try and cut back on the clothing expenses. Shop consignment stores -- even thrift stores. Buy classic pieces, etc. and try to get itrems that are not all dry clean only -- especially blouses.

There are lots of ways to cut back, but it all depends on how serious you are and how close you are to the edge -- that's why I askled for your monthly income. I can tell you right off, my husband only brings home a little more than half of what your expenses cost each month, but we're able to save about 30%/year for retirement. So there are lots of things you can do, some more drastic than others, again depending upon hopw close you are to the edge. Remember, you're posting anonymously here, but if you would rather email me privately, I'm at jorasparents@hotmail.com ... good luck!

[asrai]

Anything that is not NEEDED needs to be cut. I admit we do spend $300/month on food for 2 adults and one very small child. I'd like to cut that price. I'd stop buying clothes and cut on the phone to the bare min, walk as much as possible or take transit, we have no cable, just what our thrift store attena can pick up.

[maxfleischer]

Asrai -- do you have an aldi's or save-a-lot near you? I find Aldi's to be the cheapest of all and I go there once a month or once every 6 weeks to stock up on all the basics. As a result I rarely use coupons (aldi's does not take them), but I still make out better than I did when I shopped only the regular stores and used coupons. I also do all the drug store free-after-rebates ... walgreens, rite-aid and eckerd's have monthly catalogs with their rebates listed; sometimes cvs has rebates, too. And I haunt the clearance deals at target -- I got 12 boxes of duncan hines cake mix for 13 cents/box this past weekend. Can't make a scratch cake that cheaply!

[txjman]

[quote=maxfleischer]

There are lots of ways to cut back, but it all depends on how serious you are and how close you are to the edge [quote]

So what is the edge, and is bankruptcy the only option at that point?

[asrai]

Canada doesn't have Aldi's or any of the amazing prices the USA gets. for example. the cheapest chicken I have found is .79/lb (CD) for legs. (going to buy a 5 KG box of that tomorrow.)

[maxfleischer]

Asrai - Duh! I should've noted your location before I replied. Sorry about that!

Txjman: In re: defining the edge, for myself, I'd define it as being so much in debt that it begins to have a really awful emotional impact on you -- the point at which it is impossible to live your life without feeling hopelessly depressed about your life, with debt so bad there is no way you could ever see yourself paying it back. That's just my own take -- I think the "edge" is defined differently for everyone. Also, some people are more comfortable doing different "tightwaddy" things; some parents, for example, would never consider dressing their kids in rummage sale clothes -- that's nearly all my kids wear. What types of budget cuts people are willing to make, I think personally, depends largely on how close a person feels to the financial abyss and how much they are willing to change their lifestyle and adopt different habits. Everyone has to work within their own framework.

[jhd815]

Just my opinion,

Bankruptcy should only be used as a last resort. There are serious consequences to filing for bankruptcy; among them that a bankruptcy remains on your credit report for a period of 10 years and when you fill out loan and credit applications, they will ask if you have ever filed for bankruptcy (in other words, not just in the last 10 years). Also, bankruptcy will exempt some of your loans but not all of them (depending upon where you live).

From what you've listed I think you should look first at cutting back as many of your expenses as you can. Use the savings to pay down your credit card debts (and of course stop using your credit cards and incurring further debt). Even an extra $10/month toward a credit card bill can cut your payback time and interest payments substantially.

Good luck, please keep us posted as to what you decide to do.

[Tree0164]

Cut up your charge card and not do use it! You don't want to be adding any more debt.

I just paid off $20k... it took us just under 4 years but we were mostly a 1 income family during that time. Every extra penny went towards that debt.

Also see if you can get your rate lowered. Even if for a promotional time. I played the cc game bounced back between 2-3 cards.

A few things in your budget stick out... is the clothing budget. That is an extra $150 that you can put towards your cc debt. That would an extra $1800 a year that you can put towards your cc debt.

I also second the Dave Ramsey suggestion as well.

Good luck!

[txjman]

maxfleischer, thanks for your input, that was a well thought out reply!

I don't find myself in that situation currently thank goodness. I can certainly see how a person could feel that way. My situation is similar to several people that have posted on the site. Although I hate to see someone struggle it nice to know that you are not alone in your problem.

One question (for anyone) is it smart to pay your credit card daily or weekly (whatever is possible) since interest is accumulated daily? I was thinking about trying. I use homebanking which allows an unlimited amount of transactions. For example if my minimum payment is $60 I would pay $2 everyday of the month. Will this reduce my interest charges?

You may want to consider consolidating your debt. If you have a lot of equity in your home, you could get a home equity loan. Do this ONLY if the interest rate is less than what you are paying on your credit cards.

Or you could use a debt management program )

I agree with the other replys about the clothing amount. Also, when you're grocery shopping be sure to have a list, use coupons, buy generic items. You could cut your spending by about $100 or more.