Where do I start?

[blueamerika]

I have about 10K in credit card debt, spread over three credit cards. One credit card is 14%, on is 20%, and one is 22%. I'm already paying 150 a month on each card every month.

I also have a car loan that I still owe 13,500, with 42 months left. It's at 11% interest rate. I'm currently paying 380 a month.

Lastly, im trying to save up for a wedding. I wanna save at least 5K.

For the next 18 months Im gonna be able to use about 800 dollars a month towards all this mess.

What would be your advice where to start?

[carpevacationum]

If it were me, I'd work on paying off the one with the smallest balance first so you see motivated and see results. (The general rule would be to pay the one with the highest interest rate off first.)

I would also call each company and see if they would lower the interest rate. They may not nowadays, but it's certainly worth asking.

I'd also look into refinancing your car loan. That seems very high to me. If you could do that your payments would be lower and you could put that extra money towards paying off your credit cards.

Good luck to you!

[disneysteve]

Pay just the minimum on every loan except the one with the highest rate, 22% in your case. That will save you the most money and get you debt free the quickest.

How much is the car worth if you sell it privately today? If you are not upside down, sell it. If you are upside down, consider not making extra payments on the credit cards for a month or two to save up enough to cover the difference between what the car is worth and what you can get for it and then sell it. Replace it with something cheap, maybe $5,000 max. You'll then have a chunk of money that you can send to the credit cards.

I'd forget about saving for a wedding until the credit cards are gone.

[LuxLiving]

Can you transfer some of the higher interest onto the lowest interest card?

[buildmybudget]

Have you already cut everything else out of your budget? Are there any other expenses you can minimize or eliminate so you can up what you have to work with?

I was in somewhat of a similar situation 1.5 years ago when we were getting married. Our goal was to save up for and pay for our wedding completely out of pocket. The only way to do this was to figure out how much we needed and work backwards(as you have) to determine exactly what we need to save each month.

The problem was we needed a better method for seeing when we run into problems or where we could find extra cash. The only way to accomplish this is with a cash forecast that shows you exactly where you are headed...so you can see whether your goals are plausible and if you will run into any trouble spots. Create a budget that shows you this and you'll be empowered to make better decisions.

Good luck!