Advice on how to get off the Debt

[StormRichards]

actually internet value is really 9 dollars a month everything is accurate on my bills

You missed the point.

[Nutria]

You missed the point.

Or he's trolling us.

[tdi200]

I get the point anyways let me get back to work before I get fired here being on the forums and make my financial situation more worse

[~bs]

I think the focus should be on the fact that he's spending on "discretionary entertainment" than what that entertainment is exactly. I doubt $180 a month on this sort of activity can be seen as an addiction. I always thought it was more expensive to be honest.

And yes he should absolutely not be taking money from his mother's account.

Realistically, he's going to have to make some drastic lifestyle changes if he's serious about this. This may include disclosing taking of the money to his mother, and developing a plan with her on how he's going to reimburse her. it will also require him to probably get a second job. Not fun, but another 20 hours/week will actually help you make some strides towards paying off the debt.


$20k/year income
11.5k/year expenses (assuming he fully disclosed including special circumstance expenses)
8.5k savings

Bankruptcy/loan modification is probably a serious consideration in this case.

[clatoden99]

Try identifying free and inexpensive alternatives to spending money. A little creativity goes a long way.

[tdi200]

Yes I agree with you I am much in a better position when it comes to self control, all I want is find a way to pay off these credit in one monthly bill but not sure if consolidation companies are legit

[Fishindude77]

Lots of comments on this thread and others focus around omitting things from the budget and living within your means. In many cases, this is the smart approach, however in this case and many others I think the biggest issue is not enough income coming in. $13 / Hr would be real tough to live on.

How about getting on the ball and trying to make some more money? Look for a job that pays better, work extra hours and overtime, or pick up a second job. 40 Hours per week leaves lots of free time to be earning some additional income, plus when you are working you won't be blowing money. 50-60 Hour work weeks really aren't that tough, particularly for a young, single person.

[tdi200]

I am trying to find a better paying job but its hard to get due to having high school diploma only, warehouse job don't pay much at the top most u can get $10 an hour with forklift experience, I am looking into part time job I got one job being a guard at a baby swimming pool that only like 2 times every other week that is 8 hrs a day pay rate of $9 an hr

[Gailete]

It is doable to live on what you make. My son is doing it on less than you and he maintains his own apartment and pays all his own bills, but he doesn't have a credit card so he can't get in the mess you are in.

Let's see, you say your mom is 65. I assume she gets Social Security of some kind? Yet you seem to be paying all the bills. Is where you live paid off or is she paying for that? Or did I miss rent/mortgage payment? There are things you can do and the first thing is cancel those cards so you can't make another charge. Call each of them up and ask for a lower interest rate that will allow you to help make your payments easier. If they don't, they don't but perhaps a few might. According to your list, your pay for two weeks handles all those bills and the other pay handles the credit cards-maybe the minimum payments at least.

Git rid of bills you don't need like a cell phone and go to only a landline. You don't NEED a cell phone. It IS possible to survive in our society with just a landline and an answering machine. We do it daily. Stop paying those ladies bills and nails and massages. Why do you feel free to pay someone else's bills when you can't pay your own? I would suspect that $180 monthly average is a lot more than that as you are probably putting those 'bills' on credit cards.

You are going to have to go onto an austerity plan like no other. Whine and stomp you feet all you want, but you got yourself into $50K worth of debt (including what you owe back to your mother) and you need to dig yourself out. Of the $40K that is on credit cards, what do you have to show for it? What can be sold to help pay off the bills? If you have nothing to actually show for it, it means you were spending money of meals, bars, 'ladies', etc. now you get to pay the price for your fun.

I have no clue how old you are or why you are still living with mom, but with the advantage of free housing, you should have oodles of money in savings instead of owing everybody. You have one loan that was over $20K. Is that your car payment? If so, you are paying way more for a car than you can afford. Sell it and get a clunker for now and quit trying to justify the cost of the car by it's fuel mileage. If it was for something else, I can't even begin to think what anyone could charge that costs that much, without it being something tangible that should be sold to help pay off that loan.

For someone that has spent themselves into a mess like this, with no real excuse like medical bills, you need to pay this off as much as possible on your own and not go the bankruptcy path where debts are forgiven leaving the people you owe money to poorer because you were having a good time and buying things you couldn't and can't afford.

Pay on your bills as soon as you have some money to put towards them and not wait for the last minute, as it will help a very little bit to pay of the cards a fraction sooner and at this point every little bit hurts.

[Reynald]

Try debt consolidation. Here's a tip, accelerate your debt payment by paying regularly your monthly dues, then once a whole debt was paid, apply your regular payment to that debt to the next smallest debt and so on. You wouldnt know, you will already be debt free in a short while. All it takes is disciplined money and debt management.

To your financial success,


Reynald

[tdi200]

@Gailete,
Thank you for taking your time and reviewing my post.

Question: Let's see, you say your mom is 65. I assume she gets Social Security of some kind?

Answer: No we are originally from the UK and don't qualify for any social security been here for last 6 years, her health does not let her work.

Question: Is where you live paid off or is she paying for that? Or did I miss rent/mortgage payment?

Answer: No the house is Paid off, there was remaining balance of 16k which I paid off using the Avant loan my plan was put the 16k to pay off the loan and the rest of the remaining funds was supposed to be paying off the cards that was my actual plan but instead an evil entered into my brain started blowing money which was supposed to be paid off the credit and have just one bill to pay. the only bill I forgot to include was my car insurance which is 100 a month.

question: Git rid of bills you don't need like a cell phone and go to only a landline. You don't NEED a cell phone. It IS possible to survive in our society with just a landline and an answering machine. We do it daily. Stop paying those ladies bills and nails and massages. Why do you feel free to pay someone else's bills when you can't pay your own? I would suspect that $180 monthly average is a lot more than that as you are probably putting those 'bills' on credit cards.

Answer: Cellphone is something I cant get rid off but I can look into cheaper plan, like I said I was busy finding love when I didn't get I started buying that with money which ended up teaching me a life long lesson

Question: You are going to have to go onto an austerity plan like no other. Whine and stomp you feet all you want, but you got yourself into $50K worth of debt (including what you owe back to your mother) and you need to dig yourself out. Of the $40K that is on credit cards, what do you have to show for it? What can be sold to help pay off the bills? If you have nothing to actually show for it, it means you were spending money of meals, bars, 'ladies', etc. now you get to pay the price for your fun.

Answer: I have nothing to show for it besides psychologically thinking I have paid off the house of my mother and paying the Property tax, association fee and insurance beside that I have nothing to show that I can sell


Question: I have no clue how old you are or why you are still living with mom, but with the advantage of free housing, you should have oodles of money in savings instead of owing everybody. You have one loan that was over $20K. Is that your car payment? If so, you are paying way more for a car than you can afford. Sell it and get a clunker for now and quit trying to justify the cost of the car by it's fuel mileage. If it was for something else, I can't even begin to think what anyone could charge that costs that much, without it being something tangible that should be sold to help pay off that loan

Answer: I turned 28yrs old in December I decided living my mother because she needs helps day to day basic due to her health and age plus she cant drive that loan over 20k has been answered , for the car I drive an old 2001 Toyota

Question: For someone that has spent themselves into a mess like this, with no real excuse like medical bills, you need to pay this off as much as possible on your own and not go the bankruptcy path where debts are forgiven leaving the people you owe money to poorer because you were having a good time and buying things you couldn't and can't afford

answer: yes I admit there was no real excuse like medical bills just being plan honest, yes I agree I have to pay as much as possible leaving the people I owe money is a big issue specially comes to my mother and that is the reason I am here writing and seeking for advices

[tdi200]

Try debt consolidation. Here's a tip, accelerate your debt payment by paying regularly your monthly dues, then once a whole debt was paid, apply your regular payment to that debt to the next smallest debt and so on. You wouldnt know, you will already be debt free in a short while. All it takes is disciplined money and debt management.

To your financial success,


Reynald

debt consolidation is something I am not sure off knowing my financial position I am afraid to risk something chances are may be the company is not legit or something but idea is great, if you could give me more insights of debt consolidation company that are legit would be a huge help too

[Gailete]

Try debt consolidation. Here's a tip, accelerate your debt payment by paying regularly your monthly dues, then once a whole debt was paid, apply your regular payment to that debt to the next smallest debt and so on. You wouldnt know, you will already be debt free in a short while. All it takes is disciplined money and debt management.

To your financial success,


Reynald

Reynald, what you explained as debt consolidation is not what you described. Debt consolidation is going to a company that will help you get all your bills into one and then you have a huge bill to pay off, instead of the smaller ones. In other words the debts are consolidated into one.

What you described is what is generally known as the snowball effect, of getting one bill paid off and then using that payment plus what you had been paying on another loan and to get that paid of and so on, it is like a snowball and can work.

[Gailete]

I would suggest that you set up a strick budget which includes descreasing any expenses possible even if you can cut $5 out of gas money a month by making sure you are using your car as little as possible, combine trips and drive them in the most logical manner so as not to waste gas, etc. You will have to have your thinking cap on at all times asking yourself "is this a need or a want?" Most things that people say they NEED are really wants that they somehow justify and make excuses for why they need them.

I would suggest a book called "Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez http://amzn.to/2jNPSJz this is the updated version, I have only read the first edition. You can probably find the older book at your local library or they can get it in for you. More than anything, this book tells you and shows you how to define wants and needs. Many that have to dig out from under debt have problems in the area of wants and nees which is how they got in the mess to start with. Anyhow this book can be a help. Also Dave Ramsey does have some good things to say about how to dig yourself out. Financial Peace http://amzn.to/2jL8TyJ is a good one, but you should also be able to find his books in your library as well. Dave Ramsey also has a radio program to listen to I believe as well as a big prescence on the internet.

Another book I found helpful when I was in horrible debt due to an ex-husband was How to Get What You Want in Life with the Money you Already Have by Carol Keeffe http://amzn.to/2kKJh6F You may be able to get this or request it from your local library, but it will probably be harder to find. I followed what she had to say and I remember the day I went to buy glasses and pulled out almost $300 to pay for them in front of my ex and he about lost his teeth. For an entire year I had been setting small amounts aside when I would get a dollar or two until I had enough for glasses. I think I had gone without a new pair for 4-5 years at that point, but I refused to charge one more thing. This book isn't on the radar of most people trying to dig out of debt, but it can be most helpful.

Hope these suggestions, plus reading lots of the threads here will be of help to you in the long journey ahead.

[tdi200]

@Gailete
Thanks for the suggestions and I can definitely get these books online for free as PDF and thanks one more time for taking your time and giving out life worthy suggestions its very easy for me sitting behind a computer and write all this or else I would have never opened up to anyone like how I have. indeed its a long journey