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Hello -
I was laid off in November of 2008. I was living in CA, making about 80k/annualy in software sales.
After struggling for months to find a job, I took an internship in Washington, D.C. The internship paid 1k/month, so about 760 after taxes. Eventually, I was hired on to staff at 30k/annually, then after 5 months received a raise of 40k annually. During this time of little to no income, I obviously acquired a significant amount of debt, and am looking to get back to where I was a year ago.
Current Expenses:
Rent: $400
Utilities: $81
Loan: $297 (7500 remains, out of 9k)
Car Loan: $240 (9400 remains, out of 14k)
Gym: $90
*Car is in garage, I use metro system to save money, so no insurance/gas/maintenance. Cell phone and metro passes are paid for by my job. I have health insurance but no dental and no vision.
My take home after taxes is $2,221. I put $300/month into my 401k, and it is matched. I put $300/month automatically into a high yield, but just started this last month.
Now, to tackle the debt. I had 13k in cc debt. I used all but 1k of my emergency fund to pay off the highest interest. So that brought it down to 9k. I then consolidated this onto a personal loan (see loan $297) to be paid off in 3 years.
I recently ran into more trouble with my landlords failure to return my security deposit on my apartment that was riddled with bedbugs (fun times). So I am again in the whole for some change, with 1300 on a cc.
I currently have 1k in emergency savings.....
I found out I will be receivng a 4k bonus at the end of the year.
My goals:
1. Be debt free by the end of 2010, with the exception of the car loan.
2. Have 3k in emergency savings.
3. Begun saving for a down payment on a house.
Any advice as to how to get out of this would be greatly appreciated. So ideas I have considered....
1. Cashing out my 401k (8k now)
2. Getting a second job (I work 50plus hours a week right now).
I just turned 26, have a college degree, and did not expect life to be this difficult in terms of finances. Please advise.
Thank you!
I was laid off in November of 2008. I was living in CA, making about 80k/annualy in software sales.
After struggling for months to find a job, I took an internship in Washington, D.C. The internship paid 1k/month, so about 760 after taxes. Eventually, I was hired on to staff at 30k/annually, then after 5 months received a raise of 40k annually. During this time of little to no income, I obviously acquired a significant amount of debt, and am looking to get back to where I was a year ago.
Current Expenses:
Rent: $400
Utilities: $81
Loan: $297 (7500 remains, out of 9k)
Car Loan: $240 (9400 remains, out of 14k)
Gym: $90
*Car is in garage, I use metro system to save money, so no insurance/gas/maintenance. Cell phone and metro passes are paid for by my job. I have health insurance but no dental and no vision.
My take home after taxes is $2,221. I put $300/month into my 401k, and it is matched. I put $300/month automatically into a high yield, but just started this last month.
Now, to tackle the debt. I had 13k in cc debt. I used all but 1k of my emergency fund to pay off the highest interest. So that brought it down to 9k. I then consolidated this onto a personal loan (see loan $297) to be paid off in 3 years.
I recently ran into more trouble with my landlords failure to return my security deposit on my apartment that was riddled with bedbugs (fun times). So I am again in the whole for some change, with 1300 on a cc.
I currently have 1k in emergency savings.....
I found out I will be receivng a 4k bonus at the end of the year.
My goals:
1. Be debt free by the end of 2010, with the exception of the car loan.
2. Have 3k in emergency savings.
3. Begun saving for a down payment on a house.
Any advice as to how to get out of this would be greatly appreciated. So ideas I have considered....
1. Cashing out my 401k (8k now)
2. Getting a second job (I work 50plus hours a week right now).
I just turned 26, have a college degree, and did not expect life to be this difficult in terms of finances. Please advise.
Thank you!
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