Debt help

[Montana Craig]

I think most people mentioned great things above but also stop going to restaurants or getting take out, this includes fast food. You can cook for so much cheaper and get higher quality food. If you drink coffee make it yourself, stop buying alcohol, soda, etc.

With that being said I do think it's important to have that date night at least once a month but do it at home. Get some candles, flowers, and maybe get a cheap bottle of wine (ignore what I said above), and boom you have a yourself a date.

It also seems like people are always against credit cards. I think they are great if you only use them to pay for what you need. There's no reason you shouldn't be getting a few percent back on everything you buy. You said above you have credit card debt so this might not be the best approach but you can always call them up and have them reduce your credit limit. With credit cards if you don't pay them off each month, each new purchase you make interest starts right away, so you are literally throwing away money.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[MT257]

Have you looked into different payment options for your student loans? They have PAYE pay as you earn. IDR income driven repayment options. Calling the student loan people is a pain in the ass but explain to them and they seem to work with you if you get a competent person on the line to help figure out what option may be best for your situation? Are you or your wife public service employees, first responders or teachers if so you’ll qualify for loan repayment options that way as well. Hope this helps ya out in that area. I would say downgrade vehicles if you can. Put the money toward highest interest rate, paying the minimum on a card doesn’t get a fella too far.

 

[lyle_destroys]

Definitely get rid of the cars and put the money that was going to car payments into the credit card debt. I use a credit card quite a bit but it gets paid off the end of every month.

 

[Marbles]

Dave Ramsey is good. I don't follow everything he says, but I also don't have significant debt. Can't say debt free at the moment as I'm barrowing for a masters degree, but the significant annual pay increase from that will cover the student loans in under 2 years and will be directed at the debt rather than an increased standard of living because debt, any debt, makes it harder to be an autonomous adult.

As you have guessed at, and many have said, downgrade the cars to something reliable, but cheap. There is nothing glamorous about a used Toyota Corolla, but they are great cars. Heck, a new one can be cheaper than many used cars. Just make sure you actually come out ahead on the vehicle bit once taxes and everything are included. It sounds like that will not be a problem for you, but as neither of my vehicles are worth more than 5K it quickly became clear to me that the cheapest reliable car I could get was the one I already owned outright.

I use credit cards, but I have not payed interest on a credit card in over 10 years. I use them like a debit card with more protections and rewards. As you have credit card debt built up, I would go with Dave on those and stop using them completely.

 

[74Bronco]

If your car loans are with your local bank or cu, you MAY be able to use the equity and good credit history to get a loan with lower interest rate to pay off cc. Worth asking your banker anyway.

 

[MTJake]

Another vote for Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University. My advice, join a group. It's a whole lot easier to get financially healthy when you are not doing it alone. The website allows you to look for groups in your zip code, for some encouragement and accountability. Google Dave Ramsey and join a class. Then, everything else said above. Cut out out of state hunting trips, CC's, vehicle payments, and start chipping away at debt. Also, celebrate when you pay stuff off! it's a big deal, especially this year, to celebrate the wins anytime you can! Good luck! My wife and I don't use all his principles, but we use most of them and the only debt we carry is our mortgage.

 

[wind gypsy]

I've listened to a few Dave Ramsey radio shows but never followed his program.

I'll say this, if he recommends paying off small debts with low interest rates prior to bigger debts with high interest rates, I disagree with him.

First step, ditch car payments if you dont need em and pay the maximum amount you can towards credit cards where the interest is killing you. If you can transfer credit card debt to something that has a period of no or low interest, I'd definitely do that.

 

[Missahba]

PAhuntr91 lot’s of good comments in the thread. One question I will answer directly: don’t do a “debt consolidation” program. A personal CU loan that you use to pay off the CC then make lower interest CU payments is fine, as mentioned above. But no consolidation company or program. PM if you want details or my cred backing up the advice. And again, Ramsey so you have knowledge, support, peer pressure to fight the constant advertising and pressure to spend. (And yes, there is even pressure on this Site to get the latest gear and travel to the best out of state hunt). Good luck.

 

[Dust Rider]

Second part time jobs for both of you? Lots of work out there if your willing. I have multiple jobs to keep money flowing. I dont like some of them but its better than the alternative.

 

[AZ8]

You and your wife also need to change your lifestyle. Questions to ask. Do you consistently order take out food or cook most meals at home? Are you paying for Netflix, Amazon Prime, a landline, DirecTV...etc?

I followed my own advice and cancelled everything I considered a “want” and not essential to my life. Ended up saving over $100 a month. Doesn’t sound a lot, but it‘s a positive cash flow and adds up over a year.

Eliminate all those unnecessary monthly bills and you’ll be surprised how much you’ll see in savings.

Baby steps. Saving a $100-200 a month is easy simply by changing your personal lifestyle. Then apply that towards your debt.

CC debt first!!!

Good luck. It takes serious discipline.

 

[rtaylor]

Step 1: Get rid of the vehicles with payments. That's where most of your extra income will come from.
Step 2: Put your old car payment money towards your CC and pay it off.
Step 3: Don't worry about consolidation. It isn't a silver bullet if you don't take care of the other steps and you'll spend more time and aggravation working on that.

 

[brownie9582]

I think Dave Ramsay is great but he isn't the only plan or way to get debt free. No matter what you do it is going to be painful in many ways and is a commitment you and your wife have to enter on the same page.

The bottom line is you need to free up money so you can begin to snowball your debt. Cars are quite possibly the biggest waste of money you could ever have, try and never have a car payment, and definitely never have 2 of them.

Once you free up some cash flow then you can start putting it against your smaller debt that has the highest interest, then when you pay that off move to the next one and the next one until the only thing left is your mortgage! Then you can decide what to do next and what is best fr you over the next 10-30 years.

 

[nam1975]

Hide the credit cards 1st. Put them away and see if you can go 30, 60, 90 days without.
Then reevaluate your vehicle next.
The wrong beater can put you in the poorhouse at the shop.
Cash helps too. It’s so easy to forget about 20 buck stuff on the credit card until the bill comes.

 

[beforethehunt]

Math isn’t the problem. It’s your habits. Start with Dave Ramsey!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rkcdvm]

Another vote for Dave.
Cut up the credit cards
Never buy new vehicles. Let someone else take that hit. It will shock you what discounts they have on dealer used vehicles with low miles.
All of my hobbies get paid for by a second job so they don't cause financial burden on my actual living expenses.
Depending on what your student debt interest rate is you may be able to get that changed too. I got mine changed from 6% to 2% just by making a phone call. Just food for thought.

 

[MT257]

Another vote for Dave.
Cut up the credit cards
Never buy new vehicles. Let someone else take that hit. It will shock you what discounts they have on dealer used vehicles with low miles.
All of my hobbies get paid for by a second job so they don't cause financial burden on my actual living expenses.
Depending on what your student debt interest rate is you may be able to get that changed too. I got mine changed from 6% to 2% just by making a phone call. Just food for thought.

What type of student loans were these? How did you talk them down 4%?

 

[Wapiti1]

Might check with your bank and see if they offer any credit counseling services. Some do for members, usually that is with a credit union. To get to a reasonable debt load, consolidating may be right, it might not be. Might be better to call each credit card company, freeze the card, and get payment terms negotiated.

There are many options that a counselor can help with. I don't recommend paying a counselor, but if you already have the option, use it. One of your workplaces may offer it as well.

Dave Ramsey is fine, but your situation will require what your situation requires. You will have to make some hard decisions.

Jeremy

 

[CorbLand]

Ramsey is a good one to research and read about. I think he is a little far fetched on some of his things but if you can do half of what he suggests your ahead of a lot of people. I have been in both situations, high debt to income ratio, living paycheck to paycheck. I now have more money in the bank than I owe in debt and its a great feeling. Peaceful.

I would suggest at the minimum getting rid of one vehicle payment. That would free up monthly income to go to your other debts but you also need to weigh this. There is value in having a reliable vehicle but reliability doesn't always mean the most expensive.

Start paying every ounce that you can on your CC. Get a part time job and put every penny you make towards those. CCs are killers on the interest rate. If you making minimum payments, you will be doing that for 10 years.

My wife and I have taken the mantra of if we cant afford it twice, we cant afford it. Its has paid off bigtime for us. Now you cant do it with everything, mortgages being the biggest one. When you go to buy a car, if you cant afford double the monthly payment, lower the overall price until you can. Also, set your mind at you will only do a 4 year loan. That way you make double payments and your done with it in 2. Too many people think of it in monthly payments and don't realize they just signed an agreement for 8 years.

Good luck man. Its hard to watch all your friends go out to eat, buy new cars, bigger houses, etc. but I can promise you that I have way more inner peace then they do. At the start of Covid and shutdowns, a lot of them were freaking out about their jobs. I knew my wife and I could make it 6 months without a change in lifestyle and a year with some cuts. That right there, was the best feeling in the world.

My wifes cousin got married 6 months after we did and I have been married for two years. Her cousin has bought two cars, a house, having a kid, getting a dog and been on 3 vacations to Mexico in the 16 months. One day my wife said "why cant we be rich like them?" I told my wife, "bullshit, we are the rich ones."

Edit to add. There's an app called Libby. It connects to all the public libraries around the US. You enter your information and if you have an account with that library, you can get most of their books digitally. My local library had a lot of Daves books on it. He also does a podcast.

 

[CHSD]

I am a Dave Ramsey fan. Biggest thing is to realize that you are in trouble financially. I know many people who are in debt up to their eyeballs and do nothing to get out. So good on you for realizing that you need to make a change.

You can get out of debt! Just take time! Good Luck on your journey!

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Insurance is another big expense, especially if you have homeowners or renters insurance and full coverage on your vehicles. Call your providers, and shop others. You can save a LOT of money finding the right insurance company, adjusting your policy coverages, and bundling home and auto insurance.

I did the "debt snowball" a little differently than suggested above. I paid every cent I could to the highest interest rate card. Once that was paid off, I went to the next, etc. I also took advantage of a zero interest for a year balance transfer (careful here, there are sometimes other fees).

I listed all of my debts, interest rates, and totals on a spreadsheet with a total at the bottom. I updated the spreadsheet monthly, and really enjoyed watching them disappear.

Oh, and stay out of the Classifieds on here unless it's to sell off your extra stuff! (I have to keep reminding myself of that!)