Most people, especially right now, are in debt up to and beyond their eyeballs. We were living the high life on credit and now the creditors (who were also living on credit) are calling in their loans. At my lowest point I had 6 credit cards, 3 of them major and 3 store cards and I was still applying for more!!! I was the victim of city life, I had to have the latest and greatest of everything, but what did it really do for me? Not a damn thing, except cause me unwanted stress and strain when it came time to pay up. I am very proud to say that I have since gotten that set of problems under control and have paid off all but 2 credit cards, and am happy to report that if things continue to go well I will be down to my keeper card by October!!!
It is not impossible people, however, it does take discipline and sacrifice, and lets face it if you had it you would not be in the situation are in now... right, as well as a plan. My plan included writing down all of my expenses (bills, food, entertainment, clothes, make-up...) prioritizing them (bills, food, entertainment, clothes, make-up...) and then making them fit into a budget. It is this step that people find the most difficult, because EVERYTHING is necessary... WRONG!!! Rent always came first, transportation to and from work, then my credit card bills, cable/internet/phone, food... that is usually where it ended. I had to sacrifice entertainment (clubs, movies, dinners...), new clothes and new make up (8C), but my bills were paid.
I does not have to be that way for everyone or forever!!! I wanted to do more so I got another part time, and gave up the apartment (my old roommie is still pissed at me for this but she made 2x the money I did per year...) and then I re- prioritized. It felt great to take the final payments to the bank or to the stores, or to put them into the mail.
Just remember these things:
BUDGET like CRAZY!!!!
Pay yourself FIRST- put money into a savings account first (preferably one that does not allow you access too often then divvy the rest up to bills
Lock away your credit cards, and debit cards, and use a preset amount of cash until you get your finances under control or unless you are making a large purchase.
TRY not to dip into your savings... they are your savings, duh.
Track your spending- keep receipts and analyze where your money is going and try to change it so you can keep more of it!!!
Decide which credit card(s) is/are your keeper card(s) (best for your credit if it is the card that you have had the longest and has a visa, master card, discover, amex logo on it NO store cards please) and which ones are going down.
Pay the minimum balance on the keeper card(s) ON TIME or early!!!
Pay at least 1.5 times the amount of the min balance on all other cards ($20 min balance- $30 payment); If the minimum payments are too steep call and set up a payment plan so that late payments will not affect your credit score.
PAY ON TIME!!! Pay on time, PAY ON TIME!!!
Give yourself a goal to have each card paid off and your finances under control, and stick to it!!!
For more info on saving and budgets check out
ingdirect.com, your bank, suzyorman.com, www.dumblittleman.com/2008/01/
Good luck and happy savings.
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