To get out of debt and still pay bills?

Pay off everything such as student loans, car loans, etc. as soon as possible.

Pay bills in full and on time each month

Do not use credit cards, throw them away and cancle ASAP

First thing you need to do is see where your money is going every month.

Most people spend a lot of excess money without realizing it.

Write down your income,
Then write down your bills.

If you have excess income you should be able to reroute it to pay off your debts.


I sat down with a finance specialist at my last command and he showed me just how much extra money I had every month....it was shocking to see how much I was wasting.

Applaud. Yes burn those cards!! They do more harm in the long run, but fun in the short run.

I hv NO credit cards. Also i make less money than my bills- no extravagent spending and still in the crap hole.

what is extravegent?

I was having 2 cups of starbucks a day...didn't think anything of it.

but considering it is about 5.00 a drink equals 10/day
that equals 300/mo...that's a car payment I was spending in Starbucks....


Same with fast food, that $3 breakfast bagel 3x30= 90/mo...there was my insurance payment.

Cut your bills down

Create a budget and monitor it atleast monthly

Live within your means don't borrow or use credit of any kind

Those are great examples.


I am a receipt-saver. I keep receipts for everything, throw them in a basket and add them up at the end of every month. I categorize them, ( gas/auto expenses, groceries, dining/entertainment, house maintenance and clothes) and keep track of my monthly spending. It helps to know exactly where your money is going.

It takes me about 15-20 minutes every month. Well worth the time.

Pay with cash where you can.
Ppl tend to spend less when they actually have the money right in front of them, instead of using a Check/Debit/CreditCard.
Pack your lunch, instead of eating out.
Always pay off the creditcard with the highest interest rate first.
Alot of times you can call the creditcard company, and if you are in good standing you can get the interest rate lowered, or if you are defaulted or behind, you can offer to pay the debt in full at a lower amount than what is owed. Just have to negotiate.
Keep one creditcard with the lowest interest rate and the highest limit open tho, although you have paid it off, to keep your creditscore up.
Shop around for Car Insurance. Alot of times a different car company will give you a better rate for switching to them. (I save $ 50 Dollars a month, cuz I switched.)
I don't clip coupons, but I know my friends save alot of money by clipping coupons. (But make sure you only buy the items you really need, and would have bought in the first place.)
Buy generic foodbrands. Alot of the generic foodbrands are actually Kraft and Kellog, just without the fancy packaging.
If you still cannot manage to get caught up on your debt, you may want ot consider making more income. (Just temporarly.)

Go to your bank and ask to have them help you set up a budget. Call the people you pay bills to and ask if they will work with you on some sort of payment plan. Make every effort to pay everyone something, every month, even if it is ten dollars (good faith payment). Most will work with you in todays economy, if you explain whats going on. Pay your rent/utilities first, then food then others. Hope this helps some and do make a list like the guys said, see where your money is going. Everyday, write down what you spend on things (it's a pain in the a$$ but you'll never get out from down under otherwise) for a few weeks. Cut back, buy store brands on some things. Dollar stores have overstock, and places like Savers. Hope this helps some. It's soo hard for everyone, we're all bustin hard.

try consolidating as much as you can.

take out a line of credit and pay off all your bills, then concentrate on paying that line of credit. usually you'll have a lower rate of interest on that than you would a credit card.

What has helped me is pay the bills when they come in. That way I don't lose the bills and having to pay a late charge. I have tried to work overtime when I can and bring a lunch; The vending mashines where I work are outrageous and have a poor substitute for quality food. This week we had to visit the food closet because the propane ran out; We had to buy a new hot water heater and an used refrigerator. Networking our dsl to the one just above dial-up helped us to only have one connection. We made the judgement call to just have one time to eat out when we get paid. In the words of Archie Bell and the Drells, "Do the tighten up."

http://www.soul-patrol.com/philly/archie.html

just like Cindy said----> cash is king!

credit cards are not..in fact,since the crash,credit card companies have changed their interest rates and ALSO their Information policies.

if you are making payments and have a Balance due of Any kind,
they can change your rate at almost any time now..to whatever they want..and you can either stop using cards or pay them.

they are Not there to be your friends,or help you out!!
same with the Banks!
all they care about,in this day and age,is how Much money they can make Off of You..period.

thats the bottom line.

back to the topic..as far as extra cash goes Evian,have you thought about perhaps selling stuff on craigslist?
its free,you might could get a little something going there.
you would be surprised what can sell,i have at least 25 people right now looking to buy some of my old hotwheels cars.

models..magazines..comics..anything deemed collectible..etc etc.
just a thought...

Everyone is different - for me, using credit cards is a great way to keep my expenses down. I can easily monitor my spending habits online. When I use cash, its easy for me to lose track of how I'm spending some of my money.

I never use my credit cards for credit, though. I always pay them off immediately, and never spend more than what I have in the bank.

Budget - I printed a calendar out for the year, dropped in the paydays, and when everything was due and how much. Check it monthly.

I finished paying off a credit card, and shifted the funds for the same amount $$ to something else. Depending on what is waiting to be paid and how long it's been waiting, I let them call me up and make me a deal. I've gotten almost 80% off on some of what I've owed, or basically what I actually spent on the credit card, not all the interest bs they tacked on.

Burn those stupid credit cards. They are pure evil.

Keep an eye on what you are having (if anything) drafted out of your bank account if it's set up automatically. I've been hearing stories lately of people not keeping up with their electric bill and amounts doubling. I usually set stuff to draft a week before it's due. I use a debit card, not credit, and only write one check a month on the storage shed, so I have to physically walk in and give it to her and get a receipt.

I'm still not able to save anything, but it has been helping me get crap paid off. I'm still dearly with chit from an ex, 6 years later. My own stupidity.

Live beneath your means, and do without. Do not buy every fad toy, bit of clothing/jewelry, etc. Do not party. Get by without: cable/satellite tv, internet, phone, movies, music, video games, etc. Live as close to being a homeless bum as possible without actually becomeing a homeless bum, and do that for as many years as need be. Put all the money you are saving onto paying off previous debts. Shun new credit/debt. When all is paid off, start living a bit higher...but not much.

If you get internet again, get a lower speed connection. Instead of cable/satelliet tv, use your internet connection to get streaming video and watch TV shows/movies that way for a lot less. Read more,and buy only used books, and borrow books from the public library. Limit boozing to just two drinks on very special occasions...New Years, wedding anniversarie your own/your spouses' birthdays, a college graduation, or such. Eat healthier. Cook your meals at home rather than dining out at restaurants.

Develope low cost hobbies. Buy things-cameras, vcrs, etc-refurbished rather than new. Have no car/truck/motorcycle,and get around by walking, bicycling, and riding city buses. Grow most of your own food...fruits & veges. As for meat, hunt and fish, and eat only what you kill, and clean. Generate your own electricity, and sell the surplus you don't use to the electric company.

Play card games...solitaire when alone, and other games when with people. Really learn to play well. Play for money, and win more than you lose. Learn to enjoy research, and then do some. Figure out: who was Jack The Ripper?; Was GHW Bush The Gunman On The Grassy Knoll? Did space aliens land at Roswell? and so on. Then, write a book, or two, about the findings of your researches. Such entertainment is cheap.

Lower your outgo, and increase your income, and avoid debt... espcially credit card debt.

Seek moneymaking opportunitys!

When you pick up an item at the store, Ask yourself,"Can I live without this until tomorrow" If the answer is Yes then put it back. Do this with any and all things until you are out of debt.

Examples: Tea: You can drink water. You can live without it until tomorrow. Put it back.
Steak: I can eat a dollar chicken burrito from Taco bell without a cola. Put it back. You can live without it until tomorrow.
Rent a movie: You can check out one from the library or a book on how to make money or how to budget. Put the movie back. You can live without it until tomorrow.

It is WANTS that cause the problems, NEEDS are things to be meet! Do that you NEED to do and not those things you WANT.

Have only ONE credit card. Use it when you don't NEED to use it (if you don't use it, it will actually count AGAINST your credit rating. I know - go figure). Pay CASH or write CHECKS for as many things as possible. Ask for DISCOUNTS whenever you buy anything. 'Do you have a Memorial Day discount? Do you have a 'It's Tuesday' discount? Do you have a 'frequent buyer' discount?' ... you'd be surprised how many times this trick works ... but y' gotta smile the whole time.

Simplify the foods in your cabinet. How many 'snack' (empty calories) or 'novelty' items (how unique does food need to be?) are in there now? Cook large quantities of one dish for the coming week and eat on that all week for the MAIN meal. 'Novelty' can be at breakfast and lunch. Avoid fast food - once in a while's okay, daily isn't. Do as much of your own cooking as possible and avoid eating out. Simplify your driving pattern. Avoid being a 'star' driver (driving all over town in an unplanned manner rather than planning your trip). Start with the farthest place out and work your way back. Stop at places on the side of the street you're on - why make double work and fight traffic if you don't need to? Don't buy stuff on 'impulse'. If there's no defined NEED, it stays on the shelf.

Ask your creditors about re-setting your payment 'due date' - they'll usually work with you so your payments fall more in line with when you receive your check. They'll usually work with you on reducing the amount owed - BUT REMEMBER: The less you pay down, the more you're gonna pay in INTEREST. Pay as much as possible to get out from under the debt as quickly as possible. It's NEVER in YOUR interest to drag out repayment - it only favors the person you OWE.

There've been lots of excellent suggestions posted here by others - they should help you to make plans to structure your way out of debt. It won't be fast and it won't be easy - but it IS doable.