|
Hello BFC! I was posting today in the newbie megathread, and I think a consolidated thread about my immense financial issues would help me be more accountable to my terrible spending habits and my goals moving forward. Thanks in advance to anyone who has 2 cents to throw in here. I have a large credit card debt, as well as a personal loan, and now that I've decided to finally stop living in denial about it, I feel very overwhelmed and honestly depressed about my situation. About 1/3 of this came from being financially taken by an ex. 1/3 of this comes from my lovely drug decisions I've made in the past, and 1/3 simply from living beyond my means for far too long. Accomplishments so far (remembering these keeps me from feeling 100% discouraged): - Kicked the abusive, money stealing ex to the curb! However, did not recover any money. Some lessons are expensive ones. - Kicked the ill advised and expensive drug habit! - Finally acknowledged I have a serious financial problem. Probably need therapy or some poo poo to address why I behave the way I do with money. Coming up next: - Quit smoking - Quit spending too much money on alcohol - Finally track my spending Okay, so lets get into the details. This part is copied from my megathread post: Debts: Credit Card #1: $8,500 something like 19% interest Credit Card #2: $6,085 0% interest until April Loan: $15,800 prime 2.7%+5.25% for 7.95%, monthly automatic payments of $533 on the 15th Total: $30,385 30 years old Income: ~$59,500/year Take home: $1,550, paid the 1st and the 15th so $3,100/month Household situation: cohabitating with my boyfriend. Finances not merged, but much sharing of expenses Assets: Chequing: $380 Savings: $100 RRSP: $14,000, contributed automatically from my paycheque before take home. Set Expenses: Rent (includes internet): $615 Cell phone: $95 Banking: $15 Charity: $15 Loan: $534 Hydro: I haven’t got a reasonable bill in my new house to base this off of. Should be $60. Netflix: $7.99 Credit Card 2 payments: $70. I’m currently doing minimum payments on this, as it’s 0% interest, until Credit Card 1 is paid off. Flexible expenses (edited from megathread post because my entertainment budget was still way too high): Credit Card 1 payment: as much as I can possibly afford each month. $1,000 goal Gas: usually $80 Groceries: $300 (is this too much?? Should I switch to rice and lentils and such?) Smoking: was $200 but instead I will quit! $0. Entertainment (previously Alcohol and Eating Out): $200? Maybe? What's good here? Regarding entertainment, here is a lovely thing I know about myself. If I try to restrict too much, I used to snap and drop an exorbitant amount of money on drugs and alcohol in a small period of time. 1-3 dinners or bar nights out a month goes a long way to mitigating that. I have $2,500 coming in in the next 1-2 months from my boyfriend which will go straight on Credit Card #1, so my personal balance on that one is closer to $6,000. Okay here is my plan as it stands: All funds not needed for bills, food, and my entertainment fund go to Credit Card 1. Should be $1,000 a month. Credit Card 2 at 0% gets minimum payments only right now. In about 7 months if I keep this up, I should have Credit Card 1 paid off. Credit Card 2 will no longer have 0% interest in April, but I can transfer that balance back on to Credit Card 1 using my bank's promotion and get 0% interest on it + balance transfer fees. Loan I've decided to ignore aside from making the monthly payments. Once my CCs have been sorted out, I can make a plan to increase payments on that, or keep making payments and try to get an emergency buffer in my chequing. Other ideas: Bankruptcy? Consumer proposals? Take a 17K severance, pay of my CCs and look for a new job? Voluntary Deposit scheme (a Quebec only option. I can get into the details if you guys think I can't get out of this on my own)? I will consider any and all advice! Goals: - Pay off high interest credit card ~7 months from now - Pay off 0% credit card ~ 13 months from now - Safety net. I work in a volatile industry (entertainment) and it's feasible I could lose my job at any time. - Track every transaction I make in YNAB. Post screenshots for accountability and possibly criticism Thanks again for listening to my ridiculousness, if you made it this far. Any advice, thoughts, feedback is greatly appreciated. I touched on this in the megathread, but being in the entertainment industry means almost all my friends and coworkers are in a similar boat, and regard these kind of problems as something to joke about. I really need to talk to people where it isn't normal or expected to have high debt and make bad decisions!
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 20:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 04:22 |
|
|
Is the $300 for you or you + the boyfriend? Is this number reflective of you still eating out regularly? From your newbie posts it looked like you were spending a lot of money eating out on top of $300 a month on groceries - that is a very expensive combination. My girlfriend and I eat pretty ridiculously for $300/month, if you're in cost saving mode you can really shave a lot of money. Even if you switch to rice and beans a few nights a week and keep the extravagant meals to chicken instead of beef/lamb/etc, you can do a lot there. On the other hand, if you're quitting smoking and drinking, you may want to give yourself some leeway in your grocery budget. While shaving the extra $100-200 a month would help you get your credit card under control faster, the day to day quality of life decrease may not be worth that on top of all of the other changes. Maybe try going through this thread (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3442278) and see what works for you and whether there are cheaper meals that work.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 20:46
|
|
|
You have free health care - go to a doctor immediately and get a prescription for a smoking cessation medication
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 20:56
|
|
|
The grocery one was tricky. That's what I was spending when I lived alone for just me AND going out a lot to eat. It's expensive cooking for yourself, and I'm not a very good or creative cook. I will also admit my terrible habit of eating out after long hours at work and not finishing my food before it went bad. This is not longer an option for me. I haven't really had a solid month living with my boyfriend to see what groceries are. When we moved, we didn't have a fridge right away so we ate out for almost a month. I think it might be reasonable to budget $300 for both of us, making my share only $150. It's tough eating with him because he has an illness that restricts his food choices. I don't think I can quit drinking. I work long stressful hours, and it help me blow off a lot of steam and keep myself sane. However, I think I can cut back to either a) one bar night out a month or b) a couple purchases of at home beers or wine to enjoy over the month. It would be a serious cut back from before with several bar nights out a week on top of at home purchases. My insurance covers $200 smoking cessation for over the counter drugs, and that's on top of what the government gives for quitting. Any prescriptions would be quite cheap with my insurance. Last time I quit was for 4 months using a vape. It was relatively easy, so that's another option, I would just have to drop about $25/month on juice for it. I actually just spoke with my boyfriend and he's agreed to quit with me as support 
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 21:08
|
|
|
nefarious napkin posted:The grocery one was tricky. That's what I was spending when I lived alone for just me AND going out a lot to eat. It's expensive cooking for yourself, and I'm not a very good or creative cook. I will also admit my terrible habit of eating out after long hours at work and not finishing my food before it went bad. This is not longer an option for me. It is much easier to cook for two than to cook for one. Find things that portion out and freeze well. Make more frequent but smaller trips to the grocery store to ensure you don't let anything go to waste. Every piece of food you throw out is money you're throwing out. Take a look at the upcoming month, figure out what a reasonable budget is, but I would think that $300 for 2 people has a lot of room to come down. Don't be afraid of not being a good cook! It is really easy to do some basic stuff and you'll be surprised how quickly you get going and what you can do with just a few dollars. "I don't think i can quit drinking" is a separate issue. For budgeting purposes, not drinking at bars will be a huge money saver. You could drink the same amount at home/friend's places as you do in bars and spend a fraction of the cost.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 21:51
|
|
|
nefarious napkin posted:I don't think I can quit drinking. I work long stressful hours, and it help me blow off a lot of steam and keep myself sane. However, I think I can cut back to either a) one bar night out a month or b) a couple purchases of at home beers or wine to enjoy over the month. It would be a serious cut back from before with several bar nights out a week on top of at home purchases. nefarious napkin posted:My insurance covers $200 smoking cessation for over the counter drugs, and that's on top of what the government gives for quitting. Any prescriptions would be quite cheap with my insurance. Last time I quit was for 4 months using a vape. It was relatively easy, so that's another option, I would just have to drop about $25/month on juice for it. I actually just spoke with my boyfriend and he's agreed to quit with me as support
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 22:46
|
|
|
The "I don't think I can quit drinking" isn't something I think I can tackle right now. Quitting smoking, quitting the lifestyle I'm used to and an obscene amount of work issues popping up right now makes that seem insurmountable to me at the moment. I've not so much quit, but I've gone long periods of time with no desire to drink before. This is not one of those times. While ecig got me off smokes for 4 months, I never lost the addiction to nicotine, so I hopped back on the smoking train way too easily. My doctor told me if I ever wanted to quit to come see him, so I'll book an appointment and see what he suggests. In the meantime, I'm totally finishing off this pack because smoking is awesome, then I will not buy another. My close friend also wants to quit, so now I have 2 people to quit with! With groceries... I know I can cook simple meals, and my boyfriend (I'm gonna call him Bob because he will come up a lot in regards to budgeting and I feel stupid saying "my boyfriend" all the time) is a good cook who loves it. My problem is I need to stop the easy outs. Bag of chips here, a gatorade there. It all adds up.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 22:58
|
|
|
Does BFC stand for Bad Financial Choices?
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 23:01
|
|
|
nefarious napkin posted:I don't think I can quit drinking. I work long stressful hours, and it help me blow off a lot of steam and keep myself sane. However, I think I can cut back to either a) one bar night out a month or b) a couple purchases of at home beers or wine to enjoy over the month. It would be a serious cut back from before with several bar nights out a week on top of at home purchases. What does a median night out look like for you? Maybe limit yourself to one of those every two weeks, plus a small home allowance. For example, maybe every two weeks you give yourself $20 to spend out and $20 to spend at home on alcohol. Consider placing these $40 (or whatever you pick) in an envelope every two weeks and restricting your alcohol purchases to cash pulled from the envelope. Setting a limit on alcohol can definitely help. One of my goals this year was to only spend $50 a month on alcohol at home, since we had gotten in a habit of buying 1-2 six packs a week plus a bottle of bourbon or scotch every 4-5 weeks. I set this limit so that if I bought a bottle of liquor, I would severely hamper my ability to buy beer during the same month. Now it's September and we haven't bought one bottle of liquor all year. It feels really good to have broken that habit. Yeah it's nice to try new scotches but there are a thousand other things we like to do and I don't really miss it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 23:05
|
|
|
r0ck0 posted:Does BFC stand for Bad Financial Choices? It absolutely should in my case! Nights out used to vary widely. One night could be $100 at the bar, another night might be $6 for one drink or $0 to just see my friends. I like the idea of setting an absolute for the month. If I have , say, $80 to spend a month I can go to the bar once, or stay at home on $20 a week. But not both. I could even go lower on drinking. I don't have to go out, but I can't give up having 1-2 beers after work, once a week or so.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 23:22
|
|
|
nefarious napkin posted:I don't have to go out, but I can't give up having 1-2 beers after work, once a week or so. ...maybe your doctor can help you with this too
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 23:32
|
|
|
EugeneJ posted:...maybe your doctor can help you with this too 1-2 beers a week to blow off steam is not a problem, let alone one that requires medical attention nefarious napkin posted:Accomplishments so far (remembering these keeps me from feeling 100% discouraged): By the way, congrats on all of these things If you can get out of a drug habit and an abusive relationship you can get out of debt, no problem.e: I don't see anything in your spending summary about car insurance. What's the deal there? Can you give a little more detail about your transportation situation and needs? pig slut lisa fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Sep 17, 2015 |
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2015 23:52
|
|
|
pig slut lisa posted:e: I don't see anything in your spending summary about car insurance. What's the deal there? Can you give a little more detail about your transportation situation and needs? I drive Bob's car to work so I only pay for gas because he works from home. In exchange, I help cover part of his at home studio in my rent payment. It's $150 extra I pay towards that, but a bus pas would also be $150. So it's a wash and I save over an hour each direction to work not taking the bus. If he didn't have the studio, he would rent one about 20 mins away and need the car to commute. I know I sound like a complete addict regarding booze. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, but for now I'm going to focus on keeping the cost down. I like beer, I don't like being drunk, so a couple in a day occasionally I think is reasonable. Also, Pigslut, thank you for the congrats
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2015 00:02
|
|
|
EugeneJ posted:...maybe your doctor can help you with this too You are an idiot there is nothing wrong with what she is doing. I mean come on guys let's get her quit smoking first. drat. spwrozek fucked around with this message at 15:27 on Sep 18, 2015 |
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2015 02:54
|
|
|
Try poking around on this blog: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ Sounds like you're definitely heading in the right direction.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2015 06:36
|
|
|
Have you considered going to see a therapist once a week? I think talking to someone who is 100% objective with their advice could be life changing for you and help give you tools to manage your stress, anxiety, and maladaptive thoughts and behaviors. Addictions, overspending and impulsive spending are symptoms of underlying stress and anxiety. You have to face this poo poo in order to get past it. 1) start walking every day for at least 20 minutes, preferably outside. 2) see a therapist weekly 3) cut back on alcohol 4) start reading about mindfulness 5) start practicing meditation The rest will follow because you'll start to be happy and excited about life, rather than speeding through unconsciously to the next finishline.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2015 12:46
|
|
|
Instead of trying to figure out how much you will spend in each category of your life, you should consider setting aside a set amount of money that goes into paying debt every month, and live off the left over amount. Treat your debt like a bill that you cannot afford to miss, and pay it at the first of the month. This will automatically force you to make spending choices throughout the rest of the month. If you ballpark your set expenses at $1500 and you want to pay $1000/month down on your CC debt, you've got $600 left over. Take out that $600 in cash, divide it up into a few envelopes if you think that will help, and live the rest of your life on that $600. If living on that $600 sucks, figure out how to make some cuts to that set expenses side of things. The $1000 doesn't change, there you go, now you're living on a budget. I can guarantee that if you wan to quit smoking, you will need to quit drinking at least for a span of time. If you drink and smoke, there is no better combination on the planet, and I can guarantee you will want to smoke if you drink. Best of luck on that.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 07:39
|
|
|
fruition posted:Have you considered going to see a therapist once a week? I think talking to someone who is 100% objective with their advice could be life changing for you and help give you tools to manage your stress, anxiety, and maladaptive thoughts and behaviors. I have thought about going to therapy for general coping tools. I have a tendency to be beat down when life throws too much at me, although until I started this thread I didn't equate poor spending habits to stress and anxiety. It makes sense though, I always feel a little better when I spend money, even if it's on something small and simple. Tricky thing with therapy is it's another expense to add, Sessions run about $80. I have it covered at 80% so out of pocked isn't too bad, but coverage caps out at $500 per year. Still, I might as well use those 7 or 8 sessions I have covered. I hold it together pretty well at work and socially, but I'm a bit of a anxious wreck sometimes. n8r posted:Instead of trying to figure out how much you will spend in each category of your life, you should consider setting aside a set amount of money that goes into paying debt every month, and live off the left over amount. Treat your debt like a bill that you cannot afford to miss, and pay it at the first of the month. This will automatically force you to make spending choices throughout the rest of the month. This is essentially what I'm trying to do. I have CC bill payments at $1080 and divided the rest up. Any additional expenses that come up will have to come from the rest, and not the $1080. Licence renewal pops up once a year? That gets paid and entertainment.gets a bit less that month. My big smoking triggers are actually driving in a car and eating. That said, I absolutely can't drink in any excessive amount and quit. That's how I ended up back on smoking last time, I went out for New Years and while drunk thought I should "totally buy a pack just for tonight."
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 14:23
|
|
|
McPhock posted:Try poking around on this blog: Thanks! This looks great, he had me hooked at "Your current middle-class life is an Exploding Volcano of Wastefulness" haha. I have doubled my salary since starting my current job, and I didn't even notice that my expenses were creeping up in tandem, since it happened so slow. Some of it is unavoidable - I lived in a house with 4 other people and paid pennies in rent back then.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 14:36
|
|
|
Well outline your planned spending on the money you will have left over - that can be your budget. Then track said spending. I'd encourage cash envelopes as that works well for many people. The other thing to look into would be reducing your cell phone bill, of your fixed costs, that seems like the one that is a bit high.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 15:10
|
|
|
I recently read The Willpower Instinct and it had a lot of great stuff for overcoming bad habits and getting better mindfulness. Would recommend checking it out from the library.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 16:07
|
|
|
You seem to be coming at this with the right attitude. Between that and your track record of doing difficult but necessary poo poo, I think you're a great candidate to be a BFC success story. (There really aren't that many, so it's an elite group.) My main suggestions are to focus on finding the minimum number of outlets and indulgences to not feel constantly deprived: you're going for a sustainable lifestyle, not a quick fix. The crash diet model of budgeting simply doesn't work long term. And to give yourself an enduring accountable record, e.g. a graph of your debt vs. time that you update every month. People are generally good at rationalizing away overspending as unique, one time only events. Whereas if you reduce the whole thing to a single number, there's nothing to argue with. You're either making progress or you aren't.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 16:37
|
|
|
n8r posted:Well outline your planned spending on the money you will have left over - that can be your budget. Then track said spending. I'd encourage cash envelopes as that works well for many people. The other thing to look into would be reducing your cell phone bill, of your fixed costs, that seems like the one that is a bit high. Cell phone could come down if I kill data. Cell phone plans in Canada are kind of lovely, plus my family is very far away so I have a long distance plan. One thing I was considering is getting a work phone. I would still need my phone, but I could cut the plan way back if I wasn't using it for data, and instead used my work phone for that. I was previously resisting because who wants to be reachable 24/7 with work. Giraffe posted:You seem to be coming at this with the right attitude. Between that and your track record of doing difficult but necessary poo poo, I think you're a great candidate to be a BFC success story. (There really aren't that many, so it's an elite group.) You put very concisely what I was trying to express. This is me to a T. When I'm too deprived, I get a very "gently caress it" attitude and ruin all my progress in a couple days. And the rationalization of overspending is a big issue for me. In the end, it's never a one time thing and that adds up. I'm a bit obsessed with banking and tracking spending. For some time now (a few months) everything I spent has been entered into my phone. I just need to keep myself focused on big picture and remember the little things add up. I'm pretty terrible with rationalizing purchases right after I get paid, and then I have to go a week and a half without any money for that category. Then I rationalize some more purchases in the category and go over. This thread came about because I came very close to losing my job. My department was killed, and most people were laid off. However, they wanted to keep me and they are instead moving me to a different department. But I had a wake up call that I would have been royally hosed if I lost my job. Rent, loan payments, credit card payment. I can get by fine day to day with a job, so I managed to avoid facing how bad all this is. Without a job, I have 0 safetly net. No family around and I don't speak the right language to get a new job here. Severance and EI wouldn't really help, because while I can live off that amount, I couldn't make my additional loan payments. On the bright side, every time I whip out my wallet I can remember that terror and remind myself that every dollar spent is a dollar that could help get me out of this predicament.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 17:22
|
|
|
nefarious napkin posted:When I'm too deprived, I get a very "gently caress it" attitude and ruin all my progress in a couple days. When you're starting to feel this way, please come in here so we can talk you off the ledge/yell at you/whatever
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 20:13
|
|
|
pig slut lisa posted:When you're starting to feel this way, please come in here so we can talk you off the ledge/yell at you/whatever Thanks I'll probably be in here posting progress long after anyone is still reading it. It's good for me to be accountable somehow, and helps me a lot with my goals.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 23:35
|
|
|
nefarious napkin posted:I have thought about going to therapy for general coping tools. I have a tendency to be beat down when life throws too much at me, although until I started this thread I didn't equate poor spending habits to stress and anxiety. It makes sense though, I always feel a little better when I spend money, even if it's on something small and simple. Bingo. And you're not alone with this, it's nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. However, spending is an unhealthy and unsustainable way to soothe your anxieties, just like smoking/drinking/gambling/shopping/gaming/compulsively checking reddit or facebook, etc. We do these things unconsciously to distract ourselves from imperceptible anxieties, instead of facing these feelings and dealing with them. I haven't read Moana's book recommendation but it's next on my list now. I would also throw in the book "Radical Acceptance" by Tara Brach (and all of her podcast talks) as mandatory for all people, but especially those aware of their own suffering of the human condition. nefarious napkin posted:Tricky thing with therapy is it's another expense to add, Sessions run about $80. I have it covered at 80% so out of pocked isn't too bad, but coverage caps out at $500 per year. Still, I might as well use those 7 or 8 sessions I have covered. I hold it together pretty well at work and socially, but I'm a bit of a anxious wreck sometimes. I urge you to look past the cost for now, and at least go to the sessions that your insurance will cover. There are always cheaper alternatives, new therapists who are trying to build up their practice, etc. Go to a Licensed Clinical Social Worker instead of a Psychiatrist and you can save yourself thousands, hell some will even work out a sliding scale cash deal with you.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2015 23:54
|
|
|
fruition posted:I urge you to look past the cost for now, and at least go to the sessions that your insurance will cover. There are always cheaper alternatives, new therapists who are trying to build up their practice, etc. Go to a Licensed Clinical Social Worker instead of a Psychiatrist and you can save yourself thousands, hell some will even work out a sliding scale cash deal with you.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2015 08:46
|
|
|
nefarious napkin posted:Cell phone could come down if I kill data. Cell phone plans in Canada are kind of lovely, plus my family is very far away so I have a long distance plan. One thing I was considering is getting a work phone. I would still need my phone, but I could cut the plan way back if I wasn't using it for data, and instead used my work phone for that. I was previously resisting because who wants to be reachable 24/7 with work. Why not switch carriers? I'm with Koodo for my cell phone and pay ~$60 for unlimited minutes and 1 GB/month data. That's an expensive plan because I also use my phone for work; my spouse pays ~$40 for I think 500 minutes and 500 MB of data. All Koodo plans have free long distance and unlimited texting, including international texting. The smaller carriers like Koodo and Wind are generally pretty good and much, much cheaper than Rogers or Bell (and also don't have horrible customer service like Rogers does). I'm guessing from that fact that you refer to your power bill as "hydro" that you're in Ontario so you should have lots of options.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2015 04:39
|
|
|
Dogfish posted:Why not switch carriers? I'm with Koodo for my cell phone and pay ~$60 for unlimited minutes and 1 GB/month data. That's an expensive plan because I also use my phone for work; my spouse pays ~$40 for I think 500 minutes and 500 MB of data. All Koodo plans have free long distance and unlimited texting, including international texting. The smaller carriers like Koodo and Wind are generally pretty good and much, much cheaper than Rogers or Bell (and also don't have horrible customer service like Rogers does). I'm guessing from that fact that you refer to your power bill as "hydro" that you're in Ontario so you should have lots of options. Quebec, but I'm under contract for another year I think. I'll double check that, the Koodo plans sound great and I hate bell so much. I already have a few people for therapy that I thought seemed like a good fit through their profiles. I'll call this week, but I won't book a session until I've been paid. After all, I still need to cover the deductible and out of pocket expense. Things are tight until the end of the month. I didn't get into it in the OP but I covered some expenses above and beyond my half of the living situation (including rent) this month because my boyfriend's cheque is coming in late. He should get it in the next week and he'll b e sending a lot of money my way, but until then, after all my bills I have just enough money for groceries. My fridge broke over the weekend, and I lost a lot of food 
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2015 14:32
|
|
|
Here's another book recommendation, OP: http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-Handbook-David-Burns/dp/0452281326/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_y It's essentially self-guided CBT. It takes effort, but it works, and it's cheap. It teaches you to recognize the thinking errors that cause you to feel negative emotions and make compulsive decisions.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2015 17:32
|
|
|
Thanks for the recommendation! I've read a bit about CBT and it would be helpful for me from what I can tell. I have a question for you guys. Should I be focused on paying down credit cards as much as possible, with all my un-budgeted money going towards it? Or should I put some of that money aside to a buffer category in case something unexpected comes up? I want to put all possible money on the credit cards, but if something comes up and I have no money aside to pay for it, I'm worried it would have to go on the credit card. And I really want to break the habit of using it for anything. To be clear, by unexpected I mean along the lines of car issues or something needing repair.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2015 15:35
|
|
|
nefarious napkin posted:Thanks for the recommendation! I've read a bit about CBT and it would be helpful for me from what I can tell. What's your estimated payoff time? I would say save up a grand ASAP and then attack the CC. I'd go with more than just 'unbudgeted' money. I'd budget more money to toss at the CC, and make those payments at the start of the month or every payday, depending.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2015 16:26
|
|
|
I would keep a small chunk readily available for emergencies, e.g. "my car can't get me to work", "I had to go to the ER", "my credit card is getting declined for no reason and customer service is being useless" etc. I think BFC usually points to r/personalfinance mostly to poke fun, but their step-by-step for handling money seems pretty solid: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics "A smaller emergency fund of $1,000 or 1 month of expenses is temporarily acceptable while paying off credit card debt." Does that seem swing-able?
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2015 16:27
|
|
|
SiGmA_X posted:What's your estimated payoff time? I would say save up a grand ASAP and then attack the CC. I'd go with more than just 'unbudgeted' money. I'd budget more money to toss at the CC, and make those payments at the start of the month or every payday, depending. Estimated payoff time is about 12 or 13 months for my credit cards with my current budget (no emergency/buffer fund). While I'm paying those off, I will have also knocked almost 6K off my loan through the automated payments. I basically made my budget as small as possible to get the most amount possible on credit cards. As it stands, 50% of my income will be going to debt payment of some sort ($1000 to credit card, $535 to loan each month). What I have leftover is bills + $200 groceries + $200 entertainment. drat Bananas posted:I would keep a small chunk readily available for emergencies, e.g. "my car can't get me to work", "I had to go to the ER", "my credit card is getting declined for no reason and customer service is being useless" etc. I've heard conflicting advice on this. Some people think the emergency fund should come first, others say your CC debt *is* the emergency. I could get $1000 emergency fund going pretty quick at the expense of 1 month of paying down my CC debts. Actually, I will have a large sum coming my way in the next month or so (about $2500) and I could put $1K to emergency fund, and the rest on my CC. I originally budgeted for the entire amount to go on CC, so I would still have to add a month to my estimated pay off time frame.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2015 16:51
|
|
|
You've got a great outlook that is incredibly refreshing after reading a lot of BWM stories where people will just not accept that they need to change. Next time you're feeling crap about being $30k in debt, look at you 12 months from now. Does X+1 year-old you want to be $30k in debt or out of debt? It's a stupid question in how obvious the answer is, but the point is to get your mind focused on something you can control. I ask myself this question whenever I'm comparing myself to where I think should be. A 20 year old can be bummed that she's failing out of college, until she asks herself if 24 year old her wants to have a degree or not. It's a powerful question.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2015 17:35
|
|
|
nefarious napkin posted:Estimated payoff time is about 12 or 13 months for my credit cards with my current budget (no emergency/buffer fund). While I'm paying those off, I will have also knocked almost 6K off my loan through the automated payments.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2015 17:50
|
|
|
Adiabatic posted:You've got a great outlook that is incredibly refreshing after reading a lot of BWM stories where people will just not accept that they need to change. I'm not going to lie, I'm loving terrified. Over the last few weeks, I've cried, been depressed, angry at myself, then cried some more. But now that I'm facing this, I can hardly comprehend how I managed to ignore this huge problem for so long. But now I have goals and a plan. While I wouldn't say I feel "good" I feel something positive, and I'm determined. Being out of credit card debt, while not being 100% out of debt, is still such an improvement and goal #1 that it's the life I'm thinking about now as something to work toward. And while 1 year of this sounds scary, I really only need to get through the next month. And then do it again. There are things I want later in life that I've been cheating myself out of, and the life I've been living is not worth it. I feel so after school special right now haha. I haven't spent any money aside from bills since opening the thread, but I look forward to some concrete updates on progress as it happens!
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2015 18:00
|
|
|
SiGmA_X posted:If I were you, I'd throw 1k up to 1 month of minimum payments + bills into an online savings account. Online savings is accessible within 3 business days but it's not as accessible as being attached to your checking account. Your call on 1k or 1mo, I'd look at/think about your past year of emergency expenses and make the decision based on that. I have a tangerine account that I can make 1-2 business day transactions into and out of. It's free, and while I have a debit card for it, I'm all set up to open a savings account with them. Good call!
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2015 18:04
|
|
|
I'm rooting for you, napkin. It is definitely scary to claw your way back, but what's scarier is doing nothing and being even more in debt down the road.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2015 18:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 04:22 |
|
|
I don't want to turn this into a "quitting smoking" thread, but I'm down to about 3 smokes a day from 20. Not perfect, but progress. I haven't spent any money on eating out, smokes or alcohol since starting the thread No pay down of debt either though, simply because I haven't got a paycheque.Thanks everyone for the support!!
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2015 14:25
|
|