lynds719's Personal Debt Cutters Thread

[lynds719]

Debt Cutters

How much debt do you need to reduce?

$109,000

How did you get in debt?

Went through a divorce and I absorbed all old debt to avoid paying spousal support. Had to purchase a new house and furniture, appliances, ect. Student Loans. Like to go out to eat and do things with my son that I shouldn't always be spending money on.

You've accrued debt. What are the main factors that keep you from reducing it now?

Single income. Mortgage sucks up good chunk of budget each month. I like to spend time with friends and family doing things and spend money on things I shouldn't (eating out, amusement parks, movies, girls nights...ect)

Have you created a budget?

To an extend - But it isn't always followed

List your top 5 budget busters?

Spending time eating out doing things with family and friends, scrapbooking materials, spoiling my son :)

What is your plan to get out of debt?

I need to stay on track with the budget, reduce number of times I do things with friends and family that cost money, apply extra commission I may make to credit card debt

List your debt with balance, monthly payment, and interest rates.

Mortgage - $84,000 owed - 5.99% , Credit Card - $9552 owed - 7.24% , Student Loan - $14,088.77 owed - 3.875% , Credit Card(Xmas) - $364 owed - 13.9% , Lowe's(home improvements) - $504 owed - 0% , Wells Fargo(Furniture) - $1061 owed - 0%

How much will you try to reduce your debt by this year?

Not sure, as much as possible. This will be my first attempt at keeping myself accountable for my debt since my divorce (the depression is finally over and it is time to get back on track)

What kind of support do you need from fellow Debt Cutters to help keep you on track?

Having this site is support enough. Keeps me accountable. Any advice, suggestions from other will help. Watching success of others will hopefully motivate me to succeed.

[kval07]

Have you talked to your friends and family about your financial situation or are they aware of it? They could help you out a lot by getting on board with going out to do free or low cost things.

[lynds719]

Yes we have spoke about it. I don't like to discuss the details but they know things are really tight for me. We have been doing more game nights and wii nights at home and everyone brings a dish for dinner. A lot of fun and CHEAP. They all have my back. It is now time for me to execute a plan towards paying down my debt.

[Castingbread]

Adding a little area in the budget for entertaining each week (even if only a few dollars) can be freeing. Say you have $10/weekly allocated you can save it up to have enough to do something big rather than using it weekly for fast food or a movie rental. But having money allocated for splurging on fun it can be just that--fun, not pressure that you are spending what you can't spend. you can also look for areas that are nickel and diming you dry and use some for debt retirement and some to add to your splurging fund: say you buy lunch daily, pack a lunch and put 75% of the savings towards debt and 25% towards splurging. Often we bust our budget by a rather big splurge and it takes us weeks to get back on track and then we are so discouraged and convinced it can't work and meanwhile we really have to "deprive" ourselves totally just to meet the bills and it just becomes a downward spiral. Some people think budgets are like chains--tying you down, but I have found them like wings--freedom to spend the cash allocated to each section as I see fit within that section. I hope this makes sense. i just wanted to encourage you--you can do it!!

[2mnyteens]

You have a couple items that are low balances. You can totally get them paid off and free that money up to apply to the others to pay them off quicker. You can do this! Julie

[puakinikini]

Cutting back on entertainment/eating out is hard when you are single because you need the social interaction and social support. I like the idea of doing game nights and things that are low cost. When we started cutting back, we had to say no to invitations from friends, but overwhelmingly when we told people why we said no - they were supportive. Many of them also came to me later and told me that their debt was out of control and asked for advice/support. I was surprised because I thought we were the only ones.

[2Bfrugal]

Check your local Library for activities that are free: also several have DVD and audio books that you can rent: if you find a movie you want to see determine if you can access it thru Library Loan: My son's favorites have been the Harry Potter books. Also check to see if you have a "Red Box" in your location. My son did not like it when we cancelled Cable and just used out computer for watching TV and other cuts to reduce our monthly expenses.

Also if you or your son is a reader check out "Paperback Swap" to obtain books where you trade a book to obtain a book. Wii nights are great: check to see if his friends have Wii's with them: bringing their controllers then he can have a boys night at your home.
Also depending on your son's age: see if you can get him involved. Just by him turning out lights and finding coupons or helping: will let him know that you have a plan and that everything will be fine but that this is a joint effort and together you can make it. This is what we had to do with our son: Kids are perceptive and pickup on the smallest things. Best of Luck.