na99ers's Personal Debt Cutters Thread

[na99ers]

Debt Cutters

How much debt do you need to reduce?

5103.57

How did you get in debt?

medical bills

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

lack of funds

Have you created a budget?

yes

List your top 5 budget busters?

expensive hobbies, unexpected expenses, eating out, hubby and i not on same page, boredom

What is your plan to get out of debt?

pay as much as possible every month

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

credit card - $1337.48 - 9.9%, credit card - $309.10 - 19.24%, credit card - $106.99 - 21.9%, personal loan - $3350 - interest free

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

i want it all gone this year!

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

tips. ideas, and support

[na99ers]

My family and I were doing well until my dh had a few medical issues last year. We were able to pay off both of our cars before that happened. But the mounting dr bills started to eat us alive. All of our debt is from dr bills.
To top it all off my dh just lost his job and we are having to appeal unemployment. So we have not had his income for almost a month. I work strictly on commission at my job so my pay fluctuates monthly. And with the economy, of course sales aren't that great.
I don't want to have to take another penny out of savings for these bills. We already dipped too far into savings to cover them as it is.
I guess my question is should I be working on building up my savings AND trying to pay off as much debt as possible...or....should i be focused on debt first? My real problem is that I'm afraid we're not going to even pay our living expenses....so should I just put back everything I possibly can now and pay minimums on everything?

[ashlea729]

It's important to remember that sure, you can pay off your cc's and your personal loan, but if something happens and you don't have enough money in savings... It goes straight back on the cc. So, I would make sure you have enough money in savings to cover you for a while. I believe 4-6 months worth of income is the general rule. (Seems like a lot of dough, huh? lol) Maybe pay off the smaller balance cc's and then start dumping into savings for a while. Maybe you could alternate? I hope you do well! :)

P.S. I am by no means an expert on debt reduction, but I have been widdling away my debt for a while now... lol

[na99ers]

updated to 8/9/10
credit card - $1337.48 - 9.9%, $1298.35
credit card - $309.10 - 19.24%, $0
credit card - $106.99 - 21.9%, $0
personal loan - $3350 - interest free, $3150

ashlea, i took your advice and took care of the smaller balances as soon as i could. and what a relief to not have to look at those anymore! Our savings doesn't have anywhere close to 4-6 months in it but I'm going to work on that and the last credit card balance together. I'm thinking about doing half and half.
We have already started cleaning out closets and the garage for a yard sale in the next month or so....i know that won't make much of a dent but at least the house will be clean :)
Thanks for the advice!

[na99ers]

update: 10/5/10
credit card - 2722.23 - 9.9%
credit card - 250.97 - 19.24%
credit card - 143.55 - 21.9%
personal loan - 2950 - interest free
medical bills - 23684.22
total debt: 29750.97

WOW! what a crappy last couple of months....had to make some repairs on the truck after having a blowout on the expressway, DH took 2 out-of-state trips looking for work, and the fees associated with sports and school really hurt us for the first 1.5 months of school. We just received the rest of the medical bills from my husband's motorcycle accident and surgery. EVERYTHING (but medical) went on one card or another. More money has come out of savings. We haven't even made a plan for medical...i'm currently fighting between automobile and health insurance. We've been working with a lawyer since the other guys insurance hasn't covered anything (my dh's accident was in 09). We are hoping that we can settle with the insurance company and not be out the cost of medical...I don't know how it works but i'm keeping my fingers crossed. So long story short, we'll just say that things didn't go close to what we had planned...but tis life, right?

Now to the good news...DH got a job! He actually found something local so we don't have moving expenses to worry about :) what a blessing! We did have to charge new work attire for him since this job has a more professional dress code.

I am still gathering things for a yardsale that I'm planning on having on the 16th. All of the money made will go straight to debt. I also have some toys that I'd recently purchased for misc gifts that I might try to Ebay.

We have to make another trip at the beginning of November for my dh's brother's wedding....so that'll hurt, but what do you do?

I honestly don't see a light at the end of the tunnel anyone...I guess I just need to take it one day at a time.

What do others on here do for extra income?? I'm to the point where I'm ready to start selling stuff off...like a vehicle...but with DH working again it's not really realistic.

[Spanelli8706]

I do surveys, some ebay and cosignment sales for extra cash. (your yard sale sounds like a great idea) And my DH does surveys through his work/occupation. Life and setbacks always happen. The thing that works best for me is to focus on one debt at a time...not to look at the whole picture and spread myself too thin. Maybe try to pay off your CC with the balance of $143.55 first. Then you'll go from 5 debts to 4, with a little bit of effort-but a drop in numbers!

Congrats on the new job for you DH! We have a wedding this month too...ours is local, but we still have to pay a sitter...ugh. I am not too fond of weddings.

[na99ers]

Where do you do surveys? I would love to get into that.
I'm hoping with dh's first paycheck we can knock out the 2 lowest credit cards (394.52 combined total). I think that just seeing those gone would give me some hope...lol. and then if we bring any money in with the yardsale that could be put to the highest credit card.

[na99ers]

update: 10/17/10
credit card - 2722.23 - 9.9% $2622.23
credit card - 250.97 - 19.24% $0
credit card - 143.55 - 21.9% $0
personal loan - 2950 - interest free
medical bills - 23684.22
total debt: 29750.97 $29256.45

Paid $494.52 off this paycheck :)
2 cc's out of the way...

[Spanelli8706]

Way to go! You went from 5 debts to 3!! What's your next plan of attack?

I do surveys on Opinion Outpost and Valued Opinions. (Sorry, I didn't see that you asked me that until just now)

[na99ers]

Way to go! You went from 5 debts to 3!! What's your next plan of attack?

I do surveys on Opinion Outpost and Valued Opinions. (Sorry, I didn't see that you asked me that until just now)

I haven't quite made my next plan of attack yet. My brother in law is getting married in 2 weeks so we're using the money we made from the yardsale to travel for the wedding.
We also found out Thursday that my husbands new job will be ending at the end of this month. The are letting go 60% of their workforce....even though they just hired new people....makes no sense to me. But anywho. So that's another setback on the "debt reduction" plan.