23 and In need of Debt Advice

[Starryskies]

Although I know others are in a heck of a lot worse situations than myself, I feel as though I have dug myself into a hole and it feels like it will take forever to get out of. I do have more debt that I am currently controlling, but the issue lies with the three accounts I have with interest ratings from 25-30%. Looking at the amounts I have paid towards these accounts are extremely frustrating and depressing when you see you have paid $1200 and only $840 goes towards the principal and $360 towards the interest and as time goes by it continues to add up and I feel as though I am going nowhere. My credit score is currently in need of some work and I have a loan with USAA with a 14% interest rate with a cosigner that I have been paying on and I had thought about combining all of these and receiving a lower payment as well as a lower interest rate, BUT I do not want to include my cosigner in the hole I have dug for myself. Combining my loans will make a lot of things easier and I do have a guaranteed job being in the military so I am able to make payments, but I do not want to burden their credit score with a balance that is not theirs. My cosigner is my dad and I know he would do anything for me I just feel like I have failed. My debt is not extremely horrible, but I feel like this was avoidable. I know it was avoidable but I am here now and trying to find my way out. I have been thinking about this so much and stressing myself out. I have other things that I need to focus on, but I am STUCK and do not know what to do. I know that there are some people here that probably have had some rough patches in life and made it through or found certain things very helpful. I am just looking for words of wisdom and great advice. I feel as though I have nowhere to turn. I truly appreciate you all in advance! Thank you.

[sblatner]

To get advice, people are going to want details. Income/expenses/debt and interest rates. Can you provide that?

[disneysteve]

Welcome to the site. I think you'll find a lot of great advice here. But I totally agree with sblatner that we can only offer generic suggestions without knowing the details of your situation.

Whether or not the debt was avoidable is irrelevant at this point. Stop looking backwards and turn your attention forward. What can you do from now on to improve things?

The fact that you have a stable income is great. That certainly helps matters a great deal - and thank you for your service, by the way.

Do you have a budget? If not, that should be job one. The very first step needs to be to get a firm grip on how much is coming in and where it is all going. Only then can you devise a plan to attack the debt.

To help you, we need to know how much you earn, what your monthly expenses are, how much debt you have and at what rates. Then we can really help you put together that plan.

I do have more debt that I am currently controlling

I'm really curious what this means.

[Nutria]

A couple of general general questions that apply to everyone (but especially those in your situation):

1. Is your debt growing every month?
2. Do you know where all of your money goes (including the cash in your pocket) every month?

And some comments:

• Using your debit card for everything that accepts card payments is a quick way to track all of your cash.
• Use an app like Mint or YNAB to categorize your spending.
• Budgets are not for cutting spending; they are for knowing where your money is going to go, before your spend it.
• Once you know where your money goes, you can then cut waste and "excess fun" to bring spending in line with income.

[disneysteve]

Using your debit card for everything that accepts card payments is a quick way to track all of your cash.

True to an extent, but to really get a handle on things, you need to dig a little deeper than that. Looking at the bank statement will tell you, for example, that you spent $27.53 at Target, but it won't tell you what you bought. Was it for household necessities like dish soap and toilet paper or was it for DVDs and chocolate bars?

I always recommend the old school method. Get a small notebook that you can carry with you at all times and write down every penny you spend whether it's $3 for a magazine or $7 for lunch or $300 for a car payment or $25 to renew your license or whatever. Do that for 30 days and you'll have a really good data set to review to figure out where your money is really going.

Budgets are not for cutting spending; they are for knowing where your money is going to go, before your spend it.[*]Once you know where your money goes, you can then cut waste and "excess fun" to bring spending in line with income.

Great point. Many people avoid making a budget because they feel it will restrict their spending. Just the opposite is true. It will give you control of your spending. It puts you in the driver's seat, deciding where you want each dollar to go. Most of us bleed money to things that really aren't important to us. Only by sitting down and creating that budget can you fully see where the problems lie - and then correct them. A budget should empower you and help you have more money to spend on the things that really matter to you.