8k in debt... rut roh!

[Copyright]

So I am 31 and bought my first house 4 years ago. I have built up some debt over this time. I have always bought pretty much what I wanted if it wasn't to expensive but these small purchases have added up over the years. I finally feel the pressure of my debt! I will soon need to be buying an engagement ring. I have a fairly new truck I paid off before buying my home so there is no car payment. I have my debt on a 0% interest Credit Card that wil stay 0% until May. I have screwed my self as there is no way I can pay this off in time. I had a roommate giving me $450 a month that is now moving out. Not sure where to start. I started cutting back on eating out for lunch. I found a way to save 60$ a month on parking for work and also am able to car pool two days out of the week. My question is what do i do when this 0% runs out? Do I move it to another new credit card who is offering 0% again? I started tracking my Bills on a spread sheet. I changed power providers to get a lower electric bill and complained to my cable company about how my bill keeps going up with them. They lowered it 15$ a month. I am ready to listen to any advice someone is willing to give. I am desperate to get this paid off and finally propose to my g/f of 6.5 years. My current income is about $2,900 a month take home. Thanks for any advice.

[rizzmo]

Welcome to the site. We are going to need a bit more info in order to give constructive advice. Can you list your monthly expenses and also what is the balance on you CC.

[Copyright]

Here is a list of my Current Monthly Bills. Some are estimations.

Mortgage 1 $898.13
Mortgage 2 $192.28
Gas (house) $20.00
Water $35.00
Electric $240.01 (highest bill this year)
Cell Phone $80.00
Cable $114.62 (With high speed net. I am a tech so its needed for remote work)
Parking $81.19
Pets $60.00 (not including medical)
Gas (car) $150.00 (Estimation)
Grocery and house supplies $300.00 (estimation g/f helps with about 80$ of it)
Eating out during lunch $160.00 (I have moved to eating TV dinners or food from home)
Car insurance $60.00
Eating out for dinner $100.00 (normally eat a few times a week)
Misc. Cokes, candy, energy drinks $30.00

What ever is left in my checking ~300 I put down on the card. Get by pretty much check to check. Sticking Zero back in savings.

Then your normal car maintenance which is done every few months ~$60.00 for synthetic oil that I can get more mileage out of. Entertainment is pretty low for us because my g/f is still in school and studies 24/7. Not sure what else I am missing. I did find a 15$ monthly charge on my cable bill for channels I don't watch so I will be contacting them about that.

[rizzmo]

Great you know where you money is going, that's the first step. It sounds like you are making cuts where you can. As far as further cutting your budget I will leave those suggestions for other posters to make as that is not my strong point. You forgot to post the balance of you CC and what the % will be when the 0% ends. It would also be helpful to know what your mortgage balances are and at what rate. Reason is there are several ways to approach this, but which way is best depends on what your overall financial picture looks like.

[Scanner]

It may take a change in lifestyle but I spend about $8.50/month on cellphone by using Tracfone. You have to limit phone calls to essentials and not socialize.

I have been using it a bit more lately (traveling around more) though so it may climb to $10-12/month.

AGain, I don't socialize on the phone.

[Ima saver]

Your electric bill seems pretty high. I live in a 3200 square foot house and my bill is around $100 a month.

[disneysteve]

I see a fair amount of fat in that budget, definitely room to cut back spending quite a bit. I think the bigger problem, though, is your mortgage. You are spending $1,100 of your $2,900 income on housing. My mortgage is only slightly more than yours (about $1,300) but my income is more than double yours. You definitely need to find yourself a new roommate.

I understand the need for internet access for work but that doesn't justify a $115 cable bill. Internet is probably only $30-40 of that total. The other $80 is what you are spending to watch TV. You need to change that. Switch to the most limited basic package they offer. Around here, it is $10/month.

I agree that your electric bill sounds high but I notice you're gas bill is very low so I'm guessing you may have electric heat and hot water.

Grocery, lunch and dining out comes to $590! This definitely needs work and it sounds like you are already attacking this one. You should be able to get your total food spending for one person down to $200/month without too much difficulty, and I know others here will suggest an even lower number. Even if you shoot for $300/month that would be a big improvement.

If you can reduce your overall spending by $350, which I think is quite reasonable to accomplish, that would help a great deal in getting your debt paid off.

For now, I'd see if you can roll over that balance to another 0% card. Also, see if there is anything you can do to boost income - work extra hours, get a part-time job, scour the house for anything you can sell on ebay or craigslist, etc.

[kork13]

Grocery and house supplies $300.00 (estimation g/f helps with about 80$ of it)
Eating out during lunch $160.00 (I have moved to eating TV dinners or food from home)
Eating out for dinner $100.00 (normally eat a few times a week)
Misc. Cokes, candy, energy drinks $30.00

This is where I see the most hemorrhaging. That's about $600/mo in food and related items!!! These numbers are only for you, correct?

1) $300 for a single person is ALOT. Just as a WAG, I'd say aim for $150-$200/month. My rule of thumb is $75/mo per person + $100 (so $175 for 1 person, $250 for 2, etc.), and I've found it to be pretty reasonable.
2) Start shopping by unit price ($ per ounce, per pound, etc). Shop around and buy what is less expensive. Doing this saves me at least 10-15% of my food budget. Look at prices when you're shopping, and look for ways to save on items you normally buy, or look at similar but less expensive items.
3) Stop going out for lunch and dinner. Or, if that's not really an option, set a limit, like no more than $50 or $75/month. Use cash if necessary, and once you're out of cash, then you can't go out to eat anymore. But this is an EASY way to SIGNIFICANTLY trim your budget. Drop the "misc" junk -- soda, candy, etc are terrible for your health anyway.
3b) Cook your own dinners at home, and make enough extra to take it to work the next day as lunch. If leftovers aren't your thing, then put together a couple sandwiches, chips, fruit, nuts, and a drink the night before. 5-minute, $3 lunch.

Any one of these will save you alot of money. Do them all, and you will seriously save hundreds of dollars every month. You could very realistically trim down to $200/mo for food and house supplies, plus $100/mo for eating out, and there's an extra $300 right there. Cut it down further, and you could save yourself as much as $400 (or more) each month just by getting control of your food/eating/snacking costs.

[wincrasher]

Sounds like you are holding off the proposal until you clear your debt.

You don't have to have the ring to make the proposal. Make her part of the plan. Set a date a year or 18 monthhs or so away. Let her help you save money, budget with the goal to save enough money for the ring, wedding and honeymoon - sure she'll get onboard for that.

[disneysteve]

Sounds like you are holding off the proposal until you clear your debt.

You don't have to have the ring to make the proposal. Make her part of the plan. Set a date a year or 18 monthhs or so away. Let her help you save money, budget with the goal to save enough money for the ring, wedding and honeymoon - sure she'll get onboard for that.

Make sure the ring is something you can afford. If you have to borrow, you can't afford it. Forget that deBeers crap about 3 months' salary. Buy a decent ring and pay cash. If that isn't good enough for her, then she isn't the woman for you.

[Copyright]

Ok wow lot of info. I should have said I have 7,816 on the card and 0% interest until May 2010. I think the interest after is 14.9% something high. As far as my mortgage goes I am about to get help in that department. My mother sees this as an investment for her self. She is going to take the 2nd part of my mortgage and pay it off. I will then pay her back at a 5% rate which is lower then my 7% current rate. This way she makes more money off me then with her money in the bank. She is very good with money (something I didn't pickup from her growing up) and will have this all documented and paperwork done up by a lawyer. I have a balloon type of loan on the 2nd mortgage ( I know I know). So in the end she is setting me up with I think either a 10 or 15 year pay off but my bill will go up about 60$ a month. I wont be stuck with a balloon payment in the long run. As far as food I am feeding two not just my self. Something I am working on. I think I found a way to drop my TV down to ~100 a month. My internet alone is about 50$ a month. Looks like cutting back on the food expenses and getting a new roommate is a good place to start. Oh and as far as power bills go that was my highest one this summer and actually the lowest I have ever had any summer. I live in Texas and we have 100 degree weather here. My bill only hits 100$ a month when its winter time and then the gas bill goes up for heat. I was paying 16.4 per kwh when I bought this house and now I am locked in at 10.8 per kwh. This is actually very good where I live.

[fruitbowlk]

I think this will help you meet your goal faster.

cable- cut out completly.
cell phone- See if you can find a cheaper plan.
Grocieries-use coupons and find sales items.
Eating out-cut out completely.
Misc-none.

[disneysteve]

I think I found a way to drop my TV down to ~100 a month.

That is still way too much. My cable TV bill is $10.37/month. You are trying to get out of debt while at the same time spending $1,200/year to watch television. That just doesn't make sense. Either cancel cable and get a set of rabbit ears or cut back to the most limited basic cable package available. They often don't advertise it or list it among the service options. I know Comcast doesn't. You need to call customer service and specifically ask for their absolute lowest package. You should be able to drop down to $20/month or less.

[Copyright]

That is still way too much. My cable TV bill is $10.37/month. You are trying to get out of debt while at the same time spending $1,200/year to watch television. That just doesn't make sense. Either cancel cable and get a set of rabbit ears or cut back to the most limited basic cable package available. They often don't advertise it or list it among the service options. I know Comcast doesn't. You need to call customer service and specifically ask for their absolute lowest package. You should be able to drop down to $20/month or less.

I should say the tv is about 50 of that 100$.. so im not spending 100$ a month to watch tv. best I can probably get it down to is 70$ with internet. I am an Executive desktop tech that is on call 24/7. My internet speed is my lively hood. I don't mind cutting my bills down but I can't cut internet speed down. I will contact the cable company hopefully today if I get off work in time. I forgot to add I get 75$ a month towards parking from my company. I guess my main concern is what do I do when the zero credit runs out on this card? I have never missed a bill on anything but should have been paying more

[disneysteve]

I guess my main concern is what do I do when the zero credit runs out on this card? I have never missed a bill on anything but should have been paying more

Get another 0% card if you can.