#FinancialStruggles #DebtOverload #BudgetingSOS
Are you feeling overwhelmed by your financial situation, drowning in bills, and unsure of how to keep your head above water? It can be incredibly stressful to feel like you’re working hard but never making any progress towards financial stability. But fear not, there are practical solutions and strategies that can help alleviate the burden of your financial woes and put you on the path to a brighter future.
###**Assessing the Situation**
Let’s take a closer look at your financial snapshot. You have a net income of $7,034, savings of $12,304.81, and about $70k in retirement funds. However, your expenses seem to be weighing you down, with debts, minimum monthly payments, and additional financial responsibilities adding to your stress. It’s clear that finding a balance between income and expenses is essential to create a sustainable financial plan.
###**Creating a Budget**
1. **Track Your Spending**: Utilize tools like UnDebt.it to monitor your expenses and identify areas where you can cut back.
2. **Eliminate Unnecessary Subscriptions**: Review your monthly subscriptions and cancel those that you don’t use frequently.
3. **Opt for Cheaper Alternatives**: Consider switching to a more cost-effective phone plan or cutting back on luxury expenses like Amazon Prime.
4. **Explore Debt Consolidation**: Look into balance transfer cards or debt consolidation loans to lower your interest rates and make payments more manageable.
###**Saving Strategies**
1. **Downsize Your Storage**: Moving items from your U-Haul storage to a more affordable solution can help cut costs in the long run.
2. **Sell Unwanted Assets**: Continue efforts to sell items like your jet ski to generate extra income and reduce financial strain.
3. **Consider Long-Term Goals**: While buying a house may seem out of reach now, setting aside a portion of your savings towards a future down payment can help you work towards that goal.
###**Seeking Professional Advice**
1. **Financial Counseling**: Consider consulting with a financial advisor or counselor to gain personalized insights and create a tailored financial plan.
2. **Explore Housing Options**: Research programs or incentives that could assist you in achieving your goal of homeownership in the future.
###**Stay Positive and Take Action**
Remember, tackling financial challenges is a journey, not a sprint. By taking small steps towards financial stability and seeking support when needed, you can overcome your current struggles and build a brighter financial future. Don’t lose hope – you have the power to take control of your finances and pave the way for a more secure tomorrow. 🌟
In conclusion, addressing financial difficulties requires patience, determination, and a willingness to make necessary changes. By implementing strategic budgeting techniques, exploring cost-saving opportunities, and seeking professional guidance, you can navigate through tough times and emerge stronger on the other side. Stay resilient, stay focused, and remember that better days are ahead. 💪🏼💸
With the right tools and mindset, you can turn the tide on your financial situation and regain control of your financial wellbeing. Take the first step today towards a more secure and prosperous tomorrow. Don’t let financial struggles define you – you have the power to rewrite your story and create a brighter future for yourself and your loved ones. 🌈💰
Remember, you’re not alone in this journey. Reach out for help, stay committed to your goals, and believe in the possibility of a brighter financial future. You’ve got this! ✨
It’s difficult to say without knowing the total balances and interest rates, but you’re spending >2000/month for your cars which is way out of your budget and you must not drive a lot of you’re only spending $200 a month on gas, so those would be potential places to save.
Can you please include the balances on the cards?
Also as the other poster already indicated, sell the truck, it is an albatross around your neck.
Take all your cash but 1k or so and start paying off the highest interest rate. Sell the jet ski. If its not selling its cause its priced to high. Sell that 4 runner. Your broke you dont get to drive a 700 month car Problem solved.
Cool spreadsheet! Would be great to see the balances and interest rates as the other commenter noted.
Overall it looks like you’ve just been spending way too much for your income. Those car payments are crazy, especially the Silverado. That thing MSRPs for $60-$80k depending on options, it’s just way too much truck for your income. A jet ski on top of this?? (I know, you’re trying to undo it)
I’d try to get out of these cars. If you have negative equity try to pay that down first so you can get out of these car deals and into something more reasonable ($10k Toyota/Honda). These cars are absolutely bleeding you dry.
Subscriptions have to go. It’s a small thing but you can’t afford to pay for Spotify when you’re in bad debt. Listen to Spotify with ads! Watch YouTube with ads! You’re worse than broke right now so adjust your lifestyle to match that.
>We are in this apartment until March 2025. We’d like to buy a house after this because we’ll be in this city for at least 3 years
You need to start by having realistic goals. There is no way you are 12 months away from home ownership with $200 slush in your monthly budget. (And I question if that slush really exists since you’re missing a lot of budget categories.)
>The gold debts are ones that have low balances and we’re considering paying off with some of our savings
With $200/month left over you shouldn’t need savings to pay off $400. You should only need two months.
Beyond that, you either need to ditch the expensive things you can’t afford (cars, subscriptions, jet ski, storage) or get those 2nd jobs.
If I’m reading this correctly you are in debt to 15 different places (not counting car loans) and owe the IRS money. On top of that you’re spending $1,000/month on a single vehicle and want to buy a house in 12 months?
Once these credit cards are paid off you need to call the bank and have them closed. Cut out storage, YNAB, Amazon, and either Netflix or Hulu and you are saving $233 a month. Be frugal with your food shopping and you can probably save another $50 throughout the month. Why is your phone bill $240 for 2 lines?
> I’d like to move our stuff out of our U-Haul storage to a cheaper place (we moved from a 3 bedroom / 1700 sq. ft. house to a 2 bedroom / 1100 sq. ft. apartment in a different state), but it’s lot and the fiance’ doesn’t really want to go through all that.
just sell or get rid of whatever’s in the storage unit.
Imho:
I’m not worried about those subscriptions. They are a drop compared to everything else.
I’m going to assume you are underwater on at least one vehicle. If possible, use your savings to cover that gap and sell it. Tbh, You can’t afford either of them. Buy something super cheap to drive for the next year while you dig yourself out of this hole.
Post totals of your actual debts. Stop using all this credit.
> We also have been trying to sell our jet ski (that’s what Yamaha is), but to no avail.
lower the price until someone avails.
Here’s the obvious. You’re spending too much on vehicles and toys. You’ve got debt left and right, but you’re spending over $1700/month between the two cars. Harsh reality…..you cannot afford those vehicles. And that doesn’t even factor in maintenance/registration/gas/insurance on those cars. You spend more on your car payments than you do on your housing payment. And that ignores your jetski. Your AT&T phone bill also seems high. How many phones is that covering?
So yeah….short of getting 2 more jobs, you don’t have an easy out here. Even if you eliminated all of your little debt payments, it’s not going to free up THAT much money. What, $300-400 per month? And that’s assuming no other unexpected things come up. And you don’t otherwise have anything allocated to saving for this house you want to buy. But if you got rid of your $2000+ in vehicle/jet ski payments….that would create room in the budget. Your new cars and jet ski are why you feel like your budget is broken.
Okay, no judgement, because I’ve been there and done that….
….you are paying for your life and fun with debt because you can afford the payment, not because you can actually afford it.
There is a mindset issue here. Three vehicle payments – problem. Many loans/lines of credit/cards – problem. Way too many subscriptions – problem.
I get it, like I said, been there and done that.
You really need to change how you’re approaching life. Pick up some extra income, and pay down those debts. In my case I started a business which finally landed an 18 month contract, and all of that income went into paying off debts and building savings (still is building savings), and taking care of some 1-time repairs/fixes/purchases. Paying off my debts and getting some savings is the only reason I was in a position to buy a home comfortably (based on just my day job income – business income is too unstable after this contract, and too new to count anyways).
You may use the subscriptions, but do you really need them? The vehicles are killing your budget as well. Do you need multiple large vehicles, or could you get by with a little eco car and a bigger vehicle (4Runner can tow just fine)?
As for the stuff in your storage unit – went through this a couple years myself, and my boyfriend brought up a REALLY good point – how much are you spending on storing that stuff, vs the cost to just replace it when the time comes? Is it REALLY worth it? Or do a unit sale and just unload it for what you can get, and if/when you are in a position to get a bigger place, just get stuff for the new home.
Lastly – you don’t mention savings, and the budgets here don’t look like you have much to set aside at all outside of retirement. Buying, even with a $0 down loan, will still have 5+figures in closing costs, plus your moving costs, and there are always repairs and things that pop up. You will need to move in, and even after all of that have some emergency savings for the random stuff that comes up. Plus, when you buy, you’ll want to set things up in a longer term vision – trust me, there’s a big mental shift that comes with buying vs just renting lol.
get rid of the silverado and it’s $1000+ a month payment. (plus the associated car insurance)
hell while you’re at it, also get rid of the 4runner and it’s $700/month payment (plus associated car insurance)
then take your $12k in savings and buy two cheap used reliable sedan cars 100% in cash.
(and of course, also sell the jet ski and get rid of it’s $350/month payment)
Include the amount and interest rate for each debt, you’ll get better advice.
Having said that, your car payments are absolutely bonkers compared to your income. You simply can’t afford the vehicles you have. If you’re not underwater on your trucks you should sell them, pay off the loans, and buy something affordable with the rest. As a bonus this move will result in you paying less in gas and insurance as well.
Get rid of your storage unit, you’re paying over $2k/year to store stuff that is likely worth less than that. Whatever you can’t fit in your current place, sell.
Nearly fell out of my seat seeing those car payments… Sell both and buy cheaper cars. Or sell the truck for sure and replace that one with a cash car.
So I’m going to ask you a few questions.
1. Why do you have two large new(ish) vehicles when you live in a city? What do you both do that you need such large cars? Just getting rid of the silverado and using public transportation will save you about $1000/month. That one move right there could change the entire picture.
2. When you downsize, the purpose is to get rid of stuff, not put into storage. If you are not using these items, can you sell them and get rid off the uhaul expense?
3. Can you lower your price and sell the jet ski?
4. Can you move to Mint Mobile and cut your cell phone bills by >$100/month? Is the ATT Bill this high because you are paying off new phones?
Selling Silverado, jetski, and stuff in the uhaul will save you >$1700 per month. A 10 year old prius will cost you about $8k which means it will pay for itself in less than 1 year.
To be blunt, you’re spending too much on “wants”. Making more money won’t help if you bump up your discretionary spending to go alongside it.
* Way, way too much on cars. You’re spending more on car payments, car insurance, and gas than rent and utilities. Your all-in car expenses should probably be about half of what you’re paying
* $320 a month on a jet ski, as you’re aware
* Don’t use services like Uplift/Affirm to make a purchase you wouldn’t have otherwise.
* The uhaul storage – are you storing stuff you really need? or could you find a way to fit it in your current place?
I’m a bit scared to ask what the total balances on the credit cards are
Step 1 is don’t finance anything else. No more affirm, no more toys on credit. Having 17(!) different small purchases financed is your first major problem. The vehicles being the other major one.
You simply don’t need a 4runner and a pickup truck. Sell one and buy an economy car if you need two vehicles. There’s virtually no justification to need two larger utility vehicles for a couple.
Also go pick some things out of your uhaul storage and start selling them on market place. Downsize and recoup some cashflow from that and eventually downsize your storage locker. Sell a few things even for a couple hundred bucks and knock off some of your small loans to simplify it.
Is this a joke? Stop financing things, sell the cars and get used reliable cars, get rid of subscriptions (who cares if you ‘truly use them’, you can’t afford them), sell the stuff in storage and don’t pay for storage. You can’t seriously solve this problem without recognizing the mind set you guys are in that is putting you there.
You have no hope for a home in a year without a serious gutting of your entire budget, and you shouldn’t think about that if you are only going to be staying for about 3 years. If your timeline is 5+ years then maybe.
What is even all the debt from? Apple Card, affirm, uplift, mercury, etc? Things you can’t afford since you had to finance.
Unpopular opinion:
Sell everything that is in storage.
I don’t understand how you think you’ll be able to afford a house or get a home loan when it seems you have far more debt than income. Your car payments are insane, having a jetski while you’re paying off a credit card with a 30% interest rate is mind boggling. Cutting out a subscription that saves you $150/year isn’t going to move the needle at all.
The real answer:
-Sell the cars and the jetski (lower the price until someone bites).
-Buy one affordable vehicle to share. If you both *need* a vehicle, find ones with more reasonable payments. Better yet, buy a cheap used vehicle flat out. You will spend less on insurance and that’s one less payment.
-Sell/trash anything in storage you can. If there is anything you absolutely refuse to get rid of, find a way to store it for free (a parent’s garage for example).
-Focus on whatever debt you have with the highest interest first. You should be making minimum payments to everything else, pay off that highest interest debt. Once that’s paid off, attack the next highest until you’re debt free.
You are living well above your means right now. You need to cut back if you ever want to be able to afford to buy a house. I don’t know your debt balances, but based on what you’ve shown, I don’t think you’ll be about to buy for a few years at least. The truth of the matter is, you don’t truly own anything, you are a slave to the banks.
Those trucks are a waste for you. what on earth could possible be towing? if its like most Americans, its absolutely nothing.
you should first try to sell one or both of those and use your cash savings to get something modest. in cash, do not finance.
over 200 for phone service? so you have financed phones then. as soon as you get those done, do not finance new phones, a pixel a series is like 250-300 depending on what ever deal is running. mint mobile or visible is $25 or less a month.
you need to stop financing your lives. it is what prevents you from home owner ship. you cannot begin to think about owning a house until all these debts are gone. and the cash you have saved(minus about 1 months worth of bills) should be put towards debt(more importantly getting rid of those trucks)
All I see here is the consequences of your own actions.
over $2000 a month for cars is absolutely insane and you had to have known that when you got into it.
It’s always the vehicles. $1,700+/mo. in car payments?! Good lord.
I’m unsure if this is a serious post or not? You’re spending as much on 2 cars as you are your rent. Those things have to go. Seriously. You can lower your monthly car payment by $1,000 by just getting two sensible, modest cars. I’m also not sure if you’re being truthful with yourself and your budget. There is no line item for going out to eat. I highly doubt that you and your significant other are eating all 21 meals of the week from a $75 weekly grocery budget. Are you just putting these on a credit card and forgetting about them, letting them accrue interest? Because if so, you’re kind of burying your head in the sand and you’ll never really escape the debt.