Please help me manage my finances!?
I am a college student, I only have to pay for books and supplies but not tuition. I have $8000 of debt for my car, and $2000 in debt to my credit cards. I work at a job where I get paid about $1200 a month, and my expenses are about $800 a month. how to i make that extra $400 work for me, to pay off debt, and get started on some life-savings? Im interested in anything--you suggest it, I'll consider it. Im open to selling my beat-up car, and getting a bus pass; im open to investing, though i dont know how; anything else? what do you recommend? I'd really like to be debt free, and financially wise! please help!
Public Comments
- I have been investing a long time but it is not time for you to start. With this latest crunch, credit is finally going to tighten so have to focus on paying at least the credit card down. If car debrt not too expensive then no reason to rush it. If bus truly an option fine but no reason to panic as long as payments not more than you make. Debt free just normally doesn't happen. Expensive debt like cc debt can't be allowed to linger. Have to review your statements and see how it got to $2000 and if those exepnses were needed. If can't live without using cc that much then you really have to cut expenses until out of school working full time.
- You should pay off your highest interest debt 1st. A good rule of thumb is 3 months of living expenses put into a money market account to earn interest. If your auto is worth more than you owe on it, then you could sell it and use the extra to pay off the credit cards and apply to your savings. The debt smart website: http://www.debtsmart.com/ has alot of really great information for getting out and staying out of debt. The library is full of books on getting started in investing, mutual funds and how to start small and build a net worth of over a Million ($1,000.000) in 30 years. I hope that helps and good luck.
- It is important that you take steps to get your debt under control before you end up in serious financial trouble. Find a Way to Get Better Rates One way that can help you get rid of the credit card debt that you are in is to find a way that you can get better rates on your credit cards. You can do this by trying to find a credit card that has lower rates than your current cards, and then make transfers over to the card with the lower interest rate. Another way you may be able to get better rates is to try to negotiate with the company or have a credit counselor negotiate with the company to get you better rates on your card. While you may not realize it, having a lower rate can actually save you hundreds of dollars and can help you get out of credit card debt much faster. Eliminate Debts One By One If you are wondering how to eliminate credit card debt, another way that can be a great help is to start working methodically to eliminate your debts one by one. You can choose either to pay extra on your card with the lowest amount of debt or you may want to pay more on the card with the highest interest rate, but whichever way you choose will be a great way to help you get out of debt much faster. Debt Consolidation If you are serious about getting rid of your credit card debt once and for all, you may want to work on getting a debt consolidation loan. This method of elimination will help give you lower interest rates, a regular payment schedule, and you will only have one easy payment to make each month. This is a very easy and effective way to eliminate the credit card debt that has been causing you so much trouble. Control Your Spending When many people ask how to eliminate credit card debt, many times they are already overlooking very simple solutions that can help them. One very simple and common sense solution that can help you eliminate your debt is to control how much you are spending. If you want to get rid of your credit card debt, then you should not be spending more money on credit cards. Try sticking to paying cash for everything possible, and you may want to start saving money and putting it away for emergencies as well, so you will not even have to use a credit card if you have an emergency. Read more from: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/article/195,4_Tips_on_How_to_Eliminate_Credit_Card_Debt
