How to get out of debt!

[Anonymous]

I have about $55K of credit card debt and $27K of auto loan. Overall, my minimum monthly payments are about $2700-2800 when my take home per month is about $4500 as a nurse making $60-65K/year. On top of debt, I still have to pay rent, utilities, groceries, gas, etc. I stay very depressed that I would never be able to get out of this. I want to go back to school to get advance nursing degree(paid by hospital) but have to adjust on my hours.

I am 42F and single.

[Anonymous]

At this point, your best bet is to live it up a bit - pay down your auto loan first so they can't repossess. Then, buy things that can be resold for cash. Finally, declare bankruptcy.
Remember, this is not entirely your fault - we are a middle class family that has done well up until now. But every day, we are seeing the costs increase dramatically.

[Anonymous]

It’s a bad advice to recommend live it up a little. Op needs to get a second job and try to pay down as much as possible. Not sure how she got there but that’s a lot of CC debt.

[Anonymous]

Stop spending money

[Anonymous]

Too late for that. Maybe file for bankruptcy but that might give you trouble in getting rentals.

[Anonymous]

Normally the CC debt is the priority as, I assume, it’s at a much higher rate. But, you also can’t stop paying for car as you need it. Can you consolidate CC debt into a smaller loan? When you analyze your monthly spending, where can you cut? Do you go out to lunch each day? Coffee out? You’ll need to make spending cuts. You can do this!9

[Anonymous]

Can you moonlight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Normally the CC debt is the priority as, I assume, it’s at a much higher rate. But, you also can’t stop paying for car as you need it. Can you consolidate CC debt into a smaller loan? When you analyze your monthly spending, where can you cut? Do you go out to lunch each day? Coffee out? You’ll need to make spending cuts. You can do this!9

I am a nurse so get very tired to do another job and going to be very difficult once I start the school.

I don’t hv a lot of extra cash every month and barely breaking even and sometimes go into negative. This is becoming a huge task since my cc debt is almost 1x gross annual income.

[Anonymous]

Nursing is great for your situation because usually you can do more hours.

OP, you need Dave Ramsey. Don’t do school until your debt is gone.

[Anonymous]

Pick up lots of extra shifts. Be a travel nurse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have about $55K of credit card debt and $27K of auto loan. Overall, my minimum monthly payments are about $2700-2800 when my take home per month is about $4500 as a nurse making $60-65K/year. On top of debt, I still have to pay rent, utilities, groceries, gas, etc. I stay very depressed that I would never be able to get out of this. I want to go back to school to get advance nursing degree(paid by hospital) but have to adjust on my hours.

I am 42F and single.

How did you get in this situation?

[Anonymous]

What was put on credit cards?
Can you live near the hospital without a car? Car is a luxury nowadays.
Do you have any credit left to do 0% balance transfer? Can you get a cheaper rental or even a room? It will be temporary.
At 42 and single, you should be working overtime or a second job. My friend is a nurse and a single mother to two boys. She gets requests to cover shifts all the time.
Pick up extra shifts to take home $6k a month.
Rent a room for $1000 max, pay credit cards with $3k, you'd have $2k for the car and living.
I'd even get rid of the car unless under water.
The more you work, the less you have time to spend money. The $2k left should be used for living and extra payments towards the credit cards.
How much is the car payment and the interest anyway?
Absolutely 'no' to bankruptcy. Teaches you nothing and ruins your credit. Overtime is so much easier or a second job. 42 is young. Wait til you are 50.

[Anonymous]

Op here. I am an LPN and work as a nurse in the surgery center. Extra hours are available but it also gets very tiring.

I got some of this debt after my divorce and part of it is me spending a little too much but I hv learned my lesson. Car payment is about $700/mo and I hv some medical issues too that takes away some of the cash. Can’t get rid of car since I do hv to travel to see my family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have about $55K of credit card debt and $27K of auto loan. Overall, my minimum monthly payments are about $2700-2800 when my take home per month is about $4500 as a nurse making $60-65K/year. On top of debt, I still have to pay rent, utilities, groceries, gas, etc. I stay very depressed that I would never be able to get out of this. I want to go back to school to get advance nursing degree(paid by hospital) but have to adjust on my hours.

I am 42F and single.

Set your budget so that it is below your current salary. Curb your spending. Then add an extra shift every week and everything from that goes to pay down your debt. If you are not living with roommates, find a cheaper place and live with roommates - use the savings to pay down your debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I am an LPN and work as a nurse in the surgery center. Extra hours are available but it also gets very tiring.

I got some of this debt after my divorce and part of it is me spending a little too much but I hv learned my lesson. Car payment is about $700/mo and I hv some medical issues too that takes away some of the cash. Can’t get rid of car since I do hv to travel to see my family.

$700 a month car payment on $65k a year? You need to sell that thing and get a $20k car.