How to get out of debt!

[Anonymous]

An extra day of work brings about $150 in hand but I also hv extra spending coming up and the interest rates are high. Everything is getting so expensive that I constantly hv to use my existing CC limits to cover them. I have rent($950), utilities, insurance, groceries, medicine, other basic stuff, gas. It continues to get depressing. By going to school, I thought my income/hr could go up but hv to be in part time school for 18 months and I might do less hours as a nurse or constantly working and school.

[Anonymous]

Sell the car, buy a scooter.

Get another job.

You cannot afford school.

[Anonymous]

But hospital is paying for OP’s education.

[Anonymous]

Can u get a roommate? Or do shared housing with someone?
Don’t pay for any streaming, cable etc if you are right now.
You need to set manageable goals. 55k is a pit and sounds like a lot so is overwhelming. Your goal this year should be to get it down to 45k or 50k. With goal of being debt free by age 50.
So can u suck it up and get serious for 8 years?

[Anonymous]

You can do this OP!

-Stop all streaming but one. Cut anything else you can think of hair, nails, gym, etc- put extra money towards debt.
-Make sure you are contributing towards a 401K or 403b up to the match and no more.
-Pick up two shifts a month and put two thirds towards the credit card and 1/3 in a savings account for expenses that pop up so you don't have to put it on the credit card.
-Sell anything valuable you have an put it towards the credit card.
-Put any tax refund 1/2 towards credit card, half towards savings.
-if the car wont be paid off in two years and you aren't upside down on it, sell it and get one that is under 10K. Once you pay off the car, $500 towards the credit card, the other $200 in the savings account.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But hospital is paying for OP’s education.

But with school they can’t do extra shifts. And it’s unclear whether they would also have to cut back on current work hours.

[Anonymous]

OP. I am sorry about your divorce. I am sure that has been rough on many levels.

If an extra shift each week is too tiring, can you do an extra shift every other week, every three weeks, or every month? Every little bit is going to help.

Pay down the debt with the highest interest rate first. After that is paid off, start putting all of those payments towards your next highest interest rate debt. It feels slow at first, but it will snowball and you'll be debt free.

If you want more specific recommendations on what to cut, post your full budget here. GL!

[Anonymous]

I live in a small one bedroom apartment as I didn’t hv good experience with roommates before. Car still hv 4 more years left on the loan and it’s Camry hybrid so gas mileage is good. I don’t hav any streaming payments.

[Anonymous]

Wow 😲 what did you buy for $55k on your cc? What is the interest?

I think you need to get a few more jobs and stop spending any money at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow 😲 what did you buy for $55k on your cc? What is the interest?

I think you need to get a few more jobs and stop spending any money at all.

That's what I would like to know as well. How do you get to that level of debt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An extra day of work brings about $150 in hand but I also hv extra spending coming up and the interest rates are high. Everything is getting so expensive that I constantly hv to use my existing CC limits to cover them. I have rent($950), utilities, insurance, groceries, medicine, other basic stuff, gas. It continues to get depressing. By going to school, I thought my income/hr could go up but hv to be in part time school for 18 months and I might do less hours as a nurse or constantly working and school.

You can't afford to go to school you need to be working more right now.

[Anonymous]

What are the interest rates on the car loan and credit cards? Can any of these be refinanced at a lower rate?

What is the market value of the car? Do you actually need a car? Can the term of the car loan be extended?

What are your minimal monthly expenses (rent, food, etc.)?

How long would the schooling take, what would it cost (lost time, etc.), and would it increase your income?

Do you have any savings?

Are there any other prospects for increasing your income in the short or medium term (part time job, take new full-time job, etc.).

Ultimately, the solution is to either make more money or reduce your expenses, or both, and put the difference toward debt payments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An extra day of work brings about $150 in hand but I also hv extra spending coming up and the interest rates are high. Everything is getting so expensive that I constantly hv to use my existing CC limits to cover them. I have rent($950), utilities, insurance, groceries, medicine, other basic stuff, gas. It continues to get depressing. By going to school, I thought my income/hr could go up but hv to be in part time school for 18 months and I might do less hours as a nurse or constantly working and school.

Where do rent a one bedroom for $950?

You can't go to school op you need to use that time to pay down your debt with more shifts or another job. What about a personal health aid on the side? I don't know where you live but pretty much everyone i know has two jobs or at least a side hustle. You also need to stop spending any money. Use every thing you already have up before buying anything new. Cancel all subscriptions, cancel hair and nails what are you spending money on? Pack a sandwich everyday. But you need more work and jobs. You need to trade your car in for a cheaper used Honda. What do you drive now? How did you get in this situation?

[Anonymous]

The only solution is to take a year or so and work as many hours as you can. OT at that rate will pay you much better than any other part time job will pay you.

I know you say you are tired but what is your choice? 42 isn't old but it isn't young either. It is going to get much harder to put in extra hours when you are in your 50s.

So suck it up for as long as you can and get that debt paid off.

[Anonymous]

Do you have any 401k savings, you could take a 50k loan from that and then pay yourself back over 4 years, that way you will pay the interest to yourself. Also, $700/month car at your salary is unacceptable, buy something that translates to around $200-300/month, you can save the $500- 400 for emergencies.