How do I catch up? Is it even possible?

[Anonymous]

My husband is a fed and we live overseas, so things seem okay, but in reality we have a lot of debt (combined 40000 in student loans and 50000 in credit card debt). DH has a rental that pays for itself, so we do have that asset, but otherwise we don't have much. I graduated this year and am starting to work, but my work is part-time and not particularly well paying. I did work full time at the beginning of this year, but the work was intermittent and I barely earned more than what full-time childcare cost (we have a toddler). Full-time jobs here for trailing spouses are scarce, and it's very competitive. Also, I'm due with our second child this spring.

We are living very frugally to pay off debt, but have no savings, no college fund etc. What resources or words of wisdom can you share to get us on a track where we can both pay off debt and start saving?

[Anonymous]

Breathe. Keep your head down and keep going. You didn't get into debt overnight and you won't get out of it overnight. As long as you are headed in the right direction, you're winning. Just keep going. You can do this!

[Anonymous]

For starters, don't have anymore babies until $50k credit card debt is paid off.

[Anonymous]

Start listening to some Dave Ramsey podcasts. He's very motivating.

[Anonymous]

My advice is to not be afraid to start making better financial decisions and to read stories of others who have gotten themselves out of debt. It can feel very overwhelming to face down debt, but you have to start somewhere and you just keep putting one foot in front of the other to get somewhere better. Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a fed and we live overseas, so things seem okay, but in reality we have a lot of debt (combined 40000 in student loans and 50000 in credit card debt). DH has a rental that pays for itself, so we do have that asset, but otherwise we don't have much. I graduated this year and am starting to work, but my work is part-time and not particularly well paying. I did work full time at the beginning of this year, but the work was intermittent and I barely earned more than what full-time childcare cost (we have a toddler). Full-time jobs here for trailing spouses are scarce, and it's very competitive. Also, I'm due with our second child this spring.

We are living very frugally to pay off debt, but have no savings, no college fund etc. What resources or words of wisdom can you share to get us on a track where we can both pay off debt and start saving?

It's going to take a lot of work if you just graduated (assuming grad school) and have a child. I don't know why you made that decision. Many times graduate school isn't worth the debt. Let alone when you've made the decision to only work part time. Unfortunately, you need to go back to work full time and get on birth control.

Really you need to move back to the US so you can most likely earn more money (wages tend to be higher) and payoff the debt. I don't understand what 50k in credit card debt is for.

At this point I'd check out mr money moustache. Normally he's too much for me but you really need the help. You can post your expenses and your income and people will help you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a fed and we live overseas, so things seem okay, but in reality we have a lot of debt (combined 40000 in student loans and 50000 in credit card debt). DH has a rental that pays for itself, so we do have that asset, but otherwise we don't have much. I graduated this year and am starting to work, but my work is part-time and not particularly well paying. I did work full time at the beginning of this year, but the work was intermittent and I barely earned more than what full-time childcare cost (we have a toddler). Full-time jobs here for trailing spouses are scarce, and it's very competitive. Also, I'm due with our second child this spring.

We are living very frugally to pay off debt, but have no savings, no college fund etc. What resources or words of wisdom can you share to get us on a track where we can both pay off debt and start saving?

It's going to take a lot of work if you just graduated (assuming grad school) and have a child. I don't know why you made that decision. Many times graduate school isn't worth the debt. Let alone when you've made the decision to only work part time. Unfortunately, you need to go back to work full time and get on birth control.

Really you need to move back to the US so you can most likely earn more money (wages tend to be higher) and payoff the debt. I don't understand what 50k in credit card debt is for.

At this point I'd check out mr money moustache. Normally he's too much for me but you really need the help. You can post your expenses and your income and people will help you.

Not grad school. I put myself through school and just got my bachelors. Also, after this baby we're not having more (you and a PP mentioned this) - we thought it would make sense to have the children close in age so that there's no major disruption as my career ramps up.

We get a housing allowance in Europe which is why my husband took the job here. We were living in a very high COL area prior to living here, and I was in school full-time and SAH. This is when we accumulated much of the debt, in addition to racking up 12k this year for repairs to the house my husband owns.

Not sure if you read my original post, but full-time work is tough to get in this particular location (for trailing spouses) - I've taken part-time work because that's what's available to me. My husband is eligible for a grade increase in a new position at a better location for Americans that he plans on taking when it's available. In the meantime, I plan on taking whatever work I'm able to get. I work PT teaching fitness classes and have been referred for a PT federal job in my field.

[Anonymous]

Fifty grand in credit card debt? You lived (and are probably still living) way beyond your means. Where did all that money go? Downsize your housing, get rid of cars, stop buying stuff, etc. Figure out how you got to this point, and stop doing that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a fed and we live overseas, so things seem okay, but in reality we have a lot of debt (combined 40000 in student loans and 50000 in credit card debt). DH has a rental that pays for itself, so we do have that asset, but otherwise we don't have much. I graduated this year and am starting to work, but my work is part-time and not particularly well paying. I did work full time at the beginning of this year, but the work was intermittent and I barely earned more than what full-time childcare cost (we have a toddler). Full-time jobs here for trailing spouses are scarce, and it's very competitive. Also, I'm due with our second child this spring.

We are living very frugally to pay off debt, but have no savings, no college fund etc. What resources or words of wisdom can you share to get us on a track where we can both pay off debt and start saving?

It's going to take a lot of work if you just graduated (assuming grad school) and have a child. I don't know why you made that decision. Many times graduate school isn't worth the debt. Let alone when you've made the decision to only work part time. Unfortunately, you need to go back to work full time and get on birth control.

Really you need to move back to the US so you can most likely earn more money (wages tend to be higher) and payoff the debt. I don't understand what 50k in credit card debt is for.

At this point I'd check out mr money moustache. Normally he's too much for me but you really need the help. You can post your expenses and your income and people will help you.

Not grad school. I put myself through school and just got my bachelors. Also, after this baby we're not having more (you and a PP mentioned this) - we thought it would make sense to have the children close in age so that there's no major disruption as my career ramps up.

We get a housing allowance in Europe which is why my husband took the job here. We were living in a very high COL area prior to living here, and I was in school full-time and SAH. This is when we accumulated much of the debt, in addition to racking up 12k this year for repairs to the house my husband owns.

Not sure if you read my original post, but full-time work is tough to get in this particular location (for trailing spouses) - I've taken part-time work because that's what's available to me. My husband is eligible for a grade increase in a new position at a better location for Americans that he plans on taking when it's available. In the meantime, I plan on taking whatever work I'm able to get. I work PT teaching fitness classes and have been referred for a PT federal job in my field.

Excuses excuses. The kid, the rental, the next kid, why only part time etc. from your response it sounds like you refuse to take ownership of the choices you made. No one forced you to move overseas. How did you get into credit card debt with a salary and a housing allowance? You need a serious change of heart.

[Anonymous]

You people are harsh.

OP, I work for an agency where lots of people work abroad. With all of the allowances they receive, they seriously bank the dollars when they're overseas.

This is a problem solved by hacking away over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fifty grand in credit card debt? You lived (and are probably still living) way beyond your means. Where did all that money go? Downsize your housing, get rid of cars, stop buying stuff, etc. Figure out how you got to this point, and stop doing that!

This. Sell the rental. Stop buying things. Only use cash. You should be able to live on next to nothing if you have a housing allowance. No travel. Eat at home. Get rid of cars, especially if you're in Europe. Your part time job should go to pay down the credit card debt.

Try and move back to the US asap and get a full time job. The housing expense didn't help out if it resulted in you being in debt 50k. You more or less took a high interest Loan to live overseas for a while. Get home, get a job with a 401k, get a full time job, the cheapest childcare you can find and knock out the debt.

Do not take on car loans when you come home. Live in a cheap cheap rental. The kids can share a room.

You may want to sell the investment property. 12k in repairs is a lot. I'd question whether it's a smart move financially to keep it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people are harsh.

OP, I work for an agency where lots of people work abroad. With all of the allowances they receive, they seriously bank the dollars when they're overseas.

This is a problem solved by hacking away over time.

They have a housing allowance and they got themselves 50k in credit card debt. That takes a lot of effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are harsh.

OP, I work for an agency where lots of people work abroad. With all of the allowances they receive, they seriously bank the dollars when they're overseas.

This is a problem solved by hacking away over time.

They have a housing allowance and they got themselves 50k in credit card debt. That takes a lot of effort.

I assumed the debt was accumulated when they were living in the high COL area before moving abroad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are harsh.

OP, I work for an agency where lots of people work abroad. With all of the allowances they receive, they seriously bank the dollars when they're overseas.

This is a problem solved by hacking away over time.

They have a housing allowance and they got themselves 50k in credit card debt. That takes a lot of effort.

I agree, people are being harsh!

My husband and I started out on tough financial footing, and clearly it's gotten worse. We charged our wedding (first mistake, shouldn't have had a wedding) - this cost 7000 all told. For our first year of marriage my husband paid his mortgage on top of our rent, because his ex didn't want to rent out the house. I was in school full-time and worked part-time, then we had our first child. Then I was in school full-time and SAH. Childcare where we lived averaged ~2000 a month and without a degree I was unable to find work that would justify that cost, especially while studying full time. I thought getting my degree was the smart decision.

We saw Europe as an opportunity to pay down debt, given where we were living before and with the benefits we get here. It's been slow going.

I'm sure it's easy to judge, but I posted looking for encouragement. We live extremely frugally - we don't eat out, we don't spend on anything other than necessities - and I just want some reassurance that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not making excuses, just saying we have a lot of debt that we're working to pay off.

[Anonymous]

If you spent $12k for repairs on the rental this year, it DOES NOT pay for itself. But if that is the way you guys are framing things, I think you have some magical thinking about money going on.

Sell the rental, keep living overseas until your kids are old enough for school because the housing allowance plus other perks overseas SHOULD be allowing you to climb out of debt. Returning stateside so that you can work (and pay for two kids in daycare) likely won't solve your problem.