Reply to Earning Well but Drowning in Debt...how to dig out?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. Not looking for a scolding but for advice. Ran up a lot of credit card debt on three maternity leaves that were largely unpaid - hard to pay daycare for two kids while on unpaid leave with a third. And we had to do that or else we would lose our spots. Plus the student loan debt. We have two Hondas 2012 and 2013. Minivan and SUV. Before that I was driving a 2001 Toyota that wouldn't fit three carsears so I had to sell it. Had it over 10 years. We cannot go down to one car because due to our work schedules DH and I alternate drop off and pickup from daycare and aftercare. We do not live in a huge home. In fact, we need a bigger house desperately. Our kids are doubled up in rooms and we are bursting at the seams. Same rowhouse we lived in when we got engaged! Mortgage is $3400/month. Student loans are $1500/month. Credit card bills. Car payments. Daycare and aftercare is $2450/month. We cannot get a nanny for an equivalent price (legally, anyway). I am a fed and the lack of pay increases hasn't helped. But at least job is stable. We do not take luxury vacations and rent expensive homes or take fancy trips. We go to the beach and stay with family. I hardly ever buy clothes and when I do it's at Target/TJ Max or even eBay. I buy kids clothes on eBay or at Target or old navy sale.

The thing is that we definitely aren't living the high life by any means. Our home is very modest and not suitable for the size of our family. Our vacations are budget vacations. Now I am dreading having to pay for summer camps for the older two kids. $450/week per kid for 10 weeks. Ugh.

The kids do a lot of activities. Music together. dance lessons. Soccer. Music lessons. [/quote]

You need to go into crunch mode for the next twelve months and then see how you are doing.
1) No more than one activity per kid. No need for music/dance lessons or Music Together for the next year. Luxury Item- if you "must" have them have a relative give them to your child's for the birthday.  Soccer is cheap. Plenty of free or nearly free activites.
2) Summer at the Y will not be horrible.  It is one summer. 
3) If you both work for the Feds and you live in the Distrcit in a row house, you can take public transportation.  No need for two cars- you might not need one car. Crunch mode!
4) Your house is large enough- pare down, children do not need their own bedrooms especially if you have that much debt.  Better spent paying off debt and then saving for college.
5) Do the David Ramsey thing. Now. 
6) Crunch mode for one year means not going out to eat.  No lunches no dinners.  Plan dinners and lunches ahead.  Google frugal dinners - savings will abound.
7) Plenty of free stuff to do in the city - no spending for entertainment.
8) no new clothes for you or DH for a year.  Rummage sales, yard sales, thrift shops for children's clothes.  Only "splurge" on children's shoes.
9) No gym members ships or other club memberships.  
10) Cut up the credit cards- you can't handle them. 
11) No vacations except to visit drivable family
12) Stop blaming the area, you make more than enough. Look in the mirror and learn about finances.  [/quote]

I agree with this. Except I would do two separate driving-to-see-family vacations: mom takes a week and dad takes a week. That gets you two weeks where you don't have to pay for camp. If you have more PTO, take more weeks, but stagger them. No joint vacations until the debt is paid off.[/quote]

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