If you need a cheap camp, you can't go wrong with vacation bile schools. You have to be ok with the religious aspect but most churches don't require your being a member to have you kid attend, ours doesnt. They are often super cheap, ours is $35 per child with a per family cap of $70. Some offer scholarships. I know people that send their kids to different ones each week (since most are only a week long).

Agree with PP regarding: income generation is key. Savings will not build fast enough if there is a crisis looming.

We are in a bad place now too. Business down, expenses cut back to minimum but beween $2100 mortage and $1200 health insurance premium (we pay out of pocket for private health care and I am afraid to switch to something else because I dont trust any new systems just yet) its REALLY hard.

Anonymous wrote:Get a cheaper cell phone plan. You really don't need data. We pay $80 ish/month for 3 cell phones (no data).

Lose the gym membership. Go for a run, walk, bike ride. Buy a few sets of hand weights and rent some videos from the library.

Get a pay-per-minute phone, we were paying about $80 for 700 minutes per month family plan...which we barely use 100 minutes of those 700. I got everyone (4) pay per minute phones (ATT & Tmobile) and put $100 on each...which comes out to be 1000 minutes per phone and much more than what we need per year. Wifi is free everywhere nowaday so don't need data plan

Lose the gym and lose the avocados. It seems like chump change, but it adds up.

If you have a retirement plan you can borrow from for a cheaper interest rate, use a loan from the pprogram to knock out the cc debt and repay at a lower rate.

I think it's tough for someone like OP to actually get ahead without somehow increasing income.

The suggestions for cutting expenses really don't add up to much in the end and don't put a big enough dent into the debt. It's the cc plus the student loan debt that is killing the budget.

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a basement you can rent?

Montgomery county has some VERY cheap summer camps - I'm talking $360 for 6 weeks of camp. Check it out.

Which camp is that? I've been searching for a cheap one.

OP, I don't have any experience with mint.com, but I suggest you get YNAB, which is a budget software. The setup is a pain in the rear end if you have never created a budget before. Budget a significant amount of time in the first month to do your data entry, decide on your budget, and to learn the quirks of the program so you can use it right. There are youtube videos and online forums, etc to help you learn it.

I noticed that you have been providing information in bits and pieces, and responding with vague phrases like, "I'll think about your suggestions" and you didn't even include groceries (what's your monthly spending on that, again?) until several pages into this thread.

All the advice in the world isn't going to help you until you start thinking more systematically about your income and expenditures.

You are living beyond your means if you are broke.

Your mortgage is obviously more than you can comfortably afford given your spending habits.

Drop the gym now.

Stop buying things. Seed? That's a luxury you can't afford if you are broke. Ditto with organic fruit and avocados. Don't eat out, and plan your grocery list for basic meals. This is what you do when you are broke.

And just because you bought a new house doesn't mean you need to furnish it right away. Stay the hell out of home depot, BBB, target and furniture stores.

With $155k income, you should be fine. If you aren't, then you are spending too much on things you probably don't need. You need utilities, food and gas. You don need Starbucks, restaurants, whole foods, manicures, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Eating out is a colossal waste of money.

I make more than 15 an hour

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what I did last year:

Pay off the cars, it'll free up a large amount of cash. Your problem seems to be cash flow more than income per se.
Hulu - no cable
Does your office offer a work cell phone? Ditch the personal one
Lose the gym. Go for a jog.
Thermostat programmable .. worthy investment
reuse tampons (just kidding)

lol!

You may have been kidding, but I've saved a lot of money using a Diva Cup! Don't have to buy tampons anymore. Likewise, we don't pay anything else for diapers after having invested in some used cloth diapers (cost of washing them is negligible.)

I know a few people who make extra money by going to yard sales and consignment shops, buying name brand clothing and selling it used on Ebay. One specializes in books (he's often gotten a box of books for something like $10-15 and even after discarding the unsellable ones, can make $30-50 selling the books on Ebay). One sells clothing, but she's got a good eye for what's a great deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We use verizon with data plans - anyone cheaper?

We pay about $100 including taxes on T-Mobile for two lines, unlimited talk and text and 500gb of data each.

I just got a new smart phone for $60 for Virgin Mobile. $35/month for 300 minutes of phone time plus unlimited data, text, and messaging. I got this phone because although I have been a customer of Sprint for over 20 years (SprintPCS anyone?) the big four all wanted huge bucks for data plans. I don't need that much phone time (I use about 150 min/month) but the unlimited 3g/4g and WiFi access is what I really want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Mortgage payment is $2100. My kids need their own rooms.

"Own rooms" is a want, not a need.

I grew up sharing a room with either one or two siblings for most of my childhood; I was not scarred by it. I only got my own room after my oldest sibling moved out of the house.

Your money problems are rooted in your thinking. Baking bread (something that is super-cheap to buy) is not going to make the difference; questioning and revising your preconceived notions might.

Agree completely.

My kids share a room (2 bedroom TH) and the mortgage payment is $4K. It ain't easy to be thrifty with housing around here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could easily save on your cars and cell phones. What is your take-home?

$7300/month take home.

We use verizon with data plans - anyone cheaper?

We cant save on the cars - one is a work car with free gas/insur for $200/mo. The other is a $13K car loan thats only $250/month, so I think with free gas it's reasonable. In 3 yrs, no more car loan.

Maybe I can find household items cheaper somehow, like I wonder what people find at dollar stores? And where can I buy avocados for less than $1 each, etc.

Our gym is expensive - $100/month.

I've been buying household stuff at home depot, like seed. maybe theres a better alternative?

We pay about $100 including taxes on T-Mobile for two lines, unlimited talk and text and 500gb of data each.

Do you have a basement you can rent?

Montgomery county has some VERY cheap summer camps - I'm talking $360 for 6 weeks of camp. Check it out.