Debt advice? Really need help!?

I am a newlywed 21 year old. Hubby makes 30,000 a year and I make 16,000. He came into our marriage with 13,000 in student loans and another 4 maxed out credit cards totalling 27,000 or so. We pay 425 monthly for rent and maybe 400 a month for food and other household stuff like cleaning products. The only extras (unneccesary items) we allow ourselves are dish (we can't get cable where we live) and cell phones but no home phone. We have good credit (mine high 600s and his maybe in the 700 range I think) but we don't own anything so we cannot borrow to get a lower interest on this crushing debt. I know my husband messed up big so now he lets me control the money and try to dig us out but stuff comes up like I just had to suddenly buy new tires for my paid for used car (his is paid for and old also) because the frame is off and wearing them out more quickly than it should and I feel like I will be paying this off for 10 years which means I cannot have a kid or we will be bankrupt!
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Can anyone suggest any ideas I have over looked? He is trying for a higher paying job and I am working extra at my job and looking for a weekend job also. What else can I do? Is it possible I could get rid of this in 5 years?

You need to figure out how to stop using the credit cards right away. Then you have to pay more than the minimum on at least one of them (usually the highest interest card saves the most interest, but it can be motivating to pay off the lowest balance card first - you choose).

This calculator may help you see that it's not hopeless. Follow the monthly schedule and run it again whenever your situation changes.
http://debt.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Debt-Elimination

There are some credit card calculators here that you can run every now and then to keep tabs on things and help motivate you.
http://debt.bizcalcs.com/

Motivation is important to keeping the discipline needed to get out of debt and stay out. Best of luck to you. I know you can do it!

Jennifer, the really unfortunate thing about your situation is not so much that you are in debt but the type of debt that you are in. The student loans are forgivable, but the credit card debt is the real killer. Your debt to income ratio is way too high, and after a while its going to pull both your FICO scores down.

What kind of interest are you paying on those credit cards? If they are high-interest credit cards and you are only making minimum payments each month, that $27,000 debt is not going to go away any time soon. You should seriously consider consolidating it with Consumer Credit Counseling. They are usually able to negotiate with the credit card companies to get a deal that would lower the interest rates and monthly payment amounts. This may mean that your credit rating will take a hit, but you can recover from it if you keep making the agreed payments on time. You can also ask the student loan grantor for a moratorium of some sort. I know these things are possible because I've known a few people who did them.

If I were you, I would seriously consider getting rid of the cell phones and getting a cheap land line for your home instead. As for the Dish, I would get rid of that, too and make do with just network television for a while. If you will both be working two jobs you won't have much time to watch television anyway. The few dollars that you will save from just these two things each month you should put into a savings account. And as for that $400 monthly grocery bill---this needs to be cut. There's no reason you should have to spend that much if its only the two of you. Go on the cheap, buy your groceries at Walmart, or in bulk from a place like Costco and go for generics instead of brand name items. And regarding your car, spend the the money to fix the rims or buy used ones from an auto repair shop. It makes no sense to have to keep buying expensive new tires only to have them wear out again shortly afterwards. Doesn't matter if the cars are old, as long as they can get you where you want to go, that's all that matters for now. You say you are 21, I'm assuming that your hubby is also young. Is there any chance you could ask your parents to help you out? I know your pride and independence are important, but you could use a little help and you need to think about all the possibilities.

You seriously have to get this thing under control now. If you don't you will soon find yourselves arguing and fighting over money more and more, and that can ruin even the best of marriages. Your husband has to take the initiative here because he is the one who brought all this debt into the marriage. But if the two of you are willing to stick this out together you can totally pull it off. Just please, please, please, don't have any kids for now. Concentrate all of your efforts on paying down the credit cards, and once you get rid of them don't apply for any new ones.

get those maxed out credit cards into a debt relief program.
The interest alone is going to kill you.
spend only what you have to, develope a budget and stick to it.
You can pull yourself out in no time at all.

I don't know of any offhand, but there are a lot of credit counselling services available. My husband I have a similar problem, except I am the one with the student loans :-P We aren't doing that bad yet, because he is in the military and making enough, and I have a decent job, I am hoping we get rid of it before he gets out of the military too... We bought Microsoft Money, and so far it has helped us really streamline our budgeting. Seriously, it's worth the $50. I would say get that and talk to a credit counselling service. Some of them will even negotiate with the creditors for lower rates.

Your situation is very common. I suggest reading the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

I also suggest optimizing your credit, which means repairing it if it needs it, so that you can get the lowest interest rates on loans and credit cards.

Then, transfer balances from high interest rate cards to a low interest rate card.

You may also want to considering buying instead of renting. That way you can build equity and maybe later down the road be able to refinance and consildate your debt that way.

so together you bring home around $3000.00 a month. $900.00 for rent and food. cell phones $100.00 a month. dish about $100.00 a month. Thats $1,100.00. where is the other $1900.00 going?

You cant buy a house right now like the other poster suggest. Your broke. I wouldnt use debt con either. If you do they will trash your credit. and you will be treated as if you had filed for bankruptcy for a home loan. You just have to knuckle down. Live on beans and rice til you get it payed. Any extra work you can find. I would do a written budget to. I started one about 6 months ago and it felt like i got a raise once i seen where the money was going.

Go to daveramsey.com and listen to his radio show or find a station near you to listen to. He has lots of good advice on money and debt.

I was in your shoes once - up to my eyeballs in debt and wondering how to get out!!!

The first thing you have to do is apply "the first rule of holes" to your debt. The first rule of holes is "when you are in a hole, STOP DIGGING!" In other words - STOP obtaining more debt!

I calculate debt freedom dates very simply for folks. I add up all of the debt and monthly payments and pretend it is just one big debt with one big payment. Based on the information you have provided, your total debt is $40,000. If you are making monthly payments of around $800, you will be debt free in 50 months. With your income and expenses, you should be able to make an $800/month payment.

The next thing you need to do is develop a spending plan for your money EVERY SINGLE MONTH BEFORE YOU RECEIVE THE MONEY!!! In other words, plan your spending before you are paid. That way, when you receive the money, you have thought it out and have planned it such that you can win with that money!

I used to be broke, now I'm not because (1) I applied the first rule of holes (stopped signing up for more debt) and (2) I spend my money every single month before the month begins

In 14 months time, my wife and I became debt-free. For the last 4 years we have lived life free of debt! You can do this! I have actually left my corporate America job and started teaching personal finances full-time because I am on a CRUSADE to help others win!

You can get FREE budgeting tools and debt-freedom-date calculators on my personal finance blog at http://www.josephsangl.com - click on "TOOLS" at the top of the page

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