Are there any of you that have been in serious debt and gotten out of it?  What way did you go about doing it?  Have any of you ever consolidated your bills, and is this a good route to go?  Any advice/words will be appreciated.

Are there any of you that have been in serious debt and gotten out of it?  What way did you go about doing it?  Have any of you ever consolidated your bills, and is this a good route to go?  Any advice/words will be appreciated.



I would call your bank and talk to them about services to help you consolidate your bills so that you're making one payment per month to lower the debt instead of many payments per month.

I would call your bank and talk to them about services to help you consolidate your bills so that you're making one payment per month to lower the debt instead of many payments per month.



yes, there are some local companies that advertise consolidating bills into one payment.....that seems like it would cut down on a lot of money....I am wondering if anyone has done this before and was it a positive experience?

Are there any of you that have been in serious debt and gotten out of it?  What way did you go about doing it?  Have any of you ever consolidated your bills, and is this a good route to go?  Any advice/words will be appreciated.


Ooooh.  I'm so glad you asked!  I don't have the answer...but need it!  If you find any good information, please pass it along.

Ooooh.  I'm so glad you asked!  I don't have the answer...but need it!  If you find any good information, please pass it along.



it sucks so bad to be in debt....it makes you feel like you are drowning or something. :-\\

it sucks so bad to be in debt....it makes you feel like you are drowning or something. :-\\


Yep.  Actually, I'm starting to get mine under control.  Consolidation is one option.  Another is to call the credit companies and see if they can lower your monthly payments for, say, a year.  The goal would be to get the payments to a point where you can pay your bills each month without building up anymore credit.  If you can make a year of payments and not add to your credit bills, you might start to see the light of day.

I can't speak from experience, but I was poking around the Internet. This is, so far, the website that seems to be offering sound advice. It may be worth looking at, but I would definitely trust testimonials from inthe00s folks first, as this site (like many others) has an angle.

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/debt/originalcreditor_debtsettlement.shtml

I can't speak from experience, but I was poking around the Internet. This is, so far, the website that seems to be offering sound advice. It may be worth looking at, but I would definitely trust testimonials from inthe00s folks first, as this site (like many others) has an angle.

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/debt/originalcreditor_debtsettlement.shtml



thanks for the link...I will check it out! ;)

Being in debt sucks.From 1995 to 2000 I was in a self destructive phase of my
life.Without going into gory details, I needed the court system to help. I do
not suggest this to anyone.I am slowly but surely getting back on my feet.
My only advice, even with help or consolidation, is you have to change the
way you spend or use credit cards.Consolidation will not help if you don't
change your spending habits.

Being in debt sucks.From 1995 to 2000 I was in a self destructive phase of my
life.Without going into gory details, I needed the court system to help. I do
not suggest this to anyone.I am slowly but surely getting back on my feet.
My only advice, even with help or consolidation, is you have to change the
way you spend or use credit cards.Consolidation will not help if you don't
change your spending habits.



well, I no longer use any credit cards for anything...I don't have any available now anyway...so that's not the problem....it's just not having enough money to even make payments....that's why I thought that maybe if I consolidate everything into one payment...that would help some. :-\\

well, I no longer use any credit cards for anything...I don't have any available now anyway...so that's not the problem....it's just not having enough money to even make payments....that's why I thought that maybe if I consolidate everything into one payment...that would help some. :-\\


I don't use credit cards either.Through all my problems I was able to get two credit cards
at a high intrest rate.Only thing is, I have more money in my pocket than my credit limit,
so I don't use them.Erin, it is a slow road back, but if I can do I know you can.

I don't use credit cards either.Through all my problems I was able to get two credit cards
at a high intrest rate.Only thing is, I have more money in my pocket than my credit limit,
so I don't use them.Erin, it is a slow road back, but if I can do I know you can.





thanks for the support and advice Kevin! :)

I don't know.. All I can say is don't go out for food, don't buy pleasure items at the moment, just.. don't spend money on anything you don't need.

thanks for the support and advice Kevin! :)


Your welcome Erin, I just wish I had a better answer for you.

My monthly payments before consolidation for school loans was $390 which is too much for me to pay monthly, so I consolidated and am now paying $180 instead and the best part is that with the fixed interest rate and amount I pay each month this amount will seem less and less with every year.

Erin, my advice would be to look into a home equity loan or simply refinance your home (and take out extra $$ if you can).  The interest rates are MUCH cheaper than the credit cards AND you get to deduct the interest on your taxes.  IF you go the route of consolidation, make sure to check out the company as much as you can and contact the Better Business Bureau to make sure they don't have any complaints against them.  I know a couple of people who dealt with them and got screwed ROYALLY.  It would have been better to file bankruptcy for them.  Also, like Dom said, only spend on necessities.  I know it's usually easier to just stop somewhere and pick up food, etc. but you'd be surprised at how much you actually spend compared to what you'd have spent if you made something at home.  I saved all of my receipts for "eating out" for 1 month and I was SHOCKED.....it was more than my car payment!!! :o


Adding to this:  If you do end up going with one of those consolidation companies, remember that it can affect your credit in the same way, (or worse) as a bankruptcy.  Bankruptcies stay on your credit report for 10 years after discharge, and bad credit stays on your report for 7 years after last activity.

Regarding the mortgage option, I would recommend a second mortgage if you have the equity.  If you refinance your first mortgage, and don't have a lot of equity, you could end up paying mortgage insurance.  Also, most mortgage companies consider a debt consolidation loan "cash-out" and will charge points for any mortgage amount over 75% Loan-To-Value.  There will also be a higher rate based on the higher LTV.  (In case you're wondering, I worked at a bank in the mortgage department for 6 years :))  You will definitely have to pay a higher rate on a second mortgage, but the up-front fees are less, and it takes less time.  Also, some banks will go to 90-100% LTV loans.  I don't recommend going as high as 100% though.  If you go with a Home Equity Line of Credit (floating rate/ payment varies each month) instead of a Home Equity Loan (fixed rate/fixed payment each month), you typically only have to make interest payments each month.  And you can make principal payments as you're able to.

Good luck!  I have been there myself.  It's tough, but you can do it! :)

I don't know.. All I can say is don't go out for food, don't buy pleasure items at the moment, just.. don't spend money on anything you don't need.

Disclaimer:  I've never been in debt.  I'm one of those miserly smug b*ahem*stards who thinks that just because he's retiring early without having help from his folks, anyone can do it :)

Having said that, the previous poster is 100% on, and that goes triple for not going out for food. 

My only useful advice?  Learn to cook. 

Anyone, and I mean, *ANYONE*, can learn to cook.  You can cook a $12.99 (Applebee's) meal out of $1.00 of vegetables/pasta (crushed stewed tomatoes, spices, pasta) and $1.00 of meat (chicken thigh).  You can cook a $40.00 white-tablecloth restaurant meal ($60.00 if it's jacket required and you order wine) out of $10.00 of steak, $1.00 of vegetables, and half a bottle of $18.00/bottle of wine.  (And just like the jacket, when you're at home and on a tight budget, the wine's optional.  Get $5.00/bottle wine, and use some in your sauce with a clean conscience!)

Don't feel like "restaurant" food (Chicken Cacciatore?  Salmon with a side of pasta?)  Don't feel like snobby food (8 oz filet mignon, side of mushrooms in wine or port reduction sauce?)  Just want a freakin' hamburger fer Chrissakes?

$2.50 - 1 pound of leanish ground beef
$2.50 - 1 pound of any-quality ground pork
$0.50 - 1/2 head of garlic.  (Turn the other half into garlic butter!)
$0.25 - veggies, ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, spices (Experiment, find out what spices you like best!)
$0.25 - cheese (optional)  (Got more than $0.25 worth of cheese?  Use with spare bread and above-mentioned garlic butter!)
$2.00 - pack of 8 buns
$1.00 - as much soda as you like
--------
$9.00 - eight *REALLY GOOD* quarter-pounders at $1.25 each.  Relatively low in fat.  *LOADED* with goodness from the protein(meat), calories (fat), carbs (bun, soda if non-diet), and vitamins/minerals (meat, veggies, garlic, spices). 

Make that's ten quarter-pounders if you spend an extra $0.10 (one egg), $0.25 (one small onion, finely chopped), and $0.25 (a cup of breadcrumbs-in-a-can, as opposed to $0.00 when you grind 'em yourself from stale bread!)

Anyways, starting from that recipe, however you make 'em, cook 'em all at once. Takes an hour or so from start to finish (maybe two hours if it's your first time chopping veggies).  For Burger Night, just "do what comes natural" with the ones you want to eat.  And what you don't eat - wrap tightly (as airtight as you can, one per wrapper, just cool to room temperature and squish the air out with yer hand) in Saran Wrap and freeze 'em.  Frozen burgers, wrapped tightly, will keep for *months*.

That's important, because if it's *FAST* food you want, you can reheat a frozen burger in 5 minutes by *slowly* reheating it at medium-low in the microwave.  Store the buns in the fridge for a month or more, ditto all the condiments.

the Intarweb is your friend.  Look in your kitchen.  Google some of those things and the word "recipe". 

As a rule of thumb, what you pay in a restaurant (even McRaunchy's!) is about triple/quadruple what you'd pay to make it yourself.  With that in consideration, ask yourself - by the time you spend 20 minutes getting to the restaurant, 20 minutes waiting for your meal, and 20 minutes coming home - is there *really* such a thing as fast food?  (I apologize in passing to everyone I tipped 25% to when I thought it was "just being polite" or that "you needed it more than I did".  After my first few years of cooking for myself, I now realize that - need it or not - everyone from chef, to sous-chef, to server - has *EARNED* that 25%, and that it applies whether we're talking the guy who serves me prime aged beef and makes sure I'm wearing a jacket, to all the dudes who've delivered me pizza when I was feeling too lazy to spend 3 hours making, raising, punching down, and re-raising, my own bread for a *really* nice crust on a homebrew pie :)

Anyways - after you've learned to cook, pay yourself first.  Whether you earn $50/day or $500/day, you've earned every cent.

I just opened my mail today (which included in about $1,034 in a Macy's bill, a Chase bill for $1931 and a Dell computer bill for $595.) After that I went and worked out  ;D

I've been in debt for 2 years paying off my college loan  :\'(

[quote author=wһіѕ

[quote author=wһіѕ

I had all my loans consolidated into one and I make on payment a month.  It's easier for me that way.  How much do you have to pay off?


I was wondering the same thing.

I had all my loans consolidated into one and I make one payment a month.  It's easier for me that way.  How much do you have to pay off?


It started out as a $3,000 Loan.  Now I got just $40 left, and I'm too lazy to pay it ;D

[quote author=wһіѕ

[quote author=wһіѕ

You're better off than me.  I have close to $80,000 to pay off.




wow, hearing that amount...I don't feel "quite" so bad! ;)

I really don't have much advice that hasn't already been given.  I just want to wish you the best of luck getting your debt under control.  It will get better.

Many people have given a lot of good advice. I want to add that there are little ways of saving $$$. Cutting coupons, looking for sales, buying at discount places, etc.  When I was struggling, I put everything into 2 catagories: Needs and Wants. When buying something, I always asked myself, "Do I really NEED this?" And if I did, then I asked, "Where is the cheapest place I can get this?" I also learned that there are very cheap meals that you can make. Ramon noodles-usually goes for about 15 cents a pack or so. You can add an egg, veggies & spices to it and have a really nice soup. We used to have what we refered to as "Chunky Junky" where we took a can of Campbell's Chucky Soup and put it over rice. And of course Mac & Cheese-try adding a can of tuna and a can of peas-instant tuna cassarole. Other places to save: Turn off lights when not in use, turn the thermostat down, turn in bottles/cans for recycling (some places will give you $$ for this). When looking for other items (clothes, household wares etc.) try yard sales and Goodwill/Salvation Army. You can also try dollar stores for shampoo, soap and stuff like that.

I hope this helps.



Cat

Many people have given a lot of good advice. I want to add that there are little ways of saving $$$. Cutting coupons, looking for sales, buying at discount places, etc.  When I was struggling, I put everything into 2 catagories: Needs and Wants. When buying something, I always asked myself, "Do I really NEED this?" And if I did, then I asked, "Where is the cheapest place I can get this?" I also learned that there are very cheap meals that you can make. Ramon noodles-usually goes for about 15 cents a pack or so. You can add an egg, veggies & spices to it and have a really nice soup. We used to have what we refered to as "Chunky Junky" where we took a can of Campbell's Chucky Soup and put it over rice. And of course Mac & Cheese-try adding a can of tuna and a can of peas-instant tuna cassarole. Other places to save: Turn off lights when not in use, turn the thermostat down, turn in bottles/cans for recycling (some places will give you $$ for this). When looking for other items (clothes, household wares etc.) try yard sales and Goodwill/Salvation Army. You can also try dollar stores for shampoo, soap and stuff like that.

I hope this helps.



Cat



thanks Cat, and everyone else for that matter. I have always considered myself to be very thrifty.....I always shop at thrift stores (I can't tell you the last time I have been at the mall), I do most of my shopping at discount grocery stores (the ones that carry off-brand items...Save-a-lot, Aldi, etc.)....we don't have anything extravagant to eat that often, that's for sure. Our wardrobes haven't been updated in quite some time (except for Vaughn...but I also find his name brand clothing at thrift shops, etc).  We have cut way back in going out to dinner (mainly because of the money situation plus the fact that I am on Weight Watchers now)....to only one time a week (if that).  We don't go overboard on expenses now...we basically have the necessities.  We are planning on getting rid of our digital cable and HBO/Showtime....we rarely even use it...and we will make do with the extended basic cable and my cable for the computer (can't go w/o that because of my online business).  We rarely go out and if we do it's only to the drive-in, or something fairly cheap.  Chris does chew, and this is a big part of our money that we could be putting away and saving and/or paying bills...but he cannot seem to quit his habit.  Also, he golfs once a week (but he deserves it), and I have my Weight Watchers meeting once a week (I deserve that too). I think the situation will be a lot better once Vaughn starts kindergarten (1 more year) and then I can go back to work. Chris didn't want me to have to work while Vaughn was still young and at home, so we have sacrificed a lot to keep me home with him.  Hopefully then...we can start getting back on track. ;)

We have cut way back in going out to dinner (mainly because of the money situation plus the fact that I am on Weight Watchers now)....

If you're in Weight Watchers for the moral support - keep paying them money. 

If you just want to _LOSE WEIGHT_ (and don't give a wet troutslap about having other folks tell you that you're doin' good), read "The Hacker's Diiet".  Written by the guy who founded Autodesk, Inc - if you've ever heard of AutoCAD, "yeah, him."

http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/hackdiet.html

I discovered him a few years ago.  The Hacker's Diet turned me onto cooking my own food (a) saved me a frickin' fortune, and (b) I dropped 10 pounds a month when I tried, and (c) kept it off for 5 years when I stopped trying to lose the weight.

As evidence of c) I'm gonna throw out another recipe inspired by my last post to the "what I last ate/drank" thread. You're on a budget - so don't spend $40 on the uber Zinfandel, spend $10.  And you'll spend the same $2 I did at Trader Joe's for the white whine.  Good enough for anything but the snobbiest palates.  (Heck, I'm getting at least three meals out of that $40 bottle!)

Ate:  Osso bucco (google "osso bucco recipe") - we're talking veal shanks, braised in white wine, onions/carrots/celery, and tomatoes.  Frickin' delicious.

Drank: $bignum per bottle over-the-top monster Zinfandel from Kalifornistan.  Even more frickin' delicious.

Cost to me:  $2.00 - "Charles Shaw" (aka "Two Buck Chuck" Sauvignon Blanc white wine for cooking), $20 veal (4 pieces of veal shanks, $8-9 per 2-piece pack), $2 veggies  ($0.50 of $1.00/bag baby carrots, 1/3 of a $1.00 bundle of celery, maybe 2-3 $0.33/pound yellow onions), $3 spices, heat, chicken broth ($0.99 for broth, I'm guesstimating for salt/pepper/thyme and gas/electric oven), $pennies for pasta or rice (we're talking an ounce or two of either before cooking), $40something - top-100-snob-rated Zinfandel.  $70 total. 

Out of that, I get four meals' worth, at a net cost $17.50/meal.  Preparation time was about an hour of _work_, and two hours of cooking time -- namely "read this message board, watch TV, drink some leftover $2/bottle wine, check on the braising shanks".

Cost at a restaurant:  4 servings of $15/meal osso bucco, $90/bottle wine (assuming a 90% markup - and I live in a place where restaurants _triple_ the retail cost of their wines, so I'm being _REALLY_ conservative here:), for a retail cost  of at least $37.50/meal, which translates into a bare minimum of $50+ per person with tip.

Cost at home:  Under $20/serving with  the $40/bottle wine.  And $6.75/serving if you skip the $40/bottle wine.  Want wine but aren't feelin' snobby?  There are plenty of $10/bottle wines that can keep you rcost per serving under $10/serving.  Buy a few, find one you like, buy a case, and save it for special occasions.  Like braised veal shank night.

Using the tables in "The Hacker's Diet" (and skipping the wine :), you'll have calorie figures comparable to what you'll get off the WW prepared food, with quality somewhere between any three-star and four-star restaurant. 

As a parting thought - and not meaning to get political - but if you can't stand the idea of eating a baby cow, use a sheep.  That's right, use any "osso buco" recipe that calls for veal, but instead of cheap white wine, use cheap red wine, and instead of veal shanks, use lamb shanks.

Any vegetarians offended by this post -- you guys are $5-10/pound ahead of any of us carnivores on a dollars-per-calorie basis, and with a little experimentation, you're dead even with us carnivores on flavor.  The point of this post isn't to justify eating the (oh so yummy :) baby animals, the point I'm trying to make is that anyone can eat like a king on a pauper's budget.  And lose weight at the same time.

The hardest part about losing weight on a diet of gourmet food is that you never want to stop at just two veal shanks.

The easiest part about losing weight on the exact same diet is that when you know it's osso bucco night, you don't _care_ about free pizza at work on Fridays.

The best part about being able to cook your own osso bucco -- is being able to gorge yourself on "free" (work-supplied) pizza on Fridays.  Because when you're not dependent on a restaurant, you can gorge  yourself with confidence - and use those calories to keep you alive for another 24-48 hours until you're hungry enough to cook the osso bucco on Saturday or Sunday. 

Rich?  Poor?  Life's too short to eat bad food.

I am on Weight Watchers because it keeps me accountable. I have to get weighed in every week, so therefore, it makes me try even harder to lose the weight.  If I tried to do it on my own (which I have numerous times)....it would be a lot harder...1.)because I don't weigh myself (I don't like to know my real weight), 2.) it would be easier for me to slack off.

I am not a big meat eater (never have been)...I stick to mainly chicken/fish....and we eat very cheap.

I am on Weight Watchers because it keeps me accountable.


I grok.  You're getting your money's worth.  If you're willing to step on the scale, write down the number, and do _math_ with that number, "The Hacker's Diet" will work. 

If you're not - and that's a personal thing that can't be changed with money - then Weight Watchers is offering you a _very_ valuable service. 

Only reason I ever got into cutting my own flab down was this little passage:

http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/subsection1_2_5_0_1.html

Basicallly, the longer you live, the more you can do the things you like.  As a compulsive slacker-offer (3 hours in the kitchen yields $200 worth of food, and $150 of it is 10-minute-reheatable after the first day :), his was the only book that ever convinced me that getting off my butt and eating something other than junk food was a worthwhile activity.

But in order for his system to work, you've gotta see yourself as a meat machine.  Step on scale, read number, plug into spreadsheet, and follow a 5-10 day moving average so that you're not freaked out by the +- 2 pounds uncertainty induced by the scale, nor the +-5 pounds of water and, umm... solud stuff... that a human being can accumulate or jettison from day to day.

That's a long and roundabout way of saying that if you're the type who can't look at yourself as a meat machine (and as you probably suspect, a _lot_ gets cut from one's humanity when you stop seeing yourself as anything more than a means of turning food into feces, so I'm not even saying I've got the better end of the bargain :) - groups like WW  provide an extremely valuable service.

As much as you might be in debt - every buck you spend carving off 10 pounds of unnecessary weight, means you live another year or two.  Even if it costs you $100/pound to lose it, remember that each pound nets you a year of productive working life, then even at _minimum wage_, you're still coming out way ahead.  There's no investment in the stock market, real estate market, nor any other market, that can match that. 

(Fish?  Chicken?  Yum!    I loves me the cow and sheep for a treat, but you've already figured out that they're probably the best value per dollar in terms of protein.  Kudos to you for being two steps ahead of me!  One onion, one $2/pound chicken, $0.50 of garlic/spices, $1 worth of veggies, and maybe a buck's worth of gas/electriicy -- equals $10-15 of chicken at the store.  Due to the expenses of running a restaurant, the margins in the food industry - be it McDonald's or a gourmet place - are nearly criminal.  And don't you dare make me break out a deep fryer and all the catfish they're crazy enough to sell me.  Cheaper than dirt, and better than $10+/pound halibut or swordfish.  Catfish is my regular fish chow, it's flavorful enough that it stands on its own, but it's really easy to add variety by just.. heck, just randomly experimenting with spices and batters until you find out what you like.  If you deep-fry anything just throw some jalapenos into your batter and abuse 'em with a hand blender, it'll blow ya away!)

Which is the longer and more roundabout way for me to say "good on ya", because you've already figured all of that out.  File my $10/meal recipes can be stashed in the  file of things to do when - not if - you get outa the debt hole. Meantime, keep fooling around in the kitchen and continue to laugh at the folks who spend $10/meal at McDonald's after buying a $5 latte during lunch, and wonder why they're still hungry after spending $500/month on nonfood :) 

Which is the longer and more roundabout way for me to say "good on ya", because you've already figured all of that out.  File my $10/meal recipes can be stashed in the  file of things to do when - not if - you get outa the debt hole. Meantime, keep fooling around in the kitchen and continue to laugh at the folks who spend $10/meal at McDonald's after buying a $5 latte during lunch, and wonder why they're still hungry after spending $500/month on nonfood :) 

I have to agree with those who have said to cut down big time on food spending.

I use to buy a sandwich each day for lunch. It wasnt anything exciting and it definately wasnt filling enough with just chicken and avocado, but it was costing me $6 a day. A few months ago it went up to $7 so I stopped buying lunches !

I now make a huge risotto on Sundays. Filled with lots of chicken and vegies (whatever I have at hand either friesh or frozen) like corn, peas, asparagus, capsicum, onion, garlic, etc, plus lots of mushrooms.  I make enough for dinner than night - plus 5 lunches. Risotto heats up nicely in a microwave. Its heaps cheaper than buying lunch each day.

I have also saved myself about $1500 a year in bus fares and taxis by buying a home just a 10 minute walk from my office. Thats made a huge difference for me.

One of the most expensive habits I gave up about ten years ago - was softdrink (or whatever you call it wherever you live ! fizzy, pop, soda etc). I use to have big bottles in the fridge and at work. Nowdays all I drink is water at home and work. Its free !

Mortgage wise I have a revolving line of credit where all my pay goes in fortnightly and is coming off the interest all month. It saves a fortune in interest - and unlike in the US we cant deduct our interest in our taxes. So keeping the interest low is important.

As Cat said - stuff like reducing lighting makes a difference. I never have more than one light on at any time (admittedly living alone makes that easier !!). I also unplug stuff like computers and tvs when not in use. Or switching them off fully rather than leaving in standby mode. Lowering your heating or cooling by a degree or two makes a dif too.

I've never been in serious debt because I am absolutely scared to death of being in that situation.  I also
recognize that isn't always the fault of the people who find themselves in that situation.  It can be very
hard for a family to make ends meet. I went through palpitations for a week after signing my mortgage.
As corny as it sounds writing down a budget, and keeping a ledger of all purchases is a way to
actually see where any extra money is going that could be put to better use. Cut up the ATM card along
with the credit cards, cash and carry is the only way.  Of course there is one tried and true way that I have
found that works well, get a rich boyfriend, I realize this is not for everyone, but it works for me  ;D

It depends on how deep you are in debt and your interest rates. I have seen people pay their debts off using other loans because they have a lower interest, lol.

I have a debt that fortunately doesn't involve interest so I can make a monthly payment until I am clear of it in October. However, a huge chunk of my wage goes towards that debt and I am left feeling the pinch.

I hope you can work out your debts, Erin.  :)

thank you all for your advice, it's very much appreciated!! :)