I forgot to tell you before, at home we go grocery shopping once a month, we make a list of what we need for the month and try not to buy anything more. Sure now and then we forget something but usually are one or two. This also helps you save up :D

Also, I have noticed that although I still have my cupcake, it should have expired last september. I'm not complaining but I feel bad now because you are in need of cash and I'm using something that I haven't paid anymore since the expire date so whenever I get some money saved up, I shall buy the premium account again.
It's not much but it helps ne? =)

I'll be praying for you through your financial troubles. Is the debt snowball a Dave Ramsey thing? I know he talks about it but I don't know if he "owns" it. If you haven't, you should check out some of his books. My mom has a lot of credit card debt and his tips, lessons, whatever you want to call them, are really helping her.
Good luck!

And now I've become even more wary of using credit cards after what you've said. But in some cases, we just can't help but use it since it's where the employers may deposit one's salary.

I hope you'll do fine. From what I'm seeing, your situation really sounds quite bad, despite the cheerful mood that your message is trying to express. Here's for the best in the future.

I wish you the absolute best luck, Bossman! Debt is a scary thing but if you stick to your plan you'll pull through :)

Stay strong!

~Colleen

p.s. I'll let you borrow my dad for a little while. He's always up a tree when our credit card gets used over $500... even though most of the stuff on it is stuff he has bought :s I'm sure he could help you stay away from that financial death trap...

I can't share any tips. I don't have any... Since my dad is in the Army, we're covered if we really can't make ends meet.

About the CC thing, my parents have a few but they don't carry them around. They are kept for desperate times.

First off, I want to say thanks for the copy of Ichi, I just got it today.

My financial troubles started in 2003, when I was out in college. So when I was 19 and just got home from school, I was 18,000 in student loan debt. I then applied for and got a credit card with a rather high limit for a 19 year old, within 18 months, it was maxed out.

I bought a truck in 2005, after I started my job at the bus company, so now I have student loan, cc, truck, and insurance to worry about, but Im doing relatively ok.

In 2006, after my mom passed away, I was left with paying all the bills at the trailer, rent, gas and electric, insurance for truck and trailer, cc, and a truck payment. I was now living well beyond my means.

To date I am trying to get back on track by doing the same things you are. Im living with my dad and brother and still struggling to get ahead of it all.

Let us hope that we can all get ahead of the game, Bossman.

Thanks again for the movie.

Before I flew off to Neverland to escape me having to be an adult someday with those pressures, I noticed what my parents did. They had like, 1 credit card each. They would almost never use it unless we had no money, and then we bought stuff that we couldnt wait for. Or, we bought gifts for each other online with them during the holidays, but that was rare.

Anyway, i guess what I'm saying is, is that you dont really have to stop using credit cards forever. Yes, the world would be great without any, but thats not gonna happen anytime soon.

Never carry your debit card around period. Only take if with you if you know you are going to need it. Use cash in your wallet only. Lock up the credit cards. That will cut down spontaneous spending and make you realize a lot more of what you are using your debit card for.

Can I add some comments from what I learned in my finance class that may help you?

1. If you ever plan on getting a loan for a house or a car, your credit rating is better if you have 1-2 credit cards that show you pay them off in full every month. Also don't have too big of a credit amount on them, like $2500 would be a safe limit, if the company keeps raising it, call them and ask them to stop. That way loan companies will see that you can't just go out and suddenly have yourself in a lot more debt. Plus paying your card off every month will show the loaners that you can make payments and keep up with them. If you have no credit card, then they don't know that and will charge you higher interest, and with a house, that .5% WILL cost you thousands of dollars down the road.

2. That's good, a step further, have a budget for every category, like 'food' utilities' 'gifts' 'entertainment' 'savings' etc, and yes, be sure to give yourself 5 dollars or something for pure fun (like splurging on something yummy or some toy--you can save up the 'you' fund for something bigger if 5 doesn't seem like a lot)
In our class we had these specific looking books that we used for this budgeting, I don't know if I can find any references to show you though.

8. To add on to that, once you pay off your first debt, the next month, take the amount you WOULD have paid for the one paid off and add it to the next smallest debt in line! so example, you have 5 objects that you pay $5, $10, $20, $30, $50 a month, as soon as you pay off the $5/month, add it to the $10 to make the payments $15, $20, $30, and $50 and when you're done with the $10, add that $15 to the $20 etc. It will help you pay things off faster w/o you needing to crunch your budget

Good luck with your goal of a happy and debt-free life!
I'm happy to say I was able to graduate college debt-free (and we all know how expensive that can be--paying off college loans, I had subsudized loans that I paid off on full my graduation day) and have been able to maintain myself that way :3

@Adam:

I think you may have a little too much faith in the merchants. Sure, some would pass on the savings but others would leave things exactly as they are now and keep the extra profit. I do agree, however, that ridding the world of credit cards entirely would be wonderful.

Oh dear! I'm so sorry for the gigantic comment. D:

I'm also having financial problems, also paying a loan. Is not that much every month but with the little income I was getting from being a graphic design freelancer (recently out of school) made things pretty hard, especially if you have to be well dressed and eat out of the house with potential clients so I do know a bit what you are passing through.

It is also true that I still live with my parents so I don't have to pay the extra bits, although, our country has been on a critical status for years now so money at home has most been truly short for the longest time and that adds extra pressure for me to bring some income home to help out (we are a family of six with health issues and one of the members needs special care because he is special in his own way).

What I've learned so far with my parents, especially with my mom is to save money and keep positive. Same as you, we count every penny we have and make our list of which things is a priority to pay or buy.
I'm truly a pro at saving, really. It's crazy.

What I can tell you is, you should eat more like vegetables and eat more soup (that's what we eat more on a daily basis), because veggies are cheaper and easy to find, at least here anyway. It's very similar to what you are doing now anyway.

I don't think you can save any more than what you are saving now, unless you decide to leave and live with your parents until you are establish which will make you less independent, especially if you are used to be on your own.
The best chance is to find a job, I have finally got one, it was truly hard and I had to accept the not-so-good payment they offered but hey, at least some extra money will come so it's not so bad.

I just remembered something, we have here this company that helps you find a way to save more according to your debts and needs and it's really helpful, maybe you can find one over there too?
I wish you the best of luck, Adam. Truly. Being low on money is never fun and its a huge headache but you are a very smart and ambitious person you will come out of this! Keep positive!

*hugs*

Good measure of keeping record of your expenses.
Wish you luck on your efforts!

I wish you luck with your money issues though I do have one suggestion to make. Yes, credit card companies are indeed evil if not handled correctly but you'll be shooting yourself in the foot if you stop using them all together. Many things you do in life, unfortunately, revolve around your credit score and cutting credit cards out of your life completely will ruin that.

So, while you should definitely focus on paying off your debts, I wouldn't cut up those cards. Instead, just use it like you would use cash (i.e. don't buy anything you can't pay for in cash right then and there) and simply pay off the entire balance each month. This shouldn't be too hard for you since you're already keeping track of your spending. Doing things this way will let you rebuild your credit score without falling deeper into debt and that's definitely important for the future.

Good luck, Bossman!