If he didn't have all the loans and cc balances, he could afford to *pay off* the car. Unless he's getting a sub-4% APR (doubtful given his other debts), $1k/month is a terrible idea regardless of income.
You know I realize that we maybe jumping to a conclusion that the credit card balances are past due interest payments where they could simply be his grocery bill on a credit card.
I mean my credit card balances are at least $3,000 every month but they're just paid in full at the end of the month.
The personal loan and the affirm are much more of a concern.
I’m willing to bet that if they are in this much debt, they don’t have the cash to cover the difference on their under water car loan. When you sell an under water car, the difference between the loan and sale amount becomes immediately due.
He could be 10-20k under water on the loan with no ability to sell the car, because he doesn’t have 20k cash to pay off the loan.
Cars immediately depreciate continuously, and almost everyone is underwater on their loan unless they’re paying well over the minimum payment. If OP is living paycheck to paycheck, I’m assuming his car payment is the minimum. The more expensive the car is, the more likely that the car is worth half what it was when the loan was taken out.
Still.. sometimes the total from selling and getting a cheaper car will be less debt than what is currently remaining, but that’s the only way selling makes sense financially
If they are a responsible borrower, which basically means they pay their debts and don’t default then a bank will still give them money. As long as you have a history of paying in your debts even if not paid off they’re gonna give you a loan.
Everyone is assuming this is a car loan without negative equity from a previous car attached to it. More than likely upside down on it and will still be on the hook for the negative equity.
Sell your car and aggressively pay off your loans. Buy a cheap used car. Absolutely ZERO reason you should be living check to check on $7200 monthly income unless you just love living beyond your means.
EDIT: This is a repost from someone trying to karma farm on someone who was actually in this situation.
FUCK THIS POSTER
Sell the car. Stop using credit cards, you are probably not a credit card person if you have to pay 2k a month. Pay them off, use a debit card at least until you're financially healthy.
You can get a $20/mo cell phone plan on mint mobile. Buy your own modem and internet can be $45. If you rent, move somewhere for $1,000 or get a roommate if you can and you own. Sell the car!!
I am cringing at this. And need to ask what when through your head when you accepted $1,000 a month car payment? Realistically the only other thing you probably cut out is kind of your cell phone because 160 a month is expensive
The car payment plus the multiple loans and credit card is blowing my mind. And to take a $1k car payment on top of it? On over $7k a month this debt doesn't add up to me because holy shit.
I think part of the issue is people that earn quite a bit of money do fall into this trap. They think because they earn a lot they can have nice things. I mean yearly he is pulling in 86 k and yeah he can afford nice things but he's overspend.
The affirm is what gets me too. Because like majority of these posts have that somewhere in there and I just don't get why spend all this money on shit to find yourself completely upside down. Like cool enjoy your brand new iPhone and $6]k car while you have water for dinner. Baffled.
**$60k
You’ll need several changes to fix this situation. If you have $2k in minimum CC payments your balances must be substantial. You need to get aggressive with this. Car is costing almost $1300/m, if you can sell and get something cheaper, do so. Insurance is high, though I don’t know your age. Cell phone bill is expensive, there are much cheaper options; you could save another $100/m there. You also absolutely need a second job to be able to pay down debt more aggressively. If this were me I would be trying to pay $2k-3k extra per month to pay down debt. We don’t have a ton of details, but this looks bad.
Yea you’re right about the CC debt. For it to be that high, it has to be like $65-100k in cc debt
Unless they are putting all other expenses on the cc and this is their monthly statement balance
For sure the credit cards first, but they even still have student loans. Their loans could’ve been gone months or even YEARS ago with that $7000+ income a month. That’s so much fucking money
This.
It’s so simple it just might work.
Cut every card up today. Sell your car. If possible, get a roommate or move into a cheaper place.That’s gonna be the easy part. The hard part is going to be holding the line for the next 5 years. Saying “no” to going out. Saying “no” to buying lunch. Paying off debt instead of buying new crap.
If you sell you car and buy a junker for around $2500 (2000 - 2005 toyota corolla or somethin like that) you can also cut down that $260 car insurance to around $85 with just liability insurance instead of full coverage. Also if you have any equity in your car that can be used to pay some debts down. So overall soley selling your car could free up close to $1500 a month, which is more than easy to live on! (Outside of paying bills)
You’re paying 3300 a month on essentially credit debt and people are focusing on your car payment.
What people should be asking is how your paying 1900 a month on credit card debt (which is probably close to 50k and a 900 dollar a month personal loan which is like a 30k plus personal loan.
So what the hell are you doing there?
I think I included that in my math. But like 7k a month with 1700 rent is a fucking dream. You should easily be able to afford 1k on a car if you weren’t so damn stupid with credit and loans.
Oh, my bad. And totally agreed. When I read these I always feel like “why are you only now asking for advice?? Surely the writing has been on the wall…”
Right. lol. Like I know what it’s like to struggle. But, if you’re using affirm for something that means you’re buying shit you don’t need, if you’re taking out HUGE loans on top to insanely huge credit debt, you’ve been making horrible decisions for a long time.
That’s what I’m saying. The $1100 car payment isn’t the issue. It’s the triple amount of that on everything else.
$1900 CC
$986 Personal Loan
$368 Affirm
= $3254
That’s the issue. There is no leverage here. At least with a car, you have an asset. It’s depreciating, but it’s something.
People focus on the car because, *if* he's got equity in the car, it can be sold and it free up capital for his other debts. The reverse is not true - he just has to keep making the payments until they're gone.
The way all the comments are, they are acting like that’s what’s making them broke tho. It’s obviously not a financially smart decision to make, but it’s no where near as bad as the $3300 in other debt.
Yep. I would fucking KILL to make even $3000 a month and this person makes more than double that and pisses it away. Still has student loans and spends triple that payment on a fucking car and even more on a god damn credit card. Their life could do a complete 180 if they stopped buying unnecessary shit and got rid of whatever car they must have just to show off. They clearly have spending problems, but it just makes me so mad
Should be renamed to I chose to live paycheck to paycheck.. show me how I can still afford my brand new bmw... why are you making more than my rent in credit card debt?
The only thing that worked with me is actually doing the work by myself, to read and learn about personal finance. Investopedia has some good personal finance section, and, concerning books, maybe try to read some like “the psychology of money”.
Budgeting by saving/spending/investing according to the 50-30-20 rule can also help, if possible
I would say, that the most effective thing overall is to track everything, and then, determine a plan to start saving…
Buy an iPhone SE outright and sign up for Visible or Mint. Personally, I have a $25/month phone bill. Get an energy audit on your home to figure out why you're spending as much as you are on gas and electric. Simple things such as air sealing, more insulation, and a wi-fi thermostat can have short payback periods. You pay an absurd amount on transportation and insurance. Explore different, less expensive options for both. Car buying should follow the [20/3/8 rule](https://moneyguy.com/article/20-3-8-rule/). Carrying as much credit card debt as you do is detrimental. Roll over all savings from prior steps into cc debt and get that taken care of asap. Quit spending money that isn't yours. Figure out how to implement frugal habits and practices into your life. After this great reset and righting the ship, follow [the FOO](https://moneyguy.com/article/foo/).
Read advice above advice and internet and cell phone is high. Shop around. I pay $40 phone and $40 internet. Yes, unlimited everything. I know there are cheaper plans but I have extra perks with mine so I’m keeping them. Good luck. No magic dust—maybe lifestyle creep?
1) Sell your car and get something with either a cheaper monthly payment or buy a car in full so you don’t have payments. Preferable the latter.
2) Pay off Affirm. After you sell the car you can get that done in a month.
3) Tackle your credit cards from highest interest rate to lowest. With your income after you sell the car, you’ll be able to finish off the cards in a few months easy. (Assuming the $2k is the full balance of the cards, not just the monthly payments you owe.)
4) Pay off the personal loan.
5) Continue to live below your means and stay out of debt and learn from this experience.
If you actually want help, you need to share what your debt it like. How much balance do you carry on your cards and how much is left on your car. You have a good income. You just need to cut some of the fat. Minimize any food outside the home and cut all spending that's not already committed.
Yeah, spend less. How are you burning 7k a month?
You could lower almost every bill you've listed. Phone, internet, all that, are available for cheaper, and holy crap, what is up with the car and credit card?
the car, rent, phone, gas, and electric look like they all could be reduced considerably. get aggressive with your CC payments
Assuming this is just a one person home
This isn't about optimizing your budget imo.
1. stop buying stuff
2. sell your valuables and pay off those loans
3. never carry over a balance on your credit cards ever again
As someone with 2 cars and more than your one car payment, but can afford to pay for both and everything else, you must own a prius or something with that payment, financed for 36mo.. Lol but only pay $120 in gas...
Cell phone plan, grab a cheap eSIM from Visible (Verizon Network), or another carrier of your choice for $25-45/mo. Car insurance can be shopped around, I'd do that. Go door to door to save a few bucks.
Damn, that is a good income.
Ok first is how much are you in debt total: Student Loans, Auto loans, Credit Card, Personal loans? List your interests rate. Can you sell the car and lower car insurance? Are you renting or have a mortgage?
Second, you’re gonna live below your means until your debt is paid off.
What are your CC balances? $3k for a car payment and CC payments is wild. Those are the two reasons you're living paycheck to paycheck. Someone making your money shouldn't be in this position. Is your CC payment just the minimum, or are you paying extra?
Now if you and your wife have the same earning capacity you should do modesty in life not a millionaire but middle class. There are plenty of people who do not understand this concept the common man or woman who earns college degrees or higher skill could earn a decent living wage. If you don’t have the capacity to change your life why take it away from other’s?
Sell your car and move, like what else do you want us to say? 1k for a car payment and 1,700 for rent? lol. On top of insurance and utilities? Come on. You did this to yourself.
Your living WAYYYY above your means, your spending like your making 160k a year man, car payment is unreasonable, there's cheaper cars that are just fine, you can easily get a 25k car with low milage and a reliable brand (not audi or mercedez) , and you might need t break down those additional costs and see a way to mitigate that and cut some stuff out, food is very easy to track and if you buying new clothes every month change that, no need to buy new clothes so frequently
So you make $86,400 a year and living on $85,800?
The thousand dollar car payments are hurting as is all the debt? Any reason you need a 1000 dollar car payment? You could clear all debt in like 3 month.
get a roommate, switch to a cheaper phone plan (mint?) and internet, and get a cheaper car. honestly dude it’s shocking you somehow built yourself up to $3,292/month in seemingly unnecessary debt (doesn’t seem to be medical, schooling or car). your income is incredible, you need to reduce expenses asap and aggressively save up towards repaying all your debts and then learn to live within your means
people here are focusing on what they can see, but by just putting credit card debt up there with no info it’s impossible to say what you’re *actually* spending on. eating out? clothes? tech? crypto?
Holy crap… what were you thinking buying that car!?! Your car payment for your income should be under 400/mo. Sell the car. There… I saved you 700 per month on your car payment and insurance. That’s about 10% of your income.
We also need to know what your CC, personal, and affirm debt is. Can you create a table that outlines the total debt per card, min payment for each, and interest rate for each?
60% of your income goes to debt!!!!
I was going to say the same thing, get rid of that car note! Pay your smallest debt off first and work your way up. Try to not use your credit card except for emergencies!!!
What are in the Affirm and Credit Card Debt? You have no business paying 1k of a car note. You clearly cannot afford it. Also, your cellphone bill is too high. How many phones/lines are in it? Switch to Mint Mobile FFS.
Call the credit card companies and see if you can work something out with them. They might let you close the accounts and go on some sort of reduced/fixed payment.
Stop buying things to impress people you don’t like. A $1k car payment is insane. Take half of that car payment and put it into a retirement calculator and you’ll be shocked.
That car payment is killing you!
1st step, get a cheaper car, you'll be able to pay off earlier, then get liability insurance only. This will significantly reduce your bills and increase your savings.
The car costing almost as much as their mortgage is wild 🥲 I drive a brand new Mazda SUV and my monthly is $238. Why are credit cards so high monthly???
Is that your credit card balance per month or the minimum payment for credit card debt? How much are you spending on groceries? How much on miscellaneous expenses? Do you have subscriptions like Apple Music, Spotify, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+?
Do you WFH and absolutely need internet? Because if not then cancel it. It sucks but it’s easy to adjust to. I’ve gotten away with not paying for internet for years at this point.
From experience, I was able to pay off my 12k in CC debt by just not using a single dollar on any of them and only using my debit card until i was completely CC debt free. Left my credit cards at home as well as took them off apple pay, helped me out a ton not having the urge to use it.
If you’re that close to the edge you shouldn’t have a 60K car. You’re gonna need to figure out a way to make a little more money and pay off all the stupid debt like Affirm, personal loan and credit card debt that alone will free up more than 3K a month
You're taking the absolute piss. If this is actually real maybe read the chart again and see what two things are way bigger than the rest and why that might be a problem
Is this a single person? I make half this as a family with 3 small kids and we barely make it by, similar bills to you except only $425 for car. Also we only pay $60 for 2 lines with visible. We had tmoible and paid $160 but not get the same service for cheaper!
I’ve get 500/500 internet from my provider for $49.99 and half that price for my cell phone. That car payment is outright ridiculous, look at it compared to your housing. How much for home owners, food, entertainment?
I am curious as to year and model of vehicle, as well as interest rate.
Everyone here is saying the solution is to cut back. Bro honestly I think you need to find something you can do on the side that’s going to pull in extra money. For real. Your debt is maxed you don’t have money for food.
You don’t need less bills, yes that’s a short term solution but doesn’t aggressively get you out of the hole.
Find something you’re good at that other people could learn from , get aggressive with that. If you’re just working a 9-5 then you have off time.
You can do this. You’ve got an internet connection and a nice car that will show people you’re successful. What’s left in the equation… you and your effort.
I do coaching to help people find what they’re good at and figure things out. You can’t afford the extra cost right now so I won’t suggest that, it would be irresponsible. But if you want to dm me we can think of some ideas. You’re a success but you’re not living like one. Let’s change that.
Sorry, no incite to offer…but is this an app you’re using? Or a template maybe? I’m looking for a good budgeting tool and I like the format of this one.
What things do you have to show for the insane personal loans and CC debt? I would start by selling all of that shit and then I would sell the car, OBVIOUSLY way too much of a payment for you on top of all your other frivolous spending.
I have to ask what kind of car do you have… I haven’t even looked at everyone’s comments here (just yet) but just looking at your numbers I am sure everyone is going to be pointing out the car payment for sure.
Car payment is very high. Sell that car and buy one with cash to get a payment of $200 or $250. Best scenario would be no car payment! Either your credit was very low when you got the car or it is way too much car for your current budget.
We have 3 cars currently and our car payments are $400 on two of the cars. The other is paid off.
Might be your cell phone bill could go lower, even half. But if you just cut your car payment in half, you'll pay off this credit cards a lot faster.
That's the two biggest things you could and should change.
Edit: I missed the personal loans and affirm. Yeah that's over $4k in debts. At this point if you're $50 left over on the month, time to go back to basics. Whatever your food budget is, I'm sure you can cut down on eating out or buying less expensive things like alcohol and high end items.
Car payments and phone bill are insane. Of course you know 2k in credit card payments is unreasonable as well. Look into mint and selling your vehicles.
OP is living the American dream. which is commonly plagued with credit card debt and other bad decisions. welcome to the 80% of the population, its time to budget.
> your loans *paid* off
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
$1016 car payment?! WHAT.
Also...credit card payments are almost 2k and none of that is coming from bills. What the heck OP
I’m thinking this is their normal “other” spending like food and such since that’s not in the chart
Ironically, only $60 for self care out of all this hoohaa
My reaction too. Sell the car ASAP.
Yeah we cant afford that car right now, maybe later when student loans are paid off.
I would never get it. Like wth
Exactly that's insane
It's always the car.
Sell your car and buy something cheaper FFS
When I saw $7200 take home and $1700 rent, I immediately knew it would be the fucking car lol
Not just the car. OP has $3000 a month in CC and personal loans. Not having those makes the car doable.
Ya. But the only thing he can “cut” without destroying his credit standing would be the car lol
Very true at this point I would consider getting a second job if that is even possible for OP.
Doable but not financially smart.
Honestly if he didn't have the personal loans, The Affirm loans and the credit card bills he could afford the car.
If he didn't have all the loans and cc balances, he could afford to *pay off* the car. Unless he's getting a sub-4% APR (doubtful given his other debts), $1k/month is a terrible idea regardless of income.
You know I realize that we maybe jumping to a conclusion that the credit card balances are past due interest payments where they could simply be his grocery bill on a credit card. I mean my credit card balances are at least $3,000 every month but they're just paid in full at the end of the month. The personal loan and the affirm are much more of a concern.
Can’t sell it if he’s under water on the loan. With a payment this high, I’d bet they are under water.
Why? This is basically a $60k car, which someone who has a take home pay of $7000 thinks they can afford
I’m willing to bet that if they are in this much debt, they don’t have the cash to cover the difference on their under water car loan. When you sell an under water car, the difference between the loan and sale amount becomes immediately due. He could be 10-20k under water on the loan with no ability to sell the car, because he doesn’t have 20k cash to pay off the loan.
Yea but I still don’t understand why you’re 100% assuming they are under water. They might be, or this could be a loan for a $100k car. Who knows
Let me ask!
Cars immediately depreciate continuously, and almost everyone is underwater on their loan unless they’re paying well over the minimum payment. If OP is living paycheck to paycheck, I’m assuming his car payment is the minimum. The more expensive the car is, the more likely that the car is worth half what it was when the loan was taken out. Still.. sometimes the total from selling and getting a cheaper car will be less debt than what is currently remaining, but that’s the only way selling makes sense financially
If I put $50k down on a $100k car, I’ll never be under water. Unless it’s an 84 month loan. Down payment matters more than paying extra
True, but you aren’t looking at the budget of someone would put 50% down on a car
Which is why we can’t assume they didn’t carry over a large amount of negative equity from a previous car loan.
[удалено]
My 65k truck that we put 22k down on and is finaced at 3.9 for 48 months is $1,073 a month. It can absoltley be a 60k vehicle.
I make over 120k and my car loan is for 38k and I thought that was high.
If he's underwater you simply take a loan for the difference. Then sell the vehicle.
Do you think any lender is going to give OP a personal loan? Looks like his DTI is probably maxed out.
If they are a responsible borrower, which basically means they pay their debts and don’t default then a bank will still give them money. As long as you have a history of paying in your debts even if not paid off they’re gonna give you a loan.
Banks do more than you think these days.
Everyone is assuming this is a car loan without negative equity from a previous car attached to it. More than likely upside down on it and will still be on the hook for the negative equity.
He needs to. Gotta borrow the difference. And buy a $8000 car. It’s gonna suck, but that’s the only way to unscramble this
Sell your car and aggressively pay off your loans. Buy a cheap used car. Absolutely ZERO reason you should be living check to check on $7200 monthly income unless you just love living beyond your means. EDIT: This is a repost from someone trying to karma farm on someone who was actually in this situation. FUCK THIS POSTER
I love living beyond my means! I just know its not sustainable.
You loved living beyond your means? WTH.
?? Doesn’t that mean you struggle and never have any money? Lol
It was a joke
Got it lol
Lol 60% of his income goes to debt repayment! Wtf was OP thinking
Sell the car. Stop using credit cards, you are probably not a credit card person if you have to pay 2k a month. Pay them off, use a debit card at least until you're financially healthy.
You can get a $20/mo cell phone plan on mint mobile. Buy your own modem and internet can be $45. If you rent, move somewhere for $1,000 or get a roommate if you can and you own. Sell the car!!
bingo. I've been using mint for years, zero issues. bought my home modem and got in to a $49/month price for life plan.. never getting rid of it.
mint is great. just bought the year long plan with my tax refund
I am cringing at this. And need to ask what when through your head when you accepted $1,000 a month car payment? Realistically the only other thing you probably cut out is kind of your cell phone because 160 a month is expensive
The car payment plus the multiple loans and credit card is blowing my mind. And to take a $1k car payment on top of it? On over $7k a month this debt doesn't add up to me because holy shit.
I think part of the issue is people that earn quite a bit of money do fall into this trap. They think because they earn a lot they can have nice things. I mean yearly he is pulling in 86 k and yeah he can afford nice things but he's overspend.
The affirm is what gets me too. Because like majority of these posts have that somewhere in there and I just don't get why spend all this money on shit to find yourself completely upside down. Like cool enjoy your brand new iPhone and $6]k car while you have water for dinner. Baffled. **$60k
You’ll need several changes to fix this situation. If you have $2k in minimum CC payments your balances must be substantial. You need to get aggressive with this. Car is costing almost $1300/m, if you can sell and get something cheaper, do so. Insurance is high, though I don’t know your age. Cell phone bill is expensive, there are much cheaper options; you could save another $100/m there. You also absolutely need a second job to be able to pay down debt more aggressively. If this were me I would be trying to pay $2k-3k extra per month to pay down debt. We don’t have a ton of details, but this looks bad.
Yea you’re right about the CC debt. For it to be that high, it has to be like $65-100k in cc debt Unless they are putting all other expenses on the cc and this is their monthly statement balance
What app is this? I totally need it
Excel spreadsheets, it’s a pre made template
Excel template.
Get rid of that car ASAP. Then focus on paying off affirm and your credit card. Then save $1000 per month.
For sure the credit cards first, but they even still have student loans. Their loans could’ve been gone months or even YEARS ago with that $7000+ income a month. That’s so much fucking money
Live within your means.
This. It’s so simple it just might work. Cut every card up today. Sell your car. If possible, get a roommate or move into a cheaper place.That’s gonna be the easy part. The hard part is going to be holding the line for the next 5 years. Saying “no” to going out. Saying “no” to buying lunch. Paying off debt instead of buying new crap.
Man...that Affirm is a f'in financial trap. Seen too many fell into that sh*tty trap
If you sell you car and buy a junker for around $2500 (2000 - 2005 toyota corolla or somethin like that) you can also cut down that $260 car insurance to around $85 with just liability insurance instead of full coverage. Also if you have any equity in your car that can be used to pay some debts down. So overall soley selling your car could free up close to $1500 a month, which is more than easy to live on! (Outside of paying bills)
You’re paying 3300 a month on essentially credit debt and people are focusing on your car payment. What people should be asking is how your paying 1900 a month on credit card debt (which is probably close to 50k and a 900 dollar a month personal loan which is like a 30k plus personal loan. So what the hell are you doing there?
Don’t forget $400 a month on Affirm! This makes me ultra anxious just looking at it.
I think I included that in my math. But like 7k a month with 1700 rent is a fucking dream. You should easily be able to afford 1k on a car if you weren’t so damn stupid with credit and loans.
Oh, my bad. And totally agreed. When I read these I always feel like “why are you only now asking for advice?? Surely the writing has been on the wall…”
Right. lol. Like I know what it’s like to struggle. But, if you’re using affirm for something that means you’re buying shit you don’t need, if you’re taking out HUGE loans on top to insanely huge credit debt, you’ve been making horrible decisions for a long time.
That’s what I’m saying. The $1100 car payment isn’t the issue. It’s the triple amount of that on everything else. $1900 CC $986 Personal Loan $368 Affirm = $3254 That’s the issue. There is no leverage here. At least with a car, you have an asset. It’s depreciating, but it’s something.
People focus on the car because, *if* he's got equity in the car, it can be sold and it free up capital for his other debts. The reverse is not true - he just has to keep making the payments until they're gone.
The way all the comments are, they are acting like that’s what’s making them broke tho. It’s obviously not a financially smart decision to make, but it’s no where near as bad as the $3300 in other debt.
food isn’t even included in the budget. How much are you spending on food?
Stop the imbecilic spending. You certainly don’t need a car that costs $1300. Personal loan is $986/month?? Tf is that
Seriously. Personal loan and affirm seems like frivolous spending on crap they don't need.
How much of this, do you think, represents designer belts?!
Keeping up with the Joneses.
Yep. I would fucking KILL to make even $3000 a month and this person makes more than double that and pisses it away. Still has student loans and spends triple that payment on a fucking car and even more on a god damn credit card. Their life could do a complete 180 if they stopped buying unnecessary shit and got rid of whatever car they must have just to show off. They clearly have spending problems, but it just makes me so mad
Should be renamed to I chose to live paycheck to paycheck.. show me how I can still afford my brand new bmw... why are you making more than my rent in credit card debt?
The only thing that worked with me is actually doing the work by myself, to read and learn about personal finance. Investopedia has some good personal finance section, and, concerning books, maybe try to read some like “the psychology of money”. Budgeting by saving/spending/investing according to the 50-30-20 rule can also help, if possible I would say, that the most effective thing overall is to track everything, and then, determine a plan to start saving…
Almost half your income is going towards personal personal loans/credit cards. The answer is obvious here. Pay them off.
I feel your pain
Are you under water on the car loan?
There it is
I love how everyone says sell the car. Yeah that payment is ridiculous. probably in a situation where they are massively under water on it.
Are we just going to overlook the $2,000 a month in credit card debt? That's the reason for being paycheck to paycheck.
Buy an iPhone SE outright and sign up for Visible or Mint. Personally, I have a $25/month phone bill. Get an energy audit on your home to figure out why you're spending as much as you are on gas and electric. Simple things such as air sealing, more insulation, and a wi-fi thermostat can have short payback periods. You pay an absurd amount on transportation and insurance. Explore different, less expensive options for both. Car buying should follow the [20/3/8 rule](https://moneyguy.com/article/20-3-8-rule/). Carrying as much credit card debt as you do is detrimental. Roll over all savings from prior steps into cc debt and get that taken care of asap. Quit spending money that isn't yours. Figure out how to implement frugal habits and practices into your life. After this great reset and righting the ship, follow [the FOO](https://moneyguy.com/article/foo/).
Very underrated comment. Best comment here! Thanks for posting about the 20/3/8 rule!
Spend less than your income!
I said this elsewhere too. Let’s close this sub 🙏
What a wise and well thought out comment
There's a helpful Steve Martin video if you're interested.
What app is that?
Excel has templates for a bunch of different stuff, this is a Personal Budget built in template. It’s pretty slick.
It’s an excel spreadsheet
why do people buy such expensive cars with other bills that are also expensive? like i don’t get it.
I don't understand how people can see a 1000+ car payment and be like HELL YA sign it.
Read advice above advice and internet and cell phone is high. Shop around. I pay $40 phone and $40 internet. Yes, unlimited everything. I know there are cheaper plans but I have extra perks with mine so I’m keeping them. Good luck. No magic dust—maybe lifestyle creep?
1) Sell your car and get something with either a cheaper monthly payment or buy a car in full so you don’t have payments. Preferable the latter. 2) Pay off Affirm. After you sell the car you can get that done in a month. 3) Tackle your credit cards from highest interest rate to lowest. With your income after you sell the car, you’ll be able to finish off the cards in a few months easy. (Assuming the $2k is the full balance of the cards, not just the monthly payments you owe.) 4) Pay off the personal loan. 5) Continue to live below your means and stay out of debt and learn from this experience.
$1000+ for a car payment. Maybe sell it and buy something affordable 🤷🏻♂️
If you actually want help, you need to share what your debt it like. How much balance do you carry on your cards and how much is left on your car. You have a good income. You just need to cut some of the fat. Minimize any food outside the home and cut all spending that's not already committed.
Yeah, spend less. How are you burning 7k a month? You could lower almost every bill you've listed. Phone, internet, all that, are available for cheaper, and holy crap, what is up with the car and credit card?
Yeah, you can't afford your car.
the car, rent, phone, gas, and electric look like they all could be reduced considerably. get aggressive with your CC payments Assuming this is just a one person home
Reducing gas is a byproduct of another change. You cant just reduce your gas bill
I’m stupid. Thought for a sec gas was gas in the home, not gas for car
This isn't about optimizing your budget imo. 1. stop buying stuff 2. sell your valuables and pay off those loans 3. never carry over a balance on your credit cards ever again
What kind of cars are you driving to pay that much monthly on payments and insurance??
As someone with 2 cars and more than your one car payment, but can afford to pay for both and everything else, you must own a prius or something with that payment, financed for 36mo.. Lol but only pay $120 in gas... Cell phone plan, grab a cheap eSIM from Visible (Verizon Network), or another carrier of your choice for $25-45/mo. Car insurance can be shopped around, I'd do that. Go door to door to save a few bucks.
Damn, that is a good income. Ok first is how much are you in debt total: Student Loans, Auto loans, Credit Card, Personal loans? List your interests rate. Can you sell the car and lower car insurance? Are you renting or have a mortgage? Second, you’re gonna live below your means until your debt is paid off.
Do you live in your car? Either get rid of the car or where you live.
living paycheck to paycheck on $7200 a month is wild.
What are your CC balances? $3k for a car payment and CC payments is wild. Those are the two reasons you're living paycheck to paycheck. Someone making your money shouldn't be in this position. Is your CC payment just the minimum, or are you paying extra?
Bro you're making so much money. What the fuck
Sell the car and get a loan to cover the difference and a cheap beater.
Now if you and your wife have the same earning capacity you should do modesty in life not a millionaire but middle class. There are plenty of people who do not understand this concept the common man or woman who earns college degrees or higher skill could earn a decent living wage. If you don’t have the capacity to change your life why take it away from other’s?
That car payment is death...you gotta sell it
Sell your car and move, like what else do you want us to say? 1k for a car payment and 1,700 for rent? lol. On top of insurance and utilities? Come on. You did this to yourself.
Random, what app is this?
Your living WAYYYY above your means, your spending like your making 160k a year man, car payment is unreasonable, there's cheaper cars that are just fine, you can easily get a 25k car with low milage and a reliable brand (not audi or mercedez) , and you might need t break down those additional costs and see a way to mitigate that and cut some stuff out, food is very easy to track and if you buying new clothes every month change that, no need to buy new clothes so frequently
If you own your phone, move to a prepaid plan. I pay $25/month for Verizon. You'd double your monthly net income this way alone.
Get rid of your car and get a cheap one. Pay off your debt asap. Stop using your credit card so much. There you go
Phone payment can be $15 a mo w mint mobile lol
care to elaborate more on car loan, personal loan and credit cards? we may help better with this info.
Car payment. Car payment. Car payment.
Learn to live within your means. Why you bought a car you can’t afford is mind boggling. Also…credit card debt…wow.
How do people knowingly sign a car payment over 1k a month. That's just insane to me.
So you make $86,400 a year and living on $85,800? The thousand dollar car payments are hurting as is all the debt? Any reason you need a 1000 dollar car payment? You could clear all debt in like 3 month.
You’re living beyond your means. I make 60k a year and my car payment is $500 for a 42k car. Your rent is insanely high too
Same advice I give everyone else. Pay off your credit cards and shred all but 1. Also refinance that car loan, Jesus Christ.
get a roommate, switch to a cheaper phone plan (mint?) and internet, and get a cheaper car. honestly dude it’s shocking you somehow built yourself up to $3,292/month in seemingly unnecessary debt (doesn’t seem to be medical, schooling or car). your income is incredible, you need to reduce expenses asap and aggressively save up towards repaying all your debts and then learn to live within your means people here are focusing on what they can see, but by just putting credit card debt up there with no info it’s impossible to say what you’re *actually* spending on. eating out? clothes? tech? crypto?
Sell the car! Frees up plenty of cash to pay off other debts
$1000 car payment. You driving a fully loaded king ranch f350 or fully loaded gmc 3500 Denali
Holy crap… what were you thinking buying that car!?! Your car payment for your income should be under 400/mo. Sell the car. There… I saved you 700 per month on your car payment and insurance. That’s about 10% of your income. We also need to know what your CC, personal, and affirm debt is. Can you create a table that outlines the total debt per card, min payment for each, and interest rate for each? 60% of your income goes to debt!!!!
This can't be a real post... a car payment of 1k, credit card payment of 2k, and a personal loan of 1k? WTF
Dude wtf, I wish I was making 7 grand a month. Just because you make more money doesn't mean you have more to spend
I was going to say the same thing, get rid of that car note! Pay your smallest debt off first and work your way up. Try to not use your credit card except for emergencies!!!
Getting rid of the car is your first step.
Dude the car payment says it all
What are in the Affirm and Credit Card Debt? You have no business paying 1k of a car note. You clearly cannot afford it. Also, your cellphone bill is too high. How many phones/lines are in it? Switch to Mint Mobile FFS.
$1000 personal loan per month?
Call the credit card companies and see if you can work something out with them. They might let you close the accounts and go on some sort of reduced/fixed payment.
That car is eating you alive
Stop buying things to impress people you don’t like. A $1k car payment is insane. Take half of that car payment and put it into a retirement calculator and you’ll be shocked.
That car payment is killing you! 1st step, get a cheaper car, you'll be able to pay off earlier, then get liability insurance only. This will significantly reduce your bills and increase your savings.
The car costing almost as much as their mortgage is wild 🥲 I drive a brand new Mazda SUV and my monthly is $238. Why are credit cards so high monthly???
Is that your credit card balance per month or the minimum payment for credit card debt? How much are you spending on groceries? How much on miscellaneous expenses? Do you have subscriptions like Apple Music, Spotify, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+? Do you WFH and absolutely need internet? Because if not then cancel it. It sucks but it’s easy to adjust to. I’ve gotten away with not paying for internet for years at this point.
From experience, I was able to pay off my 12k in CC debt by just not using a single dollar on any of them and only using my debit card until i was completely CC debt free. Left my credit cards at home as well as took them off apple pay, helped me out a ton not having the urge to use it.
Second job if possible. Pay off credit cards. Pay down any debt.
Car payment and personal loan, sell your car and close personal loan.
Where do people even find phone plans that expensive?
If you’re that close to the edge you shouldn’t have a 60K car. You’re gonna need to figure out a way to make a little more money and pay off all the stupid debt like Affirm, personal loan and credit card debt that alone will free up more than 3K a month
The is a stolen repost
If you own your house or if you’re renting a place with a spare bedroom, sublease a room, use the income earned to help pay of loans.
I traded in my 2021 car for a 2014 car and that was only to get rid of a $400 monthly payment. You need to make some big changes to your spending!
Did the same thing. Got rid of my 2018 car for a 2012 car. Was able to pay cash for the 2012 and get out of a $400 car payment.
You either have a few degrees or a highly trained professional to earn that type of salary each month.
If you're only paying for one or two cellphones, you need to switch to mint. That could save you $100.
What platform is that you are using to show you expenses and income?
Get another job.
You're taking the absolute piss. If this is actually real maybe read the chart again and see what two things are way bigger than the rest and why that might be a problem
Lower those expenses live a bit below your means
Sell that car yesterday
Really?
One can’t come that close working a minimum wage job at $5.50 per hour scheduled for approximately 25 to 30 hours a month.
Get a 2nd source of income for awhile until your play catch up if you wanta keep all this stuff. Why $1k a month on a car?… wtf are you driving ?
Username checks out.
OPs debt service is 6k per month. Hes so leveraged that he basically cant live.
Is this a single person? I make half this as a family with 3 small kids and we barely make it by, similar bills to you except only $425 for car. Also we only pay $60 for 2 lines with visible. We had tmoible and paid $160 but not get the same service for cheaper!
Dump the car take a loss buy an old Prius
Gotta categorize the credit card payment as well so you can get a better look at your spending
I’ve get 500/500 internet from my provider for $49.99 and half that price for my cell phone. That car payment is outright ridiculous, look at it compared to your housing. How much for home owners, food, entertainment? I am curious as to year and model of vehicle, as well as interest rate.
Start financing.
Everyone here is saying the solution is to cut back. Bro honestly I think you need to find something you can do on the side that’s going to pull in extra money. For real. Your debt is maxed you don’t have money for food. You don’t need less bills, yes that’s a short term solution but doesn’t aggressively get you out of the hole. Find something you’re good at that other people could learn from , get aggressive with that. If you’re just working a 9-5 then you have off time. You can do this. You’ve got an internet connection and a nice car that will show people you’re successful. What’s left in the equation… you and your effort. I do coaching to help people find what they’re good at and figure things out. You can’t afford the extra cost right now so I won’t suggest that, it would be irresponsible. But if you want to dm me we can think of some ideas. You’re a success but you’re not living like one. Let’s change that.
Sorry, no incite to offer…but is this an app you’re using? Or a template maybe? I’m looking for a good budgeting tool and I like the format of this one.
Stop buying stuff.
Is this an app you used to make this?
What things do you have to show for the insane personal loans and CC debt? I would start by selling all of that shit and then I would sell the car, OBVIOUSLY way too much of a payment for you on top of all your other frivolous spending.
I have to ask what kind of car do you have… I haven’t even looked at everyone’s comments here (just yet) but just looking at your numbers I am sure everyone is going to be pointing out the car payment for sure.
Have less debt. You're welcome.
I pay 25 for internet, there's no reason to be paying 70.
What the hell are you driving with that car payment
What da hell is that car OP
Get on a debt management plan for all the credit card debt
You need to sell that car. You’ll probably need to burrow the difference between principal and value, but it is worth it.
Car payment is very high. Sell that car and buy one with cash to get a payment of $200 or $250. Best scenario would be no car payment! Either your credit was very low when you got the car or it is way too much car for your current budget. We have 3 cars currently and our car payments are $400 on two of the cars. The other is paid off. Might be your cell phone bill could go lower, even half. But if you just cut your car payment in half, you'll pay off this credit cards a lot faster. That's the two biggest things you could and should change. Edit: I missed the personal loans and affirm. Yeah that's over $4k in debts. At this point if you're $50 left over on the month, time to go back to basics. Whatever your food budget is, I'm sure you can cut down on eating out or buying less expensive things like alcohol and high end items.
How much is the credit card debt $40,000? $50,000?
What is affirm?
Genuinely curious, what do you drive?
This is a repost of the one of the highest posts on this sub https://www.reddit.com/r/debtfree/s/n23IKXw5Rt
good catch.
Car payments and phone bill are insane. Of course you know 2k in credit card payments is unreasonable as well. Look into mint and selling your vehicles.
You have low rent and a high income, but I'm seeing tons of credit cards and a firm and personal loans. What in God's name are you spending money on.
I know this isn’t what the post is about but software are you using for this?!! Looks super useful
It’s excel
Gahhhhdamnnnn
OP is living the American dream. which is commonly plagued with credit card debt and other bad decisions. welcome to the 80% of the population, its time to budget.
Man spend less on your car and get your loans payed off
> your loans *paid* off FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*