Financial Challenges Support Group
This community is for people who are struggling to meet financial obligations of any kind. Financial challenges include everything from the day-to-day challenges of making ends meet to managing credit card debt to bankruptcy. Get support from others who are going through similar obstacles on the road back to financial stability.
Recently I moved in with my sister due to an impending divorce and I'm about to receive my second paycheck since making the move. While yes... I'm now dealing with MUCH fewer bills since cutting my husband's expenses out of my budget... I also had to cut my husband's INCOME out of my budget.
Before we split we were living in the red. Constantly using our credit union's forgiveness package to pay bills when we didn't have the money and letting it come out of the paychecks... even though we already had a stack of bills waiting to over draw us the next week.
Now I have a few back bills I'm working on paying down and a few necessities like car insurance and phone bill... but I feel like I never make enough money. I'm terrified to live in the red again and haven't been able to put any money aside because I've been trying to push every penny into these bills so that I can finally catch up... but it feels like I'm going no where.
I have until the beginning of Feb to be able to pay some of this debt off ... and be able to have enough of a savings to support myself in an apartment by myself.
Great timing right? During the holiday season to try and save money. But I really have no other choice...
Advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated...
Before we split we were living in the red. Constantly using our credit union's forgiveness package to pay bills when we didn't have the money and letting it come out of the paychecks... even though we already had a stack of bills waiting to over draw us the next week.
Now I have a few back bills I'm working on paying down and a few necessities like car insurance and phone bill... but I feel like I never make enough money. I'm terrified to live in the red again and haven't been able to put any money aside because I've been trying to push every penny into these bills so that I can finally catch up... but it feels like I'm going no where.
I have until the beginning of Feb to be able to pay some of this debt off ... and be able to have enough of a savings to support myself in an apartment by myself.
Great timing right? During the holiday season to try and save money. But I really have no other choice...
Advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated...
FOR ME, the only thing that worked was lowering my expenses and maintaining a steady income.
When I moved to my present location, I was one month separated and broke, if my landlord didn't hold a check for two weeks I would have been homeless. I was so so so very broke.
My first rule was to never bounce a check again and to never even use overdraft protection again. In four years I have never used either and by doing that I had a bit more money to spend.
As far as paying bills, I worked on one at a time. My credit was shot so that didn't bother me. I started with the smaller bills first and kept working my way up... one bill at a time.
The only time I changed this rule was when a creditor would threatened me with legal proceedings, then I'd work on that bill... it took three years but all bills got paid and I never once ended up in court or had my wages garnished.
Halfway through it, I started saving money for emergencies and now that is my number one and only "bill." Every paycheck, I pay myself first...
I didn't work myself to death, nor did I stress out about bills... I just paid one bill at a time and along the way I learned I needed a lot less then what I thought and I found out I wanted very little...
Best of luck to you with your finances and your new life...