Please help us to manage our money so that we do not get back in debt.?

My husband and I filed bankruptcy last year and we were bombarded with credit card and new car offers. We took the bait and now we have two new car payments and three credit cards that are over the limit. We have been paying on them each month, but still have not been able to catch up with the late fees and over the limit charges. Our total monthly expenses is equivalent to 97% of our income. How can we ever get out of this credit card hell?? I have heard that 90% of people that come out of bankruptcy end up in debt again. I don%26#039;t want to be one of the statistics. We really need some good advice. Serious answering only. I would be willing to share my budget with someone who would be able to help us manage our money. - Thanks You!

Please help us to manage our money so that we do not get back in debt.?payment calculator

I have had the same situation. BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET.. You will need to bring in more money from somewhere, part time job. cutting back..something.The best way to watch your money is to write down every penney you spend in a two week period, then go back and eliminate all unnessary expenditures. This method really shows how your money was spent Concentrate on paying off one debt at a time.. put as much money on one bill as you can and make minumum payments to the others until its there turn to be paid off. But remember to try and save a little all along..Even $5.00 bucks a week can start you off.

Please help us to manage our money so that we do not get back in debt.? loan

It sounds like you are already well down the slippery slope into another bankruptcy. If you are at 97% just to pay fees and over the limit charges, you are in huge trouble, and it doesnt matter what your budget is, its likely that your debt will keep getting higher and higher until you are in bankruptcy again. Suggestion #1- sell one of your cars. It will suck, but make do with one car in any way possible. Use the money that you would normally put into car payments, gas an insurance into actually paying down the balances on your credit cards. If that does not work, you ight need to bite the bullet and declare again. Next time around, dont get any credit cars, just live on cash. If you dont have the money in cash, you cant afford it. You have a very, very tough road ahead of you Im afraid.|||u need to contact a credit counciling agency. it is free. taking advic from yahoo answers is not the bst way to go about this.|||I would start by limiting the money that is spent on %26quot;wanted%26quot; items and focus more on the %26quot;needed%26quot; (gas,electricity,water,rent/mortgage,car... im sure that will help out with alot, i would also recommend getting rid of the %26quot;extras%26quot; it may suck but it could help keep more money in the house hold (ex cell phones, cable, satellite,internet,ect) at least until you get caught back up! hope you finacial status gets settled!|||You%26#039;re not going to find someone on Yahoo Answers to help you. You need go see a credit counselor. Most of the time they are free. Or at least the good ones are. Sounds like you need to cut some spending just about everywhere.|||There is no easy answer to this except hard decisions. If you have a mortgage i suggest you get a reputable adviser who will look at all your finances and advise you on a way that is good for you but you have to stick to rigidly, they can also advise on the best mortgages and ways to consolidate all your finances to pay of debt.

If you do not have a mortgage then you have to look at all your debt by adding each one up in total, then you have to decide realistically what you can achieve in the long term? You will have to get in touch with each company you owe and give them a realistic amount you can pay each month. Once you know how much you owe you can apply for a loan to consolidate all your debts into one, but this is not a short term answer but if you are determined you will get through it and life will begin to be better, the biggest decision to make is to only buy what you can pay for which is hard at first but you soon learn to do this and is much more rewarding as you only buy what ou need and money no longer is an issue as you can%26#039;t have what you can%26#039;t afford and if you want it bad enough you will save for it. Believe me this way is much more rewarding in the end ask someone who has been there|||get the book %26quot;your money or your life%26quot; by joe dominguez and vicki robin. it explains the concept of money, and dispels many of the common myths about money and finances, and why people do go through exactly what you are going through. it%26#039;s not about budgets or money management per se, but fulfillment and happiness. it%26#039;s the best advice i ever got concerning money, to read this book, and it showed me a path to financial independence, and retirement at 40. oh yeah, check it out at the library before you buy it.|||dear,

Please do not panic on your situation at the moment. i had gone through this stage before, but today i%26#039;m from debt i took two years to recover and restructure my budget.

1st thing u have to do is:

1)Are u guys necessary to own two cars?

if u not really necessary to own two cars , try to sell off 1 car which is higher monthly instalment.

2) Can you stop using credit card?

just break ur card into half and return it to bank and cancel it off, sit down and work it out ur comfortable repayment plan, and try to make an appointment with credit card centre officer to propose your repayment to them and ask them to waive the interest if possible.

3) change ur lifestyle, for 2 years. change your hobby

4) always think if u not suffer now, if u will suffer later, why don%26#039;t to solve it out quickly before we dumping into the deep hole?

hope u can do it!

good luck!|||Hello:

First of all, start Debtors Anonymous. It is a 12 step group, virtually free, and they have lots of meetings in the USA. Search the internet for meetings...you MUST discipline yourselves now, today! They have vast resources and virtually free materials whoch will assist you and turn this around. PLus, you must continuously attned weekly meetings. because it is an addiction.

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To begin: Write down all the money have now, and get from salary and interest each month, to the penny.

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Then, take a look honestly at all your expenses aras they now exist. Write each and everyone down and how much a month you must spend. Be vigilant wiuth yourselves to the penny. YOu and your spouse must do this together, and for several days. THis includes rent right through how many rolls of toilet paper you use, trips for hair dye at Dwayne Raeade thgouhg that coffee at Starbucks. Exaggerate a bit to strectch the amounts you spend. Even outings must be figured in, movies, popcorn, gifts, etc. It will take a lot of time, but to manage money, you have to know where it is going each month. Car payments, gas oil, fees, licenses, etc. Camp for kids, etc.

YOu wrote that: Our total monthly expenses is equivalent to 97% of our income.

Of course, this has to be reversed immediately. You must always spend no more than 25 percent on living expenses, such as rent, for example. And the cars must go! Get a used one at best.

Once you have completed the list, you are not finished. Ask good freinds to review what types of things they spend money on. Some will jar your memory. This has to be done wityh reckless abandon, and it will make you feel worse. But to heal this, it will cause pain beofre it clears up.

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Make sure you group expenses in categories and have lists to the panny amounts spent every month.

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Next: Look at your spending. Both of you must deicde what is absolutely untouchable. Where can you not compromise!?

rent, etc.

Then write down which things can possibly be modified or changed. THis is not engraved in stone. For example, some people feel they MUST go to the salon every few weeks. I know people swho started using home kits to touch up roots, and read boards on the internet to get tips on how to do it better. I know people who have bartered services with friends tyo save money.

Once you haver determined which areas are possibly alterable areas, go back though the list and find a reason to include other areas. Exaggerate which can be eliminated or reduced.

If you eat out a lot, decide no eating out for a week to try it out. That includes a fast food restaurnat to a Starbucks. If you geg thirsty, have water from a cooler for free. Theses dauily out-of-pocket items are disasterous, and they add up to huge amounts.

If you are smokers and drinkers, you must deicde now that your health is more important important than destroying yoursevles.

Write down for each category how much you could save monthly conservatively if you went cold turkey on each things you could save on.

Only your vigilent honesrty followed by consistant actions can make this work.

If you smoke, or drink get into 12 step groups to support your eliminating thise things. AA, etc are great and virtually free, spare 50 cents or a dollar contribution at each meetings.

Put changes into action.

Best of luck.