I'm a 22yo female who makes $580 a week, $2320 a month. Sometimes $2900 depending on the month.
my monthly bills include:
– my half of rent: $850
– my half of utilities including wifi: $200
– phone bill: $25
$1,075 total which leaves $1,245 (using the $2320 example) remaining from my monthly wage for everything else such as groceries, gas, debt payments, miscellaneous. Also eating/going out which I am trying to cut back on. I admit I have a problem spending money I don't have.
my current debt owed at the moment:
– credit card: $527.98
– affirm: $369.12
– klarna $222.42
$1,119.52 total (this total is not a monthly payment, i am paying it all off in small increments like $60-$100 each check across ALL of the debts, not each one.)
I've never had this much debt at once before. I was really proud of my credit score which has tanked. I lost my job right after I moved into my new apartment and was unemployed for three months which used up the entirety of my savings (meant for a car) to cover my living expenses and groceries. I have a new job now but feel like I've been drowning ever since trying to catch up on everything and find myself running out of money in between weekly checks.
I can't figure out a good way to budget the weekly paychecks and I end up running through my savings I attempt to put away each check. Anybody who is willing to help me work out a budget thank you from the bottom of my heartš
Please help me get out of this hole
byu/teeleeyuh inpersonalfinance
Posted by teeleeyuh
15 Comments
āAnd everything elseā needs a good evaluation
If you have 1000 āextraā; or at least currently unaccounted forā¦.you can be debt free in two months. Ā Just throw money at the debt and not random stuff
Respectfully, you have an income problem. You need to increase your income.
If you live in an area where rent cost 1700 for a basic place you should be able to get a better paying job fairly easily. If 1700 is expensive where you rent Iād look for new roommates.
If you really want to figure out a way of to this debt, stop using credit cards and use debit card/ cash only. You can’t spend what you don’t have. Pay off highest interest rate debt (probably credit card) first and go down from there.
You need to actually categorize **all** of your spending, not just a few regular monthly bills and label the rest as “everything else”.
Pull statements from the last 6 months and put every dollar spent into a category.
Are those debt amounts your total amount of debt, or the minimum monthly payments?
I know many will refuse to understand how yours is a punitive wage, I had $6000 on credit in my 20ās -35 because my salary and commissions didnāt do it. Yet I was working in corporate banking and good suits, shoes, hose, matching etc was their dress minimum.
assuming you spend 300 for groceries and including miscellaneous you can round it up to 1500$ monthly expenses. just send 150$ each paycheck, one week for credit card and the next for affirm for next couple of months until you pay off the debt. use the last week to pay klarna whatever amount you want. you will be debt free in 2 months until then don’t use your credit card or go shopping.
The quick and dirty is to list out your bills based on when they are due:
* 2nd Rent $850
* 8th Klarna $223
* 17th Utilities $200
* 18th Phone bill $25
* 23rd CC $530
* 24th Affirm $370
Then list out when you get paid that month:
* 2nd: $1,160
* 16th: $1,160
Then cash flow it:
Check 1 pays Rent and Klarna, and leaves you with $87
Check 2 pays Utilities, Phone bill, CC, and Affirm, and leaves you with $35.
The above dates are just an example; plug in real dates.
I’m guessing you spend more that **$122 a month** on groceries, toiletries, healthcare, going out, etc. This is why you “running out of money in between weekly checks.” Because you are š
How much CC debt, Affirm, and Klarna debt do you have?
Don’t buy anything from klaram or affirm. No doordash.
Just gas and food.
You can go to the library- no bars, church, take long walks, watch TV,learn to draw… no money to go out
Pay your effing bills. Did you buy any crap you can return?
pay all of klarma the minute you get the paycheck and some to either of the other 2.
Take the time to look at your last month’s bank statement. Figure out what you’re wasting money on and stop doing it. Make a complete budget of where your money should be going. Not just rent and utilities. Add all expenses your spending money on. Gas, food, bills, etc. Look into ways to cook at home rather than eating out. Meal prep if needed. Also, look into side gigs like Amazon flex, Uber, door dash, etc to increase your income. Might have to stop wasting most of your time socializing and focus on a career path. Either going to college or getting online certifications to get into higher paying jobs.
Thatās not a terrible position to be end, minus a bad credit score. Foremost, CC/Klarna/Affirm are all high interest debt. You donāt use Klarna/Affirm or any services like that anymore. You only use your CC for food and absolute necessities. Your peace of mind/leisure expenses should be minimal – like a Netflix subscription, until Klarna/Affirm are paid off and your current on your CC statement (you pay the entire statement balance off at the end of each month). Donāt eat out unless it necessary and cheap. Even then, supplement with grocery food. Donāt go out for drinks. The quickest way to make more money, is always to spend less.
Only take this next piece of advise if you are disciplined with your budget, and you can follow the above guidance – apply for a new credit card that has a 0% APR for a year (they almost all do). Call to make sure youāre eligible for the CC promotion, AND THAT IT APPLIES TO TRANSFERED DEBT (it usually always does). Use the new card to pay off the Klarna/Affirm debt or transfer it all to the new card like you will with your old credit card debt. That stops you from bleeding out on interest.
With your $1245, see if you can do food/gas for $1K – everything else goes against debt. When I say food and gas for $1K, that means if you can do it for $900 you donāt get to eat out for $100/months- any surplus goes to debt.
Complete stop to eating out is the #1 goal. Like some comments have said, pay off the debt. Be really thrifty with your grocery shopping, hunt for deals and so your budget isnāt stretched too much. Unsub to any sort of subscriptions you pay for like streaming services, or delivery services like Amazon Prime.
You only have $1200 in debt, so thatās not the problem.
You spreading payment among all debts is costing you in interest. Instead pick ONE debt and focus on putting all extra $ toward paying that one off in full, while doing the minimum payment on the rest. And when the debt you picked is paid off, do the same for the next one. Until debt free. Should be doable in 3 months or less.
Pay the lowest bill first, then throw everything at the second lowest bill. Do the same with the thirs highest. Most people say do the highest interest first and work your way do which is ok, but I like the wins it creates momentum.