Student and hard worker caught in a debtful world.. anyone help??

i am 20 years old, live on my own and have no financial help from anyone, i work and study full time, thankfully FAFSA covers my tuition, but other than that i work 38 hours a week and make 1200 a month, i have to pay 250 on rent cause i rent a small room, about 200 a semester on books, spend a least 60 on gas, 130 on car insurance, i spend about 100 on food that i buy at the market no eating out, send my siblling 200 and stopped having a phone, but i was unemployed for four months and before i knew it my bills between my credit cards and overdrafts and loans i owe about $2,700, i know its not huuge debt but nevertheless it is something that keeps getting worse and im afraid to let it get to the next level, i heard of consolidating credit but i would end up paying alot more than what i actually owe, and i need clean credit considering im afraid i might have an emergency some day and i dont have any more savings...help....what should i do???|||Ok, what other bills do you have? Also, is your $1200 a month before tax or after tax? What is your interest rate on your credit card?





rent....................250


books..................50


gas......................60


car insurance...130


food...................200


Credit..................70


===============


Total..................760





Lets say that you have 25% taken out for taxes. That would be $900 take home. This is probably less. Let me know what your actual take home pay and I can adjust this. With the numbers you have given me, that would leave you $140 a month. I would take part of that and put into savings and a part of that and pay extra on the credit card. Also, I figured that you did 3 semesters of school per year and needed a total of $600 a year. That breaks down to $50 per month. You did not mention if you sell back books. If you did, then I would take all that money and put into savings and paying off credit card.





I guessed that you had an 18% interest rate on the card. If you stick with the minimum payment (I guessed on a 2.5% method of calculation), it will take you about 20 years to pay off the balance. If you up that to $100 a month, then it will take 3 years to pay off. $150 a month would pay it all off in less than two years. This is assuming that you keep the interest rate at 18% and do not spend another dime on the credit card. Remember, to take some of your money and keep in savings so help you out when emergencies happen. Do not raid this for going out or any non-emergency activities.





You may have other bills you have not shared here. Let me know and I can add them in and see where you are. If you want to see the calculator that I used to figure your credit card info then here is the site.


http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/MinPaym鈥?/a>





Was the $200 thing a one time thing or an ongoing bill?|||You need a financial planner.|||Welll...welcome to the american dream. Hang in there. Stay in school, and only spend on things you NEED---this includes shelter, food, clothes (no not the newest pair of jordans lol), books, bills. You are doing great and you will be out soon believe me just keep on this path or things will get worse...|||You cant pay off debt by borrowing.


Go to the link below and find a radio station in your area.


Dave is a good man and he can help you.|||http://www.rippedwallet.com/danagate2|||First thing to do is try to cut back on spending, even though you don't spend much. Do you really need to send your sibling $200? Can you buy older editions of books on half.com to reduce your textbook expenses?





Second thing to do is try to make more income. guru.com has lots of opportunities if you know Excel and/or Word - every little job adds up. There are other jobs you could try that make more money. You're only making minimum wage. Waiting tables pays at least twice that, if you get a job at a decent restaurant. I would definitely try to get a job at a restaurant, or find a part-time office job that pays around the same wages. That way you can double your monthly income.





Good luck getting out of debt. Try to avoid the consolidators - just develop a budget and pay it off. The holidays are coming up - lots of extra retail jobs available!|||All the methods suggested are great. What might make it easier is to tackle one problem at a time.





I've had a similar problem til a friend put me onto Dave Ramsey. If you can't find a book locally, check out his podcasts. Simple methods and he talks you out of debt...|||You need to study one more thing. It's called managing your money. I've been in the same boat. I've felt that there was no way that I was going to get out from under all of the debt. I suggest that you get the book, Total Money Makeover by a fellow called Dave Ramsey. It's about a 9 or 10 hour read. You might be able to do it over a weekend. Follow the lines in the book, and you'll be able to hold your head up high. Good luck. By the way, I am in no way associated with either the book or the author. I've read it. It gives good advice.|||Money or another job? your need think. I found interesting information about your answer, college loans, scholarships, college grants %26amp; PARTIME JOBS here. http://all-student-loan-consolidation.bl鈥?/a>