[Checkmat]

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[Phoenix]

Why did the household stuff cost so much? Where did you buy it?

[samsamsam]

I'm not exactly clear how much you are looking for. But you can check out prosper and other places that do person to person lending if you have good credit.

Some credit cards do 0% offers on new debt/transfers. Once again I think your FICO matters.

That or you sell some stuff you don't need. Or you do through your expenses and cut out what you can, no cable, etc.

[Dr. Howard]

how does taking out a personal loan help you get out of debt? Interest rates or consolidation?

[Checkmat]

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[WanderingSoul]

I think you need to really reevaluate your expenses.

A single 26 year old making $60k, and soon to be $80k, should be rolling in cash unless he lives in NYC.

Where's it all going each month?

[roberto]

If the loan will get you out of a mess by consolidating, and you are due a pay rise, then do it. The extra 1600 a month you will be making will cover that. Just don't be a dick, put every penny of the pay rise into a separate account to pay for the loan. Only then can you think about spending more. And not on dumb shit like furniture.

[Checkmat]

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[Peregrine]

(02-01-2015 12:16 PM)Checkmat Wrote:  

(02-01-2015 08:02 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  

I think you need to really reevaluate your expenses.

A single 26 year old making $60k, and soon to be $80k, should be rolling in cash unless he lives in NYC.

Where's it all going each month?

Just added up all my spending from November. Definitely re-evaluating things now. Good point. A lot of things need to change.

Good that you recognize a need for change. Westerners are raised to accept personal debt at exorbitant interest rates. The way I see it, the only reason to go into credit card debt is if you're going to starve (and I'd hit up churches and soup kitchens before going into credit card debt).

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/1...emergency/

[jimukr104]

Why don't you just pay it back with your new pay increase?

Your debt isn't that big so you should be able to wipe it out fast.

[Ensam]

(01-31-2015 08:09 PM)Checkmat Wrote:  

Federal taxes are filed and accepted by the IRS. Return will be close to $3,000 so that will help.

That's way too large of a return. That's an additional $250/month you could be taking home. Ask your HR rep what your current federal allowance is, then file a W4 with your employer and increase your allowance by 1. That should increase your take home pay by $330/month. Take the $250 and pay down your CC debt, take the remaining $80 and put it in your savings account or buy a CD. You'll need it to pay your taxes next year.

Only take out the loan with the bank if the interest rate is a lot less than what your CC rate is - 11.99% isn't a particularly attractive interest rate. And more importantly, only consolidate your loans once your spending is in check. If you still have negative cash flow every month, even if it's from unexpected expenses, you're just going to end up deeper in debt.

I got into a similar kind of trouble right after I got my first job out of grad school. I was making low six figures but by the end of 2013 I had $12k in debt and it was growing about $400/month. There are always going to be expenses you can't foresee or control. You need to budget for them as best you can. I track my cash flow religiously (I use Mint and Personal Capital). I monitor my 14 day (I get paid biweekly, adjust this to your pay period) and 30 day cash flow everyday. Once a month I track my 6 month and 12 month cash flow. If my cash flow goes negative over the course of 2 weeks, a month, etc., for any reason, then I've fucked up and I stop spending money immediately. By developing that discipline I went from being in the red ~$400/month in 2012 and 2013 to in the black $1300/month for all of 2014 and my lifestyle doesn't even feel that different. It's really amazing what monitoring your cash flow can do.

[JoeMusashi]

11% is an outrageous rate anyway.

As an ex retail banker (on the other side of the ocean), I would suggest you check terms and conditions with competitors.

[Checkmat]

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[Ensam]

I'm not sure. It sounds like it might be but the language on the official W-4 is allowances and there's a separate thing if you're totally exempt from income tax.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

[Checkmat]

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[Cattle Rustler]

Try downgrading your car. Not having a car loan will save you a lot.

[Checkmat]

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[Ensam]

What's the blue book value of the car and the interest rate on the loan?

[Dr. Howard]

^OP, since you are now going the Ensam lockdown route, you should also listen to the dave ramsey radio show daily until you are financially stable again to keep yourself motivated. You'll feel like an idiot when the first guy calls in to say he paid off 80k in debt in 2 years on a 50k salary or something crazy like that.

[Checkmat]

(02-01-2015 05:48 PM)Ensam Wrote:  

What's the blue book value of the car and the interest rate on the loan?

The blue book value is $24,000. The interest rate is 1.49%.

[Peregrine]

Food for thought: http://www.financialsamurai.com/the-110t...st-follow/

Sam Wrote:

The 1/10th rule for car buying is simple. Spend no more than 1/10th your gross annual income on the purchase price of a car. If you make the median per capita income of ~$42,000 a year, limit your vehicle purchase price to $4,200 if you must buy one. Absolutely do not go and spend the median car price of $24,000!

[Ensam]

(02-01-2015 11:06 PM)Checkmat Wrote:  

(02-01-2015 05:48 PM)Ensam Wrote:  

What's the blue book value of the car and the interest rate on the loan?

The blue book value is $24,000. The interest rate is 1.49%.

That's not terrible, provided it's for the full term of the loan. You may want to consider selling your car if you can't get positive cash flow through other means. If you sold the car and used the money left over after you paid off the loan to buy a used car (there are lots of great cars in the $<6k range - I got my current car for $4k eight years ago and it's still running fine) you'd have more than $600 extra in your pocket each month. With your IRS refund you'd be paid off completely in 6 months just by that move alone.

[Checkmat]

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[Goldfinger]

Good job taking control of your situation OP. like Dr. Howard said, i would treat the Dave Ramsey podcast like breakfast and listen morning. There are some pretty remarkable stories of how people have paid off massive debts in no time.
I know you love your car, but having a car note will severely stunt your ability to build wealth, i would advise you sell your car pay off the debt, and claw up 10k to buy the same version of that car (or 1 or 2 years older).

Once again, good job, once you start living debt free, you'll never want to go back. Also i don't know what city you live in, but if you can get a 1br downtown for $850 with all utilities included, You should be swimming in dough with 80k per year.

[lowside]

(01-31-2015 08:09 PM)Checkmat Wrote:  

I asked my dad for advice, and he told me that I make enough money that I shouldn't be in debt in the first place. Fair enough.

Frankly, your dad is right. Getting into debt to pay for other debts and expenses is what countries do. Doesn't mean you should do the same.

You should take a real hard look at below post.

(02-01-2015 08:02 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  

I think you need to really reevaluate your expenses.

A single 26 year old making $60k, and soon to be $80k, should be rolling in cash unless he lives in NYC.

Where's it all going each month?

And by the way: cancel your credit card and get a debit card.