28 yrs old family of 2 children 7 and 5 and 31y/o husband drowning from everyday bills HELP?

Question

I am a family of 4 me my husband 2 kids, make ok money we should be able to live on with no problems, but..... because we are behind on everyday bills that we can not get ahead to stay current and see money being saved in the bank... is there a way to get ahead after being behind? PLEASE HELP ME!

Answer 1

Hello - List out how much money you have coming in each month. List out what your fixed costs are (rent/mortgage, car payment, car insurance, phone, cable, student loans, commute costs etc.) If you have credit card debt look at how much per card and which has the highest interest rates.

Then track every penny, every single one, you spend for a month. That will give you a very good idea of where your money is going. Track it by category -

home

car (payment, insurance, gas etc.)

cable/electric/water

groceries

eating out

clothing

movies/plays (include the popcorn)

books

newspaper (if you already paid your news paper or magazine subscription, figure out the monthly cost and include that)

hanging out with friends (bar, pool etc)

non meal related drinks/snacks (Starbucks, diet coke, snacks)

other

other

and you will see quickly where your money is going. Then you can see if it is all the right places, or if you want to make a change and not buy so many clothes, see so many movies (or pass on the popcorn) etc.

Consider what is really important to you and what is not and spend accordingly.

When you decide what you will change for the upcoming month, be sure to put that money savings somewhere and not just spend it on something else (or put it towards paying down credit card debt). And keep tracking what you spend for at least 6 months. that will help you get into new habits and patterns.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Yes, you can get ahead even after you have fallen behind. It does take some discipline though.

I would first set up a budget and then track my expenses. This will tell you how meet your planned expenses. When you know where you spend your money, you will be able to decide where you can save. You might not be aware of how your expenses add up. To set up a free budget and track your expenses go to www.vilkri.com or any other website that offers free budgeting.

As a second step I would look at my debts and decide which one to pay off first. The one with the highest interest rate should be paid off first. The one with the second highest next. While you focus on one debt, make sure you still make the minimum payments on your other debt.

If you control your expenses and if you focus on paying off debt, you will get even sooner than you can imagine now. When you are even, stay on the budget plan which will help you put money away into a savings account, when you no longer make high debt payments.