Economy? Cant pay bills! Anyone in similar situation?

Question

Im getting married on the 27th of this month and I am so broke!

My fiance and i are paying for the entire wedding with no help and even though everything is paid for now we are in debt up to our ears!

With gas prices, and everything being so much we can barely afford to live. We're actually at the point where we're considering what bills we can afford 'not' to pay.... when we dont even have many bills to start with!

All we have to pay is

1. Rent

2. Electric

3. Phone-Internet-Cable

4. Food

5. Gas

6. Car

After paying those things we're broke! It just seems so crazy.

I have to know if theres other people going through the same thing or if we are just horrible with managing our money...

I feel horrible because i have a 4yr old son as well and here lately i havent been able buy him anything that he wants.

If anyone has any ideas on how to save money or cut back I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

Answer 1

I'm assuming that you're both working. If one of you is not working (since you don't mention daycare costs in your bills), then that person should get a part-time job ASAP.

1) If you are not already on one, see if you can get your electric bill on a budget plan. Instead of getting a bill of $150 to $200 every two months, I get a set monthly charge of $64. It's so much easier to budget for this.

2) Shop around for your phone/internet/cable deal. We switched from having a land line to getting the T-mobile Hot Spot @Home deal. Our cell phones can now act like a land line because we connect over wi-fi at home. All calls that you make while connected are unlimited, so we were able to knock our cell phones minute plan down to the lowest one available. As for internet/cable, we get those from a small local company. If you're renting, you sometimes don't get an option, but check with your landlord.

3). Do meal-planning if you're not doing so already. There are books you can get from the library that show you how to do this economically, but you can also check out the foodnetwork.com.

4) Is there public transportation in your area? If so, use it as much as you can. It may cost you more in time, but at $3-4 a gallon for gas - I'll use that time to read.

5) Analyse your spending. Do you buy magazines? Subscribe to them instead of buying them from the grocery store every month. Do you buy coffee every morning? Start making it at home. Do you guys eat out more than once a week? You need to cut that down.

Good luck to you. I hope it all works out for you.

Answer 2

I don't believe in going into debt, especially with a child in the house, over a wedding. I am not anti-wedding by any means, but if a JP or small intimate wedding is all that our budget will allow, so be it. I would suggest a second job for one of you, public transportation, coupons at the grocery store, or whatever you can do to cut your expenses. Good luck.

Answer 3

Just to let you know hubby and I are in the same boat. He is disabled so it's up to me to pay everything and I can't do it. I haven't paid our credit card bills in several months so they ring the phone off the hook and we don't even answer it anymore, I don't have any answers for you but just to let you know that you are not alone!

Answer 4

i would try to get cheaper internet and cable or just rid of them if you can. maybe try to carpool or get a job closer to home and as for not giving your son everything he wants will actually be better for him in the end it will teach him not to expect things and appreciate what he has. many people in this world are going through what you are. you arent alone.

Answer 5

I think millions of americans are in the same boat as you.

Once the wedding is paid for will you have extra?

Watch for sales but don't drive all over town to get that good price because you are using gas and that can make the sale not a sale when you figure in that cost.  Use coupons, and just try to stretch your food farther.  Don't buy pop if you do already don't even buy the store brand.  You really just need to decide if something is worth buy.

Do you need cable and internet?  

Just remember there are millions of others out there and things will get worse before they get better.  Sorry.

Answer 6

if anything has to go, phone-internet and cable, those are luxuries not necessities. rent, you must pay or you could end up homeless. With out electric, how are your going to cook for your family. Food is a must to, only buy what you need for the week. Do not buy all the cookies/cakes.chips etc, they are not part of a healthy diet anyway. Use coupons and buy the store brands if possible. (I know some things the store brands just don't measure up to the name brand, like Mac and Cheese). For gas, make sure your tires are the right pressure, your fuel filter is clear of clogs and oil changes are done regularly. Carpool if you can and only drive when absolute necessary. If you have to go out, get as many errends done in one trip instead of several smaller trips during the week. i.e. on your way home from work, stop and go to the grocery store instead of waiting until the weekend. Pinch your pennies during these lean times, it is possible to do. You won't have a chance to go out and do anything much but you can still get out of the house. take long walks in the park, play outside with your son etc. Walk when possible to save use of the car/gas. So many ways to stretch your budget but you have to stick to it.

Best of luck to you and congrat's on the wedding. Maybe some friends/family will be giving you cash as a gift. Put it away for a rainy day or invest it somewhere.

Answer 7

yes, millions of americans have this problem, vote for Barack Obama, he will improve the economy unlike McCain who will be a repeat of bush

Answer 8

Try sharing a car if you can for a while or do carpooling. Get rid of cable, you don't need that. Also, see if you can work overtime or get a part time job for a while.