Hi everyone.

My friend referred me to this site recently. We are about 55k in debt and that's just cc and an equity line.

I'm not even sure where to start or what to do. I saw a link to this site Century Negotiations Inc and wanted to get some feedback on it as well.

Shopping and spending is my crack. After running up 9k on my cc since Feb, I have learned a very hard lesson. I don't want to do this anymore to myself or my family. Thanks for any direction you can point me.

Oh and my friend sat down with me and helped me do a budget on excel the other night.

first off welcome to mommysavers!! there are tons of great tips and ideas on here to help save money and cut back...

the first step was acknowledging there is a problem. so way to go.. you have a budget set up so thats good.. you need to be accountable for every penny of your money and by writing down every penny for a period of time you can see where your biggest budget busters are. once you have done that you can begin to cut out the items and areas that are not needed at all..

it all depends on how hard core you want to go. do you want to go bare bones or do it slowly.. i say this because we all have things we can cut from our lives i could be debt free faster if i got rid of my internet or satelite but we have cut everything else so thats our entertainment so that would be the last to go... groceries eating out phone cable packages are all easy to cut back or out..

as for your shopping 9,000 since febuary is a ton of money to spend. what do you have to show for it? i would figure out why i spent so much money in such a short amount of time. are you depressed not happy ect what? thats something that really needs to be looked at so you don't go back there...

good luck you can do it. at times it may seem to much to handle but you have to think about the big picture your family getting rid of the guilt and stress ect.. ask question and research the archives for great tips to get you started.. we are all here for you good luck and know you can change!!!!

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'The will of God will never take you where the
Grace of God will not protect you.'

HAVE A BOOTIFUL HALLOWEEN

Welcome! You've taken some good first steps, with making a decision to change and making a budget. Can you make your credit card payments? Can you sell some things to raise cash. I would try to avoid credit counseling companies if possible. Most charge fees, and using them brings down your credit score. You'll find a plethora of ideas around this site to help you save money, then you can apply those savings to your cc debt.

55k seems overwhelming, but set small goals for yourself. Like, getting one cc completely paid off, then another..., or having your total debt down to a designated amount by the end of this year. If you're in good standing with the cc companies, call them and ask to have your rate lowered. Most will do that. What do you have to lose?

Most important: STOP USING THE CARDS (you probably already know that).

Welcome!

I'd say your first step should be to read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. That book is amazing! And you find great advice on here as well to help you.

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A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.-Eleanor Roosevelt

Yeah one of the first steps should also be analysing your spending this will take some time but you can do it just by looking at bank and CC Statements.

Figure out how much you have spent in categories every month. That will help you know where your problem areas are. I use a money software program that calculates how much I spend where

Paying off debt will more then likely require life style changes and having DH on the same page. I agree reading a finacial book will be benificial. Check to see what your library has. This board had at one time a book recommendation post.

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

I think that the friend who helped you with your budget - she's a keeper! Welcome. Just start reading through the posts. It will help to keep you inspired. If you are addicted to shopping, you might be using shopping as an anti-depressant.

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Welcome!
I would highly suggest to NOT use a debt negotiation company. Their standard advice is to stop paying your bills, putting you into "dead beat" status, and then the debt company calls them to settle your debt for less than you owe. And you pay the debt settlement company for wrecking your credit. Now if your credit is already wrecked and you are really far behind anyway, you can do this "settle" on your own with out paying a company to act on your behalf. I would advise you to seek out a financial class like Dave Ramsey's Finacial Peace University that one of your local churches is holding. You need to fix the situation that brought you to this place so that you don't repeat it over again.
Do you have receipts for the things that you bought on credit? Look through the house and return everything that you can. Try to sell the rest.
You can get through this - many of us have been up to our neck in debt and found a way out slowly. Right now, cut up your credit cards so that the temptation is no longer there!

Welcome to Mommysavers! Like others have said, you need to determine where your money is going and see what leaks you have. Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, Mary Hunt's Debt Proof Living, the Tightwad Gazette(s) and Suze Orman's books are some good references -- check to see if your local library has them. Also, check out our Forget the Joneses project to give you ideas about restructuring your spending.

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Michele
Member of the Welcome Wagon
http://mommysavers.com/boards/how-navigate-mommysavers/

I agree! First (like Dave says), I'd suggest saving up your $1000 emergency fund and then start paying extra on the debt. Make sure to cut up your cards and start using cash to pay for things. People generally spend less when they use cash (since it hurts more)!

Good luck to you! There's lots of good information out here!

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Stay at home mom to my 3 boys... ages 5, 3 & 1!

I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Congratulations on your goal to becoming debt free...it really is a whole new way of thinking!

First, make sure your budget is zero-based. You want EVERY penny to have a name. At the end of the week/month, you do not want even $1 left over to be spent on "impulse" purchases.

Second, of those items purchased since Feb, can you return any of them?

Third, make a list of all of your debt, along with interest rate and minimums due. This will help you to understand where you actually are. This will also help to get you motivated towards paying it off. It may also help prevent future shopping sprees -lol.

Good luck. If you keep working at it, it will work and it will be worth it.