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Here's my suggestion. You have $1000 available after paying your regular bills. Give yourself $150/month walking around money - drugstore items, pizza, gas, a needed piece of clothing, oil changes, and the entirety of your entertainment budget. EVERYTHING else goes to debt repayment because you have already created your emergency fund. To keep yourself motivated, every time a particular debt is knocked down to zero, you "earn" a special treat. At these times, treat yourself to a bonus $200 spending cash for a special item to celebrate that debt repayment milestone. However, paying off the credit card doesn't merit a reward. That is just something that needs to be done though I recognize you have a low interest rate on your balance.
Now that you have purchased the car, keep the car. You can have it paid off before the end of the year. Understand that you won't be replacing that car for another 15 years. Treat it right.
By the end of this year, you should have paid off the credit card, the car loan, and perhaps your highest interest rate student loan. That's not bad for one years effort. Starting in 2017, bump up your monthly walking around money to $200/month as a reward for meeting the credit card and car loan milestones. Keep plugging away at the student loans and reward yourself with a $200 spending bonus each time a debt is paid off.
No treats or rewards except those you have earned by paying off a debt. That's been the problem so far. You have given yourself unearned rewards all month long using every remaining cent of your paycheck. *wags finger disapprovingly* (Actually, you are doing all right because you recognize there is an issue which needs to be dealt with).
Good luck. I wish we all could hear how it turns out.
I didn't read all the pages but if you have college loans and are in the armed services you should at least be bottom grade officer material making a lot more than $24k.
I didn't read all the pages but if you have college loans and are in the armed services you should at least be bottom grade officer material making a lot more than $24k.
Lots of good advice here.
See how the Army can help
Keep your car. Buying one will just add expenses
Put as much money as you can towards the CC with the highest interest. Speak to your CC company to see if they can lower it or look into a Credit Union or bank with a lower rate CC and tranfer the balance.
Staying motivated is really tough, I'm about 10 months into a 3 year plan to dig myself out of a 100K hole. With about 75K to go sometimes I look at that number and think I'm never going to make it. Not exactly going slash and burn, but I sold my car, cut back on travel, trimmed monthly expenses, took a second job.
I set little goals for myself. I track all by debts and feel good at the end of every month when that number inches down. I make plans for what I'm going to do with that extra money when it is not going towards debt. I track my credit score on Credit Karma and enjoy seeing that go up, as my debt goes down. The occasional dose of Dave Ramsey or Mr Money Moustache can help.
My father enlisted (but without a degree at the time) but then got his degree while enlisted and retired as a Lt. Col after 20 years. Enlisted military is the bottom of the barrel, especially Army. I personally would work on becoming an officer over focusing solely on paying down debt. You need money, and as an officer it gives you a large pay raise plus career potential.
Staying motivated is really tough, I'm about 10 months into a 3 year plan to dig myself out of a 100K hole. With about 75K to go sometimes I look at that number and think I'm never going to make it. Not exactly going slash and burn, but I sold my car, cut back on travel, trimmed monthly expenses, took a second job.
I set little goals for myself. I track all by debts and feel good at the end of every month when that number inches down. I make plans for what I'm going to do with that extra money when it is not going towards debt. I track my credit score on Credit Karma and enjoy seeing that go up, as my debt goes down. The occasional dose of Dave Ramsey or Mr Money Moustache can help.
It's hard.
It probably helps you to see that as you pay it down, less and less of your money gets "wasted" on interest, right?
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