Advice please (funds, pay, deposit, income)

[Titan330]

I currently live in Fairbanks AK and I am looking to go home to NE OH by August. I know the trip is expensive as I've made it before. But the problem I am having is the current financial status of mine. I have a lot of bills and being off work for the journey, not to mention the value of my paychecks decreasing when I move has me paranoid. Anyone have some wisdom on adjusting for income shifts?

[flyingsaucermom]

Are you moving to Ohio or just visiting? I can't quite tell from your post. I always heard that AK is expensive... if that's the case wouldn't OH be cheaper?

Money is pretty simple: you can afford something or you can't. If you have bills to pay and you don't have much cash that of course means that your options are limited. You should be able to figure out how much it cost to visit or move and if you have enough funds to afford it.

You haven't said anything about what your bills are, what your lifestyle is like.. where the money goes each month. Nobody is going to be able to give you much advice without knowing the very concrete amounts you spend on every aspect of your expenses: food, health care, utilities, housing, insurances, etc.. all that stuff coupled with your total income. Then it becomes that simple math thing I mentioned earlier.

Getting or keeping money is always one of two things: reducing expenses and increasing income. Maybe you will need to do one or the other. Most often you end up doing both.

Maybe explain the kind of situation you're going to as well and what you might have in the way of support when you get there. Sometimes I hear stories of individuals that want to move to my expensive city without a job, education, much cash or knowing anybody.. and they wish to move out here on their own and secure a cheap apartment without a job or security deposit (which means ponying up about $4,500-6000.. just to sign a lease) and I'm sure it's disappointing for them to realize that doing that is very, very difficult. Knowing someone or having family nearby... some place to crash while looking for a job can allow for more opportunity... would you have any help in OH?

[mysticaltyger]

Honestly, we'd need a lot more detail from you. Why are your expenses so high? Does a high mortgage or car payment (or both) or some other debt (student loan) crowd out other spending for basic necessities? Or are you just spending too much eating out, going on vacation, or blowing money on other discretionary purchases that are not true needs? We really don't know. It could be a combination of all of the above.

For those who are serious, though, one exercise that always seems to wake people up is for them to write down (or record in some form) every penny they spend for at least a month. For most people this is eye opening. Most people do not have an accurate take on where their money is actually going, but they think they do. On average, people don't know where 20% of their income is going.

[jabogitlu]

Yeah, if you want real advice, you need to give a slightly better idea of what your income, debt and bills are like.

I'm also planning a move out of Alaska in 3 weeks (!) and i've budgeted and saved around $10k total for the move. Hoping to use less than $6k total though.