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It's amazing what you were able to find posted by the OP just by doing a little research. The issues are now clear regarding why her financial situation is in the shape its in.
I'll be 44 in a couple of mos (yikes!) & I've been living in my apt for 6 yrs now. Unmarried, no kids. The rent keeps increasing every yr no matter how much I try to negotiate & there's no rent control. My complex is owned by a corporation, not a private landlord.
I'd absolutely LOVE to own a home soon, but I have too many things stacked against me. Although I've always had good credit, I...
- have a lot of credit card debt
- have a huge student loan debt that I haven't even started paying down & I don't know I'll begin to even pay that off
- my current job is unpredictable, meaning could end at any time
- I live in a high cost of living city, but don't plan to move anywhere & wouldn't want to move anywhere else
So I don't know...things are pretty dismal & I don't know how to get out of this other than starting to really save, but it's almost impossible to. My whole pay pretty much goes to rent & bills.
Re: my jobs, I have 2 part-time ones that are unstable meaning they could end at any time. They don't give benefits, etc. either. I'm considered an independent contractor w/ one. I work anywhere from 6 to up to 14 hrs a day, but it's not all 5 days a week.
If anyone has any solutions, I could really use them NOW! Thanks!
Foreverblue,
I'm even older than you are, single, and just recently entered a new career. I'm at the bottom of the salary scale so I'm not really satisfied with where I am financially. However, I have a written budget, keep up with where my dollars are going, none of my bills are behind, and I consistently pay my student loan debt on time (8 more years left).
I came to this board about 8 years ago while in a mess financially. I too lived in a very high COL city and I didn't want roommates (although I'd lived in roommate situations off and on over the years previously).
As many have mentioned him to you, Dave Ramsey's method was a big help to me. I've followed it over the past few years and it has helped to alleviate a lot stress and gave me a viable pattern to use in my quest for financial freedom and stability. I'm still not where I'd like to be because I'm in a low paying career overall in a low-paying state. However, things are no longer dire in my situation like they once were.
Hopefully, you'll look into his program and gleam ways to use (at least some of) his methods to improve your financial situation. Best wishes to you.
But didn’t the guy who sold the oil cooler hose act as a salesperson?
I am generally satisfied with my situation. I keep thinking I want a Lamborghini or Ferrari, but as much as I want one I can live without it. I pretty much have everything else I truly want, the most important thing is financial security.
Willing to be homeless to avoid doing jobs you dont want to do is the ultimate mental state and financial security. I dont know if I am there yet and I think thats the biggest part of the problem.
I think once people, en mass, stop being willing to tolerate poor wage and work situations and opt for homelessness maybe some things will change.
I have thought about just going out and pretending like I am homeless for several weeks, maybe do a test run of my end game and fly down to some place like san diego so that way I cant freeze to death at least and see how long I can just walk around find secret places to sleep (maybe research them before hand, etc).
In a real life scenario though I may just drive down so I could live out of my truck, of course then you have the issue of fuel and an asset that may preclude you from getting food stamps?
Or try to build a cabin out in remote land and heat it with wood, etc.
I'm even older than you are, single, and just recently entered a new career. I'm at the bottom of the salary scale so I'm not really satisfied with where I am financially. However, I have a written budget, keep up with where my dollars are going, none of my bills are behind, and I consistently pay my student loan debt on time (8 more years left).
I came to this board about 8 years ago while in a mess financially. I too lived in a very high COL city and I didn't want roommates (although I'd lived in roommate situations off and on over the years previously).
As many have mentioned him to you, Dave Ramsey's method was a big help to me. I've followed it over the past few years and it has helped to alleviate a lot stress and gave me a viable pattern to use in my quest for financial freedom and stability. I'm still not where I'd like to be because I'm in a low paying career overall in a low-paying state. However, things are no longer dire in my situation like they once were.
Hopefully, you'll look into his program and gleam ways to use (at least some of) his methods to improve your financial situation. Best wishes to you.
Thanks a lot, Klassyhk for taking the time to post! I know another poster or two are the very beginning said David Ramsey too, so yes, I'll check it out.
I also found out about these sites to read through:
Thanks a lot, Klassyhk for taking the time to post! I know another poster or two are the very beginning said David Ramsey too, so yes, I'll check it out.
I also found out about these sites to read through:
Im not attacking you in any way, but now you seem like you are coming around to being receptive to new and other ideas
Forever blue, i mentioned not only Dave Ramsey early on, but gave you his beginning guiding principles. And suggested you get his books( buy, library borrow), and look for his YouTube videos both individual ones and the live ones, and listen if you can to his radio show.
( i and many others don't like that he sprinkles his topic advice with bible quotes, but hey it works and as long i can block out those parts i don't agree with and be receptive to only the good. Im good with that.)
Apparently it has taken 18 pages of this thread plus a couple of us mentioning him and his basic tenants for you to finally want to listen.
Congratulations.
At 25 was a millionaire, at 26 dave Ramsey was broke bankrupted and losing everything due to banks buying his loans on his real estate and calling in his notes.
BOOM bankrupt.
He devised his plan over time and is now a multi millionaire again in ( i think) his 50s. (If nt 60s now)
He has 7 baby steps.
His first step, as i suggested to you is to sell what you can save what you can until you have "10 Benjamin Franklins ", or $1000 for an emergency fund.
Step two is to start getting out of all debt except your home mortgage via the snow ball method. 1st you list your debts from smallest to largest. You pay minimum payments on all except you throw whatever you can at the smallest debt paying more than the minimum. Once its paid off, you roll that payment into the nexr smallest debt minimum and pay both payments towards it. Youll keep doing that until evety last debt is paid off. This is the snow ball effect.
,You also DO NOT CHARGE anymore, cutting up your ccs. You go to cash only in an envelope system with as few envelopes as possible fir you budget categories. When the cash you budgeted money is gone, its gone for tye month. Keeps you on you tors evaluating every putchade be it food or whatnot. If there is money left at the end of the month in the category you can reallocate the categories budget andr pay it towards the
snow ball.
And then you move on, debt free, to the next steps. He spells them out in books and videos...
He calls them "baby steps", 7 of them.
If you watch various YouTube videos of people calling in to his radio show, you might find a caller who is like you!!
It won't happen over night, but stick to your guns and it will move along.
Yes you found sone info about your student loans. Good.
I mentioned student loan forgiveness programs if you qualify. But they dont get discharged immediately, you generally have to put in the time making payments along the way until you meet the requirements. So dont get hyped that youll never have to pay on them ever again. Not until you meet the requirements, anyway.
Now that you are receptive, start looking into some of the advice people have given. Sone have learned in the school of hard knocks, some have read for interest, so they can give the advice.
Best of luck to you...really i meant it before and i mean it twice as much now....
I was born in the USA which gave me a guarantee of a minimum of a million (todays $) for my lifetime and free access to use my guile to plunder the rest of the world's wealth, as a birthright. How could I not be satisfied?
exactly-if you can't make it here , where are you going to make it
You don’t, you wonder around homeless
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Not satisfied yet
