How many deal with Financial stress? (credit card debt, loan, 401k, debt)

[jetsjoe]

I am curious.... how many of you out there deal with Financial stress and how does it affect your life and your family?

(By Financial stress I don't mean not being able to buy that BMW) Trouble paying utilities and buying groceries, trouble making credit payments, ect. Wether it be due to divorce, lay-offs, whatever.

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

Jetjoe-I believe you meant, "How many of you have trouble paying for things you need(not want)?"

To answer your question, ...I am young, single and making well-above an average income. I don't have any trouble covering things I need(food, insurance, etc).. I have trouble paying for things I want(living in California, driving a nice car, starting a family). After all, starting a family isn't a need but a want. Living in SoCal(currently) is also a want.

[dlh891]

My husband and I have had our struggles over the years, but we usually have a very nice house (want), luxury cars (another want) and all that goes with it. At the same time, we bought quite a few houses and rented them out sometimes throwing $100 to $200 a month after rent to make the mortgage payments. So, while our friends and family are blowing money shopping and partying, we were painting, mowing lawns, replacing toilets etc. Now we are cashing out and selling the houses and all we have is our current mortgage and SUV payment and a huge bank account. We have paid off every single bill we have ever accumulated and life feels very good now.

[MoMark]

I have been in that situation. I recommend prioritizing what's most important and paying the most essential items first. Stop using credit cards period and keep up at least the minimum payments which have been upped as a percentage of the balance so that they automatically are now designed to help pay principle down. Get rid of or sell things you don't need. Reevaluate cell phone expenses, landline expenses (drop one), forget eating out and learn how to make meatloaf (easy and delicious) and cooking at home. No more Starbucks coffee (it's crap anyway) and brew your own from beans you can buy at any grocery store in bulk.
Get rid of anything that is a luxury you don't need. Stop buying clothes for now.
I've been there. I remember how it felt and it's not pleasant, but you can only do your best, and if you're truly cutting out the fat you don't need, then you'll relax knowing that you are sincerely using your brain to do your best.
I now own my home on 4.3 acres, a custom built 2301 sq. ft. brick house totally free and clear. I haven't had a car payment since 2002. I have zero credit card debt and refuse to use them. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it.
You'll find if you live as simply as possible and keep track of any money you pull out of the ATM along with checks you write, you'll get a handle on it.

[HIF]

I got into a real financial pickle when my husband died 6 years ago. Gas was turned off for non-payment so many times that the guy from the city that had to come out and relight the pilot light on my hotwater heater knew my kids by name.

Slowly I began paying off my debt and now I have no credit card debt and a fairly high FICO score. Now I buy the extras when I can afford them, say NO to my kids and I have become incredibly cheap, but I never sacrifice when buying wine

Third Christmas in a row with no January bills and I just wrote a check for a new VW Rabbit- incredibly freeing!

[j33]

I have been rather lucky as an adult in that most of my life I've been able to afford my rent and bills. However, I've always lived rather humble compared to many (I don't live in an expensive rehabbed apartment, meaning, yes, I rent, or own a car). However when I was a child I remember the stress of almost losing our house (a small 3 bedroom tri-level in a blue collar neighborhood, not a mcmansion) and car when the place my dad worked at cut his pay 25% (while he was trying to support a family of four), and before that even leaner years, so as an adult I've been rather lucky, but as a child I remember those years that were a bit rough and financial stress was a part of life.

[stellar9]

Financial stress extends its sticky little tentacles into every area of my life. If I can't cover the basic expenses, then I can't spend $$ on the extra-curriculars for my kids. I can't take a vacation and visit my family and let my kids get to know their extended family. Our ugly financial situation is the result of living in CA, having income that fluctuates, mostly in the too-little department, so that when we have enough or a little more, I'm playing catch-up, not getting ahead; and making stupid mistakes along the way. My husband and I are not always on the same page with how to deal with this, which adds another complication and stress.

I think we're agreed that we need to leave CA, as well as quit making stupid mistakes. When and where are still undecided.

Micki

[GoPadge]

We've been married 13 years now, and believe me, we've made our share of financial blunders. Things were so bad at one point that we were within a few days of having both our cars reposed and our mortgage lender wasn't too happy with us either. We were fortunate in that our total to get out of trouble was $3,500. My grandparents gave us the money with the conditions that we cut all of our wasteful spending. We canceled the credit cards, cut my wife's cell phone off (my company paid for mine,) we turned off the cable and cable modem.

After that we stated listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio. (See www.daveramsey.com for more details on his show and program.) We bought Dave's book "Financial Peace", and got serious about saving and paying off debt. Within a year we had paid off and saved a combined total of $15,000. When we moved to Texas we fell of that horse while renovating our home. After four months of work, things like a stove, counter tops and a sink start looking like necessities. $5,000 later we were back in debt to a credit card company.

This summer I lost my job. We were able to survive the six weeks I went without a paycheck by living off my 401k. Family and friends emptied their freezers for us, so food wasn't a big issue. After a month I found a new job that paid very well and in November we moved 70 miles to be closer to my new office. For Christmas we purchased a pair of seats for Dave's Financial Peace University, a series of debt reduction and financial planning seminars offered at a local church. It's been good to sit in a room with other motivated people and talk about ways to save and pitfalls to avoid.

If nothing else the best thing you can learn from Dave is to plan for your future. His first step to financial freedom is the establishment of an emergency fund of $1,000 in the bank. He calls it "Murphy Repellent". And it's true.

In 2003 we had to replace our transmission in our van. Several frantic calls and a sleepless night later, we "secured" a $2400 loan from American General. Had we been smart we would have opted to have our transmission rebuilt for $1500, but we were in a rush to take a trip and just had to get a factory rebuilt transmission from the dealer.

After reading Dave's book over Christmas 2003 we started saving for our emergency fund. By March we had our fully funded emergency fund. With in a week we needed a series of repairs to our van, including six new plugs to replace the 3 original and 3 that were replaced when the dealer "serviced" it during the purchase, seven new bolts to complement the three the dealer used when they replaced the transmission, and a complete radiator flush (don't mix Dex-cool with regular antifreeze). The bill was $607 and we were on vacation. But there were no worried nights, no frantic calls, we just paid the bill. It was so cool.

[stellar9]

I haven't listened to his show, but I have his book "The Total Money Makeover" and discuss it with friends online. The only reason I'm not in gazelle mode right now is because we plain make too little money to cover expenses. We're working on that right now and then we'll be able to start and emergency fund, pay off credit cards and pay for things with cash all the way. My husband still doesn't "get" it, but I think he will once the plan starts bearing fruit. I would love to attend FPU sometime.

[GoPadge]

Dave was offering a discount of $100 over the holidays, and the church where we're attending FPU subsidized 1/2 of that, making the cost only $50.