Isn't he also using your car? Or at least benefitting from your car? You don't have any trouble helping to support him; why shouldn't the reverse be true?

Put your mattress on the floor or find something cheap on CraigsList. You might also look for used camping equipment. Paying your grandmother back for the car should be your first priority though. 1-200/month isn't but a drop in the bucket on that level of debt. You ought to be figuring out how much you owe then dividing it up over 3 years or so and figuring out the payment. And yes, the rest of us DO put off other things we might want, to pay off debt first. Did you not think that's how life went? I don't understand that. Yes. We all put things off that we cannot afford because paying our current debtload is an obligation. You need to make up for the fact that you have a 2yr old car you've never made payments on. What is going to happen when that car needs to be replaced and you are still paying (or not as the case may be) on it? Then what? You now owe $17K on a car that probably isn't worth $12K. How does that make sense to you?

And even if you are renting from a relative, it's not your house unless your name is on the mortgage/lease.

And where did $17K come from? I thought the car had to be under $15. You've "borrowed" more?

I have sage, blessed by a Sioux medicine man actually. It is one of my most treasured items so I am very hesitant to use it though. Maybe it will work some by just waving it unlit

It's bad karma to talk about other people's karma.

Bad karma just in the title. Anyone have any sage? I may need to smoke out the bad karma of bad karma.

Yes, it seems really reasonable to take 7yrs to pay off a 17K loan.. to a family member. Hell, it shouldn't take you 7yrs to pay of 17K! You obviously bought a car you couldn't afford. By the time you pay off that car, you will already be trying to "upgrade" it- We already know how you work. Pay off your grandmother FIRST- Family debt gets paid FIRST! How hard is it to get that

You and TG ARE NOT MARRIED!! It doesn't matter what he thinks about what you pay towards your bills. If you make 13$hr, you need to put at least 20% of your pay to your grandmother to pay her back. I mean, you are bragging about how much money you will have each month *roll eyes*

No, we don't ALL have house payments. I don't and I know many others who don't. And yes, I didnt take my real first vacation until all my debt was paid off. That vacation was just this past weekend- for four days. Two in DC and two in NYC- after 13yrs of marriage! Why? Because when you are in debt, you can't AFFORD to take a vacation! We paid off our debt in a year awhile back ago and since they have lived a cash free only life. Our priority is investing in our future, not just today and tomorrow.

You only call bull**** because you haven't grown up yet and you think money is something that you can just create on a whim when you need it. It doesn't work that way.

Nice that you deleted my last semi long comment to you about paying off your grandmother first before getting stupid stuff like camping gear. Then to start saving money for your OWN place. If you are bringing home 3K each month like you claim, there is NO reason you can't have your grandmother paid off by end of the year or spring 2013 at the very latest

I don't want to hear how long it takes off to pay 17K. If you do it right, it doesn't take long AT ALL. We managed to pay off over 40K in debt in a year. 17K is nothing

You shouldn't be saving any money for your camping gear because it isn't a necessity! You could pay off your grandmother quicker putting that extra money to her instead of camping gear. She would be paid off quicker and then you snowball whatever money you paid her once car is paid off towards other things- like getting your own place. Why are you thinking about camping gear when you and TG are just renting a room? Your priorities are messed up a bit.

No- you have to have a SET amount that you put into an emergency account and there is no such thing as "free spending money" You can't have a solid plan if you are just saying "we plan on" You have to say "each pay X$ goes to bills, Y$ goes into the emergency savings account and Z$ is for extras. You shouldn't be purchasing ANY big ticket items until your debt is paid off. You can't afford it. Get out of debt first, get at least 1K saved up in an emergency savings account, THEN save for whatever big purchase you think you must have

And no one plans on buying clothes every month, but if you have a job, you should still BUDGET for a clothing allowance each month- I put 40$ into my clothing account each month for instance. Yes, not much (double goes into my son's clothing fund), but since I don't buy clothes every month, when I do go to do so, I have saved up for several months and can have a nice shopping trip. If you aren't budgeting for anything until you NEED something, the money won't be there.