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We get a percentage back on credit card purchases, so we charge everything we can.
But we pay off the card completely every month.
If you can't pay your bills, you have to cut something out.
You need to plan ahead and save up for known expenses like summer programs and birthdays. And sign up early, so you have more choices.
Sounds like a lot of spending to keep you with the Joneses. $2300 Amazon card? Kid will survive without the big party. My birthdays were at a park typically. Go out and play soccer with your kid. My cars are paid for, but I put 300 a month away for the next car and maintenance needs. Funny how Christmas and birthdays magically happen every year so maybe budget for those? Nah they'll take care of themselves...
This is a very very scary precedent and what happens is families especially with small children will say :
We can’t cut out childcare, we aren’t going to ruin our family Memorial Day outing , we aren’t going to cut out child’s soccer practice it’s not the child’s fault …. We MUST make a birthday party for our 5yo or he will be the only one in his class without one how will he feel? Grocery Food was higher and it caught us off guard
A few sentences in and I already see multiple attitude issues that will cause ongoing financial problems if not changed.
Keeping up with the Jones. (The kid must have a birthday party because others have one.)
Making financial decisions based on feelings. ("It's not the child's fault.")
Entitlement attitude ("We aren't going to ruin our family Memorial Day outing.")
cut spending.
live within your means.
if you don't have money in the bank to pay for it, then don't purchase it.
get rid of all your credit cards except one and don't carry it with you. Keep it in the freezer.
go to a debt-consolidation place where they give you a plan to pay off your debt on regular monthly plan.
start writing down everything you spend, so you can see what exactly you are spending each month.
do this for several months.
write down what your take home pay is each month.
what you PAY each month can not ever exceed what you MAKE each month.
ever. that is how you don't go into debt.
and that is how you pay off the debt you have.
A few sentences in and I already see multiple attitude issues that will cause ongoing financial problems if not changed.
Keeping up with the Jones. (The kid must have a birthday party because others have one.)
Making financial decisions based on feelings. ("It's not the child's fault.")
Entitlement attitude ("We aren't going to ruin our family Memorial Day outing.")
Spot on! Everyone in every family needs to learn/understand that life probably won't hand them everything they want. Don't raise your kids to expect it OP. They need to learn how to handle disappointment. Everyone ends up with unexpected surprises. They still need to be dealt with. If you're not planning for them life's going to continue to be rather unpleasant.
Why are you "majorly worried" about other people?
If you're worried about yourself, don't do it. If it's your family or friends, advise them not to do it. Anybody else, butt out.
It's possible this is not a financial problem, it sounds like a psychological problem and needs to be worked on as that.
Yes this will take some money to begin work on it but if you do not solve the problem of spending more money than you have it will ruin your life, now and long into your future.
Does anyone really charge their electric bill??? Make a budget that has more money coming in then going out. Keep your cars until they die, birthday parties are at home only, what’s a vacation?, put your kids in cheap sports with no travel, downsize your house to one much cheaper, etc. This is how my generation and the ones before us didn’t live beyond our means.
I mean to keep checking accounts from overdrafting
This is a very very scary precedent and what happens is families especially with small children will say :
We can’t cut out childcare, we aren’t going to ruin our family Memorial Day outing , we aren’t going to cut out child’s soccer practice it’s not the child’s fault …. We MUST make a birthday party for our 5yo or he will be the only one in his class without one how will he feel? Grocery Food was higher and it caught us off guard
I'll let you in on a secret: wealth accumulation doesn't just happen. Keeping the bills paid and having money left over doesn't just happen. All but the most frugal decided one day to live within their means and do whatever it took to make that happen.
OK, maybe you can't cut out child care. But would simple celebrations and hobbies within your means really be that awful? If you're trying to keep up with your neighbors, you can check out median incomes in your Census block group right here on C-D under Cities.
i remember a woman who just kept getting more and more in debt. she hated it and she said she walked around just feeling terrible all the time, literally every minute of the day. She did not make a lot of money, her job was low paying. She decided to move to a different state, with a very low cost of living, she was that committed to getting out of debt, and gradually pay off her debt. So she did that, and lived there for a few years, with that single goal in mind, to pay off her debt and not spend more than she was earning. there was not a lot of slack that could be removed from her spending and lifestyle because she did not have high-paying job skills and she did not live lavishly, she worked in ordinary restaurants.
anyway she payed off her debt, and then moved back. i always liked that story and felt it was a really practical effective solution. rent for many of us is our biggest expense, particularly if we don't live extravagantly to begin with. i've always been uplifted and inspired by her commitment in doing that, even with not having high paying job skills. there is a lot of dignity in that.
a little humbleness and dignity goes a long way.
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