THURSDAY'S SHOW: The Debt Diet, Part 4 (July 13, 2006 [my birthday])
See why America is getting hooked on the Debt Diet! The easy-to-follow plan you need to get started. Plus, an update on all three families!
Learn more and talk about this show.
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/coming/tows_coming.jhtml
Stop Overspending Today
It's never too late to get your finances in shape! From credit card debt to how much you
should be spending every month based on your salary, our financial experts share their tips for getting out of debt. Use these steps, calculators and tools to take back your life!
I looked at the steps and I do find them interesting but what about student loan debt? Most of my debt is $75 thousand dollars of student loans and I do not make half of that. I tried consolidating, and even deferments and my minimum payment is still interest only for about $500. That’s just $100 less than my rent. What can do?
ReplyDeletePace:
ReplyDeleteThe first thing you should do is a written budget. Do one every month not matter what.
Spend all of your income on paper before the month begins. Decide where you can cut...there's bound to be a couple places where you can cut your lifestyle.
Now that we've addressed the OutGo side of the equation, we need to addres the InCome. There's no magic here. It's simple math. You probably need to increase your income for a short period of time to get this debt paid off. Why $75K? Are you a doctor or lawyer? Are you making what you planned when you went to get your degree?
I dont know your income or where you live, but someone with a $75K degree should certainly be making 6 figures.
If you need help setting up a budget, please respond.
Thank you so very much for your help. Here's my background. I did go back to school to get masters but the school was very expensive plus the reason for 75k is because interest is still accruing on my account even though I am in deferment until November 2006. I just switched jobs to better the income from 28k so that’s the reason why I went back to school to make more. I now make 40k, still not what I planned for once I got my degree but this company was all who was hiring and I didn’t want to be without a job. I am recently married but my husband is finishing up his degree, so no income as of yet because he has no time. (Plus I don’t think he can balance work and school and keep his grades up) He does do odd end jobs to help out but nothing permanent. Hopefully by next March he will be able to find something, but until then I am going to have to stay on deferment which is only making my debt more. We have no car note, credit card bills, just the usual utilities, insurance, mortgage payment, etc. We are not shoppers we buy what is needed and not what. I don't even get my hair/nails done just to save. I have done several spreadsheets to see where we could cut our already boring lifestyle to find money but I see none. I guess my real problem I have is that when I consolidated all my student loans I was told I only had to pay between $150-$200. But since I was not working and still on deferment then back in school then back on deferment again, the interest increased to from that to about $500. Its so depressing.
ReplyDelete