Help Debts

Posts Tagged ‘Living Expenses’

I’m in a substantial amount of debt… Hospital and doctor bill mostly. No credit card debt. Plus, daily living expenses with an infant!!! Problem is — I am being hounded by bill collectors and one debt is about to be turned over to an attorney for collection. I feel certain that this could end in wage garnishment. We don’t have the money to make ends meet — let alone have any part of my wages garnished. I’ve tried making arrangements but we just can’t make the payments no matter how minimal. Should I file for bankruptcy? How can I avoid getting my wages garnished? I have no problem with paying the bills if I just had the money.

I am in my mid-twenties, and I am attending an expensive university in Southern California to get my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.

By the way, please excuse me if I use financial terms incorrectly…I’m really unfamiliar with financial terminology.

I am originally from Canada and am a home-owner in Calgary, Alberta – my parents sold their large house when I was 20 and bought another house for themselves and build a smaller house under my name. I am technically a property owner. They did this so that I could get a substantial loan for university.

My property assessment in 2008 was 6,000 (Canadian funds).

I received a loan of 0,000 (Canadian funds) in October of 2008.

I recently spend a large amount of money (,500 US) to put a family member through alcohol treatment. I realize that is really expensive, but I tell you, it was worth it to see this person sober. However, that was basically 1/3 of my loan.

My schooling is costing around ,000 US for the 2 year Master’s Degree. With rent, utilities, living expenses, plus everything I needed to buy when I moved down here from Canada (furniture, etc), I am running out of money really quickly. I’m working on getting an ,000 (Canadian funds) line-of-credit from a Canadian bank with my parents’ help.

After the economy improves, I would like to sell my house in Calgary (say, within the next 5-7 years) so that I can begin my life debt-free. My parents want me to keep the house so that I can have some sort of collateral/assets (?) in the future. I am arguing that the house is not really "worth" anything because I have loans that are 0,000 + interest. I really don’t want to spend the rest of my life paying off student loans if I don’t have to.

Any advice??

Thank you so much in advance.

~K
The first poster is right, it’s not a student loan. I was mistaken when I said that at the end.

Also, I am renting the property in Calgary for 00 (Canadian), which is around 00 US.

I don’t really anticipate moving back to Calgary. I love Canada and miss it a lot, but I can’t take the winters…lol. It does get warm in Canada, but not as warm as So-Cal!
Also, because I’m here on a student visa, I can’t legally work in the States until I’m finished school, except for working on campus (and I can only work 19.5 hours/week.). I checked and there aren’t any jobs available right now.

To be a Marriage and Family Therapist in California, I need 3000 hours of clinical work experience (which I will most likely be doing for free), so even though I could potentially work on campus, I would like to focus my time on getting my 3000 hours.

We have a 2004 X3 with ~31K miles. We bought it used with an extended warranty to 100K miles. We owe about K and have another 4 years on the loan. (Pmt 0/month) We are about even on the car as far as trade in goes. We are debt free exept for the car, a student loan and the house and want to start aggressivly adding to a current savings of K for emergency purposes and eventually get to where our paychecks are just for living expenses only, all other things paid off. (My husband and I both have state retirement and other retirement accounts.)
We really would like to have a bigger SUV (plan to have another baby next year), but don’t want to extend paying on a car any longer than we have too.

Any advice would be GREAT!!
Thanks!

Hi there

I’m looking for some advice on a joint loan issue i have. My ex boyfriend and I took out a joint loan aabout 18 months ago but split up 6 months later. we verbally agreed to carry on paying half each until it was paid up, but i am struggling to pay it myself. i have other debt and living expenses and i would like to break free somehow and get the payment down. possibly by speaking to the bank who the loan is with or with using an IVA. How does this affect the fact that it’s a joint loan? does he have to do the same action etc?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

If you’re like many Americans, you own one or two vehicles, have a mortgage and are saddled with unwanted debt. Who among us doesn’t like the finer things of life? But what if liking the finer things in life led you into a vicious cycle of debt that keeps rising and keeps your nose to the grindstone?

That newest trinket or gadget might make you feel better for a little while – or until you get your Visa bill. If you’re serious about eliminating your debt, then stop spending and start planning.

Make it a point to never shop just to make yourself feel better. Stress leads people to spend money in an attempt to relieve some of the life pressures they’re under. This is often referred to as emotional spending.

Sadly, emotional spending leads to more stress from having spent the money! When you’re upset, don’t look for answers in retail therapy and don’t shop to keep up with friends or family who can afford a higher lifestyle than you can.

If you can’t afford it with cash, don’t buy it. This will help stop credit card purchases and impulse buying. Carry a certain amount of cash with you and leave the ATM card at home – along with the credit cards.

To eliminate your debt, you need a plan. Using a notebook or ledger on a software program like Excel, and divide it into two sections. The first is for your living expenses such as your utilities, food, etc.

In the second section, make columns for debts and anything you spend money on such as entertainment, haircuts and so on. This will help you keep track of how and where your money is being spent each month.

Once you see where your money is going, take steps to eliminate unnecessary spending. While you’re cutting back, start putting any extra money that you’re saving toward paying off the existing debt.

Once you have it all paid off, don’t make the common mistake of recharging everything up again. This just puts you in the same bind and causes you more stress. There are many people who pay for everything (even cars and homes) in cash – and they no longer have the financial worries most consumers are burdened with.