Would you consider yourself financially smart?

hmmmmmmmmmmm. nopee.!

I'm a student and I SUCK at maangaing money...and my dad's an accountant. I know, FAIL! X-D

Yes, I do, throw all of your Visas away! That's a start.
1\ Start paying the debts!
2\ For the coming months cut all your eating out.
3\Don't shop you have enough already you can borrow stuff from friends if needed.
You'll get yourself out of it , the good news, you're not that much into debts xD

Definitely consolidate everything- then you have one monthly payment to manage and it's a lot lower than the payments you would have to make on everything separately. It will save you money in interest and get everything done faster. But, before you do that- you should order your credit report (or whatever it is they call it where you live, I'm not sure if it's the same everywhere) to make sure you're aware of all your debt- you don't want to think you have it all paid off and a month later get a call saying you owe someone else. Also, try giving yourself a monthly budget for variable expenses (like food, gas, going out etc.) and use CASH for it- once the cash is gone, your money is gone for the month. That way you'll see how much you're spending and actually think about it. And NO credit cards during the month except to pay the bills you always pay with them (ie phone bill, cable bill etc.) Good luck!

If I were you I would check out a book by suze orman...I have learned so much from her books and she give advice to ordinary citizens-not just people with a ton of money. SHe also has a tv show, radio show, and web site: suzeorman.com

I'm not an expert but obviouslly pay the debt that is going to affect your credit history first. Find ways to save-maybe move back in with your parents-if your paying rent somewhere else, try to carpool to school/work to save on gas. If you have a high phone bill maybe use your landline instead or get a pay-as-you-go plan. Good luck! Luckily you don't have THAT much debt. I know someone who is $20,000 dollars in debt so I think you can get it paid off.

i would pay between 500-700 for lawyer to file bankrupt for me...if I were you.

What I would do... is put everything together... so instead of a 3 places which you owe a small sum, I would put it all together so you can pay it off faster. Now you can have minimum payments... those are BAD! You need to pay as much as you possibly can! Check your budget (and if you don't have one, make one!) A budget consists of all the amount of money you spend in one week/month/year.. whatever you wanna do... I suggest month. Then you pick the highest payment you can pay for your debt...by staying alive ;)
This will help you pay your debt quickly without getting a lot of interest (which is baaad!)
So good luck! And you can go talk to someone who works at a bank (for free I think) and they will help you a lot more than we can! :)

There's probably a minimum payment you can make on each of those accounts.

With credit card companies you have to watch the interest %, which can make you owe more than you actually do.

Banks will charge you an overdraft fee, either for every day or every week your late on a payment, which only causes more debt.

I'm not in debt only because I do the whole "mattress" money savings, I save all of my money in a jar, chronicle what I put in and what I take out.

Chances are if your employed you should start allotting certain amounts to each company, break it down, pay off Verizon first, then the credit cards, then the bank. Or else ask each company what the minimum payment is. Start cutting coupons to grocery shop (this will save you some serious bank) use the membership cards they give you (free I may add), I forget which but either Vons or Ralph's pays you to shop, they'll send you a set of 20 dollar "checks" good at any of their retail stores. Also, try to get a second job if you don't already have one, it doesn't have to be glamorous, just something that brings in some kind of income every month.

If your not employed, I suggest you get 2 jobs, they don't have to be these glamorous jobs with a 401K, etc etc. They're always hiring at grocery stores, the holiday season is coming up--major hiring then, just pick up as many job applications as possible. Do shifts no one wants, like the night shift, yeah it's a pain in the ass, but there's more work and more work means more money.

DO NOT: Use any "bail out" or "save you from debt" companies, 90% of these are scams! Don't borrow money from the bank to pay off the other debts (or as they say, rob peter to pay paul) that'll just make your situation worse.

I answered B. But that's only because I do not consider myself some kind of amazing financial worker. I have no check book, no credit cards, and no bank account. I pay for everything in cash. My mom bailed herself out of a pretty large debt so far using the system I've put up for you, I wish you the best.

start with the account that has the highest interest rate (or has to be paid off first) paying as much as you can while paying the minimum amounts on the other accounts. once that account is paid off, roll over everything you were paying on it to the next account and so on until finally you get to the last account and will only have to pay one or two payments.

Here it comes, day late and dollar short.

Plastic surgery. Cut up your credit cards.
Then pay off the smaller debts first, while giving the larger ones a few dollars a month.
When a small debt goes away, you'll have more money to put on the next one up, until the debts are paid off.

There are free debt-counseling advisors. Try a local (big) church. We had a pastor counsel us and it was free. That's how we got out of debt.

Ted

I invest because I save for the days I could be out of work, cause you never know

Take care of the debts in this order:

1.) The 700 to credit companies * I would really suggest dedicating all your current pay to this and what is left over ask your parents/ relatives, man up and tell em why you need it*

Why? I did a internship as a financial analyst I know the tricks they use.

2. 500 to bank.

For credit reasons. I'm sorry but how the hell do you end up owing a bank 500? I really hope you either:
A.) Bounced a few checks/went over your checking account
B.) Student loans
If you took out a loan for around 500 dollars you are a ****ing idiot.

3. 400 to Verizon
Make contact with them and tell them your situation,be honest. Again, be honest with the other person on the line.

*some other comments I have ~

Your question is just to fishy no offense. I mean 500 to a bank I just don't understand that one. 700 to credit companies I understand. 400 to Verizon I have no clue how that works or why they would even allow you to have 400 debt to them.

Look man YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR HABITS I WOULD EVEN SAY THIS IN BIGGER LETTERS BUT THIS WEBSITE DOESN'T HAVE BIGGER LETTERS OR RED FONT !

Learn to live in your means, and god bless I'll pray for you :)

*All numerical values are the assumption of USD*

lol

in this economy avoiding banks may be seen as financially smart
and just because someone is in debt, it not cool to simply say they are not financial smart
many people are forced into their financial situation


this poll is too leading and vague and it won't get you accurate quantitative data


youll get a more accurate reading from the comments than this poll

Here's how you get out of debt in about 3 months.

1. Use a budget to control your spending.
2. Learn to say "no" to yourself, and temporarily cut luxuries from your life.
3. Get an extra job.

Imagine you got rid of cable television and eating out, and applied that $100 per month to your debt. And you also got a second job, working 16 hours per weekend at $8 per hour. Between trimming your spending, and the extra job, you'd have about $600 extra per month. You could pay off the $1600 in 3 or 4 months! And as a bonus, you'll have developed discipline and new skills.

I recommend you listen to Dave Ramsey's financial advice. He's the best finance guru, IMO -- the best by a LONG distance. He teaches the most practical, simple advice to manage your money and come out ahead. He teaches how to change the behavior that causes money problems -- debt is usually a _symptom_, such as that someone has no discipline about spending, has no plan, or is living beyond their means.

Ramsey teaches no tricks, he has no clever plan. It's simple stuff anyone can do with a notepad and calculator. His radio show is on hundreds of stations, and he's written several best-selling books. And his website offers a lot of freebies -- I use his monthly budget forms to track my spending.

link

Call your credit card companies and they will refer you to debt consolidation services. They might be able to help.

58,634(saving up for a house and an awesome car) in bank and I'm in college ^.-. I find the best thing to do when you're buying things is to find a way to save all the money you can. Then spend it on the stuff you want! or want to do! Like for instance when you're going only a couple hundred yards from your house you can save up on gas (may not seem much at first, but you can burn $50 a week just doing that) another thing is get a nice water bottle and fill it with something you like to drink that's cheap. That way you won't spend 20-30 dollars a week on drinks. Just a month of walking those couple of yards(losing weight and living healthier for it) can save you a good $200 a month that you can in turn spend on a really nice date with your girlfriend ;D

Also for you to get out of debt I would try to settle an agreement with the companies on the amount you owe before you try bankruptcy. Unless you like 7 years of REALLY bad credit!

$1,600 isn't sh*t when it comes to debt; I'm over $12,000 in debt after being in school for 3 years and don't have a way to totally pay it off until I graduate. Because they used my W2 from when I was in the military to check my financial status for the first 1.5 years of me going to school they determined I made too much money for student loans or grants so I had to put all my tuition and book costs on a credit card. Once I graduate I plan on spending the first year and a half paying off everything I owe and never apply for another credit card again (I already stopped using the credit card months ago); you should probably do something similar before it gets out of hand.

Get Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover" (preferably FREE at a library). Read it as fast as you can, then DO IT! His straight forward common sense is just what people in your situation need. His radio show and podcasts are great too.

Most of the "professionals" who would help you in this case are rip offs. Even the honest ones wouldn't be able to do much for you with so little debt.

Dude that's nothing I'm 2 grand in the hole with the visa, I owe the government 500 dollars because one of my bosses screwed up on my taxes and I have $300 in unpaid parking tickets...I need a job..

As a former bill collector there are a few things you can do to get out of debt. First off owing $1600.00 is not all that bad but it is still debt.

You can work out a SIF with any company providing you are already in collections. A SIF is (Settled in Full) meaning you and the company agreed on a solution such as 50% off your bill and then you have at least three months to pay it. Be careful though if you agree to do a SIF and you fail to make the required payment you may find yourself having to not only pay the whole bill but collection charges as well.

Second, You can call up each creditor and work out a weekly plan with them so as they do not report to your credit agency.

Third, Stay away from credit cards. meaning NEVER pay off one bill bith a credit card as you will find you more then likely will only transfer your debt.

Hope this helps

Would I consider myself to be financially smart… hmm… I'm a self employed investor at 21 averaging a 30% gross return every quarterly. Enough said?

First thing you need to do prioritize. List your debts noting the interest rates. Pay off the debts with the highest rates first and work your way down the list.

In some cases you can make a proposal to your creditors to set up a payment plan that will allow you to pay your creditors in an orderly way and thus help preserve your credit rating. This operates similar to a debt consolidation loan except you do not borrow the money to pay off your creditors.

There are many other solutions when trying to get out of debt like getting a loan on your home or car sufficient to pay off your debts, saving a considerable amount of money on interest rates, but to be honest you don’t owe allot of money it’s all that’s needed is a little prioritization.

MY opinion, not yours.
Cheers.

Well the first thing I would do is contact the bank, Verizon and credit companies. Explain your situation to them and set up a payment plan to make things manageable. Most large companies have areas to manage clients who are in debt and if you talk to them they are generally nice. That's because they want their money :D

Secondly cancel the credit cards - they're the main reason people get into debt.

Thirdly, consider what calls you have to make and which you are doing for no reason. Identify low-rate times and make necessary calls during this time if you can. That's a hefty phone bill, is it because you are calling too much? Or is it because the plan isn't good for you?

Fourthly, work and save. Don't buy take-away food. Buy it all from the supermarket and cook all your meals. Make sandwiches to take to work. Catch public transport if it's cheaper than your gas. Take up extra shifts.

In short, stop what is adding to your debt and work it off. The longer it exists the bigger it seems to get.