How can you get ahead of your finances and STAY ahead?

[Anonymous]

I am struggling so much right now and I have been looking for a second job to bring in some extra income but so far I haven’t found anything that works with my current work schedule. I have a decent paying job but a past relationship left me with a lot of debt and I just cannot get ahead. Any advice?

[normalice]

A budget helps a lot. That's really the only advice there is. Figure out precisely how much wiggle room you have and don't exceed it. It will be dull going for a while, but that's just the way of things.

Maybe, if you have more wiggle room than you thought, put more into savings. Hiding your money from the tax man by stuffing it into the market is not an uncommon practice. The tax savings aren't that much and dont pay off until the next year, but every penny helps. That's the theme of a budget: every penny adds up. It lays out everything you spend and thus you can more easily determine what you can do without. Like maybe you can get an extra 100 a year by cutting off one streaming service. When I'm determined to pay off a debt the first thing I do is find a source of free entertainment. The library, for example. If you can stick with it you'd be amazed at how much of your money starts accumulating.

[jamesgoldman]

Avoid debt like the plague and if you get in, get out FAST

Find a side hustle and as soon as you can afford it seek passive income generation

[LazerBean]

Some sort of budget and/or a means of tracking your spending. Don't eat out. Use Walmart pickup so that you only buy groceries that you need.

[Anonymous]

Could you elaborate more on your situation? Like how much debt? What’s your income like? Live on your own? Car payment?

[Asker]

Hi yes I can! I have about $12,000 in debt which is not bad at all but I’m having a hard time paying that off because of my monthly bills. I live on my own so I have rent a car payment utilities credit cards internet phone etc etc. my monthly income after taxes is about $2,250 which is also not bad at all, but my ex left me with a lot of past due bills that I’m trying to catch up on unfortunately.

[Opinion Owner]

So what would you say estimated what is your monthly bill on everything you have to pay for?