It’s sad to read some of the comments here from those with spouses who are both deep in debt and denial. Fortunately my spouse and I are aligned financially.

I have recently become disgusted at the thought of shopping. I see Target/Walmart/Etc. as full of junk that will eventually go into a landfill somewhere. Cut back, live below your means, spend your hard-earned $$$ on what you truly need and love, share with friends, barter, etc BEFORE you get in dire straights. More stuff will NEVER make you happy.

Thanks for what you do Trent. It helps more people than you know
Lindat

I recently switched jobs so that I could go back to college. The job that I had pretty much required that I own a car.

My wife and I bought bicycles and used those every time we could. But when I switched jobs, I found I didn’t need to own a car.

Then one day I sat down and figured up what it was costing me to own a car.

I was shocked to find that the regular yearly bill for my car that I owned outright, allowing myself $50 a month for gas (not very much at all in this day), and budgeting for no major repairs (what a risk-taker I am) was almost $3,000.

So after talking it over with my wife we sold the car. So it’s now two months later and I can count $500 that I haven’t spent on a car.

And we don’t miss it one bit. We’re in better health than we’ve been in years, and being car-less has helped us to save money in other ways too. You don’t make so many impulse buys when it takes a lot of effort to get to the store in the first place!

For those of you who don’t think you can live without a car, you might try reading “How to Live Well Without a Car: Save Money, Breathe Easier, and Get More Mileage Out of Life,” by Chris Balish. It’s a great book.

I second that! I was laid off from a job I loved in Marketing, and after weeks of job-searching I took a temp job at my old company in Customer Service. I hated that job- lots of dealing with tense customers on the phone- but it put me in the right place to snag up a job that opened up- the company didn’t even put out a job announcement to the public because I was “on the spot.” Now I’m still working at the same company six years later, we’re doing MUCH better, and I adore my new job. I probably wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t decided to go ahead and do a much lower-level job than I’d had before.

I work in finance and it’s stunning how long and far down people get before they cut back on anything. So cut back early, think non-essential, and recurring & non-recurring items.

So in some order:
Recurring spending. Cut the cable, high speed internet, gym membership, and the unlimited high cost monthly cell phone plan. If you need internet, go slow & cheap or to the library. I have spent well under a $100 a year on my prepaid cell phone.

Sell your car if it has monthly payments – if you’re upside down do whatever you can to come up with the difference and get out from under it. You should never be significantly upside down in loan to value if you carefully buy used from a private party and do basic preventative maintenance. If you don’t have payments, keep the car, but park it and car pool, bike or mass transit and tell your insurance company to cut your rates. Then use it to Deliver Pizza. – you don’t have the money to go out of Friday or Saturday night anyway, they like more stable employees with decent driving records and the tips can be very good.

Non-recurring. Don’t spend. No coffees, lunch out, dinner out, new clothes, and use a shopping list. If you need to splurge, buy better food to cook at home. Get rid of all but one credit card for emergency use only.

Recurring income: A second job is much quicker and easier money than starting a business. The business has better income potential but may be slow to get going and have start up costs. The best would be to get a job doing what you may turn into a side business. Also think of things you are good at that can be bartered with your mechanic, etc so that you have options for the unexpected.

Non-Recurring Income: Sell your junk – most of us could get rid of some clutter, maybe you’ll make enought to get out of the upside down car payment. Do it quick on Craigslist before you kill the high speed. Or just have a yard sale.

I know this is basic and repeats some other ideas – but that’s what it takes. No rocket science required. Also if people see you trying, doing the right things, cutting to the bone, they’re more likely to help you – give you a ride, hire you for some cleaning, offer payment plans, tell you about jobs, etc. Don’t underestimate this potential. People will help if you’re helping yourself. Think about it, who do you offer help to… and don’t go right back to old spending habits as soon as you have an extra buck.

Want to go beyond basics and get tough…
Pets ain’t cheap.

Good Luck.

Great, great advice for people who are facing the bare minimums.

I was a boarder during college, saving tons of money over apartment rents. Then, the same day I started law school, my sister and I bought a house, a 4-bedroom, with a small down payment, a loan assumption and a real estate contract back to the seller. This was during a housing downturn in the early 1970s. For the next 12 years, I had boarders, starting with three, eventually declining to one as we prepared to sell. (My sister worked in another state.) It allowed me to go through law school and start my practice with effectively zero housing expense. The rent collected paid the mortgages, utilities, repairs and maintenance for all that time. The mortgages were paid off within 10 years and the house appreciated four-fold (of course, so did inflation), giving my sister and me each a 35% down payment on the next houses we bought individually.

At the same time, my boarders, most of whom were college students or recent graduates new to the work force, got economical housing in a nice house near their school or work. Sometimes, if we had compatible schedules, we shared meals, saving even more. Granted, there were a few bad apples in the bunch, and the lifestyle requires some accommodations, but it can pay enormous dividends.

I think it’s unfortunate that young people now automatically assume their first housing away from their parents should be a shared apartment. The cost is always higher than a boarding situation would be. Too often they are not as good at picking their room-mate as a more mature person would be, and they end up with higher costs than anticipated or an eviction and damage to their credit scores at a critical time in their financial lives.