Question about my savings while erasing credit card debt

[saver17]

Do I just focus on eliminating the credit card debt right now and worry about saving money once it's all gone? I have about $1000 in my savings and I decided to stop there and focus on eliminating the $2500 debt by 7/1/17

Good Move?

[disneysteve]

What are your monthly expenses? The base expenses only. The ones that must be paid if you lose your job tomorrow. Don't count things you can easily cut out.

[saver17]

What are your monthly expenses? The base expenses only. The ones that must be paid if you lose your job tomorrow. Don't count things you can easily cut out.

Rent-$700
Cable-$145
Electric-$25
Phone-$65

[disneysteve]

Rent-$700
Cable-$145
Electric-$25
Phone-$65

So that's almost $1,000. Plus food, insurance, car expenses, and other necessities that you didn't list. And cable isn't a necessity unless you are locked into a contract.

I think a one-month EF is fine to start. Beyond that, all spare money should be going to the debt. In another thread, you mentioned that you are budgeting $300 for a day trip to NYC. Where is that money coming from in this scenario?

[saver17]

So that's almost $1,000. Plus food, insurance, car expenses, and other necessities that you didn't list. And cable isn't a necessity unless you are locked into a contract.

I think a one-month EF is fine to start. Beyond that, all spare money should be going to the debt. In another thread, you mentioned that you are budgeting $300 for a day trip to NYC. Where is that money coming from in this scenario?

Let me add $91 for a monthly train pass. I don't drive and don't have any car insurance.

The $300 is coming from a check in Mid April

[disneysteve]

The $300 is coming from a check in Mid April

Which could go toward the credit card if you really wanted to focus on paying it off.

[saver17]

Which could go toward the credit card if you really wanted to focus on paying it off.

True but why would I pass up a trip with my family to NYC? I will admit the trip came out of nowhere and was not planned at all until a few weeks ago. I went on a business trip to NYC and my cousin saw on Facebook how much fun I had after the business dinner and suggested we go as a family. So yes the plan was actually to send that $300 to Discover but I did not see a trip to NYC 4 weeks ago. But I maybe able to still send Discover a big payment after my trip so I will see how well I do with spending on that day.

[disneysteve]

True but why would I pass up a trip with my family to NYC?

Why would you pass it up? BECAUSE YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT.

There will always be something out there to spend money on. If you don't learn to say NO, you will struggle for the rest of your life.

[saver17]

Why would you pass it up? BECAUSE YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT.

There will always be something out there to spend money on. If you don't learn to say NO, you will struggle for the rest of your life.

So a person who goes to work everyday is never supposed to do anything for fun on the weekends?

[disneysteve]

So a person who goes to work everyday is never supposed to do anything for fun on the weekends?

You have a choice how to spend every dollar. You can spend it, save it, or use it to pay off debt. Each of those choices has consequences.

Why do you assume that doing "anything for fun on the weekends" has to involve spending hundreds of dollars. It's fun to go to the beach. It's fun to go to a free concert in the park. It's fun to go for a nice bike ride or hike. It's fun to cuddle up with my wife on the sofa, make some popcorn, and watch a movie on TV. It's fun to invite friends over for dinner and spend the evening talking or maybe playing a game together.

You've chosen to spend $300 to go to NYC. Don't pretend that it was the only choice you could have made.

[saver17]

You have a choice how to spend every dollar. You can spend it, save it, or use it to pay off debt. Each of those choices has consequences.

Why do you assume that doing "anything for fun on the weekends" has to involve spending hundreds of dollars. It's fun to go to the beach. It's fun to go to a free concert in the park. It's fun to go for a nice bike ride or hike. It's fun to cuddle up with my wife on the sofa, make some popcorn, and watch a movie on TV. It's fun to invite friends over for dinner and spend the evening talking or maybe playing a game together.

You've chosen to spend $300 to go to NYC. Don't pretend that it was the only choice you could have made.

Well unfortunately Manhattan is not a cheap place so I will have to come out of pocket

[Randomsaver]

It's great that you're working now saver17! Congratulations! That is a key step to financial independence.

Another one is prioritization. Usually, we want to eliminate any cc debt first before we spend on non-essential items like travel.

It looks like you have a plan to get this paid off by 7/1 which isn't that far away. Do check in to this thread every paycheck to see how it goes down. We'll support you on your path.

Good luck!

[bjl584]

I think that you need to completely change the way that you think about and handle money or the type of issues that you've been posting lately are going to haunt you for the rest of your life.