I have so much debt! Where do I start...

Hey guys and gals, I have so much debt that I dont even know where to begin. Its been brewing for like 5 years now....any advice...it is only about $6000 definatley less than $10000. Its doable! But HOW??????

I need guidance!

[Laker]

Save more than you spend?

Wow... That's it? Wish I had that small of an amount of debt. Is that including student loans?

I don't know much about your spending habits, or how you buy (cash, charge, etc.), but I'd put away your credit cards and just spend with a debit card (so you can track your spending habits). I haven't used my credit card for a year now, and have been able to pay off a good portion of my existing balances. Also, depending on how many credit cards you have (this is a juggle though), I transferred my high interest rate card to an introductory 6-month 0% APR card, and paid as much as I could on the high interest card during that six months. Having high, ugly APR's on credit card debt is like having cancer growing in your body, so I tried to get rid of as much as I could.

Hmmmm, what else. Oh, like everyone else is saying, save more than you spend. From your paycheck, automatically deposit a set amount to go to savings and don't touch it!!! I've been doing that for several years, and when my husband and I did our budget this weekend, we didn't realize we saved so much...

Anyway, I'm not an expert by any means. I still have debt, including my hubbie's. Hope my experiences can help you, and good luck with the financial planning!!!

Bankrate.com has some good info on how to pay off your debt. Here's a link:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calculators ... gement.asp

They have a Debt Pay-Down calculator that will help you to come up with a strategy for getting rid of your debt. If you have credit card debt, then call your credit card company and ask to have your rates lowered or see if they will give you either a 0% or a low interest rate for balance transfers.

[Tenacious_D]

The biggest thing you have to worry about is paying off credit card debt (if there is any at all). Student loans can be paid back at the absolute minimum...there is really no financial incentive to rush those payments IF you don't have to. Consolidate lschool oans if you have them and like everyone else said save more than you spend. The mocha latte with extra foam will have to wait until after residency or the lottery