Getting out of carrying balances

[Anonymous]

get a second job ! ! 

[Anonymous]

New York or Chicago? Or maybe Boston or DC. I am gonna guess Chicago. If my crystal ball is correct you can always move to an area that is gentrifies but hasn't started pricegouging, Bucktown for example, or Logan Square if Chi is indeed the case. Plenty of transit to get you to wherever yu need to go and your rent would drop significantly. I am sure every major city has outlying areas that have easy access to downtown which are more cost appropriate. Even groceries are cheaper. Good luck, I've been there.

[tonyjones]

Another option is to cash out your 401k lol 

[toothgrind3r]

This might sound harsh, but if you're in this situation, you're living above your means.  You have to somehow cut down your expenses by $500 at least.  

I live in NYC, I know how hard it is to live in an expensive city.  If my salary was suddenly cut in half, I would get a roommate and cut my rent in half, I would not eat out, I would cut cable, I would go cut my cell phone bill in half even if that meant having half the amount of data allowed, I would stop buying my monthly metrocard and walk/bike to work, and if none of that worked, I would have to move.

[disdreamin]

OP, what do the people you work with do to make ends meet?  I mean, if you are in the kind of job where you co-workers make similar salaries, I'd be tempted to talk to a friend at work and brainstorm ideas.  The idea of a second job is probably the easiest and quickest fix.  Is there a reason you haven't considered that?  Work schedule, etc?

Frankly, if you live in a major city I'd be sorely tempted to ditch the internet and just make a habit of using wi-fi hotspots for a while to get ahead.  Your cable and internet isn't a bad deal, but it probably isn't the best you could do for just internet either.  Giving it a break for six months may allow you to re-up as a new subscriber (with the low teaser rates offered) and if you have a smart phone, you can probably get by for a few months that way.  It's not convenient, but neither is running a monthly deficit.

FWIW, not too long after 9/11 my SO and I worked for the same company and were laid off at the same time.  We got cleaning jobs on the weekends for businesses to make ends meet.  We did offices, and it paid quite well for what it was.  When you really, REALLY need to make money to put food on the table and keep the lights on, there is nothing I wouldn't do.  IMO, that should be your mindset until things improve.  

Hopefully in the not-too-distant future your income from your primary job will cover your necessities, but until it does you really need to get aggressive about finding a fix for that deficit.

[toothgrind3r]

And, sorry, I'm not trying to say "Here's what I would do, so your should too!"....I'm saying take a step back, look at your situation, find the ways to fix it, and do it, before this all spirals way out of control.

I would try to stop using your credit cards for a few of months.  Use cash/debit.  That way you can't spend what you don't have.  You'd be surprised how much stuff you spend money on, because you can, that you don't actually need.  

[Anonymous]

Oh my! lol

[Dice]

Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? You can go to Daveramsey.com and listen to his archives.  He wrote a book called Total Money Makeover and he talks about this stuff everyday.  He would definetely be able to help you.  Credit card companies and credit bureaus hate him.

[Anonymous]

The situation to me is helping to figure out what you value.  There are some things that are more important to you than other things.  Only you can specify what those things are.  Once you get specific about where you are spending your money.  Only then can you make realistic plan to resolve your problem.