How can I balance saving money while paying off $21k in debt?

B

BookWallflow

New Member
So I ended up taking out a personal loan and racki ng up my credit cards again—definitely a mistake. Now I'm sitting on over $21k in debt because of it. But 2024 is finally going to be my year to wipe this debt out!

What's everyone managing to save while also tackling bills, or should savings be pretty much off the table right now?
 
Here's the basic idea with debt: pay the minimum for now and try to stash away at least $1000 for a rainy day. Go over your budget and see where you can cut back, then put that extra cash into savings. Once you've got your $1000 safety net, you can start throwing that extra money at your debt, using either the snowball or avalanche method. After you're debt free, take all that money you were putting toward payments and start saving it for retirement instead.
 
Alright, hear me out. If you're flirting with those credit limits, just throw everything at the debt. Think of it this way: if a real emergency pops up and you're desperate, you could always tap back into what you paid off on the card like a last resort safety net. You'd totally lose that option if the card got axed. Kind of a bummer, right?
 
I don't really save per se, but I put $200 a month into a household repair/maintenance fund and just started doing the same for taxes next year 'cause I owed money last time
 
Back
Top