Hi PF,
I'm probably in one of the worst places a 31 year old can be, financially. Especially in the Bay Area. I've spent money willy nilly for almost 8 years straight. Now that I want to plan for my future, I'm absolutely freaking out internally (as I should be) because of how supremely I've fucked myself over. I've botched it as supremely as Da Vinci drew Mona Lisa. I have a sense of humor about these things, so I've got that going for me, which is nice. Unfortunately comedy isn't the trade I ply, so it won't feed me or pay my bills. This is my roundabout plea for help. What better Xmas gift for myself other than a nice big dose of financial responsibility?
Here is what I owe (not counting student loans, which is ~20K):
| Credit Card | Balance | Minimum Pay | APR |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMEX | 5397.55 | 357 | 29.99 |
| Chase Frdm | 6300.62 | 160 | 19.24 |
| Chase Saphr | 19,202.98 | 455 | 17.99 |
| Barclaycard | 2367.27 | 52.65 | 14.99 |
| Paypal | 1940.85 | 69.43 | 19.99 |
| Citi Costco | 7800.33 | 199.36 | 17.24 |
| Car loan | 444.99 | 324.28 | 6.00 |
| TOTAL | 43,454.26 | 1617.72 | -- |
My income is ~5500 a month after taxes (and maxing out my 18K of retirement - which I only did at the beginning of this year when I turned 30).
Here are almost all my expenses:
| Expense | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rent | 1900 |
| Phone | 70 |
| Net / TV | 200 |
| Stdnt Loans | 400 |
| Minimums | 1617.72 |
| Car | 325 |
| Gas | 150 |
| AMC A List | 20 |
| Netflix | 15 |
| Linode | 10 |
| AAPL Music | 10 |
| Goo Drive | 2 |
| Dropbox | 10 |
| iCloud Drv | 1 |
| TOTAL | 4730.72 |
I'm pretty much left with ~500 after setting aside $250 for food. What I would like is a game plan to get me out of this hole. Ideally something I can check on a daily basis to make sure I don't stray off my track. Maybe a burn down chart? How do I even budget?! I'm so lost and confused, and blaming myself heavily for doing this to myself. I can't talk to my friends about it because this is WAY too embarrassing (and I have this one friend who sometimes tells me he has a problem, which is having too much money and not knowing what to do with it - I told him to go enjoy life - which is the kindest way I can tell him to go fuck right off - and then I feel depressed and miserable that I'm in this situation). Which makes me feel immature for feeling that way, and that makes me more depressed. It's such a vicious cycle that I can't take it anymore. I started reading the book "Your money or your life" and a book title has never hit me harder.
I know need a side hustle and the only one I can think of is being a Doordash / Uber food delivery person (or take up a job on the weekends or both? I don't know where I can find weekend only gigs though). My car is a 2 seater Miata so I can't Lyft/Uber.
.... it's 2:25am PST on Xmas Day. I'm so depressed financially it feels like my post is going to sink the bottom and never get any real / substantial help in planning for my future. If that's the case I hope a repost won't have horrible consequences :). Also I feel like nobody would want to be with me (I started seeing someone and I care for them a lot), which is why planning for my future is now the only thing I care about.
Submitted December 25, 2018 at 05:32AM by isuperfuckedmyself http://bit.ly/2BDEmKX
