Blows $700 on Fun and $86k in Debt | Millennial Real Life Budget Review Ep 33

Nice vid but she should follow the Dave Ramsey plan for at least the first 3 steps. 1. Quickly save $1000 for an "emergency fund" 2. Pay off the smallest credit card, cut it up, then move onto the next card. Pay that off, cut it up, and so on until she reaches her student loan. She can then toss more $$$ a that and get it wiped out then she'll be debt free. 3. Then she can save up for her 3-6 month emergency fund.

I literally cannot say it enough: the emergency fund is so important. My husband (an accountant) literally just lost his job. Without our emergency fund, we'd be under in three months. No job is completely stable, especially in this economy. Best of luck to this person, that vacay fund is goin to have to wait 😂

Excellent breakdown and plan, Justine. Great advice. However, I have a friend who's a degreed and certified paralegal and has 5 years of experience and has lost 2 jobs in the course of 3 years. They are not always that stable.

Great advice 😊❤😊

Show the milkers

I personally find snowball to be so motivating. I really underestimated for me how motivating paying off a card would be. I changed my entire plan after finishing that first account. If this is someone who is going to really struggle to find the motivation, I would recommend paying off Credit One first and then going with avalanche method. By paying off something early, you can prove to yourself that you actually can do it! And that's HUGE. Thanks for this break down! I love these videos.

Has anyone else used the template with a bi-weekly schedule? I've been shifting it to the two pay periods to see how that works for a few months, so instead of June, it might be May 30-June 27, then July is June 28-July 24...etc.

She should absolutely do the debt snowball. And aim for $10K starter emergency fund. Walking & bike riding while listening to a podcast are my contentment activities. It's exercise and it's free 😊

400 for car insurance 😮

If it were me: all those credit cards need to be put into a tub of water & frozen in the freezer so they can't be used on a whim (but don't cancel the cards as that affects the credit rating). Remove the card nbrs from any online payments & use debit card instead. Create a sensible budget of needs & small amount for wants & stick to it.
Meal planning to reduce grocery spend & cook healthy budget meals incl lunch for work, DIY coffee at home & work. Thrift stores for clothes for the family. Shop around for cheaper options for bills.
2k emergency fund to start then snowball those debts for the little wins. It honestly becomes fun if you treat it like a game! I had a very frugal 16 months but I did it & I'm out of debt now!

For an individual like her, she should get a balance transfer 0% interest APY for 18+ months because there’s NO WAY she got those high ass interest rates.

Seeing how other people live, and what they spend, sometimes just blows my mind ..

Please see if you could get a credit card with 0% APR interest for 18 months is the ideal, I just did it and paid my debt. If not, you could apply for Line of Credit, please verify that it is a line of credit and no a Loan, because line of credit is a revolving account with simple interest and the loan is a lot of interest. With this line of credit you can transfer these debts or some of them according with the limit you get and park all your income in this line of credit. Please check some videos on Velocity Banking. I hope this helps.

Something tell's me the income & debt overview part of future 2024 videos are going to get more and more interesting.

No, with 80k plus in debt, you shouldnt have any fun allocation. Do free things until thats gone, thats crazy

If the 17-year-old is on her car insurance, that's actually fairly standard. It will decrease if the teen stays accident and ticket free at age 18, but it's still really expensive. I just had to insure my new driver who is 18 and was shocked at the price even with the good student discount and no tickets or accidents.

VELOCITY BANKING IS THE ANSWER HERE. Oh my goodness gracious. She needs to change her spending habit first or the debt mentality. You can use velocity banking here. And can definitely easy clear out some debt. But, to be honest, i dont think she can change that spending habits. It might be for the meantime, but it looks like more of a personality issue.

Wow you're 1k away from a silver placard

Wow, youre 1k away from the Silver Play Button 🎉

Her car insurance is clearly for her and her nephew - a 17 year old male. Yeah, it's gonna be expensive.

It's got to be the 17 year old nephew on her car insurance bringing the cost up so high. If he doesn't drive her car(s) or if he can not drive her cars, she could ask her insurance about making him an excluded driver. I did this when I lived with my younger sister but she never drove my car. My insurance needed me to sign something saying they weren't liable if she did drive it. Of course in this person's case she probably does want to let her nephew drive the car.

Crazy how people can even think of using a 30% interest credit card. Her monthly payment on her debts is already a quarter of her gross pay. That’s nuts. I’d be in constant anxiety if these were my numbers. If you don’t have the money, don’t spend it.

Is this how most people in America live? It’s very stressful.

Her car insurance would be that much if the 17 year old is a licensed driver.

Car insurance is expensive when you have a teenager driving in your household, and for some reason, it is more expensive for boys. I am wondering if that is her case

Hey Justine! Do you edit videos yourself, or have you hired someone? I offer high-quality edits and would love to discuss, if you’re interested.

What is your opinion on debt management plans?

You can also do a mix of both methods. I paid off the lower balances first because it was easier. Then I decided to pay off the higher interest rates to save on interest payments. Now I am slow paying my student loans (only debt outside of the mortgage) and taking the valuable time in my 20s to invest in the market.

Personal finance isn’t one which way. You can definitely play around with it if you’d like.

8K from 86K still leaves 71K.... so how can you fault people with 10+ of loans to pay off when their payment takes almost 1 decade!!!! WTF a whole lot can change in just 5 years (Covid pricing for example!!!!)

When I looked at the mouth if she saved that $700 a month 7 month he would take her more than 10 years of sacrificing to pay off that student loan... I totally understand her... That's the first time in 15 years that I sided with somebody having fun instead of paying off their student loan.. It is just so crazy overwhelming... My boyfriend and I saved select crazy and then 2 weeks after we bought a house before we moved in. I went to pick him up for breakfast and at 55 years old. I found him dead... Not worth avoiding all the fun we could have had.

Being a paralegal doesn't pay. People think it's a highly respected professional job, but its not. You're not a lawyer, you're an assistant. That doesn't mean sh*t.

Why is she having 700 dollars of fun every month when she’s got a child to raise and a ton of debt ?!

Daycare! Ha! What a waste of money

When you owe $86,000, $700 isn't going to make a dent. They might as well have fun.

Did her husband leave her any life insurance when he died?

May I suggest as a " hefty" vacation to go with a baloney sandwich?

This was a great video with even greater feedback. She can make it, she just has to believe in herself and stick with the plan she chooses.

I love your post content and learned a lot from your expertise and knowledge 👍🙏👌💐

She is a victim of the gender pay gap! If she were a man she would be OK, women really do need to get paid more.

Might be the 17 year old is on the insurance list, driving up the price.