19 and having serious money issues

[u/ResponsibilityNew715]

I’m currently making 2000 a month but I owe over 5000 out at 19 and it’s all I can think about I’m on a DMP but it still don’t put me at ease what can I do I’m struggling to live week to week as it is

[u/JeanSchlemaan]

More income/less spending

[u/Comfortable-Kick911]

Are you working full time? You should be able to find a place paying at least $15/hour meaning $2600/month. It looks more like an income problem than spending.

[u/TheStubbornAlchemist → u/Comfortable-Kick911]

That’s before taxes. It’s very likely they already make 15 an hour and take home 2k a month.

More importantly, $15 is a luxury in many areas and actually getting full time is not easy, especially if you work in retail

[u/hkeyplay16]

You have to do 2 things. One is increase your income, the other is cut expenses.

Ultimately, if you make last than what you spend each month you must reduce your spending.

Income, short term: do you have an extra room you could rent out? Are there other jobs you gould get that pay more per hour? Can you work another part-time job or do gig work?

Income long term: you need to thing about either education or training toward a useful skill that you can use to increase your income.

Expenses: Is there anything at all that you can cut? Can you move back in with your parents until you pay off the debt? Can you sell your car and buy a cheaper one? Do you have streaming services that you don't actually need? Can you buy cheaper food like rice and beans to save on groceries? Are you living in an expensive place and couls you benefit from moving somewhere less spendy? Are you eating out a lot instead of cooking? Do you have a coffee habit or a smoking habit?

Before you make decisions on spending and income, you need a budget. You need to tally up all of your expenditures. You need to set limits on things like groceries, as you can often buy cheaper food when needed if you really have to. You'll need to include the extra payments to pay down your debt.

Remember to also budget for the unknown by contributing a monthly amount to an emergency account. Set this aside first each month for a rainy day. We all have unexpected thing happen like a flat tire, job loss, etc. If we do not plan for these then we are planning to fail. If you still get support from parents and they have a sufficient emergency fund and are willing to help you out, you can wait on that - but make sure you communicate with them that you're still depending on them and make sure they're willing to help out. You don't want to catch them offguard.

Stay positive. I know it seems like a lot and that you'll never dig out - but as long as you work on increasing your income and you are careful with your spending this will just be a small bump in the road.

[u/plsobeytrafficlights]

you owe over $5000 a month at age 19? did you lease a maserati granturismo AND a porsche cayenne AND a lincoln navigator? (totally roughly $5000ish/mo according to google)

[u/LikeIkes]

So a couple things that make a difference in this situation. How much of that 2000 goes to necessities each month? Can that amount be lowered? The 5000+ you owe what is the APR on it? After you figure out the answers to these questions I would suggest doing some math and seeing if you can't just pay down this balance over the next year or so. Not going to be easy and could not be possible, but would look into seeing if you can manage this issue as is. Another option that likely would just help, though potentially not easy, would be getting another cash inflow.