Hi All! New to the website, new to the ideas, new to saving!
Ok...everything is pretty straightforward in my story, so I'll just lay it out. Basically I'm here for advice and encouragement. I've already done all the beating up I can do to myself!
For starters...I just went through my bills and pared down to bare minimums. I've gotten my monthly bills as low as they can go, for now, due to contracts and etc. I also want to say that I am a single mom of three kids, ages 11, 13, and 14. I am the sole breadwinner. I am the bill payer, the mom and the dad, mechanic, gardener, housecleaner, laundress, seamstress, etc. You get the idea. I do as much as I possibly can on my own and loathe paying others to do anything.
After taxes and insurance, my take home pay is $3000 a month.
My rent, utilities, auto and renters insurance, and school loans/other debt comes to $1500 a month. Food and Gas I can keep down to $500 a month.
I am $21,000 in debt with school loans, credit cards, and a small personal loan. My goal is to pay off as much debt as I can with my income tax return. I have approximately $1000 'extra' (after bills) that I plan on using for paying down the rest of the debt as quickly as possible.
So, here is where I need you wise Mustachians to jump in...21K in debt, not a huge income, and no savings to speak of. I'm 37 years old. No windfalls or winnings in sight in the near future...Do I have a snowball's chance in hell of making financial independence a reality?