Need financial advice to get out of debt.

I'm completely overwhelmed right now with outstanding bills and not enough money to pay them. I technically make enough money to afford them but am constantly playing catch up and can't get ahead. My bank acct is overdraft, I've been writing nsf checks to stay afloat but then my paycheck is gone by time I get it because of all my fees. My credit is shot and I can't see how to get ahead. I've got debt collectors calling me . My mortgage is late, my car payment is late. HELP! I'm looking for insights from people who have gotten out of a financial mess before. I'm considering bankruptcy. Need financial advice to get out of debt.
First, stop spending. Only buy food that you need to survive, don't even eat out.





Second, look at your bills... Your priority bills should be those that provide the basics of life... Your mortgage, the lights, and maybe your car payment. Cancel your cell phone, it is an item you can get back when you have the money. Perhaps cancel DSL, cut back on your cable, get a simple life for a while. Get rid of everything that isn't necessary to stay alive.





Once you get to the point where you aren't in overdraft (giving free money to the bank) you can start paying your other bills. You can go to money.cnn.com and play with the credit card calculators. You put in the interest rates, the debt amounts, and minimum payments. It gives you a payoff schedule based on the amount of money you have each month to pay off the debt.





This will hurt, you will really have to cut back on things, but if you have the discipline, if you can find the discipline, it will be better than filing for bankruptcy. That will hurt you for 7 years, you will most likely lose your home, it won't be pretty. The stress alone of the process is tough.





Call your lender (for the house) and talk about the payment, if that is part of your issue. Contact your credit cards and tell them you are working it out.





Seriously, it will take effort to get yourself out of this, but it sounds like you have hit rock bottom. If you don't think you have the discipline to cut way back, then go ahead and file for bankruptcy. You may as well get the clock rolling.





Stop all spending.Need financial advice to get out of debt.
First of all, stop spending.





Then look at your bills and prioritize them - house payment 1st. Utilities, car payment etc next.





On your credit cards, sort them by balance and pay the minimum amount on all of them except the one with the lowest balance. Pay all you can on it until it is paid off, then switch to the one with the next lowest balance. Each time one is paid off, you can use the money you were paying to increase the amount you can now pay to the current lowest balance card.
Very simply there are two ways to pay down debt. Reduce your spending or increase your income.





It sounds as though you've been living beyond your means. Maybe you need to sell your home and downsize. Perhaps you have too expensive of a car. Sell the car and buy a cheaper but reliable used car. Also look for other ways to cut expenses.





To increase income, see if you can work more hours at work, or get a part time job or get a better paying job.





Bottom line, you need to live within your means which it appears you have not been doing. You'll have to sacrifice. But so is the pain when trying to keep up with the Joneses. Good luck.
You say you make enough money to pay your bills, but provide no numbers. The mess you're in says otherwise. So the first thing you need to do is sit down with a calculator and figure some real numbers. Add up all your bills plus a frugal (but realistic) amount to live on each month. Compare it to your income and see if your income really does give you a realistic chance to meet your obligations. If it does, then the issue is simple - you need to never, ever spend more than the bare minimum you've calculated to live off, and use all of the rest to pay your debt.





If you discover that your income isn't covering your bills, then things are tougher. You could try adding a part time job or call your creditors and ask for more lenient payment terms. Bankruptcy is also a possibility, but should be reserved as a last resort if all else fails.