Me: $9,800 CC1 @ 5.99% life of the balance
$2,000 CC2 @ 0% till January 2008 (This is the only card we/both of us use and all other cards are shredded)
$16,000 Car Loan @ 5.75% ~ 330/month
$5,500 Student Loans @ 0% till January 2008

Her: $2,400 CC1 @ 0% till April 2008
$11,000 CC2 @ 3.99% life of the balance

I just graduated. She has a bit more to go. We both work full time.

Here is the clincher. We are both living rent free till May. I have about $2000 coming to me from tax refund. She has about $400. Combined income for us both NET = $3600.

Our monthly expenses (gas, food, etc.) total $400

I have an idea on how to tackle this but I'd like your input. I assume our rent would be in the neighborhood of $700 incl utilities a month.

Thanks for any input, I know its a mess but this needs to gone by 2008 except for the loans.

I am committed in more ways than one!

I have $3268 in Cash
and
Her CC1 $2,400 is 0% till April of 2007

One question is are you both paying for the wedding or are parents?
If you are paying for it as hard as it may be,you don't want to end up adding that debt to what you already have.
I would sit down and list every payment you make
$400 a month seems low for gas food & etc. will this go up once you are in your own place?
Once you have the total amount that goes out each month you will see how much you have extra to put toward the CC balances. You want to make sure to pay off the other one that has "0" apr by 2008.
Another thing you can do is take the balances and divide it by how long you want to take to pay it off
for example the $11k card let say you want to have that paid off in 3 years you would need to pay aprox $320 per month
and $290 a month for your $9800 card.
the most important thing is not to add to your debt stop using the card you share
if you need to buy something pay cash.
You both have to have the midset that you want to be debt free for this to work

Hopefully you will receive money as wedding presents :)

I have friends who got married 2 days before the end of a calendar year. Love is wonderful, but the tax hit was a killer!

Her parents have graciously paid for the entire wedding. So that is a big load off of us. I stated correctly that $400 is our living expenses, her insurance is paid for. Mine is included in that $400 and we mostly eat with either of our parents for meals and cook when we can. They basically are helping us out until we get married for us to pay off our debt.

SL does not accrue interest nor does it require payment until December 2007.

I am aware of the marriage affecting our taxes, I was under the impression however that we would be getting more back?

And no I don't want to transfer around the debt away from where it is. I want to pay off things as they are and not add to it.

I have a federal credit union and I have USAA insurance/investments/banking.

Thanks for the input

1. I would beg parents to live rent free with them as long as possible.

2. If parents say no, look for a long term house sitting gig, even if you move every month or two. This is FREE rent.

2. If plan 1 or 2 does not work out, look for shared housing that has the minimum rent that you can both stand, not what is the most I can get for the budget I have. It's a different mind set. It's always cheaper to share. When I was first married, we rented out our basement apartment.

3. Get a second job on weekends, if you are no longer going to school.

4. Start paying off the CCs with the deferred interset first, then followed by the least balance so that you paid off something every few months. You are playing a game with yourself. Set up situations that makes you feel good to save and pay off debt rather than spending money.

Good luck.

I totally agree with the poster who suggested trying to get the parents to continue to let you live rent-free until you're on a stable financial footing. And I'd look into each of you working a second job--putting ALL the money from that one into debt reduction. It would be a real sacrifice, but one that would really pay off. Once you're married, and in your own place, you're going to find it so much harder to get rid of those debts--you won't believe the emergencies that crop up regularly that need money tossed at them to resolve. I really wish there was some way you could eliminate all your debts before the wedding (I hate to see young folks going into marriage with that kind of debt), but with the schedule you've posted, that's not going to be possible, I suppose. Good luck.

$400/month for living expenses sounds awfully low, though, even though the OP "confirmed" the figure. That's groceries (nice that the parents will feed you, but the statement was "we mostly eat with either of our parents for meals and cook when we can. They basically are helping us out until we get married for us to pay off our debt." So what happens after the wedding? Might not want to assume that you can continue to be the happy guests at the dinner table every night).

That's also fuel/insurance/maintenance for the car(s). One of the cars is relatively new, so there will have to be a minimal amount of insurance on it and proper maintenance is a smart thing to do -- going without costs much more later.

That $400 also includes clothing, haircuts, gifts for family occasions (and each other?), utilities that do not come with the house/apartment (like your ISP and cable and [cell] phone bills), laundry, car license tabs or registration fees, doctor visits, ...

If you (OP) haven't been tracking expenses like this over the past several months, it's a mighty good time to start. It's likely that $400 a month is a best-case guesstimate and that the real total (the one you can live with, not the "don't buy anything unless we really really need it" theoretical total) is significantly higher.

Apartments rent here for $310-$450.
You can rent a 3 BR house in town for $550.
And home ownership is still very affordable here.

Just letting everyone know that expensive housing isn't everywhere.

If those 0% interest rate debts jump to a ridiculous interest rate after those dates you specified, then make sure you save up enough money in your bank account to pay them off right before the rate changes.

And no I don't want to transfer around the debt away from where it is. I want to pay off things as they are and not add to it.
You aren't adding to the debt if you just transfer it from a higher interest rate loan to a lower interest rate loan. You are just making it easier to pay off quicker.

And if you are using that credit card that has a 0% interest rate until Jan 2008, do the new purchases on it also have the 0%? I doubt it. You are probably paying interest on any new charges, and any payments made are being put towards the balance of the part that is zero percent. Meanwhile, the new purchases are sitting there building up interest charges.

This card does 0% for all new purchases (made in 07) till 2008.

Yes $400 expenses and $700 rent does sound off for most of you. But these are real budgeted researched figures.
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Again I have $3000 in cash in the bank.

I know that my outlook is grim and I may not pay everything back by the wedding. I need a second job and if you have any recommendations feel free.

My goal is to pay off everything by June except:
My Car, My Student loans, and her CC2.

We are going to dent those some but not fully pay them off.

Goal for December is to have all paid off (except the car) and have some savings so we can move into a house.

----------------------------------------

My history: I worked full time went to school full time (6 classes 18credits) while accumulating this debt. I haven't ever researched any of the information that most of you have been practicing. But I am dedicated and I will follow up to show my progress.
We have a lot of things working for us. We live in low cost of living part of town while generating an income above most families in the area (city data). I have approximately 19weeks before we get married and I will break my back not only to reduce this debt but reduce the stress that it generates.

-Glavin

I disagree. If you put everything that you'd normally pay cash for and put it on that credit card (it's 0% interest) and then take the cash and put it towards another debt, then you are not increasing your debt at all. You are just essentially transfering your debt from a higher interest rate to a zero interest rate.
However, your point is probably that some people find credit cards to be too tempting and they spend money that they wouldn't normally. Fight that temptation, and you'll come out ahead.

For often the 0% applies only to transfers in, and new purchases are not included, so accrue interest from the date of purchase ... and when you come to the end of the 0% term, all of the payments must go to the transferred amount until it is paid in full.

During which time the new purchases, plus accrued interest, is piling up - so you end up with a substantial debt ... to be paid at their going (blood-sucking) rate.

Unless, of course, you can find another 0% for transfers for XXX months offer.

Good wishes for your skillful reduction of the debts.

I honour your perception with regard to the importance of cutting those debts to 0. Plus your resolve to continue to work at achieving that goal.

I'll give some thought to what possible suggestions that I may have to offer and most likely come back later.

I like the idea of paying off the highest interest date first (while making minimum required payments on the others, of course).

Good wishes to you and your intended.

How well in tune are the two of you with regard to dealing with the debt in the short period ... and managing income and assets over the longer term?

It is important that you try to work toward both singing from the same hymn book in that regard.

Sometimes people tend to be a little more flexible with regard to ingrained habits prior to marriage than after.

ole joyful

I also had a car loan and credit card leaving school, and I found the best way was to focus on the credit cards. Credit-rating wise, the car is a secured debt, and does not negatively impact your credit score the way the cards do (unless of course you pay late!).

My biggest mistake, however, in my zeal to pay down debt, was leaving myself cash poor. Use the zero interest time to build up some cash, that way you have a buffer. But for sure lose those balances (payoff/transfer) if they have high interest at the end of the term.

I hope your future Mrs. is working equally hard to dissolve her debts -- backing out the car and school loans, your personal debts are lower. Are her parents paying for her schooling, or will that be another consideration once she finishes school?

I wouldn't stress too much, have a game plan that you two can agree on and stick with it -- before finances get more complicated (businesses, kids, homes!). Whatever you decide, now is the time to make the decisions, together. That whole "what's your's is mine" bit applies to debts, too :)

Good luck (and keep wishing for green wedding presents).