It costs a lot of money to live

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I guess I'm just fed up with living check to check.

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how old are you? You have to get mad and get determined. Control as much as you can control.

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Might check into getting a second job.

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nothing wrong with that but you need a plan long term. what type of degree do you have? professional certifications? courses taken? experience? Are you at the top of the ladder in your profession? Sometimes you also just have to go where the money is. i have had to do it. Lots of people had to work long hours most of their lives , but that is one thing that has helped me. Not some 40 hour work week just getting by(unless you get a nice fat salary). You have to get after it to get ahead. I still work 70 hour weeks at times. I used to work 98 hour weeks. sure, it is not easy starting out young expecting to make a killing. but you need a plan to move up and keep moving up. I did not make jack (by my standards and probably others) until i was 34. Yes, I got by but was nowhere near where i wanted to be. part of that was getting the experience, education, and working my way up the ladder. takes time.

Also, do you have any retirement accounts set up? Do you do any investing at all? if so, what vehicles do you use?

I'm guessing you're a personal/relationship banker making about 30k/year?

with a degree and 2 yrs, you should be pretty damn close to moving up to branch manager unless you pretty much suck at your job.

my sister has a degree in fashion merchandising, and made it to branch manager in a year and a half and has moved to some bigger branches. with bonuses/incentives she's in the 50k range.

Kids are a money-suck.



If you didn't have the kid you would probably have 1000 extra a month

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MaesterMullen

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and I do realize in your field more hours does not automatically= more money. and even if it did not all employers allow it. At any rate, hang in there, get a plan and stick to it. improve, improve, improve! good luck!

between my wife, our 3 kids, and myself we have about $3900 a month in expenses and that not including food and gas.

yeah we both make around $24/hr but you got to factor in 401K, doctor bills, insurance, and taxes out of those checks.

During my first marriage we lived paycheck to paycheck. My wife did the bill paying from our joint account. I found it frustrating because I was wearing rags and never spent any money.

After her first affair she begged for forgiveness and to come back. I did so for the sake of the kids but demanded that we keep totally separate accounts. Within one year I had saved 10K (20K in today's dollars). I then realized that she was spending her money on her stuff and spending my money on mortgage, food, utilities, etc.

When I caught her cheating again the divorce was much easier since I had saved a bundle. Bought her out of her half of the house. Sold it for a big profit.

Now, Zach has no money problems. The key is determining 'wants' vs. 'needs'. She wanted a lot. I wanted very little.

I'm not saying this is the answer to all of your problems. However, in adhering closely to these principles, I am doing dramatically better than I ever have.

Ramsay's Seven Baby Steps

His "free cars" video will challenge you to approach car financing differently, as well.

Drive Free, Retire Rich