How do I talk to for financial advise...someone I can trust?

I've asked a similar Q before but didn't get what I wanted. We make 50k a year and have 30 K in debt. We financed our home remodel ourselves (our first house) in hopes we would get a home equity loan. It seems like any time we have extra money it goes to paying more on a credit card. I think we have about 6 credit cards and pay a little over the min. We're self employed so we get hit hard around april for taxes.

It seems like we don't ever have enough money to put into savings. We don't have kids yet but would like to start soon. We would just like to get this debt down.

How can we get 15 bills payed every month and still have money left over to save? Can we call creditors to get a lower interest rate? If so what do you ask? Thanks!

1) Simplify -- you don't need 6 credit cards. If you must have ONE for your business and NONE for your personal expenses.

2) Cut out what you can. Do you need the TV? no. Do you need cell phones? no.

3) Get a second job for a year. It sounds silly, but do it. It will help.

4) Start with the smallest debts and work your way up. You'll feel like you get more accomplished and keep at it.

5) Don't go crazy with spending. Cut down, like I've said earlier.

6) When you talk to creditors, don't ask for anything. Explain your situation. They don't owe you anything. Anything they offer is purely out of kindness.

call the credit card companies, and ask them if you can have a lower interest rate. as long as you are not delinquent on any bills you will be fine. Do not be late on any bills, and you can always negotiate. One of your credit card companies may offer a low interest rate if you transfer the balances from other credit cards. You can consolidate, thus lowering your payments per month.

Im not a financial advisor but heres a few tips:

1. Shop around for a lower credit card interest rate, be bold, contact providers and see what their best offer it.

2. Lose the debt, I'm sure you already know this but concentrate on paying the cards off one at a time and as each is paid off close the account! (and don't apply for any new cards!)

3. Get a good accountant. Its worth the money!

From what you have stated...you are both quite financially irresponsible. I am not trying to be rude, but simply stating the obvious. You are both self employed and only make $50K?? There is a problem there alone. My hubby and I have been self employed for well over 15 years. April is not a concern, most LLC or other professional business's have to have their taxes done by March. If you are 1099, contractor, then get a great CPA, sell smarter not harder, to increase your income ( I use the word sell loosely..even if you are an electrician, you still need to sell). I only use our Am Ex, for business. You have to discipline yourselves to not overspend.

As far as asking for a reduction in this day and time, is pretty much useless. Look at the economy. To answer how you can get 15 bills paid monthly....if you have 15 bills, you need to prioritize, and again...Sell..get out there and work.

Check out debtsmart.com that is how I did my excess debt. Another thing you can do is sell anything that you are not using.

First of all, when you have debt, you shouldn't save ANYTHING. It should all go on the debt. That is the smartest use of your money, because it is saving you whatever the interest rate is on the debt.

Always pay the highest rate card down first, and keep up the minimums on the other cards. Otherwise you end up paying more interest in the long run. Your priority is to get rid of the highest rate debt first, because that costs you more per dollar borrowed. If you cleared the debts, you would have plenty of money to put into savings, so clear the debts. Consider that dropping debt balance as your 'savings'.

Have you considered getting a boarder or a renter into your house to share the expenses? If you had a boarder, they could pay you a fixed amount each week for accomodation, plus share a percentage of the bills, which would keep your living expenses down. This would allow you to attack the debt harder.

Can you transfer some of the higher interest rate debt onto a lower rate card? That might slow down the interest and make it faster to pay them off.

If you have a car loan, and the car is a later model, consider selling it and getting a cheap, older car. If you don't need a loan for the car, you don't pay interest on it. That can save you some money, which you can tip into the debt.

You don't need a financial planner. All you need to do is go to your local library and get out some books on personal finance. They are full of strategies for getting rid of debt and making your money work for you. And best of all, they're FREE, whereas seeing a financial planner can be a cost in itself. I wasn't in debt, but I was on welfare for a while, and reading a few books got me on track and showed me what I could do to improve my situation.

You can get out of debt. All you need is to make yourselves a plan of attack. Pay the highest rate card off first, while making minimums on the others, then when that card is clear, move onto the next highest. Don't focus on saving, only paying off the debt. Savings getting 3% while you're being slugged 16% on a debt is pretty useless. And to make it worse, you have to pay tax on interest you earn in your favour. So focus on clearing the debt.

If you really want to see a financial planner, I suggest talking to your local bank, where you have an account. They might have one on staff, and it might be free to see them. So I'd start there.

Best wishes.