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Too bad you're AC. Oh well.

If you're managing money to make more money, you're doing it for the wrong reasons.

If you're managing money so you can give it away (help the poor, etc.), you're doing it for the right reasons. In Christianity, it's not what you do, it's your motive in doing it.

If you're freaking out because you can't make your next payment, you can't really help anybody.

There are well over 2,300 verses (out of some 31,000+) in the Bible about money. Since God seems to care about it somewhat, it's probably a good idea to focus some attention on it. Most of them have to do with managing your money and about how the love of money is the root of all evil and such.

Also, I'm a DBA, not a financial planner. :-D

I'm very afraid it will screw up my credit rating so i'm hanging on by a thread to my finances.

Debt counseling should not impact your credit rating at all. Generally, what a debt counselor will do is recommend that you build a budget (if you don't already have one), then they help you modify your budget to get the debt paid off, then they recommend a strategy for sticking to the plan. Your creditors will not even know that you've been through counseling.

the religious tones are fine

I'm very afraid it will screw up my credit rating so i'm hanging on by a thread to my finances.

Debt counseling should not impact your credit rating at all. Generally, what a debt counselor will do is recommend that you build a budget (if you don't already have one), then they help you modify your budget to get the debt paid off, then they recommend a strategy for sticking to the plan. Your creditors will not even know that you've been through counseling.

the religious tones are fine

no, the problem comes when the standard amount your career of choice used to make is severely decreased.

Except throughout the 200 year history of the industrial revolution TONS of people have had that exact thing happen to them. And yet, the vast majority of people have had their standard of living increased over time.

This is, of course, why saving is so important. Everyone should prepare for the time when (not if) their job is going to become obsolete, so that they can educate themselves to learn a new trade.

The problem is when you are carrying a reasonable amount of debt for your income level and then your income is forced down sharply where you cannot afford to pay it.

Again, another reason why savings is so important. There's several types of savings, and the most critical is an emergency savings plan. Figure out your total expenses for the year, then divide by 12 and save at least 6 months worth. That way you can live for 6 mos w/out a job, and your debt load won't matter because you've got enough saved to cover it.

That being said, you should be very careful with debt. There's good and bad debt. IMHO, the only acceptable debt meets the following:

1. it's repayable if absolutely necessary (e.g. a mortgage where you can sell the house to repay the debt)
2. it's invested in something in which you have a fairly high expectation of making the investment back (e.g. mortgage or educational loans).

I think this country is going to learn the value of buying nothing on credit EVER AGAIN because there is no safe level of credit.

I couldn't agree more. If you don't pay off your credit cards at the end of each month, throw them away and use your debit card instead. This will force you to spend no more than you earn. See my sig.

Still if you're in credit card trouble, I would strongly recommend debt counseling. There are folks who can help you figure out how to get out of debt. Techniques include calling creditors, loan consolidation, etc. There is some really good advice here and here. If the religous tones don't appeal to you, ignore those parts; the advice is sound whether or not you believe the religious aspect.

And finally, I don't mean to be all "in your face" about your personal finances. I only hope to offer some tips. If they're not useful, ignore them.

Good luck!

no, the problem comes when the standard amount your career of choice used to make is severely decreased.

Except throughout the 200 year history of the industrial revolution TONS of people have had that exact thing happen to them. And yet, the vast majority of people have had their standard of living increased over time.

This is, of course, why saving is so important. Everyone should prepare for the time when (not if) their job is going to become obsolete, so that they can educate themselves to learn a new trade.

The problem is when you are carrying a reasonable amount of debt for your income level and then your income is forced down sharply where you cannot afford to pay it.

Again, another reason why savings is so important. There's several types of savings, and the most critical is an emergency savings plan. Figure out your total expenses for the year, then divide by 12 and save at least 6 months worth. That way you can live for 6 mos w/out a job, and your debt load won't matter because you've got enough saved to cover it.

That being said, you should be very careful with debt. There's good and bad debt. IMHO, the only acceptable debt meets the following:

1. it's repayable if absolutely necessary (e.g. a mortgage where you can sell the house to repay the debt)
2. it's invested in something in which you have a fairly high expectation of making the investment back (e.g. mortgage or educational loans).

I think this country is going to learn the value of buying nothing on credit EVER AGAIN because there is no safe level of credit.

I couldn't agree more. If you don't pay off your credit cards at the end of each month, throw them away and use your debit card instead. This will force you to spend no more than you earn. See my sig.

Still if you're in credit card trouble, I would strongly recommend debt counseling. There are folks who can help you figure out how to get out of debt. Techniques include calling creditors, loan consolidation, etc. There is some really good advice here and here. If the religous tones don't appeal to you, ignore those parts; the advice is sound whether or not you believe the religious aspect.

And finally, I don't mean to be all "in your face" about your personal finances. I only hope to offer some tips. If they're not useful, ignore them.

Good luck!

The idea is that you have a set of envelopes representing each budget category, then you allocate money to each category when you get paid. It's all pretty automated. The software is, unfortunately, somewhat rough around the edges sometimes, but it works (and is much better than Quicken/Mac). Support is great.

Also, you can find a budget categories calculator at http://www.crown.org/Tools/budgetguide.asp . While it is Christian-based, the categories are not really much different because of that. (Which, unfortunately, may say something about the kind of "Christianity" espoused.)

Some of his books are: Debt-Free Living, How to Save Money Every Day, Money Management for College Students, and Money Matters for Newlyweds.

Then there are the pocket guides. The World's Easiest Pocket Guide to ... Buying Your First Car, Renting Your First Apartment, Starting Your First Savings Plan, Creating Your First Financial Plan, Buying Your First House, and many more.

My wife and I use this software--Money Matters. It budgets exactly as you describe. It has helped us truly manage our money.