This isn ' t a nice predicament to be in and I would think its not a pleasant time for you . The people have showed amazing support for you but what I think you really need is the plan . Like what is a budget and how do you even make one ? I am a bank clerk and see this problem on a daily basis , some people who have a strict plan to get rid of their debt and others who don ' t even know what interest is . So to cut the introduction lets get into the plan making process . Firstly you need to see how much money is coming in assuming you ' re working 40 hour weeks 13 x 40 x 4 monthly 2080 after taxes lets assume you ' re bringing in around 1800 to 1850 after tax . Second you need to prioritize your spending , this means your necessities like food and shelter come first 520 lets say 80 $ a week on groceries for two people if you ' re the sole provider 80 x 4 240 . 240 520 760 . 760 allocated for your necessities which leaves you with 1800 760 1040 another 80 for electricity and you ' re down to 960 to spend elsewhere . Third thing is trying to reduce spending elsewhere . Although this seems easy everyone had a good point in mind to track your spending , but you also need to try and reduce spending . If this debt is your priority then going out to eat going to bars or other fun things to do can rake up a lot of your remaining allowance . See if you can get certain things reduced for the meantime so you can pay it off then return to how it was before . See if you can get a cheaper phone plan and switch insurance companies or your coverage . Even lets say 40 $ each gives you more room to play with to clear that nasty credit card which is probably charging you 19 . 99 % that ' s how it is here in Canada not sure about TexasFourth , out everything into perspective , see what you truly need to survive and what you don ' t you are trying to clear your debt so cuts have to be made unfortunately , don ' t worry you won ' t live like this forever . So , you are left off with $ 960 , if you were to keep your spending how it is 960 155 insurance 120 phone 5 spotify 180 bed and 40 gas $ 460 left with your necessities paid for and your past amount due on your bed . You can do one of 2 options with this $ 460 1 use a large chunk around half to pay for your credit card which could be done in 2 months or so if done this way , or 2 pay a smaller amount every month and put the rest aside to clear it all at once . I would suggest the first one since you will incur less interest in the process . Last will be to put this all into action , try to reduce your spending everywhere you can , maybe go out less or buy the cheaper brand groceries or commute via other means , anything to save you those few couple of dollars to clear your credit card . For the future , after this is all done and taken care of , monitor everything you spend on , dont buy what you can ' t afford and monthly payments don ' t do too much justice in that sense . What I ' ve always known and will stand by is if you can ' t afford the full price , don ' t opt for the monthly payments as most of the time they will have their own interest hidden in the price and in the long run you will be paying more for said item than you would have if you bought it outright . Here ' s an example of that , lets say you buy a brand new car and the asking price is 18000 with 1 . 99 % over 4 years . Your montly payments will be 390 . 43 which doesnt look too bad but after 4 years 390 . 43 x 12 x 4 18740 . 64 which is $ 740 . 64 that you lost in interest alone and this money is gone , non refundable and no way in the value of the car . Cars and most goods are depreciating assets which means they are worth less over time . So there is no point in dropping your life savings on them if they will give you less in return . Disclaimer I used hypothetical answers for some sections as they were not provided that could influence the amount left over later or minus a few dollars