any of the following purses, in order of tastelessness:

1. Dooney & Burke*
2. Louis Vuitton
3. Gucci
4. Coach
5. Fendi

* why people would pay hundreds of dollars for a cheap knockoff of a LV bag is beyond me.

"I am what I drive! I love this car! This car is who I am!"

No it's not. Sell it. Get a cheaper car. Use the money to pay off your debts. No one cares what you drive except you and really shallow people who suck. Do you really want to be in debt just to impress a bunch of shallow people?"

Also there are a lot of really fucking awesome cheap cars out there. (Miata! Fox Mustang! Camaro! Crown Vic! Civic SI! MR2! Impreza!)

And if you buy a piece of shit beater that you can actually afford to destroy, you can have more fun with it than you could EVER have with your shiny new status-mobile. (Off-roading in an Accord!)

And if you buy an older model BMW or Lexus or something, people will still think you're driving an expensive car even if it costs less to buy and maintain than their newer Civic.

I'm in the same situation, but my credit card debit will be gone in one month!!

Here are my tips:

- Keep track of every little purchase you make, it'll help you see what your spending on and if you really need to make those purchases

- look at all your current debts (school loans, car loans, etc). Which one has the best interest rates, how much you owe. Try paying the min amount you can and focus all the rest into one bill.

- If possible, just cut up the credit card and throw it away!

@Crazytree: I've never understood the expensive purse thing either. I got my no-name purse as a birthday gift years ago, and it manages to hold my stuff, which is all a purse really needs to do. Okay, and I guess it's cute.

I would edit the title to 5 things you can't afford (at least not very often) if you don't own your own house, have health insurance, have your kids 529 plans fully funded, and have maxed-out your 401-K plan.

3, 4, and 5 really shouldn't be considered if you haven't already saved for your families future. 1 and 2 should be possible within reason, but shouldn't exceed $200/month combined.

I had three cards I owed on. I decided to pay the minimum on two of them and throw all I could spare at the third. I would then move on to the next card and finally the last one. It took me about four years to get out of debt.

@svreader:

I don't get "designer" items which are really mundane, but they're printed with hundreds of copies of the maker's logo.

It makes them goddamn ugly, and makes the wearer/bearer look like an idiot. Maybe they are high-quality...but what happened to letting quality speak for itself? A logo shouldn't be the defining trait of an item's design. That isn't design, that's the "diamond encrusted 70 dollar MP3 player for 20,000 dollars" approach to design.

Cut everything in half. If you're young and don't have kids or a mortgage, this might actually work for you. It worked for me. I was in school and racked up about $6k in credit card debt.

I paid off my debt in 3 months by literally looking at my expenses and cutting them in half. This required doing all of the things that Consumerist suggests. Most importantly, it meant getting a roommate. I lived in a college town, so finding one for the summer wasn't difficult (dorms closing and all).

Oh, and I kind of took it to the extreme...like sitting in the dark instead of turning on the lamp, turning my air conditioning off, walking everywhere remotely close instead of spending gas money, etc.

Basically, it required showing restraint that I lacked on the way to accumulating the debt.

Cut out expensive clothes. If you work somewhere that you will lose job credibility for not having a $600 bag find a better place to work - with humans.

Cut your expenses and start paying a fixed amount from your paycheck immediately when you get it on payday. I blew away 6k of debt in one year with my 3k tax return and by paying 75 dollars a week to my CC. After that it was easy street blasting them out. Now I just have student loans left.
I also finished college and got a high paying job in my field so now I'm able to afford my loans, a new economy car payment and my rent with plenty left over. Time to start saving for retirement.

Yes, I do need cable. When I get home from work, I need to relax and unwind and my TV plays a big role in that. If I didn't have cable, I'd buy more DVDs, go out to more movies, and spend more time in bars, all of which would cost more than my cable bill. I did get rid of a lot of channels I don't watch.
I'll follow the other four rules (my car's 13 years old and will eventually be replaced with the cheapest new Yaris on the lot which will also be run into the ground), but I need some entertainment.

Remember, with cheaper internet, don't go with People PC. They look like a good deal, but I got nothing but grief out of them, and canceling? Even after I moved I couldn't seem to cancel.

I got out of debt an old fashioned way: I married a saver who had money put away. But I've stayed out of debt with responsible spending. My current plan is to have two jobs, my full time job that pays the bills. Then a part-time, once a week job that is my only spending money for things like books, dvds, etc.

Also, I can't say enough how renting movies can save somebody who is used to buying them instead. I know it sounds crazy, "YOU DON'T NEED MOVIES!"

But the fact is cold turkey is next to impossible. So if you cut out cable, get Netflix or Blockbuster, and then rent instead of buy, you can turn what was a huge expense on your monthly bill into once little price per month.

I had Netflix when I didn't have cable, and I didn't really miss cable that much.

The other problem is convincing the phone company to give you the absolute bare bones phone line. I fought with them for months because I wanted the plan that basically gave me unlimited local calling and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE. They kept trying to put new things on and charge me for it. This is why I hate Verizon.

I'd amend this in two ways:

1. You can't afford cable unless you are already making good progress in paying it off.

2. You can't afford *expensive* meals out. C'mon, it's unrealistic to expect anybody living and working in a sub/urban environment to refrain from grabbing a sandwich or eating in the company cafeteria.

I hate labels, but the occasional good quality item is not such a bad thing. I've had cheap purses all my life until 5 years ago when I spent $250 on a simple Coach purse. The thing it's got going for it is that the quality is exceptional (my cheap purses would show wear after 6 months or so.) It's my only purse, and I plan on using it for the next decade.

I got rid of cable 3 years ago, and don't miss it. Nowadays a lot of the networks will let you watch their shows online.

But you can find entertainment that's not cable. I lived on two channels for a long time and guess what, the local library tends to have lots of DVDs or tapes for rent. Read books instead of watching TV. If you are struggling with credit debt getting rid of these expenses is first and foremost. If you're out of debt it's a different story.

I've heard of people who only get their shows via iTunes. I guess these people watch so little television that it's actually cheaper to buy the shows they care about than to pay for cable. Kind of a neat idea.

@Crazytree: I disagree. The thing that's beyond me are women who purchase purses when they can't afford it (Ta Da! Living beyond one's means... seems to be the moral of the story a lot on Consumerist articles).

Purses are a status symbol among women just like the way guys like the newest gadget or the way guys go gaga over a home entertainment system.

1) Cash only (not even debit cards). With each paycheck, I gave myself X amount of cash to get me through 2 weeks (with some extra on my desk at home if needed).

2) Seat-Filler Services... this may only be Vegas-specific, but there are TONS of seat-filler services that give you free tickets to shows every week. I'm getting free Blue Man Group next week.

3) No pay channels (seriously... have you SEEN what they show on HBO?)

4) Lowest internet tier over 1 Mbps (1 Mbps will get you anything you want, but the bare-minimum plans are sometimes only 256kbps, which is horrid)

5) Keep every receipt. Find a way to write the expense off (legally).

@Crazytree: Who said you have to pay for them if you say you got double charged? ;)

I moved out of my apartment and am renting a room from someone. All the utilities are included so I don't have any of those monthly bills. I cut out my Netflix account, my charities and all other monthly bills except insurance and cell phone. Not eating out is hard but this post has encouraged me to try it for a month.

My case is extreme I have to pay off a large credit card debt before June 2008 when I go to the Peace Corps. But I am wishing I had thought of it before.

Even if you're not in debt, canceling your cable is definitely worthwhile. All your favorite TV shows are available online anyway, and think of all the time (and electricity, for that matter) you'll save not sitting in front of the TV all night flipping through channels.

If you get good cell phone reception in your house, drop your land line, too. You're not getting any benefit from having two phone numbers.

Shouldn't "smoking" be pretty high on this list, too? Also "alcohol."

Okay, time to go chain smoke and have some margs to drown out my husband's $80k CC debt!

@SOhp101: if you're rich and you have good taste... you'd be carrying a purse from Hermes, Ferregamo, et al.

Louis Vuitton is a brand from crack hookers.

Don't ask me how I know. ;p

@CamilleR:

Looks like you have your priorities straight. We all gotta live, but live within our means. You've made your choice, and if there were more like you we wouldn't be sweating about the "credit crunch" that has Wall Street up in arms.

About going out to eat...

I had a hard time with this while I was trying to pay down my debt before grad school. For my friends, eating was a social event and when they went out, they always started with dinner out. What I did was either skip dinner and just meet up with them later at the bar or eat before the restaurant or I ate before at home and just sipped a drink or coffee and talked while they ate their meal. For drinking I mostly restricted myself to a single drink at the bar/restaurant that I could sip during the night or else volunteered to be the designated driver (most bars will give you free sodas if you are the DD). That way, I could still go out and have fun and even be of help to my friends!

With regard to gym membership, I just wanted to point out that some health insurance plans offer gym reimbursement if you submit proof that you went a certain number of times. I just got a check from Oxford myself, by submitting a form showing I went to the gym 50 times in six months. You can download the form (PDF) from their website after logging in.

Also in general I don't think encouraging people to cancel their gym memberships is necessarily a good thing. Some people live in neighborhoods where there aren't really a lot of other excercise options, or have small apartments where doing any kind of exercise runs the risk of breaking stuff. For me personally, when I go to the gym regularly I have more energy and get more stuff done, which (depending on one's circumstances) might make it easier to earn money and pay off those bills.

My two cents.

Here's the flaw - sell your car, use it to pay debts. Flaw because if you sell your car, you have to use the money to buy a new car. Most cars depreciate enough that what you get is not enough to cover new car payments. Guess what? Now you have to pay for a new car and for that car's insurance. Good luck. It's why I haven't sold my gas guzzling luxury SUV. It runs well and I don't have car payments. If I were to trade it in for a Honda, I suddenly face car payments.

For myself, the solution after getting some very substantial medical bills was not just cutting costs (no cable or home phone for me) but increasing my income. "But I can't get a raise!" So what? There are lots of opportunities out there! In my spare time, I put together a website ($50 a month income despite relatively minor traffic), started writing online, started mystery shopping, and taking online surveys. It may sound cheesy, but I make around $200 on a really light month and more like $400+ (not counting free meals and other stuff) on good months. You can get a part time job or freelancing really easily online. Sure, you have to watch for scams, but as long as you have common sense (avoid money order scams), you're relatively safe.

That's in my spare time, and I'm not working around the clock either. We're talking giving up 2-3 lunchbreaks a week, maybe a night or two during the week, and a few hours over the weekend. Plus, I enjoy what I do, so I don't mind having a smaller entertainment budget.

@CamilleR:

Consider libraries 'n' books 'n' reading 'n' stuff...

Not only did we get rid of cable-- we got rid of our televisions altogether. That's right-- there is not a tv in our home.

We do not miss it. We do love to watch movies, but we can watch them on our laptops (which were paid for by my husband's employer, btw). We rent or borrow movies from friends. We play board games. We read lots and lots of books. We eat almost every meal around an actual table, looking at each other's faces. We spend lots of time actively engaged with our two toddlers.

Amen to the gym membership idea, too-- I lost 50 lbs this year by walking around town with my kids-- no gym involved. We have gotten to know our neighborhood and our city in a way we never would have otherwise, and I'm pleased my kids are forming healthy habits early.

Another big cost-saving measure has been eliminating most meat from our diet. We've learned to cook lots of fresh vegetables in tasty and nourishing ways, with the added bonus of improved health. We've learned to consider a limited grocery budget a creative challenge.

@Crazytree: Dude, you need to shop around for your knock-offs. A great knock-off should cost $75 max, if it is more it has been through too many middle men.

I totally agree with the notion that extra bills require extra income. I know plenty of people that make money on side jobs. A few months or so of two job hell can get you out of the hole.

Its a good list to follow for those who want to put money away quickly as well. I had to get rid of my truck (V8, always breaking down, needed it for a job I had years and years ago. Cost me over $2,200 over the past 3 months and the tranny just dropped last week) because it was costing me more then a car loan and it was paid off. Ended up selling it to a junk yard (didn't have a choice with the tranny dead, no one would take it) and ended up buying a 2006 Kia Sportage used for $9,500 w/11,000 miles. Instead of costing me $86/wk in gas its costing me $45/wk.

Sometimes you have to watch out, an older car with issues could cost you more than a current car loan at a good rate.

I have to say that I've never been in credit card debt. Yet, I have also never bought a designer purse (they've all been gifts or hand-me-downs) and have never felt the pinch that requires giving up all five of the above. I feel like there are allowances to be made in some occasions. To me, Netflix is worth it because I can pay $9.50 for an in-theater movie I might hate or I can pay what amounts to being a few cents for a Netflix movie. Plus there's that satisfaction when I watch a crap movie that I didn't pay $9.50 for it.

Eh, I have to disagree with the gym membership part. First of all, many health insurance plans will reimburse you for a portion of the membership fees. Further, I think this should be absolutely last on the list of things to give up because not exercising leads to poor health leads to medical bills leads to...

@dandd: Dude you need to work on your reading comp.

I was referring to to D&B which is to Louis Vuitton what Coby is to Sony... an overpriced, rebadged knockoff.

i got a dooney and bourke purse for $28 at a thrift store where the salesperson clearly didnt recognize the brand... love it! and my grandma got me a D&B wristlet for my birthday :) i'm just saying they have a handful of cute things. not the ones that have DB DB DB re-written over and over, though.

the BEST thing you can do to cut down on costs is to get a roommate. i know, i know, we're not living in the dorms any more.

but your bills for rent, electricity, and forbidden Showtime On Demand (anyone else keeping up with Dexter? good stuff) get cut in half without you having to do a damn thing. and my roommate cooks. magical!

#4 Eating out. I am not sure about where you live, but here in the SF bayarea eating out is not much more expensive than the grocery store.

This is an interesting article and makes some good points but the writing style is repetitive and mocking ("but, but, but" and too many exclamation points). Also, I somehow doubt people make these sorts of arguments very often to excuse their spending habits. They seem a bit simplistic and designed mainly to help support the author's arguments. The excuses remind me a bit of those FAQs written by businesses which are built around information the company wants to offer rather than around actual questions that have been asked (or that people want answered).

Nice try but I think the way in which the article is written undermines the utility by attempting to make the audience that may actually find it useful (as opposed to the audience which will join in on deriding those with these types of problems) feel stupid so the author can feel superior and tell them off.

FWIW, I have never had credit card debt (and in fact have no debt of any kind) so this isn't someone who feels targeted getting upset.

You are FAR too easy! How about these? If you are in debt you don't need:

1)Air conditioning in your home. Yeah, even if you live in Florida. People lived without it for centuries. Even back in the 70's, it was pretty rare for middle-class folks to run air condition all the time. Yeah, you might be uncomfortable. You might even sweat. You won't die (with rare exceptions and then you can run the A/C.) At any rate, it's a LUXURY that you can't AFFORD because you have a negative net worth.

2)Cell phones/long-distance/long distance plans with fixed minimum. Again, a modern CONVENIENCE that for the most part is dispensable. If your cell is required for work or generates revenue for you, work (or it) should pay for it -- otherwise, all you need is a $20-$30 @ month land line WITH NO long distance. If you can get a cell for the same rate as a basic land line instead, fine. Instead of long-distance, write email or letters (or maybe Skype/Gizmo/etc.) to talk with out of town relations/friends. Go back to like it was in the 70's, if someone is calling long distance, it better be an emergency or someone died. If you are in debt, and paying more than $40 @ month for basic phone service, you likely can do some cutting back.

3) Learn how to soak and cook dried beans and legumes. Maybe invest in an inexpensive pressure cooker so you can cook beans in minutes rather than hours. For the price of one chicken, you could eats weeks of beans. For the price of some meals out, you could eat beans for a year. Remember those jars by cash registers which said, "Your change can feed a child in a 3rd world country for a week." Well, it can feed you too, if you eat basic staple foods like beans and whole grains. When you are out of debt, you can eat like a 1st worlder again.

I was once in $8000 of credit card debt, and I used all these routes and more to pay my debt off. However, I also had an awesome support system, without which I probably would've failed - my mom and my fiance. I moved in with my mom after 5 years on my own; it was humiliating at first, but we have a good relationship, and I was able to devote more of my take-home pay to my debt. 2) my fiance has excellent credit, and transfered two of my $1000 cards to one of his own - lower interest and no fees. I didn't let them down, and had all my debts cleaned up in a year.

My husband and I started drinking coffee black. This doesn't sound like much, but we ended up saving at least $10 a month from not buying cream and sugar.

As an aside, and TOTALLY off topic:

LJ's is a sweet bar. I live roughly 5 minutes away via bike.

Sorry for the interruption, but one can't help but drop some Detroit love when it pops up in a Consumerist post photo.

Thanks for your time!

I use rabbit ears. If there is a cable show I have to watch, I give blank videocassettes to family members to tape for me. I would check out exercise dvds to work out to at my library vs. a gym membership. I cook, look at the weekly ads and plan my menu based on what is on sale. I "invest" 99 cents each Sunday for a paper and clip coupons. It all adds and in the end, was very easy to do.

@dandd: Here in NYC I can get a good knockoff for 20$ max.

@JohnnyE: you should be a contributor.

Best way to deal with credit card debt? Don't get it in the first place.
I'm a graduate student - 5 years of under grad, 2