Hello Everyone,

Just wanted some advice on how you think I can maximize my financial efficiency. Here's where I stand.

I currently have the following accounts:
Savings with approx 10k saved
Checking which I keep at $200
ING Savings which gets $100 every month.
Also, I just signed up for my company's 401K which takes 3% of my $42,500 yearly pay.

Expenses include -
$360 a month for car payment (approx $16k remaining, 4.9% interest)
$160 a month for student loan (approx $16K remaining, 6.625% interest)
CapitalOne Credit card which I pay the balance of every month.
Soon, I will also have the following expenses,
$1019 a month for rent
Approx $300 a month for utilities such as electric, water, gas, sewer, and trash.

Am I doing anything wrong?

I can predict 2 things you're going to hear:

1) sell that car and buy a used one for cash; put the $360/month back into savings. Your car insurance should also go down -- put the difference into savings.

2) figure out a way to lower the rate on your student loans: what is your credit score? can you get a 0% credit card offer to do a balance transfer?

Oh, and don't forget to include car insurance and renter's insurance when you figure your monthly outlay.

you have about 2K of expense not accounted for . what is it going towards?
What are your goals?
10K is a great emergency fund do you have it in CDs? savings acount?
Can you add $100-500 a month to savings?
$300 a month for gas wwater electric sewer and trash sounds high but it could be area diferences but that ismore then I pay for a house let alone an apartment. Lower temp in winter raise in summer 2 degreees make a difference. small eneregy savings matter

Your rent and utilities take up 36.71% of your GROSS pay. Thats a very high percentage especially because you are renting. You need more details in your budget. Whats your grocery bill going to be every month? What do you put on the Capital One CC, whats the monthly amount you spend on it? The expenses needs more details.

eternalyperplxed said:$1019 a month for rentCan you reduce this at all? Take on a roommate, perhaps?

That's a big chunk of your take-home right there.

Get a roommate and cut your housing expense in half. Is you apt 2 bedroom?

Dish the expensive car and buy a used car for 5k. This will cut your car payments in half and if you're really looking to trim expense, buy a beater for 1500-2000. No car payment, cheap insurance... can't beat it.

You are still haven't told us where all the other money is going
Gross Income $3,542
Rent $(1,019)
Car $(360)
Utilites $(300)
ING $(100)
401k $(106)
Subtotal $1,656
Taxes ?
Other Expenses ?
Savings $100

All other earned money stays in my savings account.
Monthly credit card bill is typically around $300, however most of that is gas expenses which I get reimbursed for by my company.

eternalyperplxed said:I've been searching around for credit cards to get rid of Capital One, they are horrible to deal with and my interest rate is over 20%.

Who cares about interest rate if you aren't paying interest on carry balance. Find a card with the most CashBack or rewards regardless of interest rate.

With a 770 FICO, you could do an AOR and earn some interest.

Don't worry, the girlfriend will be paying her share or won't be moving in at all.

In response all others, my credit card is a Capital One Platinum Visa rewards card. I'll check out the Cash Back offers as they seem to have a better deal.