Is it better to...

I am like you. I am too far into debt that I can't see straight. It would be better for me to worry about getting out of debt than to worry about investing. But I would have to say that I still think it's better to have a savings. But that is just my opinion.

I am in your boat, drowning in debt. At the same time I have 5 children, so my grocery bill is already ridiculous and food does not stay in this house for long. I have long been a fan of stocking up on food, I shop weekly at a wholesale club to buy in bulk. This saves me a lot of money, and goes a lot further. I am only just beginning to attempt a savings account, and I have so little invested, I'm not even earning interest. I hope my quest for an online income will help change that in the coming months.

to start with it is better to cut your losses short by paying in cash and less on credit then start paying off with what you can on your debts. needless to say that you "pay yourself.first", debt is secondary. you still need to eat, you know. talk to your bank so you can manage your payment. pull out your investments from the stock market because that is too risky plus it would help you jumpstart start all over again. you can always invest anytime if you have something to spare. what is vital now is for you to pay off your debts and start doing everything in cash. this would lessen your stress and you will have peace of mind, which very important nowadays to keep us sailing smoothly. in this way budgeting would be a breeze.if you have the extra cash in the future do not go into stocks, mutual funds and treeasury bills is even better since the risk factor is less.

I have always been told its important to have some savings. Is there anyway of getting more interest? That is really low.

hello modestah, i was just talking about that to my husband yesterday as i feel that the rising food cost will be double by the coming months. we're lucky that we dont have a kid yet and we are just two simple person who dont have much cravings for other stuff other than ice cream of course LOL. anyway, if the case is like yours then i feel it will be best to just stack up foods than to save it coz the value of the money now wont be the same two months from now. we used to buy our groceries in harris teeter but after my computations we realized we are spending almost 1/4 of the total price out there than doing the grocery in wal-mart, so now we just go there and it sure saves us some money over time. anyway, i honestly feel that in our economy situation it is best to make sure that the family have enough food and medication stack at home and other important items for the home (laundry and toiletries). takecare

food defentily is more important than savings

Dollars and cents wise, it makes sense to buy food while it's cheaper than to wait until the price doubles again. Savings interest is very low right now and will probably go lower. Even if you're in debt, spending just a little extra on sales items and stocking up a little when and where you can will save money. I wouldn't go overboard with it at this point, though, because of the debt. I agree, that should be your first priority - to get it paid off.

This sounds like a good idea in theory but in practise I'm not so sure. Packaged foods, even tinned foods have a shorter shelf life these days and fresh foods last only a short time. I live a long way from the shops and I need to shop with care. I use frozen food a lot but there is still a limit to what I can store. It's been over 2 weeks since I shopped now and I'm out of a few essential items like bread, onions, tomatoes, eggs and horror of horrors.....peanut butter.

I think any financial adviser would have a fit if he heard it suggested that people take their money out of savings and put it in to stable foods. It sounds like an idea from some food companies who want to make a killing up front fast .Most food has an expiry date at some point, not much is good beyond a year or two. I would say keep on working on that debt.

This is a great question. I would rather have food because I know it is there when I need it and the money could be gone like that. Food costs are out of control and I am stumped about what to do about it all. I wish I could see the future. I wonder when we will see the day what wheat is worth more than its weight in gold. Scary to think about.

well with canadian banks raking in millions every year, it is a fair thing to say that you dont want to add to their coffers...i feel the same way! we as a family have to watch every cent that we spend and we also have debt, but it isnt quite as bad as it was before.

I can see your point, but I don't think it's wise. The food you buy and store can't replace a broken water pump on your car or be available to help with a sudden medical expense. You can exist for awhile on very little food but if you don't have money to fix your car or replace a water heater you'll have to get into debt to fix them. If you're in debt, I assume it's credit card debt. Pay down your principle to control those interest rates! Even if you can only pay a few dollars a month above the minimum payment, designate those dollars to the principle. That will keep the interest from accumulating so quickly. It's the interest that's keeping you in debt! That's how they make so much money so pay as much as possible on the principle every month and you'll be out of debt sooner and can stop paying such high interest rates. Cut up your cards. There's very little that we truly need credit cards for, we just think we need them because we want things. Stock up a little food and keep saving. You should have a month's worth of food stored up, at least. Remember to rotate it based on the expiration dates. And continue to save unless you want to be in debt the rest of your life and leave it to your children or relatives.

No I like to think that what little money I have is in the form of transferrablefunds not in foods lol. besides I cannot pay bills with stable foods haveto have real currency lol. Besides the stable foods are not all that stable anyway.

you make a very good point. we have no savings so this will not work for us either. it is getting scary though. i counted 3 large stores that have closed in my area just recently and i am sure more are going to be closing soon. the price of gas and the fact that credit card companies keep driving up their fees and interest rates have forced people to lose their homes and wind up on welfare and out on the streets and it seems no one in the government cares. as long as they are lining their pockets the heck with the rest of us.

I have never thought of it that way......I just keep savings for a rainy day...trying to hang on to if for something or some bill that needs to be paid.