About the debt thing, I agree with fkj2. Larry Burkett's advice is excellent and highly recommended.
First, write down all the things that you are currently spending your money on. Do this for a while so that you can really see where it's all going. You'll be amazed to see how much waste there is... you're probably nickel & diming yourself to death.
Then write down a list of your FIXED, ESSENTIAL budget expenses... housing & maintenance, utilities, insurances, food, transportation, clothing, taxes, emergency savings deposits (to accumulate 3-6 months basic budget needs), basic retirement investment. See if there are any ways that you can reduce them responsiibly. Add up your totals.
Look at your total debt load. See if there are ways to reduce the interest rates. (Pay highest rate debt first, whenever extra money is available.) Figure monthly payments to pay it all off in a reasonable period of time.
The essential & debt expenses above must be paid FIRST. That is key.
Then see what's really left at the end of your month's net income for other VARIABLE, NON-ESSENTIAL expenses... pocket money, entertainment, vacations, clubs, hobbies, holidays, birthdays, upgrades of the essentials (like restaurants or name brand groceries, cable TV, fancier car or clothes, jewelry, dry-cleaning, earlier retirement planning, etc.) and miscellaneous. Remember that these are non-essential. Involve the whole family in understanding and prioritizing these.
Are there spending goals, for which you also want or need to save. even if you can't right away? Early retirement, kid's college, a house, renovations, a nice car/truck, a real splurge vacation... pick what you'd really like to do and when you might reasonably attain those goals. What would it cost monthly? How could you put aside that money into a separate account, not to be touched outside of true emergency (medical, funeral, etc.)? These come after the debts are paid off. And they WILL come if you are true to your budget.
Looking at all your own non-essential stuff, where can you cut? What would be a REASONABLE amount of money to put aside for each category, each month? Some non-essential areas can be temporarily eliminated. Some are better to just scale back. We kept having recreational activities & vacations but they were much simpler and less costly: We dropped karate for the kids; picked up basketball & swimming - cheaper. We limited restaurants to $50 per month; enjoyed more picnics and state park visits; got an annual museum membership that allowed us reciprocal visits to other museums, zoos and aquariums. We put off air travel and resumed camping for more weekend getaways. I cooked much more often but simpler meals and DH brought a sack lunch to work at least 3x/wk, around his business lunch schedule. Your individual ways may vary.
How much would you budget for each expense monthly, in order to realistically & consistently meet your budget (including paying off your debt)? What is your realistic goal time period for paying off your debts? Remember that as you eliminate your debts, their debt payments will be "found money" in your budget. That's where you will get to decide if you want to add to variable, non-essential upgrades in your budget lifestyle or if you want to pay off the other, remaining debts faster.
Any time you are tempted to spend on something that isn't on the budget, delay it for at least a month. If you can do that, you will likely see that you didn't really need it that badly after all. And you were JUST FINE, surviving the sacrifice. If you had spent, you would have probably just moved on to the next "I want" item by a month later also. Contentment with what you've got will come easier. And you will start to appreciate all that you already have, a little bit more.
It really does get easier. And what a thrill when you can make that first big purchase (a splurge vacation or even, a car!) for cash! The rest of the budget isn't even affected - WOW!
It's very exciting!
We only have one credit card, so we can order things, like airline tix or car rental, with insurance and the ability to dispute a charge. It gets paid off every month.
Remember a bargain is only a bargain if you would have needed to purchase it anyway and you've saved money on a good deal. A $250 paper maché Indian elephant for your outdoor mailbox at 75% off is still no bargain.
Budgeting for your vacations means that if you can afford it, you will enjoy it that much more - before, during AND afterward. If you're spending beyond your means, you will find yourself regretting it at some point.
Great family memories CAN be made on a reasonable budget!
Lastly, for other Christians here, our finances improved dramatically the year after we started to tithe our income.
Didn't know WHERE 10% of our gross income would come from!
But we did it in faith. And have we ever experienced the rewards!
Other expenses seemed to decrease and finances increased (fewer car and home repairs needed, useful gifts, unsolicited raise at work, etc.), freeing up money, sufficient to meet our budget. And we've experienced such blessing in many other ways too.
So for any Christians who have been considering doing this... I'd encourage you to take the plunge.
Anyway, hope this all helps someone.
Whew, I sure didn't intend this to be so long. Sorry so long-winded.
We were going to do 1 free day,2 days at Seaworld while staying at the Wyndham . Then head over to the AS for the remaining Disney time . I had already paid Priceline the money for the Wyndham, so that meant no refund and we were all bummed to go all the way to Florida just for Seaworld.
