Well, with whatever you do, good luck. I'm 22 and married and debt grabbed me quick. Customizing my tacoma ate me alive. So now I'm staying with a stock truck and focusing on more important things. I'd still say tap into that 401K so you could eliminate your debts immediately. Then you'd have the weight off your shoulders and make a game plan to get it back. Wouldnt be hard to do.

 

First off, your not alone, over 15 million couples in the United States have very similar issues. Don't sell your hobby away, or your 401k, and spend as much time with your wife as possible. Those are your lifelines, the things you live for.

It's simple, if your patient that is. If your fortunate enough to have a wealthy relative, have that relative pay off all your credit cards in return for a monthly low-interest loan. If that doesn't work, have a bank do it (refinance your home). The equity in your home should be enough to start off of. Debt is the devil at times, and stresses people out beyond belief. Hope it works out for ya
~ Andy

 

I can recommend a person who will give you the best advice and it's free. He has a nationally broadcasted radio show and has authored many books on investing and finances. His name is Ray Lucia- you can contact him at www.raylucia.com or call him at 1-877-PLANNER. He'll look at your whole financial picture and point you in the right direction. Best of luck, Jim

 

Dave Ramsey also has a radio show and books on getting out of debt. Do a google search you should be able to find him.

I would suggest in this order:
1. Set up a budget. Figure out your income and don't spend more than that.
2. Sell the toys, it hurts but so does debt. What hurts more. And toys can be replaced.
3. Have a garage sale. Sell anything else cluttering up your house you don't really need.
4. If possible take another job.
5. Put all these extra revenues toward your debts.
6. Try a 'debt snowball' approach to paying down your debts.
A. Make a list of all your debt.
B. Rank it by outstanding balance. (not interest rate, not important for this method)
C. Use all extra revenue to pay down the lowest balance first.
D. When the first card is paid off, move to the next one. Add the blance you were sending to the first card to the minimum of the second card.
E. Repeat for every debt till you're done.

By ordering the debts and paying off the smallest first you get the positive reinforcement of success. Toward the end of the process you will be making very large payments agains large outstanding balances and they get paid down quickly. Do not start living on the extra money untill you retire the debt.

With these methods you should not have to dip into your 401K. The problem with most easy solutions is they don't teach the lesson that needs to be learnd.... Don't use credit cards. If you cash in the 401K and pay it all off this month, in 6 months you could be right back here again but without the 401k. Same with home equity loans etc. If you have to slave for a year or so to close these debts, odds are you will not fall into that trap again.