Outsmart Black Friday Hype and Tackle Credit Card Debt with a Budget Reset

12:09Amanda Barroso:Starting now, for the first time ever, this could impact credit scores. This summer, FICO announced that they're going to be rolling out new scoring models with buy now, pay later data this year. And so if people aren't thinking about that, they're not used to that, they're not up on their credit scoring news like we are, they could see their credit scores hit pretty hard in 2026, especially if they miss a payment.

12:33Elizabeth Ayoola:If people do choose to buy now, pay later, how can they do so in a way that's financially smart, Amanda? especially considering all of the other holiday expenses that are coming up beyond gifts. We still got food and travel and just happy spending.

12:47Amanda Barroso:I think the key to using Buy Now, Pay Later, if you have to use it, is to do it responsibly by not overextending yourself. So when people are using installment loans from companies like Affirm, Klarna, for too many purchases, it becomes hard to keep up with payment schedules and deadlines. And again, like we said, one missed payment can really hurt your score. or you're overdrafting your account. I mean, there's a lot of stuff that can go wrong. So if you have to use buy now, pay later this holiday season, I'd recommend using it for one of your bigger ticket items, marking down those deadlines on your calendar, having calendar alerts set up so that you are aware.

13:25Amanda Barroso:This is not sort of a click yes and forget it kind of thing, right? We want to be responsible. We want to be staying on top of those payment schedules.

13:32Elizabeth Ayoola:I'll just throw another tip in there for saving on gifts outside of Black Friday. I think thrifting or buying secondhand gifts can be really handy, which you're doing, Amanda.

13:42Amanda Barroso:I spent August through October thrifting gifts for my kids' Christmas, and I have loved this challenge so much. I went to kids' secondhand shops, used Facebook Marketplace. With the money that I saved buying used, I was able to get a few new things too for my kids, like some Barbies and doll accessories and this huge Fisher-Price bus that I think my son's going to love. So I really like doing the mix of the old and the new.

14:09Elizabeth Ayoola:Sounds like a good way to save money. Now, Amanda, this year has been full of experimenting for you. You did a low buy challenge at the start of the year, and now you're thrifting gifts for the holidays this year. How many gifts have you gotten so far, and how much have you saved?

14:24Amanda Barroso:I'm so excited about this. Well, I have been kind of keeping this updated list of things. So as of today, I've scored$562 worth of stuff for about$191. That's a good savings. $370 worth of savings right there. Like, that I'm proud of.

14:42Elizabeth Ayoola:Thank you so much for chatting through Black Friday with me and sharing some of your tips and tricks. They're always helpful. I love being here. Thanks, Elizabeth. Next up, we've got a budget rehab for one of our listeners. But first, get out your phones and dial or text us. Maybe credit card debt has hurt your credit score and you need tips for fixing it. Or you want to start your generational wealth building journey and you don't know how. Whatever your money question, we nerds are here to help you. Leave us a voicemail, text us on the nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. One more time, that's 901-730-NERD.

15:18Elizabeth Ayoola:All right, let's get to this episode's money question segment. That's up next. Stay with us. Today's episode is sponsored by Quince.

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17:22Sean Pyles:We're back and answering your money questions to help you make smarter financial decisions. Today, we're doing a budget rehab segment, which is when we go through a listener's budget to help them optimize it and ensure it aligns with their financial goals and values. If you'd like us to look through your budget, fill out the form in today's episode description. So today we're joined by Shelby and we're gonna be looking at their budget with the 50-30-20 framework and go into all of what we just described around their values, their goals, and whatnot. So hey, Shelby, welcome to Smart Money.

17:49Elizabeth Ayoola:Hi, Sean Elizabeth. Hi, we're happy to have you here. So first of all, Shelby, tell us a little bit about you. Where are you from? And then where do you work as well?

17:58Amanda Barroso:So I am from South Texas, but I've been living in the Austin area since I came here for college. So that was fall of 2012. I graduated in 2015. And ever since then, I've been working at the Same Place, which is a nonprofit agency here in Austin.

18:16Elizabeth Ayoola:We love to hear it. We love a good nonprofit. Thank you. Now you're working at a nonprofit. You all do great work and you need help with your budget. So I want you to describe your budget in one word, Shelby.

18:27Amanda Barroso:One word. I'll use a phrase. It's a work in progress.

18:32Elizabeth Ayoola:Okay. I like that. I think a budget is always a work in progress. No matter how great it is, it can always be refined and updated. So I like that a lot. Now tell us why you sent in your budget.

18:42Amanda Barroso:My goal for this year was to become more financially educated and strategic. I bought my condo in December of 2024. So that used up the majority of my savings, which meant I was kind of starting from scratch again with rebuilding that, which meant really looking at my monthly budget because I had new home costs. with buying a new home. That means you've got to furnish it and paint it. So I quickly racked up more credit card debt than I am used to. So I've also been trying to like rebuild savings, but also work towards bringing down debt, which is kind of a conundrum and thought I could get some help there.

19:28Sean Pyles:Yeah. Well, congrats on buying your condo. That's a big step. How does it feel being a homeowner now?

19:32Amanda Barroso:It is good. I was a homeowner before and then I sold that one. I I haven't been a homeowner, though, for about two to three years. So being back in is a nice reminder of there's always something to fix and work on. And it's on me to do it.

19:48Sean Pyles:Yep. And I'm sure it changed your budget quite a bit. How did your finances change after you bought your condo?

19:53Amanda Barroso:Honestly, not too much because I've always been, I would say, financially responsible. It just meant I had a little less play money.

20:04Sean Pyles:So what would you say is maybe your biggest stressor in your budget right now?

20:09Amanda Barroso:I would say the credit card debt. Because while I can only reduce spending so much, bills are what they are. I can't really adjust that. I've adjusted once pretty well, but I have also started doing some part-time work. I've started doing nannying and babysitting just for supplemental income with the idea of I can just throw that towards credit card debt using the avalanche method. Hopefully I'm getting that right. Focusing on the credit cards with the higher interest.

20:39Sean Pyles:Yes, that is the avalanche method. Well, we're going to get deep into your credit card debt in a little bit. First, we want to talk about your budget at kind of a high level.

20:47Elizabeth Ayoola:Shelby, thank you for sending us in your budget. So we were able to have some numbers to look at. So we're going to go through each category, maybe ask you a couple of questions, talk through that, and then we'll look at your financial goals and how we can maybe rework your budget to align with those goals. Does that work? That works. Perfect. So your after-tax income is around$5 ,570. Is that right, Shelby? That's about right. Okay. And then you just mentioned taking up part-time work, babysitting and things like that. Does that include that income as well? It should. Okay. I'm not too far off.

21:17Elizabeth Ayoola:I'm about maybe a couple hundred. That still works. So now that we know your after-tax income, we're going to move to your must-haves. And I know you just mentioned that you feel like you've done a good job of kind of getting your must-have bucket into shape. So your monthly housing costs, can you tell us how much you're paying at the moment for that?

21:35Amanda Barroso:Yes, it's about$2 ,400. That would be my mortgage and my HOA. And the HOA does include my water bill as well as home insurance.

21:49Sean Pyles:What other expenses can you think of that are maybe a significant part of your must-have expenses? Do you have a car payment or insurance for your car?

21:57Amanda Barroso:I thankfully do not have a car payment. I was able to pay off my car, I think, in January of this year, which is great because that's a really good feeling. I could afford my HOA.

22:09Sean Pyles:Yeah.

22:09Amanda Barroso:Yeah. But I still, of course, have insurance. That includes home insurance also. Those are bundled together, and that's about$165. Okay. And then, of course, all other utilities.

22:20Sean Pyles:One thing I noticed in your budget spreadsheet, Shelby, is that you're spending around$300 a month on groceries, which is actually really good. How do you save money on groceries? Because that's something that I struggle with personally.

22:32Amanda Barroso:I think that my job actually hosts a lot of luncheons for other people where they provide food at meetings and often there's leftover food. So I find myself eating more at work just from things that are brought to the break room than actually having to eat my food that I brought. So I feel like I'm able to stretch it out a bit.

22:54Elizabeth Ayoola:Oh, I love free food. One of the downsides of working from home is we don't get any free food. No.

23:01Sean Pyles:But looking at your housing costs and your income, I noticed that your housing costs are a little high relative to your budget. You're spending about 44 % of your take-home pay on your housing. Does that feel comfortable for you or does it feel a little bit tight?

23:16Amanda Barroso:It feels okay because I kind of knew what I was getting into and I'm trying to tell myself this is an investment. It's an investment, right? It's not like I'm spending this money on wants.

23:29Sean Pyles:Yeah, and it's a roof over your head.

23:31Amanda Barroso:Yeah, yeah. I feel like every month I'm able to pay everything that I need to and still have money left over for my groceries, for going out with friends on occasion. So yeah, I'm not overly stressed with the money I have left over after all the must-haves, but that does mean I can't be as aggressive towards paying down my credit card debt as I'd like to be.

23:52Sean Pyles:And what's your interest rate on your mortgage?

23:55Amanda Barroso:Right now, it is 4.25 because I did a 3-2-1 buy down. So come January of next year, it'll go up to 5.25. And then the third year, it's 6.25. And that will remain on until I hopefully refinance at a lower rate. I did that because at the time, it seemed like the better deal for me in the long run. And I was willing to spend the money on it.

24:23Sean Pyles:I think that's a smart move because interest rates have been pretty difficult for the past few years, especially. And you're right when you were closing. I don't have the exact numbers, but they weren't great. I'll tell you that. So looking ahead to when your interest rate might kick up to higher around five, six percent, you might want to look at what it might cost you to refinance, because typically if you can get an interest rate that's around three quarters of a percent lower than what you currently have, it's often worth it to refinance.

24:47Amanda Barroso:I did hear that on maybe this podcast. You probably did.

24:53Sean Pyles:That's great. Well, I'm glad it's stuck in your brain.

24:55Amanda Barroso:Because I'm trying to plan ahead for that.

24:57Sean Pyles:Well, that's great. We're all about planning for the future with your money here. Shelby, looking at all of your must-have expenses, you're spending a little over 60 % of your take-home pay on your needs, which isn't unheard of. I mean, with a 50, 30, 20 budget, ideally you'll have 50 % covering your needs. But given how expensive the world is and mortgages and condos are, I think that you're doing pretty well, all things considered. So, Elizabeth, do you want to dive into savings?

25:25Elizabeth Ayoola:I do. And before I do, I'm not going to assume everyone listening knows what the 50, 30, 20 budget is. So 50 % usually goes to your needs, 30 % to wants, and 20 % to debt and savings. All right, Shelby, so tell us what accounts you're currently saving in.

25:40Amanda Barroso:So I have a high yield savings account that I opened earlier this year, maybe around in the summertime. Then I have a 401k through my employer, which also offers an IRA that I just recently started contributing to as of like a week ago. And then I have personal banking savings accounts that I use. So kind of like Sean, I have multiple accounts where I kind of automatically transfer things into because that is helpful for my mind. So I have those already pulled out of what comes through my check and then I can use whatever balance is left there to start

26:16Elizabeth Ayoola:divvying up towards all of my needs. And you also mentioned in your budget that you sent over that you have an HSA. Is that correct? Oh, yes. I do have that as well. So let's rewind a little bit since we're on the topic of savings. Do you currently have an emergency saving fund? Because I know that was a priority for you. I have one that I am building.

26:36Amanda Barroso:So the high yield savings account is what I'm using to build up at least three months worth of my living expenses. So right now I would say I'm about a fourth of the way there.

26:49Elizabeth Ayoola:How much do you need to save to get to three months?

26:51Amanda Barroso:To get to three months, let's see, I think it should be around$9 ,000.

26:55Elizabeth Ayoola:$9 ,000 is my goal for three months worth. And then how much are you currently saving in each of those accounts? How much are you saving in your health savings account, your high yield savings account, your 401k monthly?

27:04Amanda Barroso:The high yield savings is, the goal was 200 monthly, but that's changed to 100 monthly. The HSA is 100 per paycheck. The IRA is$50 per paycheck. And remind me what the other one was. Oh, the 401k. I contribute 6 % and then my employer matches 3%.

27:26Elizabeth Ayoola:I know you said that you want to save more, but in order to achieve, let's just round it off and say$10 ,000, right? Which is three months worth of expenses for you. If you continue saving, let's say$200 a month, that would come up to you saving$2 ,400 a year. And it would take about four years, assuming you didn't take out any money for emergencies for you to rebuild that emergency fund. So how are you thinking in terms of your time horizon of how fast you would like to rebuild your savings?

27:53Amanda Barroso:The sooner the better is always great because I've never been a patient person.

27:59Sean Pyles:I can relate to that.

28:00Amanda Barroso:Yeah. I'm also a very realistic person. And so I'm just trying to take a breather and say everything is temporary, right? So all of my, like the supplemental work that I'm doing with the nannying, hopefully that's not forever. So the more I do that, the quicker I can achieve my goals. And the sooner I can hopefully just have one job.

28:20Elizabeth Ayoola:That's right.

28:21Sean Pyles:And pay off your credit card debt.

28:22Elizabeth Ayoola:Shelby, based on the information you've given us, your monthly savings score right now is 11.71%. So it's shy of the 20 % that's recommended in the framework. But again, you have different financial priorities right now, but we'll see later if we can bump that up to 20%.

28:39Sean Pyles:And one thing we should know is that your monthly debt payments are eating into your savings score. So you're putting a lot of money into these different goals. And it might feel like you're saving a lot of money. But because of this credit card debt, you're just not able to save in the way that you want to, as you know well. So let's talk about your credit card debt. How much do you have? How many credit cards do you have? Talk with us about the story of your credit card debt. I believe I have about eight credit cards right now, but only four of them currently have a balance.

29:11Amanda Barroso:So one of them is strictly for car maintenance, repairs, and that one has a no interest for six months if the purchase is over$150, which every car purchase is over$150. So right now, that card has a balance of$1 ,000. Then the other credit card that I just got this year, that one is about$1 ,600. And that one also has a promotional interest rate right now of 3.99 % until, I want to say February or March of next year. Then my two others, so one of them is my Southwest card. Yes, I'm a Southwest girly. Not super happy about all the different changes that have come up recently. That one is just under$4K.

30:01Amanda Barroso:And then my other, which is just a, it's the Chase Freedom, which does have reward benefits on it. That one is just over$2K.

30:11Sean Pyles:And what are the interest rates on these last two cards?

30:13Amanda Barroso:The Freedom is the highest. So that's the one I've been paying most aggressively. I want to say it's like around 27. And then my Southwest is the next highest, which would be about 22, 24.

30:29Sean Pyles:And what's your credit score?

30:30Amanda Barroso:Most recently was 759.

30:33Sean Pyles:That's pretty good. So I hate when people pay egregious amounts of interest and anything north of 20 % is going to be in that category. And often if you have a credit card that has rewards like the two you mentioned, the Southwest and the Freedom, any amount that you're paying an interest is going to wipe out the value of those perks. So one thing that I would encourage you to look into, even though these balances might feel relatively small, is maybe getting a balance transfer credit card where you can have a zero APR period, often between 18, maybe even 24 months, depending on the card itself.

31:08Sean Pyles:So NerveWallet has roundups. We have refresh roundups every single month where you can look at the best balance transfer credit cards. That way you can just accelerate your debt payoff and pay less in interest and put as much money as possible toward really zeroing out that balance. It'll accelerate the amount that you're able to pay and how quickly you'll be able to get out of debt. Have you looked into this option thus far?

31:29Amanda Barroso:Not too much. I have used a balance transfer credit card before in the past and actually do have one through Chase, but you can't transfer from one Chase card. Yeah. So the card that I got this year that does have that 3.99 promotional interest rate, they are also offering different promotional transfer balances. So I have considered that. I think there is one offer that is zero interest and there's another, but a much smaller interest rate for a longer period of time. So it is something that I have thought of, but haven't deeply considered.

32:01Sean Pyles:I would encourage you to play with a debt payoff calculator and see with these different interest rates. If you have a credit card interest rate that's like 27 % versus 0%, how long it would take you to pay off debt with these different scenarios. So that way it can make these numbers and these different scenarios feel really concrete. That might be some good motivation too, because I want your money to go towards more fun things than paying interest to a bank. And transferring your balance might be the best way to do that.

32:29Elizabeth Ayoola:Maybe so. Now we're going to go into your wants, Shelby. I think this is the fun part. You are very responsible looking at your budget. You have all these responsible things you're doing. What do you typically spend your wants budget on?

32:41Amanda Barroso:I think most is experiences. So that would be like dinners, drinks, trips with friends. But all my friends are kind of in the same financial space as I am, right? Because we're all living in this wonderful economy and state of the world. So we're trying to all balance how many trips we're going on or how extravagant the trips are, how often we're going out to eat or maybe where we're going out to eat. But when it's someone's birthday, you know, all of that doesn't matter.

33:09Sean Pyles:Of course. After one margarita, who cares about your credit card?

33:12Amanda Barroso:Exactly.

33:13Sean Pyles:Yeah. It's like

33:13Elizabeth Ayoola:calories don't count on your birthday and neither does the budget. So I guess we'll now share the percentage of your wants bucket. So it's taking up 28 % of your income. So in the 50, 30, 20 grand scheme of things, you're just below 30%, which is doing pretty good. You're pretty conservative in that way.

33:33Sean Pyles:I don't want to restrict fun in your life, Shelby, but I'm wondering if there might be a place or two where you could pull back a little bit on the wants just to funnel any extra cash toward your debt payoff, at least momentarily. I think you might be able to skirt that if you end up getting a balance transfer card. Your credit score should qualify you. That might be one way to avoid pulling back on your wants. But if you keep going the path you're currently on, doing just debt avalanche and paying these really high interest rates, you may want to consider pulling back on wants at least in one or two areas.

34:05Amanda Barroso:I feel like I'm already giving as much as I can and have adjusted everywhere I could. Right. So that's what prompted me to get supplemental income was because, you know, I was already working with what I had, but I need to have a little more to work with.

34:23Sean Pyles:So the question kind of becomes, where can you create slack in your finances? Because it is fairly tight currently. And I think based on what I've seen so far, the interest rate is probably going to be your best bet. It seems like you got into this debt because of household expenses. You weren't racking up vacations on them, correct? I wish. Except you don't, because that would be indicative of a worse behavioral issue around how you manage your money. So that's a good thing. So take some solace in that you were going into what's maybe a more responsible form of credit card debt. But as you know, it's all too easy to slip into credit card debt.

34:59Sean Pyles:So just take some precautions to avoid going into more as you know, well, I don't need to tell you this, but I always have to remind everyone. Okay, so Shelby, based on what we've talked about so far, what other questions do you have about how you might be able to improve where your finances are going, how you're managing your budget, what you're going to be doing around your debt payoff. Any other questions? I know we talked about the HSA, the 401k, the IRA that I recently

35:23Amanda Barroso:started and then the high yield. I forgot to mention, I have just a couple other savings accounts through two of my banks. So one of them is a credit union. That one, I save$50 per paycheck. So that's a hundred monthly. And then I kind of just throw in extra there whenever I can. So I have my larger lump sum go to my primary bank where I primarily do bills. And then I have my credit union, which is where I do like smaller savings, but also that's more like my play money. So the primary savings that when I put in 250 monthly. So I forgot to mention that. My question is, and I bet you guys would never recommend this, but what are your thoughts on like temporarily pausing savings, right, or doing minimal savings so that way that money can go towards the more aggressive debt repayment?

36:18Elizabeth Ayoola:That is not a terrible idea when you have high interest debt to pay. But something that we do suggest is that you at least get your 401k match. Are you getting that with your employer currently? Yeah, I do believe so. and then you at least have$1 ,000 in your emergency savings fund. But obviously, three months, three to six months is ideal.

36:37Sean Pyles:Yeah, I don't hate the idea of pulling back. I would caution against pulling back entirely, just because we want to see you making progress on your savings goals. I think that might be something to consider more seriously if you aren't able to transfer the balance of your credit cards to a zero interest card. Because I don't know exactly how much you're paying in interest each month, but you might find that the amount that you're saving in interest, if you can transfer the balance, would be about the amount you would sacrifice from your savings to put it toward your credit card debt. So just run some numbers there.

37:11Sean Pyles:But savings are so important to prevent you from going into debt again or even further in the future. As you know, something could happen to your condo tomorrow and you might have to pay for it. So it's just the best key to long-term financial resilience is your saving.

37:26Amanda Barroso:Okay, here's another question. So let's say I do look more into the balance transfer. I haven't done it in quite a while, but I can't remember if you're able to transfer balances like from multiple credit cards into one or does it have to be a one-to-one?

37:43Sean Pyles:It depends on the card, but you can transfer often multiple cards onto one card.

37:48Amanda Barroso:Okay, If I did do a balance transfer and it was only one card, what are your thoughts on transferring the balance that is lower but has the highest interest rate versus the balance that is twice as high but has a smaller interest rate?

38:03Sean Pyles:Yeah. Remind me again of each interest rate. One's 27, one's 21. Is that right?

38:07Amanda Barroso:Yeah, it's not very far off.

38:10Sean Pyles:I think it'd be worth running the numbers to see how much you would pay in interest over the life of each debt. but kind of back of the napkin mental math, it seems like you would probably save the most money by transferring the higher balance, even though there's a slightly lower interest rate. But ideally you could get a card where you'd be able to transfer multiple balances onto one new card. And that shouldn't be too hard to find.

38:30Amanda Barroso:Yeah. I'm pretty sure that the credit card that I got earlier this year still has a transfer balance option on it. So I'll look more into that so that way I'm not having to open up a new line of credit. Yeah. And I'll go from there.

38:42Sean Pyles:And that's the 3 %?

38:44Amanda Barroso:I think so. It's around that.

38:45Sean Pyles:Yeah. Way better than 27. Well, Shelby, thank you so much for being so open with us about your finances here. Maybe we can have a follow-up conversation when you have your debt somewhat more resolved about how much you're saving for retirement, because that's a whole nother can of worms that we don't have time for today. But I would love to talk with you about that in the future. But in terms of spread of accounts, you have a good variety there. So congrats on that.

39:08Amanda Barroso:Okay. Thank you.

39:09Sean Pyles:Also, listeners may be able to hear that my cat has entered the picture. He is meowing on my lap as I'm recording this. Maybe he's got an opinion. Yeah.

39:18Elizabeth Ayoola:I know.

39:19Sean Pyles:Maybe she has something to say about Shelby's budget. All right. Well, thanks so much for coming on. Thank you for having me. And that is all we have for this episode. Remember, listener, that we are here to answer your money questions. So turn to the Nerds and call or text us your questions at 901-730-6373. That's 901-730-NERD. You can also email us at podcast at nerdwallet.com.

39:39Elizabeth Ayoola:If you enjoyed our conversation and you're interested in getting a financial strategy tailored specifically to your needs, then you may want to consider working with a financial planner like Sean. You can get matched with a financial advisor for free using NerdWallet Advisors Match, and you can find a link on that in today's show notes. Follow Smart Money on your favorite podcast app that includes Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio to automatically download new episodes. And also, if you want us to go through your budget and help optimize it so you can reach your financial goals, then fill out the form in the show description.

40:11Sean Pyles:Here's our brief disclaimer. We are not your financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.

40:21Elizabeth Ayoola:This episode is produced by Tess Vigland, Hilary Georgie helped with editing, Nick Karismi mixed our audio. And as always, a big thank you to NerdWallet's editors for all the ways they help us.

40:31Sean Pyles:And with that said, until next time, turn to the nerds.

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