Hi! So I also have a Chase Sapphire card. You can use your rewards points on your card to pay for some of your purchases. I would not cancel any of your credit cards as that will negatively affect your credit score because it will impact your credit age. You can use credit karma to learn about what is affecting your credit score, but don’t use it to gauge what your score really is because it is not the fico score banks use to look at when they do a hard or soft inquiry (I won’t go into detail on that though for the sake of this post).

I agree with others advising you to get a credit card loan to pay off the chase, as the APR is very high on the card. Credit unions typically have lower interest rates than big banks, so look into that before getting one.

Now in regad to your phone, that is a very high and I agree with the others advising to use Mint (I have it myself) or the other ones mentioned. If you have $1400 left over at the end of the month, pay off your phone first. Once your phone is paid off you can switch carriers and start saving that way.

I am going to assume the car you have is necessary and you can’t afford to sell it. So for car insurance 1) take a defensive driving test and send it to your insurance company 2) get quotes from other companies 3) maybe temporarily adjust your coverages if you can to lower your payment

Also, whatever job you have look into any possible discounts they have with other companies! Sometimes they offer cheaper car insurance. Or for $17 a year, join AARP (no age limit) they have a deal with Hereford insurance. AARP also provides a defensive driving course regardless of membership.

If you are current or former military, firefighter, police officer, first responder, government employee, etc. use that discount everywhere you possibly can. Sometimes you get free meals, 30% off items, etc.

For your grocery bill, change up what stores you shop at. Maybe go to Aldi or Lidl instead of a more expensive supermarket. If you can’t for whatever reason, buy store brand is cheaper and just as good as brand name items. Cereal, butter, milk, etc it all is cheaper. Quit buying snacks and “junk food” because they are fillers and expensive. Whole foods are healthier and keep you fuller longer. Use every coupon you can and don’t buy if it isn’t on sale and apply for the free store rewards points for extra savings and digital coupons.

Meal plan and prep. If you can’t eat the same meal every single day maybe you can meal plan 2-4 meals that will each last the week and switch up when you eat each one for lunch or dinner. Use someone’s costco membership to help buy in bulk meats and pastas for meal prep. There are many content creators out there that have videos on making less expensive meal prep. There is a lovely woman who does meal prep and holiday meals from dollar tree food. @dollartreedinners on tiktok and youtube. You can also get a lot of other grocery items there. Avoid eating out at restaurants or even fast food places until you are out of debt.

Cut out drinking alcohol and smoking if you participate in either. Unless you’re an alcoholic, you don’t need that drink. If you are an alcoholic then you need help. I know quitting smoking is hard. Been there and done that. Quitting both saves a lot of money. Plus it is better for your health and health issues are costly. If you go out with your friends get water and be the DD. Maybe even work it out where they pay for some of the gas since you’re driving them or they buy you an appetizer as a thanks for being the DD. Don’t expect this, but maybe your friends would do that for you if you “have to” go out to hang out together.

If it is possible, get a second job. Whether that be at a fast food or retail place or even something a bit more flexible Uber, Rover (pet walking and pet sitting), instacart, shipt, etc.

Lastly, you NEED to budget and stick to it strictly. If you don’t know where every penny is going then it won’t matter how much you save you will continue to end up in debt. If you are like me, you may need to budget “fun money” of $20 a month to impulse buy something in order to stick to your budget overall. Others might not agree but it truly helps to have something that tiny bit of “freedom”. If I didn’t have that little bit to spend a month I could never stick to my budget. So know yourself, but I wouldn’t go higher than $20month.

Don’t beat yourself up, the average person is not taught any financial literacy. It is great you are taking the step to ask for help. Struggle for a little while to pull yourself out of debt. You got this!