YOUR MONEY: MAKEOVER REDUX

Then: After a painful divorce that wiped him out financially, Drake, 31, found himself piling on debt. By January 2008, he was spending $2,000 more a month than he earned, splurging on $100 seafood restaurant meals and weekend trips in his gas-guzzling truck. By living beyond his means, Drake added nearly $54,000 of debt on six credit cards, a bank loan and borrowings from his 401(k).

The planner said Drake needed to slash expenses by $3,000 monthly and plow his money into reducing his credit card debt while slowly chipping away at his remaining borrowings.

Now: Drake has changed many of the bad habits that got him into financial trouble. He has reduced his credit card debt and is working on paying down his bank loan and 401(k) borrowings. He’ll need to stay on top of his budget even more in the coming months because he and his new wife, Jodi, are expecting their first child in June.

New habits: Drake cut his expenses by forgoing dinners out and weekend getaways. He and his wife closely monitor their spending, clipping coupons for the grocery store and swearing off frivolous purchases. A boost in his pay also helped reduce debt. He earned nearly $15,000 in commissions over the last year as a product manager at a microfiche storage and furniture company in Whittier. His credit card debt has shrunk from $29,000 to about $12,000. Meanwhile, he has paid down his $16,000 bank loan to $9,000 and his 401(k) borrowings from $9,000 to $6,400.

“If I don’t have the cash, I don’t spend the money,” he said.

-- Kelly Barron