Getting Out of Debt, Jan Edition - Page 7

[applecider]

eirual - I suck at doing a zero balance budget too. I never spend more than the total budget amount for everything, but I spend more than I should in each category. Which makes it seem like we're doing fine, heck sometimes we end up with more money leftover at the end of the month. What happens is that the budgeted amount for the car, for instance, should be accumulated so that when a major repair comes around, the $$ is there. I haven't been doing that at all though.

[PPK]

Count me in!!!

I'm so glad to have found this thread, although I stalked for a while. I don't follow Ramsey's advice, but have been following Your Money or Your Life, and its been life-changing.

I'm almost done paying all debt, I do have EF 1K, and will be done with step 2 in about 1 month..except, we don't have life insurance yet...I need to look into this this month..

Hope to start step #3 by March 1st..and then SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!!!

My new mantra is "yes, I can save!"

[lakeruby]

Originally Posted by PPK

Hope to start step #3 by March 1st..and then SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!!!

My new mantra is "yes, I can save!"

I love this mantra!

[sweetjasmine]

Originally Posted by cody'smomma

eirual - I suck at doing a zero balance budget too. I never spend more than the total budget amount for everything, but I spend more than I should in each category. Which makes it seem like we're doing fine, heck sometimes we end up with more money leftover at the end of the month. What happens is that the budgeted amount for the car, for instance, should be accumulated so that when a major repair comes around, the $$ is there. I haven't been doing that at all though.

So I did a BAD BAD thing. An absolute and total splurge, I bought a laptop. I do not need one, I wanted one. I have a perfectly good desktop that works just fine, I just wanted to be able to use the computer in other places in the house, maybe the back yard. I kept saying how nice it would be to have one and DP was like, then get one! I kept saying no, I don't need it. But then he bought a $300 pair of hiking boots so maybe I kind of felt like I deserved it? We have the money, even after saving my goal amount (it's that darn leftover from a couple of months!!). I guess I"ll be putting the tax return in it's place, which is bigger than I thought it would be.

Urgh. I guess I should stop feeling guilty and move on! One thing I did feel about the laptop (and this may be the silliest justification ever!) was that I could be more where my kids are and be on the computer. Like if they are playing outside or watching a movie I could be snuggled up next to them? It's AP right? Jeez, I'm really stretching here aren't I?

Don't beat yourself up too much, mama! Sounds like you have plenty of funds for your needs and you've been good about that. I think I would have done the same thing. Obviously as long as spending like that isn't a frequent occurrence, I think you should be happy about your fun purchase (and your dh, too!) and your reasonings are all good!

[mtm]

cody'smomma, sorry to hear about the pay cut and possible job loss in the summer. I agree save, save, save. Yikes, I just read you bought a laptop. Total sabotage there girl. I don't like your justification that dh bought something so you needed to, too. You've got to get out of the mindset that you deserve something, it ends up with overspending. If you've got a pay cut and possible job loss, the laptop was a bad idea.

witch's mom, great job knocking off the first cc! You're off to a good start.

pranamama, yay on cutting the bills!

Softmama, sorry to hear there's less money than you planned on. I bet you pick up steam and still pay off that heloc in 2 1/2.

WorldsBestMom, welcome to the thread! I agree, saving for purchases is the way to go.

canuckgal, you've been doing great with the extra payments. I see the moldy basement as a potential health hazard so I'd move it up like you're doing too.
I agree with your investment guy about debt repayment first, no surprise there.

akichan, holy shit, I would have cried. I hope you can find a cheaper insurance rate. Any chance combining it with your home insurance would help?

_ktg_, yay on the bonus!

eirual, I'm more a figure out the budget categories, make sure I'm not overspending in any one category and let the rest sort itself out :couch I do review every 3 months or so and make sure the categories are on track.

lakeruby, its hard getting started but pretty soon it will be old hat. Have you considered cutting up the cc and going to cash envelopes? It really makes a difference for a lot of people on spending. We do a new thread every month!

PPK, welcome! I really enjoyed Your Money or Your Life. Yes you can save, if I can do it, anyone can.

I'm glad we're almost done with January, I'm going to try a no spend for the last few days to see what I can add to my snowball. Anyone else in?

[applecider]

mtm - you are totally right. That's why I was feeling so bad about it. But what's done is done and really, it didn't make a big dent in anything. We do have some debt to get out of and if his company lands another project (which is supposedly almost guaranteed) I'll be able to pay the debt off right then. But yes, it was kind of a silly buy, but not going to be a huge deal. Plus, I am so good normally with not buying stuff, heck I don't even buy myself new clothes. It's not like that kind of spending is the norm for me. I mean, we are not the kind of people who just rack up the credit cards for stupid stuff. We took out one loan for a motorcycle and are paying it off, WAY early. Like five years early.

[lactivistmama]

Originally Posted by mtm

Lots of posters not posting this month, everyone doing okay?

First time checking in in a while I have made no progress yet again this month Mostly due to having to take alot of time off for different reasons throughout the month.. and now I am facing a huge dental bill for dd which I am not sure what to do about (my post is in Dental if anyone has any opinions ) but I didn't go backwards so that is good!! I need to look at my budget for Feb within the next few days..

[MyTwoAs]

cody'smomma - I think mtm was just being honest with you about the purchase. I'm an impulse shopper, myself, so I totally know where you are coming from. However, I think mtm is just trying to help you stay on track and support you. The way to balance these things is to plan ahead and start a sinking fund for the big purchases. Dave Ramsey would say don't buy it until you're out of BS2 but I don't even think I'd have the fortitude to do that. For example, I want the new iPad (if I can ever stop laughing about the name). I don't need it - I have a Macbook and an iPhone, but I want it. Thankfully, it isn't available yet. I'm going to have to majorly resist the urge to buy one in two months once it comes out.

lactivistmama - not going backwards, especially with less hours and more bills, is great!

I've got an a/c guy coming out tomorrow to give us a quote on a new unit. Between our existing a/c sinking fund and our unexpected tax refund, we'll have $8500 for a new a/c as soon as the tax refunds hit our account. This is good news because then saving for it won't disrupt my debt snowball as much.

[Tradd]

Need some thoughts from you fellow DR fans...

I'm only about $1200 from being debt free (credit card). My car was paid off in the fall. The cc is my only debt. However, I need some expensive dental work (about $5K) - for two implants (and the accompanying work - two teeth being pulled, an appliance to fill in the gap for six months while it heals, etc). I've gotten another opinion, and due to my individual dental situation, the implants are the best thing. Crowns held on via gold pins would probably only last a year. I was originally told I needed the implants about 10 months ago, and in that time I was aggressively paying down debt and paying cash for other necessary things. My company had some unpaid furlough time last summer (I was lucky I wasn't among those who were laid off!), so that really threw a wrench into things and overtime - not necessary to my budget but nice to have - was really cut back.

My teeth that would be replaced by the implants have deteriorated to the point that I can't wait much longer to do the implants - maybe a couple of months. No pain, but one tooth (that can't be seen) has broken off and the more visible canine tooth doesn't have much support behind it (the filling broke off leaving a thin layer of tooth). I'm very careful with what/how I eat.

Here's the money issue: I have $1K in my emergency fund (had more last summer during the furloughs/layoffs, but I used that toward debt after the layoffs/furloughs were ended). I think I'm going to have to put the dental work on my cc - or at least the great majority of it - and then pay it off aggressively.

I'm single, so there is no DH with an income to help with this. I have no one (family, etc.) that I could borrow the money from. No one has this sort of cash laying around, and I wouldn't like borrowing from them anyway! I think I can get through April-May before having to have this done, and save up more cash.

Think it's best to save up as much cash as possible for dental work and then put the remainder on my cc (which has a credit limit of $5K)? That's what I'm planning to do at this point...

Thanks!

[madis81]

I just want to say --- WE PAID OFF OUR CAR!!!!

We got our tax refund this morning, and the first thing we did was pay off our car. Now we need to get it fixed, but we have the cash for that. Really, it feels real good knowing we don't have a car payment. And that we paid off a huge debt. This is BIG for us.

I'll be back later for a closer look at our snowball.... and to respond to other posts.

[sweetjasmine]

Yay, madis, that is great!!!! What a great feeling! Congrats!!

[mtm]

Originally Posted by cody'smomma

mtm - you are totally right. That's why I was feeling so bad about it. But what's done is done and really, it didn't make a big dent in anything. We do have some debt to get out of and if his company lands another project (which is supposedly almost guaranteed) I'll be able to pay the debt off right then. But yes, it was kind of a silly buy, but not going to be a huge deal. Plus, I am so good normally with not buying stuff, heck I don't even buy myself new clothes. It's not like that kind of spending is the norm for me. I mean, we are not the kind of people who just rack up the credit cards for stupid stuff. We took out one loan for a motorcycle and are paying it off, WAY early. Like five years early.

[mtm]

Tradd, hmm, I really think this is something you need to do sooner rather than later. Can you talk to the dentist and see if he can give you a deal or put you on a payment plan? If not yeah, you may have to take on some new debt.

madis81, great job!

[Sarah8Jane]

Tradd -
I would consider your dental work a storm cloud and snowball for it over the next few months, but not too long, you've already put it off 10 months.

I would also think that a payment plan through the dentist might have a better interest rate than your credit card. I'd pursue that route first.

[MyTwoAs]

Madis - Congrats, that is fantastic news!!

Tradd - I agree with the others, talk to the office and see what they can do to help. I agree that not putting it off much longer is important. Goo luck and let us know how it goes!

Some good snowflake news came my way today. One of my editors wanted to know if I wanted to write a little more and of course I jumped on it. This means an extra $400 to $1000 a month on our mountainous BS2.

[Tradd]

Originally Posted by Sarah8Jane

Tradd -
I would consider your dental work a storm cloud and snowball for it over the next few months, but not too long, you've already put it off 10 months.

I would also think that a payment plan through the dentist might have a better interest rate than your credit card. I'd pursue that route first.

The oral surgeon (and the one where I got my second opinion) do NOT do payment plans. Neither does my regular dentist or doctor.

No one I've gone to over the past 5+ years does payment plans. I asked about payment plans, and they looked at me like I had two heads. They have several different options (Care Credit and such), but no payment plan.

So, the cc is about my only choice if I have to have it done suddenly.

[MyTwoAs]

Originally Posted by Tradd

The oral surgeon (and the one where I got my second opinion) do NOT do payment plans. Neither does my regular dentist or doctor.

No one I've gone to over the past 5+ years does payment plans. I asked about payment plans, and they looked at me like I had two heads. They have several different options (Care Credit and such), but no payment plan.

So, the cc is about my only choice if I have to have it done suddenly.

I noticed that once my dentist began taking Care Credit that they stopped offering payment plans. Care Credit has "payment plans" so they don't do it in-house anymore. That being said, several years ago I had $4k in dental bills and we did the 12 month no interest via Care Credit which allowed us to pay on it monthly. We did get it paid off in the 12 months. Of course, this isn't what DR would recommend but I'm not DR and I'm fond of good dental health. Do what you need to do to take care of your teeth momma!

[JamieCatheryn]

WOOOOOHOOOO!! I just paid off the credit card we've been carrying a balance on for 5 years! At it's worst we owed 9k on it. Tax refund was awesome this year and allowed us to get way ahead. Still have another card (3k) and a student loan (10k) left, and don't know if our current car can hold out until we can save up 100% for the next one. I know I'm not entitled to a debt free scream just yet but I was not prepared for how GOOD it would feel to see that $0.00 balance.

[MyTwoAs]

Originally Posted by JamieCatheryn

WOOOOOHOOOO!! I just paid off the credit card we've been carrying a balance on for 5 years! At it's worst we owed 9k on it. Tax refund was awesome this year and allowed us to get way ahead. Still have another card (3k) and a student loan (10k) left, and don't know if our current car can hold out until we can save up 100% for the next one. I know I'm not entitled to a debt free scream just yet but I was not prepared for how GOOD it would feel to see that $0.00 balance.

Congrats!! That has to feel good!

[sweetjasmine]

A few years ago I paid for dental work with a Care Credit card through my dentist. That was pretty handy and I closed it when I paid it off.