Getting out of Debt May 2010 - Page 4

[akichan]

Coming out of lurkdom to confess that I SPENT on my trip as much as I had planned to, but . . . since being back, I can't STOP spending. And that sucks.

Having tons of new ideas for things to do! But they all cost money . . .

[beansmama]

Hey!

I've been M.I.A for awhile now...but...I'm here!

And...no longer on BS3!

Our emergency fund is now fully funded ($8k) and we are now working on a large downpayment for our future home.

Now, this is a struggle for us! Once we finished our ffef it felt so good...and like we were 'safe'. Saving for the house has been hard. We want to buy a house in the next 5 years, but finding the motivation to save our money vs. blow it all on junk food and fun is proving difficult.

Today is payday and I was able to put $259.47 in our house fund, making the total:

House Fund:
$2,074.45/$50,000

So...I'm not sure what step this is? 3.5? lol!

We're also saving 5% of our income in a ROTH 401k...just to get the company match. We're mostly wanting to focus on the house for the time being

[MyTwoAs]

beansmama - Saving for a house is officially Baby Step 3b so you weren't off by much hehe. Congrats on getting your FFEF finished, what a great milestone to have met!

Akichan - G'luck getting your spending urge under control.

[punkrawkmama27]

Hi! Can I join this thread and be put at pre-step 1? My friend let me borrow her dave ramsey financial peace book and cds last year, and it has taken me until now to get my behind in gear and start reading it!

My dh works construction, in the winter months it is slow, in the summer months life is pretty good. We are not smart with out money during good times and blow it on junk. I want to start saving and stop borrowing! This winter was the slowest it has ever been at his work. Every year we wait for our tax return because it gets us through until work picks up again, but this year we had so many bills to catch up on so things got very bad, and it was rough, but I know what I need to do, and I am so excited to start!!!

We have a mortgage payment, two car payments (one car will be paid off this summer, the other car we owe $9600 and I hope to have it paid off within the next year to year and a half). We dont have much cc debt, about 900, I want to pay that off by the end of October.

Dh will need a new car soon, his has over 215,000 miles on it and it keeps breaking down. Our credit is horrible, and I dont want a huge car payment, so I am hoping to save some money over the summer to buy a car with cash, then save, save, save so he can buy a nicer car in a couple years.

[eirual]

Welcome, punkrawkmama

Sounds like you have some pretty solid goals to take you in the right direction.

As for me, I'm half way through the last week of a 5wk pay cycle and feeling kinda discouraged as I review the budget. We've actually had a fairly low-spend month as far as extras or frivolous spending goes, but after DH used the CCs last month and we paid a $200 deposit to his university, we're falling short of our savings goal for this month (for our first time since starting DR).

I worked an extra shift this week, but won't see the pay off of that until the END of June, paid the naturopath and awaiting reimbursement from the benefits folk, etc. ....just one of those awkward timing slumps. My accts in the -ve until pay day and once that happens every dime is spoken for....might have to tighten up June's budget....

DH wrote his exam for his last credit course, so we'll find out soon what the next few weeks will look like for us. If we can rent our place out within the next 2-3wks or even into July we'll be laughing, but the sooner the better if we are in fact going (he has to pass this last course with a 70% to keep his acceptance). So we continue to wait in limbo...

[scrandall1173]

Checking In

Hi everyone,

I am really thankful for this thread! This past week we've had some small unexpected checks come in and I was able to just put them directly toward our Visa bill. Normally I would find a "need" for them, but since joining this thread, the importance of knocking out that $4k Visa bill is foremost in my mind.

We have some home improvements that we have to do this year and I'm going to try really hard to pay cash. Oi, it's going to be hard! We bought a house that was foreclosed and the previous owners let it go more than I realized. I guess I didn't sit down and count the costs of all these fix-ups that are needed.

When we bought the house we put most of the $8k tax credit into a savings to start our larger emergency fund. But then I started to make "exceptions" to using the credit card and it added up.

I should probably make out one of those debt-snowball excel spreadsheets... There's one online by "Mr. Peanut"... it's pretty cool. If anyone wants the link, let me know..or you can google "debt snowball mr peanut".

I feel like I'm rambling but just wanted to share more about where we are and say thanks for the thread.

have a good weekend everyone!
Stephanie

[mamatowill]

I haven't been following this thread or DR as closely as I should and well you can tell in the finances. Anyways I am planning on getting back on track as of today. We will see what happens.

[punkrawkmama27]

I started our emergency fund yesterday. 10% of dh check. I am very excited about the snowball method to paying off debt. We are cutting cable after one of the shows I have been watching all season is done, and we are getting rid of the internet on our phones today.

[kitteh]

This paying off debt slowly thing is TOUGH! It's hard to feel like you're working so hard and sacrificing and only see the balance dip a tiny bit each month. But we're doing it! So far this year we've paid of nearly 13% of our credit card debt!

Right now we're in a bit of a holding pattern with work/income. DH has a night class 4 times a week which interferes with his ability to find a better job. And once the class ends we're going on a week-long trip to visit family in Seattle (trip is paid for by family and we'll be staying at their house. Only thing is the week's loss of income) When we get back from the trip DH plans to get a new job (hopefully he can line one up before we leave and start as soon as we get back! That would be ideal, cross your fingers for us!)

Then starting July 1st, my mom is going to be staying with us for 2 months to watch the baby so we can both work as much as possible. The plan is to up debt-repayment by at least $500/month during those two months, more if possible. Hopefully DH can find a decent-paying job so we can keep the monthly payments high. If we can, we'll be able to pay off the debt in about 19 months. But it is all hinging on DH, so send good job-finding vibes our way!

[mtm]

akichan, make the plan, follow the plan, you know how to do this. STop spending.

beansmama, I was wondering how you were doing! Awesome job finishing up bs3 Can you make smaller goals for the down payment so it seems more achievable?

punkrawkmama27 welcome You can do this. Let us know if you have any questions or need help with your budget. Just read your second post, great job on starting the ef!

eirual, good job on the low spend month so far, sounds like you have done a good job this month even though you are short on your goal.

scrandall1173, welcome Great job putting the extra money towards your debt. Can some of your home improvements be put off til your debt is gone?

mamatowill, did you get back on track or do we need to send out the search party for you?

kitteh, the nice thing is, the balance goes slowly then picks up speed as you go along. Sounds like you have a hectic couple of months ahead, yay to your Mom coming and good luck to your dh with the job search.

I'm heading out west for 10 days starting tomorrow so if I don't get the post started on time, that's why. If anyone wants to start it, please do! If not I'm back online on the 3rd. I could use some good thoughts, I'm going out to help my sister while my dn recovers from surgery.

[scrandall1173]

Putting off home repairs

Thanks for the support and suggestion. We live in a condo association that requires certain upkeep. But maybe some people can give me some affordable landscaping ideas? I'm trying to keep it as low as possible.

What are some more affordable plants/flowers/ground cover?

Any suggestions on what to do with a 10 ft diameter circle of sand in your backyard. It's growing weeds but we've been told that grass just isn't going to grow. Our plan is to install a patio ourselves. But we're open to any other creative suggestions.

Thanks!

[p1gg1e]

Originally Posted by scrandall1173

Thanks for the support and suggestion. We live in a condo association that requires certain upkeep. But maybe some people can give me some affordable landscaping ideas? I'm trying to keep it as low as possible.

What are some more affordable plants/flowers/ground cover?

Any suggestions on what to do with a 10 ft diameter circle of sand in your backyard. It's growing weeds but we've been told that grass just isn't going to grow. Our plan is to install a patio ourselves. But we're open to any other creative suggestions.

Thanks!

Id check free cycle or creigs list. You can get hastas cheap. Id just find a few plants like forget me nots , pansys etc that last all summer and some even winter over. You can do it for under $50. Mulch just shop around.

[eirual]

I like putting our garden space to use. If it's not perennial I don't bother. Some of my favs (all of which are pretty and reproduce well, so can be split and hence taken from someone who's already growing them=very cheap/free): chives, lavender, oregano, strawberries, rhubarb. I also like lillies and have planned on getting some from town property down the street 'cause they're spreading like crazy and no one would miss a few.

As for sand....maybe try googling "planting in sand". If you're willing to invest in some other soils to mix into it, you might stand a chance at growing whatever you choose there. Or to do a patio, there's always people looking to get rid of used interlocking bricks for cheap on kijiji or other local classifieds. You could put an ad up that you're looking for some anyways.

Good luck figuring it out!

[MyTwoAs]

I paid off two more debts today - woo!

[mrstice]

Hi, I'm a newbie!
I think I used to be pretty good about setting and sticking with a budget, but we've really gotten into a lot of trouble lately. I went on maternity leave March 1 and, well, hadn't planned well enough. My short-term disability didn't pay out nearly as much as I thought it would, so the last few months have been really stressful.
I bought DR's book and have been skimming through it (when I have a few minutes after kiddos are in bed), and we are working on our budget. We have our $1000 in savings thanks to a recent insurance check (yay for covering homebirth!!). I start back to work part-time June 1, but I get paid similar to 'commission' so my income isn't set, which makes budgeting a little more difficult.
I think what will be most difficult in really getting our budget worked out is setting an amount for groceries, gas, and household items. I haven't been very good at keeping track of these expenses.
I look forward to following this board and getting great advice and ideas from you ladies!

[eirual]

we're for sure moving

So, DH passed his course with flying colours and so will maintain his acceptance to university. (yay, and ahhhhh!!!!)

We'll have to sit down and hammer everything out (financially and plan-of-action speaking). How we decide to move (trailer vs. renting van) will decide greatly on how much it will cost and how much we can take with us.

Our plan (more for my own digestion):
-Get rid of bulky furniture that's not coming with us (garage sale, or quick and dirty give-away?)
-put up a dividing wall in the basement and store what we want to keep but isn't coming with us
-few fix-ups in the house (flooring upstairs, painting, finishing off trim work)
-draw up a lease, clean, take pics, and get ready to rent.
-move in with the parents for a month to save $$ and rent out our place to make $$ (aiming for June 15th, July 1st at latest)
-DH is quitting his job and taking summer school courses in July.
-Me: maybe find work for the month of July (I teach, so will still get my pay that's been set aside for the summer, but if I can bring in more to help suppliment what DH will be losing, all the better).
-breathe....

[Okapi]

Need to get back on the wagon...

So we had a rough end of the year last year/beginning of this year. Unexpected car repairs, 2 large appliance failures (one we were able to fix, the other needed to be replaced), and couple other unexpected things, and our EF was wiped. Luckily, we had a larger then recommended snowball since I'm not working. Now we're only at around $300, so I guess I'm back in BS1 to build it back up.

Then in April, good news - DH got a new job he is *much* happier at, and it came with a pretty good raise! So we did go a little crazy this month and instead of putting the extra on the EF, we got a few things we had wanted but been holding off on Also, I have lost almost 20 lbs since the beginning of the year ( yay!), which meant I needed some new clothes, and DH needed a better wardrobe for his new job. Luckily, I was able to find everything I needed at Goodwill, and DH found a couple good sales, so I don't think we got too far off track. BUT, we need to make sure we don't get stuck in the spending habit, so I'm going to start posting again to help keep us accountable.

Another thing I'm having trouble with is that DH moved to a vegan diet. Finding things he can eat is screwing with the grocery budget, so I may have to rework that once I have our meals figured out. For now, though, I'm trying to fit it in what we already had, just failing more then I'd like!

[eirual]

Okay, our original moving quote was $3,000 for a one-way move using U-haul (cr@p!), then realised if one of us was willing to drive another company's van back, it would be about $1,000 plus gas. If we risked taking our old van with a shoddy transmision pulling a trailer it would run us about $700 (with the risk of disaster occuring during the 19hr trip). Well, if we can return that same trailer to its original location we'd be looking at $200.

FIL's agreed to drive his new pick up pulling the trailer (we'd take our little golf and leave our beater van behind) and he'd return with the trailer. So....our $3,000 freak-out has been widdled down to $200 plus gas (if he lets us pay....and we'll weed our stuff down to the bare minimum so there will have to be some replenishing when we get there, but there always is, so..,YAY!!!)

Apparently here in Ontario with student loans there's some bursary where you can borrow up to 12k, and don't have to pay back the first $7,500???....I'm floored if that's for real. I'll have to look into it since we'd only need about $1,000 more to get by (as long as I find a job....).