March Getting Out of Debt - Page 3

[Ldavis24]

edited to add: sorry for hijacking the thread! We are so pumped about the DR plan but immediately we are just confused about what to do with this stupid car that we are STILL paying insurance for monthly!!

Originally Posted by chely7425 

If you are going to be a 1 car family I would sell the Subaru, not the toyota.  It sounds like a very reliable vehicle that you know the history of.  How much would a rental car cost in your area?  How often do you all drive somewhere together?  Would getting a closed side crate for the dog and tying it in the bed be an option for the dog?  Just trying to help brainstorm :)

hmm thanks for the suggestion! We do lots of driving together, we go to a lot of parks and beaches which very few of (a couple are) in walking/biking distance. We don't own bikes anyway, my mom sold mine without asking and DH's bike was kidnapped by his sister who moved to Oregon with it..Thanks family!!

Anyway, I don't think we could afford a rental every time we needed to go, somewhere together. We usually try to take puppy with us most places because she has issues, separation anxiety is a big one. 

We actually use a closed side crate, the tan plastic type one, because puppy as managed to destroy the all wire ones and actually collapsed one in one herself. I don't even know how she managed to do that one!

Yes the toyota is the more reliable car. DH and I are just very torn on what to do. Fix the Subaru and just keep it for a while is what he is voting for, I just don't know. At times I feel like the best thing to do would be to sell it for as much as I can get it for right away! 

[eirual]

You know, if you're only going to make $900 off of it, maybe you want to try to sell other stuff around the house? Having been used to shopping lots, perhaps you have lots you could sell? Furniture, videos, gaming consoles, clothes, etc?  Or maybe you want to do both and get further ahead? ....any way to increase your income? 

[Ldavis24]

Originally Posted by eirual 

You know, if you're only going to make $900 off of it, maybe you want to try to sell other stuff around the house? Having been used to shopping lots, perhaps you have lots you could sell? Furniture, videos, gaming consoles, clothes, etc?  Or maybe you want to do both and get further ahead? ....any way to increase your income? 

We actually are already selling the Wii and all the games etc we have collected with it. 

I applied for a job at the local babies r us because we will get a discount, I only will work saturday and sunday so DH can watch DD and I am beyond experienced in retail. Easy job and something I don't really mind doing. The discount is what gets me, plus coupons we can use for other stuff etc. We don't CD so we still are buying diapers etc.

I am looking into selling EVERY SINGLE dvd we own, we have a ton, except for a special few that we really love.

Also a computer and a bunch of other stuff. I am not willing to part with my new camera, sigh, I use it almost every day and it is very important to our family...photography is big here.

The last thing we are going to do although this is a little longer down the summer, is take everything we didn't manage to sell and have a giant yardsale.

We live in a location so close to an extremely busy bike path during the summer that we are going to put a few signs on the edge of the property which is next to the bike path and I expect we will have quite a lot of people coming. So many families and couples just walking on the path and we are right next to a store where everyone stops for snacks. 

I have no problem selling almost all of our possessions, I figure it is just another step in decluttering or as I tell DH "de-crapping" our life.

A few things I just won't part with but most everything can go. I wish we had lots of furniture. The house if full of it but it mostly belongs to DH's mom. We had such a tiny apartment before we only had 1 couch and a glider.

[mamatowill]

We are stuck at BS2 for awhile. DH lost his job and we have no income coming in from him. He is busy looking and applying for every job he can get- something will come up soon. He does not get EI since he worked overseas for a foreign company. My income covers almost all of our expenses so that is good. We paid off my cc before this happened so he can stay afloat for awhile. I just wish we had completed more debt payments. Also we have drastically cut spending which I am usually ok about but right now is killing me. We have to sign up for all the summer sports things and my DS wants to do hockey camp and baseball but we can't afford it. I know in the scheme of things he will be fine but I am confident that my DH will have a job by the summer but then it will be too late for the sports. Anyways just needed to vent. I am thankful I have found DR and I am not panicking about the loss of income.

[Ragana]

Hi, I'd like to join in!

We are following a modified DR plan - not super intense, but steady. We sort of combined BS1 and BS3 and have approx. 2 mos. expenses in a savings acct. I add $50 to that per month so that we can slowly get up to the FFEF (loving these acronyms!) I also created a "slush fund" that I add to every month for larger irregular expenses (like tax prep this month, planned trips - we're not cutting everything extra out, etc.) - I guess this would be like a "hills and valleys" account.

In the meanwhile, we are on BS2, except that we haven't stopped putting some money into retirement. (DH is a teacher and I am self-employed - that's probably enough said, considering the current situation in the Midwest! ) Last month we paid off credit card 1. We're now on track to pay off DH's car in about 5 mos. After that we start on credit card 2. A fairly large student loan is the last part of BS2, but that will take a while. I have spent a bit of money this year doing some continuing ed so that I can shift my business a bit, so hopefully my income will also go up.

It's nice to read about other people who "get it"!

PS DH is on board at this level, and we use Mint.com to track expenses.

Edited by Ragana - 3/5/11 at 5:38pm

[Ldavis24]

Ok mamas, So DH and I have been trying to figure out what to do about the vehicle situation as you read in my previous posts.

So now here is another wrench, I am pg and we are at a total loss as to what to do now. I am trying for a HB which all told is going to cost about $3,000

out of pocket, and insurance WILL NOT cover it no matter what, already tried and looked into it.

So now what do we do. Continue saving for EF? We HAVE to start saving for the HB but what about vehicles now we will have 2 kids without a decent vehicle to fit 2 kids in.

DH thinks we should sell both and buy a cheapo but reliable jeep cherokee or something that we can fit the whole family into..Any suggestions because at this point I am at a loss as to how to go about DR's plan now that I am preggo.

[chely7425]

Congrats on the pregnancy :)  I think selling both vehicles OR fixing the subaru are your only options.  I would personally lean towards selling the truck and using that money to fix the subaru, simply because you KNOW the history of that car, but either is a viable/logical choice.  Also, while I am not entirely sure exactly what DR would say, it seems that the main point he has is not getting into more debt, right?  So to me that would indicate you should make sure you have cash for your HB.

[MyTwoAs]

Ldavis - either sell the truck and fix the subie or sell both and buy another vehicle for cash.  I'd probably look into fixing the Subie if it were me.  As far as the DR plan, during his radio show he'll recommend that you "push pause" on the debt snowball and then pile up cash until the baby is born and everyone is happy and healthy.  Then, any cash left over from the birth gets dumped onto debt.  Congrats on the pregnancy!

[chely7425]

Originally Posted by MyTwoAs 

Ldavis - either sell the truck and fix the subie or sell both and buy another vehicle for cash.  I'd probably look into fixing the Subie if it were me.  As far as the DR plan, during his radio show he'll recommend that you "push pause" on the debt snowball and then pile up cash until the baby is born and everyone is happy and healthy.  Then, any cash left over from the birth gets dumped onto debt.  Congrats on the pregnancy!

Great mind think alike apparently :P  We cross posted...

[Ldavis24]

Originally Posted by chely7425 

Great mind think alike apparently :P  We cross posted...

hehe thank you ladies. 

We are excited of course but just like "oh boy what do we do now!" you know? 

I think selling the truck and using the money to fix the subaru is probably the best bet. I haven't talked to DH about it yet

because I know he is going to balk at the mention of selling beloved truck. It's all crazy and fabulous at the same time :)

[beansmama]

Tomorrow is payday. I was just balancing the checkbook and we still had $4.75 in the account, so I transferred that to our emergency fund. Whoa. Okay, so that might not be a big deal to most, but this is how I *used* to be with money...every little bit extra I could squeeze out - even if it was only $2...literally...went to pay off our debt. Since that's been gone I've lost my motivation, but this past 2 weeks has been *awesome* for me!

For the first time in ages, we didn't spend into our next paycheck (a la ING line of credit). We *did* spent just under $20 on unnecessary, not-in-the-budget junk food items (I know! bad habit!). We used the sinking fund, which no, isn't what it's for...but considering we typically spend at LEAST $200 into our next check, this is a huge accomplishment. I've also cooked every dinner at home since the first and feel like I'm totally getting back into the kitchen swing of things as well, which definitely helps money-wise. Anyway, that's it! Just tootin' my own horn, lol! It's the little things...they add up!

I also managed to make $78ish on amazon from selling books. Oh, and Dh is going to be commuting to a nearby city the first week of april, and he gets about $70/day (or is it $60??) for gas. I know gas is spendy, but this commute only adds up to about 1 extra fill up for the week, which is about one days worth of extra pay...which means we'll pocket a couple hundred for our e-fund! Woot woot!

Emergency Fund Stats:

$5,354.75/$10,000

[applecider]

Awesome beansmama! I feel like that too at this point. I was a bit spend thrifty for a few months, but I feel like I got it out of my system and I'm ready to do the scrimp and save thing again. By the way, I used to follow your blog, so I feel like I know ya just a bit!

[beansmama]

Thanks! Yeah, it's taken me slightly more than a few months to nix the spend thrifty-ness, but, oh well. Now is better than later, right?

Oh - and blog? what blog? Lol! I keep forgetting people on here "know" me, haha...sometimes I wanna crawl under a rock, hehe!

[MsFortune]

You all are motivating me. I just ordered Total Money Makeover.  The trick will be to get DH buy into it...

[newlyminted]

I wan to join!

We don't follow DR totally but I like to use him as a touchpoint for prioritizing where to put our money...

whew, Ok: Emegency fund: $675ish..With about $400 in savings account (we will be moving as soon as we get a job back home, so I'm trying to simultaneously save for that too)...will be at $1000 this month

Credit Line: $6000 (down from $11 500 last August, yay!!)

CC: we actually use these for our daily spending. I think I need to change this habit and start giving myself an allowance each month. DH is really good at not spending money but I am a bit more of an impulse/pleasure spender....I do alright, but not great. It is nice however, to be able to go through our CC statements and see exactly where we spent money. I add everthing up at the end of the month for each category (i.e. groceries, car insurance, lunches (dh), phone, gas, etc) and that helps us keep track of things.

Then, all we have is my student loans (blech...) which are currently on deferment. I also really want to start a car replacement fund. Our car is alright but I just get this sick feeling when I think about replacing it. We would have to put it all on our credit line again and we;ve been doing so well there...And of course, a house fund would be nice...sigh.

We are making RRSP contributions right now too. Dh has a program at work where if he puts 2% per cheque into his RRSP, the company will put in 3% (SWEET DEAL!).

I do have a question for you DR followers though (or anyone, really): Where do you keep your money? Do you have like 35 different bank accounts? Or do you keep all your savings in one and just have mental seperation of funds into EF, Car Replacement, Etc...? Or do you kick it old school and stash it all under the matress?

 We just have a chequing and a savings...the chequing account is strictly for inflow/outflow (i.e. paycheques come in, payments go out, money doesn't stay there) and that just leaves the savings...

anyways, good luck everyone!

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Ldavis24 

hehe thank you ladies. 

We are excited of course but just like "oh boy what do we do now!" you know? 

I think selling the truck and using the money to fix the subaru is probably the best bet. I haven't talked to DH about it yet

because I know he is going to balk at the mention of selling beloved truck. It's all crazy and fabulous at the same time :)

Congrats 

If it were me, I would sell BOTH the cars. The Toyota isn't working for your family anymore and being reliable will probably sell easily. From the sounds of it the Subaru is going to die on you in the near future even with repairs. Everything on it is slowly falling apart. Sell it while you can still actually get something for it. Cause the alternative is that it dies, but you have put $600 into fixing it, cant sell it for anything, and you still need a new car.

I would pool most of your money into saving for the homebirth. I'm not sure of your debt situation, but if you have credit cards I would put the HB 'savings' onto the credit card. It would reduce the fees you are paying in interest on the cards even if only temporarily. Probably not what DR recommends, but you can save hundreds in interest by doing it. If you can afford it, I would also put $10 a week into the EF during the pregnancy. But only if you know you can still save for the HB in time. Cause if you are pregnant for 36 more weeks that is still a $360 EF saved up by then. 

[beansmama]

E-fund update:

$5643.63/$10000

I LOVE payday! Saving money feels so good. I also did a little grocery shopping and am happy to say I didn't get carried away. I typically always splurge on some junk for me (which is easy to do at the Grocery Outlet!) but manage to keep it to $32. That's by no means ALL I need, but it was quite a bit. The grocery budget is a toughie for us, hopefully I do good this time around...especially since the MIL is in town for the weekend and I've never cooked for her before. Last time we ate out every meal...not an option this time. Wish me luck!

[MyTwoAs]

Beansmama - Yay on the growing FFEF and good luck with cooking for MIL hehe - score on the grocery store, too!

Welcome newlyminted - If you use your debit card for everything you can see what you spent, too - just food for thought, of course!  ;)  I *had* to give myself an allowance because I was more of the impulse shopper and it has helped tremendously.  The first few months kind of sucked but then I got used to it.  I keep part of my EF in my local credit union savings account that I can access with debit card in an emergency.  The rest of it is in the ING account and I have a few accounts there.  I'll be using my main savings account for sinking funds and just keeping track of the balances in an excel spreadsheet - i.e. car tires SF, car tax SF, etc but the money will all be in one account.

chely - Great minds, indeed!

So today I checked our health insurance and we are only $80 away from meeting our annual deductible.  Since it is an HSA we don't pay anything after we hit it.  We still have money in our HSA Savings Account that will roll over to next year, too - woo!  Who knew medical bills could be so exciting?  =P

[eirual]

Originally Posted by newlyminted 

Where do you keep your money? Do you have like 35 different bank accounts? Or do you keep all your savings in one and just have mental seperation of funds into EF, Car Replacement, Etc...? Or do you kick it old school and stash it all under the matress?

We're not quite in full-on saving/sinking mode yet. We keep our EF in a TFSA. 

I find if I have any leftovers, they're better off in the bank because if I have cash that's just sitting around it doesn't last long (even if I say it's for a specific goal). Something will always come up.

That being said, I haven't figured out the whole saving for multiple purposes thing....I think when we get there we'll open another TFSA and just keep a running total of which $$ is for which purpose (car, christmas, birthdays, house repair, etc.)....just kind of posting a sheet inside a cupboard that says you've contributed X amount towards goal Q,R, or S....and colour-coded for sanity reasons....Oooo.....or you could even make up pie charts if you're tech-savy enough, so you can see what percentage of your balance is for which purpose. I wonder if a grid where each square is worth $50 and you have a list of all your sinking goals, you could colour in a square using the appropriate colour each time you contribute in order to know which money is for what in a little less obsess-over-every-number kind of way.

[eirual]

Originally Posted by MsFortune 

You all are motivating me. I just ordered Total Money Makeover.  The trick will be to get DH buy into it...

That can be difficult. For me, I found it so moving that I HAD to do it regardless of what DH's approach was. His approach (just don't spend money) wasn't working since it had no goals and was an un-realistic blanket statement. 

It took a lot of discussion and persistence on my part, but he finally agreed to give me a month. It couldn't hurt anything to try, right?! Well, we got further in that month than we had in our 5 years of marriage. Needless to say, we're still doing finances the DR way!