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G.O.O.D. (getting out of debt) Sept. thread! - Page 5

post #81 of 95
9/29/04 at 1:51pm
we owe about 8000 bucks on this car. so yes, it makes a huge difference. it also is insurance, gas, repairs, potential tickets for forgetting to move it to the other side of the road (we have an alternate side weekly parking law in duluth. gotta snowplow somehow!).

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post #82 of 95
9/29/04 at 2:15pm
kerc -
good luck on the car sale. We were a one car family for several years. It was certainly more convenient to have a second car, but it's much more expensive than the price of the car when you factor in insurance, registration, and costs of running the car.
post #83 of 95
9/30/04 at 6:17pm
kelly, I haven't forgotten about your pm. I just want a clean space to haul my stuff out to see what I've got. But maybe check out the thread in sewing and crafts on trading mm fleece.


debt reduction plan --> last night we had a friend over to help install some laminate flooring. I was saying that I cancelled our cell phone ($40 per month) and we were considering getting rid of our second car and were looking at ways of cutting back further. He laughed and said "there's no way you can live without two cars. what if you want to go to the mall (no buses there) and dh is at the library." I laughed and thought obviously i could just wait to go to the mall. My how my perception of my needs has changed.
post #84 of 95
9/30/04 at 7:15pm
Well, after a lot of soul searching, researching and family pow wows - we've decided to refinance our house. Consolidating my student loans, minor CC debt and outrageous car payment into a low rate mortgage. The good thing is that we are going to be able to wipe out a ton of junk lingering on our credit reports, the bad thing is we will be back at owing for 30 years. But the mortgage is going to be almost the same payment and we will not have a car payment or student loans. Thus allowing us to put 3-5K a year on the principle and boosting our credit scores almost instantaneously.

Other good news, I have a major raise starting next Friday and we've got $$ going straight into my dh's and ds' savings accounts from my dh's paycheck, starting next Friday as well.

Lastly I found DSL service for $5 less a month, pretty much giving us a free month a year. Nice.
post #85 of 95
9/30/04 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 
Indigo- How great that will be to have all of that in one payment- and yay on the raise and putting in direct savings! I know some say that refinancing to consolidate is not a GOOD idea, but if I could do that and have the credit card game be over- I would do it.
post #86 of 95
9/30/04 at 9:33pm
indigo, i think that sounds great. i totally want to do that when we reappraise our house sometime before february. but since we will have only owned it a year, i am not sure that the value went up enough for us to pull any more equity out to pay off cards etc... maybe the year after. its the only way i think we're going to be able to get this junk paid off.

we did, however, switch our lowest card to a 0% interest card until 12/05. my goal is to pay it off by dec of this year, but i think that's pretty far reaching unless my business really starts to take off, which is always possible. of course, while i have been trying to get my website up, i discovered that someone else has almost an identical name, selling (different) baby gear and advertising in all the same places. sooo, i'm out $35 on a domain name and $17 in labels . so frustrating. at least its tax deductible.

and this was a thought process mine today: dd needs new slippers. i could order nice ones from LL Bean for $14... *or* i could see if there are some at the used store for about $3.00... *or* i could make her a pair (since i have a ton of fleece) and get some puffy paint to make the bottoms non-slip for about $2.00! Getting better... i even brought hot chocolate to my knitting playgroup this a.m because it was the only thing i could make w/o spending money. baby steps!!
post #87 of 95
10/1/04 at 10:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by newmainer
i even brought hot chocolate to my knitting playgroup this a.m because it was the only thing i could make w/o spending money. baby steps!!

knitting playgroup? how do i find myself one of those? everyone I know is so amazed I can do stuff like knit, sew and can food.
post #88 of 95
10/1/04 at 12:56pm
Thread Starter 
newmainer GREAT work on thinking through the slippers and with the hot chocolate!

I said I was going to clean out my closet this week and sell clothes on ebay- but I haven't yet , well, hopefully tomorrow .
post #89 of 95
10/1/04 at 8:41pm
thanks!! I felt pretty good about it myself.

i am going yardsaling tomorrow, but have a very specific list of things. i have found some great deals lately, but am really trying to stay focused on what we *need.*

dh tallied up his incoming work, and it looks like there will be enough to cover basic expenses so that we can allocate all the money from one good size contract to debt reduction. what a relief it will be to finally see those numbers going down in some way.

peppermint... is it really worth it to see clothes on ebay (this is a real, not rhetorical question). How much can you get for used items? is there a good market for it?
post #90 of 95
10/1/04 at 9:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by newmainer
peppermint... is it really worth it to see clothes on ebay (this is a real, not rhetorical question). How much can you get for used items? is there a good market for it?
Brand names at popular sizes- YES! It's kind of like buying and selling diapers on there (or here). High end stuff I don't even know about (with clothes and diapers) but stuff like Gap (or kissaluvs ) sells really well. So- if you buy used from there, then re-sell after they are outgrow (as I have been known to do with diapers), you end up only paying a bit more than shipping for the clothes. I buy the kids clothes in lots to reduce shipping costs, like last week I bought dd a bunch of Gap jeans from there, Gap kids jeans last really well, and dd doesn't wear out a lot, so I figure I'll be able to re-sell most of those next year.

Name brands like Gap, Old Navy, Osh Kosh, Carters all do well for kids (I am sure hanna anderson does too- but I can't afford that ).


As for GOOD news we are entering a few months of uncertainty with budget as dh starts a new job, the benefits don't start for 3 months, so we will be paying $750 a month instead of the $600 we have been paying, and he will actually be bringing home less, I am a bit scared but determined not to have this take us off track. I am going to need the support here more than ever .
post #91 of 95
10/1/04 at 11:14pm
hanna stuff on ebay is affordable soemtimes...at least when it actually is bought by me! I get frustrated with selling stuff on ebay because I don't have a postage scale. I think if I did it more then I'd fork over the 40 bucks to get one. That way you can estimate postage very effectively and not have to make 2 trips to the post office.

I've gotten a lot of erins winter stuff - llbean snowsuit for instance -- on ebay. I think people buy that stuff, use it once and then sell it. Which is great for me -- we need 2 snowsuits because sometimes one is still wet from the snow when we go back outside to play.
post #92 of 95
10/4/04 at 2:01pm
I'm so impressed with people who are good at buying used clothes. I've never had much luck with e-bay. Everything seems much more worn than I expect. I have bought a few t-shirts, etc. from thrift stores and garage sales too but I still have a hard time finding decent clothes without spending hours and hours digging through the wrong stuff.

I have the most luck buying retail at end of season sales. I can find kids' clothes for $2-3 or less at places like Gymboree, Gap, and especially department stores. I also sometimes buy winter coats/etc. from lands end overstocks for a reasonable price. I worked at a Kids R Us in high school so I know how low the prices will go if you buy at the right time. Adult clothes are the same way, you just have to know when to look and how long to wait.

kerc - I especially appreciated the comment from your friend. What could possibly be at the mall that can't wait until your DH comes home from the library? Having one car is certainly less convenient, but I think people who have "mall emergencies" have their priorities screwed up.
post #93 of 95
10/4/04 at 5:50pm
nak
I used to be great at second-hand clothing shopping...before I had my 2nd child. Now it's much harder to browse, and it does require a lot of time to dig up quality stuff. I especially miss yard sales, but it's too much hassle to get the kids in out in out of the car, ya know? Next summer when the baby's older, I'll leave them with DH and hit the yard sales alone.

I haven't tried buying clothing on ebay yet...only diapers and I do get great deals on those. I also plan to sell them after they've been outgrown. We have a new/gently-used baby consignment shop opening up here in town and I plan to buy/sell/trade there also. (We had one before and I was so disappointed when they closed).

As far as GOOD, I have another option opening up. DH is talking about selling the house and finding another. Maybe we can work some of this debt into our mortgage and just have one payment each month. I'll have to look into it. I've heard of people getting second mortgages for this reason, but I really don't know what I'm talking about until I get more info...

It will be good to move. I love this house but the neighbors are rotten! I can't believe how much unprovoked hostility they have shown to us and our pets. Until lately DH was talking about adding on to make enough room for all of us, but now we can think about just getting a bigger place (out of town so I can have my own garden, chickens, etc.) It will be a nace change.
post #94 of 95
10/4/04 at 6:52pm
Well, as you can tell from reading this thread and other threads, there are advantages and disadvantages to rolling your cc debt into your mortgage. Remember that your mortgage means your house is on the line--don't get your payment so high (because of your other debt) that you can't pay it and lose the house.
Also make sure that you don't get "upside down" -- meaning that you owe more on your house than it is worth.

The only advantage, I think, is getting a bigger tax break. We thought about a second mortgage but decided against it.
post #95 of 95
10/4/04 at 10:00pm
here is the October thread- come join!

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=202150
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Frugality & Finances › G.O.O.D. (getting out of debt) Sept. thread!