Dumping Debt and Building Wealth with Dave Ramsey~ MARCH - Page 5

[phathui5]

I'm listening to the show archives online:

http://www.daveramsey.com/tdrs

[DandeCobb]

the BEST news EVER

AHHHHH!!! : we got our mortgage refinance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

here are the stats:

we are borrowing 75% of our homes appraised value (we live in a moderate home in a boom town)
so no PMI or anything like that.

we will get enough cash out to pay off ALL of the credit cards, fund the EF for my maternity leave, buy me a new(er) car (i wrecked my car 5 months ago and we have been limping along with a borrowed car that has to be jumpstarted every time you need to start it in order to avoid another car payment ) and do our modest backyard remodel (privacy fence, a deck, and a veggie garden)

so we will still have our mortgage and my DH's truck loan of <drumroll please> 28,000 : luckily his truck is financed at 7%. our monthly bills are going to be signifigantly lowered, so we should be able to hit that truck loan hard.

I am SOOO excited!!

[*andiflipping*]

What would Dave say if you were already in a 30 year mortgage? We are currently working on the FFEF which I plan to take 2-3 years to have it where I want. Selling would make no sense for us as rent cost more than our mortgage payment.

We have 29 years left on the loan. If I put $25 extra a month on it, it would shave 5 years off that. $50 a month would take off 8 years. Should I be doing that while saving our fund? after? before uping the retirement?

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by *andiflipping*

What would Dave say if you were already in a 30 year mortgage? We are currently working on the FFEF which I plan to take 2-3 years to have it where I want. Selling would make no sense for us as rent cost more than our mortgage payment.

We have 29 years left on the loan. If I put $25 extra a month on it, it would shave 5 years off that. $50 a month would take off 8 years. Should I be doing that while saving our fund? after? before uping the retirement?

He says unless your mortgage is more than (help me here someone) 50% of your income? (or is it closer to 35%?) you "can" keep the house. But get out of debt first, build your full emergency fund, then contribute 15% to retirement, and THEN whatever else is left goes to paying the house off early. By that time, you'll have tons extra to throw at it.

Good luck!


On the other hand, I've been stupid, and now I'm paying for it. I never/rarely bother to "balance" my bank accounts, but I really should have taken the time before setting up my new budget with YNAB. I was looking at my bank info on-line last night to make sure I had enough to pay the contractors this morning, and realized that my son's preschool just cashed the check I gave them at the beginning of February. So suddenly I'm $640 down from where I thought I was. AND to top it off, I budgeted wrong for the contractors, so while we're not going to overdraft the bank, I have "overdrafted" my budget, and ended up "dipping" into my EF just so I didn't see red. I'm really bummed. I know in the long-run, even in just another month probably, it will be fine, and will all even out. But it's just a bit discouraging to have made such a stupid mistake.
So, I'm $1587/$15000

[Purple*Lotus]

Originally Posted by Mama Rana

16 inches!! Wow, that's impressive. Since when (may I ask)? Either way, that is great that you've stuck with it.

It was my first week. I lost two inches from around my belly area. I lost the other 14 here and there around my body. I am very heavy though, so I tend to drop weight super fast in the begining. I was eating a LOT less than normal, this plan is totally different from the old Weight Watcher plan I was on.

Originally Posted by kerc

i paid a big old chunk of money last week and this week I'm feeling the lull of in between pay periods. I don't need anything and yet I'm not feeling that high of paying. Who was talking about wanting that instant gratification? That's me apparently.

I am the same way. I get that funk when I am between pay checks. I sometimes lose motivation during those times, which is why I really need this thread

Originally Posted by socialworkmamma

I am also going to share my big accomplishment. DH and I worked out an amount for Easter expenses. I really enjoy shopping for DD, but have seriously overspent for sometime now. Last fall I was able to go to a huge pre-owned clothing sale put on by a couple moms I know. They have daughters a couple grades ahead of mine and seriously shop, I mean insane shop. I bought some wonderful things, including a dress that "could" work for Easter. I packed all the spring and summer away. I knew this dress would work, but I've still been shopping online for an Easter dress because I wanted to buy a new one. Well, the more I thought about it the more I knew I needed to get out the one I had. DD tried it on, loved it and her white cardigan still fits as well. To top it off, I had bought two pairs of white dress shoes last spring since DD was not with me, and of course never took one of them back. The other pair now fits, so I can actually buy myself something as I'm in the front row of the choir. I feel like such a weight has been lifted. I can't tell you how enslaved I've been to shopping for DD. It has brought strife to my marriage, I've felt guilty and known it was wrong, but I did it anyway. DH is so proud of me, and more importantly, I'm proud of myself. The irony in it all is DD could care less about clothes, as long and they don't bother her in how they fit. She tells people thank-you when complimented, and other than that is not concerned.
Whew, if you made it this far, thanks for reading my cathartic post.
Take care all, and Jaime, thanks again for all you do.
Pamela

I tend to live very simply, but one coworker always says that I will go crazy sending money when I have children : I hope not, but I can totally see why people would want to I tend to spoil my Goddaughter, and I made it a goal not to do it this year. My DH said that I topped Santa last year for her : I am glad that you are coming to terms with the shopping

Originally Posted by dex_millie

Yea, I know how you feel. I started listening to his radio shows and reading some of his answers, where he calls people twit and sometimes a little harsh in his responses.

Yuck, that is uncalled for, IMO. I have never listened to the radio shows, I am sort of glad that I don't, because that would probably turn me off to Dave. Nothing in his books has been offensive to me yet.

Originally Posted by APBTLuv

I paid off DH CC today as well as another chunk off mine. Only $1460 left to go until we are debt free! I think that should be taken care of in the next 2 paychecks

Awesome!! What a great feeling that must be

Originally Posted by DandeCobb

we will get enough cash out to pay off ALL of the credit cards, fund the EF for my maternity leave, buy me a new(er) car (i wrecked my car 5 months ago and we have been limping along with a borrowed car that has to be jumpstarted every time you need to start it in order to avoid another car payment ) and do our modest backyard remodel (privacy fence, a deck, and a veggie garden)

so we will still have our mortgage and my DH's truck loan of <drumroll please> 28,000 : luckily his truck is financed at 7%. our monthly bills are going to be signifigantly lowered, so we should be able to hit that truck loan hard.

I am SOOO excited!!

Congrats

Originally Posted by Mama Rana

On the other hand, I've been stupid, and now I'm paying for it. I never/rarely bother to "balance" my bank accounts, but I really should have taken the time before setting up my new budget with YNAB. I was looking at my bank info on-line last night to make sure I had enough to pay the contractors this morning, and realized that my son's preschool just cashed the check I gave them at the beginning of February. So suddenly I'm $640 down from where I thought I was. AND to top it off, I budgeted wrong for the contractors, so while we're not going to overdraft the bank, I have "overdrafted" my budget, and ended up "dipping" into my EF just so I didn't see red. I'm really bummed. I know in the long-run, even in just another month probably, it will be fine, and will all even out. But it's just a bit discouraging to have made such a stupid mistake.
So, I'm $1587/$15000

It is okay. You have learned from this, and that is what is really important. I have been there and done that. Remember last month when I was "Miss Can't Keep Track of the Bills and Paid a Credit Card 7 Days Late" From now on you will keep a running balance, and that will bring you so much peace


So DH had his turn to work last Saturday *he takes turns with his coworkers* and so he was off yesterday. He went to get his oil changed and he came home and went to where the EF is and took $60. He smiled and said "I need a part for my car and I told them to go ahead and order it, because I knew we had the money for it, even if it wasn't planned. I am so glad that we have the EF so that I can go back today and get the part, instead of wondering how we were going to pay for it."

That made me so happy It feels great to know that if we get an unexpected bill or need a repair, that we have the money and we don't have to have that panic moment of "Oh my gosh how on earth are we going to pay for this, where is the credit card??"

Plus, because of my budgeting, I can easily replace the $60 in the EF tomorrow on pay day

I the EF.

[phathui5]

I'm also having trouble waiting, wanting that instant gratification I guess. I want out debt paid off RIGHT NOW.

[TanyaS]

Originally Posted by ~*Jaime

I the EF.

: I have such a peace of mind that is worth so much more than a small BEF of $1000. I want to keep this feeling.

Originally Posted by phathui5

I'm also having trouble waiting, wanting that instant gratification I guess. I want out debt paid off RIGHT NOW.

Me, TOO! I had a flurry of activity with our tax return, so it's been hard in between bursts of lump sum payments. I did pay $145 toward the snowmall last paycheck. Dh just got a $1700 bonus today that will pay off two more cards. One more lump sum coming up in May with the check from the gubment!

[mumkenna&lucas]

Ok so I sort of fell of this thread last month..So I am back! We were able to add to our efund this last month, we weren't able to get quite as far as we had hoped but we did make progress. I have been doing the no spend challenge as well and this week I have had 7 days of no spend! This is big for me, because I am a spender, so no spends mean I am close to sticking to my budget!! My dh is sooo hooked on this plan now, so hopefully we will really start seeing those #s go up on our balance! I haven't read through the last few pages, but I'll look through them later


heres my March update so far:

Amanda (mumkenna&lucas) in CA
0-- Get current on bills we are here should be current in next 2-3 weeks
1 -- $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund (275/1000)
2 -- Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
3 -- Three to six months of expenses in savings
4 -- Invest 15 percent of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
5 -- College funding for children
6 -- Pay off home early
7 -- Build wealth and give! ---

[pranamama]

subbing for inspiration

[binkin]

I'm subbing because I'd like to join. I think I need to read a copy of the book first, though, and I can't seem to find it at the library. I'm trying to find a cheap used copy but... no luck so far.

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by binkin

I'm subbing because I'd like to join. I think I need to read a copy of the book first, though, and I can't seem to find it at the library. I'm trying to find a cheap used copy but... no luck so far.

Someone up above said you can watch his seminars on Youtube or at the archives at his site: http://www.daveramsey.com/tdrs They will give you the basics.
Also, I got the book The Money Answer Book by Ramsey, which has all the same info, just in a different format. I paid less than $10 for it.

Good luck!

[lalaland42]

Originally Posted by binkin

I'm subbing because I'd like to join. I think I need to read a copy of the book first, though, and I can't seem to find it at the library. I'm trying to find a cheap used copy but... no luck so far.

Have you tried the library?

[lalaland42]

DH can be such a ???

I am sitting here rolling my eyes at him.

We are working on BS2, paying off debt using the debt snowball. We have about $5000 in cc debt, a car loan ($8000) and I have $27,000 in student loans. DH also has student loans but they are in deferment because he is a grad student so we haven't been paying on them at all. I asked him how much he owes on his loans and he told me $3000. I am sitting here thinking no biggie, we can pay them at the end of the debt snowball or when he graduates whatever happens first.

So the other day I pulled both of our credit reports and I see that his student loans are being reported as $150, $150 and $100 for a total of $400. I make DH log in to check the balances of his student loans and it is true, he only owes $400. It turns out he was making automatic payments every month until a year ago and he has paid them down a lot.

Now that the loans are so small I am tempted to pay them off. They are subsidized and deferred though so we aren't paying interest and we aren't making payments at all so paying them off won't add to our cc payments. We would have to divert money from our extra cc payments to pay off those loans. This seems like it goes against what DR says about the debt snowball though because when we are done paying those loans we won't have additional $$ to add to our cc payments.

What do you think? Should I work to pay them off?

The other thing is that I am selling the car with the loan next week probably and buying a car for cash. I could pay off the car now but it is a piece o' crap and I need whatever car we have to last 1.5 years. So I will have satisfaction from getting rid of one debt.

[Girl In The Fire]

What do you think? Should I work to pay them off?

How many months would you have to make payments on the $400 student loans to get them paid off and would it put a financial strain on you?

If it would only take a few months and you can swing it financially, personally, I would go ahead and pay them off. One less debt hanging over your head...

[mtm]

lalaland, if you're not paying interest on them, I'd pay off the cc's first unless you think it will give you a big boost to get the student loans knocked off.

[lalaland42]

I think it would take 2 months to pay those off, I will know how much money I have left after buying a new-to-me car though. I guess I could always pay off one if I feel my momentum slowing.

[CeciMami]

I'd go ahead and pay off that small loan...better to get it out of the way!

[binkin]

Originally Posted by lalaland42

Have you tried the library?

Hee hee, yeah, I said I hadn't had any luck in my post that you quoted. Our library here is kind of bad, a lot of times they have a book listed in their catalog but someone has stolen it or they've otherwise misplaced it, which seems to be the case with this.

I will have a look at the online stuff although I tend to absorb a lot more when I read something, so I'll look for the Money Answer Book.

[Maggi315]

thought I'd pop in with an update...we are working on taxes, hoping to finish in the next few days, luckily, we are getting a refund from federal which will pay for state and local, I hope it all equals out.

We had a pipe burst yesterday and had to use some emergency money, but I was thrilled we could fix it ourselves (with help from brother in law who used to work for plumber) and save alot!!!

Our medical bills continue to pile up, which truly sucks. They didn't pay for my 9 year old well check up, so that was 125.00. my son was found to have a heart arrthymia and his EKG had all kinds of stuff on it, so he is going tomorrow for all kinds of tests, our insurance will only pay 80% of most of that, which could easily leave us with a bill of 1K.

We looked into our state program, we would still have to pay 150/per kid and no insurance for me, which I have to have and with my tumor and other health problems might be impossible to get private insurance. Plus our state makes us wait 6 months without coverage for the kids before you can get their program, isn't that crazy?

On the bright side, my business is picking up, I am getting more clients over the summer and looking for a place to see them so I don't have to drive around all day (I see my regular clients in my home office, but some clients are amish and live about 45 min. away, I need to find space up there so that i can see more than 3-4 in day!)

Everyone is doing great with their bills, and congratulations jaime on your lost inches!!! I just started a 12 week program with my daughter and was doing really well, until I found out about my son and ate out of stress!!!! But I will get back on track today and keep going, I want to lose about 50 lbs. and my oldest daughter needs to lose alot, so I have to keep going for her sake too!

[Mama Rana]

Barb, do you know why the insurance wouldn't pay for the exam?
I know last year my insurance didn't pay for my DS's well-visit, and when I called to ask why they said it was because it was within a year since his last one. But the person I talked to said since it was within 2 weeks of a year, she'd re-submit with explanation and it did eventually get covered.
Good luck!