Getting out of debt

[Moni]

Can we pay off debt without canceling these things? Technically, yes. It would take longer.

.

 

There is the theory.......and then there is the reality.

 

It comes down to a matter of priorities and opportunitiy costs, doesn't it?

;)

 

Decisions, decisions....

 

:seeya:

[mmasmommy]

:iagree:

 

I don't think it's the same as taking a loan to pay for the activities. I think that in most cases, homeschooled dc need at least one activity, and it sounds like the OP's dc really need theirs. If they could pay it off in less than a year, then maybe, but I wouldn't wait 3-4 years to do activities.

 

$19,000 in 9 months and you have a small income? That's over $2000 a month put toward debt, plus paying other living expenses. That's a lot!

 

I am the one that paid the $19K in 9 months. I should clarify that I did inherit $5000 when my Grandmother passed, we got a tax refund, and I started working a part time job in that time. My DH started refereeing soccer to bring in extra money, we sold many things, cut pretty much everything out of the budget (my food budget for a family of 5 was $300 a month) and every spare penny went towards our debt.

 

Our income for 2009 was less than $50,000 and our mortgage is over $2000 a month. Quite honestly I don't know how we do/did it but God continues to provide.

 

There is a great website of Dave followers that are more than happy to help, http://www.llnoe.com This wonderful group of people really helped me a ton when I started out on this path.

[Virg]

I think these rates are completely reasonable! These would both be HUGE deals in my area.

 

As much as I like Dave Ramsey and the help he's given so many people, I just couldn't take the kids' activities away. We are at the point of debating whether to pay down our mortgage much faster. We decided not to, because it would seriously affect our way of life. We will pay a little extra, but not massive amounts because I want to be able to afford karate, piano, baseball, and some extra fun as a family, etc. There has to be a balance.

 

This is the philosophy that my parents had. They couldn't bring back out childhoods. While most of our friends spent their money on their house, new furniture, etc. My parents put us in sports, took us on vacations and made our lives special. My little brother and I have wonderful memories of our childhoods and my dad said they have never regretted it!. IMO (take it for what it's worth lol) as long as you are working on paying off debt and saving, then the activities are great! They will remember their time and appreciate the lessons for the rest of their lives. I know I do!

 

BTW these aren't over the top prices where I live either. :)

 

:grouphug: I hope you are able to figure it all out! Just my two cents :)

[Mom-ninja.]

Sometimes a karate or dance studio will hold homeschooler classes during the day at a reduced rate. It's a win-win - they use the studio when it would otherwise be empty, you get a reduced rate. Of course, you need enough homeschoolers at the right level to make it work, but it's something to explore.

 

The Sensei has a day job.

 

 

I have recently discovered YNAB (You Need A Budget) .com and LOVE it! It is so user friendly AND has a forum to ask questions. I am only just starting on it and wish I had discovered it years ago before we started our get out of debt trek.

 

Dawn

 

I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

 

 

Do you live near a YMCA? We don't but the one 45 minutes away offers free karate, fencing, basketball, swimming, and racketball lessons from qualified volunteers. Could you take advantage of something like that?

 

Also, we saved a lot when I went to home made cleaners (white vinegar, diluted Dr. Bronner's soap, laundry soap). I try to shop ahead when the local thrift store has it's end of season sale and get as many items in future sizes as possible....pennies on the dollar for nice items. We don't often purchase an item of clothing from a department store.

 

 

 

Our YMCA is ridiculous. The membership is $150 (family) or $75(individual) for the year and classes then cost extra.

 

 

I already make my own cleaners. :001_smile:

 

I can give up my *one* guilty luxury. I buy a pint of Ben and Jerry's once a month....just for me. I eat it when the kids are in bed and savor every bite!:D

[DawnM]

BTW: I know you just switched phone providers, but we got Ooma phone service in November of last year. It is $200 for the sign up and NO OTHER COST EVER! We used to have Vonage. It is pretty much the same service (modem based) but with Vonage we paid $33/mo with tax.

 

We have already gotten more than our money's worth with Ooma.

 

Dawn

[Allearia]

I don't know what state you are in, but would it be possible to join a charter school that would give money to help with the activities? Our charter pays for ds' piano lessons, though they don't cover the entire cost it covers about seven months a year. I know not everyone agrees with public charter schools but it may be something to consider.

[cathmom]

The poster who paid the $19K and the OP are two different people.

 

I'm sorry I didn't make that clear - I was replying about both things and forgot to multiquote the one who paid $19K and didn't want to go back and find it. So, yes, I knew that.

[Jennifer in MI]

S

Karate provides more for the boys than a cute uniform. Actually, we didn't pay for their uniforms. You get the first one free and we have used this one for three years.

 

I don't know if he'll be in it when he's 18. Why spend money on it if he is not destined to be a karate champion? Because it give them benefits now. My older ds has been asked to participate in the state tournaments. We declined due to cost. My middle ds gets sensory therapy from it.

 

I don't agree. Yes, it's a lot of money. However, even if my ds doesn't open a karate studio when he's an adult I don't think learning karate is a waste. Sometimes it's the journey that's important not the finish.

 

Thanks for sharing suggestions, brain storming, and giving your points of view. This is a hard decision.

.

 

Karate has SO many benefits!!! I agree! I have two black belts and a red belt. I don't think that any of them will make a career out of it. But, in the meantime, it's given them leadership opportunities. They now teach the younger kids in addition to their classes.

 

You know. I was thinking. Your middle is 6? I do think you could drop piano for him. My current 12 yo started piano when he was 9. He advanced VERY quickly. We started my younger boy when he was 7. He's advancing much more slowly and practicing is hard for him. If I had to do it over, I'd wait. (Actually, I will wait. My youngest is 4!) What if you went down to a lesson every other week with your older one? That should help.

 

I'm pretty good at budgeting/being frugal, but it seems you're already doing everything I do! If you want more information on CVS/Rite Aid shopping, let me know.

[cathmom]

I am the one that paid the $19K in 9 months. I should clarify that I did inherit $5000 when my Grandmother passed, we got a tax refund, and I started working a part time job in that time. My DH started refereeing soccer to bring in extra money, we sold many things, cut pretty much everything out of the budget (my food budget for a family of 5 was $300 a month) and every spare penny went towards our debt.

 

Our income for 2009 was less than $50,000 and our mortgage is over $2000 a month. Quite honestly I don't know how we do/did it but God continues to provide.

 

There is a great website of Dave followers that are more than happy to help, www.llnoe.com This wonderful group of people really helped me a ton when I started out on this path.

 

Thanks for clarifying! That makes more sense then. I thought maybe you were one of those people who make $100K plus and then say that they feel poor. :lol:

 

(No offense to anyone here who makes over $100K and feels poor LOL!)

[rafiki]

.

[BMW]

I have a son with sensory issues. I also have lived in extreme poverty with my kids. I know what it means when you just don't have money to spend... period.

 

Thankfully, I am not in that place anymore.

 

I think in your heart that you know your son needs the karate. I hope that you will continue that for him. You will never get these years back with him. I understand because I have a similar son.

 

I really like the idea of putting the piano on hold for a specific period of time and making sure that you use that money for your debt. Then bring it back in, perhaps with a different financial obligation/cost/arrangement.

 

And if you haven't already done so, get The Out of Sync Child Has Fun. It's full of sensory ideas that you can do at home with your son.

[Haiku]

 

I can give up my *one* guilty luxury. I buy a pint of Ben and Jerry's once a month....just for me. I eat it when the kids are in bed and savor every bite!:D

 

You're a better mom than I am. My guilty pleasure is Trader Joe's dark chocolate bar 3-packs. I think they are $1.99. I told the kids we had to cut out their treats, but I still intend to buy my two chocolate bar packs per month. :o

 

Tara

[MomsintheGarden]

Have you considered dropping your land phone line? If you could somehow make do with your husband's cell phone as your main telephone number, you could save some money that way.

 

GardenMom

[Danestress]

Maybe by offering to babysit on weekend nights when you know your Dh will be home for the kids? Taking an "after school" kid? Finding a little job for weekends?

 

That is what I would try to do. If you DH is usually home and Saturday nights and you could make $30 bucks babysitting on Saturdays, that alone would make a difference in your budget. Why should 13 year old girls get those jobs?

[Mimm]

 

So if you don't foresee your 18 year old doing karate, why pour (@$150/per month ages 8-18) $18,000 into karate?

 

150 per month - 12 months in a year - $1800 per year. Ten years down the line, YES, you've dropped $18 THOUSAND dollars on karate. And if they don't really ever use karate again, then yes, it was a waste of eighteen thousand dollars.

 

 

I don't understand this at all. What if karate is teaching the child self confidence, or discipline? What if, through karate, the child makes life long friends? Has a teacher who profoundly affects his life? What if karate positively affects his health, making him more in tune with his body and helping him build strength and agility and balance? What if he simply has a blast every single time he goes? He'll have those memories for a life time, even if he quits at 18.

 

I'm not the person to ask about money management at all, so I don't have a lot to add to that part of the discussion. But I do object to the idea that something is without value if the child isn't going to continue doing it into adulthood.

[elfgivas]

maybe i missed this....

how many months/years difference in getting out of debt do you project?

 

for me, if it would only take one more year, then i'd keep them in activities. if it would take 20 more years, then i wouldn't. if it were somewhere in the middle, then i'd try to come up with a "middle" solution.

 

i think activities are important so i'd be disinclined to drop them, and more inclined to try to barter cleaning the self defense studio in return for lessons OR find a very small work at home extra job that would come up with the money. i'd also work on carpooling, to reduce the hidden cost of lessons.

 

good luck!

ann

[QueenCat]

But I do object to the idea that something is without value if the child isn't going to continue doing it into adulthood.

 

:iagree: I agree 100%!

[mirth]

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Edited July 26, 2014 by mirth

[mirth]

* 

 

[ma23peas]

For me it would be easy...stop the karate/piano....

 

they have had 3 years, more than enough time to instill some of the great responsibility/respect/honor issues they've learned....piano after 3 years if fairly easy to move forward on their own....my youngest had 3 years and she's in 3B book of Faber & Faber....I have her pick out 2 songs a week and she plays them...the books really do teach as they go...

 

Now as far as not cutting more out..here are some ideas...

 

1. Cable TV...just the basic news channels runs about $10 a month...or you can get by with an antenna you put in your attic...cable TV runs about $59 a month.

 

2. Pit the internet providers against each other...all kinds of specials are out there..

 

3. Turn off those lights when you leave a room! Keep the thermostat set at 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter...saves HUNDREDS each year.

 

4. Turn your hot water heater down about 5 degrees, saves around $300 a year.

 

5. Carpool on days you can, gas is ridiculously expensive, take dh to work on days he takes a lunch and you need to run errands (grocery, a morning in the park...once a week if you're driving 24 miles to his work and use that time 'in town' to buy groceries, spend some time with the kids doing PE at a park/walking trail you'll save. We put it down on paper, our truck got 13 mpg....dh was driving it 18 miles each way to work and I was driving a 10 year old minivan...getting about 23mpg on a good day....we put on a LOT of miles each year...so by trading in the truck for a Prius, we literally save FIVE thousand a year in gasoline costs!!!!!!!! The Prius will be paid for in 3 years (got a GREAT trade in on our truck) and the savings each year will pay for vacations/new tires/etc...we'll keep our now 11 year old van for as long as we can...in our family we keep cars 20 years with hundreds of thousands of miles and keep the oil changed every 6 months...inflating the tires each month will potentially save you $100 a year or more in gas costs!!

 

6. Give up your landline and live on cable phone or cell phones

 

7. knock down your cell phone 'extras'...(you may not have these) but cut out text, block it, use it only for phone.

 

8. Call the credit card companies, September 25th some new things are happening and many say they will consider lowering interest rates...believe me, I know, we had 2 house payements for 31 months and had to live off cards when it got tough...14 cards and only one over 8.9%...most are 0% or 2.9%...you can be assured when I pay off that Sears card this month at 21.99% I wil be THRILLED!! They would NOT make a deal, they said they would lower it to 17.99...gee thanks! They raised all Sears cards across the board last August in response to Obama's great plan to protect us....I have not seen any good from the changes, only more issues and can't wait to pay all ours off...house sold in January and we're committing to be out of debt in 16 months. (except mortgage)

 

9. Cut eating out, sodas, prepackaged foods, I have cut our grocery bill in half this last month, sure, we have some rice/bean nights but it's amazing what you can do when you get really creative! less meat in lasagne, freeze leftovers and try to get fresh veggies from farmer markets, they're cheaper! :)

 

10. If the boys are old enough have them rake leaves for neighbors, wash cars, animal sit....little bits of income can pay for the fun $1 movies....

 

Hose down your AC units...dust stuff get in the fan and really slow performance..just run a hose on spray mode...check your windows for leaks, the biggest energy cost goes out our windows! :)

 

You'd be amazed, I've looked at every angle for budgeting and found it does make a difference to make small changes! :)

 

Tara

[Rosie_0801]

What is a mealie meal?

 

It's like your grits, I think, but usually uses white corn. You can make it out of yellow cornmeal, so perhaps they are the same thing?

http://recipe.nidi.org.uk/Mealie_Meal.htm

 

Flatbreads are far more forgiving than sandwich breads for using gluten free flours.

 

Rosie

Edited September 18, 2010 by Rosie_0801

[kmacnchs]

Another idea: if you have family members that give your kids gifts for holidays or birthdays....you could ask them to give the "gift of a lesson." That way the kids get to continue the activities they love and it won't affect your budget!

 

That's what I do! Bdays & Christmas for gymnastics - we only have to take off a couple sessions/year by doing this. My kids need NO more toys so it works out well!