Week 1: Pay down debt and saving support

[Joanne]

I thought we'd start with goals?

 

As with other threads, your approach to participating in this support group is self-defined. I do not "own" it or suggest any particular approach. I want to offer support and encouragement for YOUR goals and would welcome the same.

 

I threw away a pre-approved credit card offer today. :hurray:

 

I have to get my "books" out to take them to my new office (I finally have my OWN office). I have a box of financial books. I'm pretty sure that "Your Money or Your Life" is in there. In the spirit of mindful spending, I will check that before I buy a new copy. And, heck, I will contact a local used bookstore if I can't find it shopping in my own home.

 

I am trying to be careful in terms of actual numbers here. Probably less about security and more about embarrassment. My student loan debt kicks my total into the 6 digits. So, I will try to develop a way to talk meaningfully about debt reduction without actual numbers.

 

My goals this week:

 

1. Find a copy of Your Money or Your Life

2. Make a list of ALL debts, order the list

 

My possible goals next week:

 

1. Determine how much I have available to "snowball" after all bills are paid

2. Use a snowball calculator and begin to enter list from week 1

3. Submit the form to resume retirement saving in my 403b

 

[Carol in Cal.]

You GO!

 

On the debt snowball, do you want to do it the mathy way or the psych (Dave Ramsey) way?  Both can work. 

 

Mathy is to pay toward the debt with the highest interest rate, or the one with a 'gotcha' increase in interest rates looming.

 

Psyche is to pay toward the smallest debt balance, to give yourself a big lift when you finish paying off one debt completely.

 

I think personally that mathy combined with the monthly plotting on a graph of total debt kind of accomplishes the best of both--saves more on interest, but also addresses the need to see progress and feel good about it and being ready to go after it faster and faster.  YMMV, though.  This is quite individual, and everyone should honor what they know will work for them.

[JustEm]

Dh and I discussed things last night and are in agreement with what our goals are for this year, which is fantastic. So my goal for the week is to make an outline of how those goals will get accomplished throughout the year. Oh and I need to get dh to change the exemptions on his w4

 

Yearly goals are:

1. Pay off van ~$4000

2. Additional $3000 in emergency fund

3. Fund house repair account by $1000

4. Start new car fund(amount not determined yet)

 

I have to wait another 2 weeks before having a great idea about our finances for the year because dh just got a raise and I have no idea how much that means addition per month after taxes.

[StephanieZ]

Goals this year:

 

1) Max out our brand spanking new SIMPLE IRA accounts. First contributions were deducted from payroll this week. Having our very own retirement accounts makes me feel very grown up. It's been a goal since buying our business nearly 11 years ago, and we can finally afford it (after having paid down a lot of debt). 

 

2) Keep the 0 balances on credit cards!

 

3) Figure out how we should finance our college girl's housing for the next 4 years (she has a 5 year tuition scholarship, and is on year 1, but plans to use all 5 years, to cover a MS degree, too). Am researching whether it makes more sense to buy something or rent. Rent for just her would cover a mortgage on a 3BR house! Not sure if I want the risk/complication of buying, but I'm researching it. Any advice would be appreciated. :) 

[Deee]

Your Money or Your Life is fantastic!  Beg, borrow or (as a last resort) buy a copy.  Its a life-changer

D

[cjzimmer1]

Your Money or Your Life is fantastic!  Beg, borrow or (as a last resort) buy a copy.  Its a life-changer

D

 

Who is the author?  Our library has at least 3 different version of this book (with different subtitles) and all by different people.  I don't know which one to borrow.

[Joanne]

Your Money or Your Life is fantastic! Beg, borrow or (as a last resort) buy a copy. Its a life-changer

D

I agree. I have read it before! It was in another life, though. My life now is very different.

[JustEm]

I've never read your money your life so I'll have to check it out at the library

[Carol in Cal.]

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452126918&sr=1-1&keywords=your+money+or+your+life

[ScoutTN]

Goals for 2016:

 

Save one month's regular expenses in checking account/YNAB categories. Roughly $3000. (YNAB buffer)

Save $800 to pay for kids' summer camp by March.

Begin saving to replace our very old car. (Not our just plain old car. ;))

 

Set aside a little each month to give in whatever way comes up. Something always does. Nice to be able to give spontaneously without redoing the budget.

 

Continue to find ways to be frugal and live simply. (Library, not Amazon. Thrift shop and consignment. Aldi.)

Plant a vegetable garden!

Be more purposeful in teaching and encouraging kids to earn, to save and to give.

[StephanieZ]

What does YNAB stand for?

[Arcadia]

What does YNAB stand for?

You Need A Budget

http://www.youneedabudget.com/

[Arcadia]

Am researching whether it makes more sense to buy something or rent. Rent for just her would cover a mortgage on a 3BR house! Not sure if I want the risk/complication of buying, but I'm researching it.

When the recession hit and there was a property price slump, rents still went up because less people could afford the downpayment. We were upside down on our mortgage at that time but rents were still higher than mortgage+HOA+Insurance+property tax. Besides we did itemised deductions on income tax so it helped bring down our tax amount.

 

Many bought and sold after 5 years in my neighborhood for those attending the nearby private jesuit university.

[MrsRobinson]

Our 2016 goals:

 

-use cash envelopes and sinking funds to prevent wasteful spending.

 

-transfer predetermined amount to savings every paycheck to build 3-6 months living expenses.

 

-save for our first post-debt vacation this summer.

 

-save for car replacement in 2017.

 

-start save-give-spend jars with dd along with a chart of above and beyond jobs she can do to earn money.

[busymotherof4]

We are hoping to recover from last years unemployment, medical mess and long distance move. Step one is trying to decide what to do with our house that hasn't sold yet. We could rent it at a loss or continue to list it and take a bigger monthly loss.

I guess step one is to figure out where we stand

[elegantlion]

Since I'm still in school, my goals are more along the lines of minimize debt and start saving

 

 

1. Rebuild credit post divorce - still looking at ways to do this, may start a new thread. I know we had one a while ago, but may have some specific questions. 

 

2. Determine work situation this summer - I may do another summer of classes, but I won't know that until later this spring. 

 

3. Move closer to school - lots of reasons why this is a good idea, hopefully by mid-July or August. I'm hoping to do an apartment, but need one that takes big dogs. Will need money for deposits and utilities and renting a UHaul. 

 

4. Start saving - I'd like to start a minimal habit of saving, there won't be much left to do that with once we move as our rent will definitely increase. 

 

5. Upcoming expenses - Ds wants to do a study abroad trip that important toward his future goals, I'll contribute what I can toward that.

 I will need a new car in the next two years. I really want a Jeep, but they're not cheap used, so I might end up with an economy car. 

 

[Ravin]

Goal for 2016:

 

Pay off as much of my credit card as possible (the balance is about $5500).

[Arcadia]

Goals for 2016:

 

- downpay mortgage principal

- save for a vacation and if possible save enough to fly home (about $6k in airfares to fly home off peak for the whole family)

- save for a new car just in case. Ours is almost 10 years old and so far so good

- put some more money in emergency fund

[Joyofsixreboot]

It's not that our debt is huge but that we need to be more mindful of just where the money is going.

Goals

1. Figure out the best way to invest my small inheritance from my dad for kids college things-help with books, groceries, etc. the college itself in on them.

2. Make a list of what is going to need replaced and plan for it.- dead tree and rotting shed removal, another ancient car to replace even more ancient car, etc.

3. Budget for the little things we never want to spend on- new paint, curtains, a new clothesline, etc. The newest things are 11 years old we figured out. We just can't bring ourselves to spend but need to fix stuff if we are going to sell in about 10 years.

[Prairie~Phlox]

Pay off the $2800 that is on our credit card. (should be paid off by March)

Put some of our tax refund into savings and then start putting $100/month into savings.

Buy a new dishwasher.

[teachermom2834]

1. Pay off about $5000 in credit card debt we just can't seem to shake. We get it paid down just to get hit with another car/home/medical emergency.

 

2 Do this while continuing to save in our 401k, HSA, and 529 college accounts. I know financial expert advice would not to be saving for college with credit card debt BUT our personal history seems to indicate we have a hard time shaking that amount of debt regardless. So, while frustrated about that, seeing balances in those savings increase makes me feel like we are indeed getting somewhere and making progress. We can stop adding to those accounts if need be but I really want to tackle this debt while continuing our automatic savings. I know if we stop for a few months we may never start back up.

 

3. Continue to see my investment in my children, family life, and friendships as valuable. My kids are getting educated and closer and closer to launch and they are doing well. So, when I feel like we are not making progress I need to look at the kids. They are making progress! The time and financial investment in them is valuable, if intangible.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

We have no debt except our mortgage. We've done Dave Ramsey's class twice now but that seems to about as far into the "baby steps" as we get. This year we want to keep going.

 

1. My DH's job offers additional retirement accounts that we aren't taking advantage of. He's going to look into those and get that set up.

 

2. Pay more towards the principle on our mortgage. Our mortgage is low for our area and less than 25% of our bring home pay. We should be able to pay more on it each month and still be comfortable.

 

3. Save for a new (to us) car. Our van has nearly 200,000 miles on it so we know it'll need to be replaced before too much longer. Thankfully, it's still running great. We started saving last year and saved a decent amount but ended up needing to use the money for other things.

 

4. I want to get our emergency fund fully funded. This isn't as much a priority to my DH but I would like the security.

 

5. Get life insurance. We just need to make the time to get this done.

[DawnM]

I was trying VERY hard to pay for home improvements without using our HELOC.  It isn't working.  In face, I looked at our CC statements and we owe about $3K and based on the spending, most of it is home improvement.

 

So, I plan to get some $$ OUT of our HELOC and pay the CC off as the CC has much higher fees.

 

We are moving Spring/Summer, so it will all be paid off by then with the sale of the house.

 

So, here are this week's goals:

 

1. List 3 items for sale on our local sales website

2. Keep using MINT in computer form and app form

3. Move money from HELOC to pay off CC

4. Do a pantry inventory and see how long we can go without a large trip to the grocery store......I bet we can live for a MONTH off of what we have and only need produce, milk, and dog food.

 

 

Oh, and I am very happy......DS goes to a charter school and needed some pants, dress code, no jeans.....he has been in shorts until now but it is cold.   I had purchased a few pair for $20 each at Walmart but hate spending that much.   I stopped at a Salvation Army yesterday for their 50% off clothing Wednesdays and found THREE pairs of pants that will work and they actually look really good on him.  $3.50 each.

 

So, back to Walmart the other pants go.

 

 

[purplejackmama]

Goals this year:

 

1) Max out our brand spanking new SIMPLE IRA accounts. First contributions were deducted from payroll this week. Having our very own retirement accounts makes me feel very grown up. It's been a goal since buying our business nearly 11 years ago, and we can finally afford it (after having paid down a lot of debt).

 

Can we talk about this? What company are you using? How did you set up the payroll deduction? How are you choosing your investments?

[ScoutTN]

Continue to see my investment in my children, family life, and friendships as valuable. My kids are getting educated and closer and closer to launch and they are doing well. So, when I feel like we are not making progress I need to look at the kids. They are making progress! The time and financial investment in them is valuable, if intangible.

 

I love this!

[StephanieZ]

Can we talk about this? What company are you using? How did you set up the payroll deduction? How are you choosing your investments?

 

I am using Vanguard. I've used them for 20 years. They are low fee, very respectable, all profits go back to shareholders/investors. They were a ground breaker with the Index Funds. I've been very happy with them. 

 

For our retirement investments, we are keeping it simple using a Target Retirement Date Index Fund with Vanguard. It uses a few index funds to balance stocks/bonds, large/medium/small stocks, and domestic/international of both stocks and bonds. It shifts the balance towards the more conservative elements (eventually cash) as you approach retirement. Essentially, it does exactly what you are supposed to do with retirement savings, but you don't have to think about it or do a single thing after choosing that one fund. 

 

Our payroll service, though our local bank, set up the payroll deduction for us. It's pre-tax but post-FICA. 

 

The business has to set up the SIMPLE IRA. If you own a business (or control the management), you can do this. There are some hassles getting it set up, but less so than with other retirement plans. Just a few decisions. You have to let all employees participate, but you can limit it somewhat. The most restrictive participation rules are that the employee has to have already been employed for 2 calendar years prior to the plan year, and have earned at least 5k each year, and expects to earn at least 5k this year. There are some choices with matching, but in our case, we match the employer contribution up to 3% of earnings. Participants can contribute up to 12,500 of their own pre-tax earnings, or 15,500 if the participant is 50 or over that calendar year. So, with a bit of company match & 2 participant spouses, you can get around 30k of pre-tax savings each year. 

[StephanieZ]

We have no debt except our mortgage. We've done Dave Ramsey's class twice now but that seems to about as far into the "baby steps" as we get. This year we want to keep going.

 

1. My DH's job offers additional retirement accounts that we aren't taking advantage of. He's going to look into those and get that set up.

 

2. Pay more towards the principle on our mortgage. Our mortgage is low for our area and less than 25% of our bring home pay. We should be able to pay more on it each month and still be comfortable.

 

3. Save for a new (to us) car. Our van has nearly 200,000 miles on it so we know it'll need to be replaced before too much longer. Thankfully, it's still running great. We started saving last year and saved a decent amount but ended up needing to use the money for other things.

 

4. I want to get our emergency fund fully funded. This isn't as much a priority to my DH but I would like the security.

 

5. Get life insurance. We just need to make the time to get this done.

 

Seems like you might be better off focusing on 4&5&3 before considering 2. IMHO.

[StephanieZ]

Note: 

 

I wonder if we should all try to rephrase our goals into ones that are Specific, Achievable, and Measurable. 

 

I.e, $ amounts (or % salary or similar), Dates, etc. This will be easier to measure and celebrate than "as quickly as possible" or "as much as possible" 

 

Also, shorter time frames are more achievable. I wonder if we should try week-goals as well as longer time frame goals?

[HomeAgain]

Our goals this month, because that's easier for me:

-pay down $1000 of debt

-Complete 5 weeks of the 52 week savings challenge

 

[mellifera33]

I need to do this too. My problem: my dh thinks that all our of financial woes will be over when he gets a new job. I find it frustrating to try to make headway when he doesn't see it as a priority. And paying off our credit cards should be a giant priority--our balance is ginormous after a major home repair last year. We never carried a balance before that, and now...well, I don't like it. Grocery shopping seems like the natural place for me to reduce spending, but dh is very picky and if he doesn't like what I cook, he goes out for fast food. grrr. He does like cheap, salty, unhealthy frozen dinners, so I will keep some of those in the freezer for when he doesn't like the healthy food that I cook. I am not a bad cook--he just doesn't like food unless it involves a big hunk of meat or is so salty it makes my eyes water.  :glare:

 

So I will focus on trying to keep the grocery bills reasonable, staying out of the craft stores  :closedeyes: , and planning our vegetable garden. Not very specific, I know. When I grocery shop, I am trying to make the less expensive choice when possible--in season fruits and veggies, generic pasta and rice, etc. We are somewhat limited by food allergies, so I can't always make the cheapest choice (peanut butter  :scared: ). I will be experimenting with new inexpensive dinners--dh likes the biryani from one of the local Indian restaurants, so I will be trying my hand at that tonight. 

 

We currently track our spending with Quicken, but I don't find it very helpful. I need to find a different system. 

[Tsuga]

I thought we'd start with goals?

 

As with other threads, your approach to participating in this support group is self-defined. I do not "own" it or suggest any particular approach. I want to offer support and encouragement for YOUR goals and would welcome the same.

 

I threw away a pre-approved credit card offer today. :hurray:

 

I have to get my "books" out to take them to my new office (I finally have my OWN office). I have a box of financial books. I'm pretty sure that "Your Money or Your Life" is in there. In the spirit of mindful spending, I will check that before I buy a new copy. And, heck, I will contact a local used bookstore if I can't find it shopping in my own home.

 

I am trying to be careful in terms of actual numbers here. Probably less about security and more about embarrassment. My student loan debt kicks my total into the 6 digits. So, I will try to develop a way to talk meaningfully about debt reduction without actual numbers.

 

My goals this week:

 

1. Find a copy of Your Money or Your Life

2. Make a list of ALL debts, order the list

 

My possible goals next week:

 

1. Determine how much I have available to "snowball" after all bills are paid

2. Use a snowball calculator and begin to enter list from week 1

3. Submit the form to resume retirement saving in my 403b

 

So timely. We are in.

 

This week, we are meeting two financial planners. I met with one who manages money and does planning. This afternoon we are meeting the ones that charge and hourly fee for advice.

 

Next week we will decide whom to hire and really get the documents together.

 

We have already looked at all of our debts. For me it is student loans. For him it is credit cards and car.

 

I have tried the Money or Your Life / traditional approach and find it doesn't work. I enjoy doing things and my kids do as well. I'm ambitious. I think ultimately, I need to come to grips with what I want in life and what I want for my kids and how I think I can achieve that. Or maybe what I should do in life and how I can achieve that. I'm not really sure. I think I need to figure that out before I can make long term plans.

 

Short term / mid-term:

 

• continue paying credit card in full at the end of the month
• update my will (two weeks)
• update my life insurance (two weeks, call USAA)
• update my living will (two weeks)
• figure out with the financial advisor which makes more sense, pay down student loan debt OR invest in saving more. I want to know if it's as simple as calculating which has higher interest or if there are tax benefits / issues with one or the other.

[Tsuga]

I need to do this too. My problem: my dh thinks that all our of financial woes will be over when he gets a new job. I find it frustrating to try to make headway when he doesn't see it as a priority. And paying off our credit cards should be a giant priority--our balance is ginormous after a major home repair last year. We never carried a balance before that, and now...well, I don't like it. 

 

Income is a big issue when paying down debt though. Still, you need to be able to pay down bit by bit. Can you two agree on a "how much we pay until you get a new job" amount?

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

Seems like you might be better off focusing on 4&5&3 before considering 2. IMHO.

This is probably true. Our problem is that while DH and I agree that we really need to focus on making our money work for us and being more intentional with it, we don't agree on priorities. If I had to pick, I would choose #3, 4, and 5 as top priorities that need to be handled asap. My DH would choose #1, 2, and 3. At least we agree on one. :-P This is an on going discussion and I'm sure we'll figure it out.

[JustEm]

Dh has changed our exemptions! That will be reflected in the paycheck in 2 weeks not tomorrow's though. I've also made a rough outline for when and how which goals will get accomplished throughout the year. It will change a bit once we get dh's next paycheck with his money from the raise and the adjustments from changing w4.

[Ravin]

DH is car hunting as we speak. Whatever vehicle he settles on will be paid for out of some combination of trading/selling our Durango and his spring financial aid money for school.

 

My credit card balance definitely negatively impacts our situation because it's maxed out. If I can get it down to not more than 30% of available balance, that will improve my credit score come mortgage/house buying time.

 

Student loans can only be sanely managed by putting them on the absolute minimum monthly repayment and working until I hit loan forgiveness.

 

I have a rather fresh car loan, but the interest on it isn't as bad as on the credit card, so paying extra towards it comes 2nd in the snowball after the credit card.

[BooksandBoys]

Goals for the first half of the year:

 

1) Make the budget fit the current income. I've dropped several expenses recently and income has gone up a bit, so with A LOT of commitment, I believe this is finally doable. Do not change the budget as income increases.

2) Increase my personal income 100% by the end of February through a combination of tutoring and subbing.

3) Increase my income by another 100% by the end of April.

4) Save a full month's expenses through increases in my income.

5) Then, save the balance of the first credit card (it's zero percent until early 2017).

6) Snowflake every extra penny (birthday, rebates, etc) into #4 then #5.

7) Reevaluate halfway through the year and set new goals.

[Guest]

I need to get in the habit of writing down EVERY SINGLE MEASLEY expense.  Either that or stop using my ATM card.

 

Plan purchases a month in advance: craft supplies for this specific thing I know I will do, 1 book, etc.

 

I did chop up my credit cards.  I figure that if I need them, I can always request new ones.  Still making slightly more than minimum payments.  There is one that I am always a couple days late on - one goal is to be exactly on time :)

 

Stay within the grocery budget.

 

At the moment, I am trying to decide on what to do with my tax return.  Originally, I was going to keep in the bank and use it to make up the difference after my financial aid runs out in Spring 2017 (and continue to use the previous years tax return for the following year's spring semester) in order to graduate with 0 debt.  But I'm not totally sold on the idea...Would it be better to get a student loan (no payment/interest while in school) and instead invest some/all of the tax returns to hopefully make some money off of them?  Or pay down my credit cards (to 58%, 60% and 80% this year) and keep a tiny bit in savings? Or....

[Tsuga]

 

 

But I'm not totally sold on the idea...Would it be better to get a student loan (no payment/interest while in school) and instead invest some/all of the tax returns to hopefully make some money off of them? 

 

I think the personal peace of mind would be worth a potential small loss of interest from investing if you have no loan at present. That said, I face a similar dilemma, but I already have a loan that I can't pay off quickly, so the peace of mind isn't there. But I tend to pay off debts right away. It's one less thing to worry about if things go south. Like what if there is a crash--then the investment is not likely to be liquid, employment could be uncertain, and even that one small payment could get behind in a bad month.

 

I say save the tax money for tuition as planned. I think that's the smart thing to do.

 

On the other hand, since that's far away, probably best to pay down a credit card all the way, one less bill, and then apply like heck for scholarships!

[Carol in Cal.]

IAt the moment, I am trying to decide on what to do with my tax return.  Originally, I was going to keep in the bank and use it to make up the difference after my financial aid runs out in Spring 2017 (and continue to use the previous years tax return for the following year's spring semester) in order to graduate with 0 debt.  But I'm not totally sold on the idea...Would it be better to get a student loan (no payment/interest while in school) and instead invest some/all of the tax returns to hopefully make some money off of them?  Or pay down my credit cards (to 58%, 60% and 80% this year) and keep a tiny bit in savings? Or....

Personally I hate credit card debt.  It's so OC.  Low interest rates for a while, random increases at other times, insanely high caps.  So if I were doing this, I'd probably pay them down unless they were currently and for the next year or so at one of those bonus low interest rate points.

[La Condessa]

I refinanced/consolidated dh's school loans with a significantly lower interest rate and also took almost a year off of the time, so we will have a little bit lower monthly base payment, but quite a bit more of it will be going to principal. I never knew until recently that you can get much better interest rates than through the Dep of Education. So I'm super excited with that.

 

We are also looking at being able to pay off the last of our debt from youngest ds's medical issues in 2014 within the next four to five months, (provided we stick strictly to our budget) or maybe sooner based on our tax return!

 

Also, we just found out there may be a great career opportunity on the horizon for dh, that will determine our financial goals later in the year. We are waiting on dh's boss to make a decision, on that front.

 

So, goals are:

1 Pay off medical debt before my birthday (beginning of May).

2 Pay back $ borrowed from kids' savings accounts (for medical).

3 Depending on boss' decision, Either throw the amount currently going towards med. debt on the student loan debt each month, Or set that aside to get into a house. (If things go as we hope, we know we will be here for at least five more years minimum, and can buy for monthly costs close to what we pay in rent.)

[Rosie_0801]

We're taking a short trip for Marek's birthday, then I'm going to start saving to invest in a friend's start up. I'm not sure until after the trip how much I have that I can afford to lose. I mean, I'd rather not lose any and I don't think he will, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I will only learn so much by thinking about finance and earn nothing at all!

 

It feels very scary and like I might not really be grown up enough because investing is really only for rich people (that would be my bottom of the middle class upbringing speaking!) but I don't intend dd to be a single mother poverty statistic forever, so she needs to see me learning this stuff so she can too.

 

Dd's financial goal for the foreseeable future is to save her egg money to buy bees. :)

 

I'm glad for the suggestion of 'Your Money or Your Life.' I wondered what to read next after the Rich Dad, Poor Dad guy's books. Most of it makes my brain fuzz though. But,  :gnorsi:  soldier on I will.