Nestof3 Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 we've done a lot of belly-aching? Can we post any positive reports? Perhaps debt success stories as of late? Something positive in the way of money? I hope no one takes this thread in a negative, bragging light. I really mean it as an encouragement to those who had really been involved in Dave Ramsey and other debt discussions a few months ago. I know times are tougher in way, but do you have anything good to share? If you don't mind, I'd like to start: We have paid off all credit card debt (very happy about this) We owe about half of what our van was sold to us for a year ago (we had put a big downpayment, and now that our credit card debt is gone, we are putting extra on the van). We have about 3 years left on the mortgage. And we have 6 more payments to pay off my cardiac ablation (zero % financing plan, originally 12 months). Once we're done with the medical bills, I plan to start up a savings account. I know -- not totally Dave Ramsey, but if we take that which we had been paying on medical bills, it should build up quickly. We are very thankful that the hospital does not charge interest on their payment plans. Pretty gracious. We are also looking for a very reputable charity to give to -- any ideas? Please someone else share some debt reduction story so I don't look like a putz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Well, we pay off our van in November. :001_smile: Other than that we're just kind of in a holding pattern. Debt level not getting worse or better. Once the van is paid off we'll work on getting the next thing paid off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 Dawn, that's a great plan! One step at a time, and congrats on that van payoff -- November is just around the corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 We sold some high ticket luxury items today to pay for a renovation. I really didn't think we'd be able to sell these in this economy. So the good news is we will remain debt-free except for the mortgage. We are tightening the budget to save as much as possible. I worry about what may happen and am hopeful that all will be well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 Wow Elaine. That's showing discipline to actually sell to pay for renovations. I'm sure it must feel great to only have a mortgage -- one day, we will hopefully be able to say the same. :) PS -- I'm starting my 10th year of homeschooling as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Dh bought a Lotto ticket. I doubt we won anything but it feeds my dreams of riches that will never happen. I mean, really, if it happened what would I day dream about while I'm scrubbing the toilet? On a reality note pertaining to our finances, once again we were able to pay the mortgage, rent and truck payment and have money for groceries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I just noticed you are in Virginia. Which area? (You don't have to say if you would rather not. :001_smile:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 pay the mortgage, rent Are you one of the ones trying to sell your house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 I just noticed you are in Virginia. Which area? (You don't have to say if you would rather not. :001_smile:) __________________ Oh, I don't mind. Virginia Beach -- hot, humid Va Beach. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I'm impressed you only have 3 years left on your mortgage. We only have 358 payments left on the house. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Are you one of the ones trying to sell your house? Nope. We had a renter in the house for a few months. Reports are that she basically destroyed it. We don't have the money for repairs so it just sits unoccupied and waiting for the day it is paid off. Maybe I do need to win the Lotto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 On a reality note pertaining to our finances, once again we were able to pay the mortgage, rent and truck payment and have money for groceries. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Way to go Dawn!!! That is wonderful!!! First let me start with a reputable charity! Cureseach supports Children's Oncology Group, which is the organization that treats nearly 90% of children with cancer in this country and their are hospitals worldwide benefiting from the advancements in care. http://www.curesearch.org. My son is treated with a COG protocol, and his is doing fabulous, so this charity is near and dear to our hearts. As for finiancial success, we have paid off our van and the loan we took out to put in wood floors this year. We are going to pay off our one credit card by the end of the year, and that will leave us with our mortgage and a loan for some land we bought on the lake a few years back. We hope to sell that land (not in this market, but soon). We have no medical debt despite our son having cancer, and we are living within our budget now! Our stocks are sinking, but since we are still buying shares that should look good as soon as the market recovers. It is very freeing having money to go play mini-golf and not feeling guilty about putting it on the credit card or going out for lunch and not worrying about how we will pay for this at the end of the month. All of that is built into our budget now, and we don't feel deprived yet we are still living responsibly. I only wish we would have tightened our belts sooner, but we live and learn I suppose! Wendy-Mommy of 3 munchkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 I'm impressed you only have 3 years left on your mortgage. We only have 358 payments left on the house. LOL Well, when you think about the fact that my husband bought it in the 80's, it doesn't sound quite so great! Remember, he's quite a bit older than I. We did refinance to a 10 year mortgage, and did pay extra prior to getting a van. Also, it's a very small house -- 1,100 sq ft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I'm impressed you only have 3 years left on your mortgage. We only have 358 payments left on the house. LOL LOL! That sounds like us! We bought our first house 8 years ago, and we still have 12 years left on the mortgage. At least it is not a huge payment though which is nice. Wendy-Mommy of 3 munchkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I'll throw a success story in here. Our PLC in Canada was paid off this summer. We have a small HEL and will pay it off by Christmas. Free of medical bills as of this month. OT for dd and broken arm for ds. Our next goal after the HEL is our van. Then we will only have a mortage. It will be tight for us the next four months but there is alot to motivate me. And we still do not have it as bad as some since we live in a very prosperous state. The state I live in is one of three in the nation with surplus and Dh is paid by the state. So, we have a lot to work on but also a fair amount of security. I am very thankful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 We sold our house, sold our 2nd car, the other car is free and clear, and my husband starts a new job October 6th. He received a 20% pay raise so we're hoping to pay off everything else but the student loans by the end of 2009. For the first time, we feel like we can do it :hurray: Blessings! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 My dh was able to arrange 8 hours of overtime with his company per week every week, and so for the first time ever, his salary will cover all our bills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 28, 2008 Author Share Posted September 28, 2008 Our PLC in Canada was paid off this summer. We have a small HEL and will pay it off by Christmas. Free of medical bills as of this month. OT for dd and broken arm for ds. Our next goal after the HEL is our van. Then we will only have a mortage. What's a PLC and a HEL? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Oh, I don't mind. Virginia Beach -- hot, humid Va Beach. :( I'm from Va Beach! :D (born there, raised from the age of 4 in Charleston) My dad and stepmom have lived there all along (currently near Va Beach General) and I spent 2/3 of every summer growing up with them when they lived 8 or 9 blocks from Atlantic Ave. My sister and I *lived* oceanside every day once we got old enough to finish chores in the morning and ride our bikes there. (Of course, this day and time there is no way I'd let my young teenagers do that without an adult!). My dad's family is a multi generational family from the Pungo area. Anyway, waving hello from a Tidewater gal. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 we've done a lot of belly-aching? Can we post any positive reports? Perhaps debt success stories as of late? Something positive in the way of money? I hope no one takes this thread in a negative, bragging light. I really mean it as an encouragement to those who had really been involved in Dave Ramsey and other debt discussions a few months ago. I know times are tougher in way, but do you have anything good to share? If you don't mind, I'd like to start: We have paid off all credit card debt (very happy about this) We owe about half of what our van was sold to us for a year ago (we had put a big downpayment, and now that our credit card debt is gone, we are putting extra on the van). We have about 3 years left on the mortgage. And we have 6 more payments to pay off my cardiac ablation (zero % financing plan, originally 12 months). Once we're done with the medical bills, I plan to start up a savings account. I know -- not totally Dave Ramsey, but if we take that which we had been paying on medical bills, it should build up quickly. We are very thankful that the hospital does not charge interest on their payment plans. Pretty gracious. We are also looking for a very reputable charity to give to -- any ideas? Please someone else share some debt reduction story so I don't look like a putz. Well, most immediately, we have one payment left (0% $) on our two vehicles, both 4 yrs old. This past summer, we ended up with an unexpected $10K left to us by a buyer on our old house who chickened out. That paid for the new roof that house needed and the taxes for this year on that house. Two years ago we were less than $10K away from paying off our first house which is now on the market. We moved to another home that better suited our family's needs and ended up in a massive renovation, unexpectedly. What that translates to now is the need to sell the old place (been on the market since early June) to get the equity out of it and pay off the HELOC which has funded the move so that we can, then, be in debt only to our mortgage. :tongue_smilie: For all, I am thankful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Oh, I don't mind. Virginia Beach -- hot, humid Va Beach. :( I grew up in Virginia Beach!!!!! I lived there from the time I was a year old until I was 25!! I miss it ... but whenever I go back, I can't BELIEVE how much it's grown!!! I'll be driving around and I'll recognize a street name, but not a single building on it! (We go to Va Beach every year for my son's baseball tournament) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Ahh to the topic at hand... We have no credit card debt...and never have -- my dh has an economics degree and that's one of his 'rules'. We have credit cards, but we don't buy anything that we can't pay off within 3 months. We have a mortgage, but at a very low rate and we can afford it. No adjustable ARMs or HELOCs or anything like that. We have one car loan note left (and that's on my car -- we paid off my hubby's last year) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari C in SC Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I love this idea of posting the good things! We paid off our car payment in August. We still are carrying two houses - on that is being rented in Florida and one that we live in South Carolina. The rent on the Florida house is covering both mortgages - principal and interest. I did a little bit of research on our taxes. The good news is that because you get great deductions for having a rental property - we should be able to cover the taxes and insurance on both houses PLUS pay off the debt from renovating our current house! I keep trying to focus on that instead of focusing on that we haven't sold our house. Thanks for posting this today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 What's a PLC and a HEL? Sorry, a plc is personal line of credit. HEL is a home equity loan. We use different accronims I afraid. Anyway you slice it, it was a lot of credit for one family. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 My dh and I have always, since we were first married 18 years ago, followed Larry burketts financial advice and principles and thus we learned to stay out of debt. We did buy a couple new cars, he recommends buying used, but paid them off fast. We are working on teaching our children these same principles as they see their friends having and getting because of credit cards. They are learning that what they see around them is a good percentage of debt. If we want something we save the money then purchase that item and also while you are saving you realize you did not really need the whatever it was. It is so important, more so now, for kids to learn to live within their means and we as parents have to learn to say no or help them find ways to earn the money for the things they think they can't live without. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticamethyst Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 We will pay off our van in Dec. that is my good, I am so excited about it. I will then hopfully put that extra money split towards extra on house and extra on other car payment to get help with those. I love the good things, just like PollyAnna, the Glad Game. :grouphug::001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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