Monday, December 21, 2009
Debt Status, as of 12/20/09
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Loan Strategy
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Great News from Work
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Christmas Gifts
Monday, November 30, 2009
Raises & Bonuses
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
A new credit card
Friday, October 30, 2009
Health Insurance Costs
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
New furnace?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Trying to Make More Money
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Debt Status, as of 10/23/09
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Some Extra Income
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Employer Education Assistance
Monday, October 12, 2009
Income vs. Net Worth
Not counting the money we've sunk into repairs and improvements (about $30k over the past 3 years), we've lost quite a bit on the house due to fallen property values... around 20-25% from what the purchase price. The house has dropped over $40k in value, and we're currently upside-down on the mortgage by $25k. Our monthly mortgage & utility payments are roughly four times greater than their monthly rent & utilities... so having a higher income hasn't really helped to give us a greater net worth in that area.
We owe over $50k in student loans currently, all locked in at low interest rates. Since we have so much other debt, it's not worth paying this off quickly - but it's a huge hit on our net worth. By comparison, they have less than $10k in loans... though they're still in school, and that balance is rapidly growing (while ours is slowly decreasing). We are paying on three out of four of our student loans, whereas theirs are all deferred right now.
We have two newer vehicles that we're making monthly car payments on, costing us nearly $800/mo. Since we have loans on both vehicles, we also are required to carry full coverage auto insurance, which adds about $100/mo in expense (solely for collision & comprehensive) - we'd still have to pay at least for basic liability if the cars were paid off. They own both of their vehicles outright, saving them on monthly payments and on insurance, but their cars are high-mileage and have numerous mechanical problems. They both function reasonably well, but I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable relying on either vehicle to get me to/from work daily, at least not without several thousand in repairs and maintenance.
And finally, we have far more consumer debt. It's down quite a bit from it's all-time high, but we still owe over $24k. Our minimum monthly payments are currently over $900/mo. By contrast, they owe less than $5k in credit card debt, and are seriously delinquent on it. They're planning to save up some money and offer the credit card companies a settlement for about 50% of the original balance (before all the late-fees, over-limit fees, and interest were tacked on). If they can convince the card companies to take it, they'll pay less than $1500... but in the meantime, they aren't paying a dime.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Google Ad-Sense
Unmotivated to Save
Monday, October 5, 2009
Feeling broke
Friday, October 2, 2009
Upcoming Parties
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Good news!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Car Insurance
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Homes are Expensive
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Threw out the budget
Monday, September 14, 2009
Planning Ahead
Friday, September 11, 2009
A Raise - or Not
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Falling Short for Sept
My checking account, after tomorrow's paycheck gets deposited, will have $1725.
BUT:
- I still need to pay my car payment, $350.
- My revolving balance credit card (the one I use for groceries/gas/etc, then PIF each month) is currently at $401.
- I'll need $100-150 for groceries & gas to last the rest of the month.
I had hoped to pay at least $1000!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Student Loan: 1 gone, 3 to go...
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Wedding Bells
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Pay cuts?
It's very frustrating because my husband isn't a union employee, and has already had his wages frozen indefinitely. And right now, I'm grateful that we both still have jobs, and that we haven't been forced to take any pay cuts... but if the union is able to secure a raise for its members, it sort of makes me want our jobs to become unionized. I don't really like most labor unions nowadays, but it sucks if union members get a raise and nobody else does.
The worst part is that if they get a raise, then the employer will likely be forced to lay off other non-union employees, and/or to enact pay cuts for non-union employees, just to meet their operating budget. And THAT would really suck.
I think, at least given his current position, a layoff is pretty unlikely. I'm not sure whether we should be anticipating a paycut, when it would happen, or how much it would be... which makes it rather tough to plan and budget for!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Student Loans
I'm sort of conflicted on this. I don't have a problem with student loans, so long as the amount is reasonable and you anticipate being able to pay it off. I took out about $29,000 in loans for my undergraduate degree. On a 20-year repayment plan, my monthly payments are $200/mo right now, and will drop to $160/mo in three more years (if I paid according to the schedule). I was pretty lucky in that the interest rates on federal loans was significantly lower than they are now (about half!). It doesn't seem like much, but when the total loan amount is more than a new car, and it's over 10 or 20 years, that's huge!
I looked up the maximum amounts in federal student loans that she'll be eligible to take over the next few years, and based on those numbers I'm guessing that she'll end up taking out about $35,000 to $40,000 by the time she graduates. Based on a loan amount of $35k, on a 20-year repayment plan, she'll owe $250/mo in minimum monthly payments... and on a 10-yr plan, it'll be $382/mo.
If she graduates, gets a job in the field, and continues to work for several years, it's totally worth while... she'll make up that amount in higher wages within a few years. But if she can't find a job, or decides to do something else instead, that's a lot of money to owe.
It sucks to have to take out loans that are almost double the tuition bill, just to cover living expenses and basic necessities, but it's almost a requirement. You can't really make it through school as a full-time student when you have to work full-time in addition... and you need a place to live & food to eat. I don't want to encourage her to take out more in loans than she truly needs, because it's so easy to break into the piggy bank and use it for "fun" stuff (been there, done that!) - but I definitely understand what it's like to have to project out 5 mo's worth of expenses & anticipated income and then guess at how much in loans you'll need to cover the deficit.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Baby Step #2
- Student Loan #1: $ 1,101
- Student Loan #2: $ 1,328
- Car Loan #1: $ 6,054
- Credit Card #1: $ 6,500
- Car Loan #2: $10,852
- Credit Card #2: $16,288
- Student Loan #4: $24,548
- Student Loan #3: $24,587
- 2nd Mortgage: $26,428 (DR says to include it if it's less than 1/2 your annual income)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Home Repairs & Improvements
- Deck: $200 in materials (estimated)
- Misc. Tool Rentals/Purchases: $150 (estimated)
- New Gutters: $800 (estimated total cost)
- Landfill Disposal Fee (hazardous waste & construction debris): $150
- Replace exterior door: $150 in materials (estimated)
- Re-caulk exterior: $100 in materials (estimated)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
2009 Debt Tracking
Starting debts, as of 1/1/09:
Friday, August 21, 2009
Extra Expenses
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Shopping for Good Deals
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Little things -
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Pay off a student loan?
Monday, August 10, 2009
Electric Bill
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
College Costs
Saturday, August 1, 2009
August - blown already!
August Budget
Friday, July 31, 2009
July Recap
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Selling stuff
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Anniversary Gifts
Monday, July 27, 2009
Grocery Shopping
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Vacation
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Gas Bill
July's gas bill: $16.86
At first I thought that perhaps they had estimated our usage for the month and managed to screw something up (we've had several problems with both the electric and gas companies doing that in the past, and then we end up with a bill that is $100-200 more than usual when the actual vs. estimated readings catch up). Turns out that they had estimated our bill last month, and they must have over-estimated our usage - so I'm thrilled.
It's only $35 saved, but after yesterday's realization that we're somehow $850 behind for the month, every little bit helps!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Property Values
Mid-Month Budget Status: $850 short
Saturday, July 11, 2009
On a different page
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Budget Categories
The savings category only includes after-tax savings, so money going into our emergency fund & savings account. We use this money primarily to pay for tuition, vacations, and home repairs. Now that the emergency account is funded to nearly $5000, we will cut back on this and only put aside what we need for upcoming major expenses. Any extra money will be shifted to debt repayment.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Expensive Month
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wake-Up Call
- 1st credit card slashed limit by $12,900 (no reason given)
- 2nd credit card slashed limit by $10,000 (citing high utilization, likely due to 1st card slashing available credit)
- 2nd credit card issuer closed account (citing high utilization & decreased credit score, likely due to both credit cards eliminating all available credit)
- Several cards increased interest rates & switched from fixed to variable APR
- Tried to refinance mortgage, but couldn't because we owe way more than it's worth (and we would have had to pay a significant penalty due to poor credit score, which plummeted when credit cards #1 & #2 slashed limits)
- 3rd credit card hiked minimum payments from 2% to 5%
Mini-Vacation
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Spilled Milk
Estimating Taxes on Self-Employment Income
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Debt Tracking
- The first spike was when we assumed the bad business debt, in January 2008.
- The big spike, in July 2008, was when we spent roughly $7000 for some electronics.
- There are a few smaller spikes, for the purchase of new computers and for a couple of vacations.
Friday, June 26, 2009
June Grocery Budget
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Budget for July: FAIL
- Reduce credit card balance from $32,747 (as of 6/24) to $25,780
- Pay off completely all but two largest credit cards
- Increase emergency fund to $8000 ($3000 of which will be short-term savings)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Redoing Budgets
- $4500, from some self employment work ($2000 of this was supposed to go to the IRS in September for estimated quarterly income taxes, but we have instead modified our withholdings for the rest of the year, so that take-home pay will be around $300/mo less than normal)
- $1150 in reimbursement checks (from a medical flex spending account, the overage on the mortgage escrow account, and for some items we purchased for someone else) that should be coming any day
- $150, for selling some older electronic items that we no longer need
- $400, from the emergency fund
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Bad news from Chase
Monday, June 22, 2009
Financial Goals for 2009
- Contribute $200/month to emergency fund
- Achieve balance of $5000 in emergency fund by end of 2009 (current balance = $1900)
- Eliminate credit card debt by end of 2009 (current balance = $12590)
- Pay off Perkins student loan (current balance = $1626)
- Pay down Stafford student loan to <$25k (current balance = $25502)
Salary Freeze
that they would be enacting a pay freeze, effective immediately.
He usually gets a 3-4% raise every year (which covers cost-of-living
increase and a small merit raise), which would have amounted to about
$100/month after taxes. We had expected that the raise would be
smaller than usual, perhaps only 2%, but we hadn't expected the freeze.
In the past we both typically find out what our raises are around
Thanksgiving, and we see the increased checks after the first of the
year.
Although we don't usually re-do our budget until the end of December,
we had already incorporated the anticipated increase into plans for
next year. We know that we'll have some major out-of-pocket expenses
for an elective medical procedure (LASIK vision correction), so now we
will need to re-evaluate whether to delay that surgery or make other
changes to our budget to compensate.
I wonder what my company will do about raises this year...