Need advice on personal finance

[vsjhoc]

OMG, that is nearly $23,000 in debt you've wiped off the slate!! Great job!

[amberbamber]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

That's great. At that rate, you'll be debt free in 18 months.

After that, the goal should be to direct what was going toward debt into savings. Just think, if you can save 22K every 6 months, in 20 years you'll have over $2.1 million (with an 8% return)!!

Now that you put it that way-holy cow!!!

[cptacek]

So what happened with the fight you were having with your husband, and him spending money on CCs that you had paid off?

Not to be nosy (ok a little to be nosy) but I wanted to know how you guys worked this out. Obviously, you had to, or you wouldn't have paid off $23,000 (wow by the way!)

[amberbamber]

Originally Posted by cptacek

So what happened with the fight you were having with your husband, and him spending money on CCs that you had paid off?

Not to be nosy (ok a little to be nosy) but I wanted to know how you guys worked this out. Obviously, you had to, or you wouldn't have paid off $23,000 (wow by the way!)

I got him on board, by basically promising him he could buy a boat after we were out of debt- with cash of course. And that I would not argue if he went every weekend to the lake.

We've got a long way to go, but it's working so far!

[minnie1928]

Originally Posted by amberbamber

Wow- it's been a long time since I've been on here but just wanted to give everyone an update!

We are still renting and doing great.

Total debt from last post was: 88, 706.34

Now: $65,840.90

That was 6 months ago!

We are still working very hard to pay off debts, my husband has picked up handyman jobs and I am doing organizing jobs. We are currently saving money for a house of our own again!

We've joined an organic co-op which we have to buy in bulk, but it is saving us tons of money. Plus I feel like our health has gotten better, ie, saving us from doctor visits also!

Yay! We still have a long way to go, but we're working on it. If in the next 6 months I can cut that $65,000 by another 22,000 then I will be extremely estatic!

I just recently re-discovered this sight and found your thread. Congrats on the debt paydown, that's AMAZING!

I do have a few questions about this post...you mention that you are doing organizing jobs....what does that mean? Second question, how did you find the organic co-op to join? I'd be interested in both those items.

Congrats again!

[amberbamber]

Originally Posted by minnie1928

I do have a few questions about this post...you mention that you are doing organizing jobs....what does that mean? Second question, how did you find the organic co-op to join? I'd be interested in both those items.

Congrats again!

My organizing jobs...I go into people's houses and organize their closets, help them get rid of clutter, get rid of useless junk, etc. Have you ever seen those shows on TLC or Discovery Channel called Clean Sweep, or Clean House? That's basically what I do, without the decorating! IT's been a ton of fun, and interesting. I only charge $25 for 4 hours...so it's not anything that is pouring in the money right now. But soon, I will up my prices and treat it as an actual real business!

I found the organic co-op by going to United Natural Foods, Inc. or org...I forget which one. I also found them through my Mommies Board, where there are a ton of like minded families with natural living focuses!

[PharmacistRealtor]

I see you have a balance sheet where you list your debts and assets but it seems that you are focusing on the results and not the activities. I would focus on getting my cashflow up (income > than expenses) (activities) and just look at how I'm doing once a month.... in weight loss dieting it would be like looking at the scale every day but not at how much you eat and how much you exercise....just my 2 cents...

[amberbamber]

Originally Posted by PharmacistRealtor

I see you have a balance sheet where you list your debts and assets but it seems that you are focusing on the results and not the activities. I would focus on getting my cashflow up (income > than expenses) (activities) and just look at how I'm doing once a month.... in weight loss dieting it would be like looking at the scale every day but not at how much you eat and how much you exercise....just my 2 cents...

Could you clairify this alittle more. Are you saying, that we need to have more income, but not lower our expenses?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by amberbamber

Could you clairify this alittle more. Are you saying, that we need to have more income, but not lower our expenses?

I found that post a bit odd. You already told us this:
"my husband has picked up handyman jobs and I am doing organizing jobs."

That tells me that you are focusing on upping your income. And you are seeing great results, too. I'm not sure what PharmacistRealtor was trying to say but I think you are doing great with income and debts.

[amberbamber]

Ok good because I thought I had stated that we were both doing extra work.

[Ima saver]

Doing great amber!!

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by amberbamber

I only charge $25 for 4 hours...so it's not anything that is pouring in the money right now. But soon, I will up my prices and treat it as an actual real business!

You're getting $6.25/hour -- surely your services are worth more than that! Find out what the competition in your area is charging. I don't know where you are, but I'll bet you could get something like $20-25/hour.

[PharmacistRealtor]

It broke my heart to see that you were paid $25 to organize closets, etc. for 4 hours...I pay my professional organizer $400 for 4 hours. Her website is ...Focus Consulting

Instead of focusing on what you owe daily focus on how you can make more per hour. It looks like you are such a giver and don't need to be paid to get satisfaction for a job well done which is great!

I would immediately start that business up and running...right after you are done with your client ask ... oh by the way, do you know of anyone else who might be interested in having their home organized...that business that's tied to your natural gift for organization and value set of giving will move you out of debt faster than any job...

focus on the activity of earning rather than the result of debt reduction is what I meant...does that help?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by vsjhoc

You're getting $6.25/hour -- surely your services are worth more than that! Find out what the competition in your area is charging. I don't know where you are, but I'll bet you could get something like $20-25/hour.

I agree. One potential problem with charging so little is folks will like your service and tell their friends, but also tell their friends how little you charged. That makes it difficult for you to then turn around and charge a lot more. Better to set your prices from day 1 and stick with them. You can always offer a discount for a limited time, or pay a referral bonus to reduce the true cost, but don't cheat yourself by giving away your services.

[Saving in So Cal]

Re: college savings - like the other posters have told you, we figured out that college savings could not be our priority right now. Still, we wanted to do something so we opened up a small saving account for our daughter with an internet bank. We make a monthly deposit of our spare change, rebate money, birthday gift money, etc. -- basically any small, unexpected amounts of money that come in. We average about $50 a month. The grandparents found out what we were doing and started saving their spare change, too, which adds another $25 to the pot. It's not much, but it's something. With internet banks paying so well, her account is growing nicely and we feel good that we are doing the best we can for her under the circumstances.

Re: everything else -- it sounds like you are doing very well and will be another success story.

[JanH]

The professional organizer that I know in my area has a segment once a week on the local news station in their early evening segment--5 pm. where they do local activities and such. She does segments on holidays, vacations, back to school, etc. I've also talked to her while she had a booth at local fairs. I have never used her, so I don't know what she charges. I believe she might now have a website, too. I think you could build a good base in that line of business because so many people need ideas. Good luck!

[money blogger]

Hi,

Some very great responses already and good advice.

Also, great progress on the debt.

I'm not sure if you've taken action on the whole life, but it could make a significant difference.

$124 isn't terribly expensive for life insurance, but it depends on how much you're covered for. I know for the 2 kids, a $25,000 Term policy could cost as little as $15 a month atached to your policy. Also, you could use the cash value saved up to date in all your whole life policies to pay off debt. In the words of Michael Chilton, author of 'The Wealthy Barber' "Buy term and invest the difference." In this case, put the difference towards debt.

I don't agree on macro-managing budgets. I believe you get what you focus on, and when you focus on the small daily expenses and what you're spending daily, you lose sight of the big picture.

I would suggest a Comprehensive budget that plans on paying the minimum on all debt obligations EXCEPT ONE. When that debt is gone, you can put all the money that was going to that bill towards the next bill. It's called debt stacking, or snowballing your debt. Very effective outside of consolidating.

As for any tools you'd like for budgetting, you can find some free ones here at our blog How To Manage Money Tips , or look at other sources online. I'd also you suggest you automate your bills - If you do online banking, you should be able to heve the bills paid automatically so you're not spending valuable time focusing on them. We've all done that here and now spend only about one hour a month budgetting (this will be a bit different for you as your DH earns income from side jobs).

Best of luck,

Guy Gagnon
Business Relations Technologist
Angulus Marketing

[poohstixx]

It looks like we are in a similar boat. I posted on this forum a couple of days ago and got a ton of great ideas! This is a wonderful place! You can look at my blog on this site too, under poohstixx, to see what steps we are taking. Maybe we can learn from each other along the way

[lucmas]

I would try to buy the house from his parents & not rent it!!! And only do free things with the kids I have done this for 2 years & havent ran out of free stuff yet to do!!! Also have a huge sale when you move & put all money made towards debts then start doing rebates coupons & ebay!!! And go to garage sales this has saved me a ton I started this year doing it & am so sad I didnt do this years ago if you are the first one thier you can usually find GREAT DEALS!!!