My savings challenge

[Jluke]

great job..

my suggestion would be to pause on paying the $75 extra on the car loan and put that towards your IRA during August - December...

[james.hendrickson]

updating keeps my progress showing so
early june totals end of july
mort=33700 32995
cc1 2072 1756
cc2 1549 786
car 7692 7400
still dropping so I am making progress...

Excellent work - looks like you are within striking distance of paying off that second credit card. Great job. Are you going to keep it open or close it?

[Gailete]

updating keeps my progress showing so
early june totals end of july
mort=33700 32995
cc1 2072 1756
cc2 1549 786
car 7692 7400
still dropping so I am making progress...

Very good!

[Smallsteps]

updating keeps my progress showing so
early june totals end of july
mort=33700 32995
cc1 2072 1756
cc2 1549 786
car 7692 7400
still dropping so I am making progress...

[Gailete]

I am often amused by the different advice especially when it come to methods of savings and or paying debt.
The most important thing I feel is if the person doing it is satisfied. while picking the balances with highest % rates paying off first makes perfect mathematical sense a small % on a much larger amount may be costing me the same or more per month or per day then the higher % on a small balance. I track how much each debt is costing per day...

I think people burn out on savings/ debt payoff out of boredom and chasing pennies. It is easy for those whom have expensive habits to cut them out and pat themselves on the back or perhaps those whom make a habit of working more then one job or as much OT as possible. I tried that route was burnt out and unsatisfied ended up spending out of an "I deserve a break mind frame". so I took a job that is strictly 40 or less hours $1 an hour more but
I feel finances are about the same as I am not buying coffee/ energy drinks to try to keep up a 60+ hour pace not to mention home life is better.
my progress continues my total drop in balance in 2 weeks is $560 and 95 added to IRA, 47 to regular savings.

I agree also. When I realized that with some concentrated focus, I could get my car loan finished early as well as a cc that was around $300. The car loan was due to be finished this summer. So I snowballed them. The cc card had a $25 payment and the car loan a little less that $100. So once they were gone it was a small rock off my shoulder and I knew finally I could really work on paying off bills (last year was excruciatingly horrible financially) so I could finally start working on reversing that trend of increasing debt. Once the car and cc were paid off then I had to decide what to work on next. I could really push a credit card bill, or all of them at once, or the rental mortgage and home mortgage. I decided to do the best I could on the credit cards and make sure I am paying at least (and if possible each month the amount they show that you have to pay each month to have the bill gone in three years) and paying an extra amount on the mortgages. The two smaller ones are at about only 8 months to go instead of over a year. Our house mortgage under the plan I have worked out may actually have it paid off in 6-7 years instead of spring 2030!

Certainly isn't Dave Ramsey's plan, but the thought behind it is the same. Getting those bills paid off as soon as possible and making our financial peace with what we have, I feel so much better seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Granted it won't be happening today or tomorrow, but someday in the foreseeable future. This forum is one of the helps for many of us to keeping our chins up. No one plan is going to be perfect for everyone and every family, but it is better than not having any plan at all.

[FLA]

I don't know how old you are but 350k in retirement on a 30k/yr salary is to be commended. Job well done!

[disneysteve]

a small % on a much larger amount may be costing me the same or more per month or per day then the higher % on a small balance.

Your cost per dollar of debt is determined by the interest rate, not by the outstanding balance. If you have 2 debts, one for $1,000 at 20% and one for $10,000 at 5%, every extra dollar you throw at the 20% debt saves you more money than throwing that same dollar at the 5% debt.

Now it's true that the cost in absolute dollars to service the larger loan is higher, about $41/month vs. $16/month for the smaller loan, but that doesn't mean you are saving more by attacking the 5% debt first. Just the opposite is true.

All of that being said, I totally agree with your point. You need to do what works for you and keeps you motivated and on track for the long term. That's why Dave Ramsey's plan is such a success. It entirely ignores the math and focuses on the behavior.

[Smallsteps]

I am often amused by the different advice especially when it come to methods of savings and or paying debt.
The most important thing I feel is if the person doing it is satisfied. while picking the balances with highest % rates paying off first makes perfect mathematical sense a small % on a much larger amount may be costing me the same or more per month or per day then the higher % on a small balance. I track how much each debt is costing per day...

I think people burn out on savings/ debt payoff out of boredom and chasing pennies. It is easy for those whom have expensive habits to cut them out and pat themselves on the back or perhaps those whom make a habit of working more then one job or as much OT as possible. I tried that route was burnt out and unsatisfied ended up spending out of an "I deserve a break mind frame". so I took a job that is strictly 40 or less hours $1 an hour more but
I feel finances are about the same as I am not buying coffee/ energy drinks to try to keep up a 60+ hour pace not to mention home life is better.
my progress continues my total drop in balance in 2 weeks is $560 and 95 added to IRA, 47 to regular savings.

[SavingSteve]

It might help to focus on one thing at a time. Then you'd see faster progress which may be more encouraging. What I mean is, pay the minimum on everything except one card/loan which you would channel ALL your extra money to. This could be either the one with smallest balance or one with highest interest rate. Your choice. My preference would be smallest balance since I can knock out the whole thing fairly quickly and see some progress sooner which is really encouraging!

[Gailete]

I was able to get several bills down to small enough amounts to that when we got some 'windfall money' in hands, I was able to pay off two credit card bills as well as the car payment. Boy was that a good feeling. Now working on 3 credit card bills instead of 5, and working on our house mortgage as well as the two much smaller loans for our rental property. I would love to see the rental property loans paid off by the end of this year.

I was checking my latest totals on my savings that are set aside for things such as taxes (we are self-employed) as well as my stock portfolio and my Roth IRA. All these started in the last 10 years or so. Most of the deposits have been made with less than $50 if not smaller amounts. We don't have a lot coming in, but I have my eye fixed on a goal that I want to accomplish. Once the credit card bills are gone away, even if it takes a few years, that money can go into savings. I just want to be in good financial shape by the time I hit 65 which is only a few more years down the road.

Goals that are written down have a higher chance of being accomplished, so the more I write it, the more I can keep it in mind, to help me focus.

[Smallsteps]

thank you Gailete,
I just sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the items on the list of things I want to do with my money....
updated totals on debt
(feb) house =35k june = 33,700
feb credit#1 2600 / now 2072
credit #2 2900 / now 1549
car 8682 / now 7692
it is nice to see some progress just seems to be slow going...
only been able to slowly add to IRA lately.
I am paying extra on everything at once but am debating trying snowball method again sometimes the slow progress becomes boring and seems to be taking too long.

[Gailete]

I was not really clear on my plan. I guess more details would paint a clearer picture.

debt
house# 1 approx. 35k @ 2.87% avg extra $85 a month / mortgage is paid by my daughter and son in law living in the home.
car $8682 @3.9% avg extra $75
cc $2600 @12% min 88 / actual avg 375
cc $2900 @ 14 min 90 / actual avg 600
have some savings although lower now as I bought a manufactured home in the area I am currently working in across the state from

I am paid weekly so I pay weekly on most all things. I tried the minimum on lower % and sending more to highest interest but seem to like to see all the balances drop weekly.
I started a weekly 1 hour for me for fun money savings.
also trying to replenish my main acct after buying 2nd home.
have started a acct for my 1 grandchild but am only adding a few times a year.
only have about 350k in retirement so far......... so that wants attention too
I make about 30k a year.
I am feeling pulled in too many directions.

I know you posted this awhile ago, but I think you are doing terrific and should be proud of yourself. with 350K in retirement savings you should be patting yourself on the back. You are used to living on a smaller income and so you will be used to living on less as well in retirement.

It is the folks that are used to $250K/year salaries that only have $20K in retirement savings or even what you do $350K, they are in for a very rude awakening. Why else do those ball players with incomes out of this world end up broke? They forget to save anything. They spend everything they get and then one tackle takes it all away and suddenly that lifestyle is no more.

Keep up the good work!

[Moolah22]

i think it's important to be clear on the plan first before starting it.

[Smallsteps]

I was not really clear on my plan. I guess more details would paint a clearer picture.

debt
house# 1 approx. 35k @ 2.87% avg extra $85 a month / mortgage is paid by my daughter and son in law living in the home.
car $8682 @3.9% avg extra $75
cc $2600 @12% min 88 / actual avg 375
cc $2900 @ 14 min 90 / actual avg 600
have some savings although lower now as I bought a manufactured home in the area I am currently working in across the state from

I am paid weekly so I pay weekly on most all things. I tried the minimum on lower % and sending more to highest interest but seem to like to see all the balances drop weekly.
I started a weekly 1 hour for me for fun money savings.
also trying to replenish my main acct after buying 2nd home.
have started a acct for my 1 grandchild but am only adding a few times a year.
only have about 350k in retirement so far......... so that wants attention too
I make about 30k a year.
I am feeling pulled in too many directions.

[scfr]

Welcome to the site.

If you work a standard 40-hour work week, that means you are only saving 2.5% of income.

Do you mean to do this in addition to your retirement account and other savings, because 2.5% isn't nearly enough to be saving. Overall, you should be aiming for about a 20% savings rate.

That's about where I started when I started saving. And I didn't have any debt to pay down. Is it ideal? No. But we all had to start somewhere. 30+ years later we live below the crossover point and have a comfortable though not lavish life. But for me it all started decades ago with a realization that something had to change, followed by small positive actions.