Car and motorcycle debt.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Can you afford to hang onto it till next spring the house? At 40% of income I do worry one misstep and you'll be up the creek.

[disneysteve]

I consider it a hobby because I don't make any money off of it. I spend money on it and that's about it.

My question was CAN you make money on it? Monetizing a hobby is a very common way for folks to develop a 2nd income. Over the years, both my wife and I have turned various hobbies into money-making endeavors. Photography, cake decorating, knitting, quilting, collectible sales, etc. are all things that we started doing for fun and ended up making money doing. I'm sure woodworking falls into that category.

[Eagle]

We had a discussion last night and she said we need to tithe 10% non negotiable. I have upped our tithing to reflect the 10% in the spreadsheet. So at this point its just a losing battle and we are going to eventually go broke.

RamseyFollower, I've been thinking about this a lot in the last few days.

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate forum or not for this but I'd really encourage you guys to reconsider this non-negotiable tithe 10% (btw tithe means a tenth). Particularly as you guys can't afford it as you’ve clearly indicated you can’t.

I know Dave Ramsey teaches that people should tithe while in debt (and even in bankruptcy) but there is freedom in giving as you are able. I think Dave is off on this section of his teaching.

You aren’t really able to give $500 a month with your current budget if you’re going to build up your emergency fund and pay off your debts. Have you considered giving say 2, 3, or 4% in the short term so you can give 10% or more in the long term? It's the whole "Live like no one else {today} so you can live like no one else {in the future}" thing that Dave says.

Please also consider these two posts: Why I don't believe Christians should Tithe - Part 1
1. Abraham, Melchizedek, and Jacob
2. Tithing Given to Israel for the Purpose of Providing for the Temple and Levites, Not to the Church

Part 2
3. Malachi 3:9-10 – The Nation of Israel was robbing God and not providing for the Levites
4. Matthew 23 – Woes to Scribes and Pharisees (Jews)

and don't miss out on the best part Part 3
5. We are not under the Law, but under Grace
6. 2 Cor. 9:7 and Matt. 6:3 Believers Give Joyfully and Secretly
7. Eternal Rewards and Who to Give to?

Also, there’s a clear indication that we as Christians in the Bible should pay those we are indebted too… How is it right to give 10% (the full tithe) of our income to a local church or local ministry when we aren’t paying those we owe? What kind of a witness and message does that send?

Things to consider. What do you think?

Edit: Started a new thread in order not to over power this one: http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/g...ve-ramsey.html

[Eagle]

Positives:

RamseyFollower you guys got out of 14k of CC debt in the past 12 months.
You have saved up $1000 in your emergency fund.

Selling the motorcycle for 6k and paying off the note of 4.6k would mean freeing up $136 a month. Savings monthly: $136

Reducing Internet from $112.99 to $23.99. Savings monthly: $89

Reducing Doterra from $200 to $125. Savings monthly: $75

Reducing Car Insurance from $289.63 to $150.20. Savings monthly: $139.43

Total Savings after joining SavingsAdvice for less than a month: $439.43


That's not even counting if you switch to Ting which would significantly reduce your cell phone bill.

[Permanent Temp]

Thanks for all the feedback. Seems the consensus is that I should get after selling the motorcycle right away. So I will get on that. Now is a good time to sell the motorcycle.

I decided I wanted to be debt free because I recently got married (8 months married now). My wife lost her job that was paying a decent salary so we took a big pay cut. She has a job, but makes barely anything. She has a masters degree, I don't even have a college education... You would think she could make more money after all that schooling.

My wife makes little to no income. $800 a month. While I make $4200 a month. Between her school loans, car payments, cell phone etc and the things she wants like internet, cable TV etc her income basically goes down the drain. Mine then covers everything else.

Here is my budget.

This was last months... As you can tell we are in the hole. Prior to being married I was doing just fine. House is in my name, and I have been making payments on it just fine for 2+ years.

We had a discussion last night and she said we need to tithe 10% non negotiable. I have upped our tithing to reflect the 10% in the spreadsheet. So at this point its just a losing battle and we are going to eventually go broke.

We don't go out to eat. We don't see movies, we don't do anything but stay at home at this point.

Motorcycle would at least free us up so we are status quo. I want to get rid of cable TV, but its $400 fee to kill the contract... And its ending in a few months. Once my contract ends I am killing TV.

Internet was more expensive as reflected in the spreadsheet, but it will only be 23.99 next month.

Just because your wife has degrees doesn't mean she automatically will have it easy in the job department especially at the master degree level. I have a Bachelor Degree in a science related field and I have been a temp since graduation. I have not gotten a masters degree because I'm afraid it will mean I will be considered "over qualified" and will be unable to even get these temp jobs. I am paid very well for the jobs I do get.

My husband doesn't have a degree either he pulls in about what I do when I am working and he has had steady work. It probably helps that he is a veteran.

That being said, she needs to do something with the degrees she does have. I agree that your wife needs to get better work but simply having the degrees is not a guarantee of employment. Just because her degree is in counseling doesn't mean that that is the only thing she can do. Beside that she seems to be very stuck on what she "needs" when she is not bringing in the income to cover it.

I have worked two jobs for over a year now just to get ahead on debts, build an emergency fund and save something for retirement. Is there anywhere near that your wife can bring in a part-time job aside from the job she has as a teacher?

Has she considered temp agencies as a doorway into a job? Despite being a temp I have had success paying my bills and getting ahead on my debts.

Is your wife's loan a federal one? If so have her explore other repayment options if she hasn't already. I think you too need to sit down and have a frank discussion. My husband and I have been dealing with this employment situation of mine for a while and we've made it work. Your wife needs to contribute more if she wants to keep all her "needs." It is not fair to you. You are selling things and coming on here to get help while she sits and tells gives you a list of demands including if I read that correctly upping the tithe (or at least that is the picture that has been painted in these posts.)

And you already sound resentful from your statements here, from putting down her job situation due to her education, and stating that everything was fine before you got married and she had lost her job. This shouldn't be a blame game.

A discussion must be had about the way things are going. You must explain to her (since it seems that you are handling finances) that things can't keep going the way that they are or you two will be the ones relying on help from others. Show her numbers involve her in finances. Hopefully she will see the picture clearly and give up some of her "needs" or find other work to be able to support them.

Even if the money problems started after the marriage, it took two to get there. Communication is key, sit down and put your heads together. If this doesn't work I'd suggest counseling maybe even at the church? Things cannot go on the way they are now as you said yourself. You cannot bear the brunt of this issues either or so it seems from your posts in this forum. It's not bad to feel this way, but you should be discussing this issues with your wife and finding a way to resolve them.

It's great to see your progress and how much you've saved. I hope things are still going well with you and your getting ahead a bit.

[corawhite07]

Hey everyone,

I am new here and I am following Dave Ramsey's 7 baby steps. I have his financial peace university DVD series and just got done paying off 14k in credit card debt in 12 months. Now have no credit card debt and I am working slowly on my car/motorcycle.

After following the zero budget plan I have $400 am allocating into savings each month. This is the only money I have after paying all required bills.

I don't want to get into my budget as I can tell you its sound. I have $400 after all total bills +/-1 $2 depending on the pay period.

Here is my delima.

2011 Subaru Outback - Lien through bank of $27,000
2008 Yamaha Raider - Lien through bank of $4,600

Subaru is worth $19k if I was to sell
Raider is worth $6k if i was to sell

I have $1,000 in emergency savings per dave's plan currently.

In May I will have $400 extra =$1400 in savings.

I need advice on what I can do to return the car/motorcycle to free up extra cash and get out of these debts.

I have sold quite a bit of things and that's not an option anymore.

I have $30k in a retirement fund that my company will let me borrow against 50% of the value... So 15k eligible.

I am 31yrs old.

I look forward to your responses.

If you sell both car and motorcycle their are possibility that you can earn extra money.

[Eagle]

How are things coming along Ramseyfollower?