What should we do?

[snafu]

PP, terrific to take the initiative to check out balances, interest rate details on SL and make a plan to tackle those [avalanche or snowball] to benefit you most. When will you begin taking action to rid yourself of debt [ $4 K at 22.5%, $1 K at 22%, $1 K at 22%, $2 K at 20%, $ 10 K (over two cards)at 19%, $1.5K at 13%] ? What order have you chosen?

Sometimes actions speak louder than words. If you wish to get DW on board to reduce clutter and create a feeling of space in a smaller sized home than might be ideal, you can prove your point by example. It helps to start with your own stuff, choose something you no longer use or love, take a photo and upload with a brief ad on the electronic sites popular in your region like FB sale page, CraigsList and Kijiji for example. Most people price items in good condition according to similar price and ask for offers [OBO] prepared to negotiate. If there are no clues, try half the cost of a replacement. Sports gear and games are very popular in our area. There is a market for functioning electronic gear priced low enough.

As fall approaches, I suggest going through your closet, shelves, drawers, cabinets to trash clothes that are stained, ripped, damaged, missing buttons, broken zips, downed hems, pulls, pils that no longer serve your needs. Clothing that no longer fits, is scratchy or uncomfortable can be donated to Goodwill or a charity outlet. If you list items you can get a tax credit for your donation. Quality apparel could go to a consignment outlet but payout is modest.

This week I'll go through every drawer and shelf in the bathrm to bag OTC and RX meds for disposal at our pharmacy. I'll dump towels that are tatty or worn out, refill squeeze bottles of shampoo, conditioner, liquid soap and replenish any cleaning products we stash in a sixpack container under the sink. Do you have grooming products, supplies and equipment that you don't use, don't need and could purge? Based on the example you set, DW may be willing to review her make-up since those items expire and can cause infection.

[PRICEPLUS]

I am rather late to this conversation and the advice given has been stellar. I have been heavily in debt and the credit cards were destroying my finances. You might want to not only peruse this site for ways to cut ALL your expenses but look at other sites as well.

www.stretcher.com has some great ways to make cuts and live frugally. Buy only what you NEED to buy. Cut out soda and learn how to stretch the food budget. Try to cut your utility bills as much as possible. Make a game of saving money. One of the things I try to do is string together "No Spend Days". Pay cash rather than using a card if possible.

"Use it up, wear it out, make due, do without"!

There is a psychological component to spending and saving. The mechanics of debt reduction have been laid out here. Living frugally is something you need to work at diligently. Can you take a second job or do have a skill set that people will pay for? Can you buy things you NEED in a second hand store? Where can you cut to the bone in your budget?

Credit Cards can put you in a deep hole. The best advice is to stop digging. The good news is that you can get out from under. It will take sacrifice and hard work but if I can do it I believe anyone can.

We are all pulling for you!

[JasonSimms]

Since your problem is related to credit cards, you need to make sure you debt doesn’t mount up anymore. I recommend asking help from a specialist financial advisor, for a variety of opinions from different forum members will only add to your confusion!

[porkpistol]

That's great that you caught it now. What are the balances and interest rates on each one?

Again there is snowball and avalanche. Also in this case some are accruing interest while others are not and all at different interest rates.

If you post up amounts on each loan, their corresponding interest rates and whether they are sub or unsub we could help you figure out a plan.

Here are the current educational loans:

Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $$6776.91 @ 6.8%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%

Total: $35,888.46

That is directly from my account at salliemae.com as of today.

[porkpistol]

Well I did it! After talking with DW for a few hours about what we should do, going over the replies in here, and stewing over a couple beers I decided pay off every single debt we had besides our vehicle loan. We now have $0 credit card debt and owe $0 on the personal loan and it feels so good to type that! Our total saving per month is now around $850-$900 per month. Our savings account has definitely took a hit. We have $4,500 left. I want to aggressively pay ourselves first before actively pursuing paying toward the vehicle loan or student loans. My goal is to achieve 10k in savings before switching to extra debt payments.

Thank you all for your support and help. You helped guide me to doing what I truly believe was the right thing to do. No more being a slave to debt.

[creditcardfree]

Congratulations!! Wishing you a fast journey to funding your emergency fund fully, so you can attack those other debts.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I forgot about the student loans. Yes, unless they're at a super interest rate (some are at 1-3%) I'd pay them off aggressively first, before the house. The primary reason is that, worst case scenario, bankruptcy will not wipe out student loan debt.

Depends. Are they federal or private? If they are private, pay them off ASAP. If they are federal, give them a low priority, just get on PAYE or IBR. Pay them off first if they are private, last if they are federal.

[porkpistol]

Depends. Are they federal or private? If they are private, pay them off ASAP. If they are federal, give them a low priority, just get on PAYE or IBR. Pay them off first if they are private, last if they are federal.

All of my loans are federal. I did not and will not have to take out any private loans. What is PAYE and IBR?

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

All of my loans are federal. I did not and will not have to take out any private loans. What is PAYE and IBR?

Pay as you earn and income based repayment. This means the monthly payment will never get above a certain percentage of your income. It's a good option so that loan payment will never get too onerous, highly recommended.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-driven

[Permanent Temp]

Here are the current educational loans:

Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $$6776.91 @ 6.8%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%

Total: $35,888.46

That is directly from my account at salliemae.com as of today.

I'm confused as to why your loans are at salliemae.com if they are all federal is that just who services them? Such as my federal loans are through Nelnet but they are federal. I didn't realize sallie mae was one of the servicers for federal loans.

Congrats on the debt pay off. What are you left with on debt now just mortgage and student loans?

Considering your loans you have a few options. Also there is a site tuition.io and student loan hero that you can track loan repayments at aside from various calculators that could help you figure out whats best for you. I choose tuition.io over student loan hero because it didn't force me to give out my ssn. I just don't need my ssn out there if it is not absolutely necessary with all the securities breaches lately it just doesn't feel safe to be handing my ssn out all willy nilly.


Anyhow you can:
A) Start on your unsubs first to cut back on or avoid their compounding growth while in deferment. If doing this first you could do snowball or avalanche.

Avalanche:
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%

Snowball:
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%

B) Start on you subs first to pay them off completely before interest kicks in (which will happen when it goes into repayment.) If doing this first you could do snowball or avalanche.

Avalanche:
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%

Snowball:
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%

C) You can disregard the loans sub or unsub status and just do snowball or avalanche.

Avalanche:
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%

Snowball:
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%

You could also do some combination of these approaches. If I were you though I would probably do option A avalanche. Federal unsubs are the loans that messed me over. I had one that grew $1500 while in deferment which of course I didn't realize til after the fact. After paying on it for four years its now only $400 over the original principal amount. In your case the federal unsubs are at almost 7% while none of the subs are over 4% so I would most definitely work on those unsubs first. While in repayment you can do Kwikpay which drops .25% off of each loans interest rate. If you had to put the loans in deferment again at a later point the unsubs would grow and the subs would not. Choose whatever is best for you though.

I send any extra money I can directly to the loan I am trying to pay off at the time. And watch your servicer like a hawk. I have Nelnet and I keep copies of all my chat conversations with them. I make sure the Kwik Pay goes through with the correct amounts and if it does not then I pop in the chat and make a request to have the amounts reallocated. I check in at the 3 day and 7 day mark to make sure it is actually on track and the request has been processed. I also make sure that my extra money is directly allocated to the correct loan of my choosing. I will probably throw a party years from now on the day I pay off my last loan to celebrate being rid of my servicer and not having to spend so much time and energy making sure that my student loans are paid exactly as I need them to be. It was much easier to deal with extra car loan payoffs which I had to mail in checks to, than it has been to make extra payments to my student servicer.

Best of luck with this, its not easy but it will be great to pay those loans off and truly be debt free (aside from the mortgage).

[porkpistol]

I'm confused as to why your loans are at salliemae.com if they are all federal is that just who services them? Such as my federal loans are through Nelnet but they are federal. I didn't realize sallie mae was one of the servicers for federal loans.

Congrats on the debt pay off. What are you left with on debt now just mortgage and student loans?

Considering your loans you have a few options. Also there is a site tuition.io and student loan hero that you can track loan repayments at aside from various calculators that could help you figure out whats best for you. I choose tuition.io over student loan hero because it didn't force me to give out my ssn. I just don't need my ssn out there if it is not absolutely necessary with all the securities breaches lately it just doesn't feel safe to be handing my ssn out all willy nilly.


Anyhow you can:
A) Start on your unsubs first to cut back on or avoid their compounding growth while in deferment. If doing this first you could do snowball or avalanche.

Avalanche:
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%

Snowball:
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%

B) Start on you subs first to pay them off completely before interest kicks in (which will happen when it goes into repayment.) If doing this first you could do snowball or avalanche.

Avalanche:
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%

Snowball:
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%

C) You can disregard the loans sub or unsub status and just do snowball or avalanche.

Avalanche:
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%

Snowball:
Sub: $1178.71 @ 3.86%
Sub: $1750 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3030.12 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $3475.65 @ 6.8%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Sub: $3530.95 @ 3.4%
Unsub: $6124.48 @ 3.86%
Unsub: $6490.78 @ 6.8%
Unsub: $6776.91 @ 6.8%

You could also do some combination of these approaches. If I were you though I would probably do option A avalanche. Federal unsubs are the loans that messed me over. I had one that grew $1500 while in deferment which of course I didn't realize til after the fact. After paying on it for four years its now only $400 over the original principal amount. In your case the federal unsubs are at almost 7% while none of the subs are over 4% so I would most definitely work on those unsubs first. While in repayment you can do Kwikpay which drops .25% off of each loans interest rate. If you had to put the loans in deferment again at a later point the unsubs would grow and the subs would not. Choose whatever is best for you though.

I send any extra money I can directly to the loan I am trying to pay off at the time. And watch your servicer like a hawk. I have Nelnet and I keep copies of all my chat conversations with them. I make sure the Kwik Pay goes through with the correct amounts and if it does not then I pop in the chat and make a request to have the amounts reallocated. I check in at the 3 day and 7 day mark to make sure it is actually on track and the request has been processed. I also make sure that my extra money is directly allocated to the correct loan of my choosing. I will probably throw a party years from now on the day I pay off my last loan to celebrate being rid of my servicer and not having to spend so much time and energy making sure that my student loans are paid exactly as I need them to be. It was much easier to deal with extra car loan payoffs which I had to mail in checks to, than it has been to make extra payments to my student servicer.

Best of luck with this, its not easy but it will be great to pay those loans off and truly be debt free (aside from the mortgage).

Debt that is left is the vehicle loan with current payoff as of today at $6,336.97 at 6.25% payment of $237.28 per month. At kbb.com resale value with all options is $8,854 in fair condition which is the worst value kbb.com offers. The truck I would value higher than that at "good condition" which resale is $9288. That being said we are financially in a position now to where I want to pay off the loan quicker. I don't want to sell this vehicle, it has been extremely reliable and has room for our growing family.

Mortgage is the other debt, which as you know from my first post we are upside down in that as it is because of the value of the home. However, we just got pelted with hail and wind damage last week and it looks like I am getting brand new roof, siding, and gutters which it needed to begin with at no cost to us. So this could increase the value slightly in the coming years.

Then the dreaded student loans, which honestly the repayments are quite confusing to me.
But I will sit down with DW again and show her this post and put together a plan for them.