Need To Push Through

[Nutria]

I don't really know. But let's assume that for food I pay $4.84 for breakfast, $7 for lunch, and maybe $5.30 for dinner. So that would be $17.14 a day?

That's expensive. A bowl of cereal, PB&J sandwiches and Chunky Soup would cost much less, releasing money that can be used against your debt.

(Walmart has 190 calorie Equate Meal Replacement Shakes for $4.84/6pk. Two for breakfast and two for dinner is only $3.23/day. Add in a couple of PB&J sandwiches for lunch and you're at most $6/day for food.)

[scfr]

This month is going better -- I've sold $10k to date, so I hope to sell $18-20k by month end. At the 6.63% rate that's at least $1,194 + my base $1,000 to bring me up to $2,194. But what I really need to do is to make it to January so that the $18k premiums all renew.

1. It's almost the end of the month. Did you make the $18K+ goal?

2. Is there a minimum number of hours you must work for the insurance job? I am wondering if it is possible to take on a different full-time job to cover your regular expenses and pay down your current debt, and work the insurance job as a side gig (paying for leads as you are able with any "extra" cash you can squeeze from your budget*, letting the insurance commissions build gradually until they are enough to sustain you without supplemental income, and in the mean time avoiding new debt.)

*The lower your discretionary spending, the more you will have to pay for leads.

[prosper]

I'm self employed and consider myself a pretty risky guy. I would take a second job and pay cash for investments.

[bjl584]

I don't get your knee-jerk reaction thing. Maybe you can't do math. I don't know.

Look, it's very simple. The average cost of auto insurance in my state is $1,192. Of that number, I get 6.63% commission on average. That means that every policy I sell is worth $79.03.

I'm buying leads for $19.53 a pop, on average. Numbers vary from day to day. Some 28% of those leads become sales. So that means that I am spending $69.75 to make a sale.

Now that may not seem like a good deal to you. I get it. But what you need to remember is that 85 percent of insurance policies renew. So if I sold 1000 of those policies, 850 would renew and next year 722 would renew and so on and so on forever. That means that the $1,192 policy that I sell will pay me $526.86 in commission over my lifetime.

So, basically, I am spending $69.75 now to get $526.86 in the future. To me, that math makes sense.

If it doesn't make sense to you, then fine. I get it. But to me, that $40,000 loan that I ***might*** take out will yield $301,890.78 in future earnings.

And that doesn't include the probability that the insurance premium will go up next year. It also doesn't include the probability that these people will need home insurance some day. And it doesn't include the possibility that some day I will sell insurance to these people's mom, brother, or friend.

Sounds like you have it all figured out. Let us know how it turns out. Good luck.

[Bluebird]

My DH has been an insurance professional for over 20 years. There is no guarantee clients will renew and I believe those statistics are skewed. The media has convinced everyone to shop for insurance every year and change carriers for a $10 difference in annual premium, then the following year the premium goes up, while the limits of insurance go down or are not apples to apples but no one cares until they actually file a claim and can't talk to a real insurance professional who will go to bat for their client to get a claim settled. Have fun with that.

[disneysteve]

Maybe I should get a night job delivering pizza. Maybe I should use my cash to pay down debt so I can get a new 0 percent interest rate card. Maybe I should prepare a proposal and look for a business loan. I'm not sure.

At any rate, I'm about $8,720 in credit card debt and $12,957 in car debt.

Any thoughts?

Let's circle back to your original post. You have almost 22K in debt already and asked if you should get a second job, get another credit card, or take out a business loan. I and others think you should get the 2nd job, not take on more debt. If you don't agree, that's fine, but you asked for our thoughts and we've given then to you. I'm sorry if that's not the answer you were looking for.

[Dumoti]

I don't get your knee-jerk reaction thing. Maybe you can't do math. I don't know.

Look, it's very simple. The average cost of auto insurance in my state is $1,192. Of that number, I get 6.63% commission on average. That means that every policy I sell is worth $79.03.

I'm buying leads for $19.53 a pop, on average. Numbers vary from day to day. Some 28% of those leads become sales. So that means that I am spending $69.75 to make a sale.

Now that may not seem like a good deal to you. I get it. But what you need to remember is that 85 percent of insurance policies renew. So if I sold 1000 of those policies, 850 would renew and next year 722 would renew and so on and so on forever. That means that the $1,192 policy that I sell will pay me $526.86 in commission over my lifetime.

So, basically, I am spending $69.75 now to get $526.86 in the future. To me, that math makes sense.

If it doesn't make sense to you, then fine. I get it. But to me, that $40,000 loan that I ***might*** take out will yield $301,890.78 in future earnings.

And that doesn't include the probability that the insurance premium will go up next year. It also doesn't include the probability that these people will need home insurance some day. And it doesn't include the possibility that some day I will sell insurance to these people's mom, brother, or friend.

[disneysteve]

As for the person suggesting that I get another job... well, I already have two. How many jobs am I supposed to get, exactly?

You're the one who said:

Maybe I should get a night job delivering pizza.

Clearly, you are entirely missing the point that all of us are trying to make so I'll bow out as it's obvious you didn't really come here for advice but rather to find people to justify your behavior. Good luck to you.

[bjl584]

As I said, I have until August 31 to decide whether I want to go for it.

A lot depends on the APR I can obtain. I also need to be concerned about how many sales I can get with that much money and how much commission I could make. This is a time for careful reflection and calculation... not a time for knee-jerk "We must pay off all our debt" mantra.

As for the person suggesting that I get another job... well, I already have two. How many jobs am I supposed to get, exactly?

The offer of a loan does a soft pull on my credit profile. I am gearing up to having the best credit score possible by paying extra on my 0% interest credit cards to try to maximize my profile. I won't make the decision until late August.

A lot could change. I might get another offer of credit in the mail. Who can say?

All of your arguments and talking points keep circling back to credit scores and credit cards. That mindset needs to stop.

You also shouldn't need to pay money to work via leads. There are countless sales jobs out there that you can walk into for free and start selling. Any reputable company will have leads or a list of clients waiting for you. If you are really ambitious you can generate leads through networking on your own for free.

I don't think the real problem is that you have to pay for leads. The real problem is that you don't have the money to pay for leads, hence the need for credit cards and loans and APR's and credit scores. If you had capital and minimal debt, then none of this would be an issue. Maybe this is time for a knee jerk reaction of paying off all your debt. That knee jerk reaction that you are arguing against would completely eliminate the need for you to fixate on your credit score and worry about getting a loan.

I'd forget this idea that more debt is going to lead to prosperity. Find a job where you aren't required to pay for leads, if you still want to be in sales, and focus on getting the debts that you already have paid down/off.

Good luck.

[Dumoti]

As I said, I have until August 31 to decide whether I want to go for it.

A lot depends on the APR I can obtain. I also need to be concerned about how many sales I can get with that much money and how much commission I could make. This is a time for careful reflection and calculation... not a time for knee-jerk "We must pay off all our debt" mantra.

As for the person suggesting that I get another job... well, I already have two. How many jobs am I supposed to get, exactly?

The offer of a loan does a soft pull on my credit profile. I am gearing up to having the best credit score possible by paying extra on my 0% interest credit cards to try to maximize my profile. I won't make the decision until late August.

A lot could change. I might get another offer of credit in the mail. Who can say?

[bjl584]

I think our advice is falling on deaf ears.

I understand taking on debt to further yourself. Most people that start a business have to go into debt to do so. The same is true for real estate. But, I have a feeling that this situation is not going to lead to prosperity. I hope you prove us all wrong. Good luck.

[disneysteve]

That's a TERRIBLE idea! Stop getting loans/credit cards and just get that debt paid off. Make more or get another job.

Clearly this isn't the type of "advice" OP came here looking for. How anybody who is struggling with debt can see even more debt as a "breakthrough" is mind boggling.

[Thrif-t]

That's a TERRIBLE idea! Stop getting loans/credit cards and just get that debt paid off. Make more or get another job. You can't keep robbing Peter to pay Paul, that crap is going to catch up with you one day. Figure out a way to pay it off and stick with it!

If you pay $500/mo for just one person on food that is too much! Stop eating out. Go to the grocery store buy yourself some bread, milk and eggs and make breakfast! Get a pound of lunch meat and pack your lunch. You should be able to get your food budget down and save a few bucks that way.

Don't take out a 40k loan!

[Jluke]

Definitely the salesman mindset...

[disneysteve]

Thanks for all the advice, but I had a breakthrough. Yesterday, I got an offer in the mail for a $40,000 loan.

You can't borrow your way out of debt.

The last thing you need in your life is a new 40K loan.

Until you focus on paying debt instead of acquiring debt your situation will just continue to worsen.