Introduce Yourself

[Aleta]

Welcom lillygator. We're glad to have you here.

[southerngal8]

New Member on forum

Hey Ya'll!

I just found this website today and from reading through some of the posts have already learned so much- this is a great discussion board!

I am working hard to improve my credit / credit score and look forward to advice from this website.

Cheers!
M

[Aleta]

Welcome southerngal8: This is a good group and we're looking forward to hearing from you.

[jedi]

Hi all,

I just found this excellent website today. It looks like there are many helpful folks in this forum. Looking forward to trading tips here.

-Jason

[Aleta]

Welcom Jedi: Happy to have you here and hope you will stay awhile.

[mobrep]

Just saying hello. I'm another mid-twenties guy that is in-debt, around 12.5k worth. Not as much as some, but way too much for my likings. I'm in the process of digging myself out, building an emergency fund, maxing out my companies 403b match, setting up a roth IRA and saving to purchase a house.

From what I've seen this looks to be a nice community, so I figured I'd join, hangout, learn some more about personal finance/investing and maybe share a little.

[Aleta]

Welcome mobrep: Sounds like you are a very smart mid twenties person. Like you said some people have more debt. You're young enough so that you could wipe this 12.5 out quicker than you think whether it's credit card debt or a combination of also credit card and auto loan. Glad to have you here.

[mobrep]

Thanks Aleta. It was a long road down the pay check to pay check route that finally set me straight. I do not want to be stuck there ever again.

[Aleta]

Good for you. That's a great start and a hard lesson to learn.

[arctanx]

Hi all.
I'm new. I'm a techie, a software guy, I'm currently working on my masters. Married, with one kid on the way. I'm really searching for financial freedom, I hope to find alot of good information here.

[Aleta]

Welcome arctanx: We can use all of the techie's that we can get. We have a few smart ones on this forum. Looking forward to hearing from you. You'll like the people here. Everyone has experience hereto some degree in many topics and there sp there are opinions. Isn't your child fortunate to have a parent that sees what most people don't see for many years.

[Deanie]

Hello Everyone, I just found this site last night by googling "Personal Finance Forums"...why have you all been hiding?!

Anyway, just wanted to say Hi, and I look forward to learning, sharing and growing!

[moneymatters]

Hi all,
This site is a Godsend. I'm learning so much about finance here until my life is actually becoming a lot less stressful since I've started applying the advice I get from other members.

If you have questions, please don't be afraid to ask. There are people out there that really want to help you on your financial journey as they have mine.

Thanks so much, savingadvice.com!

- Lacey

[pktchng]

Hello everyone, newbie here from the great state of Rhode Island. My wife and I are about 6 months into our "one paycheck" plan, and doing ok. She decided to leave her full time job to be home more and spend more time with our 5 (yes, 5!) children. I couldn't have been happier!! Our finances are a little iffy right now, and it's been a nervewracking few months, but our home life is so much less hectic and stressful, our kids are happier, and our marriage has never been stronger than it is now.

When we decided to make this move, we decided to first eradicate all of our debt. We took an early 401K withdrawral to pay off all of our $9,200 debt, leaving us only mortgage, utility bills, taxes, and daily expenses to deal with. 4 of our 5 credit card account were cut up and closed, and the last card doesn't leave the house unless we BOTH agree to take it. So far this has worked, as it has a ZERO balance!! I know, I know, some of you will groan when reading "401K" withdrawral", but you hve no idea how liberating it is to know you don't owe anyone!! Besides, our 401K balances are pretty well along, and $9,200didn't dent them too badly!

We also have decided to go with only one car. Sounds tough with a family of 7, but we make it work. We figured that by getting rid of the second car, we are saving approx $11K to $12K a year is car payment, added insurance, gas, maintenance and repair, etc, etc.

I have also started a little side business, going to flea markets and yard sales on weekends looking for treasures to profit on on eBay, and that has worked suprisingly welll so far, netting us a few hundred dollars in profits in the first month alone! You just need to know which items to look for, and you'd be suprised at how well they do on eBay.

The problem is that even with no debt, and no second money hole car, we still miss that second paycheck. With only my paycheck, we are barely meeting the mortgage, utilities and expenses, leaving next to no room for savings. What I am here for is to learn ways to SAVE money, and add savings to our less hectic, debt free life.

Well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it, lol! Thanks for taking a moment to read it, and let the savings begin!

[Joel]

4-um Nu-b

Hi everyone,

I'm a 4-um Nu-b located out in NW Wyoming. I've been married to my wonderful wife for 7 years and we've got 2 kids. My background is consulting and I.T. I work as a Full Time Telecommuter for a health insurance company and I also own my own IT business, (plus I'm in the middle of researching another business).

Only a few years ago, we were on the verge on bankruptcy. We even paid a lawyer $100 to consult regarding the process but we decided to make a last ditch effort to pay back our debts. We joined a debt elimination program, went beyond the plan minimums, and paid off over $30,000 in debt including credit cards and our 1998 minivan within 4 years. ($20k of that we paid off in the last two years.)

We did this while we put my wife through school and lived on my income. When she graduated earlier this year, she got a job up here in NW Wyoming (we were previously in Colorado) and we decided (given the "depressed" selling market) to rent our house out.

Well...

At this stage, here's where we are at financially:

1. We had to purchase a new minivan (UGH... car payments) so that my wife would have reliable transportation for her job. (It's a requirement). So we made a slight modification to our planned purchase and instead of buying another used minivan, we bought a new minivan (demo model we found that was discounted nearly $6k).

2. In an effort to get our house rental ready, we had to replace the carpeting throughout the house. (We have one year to pay it off - before we get hit with the interest.)

3. We are finishing paying on repairs to our old minivan that we had to make while my wife was still in school. (We have about 6-9 months to pay that off - before we get hit with the interest.)

4. We DESPERATELY need to save for a new house. We're renting for the moment in a town 20 minutes from my wife's work and MUST move closer to her job. Rentals are tough to find. The one good thing is real estate is MUCH cheaper than where we were living in Colorado.

5. We DESPERATELY need to save money for retirement. We have NO retirement savings as of now. (I'm 38, she's 28.)

6. We SEVERELY need to replenish our Emergency savings. That got depleted by repairs and the move.

7. We SEVERELY need to eliminate our remaining debts:
Debt related to move
Debt related to repairs
Debt related to school (her loans and mine)
Debt for new minivan

And we GOTTA save $$$.