Help me analyze my budget please!:)

[lkaps84]

Bear with me, this might get long

Hi there, I have been lurking around the boards for a few weeks now and decided to make an account to get some unbiased feedback on my budget plan. I am 28 years old, female, practically married (been dating for 8 years/living with my boyfriend for 6) and recently accepted a job-- I start on Monday and will be making $45,000 base per year. This is a lot of money for me; I don't have a college degree and have been working call center/restaurant jobs for most of my 'career.' Needless to say, I'm very excited.

I am not very good with money, my parents, who are both deceased now were terrible with it and never taught me the value of a dollar/the importance of savings. I got a credit card right out of high school and racked up $1500 in debt before I even left for college. I am $37,000 in debt with school loans (this is part of why I don't have a degree; my loans defaulted and I am in repayment right now, the other factor is I lost both my parents when I was 20 and 22 so I pretty much gave up on school.) Other than that, I don't have much personal debt-- a few medical bills here and there, I owe $2400 on a car that got repossessed a few years ago and $1200 to the local community college for a semester of tuition... that's about it, really.

My boyfriend makes close to $70,000 a year and with my new income I am getting a great opportunity to save and pay down debt. He owns the house we live in and the money that he makes (roughly $4000 a month after taxes and insurance) goes towards mortgage, association, utilities, cell phones and his school loans with a little fun money (maybe $500) left over for recreation during the month. I own my current vehicle outright and rarely drive it, I might put 3000 miles a year on it, so gas isn't really a factor. His job pays for his gas.

Basically what I want to do is make sure I'm doing the budget thing right. I recognize the opportunity I have here and I want to start getting out of debt! So without much further adieu...

MY BUDGET

$45,000/yearly
~2750 per month after taxes (I will be getting paid monthly. We live near Chicago if it matters)

$1075-- Put into savings account every month to save for eventual wedding, emergencies, vacation etc. (My company does not offer a 401K match yet so I am opting to just do a savings account instead)
$165-- Cost of monthly train pass (My new job is in the city and I will be commuting)
$375-- Cost of monthly payment plan for school loan, this will drop by $100 a month next March.
$400-- Money set aside in envelope each month for coffee, lunches/dinners out, groceries, etc.
$300-- Money put aside for personal 'fun'-- clothes, haircuts, etc.
$100-- Money put towards random bills each month (medical bills I may have, I think the biggest one in collections is something like $200 so it's nothing crazy. I can also take money away from savings and pay stuff off in full which I may do the first month I'm working.)

This leaves me with $65 a month that I'm not budgeting for. Trying to follow the Dave Ramsey model to allocate all my money somewhere. I suppose I will use it as gas money. Not sure yet though.

So my question I guess is, does this look about right? Is there something I'm missing? Any advice or tips to make this better? I do appreciate it!

Thanks

[scubatim84]

Bear with me, this might get long

Hi there, I have been lurking around the boards for a few weeks now and decided to make an account to get some unbiased feedback on my budget plan. I am 28 years old, female, practically married (been dating for 8 years/living with my boyfriend for 6) and recently accepted a job-- I start on Monday and will be making $45,000 base per year. This is a lot of money for me; I don't have a college degree and have been working call center/restaurant jobs for most of my 'career.' Needless to say, I'm very excited.

I am not very good with money, my parents, who are both deceased now were terrible with it and never taught me the value of a dollar/the importance of savings. I got a credit card right out of high school and racked up $1500 in debt before I even left for college. I am $37,000 in debt with school loans (this is part of why I don't have a degree; my loans defaulted and I am in repayment right now, the other factor is I lost both my parents when I was 20 and 22 so I pretty much gave up on school.) Other than that, I don't have much personal debt-- a few medical bills here and there, I owe $2400 on a car that got repossessed a few years ago and $1200 to the local community college for a semester of tuition... that's about it, really.

My boyfriend makes close to $70,000 a year and with my new income I am getting a great opportunity to save and pay down debt. He owns the house we live in and the money that he makes (roughly $4000 a month after taxes and insurance) goes towards mortgage, association, utilities, cell phones and his school loans with a little fun money (maybe $500) left over for recreation during the month. I own my current vehicle outright and rarely drive it, I might put 3000 miles a year on it, so gas isn't really a factor. His job pays for his gas.

Basically what I want to do is make sure I'm doing the budget thing right. I recognize the opportunity I have here and I want to start getting out of debt! So without much further adieu...

MY BUDGET

$45,000/yearly
~2750 per month after taxes (I will be getting paid monthly. We live near Chicago if it matters)

$1075-- Put into savings account every month to save for eventual wedding, emergencies, vacation etc. (My company does not offer a 401K match yet so I am opting to just do a savings account instead)
$165-- Cost of monthly train pass (My new job is in the city and I will be commuting)
$375-- Cost of monthly payment plan for school loan, this will drop by $100 a month next March.
$400-- Money set aside in envelope each month for coffee, lunches/dinners out, groceries, etc.
$300-- Money put aside for personal 'fun'-- clothes, haircuts, etc.
$100-- Money put towards random bills each month (medical bills I may have, I think the biggest one in collections is something like $200 so it's nothing crazy. I can also take money away from savings and pay stuff off in full which I may do the first month I'm working.)

This leaves me with $65 a month that I'm not budgeting for. Trying to follow the Dave Ramsey model to allocate all my money somewhere. I suppose I will use it as gas money. Not sure yet though.

So my question I guess is, does this look about right? Is there something I'm missing? Any advice or tips to make this better? I do appreciate it!

Thanks

Well, first off, congratulations on the job!

The big thing I want to stress before I say anything else though is you need to finish college at some point if at all possible. The reason being is for the simple fact that you have wasted $37,000 (plus interest, which won't be a small number on that much debt!) if you don't. Also, the job market will become increasingly competitive in the future, so while you do have a well-paying job now, things change and it's good to position yourself for success.

Now then, the first thing is for the $1,075 into savings each month. If you have some money in savings already, I would recommend splitting some of this off into an after-tax IRA. I recommend Vanguard because their funds are low-cost and high-quality. The reason being is that you want to have savings, which is a fantastic thing to have, but the savings account interest rates right now are terrible and stocks return 8-10% on average. The rule of thumb is to have 6 months of living expenses saved up. So if you don't have much in the way of savings now, I would stick with your plan now to put all of that $1,075 into savings right now, and as you start getting close to 6 months of living expenses, shift some of that over into an IRA. This way, you don't have access to a 401k yet but you can start building your retirement nest egg.

For the monthly $165, you should check into your work to see if they have any sort of option to use pre-tax dollars to purchase commuter passes such as train or bus passes. My wife's company offers a similar option so yours may too. At a minimum, keep all the receipts, since you may be able to deduct these as job-related expenses. I'm not sure on the specifics, as I seem to recall the job-related expenses have to be at least 6% of your adjusted gross income, but it's worth checking into.

$375 a month for the student loan will pay it off but it'll take a long, long time. I would considering shaving off $100-200 from your savings to get this massive amount of debt paid off sooner. Again, if you don't have much in savings, I would do this once you have at least 3-4 months of living expenses saved up.

$400 for groceries /and/ dining out seems pretty light, but you know your eating habits better than I do. If you can do coffee, groceries and eating out all on $400 a month, you're in good shape!

I think that's about it. You have a great budget plan, especially with how much you can throw into savings each month, so I would definitely say you're on the right track. Definitely try to get that student debt wiped out as soon as possible and at least get something going in an IRA...even if you contribute $50 a week into it, you're starting your path to retirement and getting in the habit of setting aside money for investments.

[lkaps84]

Thanks! The plan is to finish school eventually--I can't take more student loans out until my loans are out of default, which will be in March. I could finish my two year degree with 2 or 3 classes but I am not sure I would be able to work out the class schedulw with working in the city. I may end up doing a dual Bachelor/Masters business program at DePaul or RMU next year once the loans are back in order, I am hoping thats something my company may pay for. But I am definitely planning to finish!

Also I have no personal savings as of now (eeesh.) So the $1075 a month will go a long way to build it up.

[jpg7n16]

How much have you saved up so far? Any amount in checking? Savings?

I'd rec building up to about $2k in cash. About 1-2 months expenses. Anything above $2k would go towards paying down just enough school loans to finish college/building up cash to pay cash for your remaining classes.

Other things to do:
-sign up for any 401k match available (no more, no less)
-get married
-pay off any defaulted/past due debts
-figure out what your financial goals are
-start creating a retirement plan

[LivingAlmostLarge]

So are you planning on getting married? Why do you have to wait to go back to school for march? Is there a law saying you can't take classes even with student loan debt? I'd definitely focus on finishing up a degree you have $37k in debt for. It will benefit you in the long run.

Do you have a 401k at work? I'd set aside enough for the match and contributing to a Roth IRA $5k year. Then the rest goes to building up maybe a 3 month EF and then targeting either the student loans or paying cash for finishing your degree.

Do you think you'll get married? Seriously? When? I might be made fun of but I've found that a lot of women wait around for a guy in hopes of getting married. Not that you aren't getting a sweet deal rent free, but if you are planning a future together then perhaps it's time to start making financial plans. Not necessarily combining finances, but talking about time line, showing a budget, having a plan for getting a degree, paying off student loans, having kids, etc.

[disneysteve]

I am $37,000 in debt with school loans-- a few medical bills here and there, I owe $2400 on a car that got repossessed a few years ago and $1200 to the local community college for a semester of tuition...

$45,000/yearly
~2750 per month after taxes (I will be getting paid monthly. We live near Chicago if it matters)

$1075-- Put into savings account every month to save for eventual wedding, emergencies, vacation etc. (My company does not offer a 401K match yet so I am opting to just do a savings account instead)
$165-- Cost of monthly train pass (My new job is in the city and I will be commuting)
$375-- Cost of monthly payment plan for school loan, this will drop by $100 a month next March.
$400-- Money set aside in envelope each month for coffee, lunches/dinners out, groceries, etc.
$300-- Money put aside for personal 'fun'-- clothes, haircuts, etc.
$100-- Money put towards random bills each month (medical bills I may have, I think the biggest one in collections is something like $200 so it's nothing crazy. I can also take money away from savings and pay stuff off in full which I may do the first month I'm working.)

This leaves me with $65 a month that I'm not budgeting for. Trying to follow the Dave Ramsey model to allocate all my money somewhere. I suppose I will use it as gas money. Not sure yet though.

Welcome and congrats on the job. Also, congrats on taking the time to think about this and seek advice.

Let me start at the bottom of the stuff I quoted. You are certainly not following Dave Ramsey's plan with the proposed budget you posted. Dave's plan would be $1,000 in a starter emergency fund and then focus fully on paying off your debt. That would not include $700/month for coffee, dining out, clothes, etc.

Let me also say that I am not a huge proponent of Dave's plan, so I'm not pushing that - just making that point. Still, I would suggest some changes to what you posted. I agree with Dave about establishing an EF. I think $1,000 is a decent figure to start so defiitely do that if you haven't already.

What I would change is all the "fun" money. Leave yourself some, like maybe $100/month, but not nearly as much as you designated. Skip the coffee and dining out (unless it is covered by that $100). Buy groceries and cook your own meals. You can do that on $150/month.

If you actually need new clothing because of the job, buy some, but don't go overboard. And check out the thrift shops and clearance racks and outlet stores for the best deals.

For now, pretty much everything else should be going toward debt repayment. List your debts with the outstanding balances and interest rates. Dave would say to pay from the smallest to largest balance. Others will say to pay from the highest to lowest interest rate. Either way is fine. Either way works. The second way saves you more money in the long run but I wouldn't argue that point too much.

Let's say your total debt is about 42K. If you pay $375/month on the student loans already and $100 for the medical bills, it looks like you could add $200 from your food budget (leaving you $200) and $200 from your "fun" budget (leaving you $100). So $875/month would go to debt repayment. You'd be debt free in 48 months. However, you also have that $1,075 that you were going to save. You only need to do that for one month to start your EF. Add that in and now $1,950/month is going to debts and you'd be debt free in just 22 months. And if you get a raise along the way (or take on a second job part time) the debt could be totally gone even faster.

I say clean up the mess first and then focus on the future.

[lkaps84]

So are you planning on getting married? Why do you have to wait to go back to school for march? Is there a law saying you can't take classes even with student loan debt? I'd definitely focus on finishing up a degree you have $37k in debt for. It will benefit you in the long run.

Do you have a 401k at work? I'd set aside enough for the match and contributing to a Roth IRA $5k year. Then the rest goes to building up maybe a 3 month EF and then targeting either the student loans or paying cash for finishing your degree.

Do you think you'll get married? Seriously? When? I might be made fun of but I've found that a lot of women wait around for a guy in hopes of getting married. Not that you aren't getting a sweet deal rent free, but if you are planning a future together then perhaps it's time to start making financial plans. Not necessarily combining finances, but talking about time line, showing a budget, having a plan for getting a degree, paying off student loans, having kids, etc.

I can't get financial aid again until I get a Title V letter from the State of Illinois staing my student loans are out of default. This happens in March. So yes, technically there is a "law" prohibiting me from finishing a 4 year degree right now.

There is a 401k at work but since the company is making a move into the Us market from overseas they will not be matching a contribution until the 1st of the year. I know the company is stable, however, and is growing rapidly/voted one of the top 20 companies to work for in their geographic location so I will probably start the 401 when they match. I don't see the point in doing it quite yet.

And yes, we have talked about getting married and pretty much see ourselves as such, but since my parents are dead and his parents, although well off, have 9 kids, we will be paying for the wedding ourselves which is why its taken such a long time. We talk about finances and although we will probably never combine them because I am horrible with money and he is luckily great with it,we know each others spending habits and don' t live outside our means (even though we have had anywhere from $40-75k a year coming in in the past, I still buy groceries at Aldi, I cook a lot, he has one credit card that has next to nothing on it, we rarely eat out or go to bars, don't take lavish trips, I drive a 1995 corolla with 210,000 miles on it that's gonna get run into the ground, etc.)

I suppose my food/fun budget is a bit high, I could probably cut it in half and throw the rest towards debts. I was actually being quite liberal with the 'fun' money, I do need to spend some money on clothes straight away for work but I shop at Ross and Tj Maxx, not Versace :-)

Loving the input, thank you!!

[jpg7n16]

I can't get financial aid again until I get a Title V letter from the State of Illinois staing my student loans are out of default. This happens in March. So yes, technically there is a "law" prohibiting me from finishing a 4 year degree right now.

What if you paid cash for the classes instead of taking out loans?

You don't have to take out student loans to take classes.


I think you can get current on your loans before you can save up enough to pay for the classes, so I would start by getting current on any outstanding debts.

[scubatim84]

Thanks! The plan is to finish school eventually--I can't take more student loans out until my loans are out of default, which will be in March. I could finish my two year degree with 2 or 3 classes but I am not sure I would be able to work out the class schedulw with working in the city. I may end up doing a dual Bachelor/Masters business program at DePaul or RMU next year once the loans are back in order, I am hoping thats something my company may pay for. But I am definitely planning to finish!

Also I have no personal savings as of now (eeesh.) So the $1075 a month will go a long way to build it up.

Ok, so now that I know your savings level, I wouldn't recommend splitting off any of that into an IRA just yet. I would get /at least/ 1-2 months of living expenses saved up, or $5,000, whichever is the higher figure. The more conservative you are on living expenses (IE if it costs you $2,000 to $3,000 a month to live, just assume $3,000 to be safe), the better.

Welcome and congrats on the job. Also, congrats on taking the time to think about this and seek advice.

Let me start at the bottom of the stuff I quoted. You are certainly not following Dave Ramsey's plan with the proposed budget you posted. Dave's plan would be $1,000 in a starter emergency fund and then focus fully on paying off your debt. That would not include $700/month for coffee, dining out, clothes, etc.

Let me also say that I am not a huge proponent of Dave's plan, so I'm not pushing that - just making that point. Still, I would suggest some changes to what you posted. I agree with Dave about establishing an EF. I think $1,000 is a decent figure to start so defiitely do that if you haven't already.

What I would change is all the "fun" money. Leave yourself some, like maybe $100/month, but not nearly as much as you designated. Skip the coffee and dining out (unless it is covered by that $100). Buy groceries and cook your own meals. You can do that on $150/month.

If you actually need new clothing because of the job, buy some, but don't go overboard. And check out the thrift shops and clearance racks and outlet stores for the best deals.

For now, pretty much everything else should be going toward debt repayment. List your debts with the outstanding balances and interest rates. Dave would say to pay from the smallest to largest balance. Others will say to pay from the highest to lowest interest rate. Either way is fine. Either way works. The second way saves you more money in the long run but I wouldn't argue that point too much.

Let's say your total debt is about 42K. If you pay $375/month on the student loans already and $100 for the medical bills, it looks like you could add $200 from your food budget (leaving you $200) and $200 from your "fun" budget (leaving you $100). So $875/month would go to debt repayment. You'd be debt free in 48 months. However, you also have that $1,075 that you were going to save. You only need to do that for one month to start your EF. Add that in and now $1,950/month is going to debts and you'd be debt free in just 22 months. And if you get a raise along the way (or take on a second job part time) the debt could be totally gone even faster.

I say clean up the mess first and then focus on the future.

Steve, while I'm a big proponent of getting debt paid down quickly, don't you think $100 a month is pretty slim for fun money? This reminds me of the crash diets, where people suddenly go from eating normal to not eating anything enjoyable at all and going 110% on their diet...the only thing is, they crack after a certain period of time and then go out and binge eat. I think a similar thing would happen on the financial front if you allocate $100 all for dining out, entertainment, etc. Heck, one movie ticket alone will cost you $6-12. Go out to eat once and you're at close to half of that $100 budget. I think the OP did mention that the proposed "fun" budget was liberal, and could be cut, but I'd be cautious against cutting too much for fear of the binge spending that may follow. I'm not saying you will OP, but still, you DO need to have some fun in life. If you put every penny possible towards paying off your student loans, that's a noble cause, but it doesn't help your quality of life if you get hit by a bus tomorrow before you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. Better to enjoy some of the fruit along the way.

I can't get financial aid again until I get a Title V letter from the State of Illinois staing my student loans are out of default. This happens in March. So yes, technically there is a "law" prohibiting me from finishing a 4 year degree right now.

There is a 401k at work but since the company is making a move into the Us market from overseas they will not be matching a contribution until the 1st of the year. I know the company is stable, however, and is growing rapidly/voted one of the top 20 companies to work for in their geographic location so I will probably start the 401 when they match. I don't see the point in doing it quite yet.

And yes, we have talked about getting married and pretty much see ourselves as such, but since my parents are dead and his parents, although well off, have 9 kids, we will be paying for the wedding ourselves which is why its taken such a long time. We talk about finances and although we will probably never combine them because I am horrible with money and he is luckily great with it,we know each others spending habits and don' t live outside our means (even though we have had anywhere from $40-75k a year coming in in the past, I still buy groceries at Aldi, I cook a lot, he has one credit card that has next to nothing on it, we rarely eat out or go to bars, don't take lavish trips, I drive a 1995 corolla with 210,000 miles on it that's gonna get run into the ground, etc.)

I suppose my food/fun budget is a bit high, I could probably cut it in half and throw the rest towards debts. I was actually being quite liberal with the 'fun' money, I do need to spend some money on clothes straight away for work but I shop at Ross and Tj Maxx, not Versace :-)

Loving the input, thank you!!

A few things. On the 401k, even without a match, if they have decent investment options it wouldn't hurt to just get something started since if you start low at 1-2%, you probably won't even miss it from your check and it gets the ball rolling. Stocks are really cheap right now too.

For college, I think you mentioned you're only a few classes away from a 2-year degree. Yes, a bachelor does trump an associate, but the commuting shouldn't be an issue with this. Community college is cheap enough that you can pay it out of pocket and there are lots of colleges with online classes. I would just take a couple online classes, and get a 2-year degree now, so you have a little bit of a hedge just in case you need to apply for a job again later. It's better to have it, and not need it, than the other way around.

[disneysteve]

Steve, while I'm a big proponent of getting debt paid down quickly, don't you think $100 a month is pretty slim for fun money? This reminds me of the crash diets, where people suddenly go from eating normal to not eating anything enjoyable at all and going 110% on their diet...the only thing is, they crack after a certain period of time and then go out and binge eat. I think a similar thing would happen on the financial front if you allocate $100 all for dining out, entertainment, etc.

Keep in mind that this is just OP's budget. She is in a long-term relationship with a partner who earns 70K who also budgets fun money one would assume.

While I think you make a valid point, and the diet analogy is a good one, $100 for one person for a month isn't all that terrible, and by my numbers it would be for less than 2 years.

There are plenty of ways to go out and have fun without spending a ton of money. You mentioned movies. Let's say a ticket is $8 (that's about it around here). You can easily do dinner somewhere inexpensive for $15 or less. So that's dinner and a movie once a week. Or you could do Redbox and order a pizza instead for half as much and have money left over from your $100/mo. to do other things - go to a museum, hit the local carnival, go to the beach for the day, go out for a couple of drinks and dancing, whatever you like.

Maybe $150/month is more reasonable. Maybe $100/month is more than OP really needs. It depends what types of things she enjoys. If her idea of a good time is taking a long bike ride on a sunny day, that costs $0. Pack a picnic lunch and catch some rays in the park.

My point was to show that if she wants to knock out this debt quickly, she can. She just has to decide how committed she is to that goal.

[Stump1000]

How old is the repo, the medical bills and the collection accounts?

If they are 5 years or more old, you may be better off waiting them out. Paying a collection agency doesn't remove it from your credit. A paid collection account still negatively affects your score just like an unpaid.

For the collections and medical bills, I would recommend you sign up on a credit site and read about all that stuff as well. It's not as simple as just paying that stuff off, unless you don't care what it'll do to your credit reports.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

jpg beat me to it. No one said you need more loans for finishing your degrees. Seems like you took out a lot and didn't finish. I might be more tempted pay cash for all future classes instead of continually borrowing. You have enough cash flow at $1k/month savings to probably pay for a few classes at a time. So the law is no financial aid, not you CAN'T finish school.

Second, you can get married without spending a fortune. You can go to the justice of the peace and do it. Or you can scale back a wedding. How much were you thinking of budgeting for a wedding and when? At $1k/month a lot? Or is that $1k more for EF, new car, house DP, retirement?

I think you should write down where you want that $1k to go towards. I think that it's important to prioritize. Will it go to finishing off your degree? And if you want more financial aid, do you want more loans? If so how much debt are you going into to finish a bachelor's? Will you even work after kids? Will you make enough that going into that much debt is worth it versus cash flowing finishing your degree with $37k in student loans already?

I think that making timelines and plans for money works best in these situations.

[scubatim84]

How old is the repo, the medical bills and the collection accounts?

If they are 5 years or more old, you may be better off waiting them out. Paying a collection agency doesn't remove it from your credit. A paid collection account still negatively affects your score just like an unpaid.

For the collections and medical bills, I would recommend you sign up on a credit site and read about all that stuff as well. It's not as simple as just paying that stuff off, unless you don't care what it'll do to your credit reports.

This is a good point actually on the collection accounts. One thing I would add, and I know this from personal experience as they are finally clearing up this year and next (let my brother get some furniture in my credit...horrible decision), if you make a payment on the collection account then it updates that collection account every time. For instance, if it was originally reported on 01/01/2005, if there is no activity, it should drop off on 01/01/2012. However, if say you make a payment on 01/01/2012, as far as I can tell it reset the timer at least for me.

Also, you can check your credit score for free once a year with I think freecreditscore.com. There is only one legit site so be wary...there are many scam sites out there that try to get you to pay for your credit report. You are entitled to one every year from each rating agency...what many people do, myself included, is get one from say TransUnion, 4 months later one from Experian, 4 months later from Equifax. This way, you can periodically check your credit for free. The only downside is this won't give you a credit score...just the credit report.

Keep in mind that this is just OP's budget. She is in a long-term relationship with a partner who earns 70K who also budgets fun money one would assume.

While I think you make a valid point, and the diet analogy is a good one, $100 for one person for a month isn't all that terrible, and by my numbers it would be for less than 2 years.

There are plenty of ways to go out and have fun without spending a ton of money. You mentioned movies. Let's say a ticket is $8 (that's about it around here). You can easily do dinner somewhere inexpensive for $15 or less. So that's dinner and a movie once a week. Or you could do Redbox and order a pizza instead for half as much and have money left over from your $100/mo. to do other things - go to a museum, hit the local carnival, go to the beach for the day, go out for a couple of drinks and dancing, whatever you like.

Maybe $150/month is more reasonable. Maybe $100/month is more than OP really needs. It depends what types of things she enjoys. If her idea of a good time is taking a long bike ride on a sunny day, that costs $0. Pack a picnic lunch and catch some rays in the park.

My point was to show that if she wants to knock out this debt quickly, she can. She just has to decide how committed she is to that goal.

Steve, I'll give you that, as I actually had forgotten that the OP's partner has a good income too. To be honest with you, on the note of cheap fun, it's usually more fun anyway depending on your mood. I love just sitting down with a pizza, a 2-liter and a Blockbuster/Redbox/Whatever movie at home. On the subject of movies, you can also get discounts by prepaying in advance through buying gift cards. There are several sites out there which sell unwanted gift cards and the discount ranges from 8-25%.

Also, if you get an annual pass to state parks, if there is one nearby, at least in California it cost about $120 and we can use it as often as we want. Free hiking goes hand in hand with those free picnics.

I suppose the upside is that using this plan wipes out the debt very quickly, and once its gone, that's a lot of change to instead be plowing into investments.

Second, you can get married without spending a fortune. You can go to the justice of the peace and do it. Or you can scale back a wedding. How much were you thinking of budgeting for a wedding and when? At $1k/month a lot? Or is that $1k more for EF, new car, house DP, retirement?

I'm so glad you mentioned this! My wife and I got married in Hawaii on the beach for about $1,000 total. We didn't have a reception or a big ceremony...in fact it was just us. This included the minister, 2 rolls of print photos with digital scans, leis for both of us, my wife's wedding dress and a ride back to the hotel from the beach by our wedding coordinator. Also, despite the fact this isn't that much for a wedding, if you can believe it he took care of everything as far as planning goes, getting the beach permit, etc. All we did was get the marriage license and show up. I'm pretty confident this was far more enjoyable too than a $10,000 wedding. If you have credit card rewards, you can even use them to pay for the airfare and hotel like we did. Why pay a lot of money for a big wedding so other people can have a good time when you can go to Hawaii for practically free?

[kv968]

Also, you can check your credit score for free once a year with I think freecreditscore.com. There is only one legit site so be wary...there are many scam sites out there that try to get you to pay for your credit report. You are entitled to one every year from each rating agency...what many people do, myself included, is get one from say TransUnion, 4 months later one from Experian, 4 months later from Equifax. This way, you can periodically check your credit for free. The only downside is this won't give you a credit score...just the credit report.

Instead of using freecreditscore.com which will charge you $15/month if you don't cancel within 7 days you'd be better off using:Annual Credit Report

That's the "offical" website for getting your credit reports. And I'd suggest, as scuba has, getting one report now, one in 4 months and another 4 months after that since you're allowed one free from each agency per year.

They also offer your credit score from the agency you use for a small price. I don't really remember but I think the price ranges are something like $5-$8. You might want to look into that also just so you can get an overall picture on how they're interpreting all the numbers.