Extra money in next paycheck

[Permanent Temp]

I just found out my temp job is going to last at least another month. I had planned to stock pile the whole next month bills out of the next paycheck but now I don't have to. This leaves me with an extra 600 dollars.

I'm trying to figure out where to put this money. I'm thinking its best to put it toward my last cc balance of $1787 this combined with the $300 payment I was already planning on making which drop the balance below 1000 making it more feasible to pay off the entire balance before my job contract ends. The interest rate is 0% until Jan 2015.

Besides this I have an account with almost 3 months of expenses it is short of that goal by 300. I have an emergency fund which is now low again at 1200 it was at 2800 before my many medical expenses but my part-time job paychecks go to straight into this account and I have no more pending medical appointments so this is going to grow again with little effort.

I have a car loan with 6400 left at 10% and student loans which are all federal and can be deferred.

So should I put it toward my credit card debt or put it in savings or a combination of the two?

[bjl584]

What is the feasibility of paying off the CC before the 0% interest ends if you don't put the extra $600 toward the balance?

I ask because your EF is low and it may serve you better to save the entire amount. It will prevent you from having to run up a CC again in the future.

[kork13]

10% car loan?? Send the money there, then look around at refinancing your car loan. 10% borders on highway robbery for a car loan these days...

[Permanent Temp]

What is the feasibility of paying off the CC before the 0% interest ends if you don't put the extra $600 toward the balance?

I ask because your EF is low and it may serve you better to save the entire amount. It will prevent you from having to run up a CC again in the future.

@kork13 I've looked at refinancing but in most cases the loan wouldn't go low enough to make much of a difference. I was screwed over on that loan. I got it right out of college first car ever (got it used) and I was suppose to get an 8% loan but there were two items on my credit report that showed as presently delinquent even though they were not. I brought in the documentation of payment to the dealership and the bank would only take me if it was 10% I just took it and left. Next car loan should be much better.

@bjl584 I have no idea how long it would take me to pay off if I don't put the money there because I am a temp and never know when my next job is going to end or start.

I guess my logic with going with the cc is that it will be one less payment I have to make when I have to go back to relying on my part-time minimum wage job for my livelihood whereas if I apply it toward the car payment it will mean I still at least have to pay minimums on the cc. If I apply this extra money there I can pay off the whole balance in 3 paychecks which I know I will get for sure in the time left in this job.

At this point I could get unemployment when my temp job ends but it would only pay out for 3 months, then I'd have to live off my 3 months of savings to pay my bills and then I'd need some sort of money coming in again. Last time it took 9 months to find gainful employment. If I ride it out with the part-time employment I should be able to stretch out my money to last for longer if need be and pick up day jobs with another temp agency. Last time I was able to get through the bout of unemployment without charging up my cards but I had support from my husband and family in that respect.

It's a crappy way to live but its all I have for now. There is a good shot that this job I work for will call me back for another assignment so that is encouraging.

Also in that month in a half (3 paychecks) I will be adding to my emergency fund since I have no more medical bills and my part-time job checks go there plus whatever else I can spare. It does make sense to fund the emergency fund instead of making the cc for sure though so maybe I'll just do that instead.

[dojo]

I think you could keep the money in the EF for a while and then, if you want to pay the CC before the end of the year, you can just take the money and pay it off. If anything happens in the meantime, you're covered with the EF.

[TheKayla]

I'd suggest putting that money towards your loans/CC, and then finding part-time work that won't interfere hours-wise as you go on and off through temp jobs. During that time, get your CC and car loan paid off. I was a freelancer before as well, and having extra monthly payments that you don't need definitely doesn't help! A part-time job keep in mind doesn't have to last forever -- just until those things are paid off and then you can resume contractor normalcy.

May I ask what type of temp work you do? Is there a way you can better market yourself during times of work and no work that will allow you to have more consistent jobs (and possibly better paying too)? Are there any odd jobs you can do on the side in your field of work that will bring in extra income in off times? For example, I'm a web developer, and in my slow times I'll write blog posts related to my field on other blogs and I can get anywhere from $75-$200 per post. I've worked up to this amount, and I'm usually working for below minimum wage when all is said and done for each, but the idea is it's something I've built for myself as a freelance income 'safety net.' Is there anything similar you could think of that could bring in income during slow or emergency times?