Help me allocate my money please!

[cypher1]

I'm not sure how far that 2500 EF goes, but there is something to be said for peace of mind (and good sleep) with having a 3-6 mo EF built up. If that's a concern, I'd say sock away as much as you can for that EF amount you're comfortable with, while paying minimum on other debts. Once you hit that goal, re-assess knocking down debts, bills, tuition coming up.

Even if your job(s) are not at risk, liquidity is key during these recent times. Otherwise wants like motorcycle or scooter or trip should be lower priorities. Although nothing wrong with rewarding yourself some other way once you've gotten through one of your goals or knocked out a debt, etc.

Going back to your 03 Passat and potential repairs, as others said hold off on those repairs unless critical or you know you plan to own for awhile longer. As much as I love driving euro cars, I don't miss working on them (loved my 98 Audi A4, 03 VW GTI), as they will bleed you out for repair costs. Unless you got a trusted mechanic, those repairs could add up to 2000 (if including brake pads/rotors). So you may want to look into or at least re-consider replacing the car sooner than later, as you mentioned in the initial post.

Good for you on going back to school and taking advantage of employer tuition reimbursement. I'm doing the same with my employer.

[annibe11e]

I think you need to prioritize wants. Why do you want a vacation, scooter, and new car? I think that having a sensible budget is like having a sensible diet. No diet, lifestyle change so you can keep it up.

It's hard to answer why I want something, but if I had to explain I guess I would say I want a vacation because I haven't gone on a vacation in 5 years or so. New car? Because mine is older and needs a large repair. Reliability is a big factor for me when it comes to a vehicle and I feel like that is fading with my current vehicle. Scooter? I really want a motorcycle. I got my motorcycle license 10 years ago and could never justify buying a motorcycle. Scooters are cheaper so I thought I might let myself have a scooter instead.

[annibe11e]

Wants are good. Rewards are good.
But, I would recommend that you find smaller rewards for yourself.
You don't need a $1000 vacation or a motorcycle to keep from falling apart mentally.
Maybe a small reward like a $50 shopping trip, a nice dinner out, or a walk in the park will do to keep your head straight.

I guess I dont' consider these things to be rewards. I just want to strike a balance between needs and wants and I'm looking for advice on how to allocate my money to do all of that.

[rennigade]

To be completely honest, I'm uneasy about foregoing all of my wants until all of my debt is paid. I know by the numbers, that's the most sound way of doing it, but I know me. I've tried this before and it falls apart. Chalk it up to lack of will or maybe it's impulsivity or a need for instant gratification at least partially due to ADD. Whatever it is, I don't have what it takes. That's why I mentioned a few times about finding a balance.

At least you admit it. Unfortunately, that means there isnt much anyone is going to say to change your mind. You're going to continue on the path you're on. Unless you're ready to change, none of us can say or do anything to help you change.

[bjl584]

It's hard to answer why I want something, but if I had to explain I guess I would say I want a vacation because I haven't gone on a vacation in 5 years or so. New car? Because mine is older and needs a large repair. Reliability is a big factor for me when it comes to a vehicle and I feel like that is fading with my current vehicle. Scooter? I really want a motorcycle. I got my motorcycle license 10 years ago and could never justify buying a motorcycle. Scooters are cheaper so I thought I might let myself have a scooter instead.

I get wanting things. But you have a fair amount of debt that is over 10% interest.
I'd make that a priority once you have some more EF built.
You may even want to drop the 401K to the company match to help with debt repayment.
It's a mindset shift more than anything.
You can choose to have some short term pain now so you can have a pleasurable future.
Or you can reward yourself now and feel the pain of paying off debt for possibly years to come.

I still say you should seek some different, and cheaper, ways to reward yourself until you get everything cleaned up.
Good luck

[breathemusic]

I definitely get needing to balance things. Is there a vacation that you can take that would be cheaper? Maybe find an inexpensive airBnB rental for a long weekend and get away, and try to find something less than $1k. That way you can still feel like you're getting a break and a reward, but it isn't breaking the bank.

I also get what you mean about wanting a motorcycle, but I think if you've gone 10 years without, you can go 1 more and maybe reconsider that purchase next spring/summer.

If you think about it, your CC and LOC should both be paid off in a few months if you concentrate almost all of your extra income at that (I'm also in the camp where I think your EF could stand to be a bit higher, but I'd suggest maybe just throwing a small amount at that until the CC and LOC are paid off.

Your student loans aren't THAT high in interest and they're scheduled to last a long time. So I'd probably just make minimum payments on that until your other debts are paid, you're no longer paying the ex, and your EF is built back up to having 6 months of living expenses.

To me, those things should be your TOP priorities (and I think you could probably easily set aside a few hundred bucks to try and take a trip for a long weekend to still give yourself that vacation/reward in the meantime). In fact, maybe the vacation could be set as your reward for paying off those debts.

Once those things are paid off and you've had your trip, THEN I'd sit back down again and basically re-assess all of your numbers. Look at what your new monthly extra is now that debt is gone, the EF is built, and then I'd split your extra between building retirement, and setting aside some of that for fun stuff. At that point, you can afford to start building a "fun money" budget and throw a few hundred at that each month.