Tweet
Hello.
I'm emerging from a long financial nightmare and am at the same time entering a new financial nightmare. I have need to establish really good, sustained financial habits. I'm hoping you Saving Advice forum regulars can help me.
Some significant life changes occurred in 2021. I was divorced in April after more than 24 years of marriage (four kids - one adult and three minors). I was fired from a job I disliked in May and began a job I am liking a lot in October. My new salary is about $7K less than I was making at my old job. My new salary is $54K.
When we got divorced, I thought it would make things cleaner if I kept the marital credit card debt and gave her less of my retirement fund. So, that's what we did. By the end of the year, I could no longer keep up with the credit card monthly payments (I also had a substantial credit card consolidation loan), so I stole money from my retirement fund. I ended up stealing $66K from my retirement fund to pay off all of my cc/consolidation loan debt, penalties, state income tax, and a lot of the federal income tax.
Yesterday I did my federal and state tax returns. I used Turbo Tax and spent $78 for the federal and state packages (I had three W-2s and three 1099-Rs, so I couldn't use the free Turbo Tax version). I owed a little bit of tax from my W-2 income (around $1,700) and ended up with a total federal tax owed of $8,155 and state tax owed was $263.
I had enough in checking to pay all of the state tax and $2,600 of the federal tax. I will pay the remaining $5,555 in four installments.
I left a $1,500 buffer in checking. Tomorrow I plan to go to the bank to open a savings account, and I will transfer $1,000 to it for an emergency fund.
I'm taking my ex-wife to court again. When I got divorced, I was very depressed, and made several mistakes. One of the mistakes was giving up custody of my three minor kids. I also signed a Parenting Time Agreement that I should not have (I have too little parenting time with my kids, and I need to change that). I've already spent $1,887 on attorney fees and other costs to take my ex to court, and I expect that number to grow substantially. That $1,887 is all on a credit card, a 8.99% APR card. There's $1,613 of available credit on that card. I have one other credit card (zero balance). It's a 19.99% APR card and has $24,000 in available credit.
Obviously, I hope we can settle out of court, for many reasons, including the potential financial expense. Our court date is set for April 18.
Some other facts:
My rent is $450/mo. (live in very rural Michigan, but still - that's cheap)
My truck payment is $344. I owe $6,343 on my truck. That's my only debt, other than the CC I already mentioned.
I spend $84/mo. on my cell phone. I'm three months into a two-year contract.
I spend about $125 per month on electricity in the winter - I have electric heat.
I spend $76 per month on a bundled cable TV/internet package. Most of that expense is the cable TV part. Internet is very cheap due to a federal COVID relief.
I can't figure out what I pay per month on auto insurance, but it's a name-brand/not cut-rate policy. I can't remember my deductible, but it's low, probably $500.
I pay $667 per month on child support. That's deducted directly from my paycheck. That $667 is based on a temporary job I had this past summer when I was between professional jobs. That job was $13.05/hr, 40-hour workweek. My child support will increase soon - I expect to around the $1,200 per month range, based on what I was paying before I got fired last May.
I used to eat out way too much. I've already taken steps to correct that by cooking more at my apartment. But I still cook too many convenience foods, and don't cook enough from scratch. Just next Tuesday, I will start a cooking class called Cooking for One with my local Land Grant University Extension Service.
I also have a new girlfriend I started dating this past December. She lives about an hour away, so there's some cost driving to see her. But I can also spend about $15 per week at the laundromat. When I drive to my girlfriend's for the weekend, she allows me to bring my dirty laundry with me to wash at her house, so there's a little savings there. My girlfriend is also striving toward a life of financial austerity. She's not high maintenance.
I also have nothing of value to sell. My ex got everything in the divorce (not that there was a lot to get).
My credit score is about 725.
So, like I said, I've got to move to an era of financial austerity and would like your help.
I'm emerging from a long financial nightmare and am at the same time entering a new financial nightmare. I have need to establish really good, sustained financial habits. I'm hoping you Saving Advice forum regulars can help me.
Some significant life changes occurred in 2021. I was divorced in April after more than 24 years of marriage (four kids - one adult and three minors). I was fired from a job I disliked in May and began a job I am liking a lot in October. My new salary is about $7K less than I was making at my old job. My new salary is $54K.
When we got divorced, I thought it would make things cleaner if I kept the marital credit card debt and gave her less of my retirement fund. So, that's what we did. By the end of the year, I could no longer keep up with the credit card monthly payments (I also had a substantial credit card consolidation loan), so I stole money from my retirement fund. I ended up stealing $66K from my retirement fund to pay off all of my cc/consolidation loan debt, penalties, state income tax, and a lot of the federal income tax.
Yesterday I did my federal and state tax returns. I used Turbo Tax and spent $78 for the federal and state packages (I had three W-2s and three 1099-Rs, so I couldn't use the free Turbo Tax version). I owed a little bit of tax from my W-2 income (around $1,700) and ended up with a total federal tax owed of $8,155 and state tax owed was $263.
I had enough in checking to pay all of the state tax and $2,600 of the federal tax. I will pay the remaining $5,555 in four installments.
I left a $1,500 buffer in checking. Tomorrow I plan to go to the bank to open a savings account, and I will transfer $1,000 to it for an emergency fund.
I'm taking my ex-wife to court again. When I got divorced, I was very depressed, and made several mistakes. One of the mistakes was giving up custody of my three minor kids. I also signed a Parenting Time Agreement that I should not have (I have too little parenting time with my kids, and I need to change that). I've already spent $1,887 on attorney fees and other costs to take my ex to court, and I expect that number to grow substantially. That $1,887 is all on a credit card, a 8.99% APR card. There's $1,613 of available credit on that card. I have one other credit card (zero balance). It's a 19.99% APR card and has $24,000 in available credit.
Obviously, I hope we can settle out of court, for many reasons, including the potential financial expense. Our court date is set for April 18.
Some other facts:
My rent is $450/mo. (live in very rural Michigan, but still - that's cheap)
My truck payment is $344. I owe $6,343 on my truck. That's my only debt, other than the CC I already mentioned.
I spend $84/mo. on my cell phone. I'm three months into a two-year contract.
I spend about $125 per month on electricity in the winter - I have electric heat.
I spend $76 per month on a bundled cable TV/internet package. Most of that expense is the cable TV part. Internet is very cheap due to a federal COVID relief.
I can't figure out what I pay per month on auto insurance, but it's a name-brand/not cut-rate policy. I can't remember my deductible, but it's low, probably $500.
I pay $667 per month on child support. That's deducted directly from my paycheck. That $667 is based on a temporary job I had this past summer when I was between professional jobs. That job was $13.05/hr, 40-hour workweek. My child support will increase soon - I expect to around the $1,200 per month range, based on what I was paying before I got fired last May.
I used to eat out way too much. I've already taken steps to correct that by cooking more at my apartment. But I still cook too many convenience foods, and don't cook enough from scratch. Just next Tuesday, I will start a cooking class called Cooking for One with my local Land Grant University Extension Service.
I also have a new girlfriend I started dating this past December. She lives about an hour away, so there's some cost driving to see her. But I can also spend about $15 per week at the laundromat. When I drive to my girlfriend's for the weekend, she allows me to bring my dirty laundry with me to wash at her house, so there's a little savings there. My girlfriend is also striving toward a life of financial austerity. She's not high maintenance.
I also have nothing of value to sell. My ex got everything in the divorce (not that there was a lot to get).
My credit score is about 725.
So, like I said, I've got to move to an era of financial austerity and would like your help.
Comment