re: Debt Debt Debt.

I get the math....I spent an absurd amount of time modelling scenarios in excel when I made the move.

The fault I was pointing out was assuming that the equation always slants one way, that renting beats owning in terms of month to month affordability and the market you live in doesn’t matter.

Even factoring in a maintance budget, real estate taxes, insurance, etc on top of the mortgage, you are still around a 100 dollars cheaper to own than rent in my current market.

Oh, and that was downsizing by half on the rental to make those numbers even close.

And that’s just looking at cash flow impact. It doesn’t consider that a notable portion is Equity, or that you could get a tax break.

And TBH, that’s the trend you expect. As a generalization, owning tends to be cheaper in the long term because you are sacrificing a degree of mobility.

And to automatically advise he walk away from a house he has already sunk the biggest negative of owning (opportunity costs associated with closing costs) is just wrong.

It’s a short sighted platitude/ideal, like saying the only logical course is to sell a late model and PAID OFF car in exchange for a beater that you’ll probably have to sink money into maintenance wise soon.

Suggesting that he only buy used is fine.

Suggesting that he drive the car till the wheels fall off is fine.

Suggesting he has bought the beater in the first place is fine.

Suggesting he sell the car, take the depreciation hit, and pick up a maintence car in order to fit the ideal of what someone in debt “should” be at, isn’t.

EDIT: Don’t confuse the above with defending the OP’s stupidity. That is indefensible....but also separate from the validity of the attacks on his stance.

I still get a kick out of him saying "I saved a long time for my $1500 watch" while being $60k in the red.

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especially if he doesn’t change spending habits

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That’s the key here - he is searching for a way to reduce the payment on his debt while maintaining the same standard of living, as opposed to making cuts. I completely understand his mentality because I’ve been there. It don’t work. I’d love to see his actual detailed budget (not rough estimates). His rough estimate seems very close to mine, along with his lifestyle (I even have 9 guitars so might have him beat there).I could help this dude. I’ve totally been that guy. To an extent I still am. My weekly budget for food/entertainment/miscellaneous is $750, and last week I went $500 over budget. If he posts his I’ll post mine.

ETA: An example of how me and this guy think alike - last Christmas I took my son to Guitar Center to get him a keyboard. While there, I played a few acoustics and really liked a used Taylor for $600. A few days later I thought, “Man, that acoustic was nice, I should go back and get it for myself for Christmas, since I only have 8 guitars now (and I play maybe 3x/month). Got there and they happened to have 48 mo. @0% for Christmas. Walked out with a $2,400 C.F. Martin, completely financed. The difference is that it is well within my budget now, though my whole life I’ve done crap like that whether it was in my budget or not (since I had no budget). I love this thread - it’s like a walk down memory lane.

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ea, my weekly budget is close to this too and every month I go over on my restaurant budget BUT under on others and overall under my monthly budget

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Last week it was club seats for the Pels game and a trip to Visions.
But at the end of the week when I totalled everything up, I instantly made adjustments to the next 2 weeks budget to get back on track for the month. That’s exactly why I started tracking my food/entertainment/miscellaneous allowance weekly instead of just monthly.

When I initially started tracking this and realized my food/entertainment/miscellaneous spending was around $3,000/month, I said “NO FUQING WAY!!!” Thought the first time I tracked it, it was just an outlier. But after a few months I realized it was typical.

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As long as you are disciplined in paying it off, I don't see this as a problem. I have done this with several guns instead of taking the hit on my cash

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Yeah, on this one it was well within my budget, though it was definitely an unnecessary purchase. But in the past I would have made the same move regardless of interest rate when it was nowhere near in my budget.

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my food/entertainment/miscellaneous spending was around $3,000/month

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Mine is right at $2k BUT I am single with no kids soooo it may be a little much.

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Lots of good advice in this thread but I would 100 percent be finding a side gig. I know ER shift work can be very rough so I would suggest a part time job at an urgent care o

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Had the perfect side gig. Place closed. Didn't pay very well but it was still like stealing.

Good to hear someone else gets the ER overtime thing. One extra shift is the sweet spot. That's 48 hours. A fifth shift and the tax becomes brutal for that check.

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A fifth shift and the tax becomes brutal for that check.

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Based in that you posted, you would be solidly within the 22% tax bracket this year, and if you did reach the next bracket, it would only be a 2% increase on the the income in that bracket.

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Reeling in a female with spending habits is the hardest though.

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It sounds like he is that female...

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What'd you get?

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I got a GPC-MMVE. I think that model is made specifically for Guitar Center - rosewood body, mahogany neck, gold hardware.

My others include:
1965 Gibson Flat top acoustic
1981 Les Paul Custom Black Beauty
1984 Electra-Westone Dynasty
Jackson Randy Rhoads V
Gretsch hollow body
Fender 12-string acoustic
...plus a couple other cheapies

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You really, really don't understand finances.

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Am I a CPA? No. But I can add. Many is the time I’ve seen that 5th shift equate to an extra 200 bucks of take home pay. Not worth my time or time away from family.

Saderade mentioned a second job. That is the better option. Or one extra shift. 48 hours is the sweet spot. 60 and you are spinning your wheels.