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re: How much a month do you pay in debt vs your income?
Posted on 5/21/19 at 5:13 pm to Tigerfan56
Posted on 5/21/19 at 5:13 pm to Tigerfan56
quote:
Haven’t been able to build up hardly any savings because of debt.
No it's because of extraneous spending. As pointed out, you have $3700/month to spend on whatever. Minus 20% for retirement, you still have $2960 to spend on anything you want.
What's your average food costs? Car insurance? Average utilities?
Even if you spend $1000 on food for two people, $200 for car insurance, and $300 per month on electric, gas, and water, you're still playing with $1400/month.
You need $18k for a "3 month" emergency fund. You could shoot for $1000/month if you wanted and get it in a year and a half. I don't really think you need that much with two incomes, but if you want to go by the books, you're certainly in reach even while paying off ~$1400 in debt per month.
This post was edited on 5/21/19 at 5:14 pm
1
Posted on 5/21/19 at 7:46 pm to StringedInstruments
Buy The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and take it seriously.
Posted on 5/23/19 at 3:46 pm to Tigerfan56
Look at Marie Antoinette over here who can't budget a $3700 net cash flow each month.
Posted on 5/23/19 at 5:01 pm to Tigerfan56
If your goal is to establish an emergency fund, you need to change your mind set and realize that the amount you need to have monthly going to savings is a bill. If you think of it as a bill, it has to be "paid". A lot of times that helps.
Get an unsecured loan to payoff credit cards. Then pay it off asap.
As others have said you have a spending problem.
Get an unsecured loan to payoff credit cards. Then pay it off asap.
As others have said you have a spending problem.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 3:48 pm to Tigerfan56
quote:
Our monthly take home pay is $6,200.
This is very good. This implies that there is nothing here that is 'unfixable'.
quote:
what we budget off of and then we get 4 “bonus” checks a year that can be used for whatever we want.
So, this money just flies away into the ether, I must assume? Find a way to budget these. Budgeting is critical. Any money that isn't budgeted is equivalent to setting it on fire. The best thing to do with variable income outside the routine monthly checks is to pre-dedicate that to debt reduction.
quote:
$1,200 mortgage, $440 car note, $500 credit cards, $365 student loans comes out to $2,500/month in paying off debt - 40% of our take home pay.
That's about the limit of what lenders want to see. I would recommend Dave Ramsey's methods of budgeting and avoiding debt (particularly consumer debt) as a starting point with the Baby Steps.
quote:
Should be a lot better in about a year and a half when car and CC are paid off but this shite sucks in the meantime
You're going to have to memorialize these feelings because once that car is paid off, either you or Mrs. TF56 are going to start jonesing for a new car. Getting out of that habit alone is literally worth millions of dollars for someone in his/her 20s.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 3:52 pm to Tigerfan56
quote:
The past year I’ve been in 3 weddings, all of which required flight accommodations for a weekend. Also, 3 bachelor parties which required the same. That’s 6 weekends of flights/hotels, General wedding costs (suits) etc. Plus a few trips to visit family for holidays.
You're going to have to rediscover the power of the ancient, glorious word "No." It sucks, but all choices in life (moving away from friends/family) have costs (you have to miss shite or go broke trying not to).
quote:
And we just spent too much in general on bars, eating out, etc.
Again, you don't have to say "never" to these things, but you MUST (not may, not can, not should, MUST) budget every dollar coming in - giving it a job before it is spent to solve this problem. This would be true at even higher net income levels than what you have now.
Posted on 5/25/19 at 10:13 am to Ace Midnight
I love budgeting and personal finance but your post stresses me out 
I have a budget I generally abide by (thanks, Mint) but I’m not tracking every dollar in or out with the level of precision you describe.
The OP hopefully gets the idea that they aren’t in too tight of a situation and this is easily fixable with a few lifestyle changes.
I have a budget I generally abide by (thanks, Mint) but I’m not tracking every dollar in or out with the level of precision you describe. The OP hopefully gets the idea that they aren’t in too tight of a situation and this is easily fixable with a few lifestyle changes.
Posted on 5/28/19 at 10:12 am to Tigerfan56
$9020 Main Income
$1,000 - Side Business
$1,080 - Home
$386 Vehicle
$351.90 (rental) - pays for itself :Knocks on wood:
$372 - Lot for future home
$2,189.90 Total Debt or 21%
$1,000 - Side Business
$1,080 - Home
$386 Vehicle
$351.90 (rental) - pays for itself :Knocks on wood:
$372 - Lot for future home
$2,189.90 Total Debt or 21%
Posted on 5/28/19 at 11:43 am to Ace Midnight
quote:
You're going to have to rediscover the power of the ancient, glorious word "No." It sucks, but all choices in life (moving away from friends/family) have costs (you have to miss shite or go broke trying not to).
My thoughts exactly: you don't live down the block anymore, so you can't make every major event....you pick and choose those that are most important. If you put yourself into the poorhouse merely attending out of town social obligations, how are you developing any sort of friendship circle in your new city? Look ahead, not just behind to those old college/childhood friends. We can continue to make new and wonderful friends in adulthood if we don't stick to the same 8 guys/gals since grammar school.
Posted on 5/29/19 at 6:00 am to Tigerfan56
Zero.
We rent because we move every 2 - 3 years with the military but managed to pay everything else off (two cars, motorcycle, travel trailer) and just live life.
Hang in there and just pay one thing off at a time. Drive cars for at least ten years and use that extra cash not going to the car note to pay off others.
I used to struggle with spending control but that feeling of having no debt is so powerful now I struggle to spend money because I don't want to owe anything.
We rent because we move every 2 - 3 years with the military but managed to pay everything else off (two cars, motorcycle, travel trailer) and just live life.
Hang in there and just pay one thing off at a time. Drive cars for at least ten years and use that extra cash not going to the car note to pay off others.
I used to struggle with spending control but that feeling of having no debt is so powerful now I struggle to spend money because I don't want to owe anything.
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