I can’t believe its December already…where does the time go? Anyway… You long time readers out there will recall that I’m charting my family’s monthly expenses in an effort to see where our money is really being spent. Below are the results from November: $830.00 – Mortgage $639.00 – Daycare $400.53 – Groceries $245.95 – Household Misc $239.32 – Medical Bills $135.00 – Student Loan $129.43 – Electricity $115.75 – Phone & Internet $106.79 – Dinning Out $ 79.39 – Hair stuff $ 49.02 – Gas $ 44.52 – Shoes $ 35.00 – Grad School App $ 24.00 – Tennis [...]
Read MoreDebt Elimination
Putting debt on a 0% credit card or rolling high interest debt into a home equity line of credit may help save you money in the short term, but it is only addressing the symptom. The symptom is the debt; the debt isn’t the problem. The behaviors and attitudes that got you into debt are usually the problem. Imagine a couple in a pool flailing around unable to swim or even tread water. You through them a lifeline and they are saved. The trick is though that they only stay saved if they don’t go into the water again. Unless [...]
Read MoreI have stated before that I am huge Dave Ramsey fan. I think his approach to debt destruction is the simpliest and most straightforward approach. It has broad application across all income levels and focuses on motivating people and changing their behavior. I used the baby steps and the and free access to Dave’s radio show to eliminate $70,000 in 4 years. There are officially 7 baby steps(1-7), but there is an unofficial pre-requisite that I like to put in there. Step 0 – Stop going into debt : If you don’t stop the leak you will never be able [...]
Read MoreHere is the latest installment of my family’s monthly expenses. Below are the results from October: $830.00 – Mortgage $771.00 – Daycare $675.00 – Life Insurance $499.75 – Groceries $170.00 – PPST Test (for school) $159.68 – Utilities (water, sewer, & garbage billed quarterly) $156.80 – Gas $152.77 – Household Misc $149.94 – Contacts $125.00 – Student Loan $115.75 – Phone & Internet $111.71 – Electricity $85.47 – Dining Out $51.93 – Dog Food $49.12 – Kid stuff $41.00 – Clothes $40.00 – Medical bills $15.00 – Donations $12.00 – Haircut For a grand total this month of $4211.94! Nuts, [...]
Read MoreOver the past holiday weekend my family stopped by my wife’s parents house for a quick visit. We had a dinner and were able to catch up a little. One of the things that was brought up was that the neighbor girl (who was my wife’s childhood friend) and her husband had just declared bankruptcy. Actually they declared bankruptcy back in February, but the family just found out about it now. And while it’s not newsworthy that a couple declares bankruptcy, that happens all the time. What makes this case a bit odd in my book is that it seems that it [...]
Read MoreI received a ton of good comments on my last post about my bailout option. They were loaded with valuable input. I am constantly thankful for how nice it is to have such a knowledgeable and sharing group to ask these kind of questions to. And then totally ignore their advice That’s right folks, we took the bailout. From the comments most people were worried about how taking such a gift would affect my relationship with my mother, understandably so. But it was my wife who ended up having the final say in the matter. She made a very compelling [...]
Read MoreWhen I look at both Obama and McCain and compare them to common sense personal finance, I realize that both candidates are the same. Neither of them get it. Both candidates have plans that are so far away from fiscal responsibility that it scares me. Let’s take a glance at how the candidates stack up against some basic tenants of personal financial success : personal responsibility, spend less than you earn, get out of debt, have an emergency fund, and make your money work for you. Personal Responsibility – I think the ridiculously huge pork laden bailout bill says about [...]
Read MoreAnother page has been added to our selling the van story. You long time readers can skip ahead, but if you want to catch up here is the first part, and here is the second part. Now for the third installment of “Will They or Won’t They?” I was having dinner at my parents house a couple of weeks ago and my Mom asked how we were doing financially. I gave her my pat answer that I always give her, “Just fine.” But then I made the mistake of offering a little more. “But we’ll be in much better shape [...]
Read MoreWelcome to the 160th Carnival of Debt Reduction. This particular collection of posts related to debt reduction is dedicated to $700 billion bailout plan passed by the US government. The dedication isn’t because the bill is a great piece of government action, because in reality it is an example of bill bloat, earmarks, and the government’s willingness to go into debt for us while taking more power away from us. I say to heck with the bailout, let’s focus on being responsible for ourselves and use these posts to help bail ourselves out. In these rocky financial times it is [...]
Read MoreNothing. Ok, nothing is a exaggeration, but it drives home the point that nothing has changed from a personal perspective. The principles remain the same after after a horrid financial day as they were on Sunday when things weren’t this bad. If anything a day like today should make you more eager to dump your debt and get on solid financial ground so that you can be in as much control as possible. Ultimately other than trying to influence your representative, you can only control what you do. Wasting energy in fear and stress will only harm you unless it [...]
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