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Do you want to hear the sense of urgency? Well hold onto your seat because this will take you on the ride of your life...
Our transmission went out on our only car. Cost $3000.00 we only have $1000 in savings and we're not exactly ready to throw that all and then some at a transmission. So we're going car-less for 6 months. Or should I be more accurate and say 5 months since we already been doing it for one month.
No Entertainment, no cable, no cell phones, and a basic basic land line. No eating out, no junk food, etc. Of course we still have the internet, but both my husband and I attend school online.
No meat! That's right, we're going vegetarian for the Summer (even if it's still Spring here.)
We cut our food budget down to $65 a MONTH! Don't worry we've got a good food storage, but have you ever tried living off of that much in grocery money?
We have beans and rice three times a week. We usually have some kind of rice casserole once a week and tons of potatoes. Which is really amazing since I hate rice! (I'm slowly learning how to make it more edible so it's working...)
My husband is getting a 2nd job. We plan on paying off $13,000 worth of debt by the end of this year PLUS fixing our car or buying a new one.
We got a better deal on car insurance since our car won't move. Now we pay $5.00 a month. So that saves us money. We don't pay for fuel either.
We have started selling items that we no longer need or want. We try freecycle first in order to get items we need. Then we try 2nd hand stores. Of course now, we can't afford 2nd hand stores, so if it's not on freecycle we just do without.
My husband and I are both selling plasma twice a week to bring up our income. We plan to continue that through the end of this year in order to pay off our debt.
No family vacations this year. Of course there wouldn't be without a car- but that saves us more money.
Birthday and Christmas money goes towards debt.
We've got a gift card to Olive Garden that we plan to use once we're out of debt at the end of 2009!
Our transmission went out on our only car. Cost $3000.00 we only have $1000 in savings and we're not exactly ready to throw that all and then some at a transmission. So we're going car-less for 6 months. Or should I be more accurate and say 5 months since we already been doing it for one month.
No Entertainment, no cable, no cell phones, and a basic basic land line. No eating out, no junk food, etc. Of course we still have the internet, but both my husband and I attend school online.
No meat! That's right, we're going vegetarian for the Summer (even if it's still Spring here.)
We cut our food budget down to $65 a MONTH! Don't worry we've got a good food storage, but have you ever tried living off of that much in grocery money?
We have beans and rice three times a week. We usually have some kind of rice casserole once a week and tons of potatoes. Which is really amazing since I hate rice! (I'm slowly learning how to make it more edible so it's working...)
My husband is getting a 2nd job. We plan on paying off $13,000 worth of debt by the end of this year PLUS fixing our car or buying a new one.
We got a better deal on car insurance since our car won't move. Now we pay $5.00 a month. So that saves us money. We don't pay for fuel either.
We have started selling items that we no longer need or want. We try freecycle first in order to get items we need. Then we try 2nd hand stores. Of course now, we can't afford 2nd hand stores, so if it's not on freecycle we just do without.
My husband and I are both selling plasma twice a week to bring up our income. We plan to continue that through the end of this year in order to pay off our debt.
No family vacations this year. Of course there wouldn't be without a car- but that saves us more money.
Birthday and Christmas money goes towards debt.
We've got a gift card to Olive Garden that we plan to use once we're out of debt at the end of 2009!
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I'm living it :D
I'm living it :D
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Make your each week you review your commitments. I like the fact that your commitments are clearly defined. Make sure you review these commitments and think about them.
Inspiring.
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I definitely have a more increased sense of urgency to get out of doubt now that I found out I'm going to be having a baby in November. Before, I was concerned, but was okay with it being a longer process because it was really only effecting me and my life.
But now that I'm going to be having a child to take care of, it's really pushed me to get my act together and get the process moving even faster than before. I don't want to be some worthless dad who can't provide for his kid because of stupid choices I made in the past.
I'm doing everything in my power to save and pay off bills: little to no eating out, I'm cutting my own hair, doing work online to make extra money (this, mturk.com and ChaCha), I just sold a bunch of stuff on ebay, and the biggest one is that my girlfriend and I are moving in together so my expenses will basically be half of what they were before.
It's amazing what a little baby can make an adult do!
But now that I'm going to be having a child to take care of, it's really pushed me to get my act together and get the process moving even faster than before. I don't want to be some worthless dad who can't provide for his kid because of stupid choices I made in the past.
I'm doing everything in my power to save and pay off bills: little to no eating out, I'm cutting my own hair, doing work online to make extra money (this, mturk.com and ChaCha), I just sold a bunch of stuff on ebay, and the biggest one is that my girlfriend and I are moving in together so my expenses will basically be half of what they were before.
It's amazing what a little baby can make an adult do!
If you lost 71 percent of your current income what behavioral changes would you do? Unemployment insurance amounts to about 71 percent decrease in income for a 70k professional. Would you dare compromise your 401k to pay living expenses?
Well, I'm only 24 and don't make close to 70k, so if I lost 71 percent of my current income, I'd pretty much have to move in with my parents and live off of them again. And on that same note, because I'm young, my 401K doesn't really amount to much of anything at this point, so that wouldn't even give me much assistance on my living expenses. My company DOES do profit sharing, so in theory, if I was eligible to take 100% of the contributions upon leaving work, I could use that money for living expenses, but I have years to go before that happens.
You never realize the pain of losing income until it hits. The first idea that goes through your mind is, "How could I be so irresponsible?" "It was my job too make sure my family was financial secure."
You can still do something about it. Start saving now. Rich people save. That is the irony of our society. We are taught to spend rather than save.
Spending is always downplayed. I think it is easier to waste money when you income increases. The primary reason for wasting money is comfort. You get comfortable spending money and not saving. People don't worry about the future, they think there is time to save.
If you save, as a 24 year old, for twenty years, you will have enough money, at retirement.
Interest works for you and time. Cash gives you options to invest in business, real estate, bonds, and stocks.
You can still do something about it. Start saving now. Rich people save. That is the irony of our society. We are taught to spend rather than save.
Spending is always downplayed. I think it is easier to waste money when you income increases. The primary reason for wasting money is comfort. You get comfortable spending money and not saving. People don't worry about the future, they think there is time to save.
If you save, as a 24 year old, for twenty years, you will have enough money, at retirement.
Interest works for you and time. Cash gives you options to invest in business, real estate, bonds, and stocks.
We have an urgency. We don't go out to eat any more, and we keep a strict budget so we can send as much as possible each month to our debt. Our goal is to be out of debt in 1/5th of the time the bank paperwork says our payments will last.
Our urgency is not so much based on the current economy as on the realization that we can't afford to buy a home or seriously invest for retirement until this debt is taken care of. It's like everything is on hold until we can take care of this, and then we can consider replacing my car or getting a mortgage.
Our urgency is not so much based on the current economy as on the realization that we can't afford to buy a home or seriously invest for retirement until this debt is taken care of. It's like everything is on hold until we can take care of this, and then we can consider replacing my car or getting a mortgage.
Where did you find big savings in spending? Did you increase income to decrease the time of debt? I like the 1/5 time on the deb payments. Will you share you strategy.
We did increase our income a bit now that we're both out of school. The biggest savings was not eating out. We both have a cash allowance (1% of our income for each of us) each month that we can use to buy clothes, snacks, etc., but everything else is bare essentials: groceries (from places like Aldi and Sam's Club), tithe, gas, and bills. Then everything left over is sent in one big check to the bank each month. So if they bill us for $700 and we have $1200, they get $1200.
One savings is leaving off the junk food: cookies, soft drinks, etc. We drink homemade iced tea and eat home made desserts, but I do buy popcorn and chips (generic brands, of course).
One savings is leaving off the junk food: cookies, soft drinks, etc. We drink homemade iced tea and eat home made desserts, but I do buy popcorn and chips (generic brands, of course).
You can speed up the debt reduction by eliminating cable TV, switching your phone to VOIP, watching movies from Netflix, cooking your own meals, carpooling or riding a bike to work, eliminating all junk food, taking a sack lunch to work, and giving up your cell phones.
I just recently got out of debt, I did it very quickly by simply sacrificing for a few months and putting a large portion of my income towards paying off the debt. Before that I had been debt ever since College. I had always wanted to pay it off but I always ran into situations (moving, traveling, jobless etc.. ) where I never had the opportunity to pay off debts.
But now, that I'm out I have to work on saving up money so I can someday buy a house and car and have plenty of money ready for it and not get myself back into debt.
But now, that I'm out I have to work on saving up money so I can someday buy a house and car and have plenty of money ready for it and not get myself back into debt.
Your going to be rich. Good job.
Obviously, nobody is safe in this economy.
My wife is a student/teacher, and I basically support the household.
If I lost my job, I'd be on the street very soon, especially since my 401K has dwindled so much.
I recently used a Bank of AMerica technology called "My Portfolio" to condense all of my bills and accounts, car, mortgage - everything onto one page. This was an eye opener. I saw my net worth drop almost 5000% (lol).
It is very hard to get out of debt, even when with a high income (as it seems expenses often rise to meet incomes for fools like me).
My first response was to get all of the credit cards and store them away.
Then I actually put my debit card in a drawer and said, "I'm eating at home. I will starve before I buy food elsewhere."
Once a week passes and you've spent like $7 on food, it is a pretty cool feeling!
My wife is a student/teacher, and I basically support the household.
If I lost my job, I'd be on the street very soon, especially since my 401K has dwindled so much.
I recently used a Bank of AMerica technology called "My Portfolio" to condense all of my bills and accounts, car, mortgage - everything onto one page. This was an eye opener. I saw my net worth drop almost 5000% (lol).
It is very hard to get out of debt, even when with a high income (as it seems expenses often rise to meet incomes for fools like me).
My first response was to get all of the credit cards and store them away.
Then I actually put my debit card in a drawer and said, "I'm eating at home. I will starve before I buy food elsewhere."
Once a week passes and you've spent like $7 on food, it is a pretty cool feeling!
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