Red or Black?

Kitsune · 01-03-2005, 12:21 PM

A numer of articles indicate that more Americans are in debt than ever before. I held around $8k in debt and managed to finally kill it after some hard work -- the feeling is liberating and wonderful. If you're in the red, how much are you and what caused you to be there? (property and vehicle loans don't count)

Kitsune · 01-03-2005, 12:26 PM

...and I have no idea how I managed to put this in "Politics". Ah, well. Someone make it political!

lookout123 · 01-03-2005, 12:30 PM

i'm in the black. i paid off the CC's slowly, but at the same time was saving $XX each month on a dollar cost averaging program. every time i got something paid off and had freed up cash, i added 50% of it to my monthly plan. every time my income increased i added 50% of the increase to the investment. in the beginning we were just scratching by, we really didn't have anything for entertainment for some months, but it was worth it in the long run. in the last 5 years we've managed to accumulate about 1 year's income in investments and savings. that does count investment growth.

lookout123 · 01-03-2005, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitsune

...and I have no idea how I managed to put this in "Politics". Ah, well. Someone make it political!

if it weren't for that dirtbag GWB we could all be rich!!!

Kitsune · 01-03-2005, 01:05 PM

Student loans were bad, but credit cards were the real killer for me. They took forever. I used them for all my big purchases after my move and new job. In an attempt to remedy my debt, I took the cards out of my wallet and began using cash. That should have made the debt go down, right?

Bad idea.

Each time I'd take money out of the ATM and break a twenty, it would dissapear a short time later and I had no way to know where it went. Lunch out somewhere? The grocery store? Gasoline? Piles of checks being written didn't help much, either. I tried various methods of keeping a budget which didn't work so well, was difficult to keep up with, and was tough to stay motivated about. My savings account never seemed to have anything in it.

Oddly enough the solution, for me, was to use nothing but a credit card for everyday purchases. With the help of a friend, I was able to consolidate all my credit card debt onto one card with a high limit (this required some balance transfers) and then use one of the newly empty cards for daily transactions. While I paid a set amount to the low rate/high balance card each month, I paid off the small card with the high rate/low balance every thirty days without fail. The result was that none of the cards accumulated interest and I got a nice printed, running tally of my monthy budget. Gasoline, the phone bill, and food were all easy to check at a glance.

Sometime ago I had worked out that it would have taken five years (perhaps longer) to clear my debt the old way of paying it off in chunks on the card it originated on. I don't think I'll ever trust any of the advertised consolidators, either.

Of course, being single and not having children, I've often been told I have no idea what living with real debt is like...

garnet · 01-03-2005, 01:14 PM

I have about $3,000 in debt, mostly since I bought my house and have splurged on some repairs and improvements. I also took a big pay cut for my current job and don't have the ability to save the way I would like to anymore. I was about $20k in debt at one time (mostly from credit card use in college and right after), but managed to get it all paid off by working lots of overtime at my old job. Luckily my credit is nearly perfect now, so the debt I carry has a rate of only 2.99%.

Undertoad · 01-03-2005, 01:45 PM

(thread moved)

Clodfobble · 01-03-2005, 02:56 PM

My husband and I technically have about $5000 left on his student loans, but since he's back in school right now they're deferred without interest, so we're putting the money we were paying on it each month against our mortgage principal instead.

Other than that, I'm proud to say we're completely debt-free--just paid off the second car last month, actually! I've only carried a balance on my credit card once, December of my freshman year in college. The dorms were closed for the holidays, so I didn't get the bill out of my mailbox until the due date had already passed.

LabRat · 01-03-2005, 03:24 PM

We've got just the mortgage, my car (to be paid off this year, and kept) and his truck (hubby already wants a newer one, and it's only 2 yrs old). I paid off my ~$800 of CC debt right away after getting first 'real' job 4 years ago, now only carry a balance once in awhile. Never had student loans, lived at home during my BS, 'rents paid tuition, then got schalorships and assistantships for grad school tuition. Have had a job (or 3) continuously since I was 16. Husband dropped out of school way before any debt accumulated.

Now, with 1 child, we are usually in the black at the end of the month, December excluded. I sell Mary Kay VERY part-time for a little $$ to blow.

dar512 · 01-03-2005, 03:38 PM

We have a large debt because of the house. I assume you weren't talking about that. Otherwise we pay our bills off and save a bit each month.

melidasaur · 01-03-2005, 04:20 PM

Most of our debt is student loans. I'm still in school and so is my husband, so I guess it's inevitable. Neither of us had student loan debt from undergrad, so we are in good shape compared to many of our collegues. We did a financial management course through our church called Financial Peace University. It was developed by a guy named Dave Ramsey. He has a syndicated talk radio show as well. The focus of the program is not too religious, just a little bit, but even if you are not Christian, I strongly suggest you check FPU out. It has helped us immensly and we're in the black pretty much every month and have manage to save quite a bit - which is hard when you're both in school. The website is www.daveramsey.com.

OnyxCougar · 01-03-2005, 05:07 PM

Mine is credit card bills ($7500 including the one I had years ago and defaulted on) and my husbands student loan ($2000 left) and my tax screw up from last year ($1300). The car and taxes will be paid off by my refund this year, and the $200 that we were paying to the car every month is going toward the misc medical bills (about $300 total) and then the student loan. Once that's paid we're paying off and closing his credit card ($200 left) and then mine ($1500 of the above $7500) then the older bills. It's happening, just frustratingly slowly.

I'm horrible with spending little bits of money through the week. I'm now down to taking the ATM card out of my wallet, and my husband gives me $20 a week for gas and whatever. If we don't do that I'll go through $50 a week just on crap I have no clue where it goes. He has the will power, I know it's my weakness and I don't mind giving it up for the sake of our financial fitness in the long run.

glatt · 01-03-2005, 05:58 PM

It's like the ant and the grasshopper. Be an ant.

We have a lot less "stuff" than most of our friends. I bring sandwiches to work every day for lunch. One peanut butter and jelly, and one with meat. We drive an old, reliable, compact car. We bought new with savings almost a decade ago, so never had to make payments on it. It still runs great. I hope that lasts.

We amost never eat out. We never buy anything impulsively. We discuss every non-essential purchase beforehand, and often decide to hold off for a while on buying it. We usually then forget we wanted it. We rent movies from the corner $1 rental place, but don't go out to the theaters.

We are debt free, except for our mortgage, and even that bothers me a little bit even though it is less than the current rent on a 1 BR apartment around here. We live within our means, and actually come out ahead a few grand each year, which we put aside for the kids or in our nest egg. In addition, I contribute 10% to my 401K.

I feel a little envious when I go over to friends houses and see the stuff they have, but I know on paper I'm far wealthier than most Americans, and probably wealthier than many of my friends.

Oh yeah, and we are happy. Even without all that "stuff."

melidasaur · 01-03-2005, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnyxCougar

I'm horrible with spending little bits of money through the week. I'm now down to taking the ATM card out of my wallet, and my husband gives me $20 a week for gas and whatever. If we don't do that I'll go through $50 a week just on crap I have no clue where it goes. He has the will power, I know it's my weakness and I don't mind giving it up for the sake of our financial fitness in the long run.

That's really a good tactic... I do that as well. It's much easier be smart with your money when you have cash - it's sometimes hard to let the green stuff go. I know I think twice when I need to buy something and all I have to pay for it is cash. Now with gas, I'd just have to suck it up and pay for it

.

Roosta · 01-04-2005, 07:15 AM

Sorted all the finances out a couple of months ago. I use an Amex card now for most things as I have to pay it all back inside a month.

View Poll Results: How much debt do you hold?
$20k+	2	6.45%
$10k-20k	1	3.23%
$6k-10k	5	16.13%
$2k-5k	3	9.68%
$0-1k	3	9.68%
I break even each month	4	12.90%
I'm in the black each month	13	41.94%
Voters: 31. You may not vote on this poll

01-03-2005, 12:21 PM	#1
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	Red or Black? A numer of articles indicate that more Americans are in debt than ever before. I held around $8k in debt and managed to finally kill it after some hard work -- the feeling is liberating and wonderful. If you're in the red, how much are you and what caused you to be there? (property and vehicle loans don't count)

01-03-2005, 12:30 PM	#3
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	i'm in the black. i paid off the CC's slowly, but at the same time was saving $XX each month on a dollar cost averaging program. every time i got something paid off and had freed up cash, i added 50% of it to my monthly plan. every time my income increased i added 50% of the increase to the investment. in the beginning we were just scratching by, we really didn't have anything for entertainment for some months, but it was worth it in the long run. in the last 5 years we've managed to accumulate about 1 year's income in investments and savings. that does count investment growth. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

01-03-2005, 03:24 PM	#9
LabRat twatfaced two legged bumhole Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,143	We've got just the mortgage, my car (to be paid off this year, and kept) and his truck (hubby already wants a newer one, and it's only 2 yrs old). I paid off my ~$800 of CC debt right away after getting first 'real' job 4 years ago, now only carry a balance once in awhile. Never had student loans, lived at home during my BS, 'rents paid tuition, then got schalorships and assistantships for grad school tuition. Have had a job (or 3) continuously since I was 16. Husband dropped out of school way before any debt accumulated. Now, with 1 child, we are usually in the black at the end of the month, December excluded. I sell Mary Kay VERY part-time for a little $$ to blow. __________________ Strength does not come from how much weight you can lift, or how many miles you can run. It comes from knowing that you set a goal, and rose to the challenge. Strength comes from within.

01-03-2005, 04:20 PM	#11
melidasaur Traded your soul for pogs. Join Date: May 2004 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 646	Most of our debt is student loans. I'm still in school and so is my husband, so I guess it's inevitable. Neither of us had student loan debt from undergrad, so we are in good shape compared to many of our collegues. We did a financial management course through our church called Financial Peace University. It was developed by a guy named Dave Ramsey. He has a syndicated talk radio show as well. The focus of the program is not too religious, just a little bit, but even if you are not Christian, I strongly suggest you check FPU out. It has helped us immensly and we're in the black pretty much every month and have manage to save quite a bit - which is hard when you're both in school. The website is www.daveramsey.com. __________________ I love England, what can I say?

01-03-2005, 12:26 PM	#2
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	...and I have no idea how I managed to put this in "Politics". Ah, well. Someone make it political!

01-03-2005, 01:05 PM	#5
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	Student loans were bad, but credit cards were the real killer for me. They took forever. I used them for all my big purchases after my move and new job. In an attempt to remedy my debt, I took the cards out of my wallet and began using cash. That should have made the debt go down, right? Bad idea. Each time I'd take money out of the ATM and break a twenty, it would dissapear a short time later and I had no way to know where it went. Lunch out somewhere? The grocery store? Gasoline? Piles of checks being written didn't help much, either. I tried various methods of keeping a budget which didn't work so well, was difficult to keep up with, and was tough to stay motivated about. My savings account never seemed to have anything in it. Oddly enough the solution, for me, was to use nothing but a credit card for everyday purchases. With the help of a friend, I was able to consolidate all my credit card debt onto one card with a high limit (this required some balance transfers) and then use one of the newly empty cards for daily transactions. While I paid a set amount to the low rate/high balance card each month, I paid off the small card with the high rate/low balance every thirty days without fail. The result was that none of the cards accumulated interest and I got a nice printed, running tally of my monthy budget. Gasoline, the phone bill, and food were all easy to check at a glance. Sometime ago I had worked out that it would have taken five years (perhaps longer) to clear my debt the old way of paying it off in chunks on the card it originated on. I don't think I'll ever trust any of the advertised consolidators, either. Of course, being single and not having children, I've often been told I have no idea what living with real debt is like...

01-03-2005, 01:14 PM	#6
garnet ... Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 657	I have about $3,000 in debt, mostly since I bought my house and have splurged on some repairs and improvements. I also took a big pay cut for my current job and don't have the ability to save the way I would like to anymore. I was about $20k in debt at one time (mostly from credit card use in college and right after), but managed to get it all paid off by working lots of overtime at my old job. Luckily my credit is nearly perfect now, so the debt I carry has a rate of only 2.99%.

01-03-2005, 01:45 PM	#7
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	(thread moved)

01-03-2005, 02:56 PM	#8
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	My husband and I technically have about $5000 left on his student loans, but since he's back in school right now they're deferred without interest, so we're putting the money we were paying on it each month against our mortgage principal instead. Other than that, I'm proud to say we're completely debt-free--just paid off the second car last month, actually! I've only carried a balance on my credit card once, December of my freshman year in college. The dorms were closed for the holidays, so I didn't get the bill out of my mailbox until the due date had already passed.

01-03-2005, 03:38 PM	#10
dar512 dar512 is now Pete Zicato Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago suburb Posts: 4,968	We have a large debt because of the house. I assume you weren't talking about that. Otherwise we pay our bills off and save a bit each month.

01-03-2005, 05:07 PM	#12
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	Mine is credit card bills ($7500 including the one I had years ago and defaulted on) and my husbands student loan ($2000 left) and my tax screw up from last year ($1300). The car and taxes will be paid off by my refund this year, and the $200 that we were paying to the car every month is going toward the misc medical bills (about $300 total) and then the student loan. Once that's paid we're paying off and closing his credit card ($200 left) and then mine ($1500 of the above $7500) then the older bills. It's happening, just frustratingly slowly. I'm horrible with spending little bits of money through the week. I'm now down to taking the ATM card out of my wallet, and my husband gives me $20 a week for gas and whatever. If we don't do that I'll go through $50 a week just on crap I have no clue where it goes. He has the will power, I know it's my weakness and I don't mind giving it up for the sake of our financial fitness in the long run. __________________ Impotentes defendere libertatem non possunt. "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

01-03-2005, 05:58 PM	#13
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	It's like the ant and the grasshopper. Be an ant. We have a lot less "stuff" than most of our friends. I bring sandwiches to work every day for lunch. One peanut butter and jelly, and one with meat. We drive an old, reliable, compact car. We bought new with savings almost a decade ago, so never had to make payments on it. It still runs great. I hope that lasts. We amost never eat out. We never buy anything impulsively. We discuss every non-essential purchase beforehand, and often decide to hold off for a while on buying it. We usually then forget we wanted it. We rent movies from the corner $1 rental place, but don't go out to the theaters. We are debt free, except for our mortgage, and even that bothers me a little bit even though it is less than the current rent on a 1 BR apartment around here. We live within our means, and actually come out ahead a few grand each year, which we put aside for the kids or in our nest egg. In addition, I contribute 10% to my 401K. I feel a little envious when I go over to friends houses and see the stuff they have, but I know on paper I'm far wealthier than most Americans, and probably wealthier than many of my friends. Oh yeah, and we are happy. Even without all that "stuff."

01-04-2005, 07:15 AM	#15
Roosta Nutter. Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: England Posts: 221	Sorted all the finances out a couple of months ago. I use an Amex card now for most things as I have to pay it all back inside a month. __________________ Back from the brink...

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