Note: Thea would like to be the next BAD blogger and this is her introduction in hopes of becoming it. Please leave any impressions, thoughts or comments about her current situation. More information about this position can be found here
Every month as I watch my hard earned salary fly away into the unknown by a few clicks of a button, I know that my life shouldn’t be like this. As a teacher I work hard and I would, like anyone, like to “play” hard. I would like to take trips and pay for them with my debit card instead of my credit card and buy things without the guilty feeling that almost always accompanies the buying of a want and not a need. This is not my reality now, but I hope that in time, sooner rather than later, it will be.
I am currently going through what I think, no, hope is a transition period in my life. I have a husband, a seven month old and a two-and-a-half year old and everyday is a struggle to keep myself and my family mentally and financially afloat. With that being said however, I think I’m doing a pretty good job. The bills are paid, I’m saving almost 10 percent a month (it does still count as savings if I have to spend it later, right?), everyone is fed, and I’m paying more than the minimum on my credit cards. The problem is however, that there is no (capital N, capital O) money left over at the end of the month. Subsequently, I’ve had to defer my student loans-$30,000 worth, I am stuck with a car I no longer want-still owe $9,000, of which $4,000 is negative equity, and most months have to use my credit card to buy necessities at the end of the month (ok, ok, I put other things on there, too)-which as of March 7, I owe $4,800 on, but that is down from the $9,000 I owed 3 months ago.
Even though as I mentioned earlier, I have a sinking feeling in my stomach when the bills are due, I remain confident that I will reach ALL of m financial goals: being debt FREE (paying off my credit card and student loans, owning my dream car, and vacationing using cash) and providing the best foundation possible for my children (contributing plentifully to their educational IRAs and making other long-term investments) . I believe with education, determination, and support from you all I (we) can do this!
Jeffrey strain is a freelance author, his work has appeared at The Street.com and seekingalpha.com. In addition to having authored thousands of articles, Jeffrey is a former resident of Japan, former owner of Savingadvice.com and a professional digital nomad.
This one is a little light on details. I can’t really tell if Thea’s is a story we’d want to get invested in.
Hey Felicity,
Thank your for the feedback, I will try to be more specific here and in the future if I am chosen to be a blogger on this site.
I have 1 credit card with a balance of $4800, and the interest rate is 19%, this is down from 21% because I call every 2 months to see if I qualify for a rate decrease. I have two different student loans: student loan #1 (for my Master’s)-$17,000 and student loan #2-$13,000 (for my Doctorate which I’m not even a quarter of the way into yet, and I stopped to have a second child, but do plan on continuing). I do have an emergency fund of $3,000 but I know this is not nearly enough (my goal is $10,000, even though this not close to Suze Orman’s 8-month emergency fund which would be $20,000). I have a mortgage of $80,000, but would like to purchase an income property in the future to rent to others. As mentioned before, I also have a car loan of $9,000 for a car that has been outgrown! My monthly salary is eaten up by the mortgage, car payment, food, gas, phone, cable/internet, and childcare.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
I agree- this intro leaves me wanting a bit more detail to be able to judge whether or not I’d be invested in her story.
Hey Kathleen,
Thank you also for the feedback, I have given more detail in my response to an earlier post. Please read the response (it was too lengthy to re-post) and let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again for the feedback.
Hi Thea:
I don’t think you can say you are saving 10% of your salary. You are spending that and more! You made multiple references to buying things that you want rather than need, but make no commitment to stop that behavior. On top of that, you are talking about buying a rental property and owning a dream car. Umm… is it just me? Or are you being unrealistic about your situation? You’ve got 2 little kids who are going to get a lot more expensive as time goes on. Maybe you be looking to reduce spending (drop cable, stop buying things you don’t need) and increase income (tutor?).
I’d love to hear more about your intentions for really getting out of debt (i.e. those that don’t involve purchases!).
Best wishes.
Hey Jaye,
The large items that I would like to purchase i.e. the income property and the “dream car” are items that I would like to purchase when I become financially able to. They are financial goals that have set for myself, behind getting out of credit card debt, saving the minimum $10,000 in my emergency fund, and fully funding my children’s educational IRAs. I understand that they are wants not needs, but I believe that they will enrich the lives of myself and my family.
This being said, I do understand that impulse buying and a lack of savings are the causes of my credit card debt and I realize that financing a car that I can not afford is not the answer to getting me out of debt. I actually have started tutoring and I am using this money (100% of it, yay!) to stock my emergency fund. I have also become more serious about couponing, taking my lunch to work, finding cheap/free family activities, and reducing our food budget by eating out 80% less than we have in previous months.
Thank you for questions, concerns, and suggestions.
Don’t make one of your aspirations to own a dream car. The best way to financial freedom is to not only not buy new cars, but not want them. When I see a fancy new car – instead of seeing the plushness – I see higher insurance, a depreciating asset, madness when someone dings it at the grocery store, me being mad at the kids for spilling drinks in it, etc. And if you still want it – only buy it wish cash when you can afford to – never finance a car.
Wow! That does give me another outlook on owning a new car. Realistically (or rationally), I don’t think I’ll ever purchase a NEW car because I can’t ever see myself (no matter how much I have saved and if I’m debt free) paying over $15,000 for a car which as you point out will indefinitely suffer from dings, dents, and kids.
I can’t stop myself from wanting a better car, but I can (and I am) focus on the things that are much more important to me like y children’s future and that euphoric feeling you get when you are out of credit card debt (this is the closest I’ve been to being debt free).
Hi Thea,
what’s your husband’s take on debt elimination?
Are your finances combined? Is there additional debt on “his” side?
What field of work would you like to work in after the doctorate? Still Education/Teaching?
What changes are you willing to make to get rid off debt (where could you spend less or earn more)?
Where do you draw the line / what kind of sacrifices won’t you be able to make to get rid of the debt?
With two little kids, do you think you’ll have enough time for writing posts regularly?
I wish you all the best on your financial journey.
My husband is basically not involved in the debt plan (which is another issue that I have learned from and would like to blog about) , we had a plan when we first got married, combined our finances (I had by far the most debt, so he was able to pay most of his off immediately and we just paid off his truck last month, yay!), but then things went south financially he started making less and less, the bank started charging fees on our combined account, so “our” account became “my” account and he started using “his” savings account as his main account.
WHEN (All caps because it will take me a while) I finish my doctorate I do plan on staying I education but moving to the college level, into consulting, or into the administrative side, this will bring a significant increase in salary and will allow me to pay off the student loans.
The largest sacrifice that I have made thus far is to put the schooling on hold in order to take on more responsibilities at my current job, including tutoring, which will increase my salary. I have also significantly cut my food budget buy not eating out as much as we used to, couponing, and sticking to needs and not wants.
I said not eating out as much, because this is one of the things that we get a lot of pleasure out of, along with travel. But we do it on a strict budget, pay for it with cash, always use coupons, and go the cheapest route possible.
I do have a very busy life, but if chosen I will make the blog a priority and research, post, and follow up regularly.
Thank you for your questions, concerns, and best wishes.