To Sell or Not to Sell: The Finale
I had a post all typed and ready to go on Friday. Blogger ate it. I'm sure it was Blogger's fault and that I had nothing to do with it. Now it's been a week since I last blogged. Each night as I turned out the light for bedtime, I felt like my day wasn't quite complete since I hadn't blogged!
We got the realtor results back and they were what we thought they would be. Taking ALL things into consideration, including the wonderful advice that y'all gave in the comments, we have decided. . .
NOT to sell. For now, anyway.
Without enough money to purchase a piece of property and build a small home on it debt-free, selling and moving would put us pretty much where we are right now. Except that we would START paying all the interest off the top again.
So now we're on to Phase 2 of our Get-Out-of-Debt plan:
- Create and follow a stringent budget (already in place and working well)
- Sell anything that isn't related to us and we no longer need (Son is safe.)
- Throw any and all extra money at the consumer debt as fast as we can
We haven't given up on our dream of 100% debt-free living, but we need to get in a better position for that to happen.
And so ends the saga.
Next up: Anyone want to share their budget? I love reading other people's budgets. Is that just me?
5 comments:
Budget? What budget? Really, we used to have one, but it got lost somewhere along the way. I need to sit down and make one. UGGGHHHH
PS: Personally, I am so glad you decided not to sell, since you don't have to. Selling is a gamble at best and with the market the way it is... And, then you would also be uprooting J. That isn't necessarily bad, but something else to think about. Camping might be great in a warmer climate, but where you live that is also quite a gamble. HUGS
No, it's not just you - but I'm surprised to hear it's not just me!
So. We're a two-income house, paying off debt in order to move to a one-income family in ~3 years. We have 3 kids from my husband's previous marriage, all of whom live 1300 miles away with their mother.
MONTHLY BILLS: ~$2137.14
Rent (3-bedroom townhome): $935
Water: ~$33
Phone: $97.90 (2 cells, unlimited texting)
Child Support: $720
Electricity: ~$200
DSL Internet: $34.74
Auto Insurance: $116.50 (2 cars, 2 drivers)
LIVING EXPENSES: $787.49
Groceries: $270
Gasoline: $150
Birth control: $17.49
Dining Out: $100 (our big weakness!)
His work lunches/fun money: $100
My work lunches/fun money: $100
Discretionary: $50
Note that this is ALL of our living expenses. Haircuts, clothing, everything comes out of either fun money or discretionary...
The two above categories come out of my husband's teaching income of roughly $2800/mo take-home (after we pay ~$450/mo toward his teaching certification). We are usually a tad bit short to cover all of the above; the difference is taken out of our "debt snowball" below... Ultimately, our goal is to get everything we need into this income - but we're not quite there yet!
DEBT MINIMUMS: $1218.96
Credit card #1 (medical): $110
Credit card #2 (auto loan balance xfer): $100
Credit card #3: $133
Car loan: $267
Student loan #1: $90
Student loan #2: $66.96
Student loan #3: $452 ($40k balance, the big cahuna!)
SAVINGS GOALS: $693.33
Tax refund: $20/wk or ~$87/mo (we aim for a $0 tax balance; this covers any miscalculation and becomes our "tax refund" each year)
Plane tickets: $100/wk or ~$433/mo
Summer fund: $320/3mo or ~$107/mo (swim lessons, summer camps, season passes, etc)
Kid visit fund: $75/3mo or ~$25/mo (Easter, birthdays, etc)
Christmas fund: $125/3mo or ~$42/mo
The remainder of my salary (~$2000/mo) goes directly to our smallest debt (Credit card #1 currently). It should be paid off by the end of March!
Packrat--I know what you mean. It's the "B" word, isn't it?
Camping "Up North" would definitely be a challenge. We could have done it back in FL, but there would have to be certain adjustments to make it happen here--even for the "warm" seasons. I was up for the challenge, though!
WHEN we have the money to pay CASH for property and CASH to build, then we'll make the move. No point in a lateral move where the bank just gets more interest.
J was against the move for one reason: He was worried he wouldn't be able to take all of his toys with him!
Rini! Fellow budget-enjoyers!
Thanks so much for posting yours. It's so interesting to see how different families deal with allocating their money to provide for the necessitites, goals, dreams, and "extras" of life.
I'm so impressed with your plan. TOO many people have no plan other than to spend until they run out--and then charge the rest.
What region of the country do you live in?
I'll be posting ours soon.
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