The Krbs financial dream

**krbshappy71** · 03-18-2010, 03:57 PM

Dream Plan I am aiming for: Pay off all debts by 2015, including house.
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Income: 1,632.00 and sometimes child support of $576, which has stopped again.

Basic bills:

Must come out of checking:

House 355.00 autopay
HOA 40.00 autopay
Car payment 279.38 autopay
Car insurance 71.23 autopay
Student Loan 51.84 autopay
Xcel Energy 32.00 autopay
cable 42.33 autopay
cell phone 113.61 autopay
electric 91.50 autopay
Rx 40.00 pay in person
dog food 50.00 pay in person
gas, 2 tanks 60.00 pay in person
food 200.00 pay in person $50 wk
CCard minimum payment $200

Total above: 1,626.89
Total leftover: 5.11
plus Child Support of 576= 613.56
Not covered usually: $10 other animals, $100 vet siutations, clothing, household items, household repairs.
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Debts with interest rates:
Creditor Balance Rate Payment
Student Loan $3,252.37 5.00% 51.84
Ccard 11,457.39 10.00% 200.00
Auto Loan 12,103.61 6.00% 279.38
house 77,181.00 0.00% 230.00

Possible future income: Will be working extra hours this month and possibly this summer. No news on child support yet. It comes and goes.

Upcoming costs: teen getting license to car insurance will be increasing. Cutting out a phone on cell phone so will be one-time charge of breaking contract then bill will be $10 cheaper a month. Registering cars this and next month.
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So is it possible? I've halted all credit and debit card use, plan to be cash only from here on out.

**Greebo** · 03-18-2010, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

Car payment 279.38 autopay

Sell the car.

cell phone 113.61 autopay

Sell the iPhone Get a $50/month plan/phone

plus Child Support of 576= 613.56

WHEN this comes in, it goes first to building the BEF - then to paying off your debts.

Not covered usually: $10 other animals, $100 vet siutations, clothing, household items, household repairs.

start sinking funds

Creditor Balance Rate Payment
Auto Loan 12,103.61 6.00% 279.38

Sell the car. Did I say that already? Sell the car.

Upcoming costs: teen getting license to car insurance will be increasing. Cutting out a phone on cell phone so will be one-time charge of breaking contract then bill will be $10 cheaper a month.

Another reason to sell the car.

You can get a cheaper plan than $120/month for 2 people. You can get a $70 plan with AT&T

So is it possible? I've halted all credit and debit card use, plan to be cash only from here on out.

The good news is your budget balances.

The problem you have above all else is your income. You make take home less than $20,000 a year and you have a dependent.

You should be applying for as much help as you can get - food stamps, whatever.

Look for new job opportunities that offer education benefits - find something you really want to do and start learning how you can work around that field. You told me in chat you do PC repairs for a school - you're starving to death. What about going into computer repair for your neighborhood? Operate out of your house - no expenses unless the cust pays for them (parts, software) etc.

You've got to get that income up to a livable wage!

**krbshappy71** · 03-18-2010, 04:28 PM

LOL Greebo! I don't have an iPhone, don't I wish. I need to stay on Verizon as the LDR and all my family is on Verizon. I do pay for unlimited texting due to the LDR. I did cancel one of the lines but that will only reduce my cell bill by $10. meh.

Sellll the carrrr... I know I know...ughhhhhh I don't want to!! Wait, what is that I hear? My feet stomping again. *sigh*

**krbshappy71** · 03-18-2010, 04:34 PM

small error in my math:

plus Child Support of 576= 613.56 should be 581.11

**kita** · 03-18-2010, 07:07 PM

A few suggestions:

House 355.00 autopay
HOA 40.00 autopay
Car payment 279.38 autopay I admit, I am with Greebo on this. Look at the Kelley Blue Book and see if you can sell it. Tell yourself you need to buy a clunker that will last at least 1-2 years. Then you can re-evaluate.
Car insurance 71.23 autopay Call around for a better deal. I checked Progressive's list of offers and then called my company --GEICO-- and told them what I did. They asked me for my info (on my new clunker!!) and then made me wait for 5 minutes before offering me exactly $20 less than the lowest rate on Progressive. Of course I stayed.
Student Loan 51.84 autopay Do you qualify for a six-month financial forbearence until that emergency fund is finished?
Xcel Energy 32.00 autopay
cable 42.33 autopay I don't know what this entails but look to see if you can get a better deal wtih another company or by lowering your service. I'm going without cable at the moment but I don't get CBS or ABC here so I am a little more lenient towards something REALLY basic. In the meantime, I live off of Hulu.
cell phone 113.61 autopay Big fan of Boost here. Cricket is about the same. If your family complains, I say tell them of the good deal you got and convince them to join you on Boost.[/COLOR]
electric 91.50 autopay
Rx 40.00 pay in person Things to look for here would be all the major grocery chains, Walmart, Rite-aid etc who offer generic meds at a discount. Also you can switch pharmacies to get rewards. Or if you have insurance ask if there is a mail-order service which would be cheaper.
dog food 50.00 pay in person Another brand? Costco? Coupons??
gas, 2 tanks 60.00 pay in person
food 200.00 pay in person $50 wk This is excellent. Someone mentioned food stamps and you might look into that.
CCard minimum payment $200

Those are just my thoughts. I don't know everything about your situation or where you live, but I think those points dserve some poking around in to see what it will get you.
You may feel like you are not ready for food stamps or the forbearence but you need a better footing for your positive action. It seems like you don't have a lot of back-up or wiggle room if something happens. I think you would rather get a little help now rather than falling on your face in six months...

**ladytoysdream** · 03-18-2010, 07:53 PM

You need a vehicle to get to work right ?
If you sell and get a beater, then the beater may need parts and future labor to keep it running. Do you have a cheap mechanic ?

Your child getting a license Let them find a way to come up with the extra insurance costs. ( We raised 7, and never put any of them on our car insurance. )

How many children living at home currently ?

See if you can get some food stamps or use a food pantry. Then you should be able to spend less on groceries out of your regular budget.

You should be able to spend less on the dog food. How many dogs do you have ?

Phone... you can get a cheap tracfone. Works out to $ 7 a month for us. We bought the one that had the double minutes on it from Walmart for $ 30 on sale. Buy the $ 19.99 card every 3 months. That is 60 minutes , then doubled. I also go online and find a promo code for bonus minutes. One can text on it, but we don't use or need that option.

When you get the support money, build the EF up.
Don't be tempted to splurge with it.

Seeing the numbers on paper helps a lot. That is a big step.

GOOD LUCK

**krbshappy71** · 03-18-2010, 10:07 PM

Hi all, checking in again.

The line that says "cable" is actually internet, I should have changed that. It used to be cable, is cable company, but I dropped cable and I am a hulu.com fan as well. I do not have a land-line for phone, only cell.

I've talked with the dealership and they will pay me just $400 shy of my total car loan. I left to think about it. I realized later that along with losing the car payment my car insurance payment should go down too. Not to mention only having one car to do maintenance on and fill up with gas.

I failed to mention I already have a beater, its the teen's car and I've talked with her about sharing it. She's on board with the money makeover, I think she is tired of my misery as well. We have not been going anywhere or doing anything for quite some time as I've just been trying to stay afloat. No joke about "wiggle room" there just isn't any. I think the best thing I've done yet is to "stop the bleeding." and going cash-only. I was living a fake lifestyle.

**Greebo** · 03-19-2010, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

I've talked with the dealership and they will pay me just $400 shy of my total car loan. I left to think about it.

Is that in writing?

**krbshappy71** · 03-19-2010, 10:28 AM

No, he jotted it on my post-it note but I'm going back today. Also today the other guy (that seemed nicer than this guy, over the phone at least) is supposed to be there. Same position, just seemed nicer. Not that it really matters but I didn't like that guy LOL!

**Greebo** · 03-19-2010, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

No, he jotted it on my post-it note but I'm going back today. Also today the other guy (that seemed nicer than this guy, over the phone at least) is supposed to be there. Same position, just seemed nicer. Not that it really matters but I didn't like that guy LOL!

Get it in writing or it's bull.

**krbshappy71** · 03-19-2010, 10:48 AM

Ok will do, I'm going back today. The beater worked last night, we drove it around for half hour no issues. This morning we took it to school/work no issues so I am GONNA DO IT. (get out of this car payment)

**kita** · 03-19-2010, 11:38 AM

I am so happy for you about the car. Don't forget to ask at least one more dealership to see if you can get a better deal. I suppose you can do better with a private sale but this might be one of those times that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
And this is one of the odd things I would say use your ef money. Within a month you will be back to about where you are now and the next month you will be far ahead.

**Samigirl** · 03-19-2010, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

Ok will do, I'm going back today. The beater worked last night, we drove it around for half hour no issues. This morning we took it to school/work no issues so I am GONNA DO IT. (get out of this car payment)

Great job on getting motivated to get out of that car payment. I'm in the same boat...getting ready to sell my paid-off car. We just have to remind ourselves that we don't have to drive a beater forever. It's temporary.

**krbshappy71** · 03-19-2010, 06:04 PM

Oh my stars....I did it. I was riding home in the shuttle after selling my car, just in shock. I wandered around the house putting away stuff that was in my car. (I heard someone say once, I think Dave Ramsey? That a car is just a woman's large purse...)

I moved the beater into the garage. So odd.