So proud of dh and myself

**Shellshome** · 01-22-2007, 09:40 PM

well we had to buy a new car because my Explorer was not going to make it much longer. We loved not having any carpayment (we haven't had one for 3 years now) so in that respect we are lucky. So we went friday just to look at something well we bought it. I have to say I love it!! It is a 2005 Dodge Magnum with 26,000 miles on it and it looks brand new you would never know it was used it still has a little bit of new car smell.

So we talked about it and we can afford it (we wouldn't have done it otherwise) so we decided we need to cut somethings out of the budget to make it nicer and not so stress feeling.

So today I called the Cable, Phone and internet provider we have all 3 together and I dropped 2 of the movie channels (we get hbo free) and I dropped the Voice mail (we have a new answering machine that came on the new phone we bought just before Christmas so really don't need voice mail). So will that we save $20 a month on those. That may not seem like a lot but it was a nice $20 extra. We are on the budget for gas and the electric isn't bad and we only have one credit card we are paying off when we get our taxes back. We agreed to cut eating out (we will eat out 2x a month if that), we are watching what we spend at the grocery and we are getting a whole hog (need to get another freezer for this but we planned for that so it is ok) and we get a quarter of beef also (already have freezer for this).

But I am happy that we agreed together to do this and make paying off things a priority. We want to snowball some money into other areas of the home. We are caught almost all caught up on bills so that is great for us (plan to be caught up once we get taxes back) and I am looking for a job (trying to find something in the town we live in since it is about a 1/2 hour to 45 min dirve either way to the next area). We are also going to start bathing and giving the dog a hair cut (so that is $45 extra every 2 months) and we are also having a big garage sale and selling something we don't need anymore and also working on getting more organized in what we do have.

Dh is putting the roof on the garage and part of the house with the help of my brother and a friend (dh did that kind of work when we 1st got married).

I am just proud of us for coming together on this and doing it right. I am getting a Dave Ramsey book tom at the library so that is great and will help also. Dh even said (and I never thought he would) we need to think about it before we buy it do we really need it or do we really just want it (never thought I would hear him say that).

So I just wanted to share what we have done today to help get on track.

This is how our out look is and goals

1. get current on the rest of the bills with tax money
2. get garage roof done
3. get freezer for whole hog we are getting
4. clean out and organize the basement, attic and garage (we are renting a dumpster for this since the people we bought the house from left the attic full of junk)
5. pay of credit card with tax return (and only use what we can pay off next month which we have been doing but I have my dryer on there with 0% intrest for 1 yr)
6. Start snowballing extra money toward car to get paid off earlier

So how many of you are doing things to change your finances around?

**FrugalMomof3** · 01-22-2007, 10:34 PM

Sounds like you guys have a plan and glad to see the both of you's are in this together,

**jamie79** · 01-22-2007, 10:35 PM

good for the both of you

**pammy** · 01-23-2007, 01:03 AM

Gonna be a pain here... but you probably should have read the book first. His philosophy is if you can't pay cash then you can't afford it. And you bought a car (ie. financed, right?) and aren't current on bills?? But you can afford it?? That doesn't make sense to me.

Sorry, just can't get really excited about someone financing an item that goes down in value. Don't care how good a shape it's in. (okay, okay... don't mean to be a downer, but it's going the OPPOSITE direction of the way you want to go. You can't get out of a hole when you're digging out the bottom! And a newer car with payments financed for umpteen months IS digging out the bottom.)

It's great that you two are coming together and are working to reduce stuff around the house. That stuff is in the RIGHT direction.

Keep that up!!!

Not trying to knock you, just trying to give you a different perspective, in a tough love sorta way. *runs and ducks before the punches start flying*

**kaykwilts** · 01-23-2007, 08:50 AM

I agree that you should have not purchased a car when you were behind in your bills. Also, you need to pay off the credit card and don't buy something unless you have the cash to pay for it. Start an emergency fund. Read Dave Ramsey's books Financial Peace and Total Money Makeover. Other than that I think you are doing a lot of things right. JMHO

**northernmom2boys** · 01-23-2007, 09:03 AM

hope you enjoy the new wheels.We had to purchase a new one last week and my dh is in loveeeeeeeeee lol

**Shellshome** · 01-23-2007, 09:59 AM

Ok no one is a downer but I had to have a car and I was not buying a beater so to speak. The only bill we have to get current is the electric bill and it is only about $100 from current. We have everything else up to date. So I guess I should have explained that to everyone 1st.

As for buying a car for cash that would be great but in all honesty how many of you could do that right now. My car was no longer driveable so I really had no choice and as I said before I was not getting a beater car. I mean it would be great to pay cash for a car but most people just can't do that. In a another respect we also don't have 1/2 the bills that others do that do DR that I have read we only have the one credit card, house and car then our utilities. So we don't have a lot of debt. We have maybe with the house,car and cc right around $70,000 in debt which is nothing compared to some. So we are working on it and going from there.

But I should have phrased get current on bills was really only about $100 on the electric bill which isn't bad at all. Then we are going to knock down other debts and go from there. Most everyone will always have a car payment I didn't plan to buy anything for 2 more years but the problems with my car were not fixable, it had been a great car but sometime you have to do what you have to do.

**Shellshome** · 01-23-2007, 10:01 AM

I should also say that the credit card it a home depot card not a visa or anything like that and I do pay it off at the start of every month except for the dryer which is 0% instrest until Sept but we are paying it off with tax money. Forgot to add that and couldn't figure out how to edit.

**pammy** · 01-23-2007, 10:31 AM

I always thought that, too, that I'll always have a car payment. Now I look at it in another perspective, financing a car is taking my retirement away from me. You're driving your retirement. Watch this video: http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/lms/drive_free/ It totally made sense to me.

Who can go out and buy a car? I can. I can go out right now and buy a car exactly like what I'm driving today. My car I have today isn't new, but it is paid for. It's in great shape. And it should last me another 5 years with the proper maintenance. In five years I'll have enough to buy a much nicer car. Why? Because I quit sending my money to the bank and let them get rich.

Only trying to give you a different way of looking at it, is all.

Phew!! Okay, $100 from current is better than what I imagined. But still... get that caught up asap!!

You might also want to check into changing your withholdings so you don't get a big tax refund every year. It's your money, better you get it in your checks than letting the government hold it for you all year, interest free, and then giving it back to you. You'll need more monthly income with your new payment.

So very happy your hubby and you are on the same page with this, that's great!! Keep up the good work!

**jenloveschip2001** · 01-23-2007, 10:33 AM

Congrats on the new car!! I think you did the right thing buy getting the car as long as you can afford the payment. After all you did get a used car, it isn't like you went out and bought a brand spankin new vehicle. If you had just wanted a newer vehicle you would have traded the old one in three years ago when you paid it off. Sounds like you on the right track!! Congrats!!!

**cheappearls** · 01-23-2007, 11:17 AM

Looks like you have a really great plan set up!

**northernmom2boys** · 01-23-2007, 01:17 PM

who gets ''car fever''every 6 years? Our truck was 12 years old and I was tired of seeing my dh fix it everytime he had a second off from work so we went and got a new one.We now have reliable vehicle,that hopefully for awhile wont need parts lol
We
I think all of these money people make sense but not every step and every rule they have is for everyone.Thats my two cents(and since we have a car payment thats all I can give lol)

**northernmom2boys** · 01-23-2007, 01:17 PM

who gets ''car fever''every 6 years? Our truck was 12 years old and I was tired of seeing my dh fix it everytime he had a second off from work so we went and got a new one.We now have reliable vehicle,that hopefully for awhile wont need parts lol
We dont
I think all of these money people make sense but not every step and every rule they have is for everyone.Thats my two cents(and since we have a car payment thats all I can give lol)

**northernmom2boys** · 01-23-2007, 01:17 PM

who gets ''car fever''every 6 years? Our truck was 12 years old and I was tired of seeing my dh fix it everytime he had a second off from work so we went and got a new one.We now have reliable vehicle,that hopefully for awhile wont need parts lol
We dont have
I think all of these money people make sense but not every step and every rule they have is for everyone.Thats my two cents(and since we have a car payment thats all I can give lol)