Time to get Gazelle intense!

**mommy4ever** · 09-04-2008, 03:01 PM

Yesterday, dh got word that the company he works for has shut down a plant in Eastern canada!! This is very scary! HIs plant has their operating budget for next year and they are currently profitable, the other wasn't.

I am terrified! I asked him a couple weeks ago if he had back up plan, he could get a job with his dad, however he doesn't have a journeyman in that feild, meaning he'd be making $20 less per hour!! I guess better than no job.

I'm am very very thankful that I earn enough now to pay our mortgage, utilities and groceries. Plus most of current payments. SOOOO.. we need to get rid of a BUNCH of things ASAP, so that I can personally cover everything, period, and dh income banked!

I'm not liking the outlook of the next couple years at all! He can go through jobs like water, if he's not happy, he's been here going on 8 years and loves it. Now with this pending, we could be doing the new job every 3 months again

Time to get intense and get rid of a tonne of bills!!

**frugalbabe** · 09-04-2008, 03:10 PM

You can do it! Good luck, it sounds to me like you are very skilled at getting your ducks in a row.

**Cricketlegs** · 09-04-2008, 03:11 PM

Good luck and if it turns out dhs job is safe just think of the added benefits to your future getting rid of "stuff".

**mommy4ever** · 09-04-2008, 03:37 PM

Just paid a little over 50% of one bill today, will be payin gthe balance off tomorrow and paying the house bills.

Then onto the next one....sigh. I feel stressed! But time to get rid of it all! and I mean ALL

**Cricketlegs** · 09-04-2008, 03:56 PM

Remember gazelle not "hit by a MACK truck".

Congrats on the early pay off though. I can see you are really serious about getting this done.

**Greebo** · 09-04-2008, 03:58 PM

Get your EF built up first, hon. Debt comes second next to preparedness for emergencies.

**mommy4ever** · 09-04-2008, 03:59 PM

LOL.. There's still some mad money available. Just that the company shut them down suddenly, so I don't want to be in a position where we can't do it.

But as dh said, it's not the end of the world to refinance as our mortgage is only 40% of the value of our home. Even with the debt added to it it wouldn't make 50%. I just don't want to do that!

**Greebo** · 09-04-2008, 04:15 PM

What I'm reading in your sig is that your EF is $50. I'm telling you, if that number is right, your priorities are out of whack.

Priority 1 is be able to feed your family and keep the lights on if DH loses his job. Paying off the debt now does you no good at all if you have to go back into debt if he loses his job.

Build up the EF first. If he loses his job, and you can't pay the bills for the consumer debt, let them have their fits. Family first!

**mommy4ever** · 09-04-2008, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by Greebo

Get your EF built up first, hon. Debt comes second next to preparedness for emergencies.

Dh and I are in a stalemate over that one. We have a completely clear line of credit, in his opinion it makes more sense to rely on that, and not have a measly $1000 in the bank, since it wouldn't cover a month of mortgage payment, and we're earning nearly nothing in interest and paying way more. I kind of agree, that $1000 is a cushion to make ends meet, sometimes.

I am rebuilding it, monthly contributions, dh is cool with that, but the focus is paying things off. It's our compromise on it. He agrees it was nice to have when all the fees came due, but he just doesn't want that debt hanging over us the whole time. We are a team effort big time now.

I even cut out some things I have been waiting to get with my side income. But that $500 is being delegated to a different purpose now. It's what is necessary right now, and that's what I"ll do!

**chevy_chick95** · 09-04-2008, 04:41 PM

good luck! sounds like you have things covered in a way that works for you, which is what matters!

**prftstrngr** · 09-04-2008, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by mommy4ever

Yesterday, dh got word that the company he works for has shut down a plant in Eastern canada!!

Im in Eastern Canada...what plant did they shut down???

**mommy4ever** · 09-04-2008, 05:19 PM

I don't what the name is, as the parent company didn't necessarily share it's name. It was a reman plant for industrial equipment.

**Cricketlegs** · 09-05-2008, 12:13 AM

Well, if paying debt without an EF is how you guys want to do it and agree then I say "go for it" and hope it works out.

If for some reason it isn't working, plans and budgets can always be changed and altered.

Me, I love my EF-it saved us last month and this month I am putting it back without it interfering with my snowball.

I think with any plan you have to have a plan that both partners can agree on first beofre anything else.

Paying bills and having debt is bad enough without strife in the house hold.

I also think you guys hit PANIC MODE and just want to see some debt go away asap. I can understand that. I am not hitting my cc and then my car, and then dds student loans. I am snowballing ALL THREE.

That is NOT the DR plan exactly, it is my modified plan following DR.
The cc is a pain and goes down kinda slow even thought I pay $200 over. The car just gets $88 over but man it stays 3 months in advanced payments AND the payment of $400 on a $311 payment puts more on principal than my monthly payment even is.

So I say give it a try your way and see how it goes and then change it as you live it.

**Greebo** · 09-05-2008, 09:02 AM

Originally Posted by mommy4ever

Dh and I are in a stalemate over that one. We have a completely clear line of credit, in his opinion it makes more sense to rely on that, and not have a measly $1000 in the bank, since it wouldn't cover a month of mortgage payment, and we're earning nearly nothing in interest and paying way more. I kind of agree, that $1000 is a cushion to make ends meet, sometimes.

I used to think like that too. However, that has several problems associated with it:
1) Lines of Credit can be frozen. If the Bank decides to freeze your credit for any reason (say, a sudden increase in the use of other debt, a noted loss of income, etc.), then what?
2) Debt adds risk. If you are in tough times and have to live on debt, what happens if the tough times outlast the debt? Having an EF doesn't eliminate that concern, but if you have an EF, then you can delay how long it is before you need to use debt.
3) Debt adds cost. If you borrow money in a crisis, then you have to pay back even more. Again, if the crisis outlasts the debt, now your crisis got a lot worse.
4) EFs EARN MONEY. An EF in a savings or MM account will grow on its own over time, extending the period of time you can avoid having to use debt.

I am rebuilding it, monthly contributions, dh is cool with that, but the focus is paying things off. It's our compromise on it. He agrees it was nice to have when all the fees came due, but he just doesn't want that debt hanging over us the whole time. We are a team effort big time now.

I agree that being on the same page is more important than anything else. I just don't agree with the priority order. At all. But it is your money - and if you can stomach the risk, more power too you. I hope you end up not being another statistic...

**mommy4ever** · 09-05-2008, 09:05 AM

Thankfully, there was some discussion at the plant yesterday. The plant wasnt shut down completely, it's winding down, and will be closing. As to his plant, his GM is now the CEO type role overseeing all the reman plants, and he says that they like to see thier companies at 20%, they are at 18%, and the one that was closed was at 8%. They aren't in danger, but they do need to refocus and improve the numbers to ensure their longevity.

The new GM, is going to be great. He's a NO NONSENSE kinda guy. People sitting at 20% productivity, aren't going to last, there's going to be more professionalism for sure. I can't wait to see the layoffs. There are 5 or 6 guys there that do nothing, and get paid really nice wages($35/hr) to talk on the phone and eat breakfast for the first 3 or 4 hours of the day. Jobs that should take 20 hours are taking them 90. Yes 90. Why? Because no one does anything about it! That is about to change.

I do hope dh is offered a position in management, he is next up, he has been before, but the line he was managing was closed down. If he does, he's going to be able to lose some dead weight, and the shop wouldn't miss them, and the guys that stay, their moral will go up and people will be back up to 120% productivity. Yeah, he won't make friends, but he doesn't hang out with anyone anyway.