Author Topic: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans  (Read 10138 times)

sixkids

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sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« on: April 09, 2017, 12:19:00 PM »


Topic Title: Sixkids case study-- Is there any hope?

Life Situation: Married filing jointly, myself (age 38), stay at home wife (age 30), six kids ages 8 month to 6 years, living in Ohio.

Gross Salary/Wages: Commission based, so it varies, but approximately $50,000 figuring conservatively.

Individual amounts of each Pre-tax deductions:6.5% to 401k, $27.11 weekly for health insurance through employer

Other Ordinary Income: Monthly bonus at work.  Also varies between $525 and $2,000.  This amount is through corporate, and is 1099 income.

Qualified Dividends & Long Term Capital Gains: none

Rental Income, Actual Expenses, and Depreciation: none

Adjusted Gross Income: This should equal the additions and subtractions above.

Taxes: Federal, state/local, and FICA.  The past couple of years, my kids have gotten me tax credits resulting in $0 net taxes.

Current expenses:
House rent $950
Wife's car lease payment $360.50, 30 payments remaining.
My car payment $310, payments remaining.
Student loan $442 monthly.  Forever remaining.
AT&T wireless $220 monthly, including payment plans on both phones, which add up to $51.05 per month $398.11 and $769.99 remaining balance
electric $225 monthly, budget billing
cable/internet $80 monthly
car insurance $127 monthly
monthly unlimited car wash plan $19.99
monthly gym contract $37.35
credit monitoring $29.95 monthly
abcmouse.com $7.95 monthly
groceries--wife covers this expense. 
misc--gasoline, coffee, haircuts, etc.  $200/monthly
Total monthly expenses $3009.94

Credit cards, not sure if I count them here.  I use them and pay them in full for daily expenses, as well as the recurring monthly bills...


Expected ER expenses: (optional, if relevant) Not sure what this is.

Assets: $3,552 savings, deposit whatever I can, typically 10% of net weekly pay, but not always, and $4,088 401k balance. 6.5% pre tax income with employer matching 3%.  I just got into this plan.

Liabilities:

2017 Chevrolet Traverse lease.  36 month term, $360.50.  About $11,500 remaining payments, 30 months.
2014 Ford Fusion purchase.  72 month term, $310.20 per month.  Not sure of remaining balance, but just bought the car when my old one failed.
Student loans.  They're a mess.  I owe about $105,000.  Paying $442 monthly currently, with $50,000 in deferment.  One account has balance of $9600, $202 monthly and 45 months remaining.  another is $240 monthly, with about 20 years remaining.  Should be around $50,000 balance there.
.

Specific Question(s): I just want to get out of debt and grow a mustache.  Is this even a possibility at this point in life?  I'd love to retire at 55.  I don't have the most interested spouse, but if I can make some progress, I think I can convince her of the benefits. 


This spreadsheet https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B45krBaG0b6KTWZDeXEySVBHVXc/view?usp=sharing can be downloaded and used to help organize your case study posting.

It includes income, expense, and investment categories that will cover most situations.  For "not too complex" cases it will calculate IRS, SS, and Medicare taxes exactly, and state taxes approximately, helping one evaluate the after-tax effects of 401k, HSA, etc.  There is also a simplified section to evaluate "how long to FI?".

See this post and the spreadsheet itself for more details.


However you format your study, don't forget to subtotal each category and total up all major categories (income, expenses, assets, liabilities), rather than expecting the readers to add up your food + cable bill + etc. etc.

WARNING: If you have a "Your hair is on Fire!" debt emergency you will get face punches if your spending categories include line items such as a "new car loan" or spending that should only be part of your life if you are debt free such as a "gym memberships" or "manicures".

A few notes on a successful  "Reader Case Study" topic:

If you are asked for additional info or more detail, please use the edit button to add the information to your original post - this will help keep all your info easy to access for new contributors.

Please make all responses and additions to your original post in the same conversation rather than creating a new topic. It helps everyone if the history of the discussion is available in one place.

Posters put a great deal of time and thought into their replies. As the original poster, please respond in some way to keep the conversation going and let us know that you are benefiting from the discussion and appreciate contributions.

Gronnie

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2017, 03:39:47 PM »
First of all the cars need to go, that is WAY WAY WAY too much car for your income level, even if you were debt free. Need to find a way out ASAP and buy 1 (maybe 2, but hard to justify with SAHM) reliable car for maybe $3-5k. Need to do this even if you are underwater (might need to take out a personal loan for the underwater amount, but will still be better off).

Also need to cut WAY, WAY, WAY down on the cell phone bill. There are lots of resources on how to do that online.

MMM has an article on working out at home.

Credit monitoring for $30/mo makes no sense. It probably doesn't need to be an expense at all, but there are definitely cheaper ways to do it. I used to be obsessed with credit and went from bad credit to an ~830 score now, so I understand the draw, just think this is not a good use of your funds right now.

Electric seems high but you have 8 people so maybe not. Perhaps invest the small amount of money in a Kill--O-Watt monitor and see if you have some zombie electricity usage that could be cut.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2017, 03:43:57 PM by Gronnie »

plog

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2017, 10:55:47 AM »
Quote
groceries--wife covers this expense. 

You listed no income for her, how does she "cover" this?  Or by "cover" do you mean she's in charge and you have no ability to affect her spending on this?  Taking into consideration about how you said she's not totally on board, my guess is the latter.

I think you really need to talk to your spouse about your goals and worries.  Even if we convince you that x and y need to go and z needs to be severly trimmed, are you going to be able to actually enact it?  How much control/influence over your household spending do you actually have?

mudstache

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2017, 12:45:35 PM »
Holy car payments!  If you want to get out of that student loan debt, you need to eliminate other competing debts, and you have a LOT of space to do that here.  It sounds painful.  But you need to find older, cheaper cars.  That may lower your insurance too, if you buy the minimums.

Also, all of these should be cut immediately:
monthly unlimited car wash plan $19.99
monthly gym contract $37.35
credit monitoring $29.95 monthly
abcmouse.com $7.95 monthly

I have kids, so I was going to let you keep abcmouse.com, but there is SO MUCH on youtube for free that can offer the same types of experiences, without the interactive parts.  Try Kids Learning Tube, for one.  And Storybots.  Love them!  Plus, check out MMM's blog post about how every $10 decision matters, because it's true. 

For your cell phones, are you paying off iPhones?  We're doing the same, but switching from Verizon to Cricket let us bring our phones along and saves us $100/month on the same service (actually, we get more data in our Cricket plan than we did on Verizon!).  There are lots of low-cost options for cell service that I didn't know a thing about before finding MMM in January!

Can you cut cable, and go down to internet only?  We did that, and I've been pleasantly surprised with how much I don't miss cable. 

So, assume you can cut your car payments in half by either going down to one car, or selling them for older cars, which will then drop your costs for insurance and gas too.  That's $300/month that you can throw at debt.  Go down to internet only, save $30-$50/month.  Cheaper cell phone plan, $100/month.  Cut out the stuff listed above: $95/month.  That's over $500 each month that you can throw at debt.  And once that debt is gone, it can go toward your mustache.  You could further challenge yourself to keep your "other" bucket to $100/month instead of $200, and then you can cut down your debt even faster.  But maybe start with the more obvious things, and then see if you can get your partner on board too.

So...yes, you can do this!  It may not seem super fun right now, but set yourself up on Mint or YNAB and you'll see how fun it can be when you meet or beat your budget and watch your debts go down.  Also, I highly recommend reading dashh's case study (look for the title with $231k debt in it), because it is pretty darn inpiring, and also shows the realities of how this takes practice and re-committing to do it, but that results do add up!  I look forward to following your journey!


charis

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2017, 02:15:43 PM »
How are totaling up your expenses but not including groceries?  Does your wife run a farm?   There HAS to be other expenses missing from this list.  You are leasing a new car and spending $50/month on credit monitory and car washes, but not spending any clothing money on six kids, or eating out, or any activities?  This doesn't make sense to me.  Also your health insurance is remarkably low - congrats on that.

Laura33

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2017, 06:58:12 PM »
I'm sorry, I don't quite know what to do with this.  I remember your car was dying, and that there was a discussion of whether to replace it now or wait.  So I'm not surprised that you replaced the car.  But how did that lead to six more years of more than $300/mo. debt?  I think the folks who were saying it was ok to replace the car were assuming you'd buy an older beater for cash, not tack on another $20K+ in debt.  Honestly, this is not a step in the right direction. 

Yes, there is hope -- there is *always* hope.  But getting there requires you to actually make changes in how you think and how you behave.  $20/mo in car washes?  What's wrong with a hose and bucket?  $30/mo for credit monitoring?  You're locking the barn after the horses have escaped -- you need to get your finances straight before you worry about whether someone is measuring them correctly.  And phones on payment plans?  You have six figures in student loans!  You can't afford new phones, or to pay someone to wash your cars for you, or to monitor your overstretched credit.  So stop acting like you can -- now, today.

We also need full data.  You just posted a conservative income of over $4K/mo, no taxes, and expenses of $3K/mo.  If that were really the whole picture, you wouldn't even be writing in, because you'd be saving 25% of your salary.  It looks like you put the student loans and savings on different lines, but that makes it hard to see the whole picture -- it would be helpful to have all of the monthly outflows together.  And it sounds like your wife has some income and expenses that she manages separately?  It's hard to make sense of all of this without one comprehensive picture.  So please take another look and make sure you have all of the income and expenses accounted for; once you have identified all of the holes, we can help you plug them.

acepedro45

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2017, 09:15:15 PM »
Quote
Specific Question(s): I just want to get out of debt and grow a mustache.  Is this even a possibility at this point in life?  I'd love to retire at 55.


The good news is it isn't too late to develop some better habits and grow a stache. But with 8 mouths to feed and a net worth of -100k at 38, you won't be retiring at 55.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2017, 05:49:09 AM »
Good advice in here.....it sounds like you are ready to turn the ship, in theory?

First off, the cars need to go, you should be driving a respectable used $3-5k minivan.

$1200 cell phone?!?! Any way to recoup some costs and switch to cheaper old phones???

Sounds like you have to fix a few mistakes of grossly overspending on your income.

Does your wife work? Can you increase your income?

sixkids

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2017, 08:22:21 PM »
Quote
groceries--wife covers this expense. 

You listed no income for her, how does she "cover" this?  Or by "cover" do you mean she's in charge and you have no ability to affect her spending on this?  Taking into consideration about how you said she's not totally on board, my guess is the latter.

I think you really need to talk to your spouse about your goals and worries.  Even if we convince you that x and y need to go and z needs to be severly trimmed, are you going to be able to actually enact it?  How much control/influence over your household spending do you actually have?

She does photography. Her income is her own, but she does buy the groceries. I don't include her income because it's mostly cash and/or PayPal money, and because she doesn't deposit any of it to household bank account.

sixkids

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2017, 08:26:39 PM »
How are totaling up your expenses but not including groceries?  Does your wife run a farm?   There HAS to be other expenses missing from this list.  You are leasing a new car and spending $50/month on credit monitory and car washes, but not spending any clothing money on six kids, or eating out, or any activities?  This doesn't make sense to me.  Also your health insurance is remarkably low - congrats on that.

I don't itemize clothes and restaurants etc. that's all under credit card stuff, and I pay those off every month. Typically, clothes purchases are a couple of times a year, and the kids are close enough I. Age that there are a pretty decent amount handed down as we go.
Yes, health insurance is a very good deal through work. We keep expecting it to change, but every year it stays within a couple of dollars.

sixkids

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2017, 08:30:52 PM »
I'm sorry, I don't quite know what to do with this.  I remember your car was dying, and that there was a discussion of whether to replace it now or wait.  So I'm not surprised that you replaced the car.  But how did that lead to six more years of more than $300/mo. debt?  I think the folks who were saying it was ok to replace the car were assuming you'd buy an older beater for cash, not tack on another $20K+ in debt.  Honestly, this is not a step in the right direction. 

Yes, there is hope -- there is *always* hope.  But getting there requires you to actually make changes in how you think and how you behave.  $20/mo in car washes?  What's wrong with a hose and bucket?  $30/mo for credit monitoring?  You're locking the barn after the horses have escaped -- you need to get your finances straight before you worry about whether someone is measuring them correctly.  And phones on payment plans?  You have six figures in student loans!  You can't afford new phones, or to pay someone to wash your cars for you, or to monitor your overstretched credit.  So stop acting like you can -- now, today.

We also need full data.  You just posted a conservative income of over $4K/mo, no taxes, and expenses of $3K/mo.  If that were really the whole picture, you wouldn't even be writing in, because you'd be saving 25% of your salary.  It looks like you put the student loans and savings on different lines, but that makes it hard to see the whole picture -- it would be helpful to have all of the monthly outflows together.  And it sounds like your wife has some income and expenses that she manages separately?  It's hard to make sense of all of this without one comprehensive picture.  So please take another look and make sure you have all of the income and expenses accounted for; once you have identified all of the holes, we can help you plug them.

I'll work on this tomorrow.

englishteacheralex

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2017, 08:42:12 PM »
Quote
groceries--wife covers this expense. 

You listed no income for her, how does she "cover" this?  Or by "cover" do you mean she's in charge and you have no ability to affect her spending on this?  Taking into consideration about how you said she's not totally on board, my guess is the latter.

I think you really need to talk to your spouse about your goals and worries.  Even if we convince you that x and y need to go and z needs to be severly trimmed, are you going to be able to actually enact it?  How much control/influence over your household spending do you actually have?

She does photography. Her income is her own, but she does buy the groceries. I don't include her income because it's mostly cash and/or PayPal money, and because she doesn't deposit any of it to household bank account.

Is she on board with getting your finances into shape? Because you have this unaccounted for income coming in and going out. How much is her income? That's your grocery budget. Groceries are often an easy (ish) way to trim a couple hundred bucks off your budget. Usually it isn't too hard to at least trim $50 off a monthly grocery budget. That's one of the few budget line items that is a discretionary amount every month--it can be a great one to try to whittle down in order to work on debt and savings.

Just seems like a disconnect to not have her income going into the family pot. Does she not see your savings/debt as shared? Really getting a grocery budget down can be helped by a sharing of the responsibility by both spouses--you have to communicate about what is needed, etc. We have a grocery list on google drive that we use so that we always know what we're running out of and either one of us can shop efficiently and without being tempted to impulse buy. Over the past two years, we've been able to trim $200/month off our initial grocery budget--money that goes directly into savings.


bugbaby

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #12 on: April 11, 2017, 10:07:50 PM »
I suggest you use Mint to get a real breakdown of expenses for last 6 months, rather than lumping it into 'credit cards' .  Also your wife needs to keep records of her earnings and expenses.

Then you need to sit down and have a solemn discussion of your whole financial state. At least you should both agree you've got a major problem, then go from there. 

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farfromfire

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #13 on: April 12, 2017, 05:36:31 AM »
How are totaling up your expenses but not including groceries?  Does your wife run a farm?   There HAS to be other expenses missing from this list.  You are leasing a new car and spending $50/month on credit monitory and car washes, but not spending any clothing money on six kids, or eating out, or any activities?  This doesn't make sense to me.  Also your health insurance is remarkably low - congrats on that.

I don't itemize clothes and restaurants etc. that's all under credit card stuff, and I pay those off every month. Typically, clothes purchases are a couple of times a year, and the kids are close enough I. Age that there are a pretty decent amount handed down as we go.
Yes, health insurance is a very good deal through work. We keep expecting it to change, but every year it stays within a couple of dollars.
By definition, that belongs under "Monthly Expenses". How much are you spending on your credit card per month, excluding the expenses you did list?

charis

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #14 on: April 12, 2017, 06:07:41 AM »
Sorry, where is the amount that you are spending on credit cards?  I cannot find it.  If you haven't include that amount (whether it is broken down in to categories or not), that's a huge area of spending that you not accounting for in your income v. outcome.  You also need to include grocery expenses - where is the money coming from to pay for them if not your wife's income?

waltworks

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #15 on: April 12, 2017, 12:36:52 PM »
Dude, with 6 kids and $50k income, and no savings at all, you are *never* retiring unless you get very, very serious about it. Like, no cars, get a roommate, find another job or side gig, etc.

-Walt

sixkids

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #16 on: April 12, 2017, 01:25:46 PM »
I should add that the income I listed of $50,000 is a very conservative figure.  Since I do get commissions, the income fluctuates, but $50,000 is my base, sit on my ass at work and do the bare minimum.  My 2016 income was just over $82,000 and this year YTD I'm at $19,000 so I'll *probably* end up close to last years income.  I'm trying to do this all on the base.  Anything over that, I can put toward debt paydown.  Is there a better way?  I'm sure there is, but that is the best way I know of now. 
I've got a Mint account, but have no clue how to even begin breaking it all down.  The past six months it shows I've made $37,869.41 and have spent $32,884.29 but I have no idea on what. 

Some of the purchases are embarrassingly high.  According to Mint, I spent $843.26 at restaurants last month.  Theres obviously quite a bit I could cut out there.  Maybe I should just delete this case study and try it again...

cats

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #17 on: April 12, 2017, 01:49:23 PM »
You spent $843 on restaurants last month but you say in your original post that your credit card payments (presumably where the restaurant spending is going as you don't mention it elsewhere) are around $200/month.  Unless last month was a really exceptional month for eating out, it seems the numbers you have presented may be pretty far off from reality.

Look through your transactions from Mint for the last month and make sure things are classed correctly (e.g. that the cell phone bill is not being considered a restaurant).  If they are, I'd assume they have been classed correctly for the past 6 months, and you can then check out the "trends" function to see what your average spending has been on things like restaurants and any other variable expenses.  Then you can get a better idea of your actual outgoings...from the mismatch between your first post and the $832 on restaurants from last month, I suspect your monthly outgoings are quite a bit in excess of what you have posted.

You need to get an accurate handle on what you are spending if you are going to make meaningful changes.  It would also be useful to get a clear idea of what your wife is bringing in/spending, though I understand she may not be into the idea.  Does she pay income tax on her photography income?  If she is making enough to cover 100% of the groceries for a family of 8 , she's probably making a fair bit, or she is one hell of a bargain shopper, or she is not actually making enough to cover the grocery bill and is running up credit card debt.  Who knows?  I would be concerned about the potential tax liability of having that much unreported income, if that's what's going on. 

bugbaby

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #18 on: April 12, 2017, 02:30:14 PM »
On Mint, go to Trends then choose Spending -by Category and on the top choose during last 6 months.

You'll get a pie chart or bar graph and a list below that, by category. List the amounts, divide by 6 to get avg monthly spending.

PS -You can customize some categories to make it more elegant for you needs.

Figure out your wife's typical cash spending on groceries & other items and list that too.  From now on keep all her receipts and list all her earnings too.



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acroy

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #19 on: April 12, 2017, 02:50:09 PM »
whooo!
quite a study...
Sounds like household income is 100k, but you're not sure... and not sure where it goes ;)
Awareness is the first step. well, getting DW on board is the first step. Then awareness, then work on it.
Good luck! and enjoy those kiddos. Tight age range!

hoping2retire35

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #20 on: April 12, 2017, 03:22:25 PM »
Your budget is dripping with fat, we can cut this with a spoon.

Get on craigslist this evening and sell your cars. Do what is necessary to have a beater or bike to commute with in the interim and from here on out.

You are an 8 person HH. Sign up for IBR student loan program. Your payment will go to $0, unless of course these are private loans.

Stop spending money. a lot of spending is just a convenience and is unnecessary.

mudstache

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #21 on: April 12, 2017, 04:31:32 PM »
Maybe I should just delete this case study and try it again...

Please don't!  You have some good advice above about how you can get to better numbers, and then you can update this one.  I know we're telling you things that you don't want to hear, but that's the point - what you're doing now isn't working, and that means things have to change.  Change is hard, even small change, but you need to make some big changes that probably seem unrealistic or impossible.  But that's where you need to focus to get out of the hole and thinking toward a financially healthy future.  Think on this for a while if you need, but starting over won't really change anything.  Good luck!

sixkids

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #22 on: April 12, 2017, 05:57:59 PM »
So, I just tried to get rid of some of the smaller things.  I canceled credit monitoring, and my monthly car washes.  I called the gym to cancel that, but they told me theres no cancellation policy, so it'll cost me the remainder of my contract.  I could pay the nearly $400 now and at least have that monthly payment out of the budget, though. 

Karinajane8

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #23 on: April 12, 2017, 09:08:40 PM »
Go to the library and check out Your Money or Your Life. If they don't have it, ask if they can get it through inter library loan. Most importantly, if you can't see where your money is going using mint and review of credit card statements, start a note on your phone or go old school and use paper but start tracking your expenses! Every single one! You may be surprised, shocked even . . .
Good luck!
(And do the math on your wife's car. Do you/she realize at the end of all that paying you still own nothing?!?)

bugbaby

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #24 on: April 13, 2017, 01:03:28 AM »
So, I just tried to get rid of some of the smaller things.  I canceled credit monitoring, and my monthly car washes.  I called the gym to cancel that, but they told me theres no cancellation policy, so it'll cost me the remainder of my contract.  I could pay the nearly $400 now and at least have that monthly payment out of the budget, though.
Great you've started on the cutbacks.

I'd keep the $400 in the emergency fund or toward higher interest debt, no need to prepay the gym.

As others have suggested, first you need to have a crystal clear picture of all your income, expenses, assets and liabilities (including wife's). Then you can make changes systematically

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Laura33

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #25 on: April 13, 2017, 11:25:06 AM »
So, I just tried to get rid of some of the smaller things.  I canceled credit monitoring, and my monthly car washes.  I called the gym to cancel that, but they told me theres no cancellation policy, so it'll cost me the remainder of my contract.  I could pay the nearly $400 now and at least have that monthly payment out of the budget, though.

Hey, congrats!  Now take that $50 and add an automatic $50/mo. payment to your highest-interest credit card.

Sorry about the gym -- just do what you can to make use of it for the next few months.  And if they have like a 30-day advance notice or the contract rolls over again, put that date on your calendar now so you don't miss the cancelation deadline!

sixkids

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #26 on: April 13, 2017, 08:14:15 PM »
I went full on crazy.  No more iphone for me.  I'm now rocking a flip phone.  Not even sure what the brand is, since the box just said ATT flip.  I'm going through some withdrawals, but as for now, I'm holding it down.  I'd be happier if the flip was a Motorola Razr, but they're not carried anymore.  My cell phone bill has gone down, too.  If I could get my wife on board, I could completely cancel data plan, and we would be able to have unlimited talk and text for under $50. I think it'll take some time of seeing me with a dumb phone before she would even consider thinking about it though.  Baby steps...

SingleMomDebt

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #27 on: April 13, 2017, 08:31:13 PM »
freeze your credit reports. then get rid of the credit monitoring. you really only need to check 1 x a year and that's free with annualcreditrepot.com. Best to you and your family. There is hope. You have a lot of wiggle room once you grow your Mustache skillz. 



farfromfire

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #28 on: April 14, 2017, 12:28:39 AM »
First of all, congratulations. Those first steps can be hard!
You should still estimate your wife's income and what it is being spent on - sounds like there's more than 50-100$ to cut there.

sixkids

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #29 on: April 15, 2017, 05:55:56 PM »
Sorry, I got admitted to the hospital yesterday and had my gallbladder removed this morning. Was not expected. Will update my case file when I get home. I'm off work for the next week.

Laura33

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #30 on: April 16, 2017, 09:39:14 AM »
Sorry, I got admitted to the hospital yesterday and had my gallbladder removed this morning. Was not expected. Will update my case file when I get home. I'm off work for the next week.

Ah, jeez, that's rough, sorry to hear that.  Congrats on the progress so far, and hope you recover quickly.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #31 on: April 16, 2017, 07:29:40 PM »
Sorry, I got admitted to the hospital yesterday and had my gallbladder removed this morning. Was not expected. Will update my case file when I get home. I'm off work for the next week.

Ugh, what a rough break! Recover soon, and you can board the badassity train once more. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is why it is so important to be financially stable. It isn't an easy path, but it is definitely a vital one. I've been enjoying seeing your wins on this thread!

sixkids

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #32 on: July 10, 2017, 08:39:32 AM »
Haven't been here in a while. Lots of stuff going on, some setbacks, some forward movement. I'm back though and that's the main thing. Updates to follow.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #33 on: July 10, 2017, 08:46:11 AM »
Haven't been here in a while. Lots of stuff going on, some setbacks, some forward movement. I'm back though and that's the main thing. Updates to follow.

Looking forward to it, and glad you came back! Hope you've recovered well from that hospital set back =o

With This Herring

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #34 on: July 13, 2017, 11:31:18 AM »
A little late, but we're proud of you for switching to a flip phone.  :)

I hope you've been able to get your expense tracking straightened out.  Please ask us if you need help with it.

ToTheMoon

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Re: sixkids case study-- getting rid of student loans
« Reply #35 on: July 24, 2017, 02:31:48 PM »
Posting to follow - I can't wait to watch you guys pick up steam and knock this out!