To clarify with the car and utilities. .. the car was purchased in 2010 prior to DH and I dating so thats been on my credit for some time now.
You've had the car for ~4 years and you *still* owe $9K? And your payment on it is ~$400 per month? And you think it's worth less than you owe on it? Are you sure you can't sell it for what you still owe? Because whatever magical vehicle it is, it costs too much for your income level.
If you are able to sell one of the other cars, put $1K away in baby fund savings and $1K in a real efund. Then pay off your credit cards. Then create a budget that actually includes basic needs like food instead of luxuries like cell phones/cable/TKD. And include a set amount going to the e-fund even just $10 a month.
So you have a contract for TV--what does it cost to break it? How much longer is it for?
If you sell for 250k, you can expect to pay 6%=15k in closing costs. You would then have 65k after paying off the relatives. If you bought a 200k place, you'd need 40k for a 20% DP leaving you 25k to pay off debt. Is that enough to do car 3 and SLs like you initially mentioned?
Let me know if you want me to DD numbers.
ETA: Good points from PPs about other costs. I don't see how you can access to equity for more breathing room without moving, though, because of the weird ownership situation.
Thats how I ran numbers too. It would *just* work. My car is about $9k payoff with some of that still being intrest so less that. SL total $15k. One is $5k and the other $10k
Keep in mind that you won't just be paying realtor fees in your closing costs... You may also have (note that the #'s provided below are only OUR numbers):
Title insurance ($1100) Brokerage fees (realtor fees) Zoning fees ($100) Legal fees ($375) Revenue stamps ($97.50) Taxes unpaid from 2013 AND 2014 (the taxes you're paying now are for 2013)
Plus any repairs you have to make that come up during inspection AND any closing costs requested by the buyer.
I think you need to forget selling the house & moving.
Post by formerlyak on Sept 19, 2014 16:31:42 GMT -5
I am sorry you are in this situation.
You still have not addressed how you will handle child care. That is going to be a huge cost for an infant. I just had a baby in March, and not to stress you out, but there are a lot of costs involved that are going to hit your bottom line in addition to child care costs. Your insurance premium may go up when you add a dependent. You may have a co-pay every time you have a well-baby visit. If you are an HMO, you will have a hospital delivery co-pay (usually somewhere between $100 and $250). If you are a PPO, you will have to pay a percentage of the hospital costs. Even if you breastfeed, there are costs involved especially if you plan on going back to work. My kid went from preemie sized clothes to 12 month old clothes in a span of 5 months -- that's a shit ton of clothing even buying used or on sale.
I agree that you need to call the SL company about putting off payments for a while.
Even though it sucks and you will pay more over time, see what the car loan refi rates are like and how that would affect your payment. My ex had to do that when we divorced to afford his car.
You need to sell at least one of your cars that is in storage. Even if the insurance isn't much, it is still something.
If you are stuck in your Direct TV contract and your Verizon contract, can you start a new contract and bundle those services to save money? Direct TV has bundle deals with a lot of wireless providers, so that may help a little bit.
Is your DH at a big company or are either of you members of your alumni association? If so, see if they have group rates for auto insurance plans. Mine does and it is a decent savings. Also, my husband's company has a deal with many cell phone providers for discounted services. Just by saying my dh works at his company, we got a 25% discount on our monthly AT&T wireless fees.
I get not wanting to stop TKD, but can you talk with the owner about some type of scholarship for a year? Many places do that. My dance studio when I was growing up offered scholarships to a lot of kids. When I went through my divorce, I talked with the director of ds' preschool to see if they offered any scholarships and how I could apply and while they didn't have a formal program, they did work out a nice assistance program that got me full day care for the half day rate for 6 months while I got back on my feet. It was really generous of them. They did something similar for a girlfriend of mine when she and her husband were having difficulties as he was between jobs and they just had a new baby.
Post by formerlyak on Sept 19, 2014 16:37:11 GMT -5
Also, if I did the math right, you are spending about $500 a month on gas and food (you say the rest goes to gas and food and that's the difference between the take home and expenses you posted). If you both live 15 minutes from work, gas should cost you between $100 and $150 a month. That leaves $350 for food. There was a year that ex and I owed about $4000 in taxes and we had two months to come up with it on our combined salaries of about $70K a year gross. We got our food bill down to $45-50 a week by buying whatever meats were on special that week or buying meat in bulk and freezing half - so we'd buy a 6 pack of pork chops and freeze them in bags of two each. And buying whatever produce was on sale that week. Drinking only water and milk. And we each got to pick a treat each week, but it had to be one that was on sale. It was tough, but it was doable not to have to pay interest on our taxes owed.
As for the power bill, have you tried reaching out to the Attorney General in your state? What they pulled sounds super shady and you may get some relief from raising the issue to the AG's Consumer Protection office.
Unfortunately you have a lifestyle you cannot afford. Rule of thumb when buying a car - finance NO LONGER than 3 years - if you cannot afford that payment, you are buying too much car for your budget.
Cell phones - you cannot afford all that text and data. Get out of those plans and pay the penalty if needed. Buy talk only Trac phone with phone card. (or similar pay as you go set up)
You have left out a number of items in your budget (clothing, gifts, (christmas-birthdays etc) personal care, clothing, shoes, entertainment, vacation, car registrations, and all the assorted small stuff that comes along.)
You need to learn to distinguish between a need and a want. You WANT to continue at your job ---- you NEED to make more money. You WANT to move and buy a house --- you cannot afford to do so.
Track EVERY dime that gets spent for the next month. Do NOT use credit. Halloween - do NOT buy costumes - put something together with things you have around the house and makeup.
If you cannot pay for it in cash - don't buy it.
Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover - get it from the library and read it.
If you do not get real about your money situation and fix it - this marriage could be another failure statistic due to financial reasons (the most common reason for divorce is money problems)
It seems like the biggest issue is that you are spending beyond your means. It sounds like you've been dealt some bad hands lately too, which I feel for you, but a lot of this is because you guys keep spending too much. You had a wedding you couldn't afford. You bought new cars you couldn't afford. You have a SS in activities you can't afford. You are paying more for cable than many do for cable + internet (combined mine is around $70). You can't afford to spend $2400 a year on cell phones. I'm with Ting and spend $30/month, for example. Using all that data? You can't possibly need it, even if it is your main source of internet. Stop playing on your phones so much. If you have older/cheaper cars your insurance would be a lot less, or you likely would only need liability.
You guys need to make some big changes, which obviously can't happen overnight, but it's gotta happen or you're going to be in this boat for the rest of your lives. And the house? Are there really no cheaper options in your area? I wouldn't focus on keeping the payments the same. Take that amazing gift and try and buy something smaller or in need of more work, or if you can't get a good loan right now, save the money and rent something inexpensive for awhile while you get your feet back on the ground. You need all the extra money you can get.
As to why we have 3 cars.....where do I start? We have mine and DH has 2. DH found an suv for a steal earlier this year and we needed a car with more seating so he jumped on it. He put $2k down and was selling his car for the difference. The "quick fix" to his car wasn't which is why we are waiting on another part. 1 month in the effing engine blew. So now I am left paying insurance (put both cars in "storage" for a cheaper rate) and 1 car payment for shit that isn't running. Its a sore spot for me.
Mu due date is 2/1 but this monster measures big so I could easily go end of Jan.
I can for sure try to lower the phone. We are with Verizon and they charge out the nose for everything. Our current plan is for 700 mon shared (lowest avail) and unlimited text. DH has 2g data and I have 6(but charged the same price as 2). We are under contract for another year at least which is why I haven't looked into another company.
You may be able to change your plan with Verizon. I have changed mine with AT&T mid-contract. 2 gigs is a lot of data. How much are you using each month?
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Thanks to all of you for taking the time to respond. Believe me....I sure as hell know we beyond over extended. Would you believe that it was actually worse? It totally was. And we are still effed.
I'm sorry I left out childcare. I've had some offers but none of them have given me final numbers. SIL offered to watch LO all day for what she gets paid for working 1/2 days. And a couple of people have offered to help a few days a week. I can handle kids in the AM, DH can in the afternoon and then I can take over at 6 so he can do sidework. I would work every Sat as well. We would need childcare from 11 or 1-3 during the week. That keeps me at 32hrs which is what I need to keep my benefits.
I would for sure need to keep working in order to keep my health insurance for myself and kiddo. DH's employer is small and won't cover any expense towards spouse or children.
Post by IrishBelle on Sept 19, 2014 18:10:19 GMT -5
I'm sorry that your in this situation but happy to see that you are looking for ways out.
You definitely need to do something about your car situation as you know.
Finding childcare for a few hours mid-day may not be any easier or cheaper. Have you looked to see if there is subsidized childcare available in your area?
I don't want to imply that there is anything underhanded going on, but since your house is not in your names, I wouldn't count on using that equity as a down payment. It looks like things have already gone off the rails with the family arrangements and something else could happen.
If I'm understanding this correctly, you have 3 cars but only one is currently running? That means you're obviously able to get by with one car, so sell both of DH's cars. Assuming Car 2 is worth roughly the $5k that you owe on it, you can pay off the loan with the money from selling Car 3 as planned, then use the profit from selling Car 2 to pay off the CCs and have enough left over for a decent e-fund. Plus you'll save on insurance and registration costs.
If I'm understanding this correctly, you have 3 cars but only one is currently running? That means you're obviously able to get by with one car, so sell both of DH's cars. Assuming Car 2 is worth roughly the $5k that you owe on it, you can pay off the loan with the money from selling Car 3 as planned, then use the profit from selling Car 2 to pay off the CCs and have enough left over for a decent e-fund. Plus you'll save on insurance and registration costs.
I really, really want to do this. Right now DH is borrowing various vehicles. He has had his dads truck for the last week and hes been asking for it back. Who knows what will happen then.
Would it be possible to hold off on rent for a few months? I don't know if his family is in a position for that to be possible.
Most likely not especially with us being majority owner of the LLC. The whole situation skeeves me out which is why I refused to put my name on it when they arranged everything awhile back before we were married. I don't want any weird tax things showing up later on.
Post by Lucy VanPelt on Sept 19, 2014 18:46:52 GMT -5
Can you join Care.com or sittercity and see if you can take on some pet sitting? I pay one of the vet techs at my vet's office $10/ day to feed my cats when I go away. It's only occasional, but she does it for a number of people.
Would it be possible to hold off on rent for a few months? I don't know if his family is in a position for that to be possible.
Most likely not especially with us being majority owner of the LLC. The whole situation skeeves me out which is why I refused to put my name on it when they arranged everything awhile back before we were married. I don't want any weird tax things showing up later on.
Get your head out of the sand, and get a handle on what is going on with this property. Honestly, your first post about it raised my eyebrows, but I decided not to say anything because you seemed OK with it. But um, you've got to get a handle on what the hell is going on with that deal. Your husband is an owner. Why do you think "weird tax thing" won't be your problem? If it skeeves you out, get to the bottom of it now, before you wind up with even more problems.
Oh dear. You are in a hair on fire emergency situation.
Is there a mortgage on the house or is it paid for free and clear and you are just making payments to repay what was paid by your FIL and his brother or whoever? This house situation is very suspect to me, and it is killing you to make that payment right now. If nobody is making payments but you, I would be pushing really hard for a suspension of payments until you can get some things cleaned up and some money socked away for when the baby comes. Taekwondo has to go. Cell phones have to go. You need to get very familiar with your local library's DVD rental collection because you have to cancel the cable. You need to see where every dollar is going, on paper. Print out your last few months of bank statements and write down every payee, categorize them, and get a better idea of what your money is doing. You can do this, but it is going to take some hard decisions and sacrifices.
If I'm understanding this correctly, you have 3 cars but only one is currently running? That means you're obviously able to get by with one car, so sell both of DH's cars. Assuming Car 2 is worth roughly the $5k that you owe on it, you can pay off the loan with the money from selling Car 3 as planned, then use the profit from selling Car 2 to pay off the CCs and have enough left over for a decent e-fund. Plus you'll save on insurance and registration costs.
I really, really want to do this. Right now DH is borrowing various vehicles. He has had his dads truck for the last week and hes been asking for it back. Who knows what will happen then.
Not sure you answered before But can you cancel insurance for the non running cars
You will get good advice here. Just off the top I have some questions? Why is your phone so high? Stop TaeKwonDo for a while (ETA: If not for the kids) Why is your electric so high? Could you get that down? Any chance of DH getting a part time job?
Re: the bolded, I have to disagree. If you have to cut kids' activities in order to have a financially stable household, then you do it. In OP's situation, spending $100/month on an optional activity is not financially smart right now, especially with a baby on the way.
Can you join Care.com or sittercity and see if you can take on some pet sitting? I pay one of the vet techs at my vet's office $10/ day to feed my cats when I go away. It's only occasional, but she does it for a number of people.
I was also going to suggest this. I know we always had a tough time finding someone to take care of our previous dog who was diabetic because most places/people didn't like giving shots. I imagine as a vet tech you'd be OK with that, so there could certainly be a market.
Everyone else has covered the other stuff. I wish you lots of luck.
Oh...and housing. I'll do my best to explain that. PDQ this part.
Ok, so the house is paid off now then? If so, definitely don't move. Depending on where you live, you'll pay nearly as much in rent as you were paying into whatever the scheme was with the house (which I admittedly do not 100% understand).
Post by lauren170 on Sept 19, 2014 19:54:44 GMT -5
Are there any focus groups in your area? That can be an extra $100 once in a while? Also check craigslist part-time and ad hoc jobs. Maybe you can pick up a few side projects here and there to get slightly ahead.
If I'm understanding this correctly, you have 3 cars but only one is currently running? That means you're obviously able to get by with one car, so sell both of DH's cars. Assuming Car 2 is worth roughly the $5k that you owe on it, you can pay off the loan with the money from selling Car 3 as planned, then use the profit from selling Car 2 to pay off the CCs and have enough left over for a decent e-fund. Plus you'll save on insurance and registration costs.
I really, really want to do this. Right now DH is borrowing various vehicles. He has had his dads truck for the last week and hes been asking for it back. Who knows what will happen then.
I'm getting the impression your DH isn't on board with his, but if you can make it work it would make a huge difference in your financial situation. Could he bike to work? Take public transportation? Could you drop him off at work, or vice versa?
ETA: Also, I appreciate you coming back to answer all the questions, and not getting defensive over the criticism. A good attitude is the right starting place!
Post by tiffany81 on Sept 19, 2014 20:13:03 GMT -5
Do you and your husband have seperate verizon plans? Or joint/family plans? If you switch to a new plan, you'll save more than $20/month and have unlimited minutes. When you switch plans within Verizon, it will not extend your contract or cost anything.
My friends have been in a similar situation recently. The H uses the car to get to and from work every day and the wife works part-time but during the hours her H is home.
See if you can get involved with a local group or campaign that needs people to phone-bank or canvass. My organization, for example, pays $10/hr. Where are you located?
Cut out the home internet.
Cut out tae kwon do and then to make it equal, have the other kid bail on soccer. It sucks, but it sucks more to have one sibling get special treatment. Instead, plan fun family stuff like board game or card game night with popcorn or rent a movie from RedBox.
Also hugs. Been in this kind of dire straits myself.
Ditto on finding focus groups - not sure where you are, but locally (Colorado) we have two I'm a part of which I tagteam, making at least $75 for one hour usually. Just google it and sign up.
Can your DH donate plasma?
Drop kids activities and, as pp said, focus on free fun. Hit Goodwill for board games, card games if you have to.
Drop insurance on any nonoperational cars.
That whole house situation sounds skeezy to the max. Someone's making bank on that deal and it's not you guys.
This is probably not the best time to look for a new job, but long term one or both of you need to bring in more money. You mention you would hate doing anything else - but is that realistic when you have a family to provide for? Sometimes we just have to suck it up and do a job because it pays for what we have to pay for. I would LOVE to be a vet tech but didn't go that route as a career because I know I'd always struggle financially. What does your H do? Is there any chance he could get a better job?
I feel like there are a lot of good quick fixes here, but you're going to struggle long term unless you can figure out a way to drastically reduce your ongoing expenses or earn more. I know that's easier said than done and millions of people are in the same boat as you, so I don't say that to criticize. I just think you may need to look beyond the immediate if you aren't comfortable living like this. It's unfortunately not going to get better just by cutting back on internet and selling one of the cars.
Post by curbsideprophet on Sept 19, 2014 22:09:41 GMT -5
Can someone else take SS to school so that you can work more hours?
I am afraid to ask what the interest rate on your car is if the low rate is 9%. I would consider selling you car plus the one that does not run.
The house situation confuses me. If it is confusing you then I would at least sit down and try to figure out what is going on. It does not sound like moving is a good idea.