Bills, bills, bills...options??

[lovemygoofy]

OP is saying that once or twice a year things are really tight. I'm guessing that is when there is an extra week in the pay period. Can it be possible that it's almost 2 house payments in that time period??

It doesn't sound like they need bankruptcy or credit card help. It sounds like the family needs to get ahold of their finances. Obviously being that far in debt isn't bothering if they are taking any kind of big vacation right now. I don't mean that in an ugly manner but as an obvious statement.

OP, track your money every month. Write down every cent you and your family spend and that includes drive through stops, starbucks run, movie rentals and anything else that money is spent on. You will be amazed at how money runs out the door when you think you are living a certain lifestyle.

I don't think you should try to lower your house payment. I think you should get a grip on your finances. Look, really look, at where your money is going. Make some cuts and figure out what is important to you regarding your debt and lifestyle.

 

[Cinbride]

Wow...where are you that $1400 is a HIGH mortgage payment? I could only dream of having a mortgage that low (and our interest rate is 5.25%)!!!!

thanks for the laughs. compared to most people we know that is high. I don't think it is completely horrible considering all we have. We have looked at houses in town and w/ less for just as much.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

I was going to put that in bec/ I knew someone would ask about disney. we are spending no where near 4-5000 for disney. I don't know if I could/would ever do that. w/ everything it is around 2200. It has been paid for a few months.

But that $$ could be buying you peace of mind if you know it's in the bank saved in the event of an emergency.

I don't mean this in a mean spirited kind of way, but your debt hasn't yet made you so uncomfortable that you're willing to do what you have to do to get rid of it, hence the justification that the upcoming trip isn't costing "that much". It just makes you kind of uncomfortable about 1-2 times a year.

I know how you feel because I'd been in your shoes many times before. We were still "manging" to make all of our payments just fine, but I didn't want to worry about the "what-ifs" so much that I was losing sleep and I was starting to. I finally decided that I'd had enough. We canceled all unnecessary expenses, buckled down and paid everything off except the mortgage (that will be gone in 2.5 years). So when I was hit by an unexpected layoff, it was only a bump in the road, which is pretty substantial considering we're a one-income family.

Of course, my family ridiculed me for trying to save and they can't believe ANYONE would pay off their mortgage early because they're losing valuable tax deductions, but the deduction has been long gone for us and the peace of mind we'll have when our home is actually "ours" is worth it to me.

Good luck to you in this process.

 

[Cinbride]

i'm a little behind on the posts. But yes most months we are fine. Just saying some months we hit a rough patch. However, I think there are a lot of people who do. Like I said it was just a bad day and I have a headache.

I was just adding in about the bankrupcy, it should have been another post, but I got lazy. I was just curious about that. (if people that file for it actually lose their house as I know a few people who really wanted to)

CC has to go. I think most would agree. I know. that is why we don't use it anymore. We switch to a debit card. Because for the silliest purchases ex/redbox; we used cc. I was just looking if people reconsolidate bec/ I hear that wasn't that great.

thanks

 

[bumbershoot]

So, maybe we just need to really focus on selling more.

I do think we will start writing down everything and trying to budget.

Yes. If the income isn't sufficient, the income needs to rise. So sell sell sell.

Do you have any personal CDs that you don't listen to anymore? I just used both abdundatrade and secondspin (both .com) to sell a bunch of CDs, and my checks are in the mail. I'm very excited, since we have about 3 times as many CDs as I already sold, just sitting here.

Yes, figure out your budget.


Even if you hate the idea of Dave Ramsey as a person (he rankles some people), I would recommend checking out llnoe.com and looking at the steps that many people take, in order, to get themselves out of debt.

Consolidation is such a nice idea, but in reality, it was your spending behaviour that brought you to this place, and if you don't address *that*, all consolidation is going to do is to free up more "extra" cash every month, which you might very well just end up spending. YOu have to change the behaviour, not just free up cash.

It doesn't sound like they need bankruptcy or credit card help. It sounds like the family needs to get ahold of their finances.

I think you should get a grip on your finances. Look, really look, at where your money is going. Make some cuts and figure out what is important to you regarding your debt and lifestyle.

I agree completely!

 

[Pigeon]

I would take a long, cold, hard look at all your expenses before you even think about bankruptcy.

Most people spend a fair amount on things that they can live just fine without. We have very little debt so getting out of it isn't our problem, but at one point needed to save up substantial amounts of money for our adoptions. I would take the same approach if I had cc debt.

What do you spend on that is unnecessary and what can you scale back? We cut out all entertainment expenses and used free alternatives, like the library and free events. We don't have cable TV or expensive cell phone plans. We don't pay people to do things we can do pretty well ourselves, like yard work, housecleaning, trash collection, and even most home repairs. We don't eat out very much and when we were adopting that stopped altogether. I'm very careful about grocery expenses, and shop and eat what's on sale.

Refi can be a good option in some situations, but it will usually cost you in terms of closing costs. You may not save enough to make it worth it.

And no way would taking a vacation that didn't involve staying home and working on the house even cross my radar if I had problem debt.

 

[Swimalie]

Wow...where are you that $1400 is a HIGH mortgage payment? I could only dream of having a mortgage that low (and our interest rate is 5.25%)!!!!

Bought my house in the DC area for $470,000 and our payments are only $1500 a month. It came be done in some of the more expensive areas. Our interest rate is 5.75%

 

[ceecee]

Cancel the vacation, if you are really serious about paying off your debt. If it's paid for...great but that $ could go towards your debt. It took a while to get into debt so there is no quick fix and that includes bankruptcy!

 

[Cinbride]

i'm trying to sell. It's hard w/ lil' ones. I am curious about the text books. Are they older or newer text books. I have some from awhile ago but don't know if they would be any good.

I have also found; well today. One problem is we sell then transfer it to the bank which takes 3-4 days. Meanwhile we are shipping things out; dont' do it online so we pay that; out of our pockets; while our bills are also going out. Since it is taking paypal long to transfer we have taken out w/ atm (free) just 1 charge by paypal and have taken that cash in the bank. I think we will do that at certain times or just pay the shipping out of our paypal debit instead of using checks. see our business grew faster than I think we were prepared for.

 

[mindyd]

To be honest if you are not short every month and it is only a few times it doesn't really sound like you would even qualify for bankruptcy. I think you should try to cut back on some extra's that add up that you might not even be thinking about eating out, coffee, lower cable bill. Then once you do that for a few months you will have a cushion for the few times things get tough.

 

[msmayor]

it just frustrates me when the mortgage company won't work w/ you unless your months late.

I'm not sure I understand your frustration. You said you're current...you also said refinancing was an option...that's "working" with you and giving you the opportunity to lower your payment.

So how are they not "working" with you?

 

[DawnM]

Is this because you put a huge amount down or do you have some sort of 50 year loan????? Or an ARM?

On a 30 year fixed with 5.75% that just doesn't make sense that the payment is $1500.

Dawn

Bought my house in the DC area for $470,000 and our payments are only $1500 a month. It came be done in some of the more expensive areas. Our interest rate is 5.75%

 

[bettymae1121]

If you're only tight 1 or 2 times a year, it could be that "unexpected" expenses come up...but are they really unexpected???

I don't make up a budget. I make up TWELVE monthly budgets, one for each month of the year. Because lets face it, no two months are the same as far as expenses are concerned.

Some infrequent bills that I find for myself are:

Vet bills (2x a year)
AAA membership (1x)
Costco membership (1x)
Water bill (6x)
Car tags (1x per vehical)
Dentist co-pay(2x)
Vision (1x per vision impaired person...)
pre-paid cell phone refils (1x per phone)

Gifts is another tricky thing. My family is unusual, we have a ton of b-days in May, plus several wedding aniversaries and of course Mother's day. I almost treat it like Christmas actually, that's how much we spend. But for the rest of the year, I put in gifts I know I'll need to get for each month in that month's budget. And of course, Christmas gets it's own little line item in both November and December (I shop during both months so I split it up between the two).

So, sit down and try to think of every little non-usual budget item that you can, and write down the month it's due. The work that into your budget for each month, you'll be able to see in advance if you'll be short, so extra money in the months before can be set aside, or you can make other plans on how to get those costs down or even eliminate them.

 

[Cinbride]

I'm not sure I understand your frustration. You said you're current...you also said refinancing was an option...that's "working" with you and giving you the opportunity to lower your payment.

So how are they not "working" with you?

Yes, I am current. I don't want to pay a fee. My husbands check always goes in after mortgage is due. Refinancing is another story. Some guy called about refinacing, told me no fees. I didn't have his number, I called the company back finally got some lady and she basically stole us from that guy and took over. Then won't return our phone calls. and says it will cost us x amount to refinance. One says we are guaranteed to be able to another says they are not sure. One says you will get refunded, the other says it is a possibility? too many different stories. btw it is a big company

 

[mrudman]

Wow...where are you that $1400 is a HIGH mortgage payment? I could only dream of having a mortgage that low (and our interest rate is 5.25%)!!!!

Yea, it really is interesting to see the major differences in different areas of this country.

I live in NE ohio, in a suburb with an excellent rated school system...

Have 2 1/2 acres, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths.. last appraisal was last year when we refinanced for rate of 4.870%.. valued it at about $155k (had taken about a 10-15k hit the previous year)... mortgage was for $130k, and we pay $890/month, which includes the house taxes (would be about $680 without them).

 

[bunny]

Not to beat a dead horse, but how do 4 people spend a week at WL for $2,200? That sounds like a great deal.

 

[jmpellet]

I personally don't think $1,400 is unreasonable for many people and I'm guessing based on the practices that happened about 5 years ago, many people's are much, much higher. This is the mortgage for the example above -- it definitely is NOT near $1400/month and this is with 20% down. The only other option would be a 40 year mortgage and who wants to be paying for that long!

Purchase price: $ 470000
Down payment amount: $ 94000 (20%????)
Number of months: 360
Interest rate: % 5.75
Payment amount: $2,194.93

Even a 40 year loan is right around $2000.

 

[Cinbride]

haha. 4/3 standard. kids r free. bringing food/snacks,drinks. couldn't do it without the 4/3.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

thanks for the laughs. compared to most people we know that is high. I don't think it is completely horrible considering all we have. We have looked at houses in town and w/ less for just as much.

I hope you don't think I was insulting you. I truly am jealous. We have a relatively small house on a 1/2 acre....nothing fancy at all. I would LOVE that mortgage!!!

Bought my house in the DC area for $470,000 and our payments are only $1500 a month. It came be done in some of the more expensive areas. Our interest rate is 5.75%

You must have saved up and made a great down payment. That's fabulous!!!

 

[Cinbride]

I personally don't think $1,400 is unreasonable for many people and I'm guessing based on the practices that happened about 5 years ago, many people's are much, much higher. This is the mortgage for the example above -- it definitely is NOT near $1400/month and this is with 20% down. The only other option would be a 40 year mortgage and who wants to be paying for that long!

Purchase price: $ 470000
Down payment amount: $ 94000 (20%????)
Number of months: 360
Interest rate: % 5.75
Payment amount: $2,194.93

Even a 40 year loan is right around $2000.

Yes, I feel like we actually did really well for what we have. 10 acres; new house. no money down; got the loan on our great credit. Sometimes it is just a shocker bec/ we lived in town in an old house for about 500. But townhouses in the area about 1000.