Dave Ramsey fans...questions

[adventure_woman]

Okay, so I think I got my DH onboard for a Total Money Makeover. The credit card will be paid off in a month or so, then we can pay off our van in a little over a year I'm hoping. So I feel like we are sitting pretty good in that aspect. BUT....the idea of tackling our student loans (which we BOTH took out and paid for all our college with...so they are quite substantial) is a bit overwhelming. AND, my DH says NO VACATIONS while we are doing this. WHAT?!?!? I really don't think I can survive for YEARS w/o a vacation!

So, my questions are this...
1. Do you seriously NOT go on vacation?
2. Will the student loans ever get paid off??

 

[FutureDis]

Yes and Yes!

No, we didn't do vacation... or if you really want to, do small and cheap. (Think weekend camping at local state park!) A vacation is about "spirit". Anything can be a fun vacation if you make it so. Even staying home and just doing things you don't normally do.

Yes, you WILL get out of debt. Don't LET it take forever. ATTACK it!! Get a part time job (both of you!). Sell everything you don't NEED... Act like you are saving for the biggest trip to Disney that you can think of! If you really attack the debt, scrimp every penny, you WILL get it paid off... then think of how much you will have to spend and have fun with. Get creative about finding ways to make money. It can be fun! Take old clothes to a consignment store... have a garage sale, sell things on craigslist! It will add up fast.

Will it mean a few years of un-Disney vacation? Likely... but it WILL be worth it!! And honestly, it will change your life.

Good luck, and keep listening to Dave for motivation!

 

[Smile4Me]

Perhaps you can compromise. Try it for a year, paying as much as you can, and do a stay at home vacation, or maybe just a shorter one closer to home,,,see how much extra you can put toward your payment and go from there.

 

[meandmytwogirls]

My career is extremely stressful so we didn't adhere to the no vacations suggestion. What we did is take a cheap vacation we could pay cash for and not increase debt. A vacation doesn't have to be expensive or I wouldn't take it with substantial debt hanging over your head

 

[Chicago526]

You can also vacation with family. DH and I will take a week and just fly out to visit my father and brother in AZ. I get free airfare because of my job, and we upgrade to 1st class using our miles. We still spend some money while visiting, but not nearly what we would spend on a week in WDW or Cancun.

We'll also take a week off and just hang out around the house. Just being able to relax at home is wonderful.

 

[ameraumi]

We modified the plan to work for us. One of those modifications was we still took vacations. But we always made sure we could pay cash for them and we added a line in the budget to save for them. Suggest a compromise like that and see what he says.

 

[WDW4TheGirls]

The only vacation we took was with our tax return money one year (we went to Disneyworld for the first time!). We are craving another vacation--but the light is at the end of our tunnel for the first time. We only have 3 more months until the credit cards are gone FOREVER!!! Then we will feel really good about another vacation, taking our peace of mind with us!

I love Dave Ramsey, keep going!

 

[edandcolleen1995]

Some random stuff..

We are doing ok. just got a house, and have only about $4k in debt on Cc and two cars totaling $12k.

I just found out about Dave Ramsey after he was added to the local radio.

Let me tell you,.. While we might not buy into it 100%, it has made a really nice impact by just listening to his call in shows. We now think 3x before we decide to buy something. We barely eat out now (special occasions only). We have not put a penny more on the current credit and use our debit for everything else..

Talk about an impact! I give everyone a ton of credit if they really buy into the program and do the rice and beans, beans and rice approach. We are blessed to not have to reach that point, but doing just what I listed above has literally helped so much.

Plus little things like you don't realize. Dinner at friends house. Husband says something about opening a store CC for 10% discount and first thing wife and I said in the car was NO WAY! that would have been something 4 months ago, we would have rushed to do, and bought something we more then likely could have wait for. Or now, budget and pay cash for.

 

[FLBound11]

What we did is take a cheap vacation we could pay cash for and not increase debt.

This is definitely the key!

IMO, paying down debt is very similar to trying to lose weight...

if you deprive yourself to an extreme, sure you'll lose weight (debt) quicker, but you're also going to be more likely to bounce back off the wagon and start spending (eating unhealthy) again.

However if you take a more moderate (but still structured) approach, it's much healthier and much more likely to become a lifetime pattern, rather than a "quick fix."

Everyone has their own philosophies about paying down debt, and there isn't necessarily one correct way that's best for everyone. As long as you commit to paying it off and do that * consistently* you'll be on the right track

 

[kwhite1022]

When my hubby and I started Ramsey, it was partly because we really wanted to be able to afford trips like Disney, but just couldnt see it happening with our debt load. What we did was set up a compromise. We earmarked 4 big debts we had to have paid before we would start using any of our "snowball" money to be set aside for a vacation. It really helped keep us in focus. We flew through the 4 debts, and then took just 10% of our snowball to put towards a vacation fund. It took us only a year and a half to accomplish x,y,z and a trip to Disney. Considering we are a one income family and hubby can not work an extra job, we felt pretty proud to make our goal. I took us another year to finish off last remaining debt....except for house. Yes in hindsight we probably would have been done in 3 months, vs another year....but I wouldnt trade that vacation for the world.

 

[barbmouse]

Great advice so far. I agree with a "staycation"....... spend time at home relaxing and doing things in your own area. I also think if you can use money from a bonus or tax refund to go on s budget vacation that would be another option.