We have a small amount of cc debt at 1.99% and 6 other very small debts ($2-600) that are at 0% for a limited time which I can pay off before the expiration dates. We also slacked off a bit with not paying back overdrafts immediately so that's about $1300, cut in half since last year. I'm very careful to not let my checking dip below $100 since now they charge $15 each month that it does.
We also have a dh's truck & our mortgage which we just refinanced at 3% for 15 yrs. My car is paid for.
I use a Southwest visa for everyday expenses but pay it off every month.
We have around $5k in our cushion account & put ~$1k/month in our retirement accounts.
The hard part is that we also need a roof. Not in dire need but a few years ago when our roof had a leak (into the screened in back porch) we had that section of roof replaced and got an estimate for the rest, we were told that our shingles are failing prematurely and would be needing a roof a few years. The previous owner had it installed right before we bought it but that's been 15 yrs ago. We know nothing about the roofer or warranty on shingles, etc. A section over the front porch leaks now too but still nothing into the house. We are getting estimates of $8-9000.
We do have a big trip coming this summer which we have already committed too much to turn back. (Used miles for 3 out of 4 airfares.)
Aside from some minor expenses, the trip is already paid for except the cruise balance itself which is on my Disney visa at 0% and we can pay off before the 6 months is up. (Dh gives me cash for travel for Christmas & bday gifts.)
So I entered debt info at Dave Ramsey's snowball calculator but the roof needs to come before I can start banging out the debt. There's no way to factor that into his equation.
Our mortgage payment is $130/month less than before.
Should I snowball the roof first then debt? It's the roof that has dh stressing. I pay double the minimum payment for everything except truck & mortgage so should I pay minimum to get roof $ set aside? I need to keep certain minimums that I set for myself to be done before the 0% expires but once those are done I can work more toward the roof.
We got in deep many years ago & got out by refinancing. I swore I wouldn't get out of hand again which is why we do the 0% deals. I've had multiple ones before and always get them paid in time. I don't feel like it's out of hand but don't want to start heading that way again.
We both work steady & our kids are beyond the day care/after school care years so that helps.
The kicker is that we had the roof $ before but dh preferred a new driveway instead. I disagreed since that was simply cosmetic but I lost that battle.
Still, it needs to be done before it becomes a dire need with water coming inside. We would have to tap our $5k cushion to get the roof done then build it back up.
I am out of cc debt
). I also believe some things are more valuable than money. We are going to KY in 3 wks to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. It will cost us about $1k...but my grandma is worth her weight in gold to me and I WILL NOT miss it unless i'm in a surgical bed at the hospital or dead. (Lord, I'm really not trying to tempt fate, just stating my commitment.)
