aka-mad4themouse
<font color="blue">Budget Board Co-Host</font>
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2004
- Messages
- 9,291
Magicx2,
I wish you the best of luck...because luck is what you're going to need. A quick recap:
You owe $22.5K to 6 credit cards. 4 of those cards you stopped using 4 months ago but you've continued to charge "for purchases exceeding $200" on the two remaining cards. Yet, your largest monthly payment to any of those 4 cards is typically $225. You were continuing to rack up debt during those months.
The minimum payment on all those cards is $647/month and you currently pay closer to $775/month (which is good). But the monthly minimum payment on $22.5 in credit card debt is soon going to jump to $900/month, an amount that your current budget has no room to cover. You also have a car loan of $327/month and a signature loan that you're paying $230/month on.
You've refinance your home twice, once to eliminate credit card debts and adding $18K to your mortgage to do so. So, you've been in credit card trouble before, yet in the two years following that refi, you amassed another $22.5K in credit card debt!
Your current budget has $100 in "blow money" but nothing in your budget for clothing, entertainment, home upkeep or car maintenance. I forsee you "blowing" through that $100 very quickly every month. And it will get worse, especially with the minimums going up on your CCs. If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, you can expect that to increase too.
You're taking not one but TWO trips to WDW and until recently, you were inquiring about Dec 2007 rates for Disney Cruises. And even with the a debt-free goal, you're talking about buying into DVC when you get out of the woods. My advise is to forget DVC and pay off your mortgage, establish college funds, a retirement fund and an emergency fund with 6 months worth of paychecks banked in it.
And on top of all this debt and worry that accompanies it, you actually went to that auction and bid almost $42K on that piece of land. Now where in the world did you think the money was going to come from to pay for that loan? Did you even run the numbers before you went to that auction? I imagine that you didn't because if you had, you would have spent the morning listing your excess stuff on eBay instead.
I'm sitting here shaking my head and wondering. You seem so determined to get out of debt and on the road to financial well-being. But you also want to have what you want, when you want it. It just can't work that way. Realistically, you should not be taking Disney trips when your regular monthly budget exceeds your income, regardless of who is paying for most of it. You should not be thinking of purchasing tracts of land with loaned money you cannot afford to repay. And buying into DVC should not be your first goal once you've eliminated your debt. It's not the amount of debt that I see as the problem, it's your mindset that will be the biggest obstacle to overcome.
I wish you the best of luck...because luck is what you're going to need. A quick recap:
You owe $22.5K to 6 credit cards. 4 of those cards you stopped using 4 months ago but you've continued to charge "for purchases exceeding $200" on the two remaining cards. Yet, your largest monthly payment to any of those 4 cards is typically $225. You were continuing to rack up debt during those months.
The minimum payment on all those cards is $647/month and you currently pay closer to $775/month (which is good). But the monthly minimum payment on $22.5 in credit card debt is soon going to jump to $900/month, an amount that your current budget has no room to cover. You also have a car loan of $327/month and a signature loan that you're paying $230/month on.
You've refinance your home twice, once to eliminate credit card debts and adding $18K to your mortgage to do so. So, you've been in credit card trouble before, yet in the two years following that refi, you amassed another $22.5K in credit card debt!
Your current budget has $100 in "blow money" but nothing in your budget for clothing, entertainment, home upkeep or car maintenance. I forsee you "blowing" through that $100 very quickly every month. And it will get worse, especially with the minimums going up on your CCs. If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, you can expect that to increase too.
You're taking not one but TWO trips to WDW and until recently, you were inquiring about Dec 2007 rates for Disney Cruises. And even with the a debt-free goal, you're talking about buying into DVC when you get out of the woods. My advise is to forget DVC and pay off your mortgage, establish college funds, a retirement fund and an emergency fund with 6 months worth of paychecks banked in it.
And on top of all this debt and worry that accompanies it, you actually went to that auction and bid almost $42K on that piece of land. Now where in the world did you think the money was going to come from to pay for that loan? Did you even run the numbers before you went to that auction? I imagine that you didn't because if you had, you would have spent the morning listing your excess stuff on eBay instead.
I'm sitting here shaking my head and wondering. You seem so determined to get out of debt and on the road to financial well-being. But you also want to have what you want, when you want it. It just can't work that way. Realistically, you should not be taking Disney trips when your regular monthly budget exceeds your income, regardless of who is paying for most of it. You should not be thinking of purchasing tracts of land with loaned money you cannot afford to repay. And buying into DVC should not be your first goal once you've eliminated your debt. It's not the amount of debt that I see as the problem, it's your mindset that will be the biggest obstacle to overcome.
to everyone who has posted on this thread; it is inspiring and encouraging to see others who have gotten out of bad situations; I'm trying to be more financially healthy myself. We have a good amount in a savings account but also some CC debt. I had a one-week DL trip in the works for next spring, but we decided no more Disney until the debt is paid down. We're moving to a cheaper apartment until we can afford a house and I'm going to start working night shift (I'm a nurse) for extra hourly wage$$$ (and we are going to put the difference toward the debt). I especially want to thank DVCGirl's post #236 about budgeting--there are so many "little" categories I think most people don't think about in the budget. I wrote down all my expenses for September, just to see where I'm at, and I spent $700 on "miscellaneous".
There is a lot of good advice here, I think the most important thing is that change has to come from the inside. I personally changed my views on my money and debt when I became a woman of faith. If you belong to a church or other religious organization maybe someone there could give you some support as well? I also recommend any financial book by Ellie Kay, she writes about how spending and saving is tied up to our emotions and how we were raised about money and how to change our attitudes and feelings about money, in addition to "nuts and bolts" stuff like how to make a budget, getting out of debt, etc., etc.
and did $5.00 gifts. The funny thing is, I remember the $0.50 gift he gave me (an empty box, filled with love, and wrapped in foil 
) but not the $5.00 gift.
But new home and new baby expenses are *very* tempting, and I can see why people succumb.
