Help: Need a Fiscal/Budget plan

[LuckyD]

Hi.

I have been lurking here for a few months now and have been following several threads regarding the budgeting experiences of several brave people.

I have decided to take the plunge here....

We are 44 years old and have never followed any "plan" for budgeting/saving. DH has a 401k at work but other than that we have about $1000 in savings. We are in the process of paying down about $5000 in cc debt and have college tuition coming up in the next year.

As far as retirement and investing, are we totally out of luck?

What book/program do most of you disboards financial wizards suggest to help get us on the straight and narrow?

 

[MEM]

Welcome aboard!

Many of the folks on this board recommend Dave Ramsey's books and radio program as a starting point. His Total Money Makeover is pretty good, IMHO, but most of it (all of it?) is just common sense. I would suggest signing them out from your local library (mine does not carry his books but through inter-library loan I was able to get them). I did not care for his Financial Peace, at all, and the updated version ("Revisited") includes these inane observations and comments written by his wife at the end of each chapter. Judge for yourself.

Suze Orman is also good.

 

[WIcruizer]

More info would help. Annual income, your larger fixed expenses (mortgage, other loans, etc).

Regardless of any of that, you're taking the correct first step. Paying off credit card debt. Going forward, NEVER charge anything to a credit card that you can't pay off at the end of the month.

Next, max the 401k plan, especially if the employer has any match.

Look into a 529 plan to help off set the costs of college tuition. It is similar to an IRA, it is tax deductible for any college expenses.

Then you need to look at your fixed costs each month. Subtract that from your monthly income. What your left with is "wants" and savings. Discuss a reasonable amount of "wants" money you can stick to, and make a commitment to it every month- no exceptions.

 

[dvcgirl]

Hi.

I have been lurking here for a few months now and have been following several threads regarding the budgeting experiences of several brave people.

I have decided to take the plunge here....

We are 44 years old and have never followed any "plan" for budgeting/saving. DH has a 401k at work but other than that we have about $1000 in savings. We are in the process of paying down about $5000 in cc debt and have college tuition coming up in the next year.

As far as retirement and investing, are we totally out of luck?

What book/program do most of you disboards financial wizards suggest to help get us on the straight and narrow?

Well, first of all, it's never too late to start. But it does sound like you have some serious catching up to do from the brief description that you've given us. I think that one of the reasons that MagicX2 got such good advice is because she was really very open (remember...you don't know us and we don't know you), and by listing her monthly expenses (and she was very detailed) along with her CC debt/loans we all could see very quickly that she was in trouble if she didn't do something right away.

So a few questions...

Do you both work? If so, do you both have a 401K plan (I see that DH does)? Does your employer match your contributions up until a certain point? If so, by how much. How much are you currently contributing percentage-wise to your 401K?

Do you own your home? If so, do you have a mortgage? If you do, how many years do you have left to pay on your home.

Do you have car payments? If so, how much of your monthly income are they eating up?

Do either of you work for a company that will provide you with any sort of a pension plan upon retirement.

I see that you have a college tuition coming up. How many children do you have? If you have more than one are there more tuition responsibilities coming to you in the future?

 

[jay-nee]

Anything by David Bach, he's the one that lit the fire under my butt.

I would suggest "Smart Couples Finish Rich" and "Start Late Finish Rich."

Also, I would read the "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey.

After you've read those, read something newer by Suze Orman. But, I read DB abd DR first, they make you think more about your day-to-day challenges and where to actually "find" money. Make sure that you and your spouse are on the same page though or things won't work. DR talks more about that.

Don't buy them, get them through your local library (if they don't have them, have them Interlibrary Loan them for you - usually takes just a few days).

Good luck on your journey. You've take the 1st step just by identifying that you want to change your path.

Happy Friday!