bettymae1121
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2010
- Messages
- 2,694
There probably isnt' a "wrong" answer to this but I wanted to get a few outside opinions. DH says it's my money and to do what I want with it so it's 100% up to me.
My grandmother died last September, and because my mother died in '07, my mother's share now goes to my brothers and I (to all of our surprise, I might add!). I'm not sure of the amount yet, all I know from my uncle is that the lawyer will be cutting the check today and that I will be "very very surprised" with it (in a good way, Uncle was very upbeat!). I didn't feel comfortable asking "how much?" but knowing a bit about what my grandmother was likely worth at her passing, I have a fair idea of the amount.
It will likely be enough to cover what we owe in CC debt. We have been on a plan to pay it down the past few years and have just recently ramped up our efforts, had this not happened we'd have been CC debt free in about 2 years. We don't have much in savings however, which has always worried me. Everytime we get a few $$$ in savings something comes along and wipes it out. We never add to our debt but can't seem to make a big dent in it or keep a decent amount in savings either.
So, our CC debt is spred over 4 credit cards. CC's 1, 2, and 3 have interest of about 6%, the 4th CC is 0% until March '13 and then it goest to 12%.
CC's 1 and 2 have very low balances, just 3k between them and I know I'll pay them off no mater what. CC 3 has a much higher balance and I figure I'll pay that off as well.
That will leave CC 4. I will likely have enough from the inheritance to pay that off in full too (or close to it), but will - unless I'm getting WAY more than I think I am - leave little to nothing left to put into savings. But, with all 4 CC's out of the way I'd be able to ramp up savings and have a decent amount in the bank by the end of the year (baring unforseen expenses).
So, should I pay off CC 4 and be done with it, or hang on to the money for a rainy day and concentrate on paying off CC 4 using our monthly income? We likely would not be able to pay it off before the 0% interest expires but we'd knock it down a fair bit. Total time to pay off CC 4 would be about 10-12 months.
Or are there other ways to work this that I'm not thinking of?
And this being the DIS budget board, I know I'll get a few "you need to reign in your spending so you don't rack up CC debt again". Already done, and done years ago. Our issue isn't day-to-day spending anyway, we pay off the CC we use for monthly spending (groceries, gas, etc) every month and our expenses are not out of the ordinary (mostly needs and not many wants). The CC debt was from our wedding, home repairs that couldn't wait, replacing DH's truck engine (I'd have junked the thing but it wasn't up to me) and a few other large purchases that could not be put off for various reasons. With the CC's off our back and money in the bank, we should not need to have CC debt ever again, and amen to that!
All of this said, I'd much rather have my grandmother and mother alive and well. They passed away before getting to meet my precious little girl! Or at the very least Grandma should have enjoyed her money more. But that's not how it worked out.
ETA: Just ran the numbers and unless something unexpected popped up, we can pay off CC 4 before the 0% off expires. So we would not have to touch anything we saved from the inheritance.
My grandmother died last September, and because my mother died in '07, my mother's share now goes to my brothers and I (to all of our surprise, I might add!). I'm not sure of the amount yet, all I know from my uncle is that the lawyer will be cutting the check today and that I will be "very very surprised" with it (in a good way, Uncle was very upbeat!). I didn't feel comfortable asking "how much?" but knowing a bit about what my grandmother was likely worth at her passing, I have a fair idea of the amount.
It will likely be enough to cover what we owe in CC debt. We have been on a plan to pay it down the past few years and have just recently ramped up our efforts, had this not happened we'd have been CC debt free in about 2 years. We don't have much in savings however, which has always worried me. Everytime we get a few $$$ in savings something comes along and wipes it out. We never add to our debt but can't seem to make a big dent in it or keep a decent amount in savings either.
So, our CC debt is spred over 4 credit cards. CC's 1, 2, and 3 have interest of about 6%, the 4th CC is 0% until March '13 and then it goest to 12%.
CC's 1 and 2 have very low balances, just 3k between them and I know I'll pay them off no mater what. CC 3 has a much higher balance and I figure I'll pay that off as well.
That will leave CC 4. I will likely have enough from the inheritance to pay that off in full too (or close to it), but will - unless I'm getting WAY more than I think I am - leave little to nothing left to put into savings. But, with all 4 CC's out of the way I'd be able to ramp up savings and have a decent amount in the bank by the end of the year (baring unforseen expenses).
So, should I pay off CC 4 and be done with it, or hang on to the money for a rainy day and concentrate on paying off CC 4 using our monthly income? We likely would not be able to pay it off before the 0% interest expires but we'd knock it down a fair bit. Total time to pay off CC 4 would be about 10-12 months.
Or are there other ways to work this that I'm not thinking of?
And this being the DIS budget board, I know I'll get a few "you need to reign in your spending so you don't rack up CC debt again". Already done, and done years ago. Our issue isn't day-to-day spending anyway, we pay off the CC we use for monthly spending (groceries, gas, etc) every month and our expenses are not out of the ordinary (mostly needs and not many wants). The CC debt was from our wedding, home repairs that couldn't wait, replacing DH's truck engine (I'd have junked the thing but it wasn't up to me) and a few other large purchases that could not be put off for various reasons. With the CC's off our back and money in the bank, we should not need to have CC debt ever again, and amen to that!All of this said, I'd much rather have my grandmother and mother alive and well. They passed away before getting to meet my precious little girl! Or at the very least Grandma should have enjoyed her money more. But that's not how it worked out.
ETA: Just ran the numbers and unless something unexpected popped up, we can pay off CC 4 before the 0% off expires. So we would not have to touch anything we saved from the inheritance.
My brother called me later that night and he couldn't think of a way to ask either (he was hoping I knew), so it wasn't just me!
