*The Dave Ramsey 'Baby Steps' Thread*

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Time for an annual review of the Baby Steps!

I know other financial experts have come up with their own version of the steps, but I'm not aware of any other program that is so actionable, clear-cut, and attainable for any income level or debt level.

The Baby Steps take the guess work out of what to do next, and they get results. You always know what you are supposed to be working on, and the process actually works!

If you are reading this, and 2024 was another year where you didn't eliminate debt, you acquired more debt, you still don't have an emergency fund, or you aren't saving for retirement or college, it's time to get serious about your finances!

Look at the chart below, find the lowest step you have completed, and work up the steps from there. The Ramsey Team has so many free articles and resources on their website, as well as their call-in radio show on the app, website, and YouTube.

Start reading, start listening, and start the Baby Steps!

The 7 Baby Steps

The Ramsey Show

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Alright, all the numbers for end-of-December and end-of-year have been run!

Wrapping up December...

--We had a whirlwind December full of every experience we could fit in. Movies, plays, Christmas events, museums, travel, and so much fun! We spent a lot, but we were also able to save this month.

--Ideally, we need to re-establish separate savings funds for medical costs, annual expenses, and large purchases. However, until the amount we have saved is bigger, we are combining everything into one savings account and will use it for whichever expense needs it first.

--We paid the spring semester in full, so that finishes cash-flowing the first two years of college. Our college student was able to get a job and cover housing this year, so that's been great.

--I've started pulling any leftover cash in my wallet at the end of the month and putting it to the side. In the past, any end-of-month cash was rolled into the next month, even though it was listed on the prior month's budget. I felt like this was muddying the waters a bit, so now, if the cash doesn't get spent in the month it was pulled from, it's put aside as savings.

--I made my own net worth spreadsheet, so that I can customize our line items and group together physical assets (car, house, etc.) separately from financial assets (bank, retirement, etc.). This year, our money caught up, and our net worth is about evenly split between physical and financial assets.

--After finalizing all the numbers for this year, I made some new projections with both more conservative and more aggressive numbers. It's still too early to tell, but having three different paths should give us a more comprehensive view moving forward.

--Well, we were thinking 2024 would be the year to finish Baby Step 4, but we'll have to try again in 2025!

Step 1: Done!
Step 2: Done!
Step 3: Done!
Step 4: In progress
Step 5: Done!
Step 6: Done!
Step 7: Anticipated 2025??

 

[barkley]

--I made my own net worth spreadsheet, so that I can customize our line items and group together physical assets (car, house, etc.) separately from financial assets (bank, retirement, etc.). This year, our money caught up, and our net worth is about evenly split between physical and financial assets.

when reviewing your physical assets it's a good idea to review your insurance coverage. you don't want to be overpaying for coverage but ensuring you have sufficient coverage is vital. this was driven home to us when an event destroyed some homes/buildings in our neighborhood. folks had great coverage for their structures but were shell shocked when they realized how lacking they were in respect to their contents. something like your garage where you really only think about the car being the big ticket item (and it has it's own coverage) but then when you start adding up that freezer/spare fridge, tools, yard equipment, and sports or recreational items-you've aquired them across years and years and the replacement cost can be horrific. your primary residence-as our insurance agent says 'think about if your house was picked up, turned upside down and shaken-anything not affixed is under your personal property limits'. so...beyond the furniture, clothing, personal items you are looking at all your electronics, large (and small) appliances (anyone who has had to replace a single large one in recent years knows the much higher cost), and if you have any even informal 'collections' of movies, comic books, video games (or on this board-disney items) there's often a strict cap well below their value unless you have an inexpensive policy rider.

when our oldest was in college one of the best investments we did was an inexpensive renter's insurance policy. it wasn't that the kiddo owned much BUT there was a rash of car break-in at/near the university b/c thieves were targeting student cars they knew likely had textbooks and electronics. the items in your car that are stolen are not covered under your car's insurance so it would become a choice of replacement of a few thousand out of pocket vs. submitting a claim under our homeowners (which we keep the deductable high on to save that would have been a chunk of change) resulting in a DING (claim) on our policy. for less than $200 a year we did a renter's policy to protect the car's contents (and would have also paid for alternate housing in the case of dwelling damage-not that uncommon with frozen burst pipes in adjacent apartments in our neck of the woods).

--After finalizing all the numbers for this year, I made some new projections with both more conservative and more aggressive numbers. It's still too early to tell, but having three different paths should give us a more comprehensive view moving forward.

we had a heck of a year in 2024 with unexpected expenses so we are rebuilding our emergency fund as well. we also took on a debt that we could have cash flowed but when the interest charged in over 2% less than the cd rate we have locked for another couple of years it would have been a net loss to cash flow. we are going to devote the first four months of the year to overpaying on the loan but throwing the bulk of monies towards rebuilding the emergency fund. come May it full force on that loan to pay it off (ideally) by one year from today.



happy new year all!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

then when you start adding up that freezer/spare fridge, tools, yard equipment, and sports or recreational items-you've aquired them across years and years and the replacement cost can be horrific. so...beyond the furniture, clothing, personal items you are looking at all your electronics, large (and small) appliances

All good advice!

For us, we are quite the anomaly, as we live very frugally and minimally, so we don't own many things. We haven't had a garage (or storage unit, shed, etc.) for years, and it feels like we've been on a purchasing freeze for decades. We are slowly starting to buy thoughtful pieces of furniture and other items. So, as our personal items increase, we will certainly need to make sure our insurance coverage is sufficient. Maybe someday we'll even own a DVD player (or blu-ray, or whatever else it is now), haha!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Wrapping up January...

--So, January starts the season of our annual and semi-annual bills becoming due, and it'll ramp up over the next couple of months. This month, we paid our 6-month umbrella policy, and then a lot of homeschool and back-to-college expenses.

--We re-worked our budget spreadsheet to simplify some of the categories, and we also re-worked how we allocate each paycheck. The process was already streamlined, but I like it even better now! We went from fourteen to ten line items in our budget and changed the monthly estimate for each item (we re-do estimates at least once every six months, but this was the biggest overall re-work we've done). Also, each paycheck now gets initially allocated to only four categories. I have never enjoyed budgets that break out too many line items because it gets overwhelming, and I like more of a bucket feel. This just reinforces that notion. Since I generally load up expenses in the early part of the month, having even less categories with more money allocated to each one gives me a little more wiggle room. It also helped me visualize how some costs are better spread throughout the month.

--This was an extra paycheck month, so even with increased expenses, we were able to save some this month.

February budget is set!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Just popping in to say we filed our taxes this past Saturday, and I was shocked to see the federal refund sitting in our account this morning. It took 6 calendar days, including a weekend. It looks like it was supposed to be deposited this upcoming Tuesday (which would have been 10 days), but it probably got pushed through early because of Monday's President's Day holiday. Crazy! I've never had such a fast turnaround!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Just popping in to say we filed our taxes this past Saturday, and I was shocked to see the federal refund sitting in our account this morning. It took 6 calendar days, including a weekend. It looks like it was supposed to be deposited this upcoming Tuesday (which would have been 10 days), but it probably got pushed through early because of Monday's President's Day holiday. Crazy! I've never had such a fast turnaround!

Also, some banks offer early access to direct deposits.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

February wrap-up....

--For at least the past couple of years, we have taken our federal refund (along with some other savings) and added it to our emergency fund to make it more robust. I was hoping we wouldn't need to do that again this year, but with expenses so high, we decided to do the same thing. Now, our emergency fund will cover a full 6 months of take-home pay (versus just covering 6 months of necessary expenses). We are hoping this future-proofs the fund a little bit, so that we can actually enjoy our tax refund one of these years! Also, this is the last year we will receive the child tax credit, so we already know our refund will look different next year.

--We had some doctor visits last month that were paid as copays, but when the final bill came through, they were placed under our unmet deductible instead. Unfortunately, that meant we had to pay hundreds of dollars of bills in-full that we weren't expecting to pay. Thankfully, we had the money by moving things around, but that was something we didn't plan for this month.

--We paid our 6-month car insurance premium (it went down $30, woohoo!), as well as some college expenses and other annual expenses for homeschooling, membership dues, and filing our taxes. We also had increased spending due to family visiting during both the Super Bowl and the extended President's Day weekend. Even with all these expenses, we were still able to add a little extra money to our emergency fund (in addition to the tax refund) and another savings fund.

March budget is set!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Wrapping up March...

--A lot of expenses this month. We were notified that our cell phone bill is going up over 10% and our life insurance premium went up almost 50%. Despite the increase, we decided to add another life insurance policy. We paid for some extracurriculars and field trips, as well a week of summer camp.

--Since this finishes the expensive first quarter of the year, our funds will now be redirected back to saving for the next semester of college. Thankfully, we received our state tax refund and were also pleasantly surprised with a bonus at work. Those extras, plus other money we saved, were all added to our general savings fund this month.

--We finally took down our Christmas tree and decorations this month, so we are ready for spring!

April budget is set (and it's an extra paycheck month)!

 

[barkley]

Since this finishes the expensive first quarter of the year

our expensive quarters start next month and again in october both of those quarters contain the twice yearly property tax and auto insurance premiums with the one at the end of year also containing home/side by side/umbrella insurance yearly premiums as well. I'm so glad we budget a monthly flat amount to a specific set-aside account to pull from for these. i'm also glad I no longer have the 2nd quarter with looming summer camp expenses or the fall with school tuition

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

our expensive quarters start next month and again in october both of those quarters contain the twice yearly property tax and auto insurance premiums with the one at the end of year also containing home/side by side/umbrella insurance yearly premiums as well. I'm so glad we budget a monthly flat amount to a specific set-aside account to pull from for these. i'm also glad I no longer have the 2nd quarter with looming summer camp expenses or the fall with school tuition

Putting money aside monthly is definitely a smart way to do it!

We haven't done a summer camp since the children were little, and even then, we only did them when they were free! Paying for one is new for us, but we thought we'd try it again before aging out. Next summer, we're expecting to have two college tuitions, so we're definitely in an expensive season of life!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

April wrap-up....

--Such an expensive month. After years of saving, we finally bought a riding lawn mower, since we were able to get a deal on a new last-years-model sale. Now, it only takes a couple hours to mow instead of a couple days! Knowing that we could have financed it years ago, but chose to wait until we could pay it in full with cash was a very rewarding feeling (as Dave says, life moves at the speed of cash!). As with most things, one purchase often leads to others--so, we also bought covers to protect it and a chainsaw, so that we could trim trees for a safer riding experience. We also needed a new dehumidifier for our crawl space, and had expenses related to Easter, car maintenance, homeschooling, extracurriculars, and a little local fun. It was an extra paycheck month for us, so that helped ease the budget a bit, but our savings still took a big hit.

--Thankfully, we also received a raise this month, which was much needed and appreciated. In order to keep pace with the rise in income, we decided to move some savings over to our emergency fund again. We're now at just a little over 6 months of take-home pay in our dedicated emergency fund. For now, we will use the paycheck increase to get caught up for the next school year, as well as save for necessities we've been delaying and future expenses we are expecting. Baby Step 4 is always on our minds, and every month we think next month will be the month to finish it. Unfortunately, it's hard to have enough margin that isn't needed in the present and can be locked away until retirement, but we're trying!

Our budget for May is set!

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Summer wrap-up!

Whew. So many expenses. We paid for our 6-month umbrella policy, our 6-month car insurance (increased), our annual property tax (increased), and the fall semester of college (increased). We also had medical and vision costs, weeks of summer camp, back-to-college and back-to-homeschool costs, extracurriculars, and other dues and expenses.

We are constantly stockpiling cash to get through upcoming expenses, then paying everything, and then having to start all over again. We turned in some coins at Coinstar because every little bit helps.

September budget is set!

 

[barkley]

Summer wrap-up!

Whew. So many expenses. We paid for our 6-month umbrella policy, our 6-month car insurance (increased), our annual property tax (increased), and the fall semester of college (increased). We also had medical and vision costs, weeks of summer camp, back-to-college and back-to-homeschool costs, extracurriculars, and other dues and expenses.

We are constantly stockpiling cash to get through upcoming expenses, then paying everything, and then having to start all over again. We turned in some coins at Coinstar because every little bit helps.

September budget is set!

I get it. this past month was a killer but it only (thankfully) hits us once a year-annual service contract on HVAC (I know DR thinks these are a rip off but it's literally saved us thousands and prevented tens of thousands in pipe freezings), bi-annual check up on the water filtration system, annual on the hot water heater, quarterly taxes, guarterly pest and quarterly 'yard' service (by yard I mean an acre or so of the 10 we have and it helps create a green fire break barrier). we don't get hit with property taxes till next month then it's breathe for a month and get hit with annual umbrella, homeowners, utility vehicle and every 6 months car insurance. thankfully we can cash flow it but that's only b/c I budget 1/12th of the annual costs per month that gets put in a separate savings account along with a cushion for inflation.


sooooo glad we are done with the college expenses-i remember scouring amazon and other used textbook websites to help save over those horrific college bookstore prices.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

I get it. this past month was a killer but it only (thankfully) hits us once a year-annual service contract on HVAC (I know DR thinks these are a rip off but it's literally saved us thousands and prevented tens of thousands in pipe freezings), bi-annual check up on the water filtration system, annual on the hot water heater, quarterly taxes, guarterly pest and quarterly 'yard' service (by yard I mean an acre or so of the 10 we have and it helps create a green fire break barrier). we don't get hit with property taxes till next month then it's breathe for a month and get hit with annual umbrella, homeowners, utility vehicle and every 6 months car insurance. thankfully we can cash flow it but that's only b/c I budget 1/12th of the annual costs per month that gets put in a separate savings account along with a cushion for inflation.

Yeah, it's crazy keeping up with everything, and we don't even have as many expenses as you listed! It's great to be proactive about maintenance and to have separate savings for annual bills.

sooooo glad we are done with the college expenses-i remember scouring amazon and other used textbook websites to help save over those horrific college bookstore prices.

Thankfully, the college library is really good at finding textbooks for students. If for some reason an actual book isn't available, they try to source a free digital version (e-book, pdf, etc.). It has helped a lot, but for anything new or used that we have to buy, it's Amazon!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Thanks for promoting this thread. I just started watching DR earlier this year, and I agree with most of what he says. I've been trying to do a budget monthly (don't stay on it, but I do track ALL of our expenses on a spreadsheet). And it's been very eye-opening. I tried to tell DW what we're spending money on, and she doesn't care as long as we don't have overdraft fees at the end of the month. I understand that too. But I've adjusted.

I've started doing a 4-week budget since we get paid every 2 weeks. Just works better for us. And I've tried paying stuff off (but I had to use my CC this week to make ends meet). I did take on a second job working Friday nights and making $100/week. But they told me yesterday that they didn't need me anymore. So back to square one with a second job. And our income covers our four walls with nothing leftover to pay off debut.

But my goal by the end of the year is to pay off both credit cards ($800 total). I won't cut them up as I need to keep them open to build my credit. From there, the next thing to pay off is the bank loan. Then car payment then school loan since it's last. By the way, I have looked at options to get out from under the car. I looked at refinancing, but it's only worth $10k. And I'd have to pay it down to what it's worth to refinance. I don't have the money to pay down the difference. I also looked into selling it, and I did KBB (And I had like 10 dealers call within 15 minutes, lol). I also checked into a 401k loan to pay it off, and my company doesn't do 401k loans (I have $30k in my 401k, and I'm 50).

Going forward, I will be checking in on this post to see how everyone is progressing. We don't have anything planned the rest of the year except for a short trip to Disney World. We've talked about canceling it, but we would lose all the money we paid for our flights. We would get a credit, but it would expire at the end of the year anyways. Plus, we got 1/2 price rooms because my niece works for Disney, and we're using her guest passes for the 1 day we're doing the parks. So everything is paid off minus MVMCP tickets and food. So we're going to keep as we don't want to just lose $300.

But here's a breakdown of my debt (highest to lowest with what I currently owe):
- School loan: $19,574 with a $148 monthly payment at 4.25% APR;
- Car payment: $15,693 with a $505 monthly payment at 23.8% APR;
- Bank loan: $3,432 with a $235 monthly payment at 11.5% APR;
(from when my wife was involved in a hit and run when the other driver was at fault but took off)
- CC1: $439 with a $40 monthly payment at 28.2% APR and a $100/year fee;
- CC2: $297 with a $30 monthly payment at 29.7% APR and no annual fee;

Grand Total
Minus School Loan: $19.861
Minus School and Car: $4,168

 

[Sadeesmom]

Thanks for promoting this thread. I just started watching DR earlier this year, and I agree with most of what he says. I've been trying to do a budget monthly (don't stay on it, but I do track ALL of our expenses on a spreadsheet). And it's been very eye-opening. I tried to tell DW what we're spending money on, and she doesn't care as long as we don't have overdraft fees at the end of the month. I understand that too. But I've adjusted.

I've started doing a 4-week budget since we get paid every 2 weeks. Just works better for us. And I've tried paying stuff off (but I had to use my CC this week to make ends meet). I did take on a second job working Friday nights and making $100/week. But they told me yesterday that they didn't need me anymore. So back to square one with a second job. And our income covers our four walls with nothing leftover to pay off debut.

But my goal by the end of the year is to pay off both credit cards ($800 total). I won't cut them up as I need to keep them open to build my credit. From there, the next thing to pay off is the bank loan. Then car payment then school loan since it's last. By the way, I have looked at options to get out from under the car. I looked at refinancing, but it's only worth $10k. And I'd have to pay it down to what it's worth to refinance. I don't have the money to pay down the difference. I also looked into selling it, and I did KBB (And I had like 10 dealers call within 15 minutes, lol). I also checked into a 401k loan to pay it off, and my company doesn't do 401k loans (I have $30k in my 401k, and I'm 50).

Going forward, I will be checking in on this post to see how everyone is progressing. We don't have anything planned the rest of the year except for a short trip to Disney World. We've talked about canceling it, but we would lose all the money we paid for our flights. We would get a credit, but it would expire at the end of the year anyways. Plus, we got 1/2 price rooms because my niece works for Disney, and we're using her guest passes for the 1 day we're doing the parks. So everything is paid off minus MVMCP tickets and food. So we're going to keep as we don't want to just lose $300.

But here's a breakdown of my debt (highest to lowest with what I currently owe):
- School loan: $19,574 with a $148 monthly payment at 4.25% APR;
- Car payment: $15,693 with a $505 monthly payment at 23.8% APR;
- Bank loan: $3,432 with a $235 monthly payment at 11.5% APR;
(from when my wife was involved in a hit and run when the other driver was at fault but took off)
- CC1: $439 with a $40 monthly payment at 28.2% APR and a $100/year fee;
- CC2: $297 with a $30 monthly payment at 29.7% APR and no annual fee;

Grand Total
Minus School Loan: $19.861
Minus School and Car: $4,168

If you want the tough DR response:

1. You & your wife need to get on the same page. Stop telling her what you are doing/want to do and talk about WHY instead.
2. Cut up your credit cards - that doesn't close the accounts, and it removes some temptation to rely on them. Also, why do you need to build your credit? So you can go into debt on something else?
3. Refinancing your car or getting a 401k loan would NOT be paying off any debt - it is just shuffling it around. Stop playing around with the debt, and just start attacking it!
4. I'm not really going to touch the vacation stuff seeing as how we are on a Disney forum, but at least consider NOT getting MVMCP tickets - go for the one free day & hang out at the pool or resort or do something free for the rest of your time there.
5. Stop looking at APR & monthly payments - just focus on the total balance owed.

You have $39,435 in consumer debt. Get another second job. Get a third job. Mostly though, just get focused. It should not take you until the end of the year to pay off those two credit cards. You should have BS1 and 2 paid off cc by the end of October.
(I am making some assumptions here that your income is in the $60k-$80k range. If it is less than that, you really need to look at getting a different job(s), and if it is more than that, you have just been really messy and need to get on a real budget.)

It all starts with being in sync with your wife though.

I know I came off as harsh; I was just trying to give you the true DR viewpoint.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Thank you for the advice. Lots of good ideas there. Nothing really harsh about it, but I thought I'd expand on a few things.

I do a budget every month. I showed our consumer debt. We bring home $5,400/month between the 2 of us working 2 full time, 40 hour a week jobs. Our monthly expenses run about $4,300 before food ($700) and gas/tolls ($350) are even taken out. So we don't have much, if any, left over to pay extra toward debt. That's why I put my goal of paying off the CCs at the end of the year. We have barely $100 leftover after all bills and expenses are paid. And that's not buying anything for the house, no new clothes/shoes (been wearing the same 2 pair of tennis shoes for a dozen years each, lol).

I know that's where a second job comes in. We've talked about trying to get one to work 3 days and about 10-12 hours per week extra (Monday/Thursday/Friday for me and Tuesday/Thursday/Friday for DW). I thought I had a second job lined up, but that only lasted a few weeks. So I have to start looking for another. So yes, we've talked about trying to add about 10-12 more hours of working per week. I even talked to Whataburger, and the guy at the counter said I was too old to work there (I'm 50), lol. I'll find something eventually.

I'm not sure how to approach DW about getting on board with finances. Every time I try and talk to her (tried last night as a matter of fact), she said it's my job to handle all bills, make sure they're paid on time, know where and how to pay them, take care of all of the financial stuff. I've told her I need help. So not sure what else to do. I told her last night I wanted to give her all the info on paying the bills, when they're due and when/how to pay them just in case something happened to me. She said she wasn't interested, and that she'd figure out how to do it if something to were to happen.

Also, I've never thought about the 401k loan or refinancing as shuffling. I actually thought it was helping because it'd lower the APR and thus the monthly payments. But I understand. We're trying to attack with anything we have left. For example, I paid an extra $100 on my CC this past month. But then we got in a bind, and I needed to buy groceries, and I had to use it. So I am glad I had that CC because it was a matter of not eating if we didn't.

As far as credit score, yes, you need one. When we moved to DFW in 2022, we were turned down so many times when trying to rent houses and apartments because we had a bad credit score. Like I said, I don't have enough money lying around to be able to buy a house like a lot of people can. And renters look at credit scores (I know banks can manually underwrite, but not renters).

You provided lots of good advice, and lot of it is stuff we've talked about doing. So thank you. Just hard when I bring home $1,200 every 2 weeks, and DW brings home $1,500 every 2 weeks.

If you want the tough DR response:

1. You & your wife need to get on the same page. Stop telling her what you are doing/want to do and talk about WHY instead.
2. Cut up your credit cards - that doesn't close the accounts, and it removes some temptation to rely on them. Also, why do you need to build your credit? So you can go into debt on something else?
3. Refinancing your car or getting a 401k loan would NOT be paying off any debt - it is just shuffling it around. Stop playing around with the debt, and just start attacking it!
4. I'm not really going to touch the vacation stuff seeing as how we are on a Disney forum, but at least consider NOT getting MVMCP tickets - go for the one free day & hang out at the pool or resort or do something free for the rest of your time there.
5. Stop looking at APR & monthly payments - just focus on the total balance owed.

You have $39,435 in consumer debt. Get another second job. Get a third job. Mostly though, just get focused. It should not take you until the end of the year to pay off those two credit cards. You should have BS1 and 2 paid off cc by the end of October.
(I am making some assumptions here that your income is in the $60k-$80k range. If it is less than that, you really need to look at getting a different job(s), and if it is more than that, you have just been really messy and need to get on a real budget.)

It all starts with being in sync with your wife though.

I know I came off as harsh; I was just trying to give you the true DR viewpoint.

 

[Sadeesmom]

Thank you for the advice. Lots of good ideas there. Nothing really harsh about it, but I thought I'd expand on a few things.

I do a budget every month. I showed our consumer debt. We bring home $5,400/month between the 2 of us working 2 full time, 40 hour a week jobs. Our monthly expenses run about $4,300 before food ($700) and gas/tolls ($350) are even taken out. So we don't have much, if any, left over to pay extra toward debt. That's why I put my goal of paying off the CCs at the end of the year. We have barely $100 leftover after all bills and expenses are paid. And that's not buying anything for the house, no new clothes/shoes (been wearing the same 2 pair of tennis shoes for a dozen years each, lol).

I know that's where a second job comes in. We've talked about trying to get one to work 3 days and about 10-12 hours per week extra (Monday/Thursday/Friday for me and Tuesday/Thursday/Friday for DW). I thought I had a second job lined up, but that only lasted a few weeks. So I have to start looking for another. So yes, we've talked about trying to add about 10-12 more hours of working per week. I even talked to Whataburger, and the guy at the counter said I was too old to work there (I'm 50), lol. I'll find something eventually.

I'm not sure how to approach DW about getting on board with finances. Every time I try and talk to her (tried last night as a matter of fact), she said it's my job to handle all bills, make sure they're paid on time, know where and how to pay them, take care of all of the financial stuff. I've told her I need help. So not sure what else to do. I told her last night I wanted to give her all the info on paying the bills, when they're due and when/how to pay them just in case something happened to me. She said she wasn't interested, and that she'd figure out how to do it if something to were to happen.

Also, I've never thought about the 401k loan or refinancing as shuffling. I actually thought it was helping because it'd lower the APR and thus the monthly payments. But I understand. We're trying to attack with anything we have left. For example, I paid an extra $100 on my CC this past month. But then we got in a bind, and I needed to buy groceries, and I had to use it. So I am glad I had that CC because it was a matter of not eating if we didn't.

As far as credit score, yes, you need one. When we moved to DFW in 2022, we were turned down so many times when trying to rent houses and apartments because we had a bad credit score. Like I said, I don't have enough money lying around to be able to buy a house like a lot of people can. And renters look at credit scores (I know banks can manually underwrite, but not renters).

You provided lots of good advice, and lot of it is stuff we've talked about doing. So thank you. Just hard when I bring home $1,200 every 2 weeks, and DW brings home $1,500 every 2 weeks.

The key with your wife is probably figuring out your WHY. Why do you want to be out of debt? Why do you want financial peace?

What are your long-term goals & how are you going to get there on the path you are currently on? Go over the budget together. Show her a clear one-pager on how your $5,350 in expenses are distributed and ask her what you can cut to have some wiggle room to attack BS2.

Are you currently contributing to retirement?

 

[JAM9842]

I just found this thread. We LOVE Dave at our house and have followed his advice for years. We are on Baby Step 7 now and were able to pay off our mortgage last year. Don't give up, keep on doing it! It is hard but so worth it!!!!!