What does “financially stable” mean to you?

[gmi3804]

I have no idea what I'm paying on my 2 credit cards. But I know I'm paying 26.8% on my car. I've been paying on the car for a year and a half and have paid nothing on the balance. It's all been on the interest.

How do you pay 26.8% interest on a car?! The balance is probably more than it's worth.

 

[MrsPete]

I am familiar with that. My neighbor is a retired teacher who moved from a non-ss state to California, another non-ss state. Her old district paid no retirement benefits unless you worked there for 30 years, so she lost that. She put in 16 years in California and gets retirement benefits of $2,600 from CalSTRS (state teacher's retirement fund). We retired at the same time, and I had a private pension that would have paid me $26 a month (yes, Twenty Six Dollars) for 16 years work. Benefits don't start stepping up until you have worked for the company for 20 years, and after 30 years I would have been eligible for $1,600 a month. So she doesn't complain to me anymore about how poor her retirement is!!!

Teachers are STATE employees, so our pay, benefits and retirement vary from state to state. In general, teaching pays little but has pretty decent retirement -- if you put in your 30 years in a single state.

100%, you do you. If the few extra bucks don't bother you, who am I to say you should be bothered? I will say, though, that credit card interest rates are skyrocketing. I had (emphasis on HAD!) an HSN card. I got it because they had a "$60 off your first purchase" deal. I only used it for HSN purchases, and always paid it off, so the balance was never an issue. Yesterday, I got a letter from them--the interest rate is now 34.99% (yikes!), and they're starting to charge $1.99 a month for paper statements. The late fee is $41, and paying late can bump you to 39.9% interest. I called and cancelled the card--I don't want to even risk the interest and penalties. I also like a paper statement, but I'm not willing to pay extra for it. It made me feel bad for people who carry balances and/or don't read their mail (it was a separate letter from my statement).

True, but it's important to look at the math and the risk /reward, as you've done in this post.

Nuts is right! I normally don't look too closely at the interest rates because I pay my cards off each month. But--I have a tough time believing that's legal. I thought they could only top off to 25%. I pick cards by the perks--I use Wells Fargo Active cash (2% back on everything), while DH has a Capital One. My boys are authorized users on my regular credit card, while DD21 is on my Target (she shops there frequently, the 5% off and Target cash back are handy for her).

I think this varies by state. I know that my state has a maximum interest rate. Since I never carry a balance, I don't know what that rate is for my area, but I know it exists.

 

[tvguy]

Teachers are STATE employees, so our pay, benefits and retirement vary from state to state. In general, teaching pays little but has pretty decent retirement -- if you put in your 30 years in a single state.

Teachers here work for individual districts, so pay scales vary. As they say, your mileage may vary. The district I live in the STARTING salary for a teacher is almost exactly what I worked my way up to after 42 years in TV! Which is why soo many TV staff switch to teaching. Not only better pay and benefits, but for those with children, being on the same schedule for time off is huge.