What can I do different?
Find a Conversation
| Wed, 10-13-2004 - 11:43am |
I take home $1,020 net, per month. Our car payment, my health insurance, and my computer payment are all taken out of that already.
My husband makes about 1,200.
Our expenses are:
mortgage: $520
utilities: $128
car insurance: $92
Telephone: $50
Cell phone (for business): $120
Food (groceries/eating out): $200
Credit Cards: $200
Gasoline: $160
Husband's Health Ins: $100.00
Total Expenses: $1,570.00
We have about $650 left over each month, that manages to get eaten up by different things. Car repairs, house repairs, an unexpected bill, etc. We manage to make a few extra payments to the CC each month, but currently,
Our debt is:
Capital One: $250
VISA: $1,445
Credit Union: $720
Lowe's washer & dryer (no payments/int until Oct 2005) $500
I just started my own translation business this month, and have a few leads but so far no work lined up. My ad will come out in the yellowpages in November, so hopefully I'll get some business. I would like to use that money to pay off some debt. But it's hard to get work if you're working full time.
I have asked my husband if he would consider getting a FT job as an employee instead as a contractor. Right now, after paying all his expenses he is only netting about $7.00/hr. So I am basically paying all the bills.
I feel so stressed out because of my health I really shouldn't be working FT. I can't take it, but feel like I'm trapped. I can't quit until we pay off this debt.
Hopefully my husband will take another job! Then I would feel more comfortable that our needs will be taken care of.
I guess i just need some suggestions.

I want to get a second job but that means I would spend less time with hubby. We are lucky that we're getting help from family.
Sorry if I wasn't much help. Keep positive. Talk to your hubby and attack your financial problem as a team. Be patient. And good luck.
Here are your debts:
Capital One: $250
VISA: $1,445
Credit Union: $720
Lowe's washer & dryer (no payments/int until Oct 2005) $500
It looks like the capital one could be paid off in a two months. If you do that, it's one less credit card in the way. I am not sure what your minimums on the visa and credit union are, but anything over the minimum's should be paid toward the credit card with the highest interest rate. That will make your debt decrease faster.
I have two loans (one for a mattress and one for a fridge) that have no interest for a period of time. I took the balance divided by the number of months I have to pay, and I pay that amount each month. If you do this, figuring you have 11 months to get the $500 paid, you should be paying $45.45 per month toward the Lowe's card starting this month. Or, you could allocate $100 of your budget (paying less on other credit cards) from May 2005 until September 2005. If you do the second option, you can pay more on your Visa and Credit Union from now until next May, which will make a difference since I'm assuming those two have interest accumulating.
If you go to the online debt calculator thread (I think it was from last week or the week before), I have a post at the end that tells you how to make debt amortization schedules in Excel. I ran one for you, and it looks to me like you could be out of debt by February 2006. I made some assumptions, saying interest on the Capital One and Visa were 14% and the Credit Union was 12%, and minimums on the Visa and Credit Union were each $40 per month. If you pay the minimums on those two, and put everything extra of your $200's to the capital one, that will be paid off in January. Then start putting everything extra to the Visa, that one will be paid off in January 2006 (assuming that May 2005-Sept 2005 you pay $100 per month to Lowe's) and then you will only have a tiny balance on the Credit Union card by that time, and can pay it off in February 2006.
How? I calculated your debt as $2,915 ($250 capital one + $1,445 visa + 720 credit union + $500 Lowe's). You said you have $200 per month to pay these four debts, unless I misunderstood your post. So even just simplifying it and taking $2,915 divided by $200, it would take you 14.6 months to pay that off, and that is not counting interest that will accumulate while you are paying them off.
I think you'd need to put around $600 per month toward your credit cards to pay them off in 5 months. Of course, I did mention I made some assumptions of the interest rate and minimum payments due. But I don't think it would make a difference of 12 months (I did intend to state February 2006 in my post).
If you paid $600 per month for 5 months, that would be $3,000. That would pay the $2,915 you currently owe plus my interest rate assumption assumes you'll be charged about $68 in interest over the next 5 months.
But maybe I have the facts wrong. Let me know if I do.
With marriage, you have a shared responsibility so unfortunately you have to do things you don't love to do - like work a 8-5 job. I do transcription work at night on top of my FT job (8-5). I feel like I don't get much of a life at the moment, but hopefully I can pay some debt down. I'm sorry to hear you are having problems with your health. My mother had to leave FT work because of health related issues, so I know how devastating they can be to an individual. I'm also guessing your DH wants his own business, as do you, and unfortunately it can be a struggle, especially for a recently married couple. I would talk to your DH about how much time do you think he can dedicate to starting this business before it's decided that he may need to work for someone else and not pursue it. Set the business to be grown by time limit, if he's willing. My exH also started a business when we were flat broke, it was a strain.
Best of luck.
My husband agreed to work out until the end of this contract and then look for job as an employee doing the exact same thing he's doing now. My DH is lucky in that he works in what he loves doing. He also has a flexible schedule. I, on the other hand, have a rigid schedule, hate what I'm doing, and don;'t have the health to work this way. That is why I am starting a business on the side. Once he gets a job with a steady income, then I will quit my job and maybe take a part time until my translating business gets off the ground.
Anyway thanks for the moral support; and you're right, we need to work as a team. On the bright side, my DH came today to my work and wisked me off for lunch! He told me, I know how hard this is for you, and all I want you to do is hang on one more month!
I can't wait!
And it is probably not surprising that I'm an accountant :)
Don't worry it's not UNDOUBTEDLY SHOTCALLER!