New here been lurking all week - long

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2003
New here been lurking all week - long
4
Sat, 10-16-2004 - 8:45am
Hi I'm new and it's not that I don't like you guys, I just don't want to be at the debt board! I post on a couple of other boards. I was at the compulsive spending board for a while, but I'm really not. So I'm glad I found you guys. We (DH and I) are 12,000 in debt and want to pay it off by March. It's not from totally going nuts with the CC, but it should be a lot lower. Most of this is what I consider school debt. I'm a grad student done in December. All of my bill are paid as far as the school goes, but they made it all to my cc.

Anyway, we were going to put our small condo up for sale in February, but DH refuses until all the debt is gone and the balances are 0, which I can't blame him. He finally the other day decided to sit down and see where the bills were after me begging him for the last 6 months.

We make a good income and most of our payment (except cars) are very low. Even our housing is really low. So this is the time to do it.

Here is my dilema... I work from home part-time and make a good income. I haven't worked out of the house for 5 years. I go to school 2 nights a week. I have a DS who is 4. I've been offered to work in house at the company I WAH for. I could work 2 10 (or more) hour days. It's probably going to be about $600 - $800 per month after I pay taxes and child care I've even calculated for a little gas money. My schedule would look like this:

Monday - DS pre - school. My school from 6 - 10 (with and hour drive each way)

Tuesday - DS day care (at my best friends house with her DS who is 4)

Wednesday - DS pre-school, DS dance class 1 hour after p-s

Thursday - DS day care (same place). My School same as above

Friday - DS pre-school

in between I have to do homework (intensity - ups and downs), housework and my WAH job (about 10-20 hrs per week).

Do you think the money is worth the effort and stress? I just don't know what to do? I want the debt gone, but what am I scaficing to get it?

Sam

(bless you if you got to the end of this monster!! ;-)

Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 10-16-2004 - 9:17am

Hi Sam and welcome to the board.

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2004
Sat, 10-16-2004 - 2:45pm
If you make close to the same amount of money working from home, why change? If you mentally need away from home then go for it. Remember the other expenses, such as lunch out and dress clothes. I have a home daycare, can legally keep 6 children, this is a small town, its $80. per child ($480. a week income plus monthly state food reimbursement $$$ which is about $18. per child, per week.) You can stay home with your child and give her built in playmates. The key to doing well in this job is: you are the boss, you set the rules, be strict, take in only good kids and good parents, watch only the ages you like. I have data entry experience, but moved to this small town, worked in the office of a Chev. dealership for $200. a week, years ago, paid for d/c for 2 young kids out of that, quit, opened my d/c, was here for my kids, made more money. My two are now 18 and 23 yrs old, I plan on closing d/c in the next year, will be in shock when I go to a $5. an hour p/t job.

donna
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Sat, 10-16-2004 - 3:54pm
Hi and welcome to the board. I'm fairly new here too.

To me it does sound like a lot of work for $600-800 per month. You'd be working 2 jobs (30-40 hours per week) and going to school. I am not sure I could handle that and still be a mom to my 4 year old dd (I WOH and am divorced, so she is with her dad 1/2 time).

How does your company feel about your performance in your WAH job, and if the second job doesn't work out, how will they feel about that? Do you only want to work the second job until March, and is the company okay with that? Do you like the work? Is your son in daycare/preschool part of the time already (when you WAH or when you are at school)? How do you think he'll react to being in one place three days a week, and a different place 2 days a week, and a third place two nights a week? How does it work to have him go an hour each way to your school on Mondays and Thursdays, who is going to get him there, and who watches him there? How will he handle being watched by someone until 10pm those nights and what is his regular bedtime (I guess he'd get home at 11pm with the 1 hour commute)?

Not knowing anything about your debts, it sounds like you will need to pay $2,400 per month to pay down the principal, plus whatever you will owe in interest over that time ($12,000 divided by 5 months). Does this second job give you the extra money you need? How long will it take without the second job?

Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2003
Sat, 10-16-2004 - 4:24pm
Hi - Thanks for the great questions. This is exactly what I want... Here is how I answer these

"How does your company feel about your performance in your WAH job, and if the second job doesn't work out, how will they feel about that? Do you only want to work the second job until March, and is the company okay with that? Do you like the work?"

I will be sitting down with my boss on Monday. It would actually be 2 projects. The first project only lasts 2 weeks. The second project would be in another group and they don't know exactly what I would be doing (it a brand new project). I was thinking about telling her I'd finish out her project as a trail for my ds and me to see how it went and make my final decision the end of October. My WAH job would not be in jeopardy if I couldn't do everything.

Is your son in daycare/preschool part of the time already (when you WAH or when you are at school)? My son goes to preschool 3 days a week 2.5 hours per day.

How do you think he'll react to being in one place three days a week, and a different place 2 days a week, and a third place two nights a week? He loves my best friend who is going to watch him and her son who is his age. He would be there from 7:30 - 4:00 2 days a week.

How does it work to have him go an hour each way to your school on Mondays and Thursdays, who is going to get him there, and who watches him there?

My dh is home with him when I'm at school so that's not an issue.

You are correct - we would be making a huge payment, but with the extra work interest and everything would be covered. By the end of November we will have the smaller card paid off ($4800 + $34 in interest per month). And I was thinking about transfering the balance of the second $7200 (it's at about $60 per mo interest) to the first card for 0%. We also have about $7000 in an emergency fund (and continue to put $800 per month away). So we could wipe out any overages with that at the end.

Sam