Do You Put $ in Savings While "Flaking"?
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| Sat, 01-15-2005 - 6:46pm |
I tend to lurk more than post here, but I am curious about how you all are handling the need for savings while "attacking" your debt. I've read Dave Ramsey's books (and loved them) but at this point, my dh's job is insecure (company is very shaky right now) and we feel we must have more than $1000 in savings for emergencies. We're working on getting that built up as quickly as possible, but also want to work on our debt load.
We had no CC debt at this time last year, but out of necessity, added a master bedroom and small bath onto our home and now, along with a new higher mortgage payment (from rolling our HELC into a refi), we have an add'l $12K in CC debt. :-(
By adding this $12K, we are now technically in the hole. We don't make enough money each month to make the min. CC payments based on my dh's salary alone. However, he does a great deal of moonlighting and makes more than enough to pick up the slack ... so far. Obviously, we want to get rid of the CC debt ASAP, but if his job and/or moonlighting dry up, we could be stuck.
I have 2 parttime jobs, and will hopefully be adding a 3rd temporary one in the next month. That 3rd salary needs to go either toward debt or savings. At this point, I'm thinking about splitting it between the two, but was wondering how others handle this dilemma.
Any input would be appreciated!! :-)

All my best,
Danni
I would definitely do what you feel comfortable with. Dave Ramsey, if I am remembering correctly, gives the $1000 emergency fund figure, as guidance. I think he also tells you to look at your situation and adjust that figure based on your needs. If your DH's job is shaky, then I would definitely look for a higher emergency fund.
Getting out of debt is important, but so is being able to live if you or your DH should have a job that falls through.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Kellie