Yup, watched Oprah, Orman...now I'm

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-09-1999
Yup, watched Oprah, Orman...now I'm
6
Mon, 04-06-2009 - 12:58pm

not sure if we should be paying down our mortgage or just socking that extra cash away.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 04-06-2009 - 1:47pm

We're in the same spot Cindy. No debt, about $12K in our emergency fund, and stable (hopefully) jobs for now. We owe about $60K on our mortgage with a payment of $543. We net about $6000 per month.

I didn't watch Orman on Oprah, but from what I've read here on the board, we should probably be putting as much into savings as we can?

I'm looking forward to the responses. :-)

Sue

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2003
Mon, 04-06-2009 - 4:14pm

I'm not sure how I feel about the 8 months worth of living expenses thing. Its an aweful lot. I can see it if you are a one income family perhaps, but it is a bit much (and not realistic) for most.


In both your cases, I would sit down and determine a few things. What is the bare minimum you need to cover essentials. 8 months of expenses is not the same as 8 months of income. Once you figure out how much you need, as yourself how much would you be short (or would you be short) if the larger salary were taken out of the picture. If you can live off of the smaller salary, then I wouldn't worry too much. If you can't, perhaps having 8 months of the difference would make you feel better. Only you can judge. What are the chances that both of you lose your jobs at the same time? Again, only you know.


You should both know that I think its amazing that you have gotten out of debt and saved such a great chunk of money. I am in awe! You are in better shape then most of the world!


Bex -


"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift -thats why its called the present."


Bex -

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-07-2009 - 5:52am

Thank you Bex! It's been quite the journey to say the least.

In my case, it's not likely that both of us would lose our jobs at the same time, and we can live on one income if it came down to that. However, since I'm self employed as a home child care provider, it's possible that my income could go down (or up) at the drop of a hat so I need to keep that in mind when planning what our next move is going to be. We're not getting any younger and I want to make sure we're able to retire fairly comfortably in about 10 years or so.

Sue


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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-09-1999
Tue, 04-07-2009 - 10:13am

Thanks Bex.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-09-1999
Tue, 04-07-2009 - 10:16am

Sue, it sounds like you guys are doing great!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-14-2008
Tue, 04-07-2009 - 12:31pm

Congrats on your situation. If you want to make yourself feel better, put away another 100 a month into your ef. Then, seriously..........kick the crap out of that mortgage. And don't feel guilty or scared. Even if one of you loses your job you are fine for quite some time. During that time you will be eliminating your last major expense. Dream, breath and live what it will feel like to not have a mortgage payment!?!? You are very close to what many people will never have. Again congrats!