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Post by sean™ on Dec 3, 2008 11:44:09 GMT -5
Hulk, I find myself in a similar situation that you've described yourself in when you've talked about your former credit problems. What would your advice be, if any, in regards to getting things paid off? As in, what is more important to get paid off first?
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Post by Hulkamaniac on Dec 3, 2008 13:34:49 GMT -5
Hulk, I find myself in a similar situation that you've described yourself in when you've talked about your former credit problems. What would your advice be, if any, in regards to getting things paid off? As in, what is more important to get paid off first? The first thing you have to do is recognize that debt is not the problem it's the symptom of the problem. Then you have to identify the problem. Are you not earning enough? Are you living above your means? Is there an addiction problem somewhere? You have to figure out what the problem is and that's something that you have to do. Then you need to cut back your lifestyle to a bare minimum. Rice and beans, no eating out, no vacations and Christmas is a craft. This sucks on ice let me tell you, but it really accelerates the process. You have to sit down with your wife if your married or by yourself if you're not and put together a realistic budget that you can stick with. In your budget put Food, Utilities, Mortgage /rent at the top in that order. Put all your money you bring in into savings until you scrape up $1000. This keeps you from having to borrow money again for emergencies. Then you need to list your debts smallest to largest. Interest rate doesn't matter, you want to list them by the ammount of the debt. Make minimum payments on all your debts except the smallest one. Throw everything you have and the kitchen sink at that debt until you wipe it out, then move on to the next debt. It's helpful if you sell a ton of stuff (I had a bunch of stuff around the house I didn't need) and extra jobs/overtime help also. Any extra money you bring in goes to the debt. If you run into emergencies use the $1000 you've saved up, then stop paying down debt until you have that $1000 saved back up. Anyway, that's what I did. After I was debt free except for my house, I kept piling up cash until I had 6 mos of expenses stashed away. Now I pay for everything in cash. If I don't have cash, I save up until I do.
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Post by sean™ on Dec 3, 2008 13:45:06 GMT -5
I first want to say thank you for the advice. It really does make sense and it is something I'm looking forward to applying it to my life. I really liked the first portion about Debt not being the problem, but a symptom of the problem. Because thats true. I live WAY above my own means, and have alot of expenses I don't need. I will be getting married in a few months, and hope to start my own family soon after. Things are always going to be worst before they get better, but every little bit can help.
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Ed™
Mid-Carder
Hai der ;]]
Joined on: Oct 18, 2006 11:38:46 GMT -5
Posts: 312
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Post by Ed™ on Dec 3, 2008 14:10:48 GMT -5
Thats it moving to Ireland Ireland officialy entered recession over the summer I think.
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Post by Hulkamaniac on Dec 3, 2008 15:35:32 GMT -5
I first want to say thank you for the advice. It really does make sense and it is something I'm looking forward to applying it to my life. I really liked the first portion about Debt not being the problem, but a symptom of the problem. Because thats true. I live WAY above my own means, and have alot of expenses I don't need. I will be getting married in a few months, and hope to start my own family soon after. Things are always going to be worst before they get better, but every little bit can help. Like I said, ultimately only you can determine what the problem is in your situation. For me it was a combination of not being content with what I had and constantly having to have more and a general lack of discipline in my life. I also did a series of stupid things. It's amazing how if you do stupid enough times you reap a ton of stress and sorrow. You definitely want to make sure your wife is on the same page with you financially. The four things couples fight about the most are money, religion, in-laws and children. You straighten out the money thing and you're a quarter of the way there.
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Post by Doomrider on Dec 3, 2008 15:44:57 GMT -5
Hulk, I find myself in a similar situation that you've described yourself in when you've talked about your former credit problems. What would your advice be, if any, in regards to getting things paid off? As in, what is more important to get paid off first? Pay off whatever has the highest interest first, or transfer funds. I had to do that. Unfortunately a trip to AZ/CA, PS3, Tuition, Textbooks, and my gf's NY birthday weekend all hit within a few months and I accumulated some debt. I'm not sure how you are financially, but I'm able to put 2-300 a month towards it which has decreased it greatly, and also unfortunately caused several thousand calls to my house offering to increase my limits. DO NOT EVER.
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Post by Hulkamaniac on Dec 3, 2008 15:55:26 GMT -5
Hulk, I find myself in a similar situation that you've described yourself in when you've talked about your former credit problems. What would your advice be, if any, in regards to getting things paid off? As in, what is more important to get paid off first? Pay off whatever has the highest interest first, or transfer funds. I disagree with that and here's why. Let's say you want to lose weight. If you go on a diet and you don't lose any weight in the first week or two, you get discourage and give up. It doesn't matter how good the diet is, but if it doesn't work in the first week, or so you give up. ON the other hand, if you lose 3-4 lbs in the first week, you're jacked and you'll stick with the diet even if you don't lose anything in the second week at all. Paying off debt is the same thing. If you pay them off smallest to largest, you pay the first one off pretty quick. This gives you a kick and you get excited that you can wipe out the rest of the debts. Mathematically it's not correct, but it's the way to do it for psychological reasons more than anything.
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Post by clifford on Dec 3, 2008 18:52:52 GMT -5
Pay off whatever has the highest interest first, or transfer funds. I disagree with that and here's why. Let's say you want to lose weight. If you go on a diet and you don't lose any weight in the first week or two, you get discourage and give up. It doesn't matter how good the diet is, but if it doesn't work in the first week, or so you give up. ON the other hand, if you lose 3-4 lbs in the first week, you're jacked and you'll stick with the diet even if you don't lose anything in the second week at all. Paying off debt is the same thing. If you pay them off smallest to largest, you pay the first one off pretty quick. This gives you a kick and you get excited that you can wipe out the rest of the debts. Mathematically it's not correct, but it's the way to do it for psychological reasons more than anything. The largest portion is going to keep compounding and getting exponentially larger. It makes more sense to get the largest amount/the amount with the highest rate out of there first before it gets way too out of hand. Maybe psychologically you can pay off the smallest one first to see how it feels then work on the larger ones?
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Post by Hulkamaniac on Dec 3, 2008 18:58:36 GMT -5
I disagree with that and here's why. Let's say you want to lose weight. If you go on a diet and you don't lose any weight in the first week or two, you get discourage and give up. It doesn't matter how good the diet is, but if it doesn't work in the first week, or so you give up. ON the other hand, if you lose 3-4 lbs in the first week, you're jacked and you'll stick with the diet even if you don't lose anything in the second week at all. Paying off debt is the same thing. If you pay them off smallest to largest, you pay the first one off pretty quick. This gives you a kick and you get excited that you can wipe out the rest of the debts. Mathematically it's not correct, but it's the way to do it for psychological reasons more than anything. The largest portion is going to keep compounding and getting exponentially larger. It makes more sense to get the largest amount/the amount with the highest rate out of there first before it gets way too out of hand. Maybe psychologically you can pay off the smallest one first to see how it feels then work on the larger ones? It does keep compounding, but when you sit down and do the math, you're talking about a few hundred bucks. It really doesn't have time to compound that quickly when you're throwing $400, $500 and even $1000 a month (as I did) at debt. It's gone before it has a chance to pile up much at all. Plus you get the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment of paying off a debt every couple of months vs looking at it as you've been sacrificing and paying extra for 8-9 months and having paid off a thing because the lowest interest rate is on at $20k student loan. Then you get discouraged and say, "I've been doing this for most of the year and haven't paid of anything. What's the point?" My way is not the way to do it mathematically, but it works better.
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Post by VK on Dec 3, 2008 19:44:46 GMT -5
Yes, but eventually you become rich. Rich people get there by doing smart stuff with their money, investing wisely and saving. If you're poor and you do that stuff you end up with money sooner or later. But who knows when later is. Just because you act rich does not mean you will be rich. I can pretend and put on a rich facade and it does not mean I will be rich. Can't invest or save when you don't have the money to do so. Jesus, he's not saying put on a rich facade and you will become rich, he means if you're smart with your money you can become rich.
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Post by slappy on Dec 3, 2008 19:48:38 GMT -5
But who knows when later is. Just because you act rich does not mean you will be rich. I can pretend and put on a rich facade and it does not mean I will be rich. Can't invest or save when you don't have the money to do so. Jesus, he's not saying put on a rich facade and you will become rich, he means if you're smart with your money you can become rich. At the time putting money in X may seem like a smart idea, but X can fall and leave you with nothing. I guess you just have to be lucky.
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Post by VK on Dec 3, 2008 19:53:15 GMT -5
Jesus, he's not saying put on a rich facade and you will become rich, he means if you're smart with your money you can become rich. At the time putting money in X may seem like a smart idea, but X can fall and leave you with nothing. I guess you just have to be lucky. Dude, it's not hard at all. You don't even have to invest in the stock market or anything to save up money. Some people, you know, open a savings account. Buy a CD at the bank or something. Or just not buy a bunch of dumb crap.
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Post by slappy on Dec 3, 2008 20:00:30 GMT -5
At the time putting money in X may seem like a smart idea, but X can fall and leave you with nothing. I guess you just have to be lucky. Dude, it's not hard at all. You don't even have to invest in the stock market or anything to save up money. Some people, you know, open a savings account. Buy a CD at the bank or something. Or just not buy a bunch of dumb crap. You have to have the money to do that. If you are working a lower wage job, have rent/house payment, utilities, groceries, you may not have much money left to do those things.
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Post by Doomrider on Dec 3, 2008 20:28:46 GMT -5
I just found it easier to make one payment with one interest rate than 3 different payments with 3 different rates. Seems to work with me. I dunno, maybe it's not for everyone.
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Post by rog26us on Dec 3, 2008 20:43:04 GMT -5
I thought we were already in recessions with the People lossing their jobs and the stocks Falling
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Post by Hulkamaniac on Dec 3, 2008 22:13:54 GMT -5
Dude, it's not hard at all. You don't even have to invest in the stock market or anything to save up money. Some people, you know, open a savings account. Buy a CD at the bank or something. Or just not buy a bunch of dumb crap. You have to have the money to do that. If you are working a lower wage job, have rent/house payment, utilities, groceries, you may not have much money left to do those things. Do I really need to go back to my "You fix You" thing again? I really need to type it up somewhere so I can just cut and paste where appropriate. If you work a crappy job, that's on you. Go take some classes. Maybe start your own business. Find another job somewhere else. It isn't always easy, but it's doable.
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Post by rog26us on Dec 3, 2008 22:15:07 GMT -5
You have to have the money to do that. If you are working a lower wage job, have rent/house payment, utilities, groceries, you may not have much money left to do those things. Do I really need to go back to my "You fix You" thing again? I really need to type it up somewhere so I can just cut and paste where appropriate. If you work a crappy job, that's on you. Go take some classes. Maybe start your own business. Find another job somewhere else. It isn't always easy, but it's doable. you Think its that easy to find a job nowadays?
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Post by Hulkamaniac on Dec 3, 2008 22:23:42 GMT -5
Do I really need to go back to my "You fix You" thing again? I really need to type it up somewhere so I can just cut and paste where appropriate. If you work a crappy job, that's on you. Go take some classes. Maybe start your own business. Find another job somewhere else. It isn't always easy, but it's doable. you Think its that easy to find a job nowadays? What part of "It isn't always easy" did you not understand?
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Post by rog26us on Dec 3, 2008 22:24:26 GMT -5
you Think its that easy to find a job nowadays? What part of "It isn't always easy" did you not understand? oh i apologize i did not see that
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Post by slappy on Dec 3, 2008 22:29:02 GMT -5
You have to have the money to do that. If you are working a lower wage job, have rent/house payment, utilities, groceries, you may not have much money left to do those things. Do I really need to go back to my "You fix You" thing again? I really need to type it up somewhere so I can just cut and paste where appropriate. If you work a crappy job, that's on you. Go take some classes. Maybe start your own business. Find another job somewhere else. It isn't always easy, but it's doable. Classes cost money. Starting your own business costs even more money. I understand there are loans, but bad credit could affect that. Great, you get more money for working a better job or starting a business, who knows if that business will succeed, but then you have to pay off those loans and the new money you make goes to that. I understand you pulled yourself up, great, not everyone is able to. And it has nothing to do with not wanting to, it's about not being able to.
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