Women in Red Racers - South Region

[jdnstl]

speech - why does your avatar have INFECTED under it?

[jdnstl]

UPDATE

Aug 1 14             Sept 1 14
CC1 – 0.00          0.00
CC2 – 2850.00     2820.00
CC3 – 0.00           0.00
CC4 – Closed
CC5 – 500.00       450.00
CC6 – 0.00           0.00
CC7 – 2400.00     2350.00
Auto1 – 0.00        0.00
Auto2 – 0.00        0.00
TOTAL- 5,750.00   5,620.00 Difference of -$130.00

EF/Savings – $5,310.76   $5,210.81 Difference of -$99.95

jdnstl: 8/1/14 $5,620.00 (1/9/08 $40,366.26 S34)
Total ptd - $34,746.26
Percent ptd – 86.08%

I finally feel like I'm moving forward financially again. I got a job offer on Tuesday. I know it was God working it out because of timing of events. I had initially declined the offer the week before & told them that mathematically, I couldn't take it with the salary being offered. They refused to budge on salary & said good luck on my search. They emailed me Tuesday with the minimum salary I requested & asked if I was still interested in the position. I gave my 2-week notice on Wednesday. I had a garage sale yesterday and deposited $130 in the bank after. Childcare costs are dropping by almost half for the school year so child support will leave a little extra to pay on bills for the next few months. I finally feel caught up on my non-racing CC. I'm also fundraising for a mission trip to Haiti that I'm going on in October. I'm very grateful for all that God has worked out & continues to work out. With the new job I will be having to revamp the budget again. That's one of the only not so great things about changing jobs.

[redracerris]

Speech: Yes, Pangur came home on Friday morning!!! Two weeks of being gone was horrible. He's lost a lot of weight and has sap all over him. Other than that he seems fine, no scratches or bites that we can see. The earliest we could get him into the vet is next Wednesday. But he's eating and drinking and has actually put on a little weight so that his back isn't as bony - I think that's a good sign. He has been sooo affectionate too, he missed us as much as we missed him.

JDNSTL: It's another round of the Zombie game. There's a thread that's pinned about it.

[speechchick71]

Whew!  Glad i"m not really "infected".  I don't know what the zombie game is and I don't care enough about it to read thru all the pages to figure out what it's about.  I'm one of those who are just not interested in zombies.  Breaking Bad: yes; Walking Dead: no. 

[sparks2710]

UPDATE: Sparks2710: 9/1/14: $6,940.69    (1/1/14: $14,316.93)

[jdnstl]

redracer - thanks. i thought there was something seriously wrong with speech. 
speech - you made me LOL with your 'walking dead: no."

OK ladies & gents. i read dave ramsey's latest email regarding retirement & i'm about to post it here. i would love to hear everyone's thoughts. 

[jdnstl]

How to Save 15% for Retirement Without Cramping Your Style
A recently published survey shows yet again how unprepared Americans are for retirement. According to the study by Bankrate.com, more than one-third of adults are not saving anything for retirement. Even more alarming is the fact that more than 25% of pre-retirees, people 50–64, have no nest egg at all.

This study, and hundreds of others like it, are a big reason why we launched the 2014 Investing Challenge to encourage you to invest at least $300 a month for retirement. With a little planning and a more-than-average dose of motivation, nearly everyone can retire with at least enough money to cover their bills.

Simply participating in the Investing Challenge, for example, and keeping it up for just five years means you could retire with $260,000–435,000 in your nest egg in 30 years. That may not provide a four-star retirement, but at least it's a start!

Take Retirement Investing to the Next Level
To get the kind of retirement we all dream of, however, you need to boost your retirement investing budget until you're putting away 15% of your income. That's really what the Investing Challenge is all about–tweaking your budget so you can meet that 15% goal.

Of course, that will mean a certain amount of sacrifice. When the Investing Challenge began, our readers said they would cut their restaurant budgets, choose less expensive entertainment options, or even take on second jobs so they could invest an extra $300 a month this year.


Save Without the Sacrifice
But you don't always have to make such tough commitments to sacrifice your time and your small luxuries. Here are a few painless but effective options our readers came up with to help them reach their 15% goal:

Roll In That Raise: Any time you get a bump in pay, it's cause for celebration–not because you can buy more stuff, but because you can roll that money right into your retirement account! Employers project the average raise to be 2.9% this year–about $1,450 on the average $50,000 annual income. That works out to $120 a month! Getting a bonus? Shift that into your 401(k) or Roth IRA for another easy way to reach your 15% goal without feeling the pinch in your paycheck.

No More Loans for Uncle Sam: The average income tax refund was $2,650 for the 2013 tax season. That's a hefty sum to loan to Uncle Sam for a year. It just takes a few minutes to reduce your withholding amounts and start sending an additional $220 a month to your 401(k).

Rake In Cash With a Yard Sale: People spend more than $4.2 million at yard sales each week in the U.S. Get in on that action and sell some stuff! Put the profits toward retirement, where even $100 can turn into thousands of dollars in your nest egg.

Miscellaneous Moolah: Don't forget about small expenses that can add up.
How about ditching your landline and just using your cell phone? You'll have one less bill to pay and an average of $40 more a month to put toward retirement.

According to Consumer Reports, the average monthly cable bill will reach $123 per month next year. Switch to a streaming service for less than $10 a month, and you can easily add $100 to your monthly retirement investing.

Just a couple of these options have the potential to put you above your $300-a-month Investing Challenge goal–and those are just few of the possibilities. Get creative and see what else you can come up with. Keep in mind, this isn't just a penny-pinching exercise. Every dollar you add to your monthly retirement investing means a more secure retirement for you!


Make Your Money Work for You
After all that work finding money to invest for retirement, the last thing you want to do is put it in a bad investment. A 401(k) with a matching contribution from your employer is a good place to start since it gives you an instant–and guaranteed–return on your money.

But don't stop there. Add a Roth IRA for a wider selection of good growth stock mutual funds and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. An experienced investing advisor can set up your Roth IRA account and help you choose the best mutual funds to invest in through both your 401(k) and your Roth IRA.

[forwardwego]

One of the best things about Dave Ramsey is that he speaks in language most of us can understand. I was saving 15% toward retirement, then cut back to 10%, but I know it will be better to get back to 15%. I originally got to 15% by doing "rolling in the raise", which amounted to about 2% increase per year. At 2% you can feel like it will never add up, but it does. Even 1% helps, and the sooner the better. I also broke the habit of getting a big tax refund, putting it to better use through the year. Historically windfall monies like tax refunds get wasted and then some. I kind of miss it, but know that we are better off for it. And as for the investing, simple is good. If you don't understand it, then don't put your money there. Don't get "sold" an investment. just my 2 cents.

Thanks for sharing the article jdnstl 

[jdnstl]

fowardwego - for me, i think rolling in the raise is the easiest step to do. when you're living on a budget of a certain amount, that's what you're accustomed to, so you don't ever miss the extra money. it is a bit harder to change the withholdings & put that to retirement. maybe it's because i don't know the exact percentage that would mean investing each month. also, i'm a bit opposite of your thinking that tax refunds get wasted. since being on WIRR i've split my returns between retirement, debt payoff & fun money. each year i've lowered the "fun money" percent & this last return i didn't use any for fun money - it all went to retirement & debt. i think the hardest of dave's list is yard sale cash & miscellaneous moolah. since i'm trying to get debt paid off i tend to use those money's for that.

i'm wondering if my retirement savings is taking a huge hit because of debt payoff. i'm trying to get the last $5600 paid off as soon as possible but it seems to be taking forever as i get hit with various setbacks. i want to be out of consumer debt ASAP but at the same time i'm thinking about my short-term future - like i really want to buy a house & be settled for the next 10+ years as DS grows up. but when i think about homeownership, i think how on earth am i going to afford to pay for it, save for retirement & pay my student loans, AND have money for basic living expenses. what about ya'll? anyone else feel like their retirement is taking a back seat to debt payoff?

[speechchick71]

Did anyone see this article?  I think the author needs to talk to some WIRRs on how to live on less than $60k/year:  money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post--do-you-live-on-less-than-dollar60k-a-year-how

jdnstl:  When I went back to travel therapy, I upped my contribution to my 401k to 15%.  That way, I would never feel the pinch of small incremental increases.  I am putting away close to $700/month now!  When I go back to FL for the winter, the hospital takes 4% off but I'd like to figure out how to increase that to 15% too.  I figure if it takes me 6 more months to get my debt paid off but in turn can get more in my retirement fund, I"m ok with that.  My plan is to put 100% of any tax return toward the 2014 Roth and then to fully fund my 2015.  I'm hoping to have my debt paid off or at least on a 0% interest card so that I can really throw mad money at retirement!  I feel like I am so behind on that part of my savings. 

Also, have you been keeping up on the family financial planning course?  Is it week 3?  If so, then I missed last week and this week.  I guess I can listen to it tonight. 

Sparks:  You are going crazy on that debt payoff!

[speechchick71]

jdnstl:  I TOTALLY feel like debt payoff has been a bigger priority than retirement and that is why I'm so determined to get my Roth funded.  When I figure out how much more money it would be to keep my debt for 6 months longer (with a smaller debt like yours...comparatively speaking) and get some money in my Roth, it's a no-brainer.  On the other hand, with my debt, I think I can make a few bigger payments, get the rest on an interest free card, and then knock down the Roth.  Have you had a chance to sit down with your HR people or investment people and determine how much you'd have to change your withholdings versus add to your investments to keep the end result the same?  I think they should be able to run some numbers and figure that out.

Psst jdnstl.  I feel like you and I have taken over the board!

[jdnstl]

Sept 8, 2014 18:30:45 GMT -5 speechchick71 said:

jdnstl:  I TOTALLY feel like debt payoff has been a bigger priority than retirement and that is why I'm so determined to get my Roth funded.  When I figure out how much more money it would be to keep my debt for 6 months longer (with a smaller debt like yours...comparatively speaking) and get some money in my Roth, it's a no-brainer.  On the other hand, with my debt, I think I can make a few bigger payments, get the rest on an interest free card, and then knock down the Roth.  Have you had a chance to sit down with your HR people or investment people and determine how much you'd have to change your withholdings versus add to your investments to keep the end result the same?  I think they should be able to run some numbers and figure that out.

Psst jdnstl.  I feel like you and I have taken over the board!

haha! i'm glad to see you posting, speech! i don't mind you taking over the board.  

i am HR at my current position. at the beginning of the year i got a raise & with it i increased my withholding & was putting 10% of my check to my 401k, but i always seemed so tight on the budget so i lowered it to 7% because my employer contributes 3%. now, i'm going to be starting over & will not be able to participate in the 401k at the new place for 1 year (at least). i will have to figure out the budget to contribute more to my IRA over the course of the year. it is definitely easier having $ taken pre-tax for a 401k. oh well, a new challenge, right?

oh, & no, i'm behind on the financial planning course. i have lots to do thurs & fri when i'm off & DS is in school. 

[sparks2710]

UPDATE: Sparks2710: 9/1/14: $6,283.73 (1/1/14: $14,316.93)


Thank you everyone for the encouragement along the way!!! I really appreciate everyone for your kind words. I have really been striving to pay this debt off so I can move on with the next chapter of my life. I am sooooo excited that I have paid off over 50% of this debt in 9 months! 


Thanks again everyone!! Happy Racing!

[trojen3]

Update: Trojen3: 9/14/14 - $15,239.41 (8/24/12 - $99,479.89)

Name of Debt	Current Debt	Starting Debt	Total Paid	% Paid Off
Car Loan	$0	$2,201.08	$2,201.08	100%
SL #1 - Sallie Mae	$0	$1,491.42	$1,491.42	100%
SL #2 - Grad PLUS	$0	$46,338.33	$46,338.33	100%
SL #3 - Grad PLUS	$15,239.41	$28,852.49	$13,613.08	47.18%
SL #4 - Private	$0	$20,596.57	$20,596.57	100%
Total	$15,239.41	$99,479.89	$84,240.48	84.68%

[speechchick71]

TROJEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you're down to 15k?  I know you said you have other debts but are you going to race them too?  You have done a fantastic job in 2 years.  You should be feeling great about the progress you've made!

[trojen3]

Thank you Speech. I am trying reallllly hard to get this loan paid off. In fact, I'd love for it to be gone by December. DH and I are expecting our first child and it would be great to have this race won. If it doesn't happy by then, it'll definitely be early next year. I have TONS of other student debt. I'm not sure which of it I will race or when I will race it. DH finishes his residency next summer. Major debt paydown will probably take a back seat for a little while as we adjust to a new budget with the baby (nanny, diapers, etc). We'll have to see what happens, but the goal is to continue snowballing and keeping my payment the same.

[forwardwego]

Trojen and sparks awesome updates!!!

Speech and Jdnstl You are the glue that keeps us rolling!!! THANKS 


BTW How are we doing on our group goal? I'm guessing we've made some big strides as a group! 

My progress is pretty slow at the moment and here's the semi-funny reason:
backed my car out of the garage into DH's truck   How about that? Nothing quite like wrecking both of your vehicles in one fell swoop. We fixed my car since the passenger side door was damaged at the hinge area. DH says not to fix his Durango, since it's all cosmetic, no functional damage. 

 Redracerris   Yea for Pangur's return, I'll bet he's doing great with a couple weeks of TLC 



Hey ya 3jsmom    How are you? 

[sparks2710]

UPDATE: Sparks2710: 9/19/14: $5,790.89    (1/1/14: $14,316.93)

[sparks2710]

UPDATE: Sparks2710: 9/26/14: $5,649.35   (1/1/14: $14,316.93)

[forwardwego]

Attention Captains: UpDATE Forwardwego 9/27/14 $11830 (6/19/2011 $38780 SPT64, PB154)

step by step, slowly I go   but hoping to ditch a digit before 2015

WIRRs With @ 3 months left in 2014, what goal or milestone would you especially like to reach before 2015  


Sparks Looks like you could be in the 5500 club VERY SOON 


shout out to paynointerest and procras108r How's it going

[speechchick71]

UPDATE: 9/28/14 speechchick71 $12,761 (1/6/2013 $14,380 PB149 FL)

Loan	12-Sept	28-Sept	Difference
SCSFCU (8.9%)	$12,911.00	$12,761.00	-$150.00
Chase (0%)	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Tire Kingdom (0%)	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
GE (0%)	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Savings	$1107	$1372	$265.00
	-	-	-
Total debt	$12,911.00	$12,761.00
amt pd		-$150.00
	-		-
Starting balance		$14,380.00
amt pd from start		$1,619.00
percentage from start		11.26%

My goal by the end of the year was to be under $10k but it's likely that I won't be able to start my job in FL in Dec, may have to wait until Jan, so I need to save up a bit instead of paying down that last lonely CC.  I've been battling my AmEx, trying to get on top of the balance since I had to pay my huge tax bill.  I think by the end of Oct I should be at a zero balance again.  That one has never been raced because it has typically been PIF each month.  My spending has been way down and my income up so I've been gaining ground! 

Hey everyone....where have you been?  I feel like our region is starting to really crumble.  Post some updates, no matter if the bottom line is up or down.  We're all here to support one another!

[tulip]

UPDATE: Tulip 09/29/14 $155,482.28 (11/12/13 $175,435.53 S165,169)

	11/12/13	08/24/14	09/29/14
Debt	Start	Previous	Current	Diff last
Target New	$66.73	$-	$-	$0.00
Citi 27	$102.49	$-	$-	$0.00
Target Old	$149.50	$-	$-	$0.00
Dentist	$650.00	$-	$-	$0.00
Discover Old	$835.00	$-	$-	$0.00
Visa Old	$1,250.00	$-	$-	$0.00
Visa New	$1,750.00	$-	$-	$0.00
Bank CC	$-	$-	$-	$0.00
DMV	$2,085.00	$-	$-	$0.00
Discover 4.99	$2,925.00	$-	$-	$0.00
Citi DH	$3,540.00	$-	$-	$0.00
Discover DH	$8,800.00	$-	$-	$0.00
Refi Loan	$2,995.03	$777.04	$747.04	-$30.00
Credit Union	$-	$1,130.00	$1,125.00	-$5.00
BT to Citibank Pay Day Loan	$1,269.46	$1,425.00	$1,420.00	-$5.00
MembersOwn CU	$-	$1,510.00	$1,505.00	-$5.00
Student Loan D	$1,998.22	$1,696.00	$1,691.00	-$5.00
Discover 2	$9,990.00	$1,904.00	$1,773.00	-$131.00
R2 Loan	$2,609.93	$2,546.51	$2,540.01	-$6.50
BT 1	$-	$2,580.00	$2,365.00	-$215.00
BT 2	$-	$3,512.00	$3,460.00	-$52.00
Student Loan B	$7,085.47	$6,940.32	$6,923.79	-$16.53
Student Loan A	$11,019.20	$10,793.39	$10,767.65	-$25.74
Discover 1	$-	$12,100.00	$11,900.00	-$200.00
Bank Loan	$23,031.05	$19,896.11	$19,694.92	-$201.19
Mazda	$24,468.95	$22,467.30	$22,069.87	-$397.43
Mortgage	$68,814.50	$67,632.26	$67,500.00	-$132.26
TOTAL	$175,435.53	$156,909.93	$155,482.28	-$1,427.65

Diff Last Post	($1,427.65)
Total Amt Pd	$19,953.25
Total % Pd	11.37%

I was going to wait until Friday to post my update because that's when I'm going to make my mtg payment. Since I already know what my new balance should be after this payment I'm going ahead with my post. I'm paying my mortgage a tiny bit later than usual because I had my annual car insurance due and I was able to pay it from checking if I waited on the mortgage payment. Feels so good not needing to dip into savings to make the car insurance payment . October is a 3 paycheck month so I'll be right on track for all my October payments and am still debating on savings or paying down debt with the extra paycheck.

[redracerris]

 Attention Captains: Update Red Racer Ris 09/30/2014 $83,530 (3/20/10 $145,409 SU220 SPB166 OK/AK)

	Original Amount	Last Month	This Month	Monthly Diff	Total Diff	% Paid
PLUS Loan	$11,000	$0	$0	$0	$11,000	100%
SL 1	$34,236	$16,067	$15,723	$344	$18,513	54.1%
SL 2	$31,691	$27,117	$26,991	$126	$4,700	14.8%
SL 3	$30,730	$22,384	$22,183	$181	$8,547	27.8%
SL 4	$30,088	$19,105	$18,633	$472	$11,455	38.1%
Old SL 1	$7,664	$0	$0	$0	$7,664	100%
Total	$145,409	$84,673	$83,530	$1,143	$61,879	42.6%

Student Loan 4	Original Amount	Last Month	This Month/%
Student Loan 4-A	$1,003	$0	$0/100%
Student Loan 4-B	$4,440	$4,004	$4,000/9.9%
Student Loan 4-C	$4,417	$4,133	$4,123/6.6%
Student Loan 4-D	$1,338	$0	$0/100%
Student Loan 4-E	$1,765	$0	$0/100%
Student Loan 4-F	$2,035	$0	$0/100%
Student Loan 4-G	$2,590	$1,126	$692/73.3%
Student Loan 4-H	$5,500	$4,135	$4,132/24.8%
Student Loan 4-I	$7,000	$5,701	$5,685/18.7%

Hi everyone, here is my September update. SL 4-G will not be paid off next month, I can only put $425 towards it. We are making sure we have enough to have our new wood stove installed, that's where all of the extra money has been going. With the PFD's coming on Thursday we will definitely be able to. $1800 from Jason, $1500 from me (I donated $300) and saving $700 for taxes that leaves us $2600 plus what we've saved up. We already have the stove, we just need the pipe and the installation. We would install it ourselves, if we had the time. It's getting cold out and we've never done anything like that, so we are just going to pay for the installation.
Both DH and I have decided to join an expensive hobby - The Society of Creative Anachronism. DH has been in the heavy fighting for a year and has slowly been getting stuff, but now I've gotten into it.  For it to be safe, it can be expensive. The biggest purchase for me will be a helmet...the cheapest will probably be $500...Guess it's time to save up for that from my fun money. 

[goalofzero]

Sad to say, but I'm back

** UPDATE ** goalofzero: 09/30/14 $7205.80 (9/30/2014 $7205.80)

	9/30/14
Capital One	$1,164.03
Discover	$2,951.77
MedicalBill#1	$3,090.00
Balance Total	$7,205.80

[forwardwego]

TGIF WIRRs 




Welcome back goalofzero!  You know you can ditch this debt, what's been happening while you were gone? I hope you are feeling okay.


redracerris another nice update for you!!! Keep your sites on 4-G, you'll zap it soon. PLEASE DO NOT SCRIMP ON THE HELMET.....PROTECT YOURSELF!!! 

[Minnesotagirl7]

All-

We still plan to consolidate the regions. I’m hoping we can have it done within a month or two. I’m working with the other captains to get this done. The tentative plan is to have one thread for chatting and questions, and another thread for the smiley updates. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks!  

[seriousthistime]

Dear Racers,

I am trying to drum up a few more members and/or regular posters for the Women in Red Savers 2014 thread (and hopefully for 2015).

For the longest time I didn't join them because I was focused on paying off debt. Then I started to realize that some of the Savers are also as focused on debt as I am. But we try to set money aside, at least for those semi-annual or annual, but predictable, expenses (like car insurance, property taxes, and so on). It's fine to track your savings that you know will be spent within a certain period of time (a/k/a sinking funds, where you need only track your money deposited; forget about the withdrawals). It could be something fun (vacations!), or something completely boring but necessary (EF, anyone?).

Some Savers set an annual goal and restart at zero each January. Others set a goal and keep chipping away at it regardless of the number of years it takes to save up (for example, a house downpayment often requires savings over multiple years). Some people track retirement contributions. Other people don't. Some only track extra money they can set aside, and others track automatic deposits into savings accounts. Whatever is your style, it works for us.

We all have a little bit of the Saver instinct in us. Please read a few of the Saver pages and see if it interests you. You'll see all sorts of saving styles and goals. If you're interested in trying it out, see the first few posts in the Savers 2014, and get started!

[forwardwego]

Good evening WIRRs 

I hope you will take seriousthistime's invitation to check out the Women in Red Savers thread. I just joined a few weeks ago, and it feels like I'm building a safety net, building the saving skill. Paying off debt and saving up are both so important. And I'm really starting to feel that the combination is going to make me stronger financially. Go on over and "lurk" around. I think you'll like it 

[trojen3]

So very close. Hopefully the next paycheck will allow me to win this race!

UPDATE - Trojen3: 10/15/13 - $2,481.75 (8/24/12 - $99,479.89)

Name of Debt	Current Debt	Starting Debt	Total Paid	% Paid Off
Car Loan	$0	$2,201.08	$2,201.08	100%
SL #1 - Sallie Mae	$0	$1,491.42	$1,491.42	100%
SL #2 - Grad PLUS	$0	$46,338.33	$46,338.33	100%
SL #3 - Grad PLUS	$2,481.75	$28,852.49	$26,370.74	91.4%
SL #4 - Private	$0	$20,596.57	$20,596.57	100%
TOTAL	$2,481.75	$99,479.89	$96,998.14	97.51%

[speechchick71]

TROJEN!!!  Again!  Amazing.... I hope you'll poke your head in once your debt is paid off.  I feel like doing a little happy dance for you!