WOMEN IN RED RACERS

[captainredracer]

Welcome to the Women in Red Racers thread!!!

[Minnesotagirl7]

Shoutouts!

ambellamy- Hope things are still going well!
amiteraus- Congrats on your $0 for the medical bill! And over $10k paid off, nice job.
Anotherdooropens- You’ve made great progress, keep up the good work!
Banker Gurl- Great update! Congrats on the savings. Any news on the job?
chalupabatman- I am so, so sorry for your loss. No one wants to win their race that way. I hope you and your family are doing alright.
chicg- I know it doesn’t always feel like it, but the little updates all add up to big ones, and then to wins!
DizzyIntellectual- Another $1000 paid off, way to go!
ezlivindreamer- Hope to see your updated numbers soon!
forwardwego- Look at you, cruisin’ right along in your race!
Gidget13- Nothing wrong with posting the full table so we can all admire the 0’s! Great update.
Janie4- Nice update! You’re really close to another $0, woo hoo!!
KCLadyJane- Great update! Hope things are going well for you.
lttlwhitetanktop- Both of your races are moving right along!
lulu0312- You had a really great update, congrats!
MarylandMonroe- You’ve done an incredible job with race #2 this year!
megaptera- Congratulations on your win, and welcome to race #3!
mollyc- You continue to make great progress – over $8000 paid! Keep up the good work.
Momofelliott4- Hope to see an update from you soon!
movinonup- Wow, amazing update!!
muffy in the red- Hope things are going ok with DH.
Muttleynfelix- Turtling is progress!!
ners- I love seeing your updates! You’re doing such an awesome job, keep it up.
NikiZ628- Nice update!
NoDebt42- Nice to have you back! Great job attacking your debt.
OweNo- You’re close to having 50% of your debt paid off, woo hoo!
pay-no-interest- Nice update! That’s a great feeling when you hit that point with your mortgage payments.
Red Racer Ris- Wow, awesome update!
rr234- That was a nice update. Hopefully your race progress picks up. Anything we can do to help?
Seahorse- Your last update was a good one; looking forward to seeing your latest numbers!
sealy- You’re doing such an awesome job on both races!!
Serious this time- Holy buckets!! Your race is going to be over before you know it.
Shopaholic814- Glad to hear being back to work is going well. Keep up the great work, awesome update!
Snapdragon- You’ve paid off more than $12,000 43% of your debt, way to go!
Sparks2710- You’re doing such an amazing job with your race! Almost $9,000 paid off already, woo hoo!
speechchick- Looking forward to your update!
Steph08- Nice update! Over 32% of your debt paid off, not too shabby!
tribeca7- You’re knocking on the door of $15k paid off!
Trojen3- Congratulations again on your win!!!tulip- Wow, your last update was fantastic!!
ur_doing_it- Nice update. Hope things are closer to normal.
Wudnit- Congrats on being under $30,000! Try to stay proud of what you have accomplished. And keep in mind where you could be if you hadn’t joined and started racing.   

[redracerris]

Thanks for everything you do Minnesota! I am excited for the next update that I'll be posting.

I am also excited to get to know everyone else on the boards. I've been lurking on some of the other boards so I feel like I know a few of you already. Yoroshiku Ne! Nice to meet everyone. 

[teachermom]

HI. Looks like all the regions were consolidated here. I was on the Racers - West region board and have really fallen off. Life has been very crazy and I have gone backwards....way backwards. In the process of evaluating where I am on things and getting a working budget going again. Once I do, I will post my racers here and start over.

Teachermom

[Sam_2.0]

I will also be "starting" again after the new year. Feels like I've been here forever and still have so long to go. Maybe one more restart will be the motivation I need. I sat down with DH tonight and asked what it would take for me to be a SAHM. Looks like we have two more years or less to go, so while it seems like a lot, hopefully it goes by quickly. I go back from maternity leave on Dec 1st and also go back to a new job, so I am pretty nervous. I wish we could have afforded for me to be out the rest of the year. I had the time, but it was unpaid and we couldn't afford it.

[sealy]

Sealy Race #1

DEBT	CURRENT	PAST	STARTING	TOTAL PAID	% PAID OFF	ROSES	EMOTIONS
CAR	$0	$0	$14,524.40	$14,524.40	100%
CC #1 CC #1 AGAIN	$0      $0	$0 $870	$4,944.90   2/9/13    $8097.01	$4,944.90 $8,097.01	100% 100%
CC #2 CC #2 AGAIN CC #2 AGAIN	$0    $0      $0	$0 $0 $884.39	$5,520.78 $2,655.79 $5,300	$5,520.78 $2,655.79 $5,300	100% 100% 100%
CC #3	$0	$0	$132.53	$132.53	100%

SL	$0	$0	$250	$250.0	100%
SCULPTURE	$0	$0	$5,000	$5,000.00	100%
TOTAL	$0	$884.39	$46,425.41	$46,425.41	100%		WINNER!!!!

sealy (1): 05/17/17 $0 (2/1/13 $46,425.41 W68) difference $46,425.41



Sealy Race #2

DEBT	CURRENT	PAST	STARTING	TOTAL PAID	%PAID	ROSES	EMOTIONS
HOUSE	$289,380.00	$289,998.00	$335,199.00	$45,818.00	14%	COMING SOON	EXCITED

sealy (2): 05/17/17 $289,380.00 (12/04/12 $335,199.00) difference $45,818.00

[sealy]

Thank you Minnesota for the encouragement and also for waiting to lock the other thread.  I 
have copied my tables to this thread.  

Congrats Sam you will be a SAHM before you know it.  

Teacher - Take it from someone who has fallen A LOT.  Just get back on the 
   debt free train and keep chugging away.  I've made many mistakes but I 
   feel like I'm making better choices now.  We are here to cheer you on don't
   give up.  We will all make it as long as we keep moving.

Hi red I'm looking forward to meeting everyone else too.

The more the merrier.
Have a great night everyone.

[Maryland Monroe]

Thanks for consolidating the regions. I think it will be more encouraging this way, and I'm also looking forward to getting to know everybody else.

I started race #2 on January 1 this year, which includes everything (mortgage, personal loan, credit card). The credit card is a 0% for 15 months offer which will be paid off in January, still at 0%. When it's gone, I plan to snowball the CC payment to the personal loan to get rid of it in 2.5 years instead of 5. I want to have everything paid off so I can RETIRE (!!) at the end of 2020.

I have one cash back rewards credit card that I use to pay for just about everything I buy. It's not part of my race because I pay it in full every month. When I purchase something, I subtract it from my checkbook balance as if it was a debit, which makes it easy to budget and pay when I am billed for it. They have paid me $214.68 this year to use their card, and I have paid them $0 in interest.

This is my last update:

Update: Maryland_Monroe[2] 11/1/14 $72046.37 (1/1/14 $80451.89 NE 113)

[Minnesotagirl7]

redracerris- You're welcome! 

teachermom- Welcome back! Looking forward to racing with you again. 

sealy- No problem! Keep up the good work. 

Maryland Monroe- I too am looking forward to getting to know other racers! 



I'm on race #3. My first race was credit card debt, and took three years to pay off. Race #2 was a vehicle, student loans, personal loan, and trailer, which took a little under a year to pay off. Race #3 has gone well, I'm down to one remaining debt. I'm on schedule to win that race in the spring. I'm not sure if I'll start race #4 and race my mortgage. That'd keep me around for another 14 years! 

[kcladyjane]

UPDATE	7/16/2008	10/9/2014	11/10/2014	Diff Last Post	Total Diff
SL 1 @ 2.375% Locked	15,406.00	-	-	-	(15,406.00)
SL 2 @ 4% Variable	8,114.00	-	-	-	(8,114.00)
Car @ 7.9%	2,220.53	-	-	-	(2,220.53)
Car @ 0%	10,979.17	-	-	-	(10,979.17)
CC-Chase @ 0%	4,000.00	-	-	-	(4,000.00)
Furniture @ 0%	650.00	-	-	-	(650.00)
Carpet @ 0%	482.50	-	-	-	(482.50)
Care Credit-Vet Bill @ 0%	9,066.28	-	-	-	(9,066.28)
Mustang	11,134.23	-	-	-	(11,134.23)
Equinox @ 0%	25,341.00	16,049.30	15,626.95	(422.35)	(9,714.05)
Total	87,393.71	16,049.30	15,626.95	(422.35)	(71,766.76)

KCLadyJane 11/10/14 $15,626.95 (7/16/2008 $87,393.71, M430, M902, M1227, M265)

[Minnesotagirl7]

Steph08 and Janie4- You may not have seen it on the Northeast thread before it got locked, but I asked you to let us know what state you're in. Just so our tracking spreadsheet is all up-to-date and pretty. Thank you!

[trojen3]

I might as well go ahead and start Race #2. This is not all my Student Loan debt, but the next highest interest rate and something that will keep me busy for a while. It's just too overwhelming to do it all! I will be snowballing my previous debt from Race #1 (~$1550/month additional) but will not be able to make substantial extra payments for a while. 

Trojen3 (2) - 11/10/14 - $92,075.38 (11/10/14 - $92,075.38)

Name of Debt	Current Debt	Starting Debt	Total Paid	% Paid Off
SL #1 - Subsidized	$17,381.02	$17,381.02	$0	0%
SL #2 - Unsubsidized	$74,694.36	$74,694.36	$0	0%
TOTAL	$92,075.38	$92,075.38	$0	0%

[teachermom]

Does someone have a file they will share for the table? I used to have one but....computer died.

Thanks for the welcome backs! I wrote down all the CC debt last night....first thing I will tackle. I do have some extra money coming on this check....actually quite a bit since they haven't paid me for coaching at all and the season is over....so hoping to put 4 or 5 of my cc's to rest with it.

Teachermom

[speechchick71]

UPDATE: 11/10/14 speechchick71 $12,351 (1/6/2013 $14,380 PB149 FL)

Loan	28-Sept	10-Nov	Difference
SCSFCU (8.9%)	$12,761.00	$9,291.00	-$3,470.00
Chase (0%)	$0.00	$3,060.00	$3,060.00
Tire Kingdom (0%)	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
GE (0%)	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Savings	$1,372.00	$2,097.00	$725.00
	-	-	-
Total debt	$12,761.00	$12,351.00
amt pd		-$410.00
	-		-
Starting balance		$14,380.00
amt pd from start		$2,029.00
percentage from start		14.11%

So it's a bit of a money shuffle but now I have $3000 that is on a non interest bearing CC versus adding more money to the bottom line.  Being that it's not gaining interest, I'm not going to work that hard on getting it paid off quickly.  I will end up paying it off before the "due date" because, frankly, I hate having to think about paying a bill.

I plan to save as much as I can in 2015 because I'm anticipating going back to school and don't want to take student loans (although I'll likely have to).  December, this year, might be low on funds because I may not be working FT so I'm socking as much away into savings as I can so that I have enough to live on. If I end up working enough to cover my bills then that savings will be a nice lump to put against my big CC.  I have 2015 already planned on how I want to have things paid off and saved. 

I'll be joining the Saver's Thread come the new year because I know that group has been just as motivating.  I encourage others to join as well because there's nothing saying you can't save at the same time as you pay off.

And glad to see you back Trojen!  Beware everyone, she knocks out debt like no one's business.  Looking forward to getting to know everyone!

[sealy]

Advice wanted but writing so I can actually see this in print. (California)
I have $1,701.60 in my EF I just received a check for $1,276.54
after I bought my DD some much needed clothes I have $1,261.53
left over not including EF.  I was thinking of using my EF and $766.85
for to pay off CC #2 (I owe $2,466.85) I was also thinking about
paying off my car ($2,614.09).  However, I remember how hard last 
month was when I had to ask my son to loan me gas money.  I am
working hard on my zero based budget but don't think I'm going about
it in the right way.  

Bills I still need to pay:
$230 car insurance
$140 winter rye and grass.

I think I have a plan:  Every time I use my EF I notice that I've 
turned back to my CCs.  So I am not going to touch my EF.  I 
will use the $1,200+ to establish my envelopes and zero budget.
I may make an extra car payment but I won't overextend myself.

[redracerris]

Sealy, have you figured out why you turn back to your credit cards when you use your EF? What part of a zero based budget are you having the most trouble with? The first thing to look at with a zero based budget is an estimate of what your income will be for the month. It is good that you want to give yourself some cushion, but how might you be able to give yourself that cushion in the future? What DH and I have come up with is that each month we have our set expenses and any expenses that need to be taken care of that month, as well as what comes out as cash. For the longest time, I wasn't putting enough in certain categories, nor did I have all of the categories I needed. Anything that is left over at the end of the month goes into savings where it sits until the next month. Then it gets split 15% to each of us for fun money (cap of $100), 35% goes to our house project fund and 35% goes towards loans. If our personal fun money goes over the $100, we decide where we want the extra to go - house or loans. Unless there is something (like SCA Gear) that is wanted really really badly, then we talked and agreed that we would get the full amount to use, but only for two months. There were a couple of months where we didn't have any extra money because we had a car repair and some other things that came up. We were able to cash flow all of it because of this system. The reason the money stays in the savings account for a month is so we don't have to always dip into our EF fund (which is only $2,000 right now) if something comes up. Doing our budget this way has made it so that we have a nice balance between play and paying off loans. It's not exactly a zero based budget, but in essence, everything does have a name.

[redracerris]

Sorry, double post. I will take this time to ask: Have you planned for the holidays? DH and I save throughout the year. Christmas comes the same time EVERY YEAR! Plan for it so you don't have to use those credit cards!

[sealy]

red I saw a zero based budget on you tube and thought it would be good to do.
I haven't had any fun money or anything extra at the end.  I have paid off braces
and retainers for my kids, Best Buy, a couple personal loans, at the end of the month
there is nothing left and I find that I still need money for gas or food.  I just started
the zero based budget this is my 2nd month.  

I use my cards when I have no money and think I'll just use it for this one thing and
before I know it, my card balance is over $2,000.
CC#1 was paid off a couple years ago and now it's over $12,000 and I
really can't remember everything I bought.  I have nothing to show for it. I'm working
on Dave's way but last month was difficult.

I don't have any plans for Christmas.

[nidena]

Hey all!  I kept waiting for the new link to be posted to the Northeast thread and then realized that I needed to go find it myself.  lol.  A little about me for those who aren't fellow NE folks: I've been racing since 2007, after reading an article about the original WIRR on MSN Money by MP Dunleavey(sp?)  I had just racked up a poop-ton of debt on just one credit line while on a cruise for my 31st birthday and about   when I saw my grand total for non-house debt the very first time.  I had eleven separate credit lines, a car loan, a mortgage, and an HEL.  I got rid of nine of those lines of credit--most were store cards (Macy's, VS, etc)--and paid off my Jeep.  My HEL will actually be paid off this month, leaving me with my mortgage and one credit card that I will be working diligently to get back to $0 (again, for the third time).  I'm looking forward to reading everyone's updates and seeing how folks deal with the challenges that we all face within our budgets and personal finances.  

Happy Veteran's Day to any separated or retired servicemembers out there.  I'll be joining the retiree crowd in fewer than 17 months.  

[forwardwego]

Good Morning WIRRS 
I'm excited for our consolidated thread, thanks to the captains and all who do the work so we can have this wonderful resource. 17 posts in 2 days is exciting   


Minnesota Thank you for the updates and shoutouts, and for the 5500 club and 5.6-24K club updates. 

I'll be joining the Saver's Thread come the new year because I know that group has been just as motivating. I encourage others to join as well because there's nothing saying you can't save at the same time as you pay off.

speechchick Absolutely! I just joined the Saver's Thread a couple months ago, and it is really motivating. I've been racing down debt for 4.5 years, and am happy and grateful for the help I've had as a WIRR. And now that I'm in the Savers Thread also, I am broadening my perspective and improving my chances of avoiding certain kinds of debt altogether. 

Nidena Thanks for giving us your backstory, and that's exciting you retire in less than 17 months. My count is 29 months, and 17 months sounds really wonderful.

Sealy It's nice to meet you. Your 2 updates show a lot of debt conquered, with race #1 almost 50%, nice 
 I have nothing to offer you about zero-based budgets, but redracerris, has been very effective with hers, she really turned her situation around by fine tuning her budget and her overall plan. As for the CC's...it makes me think of the slang word "frenemy"...kind of like a friend but you can get hurt too. As you said, using a CC for one thing can lead to a big balance of unremembered purchases, maybe they need to be frozen?

Time to get ready for my hair appointment. It's one of my few splurges. I'm at the age when my hair thinks it's going to be gray. I'm not ready to surrender, but I have begun to put more time between appointments so that the cost over time is less. 

Hope we all have a beautiful day. 

[bankergurl]

Hi ladies!  Since we are joining together now, I would also like to do a brief intro!  I started with the WIR Savers in 2005...I didn't have any debt at that time, so I just did the Savers. In 2007 I bought a house and started racing!  I was expected to be done with my race and have my house paid off within the next 3-4 years, but sadly I got divorced a few months ago and obviously that threw off my whole life..... .....I was married to an alcoholic and I truly thought that I could help him, and that he loved me enough to get help and be better for US, but that wasn't the case.  I just couldn't see that with how much I loved him that he couldn't get help.  Through friends, family and Al-Anon, I am now able to see that I did everything I could, but you can't help someone that won't help themselves.  Towards the end I said to him "You have to choose me or drinking"...he said "I'm not going to stop drinking"....so there you go....not much to say once you get to that point where you choose drinking over your wife.

I am doing much better now, still have plenty of hard days, but overall am much happier. I now have a healthy relationship with a great BF, who appreciates me, doesn't take me for granted, and of course, doesn't have a drinking problem.  We are moving forward on goals together and he has helped me heal immensley!

I kept the house, and had to buyout X, so I do have a large race now, but I still only have mortgage debt and a nice chunk in savings, so I have to be thankful for what I have and not dwell on the past!

It's hard to race much on only one income, but I still hope to pay off at least $500 a month off my balance.


Update : Banker Gurl 11/11/14 $167,400.00 (9/17/07 $250,514.73)

November 2014 Mortgage Payment

Balance $167,900.00
+$507.20 Interest
-$768.45 Regular Payment
-$238.75 Principle Payment
New Balance $167,400.00

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Nov 10, 2014 22:52:54 GMT -5 sealy said:

Advice wanted but writing so I can actually see this in print. (California)
I have $1,701.60 in my EF I just received a check for $1,276.54
after I bought my DD some much needed clothes I have $1,261.53
left over not including EF.  I was thinking of using my EF and $766.85
for to pay off CC #2 (I owe $2,466.85) I was also thinking about
paying off my car ($2,614.09).  However, I remember how hard last 
month was when I had to ask my son to loan me gas money.  I am
working hard on my zero based budget but don't think I'm going about
it in the right way.  

Your racing update you just posted said that CC#2 is at $0.  And yet, you say you really owe $2,500 on it.  I've long suggested that one of your biggest challenges is being honest and realistic with yourself.  Credit helps us avoid that - helps us hide our true financial picture from ourselves by removing it to the side or by making it into a small monthly payment number.  This is one way that credit cards trap us.  I found that until I stopped using my credit cards (and I mean close them and/or destroy them, mostly!) to hide my real situation, I couldn't improve it. 

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Nov 11, 2014 1:28:29 GMT -5 sealy said:

I don't have any plans for Christmas.

Why not?  Is Christmas not going to come in December this year?    You have to start planning ahead for expenses, not wait until they actually happen.  And in my experience, even when people say that they're 'not going to do Xmas this year', it really means different things... usually none of which actually mean they'll spend $0 this year.  To be the master of our finances, we must plan for reality, not what we'd like to have happen in our dream world. 

ETA:  How much have you put aside for next summer when you have no paychecks?  Are you racing that goal with the WIRS?

[sealy]

Ugh brakes. Over $650 guess I know what to do with the extra money now.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Nov 11, 2014 13:44:16 GMT -5 sealy said:

Ugh brakes. Over $650 guess I know what to do with the extra money now.

That sucks.  I finally got smart a few years ago myself and made sure a car maintenance fund is a monthly line item in my zero-based budget.  I guess I figured for years that my car was a magical self-repairing robot from the future?  

[sealy]

i went to my brother's machanic. It's going to cost $523. Still a lot but this is the most I've had to spend. On the plus side it's not going on a card.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Nov 11, 2014 16:02:06 GMT -5 sealy said:

i went to my brother's machanic. It's going to cost $523. Still a lot but this is the most I've had to spend. On the plus side it's not going on a card.

That's because you destroyed all your cards, right?   

[speechchick71]

I guess I'll do a little intro as well.  I'm Speechchick...one of your captains.  I hope you all will address me as "O Captain, My Captain".  (kidding).  From my name, you might figure out that I am doing something with Speech (I'm a speech pathologist) and I'm a female (chick).  Sorry, little punchy today from work.  And about my work, I tend to do a lot of travel (short term contracts) work.  I spend a majority of my time in FL and then I'm on the road during other times.  I'm lucky to not have housing expenses when I do travel work and my non-tax benefits are great.  The downfall is that I don't get paid when I don't work so sometimes I have breaks between my jobs.

This is my third race but I have paid off a huge debt even before that!  This most recent debt was incurred when I blew thru a large amount of savings when I took a contract that only paid me for who I saw (versus hourly) and my patients were horrible with attendance.  There was so much more to the situation but what it boils down to was that I had to use my CC to help survive.  It wasn't a matter of not having money set aside because I did, it was a matter of not making the decision to bail a lot more quickly!  I know how to pay off debt and I know how to save, it's all a matter of me being in a situation that I can do it.  I like to have a plan for my whole year and I did that already for 2015.  Based on my typical paycheck, I know how much money is going toward bills and savings.  Of course things can change but it's nice to have a frame work.  I plan to be pretty aggressive with my debt paydown in the beginning of the year and savings at the end of the year.  In fact, based on my plan, I should be back at $0 debt by the end of June and starting in July, the savings will begin to be big!

I have two "special" savings accounts and my goal is to sort of do the $1/week challenge in one, but multiply it by 10 so $10/week, adding an extra 10 with each week (for a total of over 13k) and then $25/week in the other special savings which will go toward car repairs.  I have a year old car so I'm not expecting to have to use it but it will be nice to know that it's there.  I have another savings that I just money into.  I also plan to fund about $3500 of my Roth for 2014 and the whole amount for 2015.  Big goals, I know, but without goals what would there be to achieve?

[forwardwego]

Hi Teachermom, we met on the saver's thread. It's nice to see you here as well. It will be nice for you to get the coaching $$ and hit the ground running on eliminating CC debt.

Sam Best wishes on your new job, hopefully it will be a good fit for you, and the time it takes til you're a SAHM will zip along smoothly. 

MarylandMonroe That's great to have retirement waiting for you as the checkered flag when you win race #2. I use a reward credit card as you described and also earn @ $200/year. My first race was credit card debt, so at first it was scary to think of using a credit card AT ALL. But now I love turning the tables on the bank and they pay me .

Minnesota breaking your debt into a series of races has worked well for you. 14 years to pay off the mortgage may seem   , but I imagine most people in our country would love to be able to say that they could finish their mortgage in 14 yrs. 

KCLadyJane congrats on your update, you have kicked a whole lot of debt to the curb. Great to have nearly $72K paid 

redracerris I'm excited for your next update too! 

I'm excited for my next update too, I'll finally be going under $11K. And love the activity here. It's energizing. Goodnight WIRRfriends!

[sealy]

Yes all my cards have been shredded.
I'm not sure if I answer this but the reason why CC #2 is showing a zero is because I paid it off then used it again. I decided not to add it to my race again. I have cut it and will not use it again.