WOMEN IN RED RACERS

[Ombud]

lulu0312, sorry he's ill but to your question:

we are thinking of taking $100,000 out of his 401(k) to pay off our mortgage. Because he's over 55 and is no longer employed there, he can now make withdrawals without penalty, we'll just have to pay the taxes.  This is about half of his total 401(k), and will free up $500 per month for us going forward.

Is that b4 or after taxes? If b4, take out 2x what you think you'll need to cover taxes. So now you have NOTHING left in it. If after, you're giving up compounding & potentially a tax deduction for a shorter term goal (lower bills temporarily VS your life expectancy).

My 2c = DON'T DO IT!!

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Maybe instead of using half his retirement money to pay off the house, he could use 5-10% to pay off your racing debts and then spend some doing some fun stuff you both enjoy? 

[forwardwego]

missk82 Yes, please join us to race your student loans 


lulu0312 I am so glad you are here and reached out with your question. You can see how much everyone cares about you and wants what's best for you, hopefully you can work the information into a strategy that helps you now and for your future   

[janie4]

Janie4: 12/16/2014 $7,237 (07/21/14, $8,620)

Debt Name	Initial Balance	New debt	Min Payment	Last Update	New payment	Current Balance	% paid off
CC 15%	$210		$25	$0	$0	$0	100%
CC 2.99%	$531		$25	$84	$72	$12	97.7%
CC 0% until 11/14	$216		$25	$0	$0	$0	100%
Student Loan	$7,663		$158	$7,029	$171	$6,867	10.4%
Holiday Debt -new		$579	$25		$198	$358	34.2%
Total	$8,620	$579	$223	$7,029	$441	$7,237	21.3%

So, fell off the wagon this month.  The holiday debt/new isn't the stuff I bought for other people which is all paid for, it's the stuff I bought for me because I needed(wanted) it, and it was on sale.  Only about $66 of the current balance is stuff I absolutely had to have - I bought some commercial size Bliss body butter on sale, and that I needed because the combination of germophobia (too much hand-washing) and cold weather means my skin gets dry/itchy to the point of pain.  

The rest includes 2 cake pans, a slow cooker, a TV gadget for streaming, work clothes  and clothes for next summer.  Usually, when I do something like this, every time I use the item, I put a certain amount towards paying it back - like a usage fee.  I'm  planning to do this again, but am really working on not shopping.  I've managed to be strong and avoid buying one of my favorite sweets this Christmas, and while there is a skirt that would be killer for a work skirt next summer, I've been able to convince myself not to pop for it. I'm also returning some shoes I don't need, for full credit, so that will help.

I am, however excited that only five months into this race, and I'm down over 10% on the student loans!  And I am going to start throwing an extra $36 a month at the loans instead of $12, until I can get the holiday stuff paid off.  It's very little, but every bit helps.

[janie4]

Hi Lulu, like others I recommend you talk to an accountant/financial planner, but I'd be reluctant to pay off the house with the 401k money.  I know it would feel good to free up the money, but the time to recoup the payment would be 200 months, or over 19 years.  I'd think long and hard whether you're going to need that money in retirement versus the $500 now.  Yes, if the house is all paid off, your husband's income becomes less important.  But you always need to live somewhere, and it will be harder to liquidate the house if necessary, as opposed to stocks in a 401k.  Just my thoughts.

[shanendoah]

lulu0312 - I think I may be playing devil's advocate to some of the other posters, though I agree with the idea of talking to a financial planner (or some sort of expert) before making any decisions.

$200k is NOT a lot in a retirement fund, and it's not likely to grow by a truly significant amount in the next couple of years. So my first question is- does he have funds elsewhere? If you left the money in the 401(k), when would disbursements start? How much would they be a month? For how many years would they last?
Would those disbursements equal $500/month over the course of 19 years? If not, then it might actually be a good idea to pay off the mortgage, because that will free up more money month to month than you would get out of the retirement fund. You would then have the flexibility to save those dollars for a retirement fund for you, or use them elsewhere.


On to other questions- does he have a long term disability policy through his work? Can his illness qualify him for that? Does he have life insurance NOT through work?
And the really suck questions - Is his illness one that is going to take him from you soon? Or is it a slow lingering one that is going to require significant costs for care?
Once he passed (or even before then) will you be able to sell your house and "downsize" to somewhere less expensive, where, even if you didn't pay off this house first, you'd have a very small or no mortgage?

Obviously, this is a complicated question, and there are lots of variables we don't know (and you don't need to share). Just posting the questions and the thoughts that come to my mind, in the hopes that it helps you make your decisions.

[nikiz628]

muffyinthered,
I LOVE swagbucks!!!! I have made a ton of $$ from that site!

[bankergurl]

I have ANOTHER potential lead for a roomate....this is about the 6th person though so I won't get my hopes up. As soon as I do it falls through for some reason. I have a 4 bedroom house, 2 bath, 2 stall garage, fenced yard, hot tub, shed, etc......and now since I have gotten divorced, I live there alone....which is just silly. If BF lived in the same town I am sure we would move in together, but he lives about an hr away so that is not an option right now due to work. So I have been trying (not very hard though) to find a reliable roomate. How my house is set up, the roomate could have their own 2 bedrooms, living room, bathroom and a spot in the garage all to themselves. The only reason I ever need to go into the basement is for the laundry room. The only room we would need to share is the kitchen. Because it is not 2 separate houses, that person would have access to the upstairs (I mean, there is no way for me to lock them out of my area, or them to lock me out of their area) so I only want someone that I know, a friend or family member or a friend of a friend. We shall see if this one pans out or not. I would charge $600 total, (my mortgage is only $768 a month) and that would include wireless internet, heat/electricity and water. If they want cable they would need to pay that themselves as I do not have cable. If I find someone I would put $500 towards my principle every month and use the $100 to cover any additional expenses (additional heat, electricity, and water costs). I have had several people that were interested just by word of mouth but fell through, (pets, breaking current lease, maybe moving again soon so they didn't want to move twice), so I think once I have it cleaned up (just needs a good hard scrub down) I could find someone quickly if I really put the word out there, or asked on FB. I just need to actually get the cleaning done. Goal is to have it done by 1/1/15!

[nikiz628]

So H and I completed our exit counseling for our Ch 13 case. I can't remember which one of you wanted me to share what this counseling consisted of, so I apologize that I am not tagging you.

The counseling took 2 hours online. It consisted of several sections, and each one had a minimum time you had to be in it before you could move on (and it ended with a 5 question quiz). At the end of all the sections, there as a 20 question final.

The counseling covered the following:

1. Increasing Your Spending Power- wants vs. needs, identifying the problem (when you need to make a purchase), researching, and negotiating deals

2. Goals- setting short, mid, and long term financial goals and creating a detailed plan of how you intend to reach them

3. Spending Plan- basically, setting up a budget. Fixed vs. variable expenses. It also advised you to record every penny you spend for 1 month to see where your money is going. I actually thought this was a great idea, and will be trying it just to see how we are doing financially (and where we can improve)

4. Organizing Your Finances- how to balance/reconcile a checkbook, tips for organizing documents

5. Evaluating Your Risk- covered types of insurances and why need them.

6. Money Management- Saving money, earning more money, cutting expenses. It recommended saving 5-10% of your income each month and having a 3-6 month cushion of expenses. It also suggested that you sit down and come up with 10 ways you could lower your expenses. (We have cut several expenses over the last few months in preparation for the end of our reorganization...but I think we will be doing it again!)

7. Knowing the Basics of Credit- explaining credit cards and how to compare them to make the best choice (if you feel the need to have one)

7. Monitoring Your Financial Health- learning the 5 c's of credit (capacity, capital, conditions, collateral, and character), Financial ratios (assets to debt ratio, debt to take home income ratio, debt service to gross income ratio) and how to calculate this

8. Knowing Your Consumer Rights- covering what companies/collection companies are allowed and not allowed to do, great info on your rights

9. Managing Your Debt- tips on how to pay off debt effectively

10. Understanding Your Credit Score- basically just explained the different types of scores and how to gain access to them.

11. Requesting Your Credit Report- again, just talked about ways to check your report, and how you should do it once a year and immediately dispute errors.

Final exam covered topics from each section.

Overall I think its a great program to make someone go through, especially someone coming out of a bankruptcy. I honestly think this course would be an amazing requirement for high school graduates. I know I personally know several young adults that have NO IDEA how to balance a checkbook, or make a budget. These are basic life skills....and probably more useful than anything they will learn in chemistry or geography lol.

[nikiz628]

bankergurl- I really hope the roommate thing works out! That sounds like it would be great for your finances!

[Ombud]

If you need 100k out of pre-tax money, you need to take out at least 150k to cover it due to marginal tax rates. If you live in a state that has state income tax as well then you probably will need to take out 200k


however if you do as Rocky Mtn Saver states and only pay off the 10k debt, then probably can get away with taking out only 12-15

[lttlwhitetanktop]

Update!

lttlwhitetanktop *12/16/14, $20,297.83* (6/10/08: $36,424) M373
lttlwhitetanktop [2]: *12/16/14, $6146.14* (6/21/14, $8500.00) MW331

Nothing too spectacular.  Less than $100 down overall since last month, but I am going in the right direction!

[nidena]

It's during pay periods like this one that I'm really thankful for the part time job.  Military paydays are the 15th and 1st of each month--I put it like that because the 15th is for the first two weeks of the month and the 1st is for the remainder of the month--and, if you're USAA customer, your deposit will post on the business day before payday.  This means that my first paycheck of December posted on Friday, Dec 12th.  Unfortunately, the 1st is on a Thursday, meaning that my paycheck will post on the 31st.   19 days after my last paycheck.  My budget accounts for these days and I've allocated money for the fluctuating expenses: gas and groceries.  It's still kind of nerve wracking, knowing that I can't make any large payments on anything until that time.

January begins my focused attack on my credit card while simultaneously contributing to my 2015 Roth.  If all goes according to plan, the CC will get reduced by ~$2000 each month and the Roth will increase $500 each month.   

My next update will reflect that my debt total is less than $150k.  Very excited!!

[seriousthistime]

A coworker of mine is doing a new fundraising thing for her daughter's school.  Is anyone familiar with Scrip?

Scrip allows you to buy gift cards at face value, and a percentage of that value is returned to the organization.  So I can buy a $100 card to spend at CVS, and the organization gets $4.  Some stores pay more.  Some restaurants and clothing stores pay higher rebates to the organization, but we always get full face value on the cards. 

Since I know generally how much gasoline I buy during a month I thought a gas card would be good.  It was clear I could use the card at a station convenient to me, but I wanted to make sure I could use the card at the pump and didn't want to have to go inside the convenience store (in this climate with ice and snow, it increases the chances to slip and fall).  So I looked at the website for the company and it mentioned that gift cards were a good way to budget. At that point, I had an aha! moment.

I realize the website was probably mentioning that for an audience that buys food at their convenience stores.  I do want to help out my friend, but not so much that I'm forfeiting my other financial goals. So I am combining the gift card program with the envelope system.  As much as I can, I am going to use gift cards to "fund" my envelopes.  Amazon is my usual go-to place for gifts during the year, so my $100 per paycheck set aside for gifts will mostly be spent on Amazon gift cards.  I have an expensive medication I take, and the cost is out of pocket until I hit my deductible.  I can buy CVS gift cards to cover that out-of-pocket and have my friend's organization earn a percentage.  I mentioned the gas card.  There are lots of grocery stores on the list of merchants, but the ones I go to are not on the list and I really don't like the stores that are on the list.  I won't go out of my way to shop at a place that I don't like and is not convenient, but as far as those merchants where it's predictable that I will be spending money,  It's gift cards to envelope for me for a few months while I see how it works.

[seriousthistime]

Dec 15, 2014 21:30:15 GMT -5 sealy said:

Dec 15, 2014 9:40:28 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

While I applaud  your determination about your debt... I also have to ask what's so urgent about paying the last $1000 on the car that it has to be done this month?  What if you blow a tire the next day, and you have only left yourself $13 to pay for it?  You'll most likely add to your debt, is what will happen.  And you'll put yourself backward on your debt-free journey.  Why not put the extra money in to the bank instead, and pay off the car at the normal pace?  An all-or-nothing approach leaves you and your family very vulnerable and often prolongs your journey toward financial freedom. 

ETA:  Even Dave Ramsey wants you to keep $1000 in your emergency fund.   

Rocky Mtn Saver you are right.  I have no idea what is wrong with me.  I keep trying to hurry up and get out of debt only to pay too much and revert back to the card.  Not this time though because I figured since I'd be off I would be ok but am finding that isn't the case.  I'm beginning to get on my own nerves, feeling like a drama queen.  My guess is I just want to be debt free and am trying too hard to get there.  

Thank you for always speaking the truth.  I really appreciate it.

I don't think you should stretch SO far that you have to run up your credit cards because you've paid off some debt.  That's counterproductive.  But -- I think it's a valid strategy to pay off a car as soon as reasonably possible.  If you have a relatively low balance on the car, racing that debt first is a good idea because it will free up more cash each month.  For your $999 car loan, I bet you are paying a few hundred a month for payments.  Compare that to a $999 credit card balance, where the minimum monthly payment might be $25.  Racing the car loan is better because as soon as it's paid off, you've freed up a few hundred dollars a month vs. freeing up the $25 per month from the CC.  In terms of net worth there is no difference.  In terms of cash flow, there is a huge difference.

[gidgetc13]

Dec 17, 2014 8:05:50 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

A coworker of mine is doing a new fundraising thing for her daughter's school.  Is anyone familiar with Scrip?

Scrip allows you to buy gift cards at face value, and a percentage of that value is returned to the organization.  So I can buy a $100 card to spend at CVS, and the organization gets $4.  Some stores pay more.  Some restaurants and clothing stores pay higher rebates to the organization, but we always get full face value on the cards. 

Since I know generally how much gasoline I buy during a month I thought a gas card would be good.  It was clear I could use the card at a station convenient to me, but I wanted to make sure I could use the card at the pump and didn't want to have to go inside the convenience store (in this climate with ice and snow, it increases the chances to slip and fall).  So I looked at the website for the company and it mentioned that gift cards were a good way to budget. At that point, I had an aha! moment.

I realize the website was probably mentioning that for an audience that buys food at their convenience stores.  I do want to help out my friend, but not so much that I'm forfeiting my other financial goals. So I am combining the gift card program with the envelope system.  As much as I can, I am going to use gift cards to "fund" my envelopes.  Amazon is my usual go-to place for gifts during the year, so my $100 per paycheck set aside for gifts will mostly be spent on Amazon gift cards.  I have an expensive medication I take, and the cost is out of pocket until I hit my deductible.  I can buy CVS gift cards to cover that out-of-pocket and have my friend's organization earn a percentage.  I mentioned the gas card.  There are lots of grocery stores on the list of merchants, but the ones I go to are not on the list and I really don't like the stores that are on the list.  I won't go out of my way to shop at a place that I don't like and is not convenient, but as far as those merchants where it's predictable that I will be spending money,  It's gift cards to envelope for me for a few months while I see how it works.

We use Scrip!  We decided to send our oldest to a private school for kindergarten, and we get money off her tuition by using Scrip.  The money goes to her school and then they give 80% of it back to us as a tuition credit.  I have found that is it also a great tool for budgeting!  We buy all our gas now using Scrip gift cards (we use Speedway and it tells me right at the pump what the balance on the card is when I scan it, works great).  We also started buying most of our groceries at a different store that we only shopped at occasionally, but it has worked out great because this other store has a fantastic rewards program that has ended up saving us even more money.  I don't know why we didn't shop there more before.  I've also used Scrip cards for a lot of my Christmas shopping.  I now check their site whenever there is something I know I am going to buy, to see if they have gift cards available for that store.  It has worked out really well for us and has helped me a lot with my grocery budget.  

[sealy]

Dec 17, 2014 8:12:39 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

I don't think you should stretch SO far that you have to run up your credit cards because you've paid off some debt.  That's counterproductive.  But -- I think it's a valid strategy to pay off a car as soon as reasonably possible.  If you have a relatively low balance on the car, racing that debt first is a good idea because it will free up more cash each month.  For your $999 car loan, I bet you are paying a few hundred a month for payments.  Compare that to a $999 credit card balance, where the minimum monthly payment might be $25.  Racing the car loan is better because as soon as it's paid off, you've freed up a few hundred dollars a month vs. freeing up the $25 per month from the CC.  In terms of net worth there is no difference.  In terms of cash flow, there is a huge difference.

Yes serious my new year's goal is to not stretch myself again.  I owe $999 but have hardly any money left.  I was hoping that my sister in law (ex) would pay me back. But I did sign a paper saying it was a gift so that's how I'm regarding it.  If she does pay me back great if not then I'll just forget about it.

[forwardwego]

oweno Wow, nice update 


teachermom Congrats on your steady progress. Your sons will learn a lot watching you eliminate this debt.


gidgetc13 congrats on your update...almost 84% paid off is awesome!


snapdragon Good job making your goal of under $15500 


nodebt42 YEA!!! for under @20k!!!


shanendoah kudos on over $66K paid in 5 years ,and on your commitment to keep $10K savings!!
 RE: stay & update VS moving: A lot can be done to make a smallish house seem big...outdoor spaces and storage strategies. How much would it cost to add a bathroom, or at least a half bath? Looking fwd to your "state of shanendoah" update.

chelsea727 Congratulations on your unexpected $500 ($372), I like your choice #2 which scores you another zero and frees up $20/month, and pumps your EF up to almost $200.     

Ombud over $1500 eliminated...good 4 U!


nidena Congrats on your victory over the HELOC,  it's nice that USAA stepped up and made your life a bit easier. I've done the little "paydown dance" where there's a dab of interest left after the payoff and it's an aggravation. Smart of USAA to spend $1.10 toward customer satisfaction and positive PR.

muffyinthered HEY! Good to see you! Congrats on your paydown! Slow and steady is good. What are your goals for 2015?

lulu0312 nice work eliminating $179.98, and being 89% paid is very cool   

[Ombud]

forwardwego, thank you! I may get sidetracked along the way but at least I started out well

[chelsea727]

I took all of your advice and paid off my Q. Cash.  It feels soooo good to have another zero! Unfortunately, I didn't have any leftover to put in savings due to an eye appt/contact order that was much pricey than I anticipated    However, I'm looking forward to tax refund season where I'll focus on the Barclay Credit card at 24.99 percent interest. I'm so angry with myself that I even have a card with this high of an interest rate.. I think when I first got it, it was a 0% introductory rate but I didn't pay it off in time. I'm hoping this is the year I can finally get ahead of the game and get rid of these expensive cards. Eeeek!

[Sam_2.0]

Bankergurl - From someone who has rented out a room before, I would caution you to still get a valid lease for your state. Also, it may be worth paying for a background check ($100) and going with someone that you DON'T have any type of existing personal relationship with. I rented twice to people I knew and it was TERRIBLE. You could easily add some kind of lock to your bedroom or a closet where you can secure highly personal items when you are out if you want to (kind of like people do when they rent out their houses).

lulu - I am so sorry your husband is officially out of work now. Did you have LTD that he would now qualify for? I know our wait period is 6 months. I would also advise against pulling out of his 401k to pay off your house. Talk with a financial planner about what your options would be. They will know how to counsel you on all the options for now and into the future.

[muffyinthered]

lulu0312 -  I have a girl friend that was in your place a year and a half ago.  Has your husband applied for Social Security disability.  It is a long process and there are attorneys that will help for a fee of course, or you can do it yourself but remember that they always turn down disability on the first application.  It is just their rule.  But with the condition that you say your husband is in, he will get it eventually.  Once that happens (and it could take about 6 months) you would have additional income and wouldn't have to take out of his 401K.  

For my 2 cents I wouldn't take out of the 401K because of the taxes and because often times retirement lasts longer than our money.  And this is coming from someone that is on the cusp of retirement!

[nikiz628]

lulu0312 I used to work for a law firm that handled SS disability cases. I would be happy to give you any advice or assistance if you do file on your own. I just helped my FIL do his own case, and he won after his first appeal (muffyinthered is right, they generally turn you down on the first try, unless the disability you are filing for is on their list of compassionate allowances. They want to weed out those who arent "truly disabled". Most who are not actually disabled will give up after the initial denial...which is why appealing is SO important)

[nikiz628]

So somehow I messed up the numbers on my last update on 12/6. I checked my two Sallie Mae accounts today and my balances were lower then what I had recorded!! Not the worst problem to have Im posting my revised update below:

UPDATE:

                        Interest rate         Starting Debt          Last Update         This Update         Difference
Sallie Mae #1            6%                   4499.82                 3863.28             3829.64             -33.64
Sallie Mae #2            6.8%                 2154.29                1793.98             1777.33             -16.65
AES Student Loan      2.39%               2088.37                 1294.95             1237.19             -57.76
Tuition Reimb.           0%                   2816.00                 1966.00             1916.00             -50.00

Total Paid this update: $158.05
Total Debt Paid in 2014: $1926.29  
Total Debt Paid to date: $2798.32


NikiZ628: 12/18/2014 $8,760.16  (6/17/2013 $11,558.48 MW294)

[sealy]

This is NOT an update

This is from my first race wow that was a while ago.  The car loan was a bmw that my son totaled 
CC#2 is the same  Tuition was for a different degree.  It's been over 6 years.  
sorry for the caps but just wanted to make sure I don't confuse anyone

8/5/08

Car loan $39,065.75 $38,731.97 new difference 333.78
CC#2     $6,664.49  $6,947.55   new difference 7122.24
Tuition   $7,210      $4690         new difference 2520

sealy: 8/5/08 $52,960.24 (7/28/08 $54,141.92)

[bankergurl]

Update!

I cashed in my piggy bank, $46.08. So I rounded it up to $50 and put that against the mortgage principle.

Balance $166,900.00
-$50.00 Principle Payment
New Balance $166,850.00


Also the potential roomate did not work out, it is an old friend of mine who recently got married and is about 7 months pregnant.  Her and her husband and soon to be newborn are living in one of my parents rentals right now, but it is a 1 bedroom and I thought it would be nice for her and her lil family to have more room for the same rent at my place.  They talked it over and decided it was best not to move right now (Christmas, freezing temps, super prego).  So maybe after the baby is born they will change their mind, or I will find someone else.   I really need to make it a priority to get that basement cleaned up, but I am feeling very overwhelmed with everything right now, holidays, work has sent out an email for mandatory 10hrs of OT per week ($$$), BF living an hr away and he is super busy too as he works 50+ hrs a week, plus coaches HS basketball, so if we want to see each other we usually have to sacrifice sleep.  Oh well, just keep getting things done the best I can!

[Sam_2.0]

bg - could you hire someone to clean for you? Sorry the roommates didn't work out. Hope you find someone soon!

[megaptera]

UPDATE

megaptera: 12/19/2014 $7,620.00 (10/22/2014 $8,424.00)

Happy Christmas, everyone. 

[runmarathons]

scrgrl47 First, thank you so much for this advice. I really appreciate your wise words.

Answers:

No...these are not the same people who I had to evict back in 2011. Actually I was getting $800/rent per month for about 18 months...which covered the mortgage and then some. Unfortunately I think it is time to proceed with evicting these people, they know it is coming.

I'm going to pull the roof $$ from checking. Just doing my research to make sure I only have to replace the roof once in the next 20 years

Yes, food and misc covers clothes, movies, eating out, cat food, etc. thanks for checking!

I love your suggestions (and how you lay it out so simply!) I'm looking into the Roth IRA, I currently have a 403b and it is not maxed out, however they are different.

I really want to get that 0 on the student loan but I'm hesitant....I paid off half of what I owe...for now

I had three different savings accounts but they were in different places. I put them all in the same place, earning 1% and specifically labeled them for rental 1, rental 2 and 6 month living. I also made goals for each one. It feels wonderful to see them all there, laid out so simply.

Rocky Mtn Saver - thanks for the heads up about retirement....I'm 30 now so I have a ways to go, however I know it's important to start early so I'll try to put more in Or maybe I'll be one of those people who retires at 40. With no debt and I place to live I think I could be happy!

nidena - My words exactly. I swore I would NEVER pay for a storage after I saw several members of my family waste $$ on them. Unfortunately I had to move unexpectedly and have some endless remodeling going on. That should be done in January and then I will be able to get my stuff out. Plus I think it will be easier to get rid of most of it since I haven't NEEDED it in 4 months. Although I will be happy to have my rainboots back! I will keep those questions in mind when I sort through the items (and maybe sell some things and make some extra $) And CONGRATS on your 0!

shanendoah 

"I needed somewhere I could talk freely about my financial concerns, get advice and ideas. I was never comfortable doing that with friends because there were two options- either they were friends that were doing well, and I didn't want to feel like I was whining/complaining or they were friends who, even when we were at our worst, were in worse shape than us, and I didn't want my concerns to feel like bragging."

I completely agree with you. Talking with friends about $ usually doesn't work out for me for those same reasons. That's why I'm so thankful to have found all of you once again. It is extremely helpful to learn from all of you, and motivating too!

nikiz628 - Thanks for posting the info about the class. Seems very useful, I agree it should be taught in high school for sure!

[Deleted]

Sorry for "butting in". I am not currently racing anything but I still read the Racer's thread. :-)

Bankergurl, as a long-time reader of your blog, I would NOT take in a family. Nothing wrong with kids LOL (I have 4) but you are young and it's early days with DB and IMO it's too different from your current lifestyle. The baby's equipment may well take over your kitchen / house in a way you don't anticipate at this point.

I'd hold off and try to find another single person. I think you'd probably BOTH be happier. Personally if I were in your situation I'd much rather deal with ONE other person than 2 or 3. 

I know that you have tried to find somebody within your network. But do you have a university or hospital near you? Every time I read your posts about finding a roommate I think that a serious grad student / nurse / med student / new doc (ie somebody as busy as you) could be a GREAT fit for you! If you have a university near you, a visiting professor could be another great idea. 

Just a thought! Good luck!

Also, did you ever get a response about the job near your DB? If you got that job, and wanted to move and rent out your house, the family could be a good fit. But it would be different because you wouldn't be living there.