elsee
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Post by elsee on Jul 23, 2015 23:40:27 GMT -5
I am wondering about your long-term plans with your boyfriend. Are you thinking the two of you might want to live in your house together someday? Is that part of why you want to hold onto it?
Just trying to get a feel for why you want to keep the house. I do think it is a lot of house for your income. Long term plans are to get married and live together. We would most likely live in his house, not mine, and I'm 99% sure on that.
I don't have a real good reason for keeping my house. When I first bought it 9 years ago (in 2006 - at nearly the top of the real estate bubble here of course), I thought whenever I moved out that I'd keep it as a rental. My boyfriend and I have even talked about that possibility, especially because until this year I didn't really have much equity in it and wouldn't have wanted to take a loss if I sold. But now that real estate has gone back up (I am no longer underwater on my mortgage, and according to recent sold comps, I probably have ~$40k in equity), I am extremely tempted to sell. Part of me still wants to keep it as a rental because rents and home prices keep going up (and I'd still have my house if things went south in my relationship, which I'm not expecting but you never know). In another 24 years when it's paid off, I would potentially have a lot of extra cash flow coming in from rent.
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elsee
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Post by elsee on Jul 23, 2015 23:45:44 GMT -5
Have you thought about babysitting? DD and her college friends made $10 an hour cash and they were in high demand because they drove as well as not being young. There's a website you can put yourself on as well as word of mouth. She did both. Also pet sitting is huge and not terribly time consuming. That's VERY lucrative. Now that we lost our pet sitter to marriage I realize how lucky we were. I'm not sure I can find anyone looking for a babysitter that is willing to pay, but then again I haven't looked hard either. I usually only babysit my nieces (for free), but I love kids... so that's a good idea.
I'd be willing to do pet sitting. I've actually tried to find pet sitters before and it seems like there aren't many around here and the ones I did find were more expensive than the boarding kennel I usually take my dogs to. I'll have to look into this more too.
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elsee
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Post by elsee on Jul 23, 2015 23:59:26 GMT -5
Hmmm...I may have jumped the gun a bit on selling the house. I ran some debt amortization sheets and things don't look too dire if you can find a way to add an additional $500 a month to the $705 a month that you are currently paying on the credit cards. It's quite a steep increase in the level of repayment, but if you manage to keep up that level of debt repayment for 27 months, you'll have the cards paid off. I'm a bit uncomfortable running these numbers. Five hundred a month is quite a bit more than you could find by discontinuing 401(k) contributions and odd jobs. It's definitely roommate-type income it takes quite a few payments at that level to get yourself into a position where you can weather (i.e. get through without defaulting) any type of unbudgeted expense like automobile repairs or a replacement vehicle. A more complete budget would help so much when attempting to peek into the future. Well, if I stopped my savings/401(k) contributions, that would be at least an extra $250+ a month so I'd just have to dig up another $250/month. I've been looking through local classifieds for an evening part time job that might work around my "on-call" stuff. I can't exactly drop that part of my main job right now as nobody else on my team is willing to do it (not sure why except that I don't think they realize just how few calls we get after hours).
I heard a radio ad this morning about earning up to $400 a month donating plasma - I'm going to go check it out!
As far as a more complete budget, I'm not sure what I'm missing from my original list in the first post. I know I've probably forgotten some things though - I wonder if it would help me to go back through the last 6 months and see what I've been spending my money on and then create a better budget using those numbers.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 7:49:59 GMT -5
$400/month seems like a lot for donating plasma, but I think $250 is doable. I'd do it if I wasn't so anti-needles!
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Jul 24, 2015 7:57:28 GMT -5
Make sure that you account for taxes when assessing the money available from odd jobs and stopping the 401(k) contributions. Also make some allowances for extra expenses associated with the job and always working (gasoline, fast food, guilt treats for the pups...) Honestly, wouldn't it be simpler to just get a roomie who was willing to walk the dogs?
There's no water bill in your budget, although it might be in the HOA fee. Professional licenses are also unaccounted for although you might have just paid up for a couple of years. Haircuts are missing. Your allowance for clothing and shoes seems a bit low for someone at your level of income (especially after a few tight years.) There's also no allowance for home repairs. The sum of all your missing expenses might be quite small but every one of those missing expenses is going to be incredibly annoying when you discover it and it threatens to derail your debt payoff.
Yes, a good way to find missing expenses and financial obligations is to review old bank and credit card statements. The point is not to beat yourself up over meals eaten out but to find things like quarterly water bills and the co-pays associated with the annual hop into the stirrups.
I had much better luck keeping track of this stuff by writing spreadsheets than by doing it longhand. The comment feature got used a lot too.
Do you know how to write debt amortization schedules?
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elsee
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Post by elsee on Jul 24, 2015 9:13:26 GMT -5
$400/month seems like a lot for donating plasma, but I think $250 is doable. I'd do it if I wasn't so anti-needles! My guess is that the $400/month is only for the first month you donate, to try to get more people in. I am not a fan of needles either, but it isn't so bad for me if I just look away the whole time (might not be as easy during plasma donation vs whole blood).
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CarolinaKat
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Post by CarolinaKat on Jul 24, 2015 9:32:27 GMT -5
$400/month seems like a lot for donating plasma, but I think $250 is doable. I'd do it if I wasn't so anti-needles! What I'm guessing is they probably didn't mention that that $400 was for someone who donated 3x a week AND was in an incentive program offered by the company. Where I used to work, we had several 'incentive' programs offered to reliable donors, and they brought in significantly more than a regular guy. Not bad if you don't hate needles and have bunches of free time. They also could be a company that pays by volume, so that $400 could also be a rate for a large man vs a average woman. You'd be amazed at how donation rates can vary from person to person.
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elsee
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Post by elsee on Jul 24, 2015 9:35:49 GMT -5
Make sure that you account for taxes when assessing the money available from odd jobs and stopping the 401(k) contributions. Also make some allowances for extra expenses associated with the job and always working (gasoline, fast food, guilt treats for the pups...) Honestly, wouldn't it be simpler to just get a roomie who was willing to walk the dogs? There's no water bill in your budget, although it might be in the HOA fee. Professional licenses are also unaccounted for although you might have just paid up for a couple of years. Haircuts are missing. Your allowance for clothing and shoes seems a bit low for someone at your level of income (especially after a few tight years.) There's also no allowance for home repairs. The sum of all your missing expenses might be quite small but every one of those missing expenses is going to be incredibly annoying when you discover it and it threatens to derail your debt payoff. Yes, a good way to find missing expenses and financial obligations is to review old bank and credit card statements. The point is not to beat yourself up over meals eaten out but to find things like quarterly water bills and the co-pays associated with the annual hop into the stirrups. I had much better luck keeping track of this stuff by writing spreadsheets than by doing it longhand. The comment feature got used a lot too. Do you know how to write debt amortization schedules? Hmm, good thought about tax consequences with stopping retirement contributions. I'm thinking I will continue that but stop my regular savings. A roomie would be better if I look at it that way, yes. IF I get a roommate, I'd need to repair that room that has old, minor water damage. It's the best room to rent out as it is down the hall from mine, is larger of the two spare rooms, and is right next to the guest bathroom. I don't have to account for haircuts/color in my budget. My sister-in-law owns a salon and does my hair for free (sometimes I babysit to "repay" her as she refuses money). HOA includes water/sewer/trash, landscaping, snow removal. I did forget to include professional license fees. Clothing might be a bit low, but I'm pretty lucky because I work at a laid back tech company. We're not required to wear business clothing unless we will be interacting with clients. I usually wear business casual or my regular every day clothing. Home repairs is a huge missing piece! Annual dr visit requires no out of pocket expenses and even my monthly birth control rx is "free." I don't take any other prescriptions, and rarely have to see a dr otherwise. But I did just realize I didn't include dental care costs. I finally have dental insurance but it doesn't cover a whole lot for someone like me with multiple root canals/crowns. I'm going to do some number crunching over the weekend.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 24, 2015 9:41:35 GMT -5
Pet sitters here make good money and its cash. Cats are cheaper than dogs because they're easier but even then a once a day visit to scoop, water, and feed is $10. Dogs are more because they require more effort. Owners don't usually want their dogs in a kennel situation.
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emma1420
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Post by emma1420 on Jul 24, 2015 10:16:30 GMT -5
Pet sitters here make good money and its cash. Cats are cheaper than dogs because they're easier but even then a once a day visit to scoop, water, and feed is $10. Dogs are more because they require more effort. Owners don't usually want their dogs in a kennel situation. Pet sitting is a great idea. I have an amazing pet sitter that I've used for the last 15 years. I pay her $35 a day for my dog when I'm out of town. She comes over twice a day to talk my dog for a short walk, feed her, make sure she has water, and then give her a little attention. So I think it can be good money, especially if you get regular clients. I give my pet sitters name out to almost anyone who needs that sort of service. My boss uses her, and I know that my sitter goes over to my bosses house 4 days a week to talk her dog for a short walk at lunchtime. I think she gets about $80-$100 a week from just my boss. So I think it's a great way to pick up some extra cash, especially if you like animals.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Jul 24, 2015 11:07:56 GMT -5
$400/month seems like a lot for donating plasma, but I think $250 is doable. I'd do it if I wasn't so anti-needles! My guess is that the $400/month is only for the first month you donate, to try to get more people in. I am not a fan of needles either, but it isn't so bad for me if I just look away the whole time (might not be as easy during plasma donation vs whole blood). I'd guess it's UP TO in the ad, and only for the super duper special donors like CK said. I did this in the late 90s/early 2000s and might have made $30 a week. I did it long enough I have a little scar on the inside of the arm I preferred to use. The more hydrated you are, the faster it goes. The needle is a bit bigger but it's not huge, and most of the people working where I went were very good and you barely felt them stick you. The worst part for me was the taste of the anticoagulant when the red cells went back in. IDK if that's improved any but I doubt it. It didn't linger long but did have a weird taste. A few observations, in case you're really considering it. And I am almost positive you can't donate blood the regular way while you're doing it.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Jul 24, 2015 11:23:46 GMT -5
My guess is that the $400/month is only for the first month you donate, to try to get more people in. I am not a fan of needles either, but it isn't so bad for me if I just look away the whole time (might not be as easy during plasma donation vs whole blood). I'd guess it's UP TO in the ad, and only for the super duper special donors like CK said. I did this in the late 90s/early 2000s and might have made $30 a week. I did it long enough I have a little scar on the inside of the arm I preferred to use. The more hydrated you are, the faster it goes. The needle is a bit bigger but it's not huge, and most of the people working where I went were very good and you barely felt them stick you. The worst part for me was the taste of the anticoagulant when the red cells went back in. IDK if that's improved any but I doubt it. It didn't linger long but did have a weird taste. A few observations, in case you're really considering it. And I am almost positive you can't donate blood the regular way while you're doing it. When I was researching colleges for DD I went on that college confidential site. I was amazed at how many college students did this. The closest one to me was really far away. Like close to where DD goes to school now which is a seriously long trip up and back! Well there were threads that talked about donating to make extra money. The plus was that you could bring your books or laptop and study while you donated. The downside other than what people have mentioned is that the "thank you" they give out for donation has gone down in the past few years. They got more donors during the recession and I guess figured they could lower the pay. I think the most they said they were getting was $200 a month if they donated twice a week for the entire month. When I do the math I only get to $12 an hour max. Personally I would rather wash dishes in the cafeteria for 3 hours than have to go through that. The other issue is they said the payment was not cash. It was those prepaid debit cards. And they had LOTS of fees to get at or use that money.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Jul 24, 2015 11:26:27 GMT -5
I'd guess it's UP TO in the ad, and only for the super duper special donors like CK said. I did this in the late 90s/early 2000s and might have made $30 a week. I did it long enough I have a little scar on the inside of the arm I preferred to use. The more hydrated you are, the faster it goes. The needle is a bit bigger but it's not huge, and most of the people working where I went were very good and you barely felt them stick you. The worst part for me was the taste of the anticoagulant when the red cells went back in. IDK if that's improved any but I doubt it. It didn't linger long but did have a weird taste. A few observations, in case you're really considering it. And I am almost positive you can't donate blood the regular way while you're doing it. When I was researching colleges for DD I went on that college confidential site. I was amazed at how many college students did this. The closest one to me was really far away. Like close to where DD goes to school now which is a seriously long trip up and back! Well there were threads that talked about donating to make extra money. The plus was that you could bring your books or laptop and study while you donated. The downside other than what people have mentioned is that the "thank you" they give out for donation has gone down in the past few years. They got more donors during the recession and I guess figured they could lower the pay. I think the most they said they were getting was $200 a month if they donated twice a week for the entire month. When I do the math I only get to $12 an hour max. Personally I would rather wash dishes in the cafeteria for 3 hours than have to go through that. The other issue is they said the payment was not cash. It was those prepaid debit cards. And they had LOTS of fees to get at or use that money. Yeah, I lived close to the donation place then so it was worth the gas money, I'm way further away now. We got cash and if you wore the tshirt they gave you in to donate you got an extra something. $1, $5, not a lot but something extra. I can't see doing much on a laptop when you have a needle in one arm. No way I'd do it if they were giving prepaid debit cards that had fees. Nope.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Jul 24, 2015 17:25:34 GMT -5
I wasn't trying to discourage you from discontinuing your 401(k) contributions as much as I was trying to point out that discontinuing 401(k) contributions of $125 per paycheck will not increase your paychecks by $125 but by a much smaller number. If you are in the 25% federal income tax bracket and you have a state income tax with a marginal rate of of 5% and no local taxes withheld, you'll only see 70% of that $125.
Similar math applies to income from a second or odd job except social security taxes must also be considered and getting the withholding right is much trickier. An easy, fun, convenient, $10 an hour, six-hour a week, W-2 job nets you about $6.24 an hour or $37.41 a week even if they are cutting you checks for $55.41 that only take out social security and medicare.
I don't want to discourage you from taking odd jobs either. I'm just trying to give you a bit of a heads up on some of the things that you may encounter.
ETA: Being buried in debt is definitely a crash course in little things and calculations that you have never had to pay attention to before. The emotions aroused when these things become relevant can be quite "interesting". It helps to occasionally remind yourself that knowledge is power and the more that you understand your financial situation, the better your decisions will be.
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