Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2020 0:17:16 GMT -5
There was actually 20 of them in the Blog list. Most of them don't apply to me. #1 No spend January - Really need to do this as best as I can, but I have to pay for those senior portraits this week. #3 Break a Vice - I'm cutting down to two Diet Pepsi's a day. Starting tomorrow... But really, my worst vice is spending too much time on all the boards. #12 Pay Someone Else's meal in a restaurant - Does paying for my kid's food count? #13 Don't eat out for a month - Seem's a little contradictory with #12. #19 Grant some of your wishes - I think I need to treat myself to something...not sure what though...and not in No Spend January! #20 Pay off Zero Percent Interest Loans - This is a biggie for me. That 0% card that expires in April has been a huge PIA and completely hosed my finances. It's going to be gone if I have to use the emergency fund. What's the story with the 0% card and how did it hose your finances? I opened a card that was 0% on all purchases for a year to throw some big ticket items on and take the pressure off of me, but all it did was kick the can down the road and make things worse by giving me a false sense of security. Plus when everything got turned upside down with how I normally do things (never spending more than I have), it all spiraled out of control so fast. I lost track of where I was when my budget was in the red every single month. This other YNAB blog about "What I learned from my 0% nightmare", explains it better than I could. www.youneedabudget.com/4-lessons-from-my-zero-percent-nightmare/My intentions were to get it all paid off by the time the 12 months was up, but 10 months later, not only is the debt almost all still there, but my checking that was always sitting between 10-15K minimum is now at $744. For the first time in YEARS I have to be careful about writing a check.
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countrygirl2
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 7, 2016 15:45:05 GMT -5
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Post by countrygirl2 on Jan 9, 2020 0:30:21 GMT -5
I'm sorry MPL, I know you keep a handle on things. Sounds like expenses just have overwhelmed you for awhile. Hope you can pull it together again.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2020 9:07:13 GMT -5
Even when I have some "extra" money, I have no desire to spend much of it on anything material. I tend to "splurge" at the grocery store and stock up on new spices or toilet paper rather than go buy new clothes or something for my house... Or, I'd put a full tank of gas in my vehicle and go explore the back country for a day. <snip> In a way, poverty can be a blessing in disguise. It teaches you what matters and about the things you can live just fine without. I have no desire anymore for a closet full of clothes and shoes, I think paying someone to paint your nails and wash your feet is crazy, and when I do have "extra" cash I tend to hold onto it for something that's more of a need. While it will be amazing to no longer be living on the edge if/when my house sells and I move, leaving a pile of cash in the bank has become my top priority. The reduction in stress is priceless. I'm almost 67 and have never had a manicure or a pedicure. I spend wildly on travel but am downright cheap in most areas. I used to go out and buy myself a paperback book when I wanted some "retail therapy"- having downsized and sold/donated/given away a lot of books, I now go to the public library instead! I once had an argument with an Economics professor about the utility of money. He didn't seem to think it had any "utility" if it was just sitting there not being spent. To me, it always has- it's a security blanket. My extra money goes into the grandchildren's 529s. I'd rather save for their education than install new quartz countertops.
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 18, 2024 19:22:39 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2020 9:28:13 GMT -5
I'm sorry MPL, I know you keep a handle on things. Sounds like expenses just have overwhelmed you for awhile. Hope you can pull it together again. To be fair, it wasn't just the card. I've been trying to maintain an insane level of tax-preferred savings right now and child support for my oldest ends in July so it's just going to get worse. I may have to get very creative this year. I really should give up the Roth and 529 savings for the next couple years. So hard for me to do that though.
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tcu2003
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 31, 2010 15:24:01 GMT -5
Posts: 4,940
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Post by tcu2003 on Jan 9, 2020 14:14:19 GMT -5
Okay, chiming in.
Already accomplished, or never applied to us:
4. Pay off your car loan. 5. Break the paycheck to paycheck cycle. 7. Fund a new computer/phone before your old one dies. 8. Pay your 30-year mortgage like it's a 20- or 15-year mortgage. 9. Save $1000 for a rainy day. 10. Get the full employer match for your 401k. 11. Cut your student loan payment term in half. 15. Open a Roth IRA. 18. Do a debt sprint. 20. Pay off zero percent interest loans.
Others: 1. No-Spend January. No thanks, we already spend significantly less than we make, and I don't make a ton of frivolous purchases, so I'm good with where we'er at.
2. Pay off your credit card debt. We do this every month.
3. Break a vice. Sugar/sweets is really my only one, and we'll just go with, it's a work in progress.
6. Use a budget. No thanks, see response to 1 above.
12. Pay for someone else's meal in a restaurant. I'm going to try that this year. I've done random acts of kindness before, but not this one.
13. Don't eat out for a month. Not happening - young kids, 2 working parents, lots of stuff going on, adds up to eating out once in a while.
14. Pay for your dream vacation in cash. If I could figure out just *one* dream vacation, consider it done. But we will be vacationing somewhere this year, paid in full when we go.
16. Give more away. We try to increase our giving. Someone I know in another forum has a goal to give away $100k this year, which just floors and amazes me. We're nowhere near having that level of wealth to give away, but it did remind me that we need to keep being intentional about making a difference where we can in ways that are meaningful to us.
17. Rollover your 401k. I should probably consider this at some point, but as I only have 1 old 401k, and it's at vanguard where my Roth is, I'm not in a huge hurry.
19. Grant some of your wishes. If I could convince DH that we need a cleaning lady, that would be my top wish. We'll see - I doubt this is the year I convince him, but you never know.
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vetswife
Established Member
Joined: Jun 21, 2016 10:59:25 GMT -5
Posts: 310
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Post by vetswife on Jan 9, 2020 17:04:39 GMT -5
If nothing else, my cut-and-paste should make it easier for others to post. Here goes:
1. No-Spend January
I came out of December in decent shape so am just going by my budget as much as possible. .
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2. Pay off your credit card debt.
Pay it off every month
3. Break a vice.
I could cut down on chocolate, I guess. Also cut down on phone browsing.
4. Pay off your car loan.
Car's paid for.
5. Break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
NA
6. Use a budget.
I have a budget but it's flexible.
7. Fund a new computer/phone before your old one dies.
Experienced the demise of my old computer last fall so the one I have is new.
8. Pay your 30-year mortgage like it’s a 20- or 15-year mortgage.
No mortgage..
9. Save $1,000 for a rainy day.
Done
10. Get the full employer match for your 401k.
I am retired
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