List Your YM Sins

[Cookies Galore]

Jan 2, 2011 15:59:27 GMT -5 formerexpat said:

got joint car insurance with my to be wife before we were engaged.

Oh yeah, as soon as we moved in together we got on the same policy. We're also on the same cell phone plan. The horrors!

[Deleted]

O. M. G.

I can't believe what I'm reading. No shock and awe here...shock and dismay. I looked up to the whole darned bunch of you, and exactly what do you propose I do now?

Buying new cars!
Letting your money lie around all but dormant in banks!
No life insurance!
No degree(s)!
Deliberately underemployed/unemployed (and what's worse, loving it)!
Frittering money away on PPV and on spendy cell plans!
Private college not just for undergrad but grad as well!
Granite counters!
Spa days!
Skipping DIY and hiring work done that you could do yourselves!
Lending money to ne'er-do-well BFs/GFs!
Lending money to family!

And the greatest sin of all, co-mingling your money and treating it as though it's there for both halves of a couple to use jointly!

WTE? What's a gramma to do-o-o-o? Is there anybody I can trust?

[TrixAre4Kids]

Hmmm. Something about rocks and glass houses flits across my mind...

[emptypockets]

you might want to downsize your house when you retire so you won't have so much house to support in your senior years that you don't need.

Our sin is that we just retired; had paid off all the bills, but on our annual visit to mom-in-law, found the bestest good deal in Craig's List for a used motorhome and bought it. Now we have a RV loan and all the costs/expenses in our senior years. Retirement is expensive when the toys are expensive. maybe we'll sell it in a couple of years so we won't have a loan in our old, old years.

[NastyWoman]

Jan 2, 2011 10:59:49 GMT -5 The J said:

Adding to my YM sins: I order UFC PPVs when they're on -- I split the cost with my roommate, but that means I'm spending $27-55/month, in addition to my cable bill, on tv.

What in the world are UFC PPVs??

[emptypockets]

PPV is pay per view; you have to buy/rent that movie or show or event on that channel. Is not included in your cable package. This is when movies and sports games get expensive.

[dcmetrocrab]

Forgive me YMers for I have sinned:

- Attended a pricey liberal arts college and my parents paid for all 4 years in one lump sum, cash.
- Bought a 23k car when I was only making 55k. (at least it was used?)
- Waited 2 years to start my 401k, company had 6% match with no vesting period.
- Still rent, no desire to buy a home or investment property.
- Have not rebalanced my portfolio... ever.
- Had my Roth IRA in a bank CD for 5 years.
- Have 6 figures in cash, just in case I do ever buy a house.
- Remain in a layoff prone industry with no concrete plans to change careers.

[Urban Chicago]

Here are the biggest sins:

• Went to an expensive private college. In my defense, it was mostly paid for with scholarships and I paid my student loans off 2 years after graduation.
  
• I pooled money, accounts, debt, everything with DH before we were married, engaged, or even living together.
  
• We are still paying PMI as we had less than 20% down payment.
  
• We don't have official college savings plans for my kids, but again, I can defend this because I work at a school that will offer free undergrad tuition for them if I'm still here when they are college-aged.
  
• We did take a car loan, even though I could have paid cash for out last car. We had the loan paid off in 5 months.
  

[jospaced]

OK. Here goes -

-Married an irresponsible loser. It is only because I got rid of him that I may be able to retire someday.
-Can't quite max my 457 plan. Getting there, though!
-Holding too much $$ in CD's and treasuries. My excuse for this one is that it is age-appropriate.
-Eating out too much. I hate to cook.

Overall, not too sinful.

[dividend]

I've got a few.

• Got some credit cards as a college freshman, used them for spring break at South Padre Island, then didn't pay them and hid from the collection calls.
  
• Bought a brand new car 4 years ago, with dealer financing. It's paid off now, but wow did I hate having car payments.
  
• Took student loans to finish college when I could have cash flowed it if I had stuck to a stricter budget.
  
• Didn't fully fund my Roth for many years when I could have.
  
• Bought a bunch of new clothes in 2010, some of them at full retail price.
  
• Cohabitate with DBF. He's got a house. I own very little of my own.
  

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Went to a private liberal arts school, took out loans, grandparents paid for the rest and I did not major in nursing, engineering or accounting

Have cable and a cell phone

Had a child before we had properly saved for every single possible thing that could happen between now and the age of 18 when we are no longer responsible for her

Have insurance thru my workplace

Cohabitated with DH before marriage AND combined finances

Got married and had a wedding

Had children period

[Deleted]

here goes:

• i have a three-figure savings account, and am only saving about $6/month.
  
• i started a Roth IRA when i was 19. and haven't put anything in it since then.
  
• my husband has no savings account, or retirement savings. at all.
  
• my husband and i have entirely separate finances, and each have loads of credit card debt. his should be paid off by next year, mine... not so much.
  
• i bought a brand new SUV in 2006 because i could afford the 6 year loan monthly payments.
  
• job changes/life got in the way and i ended up underwater on above-mentioned SUV and traded it in for a used civic...and rolled the balance into a new, 6 year loan.
  
• had an unplanned child when i was 22 and couldn't afford it; had another (planned) child 4 years later and still can't afford it. (we're done now. so that's good right?)
  
• never bothered to obtain a college degree because the only thing i had an interest in at that age would have been a degree in competitive drinking. can't afford/don't have time to go now.
  
• our kids have more in savings than my husband and i put together.
  
• i have no intentions of ever buying property, and instead will throw money away on rent for the next 30+ years
  
• i am a *gasp* government employee.
  

forgot to add:

• we have two small children, but no wills or life insurance.
  
• we have no budget.
  
• we eat out about 2x a week because my hour long commute makes me too lazy to cook.
  

I'm sure there's much more, but it's getting a little depressing.

[jennml]

Oh, Oh I wanna play too!!!

Forgive me YMers for I have sinned:

*Never had any type of job as a teen until the summer before college. That money went towards hanging out with friends.
*Attended an out of state private college (but only accrued ~$20,000.00 in Federal SLs for all 4 years).
*Used my Work Study money to eat out, go to movies, and buy lots of crap and alcohol.
*Anything Work Study money didn't cover went on the 3 CCs I had from age 18 onward. Damn those free T-Shirt and Frisbee offers.
*Also decided not to overload my schedule senior year despite having been able to graduate a semester early.
*Paid for and scored in the 80th percentile on the LSAT but did not apply for law school because I felt "burnt out." Had to pay again and re-take the LSAT when my original scored expired after 5 years.
*Re-took the LSAT because I plan on enrolling in law school this fall (yeah, I know...)
*Despite over $20,000.00 in SL and $15,000.00 in CC debt upon graduation, went on all-inclusive vacations at least once a year with friends. Guess where the money for that came from...
*No contributions to any sort of retirement until I started my current job in 2006.
*Took out a loan from my Deferred Comp. so as to make the 10% downpayment needed for my co-op puchase this year. <---note this loan is already paid back
*I am only contributing 5% to my Deferred Comp.
*I'm a government employee...although for me this is a plus. Whachya, Whachya...jealous??? LOL
*Have a severely negative net worth post co-op purchase.
*Ran up my CCs again after buying the co-op.
*Don't really have a grocery budget. Just try and make a list and stick to it.
*Buy my breakfast and lunch eventhough I have stuff at home I could make.
*Bought a gym membership for a year...only went three times.
*Have a very nasty Barnes and Noble addiction. I see good book, I buy good book (even hardcovers ::gasp:.
*Co-signed a school loan for my younger sister (she's good for it though).

Ok...well...I'm sure there's a lot more but here's some of the good stuff:

*Bought a used car in 2006 for $5,000.00 which has been PIF for 2 years.
*Bought my co-op after having lived with my Dad since graduating college. (That's the only reason I was able to pay off the college CC debt)
*Got a government job that'll reimburse me some of my law school tuition Woot Woot!!!
*Got into learning about debt payoff and started reading YM when I got the government job. I've learned so much and hope to learn so much more.
*Was promoted 2 years ago and will be earning ~$80,000.00 per year by this October.
*Never been married and no kids until I am

FYI---It's been nice to read about everyone else's sins. Sometimes you feel like you're the only one who messed up/is messing up. It's nice to see we're all human and that you can do better, if you try.

[HoneyBBQ]

Oh gosh, tons that will send people into a tizzy, I'm sure:

- I live with a man I'm not married to in a house we both own and pay for out of our joint bank account

- my house is worth close to a half a million, which is "crazy" since all mortgages should be under 100k

- I have 6 figures sitting in a bank account earning 0.2% interest

- I prepay my mortgage by ~50% extra every month.

- if I ever have kids I'm going back to work after my FMLA leave

- I have multiple dogs, and foster dogs that I spend time, energy, and money on

- I have the super duper cable package so that I can watch lots of sports

- I only have 1x my salary of life insurance and need more

- I probably spend $500+ a month on groceries (I don't even know) because we buy mostly organic and drink a lot of beer.

[so1970]

question for dramaq1015 why would having insurance through your workplace be a sin?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Were you a YM member before? A favorite of a few posters was to go on and on about how work insurance is stupid and needs to be gotten rid of.

I am parapharsing because it is has been awhile, those threads were around when universal healthcare was the big topic.

Oh I forgot a couple of sins

I work outside the home

I expect to be more than just a "warm place to stick it" to my husband

My husband is NOT the head of the household. I am.

[so1970]

yeah i was a member just never saw that 1. i guess my only major sin on ym would be that i am union.

[yhw]

I like this thread!

- I pay extra principal on a 5% mortgage.
- I also pay extra principal on a 3% HELOC.
- I abhor debt, even good debt.
- I loaned family members money that I will never, ever be repaid.
- I have no idea what I spend on food, vacations, household items, clothes, entertainment, etc.
- I don't clip grocery coupons. (but I'm good at shopping online for the best deal on an item).

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I have the internet at home.

I don't live in the land of unlimited free library computer access.

[kristi28]

I didn't write down the confirmation numbers for my scheduled bill payments. Half of them disappeared (seriously, I have been using on-line bill-pay for more than 2 years with no problems and over the holidays six scheduled payments disappeared. Doh.) I am now paying my cell phone company a $5 late fee.

[Sum Dum Gai]

- I just got back from a week long vacation, the last couple days of which are sitting on the credit cards. Not the good sitting on the cards just to earn reward points though, we just ran out of money.
- Several people on the old board told me I'm going to default on the house we bought this spring because the mortgage amount is too high.
- I didn't pack a single lunch in all of 2010. Not only was I eating out every work day, it was pretty much all fast food.
- I spent way too much on the holidays, which might have something to do with the running out of money on vacation thing.

I'm sure there's more but my brain is still a little slow this morning.

[soon2bmomof3]

Forgive me YMers for I have sinned:

- I send both my kids to daycare and the cost is more than my mortgage
- We bought a brand new bigger house and put 40% down
- We pay extra $150 on that mortgage every month
- We bought a big SUV to accomodate the two car seats (3 after July unless my son miracuously gains 10 lbs and a few inches so we can switch to a booster seat)
- We have money sitting in several savings accounts earning b/t 0.19 and 1.19%.
- We have a regular cleaning lady and lawn people.

[so1970]

oh i didn't add ....i tip well

[Deleted]

Let's see, I'm pretty young, so haven't made too many mistakes yet...
1. Bought a new truck in 2007 (will finally be paid off next month)
2. Had a temporary job at time I bought truck (luckily this worked out, otherwise it could have gotten ugly)
3. Haven't found a rich sugar momma yet to support me
4. Have expensive hobbies
5. Got a degree in a very specific field, fortunately I've made it work

Probably more I can't think about yet.

[snapdragon]

I'm game -

* When young I racked up alot of CC debt

* When I bought my condo in 2005 I put no money down and had a very low EF. That was used up when I had to replace the water heater barely 2 weeks later.

* I still have a very small EF

* I don't have a will set up incase I croke

[suzwantstobefree]

Oh and I have both a cleaning lady and a lawn guy......

[ummboutthat]

financially support a stay at home wife who is able to work and earn anywhere from $50k - $100k [depending on how much she applied herself to her career]

I am in tears - laughing!
your chick needs to get her ass to work...
Exalt - definite 2U formerexpat!!

[stantonjane]

Forgive me YM, for I have sinned and just can't seem to stop.

1. Didn't finish college. 3 years of going to night classes at the local jc while working 40 hours and I drop out about 5 classes short of my associates. Figured I'd get back to it. That was about 25 years ago.

2. Have from the beginning comingled all my income and expenses with my DB and future DH. In the beginning we liked to pretend we would soon earn the money to fund a lifestyle which would afford us eating out regularly and owning nice things like his middle-class parents. Built up a good bit of credit card debt living that life before earning it.

3. Bought a condo just as soon as we qualified for it, with no emergency account or substantial savings, just a 10% loan from his mother and dumb luck getting the mortgage financed.

4. Had kids still without having any emergency account or substantial savings put aside. 1 week after the first one was born, DH received a pink slip (surprise!) and became a stay-at-home-dad. Not by choice, just hit the cycle of not finding work which paid enough to pay someone else to watch the kid.

5. Used our credit cards as emergency funds. Got deep in debt. Set up a plan with a debt recovery management company. Took 3 years of severe budgeting, but finally got everything paid off.

6. Started living like we could afford to spend all our income. No emergency fund, no substantial savings, no real lesson learned.

7. Bought a timeshare. I have a friend who continuously raves about his, and there we were in Las Vegas. Seemed like a good idea at the time....... Oh yeah, we financed it.

8. Back to using credit cards as emegency funds. The debt amount has gotten higher than I care to think of.

9. Am *blush* also a government employee.

This is just an overview. My sins are too many to list or, frankly, recall at one particular time. What's rather embarrassing is that I intend to make moves in the not-too-distant future which I am sure YMers will disapprove, including, retiring early with only 60-65% of my income. In fairness, I'm hoping that the sale of our current home will allow us to buy another home in a lower cost of living area outright, so we won't have the house payment to budget for. The killer expense will be the health insurance, though. So I do feel like even after crunching numbers, it's a big risk to drop our income in the next couple of years by maybe 40%.

[mesquite77]

Dec 31, 2010 9:02:42 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

I have no life Insurance. nooooooooooooo

Archie, as a fellow CPA with a couple of kids - I highly encourage you to look at the AICPA life insurance - very, very cheap.

[adrianblack]

Thankfully, these mistakes are past mistakes and no longer an issue.

• I too loaned money to a financial trainwreck of a boyfriend
  
• Let a roommate stay in apartment looong after he lost his job (and refused to get another, because he was trying to break into acting.
  
• Got an ARM mortgage, because I was greedy and wanted the lower rate. Boy, did I get taken for a ride.
  
• Carried credit card balances and let the balance get out of control.