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Journal Em Emalb's Journal: introspection--and a poll of course 40

Journal by Em Emalb

Hey.

Jen and I used our nifty tax return to pay down a huge chunk of our yucky kind of debt, the 1 remaining credit card we have left.

My bonus (I'll get it next week) will cover the rest and we will be debt free other than the house and my truck. It's been a long haul. This time two years ago I was down to my last $1000.00. 5 months before we had moved in together into an apartment and I got layed off two weeks after that. It was really hard not to fall into the trap of feeling sorry for myself and trying to drink my troubles away while staring hopelessly at my computer screen. I managed ok, but there were a few days I didn't want to get out of bed except to get a beer. Besides, how many SportsCenter re-runs can you watch in one day? (Answer--7)

Life is funny sometimes. At first I was furious for being let go, but now I think it was for the best. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed that Lucent drove itself into the ground, and I have friends who are still struggling to get back to where they were before the bomb happened.

Anyhow, as of this time next week, we will have about $1000.00 more a month to do with as we please. Now, for the record, I'm not gloating. I'm pleased, but trust me when I say it's been one helluva ride to get where we are. Not going out, taking a lunch almost every day, not buying comfort items, in short, it's been a bitch. But we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and are pleased.

There is one problem though. We have a five year plan, and as of next week, 5 of the 6 things on that list are already done. It's only been a year and a half. The final thing is finishing school for both of us. That one will just take time.

I guess we should have called it the 1.5 year plan ;)

Anyhow. That's all there is to it. So it ought to be fun.

The poll:

Now that Em will have some spare cashesh laying around, he should:

A) donate to a charity

B) save

C) buy (outright, as in pay cash) for the things he needs

D) get really really drunk and spend like he did back before the war, erm, dot bomb happened.

E) give it to me.

F) All of the above, except for E.

G) All of the above, including E.

(For the record, I think some of you might be pleasantly surprised at what we plan to do)

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introspection--and a poll of course More

introspection--and a poll of course

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  • We are donating about 5% of our gross (each) to a few different charities.

    I am going for The Jimmy V foundation and (this might sound bad to you ladies, but oh well) any women's cancer charity that allows contributions to specific areas. (Breast cancer gets too much press, they get enough money. Since my mom passed from Brain Cancer, I'd like to donate to charities which help women who get incurable cancers, like my mom's.)

    Jen is looking at contributing to Colon Cancer research, since her Grandfather pa
    • i'd doff it in yer direction.

      Em, you're a good and worthy person, and i respect that immensely.

      and i was going for the give/save/spend combination, so yay for you.

      I'm looking at hopefully having something in the bank after my taxes, which i still have to file, and it will be my safety net again. At which point i'll breathe a HUGE sigh of relief.

    • that's very cool em.

      every month i give a couple hundred bucks to the Leukemia Society. And every year on February 28th, I write them a check for $1,000.

    • Go with the salvation army!

      Of course, saving money for vacations and roof repairs, etc... is always a good idea.
      • FK, RTFJE ;)

        I said I wouldn't be giving to any Churches.

        The Salvation Army is: ...an International movement, is an evangical part of the Universal Christian Church.

        So, sorry, they are out. However, if it makes you feel any better, I do donate my change/couple of bucks to the dudes who stand outside the grocery store ringing their bells every holiday season.

        And yes, I will be saving as much as I can.
    • We've got a soft spot for the SPCA. Just make sure they don't spell your name wrong on the plaque... (however when they refer to you as a "Gaurdian Angle contributor" you gotta wonder...)

      As for not using CC's I'm iffy on it. I find ATMs inconvenient (and now apparently they are easy to skim) and the protection of debit cards to be dismal. I don't mind CC's when they're tied to things like air miles (or hotel points, or whatever), but the loan industry is dead set against CCs and just for HAVING a balanc
      • . So maybe its in your best interest to not use your CCs for the next 7 years.

        What happens in 7 years? They change the credit model or something?
        • no, in 7 years your past discrepancies drop off from you calculations. If you don't use 'em for 7 years it'll be like you never carried a balance. So your FICO scores will jump through the roof.

          It'd be k00l if they changed their model but I think that will take longer than 7 years... MUCH longer.
          • Hmm, never had a problem with my credit score. It's hovering around 790-800 or so (for the average).

            I have good credit, I never pay late and I always pay off totals early.

            All the other stuff is just gravy.
            • Specifics: The proportion of balances to credit limits (high credit) on your revolving/charge accounts is too high

              I guess it was the time when the FICO snapshot was taken... I just paid off my balances last week. If we sign this contract by Friday and I start shopping around for some loans I'll let you know what the deal is.
      • I don't mind CC's when they're tied to things like air miles (or hotel points, or whatever)
        Remember: TANSTAAFL. If someone can offer you a card that "gives" you those things, then someone else can probably offer you a card that costs you a little less.
        • The only thing the card "Costs" (aside from the FICO costs, and its too late for that) is a yearly charge of a couple dollars. If I'm generating NO INTEREST, they can jack the APR up to 21 or 32%! 32% of 0 is still 0.

          And considering for two years in a row my wife and I went to hawai'i using those miles, I'd say its worth the yearly charge (can't be more than 30-40 bucks).
          • I'll be damned. You mean there really is a free lunch?

            [Sloppy runs a simulation.] Nope, the universe crashed. What am I missing?

            • WEll, we have to fly on Northwest. So there really ISN'T a free lunch... but I'd be downright irate if I had to pay for it!
            • I have a CC with NO ANNUAL FEE that gives me 1% cash back on all purchases. I never carry a balance on it, and I pay all my bills with it. So for every $2500 I spend, I get a check for $25. As long as I don't forget to make a payment by the due date, I'm making money. They keep jacking my limit up (it's $30,000 now) hoping I'll charge more than I'll be able to pay off. It isn't working. I've had a card like this for over 3 years (not the same card or even back), and I've only missed completely paying
            • What am I missing?

              When you buy something, a slice (something around 2.5% here in the cases I've seen) actually goes to their bank for providing the CC processing. You're just getting your own slice of that slice as "cashback" - and your bank (along with Visa/Mastercard/whoever and the other bank) is still pocketing the other 1.5%. No free lunch, just a 1% discount...

    • We've both decided no churches will be receiving ANY of our money. Unless we find a church we both can agree deserves it.

      We found a working arrangement for this. My wife believes in tithing while I don't feel comfortable giving money to a church I'm not a member of. So a compromise was found in that we give money to her church, but specify that 100% of it is to go to humanitarian aid, not printing new bibles, not paying for church upkeep, nuffin' but providing for those who need it.

  • I switched from being in debt over my ass, to being fairly comfortable by not charging anything anymore. Debit cards / Cash Cards are great for helping with this, due to the fact you have the convience of a CC without being able to really rack up debt with it (unless you're totally careless). Save what you can (put it in a seperate account, and have it automagically deposited from your paycheck), and forget about the extra money that's sitting there. Then if you need it, there's something there. I start
    • Haven't actually used a CC in 2 years. (Except for two purchases, plane tickets and a refrigerator)

      I agree it's the way to go.

      We have already been saving money each month, about $100.00. We need to put a lot more in there.

      It's a good feeling, let me tell ya.

  • It's weird reading someone else's JE and it sounding almost exactly like your own. In the next few months (thanks to tax return and bonus) we'll be completely debt free except for vehicle and house. Even the car will be paid off by the end of the year.

    Debt sucks. We really have never been in that much debt (especially looking at most of my friends), but I still hate it. I grew up in a household with no debt at all except for the house. My parents didn't even have CC's.

  • I love stories about people getting their shit together.

    Make sure you save some of it, just in case. Then have fun with the rest. Enjoy it! That's what life is for. If giving it away in a manner that makes a difference, gives you enjoyment, then that's fine too.

  • Yo go, uh.. guy...

    Um, never mind.
  • To choose G is to include F since F is above G. Yet F excludes E, while G includes E, and thus we have a condradiction.

    QED

  • I just say that because that's what I do. I save like crazy during the good times, so I can make it through the bad times...

  • I have a cunning plan.

    Give it all to me, and I'll donate it to me own charity, known as the "Fund for Enriching Ethelred", also known as "FEE".

    What say you, good sir?

    I harrumph your answer in advance.

    Cheers,

    Ethelred

    • Re:A&E (Score:2)

      by arb ( 452787 )
      I'd say go with A all the way. The charity I would recommend is the "Make arb a rich old fat bastard appeal". A very worthy cause, or so I am told. ;-)
  • As long as you've covered all the bases at home first. Meaning, make sure you have a 6-month cash "pad" (enough to cover your expenses -- house, vehicle, spending) in fairly liquid assets (I think what we use is a money market account, but I can't remember -- big-picture financial management is one of Hubby's jobs) saved up, just in case the unforseeable happens (i.e., you end up coming home with your shit in a box).

    Then you can give all you like to charity and *really* have some peace of mind.

    ....Bethan
  • But you expected that answer from me, didn't you? ;-) Uhm, I'd actually just save in such a case.

    Oh, and someone really needs to explain me how you can get into credit-card debt. I don't understand that. I have one credit card (and have had it for over 10 years), and never built any debt on it. Heck, I don't think they'd allow it to happen. Besides, they can debit my current account at will. In the worst case my current account would be below zero. That has only happened once in the last years, nam

    • Sounds like what you are describing is an atm or debit card.

      A credit card is for purchasing things you can pay off but not all at once.

      If your credit is good enough, yes, you could buy a car on your credit card.

      Must work quite differently in Lux.
      • No, it is a credit card. The difference between a credit card and a debit card is that you get a monthly bill for your credit card. So for example: three weeks ago (3 february) I bought a new TV and a vacuum cleaner. I payed with my VISA. The bill for my VISA will come around the begin of the next month. Let's say, for example the 1st March. As you see I got credit for a whole month. That will will automatically be deducted from my current account (on the 1st March of course), but you don't have to
        • The only reason that I can see for getting into debt with a credit card is that they can't take your money from your current account (like in my dads situation) and you don't pay your credit card bills. Of course, doing that is not very clever.

          Here at least, you only have to pay part of the bill each month; the remainder gets carried over to the next month's statement, along with some interest. The bank - even if it's the same bank - can only take money from the current account to pay it if you tell them

          • Well, it might be possible to do what you describe. (I need to ask my dad, while I know a nice deal of banking, I just learned it by having to program stuff like that) I just never do it. I would prefer to be in the negative on my current account than in the negative on my credit card. As you say for interest rates sake.

            The bank - even if it's the same bank - can only take money from the current account to pay it if you tell them to

            That is the same here, but I gave them control and read my stateme

  • and if you're in the mood, a.

    i'm swimming in much debt, but the wife and i are being pretty good about reducing it. and we're even saving some money up.

  • H. (Score:1)

    by gmhowell ( 26755 )
    H. Put it into Joseph's college fund.
    • I think Joe's dad is doing a fine job of that already, don't you?

      Speaking of, you get your Mom straightened out? As in, my child needs a schedule? Or was that just a rant?
      • I think Joe's dad is doing a fine job of that already, don't you?

        He's doing okay, but an extra $1000/month from Uncle Em would go a long way (especially with 15 years of tax free compound interest;)

        The thing with my mom was a rant. (Mostly because for Angie, it's a real issue, and she let's me feel the pain. When/if you have kids, no matter how well everybody gets along, one of you will have 'issues' regarding child rearing with an inlaw). I'm really not too worried if he gets horribly spoiled one nigh
  • Start a Roth IRA. Max yearly contribution is $3K (for most people). These are great savings tools. Once money is in... it is gone until death or retirement. And you get to play with the money while it is in there.

    Or put money in the S&P 500 or a similar index fund with no (or very little) fees and overhead. These tend to do good (if the economy does good) and won't soak up 5% in yearly fees.

    jason

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