I paid off two more credit cards today, and moved $1000 into a savings account for emergencies.
Now these (total of four) credit card payoffs and emergency fund occurred because I got some unexpected money and sold my stock from employee purchase. I'm not expecting any more "unexpected money" or stock until March or April. So now I need a plan to continue the momentum.
I'm shopping for cheaper auto insurance right now, and waiting for my cell phone contracts to expire. Going back and forth on the DirecTV...we live outside of town and an antenna didn't work for us, and I think we'd have to get a new TV for netflix to work. I don't watch much TV, but the significant other enjoys watching UFC...every night
Debt:
Credit Cards:
1: $ 639 / 18.4%
2. $2681 / 22.98%
3. $7026 / 19.24%
401(k) loan #1: $2400 / 4.24%
401(k) loan #2: $10,500 / 4.24%
Auto loan #1: $2700 / 6.5%
Auto loan #2: $18,000 / 4.1%
Student Loan: $51,000 / 4.625%
Parent Loan: $14,372 / 7.65%
Mortgage: $69,314 / 4.25%
Household Income:
About $2600 biweekly, take home, no overtime
(Health insurance, 401(k) contributions and loan payments already out of that.)
I can usually work 8-10 hours of overtime per week without question.
My significant other is not working overtime right now, but is expected to start ~60/hour weeks in February.
Bills (monthly unless otherwise specified):
Mortgage: $296 biweekly
Car Pmt 1: $264
Car Pmt 2: $407
Auto Insurance: $450
Credit Cards (min): ~$350
Phone: $45
Cell Phones/internet: $320
DirecTV: $82
Propane: $90
Electricity: $100
Student Loan: $336
Parent Loan: $186
Gas (Auto): $400 estimated
Groceries: $400 estimated
Savings (not much):
$1000 "emergency fund" in a separate savings account
I still plan to carry ~$1000 between three checking accounts.
401(k): 50,843.72
Contributing 5%
Two more down! Now I need a plan...
December 10th, 2012 at 06:14 pm
December 10th, 2012 at 07:54 pm 1355169294
You must be feeling really good about that.
December 10th, 2012 at 10:23 pm 1355178210
I suggest that you think about additional expenses that you must cover (medical co-pays, clothing, gifts, haircuts, entertainment, home maintenance, etc.) and set a monthly budget for those irregular but very real expenses. Any amount not spent each month should be saved in a separate savings account, as it is only a matter of time until a month comes along that you will have a home repair or medical expense which your budget does not cover.
Suppose you decide $600 per month will cover the above items. That would mean you have an additional $578 ($1178 - $600) per month to use towards your goals (debt repayment and/or emergency fund).
You may have to tweak your budget, as you may find you are spending more or less in a particular category than you had thought. That's OK.
Congrats on killing off two more credit cards.