introuble
New Poster
Cash: $ 0.45
Posts: 2
Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Location: S. Jersey
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| I'm in trouble |
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I hope you all do not mind me asking for help here, but I'm getting quite desperate. I saw your site & so I "barged in", I guess.
Please read on, if you would.
I'm 55, I bought a beat up house ($185,000), 15 year mortgage, on the notion of using a reverse mortgage later on, for retirement purposes.
More whinning...
My ex took 1/2 of my 401K, the rest I put into buying this house.
Surely, there is something I can do to gain some hope...
I thank you for your time.
J C Land
joschas@yahoo.com
God helps those whom help themselves.
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Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:43 pm |
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pf101
Senior Member
Cash: $ 62.25
Posts: 311
Joined: 12 Sep 2007
Location: Portland, OR
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Not sure what your question is, but the only advice I can give is keep working. You've got a long time before you'll have enough to retire so just keep plugging away.
Personal Finance 101
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Mon Jan 21, 2008 8:53 pm |
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shaneroof
Contributing Member
Cash: $ 9.20
Posts: 46
Joined: 16 Jul 2008
Location: washington dc
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Hello, I certainly agree with you.
Thank you very much for sharing
your information.
Ovarian Cysts No More
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:59 pm |
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introuble
New Poster
Cash: $ 0.45
Posts: 2
Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Location: S. Jersey
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| i'm in trouble |
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I wish to add to my previous posting. And I thank everyone who posted as we.
In addition, I have a debt of $5m, former cc debt; would anyone have an idea if there may be a federal / state (NJ) program perhaps, to aid homeowners in this predictament? I am also a veteran (USN), but I doubt that this fact would yield anything helpful.
I guess, as you can see I am not so very savvy in the financial dept.
I thank you for your time & expertise!
God helps those whom help themselves.
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Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:47 pm |
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BlankenshipFP
Money Talk Advisor
Cash: $ 79.56
Posts: 390
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: Illinois
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Hi, introuble -
Seems you've got a quite a predicament on your hands... as pf101 indicates, this is the time to return to the basics: continue to work and earn as you can, work out details with lenders to begin making pay offs of your loans, and pay yourself first with retirement and emergency fund savings.
I'd start with a basic formula of 10% into savings, 70% for all "living" expenses, and 20% for debt paydown. As you might guess, this formula should be tweaked to fit your individual purposes, but two things should not be usurped - that is, you should always put at least 10% into savings, and you should always use 20% or more for debt paydown. If your circumstances allow you to get by on something less than 70% of your total income then you can put more toward debt paydown or savings, but you should never put less than those amounts toward improving your bottom line.
It takes some effort, but you will find soon that you can get by just fine on 70% or less, and soon enough you'll see the debt reducing and the savings increasing. Keep in mind, you may need to work with your lenders to get them to take a little less (if necessary) so that you can stay afloat - but as long as you haven't abused your relationship with them in the past, most lenders are happy to work with you, as they'd prefer that over you filing bankruptcy and leaving them hanging.
The bottom line is - you can do this. You just need to grab hold of the bootstraps and work your way out of the situation. All it takes is a little old-fashioned discipline...
Incidentally, more detail on this basic plan can be found in the book "The Richest Man in Babylon", by George Clason. You can pick it up at your local library - or find a used copy online. I don't think it's part of public domain, so you most likely won't find it in full online without cost...
Good luck - I hope this helps...
Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
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Sun Jul 27, 2008 6:34 pm |
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