| Advice Needed. General Money Management |
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oldguy
Senior Member
Cash: $ 309.30
Posts: 1481
Joined: 21 May 2006
Location: arizona
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Again - it's not a spending problem, it's an earning problem. A family of 4 cannot be home owners in a college town on only $30,000. I think one or both of you will need to get jobs.
You mentioned 'coal money' a couple times - can one or both of you work in that industry? You say $175/wk for childcare, that's not out of line - if you get a $12/hr job, the $500/wk income easily offsets the childcare.
quote:
For me I cannot understand why I would have two kids not to ever have at least one parent see them occasionally.
And that's the choice you have to make - both of you will either need to work to provide for them at the current standard of living - or you will need to lower the standard of living to match a $30k income and stay home with te kids. Is there on-campus housing for married students that you can qualify for? (When I was in college those were a very good deal, don't know about now.)
BTW, why did you sell the $185k house near campus - it probably cost <$1500/m? About the same as your current $825/m + $650/m for gas.
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Sat May 28, 2011 12:16 am |
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serenamp
Member
Cash: $ 3.65
Posts: 18
Joined: 27 May 2011
Location: Tennessee
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| Again |
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We weren't paying the same house payment and gas when we bought the house. There is a reason we're selling, and yes I realize on our income we can't be homeowners, that's why we're selling. When we bought this house our income was 25,000 more a year. We cannot help what the government decided to cut funding to in regard to education. I have a degree in Political Science. My husband has one in math, neither set you up for any decent paying jobs in the coal industry that is slowly abandoning the area. Again my question that I originally posted had nothing to do with learning to budget, although I realize when posting people are curious. My question was whether a secondary consolidation would ease up our payments enough for us to be able to stretch what little we've managed to save to eek by during the month we'll have no income or whether to keep doing more of the same, throwing everything we've got at it.
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Sat May 28, 2011 12:50 am |
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coaster
Senior Advisor
Cash: $ 1357.80
Posts: 6686
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Location: Wisconsin
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I would like to state that based on further information in subsequent posts I believe I seriously misjudged the original post, and I offer my apologies to the poster. There was nothing personal in the tenor of my original comments and none was intended; it's just a technique I use when I think I need to get a person's attention, and in this case I now see that it wasn't warranted. So, again, I'm sorry if the words offended, and I thank the poster for her graceful non-reaction and also for providing more followup so that other members of this board could offer useful advice.
When times are tough you do what you have to do; and I think that is already in process of happening. When you do that, and you're doing your best, things usually work out.
So, again, best wishes and good luck.
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Sat May 28, 2011 12:58 am |
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oldguy
Senior Member
Cash: $ 309.30
Posts: 1481
Joined: 21 May 2006
Location: arizona
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quote:
I have a degree in Political Science. My husband has one in math, neither set you up for any decent paying jobs in the coal industry
Oh, I didn't mean to do Poly Sci or Math at the mines - I meant that it might be a good place to look for second jobs. Eg, I'm an engineer, if I wanted a second job at night I would be happy to drive a mining truck hauling coal out of the mine. $12 or $15/hr would be a big help, any unskilled or low-skilled job would help out.
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Sat May 28, 2011 1:43 am |
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serenamp
Member
Cash: $ 3.65
Posts: 18
Joined: 27 May 2011
Location: Tennessee
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| thank you all again |
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Really I hope I haven't come across poorly.
Coal out of southwest Virginia right now is removed via mountaintop removal which is currently being stopped in it's tracks by those who see keeping Appalachia mountainous better than the cost of coal and the opportunities it brings. It's sad but true that most of the manufacturing plants have abandoned these areas due to higher labor costs than they might find in places like India.
Really my goal wasn't to debate grand issues. Trust when I say that I wrote something when my kids finally fell asleep last night that may not have been clear enough. I recognize we have had just some plain bad luck.....and that's hard for many of us to wrap our heads around as the downfall of a rather average american family. The first local homeless person I met had a PHD in history and her husband was a contractor that fell off of a roof breaking his back and putting him out of work for the next five years.....during this time their daughter got cancer....and slowly they lost everything. They were living in a church when I met them.
I first took my questions to a dear friend who recently bought a 200,000 dollar house and who considers herself money savvy for her insight Flabbergasted she, like everyone, initially believed when just hearing the numbers we must just be idiots with the inability to know when to stop spending. She gave me a rather long lecture about spending and saving, explained they had twenty thousand in the bank (their educations and cars bought by their parents and the ability to live at home until a few years ago helpful). The tornadoes struck their house and although insurance will cover some it won't cover all. Their nest egg is now going to getting the house back to it's original state.
I have found online and in general people are rarely hurtful intentionally. Internet is in general a tricky form of communication and I have laid out everything I can in hopes to not only help give myself the best answers but perhaps someone else, and it's my belief education is really the answer to fixing everything.
Honestly thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I was really worried maybe there was a magic bullet I just wasn't intelligent enough to know about and we've debated a secondary consolidation for sometime. Thank you I appreciate all your time and every single one of your thoughtful responses.
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Sat May 28, 2011 2:19 am |
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coaster
Senior Advisor
Cash: $ 1357.80
Posts: 6686
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Location: Wisconsin
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I could just about bawl knowing things like this happen in this country.
But, life being what it is, they do.
And this is why I keep harping on the emergency fund theme when new members come on here asking about how to divvy up their income. Bad things can come on so fast and from so far out of left field you don't know what happened until you're so far in the hole that it looks like it's closing in on top.
I do hope you folks make it. With your spirit you ought to.
Ever consider leaving Tennesee? Or maybe moving to a different part of the state? I'd think out toward Knoxville, or even Nashville if you can stand the big city, wages ought to be higher. I've been to Knoxville a number of times and it seems quite nice. Just a thought.....
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Sat May 28, 2011 6:51 am |
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serenamp
Member
Cash: $ 3.65
Posts: 18
Joined: 27 May 2011
Location: Tennessee
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| Knoxville |
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My husband was just offered a job with Pellissippi State making two thousand less a year. West Knoxville. We just couldn't take it for that and pay to move. With state budgets being what they are it's becoming increasingly hard for professors at small colleges. I think it really confuses people that a job that sounds prestigious pays so little and to keep from paying higher wages and to deal with the extreme boom that has hit in regard to incoming students schools are actually wanting lower level, lower paid faculty so that they aren't stuck paying high wages for what is essentially the grunt work of teaching the exact same beginning level 101 class for the rest of their careers. In my opinion the first few years of college are slowly becoming more like an extension of high school....and really gifted teachers, from good schools, and native english speakers cannot afford to take these jobs and manage their debt. A fellow math faculty member at the four year college my husband is currently at just finished his PHD in the hopes it would lead to the administration increasing his pay....it didn't, now saddled with the loan for his school he was unable to continue teaching, struggled that late in the summer to find a decent position elsewhere and now works for the Army. We're hoping after my husband has ten years experience, if his current position isn't advanced at his current college (professors are paid via a tiered scale) that he can go elsewhere and achieve better pay. He currently has eight years experience and it actually is a career killer to jump ship repeatedly. Our move should we make one, would have to be well calculated and one that he could stay at for at least five years.
In life it truly helps to have the spirit of a fighter and a tremendous amount of faith. Who knows why we go through what we do, but I know the last two years have only made me, my husband, and our marriage stronger. In many ways having less has been a real gift.
Much love and many blessings to you!
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Sat May 28, 2011 2:36 pm |
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khygeljones
New Member
Cash: $ 1.50
Posts: 7
Joined: 30 May 2011
Location: San Francisco, CA
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I'm doing this right now, and I've gotta say; it's such a grind. It's tough. I take sick days, to decompress, to catch up on sleep.
quote:
Originally posted by oldguy
IMO you are missing the boat by rationalizing reasons to not use regular W2 jobs. Eg, a 40-hr $12/hr job pays $25,000 - that will pay for childcare, plus carfare, and have plenty left over. And driving a ready-mix truck for the summer at $18.hr is another $13,000 - yes, it will take $200 to $300 worth of gas, that still leaves $12,750 income for the summer. Way more efficient than waiting for an $800 grant that may or may not come to fruition.
When our kids were preschool, we worked different shifts when we could, that made a big difference on childcare costs. She dropped th ekids off when she went to work at 3:00, I picked them up at 5:15 after work - so only about 2 or 3 hrs at DayCare. Later when the kids were in school we both worked day-shift. If you start working now, you will build up your skills and get raises - then when you can work full 40-hr shifts, the pay will be significantly above entry-level.
Joseph Smith
http://www.taskforce-1.com
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Mon May 30, 2011 1:49 pm |
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tiredalot
New Member
Cash: $ 0.60
Posts: 3
Joined: 31 May 2011
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You said you got a tax refund - have you looked into changing your withholdings so that you are bringing home more net income? Maybe it will be enough to get you through until your house is sold without having to do another debt consolidation.
How much longer until the $55 pmt card is paid off? If you can get through the summer and get your house sold, you may find that you can pay that one card off and then start snowballing the rest. It is a lot harder to do that after a consolidation since your consolidated payment will be so high.
I would try to put off doing a consolidation as long as possible.
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Tue May 31, 2011 2:14 am |
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serenamp
Member
Cash: $ 3.65
Posts: 18
Joined: 27 May 2011
Location: Tennessee
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yeah. my husband is constantly tired....doing this now for almost three years is beginning to take a toll on his health. He had a chronic bronchial infection that lasted almost three months because he just couldn't take the time to get well. When I finally made him pause on the second job.....we lost money for that month....throwing us back on our credit cards.....
I'll have to ask about our withholding amount. I honestly hadn't thought that was something I could have him change through the year.
We're going to work as hard as we can. I placed multiple ads on local community forums offering to sit nightly, or spend weekends or weekend nights sitting with the elderly, babysitting, cleaning houses, or cooking. I also listed and have already sold some of my homemade canned goods. I typical can a good percentage of our food.
I truly believe this house will sell and I do believe that we'll get a fair offer. We should, knock on some serious wood here, then have enough to eliminate to car lien, then sell the car for parts.....and then start hitting our higher interest cards first.
Our 50$ a month credit card bill is with Target and I hate to close it because they carry the cheapest diapers and wipes......if worse comes to worse we can use the 500 still on the card to at least keep our son in diapers this summer.
Our second lowest card payment is with Sears, which we originally opened to buy our appliances when we first moved into our home. Those are almost totally paid off and what's left on the card is from around Christmas....when my husband got sick. We actually used the credit card to buy those throw away credit cards to buy gas at gas stations.
I'm pretty good with trimming food costs. I can literally cook on almost nothing and cutting these costs is what's given us the ability to catch up a few times. Our monthly food bill is less than what the government would give us on food stamps if we were deemed poor enough to receive them.
I feel like what we've got going for us is that we've never been late with a payment and that we're still swimming despite it. We're lucky we have been able to get the credit we have in the past. Credit and the ability to use it is a real gift. We have called and are able to take out money we've already paid back on the car loan if we need it.
If our house sells or if anything changes I'll be sure to check back in and update everyone, and when our house sells I'll definitely be back here for advice on what to pay off first and what to do with anything that's left.
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Wed Jun 01, 2011 6:53 pm |
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coaster
Senior Advisor
Cash: $ 1357.80
Posts: 6686
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Location: Wisconsin
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You've given some great advice in other threads......we'd love to have you hang around. 
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Thu Jun 02, 2011 6:59 am |
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