I feel like if you are paying $600.00 for a car plus the fuel and insurance you should keep that baby forever!!
I pay 769 a month just for the car, then 120 a month for the insurance and probably 300 for gas each month. I drive a 08 Maxima SE, it is really nice to say the least but the payments literally squeeze the tar out of me.
I live in San Antonio where everything is at least 25 miles apart one way. At any rate I say this, if you are not planning on ever using credit again or for a while at least I would just take the car in and voluntary repo the car. I know this seems terrible but keep in mind they are not losing one penny they will take that car and probably sell it for more then what you truly owed in the first place(minus interest). Of course be prepared for the voluntary repo P&L to hit your credit score hard but on the other hand if you are not planning on debt anyway then by all means who cares?? Also if you can secure an attorney for around one car payment $600 to $700 and prove they did not lose anything then you can make them remove the P&L from your credit report. After all trust me you did not profit anything and they certainly didnt lose anything, that has always been a dirty joke banks play on the little consumer.
I've had a frustration about this for a few months: I have a very small standard IRA left over from a former employer. It totals a whopping $450, and is at Fidelity. It made money last year - which was wiped out by a 'service fee'. I'd like to at least fold it into another IRA I have elsewhere. But here's the catch: I have to go to a notary public to complete the paperwork on pulling it from Fidelity. The hassle and cost isn't huge, but it certainly wipes out any savings I'd make from moving it. Yet that fee continues to irk me...
Suggestions? Leave it and watch it get whittled away? Or spend more time/energy/money than is worth it for such a small amount?
Evil, evil, evil! This store is one of my faves (along with Banana Republic) and I've dropped many hundreds of dollars (credit, mostly) at Ann Taylor Loft. The store is right next to my light rail stop, and I find myself fighting the urge to just 'go in and see' what they have.
Thanks for the sale tip, but me and my budget will have to pass. . . . (-:
Thanks for this great reminder that we're all responsible for our own debt repayment 'schemes'. I made the decision last week to lower my 403b contributions to 1% in order to put more money into my credit debt repayment. On April 1st, I hope to throw $550 onto my debt. This is the largest amount I've ever paid (aside from tax refunds, gifts etc) from my salary, and I'm already getting a little nervous. I know I can do it----with some creative budgeting!
Congratulations on a significant achievement. My circumstances weren't too different.
I do want to make sure that people understand that bankruptcy -- under previous or current law -- is not immoral. We give it a stigma, but it's a legal and ethical way to handle one's being overwhelmed. It is a *last, last, last* resort. Several U.S. Presidents had filed for bankruptcy, for example.
There are also legal, ethical means of debt reduction and cancellation. But it comes through working *with* the lenders, and not despite them. The book mentioned at the start of the comments is a great resource.
A loan to buy a car is not the same as credit card debt. If you're not careful, the terms you accept may be foolish, but it is not "bad debt."
..consider doing it on Turbo Tax and just having the preparer check it(they will do this for a bit less than the full fee). The education you get investing a few hours a year into your biggest expense is worth it.
Money is just too easy to get these days, with credit cards and low interest loans and zero percent interest purchases. Its so easy to get into debt in America, that its become another national security issue.
People neeed to have a plan for paying back their loans before they take them, or better yet, they need to save for short term purchases and invest for long term goals.
... just like any addiction, going totally 'cold turkey' may not be the best thing for you. So, are we right when we say:
DEBT = POOR
For example: we all know Consument Debt = BAD - this means no credit card debt; no car loans; no buying anything that you can't pay cash for.
But, Investment Debt = GOOD - there is an old-but-wise saying that says that "your investment property loan (debt) of today is what you will be worth tomorrow".
If you can afford the mortgage payments, lock in as much debt at today's low prices on investments (real-estate and stocks) that you CAN afford and hold for the long-term.
my first husband agreed to an easy divorce if I took on his business debts. I made up a form letter, sent it to all his creditors offering to pay each of them a set minimum amount each month until the debt was gone. Those who made nasty phone calls got the option of taking me to court and getting nothing (I had no assets, only an income). They all agreed and I eventually got them all paid off. It was the best deal I ever made; my ex was arrested/convicted/imprisoned within a year for dealing drugs.
I say that I am "getting out" of debt. I know what you mean about people who believe that getting out means getting something for free. For me, using the term "getting out" addresses the fact that I and I alone got myself INTO debt. I am paying it off little by little, and one day, hopefully, I will have gotten out.
I think the part of making a payment, no matter how small is so important. I have a huge amount of private student loan debt. When I was in school to go into a lucrative profession it didn't seem like such a big deal, when I got sick during my first pregnancy and my son was born prematurly everything changed -- I couldn't work for a while, and then when I was able to work again it was not for as many hours or in my field as I had expected because my children needed me home as much as possible. I was at my wits end, I wanted to pay back my loans and always had every intention of doing it but I couldn't even come close to making the minimum payments. For quite a while I didn't pay anything -- I finally talked to the loan people and they were willing to take $50.00 a month and keep my loan in good standing on my credit report. I've been able to keep upping that ammount as time as gone on. Even though it will take longer and cost more in intrest its really been a good thing to pay just a little bit at the time. For anyone who has a lot of debt and can't pay talk to the creditors. Even a very small ammount might help save your credit and will encourage them to work with you since they know you intend to pay it off.
The last line of your article says it all, Linsey! During my ordeal, it never really occured to me that I didn't have to pay the funds back. Doing things right means only very incremental change over time but gives sustainable results. It is a matter of spending discipline, and changing materialistic attitudes....
Philip, yes, the hosptial that let me go isn't too bright. They lost a very good employee. I did set up a rollover with Vanguard. (I already have my own individual accounts and IRA there). They sent over the forms and did the rollover right away.
Too many people try and take the easy route out, as opposed to doing their best to put absolutely everything into their debt in order to pay it off. Excellent post, too many people need to work hard to get out of debt and don't.
Hi, Im a type 2 diabetic, have been for about two and a half years, although I suspect it had been creeping up on me for a long time before that due to the sheer amount of crap I used to shovel into my mouth.
My levels when I took my first diagnosed test were 36mm if your in the UK Great Britain (which I am) or multiply by 18 for US citizens 648mg/dl. Thats a fairly high reading as you can imagine. Needless to say, they didnt let me leave the doctors office and I was driven straight to my local emergency ward
After that, I was on 4 shots of insulin a day.
A few months down the line, I started studying anything I could find on reversing my condition.
Low and behold there is a ton of information on the web alone.
I also ordered sevral books.
After a lot of research and adjusting my diet I was able to come of the shots and the doctor has signed me of the register as a diabetic. Although, I find that if I'm at all wayward with my diet, the symptoms appear again within days.
Here are my recommendations. You may not like some of them but given the choice between going without your favourite snacks or having your legs amputated and going blind, then I dont think their is even a question which one you should choose.
Here we go.
1.
Never eat any form of sugar again ever! No ifs or buts.
No sucrose, fructose, molasses, honey, basically any sweetner, artificial or otherwise. Yes it sucks but you'll deal with it.
Choose cinammon, real lemon or lime juice, nutmeg, black pepper, what ever floats your boat.
2.
Eat virtually no carbohydrate, except the stuff that naturally occurs in veg and fruit. And for that matter, only eat fruts that have 3-4grams of sugar or less per 100grams. those would be the sharp tasting varieties. If in doubt read the labels people.
3.
Read the labels of everything you buy before you buy it, this is one of the greatest weapons in your fight against rising blood sugar levels. Avoid any food that contains more than 3-4 grams of carbohydrate per 100grams.
4.
Start taking a table spoon of high quality flaxseed oil everyday, mixed in with a little plain un flavoured yogurt, add some cinammon, make sure you mix it in well, if you can get your hands on some, use quark instead. I helps assimilate the oil much better, you may want to add a little water to make it mix easier, dont forget to add the cinammon.
5.
Try not to eat after about 6 in the evening or not long after you finnish your day job, since your body will burn up and glucose less efficiently once you stop moving around.
6.
Get as much exercise as you can, dont worry if your not a marathon runner, walking is good. Get in the habit of doing as much as you can, just dont make yourself ill from overexercising.
7.
Cut out all forms of caffeine, all crappy soft drinks, diet or otherwise. I know we all love em but crush them like the evil little culprits that they are.
8.
Eat more high quality protein and dark green veg, there is too much to talk about here so just trust me, they are highly beneficial foods.
9.
Dont eat too much fat, it all goes in, obviously olive oil, coconut oil, avocado and all the other natural unprocessed oils are ok.
It looks to me like you, Jennifer, do not get a rebate for your parent, as I assume she was over 17 as of December 31st. And that she is not eligible for her own refund since she is your dependent.
The package will help regardless if you spend it or not. If you put it in the bank to save it, the bank is only required to keep 1% of that. The other 99% the bank can use it to invest, give out as loans, or other things that generally help out the banks who are suffering from the Subprime mortgage crisis.
Also spending any a small amount of the money ultimately injects many times that amount into the economy. As the person you pay to buy something will use that money to buy something else and that someone else will use it to buy something else and so forth and so on. (Well at least untill it ends up in China, where it will continue to boost the Chinese economy) This is how we got out of our last depression. Although instead of cash giveouts we did public works projects, such as the Hoover Dam. Basically to stop a recession/depression Spending needs to go up.
The only real way to not help would be to store it in a piggybank at home and not in the bank. Where it will slowly lose value as inflation takes over. A Dumb and Dumb idea.
Thanks for posting this. I hardly every check out online without a coupon code of some kind, but this is a nice deal with free shipping AND a coupon code.
Good for you! I stopped short of buying another pair of flats.. Sometimes we have to keep our wits about us, no matter how great the sales!
I feel like if you are paying $600.00 for a car plus the fuel and insurance you should keep that baby forever!!
I pay 769 a month just for the car, then 120 a month for the insurance and probably 300 for gas each month. I drive a 08 Maxima SE, it is really nice to say the least but the payments literally squeeze the tar out of me.
I live in San Antonio where everything is at least 25 miles apart one way. At any rate I say this, if you are not planning on ever using credit again or for a while at least I would just take the car in and voluntary repo the car. I know this seems terrible but keep in mind they are not losing one penny they will take that car and probably sell it for more then what you truly owed in the first place(minus interest). Of course be prepared for the voluntary repo P&L to hit your credit score hard but on the other hand if you are not planning on debt anyway then by all means who cares?? Also if you can secure an attorney for around one car payment $600 to $700 and prove they did not lose anything then you can make them remove the P&L from your credit report. After all trust me you did not profit anything and they certainly didnt lose anything, that has always been a dirty joke banks play on the little consumer.
I've had a frustration about this for a few months: I have a very small standard IRA left over from a former employer. It totals a whopping $450, and is at Fidelity. It made money last year - which was wiped out by a 'service fee'. I'd like to at least fold it into another IRA I have elsewhere. But here's the catch: I have to go to a notary public to complete the paperwork on pulling it from Fidelity. The hassle and cost isn't huge, but it certainly wipes out any savings I'd make from moving it. Yet that fee continues to irk me...
Suggestions? Leave it and watch it get whittled away? Or spend more time/energy/money than is worth it for such a small amount?
Thanks!
Evil, evil, evil! This store is one of my faves (along with Banana Republic) and I've dropped many hundreds of dollars (credit, mostly) at Ann Taylor Loft. The store is right next to my light rail stop, and I find myself fighting the urge to just 'go in and see' what they have.
Thanks for the sale tip, but me and my budget will have to pass. . . . (-:
Thanks for this great reminder that we're all responsible for our own debt repayment 'schemes'. I made the decision last week to lower my 403b contributions to 1% in order to put more money into my credit debt repayment. On April 1st, I hope to throw $550 onto my debt. This is the largest amount I've ever paid (aside from tax refunds, gifts etc) from my salary, and I'm already getting a little nervous. I know I can do it----with some creative budgeting!
Congratulations on a significant achievement. My circumstances weren't too different.
I do want to make sure that people understand that bankruptcy -- under previous or current law -- is not immoral. We give it a stigma, but it's a legal and ethical way to handle one's being overwhelmed. It is a *last, last, last* resort. Several U.S. Presidents had filed for bankruptcy, for example.
There are also legal, ethical means of debt reduction and cancellation. But it comes through working *with* the lenders, and not despite them. The book mentioned at the start of the comments is a great resource.
A loan to buy a car is not the same as credit card debt. If you're not careful, the terms you accept may be foolish, but it is not "bad debt."
Thanks for writing the piece.
I too used TurboTax this year. I did the online edition for those of us who qualify for the FreeFile. Totally pleased!
Thanks so much for reading and responding!
..consider doing it on Turbo Tax and just having the preparer check it(they will do this for a bit less than the full fee). The education you get investing a few hours a year into your biggest expense is worth it.
Money is just too easy to get these days, with credit cards and low interest loans and zero percent interest purchases. Its so easy to get into debt in America, that its become another national security issue.
People neeed to have a plan for paying back their loans before they take them, or better yet, they need to save for short term purchases and invest for long term goals.
... just like any addiction, going totally 'cold turkey' may not be the best thing for you. So, are we right when we say:
DEBT = POOR
For example: we all know Consument Debt = BAD - this means no credit card debt; no car loans; no buying anything that you can't pay cash for.
But, Investment Debt = GOOD - there is an old-but-wise saying that says that "your investment property loan (debt) of today is what you will be worth tomorrow".
If you can afford the mortgage payments, lock in as much debt at today's low prices on investments (real-estate and stocks) that you CAN afford and hold for the long-term.
Under THESE circumstances: DEBT = RICH
my first husband agreed to an easy divorce if I took on his business debts. I made up a form letter, sent it to all his creditors offering to pay each of them a set minimum amount each month until the debt was gone. Those who made nasty phone calls got the option of taking me to court and getting nothing (I had no assets, only an income). They all agreed and I eventually got them all paid off. It was the best deal I ever made; my ex was arrested/convicted/imprisoned within a year for dealing drugs.
I say that I am "getting out" of debt. I know what you mean about people who believe that getting out means getting something for free. For me, using the term "getting out" addresses the fact that I and I alone got myself INTO debt. I am paying it off little by little, and one day, hopefully, I will have gotten out.
I think the part of making a payment, no matter how small is so important. I have a huge amount of private student loan debt. When I was in school to go into a lucrative profession it didn't seem like such a big deal, when I got sick during my first pregnancy and my son was born prematurly everything changed -- I couldn't work for a while, and then when I was able to work again it was not for as many hours or in my field as I had expected because my children needed me home as much as possible. I was at my wits end, I wanted to pay back my loans and always had every intention of doing it but I couldn't even come close to making the minimum payments. For quite a while I didn't pay anything -- I finally talked to the loan people and they were willing to take $50.00 a month and keep my loan in good standing on my credit report. I've been able to keep upping that ammount as time as gone on. Even though it will take longer and cost more in intrest its really been a good thing to pay just a little bit at the time. For anyone who has a lot of debt and can't pay talk to the creditors. Even a very small ammount might help save your credit and will encourage them to work with you since they know you intend to pay it off.
Gmail is great for file storage. You can also start a Google Group and upload your files to it.
The last line of your article says it all, Linsey! During my ordeal, it never really occured to me that I didn't have to pay the funds back. Doing things right means only very incremental change over time but gives sustainable results. It is a matter of spending discipline, and changing materialistic attitudes....
Philip, yes, the hosptial that let me go isn't too bright. They lost a very good employee. I did set up a rollover with Vanguard. (I already have my own individual accounts and IRA there). They sent over the forms and did the rollover right away.
Excellent post.
Too many people try and take the easy route out, as opposed to doing their best to put absolutely everything into their debt in order to pay it off. Excellent post, too many people need to work hard to get out of debt and don't.
Read HOW TO GET OUT OF DEBT, STAY OUT OF DEBT AND LIVE PROSPEROUSLY.
Hi, Im a type 2 diabetic, have been for about two and a half years, although I suspect it had been creeping up on me for a long time before that due to the sheer amount of crap I used to shovel into my mouth.
My levels when I took my first diagnosed test were 36mm if your in the UK Great Britain (which I am) or multiply by 18 for US citizens 648mg/dl. Thats a fairly high reading as you can imagine. Needless to say, they didnt let me leave the doctors office and I was driven straight to my local emergency ward
After that, I was on 4 shots of insulin a day.
A few months down the line, I started studying anything I could find on reversing my condition.
Low and behold there is a ton of information on the web alone.
I also ordered sevral books.
After a lot of research and adjusting my diet I was able to come of the shots and the doctor has signed me of the register as a diabetic. Although, I find that if I'm at all wayward with my diet, the symptoms appear again within days.
Here are my recommendations. You may not like some of them but given the choice between going without your favourite snacks or having your legs amputated and going blind, then I dont think their is even a question which one you should choose.
Here we go.
1.
Never eat any form of sugar again ever! No ifs or buts.
No sucrose, fructose, molasses, honey, basically any sweetner, artificial or otherwise. Yes it sucks but you'll deal with it.
Choose cinammon, real lemon or lime juice, nutmeg, black pepper, what ever floats your boat.
2.
Eat virtually no carbohydrate, except the stuff that naturally occurs in veg and fruit. And for that matter, only eat fruts that have 3-4grams of sugar or less per 100grams. those would be the sharp tasting varieties. If in doubt read the labels people.
3.
Read the labels of everything you buy before you buy it, this is one of the greatest weapons in your fight against rising blood sugar levels. Avoid any food that contains more than 3-4 grams of carbohydrate per 100grams.
4.
Start taking a table spoon of high quality flaxseed oil everyday, mixed in with a little plain un flavoured yogurt, add some cinammon, make sure you mix it in well, if you can get your hands on some, use quark instead. I helps assimilate the oil much better, you may want to add a little water to make it mix easier, dont forget to add the cinammon.
5.
Try not to eat after about 6 in the evening or not long after you finnish your day job, since your body will burn up and glucose less efficiently once you stop moving around.
6.
Get as much exercise as you can, dont worry if your not a marathon runner, walking is good. Get in the habit of doing as much as you can, just dont make yourself ill from overexercising.
7.
Cut out all forms of caffeine, all crappy soft drinks, diet or otherwise. I know we all love em but crush them like the evil little culprits that they are.
8.
Eat more high quality protein and dark green veg, there is too much to talk about here so just trust me, they are highly beneficial foods.
9.
Dont eat too much fat, it all goes in, obviously olive oil, coconut oil, avocado and all the other natural unprocessed oils are ok.
any questions at all mail me on
dnevard@yahoo.co.uk
It looks to me like you, Jennifer, do not get a rebate for your parent, as I assume she was over 17 as of December 31st. And that she is not eligible for her own refund since she is your dependent.
If I filed with my parent being MY dependent will I recieve a rebate for her? Like I'd get for my own child?
The package will help regardless if you spend it or not. If you put it in the bank to save it, the bank is only required to keep 1% of that. The other 99% the bank can use it to invest, give out as loans, or other things that generally help out the banks who are suffering from the Subprime mortgage crisis.
Also spending any a small amount of the money ultimately injects many times that amount into the economy. As the person you pay to buy something will use that money to buy something else and that someone else will use it to buy something else and so forth and so on. (Well at least untill it ends up in China, where it will continue to boost the Chinese economy) This is how we got out of our last depression. Although instead of cash giveouts we did public works projects, such as the Hoover Dam. Basically to stop a recession/depression Spending needs to go up.
The only real way to not help would be to store it in a piggybank at home and not in the bank. Where it will slowly lose value as inflation takes over. A Dumb and Dumb idea.
Thanks for posting this. I hardly every check out online without a coupon code of some kind, but this is a nice deal with free shipping AND a coupon code.
Great post, I've made use of the info already :)