Debt Managment (or, how to keep from fucking yourself finanically)

[shaeff]

This is a fantastic thread, too.

On a totally related note, I started with a Capital One Visa card. Max limit of $500. Linked my EZpass to it (for tolls), and my Mobil Speed pass (for gas). After a few months, I got a great offer on a Discover card.

I NEVER let a balance run over. When I get my bill in the mail (now do it electronically), I'd call or go online to see how much extra I charged AFTER the billing statement. Then I'd cut a check, or transfer ALL that money directly to them. This way, I never pay interest on anything I charge.

They keep increasing my credit limit with the Discover card, too. Thus far, this system has never let me down. When I buy something, I'll take the cash from my wallet and put it in an envelope, or my bank book/check book. If I don't have small enough bills to make an exact amount to take out of my wallet in preparation to pay the bills, I put an EXTRA amount in.

Any extra per month goes into and stays in savings. (aside from my direct deposit from my paycheck weekly). I don't touch savings unless I absolutely have to (emergencies, mostly- which are few and far between)

So, basically, I'm saving money by doing that, all my change goes in a jar to be cashed in, and all my single dollar bills go in a shoebox at the end of the day so they won't be spent. Saving money is really easy, so long as you can think of creative ways to do it!

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

Can we get a 'home owners tips' thread now? That would be awesome...

Just spent all day 'winterizing' the house. I'm curious what I'm missing there.

 

[canadian_psyko]

I managed to get myself into debt pretty deep, slowly working my way out now.

The thing I noticed is that a $700 loan payment or a $500 CC coming out once a month is painful, and I also have a bad track record of remembering dates.

What I do is set up everything I can to come out with my paycheck, loan payment, etc. Then for my CC's, I know roughly what I can afford to pay them, I just make a payment every check, then I keep an eye on my monthly statements to make sure I haven't miscalculated.

I find it feels easier than monthly payments, and also with some things, you can end up paying less interest over time.

 

[LilMissMkIII]

Internet banking is an absolute Godsend!!!!!!!! Where possible, I have bills come out via direct debit, or if that isn't possible, I have setup scheduled payments... All these happen the day after my salary hits my everyday account. I have also setup to transfer cash to my savings account, my joint savings with my bf, and my daughter's savings.

Not only do I know exactly how much play money I have after each pay day, but I never have to worry about bills ever again!!!!!!!!!!! :boobies::boobies::boobies::boobies:

 

[mercuryfreak200]

im kinda stuck i recently lost my job was making payments on my cc started at 3000 with my wife. we had filed a chapter 7 about 4yrs ago to start fresh from our endevours before we met. well just before i lost my job she had knee surgury, we are now over 25000 in the hole because the insurance company wont pay a cent cause i got fired.but i was fired after the sugurey but they wont pay, if they would, it would bring us down to a managable amount. any help for me

 

[Supracentral]

Internet banking is an absolute Godsend!!!!!!!!

Agreed.

Where possible, I have bills come out via direct debit, or if that isn't possible, I have setup scheduled payments...

This is one thing I don't do. I pay every bill, online, by hand. I'm just not comfortable with automated bill payments.

I have also setup to transfer cash to my savings account, my joint savings with my bf, and my daughter's savings.

We do the same, my direct deposit is split into multiple accounts.

Not only do I know exactly how much play money I have after each pay day, but I never have to worry about bills ever again!!!!!!!!!!!

While I can understand it, I can't do it. Maybe I'm just a control freak when it comes to my money.

im kinda stuck i recently lost my job was making payments on my cc started at 3000 with my wife. we had filed a chapter 7 about 4yrs ago to start fresh from our endevours before we met. well just before i lost my job she had knee surgury, we are now over 25000 in the hole because the insurance company wont pay a cent cause i got fired.but i was fired after the sugurey but they wont pay, if they would, it would bring us down to a managable amount. any help for me

If your coverage was valid at the time of the surgery, I'd suggest calling a lawyer. You're dealing with the violation of a contract. You may be able to recoup your medical bills, plus additional damages. (I'm not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, standard disclaimers apply, yadda, yadda, yadda...)

As for selecting a lawyer, do not use one who advertises on television...

 

[jugodegolf]

Internet banking is an absolute Godsend!!!!!!!! Where possible, I have bills come out via direct debit, or if that isn't possible, I have setup scheduled payments... All these happen the day after my salary hits my everyday account. I have also setup to transfer cash to my savings account, my joint savings with my bf, and my daughter's savings.

Not only do I know exactly how much play money I have after each pay day, but I never have to worry about bills ever again!!!!!!!!!!! :boobies::boobies::boobies::boobies:

Two questionts K
1. How screwed would you be if say someone hacked your account # and your bills didn't get paid?
2. How often do you balance/verify your transactions
I like internet banking btw.

I had someone hack my account at the tx2k8. Had about 1100 in charges that eventually got straitened out, but what if I didn’t have an extra account to cover that?

Only other things I would add/suggest is control your habits-whether it be finances, car maintenance, staying fit…etc.

I work with a ton of people. One friend of mine Jeff has great savings habits that he learned from his dad. When he wants a car he pays cash. I have tried to emulate his savings habits. I have paid cash for my cars since 93 with the exception of the 2003 I35 they offered me 1.99% financing which was not bad.

Learn to invest and make your money work for you. My son is 11 and already knows more about stocks that the average person.

 

[mercuryfreak200]

thats sound advise i'm 28 and hoping to find work would legal aide beable to help me out. my uncle is a big corperate lawyer in boise but he is not liscensed here i think i'll call him tonight. thanks supracentral!

 

[LilMissMkIII]

Agreed.

This is one thing I don't do. I pay every bill, online, by hand. I'm just not comfortable with automated bill payments.

While I can understand it, I can't do it. Maybe I'm just a control freak when it comes to my money.

Maybe a control freak with money????

Two questionts K
1. How screwed would you be if say someone hacked your account # and your bills didn't get paid?
2. How often do you balance/verify your transactions
I like internet banking btw.

I had someone hack my account at the tx2k8. Had about 1100 in charges that eventually got straitened out, but what if I didn’t have an extra account to cover that?

Only other things I would add/suggest is control your habits-whether it be finances, car maintenance, staying fit…etc.

I work with a ton of people. One friend of mine Jeff has great savings habits that he learned from his dad. When he wants a car he pays cash. I have tried to emulate his savings habits. I have paid cash for my cars since 93 with the exception of the 2003 I35 they offered me 1.99% financing which was not bad.

Learn to invest and make your money work for you. My son is 11 and already knows more about stocks that the average person.

1 & 2) I login to my internet banking EVERY day (usually twice or more) to see what's going on, so if someone hacked my acct, I would know straight away. That's also how I make sure everything has been paid as I set it up.

A couple of times I have realised that a company hasn't debited as per our contract, so I call them immediately to rectify.

If I paid every bill individually each week, it would take me ages because every time I do a transaction, a verification number is texted to my phone, which I must then type in before it goes ahead.

Auto payments are also great for when we go away - I don't have to stress about finding a computer with a safe/fast enough internet connection to pay bills.

Discipline when it comes to money is paramount. Over the last couple years, every time I have received a payrise, I have arranged for a larger amount to be debited and paid onto my loan. Come December 3rd this year, I will be 100% debt free and will have saved myself THOUSANDS in interest payments. I haven't used or wanted for a credit card in over 3 years.

Sure, that money would be enjoyed on car parts, holidays, new clothes, gadgets, etc, but this way, my money is working for me.

Once the debts are gone, the money that was being paid to my loan will then be used to purchase shares and managed funds to build up towards the $100,000 deposit we need to purchase a home.

 

[airhead04]

Since Theresa is so much younger than me (15 years), she sometimes can give me a different perspective. In this case she pointed out to me that they didn't teach this to her in high school like they did when I went. In fact she said that that college is the first time they bring this stuff up these days, if at all. To me, that's far too late and it's a critical failure on the part of our schools. This is information you need to know in a capitalist society. This should be part of the very basics we teach teenagers. Since we have so many young people here at SM, and a good number of them who aren't in, or don't plan to go to college, I thought this was really important.

And yea, in general money in savings is losing you money if you have high interest debt. Remember you've still got the cards to fall back on if you have an emergency, so taking $500 out of savings and applying it to a credit card still leaves you with the money available if it comes down to it.

You should also have some cash on hand in a small fireproof safe, just in case as well, but that's a different topic.

I can actually say I am a lucky Highschool senior. My Economics teacher is teaching us right now about debt and credit cards. And it is extremely eye opening. She is using charts just like the one posted in the original post from you mike. And honestly, since we have been talking about credit cards in my class, I no longer want one. When I was about 16 I wanted one very badly, but now that I am 18 and about to be on my own, Im actually scared to get one. The hidden fees are everywhere. Its ridiculous.

Do you mind if I print this out and show it to my class mike???

 

[Supracentral]

Do you mind if I print this out and show it to my class mike???

Go right ahead - however you probably want to take the "fucking yourself financially" out of the title.

 

[airhead04]

Lol, yea. But then again it would be interesting to see her reaction to it.
Ill be sure to take it out.

Thank you, by the way.

 

[wesf.]

Our school system requires us to take a class called CALM, Career and Life Management. It is mandatory in order to graduate from high school. It focuses on everything you need to know about life after high school, credit cards, how to write a check, balance a check book, learn aout the stock market, how to buy a car, scholarships, pursuing a career, etc.. I could go on but you get the point. The only unfortunate thing about this class is it is taught by the gym teachers who really do not know what they are talking about, but none the less Ive taken many things away from that class.

 

[Supracentral]

Our school system requires us to take a class called CALM, Career and Life Management. It is mandatory in order to graduate from high school. It focuses on everything you need to know about life after high school, credit cards, how to write a check, balance a check book, learn aout the stock market, how to buy a car, scholarships, pursuing a career, etc.. I could go on but you get the point. The only unfortunate thing about this class is it is taught by the gym teachers who really do not know what they are talking about, but none the less Ive taken many things away from that class.

Something is better than nothing. I'm starting to hear a lot more about these. However it being "taught by the gym teachers" shows exactly how much value they are really putting on it, IMO.

 

[Poodles]

My economics teacher was also the volleyball coach... Just because he's a coach doesn't mean he's not qualified though as it was his major.

 

[WhtMa71]

I didn't learn ANY kind of financial management in the awesome public school system here. I did however learn how to write a check when I was in the 6th grade when I was in the BETA club..lol.. But I have never had checks.

Fortunately I learned a lot from my parents and have learned even more in college. I have one credit card through my banker which I got as overdraft protection for my checking (to keep from getting fucked by $30 per overdraft charges) with a $1000 credit limit. The limit has since been raised to $2000. I only use it to purchase small amounts that I know I can pay off within the next paycheck or two while also contributing a little to my savings every now and then.

Once I'm done with school and hopefully get a real job, or career, I plan to pay off my student loans ($4000) and open a Rolf IRA. I should probably start paying on my student loans instead of saving though..

 

[LilMissMkIII]

^^Depends on the interest rate on your loans vs what interest you would get in a savings account.

 

[honestabe]

I'd just like to add to this killer thread that if you don't have kids, rent a room out of a house. It's a lot cheaper by far than getting your own apartment and often times it's more spacious with better neighbors and parking. Around here you can find a room to rent for about $400-500 per month including utilities. For a 1 bedroom apartment around here you're looking at atleast $700 per month including utilities, and you're cramped into an apartment with no space around you and usually tight parking. I pay only $430 per month including all utilities and cable t.v. and DSL internet and half the 2 car garage which I can use to work on and store the Supra in. Why throw your money away only to be in a worse living situation? It seems absolutely retarded to me all in the name of "privacy." The soon-to-be wife and I have already talked about it, we aren't going to have a place of our own until we buy our first house, and even then we're going to have tenants renting the spare rooms to create extra income.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

The soon-to-be wife and I have already talked about it, we aren't going to have a place of our own until we buy our first house, and even then we're going to have tenants renting the spare rooms to create extra income.

Think a little harder on it... my wife and i did this and it was kinda stressful being newlyweds with an extra person in the house... The extra money was nice, but you can't just get freaky whenever/wherever you want. lol


Also, I just finished a personal finance class through a local college and I learned absolutely nothing. All of the good topics were apparently covered on the one day I missed.

 

[Supracentral]

I'm forced to agree with mkiiSupraMan18. The reason I manage my money is to improve my quality of life. My privacy and freedom are paramount to my enjoying living. I will not live in someone elses house. Moreover, Theresa and I are of a like mind in this and we would both rather live in a trailer than an apartment if we were forced to make that choice. My four walls have to be my own.

There's a difference between being cheap and looking for value. To me, sacrificing your privacy to save a few bucks is, IMO, a fools errand. I cannot tolerate other people's bullshit, and if you are living with someone, you are going to have to. But to each his own. Part of managing your money is determining what is important to you, and then taking the correct financial actions to realize those things in your daily life and long term plans. Right now, I could afford to double my mortgage payment, buy a new Skyline or any number of other things. Financially we'd be fine. I could also move us into a basement apartment and accelerate our plans. We've decided that where we are is perfect for us. You make your own choices, but do it consciously and weigh all the pros and cons. Calling someone retarded for wanting privacy is, IMO, in and of itself retarded.