Dave Ramsey support thread - June 2011 (for everyone interested in the DR method!!)

[barclay13]

thank you very much for the support. I really appreciate it.

I'm just really starting to get nervous about this house. We will be continuing to pay double bills until it sells. I'm willing to take some money to closing but for now, I'm still trying to get what I owe on it and the realtor fee. I am doing small things to try and make it more appealing.

I just need to chill and let go of this. Most of it is completely out of my control. For now, I'm just trying to be as frugal as possible on things like restaurants, groceries and shopping. I'm buying discount gift cards and combining them with coupons to try and get more buying power for the money. I'm also being frugal with the wedding expenses. I have just about everything taken care of and have a plan to pay it all off without incurring any interest charges and without using our liquid assets (just in case I need to pay off my mortgage if it doesn't sell high enough).

It's motivational to hear other people's stories.

[Dengineer]

How do you all not get frustrated/upset about what others have/are doing? I'm trying to keep my eye on the prize. BUT, I really want a vacation, I REALLY want a new house, etc. It's tough. I go thru phases of feeling sorry for myself.

Right now, I'm trying to sell my house. I'm getting married in 2 months and we are moving in together (of course). We both own homes and mine is an hour drive each way to work. His house is 15 minutes from work. BUT, my house is in the country and buyers are few and far between. It's really hard not to get really frustrated and upset. I need to sell this house and stay on track with our financial goals.

sacrifice is worth it, right? But, I sure could use some luck with getting a buyer soon.

I know exactly what you're going through--we made double payments for about 16 months. We had to move and it took forever to sell our house so we paid rent here and made payments on a house in another part of the state.

My advice is to get a GREAT realtor--the best in your area--and to make sure you are being realistic about the price. If you bought the house in the past 5-8 years, you will NOT be able to get back what you paid for it. That's the reality of the current housing market.

I know it's hard to fight the day to day battle, but just try to keep the big picture in mind!!

[KmmCo]

Have you looked into the possibilty of renting the house out. This is what we decided to do with our old house. With the market so down and a plan to "downsize" back into the old house when I retire - that just made the most sense for us. We will sell this bigger house that we live in now as we won't need so much space when the teenagers aren't here all the time. Right now we are "upside down" on the value of the "big house" by about $25,000 and there would be no point in trying to sell it at a loss, but in 5-10 years I am hoping it will regain the value so that we can make a profit selling. (The little "old house" is almost paid off so the rent will be pure profit in a couple of years - which is another reason we are keeping it - it the long run we will be in great shape financially by doing this - just putting us in a tight spot right now paying 2 mortgages.)

Anyway, I haven't been around here much this month as I have been busy. Nothing new to report really. I kinda figured out that my emegency fund really wasn't as empty as I thought - I had an "extra" payday last month that got me back on track. I also forgot about my stock account sitting there making money for me. I pulled out $1,800 of a $2,200 profit that I gained last year in order to pay cash for my vacation rental and there is still enough cash left to pay a little extra on my credit cards. My initial investment is still in the stock fund and I am really reluctant to sell it - even though I know what Dave says is to sell your stuff and get the debt paid first.

I kinda don't follow the baby steps in the right order I guess, because I am still doing my 401k contributions at the 5% that my employer matches. To me it makes more sense to get the garunteed double my money return than to pay off my 7% credit card quicker. I just need to really get a handle on my monthly budget and reduce expenses so that I have more to put on that card payment. We only have credit card debt and the mortgages as we always buy our cars with cash - but those credit cards are huge. Like I have said before, at least I don't use them anymore. Trying to get them paid off though seems like a herculean task. (My total minimum card payments are around $900 a month and it is tough to come up with anything extra to put on them. Energy costs are just killing me right now - gasoline and the utilities are both way up - everything I cut out of the grocery budget just seems to go in the gas tank instead.)

[cody82414]

my DH just paid cash for a 2003, 3-horse, horse trailer, that is finished on the inside.

The kids and I are thrilled!

No more single parenting!!
We get to go with Daddy to the dogtrials on the weekends now.

Thank you Jesus!!

[jenrose]

my DH just paid cash for a 2003, 3-horse, horse trailer, that is finished on the inside.

The kids and I are thrilled!

No more single parenting!!
We get to go with Daddy to the dogtrials on the weekends now.

Thank you Jesus!!

That's Great news cody and him paying cash for it is even better!

[KmmCo]

Got all my monthly bills done for the month - and had an extra $30 toward the credit cards - not much, but it makes me feel a little better. Most importantly, I am not digging my hole any deeper that I am in - paying cash for everything!

I am just waiting for the invoice on vacation rental so I can get it paid. It is due in mid- July, but I am gonna pay it by the end of June so that I don't spend the money on something else. Next year, I definitely need to plan a less expensive vacation - maybe do something closer to home so that I can drive instead of fly - I am thinking maybe Utah (Zion/Bryce Canyon?) or Grand Canyon possibly or maybe just a trip to the mountains here in Colorado.

Really doing a good job eating out of pantry and avoiding grocery shopping - if I can do that next month too I will be happy. I should have lots of garden stuff ready to start eating next month.

I tried hard to get my son to think about some inexpensive things to do this summer that would be fun - I'm kinda tired of sitting around the house while he plays video games. It is easy to find stuff to do during the school year - but what to do with bored teens during the summer? Can't buy season passes to the amusement park or water park because we wanted ski passes instead.
(Got some free ski gear left over from a church sale so I can possibly get a couple of my sons friends outfitted. Last year, they had to rent gear and $30 a day is expensive for teens!! Here it is June and I am looking forward to snow so that we have something to do!!!)

Decided to hold off on another garage sale till later this summer - I still have lots of stuff to sort - and am waiting for the neighbor to get the big dumpster out of the yard next door. The dumpster is blocking the view from the main street and my garage sale will be better if the traffic can see the sale!

The house has been vacant for a while. Last week the guy I talked to said they are cleaning/fixing it up for their daughter to live in. She is supposed to move in July 1 - it will be nice to have neighbors again - and I think she has 2 or 3 little kids too!

[cody82414]

Got all my monthly bills done for the month - and had an extra $30 toward the credit cards - not much, but it makes me feel a little better. Most importantly, I am not digging my hole any deeper that I am in - paying cash for everything!