(no subject)

[ljgeoff]

Well, I did that end of the year looking-back thing, and came up with one major thing that I want to work on: money. I want to pay off the credit cards and start building an emergency fund. Once those two things are accomplished, I want to start saving.

I've looked on a couple of sites that give advice on how to do these things. All of them, bar none, assume that we're making 40-50k, and work for a company that provides health insurance and a 401K. Well, last year we made about $28,000, and went even further in debt with student loans. We have about $2100 in credit card debt, another $4000 out in a signiture loan, and $1500 to Jake's orthodontist. Okay, so that's $7600, or almost 30% of our yearly income. Hmmm. To pay all of that off in 12 months would cost $634/mo. Hmmm.

Okay, Plan B: pay off all of the credit card debt, and half of the orthodontist and signiture loan. That comes to $4850, and payments of $400 a month.

We're making about $2400/mo, and Kyle's mom is giving us about $400 for his room and board, so that's $2800...

Because I'm always curious how other people spend their money, and because I want to stick to this budget, I'll post it:

mortgage $400
heat $115
water/electric $200
sbc-phone&cable $25
tv cable $30
Mike's cell $40
jake's cell $100
car insurance $350
State MI $60
food&sundries $600
gasoline $120
misc/emergencies$300
signiture loan $160
orthodontist $100
credit cards $175

So, barring emergencies, that will pay off my credit card debt by this time next year, as well as most of the orthodontist.