Debt Reduction Archives — Page 3 of 29

Reasons To Continue Family Outings and Vacations While Paying Down Debt

December 16, 2019 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

If you listen to Dave Ramsey, you may have heard his admonishment that you should put all extras and luxuries in your life on hold until your debt is paid off. “Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else” is his mantra. I would agree with him if you can pay off your debt in a year or less. However, I disagree with him if it will take you several years to pay down your debt. There are many reasons to continue family outings and vacations while paying down debt.

Your Children Are Growing

My husband and I dug ourselves out of consumer debt about five years ago. Then, three years ago when one of our children started suddenly having medical and behavioral issues, we found ourselves back in debt thanks to doctor and psychiatrist visits. There were a good 18 months where we were seeing specialists and searching for answers, and we went back into consumer debt. There is also still student loan debt we’re working on.

We stopped taking any vacations and going on family outings because we thought that all of our money should go on our debt. We did this for about two years, and then we realized that our kids are growing up. Our teenager will soon be an adult and out of the house. We only get this time with our kids once!

Reasons to Continue Family Outings and Vacations When Paying Down Debt — Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

Of course, we do our best to save money on family outings, but spending time with our children is now more of a priority, even if we still have debt.

Your Family Is Aging

Our families live far from where we do, so when we started focusing heavily on paying down our debt, we stopped traveling. We went 3.5 years without seeing my extended family. During that time, one uncle died and another got lung cancer. My uncles and aunts are all in their 70s and 80s now. I know there won’t be many times left when we can visit with them.

This fall, my daughters and I made the 2,000 mile trek to visit my extended family, doing what we could to save money. We drove instead of flying; we packed our own food on the trip so we wouldn’t have to eat out; and we stayed at hotels where we could save 20% or more. I’m very glad we made the trip, and we plan to do it again next year.

You Are Creating Memories

As I get older and see my extended family age and my children grow up, I see the importance of making memories with those I love.

I belong to several financial groups on Facebook, and recently on one, a man posted that for the last four years, even though he had debt, he and his family made the decision to take a vacation once a year. They always included the man’s mother. She passed away this Thanksgiving. He wrote that he’s so glad he took the time to vacation with his family and his mother. He’ll always have those memories, even if it will take him about a year longer to pay down his debt.

Of course, you should pay off your debt as quickly as possible to improve your finances. However, keep in mind that nothing is guaranteed in life. There are very good reasons to continue family outings and vacations when paying down debt.

Should You Create Sinking Funds Before You’re Debt Free?

October 21, 2019 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

You have debt. A lot of debt. And now you want to pay it off, IMMEDIATELY! You’re fired up. You’ve read financial blogs, read debt payoff gurus books, and you’re setting up your budget. Should you create sinking funds before your debt free or put all of your money toward debt repayment?

What Are Sinking Funds?

If you’re new to budgeting, sinking funds are money you put aside for irregular expenses you know will come up during the year. Let’s say you spend $1,000 each Christmas, so you decide, in January, to set aside $83 a month in your Christmas sinking fund. When December rolls around, you have all of the money you need to pay for your Christmas gifts debt free.

Create Sinking Funds Before You Pay Off Debt? — Photo by Eugene Zhyvchik on Unsplash

The Argument Against Sinking Funds

Some argue that you shouldn’t set up sinking funds until you’re debt free. What is the point of putting $83 aside for Christmas when you’re paying 15% interest on your credit card? That $83 each month would be better served if you applied it to your credit card and reduced the balance and therefore the amount you’re paying in interest. You’ll get out of debt more quickly this way.

The Flaw With This Kind of Thinking

There is one major flaw with this kind of thinking. What will you do when you need to actually pay one of these irregular expenses?

I live in Arizona, and six months of the year, my air conditioner runs night and day. During those months, my electric bill ranges from $225 to $275, depending on how warm it is outside. Then there are about two months a year in flux when the electric is $125 to $175, and, in the winter, for four months, my electric settles down to $80 a month.

My budget can’t handle such big fluctuations in our electric bill, so every month, I set aside $150 for electric. When summer comes, I have a large sinking fund to help me pay for those hot months when the electric bill will be much higher than $150.

If I didn’t have a sinking fund, how would I pay for the high electric bill in July?

A Happy Compromise

I encourage everyone to set up sinking funds, even if you do have lots of debt. Part of getting out of debt (and staying out of debt) is changing your attitude toward money. What’s the use of putting all of your money on your debt if you have a $1,500 car repair, no money set aside, and you have to charge it and go further back in debt again? That’s not a budget roller coaster I want to be on.

But there is a compromise; if you have extra in the sinking fund after the event is over, apply that money to debt. For instance, let’s go back to the sinking fund of $1,000 at Christmas. Let’s say you’re conservative, shop the deals, and only end up spending $750 on Christmas presents. Great! Take that leftover $250 and apply it to debt. Then, in January start saving for the sinking fund again.

If you’re paying down debt, make sure to create and fund sinking funds. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be changing your attitude toward money so when you get out of debt, you stay out of debt.

Do you create and fund sinking funds each month? If not, how do you handle it when large, unplanned or irregular expenses come up?

How to Get Out and Stay Out of Debt

September 23, 2019 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

As a nation, we’re individually mired in debt. Achieving financial freedom is strange to many people because they accept that they will always have a mortgage and a car payment, but many also accept that they will always have student loans and credit card balances. They argue that life is just too expensive, and there is no way they can make it through without credit. However, there is a simple way to get out and stay out of debt.

Why Gazelle Intensity Doesn’t Always Work

If you’re deep in debt, you may want to follow the Dave Ramsey approach and become gazelle intense, funneling all of your extra money into your debt snowball, even if it means that you’re neglecting other categories of your budget like your house and car repair fund and your retirement.

How to get out of debt and stay out of debt — Photo via flickr Mhorr Gazelle (Nanger dama mhorr) © by 5of7

While gazelle intensity works great if you only have a small amount to pay off, say $10,000 to $15,000, many people are far deeper in the whole than that, and it’s very difficult to remain gazelle intense for years. Gazelle intensity is meant to be a sprint, ideally for less than a year, not several years if you’re heavily mired in debt.

In addition, while it’s easier to neglect certain categories in your budget for a year or less, doing so for longer will cause problems. Your car will need repairs over the course of several years. Your home will need repairs which may be minor, or unfortunately, major. But because you’ve been funneling everything into your debt snowball, you may not have enough money to pay for a repair in full, so your only choice may be to pay on credit and negate your progress. How discouraging is that?

A Simpler, Slower Way to Get Out of Debt

These days I’m all about moderation, even for those who have significant debt. There is a simple way to achieve financial freedom—quit accruing new debt.

The only way to do this is to make sure that you have a realistic budget and money set aside for emergencies and irregular expenses. Put away the credit cards so going further into debt isn’t an option.

Paying Down Debt

Then, pay the minimum on all of your debts and don’t reduce that number as the minimum payments go down. Let’s say between all of your debts, your minimum monthly payment total is $1,365. A year from now, since you haven’t accrued any new debt and the balances are going down, your minimum monthly payment might have dropped to $1,290. Don’t reduce your minimum monthly debt repayment. Instead, readjust your payments so that you’re paying the minimum payment on all bills except the smallest one. On the smallest one, pay the additional $75 that is the difference between your minimum monthly payment last year and your minimum monthly payments this year.

Sure, it’s hard not to want to pay more than the minimum monthly payment that you started with in the beginning, but the idea isn’t too pay all the debt down immediately. The idea is to continue to budget and fund all of the necessary categories so that you can achieve financial freedom.

Setting a Realistic Budget

So, you’ll take a realistic look at your expenses. If you have a home worth $200,000, you’ll set aside at least 1% of that price a year in a repair fund (approximately $166 a month).

If your car is old, you’ll set aside a reasonable amount monthly for repairs and maintenance—maybe $200 a month. And if your car has over 150,000 miles, it may be time to set aside a monthly amount to buy a new car in a few years—with cash.

How to Get Out of Debt — Photo via idpinthat.com

Determine an amount that you want to set aside monthly for an emergency fund, and then just keep adding to that fund whether you have an emergency or not. Some time, you will have a major emergency, and you’ll be glad that you have a full funded emergency fund so you can pay in cash, not credit.

Getting and staying out of debt requires that you stop using credit and that you have a budget that considers all of your true expenses for the year. While this process make take longer, it also assures that you will achieve financial freedom.

Which approach do you take to get out of debt? What would you advise others who are deeply in debt?