
Subject: Re: Bankrupt or try to 'gut it out'? Date: 11/4/2012 9:44 AM
Recommendations: 0
Jean wrote:

****Just teachers get a lot of time off. What is your point? We also have to do a ton of work with lesson plans, report cards, dealing not just with kids, but with their parents who are often worse than their kids. We have to keep continuing our education in order to stay certified. That means in part, that I have to take at least eight college credit hours every five years. Yes, we get a lot of time off, but we also do a lot of stuff during that time. It's not my fault that teacher's get a lot of time off. Lets see you deal with 300 kids a day (plus your principal, plus the kids parents) ages 5-11 and see if you might need a little time off.

Whoa, I was just stating fact. Teachers generally get more time off than many other jobs.

*****So, why waste time stating the obvious?

I don't think it would be as easy for your wife to take time off or rearrange her schedule if she worked in any of the jobs you mentioned.

****Why not? The ONLY time commitment she has is with her $400 dollar per MONTH kid that she 'watches'.****

I don't think it would be as easy for your wife to take time off or rearrange her schedule if she worked in any of the jobs you mentioned. I, also, wonder how much those jobs you mentioned payed. I would think they might be less than the $10.00 per hour she's able to charge for cleaning.

****They may pay MORE, they may provide a STEADY source of income rather than a "I hope I get a few calls for cleaning jobs this week. Lets just sit back and see if the phone rings.

How do you keep track of the expenses? Do you pay with CC, Debit card, check, cash? Do you put the expenses in a quicken or similar program?

*****We don't keep track of the expenses. Since she has more time on her hands, and it is better at organization, I thought this might be something she could do for the family.

****The current system is we check our joint checking account daily, we look to see what bills are not paid yet, and make projections on if we still have enough cash in our joint checking account to pay for everything for that month.

****She started her own checking account last week. I guess that is how she plans on keeping track of her expenses as they relate to her businesses.

****My thought was we should keep it all in one pot (simplicity) and that she has time (when she watches the four year old from 1230pm to 515pm) to spend just an hour a day doing the common sense things that you are suggesting. She made a budget . . . but we have no idea if we are staying on it . . . because expenses are not tracked.

****We tried it once (keeping track of every thing we bought for the day). But, we are so lacking in discipline that it lasted maybe maybe two weeks MAX. That is not an excuse, that is just telling what happened.

*****I guess if I were really motivated I could do it. One of the problems is that I am very exhausted when I get home from school. I don't have the needed desire or energy to do it at that time. Weekends come, and then comes lesson plans, laundry, other stuff. It seems more ideal for her to keep track of our expenditures during her chunk of 'free' time she has every morning 'watching' the little guy from 1230pm to 515pm.

You mentioned paying off debt with things like the tax return. How do you decide which cards/loans to apply the extra payments to? Most here think they should be applied to the card with the highest interest payment first.

****Yeah, I am aware of the highest interest plan. However, we keep them all under 3% for the most part due to balance transfer promos. She we find the one with the lowest 'hanging fruit', knock them out as to simplify life. But, now I think our first priority is to pay ourselves FIRST. Even if it is just 25 bucks a month in savings, until we get 1k in savings so that when the inevitable emergencies come up in life . . . we can pay for them with cash, rather than reaching for more plastic.

Hmmmm, thinking back on this thread there hasn't been much mention of the different cards, their balances and interest rates. Generally that is more the focus of this board.

****We got four cards with balances on them. The balances could average out to about 8k a piece. All are currently at 0-2% interest. We keep the promo expire rates in our calender so we can switch them over to a zero balance card with a zero balance interest deal.

Rather than placing fault the board tends to consentrate on

1. How to stop digging the hole deeper. A major part of which, is to find out where the money is going and keep details of where it is going. It doesn't really matter if you spent too much on books last week or she spent too much on food. What matters is how much is being spent today, tomorrow, etc.

***Agreed. Thank you.

2. Stop using the Credit cards.

***We are doing 95% better with that. But since we have NO CASH, we occasionally have to use them when emergencies come up. Since I am the BAD BOY with the head diagnosis, all credit cards have been given to her. She keeps them in a save, hidden place . . . from me. Hopefully she will have the discipline not to raid them.

3. The best way to fill in the hole.


Thank you for your time, wisdom and help/interest.

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