I'm trying to figure out how to get our finances in order. It's a sorry sight. DH is a public school teacher. He makes an okay amount of money, thought not enough for our whole family to live on. I used to be a public school teacher, but now I teach preschool. I almost love everything about teaching preschool, but the one big downside with it is my pay, which is just a fraction of what I would be getting as a public school teacher. And here comes the summer. So many people say, "I wish I was a teacher - don't have to work all summer!" What they don't realize is that we don't get PAID all summer, either!!! DH's paychecks are spread out over 12 months instead of just 10, but mine are finished soon and won't start up again until September.
DH's dad used to be career military, so we have access to USAA, a financial site for military families. I just received a refund from our oil company (paid a budget amount all winter and was left with almost $800 that they were going to put towards next year - umm...think I could use the money now!) which will be used to pay off the credit card from USAA - woohooooo!!! We still owe on our Discover Card AND have a line of credit from when we changed our garage into a playroom AND our mortgage. Now I'm trying to determine if maybe we should transfer everything to USAA. I guess I need to determine if they have the best rates around. I THINK they do, being geared for our military, but guess I should check first.
I know, this is not an exciting post, but it's what I'm thinking about right now!
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You're right to be concerned! Finances are very important and very scary! Here's my best advice.....
ReplyDeleteHandle your finances in a FlyLady-type way -- with babysteps! What helped me was to start out by sitting down with every one of our bills and writing down EXACTLY how much we owed and how much we were paying each month. It was scary, but that's what lit the fire under me. I didn't feel like I could dig us out from under our financial rock by myself, so I looked around for a FlyLady-type system that would guide me through what must be so obvious to others. There are many out there. I ended up subscribing to the Dave Ramsey My Total Money Makeover site. There's a lot that Mr. Ramsey and I disagree about, but his plan is pretty solid. I needed the support and guidance for a long time (over two years) until I was far enough along to go out on my own. We are now within sight of paying off the last of our debts and we've paid cash for everything along the way (including a big home repair project and a couple of very modest vacations).
What you really need is a PLAN! You also need to examine EVERY purchase through the proper lens. Yes, it's dull and boring and frustrating and it sucks..... but you'll be SO GLAD you did in a few years! Let me know if I can help you out in any way. I'm certainly not a financial expert, but I'm really proud of how far we've come in 2.5 years!
Perky - One of the main problems is that DH and I are not on the same page. I feel getting out of debt should be one of our top priorities; he agrees but wants to put so much of our money into building up his classroom library. It's frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI do know where all our money goes; I know how much we spend each month and how we spend it. So that's a plus. Now I've just got to make the getting out of debt part a reality, even if that means bringing DH along kicking and screaming!
USAA is generally great. I've had everything with them since I got my first car. In most cases when I get a call to "compare my insurance" I tell them I have USAA and they generally say "never mind".
ReplyDeleteI mean obviously don't just take my word for it, look into it, but that has been my experience.
Finances are so hard!
ReplyDeleteI am going to be your first follower...yippee!!!!