A Fresh Start

Quok

Hello all,

I am new, and I am also a bit of an interloper (Canadian). I hope that that is okay. The amount of information, advice and support on this forum is incredible, and I really think that I could benefit from it if you'll have me.

So a bit of background for me:

Our current total household debt load is $62,424.31.

This is broken down into the following:
Credit Card Debt: $4,862.24 (at 14.9%-29.90%)
Vehicle Loan 1: $11,276.20 (at 4.99%)
Vehicle Loan 2: $30,025.02 (at 3.06%)
Student Loans (2): $13,249.63 (at 5.5%)
Motorcycle Loan: $3,612.30 (at 10.25%)

The interest rates make me queasy; I know that they are bad. My goal is to pay $500 per month on the Credit Card debt while making the monthly payments on the remaining debts (total = $1,074.98/month) until the credit cards have been completely eliminated. If I am able to maintain that, we will have the credit cards paid off in July 2013. At that point, we plan to only keep one card each with a $500 limit.

One problem is that I am due with our 4th child in a few weeks, and my last employment contract ended in July. I haven't found anything since, and am not likely to pick up work in this state now. My husband (DH) works full time and has been working steady overtime to make up the difference. He switched companies in July and his annual base income is roughly $50,000 net ($68,640 gross). However, in reality, with overtime he is set to gross closer to $100,000 per year.

Currently, our total monthly expenses are $4,480.80 (this is including our planned debt payments). I have trimmed this back as much as possible at the moment, but I cannot get it to fall any lower. DH needs to sell his motorcycle, but is not willing to do so until Spring as he doesn't think he will get much for it during the off-season.

We currently have no savings at all, which I realize is very, very bad - especially as we have dependants. We do have health coverage through DH's union.

My goal right now is to reduce our debt from $62,424.31 to $46,978.49 (roughly 25%) within one year, and to increase our income by $1,000 per month to build savings ($500 per month to savings, and $500 per month to put towards our debt elimination goal).

I am currently completing a professional bookkeeping program, but will not likely be able to work outside of the home for the next year or so. I am considering running a child care day home once this baby is a couple of months old - I have done this in the past and estimate that I could meet my $1,000 extra per month goal by caring for 3 children.

Right now we are recovering from some major financial pitfalls, including vehicle repairs totalling over $2,000, a family wedding that cost us $1,000 and the cost of my courses - all which seemed to combine at once. We were also reassessed for our income tax and had to pay some of that back around the same time. If these things had been spaced out a bit more, it wouldn't have been so bad, but they really hurt us coming all at once.

This month we are $560 short for our expenses because we are still playing catch up. I am in the process of trying to figure out how to manage this shortfall without adding more to our debt, and am about to call DH's union to see what vacation pay he has available and if we can have it paid out on his next cheque. I am also listing things to sell online.

If anyone has any other suggestions or advice for me, I am all ears. I will report back on our progress.

Quok

DH has withdrawn his vacation pay, and that cheque should arrive in the mail this week. It should cover our shortfall of $560.

Challenge for this week: Bring in an extra $100.00 to put on credit cards.

Plan of action:
- List for sale the following items - maternity clothes, double stroller, sub and amp, wedding decor, children's toys, video games and accessories. (Difficult to estimate based on interest, but potential for $200-$400)
- Return empty bottles to LCBO (estimate $8.00)

I will report back on how successful I am this week.

I also have to account for a few additional expenses.
$100.00 for chiropractor appointment (which should be reimbursed through DH's benefits, so I won't worry about "finding" this money)
$50.00 for Hallowe'en candy and costume pieces for the kids (which I will have to find in the budget)

pantherchick

Quok wrote: »

DH has withdrawn his vacation pay, and that cheque should arrive in the mail this week. It should cover our shortfall of $560.

Challenge for this week: Bring in an extra $100.00 to put on credit cards.

Plan of action:
- List for sale the following items - maternity clothes, double stroller, sub and amp, wedding decor, children's toys, video games and accessories. (Difficult to estimate based on interest, but potential for $200-$400)
- Return empty bottles to LCBO (estimate $8.00)

I will report back on how successful I am this week.

I also have to account for a few additional expenses.
$100.00 for chiropractor appointment (which should be reimbursed through DH's benefits, so I won't worry about "finding" this money)
$50.00 for Hallowe'en candy and costume pieces for the kids (which I will have to find in the budget)

Hey there! friend over the pond!
First let me say HI. and welcome to this website. Martins pages are very informative. I found you can find any information you will need here on this website. So yes we will have you!
You will soon settle down and start putting your own challenges and joining groups of challenges. to help you with your goal. You have taken your first steps with adding all the debt up and seeing what and where you need to make the changes.
Juggling finance is never good so clear guide lines are good, I will be happy to remain helpfull if i can be of any help. I recently found these pages and on a daily basis pop into the different rooms to see if i can help myself, to be more savvi with my money.
You say you have a large family so have you started your food budget yet, cutting back on food you end up throwing away, i noticed we threw away quite abit on a weekly basis, so try not to over spend when shopping, going for a lower branded food product can also shave some money off your shopping bill, planning meals to cook and baking more can often help too. alittle bit of planning can help. let me know if any of this is helping you.:rotfl:
I too sell online, and my challenge as bought in a regular few pounds a week to put in my pot. i also save change and special coins, mine is the £2 coin.
well i wish you luck my dear over the pond friend and enjoy your journey to a debt free life.. look forward in following your progress. good luck xxx pantherchick xx:beer:

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Quok, good luck on your journey. You are in a fortunate position with your OHs income and if you can offer child care that's a good source of income.

Have you tried the snowballing tool on here? May be worth having a go to make sure you clear the debt in the best way. Menu planning is a brilliant way of reducing waste and tracking your freezer, larder and fridge contents helps you to buy the minimum each week.

Best wishes Tilly