For anyone considering credit cards

[mike9302]

Tinroofrusted nice try. But yes I do make 23,000 a year but I have been at the same job for 3 years and we get all the overtime we want so I get a little more. I usually take home about 800 every two weeks. My health insurance is top notch with no deductibles as well as my dental and they cost me nothing and are fully paid for by my employer. Also I did not save up my savings in 1 year like you assusmed. But for your info I use an envelope system for my bills. And also my truck is a 4 cylinder to save on gas. But here is my budget below.


my rent for a good apartment because things here in the south obviously seems to be cheaper for cost of living compared to other places. You can actually get a good home for 100k or less. But my rent is 475 a month. But each paycheck here is what I do.

Rent 240
Power 30 because I keep my lights off during the day and the a/c is set to come on 1 hour before I get home.
Water 13.00
phone 25
insurance 35
cable 30
Since I drive a 4 cylinder vehicle I usually fill up once a week at about 35.00 so that is 70 for gas

so that means that out of my paycheck every two weeks genius about 445 come out for bills leaving me about 355.00 for food and whatever else I need. I usually eat on about 100.00 or less every two weeks because I dont eat much and I dont eat fancy meals or go out much. Hell I may eat a couple of things from the dollar menu for lunch at work or take some left overs from the night before to work. But I usually add about 200 a month to my savings which comes out to be about 2400 a year and I have the money in a high yield savings account at ING direct which is a good savings. I also do from time to time side work working on peoples cars which gives me a little extra that I usually put in savings. Yes I know renting an apartment is throwing away money but I am saving up enough to put a down payment on a home. I would like to purchase a piece of land here and pay cash for it if possible then save up for a while and have a home built on it. I hope that maybe I can get married or meet the right one within the next 5 years and we can together build a home but if I dont meet anyone it will just take me longer but I refuse to go broke with payments up to my eyeballs to get everything I would like now. I would rather live in an apartment now and just wait. Sure friends of mine have nicer vehicles and have a home but they are up to there eyeballs in debt and I wont do that. For my vehicle though my engine could blow right now and I could have a brand new one put in at the dealership and have no worries about trying to pay a debt card back for the purchase. I think I am heading in the right decision and am prepared for any emergency that comes my way. If I cant then I will find some way to deal with it. Right now I may only make 23,000 a year but that will eventually change for me and I will do better.

[tinroofrusted]

Tinroofrusted nice try. But yes I do make 23,000 a year but I have been at the same job for 3 years and we get all the overtime we want so I get a little more. I usually take home about 800 every two weeks. My health insurance is top notch with no deductibles as well as my dental and they cost me nothing and are fully paid for by my employer. Also I did not save up my savings in 1 year like you assusmed. But for your info I use an envelope system for my bills. And also my truck is a 4 cylinder to save on gas. But here is my budget below.


my rent for a good apartment because things here in the south obviously seems to be cheaper for cost of living compared to other places. You can actually get a good home for 100k or less. But my rent is 475 a month. But each paycheck here is what I do.

Rent 240
Power 30 because I keep my lights off during the day and the a/c is set to come on 1 hour before I get home.
Water 13.00
phone 25
insurance 35
cable 30
Since I drive a 4 cylinder vehicle I usually fill up once a week at about 35.00 so that is 70 for gas

so that means that out of my paycheck every two weeks genius about 445 come out for bills leaving me about 355.00 for food and whatever else I need. I usually eat on about 100.00 or less every two weeks because I dont eat much and I dont eat fancy meals or go out much. Hell I may eat a couple of things from the dollar menu for lunch at work or take some left overs from the night before to work. But I usually add about 200 a month to my savings which comes out to be about 2400 a year and I have the money in a high yield savings account at ING direct which is a good savings. I also do from time to time side work working on peoples cars which gives me a little extra that I usually put in savings. Yes I know renting an apartment is throwing away money but I am saving up enough to put a down payment on a home. I would like to purchase a piece of land here and pay cash for it if possible then save up for a while and have a home built on it. I hope that maybe I can get married or meet the right one within the next 5 years and we can together build a home but if I dont meet anyone it will just take me longer but I refuse to go broke with payments up to my eyeballs to get everything I would like now. I would rather live in an apartment now and just wait. Sure friends of mine have nicer vehicles and have a home but they are up to there eyeballs in debt and I wont do that. For my vehicle though my engine could blow right now and I could have a brand new one put in at the dealership and have no worries about trying to pay a debt card back for the purchase. I think I am heading in the right decision and am prepared for any emergency that comes my way. If I cant then I will find some way to deal with it. Right now I may only make 23,000 a year but that will eventually change for me and I will do better.

Let's see how this works when you have a wife and two kids to support, kiddo.

If it works for you, that's great. However, I don't appreciate you coming here to tear others down if they have found something that works for them. You are bad news, and you have horrible taste. Dave Ramsey wouold be proud though... another little snot nosed protege *hoping* to follow in his footsteps.

Just remember: Dave Ramsey makes hundreds of thousands a year. The average person makes 30k. Mr. Ramsey supports being away from your children and wife to pay bills. He also supports an irration and unidealized "emergency fund" of 10K or more in a bank account. He also paid for his children to have BMW cars, and other unnecessary toys at a very young age.

When he, AND YOU for that matter, can live off of $30K a year, and support a family, and still save thousands a year, perhaps then you will have a voice and room to talk. Until that time, you are living in denial, until you join the real world, and you may be back here dragging tail to admit defeat when you have to file bankruptcy yourself.

[Kam]

"Hell I may eat a couple of things from the dollar menu for lunch at work or take some left overs from the night before to work. "

Where do you work? Mc Donalds? Wendy's?

[anonymuse]

The dollar menu is a lifesaver for a quick lunch. Wendy's Chicken Nuggets in their side salad--$2 for a semi-healthy lunch.

I'm not knocking this kid for what he's doing--kudos to him since he can make it work.

It depresses me around here that the people in mobile homes are being pushed out since developers are buying up the area to build more expensive homes and the people around there are happy since the mobile homes devalue their property.

Where is someone supposed to live? At least those in mobile homes aren't throwing rent away; however, mobile homes don't appreciate well either. But it sure is nice having a place to call home where you don't have to worry about people living above or below you.

This guy is probably making $11 an hour base pay. (Although, that's being a bit deceptive since now we hear about overtime and jobs that appear to be "under the table".)

Just for educational value:

$240 rent--he's hit the jackpot. Rent here for absolute dumps start at $700 for one bedrooms, $1000 for two--and thats only if you stay away from the city.

Mortgage: 700 for me and it includes about $100 in escrow

Power: 30 vs 170 (for me incl electric and gas--and I've got a whole house fan to suck the cool air in the morning and only set a/c at 78 deg during day and down to 74 when I get home).

Water: 13 vs 33.40 (that's the min we can pay here for water & sewer--we fought to get it lowered (and won) since we are in townhomes)

Phone: 25 vs $100 (guess he doesn't need a cell phone, or calling anyone long distance, and doesn't live out of certain regions where basic phone costs extra)

Insurance: 35 vs $100 (mine is life, auto, home)

HOA fees: 0 vs $125

Cable: 30 vs 45 (Satellite for me--pay extra for local channels since I can only get one without it)

Internet/DSL: 0 vs $45 (a luxury over dial-up and lets me work at home to catch up on work I miss due to med appts)

Gas: 70 vs $150 (and it keeps going up--spent $44 to fill the tank this week)--but my car gets 33-35 mpg)

Medical: $0 (dang is he lucky!) vs ??? (500 yrly deductible, meds $200 monthly, $25 CPAP (to breath at night), $20-40 copays for Dr's per month, OTC meds $30 monthy) so I'm looking at $300 a month total (and doesn't count what I owe for 2 outpatient surgical procedures and 1 hospital stay I had this year)

My point? The reason I'm taking the time to show Mike this is so that he gets a sense of our realitly vs his reality. No one is right or wrong--just different.

I'm single, no divorce, no kids--I think he'd be pretty surprised if we posted our schedule I & J's up here. I can only imagine what the numbers would look like for others.

[tinroofrusted]

The dollar menu is a lifesaver for a quick lunch. Wendy's Chicken Nuggets in their side salad--$2 for a semi-healthy lunch.

I'm not knocking this kid for what he's doing--kudos to him since he can make it work.

It depresses me around here that the people in mobile homes are being pushed out since developers are buying up the area to build more expensive homes and the people around there are happy since the mobile homes devalue their property.

Where is someone supposed to live? At least those in mobile homes aren't throwing rent away; however, mobile homes don't appreciate well either. But it sure is nice having a place to call home where you don't have to worry about people living above or below you.

This guy is probably making $11 an hour base pay. (Although, that's being a bit deceptive since now we hear about overtime and jobs that appear to be "under the table".)

Just for educational value:

$240 rent--he's hit the jackpot. Rent here for absolute dumps start at $700 for one bedrooms, $1000 for two--and thats only if you stay away from the city.

Mortgage: 700 for me and it includes about $100 in escrow

Power: 30 vs 170 (for me incl electric and gas--and I've got a whole house fan to suck the cool air in the morning and only set a/c at 78 deg during day and down to 74 when I get home).

Water: 13 vs 33.40 (that's the min we can pay here for water & sewer--we fought to get it lowered (and won) since we are in townhomes)

Phone: 25 vs $100 (guess he doesn't need a cell phone, or calling anyone long distance, and doesn't live out of certain regions where basic phone costs extra)

Insurance: 35 vs $100 (mine is life, auto, home)

HOA fees: 0 vs $125

Cable: 30 vs 45 (Satellite for me--pay extra for local channels since I can only get one without it)

Internet/DSL: 0 vs $45 (a luxury over dial-up and lets me work at home to catch up on work I miss due to med appts)

Gas: 70 vs $150 (and it keeps going up--spent $44 to fill the tank this week)--but my car gets 33-35 mpg)

Medical: $0 (dang is he lucky!) vs ??? (500 yrly deductible, meds $200 monthly, $25 CPAP (to breath at night), $20-40 copays for Dr's per month, OTC meds $30 monthy) so I'm looking at $300 a month total (and doesn't count what I owe for 2 outpatient surgical procedures and 1 hospital stay I had this year)

My point? The reason I'm taking the time to show Mike this is so that he gets a sense of our realitly vs his reality. No one is right or wrong--just different.

I'm single, no divorce, no kids--I think he'd be pretty surprised if we posted our schedule I & J's up here. I can only imagine what the numbers would look like for others.

$240, I believe is HALF of everything... and that's how his list goes, I do believe.

And you are SO very right, everyone is completely different from each other, as far as what they are paying out, and in a month.

I do believe though, that if Mr. Mike weren't getting all that overtime, and "under the table" work, he would probably be having a harder time than he currently is too. 23K nowadays doesn't buy you much.

I am also REALLY curious to know how someone who isn't 25 yet can get insurance rates at $70.00 a month- even if it IS just PLPD. That is a really interesting thing right there. And especially when it's a policy that is his own... my guess? He's still under his parents policy to save a few bucks.

[mike9302]

I am not under my parent policy at all. I have full coverage insurance but I chose to get 1,000 dollar deductibles because I have a nice size emergency fund that would make it no problem paying that 1,000 deductible. I also took through state farm insurance what is called the young drivers course that saves me something like an additional 15% off my insurance and I choose to pay the premium once every 6 months which lowers it more. And yes it is true that what I listed it half of the bills and that is what I pay every pay day. Also if I lost the overtime yes things would become harder for me but I would again have my emergency fund that I could rely on if absolutley necessary but if I were to cut the cable for a while and put less in savings I doubt I would need to touch it. I also would probably work part time like I did before to make up the difference and wind up with even more money. Yea things are becoming expensive but if you think about things for a while like what is a necessity and what is just something I would like to have then it makes things just that much easier. I cant wait myself to get out of this apartment when I eventually build me a home. But yea I can live cheap but I am not broke either. I go grocery shopping and usually buy the store brand which in most cases is just as good. I may go to walmart and buy those bags of chicken breast that are 6.00 a bag and a pack of wheat buns for a really good chicken sandwhich, also things like canned vegtables, mac and cheese which are all really good but inexpensive. For clothes sure i buy new sometimes but I may do a layaway at walmart. I see no point in spending 40 for a pair of jeans at sears or get a pair at walmart which I find to last longer than Levis for 15. But also sometimes I go to thrift stores and find really good clothing that may of not fit the previous person or I go to consignment shops. Someone may come out of sears with 4 pair of jeans for 170 when I can get 4 for maybe 10 or less. But I am going to find a better job. I work on computers right now and the job market in this area aint so hot right now but I will do something. But you just got to find ways to cut your budget. You got to think while your going through a hard time stuff like do I really need that cable service with the digital box, and the 100 extra channels for 30 extra a month? I am not saying you have that but in most (notice I said most) cases you can cut corners. And yes 23,000 isnt much but things in the south are cheaper. My neighbor lived in San Diego, CA for a while and said cashiers were making 18.00 an hour but you couldnt get a trailor on a lot for under 125,000. Here in the south you can get a home and not a trailer but a move in condition home in a decent area where you dont have to worry about your radio being stolen in the night for 100k or less. If you want a trailer on a lot and want a decent one look for about 45k and if you want to be southern trailer trash look for about 20k or less lol. A friend of mine is looking to sell her home here in the next 3 years and it is a 3 bedroom 2 bath about 1300sf on almost an acre of land and it is going for 79,000 and it has a new roof, vinyl siding, lanoliom flooring, and maybe new carpet before they move. Maybe for some people who cant afford a home elsewhere because pay is nowhere near enough maybe they ought to research another area of the country. I for sure will never think of California especially when my neighbor said a 600sf apartment was 1600 a month.

[anonymuse]

$240, I believe is HALF of everything... and that's how his list goes, I do believe.

Oops, didn't catch that. Was around midnight when I was reading the boards. Now it makes a wee bit more sense.

[anonymuse]

Mike, please, while we admire your frugal lifestyle and initiative to save money, could you please answer one question that you have been avoiding--why do you choose to come and post on these boards?

[tinroofrusted]

Mike, please, while we admire your frugal lifestyle and initiative to save money, could you please answer one question that you have been avoiding--why do you choose to come and post on these boards?

Very good question. I am dying to know the answer to this one as well.

(And BTW- I could care less about how frugal he is... I don't need advice from a damn kid.....)

[mike9302]

No matter what my age I think that is some advice. My whole reason for posting is I am asking why would you want to go right back to credit cards after getting a fresh start. To say I am not gonna listen to someone because of there age is ignorant and being closed minded. Just because your older does not mean your smarter or better. But without being attacked think about this for a second. Some people say they need credit cards to live of of because they dont make enough. Well that is a temporary solution. You buy 100 worth of stuff on the card this month and make a 10.00 payment. Sure you got by fine and made the payment. Now the next month you but another 100.00 and now owe that 100 plus probably still 95 from the previous month from only making the minimum payment now your minimum may go up and it is a chain reaction. you factor in extra things that may come up and you all the sudden have a large balance on a credit card. Now god forbid you make a late payment. Your intrest will go up 18-22% and they will whack on a 30 late payment fee. Now some people will go out when that card reaches it max and get another and eventually get so far in the hole they cant get out. My poing is why not learn to live on what you make. If you want more you gotta work for it or you got to find ways to cut costs. Say if you make 50,000 a year and get approved for a house up to 125,000 dont go for the max loan like most would do. Try going for maybe 75,000. Now I know housing is higher in most places but that is just an example. Think to yourself do you really need all those extra features on you phone or do you need 300 channels with a digital box for cable? Sure things are going up faster than pay but there is nothing you can really do about it but find ways to cut costs and do some side work if possible. I know I do. Hell I fix people brakes on there cars, do tune ups and other minor work and make some decent money from time to time. I may be cheap but I am not broke and I got out of the credit card trap and will never go back again and will learn to live on what I make. Go ahead and bash me because but I am sure there will be a couple who will think for a minute about ways to save money and think maybe he is right on a couple of things.

[mike9302]

Credit cards and loans are fiercly marketed to people I mean I must see 4 or 5 credit card commercials a day and I love capitol ones commercials becuase they are funny but there product is not, then I see even more on the net, everywhere are advertisements to refinance homes, get a car loan, credit cards, etc. Also with the rise in the advertisement of credit cards and debt you are seeing a ton more advertisements for bankruptcy attorneys and credit counseling services. Also you are seeing a lot more people being taken advantage of with the credit counseling services. People look at me weird when I say credit cards are not smart to have. But ask your parents on how much they borrowed when they were younger or how much there parents borrowed. People these days want to run to the bank and get a loan for everything then they are traped in a never ending cycle of payments. I mean 5 years for a vehicle, 30 years for a home, 15-30 years student loan, credit cards where the minimum barely makes a dent, then after your all done with the payments you barely have anything to put in a savings or invest for retirement. Retirement from ss is dying. i dont look to really get a thing when i turn 67 or whatever age is may be by then. My point is why run out to get all these payments again when this is the perfect oppurtuinity to save some money for yourself and not make the bank rich. I want to teach my children the value of the dollar and that they should think before they purchase something and that saving should be a priority. I want them to earn what they get and be smart about making purchases. Life on credit just isnt fun. It is nice to own things and not have payments.

[pink_amulet]

No matter what my age I think that is some advice. My whole reason for posting is I am asking why would you want to go right back to credit cards after getting a fresh start. To say I am not gonna listen to someone because of there age is ignorant and being closed minded. Just because your older does not mean your smarter or better. But without being attacked think about this for a second. Some people say they need credit cards to live of of because they dont make enough. Well that is a temporary solution. You buy 100 worth of stuff on the card this month and make a 10.00 payment. Sure you got by fine and made the payment. Now the next month you but another 100.00 and now owe that 100 plus probably still 95 from the previous month from only making the minimum payment now your minimum may go up and it is a chain reaction. you factor in extra things that may come up and you all the sudden have a large balance on a credit card. Now god forbid you make a late payment. Your intrest will go up 18-22% and they will whack on a 30 late payment fee. Now some people will go out when that card reaches it max and get another and eventually get so far in the hole they cant get out. My poing is why not learn to live on what you make. If you want more you gotta work for it or you got to find ways to cut costs. Say if you make 50,000 a year and get approved for a house up to 125,000 dont go for the max loan like most would do. Try going for maybe 75,000. Now I know housing is higher in most places but that is just an example. Think to yourself do you really need all those extra features on you phone or do you need 300 channels with a digital box for cable? Sure things are going up faster than pay but there is nothing you can really do about it but find ways to cut costs and do some side work if possible. I know I do. Hell I fix people brakes on there cars, do tune ups and other minor work and make some decent money from time to time. I may be cheap but I am not broke and I got out of the credit card trap and will never go back again and will learn to live on what I make. Go ahead and bash me because but I am sure there will be a couple who will think for a minute about ways to save money and think maybe he is right on a couple of things.

[pink_amulet]

Credit cards and loans are fiercly marketed to people I mean I must see 4 or 5 credit card commercials a day and I love capitol ones commercials becuase they are funny but there product is not, then I see even more on the net, everywhere are advertisements to refinance homes, get a car loan, credit cards, etc. Also with the rise in the advertisement of credit cards and debt you are seeing a ton more advertisements for bankruptcy attorneys and credit counseling services. Also you are seeing a lot more people being taken advantage of with the credit counseling services. People look at me weird when I say credit cards are not smart to have. But ask your parents on how much they borrowed when they were younger or how much there parents borrowed. People these days want to run to the bank and get a loan for everything then they are traped in a never ending cycle of payments. I mean 5 years for a vehicle, 30 years for a home, 15-30 years student loan, credit cards where the minimum barely makes a dent, then after your all done with the payments you barely have anything to put in a savings or invest for retirement. Retirement from ss is dying. i dont look to really get a thing when i turn 67 or whatever age is may be by then. My point is why run out to get all these payments again when this is the perfect oppurtuinity to save some money for yourself and not make the bank rich. I want to teach my children the value of the dollar and that they should think before they purchase something and that saving should be a priority. I want them to earn what they get and be smart about making purchases. Life on credit just isnt fun. It is nice to own things and not have payments.

I bet if you did a poll, and ask what the balances of the new credit cards people have gotten, you would be surprised. You would see that people are only charging one or two items and paying them off right ...... they are not racking up interest, not running up balances that will take years to pay off.

OK .....it's like this......
~ If you see a hot iron, and you touch it ....guess what you get burned!!!
RIGHT??
~ However, if again you see another hot iron, you will learn from the first time you get burned and won;t touch it again!
RIGHT??


Well same on here.....

if people ran into cc problems, before, they know NOW to stay on top of things and plan of unforseen situations!!

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Credit cards and loans are fiercly marketed to people I mean I must see 4 or 5 credit card commercials a day and I love capitol ones commercials becuase they are funny but there product is not, then I see even more on the net, everywhere are advertisements to refinance homes, get a car loan, credit cards, etc. Also with the rise in the advertisement of credit cards and debt you are seeing a ton more advertisements for bankruptcy attorneys and credit counseling services. Also you are seeing a lot more people being taken advantage of with the credit counseling services. People look at me weird when I say credit cards are not smart to have. But ask your parents on how much they borrowed when they were younger or how much there parents borrowed. People these days want to run to the bank and get a loan for everything then they are traped in a never ending cycle of payments. I mean 5 years for a vehicle, 30 years for a home, 15-30 years student loan, credit cards where the minimum barely makes a dent, then after your all done with the payments you barely have anything to put in a savings or invest for retirement. Retirement from ss is dying. i dont look to really get a thing when i turn 67 or whatever age is may be by then. My point is why run out to get all these payments again when this is the perfect oppurtuinity to save some money for yourself and not make the bank rich. I want to teach my children the value of the dollar and that they should think before they purchase something and that saving should be a priority. I want them to earn what they get and be smart about making purchases. Life on credit just isnt fun. It is nice to own things and not have payments.

Yeah, but negro, who here has credit card debt? Are you stupid or something?

[tinroofrusted]

No matter what my age I think that is some advice. My whole reason for posting is I am asking why would you want to go right back to credit cards after getting a fresh start.

Ahem... since you didn't read the first time.... (can you read at all?)


It's none of your damn business!