Anybody good with Finance?

[psychodave]

Almost no savings. No retirement. Not good. Combined income of 180k
fucking sad man and no excuse for it, except living beyond our means. My piss poor attitude about life and the planet are mostly to blame for it. I should have offed myself before I met my wife.

Welll, you’re asking for help so this is positive step.

You’re making more than 85% of Americans, so you are doing great. You like to spend your money and then some, so you enjoy life. You have realized you need some help, so here we are.

As I mentioned above, write down all of your debts and your take home income. Review the highest interest rates and pay them off first. Look to opening up a heloc or credit card with lower interest rates. Transfer money over. Now the tough part is to get use on paying as much as possible to save you money. We are no longer in a low interest rate environment… so it’s important to realize $30k debt now is costing you more than 2-4 years ago. Focus on a budget and stick to it. Pay off as much as possible. This could even be a great time to experiment cooking at home with your wife… saving money and enjoying yourself. Make sure to stay positive. The world is better with you in it.

 

[japetus]

Use cash. Don't spend much. Live within your means. Learn ways to stretch a dollar by not dining out and cooking at home.

 

[Ben Waylin]

Become debt free.

Buy arable land.

Cover Van Halen tunes.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

Live within your means.

This seems to be the hardest thing for a lot of people to do. Too many with the mentality of keeping up with the Joneses. Once one can get out of that mindset they end up benefiting not only financially, but mentally as well. No more feeling pressure to run out and buy the next greatest thing just to show off your status.

 

[japetus]

This seems to be the hardest thing for a lot of people to do. Too many with the mentality of keeping up with the Joneses. Once one can get out of that mindset they end up benefiting not only financially, but mentally as well. No more feeling pressure to run out and buy the next greatest thing just to show off your status.

When you are broke, there is no choice.

 

[rsm]

I agree with @psychodave pay down the highest interest rate debt first.

IDK what the HELOC rates are today, but if you can get one with a rate below your highest interest rate debts, that would help. You have to be disciplined though or you'll have the HELOC with old debt and piling new debt on your credit cards.

Think about how you use your credit cards, and what you need them for; for example...

I use one credit card for nearly all of my monthly expenses such as gas, groceries, etc., and pay it off every month; no interest charges.

for larger expenditures, I have visa with a very low interest rate - typically use it for high end music gear that I pay off asap, usually in the same month before I get hit with interest, at most it's paid off in 3 months or less;

finally I have a credit card with a high credit limit for emergencies that I rarely use.

Get rid of credit cards you don't need; and have a system for how, when and why you use them.

 

[creep66]

We just got out of massive debt, except our home which is nearly paid off. Basically, we quit buying shit. It sucked but we did it for like 2 years. I only buy guitars shit if I sell some guitar or amp to cover it now. I managed to accumulate a decent collection so I just "trade" em out.

Sounds dumb as fuck but learn to enjoy life without being a consumer for awhile. I realized I spend most of my time lusting for gear and rarely have time to play it. I was a way better player back in my 20s when I had one les paul and a cheap 5150 combo and I thought boss made the best pedals you could buy. This board kinda fucked me up lol. Buncha assholes......

 

[billsbigego]

Thanks everyone, all good advice. I thought about draining a 40k roth, and paying off most of the debt, but the bastards would take like 15k. I don't know of what use it is anyhow, we don't put any money into it and have not for 20 years. My thinking is that this could pay everything off then we'd have $1000 a month to put into another investment. But that's probably a bad idea.

I'd like to get to a point where I am sensible and can stop having to do carpentry on the side to pay for my music habit. I have so much crap that I don't even use. I'd like to throw it all in a pile, keep my banjo. What I really need to do is get off the internet. Same shit comes out, over and over and I get suckered into thinking I need it. I'm also tired, I mean really tired of shuffling gear.

 

[Ben Waylin]

Thanks everyone, all good advice. I thought about draining a 40k roth, and paying off most of the debt, but the bastards would take like 15k. I don't know of what use it is anyhow, we don't put any money into it and have not for 20 years. My thinking is that this could pay everything off then we'd have $1000 a month to put into another investment. But that's probably a bad idea.

I'd like to get to a point where I am sensible and can stop having to do carpentry on the side to pay for my music habit. I have so much crap that I don't even use. I'd like to throw it all in a pile, keep my banjo. What I really need to do is get off the internet. Same shit comes out, over and over and I get suckered into thinking I need it. I'm also tired, I mean really tired of shuffling gear.

Start a YouTube channel and monetize it.

Post yourself playing guitar, performing original music, or teaching guitar lessons.

 

[billsbigego]

Start a YouTube channel and monetize it.

Post yourself playing guitar, performing original music, or teaching guitar lessons.

I have a channel, but it's weak. I don't really post much. It's electronic music type of noise stuff. Pretty boring to watch. I am lucky I can even post a video. I only have 600 + subscribers and it's taken me since 2017 to get that far. I don't know how people gain subs without pimping their channel all over the place.

 

[Ben Waylin]

I have a channel, but it's weak. I don't really post much. It's electronic music type of noise stuff. Pretty boring to watch. I am lucky I can even post a video. I only have 600 + subscribers and it's taken me since 2017 to get that far. I don't know how people gain subs without pimping their channel all over the place.

You just gotta know how to talk to people..

 

[rsm]

We just got out of massive debt, except our home which is nearly paid off. Basically, we quit buying shit. It sucked but we did it for like 2 years. I only buy guitars shit if I sell some guitar or amp to cover it now. I managed to accumulate a decent collection so I just "trade" em out.

Sounds dumb as fuck but learn to enjoy life without being a consumer for awhile. I realized I spend most of my time lusting for gear and rarely have time to play it. I was a way better player back in my 20s when I had one les paul and a cheap 5150 combo and I thought boss made the best pedals you could buy. This board kinda fucked me up lol. Buncha assholes......

Boss does make the best pedals; I don't use many pedals these days, but when I did I'd always check Boss and EHX first and usually buy one or the other....except my TC Electronic Nova phase - I had a G-System, Nova System and every Nova pedal.

 

[rsm]

Thanks everyone, all good advice. I thought about draining a 40k roth, and paying off most of the debt, but the bastards would take like 15k. I don't know of what use it is anyhow, we don't put any money into it and have not for 20 years. My thinking is that this could pay everything off then we'd have $1000 a month to put into another investment. But that's probably a bad idea.

I'd like to get to a point where I am sensible and can stop having to do carpentry on the side to pay for my music habit. I have so much crap that I don't even use. I'd like to throw it all in a pile, keep my banjo. What I really need to do is get off the internet. Same shit comes out, over and over and I get suckered into thinking I need it. I'm also tired, I mean really tired of shuffling gear.

Maybe consider selling some of your gear to pay down your debt, keep the minimum gear you need.

I wouldn't touch your Roth IRA, not just the penalties, but you don't have other retirement or savings IIRC.

Shop around for the HELOC rates, compare the rates to your credit cards and other debts; if the HELOC saves you interest get one that's enough to pay of your debt, no more; eliminate all but 1-2 credit cards, and make deal that all credit card purchases have to be discussed first.

Not sure if you or your wife can keep yourselves and each other in check when it comes to discretionary spending?

I know I'm repeating myself, but my concern with the HELOC is you may end up with even more debt if you can't control the credit card spending - you'll have old debt in the HELOC and new debt on the credit cards.

 

[billsbigego]

Thanks man. Yeah I'd rather not do anything that has anything to do with the mortgage. I mean we make a good amount of money. It's just the idiot mindset that got us here. As far as my wife, she's on board with me. I just need to put my mind to it. I need to shut down my kid too with the fucking $7 ice coffees at Dunkins. Then there's all the little shit pimping me $10 a month, netflix $20 a month, Hulu, etc.... Stuff all ads up. We have to get with the fact that we're going to have to do nothing for about a year to fix all of this.

 

[rsm]

Thanks man. Yeah I'd rather not do anything that has anything to do with the mortgage. I mean we make a good amount of money. It's just the idiot mindset that got us here. As far as my wife, she's on board with me. I just need to put my mind to it. I need to shut down my kid too with the fucking $7 ice coffees at Dunkins. Then there's all the little shit pimping me $10 a month, netflix $20 a month, Hulu, etc.... Stuff all ads up. We have to get with the fact that we're going to have to do nothing for about a year to fix all of this.

How about making a budget, list all your monthly expenses; if they have a balance and interest list those too.

Then calculate each expense cost per year (with interest if applicable).

Separate expenses into required (mortgage, utilities, insurance, food, etc.) and non-essential - then find ways to eliminate or reduce the non-essential expenses.

Seeing the numbers in writing, in a spreadsheet. makes the truth clear.

For example, my utilities are: water/sewer, electric, and internet. I haven't had any entertainment cable or satellite in well over 10 years. Our personal phones are recent, my son's is newer because he's a teen, and I use a pay as you go monthly payment family plan without a contract. Cars and boats are paid for. I pay car and boat insurance in full when due so I avoid their processing fees.

I try to live below my means, save and invest as much as possible; the only "fun" spending is on music gear, guns/ammo, and boating which all add up. We go out to eat maybe 3-4 times a month max, and it's not fine dining.

My biggest monthly expenses are alimony and child support (which I pay even though my son lives with me), and I have several more years to go. Alimony and child support combined are roughly 1/3 of my net income because she was a stay at home mom. Still it's less than my ex-wife would spend in a year when we were married.

 

[311splawndude]

Write out your net income and debits. Look at your credit card bill and know what interest rate you are paying. Always try to pay off the one with the highest interest rate first. Can you budget for 4-5 months to pay off the debit. Stop all unnecessary spending, buy food and cook it at home, etc. Don’t go on a vacation this summer. A great thing about doing this is if you keep up with a long term budget, you will have some financial freedom.

You could roll all debt to a 0% interest card, but know that if you don’t pay it off, the interest will accrue (and likely compound) and you wont be any better off (unless the new card has a lower interest rate). A HELOC could possibly help, of course you need to determine the interest rate.

IF you use a debt consolidation tactic, you have to STOP the frivolous spending, otherwise you will be worse off. For example, say you roll all of your debit into a heloc at 5%. Don’t start using your credit cards again to buy stupid shit.

What are your savings? Do you save for retirement? Do you contribute to a work 401k? If so, you could divert some of that money toward debit (of course AFTER you go over any company match. After all, you don’t want to lose free money).

This and what @rsm is saying

I would not touch your 401k if can avoid it - you are going to need it later.

 

[Monkey Man]

It's electronic music type of noise stuff.

Some awesome sounds happening there mate.