by Jessica W on September 2, 2010
image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. That’s about all I can say. I’ve been absent here at DebtKid for a while. The story begins this way…perhaps as a result of an old injury, or lifting something, I managed to somehow critically damage a disk in my back.
If you’ve never experienced it before, it is perhaps the most excruciating pain I’ve ever experienced.
Co-pays are rolling in…. MRI, CAT-scan, acupuncture (great for pain control by the way), prescriptions and several months of physical therapy. It’s like the budgetary equivalent of death by paper cuts. Add to that, our oldest daughter had a terrible and mysterious stomach ailment resulting in hospitalization and more co-pays. Daughter #2 still needs those fillings too, a $500 dental co-pay expected soon.
It pretty much wiped out our get-out-of-debt progress for August and the conceivable future.
Due to the back pain and the heavy medication I was unable to work for six weeks, so there’s no cash flow for this month from my two small businesses (again, thankful for my husband’s job!)
Like the proverbial silver lining, from every crisis we can draw a lesson. One thing that I know about myself is that I learn best while uncomfortable (financially, socially or physically, it doesn’t matter… I learn if I’m uncomfortable).
Here’s what I’ve learned so far: [click to continue reading…]
by debt kid on September 1, 2010
First off…marriage is awesome. I love living with my wife, and we are a fantastic team.
But marriage has brought me that I wasn’t expecting: more time.
Before I got hitched I would always have to drive home somewhere in the evening, and so most often our nights ended around 9pm or earlier. Now living together, my wife and I are getting lots more time together (mornings, late evenings, lunches, etc).
Need Some Frugal Time Killers
It’s great, but I think I need some hobbies!
For the past 4 years, any spare second I had that I wasn’t spending with my now wife was spent either: working, or working. Even when I would watch a tv show, I was usually working at the same time.
[click to continue reading…]
by debt kid on August 30, 2010
A while back I did a post about the death of the “high yield savings account“.
Now, over a year later, rates are only lower.
Yep, the days of a 4-5% yield for an online savings account are gone. But will they ever return?
Not any time soon, say most economists.
2010 has been a year of massive withdrawals by investors from equities (stocks) and into more conservative investments (bonds, treasuries, CD’s, etc).
[click to continue reading…]
by debt kid on August 24, 2010
The past few years, with “this economy” and all, have given rise to more and more talk about a formally very taboo topic:
Money.
But, what still seems pretty taboo, at least in my social circle, is talk about debt.
Student loans are a common gripe from 20-somethings my age, but beyond that, I’ve never had more than a few sentence conversion about credit cards, or other “bad debt”.
[click to continue reading…]
by debt kid on August 17, 2010
A friend of mine was considering buying a used luxury vehicle (3-4 years old), and while it’s not a car I would ever buy, it fits his personality.
However, he is thinking of now buying new because,
“The interest rate on a new car is a lot lower, 1.9% vs 4 or 5%”
Now, my friend is one of the smartest people I know…but this is just terrible logic, right?
On a $40,000 loan, a 2 or 3% rate difference isn’t going to make a dent in even just the first year of depreciation on a new car.
I know if I ask for advice, everyone is going to scream, “Stupid! Go for the used car”….
but,
Are there ever any reasons to buy a new car? (I can think of a few…mostly not financial though!
by debt kid on August 13, 2010
Why so much money?
Well, it was just sitting in a savings account earning less than 2%, and I need to diversify my investments a little, but I’m not ready to go back into the stock market yet. I realize there is risk involved with holding a personal loan portfolio, but I’ve met the Lending Club team, and I feel confident in their tactics and processes to minimize that risk.
I’m looking now for investments that generate cash, and Lending Club fits that bill.
[click to continue reading…]
by debt kid on August 9, 2010
Well, It’s official.
I’m married : ).
And it’s awesome. : ) : ) : )
Yes, that was three smileys in a row on a blog.
It’s a strange feeling…sometimes it feels strange, but I’d say 99% of the time, everything feels the same with my now wife, which is great, because we are both very happy.
The past few months have been pretty crazy, lots of wedding planning, moving, living in my Mom’s basement, etc. But now I’m settling in with my wife in Portland, and we just love it.
[click to continue reading…]
by Nolan on July 31, 2010
It’s just in a coma.
A big, fat, ugly coma full of nightmares and the scent of Rush Limbaugh’s cigars. The kind that black market organ thieves look for to stock up on inventory.
Don’t despair. You will wake up. Just make sure you bring a different financial perspective with you when you do.
Because the world will look significantly different when you come out of it.
And if you’re already dead when that happens – because it just might take that long –let’s hope the first thing you see is someone with cute little wings and a cherubic smile as they serve you a warm, calorie-free Cinnabon.
And a completely clean financial slate.
Heaven. Where once again everybody gets a mortgage just by asking.
[click to continue reading…]
by Nolan on July 28, 2010
by Nolan
A friend of mine got married yesterday. I wasn’t able to make it, but wanted to publicly acknowledge this happy occasion and offer my best wishes.
And to say this: dude, this is the biggest investment of your life. Don’t muck it up.
Too many people squander it by making bad decisions after the blush is off the rose. Bad financially, bad emotionally… and just plain dumb.
Because you are the antithesis of dumb, I don’t worry about you on that account. But there is something to be said for a perspective that categorizes your marriage and your financial health on the same page.
Once you’ve been poor, you have a new sense of value and a new set of values when fate once again smiles on you. That goes for money and for love.
[click to continue reading…]
by Nolan on July 23, 2010
Inquiring retirees want to know.
And now for the oxymoron of all time: there’s good news for retirees who are also taxpayers.
Or used to be taxpayers. And perhaps, who no longer wish to be.
It’s actually not exactly news, which implies something has changed. No, this one is simply a realization that many newly retired folks sometimes don’t hear about right away.
Understanding this translates to a worry-free cash flow that allows you to balance your social security benefits, any earned income you may generate and the rate at which you withdraw funds from your I.R.A.
All with a view toward avoiding or minimizing a tax bill.
What I’m talking about here is how any withdrawals from your I.R.A. account may affect the potential taxability – or liability – of your social security benefits.
And how any money you may actually earn may — or may not – have the same impact.
[click to continue reading…]
