Something that bugs me is the shame and secrecy that so often our culture feels about financial matters. We don't talk numbers and instead seem to talk about money in code and innuendo. It's almost as bad, if not as bad or worse, as that other "grown-up" topic we speak of in innuendo.
So, I'm gonna talk numbers with you. I've never felt bad about putting the truth out there, and my husband has given me the go-ahead because he thinks it should be done too. George is a teacher, his salary and benefits are a matter of public record so anyone can go find them out. I don't know how, but I suppose it starts with a search into school district information. Anyway, you don't have to do that because I'll tell you straight out.
This is the monthly net income we're living on right now:
$3018--first income from full-time teaching
$1080--second income from teaching two nights a week at a local college (ends in May, restarts in September)
$200--my average "egg money" each month from various jobs, cleaning and babysitting
$175--average mileage check George gets each month from driving between three different schools in the district (he doesn't get paid to commute, just to drive between schools during the school day).
Total monthly income right now: $4,473.00
Monthly income in the summer months: $3,218.00
So, that's what we have to work with. Of course, we have some bills to pay but I'll talk about our monthly cash flow plan, a.k.a. budget and all our regular obligations another day. For today, I need to tell you the amount of our debts, because paying those off and how we do it is going to be our main focus for this year.
Current total debt, smallest to biggest:
Credit card--$1400.00
2nd mortgage--$9090.00
Car loan--$10,955.00
1st mortgage--$113,276.00
Total debt: $134, 721.00
Total debt not including the 1st mortgage: $21,445.00 (this number is key, this is what we are going to bring to $0! We are including the 2nd mortgage as "non-mortgage debt" because it is imperative that we pay it off. It got us a furnace when ours died one cold October day, a new bathroom including plumbing, and some storm windows.)
We are giving ourselves until September of 2012 to pay off all $21,445.00 of that debt. On an annual net income of about $49,000. Our non-mortgage debt is 44% of our annual income right now, so we would have to live on only 56% of what we make to pay it off in one year by using income to do so. We could possibly do that; however, there are some other options we're exploring.
1. Sell everything, including the house.
2. Sell the car, at least, and buy another with cash only.
3. Sell a bunch of stuff we own.
4. Make more money.
Tomorrow I'll discuss why it's so important to us to find financial peace.
So, I'm gonna talk numbers with you. I've never felt bad about putting the truth out there, and my husband has given me the go-ahead because he thinks it should be done too. George is a teacher, his salary and benefits are a matter of public record so anyone can go find them out. I don't know how, but I suppose it starts with a search into school district information. Anyway, you don't have to do that because I'll tell you straight out.
This is the monthly net income we're living on right now:
$3018--first income from full-time teaching
$1080--second income from teaching two nights a week at a local college (ends in May, restarts in September)
$200--my average "egg money" each month from various jobs, cleaning and babysitting
$175--average mileage check George gets each month from driving between three different schools in the district (he doesn't get paid to commute, just to drive between schools during the school day).
Total monthly income right now: $4,473.00
Monthly income in the summer months: $3,218.00
So, that's what we have to work with. Of course, we have some bills to pay but I'll talk about our monthly cash flow plan, a.k.a. budget and all our regular obligations another day. For today, I need to tell you the amount of our debts, because paying those off and how we do it is going to be our main focus for this year.
Current total debt, smallest to biggest:
Credit card--$1400.00
2nd mortgage--$9090.00
Car loan--$10,955.00
1st mortgage--$113,276.00
Total debt: $134, 721.00Total debt not including the 1st mortgage: $21,445.00 (this number is key, this is what we are going to bring to $0! We are including the 2nd mortgage as "non-mortgage debt" because it is imperative that we pay it off. It got us a furnace when ours died one cold October day, a new bathroom including plumbing, and some storm windows.)
We are giving ourselves until September of 2012 to pay off all $21,445.00 of that debt. On an annual net income of about $49,000. Our non-mortgage debt is 44% of our annual income right now, so we would have to live on only 56% of what we make to pay it off in one year by using income to do so. We could possibly do that; however, there are some other options we're exploring.
1. Sell everything, including the house.2. Sell the car, at least, and buy another with cash only.
3. Sell a bunch of stuff we own.
4. Make more money.
Tomorrow I'll discuss why it's so important to us to find financial peace.
Comments
My family of five is living on $1600/mo. We have no mortgage (but do have house taxes). We have very little debt, but we also have no credit, so we live on cash, and have for years. We do not live well - financial insecurity makes us live with the constant threat of utility shut-offs, but we hope that will change soon, with some changes that should increase our income and reduce some medical expenses.
Not too long ago we lived on close to what you live on. 10-12 years, in fact. But then, gas was about a buck a gallon and food was a lot cheaper. Still, we were so relieved when George went back to teaching (he took 4 years off and worked at a bakery back then) and his salary went up again. Health insurance costs just killed us back then, and it was hard to live on that lower salary, for sure.
I felt almost luxurious about the current numbers, in fact. $3-4000.00 a month! As I said, we've made a lot less. Still, when the salary increased so did our obligations--higher house payment, newer more reliable car, and now teen-agers that cost a lot more to feed. I am always grateful to live on a decent wage, however.
I am thinking of starting a blog again this summer. Kitchen gardening, pantry-building, "putting up" food, local food source reviews, scratch cooking - frugal living geared to my local area. I am working on building community here.
I hope you guys are able to get your income up. I know you've been sacrificing a lot to make that happen and I hope it pays off. I have a lot of faith that you will do well no matter what!
I think we're going to do this thing well, too. We have always thrived on having a dream, goal and plans so it will work for us. Thanks for reading!