I've been trying to decided what my next move should be and I had posted my position in the forum and received some suggestions already.
These are my current bills:
auto insurance: 129.92
netflix: 7.99
credit card: 36.24
sallie mae: 0 (deferred until Nov 2013 then will probably be at 190.01)
timeshare: 132.80
student loans: 0 (deferred til July 2013 & Sept 2013) (although they'll be deferred til i finish school)
car loan: 213.55 (i actually pay this every two weeks (113.55 & 100)
miscellaneous charges: $13.96 (trying to get these cancelled)
alimony: 600
dental: 11
life insurance: 27
AFRH: 0.50
spouse life insurance: 13
Totalling: $1,185.96
That's until I get back from deployment. Once i'm back home these bills will be added:
rent: 600
water: 10
renters insurance: 15
cell: 75
fuel: 200 (guesstimate)
food: 200 (guesstimate)
Totalling: $1,185.96 + 1,100 = $2,285.96
When i get back my paycheck should be $2,564/mo
Which leaves $275 to play with.
My debt is:
credit card: $1,681.60 @ 19.99%
car Loan: $9357.19 @ 11.5%
timeshare: $7,503 @ 12.087%
sallie mae: $9,543.16 @ 6%
student loans: $37,164.06
My emergency fund amount is already at $9,500 approximately. It'll go down to about $5,500 because I'm going to use some of it to pay off my medical collections.
I'm going to use my tax refund to pay off the credit card so I'm ok with paying just the minimums until I get my refund. I'm also going to get my car loan re-financed for a lower interest rate but I'm using it to help re-build my credit so my plans are to just pay it monthly but to keep the loan equal to if not below the value.
If I could get rid of the timeshare I would. I don't want it and I didn't take it to get anything money-wise out of it. If someone would buy it off me for the amount of my loan, I would sell it to them right now but at this time no one will purchase it.
I don't use my credit cards (haven't for a year now) so there won't be any new charges on them. I'm going to get a credit card with my credit union and have them set a low credit limit (500 - 1000) which is only to be used in emergencies and close the other accounts.
I don't qualify for the college loan repayment program because I have the MGIB and you can only have one or the other.
In 3.5 years I will no longer be paying alimony and will be able to pay off/save money quicker.
The 6% interest rate is only available for certain things for deployed service members.
So these were the suggestions that I had received:
I'd say to dump the timeshare. You will never get your money out of it. If you can find someone to take it off your hands at any price, even $1, do it and get it off your balance sheet.
*i'm not going to sell the timeshare for $1 but i'll sell for what is left on the timeshare loan. i'm not looking to recoup any money from it.
Start applying that toward your highest interest debt - either the timeshare until you are able to sell it or the car loan until you refi.
*working out the math
I would suggest the bulk to be put towards debt. You should start making a habit of saving. Save a portion in the TSP or in a Roth IRA.
*i haven't decided WHEN i'll contribute towards the TSP, Roth TSP or Roth IRA yet. although i will because i would like to have money when retire even if i am going into real estate when i do.
All good suggestions that I've taken into consideration.
Basically my two options were to put it towards the timeshare or the car loan. Since I'm unable to get in touch with the timeshare people and I can actually make an extra payment to the car loan with a click of the button (since it IS with my credit union) it came down to convenience.
Car loan it is!!
So I'll make an extra payment of $275/mo maximum on the car loan. I'll still pay off the credit card when I get my tax refund.
Now there where two things that I hadn't mentioned:
1. $275/mo is only for eight (8) months. Because after that I will be putting it towards the Sallie Mae loan (making a total payment of $200 - $500/mo)
2. For the next several months I will be able to make an extra payment of $385/mo towards anything. Again, this is only for several months.
What I've decided to do was to put this towards whatever I will be making extra payments towards when I get back home. Basically I'm adding $385/mo for several months to the car loan then $275/mo for eight months. I'm hoping this will allow for me to refinance for a lower interest rate for less. Allowing me to make more of a payment towards the principal.
Thank goodness I don't plan on getting a car loan again for a LONG time. I'm thinking the SUV will last me another ten years if I take really good car of it. I truly like my car and it fits me (SUV) and it's a color I like!
Deciding the Next Step...
December 6th, 2012 at 02:24 pm
December 6th, 2012 at 03:03 pm 1354806230
Great plan for you extra funds!!
December 6th, 2012 at 03:14 pm 1354806851
Also, my credit union has very low auto loan refinance interest rates. Maybe yours does, too. If you've got good service from your credit union, I bet they would work with you on a refinance via email.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:25 pm 1354836327
December 7th, 2012 at 04:58 am 1354856311
what you've stated is reasonable. but it all comes down to if someone even wants it. can't really do anything until i get back anyways. but i could probably pay it off in about a year if push came to shove. my maintenance fees are only $300/yr so it's very low. even if i rent it to someone during that week it would probably pay for itself in those fees. i want to get in touch with a real estate agent when i get back to see what my options are.
auto insurance:
i have full coverage for both myself and my youngest daughter whose record isn't so pristine. my vehicle has a loan so i have to get full coverage. i'm considering increasing my deductibles to $1,000 each (since i can afford it) in order to bring it down. it actually has gone down about $5-10 in the past two months. i've been with this company for over a decade and this policy doesn't exist anymore. but once my daughter buys a car in her own name then i'll take her off my insurance and my rates will go down. (i use to be an insurance agent so i'm familiar with auto/home insurance)
refi:
i can reapply online for a new auto loan but i'm goin to wait until i've made payments for at least a year before i do. they do have good rates, it's' just that my credit wasn't very good then. it's better now so i should be able to get a lot better rate in less than six months.
December 7th, 2012 at 01:09 pm 1354885778
December 8th, 2012 at 05:49 am 1354945795
just checked w/usaa and tried to do a quote. they quoted me $200 less but they wouldn't allow for me to add my daughter so it's not really true to the information that i have...
extra monies:
just spoke w/me parents & they suggested that if i can't pay anythin off with that amount then to put it in my savings because it's only for several months. it's somethin that i will consider.