What is your debt scenario?

[bokbadok]

This is an anonymous poll. Choose as many options as apply to your situation. Post details if you'd like, but of course it isn't required or requested.

[MAAD]

I think you should include in your poll the following:

Bankruptcy CH7
Bankruptcy CH13
Student Loans < 10,000
Student Loans 10,000 to 20,000
Student Loans 20,000 to 40,000
Student Loans 40,000 to 50,000
Student Loans > 50,000

Just some ideas.

[bokbadok]

Oooh good ideas - the poll is limited to 15 options. Maybe I'll tweak it.

[JayE]

MAAD,

What is your avatar? I can't figure it out. Is that a waterfall in a small lake in the mountains?

[bokbadok]

Darn - I can't edit the poll. Moderators? Help?

[mirkwood]

PM me the changes you want to make.

[mirkwood]

Our debt is our house and our car. We had the car paid off, but some kid hit us and totaled our car. We did not get enough out of the settlement to pay the new car off completely. In spite of that, our payments are very modest and we pay extra principal each month against our mortgage. My goal is to have the mortgage paid off before I am eligible to retire.

[cHeroKee]

We recently paid off our mortgage, which left us debt free. What a weight lifted off our shoulders.

I would highly, highly recommend listening Dave Ramsey. He has a national radio show centered around becoming debt free. He is a highly devoted Christian.

There are many people who have started their own so called debt consolidated business. Stay away from them!! They only band aid the problem and do not treat the behavior side of the problem and are basically scam smoke businesses. There are only a few that you can trust. The first debt consolidator you should go with and trust is yourself.

Visit daveramsey.com to see what station and time it is in your area. For Northeren Utah = KNRS 570am 7-10pm.

[BackBlast]

I would highly, highly recommend listening Dave Ramsey. He has a national radio show centered around becoming debt free. He is a highly devoted Christian.

+1 Dave Ramsey

Even if you already understand the concepts he teaches and are working to pay it down or have already paid it down. Listening to like minded people with similar attitudes and solid fanancial advice every so often will provide reenforcement and recharge your batteries like Church does for the spiritual side. As boards like LDSGLO do for being prepared.

It's just a good habit.

Brandon

[skeller]

we had the credit card paid off...until a couple of $2500 car repairs (sigh). Working on paying them off now.

I love Dave Ramsey too. he's got some good principles. I really like how he encourages charitable giving during the debt-payoff. So many say "no charitable giving while you're paying off debt."

[mirkwood]

Poll updated as per bok's request.

[DMGNUT]

* Mortgage (which will pay-off a few yrs prior to retirement)
* Car loan (but only one at a time, and I know this will be ridiculed in this time of outrageous gas prices, but the wife and I both drive crewcab 4x4 trucks. If things ever get bad, bigger is better when it comes to vehicles... also we both work about 5 to 6 miles from home)
* 1 Credit card (almost paid off)

I know I'm a bad Mormon, but I'm still new at it (that's my story, and I'm stickin to it... insert smiley face here).

[Dolcezza]

we have just paid off our house mortgage. no debts. no credit cards allowed in our purse!;)

[sunsinger]

we have just paid off our house mortgage. no debts. no credit cards allowed in our purse!;)

Congratulations!

[sunsinger]

We recently paid off our mortgage, which left us debt free. What a weight lifted off our shoulders.

I would highly, highly recommend listening Dave Ramsey. He has a national radio show centered around becoming debt free. He is a highly devoted Christian.

There are many people who have started their own so called debt consolidated business. Stay away from them!! They only band aid the problem and do not treat the behavior side of the problem and are basically scam smoke businesses. There are only a few that you can trust. The first debt consolidator you should go with and trust is yourself.

Visit daveramsey.com to see what station and time it is in your area. For Northeren Utah = KNRS 570am 7-10pm.

Congratulations!
Did you call Dave Ramsey and yell we're debt free?

I like Dave Ramsey as well.

[Charsee]

My husband has been out of work for some months. He just got a new job which offers insurance so we were glad to get rid of our $1500 cobra (100 percent coverage) but my husband just fell and broke his wrist (badly) and they took him to one hospital by ambulance then another hospital by helicopter where he had surgery and a "two day stay" (really less than 12 hours but you know how they are.) This insurance pays ninety percent, so our debt doesn't look so good right now. Bummer...

Could have been worse...

[Alma the Younger]

Our only debit is our mortage. We purchased our home six years ago and were able to get into a 30-year fixed at 5.625%. We overpay each month so it will equal 14 payments a year so we're on track to cut 10years off.

We're in the process of building our emergency fund to equal six months of expenses. We have also started a Roth 401(k) for our three year old son's education.

The best thing anyone can do to improve their finances is to pay a full tithing.

419!

[DMGNUT]

Hey Alma, good to see you here.

[NRA]

Hey Alma, good to see you here.Yes it is. Alma, maybe you could post a quick bio in the introductions forum so those of us that don't know you, might get to know a little bit about you?

[Nomad]

I am debt free. No morgage, no anything. I also have no home, just rent. No savings, spent all that. Nothing to show for my 50+ years on this earth. Where does that put me?

Nomad

[Cowboy]

In Iowa. Far away from home.

[Mother55]

Nomad, we all leave everything behind when we go---in some ways paying a mortgage every month is like paying rent. The only difference is when you leave this earth, your "possessions" can be left for your family. we have no credit card debt--zero--and no car loans. And Our wants and needs are small. and we have lots of Insurance! (disability, health, auto, liability, umbrella, homeowners...) But the best Insurance is paying a full tithing!

[misha]

I am debt free. No morgage, no anything. I also have no home, just rent. No savings, spent all that. Nothing to show for my 50+ years on this earth. Where does that put me?

Nomad


Free to go and do what the Lord wants of you? No ties can also mean much freedom.

[waif69]

Having been raised as a consumerist, this has been a big struggle in our family. Thankfully I have a great wife who is just the opposite of me in this matter. What a blessing.

[Aldon]

It appears this survey was done in MAY for the most part.

Has anyone made significant progress in paying down their debts since then?

I think we are running out of time.

However, if we have jobs that are depression proof, I do not, then hyperinflation might be used to our advantage in paying some of this off.

But we have to do so before they start raising interests rates to keep pace with the hyperinflation......

[mirkwood]

We continue to work as we have for years. Additional principal payment on the mortgage each month. I chose not to do the same with my car loan as it only saved us around $500 I think it was over the life of the loan. That money is better used elsewhere.

[BackBlast]

We continue to work as we have for years. Additional principal payment on the mortgage each month. I chose not to do the same with my car loan as it only saved us around $500 I think it was over the life of the loan. That money is better used elsewhere.

If the owner of your car title (or lien holder..) files for bankruptcy, the title/lien will belong to the bankruptcy trustee. I don't know exactly what power is given to them, but I'm imagining it could be unpleasant as they hit the "liquidate" button to raise cash to pay off creditors. I'm pretty sure you're home loan is much safer than your car loan in this respect.

I would pay off the car first... Or maybe I'm just seeing demons where perhaps there aren't any...:yikes:

[mirkwood]

Our credit union has the loan. I'm not worried. I also have the cash to pay if off if such a scenario appeared.

[signseeker]

mirk- You need to give that pink homemade sweater back to the DI.

We're debt free, btw.

[Highlandsunrise]

Dave Ramsey says that a credit card is a snake that will eventually bite you.
We each carry credit cards which we have paid off monthly for many years. We felt pretty smug that we were getting free service plus rewards. They got us recently with a $30 late charge because I wasn't quite fast enough with the payment (payment due 20 days after the billing cycle closing date). I called and asked them to take the charge off. She said they would if I would pay it "right now". I paid it with my debit card and they charged me $15 to process the "instant payment".
Three of our old appliances died in November, Christmas and a few unexpected expenses and we now have a $1200 credit card balance that we are paying 16% interest on. Had we been writing a check we might have picked some less expensive appliances. I am contemplating cutting up my credit card. :001_07: What is wrong with me? I am way too stressed out about it.

Other than that we have no debt.

[signseeker]

We do the same thing with our credit cards... putting every possible thing on them and pay them off monthly (in the mean time making interest on the money). A few months ago something came up and it took me two months to get the balance back down. I was a basket case. It's weird how this no-debt thing can screw with your brain. :bonk:

[hiccups]

The other thing about credit cards you pay off every month is that atleast for me, I tend to spend more than if it comes right out of the bank. The delay causes a mental disconnect. Not to mention that I'm paying last month's expenses with this month's money, so less of this month's money is freed up to handle any little emergencies that come up. So, I tend to think I'm doing better than I am until the next month when I get thumped. I simply spend less when I keep the credit card out of it. I'm tapering off my use of the credit card for monthly expenses to pretty much only using it for anything bought online that I want the security that using the credit card provides.

[Aldon]

I am in much the same behavior pattern.

My concern is what happens if I were to suddenly lose my revenue stream.

The balance can grow exponentially quickly and really hammer me if I do not come up with another revenue stream quickly.

The best for my anxiety is to get off the credit band wagon even thougfh I almost always pay it off without interests the same month.

I think we get used to the danger and take it lightly after a while.

[hiccups]

That's it exactly, Aldon. It's a risk. It is better for me to take my understanding of needs vs wants to a higher level by not giving myself the option to over spend my monthly budget on reasonable things. For example, is the old comforter on the bed torn? Yes. Is anyone cold at night? No. Then I can wait until there is money in the budget for it AND until I can find a good deal at the same time. In my mind, I like to think of course I can afford a new comforter, we're doing well enough. But it's not about that, is it? It's about spending the money in the way that's best. Regularly and consistently. If I've spent the extra money in this month's budget on nice holiday food, then, no, I cannot afford a new comforter this month. Even if I put it on the credit card. LOL.

[BackBlast]

Our credit union has the loan. I'm not worried. I also have the cash to pay if off if such a scenario appeared.

Ahh, but I can find demons there too! :d0 (67):

Credit unions are not immune to failure...

If the NCUA fails or is way behind due to economic conditions.

Your credit union enters bankruptcy, the trustee already has your deposits and he's not going to give them back by zeroing out the loan with them as he is obligated to pay the creditors in order. You're at the back of the line as the creditor, and on the hook as the debtor. You could lose your money and your car, ouch.

Somewhat remote, but in the realm of possibility. Locating deposits at the same institution as your loans is generally a bad idea if you consider the possibility of your deposits being at risk.

[Aldon]

It is nice to know there are those as paranoid as I am!:)

[BackBlast]

It is nice to know there are those as paranoid as I am!:)

They're all out to get me! :d0 (75):

[Highlandsunrise]

Uh uh

[Highlandsunrise]

Husband (Fixitguy) is always a bit confused :blink: at how freakish I get about money. I am a bit nuts about it, I know. He figured and scraped and paid off the credit card so I can quit being nuts.

Mirkwood, does that qualify for TMI?

Now we can save for a road trip while gas it down.

[mirkwood]

Mirkwood, does that qualify for TMI?



lol...not the way I define it :l0 (20):

[Rogmo]

Adding my "thumbs up" for Dave Ramsey show, and especially his Financial Peace University.

One time we were talking about Ramsey with my father-in-law, who replied "Well, there's a lot that I disagree about from Dave Ramsey". (Which is why he's currently in bankruptcy. Hmmm.... go figure!)

[signseeker]

What's going to suck is that as more people go delinquent on their obligations, the "higher up the food chain" creditors also get screwed, who normally would not run into problems.

[LEVE]

"Higher up the food chain" creditors also get screwed... and the more that water runs downhill, the more pressure is put on we who are at the bottom of the hill.

[rhiamom]

We are, and have always been, debt free. Cash for the house we had in the US. Cash for the house we have here. Cash coming back to the US, where we will be renting. It's a hard choice but in Michigan property taxes plus utilities, particularly heat, exceed rent. We decided to rent because the place we are renting includes heat, water, and cooking gas.

[signseeker]

Okay, I have a question for all...

Say a guy in your ward owes you $20,000 for some work you did for him.
He chooses to file bankruptcy, all the while paying his $20,000 in "charitable contributions" to the Church in order to keep his temple rec. (which is within the Utah bankruptcy laws)
You have no legal means of collecting anything from him and are in essence paying his tithing for him.

Is this not screwed up? This happens all the time.

My personal view is that those going through bankruptcy should give ZERO money in charity. If you can't pay your obligations to people you owe, you shouldn't be paying any charities.

This seems so obvious to me it's pathetic, but maybe I'm missing something...??

[Aldon]

Not enough information to determine.

All businesses run the risk of not collecting when they offer Credit.

In essence the contractor did service on credit for the debtor.

Did the individual contract services knowing he was not going to be able to pay or did the financial tsunami that hit everyone overwhelm him.

In my view the Tithing is only Charity in as far as the IRS is concerned. It is a commandment.

But we are also to be honest in our dealings with our fellow man.

20,000 is a lot of money and I am sure if someone owed me that much and did not pay, it would be hard for me to stomach.

However I am reminded of the story of the debtor and the king who begged the king to forgive his debt. The king did so and then the fellow went and abused those who owed himself much less than what his debt had been to the king. When the King found out, he came down hard on the fellow due to his lack of compassion on those who owed him after seeking mercy and recieving it for himself.

In an ideal immediate rewards world, we could forgive the 20K debt since it is all the Lords anyway, and we would recieve immediate blessing for taking a Christ like approach.

But this is not an ideal world or test.

[LoudmouthMormon]

I've been left high and dry more than once by people who owed me money. It was a strong temptation to want to insert myself into their lives to find out what they're doing wrong, make them do something different, change reality so they wouldn't be allowed to do whatever they're doing. I declined to walk that road - I don't think it leads anywhere good.

Thinking about those people is much less frustrating now that I've cut my losses and don't make the same mistakes again, and don't forget the lessons I've learned.

LM

[KF7EEC]

It was a strong temptation to want to insert myself into their lives to find out what they're doing wrong...

I agree. I've had the same problems with my business. Yet, I am reminded of someone here on LDSGlo's signature "Lord, give me pantenance with those who's sins are different than my own."

[signseeker]

In my view the Tithing is only Charity in as far as the IRS is concerned. It is a commandment.



I wish I could use that in the debate... the comeback would be, "It's alright to steal, lie, cheat and screw your neighbor in order to keep this "higher" commandment of tithing, then?"