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Jeffrey posted:lol you don't need to police the discussion topics here post-by-post, mr. bfc mod man, relax Knyte has a tendency to want to please everyone in this thread at the same time. I appreciate what slap me silly is doing because what's important right now are getting down the basics. He's just started showing signs of getting it, and cementing that is what is important. Not rehashing card choices, which can distract him from his main goals.
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Oct 2, 2014 15:56
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I was using the card as a prime example of a behavior pattern that Knyte needs to be cognizant of moving forward. Obviously he can't change the past, but he can learn that lesson and attempt to make behavioral changes to address it. My suggestion about spending cooldowns is what I was trying to discuss. The card is beating a dead horse.
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Oct 2, 2014 16:08
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Just want to clear up that: 1) The secured card has 0 fees like a normal credit card (except interest obviously). It was the only one I could find like that. That's why I chose that card. I looked at at least 30 different ones. 2) I really don't care about the rewards. Seriously. Harley Davidsons aren't really my thing. I'm not going to use my 1:1 dollars:points to ensure I hit $2,500 to get a $25 gift card. That's crazy. It would be way more valuable for me to use my PayPal business debit card and get like 2-5% cash back on everything. 3) As slap me silly said this was like over a month ago? I posted the link to it back then. This shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone. 4) I'm not trying to "please everyone" in this thread. I do understand when I need to listen to people more educated than myself on a certain subject. I also am not arrogant enough to think that I'm entitled to the advice everyone posts, so yes I try to show appreciation and consideration of ideas. But I agree Rurutia I appreciate slap me silly stepping in because it's really, really unimportant what kind of secured card I have. http://www.h-dvisa.com/credit/visaSecured.do If anyone else wants a fee free secured card I encourage this very one. Obviously only if you feel you can use it responsibly, as well as the credit that may come from responsible use. Nearly every single secured card besides this one starts charging an annual fee after 1 year, if not right upfront, and they almost never offer good benefits like a free real credit score check, car rental collision insurance, and a couple more small things as this one does. The interest is high as poo poo but that's to be expected. Look at the annual fee on US Bank's standard secured card (which also has no free monthly credit score check). This is one of those things that I can totally understand people being weary of, but I'm not itching to go use this thing by any means. It's sitting in our important documents binder with our taxes from last year. I'm really glad we got this credit card. We're trying to buy a house in the near future and it'll help. Edit: might be wrong on the % back with PayPal purchases. My point is that rewards aren't driving my behavior. Edit2: grammar/typos. That's what I get for making early morning posts. Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Oct 3, 2014 |
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Oct 2, 2014 16:21
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a worthy uhh posted:I was using the card as a prime example of a behavior pattern that Knyte needs to be cognizant of moving forward. Obviously he can't change the past, but he can learn that lesson and attempt to make behavioral changes to address it. My suggestion about spending cooldowns is what I was trying to discuss. The card is beating a dead horse. Yes we do have a cooldown period. Have about 5 things written on our fridge (well on a notepad) that we've been adding to when we want something. A bigger food processor is on there for example. That's been on there about 3 weeks. Might pick one up this month, might not. edit: vv Will do thanks! Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Oct 2, 2014 |
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Oct 2, 2014 16:22
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Knyteguy posted:Yes we do have a cooldown period. Have about 5 things written on our fridge (well on a notepad) that we've been adding to when we want something. A bigger food processor is on there for example. That's been on there about 3 weeks. Might pick one up this month, might not. Awesome. Make sure you ask in the GWS Recommendations thread for a good one!
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Oct 2, 2014 16:25
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Knyteguy posted:Yes we do have a cooldown period. Have about 5 things written on our fridge (well on a notepad) that we've been adding to when we want something. A bigger food processor is on there for example. That's been on there about 3 weeks. Might pick one up this month, might not. Food processors are pretty nice. They can help since you're heading to baby town in a couple months. Blending up a nutritious goo for the little one is super easy in just about any size food processor. They are also bulky and soak up a bunch of counter space. You'll probably find that you don't use it as often as you hope so now you have to figure out where to store it, taking room away from other kitchen items. You said you're looking for a larger one. You already have a food processor? How big is it (in cups)? What are you planning on making that makes you think a bigger one will help out? Can you find one of the desired size on Craigslist or at a local Goodwill? Those things are often ditched because they hardly ever get used and paying new for one of them is a bit silly. I like my food processor but I would like one with a wider mouth and no interlock so I can mush things up more easily. Thing is, I don't use it nearly enough to want to pay for a bigger one. If I found one on the cheap maybe I'd get it, but that means I'd have to ditch the one I have. This is just to make the point that there's something I want -- a new food processor -- but paying full retail is pretty silly, especially when it's something I already have. If I wait for a bigger one to become available on the cheap, then it's much easier to get that thing that I want without using so much cash. The less I pay for that, the more money I have for other things. The more you and your wife can internalize this idea - never ever pay retail - then the better a time you'll have saving money and making your income stretch much further. Once you get that car situation sorted it will feel like you just got a major raise. It looks like you both are on a good path here and I wish you all the best on your new family. Just keep in mind that scrimping and saving now means you get to have safety and comfort down the road. Think how low stress it will be when you have a fully funded emergency fund, plenty of cash in your blow envelope to do something silly, money going into your retirement and kid accounts while all your bills are handled. No more month to month. It's a hell of a feeling and it frees you to think about bigger and more wonderful things in your life.
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Oct 2, 2014 17:46
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CuddleChunks posted:Food processors are pretty nice. They can help since you're heading to baby town in a couple months. Blending up a nutritious goo for the little one is super easy in just about any size food processor. Hmm. Good points. Maybe we'll hit up some thrift stores in the coming weeks. That's where we got our current one. Not really in a huge hurry though since yea, it's not going to get used daily or something. We'll donate our current one for sure though. Our counter top space here is about half (maybe less) of our old place so it's definitely at a premium; as are outlets. Current food processor is MAYBE 1.5 cups. We really like using this recipe: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/03/sriracha-hummus/ but it's pretty much not worth it when the recipe yields half what it should. I also like making salsa but haven't done that in awhile for the same reason. I don't think we'll start using it all the time or anything, but it'd be cool to have the option sometimes. But it can wait. Thanks for the well wishes. I think that last part is a pretty strong paragraph and I'm definitely looking forward to finishing up that emergency fund even more. You're right that the piece of security it offers will be a huge weight off our family's shoulders.
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Oct 2, 2014 18:11
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Knyteguy posted:Yes we do have a cooldown period. Have about 5 things written on our fridge (well on a notepad) that we've been adding to when we want something. A bigger food processor is on there for example. That's been on there about 3 weeks. Might pick one up this month, might not. Also, HD visa FTMFW LOL. I love the derail about that. Way to pay attention, BFC...
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Oct 2, 2014 22:59
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Knyteguy posted:Current food processor is MAYBE 1.5 cups. We really like using this recipe: Aw drat, that's small as hell and will be more of an annoyance than a useful tool. So, here's how to do this like a pro. Check out Goons With Spoons and see what their recommendations are for food processors. Take a look at some online sites like America's Test Kitchen and get an idea of what you're looking for and what models are horrible. This also gives you an idea of what a decent model costs new. Put aside some money in your budget to start saving for this. I really really recommend using an envelope for it so that there is an immediate visual and tactile representation of how much you've saved for this item. Wait till the envelope has a decent chunk of change in it and then start combing craigslist and goodwill. This is wayyyyyyy nerdy and tedious for a dumb old food processor. Why bother going to the trouble? Because you're not in an emergency so you've got plenty of time to consider your purchase. You're going to lay down some cash for this item so you don't want to rush out to Walmart and grab the cheapest thing off the shelf and then hate it because it's a festering pile of garbage. Your envelope is how much money you have to spend on it right now. If you wait a while, you'll have more to spend and can afford a better item. When you spend that money it is gone but so what? You had already saved it up over time and it's there to be spent. Best of all the physical envelope means you won't overspend. If you can't afford a fancy one that you really really want you will have to wait a bit. The money will come in eventually and maybe you find that your initial urge to buy buy buy has cooled off after a couple weeks or a month. There is a numbers game with personal finance but it's mostly about behavior. You can try and convince your neighbors that you're wealthy by buying fancy poo poo while living in debt and fear and be one minor miscalculation away from total ruin. Or, you can hunker down and buy what you need to make sure your family is fed and clothed and healthy and save until you can afford to buy better things. Giving a poo poo what your neighbors and friends think about your purchases is a fast way to overspend and drown in debt. Maybe your next car is an ugly looking minivan. Who cares? If it runs well and is paid off then it's a win for you and your family. Hell, you can have more fun with ugly older vehicles because you can fix their paintjob with a spraycan and if some jackass dents your door you don't have a nervous breakdown at seeing your new car get maimed. There's a limit to how much bullshit you should put up with but if you can save a good chunk of change by fixing something rather than buying it new I think that's a smarter choice. Last month you needed new shorts for work. Okay, but isn't sewing on a button a hell of a lot cheaper than buying new clothes? If they have a total breakdown (gotta knock off all that office gymnastics training) then it's time to hit the thrift store and see what will be presentable and cheap! CHEAP! Less than retail! Anyway, it sounds like you and your wife are on board with getting out of debt and saving up for future expenses. That's the behavior that will help you kick rear end at finances and secure a stable future for your family. Good job!
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Oct 2, 2014 23:43
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There's absolutely no way that you have a 12 ounce food processor. That is the size of a can of soda.
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Oct 3, 2014 01:51
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They do sell ones that tiny, but they're typically sold as food choppers. They're supposedly great for small routine tasks(mostly involving chopping, as you'd guess), but are definitely not a replacement for a proper food processor.
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Oct 3, 2014 01:59
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Haifisch posted:They do sell ones that tiny, but they're typically sold as food choppers. They're supposedly great for small routine tasks(mostly involving chopping, as you'd guess), but are definitely not a replacement for a proper food processor. After searching a little bit on Amazon ours is definitely a chopper. Dunno the actual capacity but it's very small.
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Oct 3, 2014 02:20
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No Wave posted:There's absolutely no way that you have a 12 ounce food processor. That is the size of a can of soda. I have one! It is only useful for garlic.
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Oct 3, 2014 04:36
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Knyteguy posted:Quick question regarding our new credit card and its usage: Knyteguy posted:Ah OK got it everyone, thanks. I can only setup autopay to pay between the 2nd and the 9th (USBank policy I guess?). I don't actually have a statement yet since the closing date hasn't happened I guess. I'm not very impressed with their online CC account system. I feel like they're trying to trick me to pay interest at least once through screwing up. I'll keep an eye on everything closely once the first statement is generated. Knyteguy posted:Yea I did read almost every word of the ToS though before signing up, so at least I know there won't be random fees thrown at me. I think Harley Davidson subsidizes some of the risk to have their name on the card or something. Rewards points give us Harley Davidson gift cards. I'll try to sell those I suppose since I don't ride a motorcycle. You shouldn't have got a credit card with questions like this and all the other stuff... slap me silly posted:Dude, he has a fee-free secured card from a normal bank and knows how to use it. That is way above average already. He just asked how to not pay interest... I am going with he has no idea. Please buy a Harley though, tia.
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Oct 3, 2014 04:40
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Can we get a name change to H. D. Rider here?
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Oct 3, 2014 05:26
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spwrozek posted:You shouldn't have got a credit card with questions like this and all the other stuff... Sorry, my last credit card was back right when online banking was even becoming a thing. You sure can be dramatic. I'm on top of this stuff by over a month, actually. US Bank's terminology kind of sucks, and there's not any explanation of what's going on. BankRate.com's article on the statement date stuff screwed me up even more. Uncle Jam posted:Can we get a name change to H. D. Rider here? I was going to say it stands for "Huge D" but the rider kind of screwed up that plan.  
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Oct 3, 2014 05:45
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Knyteguy posted:I was going to say it stands for "Huge D" but the rider kind of screwed up that plan. I think it fits. You've definitely been hosed by your financial decisions.
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Oct 3, 2014 05:49
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SiGmA_X posted:FTMFW LOL Please don't do this...
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Oct 3, 2014 05:51
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Veskit posted:I think it fits. You've definitely been hosed by your financial decisions. Haha, goddamn. Do sane people applying for secured credit cards actually think about buying a house in the near future??
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Oct 5, 2014 20:54
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Aristotle Animes posted:Haha, goddamn. You're right; I should just give up. I'll just let our credit stagnate. I'm definitely teetering on the edge of mental instability for thinking such things. I'll obviously never be able to get a house since I have a secured credit card. 
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Oct 5, 2014 21:07
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Knyteguy posted:You're right; I should just give up. I'll just let our credit stagnate. I'm definitely teetering on the edge of mental instability for thinking such things. I'll obviously never be able to get a house since I have a secured credit card. I'd worry but then I know suicides take commitment and you couldn't focus enough to carry a suicide to completion. I think you are a good guy and I bare you no ill will but man you are distracted by every shiny thing. Apartments, game consoles, loving food processor. It's bargain bargain bargain with you. You're sick, man. It's not that you can't afford something like a food processor it's that you have zero focus and food processors are only the latest need you feel. You'll be fine and so will the family. Probably greater than 50% of the US is worse off and stupider than you. I just think it's sad you have so much ambition without any follow through.
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Oct 5, 2014 21:29
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Aristotle Animes posted:I'd worry but then I know suicides take commitment and you couldn't focus enough to carry a suicide to completion. I understand the sentiment about my commitment, but follow through is what we're doing now. Of course there's going to be stuff around the house I need every now and then. That's just a fact of life. If we plan for it and take it from the appropriate funds though, then it doesn't matter. My post about the food processor was in fact a positive in that regard; it shows that we're not only evaluating what we need or want, but we're also ensuring that we plan for it potentially months in advance and keep it out of the realm of emotional purchasing. I'm more focused than ever right now. I think you're judging my situation based on the past instead of the present. Fleshing out our goals really strengthened how I feel about the whole situation. Before it was all about seeing a number on a spreadsheet go up, without ever realizing the actual benefit of this. It's hard to stick with something so difficult with such a fleeting motivation to continue. Pleasure from buying the Kindle was greater than pleasure of seeing spreadsheet number go up. I was unable to fully see what being smart with money could actually accomplish. It's easy to read about it, but it was much more difficult to realize. Imabanana I finally finished "The Millionaire Fastlane" book. What a powerful message. He had many of the same messages as someone like Mr Money Mustache regarding debt, hard work, budgeting, living within your means, etc. I really didn't expect that. I thought it'd be more like "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", where he'd talk about corporate loopholes, and no money down real estate investing, or whatever, but it really wasn't. Full speed ahead on saving 100% of the business profits. I'm going to start implementing many of his suggestions on "ideas". I always come up with "good" business ideas, but I now realize that I need to put all of my focus into the execution. To anyone wondering: yes my ventures will still stay off our budget completely. I don't plan on using a single penny (well unless it's my discretionary) to fund anything. It will be self-sustaining. I also don't think it's the answer to all of our financial problems, just to curb that one in the butt.
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Oct 5, 2014 22:21
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Knyteguy posted:Imabanana I finally finished "The Millionaire Fastlane" book. What a powerful message. He had many of the same messages as someone like Mr Money Mustache regarding debt, hard work, budgeting, living within your means, etc. I really didn't expect that. How did you think a normal 9-5 person becomes "rich'? It isn't about tricks, it is about tight budgets with steady work towards being debt free and saving.
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Oct 5, 2014 23:18
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Knyte post your final expenditures for september.
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Oct 5, 2014 23:56
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Already did Veskit:Knyteguy posted:...  I think our HSA balance is off (showing too much). Haven't reconciled it against the account yet. Not too concerned with it anyway.
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Oct 6, 2014 00:47
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Knyteguy posted:I think you're judging my situation based on the past instead of the present. The past is all we have to go on. I think you should stop and realize that the past is filled with a LOT of "stop judging on the past, because we've changed for the present" and then you keep slipping into past habits. Accept this. Own it. Let people criticize you for it, otherwise how are we to believe that you've truly internalized it? Keep it going for six, even three months. Then your current present will become your past. You're the boy who cried wolf.
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Oct 6, 2014 01:25
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KG, if you're ever feeling blue about sticking to the budget, take solace in the fact that you don't have a $540 line item for narcotics.
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Oct 6, 2014 19:32
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Knyteguy posted:Imabanana I finally finished "The Millionaire Fastlane" book. What a powerful message. He had many of the same messages as someone like Mr Money Mustache regarding debt, hard work, budgeting, living within your means, etc. I really didn't expect that. I thought it'd be more like "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", where he'd talk about corporate loopholes, and no money down real estate investing, or whatever, but it really wasn't. Full speed ahead on saving 100% of the business profits. I'm going to start implementing many of his suggestions on "ideas". I always come up with "good" business ideas, but I now realize that I need to put all of my focus into the execution. Yep, not Rich Dad at all, that's why whenever I recommend it I try to tell people to look past the title. It sounds scummy, but it's not. spwrozek, normal 9-5 people usually don't become rich. The Millionaire Next Door has the same insight. People pretty rarely become wealthy working for others.
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Oct 7, 2014 07:18
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Old Fart posted:I think you need to stop being defensive. You're right on the defensive part. Again though we've had a pretty solid previous 3 months, and October is looking like our best month yet for sticking to the budget. My Rhythmic Crotch posted:KG, if you're ever feeling blue about sticking to the budget, take solace in the fact that you don't have a $540 line item for narcotics. Yea I couldn't believe that. Not sure why he's even keeping his thread going. I find that to be such a waste of money. imabanana posted:Yep, not Rich Dad at all, that's why whenever I recommend it I try to tell people to look past the title. It sounds scummy, but it's not. Yes. I've already set my business in motion. I found a relatively untapped (large) niche that hits all of the points he said to look for. In fact I already have the homepage prototyped in Photoshop from this past weekend and last night, and I'm going to begin another page after work. Edit: removed some stuff that may make people think I'm too "hopeful". Don't want to lose focus here. Budget is going great for October. Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Oct 7, 2014 |
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Oct 7, 2014 16:45
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Post your budget weekly and show us how well october is going then.
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Oct 7, 2014 17:03
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Veskit posted:Post your budget weekly and show us how well october is going then. Please. I need a BFC pick-me-up after seeing SloMo's narcotics line. 
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Oct 7, 2014 17:15
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OK. Posted below. pre:Spending/Budgeted Bills: Rent: 730/1200 Internet: 19/55 Utilities: 95/150 Groceries: 178/500 Discretionary: Hers: 67/200 (Remaining: 133) His: 102/200 (Remaining: $98)** Savings: Pretax: 0 PostTax: 1780/1260 (extra taken from rent) ** $50 of this went into savings to pay ourselves back for last month's overage. Spent is $48. Bills sans groceries are all finalized. Internet had a credit this month. Edit: forgot groceries. Edit 2: savings math was a little off because of how we're tracking this month. It was lower than the true value. Updated. Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Oct 7, 2014 |
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Oct 7, 2014 17:51
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Knyteguy posted:** $50 of this went into savings to pay ourselves back for last month's overage. Spent is $48. This makes me so proud. 
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Oct 7, 2014 19:48
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I'm scratching my head at this. In the savings section do you really only have 1500 dollars in your HSA total or is that what you contributed this month? What's the Gma S loan? Is that a thousand dollar loan from your grandma? poo poo dude, write a check and be done with that one this week. Borrowing money from family sucks for maintaining good relations so getting that paid off with a quickness is a really good idea. Plus, if this is the grandma that was offering to help bankroll a house for you, getting her paid off is doubly important. In June or somewhere around there you got a new car for $22K - why is the car loan value now at $26K? Are you really not making any headway on that at all even with paying $500+ a month into it? What is going on with that? I hope like hell that you're just being bashful and not mentioning that you have 10 or 20 grand in your emergency fund because if you honestly have a little over 5 grand and a baby on the way then holy poo poo. If it were me, my ulcers would have ulcers and there wouldn't be clean sheets for miles from how often I'd poo poo the bed. Good golly miss molly what the hell is going on there? I sure hope it's just something weird with that budget thing you're using.
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Oct 8, 2014 00:41
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CuddleChunks posted:I'm scratching my head at this. In the savings section do you really only have 1500 dollars in your HSA total or is that what you contributed this month? HSA: Total. However we're prepaying doctor's delivery bills. We have roughly $1,000 of the delivery paid for, and we'll have $2,500 of it paid for by December. We're contributing the maximum possible can't do much here. If we switch doctors or the birth doesn't happen then we do get this back, so it should still be considered a savings. GMA S Loan: wife took a trip to Japan to study abroad some years ago, and her grandma lent her some money. I really don't know the exact details since it's pretty much before we even started dating. Gma is OK with the current payment structure I assume since they drew up the payment structure together. Emergency fund: No the numbers shown are correct. With our current savings rate we'll be OK by the time the baby comes (still 4 months left), unless something happens like a premature birth or whatever. We can make payments on the medical bills if something like that does happen though. If something terrible happens we just won't pay the medical bills and delay getting a house. I have a $20,000 appendix removal bill sitting in collections, and it'll stay that way. Medical bills aren't frowned up TOO much by lenders anyway, as it's not classified as irresponsible spending. Anyway going off on a tangent because we fully intend to pay for the delivery. Not too worried; there's no point and we're doing pretty much all we can. Plus we're lucky enough to have a drat solid support network. However this makes me think that along with life insurance I should pick up accident/dismemberment insurance. It'd be pretty tough using Dragon to program if I lost my hands.
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Oct 8, 2014 00:57
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Knyteguy posted:I have a $20,000 appendix removal bill sitting in collections, and it'll stay that way. Hahaha, what?
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Oct 8, 2014 01:01
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Nocheez posted:Hahaha, what? Had to get my appendix removed about 3-4 years ago. Didn't have insurance due to the recession hitting us harder than anywhere. Not really funny it sucked/ still does suck. I don't see a reason to worry about something that can't be helped though.
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Oct 8, 2014 01:52
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Have you tried to negotiate to settle it? I think we have a thread here all about collections.
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Oct 8, 2014 01:58
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My Rhythmic Crotch posted:Have you tried to negotiate to settle it? I think we have a thread here all about collections. No, but I know I'll still owe the money even if it falls past the reporting period, so you're right I should look into that. However I'm kind of prioritizing collections as the least important thing at the moment since really the only thing it affects is our ability to get a loan - and we don't plan on doing that anytime soon. There's always medical bankruptcy too right? IIRC that's a thing. Hopefully we never have to worry about having insurance again, because it's not like I could choose to not have my appendix fail at an inopportune time. Wife and I are meeting up with my grandma in a few mins to discuss the details of her match on our house down payment. For anyone that doesn't remember or just joined in she's offering to double our contribution up to $20,000 as an early inheritance (so a total of $40,000 for a down payment after we're finished). We're incredibly lucky to get this offer of course. We're going to arrange our initial deposit of $400 from this month's savings (planned), and hopefully every month going forward (and more when we finish up the emergency fund). I'll post details tonight.
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Oct 8, 2014 02:13
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 No wonder your credit is hosed. Dude. Seriously. A house downpayment by 2015? Talk to HouseLoanGrandma and thank her for the generous offer but it's going to be 5 - 10 years before you can realistically save up for a house. THAT'S OKAY! It's not a big deal that you're not in a house, you are massively in debt right now and can't afford it anyway. One dead water heater or leaky roof and you're totally screwed. The new picture is that you've got 26K in car debt, 8K in student loans, 20K in outstanding medical bills, and a thousand dollars in Grandma money lurking on the periphery. drat dude that is a grim picture but take heart, you guys have a much better budget in that last one you posted and you are making *some* headway on all the rest of the debts. I think you'll sleep better if you take every single dollar that you earn from now until the baby is born and throw it into a great big pile marked BABY. Once the kid is safe and home with mom then you can start redirecting that savings income to knocking out your debt and once you are free and clear with a paid-for car, a healthy mommy and newborn and no more consumer debt then you will be able to pile up money like a boss and start being able to buy fun stuff again. Until then, thrift stores, garage sales, donations from family and friends. Borrow instead of buy for any sort of tool or general appliance (but make sure to return it in good working order). Do everything you can to live on nothing right now, especially because your kid doesn't care how it's dressed or what brand of novelty baby carrier you're using. Cheap and ugly is *fine*. Get your debts paid off, an emergency fund setup of 3 - 6 months of expenses and then you'll sleep really well at night. You've got a really good job and a supporting wife, I bet if you two live as cheaply as you can right now for just a year or two you will be able to amass a sizable pile of wealth that will let your future selves go and do fun things. The trick is to stop caring what other people think and to never ever try to keep up with the Joneses. They're broke but look good, you're busy saving money so you can have a long and happy life. Any other bills or loans lurking in the wings?
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Oct 8, 2014 02:28
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