I Need Some Advice - Kemp,TX

I would suggest an evening weekend job for you if you an't come to an agreement about the stuff. I am a stay at home mom, unfortunatly we do not have extra bills that we can let go. We pay 1 car payment then mortgage and the regular bills, water and electric. Can't seem to get ahead and are always behind. Anyways I became a waitress and it seems to help a little. we aer not so strapped..

Seems like an expensive and old truck with that many miles. My sister just bought a brand new Huyndai Accent (the small 2 door with hatch) for about $11,000. No radio, does have AC, automatic with manual windows. She put her own stereo in it for about $180. It comes with roadside assistance.

I agree don't just let it go back, they will come after you for the rest of the money you owe on the items even if you no longer have them. it will save you some if you can cook more at home and don't go out to eat. and off subject but what do you do from home that you can make $500 a month I want in on that. I'm a sahm trying to run an at home buisness but it's not working out because I don't have the money to even advertise. and I'm prgo with #2. I haven't found any lagit work from home places. best of luck

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J., I hardly know where to start. I see where Kemp has a population of less than 1200 people according to the 2000 census so you don't have much competition in the grocery stores. It may pay you to shop the major chains in Dallas.

In my opinion, the most expensive, low quality furniture comes from Rent-a Center or places like it. They take advantage of people with little knowledge of quality and value. They sucker you in by telling you its only $X a month. The next thing you know, your entire check is going for stuff that looks good on the show room, but nowhere else, especially after its been there a month or two. Send EVERYTHING you can back to Rent-a-Center so you have some money that isn't committed. If your bed is from Rent A Center, go into Dallas to the closest Goodwill or Salvation Army or something similar and buy a matress and box springs so you will have something to sleep on. Get four cinder blocks and four 2 by 6's and place your mattress and box springs on the cinder blocks so your bed is not on the floor. Go to your closest grocery store, and that may be Dallas also, and get enough banana boxes to put your clothes in so when they come to get your chest of drawers they won't take your clothes or just empty the drawers out on the floor. My wife and I bought our first "bed" from a garage sale for $25. It was an uncomfortable, ugly, sleeper sofa. We paid cash. We bought a table and two chairs for $10, cash. I realize this was 37 years ago, but the idea is we lived poor because we were poor. I have been to garage sales within the last year where I have seen a table and 4 chairs for $40, a dresser for $10, a couch for $50, a TV for $25. I bought a queen sized mattress and box springs for $35 because they were moving and didn't want to take it with them. Dallas has a lot of TV channels so you don't need cable. Most young married people are used to living in their parents home. And want RIGHT NOW what it took their parents 20+ years to accumulate. Pay as you go. Start a garden. Kemp is in the country. Buy 6 or so chickens for their eggs. Let them roam the yard and lock them up at night and let them out in the day time. This will keep you from feeding chickens to the local foxes, raccoons, possums, etc. By letting them roam, you get high quality eggs, that are much better than you can buy in the store and the chickens will fend for themselves. Give them left overs from the table and garden.

You said you bought your truck from a lot where you make payments at the lot. I know from examining the books (financial statements) at dealers that dealers usually make 75% to 100%+ profit on a car or truck they sell on a Tote-the-Note lot. They usually sell the same truck or car two or three times and make 100% each time. (They sell it. Repo it for non payment and sell it again.) Most of the time, the down payment and first payment covers the dealer's entire cost of the vehicle. Pay the truck off and NEVER go to a tote the note lot again. Take the note you are paying on the truck and, after the truck is paid off, deposit the payment for the next two or three years into a savings account. When the truck dies/quits running, take the money you deposited and use it for the down payment on the next one. Don't go to a Tote-the-Note lot to find your next vehicle.

Start by making a list of all your debts, how much interest they are charging you and how much you owe. Find the bill with the smallest balance, with the highest interest rate, and pay it off first. Then do that with the second lowest balance with the highest interest rate and so on.

You can save a lot on food. Quit buying ready made meals. If you want fried chicken, cook it yourself, don't buy banquet, or Church's or KFC. If you don't know how, ask. Most good cooks will be glad to show someone that is interested. Don't buy boneless skinnless chicken breasts. Buy chicken leg 1/4's. BTW, Chicken breasts selling for $.99 lb are boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.41 per pound with the bone removed and the skin off. (I went to a butcher and he cut the breast meat out and we weighed the boneless skinless part.)

I know this is a lot to take in. I was a finance major in college. I've done financial councelling for my church. If you have questions, e-mail me.

As a rule of thumb, you should be saving 10% of your gross income. Gross income is your income before taxes. My wife and I did that and we paid off our cars and home and learned to live on much less than we made. Until my kids left for college, I was eligible for some sort of public assistance my entire working life and NEVER took it. We earned our own way and paid our own way. We taught our kids to so too.

Good luck to you and yours.

Your husband is correct. These are yours and your husbands financial obligations and you OWE the money. You should live up to your obligations and pay back what you owe. BTW, it WILL go on your credit history if you let them default.

I found your post to be very confusing. What do you mean by "letting all that stuff go"? Do you mean selling it? Do you mean, stop making payments on it? You can't simply stop make payments and not expect severe consequences. You'll face repossession and you'll never get your credit back.

I think you and hubby need to get your priorities straight. By that I mean you and hubby need to sit down together and decide what is most important to each of you and what is the best way to handle your finances. You also need to stop buying things you can not afford. Get yourself out of debt.

And to directly answer your question... No, do not buy yourself a "cash car". Pay off the truck!

Update....
I don't mean to be rude, but what is going on here. Everything you're doing is just plain WRONG. Why in the world are you renting furniture?? It makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever. For 2 or 3 months payments of a rental, you could buy used items from a thrift store, a yard sale, Good Will, etc. Return the furniture and cancel the rental agreement.

As far as the truck, what's the blue book value.. probably $1,500 if your lucky. And what percentage rate are you paying +30%. Very bad financial decision. Go back to the place and see if you can turn it in. Why do you need a truck? What's wrong with a small or mid-sized car that gets good gas milage? And how do you know that it "will not go on us"? They did specify that they don't report to the credit bureaus?

As I said early, you and hubby need to get on the same page. Why are you both making such huge bad financial decissions? Why are you living way beyond your means? Why are you setting yourselves up for a life of constant fighting and arguing?

I don't know what the cost of living is in your area, but CT is one of the highest in the country. If you make smart financial decisions, you should be able to live fairly comfortable on +$40,000 a year.

And I think your original question may have been, should we get a second vehicle? The answer to that is still NO. After you have $1,000 in your savings account for emergencies, and you have money to pay cash for a new car, that's when you should get a 2nd vehicle.

I would enroll in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (look it up online). It sounds like you've made some pretty bad financial decisions-- no shame in that, you just have to learn the right way to do it -- and he can teach you.

Debt is a bad idea. No one needs a dining table so badly that it would be worth making payments. Save up (make payments to yourself) and then buy the stuff. You'll pay less than half the price you end up paying when you finance.

I'd first get $1000 in the bank in emergency savings. Sell anything and everything you need to sell to make that happen. Then sit down and make a good budget, prioritizing where money gets spent before it ever leaves your hands. Get rid of credit cards and pay cash for everything! Decide at the beginning of the month/ week/ payperiod how everything will be budgeted and spent. If you need help with this process, ask for it from someone whose financial situation seems sound. Better yet, google Dave Ramsey right now. You'll never regret taking charge of your finances. You can do it!

I agree with Dave Ramsay....
And NO way do you need a truck with a $500 payment when your income is 3000/mo.That's insane. Sell the truck outright to a private buyer. Use the extra after the 8500 is paid off and buy a cash car.
Don't "rent" your furniture--save up for something.
Payments = Disaster. Because of payments your family is living on 400/month? NO wonder you are cranky and fighting with each other.
If you don't have the money, you don't "need" it.
Dave's secret: Learn to live on LESS than you make. No credit. Ever.

Forgive me if this sounds harsh, but you made an agreement with your bank or the retailer, or whomever, to pay for the things that you have over time. You don't just "let all that stuff go" because it is difficult to pay for. Do you think that if you "let it go" that the debt will disappear along with the items? You are sadly mistaken. If you owe $8500 on the truck and you let it get repossessed, the bank is going to try to sell the truck to recover some of what you owe. You, however will still be liable for the difference between what you owe and what they were able to sell it for, and possibly other costs and fees as well. So in the end you could end up with your credit ruined, no truck and still owe several thousand dollars. Same with the other stuff you owe money on.
It sounds like you have made some bad financial decisions in the past. We've all done that at some point, but you have to honor your commitments and do everything you can to pay back what you owe. I agree with the moms who have suggested checking out Dave Ramsey, or doing something else to change your finances for the better. You are right that you can't keep living like this, but the answer is not just giving up on your payments. You can turn this around.

You are a SAHM, right?
But you are paying for 'your' truck?
So are YOU paying for it, or him? Since you are a SAHM?

Next, does he have a vehicle?
If so, maybe you can make it with only 1 vehicle.
I am a SAHM and we only have 1 vehicle.
Can't afford two.

Next, sell whatever you can, that you don't need.
Get rid of any extras or things that are optional.
AND... be putting money aside NOW... for when/if you are pregnant. Start a "savings" account... for that or for any 'emergencies.'

all the best,
Susan

do you think your debts are just gonna magically disappear b/c you dealt with small businesses? of COURSE it's gonna go on your credit! if you can get what you owe on the truck(which i doubt you can get $8500 for a truck with that many miles), then i say sell it. if not, you're kinda stuck. on the furniture, idk what to tell you. in your rental contract, can you return the furniture? i've never done the "rent to own" furniture thing before... call them and find out what your options are. save up whatever you were paying monthly and just get some inexpensive furniture with CASH. idk how you can hand that $500 truck note, we bring in over $8000 per month and i'd freak if we had a note that high. i agree with you that you need a money makeover and that your bills are WAY over what you can handle, but i also agree wtih your husband that "letting it go" is NOT the answer. sit down with a pencil and paper, and make a plan to get where you want to be that does not involve making others pay for your choices. good luck - you will get there, it just takes time and planning. if money is that tight, maybe you could get a part time job when your husband is at home to watch the little one?

I don't understand how you could still owe $8,500 on a truck with 156,000 miles on it. Someone ripped you off. If there is some way to get rid of the truck and your $8,500 debt, do it, and get a car that's worth the money.

And I agree -- get rid of the stuff from Rent A Center. You can get stuff really cheap at thrift stores or Craigslist that is just as nice.

I would tough it out by paying off all the debt that you owe. I agree with the other posters who have said that allowing repossesion will only hurt you BIG time in the end. If you are paying on items that you do not need or use, you should consider selling them for the amount you owe (if that's an option) and paying them off with that money. Also, try to go through your daily, weekly, and monthly expenses and cut out whatever is not necessary for right now. Buy used and second-hand items when you can. You may also want to start buying store brand items at the grocery store and cut those costs as well. It's not easy to figure it all out, but it can be done and it can be done without paying someone else to tell you how to do it. You have to take a good, hard look at what you bring in and what you pay out and make adjustments. I also think you should have a yard sale or sell some of your unused items on Ebay and take the money and put it into savings and DO NOT touch it unless an emergency arises. Even if it is only a small amount, it will grow with time. You have to start small when you are in this sort of situation and you have to make some small changes and move towards making larger changes. It's okay to be here, and now it is time to learn and move forward. Good luck to you and yours.

Dave Ramsey!!! daveramsey.com Financial Peace University or Total Money Makeover. there are several places that hold classes and right now you can attend the first class for FREE!!! you can check the website for details!

it SAVED us!!!!

but to answer your question... don't just "let them go" the lenders will come after you for the difference, if you need to, which you might, sell them for a fair price and you can get out of those debits in a much better way. I recommend the Financial Peace University classes they will walk you through all these issues, step by step and help you with these kinds of decisions, but in a caring and loving way!

I totally understand and was sitting in the same place you are a few years ago. We did get rid of my van, even upside down on it, and I am SOOOO glad we did. Yes, I drive a cash car -- a station wagon at that, but the stress relief was HUGE. We did the Financial Peace University at our church and it changed our lives and marriage.....my husband finally GOT IT! You won't regret getting out of debt!

Get the book "The Total Money Makeover" or "Financial Peace" by Dave Ramsey. You can probably borrow it from the library or get it used. You need to sell the truck and get as much for it as you can. Renting furniture is not a good idea. Read the book. It will teach you what to do to get out of the mess you're in. Goodwill is a good place to find household items. Getting a 2nd job is not going to help you if you don't change the way you live. Listen to Dave on KLIF 570 am 1:00-4:00 M-F.

Read "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. He talks about how to live debt free and how to tackle your debt quickly etc

I feell for you. You've got to get your monthly bills WAY below what you are comfortable with so you have "wiggle room".

Go check out Dave Ramsey and read his book "Financial Peace"... listen to him when you pick the kids up at school 97FM (3-5pm?) you will see that yes... you need to sell that truck. Try selling it yourself on Craig's list. Also... go around your house and take pictures of anything you want to sell and put it on Craig's list.

What year and model is the truck? I'm looking for a 3/4 ton truck (3500) myself. But trucks in Dallas are not hard to sell... go for it... buy a cash car... as you say... and then start your debt snowball... you'll be out of debt with a secure marriage in no time.

You've got the right ideas.... now act on them. Live below your means, take back that furniture to the Rent-a-Center, and buy your furniture one piece at a time as you have the cash... on Craig's list (I just bought two sleep number beds there instead of going retail and saved 80%.) and sell, sell, sell what you don't need. Shop daily on Criag's list and be selective, and you'll replace your rent-a-center with BETTER furniture that you'll pay cash for.

Work with your husband as a team... you can do it... and you'll be so much the happier for it. At first he'll be defensive maybe as he'll see this as a "step down" in living standards, but as he sees what you pick out... he'll lighten up... and of course... have lots of sex and he'll be happy... ;-)

Also... figure out what you can do from home to bring in your grocery money to take some financial pressure off your hubby. Maybe buying stuff at garage sales, cleaning it up, and re-sell on Craig's list? Maybe take in another child to babysit during the day while your husband is at work?

Best of luck to you...

Regarding the stuff that you still owe money on - if you get rid of it or give it back, they may/will still come after you for the money you owe through the contract you signed saying you would pay for said items. So it isn't as easy as giving it back.

Ways to save money - Get rid of cable/satellite, get rid of internet, get rid of cell phones and use only 1 land line, be careful about water/electricity useage, use coupons and cut any unneeded items from your grocery list.

Ways to get money - sell uneeded items (tvs, game systems, extra furniture, etc), work part time around your husband's schedule so he can watch kids.

Let it all go- the stuff is rented from rent-a-center. You end up paying three times too much for stuff. NEVER do that again. Buy used from Craigslist instead. The truck, sounds like you got a horrible deal, let it go back to the tote-the-note place. Doesn't affect your credit. Save that money and buy a cash car.

You are living way beyond your means and for no reason. You can buy perfectly good used stuff for a fraction of the price you are paying to rent and buy from tote-the-note places.

Hello Money Problems,

I'm sorry to hear of everything you're going through. Money problems are the number one problem in marriage, so you're not alone. But I also think people should work really hard to fit inside their budget so they don't have to stress so much over this number one stresser.

In my opinion, renting furniture and other goods from places like Rent-A-Center is never a wise money move. I would return the items you're renting and go buy some cheap stuff from garage sales and thrift stores for now. Try to make do on as little as possible so you can save up for items instead of buying these with credit or renting them.

Getting an economy car would also help you save money, but I wouldn't do so if it's going to hurt your credit. You can try selling it on craigslist and emailing everyone you know. Explain your dire need to sell the truck and see if anyone bites at the offer. If you do get a car, I would recommend only buying one that is 4 years old or older. Anything newer than that and you could end up in the same situation you're in now. Look into a lease so your payments each month would be less. Make sure you know all the lease details though, so you don't end up having to pay for miles when you're done with the term or something like that.

Sit down with your husband and talk about budgeting. Explain how important it is to you and your relationship that you stop fighting over money. You're a newlywed, sweetie. You want to get back to enjoying that. Start your budget process by keeping a journal of everything you spend for one month. I mean EVERYTHING! When you go to the grocery store, write down how many dollars were spent on groceries, how much on pharmacy, how much on "non-essentials," etc. Make sure you're husband does this, too, so you two can see exactly where your money is going and where you can cut back. My husband and I put ourselves on allowances and just can't spend any money unless it's an essential item once we've run out of our allowance money.

You might want to see if there's any way you could take up a part time job on the weekends or evening or something for a little while. Just a little bit of extra money can really help your sanity sometimes.

I hope some of this advice helps, but you really CAN do this if you want. You have lots of people out here reading your message and hoping everything works out well, so hang in there!

Once you figure out a way to live with the money you've got coming in, then you can start saving for things like better furniture, entertainment, and savings accounts.

Let the stuff go. It's not worth the stress financially. Check out a class called Financial Peace, we really learned alot and got on a plan. www.daveramsey.com

Updated

Check out a class called Financial Peace, we really learned alot and got on a plan. www.daveramsey.com

sell the car and get a used car instead. plus stop using rent a center and just get free/cheap furniture and such at craigslist or freecycle.org. that'll save you a lot of money. and yes, dave ramsey-- i haven't tried it but heard great things.

I haven't read the other answers- but I'm sure you've gotten a lot of this: Dave Ramsey!!!!
We are working his plan right now(I'm a stay at home mom- hubbie brings home 2600 a month- it's tight, but we are making it!) We have some medical bills from our daughter's birth and a loan we had to take out when we sold our house a couple of years ago. We have $11000 in debt right now, but we were able to pay off two bills completely last month! and another bill we will be paying off in a month or two! It's slow going for us because of our income and me being at home(we have 5 kids and it wouldn't be worth it for child care costs for me to be working right now)
Listen to his show(am 560 at 1-4pm) read his book and get your hubbie to read it with you. It will change your life once you are out of debt(we were before we had to take a loss on our house)
This is not a get rich plan or get out of paying the debt you owe plan- it is a common sense approach to how to handle your money- starting with sticking to a budget, saving up an emergency fund and paying off your debts!
Good luck and God bless!
~C.

hi, sorry to hear you are struggling. listen to David Ramsey on the radio if you are not familiar with him. He is on everyday from 1-4pm on KLIF 570 AM radio. REALLY good information, you can call in and get HIS expert advice. Craigslist is also a good place to buy furniture. People are trying to get rid of their stuff because of moving or jsut bought new furniture. Also going to a good Superstore Goodwill, i shop there pretty often to see what new things have come in. You would be SURPRISED! Anyhoot, you BOTH need to get on the same page. It can be tough but listen to David on KLIF 570. Highly recommend! ;-)

If the furniture does not go on your credit, let it go. Go to your nearest habitat for humanity or thrift store and find some nice used furniture. I got a ton of my stuff used then just re covered the cushions and stuff and people think it's brand spankin' new. =)
My boyfriend and I agreed that since we bought our house, and have a large living space, we would rather have slightly mis-matched furniture or used furniture and will acquire matching sets for all the rooms later on down the road. It's a small price to pay for owning a house and being able to make all of our bills.
I am not sure what I would do about the truck. A $500.00 payment is a lot, but you need to be 100 % positive it wont go against your credit if you give it back. I know in some cases its labled as a voluntary repo. which not only goes against your credit but they still make you pay a portion of the remaining cost as a penalty.
Good Luck!