My husband and I just got married in july. he also started his job in july where he is making roughly 70,000/yr right now and by next year he will be at 80,000/yr. we both just got new vehicles and we pay $850(roughly) for vehicles. We have about $3,000 of debt on our credit card and we want to purchase a home.
I know we shouldn’t have bought those vehicles.. but as newlyweds i want to be able to have our own home and not live with parents, but I feel like we are going to live with them the rest of our lives! what can we do to get approved for a home loan, or not feel so strapped with money?
Amy
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Also, work out a BUDGET and see where you can cut it. Many people squander hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month on junk fees like “credit protector” and “car loan insurance” or Onstar service, texting plans, cable TeeVee. If you really want to OWN MONEY and ACCUMULATE WEALTH, you have to give up these sorts of things, even though the media says “everyone does it” and all your friends might be snookered as well.
And look carefully at your spending habits. Young people tend to spend a lot of trendy cloths, nights out, restaurant meals, entertainment, toys, etc, thinking they can “afford it” when in reality, these sorts of things nickel and dime a $80,000 a year income down to NOTHING.
It is VERY HARD TO DO and I know that it took me a couple of decades to figure these things out. Kudos to you for taking action while you are young!
$70,000 a year is a LOT of money to be spending, when you are living with your parents. It is all going SOMEWHERE – figure out where.
The hard part is to make sure you and your husband are in this together as a team, and not working at cross-purposes. Many marriages end because they devolve into a “race for the bottom” as each spouse tries to out-spend the other in retaliatory spending. “He bought a new deer stand, so I’m going to buy a new dress!” That sort of thing. If you can work together on a financial PLAN, nothing is impossible.
And a financial plan like that can bring you together closer as a couple and as a family.
Good Luck!
At least you realize your mistake! The road to middle-class poverty is paved with new car payments. And sheesh! $70K a year is not a bad salary! But I know how you feel – you are making good money and not getting ahead! And you’re not living an “extravagant” lifestyle, right? Right? RIGHT?
Well, actually you are. TWO brand new cars is a pretty pricey way to live. You pay the most for the car, and those first few years of depreciation are the most expensive. And the insurance! OY! (I pay $30 a month for my two BMWs though GEICO, but my cars are paid for!).
You will have to buckle down, pay down your debts, and start saving. Every day you live with your parents is a good painful reminder that having debt SUCKS! This is a good learning experience to go through early in your marriage! Pay off the credit card, pay off the cars!
Once you do that, you can save money, big time. But cut up those credit cards, they are like vipers in your purse and they can destroy you, and your marriage.
You should save debt for big things like education or a home.
Cars? Pay cash, buy secondhand. But since you already bought yours, pay it off and learn from the lesson.
Oddly enough, a huge chunk of new cars are sold to young people – who can least afford them – as young people are the least sophisticated about finances. I know I bought a new car when I was 21, and thought I was being “adult” and all. What a fool I was!
I buy secondhand cars from original owners – 2-3 years old. When I was younger, I financed through my credit union, then kept the cars 3-5 years after the loans were paid off. Today, I can afford to pay cash for a car – and I only buy cars that I can afford to pay cash for.
Good Luck!
At least you realize your mistake! The road to middle-class poverty is paved with new car payments. And sheesh! $70K a year is not a bad salary! But I know how you feel – you are making good money and not getting ahead! And you’re not living an “extravagant” lifestyle, right? Right? RIGHT?
Well, actually you are. TWO brand new cars is a pretty pricey way to live. You pay the most for the car, and those first few years of depreciation are the most expensive. And the insurance! OY! (I pay $30 a month for my two BMWs though GEICO, but my cars are paid for!).
You will have to buckle down, pay down your debts, and start saving. Every day you live with your parents is a good painful reminder that having debt SUCKS! This is a good learning experience to go through early in your marriage! Pay off the credit card, pay off the cars!
Once you do that, you can save money, big time. But cut up those credit cards, they are like vipers in your purse and they can destroy you, and your marriage.
You should save debt for big things like education or a home.
Cars? Pay cash, buy secondhand. But since you already bought yours, pay it off and learn from the lesson.
Oddly enough, a huge chunk of new cars are sold to young people – who can least afford them – as young people are the least sophisticated about finances. I know I bought a new car when I was 21, and thought I was being “adult” and all. What a fool I was!
I buy secondhand cars from original owners – 2-3 years old. When I was younger, I financed through my credit union, then kept the cars 3-5 years after the loans were paid off. Today, I can afford to pay cash for a car – and I only buy cars that I can afford to pay cash for.
Good Luck!
Also, work out a BUDGET and see where you can cut it. Many people squander hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month on junk fees like “credit protector” and “car loan insurance” or Onstar service, texting plans, cable TeeVee. If you really want to OWN MONEY and ACCUMULATE WEALTH, you have to give up these sorts of things, even though the media says “everyone does it” and all your friends might be snookered as well.
And look carefully at your spending habits. Young people tend to spend a lot of trendy cloths, nights out, restaurant meals, entertainment, toys, etc, thinking they can “afford it” when in reality, these sorts of things nickel and dime a $80,000 a year income down to NOTHING.
It is VERY HARD TO DO and I know that it took me a couple of decades to figure these things out. Kudos to you for taking action while you are young!
$70,000 a year is a LOT of money to be spending, when you are living with your parents. It is all going SOMEWHERE – figure out where.
The hard part is to make sure you and your husband are in this together as a team, and not working at cross-purposes. Many marriages end because they devolve into a “race for the bottom” as each spouse tries to out-spend the other in retaliatory spending. “He bought a new deer stand, so I’m going to buy a new dress!” That sort of thing. If you can work together on a financial PLAN, nothing is impossible.
And a financial plan like that can bring you together closer as a couple and as a family.
Good Luck!
Where is all the money going? Do you have a rent or mortgage payment now? It sounds like you don’t, but with that income, $850 total for two car payments is not unreasonable.
Are there other major expenses that you didn’t tell us about?
Where is all the money going? Do you have a rent or mortgage payment now? It sounds like you don’t, but with that income, $850 total for two car payments is not unreasonable.
Are there other major expenses that you didn’t tell us about?