Thanks everyone for the welcome, it's encouraging! Someone mentioned getting used to living on one income -- that is actually where I am hoping to head in order to be able to live some of our dreams (more later in this entry).
I sat down this morning and added up how much we owe:
Student Loans 36,850
Mortgage 96,111
The sad part is our mortgage is currently 40% of our take home pay (from 20% earlier). I thought about refinancing, but it's really not worth it, since we are able to handle the mortgage (it's a 15 year mortgage) and cover all of our living expenses.
The good news is no credit card debt and no auto loans. I've also found a few ways to decrease our spending, so for the next month, I am going to focus on:
Not eating out, especially because I really like to cook.
Saving $150 in our emergency fund.
Paying off $150 of student loans.
As I mentioned earlier, I am hoping to use the extra money from my future job to fund my big goals in life:
To travel
To have our current house paid off within 5 years
To move to a more rural area (always a dream of mine to live somewhere I was surrounded by trees and could have a large garden)
To help fund and participate (timewise) in an organization that will help individuals achieve thier life dreams
The Sad Truth and a Lot of Hope
November 5th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
November 6th, 2006 at 12:09 am 1162771781
November 6th, 2006 at 06:31 pm 1162837886
November 8th, 2006 at 04:28 pm 1163003280
Buckling down (OK down right buckling over) with debt right NOW will save you big time LATER. I think it is easier to make those spending changes when you have the security of knowing it really is taking you somewhere.
Good job and I look forward to checking in on your posts!