New Car

Xstatic3333 · January 2015

amhill87 said:
Cell phone is $500 annually, February is my last payment for my kickboxing which is $149. I plan on doing work outs at home after that.

My dad doesn't think I can handle repairs on my own. I have been on my own completely since April, prior to that I lived at home or with a s/o. I feel like I can learn how to handle simple repairs. He stated since I am not going to be married and he is not going to be around forever I should buy a condo so I do not have to deal with the repairs. I personally would love a fixer upper.

Though there's nothing wrong with condo living, I would leave your dad's opinion out of it. We're not super handy but fine with a "cosmetic" fixer upper.

amhill87 · January 2015

And I will probably save more than 3 to 5 for the down payment, my job tends to make me gun shy about home ownership and I want to make sure I am in the best place financially to buy. (I do title research and see thousands of foreclosures a month)

amhill87 · January 2015

And I do appreciate advice, I am just used to my dad and his girlfriend being so negative and tearing down most of my dreams and goals, and even personality. One day I saw how negative he is when I mentioned I want to do the triple crown next year which is 2 half and a full marathon and he is what if you blow out your knee in your race. I enjoy running why can't he be positive and happy for me? He was negative about my mud races which I have 4 planned for this year. It just really sucks and really hurts.

Xstatic3333 · January 2015

amhill87 said:
And I do appreciate advice, I am just used to my dad and his girlfriend being so negative and tearing down most of my dreams and goals, and even personality. One day I saw how negative he is when I mentioned I want to do the triple crown next year which is 2 half and a full marathon and he is what if you blow out your knee in your race. I enjoy running why can't he be positive and happy for me? He was negative about my mud races which I have 4 planned for this year. It just really sucks and really hurts.

Ugh that's tough. As part of your new start, why not build in some distance from them?

Also, I did the Newport half last year and it was gorgeous! If you want to do the full than don't let them stop you.

amhill87 · January 2015

I see them once a week to do laundry and camping in the summer, I don't think I am going to share any of my goals and dreams with them any more, minus my associates degree since dad is helping with that.

I am running the Newport 10 Miler in June and the half this year. Maybe I will see you there.

And my mom and steps are the complete opposite of them and are really supportive and positive.

amhill87 · January 2015

So upon further thought and using my mom as a sounding board I have decided to repair my baby. But since all the repairs are currently non urgent I am going to save and pay in cash instead of financing them. The compressor job will be the most expensive but if I am able to save at least $500 a month I should try to go as long as possible and my mechanic says she can go for another 100k miles, she is currently at 200k.

Xstatic3333 · January 2015

amhill87 said:
So upon further thought and using my mom as a sounding board I have decided to repair my baby. But since all the repairs are currently non urgent I am going to save and pay in cash instead of financing them. The compressor job will be the most expensive but if I am able to save at least $500 a month I should try to go as long as possible and my mechanic says she can go for another 100k miles, she is currently at 200k.

Good call! I missed where you said 12K/year of OT, but if that's really true you should have a good DP saved in no time.

simplyelise · January 2015

Sounds like a really good decision. You're clearly a hard worker, and if you manage to be a little patient, you can reach all of your goals.

brij2006 · January 2015

That is a much better decision than getting yourself into debt on a car when you have come so far with your finances.

Think about it. If the repair costs $1,500, then that's $125/month this year. That is cheaper than what you could buy a newer car for and have a payment on (which of course would be financed for even longer).

There is absolutely nothing wrong with repairing an old car and continuing to drive it. After you're done paying off the credit cards I would suggest to get your emergency fund up to 6 months worth of expenses, increase your retirement contributions to 15%, and THEN start saving up to pay CASH for a newer car.
Also, cut up the credit cards. Now! There is no reason to ever use them again. No matter what.

amhill87 · January 2015

True. And with the repairs I have done so far and will be making she is practically brand-new.

amhill87 · January 2015

For the contribution is that 15 with match or without? I have it currently 5 pre tax 2 roth.

brij2006 · January 2015

Without match. That's just considered a bonus. And this way you're used to having 15% go toward retirement. So if you were to ever switch jobs or your employer no longer offered the match, then you would still be set up well and used to contributing 15%.

hoffse · January 2015

brij2006 said:

Without match. That's just considered a bonus. And this way you're used to having 15% go toward retirement. So if you were to ever switch jobs or your employer no longer offered the match, then you would still be set up well and used to contributing 15%.

Good advice. Try to work your way up to 15% without the match. Then any match you get is really just gravy. The 15% is calculated across all of your retirement accounts, so you might have 5% coming from a Roth IRA and 10% coming from a 401(k). Combined, that's 15%.

Remember you are also calculating it by looking at your gross income - not your net income or after-tax income, etc.

The other thing to check is vesting schedules. Don't count any match from your employer unless/until it actually vests and it's yours to take if you leave that job. Plenty of people get burned by staying at a job for a couple of years and discovering when they leave that they had to work 4 or 5 years for the employer match to actually become theirs to keep. Vesting schedules aren't a secret or anything, it's just something that people lose track of when they start to look for new jobs.

amhill87 · January 2015

Emailed my mechanic for a quote on all the jobs so I can have it in savings.

amhill87 · January 2015

Just got my quotes 1300 all together

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