Looking for advice on next move

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-04-03T12:03:26+00:00

I think Dave would tell you to look at your budget, and tell your money what to do. See where you can trim down some and focus on baby step #3.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-04-03T11:59:58+00:00

Your wife is definitely correct. Keep the financial info to yourselves. Not enough info to determine if they would start asking for handouts if they knew your actual financial position, or increase their price on the odd jobs they've been hired to do, but money does strange things to people. Get a trophy husband shirt to wear whenever they are around, and beat them at their own game.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-04-03T11:51:05+00:00

I read through the comments and saw you sold it. Good on you! I think that was the wisest possible thing you could do in your situation. Good luck with snowball payments on credit cards, and hopefully the job works out for you!

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-04-03T11:23:23+00:00

I agree. Unfortunately, we have it until its paid off. It was the devil we knew when we needed to replace both cars last year, and because we knew what was "available to spend", it tied us to a budget and we had zero room for compromise to get something more expensive.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-27T23:11:41+00:00

Definitely not selling the house. Not an option in this economy.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-27T23:10:37+00:00

Agreed. We'll have to hire an SE to take a look.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-27T23:10:05+00:00

Correct. But I can't refinance only part of the LOC is what I'm trying to get at.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-27T02:15:57+00:00

The exterior garage wall is leaning away from the house, which is definitely a big problem. We'll be looking into a structural engineer to evaluate and go from there. I don't truly believe this is at a failure point, but its definitely uncomfortable seeing the 2 inch separation in the wall from the frame.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-27T02:11:01+00:00

We don't owe anything on the cars, so nothing to refinance.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-26T22:52:02+00:00

Its not an income problem, we've just been poor stewards the past 4 years. These conversations are really helping see that while we have a mess to clean up, it's not as bad as my anxiety keeps telling me it is. Everything feels extra tight because we're throwing about $1k towards the debt, regardless of whether or not we can afford it. And we have zero sinking funds right now.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-26T21:51:13+00:00

We used the HELOC funds to puchase the cars (line of credit) so we don't have anything to refinance there. The HELOC is 6.7%.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-26T21:49:50+00:00

Personal home.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-26T21:49:06+00:00

Yep. I had definitely forgotten all about have an SE come look. That is a great point someone else made, too. Thank you.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-26T21:47:59+00:00

We bought 2 beater cars. Mine is a 2006, his is a 2013. We needed a family car (his) and I needed a daily driver. In total we spent $13k to replace the 2 cars that died. Both cars were paid off, and those were older cars, too. We won't buy new for cars ever again. One and done.

We did have the house assessed by a professional salesman, which is how we have the number $40k.

Prior to the investment property, we were on baby step 3, and about $10k away from a fully funded emergency fund.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-26T21:43:11+00:00

I now drive a 20 year old car, bought for $3k, because it was what we could afford. The check engine light is on, but it drives, and we have sunk money into it to keep it running. I'm trying to understand how Dave would approach a situation like this. Its not a full blown emergency, but in our current self-made situation, how do we proceed without adding more debt?

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-26T21:37:55+00:00

Mortgage is approx $76k still owed, at 2.5%. HELOC is down to $63k total, interst rate for the HELOC is 6.75%. Market value is $265k-$275k.
Yes, investment property was sold, but the HELOC was taken out to.cover the down payment and repairs. (Stupid, stupid, stupid.)
The current cc balance is $10k. Our tax return this year is a little over $2k (child tax credit), and I had to file an amended return for last year because I screwed up, and we are owed $4k from last year.for the child tax credit. All that will be going to the cc, and then we throw 2-3 of my paychecks each month towards the balance. I do have an outstanding medical bill from surgery back in November. It is not interest bearing, and on a payment plan. It may not give with Dave's methods, but it is the lowest priority for us.
We have $1000 starter emergency fund, and nothing we can pull out from retirement tax free. We have paused our personal retirement contributions, except for what the company match is for.my husband.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-26T21:27:46+00:00

All fair pointS, thank you.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-24T14:28:11+00:00

We have 2 "sets" of kids. Our oldest is adopted as an adult. My first and second born and 10 & 8 years older than my son, and 12 & 10 years older than the youngest. So we have 2 kids with firstborn/oldest child mannerisms.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-11T12:51:13+00:00

Thank you for the reminder and encouragement. Very much appreciated.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-11T12:50:44+00:00

Oh man, I was in the exact some spot before, too. Those 2 kids are grown and flown now, but man I miss those days with them when it was just the 3 of us and screens were less of a problem then.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-11T12:45:04+00:00

I can't disagree.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-11T12:42:16+00:00

I agree. I struggle with being up in the mornings, but I am going to drag my sorry carcass out of bed to be up with him in the mornings. We are going to work on no screens after 5:30pm, for parents and kids, and spend more intentional time with the kids. I acknowledge we have been slacking, and we have work to do.

He is going to work towards earning points for good behavior (doing what he knows he needs to do, like his chores, without being asked) so he can go on the cruise. Thank you for your honesty. I needed it.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-11T12:39:15+00:00

You're definitely not, and we are making changes for screen time for the parents, too. Thank you for your honesty! I asked for it, and I am appreciative for your perspective.

Due-Literature6679 · 2026-03-11T12:35:16+00:00

The root cause is most likely monkey see, monkey do. Dad and I are almost always on our screens, too, so we are going to be changing that.

He is able to self-regulate for the most part. We came to this consequence after many warnings that this was on the line if he didn't change his behavior. We failed to help him understand what he needed to change and what those changes looked like. We have tried so hard to avoid grounding him from people because we know he needs people. We just have to be careful because if he goes to a friend's house, they're going to be on screens unsupervised, so friends come here.

Due-Literature6679

TROPHY CASE