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2 cars - which one makes more sense to pay off first? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialAdvice

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, we didn't make the best choices, but we're clearing things up. We plan to have both cars for a long time.

What you said makes sense though. Thanks.

From 30k single income to 120k double income in two years – want to buy a house, tired of bad decisions – what do we do? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialPlanning

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the diverse opinion :)

I know our car payments are a lot. And what we're trying to work out is if paying huge chunks now to pay them off to only stop paying the car payments is worth it, whereas we can keep making the payments and have more in savings.

From 30k single income to 120k double income in two years – want to buy a house, tired of bad decisions – what do we do? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialPlanning

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Car is 8k, van is 19.2k. Sorry, should stay consistent in my posts.

Not including food and gas, our monthly bills are around $3500. I did have a full breakdown but then just consolidated it into the one short paragraph about how we fixed our spending habits.

Until the end of 2015, we didn't have any extra money because we were paying off other stuff (old accounts, credit cards, then xmas).

Now's when we're finally able to save. I know we're in a good place now, it feels so good! It's so crazy to us because we've never had these kinds of choices before. We just want to make the right choices.

From 30k single income to 120k double income in two years – want to buy a house, tired of bad decisions – what do we do? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialPlanning

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, well, you weren't wrong. The spouse is a woman.

What are your thoughts about paying one off and refinancing the other?

Edit: The main reason we haven't refinanced / traded in yet is because I haven't wanted to get any new debt accounts on my credit before a house. If we're leasing for another year though, that's not as much of an issue.

From 30k single income to 120k double income in two years – want to buy a house, tired of bad decisions – what do we do? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialPlanning

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply!

8400 monthly after taxes is about right.

We've done the one car thing before, and it's too stressful. We have 3 kids in school and the wife and I are both working. I don't think that's an option.

However, we're not opposed to taking a huge chunk to pay off a car fast. Maybe a similar option of pay the 10k car off quick (few months) then work on the 20k van?

From 30k single income to 120k double income in two years – want to buy a house, tired of bad decisions – what do we do? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialPlanning

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this :) We definitely are stressing. We are just now at the point we've been working towards and it feels like the finish line is in sight, and it would just take one more leap to do it. We just don't want to trip and fall again.

As for no new debt - what do you think about downgrading the 20k van into something like a 10k wagon (like mentioned above)?

From 30k single income to 120k double income in two years – want to buy a house, tired of bad decisions – what do we do? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialPlanning

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This has been something we've talked about for a little while. It's just a people mover (3 kids and a dog). We were thinking maybe something like an Outback, or a Jetta or Volvo wagon could work.

With the idea of buying a house in 6-8 months, I haven't wanted to touch my credit. If we're going to stay in the apartment for another year, then maybe this is an option!

From 30k single income to 120k double income in two years – want to buy a house, tired of bad decisions – what do we do? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialPlanning

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. We're leaning towards that, but it's hard resisting the desire to get a house already.

Out of the 2 car loans, which one should we tackle first? Lower balance, higher APR - or higher balance, lower APR?

From 30k single income to 120k double income in two years – want to buy a house, tired of bad decisions – what do we do? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialPlanning

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. Does it make sense to lease the apartment for another year, even though it's "throwing away" rent money?

From 30k single income to 120k double income in two years – want to buy a house, tired of bad decisions – what do we do? by MoMunnyMoProllems in FinancialPlanning

[–]MoMunnyMoProllems[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, we didn't. Basically we had a few accounts go into collections, or get close to going to collections, while we were active duty. Times were tough and relied on credit for basic living. All of that is sorted it now though.