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Showing posts with label debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label debt. Show all posts
Friday, August 15, 2008
Annual Credit report
Just found this Annual Credit Report site. Of the 3 I was able to access 2, there is an issue with my 3rd. Grr.
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Stumble It!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
2008 Goals
Goals, resolutions whatever you call them! I was working on these while babysitting 2 8 year old twins, so I may need to tweak them.
1. Budget our money better. Pay bills on time- while our village doesn't report to credit companies, the pay the electric bill every 2 months is starting to drive me batty.
2. Pay down our debt by at least $2400. We have a loan payment of $130 a month so we'll snowball the other $70 into the best place for it. Number 3 was list debts so we know what we have to pay when, but it fits better with #2.
3. Use savings, rebates & misc found money to fund our emergency fund. We had a good start to it last year but it was depleted opening various checking & saving accounts that are more accessible to us. Once we get the direct deposit fixed we'll set up a weekly payment back into the ING account. We want to have at least $1000 in the EF by December 31, 2008
4. Blog daily, I have been neglecting my blogging. Mostly because I work online as well & it is just a lot of sitting in front of the computer.
5. Work on one DIY project everyday. We have a HUGE list of improvements we will be making in 2008 and most are to be done by us. The only thing I won't do is the roof!
6. Do better at cards to friends & family. Birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I have been really slacking lately.
7. Focus on MYO (make your own) mixes and grocery items. Now that I have the stand mixer of my dreams, and while it still wasn't the "Frugal" thing on my list it was a deal you just couldn't walk away from. The day we bought it the Licorice was available for $259.99, free shipping & a $50 rebate. So we end up only paying $10 more than my Mom did for her Artisan. Plus I have the horse power I need for it to last a very long time.
I mean really, the bread machine I want was $199 and it only took me a year to kill the $50 bread machine I had!!! Plus I will be selling my old stand mixer on ebay sometime after the holidays (last set like mine sold for $102).
8. Eliminate more clutter. As we can replace substandard items with good quality items I need to get rid of the old stuff!!!
We have to be really careful with our money now that we are back to one main income source & we are planning on moving some rooms around again on top of the remodeling & updating.
Of course I am babysitting again. When school is in it's only a couple hours a day, but they are friends with my kiddos so it's nice. And they were here almost everyday while someone else was getting paid to watch them...
So who knows what 2008 will hold, I am going to spend the last few days of 2007 reflecting & celebrating with my family!
Happy New Year!
1. Budget our money better. Pay bills on time- while our village doesn't report to credit companies, the pay the electric bill every 2 months is starting to drive me batty.
2. Pay down our debt by at least $2400. We have a loan payment of $130 a month so we'll snowball the other $70 into the best place for it. Number 3 was list debts so we know what we have to pay when, but it fits better with #2.
3. Use savings, rebates & misc found money to fund our emergency fund. We had a good start to it last year but it was depleted opening various checking & saving accounts that are more accessible to us. Once we get the direct deposit fixed we'll set up a weekly payment back into the ING account. We want to have at least $1000 in the EF by December 31, 2008
4. Blog daily, I have been neglecting my blogging. Mostly because I work online as well & it is just a lot of sitting in front of the computer.
5. Work on one DIY project everyday. We have a HUGE list of improvements we will be making in 2008 and most are to be done by us. The only thing I won't do is the roof!
6. Do better at cards to friends & family. Birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I have been really slacking lately.
7. Focus on MYO (make your own) mixes and grocery items. Now that I have the stand mixer of my dreams, and while it still wasn't the "Frugal" thing on my list it was a deal you just couldn't walk away from. The day we bought it the Licorice was available for $259.99, free shipping & a $50 rebate. So we end up only paying $10 more than my Mom did for her Artisan. Plus I have the horse power I need for it to last a very long time.
I mean really, the bread machine I want was $199 and it only took me a year to kill the $50 bread machine I had!!! Plus I will be selling my old stand mixer on ebay sometime after the holidays (last set like mine sold for $102).
8. Eliminate more clutter. As we can replace substandard items with good quality items I need to get rid of the old stuff!!!
We have to be really careful with our money now that we are back to one main income source & we are planning on moving some rooms around again on top of the remodeling & updating.
Of course I am babysitting again. When school is in it's only a couple hours a day, but they are friends with my kiddos so it's nice. And they were here almost everyday while someone else was getting paid to watch them...
So who knows what 2008 will hold, I am going to spend the last few days of 2007 reflecting & celebrating with my family!
Happy New Year!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Financial Ratios
Stop Comparing your Finances with Others: 5 Financial Ratios to Keep you on Track over at Money Smart Life.
"Key Ratios
My wife and I sat down with a financial advisor a few years ago and she pointed out 5 key ratios to keep an eye on. Below I give the formula, an example calculation, and a recommended target for each ratio.
Liquidity Ratio
Formula: Liquid Assets / Monthly Expenses
Our Example: $68,070/$6,892 = 9.9
Target: 3-6 months
Housing Payment Ratio
Formula: Monthly Housing Costs / Monthly Gross Income
Our Example: $825 / $7585 = 10.88%
Target: Less than 28%
Solvency Ratio
Formula: Total Assets / Total Debt
Our Example: $265,570 / $146,654 = 1.81
Target: Greater than 1.0
Savings Ratio
Formula: Savings per Year / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $18,000 / $91,000 = 19.78%
Target: 8-25% depending on age
Debt to Income Ratio
Formula: Annual Debt Payment / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $9900 / $91,000 = 10.88%
Target: Less than or equal to 30%"
Ok: So here are mine...yikes
Liquidity Ratio
Formula: Liquid Assets / Monthly Expenses
Our Example: $400/$2000= .2
Target: 3-6 months I think that means we don't even make it pay check to pay check...hmmmm
Housing Payment Ratio
Formula: Monthly Housing Costs / Monthly Gross Income
Our Example: $1100 / $2400 = 45.83%
Target: Less than 28% YIKES! Yes I know we are in over our head with the house, but it is a really nice house & dh is under-employed at the moment, when we bought it, it wasn't this bad.
Solvency Ratio
Formula: Total Assets / Total Debt
Our Example: $150,500/ $100,000= 1.5
Target: Greater than 1.0 Yes Finally!!!
Savings Ratio
Formula: Savings per Year / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $2,000 / $28,000= 7.14.%
Target: 8-25% depending on age I know we are low, but we are hoping for a much better summer in our food business this year
Debt to Income Ratio
Formula: Annual Debt Payment / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $8700 / $28000= 31.07%
Target: Less than or equal to 30% Well we are just over the target & 1800 of that $ is actually a business loan (since we aren't open, with no $ coming in we are making the payments)
Ok, so I have a lot of house, need to increase my income & savings, but our debt to income ratio isn't as bad as I thought it was, I'd love it to be a lot lower though!!!
"Key Ratios
My wife and I sat down with a financial advisor a few years ago and she pointed out 5 key ratios to keep an eye on. Below I give the formula, an example calculation, and a recommended target for each ratio.
Liquidity Ratio
Formula: Liquid Assets / Monthly Expenses
Our Example: $68,070/$6,892 = 9.9
Target: 3-6 months
Housing Payment Ratio
Formula: Monthly Housing Costs / Monthly Gross Income
Our Example: $825 / $7585 = 10.88%
Target: Less than 28%
Solvency Ratio
Formula: Total Assets / Total Debt
Our Example: $265,570 / $146,654 = 1.81
Target: Greater than 1.0
Savings Ratio
Formula: Savings per Year / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $18,000 / $91,000 = 19.78%
Target: 8-25% depending on age
Debt to Income Ratio
Formula: Annual Debt Payment / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $9900 / $91,000 = 10.88%
Target: Less than or equal to 30%"
Ok: So here are mine...yikes
Liquidity Ratio
Formula: Liquid Assets / Monthly Expenses
Our Example: $400/$2000= .2
Target: 3-6 months I think that means we don't even make it pay check to pay check...hmmmm
Housing Payment Ratio
Formula: Monthly Housing Costs / Monthly Gross Income
Our Example: $1100 / $2400 = 45.83%
Target: Less than 28% YIKES! Yes I know we are in over our head with the house, but it is a really nice house & dh is under-employed at the moment, when we bought it, it wasn't this bad.
Solvency Ratio
Formula: Total Assets / Total Debt
Our Example: $150,500/ $100,000= 1.5
Target: Greater than 1.0 Yes Finally!!!
Savings Ratio
Formula: Savings per Year / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $2,000 / $28,000= 7.14.%
Target: 8-25% depending on age I know we are low, but we are hoping for a much better summer in our food business this year
Debt to Income Ratio
Formula: Annual Debt Payment / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $8700 / $28000= 31.07%
Target: Less than or equal to 30% Well we are just over the target & 1800 of that $ is actually a business loan (since we aren't open, with no $ coming in we are making the payments)
Ok, so I have a lot of house, need to increase my income & savings, but our debt to income ratio isn't as bad as I thought it was, I'd love it to be a lot lower though!!!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Why the rich get richer???
From Robert Kiyosaki Why the Rich Get Richer
"Fight Debt with Debt
Whenever anyone asks me how to solve the credit card problem, I tell them to fight fire with fire -- and debt with debt. The way I solve my increasing needs for cash is to go deeper into debt -- good debt, not bad debt.
For example, I use debt -- which is essentially tax-free money -- to invest in real estate, which in turn increases my cash flow. Not only do I not pay taxes on my debt, I could also pay no taxes (or very little in taxes) on the income from the debt. Hence I earn more but pay less in taxes.
Obviously, in order to do this you need to know how to use debt wisely and responsibly, and must be able to find great investments that increase cash flow."
Ok, I get how this works, I understand the principle, however I am lost as to how to begin!!! We have looked into traditional mortgages, hard money lenders, etc. We live in NY which is apparently opposed to anyone else making any money here, they have capped the amount of interest that can be collected on a hard money loan, therefore it is unattractive to lend money here (they could get almost twice the interest rates elsewhere...). Not that I am about paying interest I just don't have the capital to start.
Sure, if I could be homeless & not putting any money into utilities, expenses, maintenance, etc. I'd have a lot more a month left in the bank account. Of course there wouldn't be a pay check, cuz I'm pretty sure dh wouldn't be able to work (unless we invaded McDonalds & used their wi-fi...hmmm. That may not be viable with 2 kids though...) So we wouldn't have a paycheck from that either. We are trying to grow our existing ice cream shop (we lost our 1st store due to loss of lease. New owner wanted something more compatible with a photo studio) Our 2nd store had a terrible start last year, high gas prices kept people home. So we are hoping our 3rd year in business will turn us around. Of course we are much smarter now than when we started :D. (~hehehehehe~)
"Fight Debt with Debt
Whenever anyone asks me how to solve the credit card problem, I tell them to fight fire with fire -- and debt with debt. The way I solve my increasing needs for cash is to go deeper into debt -- good debt, not bad debt.
For example, I use debt -- which is essentially tax-free money -- to invest in real estate, which in turn increases my cash flow. Not only do I not pay taxes on my debt, I could also pay no taxes (or very little in taxes) on the income from the debt. Hence I earn more but pay less in taxes.
Obviously, in order to do this you need to know how to use debt wisely and responsibly, and must be able to find great investments that increase cash flow."
Ok, I get how this works, I understand the principle, however I am lost as to how to begin!!! We have looked into traditional mortgages, hard money lenders, etc. We live in NY which is apparently opposed to anyone else making any money here, they have capped the amount of interest that can be collected on a hard money loan, therefore it is unattractive to lend money here (they could get almost twice the interest rates elsewhere...). Not that I am about paying interest I just don't have the capital to start.
Sure, if I could be homeless & not putting any money into utilities, expenses, maintenance, etc. I'd have a lot more a month left in the bank account. Of course there wouldn't be a pay check, cuz I'm pretty sure dh wouldn't be able to work (unless we invaded McDonalds & used their wi-fi...hmmm. That may not be viable with 2 kids though...) So we wouldn't have a paycheck from that either. We are trying to grow our existing ice cream shop (we lost our 1st store due to loss of lease. New owner wanted something more compatible with a photo studio) Our 2nd store had a terrible start last year, high gas prices kept people home. So we are hoping our 3rd year in business will turn us around. Of course we are much smarter now than when we started :D. (~hehehehehe~)
I guess there can't be a cut & dry answer here, if it were easy everyone would do it, right?
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