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Just for the record when someone says "not to be x" they are almost always about to be X. I was wrong. You are in a situation similar to me though. About the sa

Just for the record when someone says "not to be x" they are almost always about to be X. I was wrong. You are in a situation similar to me though. About the same income/housing price with a wife and first child on the way. There is no way I'm saving 20% in the foreseeable future though. I have two car payments though. One that will be paid off this year and the other I'd like to get rid of but I'm too upside down right now.

mathgeek 11y ago
> There is no way I'm saving 20% in the foreseeable future though. Absolutely understandable. We certainly went through a few years where we were just happy that we didn't have debt and could live off my income. Good luck with your own journey!
redblacktree 11y ago
I have yet to pay off the house, but my wife and I (similar situation to the two of you) managed to pay off $47k in debt (credit cards, student loans, and car loans) in two years. In the months that followed, we saved a six-month emergency fund. We just stuck to a budget, and put every other penny on debt. We followed the Dave Ramsey plan. People poo poo him for not being sophisticated enough, but it's about changing behavior, not doing math. Anyway, I just noticed that you said "no way," and I wanted to provide a counter example. Good luck!
- johnward 11y ago
  I'm taking the snowball approach right now too. Maybe I will eventually get to where I can put away 20% but for now that extra money goes to paying down debt. Aside from $100 a month that goes into an emergency savings fund and 4% into my 401k.
  - redblacktree 11y ago
    When I started the snowball, I stopped contributing to the 401k, in an effort to be as focused as possible. I think that's one of the great strengths of Dave's plan. Being focused solely on one goal at a time gives you a quick feeling of accomplishment as you start racking up wins. If you spread your efforts out across too many goals, you may get discouraged when you don't seem to be making fast progress on anything.

mathgeek 11y ago

> There is no way I'm saving 20% in the foreseeable future though. Absolutely understandable. We certainly went through a few years where we were just happy that we didn't have debt and could live off my income. Good luck with your own journey!

redblacktree 11y ago

I have yet to pay off the house, but my wife and I (similar situation to the two of you) managed to pay off $47k in debt (credit cards, student loans, and car loans) in two years. In the months that followed, we saved a six-month emergency fund. We just stuck to a budget, and put every other penny on debt. We followed the Dave Ramsey plan. People poo poo him for not being sophisticated enough, but it's about changing behavior, not doing math. Anyway, I just noticed that you said "no way," and I wanted to provide a counter example. Good luck!

johnward 11y ago
I'm taking the snowball approach right now too. Maybe I will eventually get to where I can put away 20% but for now that extra money goes to paying down debt. Aside from $100 a month that goes into an emergency savings fund and 4% into my 401k.
- redblacktree 11y ago
  When I started the snowball, I stopped contributing to the 401k, in an effort to be as focused as possible. I think that's one of the great strengths of Dave's plan. Being focused solely on one goal at a time gives you a quick feeling of accomplishment as you start racking up wins. If you spread your efforts out across too many goals, you may get discouraged when you don't seem to be making fast progress on anything.