How do you make money?

[msmayor]

Oh, and those who say cancel the trip. If everything is paid for other than food, what good would that do? They have to eat whether they are at Disney or at home. Since they will ahve access to a kitchen, they can grocery shop in Orlando just as easily as at home.

They key though is whether this is PAID vacation time. You're right...you eat whether you're home or not, but when you're home you're usually working and bringing in a paycheck. If you're not getting any vacation pay, then there's no money coming in for that week. And that DOES put one further behind, even eating all meals "in".

I'm a bit confused about the OP's statement that they missed one mortgage payment and now the repayment "plan" has them paying $1,000 MORE each month. Sounds like a LOT more than just one month was missed.

 

[ShelShelsmommy]

Not sure about all the financial stuff, but I know that when my hubby and I have been short before (after our first daughter was stillborn) We both missed a lot of work, and then I missed even more when I started having bloodclots shortly after that... ANYWAY we sold everything that we could. At the time we had over 150 DVDs and we sold them all but 1. We had garage sales, and put tons of things on Ebay. (Ebay fees were a lot less then also) My husband sold his Nitro RC cars and everything. We made all that we needed and slowly bought things again. My mother is taking me on our trip this time, but I didn't want to take my spending money our of our budget so I had 2 garage sales. I sold junk and stuff that we hadn't used in ages and made more than I had hoped. Things still get tight for us sometimes when surprise things come up, but somehow we cut back and manage to get everything paid. We don't eat out often, we sell things, do odd jobs, coupon and bargain shop, buy things used, and usually only buy things on clearance. It seems that even when we have the money we do this. I hope things do get better for ya'll soon... things are getting rough everywhere.

 

[mb168]

If you finance DVC, you can also use it for a tax deduction because it counts as mortgage interest paid.

This is for people that can't do math. I will GLADLY pay Uncle Sam $3,000 for you for every $10,000 you send me. This is exactly what you are doing with the mortgage tax deduction. If you are financing anything you are losing money.

 

[wdwfan16]

Wow, some of you guys are really judgmental. Ever heard the statement about walking a mile in someone else's shoes?

The OP mentioned several reasons why her family is in finacial trouble, most of which werre beyond their control. In the early years of my marriage, we were financially stable, paying off credit cards and not using credit. We both had decent jobs although our healthcare was only adequate at best. During the second year of our marriage, I had emergency surgery due to an ectopic pregnancy. Since the insurance company considered my pregnancy pre-existing, because we had not reported it (we didn't know about it), they only paid for about 40% of the bills. We spent years paying that back. Our credit was ruined because we couldn't afford basics any more without using credit. This lady stated that she had emergency dental work that can run into the thousands. Not everyone has that kind of money saved up. Until you've been in a situation like ours, try to offer kindness and help rather than judgment. You may be financially sound now, but your situation may change for the worse, through no fault of your own as well.

Oh, and those who say cancel the trip. If everything is paid for other than food, what good would that do? They have to eat whether they are at Disney or at home. Since they will ahve access to a kitchen, they can grocery shop in Orlando just as easily as at home.

I have and guess what we did - We canceled a WDW vacation.

In November 2008, DH had surgery that cost us $2500 OOP and days after his surgery I cracked a tooth. That resulted in emergency root canal and a cap. We paid 100% of that and it was $1800. This all occurred after a horrid 2007 where I had emergency cancer surgery (the emergency part was not due to cancer but cancer was discovered during the biopsy) and then DH injured himself and had to have surgery, not related to his 2008 surgery. Each of them cost us $2500. So over a two year period we paid out $9300. We never fell behind on any bill but we cut out a vacation, used our emergency fund and cut back everywhere. Before this neither of us had surgery and so far 2009 had been surgery free. We hope to be many more years surgery free. So far my cancer has not returned. I have passed the two year point. Thankfully neither of DH's surgeries were life threatening.

 

[Allison]

Yes, EVERYONE lives beyond their means at some point. Have you EVER charged something to a credit card and not paid it off immediately? That means you did no have the cash on hand to make that purchase. Do you have a mortgage? That means you did not have the cash available to purchase the house you wanted outright and are penalized by having to pay interest on a mortgage. That is what I am talking about. How about student loans for college? You don't have the tens of thousands of dollars to pay for yours or your child's education so you make a promise to pay when school is done; you are in debt.

I'm not saying OP should or should not go on their trip. Maybe some time away with the family will put things in perspective about what decisions and sacrifices they may have to make. Maybe this will be their last chance for many years to go on a vacation like this as a family. Whatever they do is what is meant to be.

Nope, still don't agree. Having a mortgage you can AFFORD is not living beyond your means. Managing money prudently and always having the money to handle bills and debt is not living beyond your means.

 

[mickeyfan1]

If only people that had cash to buy a house outright could own a home, there would be few homeowners. If all non homeowners were renting and saving, the governments would be getting more tax money. And banks would be paying out a lot of interest, but not making any money in return.

Living beyond your means to me means having more outgo than income. But only being able to pay the bills and not have anything left over is very uncomfortable for me. Yes, we have a mortgage. Yes, we have car payments. I do not work except for a home party business, which BTW so far I have invested over 400 in and gotten less than 25 back. However, all of our expenses total to just over 1/2 of my husbands net income, so are we living beyond our means?

 

[wdwfan16]

If only people that had cash to buy a house outright could own a home, there would be few homeowners. If all non homeowners were renting and saving, the governments would be getting more tax money. And banks would be paying out a lot of interest, but not making any money in return.

Living beyond your means to me means having more outgo than income. But only being able to pay the bills and not have anything left over is very uncomfortable for me. Yes, we have a mortgage. Yes, we have car payments. I do not work except for a home party business, which BTW so far I have invested over 400 in and gotten less than 25 back. However, all of our expenses total to just over 1/2 of my husbands net income, so are we living beyond our means?

You are not living beyond your means but below your means.

A person who uses every dollar they take home is living at their means. This person and the one who lives beyond their means (using credit to pay bills) will have a rough time at every hiccup and eventually it will snowball into much worse.

 

[palavra]

If only people that had cash to buy a house outright could own a home, there would be few homeowners. If all non homeowners were renting and saving, the governments would be getting more tax money. And banks would be paying out a lot of interest, but not making any money in return.

Living beyond your means to me means having more outgo than income. But only being able to pay the bills and not have anything left over is very uncomfortable for me. Yes, we have a mortgage. Yes, we have car payments. I do not work except for a home party business, which BTW so far I have invested over 400 in and gotten less than 25 back. However, all of our expenses total to just over 1/2 of my husbands net income, so are we living beyond our means?

Not now, but you are assuming your expenses won't change. Suppose you have a medical emergency, expensive home repairs or, God forbid, you husband loses his job. Life is not static. At any point, almost anyone could become one of "those" people whose outgo is more than their income.

 

[wdwfan16]

Not now, but you are assuming your expenses won't change. Suppose you have a medical emergency, expensive home repairs or, God forbid, you husband loses his job. Life is not static. At any point, almost anyone could become one of "those" people whose outgo is more than their income.

Life is never static. When one lives below their means and saves for a rainy day when the rainy day comes they can buy themselves time before the roof falls in. Rather than have a house foreclosed, they have money to keep paying the mortgage while they try to sell it. They have money to put down on an apartment or a house to rent. They have money to get that root canal. That is the difference.

 

[palavra]

Life is never static. When one lives below their means and saves for a rainy day when the rainy day comes they can buy themselves time before the roof falls in. Rather than have a house foreclosed, they have money to keep paying the mortgage while they try to sell it. They have money to put down on an apartment or a house to rent. They have money to get that root canal. That is the difference.

Sorry, that's just not true. Unless you have a great job making lots of money, many people don't have the financial resources to have thousands of dollars in savings. As in my situation, that one medical emergency, which in the end cost us over 14,000 dollars, wiped out any savings we had. We had to use credit cards to survive. Most people just don't have that kind of money lying around.

My husband and I have good jobs, but we aren't doctors or lawyers. Our gross income totals less than $80,000 a year. Maybe you have a lot of disposable income, but we don't. We scrimp and save for luxuries, but we don't have an emergency fund with thousands of dollars sitting in it.

 

[wdwfan16]

Sorry, that's just not true. Unless you have a great job making lots of money, many people don't have the financial resources to have thousands of dollars in savings. As in my situation, that one medical emergency, which in the end cost us over 14,000 dollars, wiped out any savings we had. We had to use credit cards to survive. Most people just don't have that kind of money lying around.

My husband and I have good jobs, but we aren't doctors or lawyers. Our gross income totals less than $80,000 a year. Maybe you have a lot of disposable income, but we don't. We scrimp and save for luxuries, but we don't have an emergency fund with thousands of dollars sitting in it.

We are not doctors or lawyers. I said above how over a two year period we had almost $10K in medical expenses. We both have good jobs but have been laid off in the past. We keep 6 months of living expenses in our emergency fund, so it does need to be in the 1000s. When we need to use it we then cut back to replenish it.

I have a girlfriend who makes less than $40K and she has thousands in the bank. She needs that as she is a single women. She has never been on a vacation in the her entire adult life. She gets vacation pay from work and takes vacations at home. She invented the staycation. She has a mortgage and now a paid off car, since it is a 1997. She lives in a modest 800 sq foot ranch home without any luxuries.

 

[Jeninindy]

People handle finances differently.

For us, we took our first disney vacation after we paid off all our debts and 6 months worth of expenses in the bank. We too scrimped and saved in order to have that money in the bank and save for our first trip. Why? That was our priority - Financial security. Having money in the bank in case of emergencies was to us, very important.

Now that we are living under an emergency situation - me out on short term disability, dh laid off -our emergency fund is there.

Going to disney when you are behind on your mortgage, cannot afford your month to month bills and are already working a full time job each and then a part time job is irresponsible. There is no way around that. That's the time you cut back, buckle down - not overspend for goodness sake....

You can call that judgmental if you like, but she came here looking for help.

You have gotten plenty of good advice, now it's up to you to decide what is important to you. Good Luck in the future.

 

[MinnieGi]

If you just found out about the dire financial situation your family is in, I think your first move would be to have DH really show you ALL the financial records to know where you REALLY stand. It just sounds like there is still a missing piece of the puzzle to why you are struggling so much for mortgage payments. I know you listed a few things that you see led you to this situation, but it doesn't seem like enough to be behind on a repayment plan of $1,000.00 more a month.

Also do you own the DVC? I really can't tell is you do or your BFF's. If you do I would rent out those points and MAKE money - you NEED it, not the VACATION!

We are DVC and considered renting out our Christmas week vacation, but I banked them instead for next year. We are no where near the financial hardship that you seem to be in, but we knew we did not have the "extra" cash to take on a Disney vacation for this year. IF I was in your position I would have rented those points to MAKE money!!

Even though you may only have "food" costs as others have said, food will be more expensive as you will need to buy all condiments that you would normally have in your pantry plus it sounds like not all meals will be in the villa and WDW restaurants are more expensive than at home. Plus how strong will you be when your kids beg for Disney souveniers??? Will you really be able to say "no" when you are with your BFF's kids who may buy their kids new toys, shirts, balloons etc???? And no matter how little you buy or cheap the food and restaurants you are still SPENDING & loosing money that you NEED!!!!

Seriously good luck to you and your family. I hope you can get your financial situation under control.

 

[indimom]

Have to agree with WDWfan, we are proof positive that you do not have to make alot to have money in the bank.
We did our struggling early in our marriage and quickly learned our lesson when after buying a new car, we were slammed with loss of overtime (which we had treated like regular income for years) and a month long hospital stay for our 12 month old son in February, 2001.
We have a combined income under $50,000. We both work full time. We have 14 years left on our mortgage and monthly payments lower than most of our friends' car payments. We have a 3 bed, 2 bath 100 year old home we love and which we will pay off early. We have two vehicles with no car payments. The 2000 Buick we bought new back in our 'wild youth' (but paid off early after learning our lesson the hard way) and a 1980 pickup hubby got for pocket change and has rebuilt into a reliable work horse.
We receive NO government assistance and never have. God willing, we never will. We do not buy UGG boots, Vera or Coach bags or anything similar. We SHARE a family cell phone just so we can keep tabs on the kids when they are visiting the public pool, library or playing with friends. (We still consider this a luxury item, along with the cable and internet.) I color my own hair and only get it cut at the "cheap" salon in town about 4-6 times a year ($8-12 depending on the coupons). DD also. DH and DS get their hair cut at home with the clippers. I wear a wedding band, but no diamonds. You're probably getting the idea. We live well within our menial means. (And yes, my kids have friends, enjoy school and do not get picked on for their lack of designer clothes or electronic devices.)
We work hard, we save hard, and when the time is right, we play hard. Period. I am so looking forward to our second trip to Disney World in 2010!!!

Well, go ahead, have at it... I'm waiting.

 

[wdwfan16]

Have to agree with WDWfan, we are proof positive that you do not have to make alot to have money in the bank.
We did our struggling early in our marriage and quickly learned our lesson when after buying a new car, we were slammed with loss of overtime (which we had treated like regular income for years) and a month long hospital stay for our 12 month old son in February, 2001.
We have a combined income under $50,000. We both work full time. We have 14 years left on our mortgage and monthly payments lower than most of our friends' car payments. We have a 3 bed, 2 bath 100 year old home we love and which we will pay off early. We have two vehicles with no car payments. The 2000 Buick we bought new back in our 'wild youth' (but paid off early after learning our lesson the hard way) and a 1980 pickup hubby got for pocket change and has rebuilt into a reliable work horse.
We receive NO government assistance and never have. God willing, we never will. We do not buy UGG boots, Vera or Coach bags or anything similar. We SHARE a family cell phone just so we can keep tabs on the kids when they are visiting the public pool, library or playing with friends. (We still consider this a luxury item, along with the cable and internet.) I color my own hair and only get it cut at the "cheap" salon in town about 4-6 times a year ($8-12 depending on the coupons). DD also. DH and DS get their hair cut at home with the clippers. I wear a wedding band, but no diamonds. You're probably getting the idea. We live well within our menial means. (And yes, my kids have friends, enjoy school and do not get picked on for their lack of designer clothes or electronic devices.)
We work hard, we save hard, and when the time is right, we play hard. Period. I am so looking forward to our second trip to Disney World in 2010!!!

Well, go ahead, have at it... I'm waiting.

No flames from me. Thanks for the thumbsup.

Have fun at WDW next year.

 

[indimom]

Look at that, got so caught up in the argument, I didn't even stay on topic.
To the OP, you've gotten a ton of great advice on here from folks who do know what's best for you, even if it sounds judgemental or superior right now...take their advice, do what you have to do to save your family's financial situation. A vacation is not a good idea right now.

 

[MrsPete]

Oh my goodness, I'd never seen her before, but went to check her out. That was just wonderful! Thank you for mentioning her. I think I'm going to buy my mom her dvd for Christmas. I had tears watching her. I'm not sure why. Maybe because she reminds me of my Granny who we lost 6 years ago.

She reminds me of someone I loved too. Maybe that's why I like her! But personal reasons aside, she's giving good advice on cooking inexpensive, basic foods -- and many of us were raised with convenience foods and restaurant foods, so we could use the lessons!

Yes, EVERYONE lives beyond their means at some point. Have you EVER charged something to a credit card and not paid it off immediately?

No.

Even when I was in college and when I was first married, we never once spent money that we didn't have on consumer goods. We ate lots of beans and pasta. We had old blankets over the windows because we couldn't afford curtains. We had one car between us. The list could go on, but you get the point. We did without things rather than go into debt.

Do you have a mortgage? That means you did not have the cash available to purchase the house you wanted outright and are penalized by having to pay interest on a mortgage.

A mortgage and a car payment are different. Most of us cannot have these things (at least in our younger years) without incurring debt; however, there's responsible debt and irresponsible debt. Taking on a mortgage that's proportional to one's pay is a responsible way of building wealth for the long-term.

And, just for the record, no, I don't have a mortgage. I own my house free and clear. It took 13 years of payments, making an extra payment on every single month. After 13 years we traded up to a larger house and paid cash. It's a very good feeling to know that every brick is OURS.

Oh, and those who say cancel the trip. If everything is paid for other than food, what good would that do? They have to eat whether they are at Disney or at home. Since they will ahve access to a kitchen, they can grocery shop in Orlando just as easily as at home.

No, they can't go on the trip as cheaply as they can stay home. They said they have tickets for the children; the adult tickets will still cost money that they don't have. Also, unless I"m very different from everyone else, I always spend more when I cook in a vacation condo (less than I'd spend eating out, but more than I'd spend at home). On vacation I buy more convenience foods and deli foods, which are more expensive. We buy more alcohol, more snacks -- in the long run, it's NOT a wash. Vacation cooking costs more. And no matter what the OP may plan, she's going to spend something on souveniers for the kids and incidentals (little things like airport parking, tips for the maid, etc). She will SPEND MONEY if she goes.

In contrast, she can make money by renting the DVC points, and she can get a credit for the airline tickets (and next year's trip can be a goal to work towards). She can MAKE MONEY if she stays home.

I have and guess what we did - We canceled a WDW vacation.

Know what? I have too. Well, I didn't have to cancel a Disney trip, but I had to cancel my 40th birthday cruise. It wasn't money-related, but other circumstances dictated that it was the best choice. We did lose money by cancelling, but we rescheduled the next year. I did enjoy claiming that I didn't have to be 40 'til I'd been taken on a cruise!

You can call that judgmental if you like, but she came here looking for help.

Yep, you can't come here asking for help, then complain if people point out the obvious.

 

[mrsklamc]

I can't believe how well this whole thread correlates with a blog post from Thesimpledollar.com today:

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/11/08/review-stop-acting-rich/

 

[bellebud]

we have the basic cable package no movie channels, dvr, hd or anything like that.

we stopped our trash pickup ($40/month), carwash ($26/month), we've never had lawn and snow service, etc.

Along w/ everything else you've dropped, I'd even drop the basic cable for now. you can get videos and dvd's for FREE from the library. and you obviously have a computer and internet, so you have access to news, etc. You don't need tv (remember, it's not like it's forever).

What was the $26/month carwash bill? Was it like it sounds - taking your cars to be washed every month? It just struck me as funny. To me, that's such an unnecessary thing, especially every month. I know you dropped it, but if you had something like that as a regular monthly bill, and a simple $1000 per month put you over the edge, you should have never been paying someone else to wash your cars in the first place.

I say this so you'll take a good look at your lifestyle. You obviously shouldn't own DVC in the first place. Again, $1000 a month more in bills putting you totally over the edge - not a situation that really could afford DVC in the first place. And I don't say $1000 a month like it's peanuts, but for anyone to feel like "we can afford to buy into DVC" - you should have a few thousand at least in savings for emergencies (more than that, but at least!)

Do you get your nails done? Hair? Facials? Drop any if you do.

I periodically don't go food shopping for a few weeks (except for milk, eggs, veggies) so we are forced to eat what we have in the house, like it or not. (DH doesn't like it).

And for others on this thread and in general who feel like "well, we work a lot, we must vacation, etc"... I agree, BUT there are ways to do this w/out it going on credit cards. It's so simple to always save for the vacation BEFORE you go. And go somewhere WITHIN your budget. Go camping if you like to. For the credit cards you do use, only use the ones w/ points towards something you'll use (like hotel stays, etc). Stay at reasonable hotels. Family time doesn't have to cost a fortune.

OP - good luck! Hope you re-evaluate your lifestyle so this can't happen again.

 

[mrsklamc]

Also- for those who are pointing out that jobs get lost, circumstances change, etc...Of course. You can NEVER have enough money that you will be 100% 'safe' from life. The mistake being pointed out is failing to change when your circumstances do.