Need some advise on finance?

Hi,

I think i am parinoid of finances. 4 years ago there was talk of my work place going out of business, just got married, bought a house, 15k in ccdebt, car loans, student loans living paycheck to paycheck plus did not have a dime in savings after savings. I could not just get up in leave, live in a small community 16,000 people, 34k salary was great. Then being worried of being flat broke, found ourselves getting new loans to make end meet. Well after a year being on egg shells, my company got bought out. They promoted me, to make 46k, wife makes 22k a year this was good in a community with a 800 dollar a month house payment. Right now i was able to pay all of my debts, have a car payment of 375 a month 8600 left to pay. Have now 10200 in a Roth IRA, plus 18k in savings for emegencies. Well last week my boss told me our company is not doing well and they will look at cut backs real soon. No jobs besides heath care, Am i in good financial shapd dnt want a repeat

Need some advise on finance?

you are in good shape, with 28 in liquid assets. You may have two choices, relocate or go to school in health care. just be mind full with your spending. just looking at your financial picture, car/house payment about 1200 a month, with a take home estimate of 3500 not bad.

Need some advise on finance?

If I were you, I%26#039;d be saving literally as much as I could if my boss gave me a heads up about possible cut backs. You are your wife should put away as MUCH as your budget will allow. Forgo some luxuries for a while to save even more until you know for sure that your company isn%26#039;t going to do cutbacks or they won%26#039;t be cutting your salary back. Without that savings, your family won%26#039;t be able to adjust very well to a lower salary and you don%26#039;t want your credit effected.

Need some advise on finance?

I agree with Rosie. (New around here and I like you already.)

The question you need to ask yourself is how long can you live on that 18k in savings? And do you want to wipe it out? Avoid touching the IRA unless you absolutely must. You%26#039;re either in a cheap area or smaller house, or both. But still, how far is 18K gonna get you? The %26quot;rule of thumb%26quot; is having enough for 6 months. But I%26#039;d feel much safer with more. You never know what%26#039;s going to happen.

So, yup, I%26#039;d be spending as absolutely little as possible and saving everything you can. And start getting a mind-set that everything you think is a necessity, isn%26#039;t. In fact, if everything goes well, you always need to keep in mind that anything can happen.

I don%26#039;t blame you for not wanting a repeat. That wasn%26#039;t a good position and you%26#039;ve improved your situation quite a bit. I%26#039;m impressed simply cause people are so terrible at taking care of debt and getting back on track. (I want to say %26quot;good for you,%26quot; but don%26#039;t want to sound patronizing. But heck, good for you. :-))

I hope your job is secure. Good luck.

Need some advise on finance?

My recommendation is that you save as much as you can. Sell the car to clear that loan, and buy an old cheap one that is in good condition. That will get rid of that cost. It might not have the prestige of a flash car, but it will save you a packet. If the rate on the student loans is high (I%26#039;m Australian -- we don%26#039;t have student loans, we have HECS! Its cheaper.) consider paying them off as a priority also. These things will increase your available income, which can then be tipped into your homeloan.

You%26#039;re in a situation where you can%26#039;t afford not to have savings. You should be saving at least 15% of your income at least. No luxuries. You need a bank account you can fall back on if you lose your job.

Set up another account at your bank, which can only be accessed over the counter. Get your employer to put at least 15% of your wage into this account. Don%26#039;t touch this money unless you lose your job. The $18 000 is a good start, but it needs to definitely cover your living expenses for at least three months -- time to get another job should you need one.

You can always be in better financial shape than you currently are. You could consider refinancing and getting a home loan with a redraw facility. This would allow you to park your excess savings in the home loan (keeping the interest down) and enable you to redraw it if you have an emergency like you need to replace your car or you lose your job. I%26#039;m on a similar sized homeloan repayment, but my partner and I are paying double what you are, and I%26#039;m on minimum wage, and he%26#039;s not even a permanent employee. We%26#039;ll have our loan paid off in 5 years, so we keep that excess money in our redraw facility for an emergency.

Keep saving. Best wishes.