Hi ladies! Can I get your opinions? :)

mwhitson14 · July 2010

I know it's a Saturday and things are slow around here, but this is something I'm thinking about because I'm a super planner aheader in things.

Assuming I get hired to teach (inservice starts July 21, and I just had my 4th interview-maybe I'll get something), I'm looking at having my current earnings almost double. Adding in the hotel ($450 a month) and Sylvan (~300), I'll finally feel like I'm making a decent living.

That said, I'm tired of working three jobs, seven days a week. I'm ready to have a consistent two days off. This would mean quitting the hotel job, so that I can do this. I'd lose $450 a month, plus bonuses, which usually equal $60-$100, depending on how many days we sell out. I'm still undecided about Sylvan. I like working there, a lot, but it means not getting home til almost 7, but I did just start there, so I'm really wary of quitting.

However. I have CC debt, student loans, and no savings to speak of. I'm really trying to decide whether I want to quit my hotel job and Sylvan job, keep the Sylvan job, or keep them both. If I keep them both, hotel checks will go towards CC debt (that's really bad), Sylvan checks will go towards either student loan debt, and I'll use my teaching check (which is going to be almost double what I'm making now, so there will be leftovers) for other bills and add some into savings. Applying the money that way, I'd only be paying a little extra on student loans, would have my CC debt paid off in a year and a half, and I have no idea what I'd be able to add til savings til I see the exact amount I'll be making.

What would you do in my situation? Is there a solution/option I'm missing?

danieliza1127 · July 2010

If you know it would only take a year to get that cc debt paid off by working all 3 jobs, and you no longer use the cc at all, I would probably keep working and get that paid off. It's such a big weight off your shoulders.

Have you looked at what other expenses you could cut though? Like cancel cable, get a smaller cell phone plan or get rid of a smart phone and go back to regular, things like that?

Also does your H help out with bills at all?

danieliza1127 · July 2010

Also student loans should be lowest on your priority list if you have them consolidated with one low rate. It's good debt, low interest. Focus on paying off cc debt first, then savings.

brilibby4 · July 2010

As much as it sucks I would try to work all three jobs for as long as I could handle it. It will probably be frustrating and overwhelming but you will be so happy with the decision two years from now when you have no debt left to worry about!

mwhitson14 · July 2010

Dani, the paperwork is in the works right now to get them consolidated, so hopefully that payment will end up being smaller soon than it currently is, $270 a month. Shane pays half the rent, plus the electric bill, which averages $110. I pay the gas/water (~$60) and internet ($62). I am going to downgrade my phone plan in December to stop using a blackberry and just get a regular phone. I'm under contract with it until then, and then I'll get a new, non-smart phone and downgrade my plan.

ohwhynot · July 2010

I agree with everything Dani said - focus on the cc debt first. I think you are just working way too hard, but I realize that there are not a lot of options for you right now. I just worry that you're going to burn yourself out, esp. since teaching can be a stressful (in good ways and bad) experience and not one that you leave at the school house door when you go home.

danieliza1127 · July 2010

It sounds like you're on the right track Whit.

Really, $300 a month isn't a lot so if you quit one job, I'd probably quit the lowest paying one BUT if that money can go to paying off your cc debt then it's probably worth it to stick with it as long as you can.

We paid off our cc debt last year and it's a wonderful feeling! Plus it frees up a lot of extra money that we previously spent on cc payments. Just be sure to stop using it completely so that you aren't working against yourself.

LP11509 · July 2010

I mean this in the most non snarky way possible, but I think this may be something that is better discussed with your husband than on here. I'm assuming (and apologize if I assumed wrong) that he also has some involvement in your finances.

That being said, if this is your first teaching job out of school, it will probably be quite exhausting. You also don't know yet how much time it will require outside of the classroom for lesson prep, grading, etc. Personally, I'd rather focus on doing the teaching job well than risk burning yourself out.

But maybe you could try doing all 3 and see how you feel once the school year starts? Then you'll have a better idea of what you can reasonably handle. You can always quit one or both later on.

danieliza1127 · July 2010

And OWN reminded me, really you don't know what it will be like to teach full time right? You haven't done it before I don't think? So all of this is hypothetical because you might start working full time and realize that you just CAN'T work all 3 jobs. If that happens, like I said, I'd quit the lowest paying job first.

elishabelle · July 2010

I am usually just a lurker here, but I've also been a teacher for 6 years. Your first year of teaching is very stressful. If you can make ends meet without having to work all 3 jobs I would highly reccomend doing that. I worked an average of 12 hour days most of my first year and for about half of my second year of teaching. A weekend job wouldn't be super bad, but I wouldn't add anything on to your week. In addition, you could have staff meetings and/or professional development during the week that could cut into the Sylan job. Just some advice from someone who has been there.

lmills730 · July 2010

wow, kudos to you for juggling 3 jobs. I know that, without an end date, i probably wouldn't be able to go on doing 3 jobs for very long just because i become a very grumpy person around the house when i am exhausted and it would really start to wear on FI and my relationship.

that being said, like PPs said, if there is a specific date that you can calculate all CC debt being paid off, like say 1 year or 1.5 years from now, it would definitely help me to keep going with the intention of stopping at that point.

i am jealous of your student loan payments btw! mine are already consolidated and are $550.00/month! definitely get yours consolidated asap as it does cut down on the payments a lot!

mwhitson14 · July 2010

OWN, I know. I do feel like I'm working too hard, and it may get impossible once I actually get into teaching full time. The hotel won't mind if I do school related tasks there, so that's a plus. I honestly have no idea at this point. But, I'm hoping, I'm young, haha, surely I can do this for another year or so?

Dani, I hope I'm on the right track! I was SO not during college, which is why I'm having the CC debt that I have now. Stupid, stupid college kid!!

So, maybe I should use the Sylvan checks also toward paying off CC debt?

dmbdbk · July 2010

If the interest rate on your CC debt is higher than your student loans, I think you should focus on getting more of that paid off (but still make the minimum payments on your student loans). If it were me, I might try to keep working all 3 jobs at least a few weeks into the new job to see how much of a time commitment the new job is. If its too difficult to work all 3, I might quit the hotel job but keep the Sylvan job, especially since you are enjoying that one.

mwhitson14 · July 2010

Also, brilibby, the no debt in two years just makes me SO excited. I'm so ready to get this weight off my shoulders!!

LP, honestly, I don't involve him in my finances much. I'm of the opinion that I came into this marriage with this debt, and it's mine to pay off, so we don't have joint accounts for that very reason. And we have talked about it, and his vote is to work on getting the debt paid off. We want to buy a house in the next couple years, and getting the CC debt paid off would help tremendously towards us getting approved for a home loan. He has very little debt and an amazing credit score, so I'm the one that's holding us back at this point because of my very hight credit to debt ratio.

Dani, you're totally right. I was teaching every day for my interim, but it only lasted 8 weeks, and I wasn't required to deal with any of the after school stuff like bus duty or faculty meetings. So, this is all purely hypothetical. Like I said, I'm a planner, and this is something I want figured out.

elisha, you're on the same lines that I am, except that I feel SO bad quitting the Sylvan job. I literally just started, two months ago. So I feel really guilty.

lmills, I have $22K in student debt, so I know I'm pretty lucky compared to most

It feels really yucky, but I know it's really not that bad.

mwhitson14 · July 2010

dmb, oh man is the CC debt interest higher. My worst one is 22%. My student loan interest? 2.64% on some and 6.22% on most.

dmbdbk · July 2010

That really sucks. I'm sorry. I don't know what hours you work the hotel job on the weekend, but is there any way you could shift the Sylvan job to weekend mornings or something? That might give you more time during the week for teaching?

danieliza1127 · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_hi-ladies-can-opinions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:e916236e-47c8-4238-a680-c47d8d06d0a4Post:27c448ca-c7a9-4757-8f21-98286a11b71e">Re: Hi ladies! Can I get your opinions? :)</a>:
[QUOTE]dmb, oh man is the CC debt interest higher. My worst one is 22%.
Posted by mwhitson14[/QUOTE]

Holy crap! Do you have one with a low interest that has a high enough credit limit to transfer the balances onto it? Or if not, do you ever get cc offers in the mail for low interest cards? You should try to get all of your cc debt onto 1 card with a low rate. That way it's one payment and only one interest piling up.

mwhitson14 · July 2010

dmb, my Sylvan hours are nonnegotiable at this point. They schedule my hours around the kids that come in, since I'm only certified to teaching math and reading. So, right now, I do 3:30-6:30 Mon., Wed., and Thurs., and the 2nd and 4th Saturdays. It could change though when school starts back, and the kids schedules change.

dani, unfortunately, the one with the highest interest rate also has the highest debt on it. Who gives a kid a credit card with 7K limit on it??? Well, Target did. It's not maxed out, but it's high enough that there's no way I'll be able to transfer it.

JulieSmiles · July 2010

I'm just a lurker, but I just finished my 2nd year of teaching. My first year was so hard and I worked so many hours, there was no way I could have worked another job, much less 2 more. One thing that really helped me with getting some extra money was tutoring students. I know you just said you could do school related things at the hotel, but I know I needed to be in my classroom for a lot of things I was doing.

lmills730 · July 2010

22%! yikes...i just looked at my CCs and pretty much all have around that for a transfer APR too. if only you could find one that would lower that, it would help a lot.

mwhitson14 · July 2010

Did you need to be in the classroom on the weekends? Because the hotel is only Saturday/Sunday 3-11. I also tend to work another day here and there if someone needs off, but I will stop that entirely once I start teaching.

mwhitson14 · July 2010

yep, 22%. It started out at 5%, and quickly climbed to it's current 22% over the past 4 years, despite barely using it and making payments on time every month. MAKES ME STABBY.

JulieSmiles · July 2010

I didn't need to be in my classroom on the weekends too much, but I also used those days to write my IEPs (Sped Teacher). I think if you can get your lessons planned during the week, you wouldn't need to be there on Sat and Sun. I just know I stayed until probably 6 or 7 most nights during the week.

elishabelle · July 2010

I would wait until you know exactly what your schedule will be like with the teaching job to make any final decisions. Best of luck!

mwhitson14 · July 2010

Thanks for the info Julie. I'm definitely very unaware of the extra time needed at this point.

I'm just going to play it by ear. Continue to work all three jobs as much as I can handle it, funnel the Sylvan checks and hotel checks to CC debt, and just make the minimum on the student loans. I'm SO sick of being under CC debt, and that's what I feel like will keep me going on paying that crap off.

smokeybailey · July 2010

Try to find a low interest or no interest VISA or MC to transfer that Target debt to. 22% is completely insane. You have to pay a lot to make a dent if you have to pay that interest rate. I am not sure what you owe or what you pay each month but I am not sure how you will get that paid off in one year.

Reach out to your bank or credit union to see about either a personal loan or a low interest credit card to which you can transfer the Target balance. Even if you can't transfer the whole thing. I am sure you can get at least $5k if not more.

As far as the job goes-it would seem to me that you could create $300 worth of savings by cutting corners somewhere so you could leave the Sylvan job. You say that you can't cancel your phone but can't you change the plan? Remove the media package or something? What about a land line-can you cancel that? Eating out or vacations-can you cut those out?

I'm sorry that I'm not much help. I have never had credit card debt so I don't know all of your options. Is consolidation something that might help?

JulieSmiles · July 2010

After thinking about it for a few, I really think you could handle the hotel job pretty easily. I don't know what kind of bills you have besides what you have mentioned here. I know that during my first year, I was actually really surprised by how much I was able to save. I was able to pay all the rent, my student loans, some small credit card bills and half of the food bill for my fiance and I, so around like $1200 a month. I still was able to put aside money to save for our wedding.

mwhitson14 · July 2010

smokey, by doubling or even almost tripling the payment (by funneling $750), I feel like I could have paid off in a year and a half. I can't get a personal loan or any other credit cards because of my high credit to debt ratio. I have tried, because I have a pretty decent credit score. I haven't looked into changing the plan. but I can find out. And we don't have a land line or cable; just wireless internet. We can't afford to eat out, so it doesn't happen very often. We're hamburger helper people right now

Vacations, we could cut that down to nothing I suppose. We've only taken two small weekend trips since we've been married, so really, that's a minimal expense.

mwhitson14 · July 2010

Julie, I'm thinking the same, if I really knuckle down. What I have, rent, the two bills totalling $120, STUPID CC, student loans (which will hopefully change once the consolidation comes through), and car payment/insurance. If I'm figuring out my teaching salary correctly, it will cover all that with a good thousand leftover, IF I'm being careful with my money. It will be easy to get a little crazy with it when I have the extra money! Haha.

So, in theory, I'd like to put a good $500 in savings each month (leaving $500 for randoms, like groceries). Which is why I'd like to take the extra checks and put it towards CC debt.

smokeybailey · July 2010

Hmmm, then I am not sure. You really need to get out from under that 22%. I am wondering if there is a debt consolidation plan that could work for you. Try to find a non-profit group in your area to just explore options. Even if you can cut the rate in half, that will speed up your timeline on pay off.

mwhitson14 · July 2010

Also, Julie, I PM'ed you.

Smokey, I will. I've looked at a few, but a lot of them say something about a minimum of $10K in CC debt, and I don't have that.

Hi ladies! Can I get your opinions? :)

Re: Hi ladies! Can I get your opinions? :)

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