Orchid Display I think it's great you can save that stimulus check (know that peace of mind goes a long way)!  And, in addition you are paying down some debt, so it sounds like you are doing great!  I feel the same...a balance of saving and paying some debt helps me sleep a little better in this crazy time!  Stay safe and well!  

PS- I am in healthcare (a practitioner in an ICU) and our salaries were just cut for the next 3 months.  Can you believe it?!  Truly reveals the skewed system we have and it's just really sad, messed up, outrageous, CRAZY!  That said, I'm trying (trying so hard) to stay positive because I do have a job and I know some do not right now.  I too, felt the anxiety you seem to be feeling, even having difficulty sleeping, heart racing, etc when watching the news...I found that cutting my news to the sources I can trust (for me PBS News Hour is good) and limiting social media scrolling has helped tremendously.  Hope this may help you as well.  Peace.  

Orchid Display Being conservative right now is the way to go. Hold on to that money as your security blanket. I think David Ramsey said the first thing was shelter, food, safety etc. Have those locked down, the debt can wait. :)

Sweet Tangerine I can't believe they would cut your salaries!! There you all are working so hard and saving lives whereas there are a lot of lazy people I'm sure that are happy to stay home & receive a check. Not right. You should be getting more & danger pay in my eyes. Thank you for what you do!! :)

Sweet Tangerine I'm so sorry you're going through this. No one deserves to have their pay reduced during a crisis, but I feel like essential workers should have an even larger security in place. We need you and cutting your pay is a terrible way to show that.

Sweet Tangerine Well that's outrageous, I'm so sorry. And yes, the combination I settled for this month I think will help with my peace of mind for a little while at least. Our company's clients are also sort of hunkering down (our biggest client has actually shifted production to making face masks rather than any of their usual work, which is awesome, but has cut down on our normal work from them.) so work is really slow. I'm spending my time listening to just a tiny bit of NPR to stay informed, but otherwise I basically just watch favorite tv shows, listen to favorite podcasts, hang out with my cat, and crochet. So much crocheting lol. I'm making a big batch of those ear saver things to donate to my local hospital. It all keeps me sane and keeps my anxiety down, and having that bit in savings is definitely a great help during all this mess. :)

Orchid Display those ear savers are awesome (and so needed!).  You wouldn't believe how bad your ears hurt after wearing a mask all day!!  Thank you for doing that!!

Faness I agree, it really stinks!  There are docs out there in some places (mine included) taking more of a hit financially to save their practitioners from taking as much of one (as opposed to 15-20% cuts across the board), but it just shouldn't be happening in the first place!  Large company executives (with extra large salaries to go with) are making these decisions, and the workers out there in it are the ones getting the short-end of the stick, so to speak.  I do know of places paying higher for front-line workers though too, but it just depends on the area, and how many surgeries and other procedures are being delayed.  I think the public will begin to hear more and more about this in the coming weeks, but it just speaks to the broken-ness of this system.  

Sweet Tangerine have you seen the plastic ones being made by 3D printer?

https://laughingsquid.com/scout-makes-3d-printed-mask-ear-guards/

for anyone with a 3D printer, the article has a link to the pattern.  Apparently it costs about 9 cents each (which is 0.000000001 cents US$ right now LOL).  Here is the link.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4249113

MXMOM oh I love those!  I haven't seen those yet.  We have people hand-sewing headband-type ones.  These are great as you could still wear your ponytail and they are adjustable!!  That's awesome!  Thank you ;)

MXMOM I just finished watching the Netflix documentary Pandemic (I know, but from a scientific point of view was fascinating). It focused on the scientists & doctors around the world who are trying to prevent a pandemic. One story line was about a doctor in rural Oklahoma and the fight to keep rural hospitals open & the lack of funding that causes so many to close across the US. So sad. Wrong priorities.  

MXMOM Unfortunately yes I am serious, and I do think it's something you (and the public) will begin to hear more about in the coming weeks. Many places are paying higher for front-line workers, but others are now beginning to cut pay and furlough some employees due to delayed surgeries and other treatments that are not happening right now due to concentrated efforts towards treating Covid patients.  Hospitals will lose money, insurance companies will lose money, big executives will lose money, therefore that will trickle down (and it already is, as the cuts begin next pay-period).  There are some docs stepping up and actually taking more of a cut for their NPs to take less of one (mine is doing that, otherwise the cut I would take would be too much to be able to make ends meet), but in some places it's just salary cuts across the board for everyone.  It's just a really sad situation.  

Sweet Tangerine This is INSANE to hear about. How on earth do we live in a country that provides so little assistance to healthcare? If this is happening I hope the word gets out and there's a public outrage. Medical workers are basically the First Responders of this pandemic. You deserve all the best support (supplies, resources, paychecks, mental healthcare, etc).

Sweet Tangerine and unfortunately it is not getting any press that I can see.   

And that's all I am going to say about it before I get involved in an international political discussion I am not qualified to have.

Turquoise Wildebeest All very good questions!!  And thank you, I truly do feel appreciated by many (just not the top dogs lol)...lots of local businesses have brought us food and energy smoothies, we've gotten free coffee and doughnuts, and encouraging, sweet chalk sidewalk messages on our walk into work.  Not just for nurses and docs, but for respiratory, physical therapy, maintenance, housekeeping, etc.  Really for everyone coming in everyday to take care of patients!  Trying to stay positive!  I think I can still be on track to meet my Smackdown goals on here....hoping we all can, I know so many are going through some very tough times right now!  Peace!

Sweet Tangerine So sorry to hear that! I'm a former inpatient provider and spent years working in ICUs (I'm on the rehab side of things) and so will always have a special place in my heart for all the amazing clinical staff I've worked with over the years. I'm in outpatient these days, and one place I'd been working part-time decided to let me go just last week and cancel all services for my patients, period. Thankful I still have an indie practice to work in but trying to navigate this for my patients right now is extra challenging. I've heard of the impending pay cuts for ER and hospital staff, especially those whose agencies are owned by private equity firms. Did some research on my now-former employer, and it turns out that they too are owned by a large private equity firm. I certainly hope this helps us push back so we can keep serving our communities; many of my patients have even greater needs to support in order to navigate the world right now. Hang in there and thank you for all the work you do!

Sweet Tangerine I am a doc, and my pay is down >50% this month.  My company is doing NOTHING to help us (they suggested we pull from our 401k), and I'm sure all the execs are still paying themselves giant salaries and bonuses.  It's disgusting.

Steel Blue Sound so sorry for this for you as well.  Yes, it is disgusting and when I see exactly what some of those execs make each year (9.9 million, yes million including stocks and bonuses!!!), it just does not make sense!  Priorities are just so mixed up!  Best wishes for you during this trying time.  

Spider Plant thank you!  I'm so sorry for your loss of that part-time work....some of these companies recently care more about the bottom line, and it's just really tragic.  The system has been becoming more and more broken, and the pandemic has really shined a light on some of that.  Maybe this is an opportunity for positive change in the pay structure, etc...I certainly do hope we can make this better!  Take care!  

Sweet Tangerine  🤯🤢🤬

Turquoise Major honestly, do you really want to be among that many people in July? You can always move those funds around of your own choice and not wait for someone else's decision. I've already decided that I'm going to remain out of the social circles for longer than they say is necessary just for my own protection and waiting to see what happens with everything else first.

farfromtheusual To be brutally honest - no, I don't think I do really.

I suppose there's just a reluctance on my part to give up on normality and an event I look forward to every year - not just the motor racing, but it's a weekend away with my Dad, Brother and some old family friends.

Even if they did run it to avoid paying out refunds, I'd really struggle with the fact that I've already laid out the cost for the ticket and camping, but really our health must come first.

Thanks for the sanity check!

Turquoise Major I can totally understand all of those reasons - and I don't blame you one bit.

BUT, you can also take control of your own well being, and mental sanity, to make the decision for yourself.  Of course, you can always leave the money there, and throw it at debt when the decision is made (because at this point, I'm just assuming everything is going to be cancelled, really, I don't see how it will get back to 'normal', especially for events of THAT size, by the middle of summer. I've even heard rumors that they are saying to expect concerts to be cancelled until 2021 already). It's up to you, of course, but pivoting sooner rather than later can have it's own benefits.

farfromtheusual Thanks for the pep talk - I think deep down I knew that anyway, just needed that little kick to spur me into action so I've now paid down the extra on my targetted cc and brought that under £2K owed now, plus £3K paid off YTD which are a couple of nice little milestones :)

Turquoise Major that's an awesome milestone!! And in my opinion worth it to make the trade on the situation. Besides, what you'll save in not paying towards debt will allow you to go on fun trips that much more easily in the future.

farfromtheusual This was an awesome little interchange to read through. YNAB peeps are awesome!

Turquoise Major I live in New Brunswick Canada and even though we have been very fortunate with only having 118 cases in the province and 11 active cases, they announced yesterday that all concerts and festivals will be cancelled until December 31, 2019.   More than likely governments everywhere are looking in the past to the Spanish flu and what happened when the second wave hit.  I would be bummed about not being able to go  on a trip like that with my dad and other family members.  I love racing myself (more of a Nascar girl than grand prix) and I'm missing the season already.  Stay safe!  Hopefully everything will come back bigger and better next year.

TLW farfromtheusual Looks like I did the right thing in accepting the inevitable.

Silverstone Circuit announced this week that they would not be able to hold the British Grand Prix with spectators this year. It's definitely the right decision, and if the F1 season does eventually start, they will try and run it at a closed circuit.

Also,  they've offered to roll over everyone's 2020 tickets to 2021, despite the fact that they usually increase the price year-on-year, so would make less money for 2021. I imagine a lot of the regular fans will do this. From my perspective, I've already paid for my ticket so I won't miss the money.

Plus next year is my Dad's 70th birthday and we're planning on taking him to the Belgian Grand Prix (Spa Francorchamps circuit is arguably one of the best on the F1 calendar) so next year it looks like we have two trips to look forward to! :)

Wiecked Yep - I think sometimes it helps having a forum like this where you can say what's on your mind and have an objective response from a great community who understand the challenges of living whilst paying off debt.

Turquoise Major WOW! There you go!! How cool is that!

Violet Guitar savings is key right now. Sorry to hear if layoffs...fingers crossed!

MoneyMonster wise.

MXMOM wahoo!!

Tomato Barnacle 

I think that that was an excellent strategy/process pivot.

FWIW, the concept of paying off the lowest balances (regardless of interest) first really helps to free up some monthly cash flow quickly, and for some of us with total expenses far too close to total income, that was what was needed to reduce stress and give us some breathing room. 

Violet Battery A lot of people like to keep the mortgage debt sort of hidden off to side until the consumer debt is paid off.  Makes the overall numbers less scary.

Also, depending on the situation, your home is worth more than the mortgage but you are not necessarily counting the value of the house into your net worth. My mom used to do that all the time.  Would stress about her low net worth but she always included the mortgage but not the property value. My opinion is they are either both in or both out. 

MXMOM Thanks! I'll remove it from my goals!

Violet Battery Dropping Mortgage out of my totals but still aiming to erase $37k this year.

As of the beginning of May:

Personal Loan 1: $32,500 $32,320

Personal Loan 2: $25,500 $24,635

Car Loan: $17,400 $17,051

Consolidated Student Loans: $53,200 $52,599

Credit Cards: $41,000 $37,952.70

Total: $169,334!  $164,155.70

Violet Battery I hope your'e feeling better and back up and cycling again! It looks like you made a good step forward in April - nice job! :)

Keith Borders I will save the celebration for next month, but I'm ready! ;)

Keith Borders Amazing!

Forest Green Wildebeest I replied to your PM about this! I believe we got it sorted.

Chuck hi there. You have a lot on your plate. Make sure you take care of yourself too. Not sure how long you’ve been on this debt payoff journey so this might be a shocking comment (or not). It seems that car loan is pretty hefty. Have you considered selling the car and getting something less expensive? At least until the other stuff is paid off. 

MXMOM 

To be honest, no I have not it is only the second brand new car I have ever had the other was a 75 Toyota and it will be the last car I ever buy. 

Chuck ok, just thought I would put it out there. One of the things that YNAB philosophy supports is rethinking everything in respect of the value of the financial decision.

MXMOM I would probably think differently if I got a BAD deal on the car but I didn't I was the only customer on the lot. part of those $ is I bought maintenance contract for the next five years, and extended warranty also.

SiruhTheSantas Congratulations on making that payment and bringing that debt below the $4k mark! I'm sorry to hear about your job and your boyfriend's, as well. Please stay safe and healthy (both physically and mentally) until things are back to normal. I know that can be easier said than done, but we'll get through this! :)

SiruhTheSantas Oh man!! That's rough! I hope you're easily able to apply for the unemployment and the extra tidbits that they're offering right now help cover the gaps. I know there are some that are almost making a bit more on unemployment than they are working their regular jobs. Hopefully it works out that way for you, too.

karine7 What an awesome birthday gift to give yourself - Congratulations on being student loan debt free!!And, Happy Belated Birthday! I hope you were able to find an enjoyable way to celebrate with everything going on! :)

Faness Thank you! :) 

karine7 CONGRATS and Happy Birthday!!

karine7 congratulations on paying off your student loans!!!

karine7 Congrats! you're doing an amazing job. 

Blue Sander That's great! I love looking at the averages across a year, that made a huge difference in how I was budgeting, and keeping the categories covered. Total game changer!

CTheJoy WAHOO, way to go for knocking it OUT! The good news is that without those other things, you'll get rid of the debt faster, which means that when all this straightens itself out and we get back to some kind of normal, you'll be able to do those things you want to do faster since the debt will be gone!

farfromtheusual  thank you for the encouragement!!!

CTheJoy 

Congrats on getting the beast down from a 5-figure debt to 4-figures. It'll be gone in no time!

Tishy Wishy Congrats on paying off your Credit Card! I did it this month and it is a great feeling. Glad we can now both take the money we are paying and sock a bit of it away!

Peripherie Thank you!

GoOutAndPlay 

❤️ happy to hear you're feeling better.  If you can beat the big C, knocking out a little mortgage debt should be like skipping through daisies.  🙂

GoOutAndPlay So happy to hear you are on the mend! Welcome back! 

GoOutAndPlay wow, cancer sucks, and I’m struck by your dust-yourself-off, resilient attitude! Wishing the best for you and your family! 

Gold Song you know that if your loans are deferred now, if you make no payments, the months still count towards PSLF, right?

Steel Blue Sound Yes! So that part is definitely nice!

TLW I would get a month ahead first.

TLW Good choices to have!

Whenever I am thinking through these things I tend to weigh what the debt is costing me (in terms of interest) vs how much I can put away. If the debt is costing a lot - then putting more towards the debt is usually the better plan. The faster you can pay off the debt the faster ALL the money can go towards getting further ahead. Of course, in the process of that, it is important to leave enough room so that you don't have to put more on debt in order to make those payments. BUT if that can be achieved, then it's worth it to me to knock out the debt.

IF the debt is very low interest, or interest free, then it's better to put the extra towards the emergency funds. A very wise (and wealthy) friend once told me years ago - don't pay anyone any more than the minimum if it's not costing you anything extra. My BF has around $5000 of old debt that it still hanging around. But we keep rolling it over to zero interest balance transfers, so it only costs him about $100 every year or so to carry the debt. We put $50 to $100 towards it each month and that's all because it's not worth it to pay any more when it isn't collecting interest in the process. I have enough money to pay off some of the debt I'm carrying right now to get it down to zero. But it's not costing me anything because it is on zero percent loans, so I'll make the payment each month and let that money sit in my account earning ME pennies of interest instead.

You can also split the difference and work on both a little at a time if the debt isn't costing you much, and you can keep all of your other expenses covered within reason.

farfromtheusual The interest rate is low on my line of credit and my mortgage (both are below 3%).  I'm still early in my mortgage so I'm paying over $100 a month in interest.  I guess my thought process is paying off more while the interest rates are low before the rates go up.  I live in Canada so my mortgage is not locked in for the life of the mortgage, it is only locked in for a term that I picked which was 5 years.  My mortgage is up for renewal in December 2021 and right now, despite everything that is going on in the market, the current renewal rates are considerable higher (2-3% higher) than what my mortgage is locked in at.  I just hate to pay out more in interest than I have to and get more towards the principle while I can.  Also my savings account is not paying out interest at a rate that is higher than my debt rates. 

I've been very fortunate that I have not carried any credit card debt in over a  year.  I pay it off every two weeks.  I was even able to fund a $300+ vehicle maintenance bill without stealing from my other categories and still have money left in my maintenance fund.

TLW Those are some great wins! It does sound like it would make sense to throw more at the principle now while the interest rate is low and see what kind of a dent you can make in it.
I'm glad we don't have a variable interest rate like that on our mortgage. I think our interest rate is a wee bit higher, but it's locked in for the life of the loan (30 years 🙄 of which we have 28 to go).

Schiaparelli Hat Way to make great use of those funds! Debt freedom is right around the corner! :)

Schiaparelli Hat WAHOO!