Thanks for your comments!
Hi Everyone
Thanks for all the comments over the weekend, sorry I couldn't respond to them all faster. Rather than try answer each one, I hope this post will cover some of the important stuff for now.
There's a lot to think about, we're going to try and do what is suggested in the comments and work out a complete budget. Probably most of what we're worried about is not having a good grip on the money, and we've seen people earning more than us get into situations where, like one of the comments says, the mortgage/house owns them not the other way around!
A lot of the comments have been that what Matt earns ($68k) is pretty good and we shouldn’t have any worries. Well, we know that should be enough, which is sort of why we’re doing this. We want to have our finances sorted, and make the most of where we’re at.
We’re not asking for any hand-outs, and we’re not looking for people to feel sorry for us. That’s not the point - this blog is called “Sort Me” not “Poor Me”!
Keep an eye out for my Budget, and this week I’ll ask you to vote on a couple of big decisions we need to make to kick this process off!
Thx, Steph.
posted by sortme @ 1:59 PM
22 comments
22 Comments:
This is an absolute waste of tax payers money. Ficticous steph and her rich husband who cant seem to sort their own lives out. What a joke. I hope blogspot bans this blog
Steph, if you're not buying or selling something, then get off trademe. go away.
Why don't you return to work to earn extra income?
hi steph, don't let all these losers bother you with their negative comments. you're saving some other poor sod on the message board from their abuse anyway! i think that we're ready for financial decision number one now - you may notice that the general abuse settles down when you give them something to think about. i hope it's a real dilemna though - and not just whether "mozart for babies" is a necessity or an extra.
This blog could be fantastic if people see it for what it is, get past the fact that its an orange ad, easily blocked if you dont want to see it. i look foward to the ideas that will be shown, they will most certainly help a lot of people reading this.
If your husband got fired a lot of us would be more willing to help. At your income level you should be able to budget for youself, why are you asking us for help?
like many of us, we have to live within our means, I too dont like seeing it all down the page, I too have large family but hypothetically or not get rid of it.
why not take a handout, if the government gives it take it. I started out 17 years ago with a 65,000 mortgage, and and income of around $65,000 - $70,000 it was enought to live well and cover the mortgage, insurance, rates, power and phone, hate to have that income today and a $211,000 mortgage, your life is owned by your mortgage, you have no option, stick the kid in care and go back to work, I can say I was at home for my kids a luxuary you will not get, so take the hand outs, make a living of TM whilst staying at home, work whilst your husbands home and at the end of 15 years your marriage is either in tatters, your kid is in a one parent family, or very strained because men cant handle the stress of it all best of luck. NZ is a very expensive place to live get use to it, we pay for the luxuary of it expensive housing and low wages
LOL, Cheers for changing the colour, it really was a pain.
I cant understand HOW or WHY your having difficulties, My husband gets $34,000 we have 2 kids and we manage, maybe you're just used to extravagant spending? $64,000 is a shitload of money, I think the problem is the fact you're so used to 2 wages, it takes a long time to adjust to just one. Good luck I guess...oh and it does feel silly talking to someone who doesn't exsist.
I must say well done with the changing of the orange ad and all.
This is an interesting idea, but as others have said it doesn't really relate to 'normal' NZers, so I'm not sure what the point of this is...
Do you not want us to learn from this, so we have to pay Sorted for relevant advice or something?
Hi Steph
Congratulations of your newish baby!
Yep, it is tough going from 2 incomes down to 1. What is the term of your morgage? If you are trying to pay it off fast then one thing that you need to do is to reduce your monthly repayments. There is just no way that you are going to be able to pay off that morgage in 8 years on one income with a young baby! Extend it out to 20 years or so - you can increase the monthly repayments in a few months/years when your combined income increases. Make sure that your bank doesn't try to charge you a redocumentation fee - they are getting enough out of you already in interest.
Oh, and don't forget to apply for your "Working for families" money, or whatever it is called (phone IRD). That should be about $50 per week, which will help a lot!
well I did a rough budget of what I think their expenses would be and although there are people saying that $68k is a lot of money in Auckland it doesnt go as far as it would in smaller cities
but lets wait to hear more
Do you get paid for doing this Ad? If not go stick Sorted and go find a real job.
I am utterly unimpressed with the two choices given for this weeks vote. 'The two options are clearly not equal - who on earth would seriously vote for the choice of the brother who "dabbles in shares".
It seems the intention is to steer people to financial planners. That was my first step several years ago. Fortunately I took none of their self-serving advice.
The choices are a joke, and unworthy of serious consideration. And this is my last post on this blog.
I do find it very difficult to understand why you need budget advice when your husband earns $68k (and yes I realise your "fictitious!"). I lived in Auckland with my partner & my son just on his wages ($36k) and we managed more than fine. Before baby we were earning $66k so it was a huge reduction in pay. The only thing I had was a CS card to help out with doctor's bills.
While we survived we weren't making progress so we moved to Waikato where my partner is now earning $41k and I can say honestly that we have a very rich living and STILL I don't work. I'm also expecting baby #2 so I find it very very hard to understand how you need budgeting advice.
If after this is all done you were to do another experiment such as this then maybe make it more realistic as far as wages are concerned.
As far as your situation is concerned, it is very hard to comment when there is no data available to see where all your money is going. For instance cars, insurance, monthly bills, mortgage payments, entertainment etc etc etc. It is very possible to live well & still stay at home and give your child a good start in life. My own life proves that.
why on earth would you want others to sort out YOUR MONEY problems? waste of time and space. go back to work like all other ppl.
Sigh. Get a part time job & put ficticious Caleb in daycare.
Ignore comments such as you need to go out to work and staying at home with your child is a luxury. The luxury in this situation is a house or mortgage that you can not really afford (unless you do go out to work) and all the unecessary extras you spend (it does add up)... $60,000+ is a decent income. If you are struggling it is because you aren't living within your means - simple as that. Budgeting will show you where you can save and where you need to make changes. You do not simply have to go out to work and put your child in childcare because you're not living within your means. LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS is the solution!
Ignore comments such as go back to work and staying at home with your child is a luxury. The luxury in this situation is your house/mortgage and all the little unecessary extras that you will discover upon examining your spending and setting up a budget. Go to work seems like the simple solution - but if you want to be a SAHM then you have every right to be and shouldn't feel pressured to work. What people ignore is that first of all when you are having financial problems it is because YOU ARE NOT LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS! THE SOLUTION IS TO LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS - not put your child/ren in childcare and go out to work to you can fund a more lavish lifestyle than you can afford. Many women out there are SAHM's earning less that you with more children and they make it work. So this should give you hope! In saying this - part-time work may also be an option - but at least you won't have your child in full-time daycare...
ALL OF YOU PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH THE FACT THEY HAVE $68K PER ANNUM WHEN YOU ONLY LIVE OFF HALF OF THAT - WOULD YOU BLARDY WELL GO BACK AND READ THE POSTS ABOUT DISPOSABLE INCOME!!!
Big DURRR!!!!!
Talk about ignorant!!! *grumble grumble*
I would go with the financial planners advice. It is only advice, it is up to you whether you take it or not.
What you have to realise is that there is no such thing as UNBIASED financial advice. They all have something to sell you. Find out what ruch people do and do the same - it has been proven to work for them.
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