Comments on: Prioritizing our goals for the months ahead

By: Where we’re going & how far we’ve come

Where we’re going & how far we’ve come — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:05:03 +0000

[…] week after I mapped out financial goals for the next 3 years, I felt overwhelmed. Whenever I set a new goal, especially one as lofty as saving $20,000 for a […]

By: Carla

Carla — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:26:21 +0000

It sounds like you’re doing awesome with reaching your goals!! Just keep your eye on the prize & I’m sure you’ll get there!! :)

By: Kacie

Kacie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:55:10 +0000

Oh, I hear ya.

I know that we’ll be able to rent a decent place in Indianapolis for pretty cheap, so that’s encouraging. But saving up for a down payment? Ughhhh. No wonder so many people took out $0-down mortgages.

My favorite site for Indy houses to buy is mswoods.com . I’ve noticed that there are quite a few houses in the $75-$90 range that are actually pretty decent. Yeah, they won’t be anything fancy — but they’ll be liveable.

Also, I forgot that you have a car loan. Have you considered paying that off early? Even if the interest rate is low, getting rid of that payment will be a great thing.

Shane and I went back and forth on paying off the car early. I’m glad we did. That $277/month is now being put to better use!

We’re saving for that second car since you seem to really need a car per adult in Indy. I’m hoping that maybe we’ll just luck out and Shane will get a job in a great community and we can live super close, so sharing a car won’t be that hard. But that’s still a long ways off.
.-= Kacie´s last blog ..Start saving for your CSA now =-.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:04:20 +0000

I don’t know if you need to choose. Just put your extra savings in a high interest savings account, and use it as you need it. If you end up needing a second car sooner, use some as a down payment on that, if not just use it for moving expenses, and if you have some left over, its part of your house savings. Just don’t use the non-definition of the money to spend it frivolously, use it only for the expenses you mentioned above.

I agree with you on the student loans (assuming a fairly low interest rate). Given that you are not in a stable position (moving, unsure of jobs, etc), I would think it would be much more valuable to have the extra cash than a little less debt. If you end up spending less than expected before you are settled and secure, you can always put a large lump sum of it towards your loans, and you will only have paid a little more in interest, probably worth it for the extra peace of mind.