Recent Articles
We Successfully Cash Flowed Christmas
I have been busy with a few new paid blogging gigs but am starting to get back into the swing of things with my own blog. The Six Figures and Broke family ended 2008 off on a strong note - we cash flowed Christmas. In the past, we’d over indulge and use plastic for Christmas. This year we not only set a cash budget but we came in a bit under budget. It feels good as I open the credit card statements this month to not see oodles of holiday purchases but it feels even better to see no purchases.
I have had some recent successes in my freelance writing career and am now adding a few thousand per month to our household income. Since my husband’s salary covers all of our regular expenses, this extra money is going straight to our debt snowball (after I take out the requisite 25% for taxes.) Who’d have thought that blogging could be so lucrative - at least for a part-time work from home gig.
Wishing you all a financially successful 2009.
GMAC Requires 700 Plus Credit Score for Auto Financing
General Motors has been hit hard over the past several months. The stock has dropped considerably and then yesterday saw a 33% rise. The company is currently involved in merger conversations with both Chrysler and Ford Motors. Now GMAC, a company that General Motors has a 49% share of, has stated that only consumers with a 700 plus credit score will qualify for auto financing. The reason is the current volatility of the market.
From an Automotive News article on the topic:
“GMAC spokeswoman Sue Mallino said the finance company had to cut back on retail financing because of the company’s shrinking access to capital and rising costs.
“This is an unprecedented credit market environment right now,” said Mallino.
GMAC has also suspended some sales bonuses for its highest-volume “Platinum” dealers. Dealers say the bonuses applied only to standard-rate contracts without incentives, which is a small percent of their business. They say the bonuses amounted to $300 to $400 per contract.
For the first seven months of 2008, prime customers with scores exceeding 700 represented 74.3 percent of the U.S. new auto loan market, according to information services company Experian Automotive. A year ago, prime borrowers made up 71.1 percent of the new auto loan market. “
The article goes on to say that the used car market will be more severely affected by this restriction as less than 60% of used car buyers would qualify.
How Has the Financial Crisis Affected You?
I’m starting this blog back up again in light of the current economic status here in the United States. I’m curious, how has the financial ‘crisis’ affected you? I’ve read online about families with both wage earners out of work, people with non-adjustable mortgages losing their homes to foreclosure because of employment and elderly living off of retirement having to cut back.
It saddens me to see so many people affected to such severe levels. I am thankful that we are not being affected much. Sure the 401 (k) took a hit but we’re in our 30s so we have plenty of time to make that up. Some of the grocery prices are higher but this year my son is attending a school that is closer to home so our savings in gas more than makes up for the increased grocery prices.
Additionally, my freelance writing has really taken off and I am supplementing our income at a level that I could have never imagined for part-time work from home. I got a bit off track the past few months but am now more motivated than ever to continue my debt snowball.
Sold My Infiniti G35
When I started my 6FiguresNBroke blog, I mentioned that I loved my 2006 Infiniti G35 which was financed at a “fantastic interest rate.” Well even with the great rate, the payment was still $820.00 per month. Not only was the payment high, but upkeep was also expensive. See, it wasn’t just your typical 2006 Infiniti G35 coupe, we put several thousand dollars of after-market parts in to the car (to the tune of $13k-$15k). As a result, the rear tires needed to be replaced twice a year. These were 20″ tires and wholesale price on each tire was close to $300.00. So there is $1200/year in tires.
In Debt We Trust DVD Review
I have recently had the privilege of watching the documentary In Debt We Trust
A Billion Dollar Home
Billion dollar hotels aren’t super common but there are more than a handful so no one would scoff at the idea of a new billion dollar hotel. What are your thoughts on a billion dollar home? Forbes.com is reporting that a home is being built in Mumbai, India that will cost close to two billion dollars. Yes, two…billion…dollars. The owner, Mukesh Ambani, is estimated to be worth approximately $45 billion. So this is a drop in the bucket.
The property will be 27 stories high, have a six level parking lot, nine elevators and a health level complete with a man-made snow flurry room. This brings the term excess to a whole new level.
Source: Forbes.com Inside The World’s First Billion-Dollar Home
A How To Guide for Spending the Tax Rebate Check
As I was spending my time reading a variety of websites today, I cam across on article on CNN.com that talks about how different people in the United States plan to spend their tax rebate checks. The news reported in the past few days that the first of the economic stimulus payments are going out early in hopes of stimulating the economy now, instead of a week later like the original plan. I’m not sure if that extra week is going to make a bit of a difference but hey, if it makes life easier for some to get their check early then that sounds good to me.
Six Figures and Broke Debt Update
I try to update my chart over at the No Credit Needed Network once a month, today was that day. Over the past month, we have a net reduction of $1510 on our credit cards. As I’ve previously mentioned, I have not included my automobile loan, home equity loan or student loans in that chart. The amount would have been lower but my husband has had about $800 in charges hit his account for his upcoming business travel. So in a month, when we receive the expense check, we’ll be able to apply that chunk of money to the debt.
Since we started with NCN at the end of 2007, we have paid off 12.49% of our debt. At this rate, we’re looking at about 32 months to pay off the debt. As my income goes up a little bit (I am a freelance writer so it isn’t much right now) this will go a little bit faster as 100% of what I make goes directly on to debt.
Maxed Out Documentary Review
After seeing Maxed Out
Visiting a Few Personal Finance Blogs
In reading through some of my favorite personal finance blogs, I decided to do my own blog entry highlighting some of their articles today.
No Credit Needed 5 Rules of Spring Training (for your finances) - Fun entry and correlates personal finance to baseball’s spring training. The five rules are: Pitchers and Catchers Report First, Start Slowly, Go Somewhere Warm, Practice the Fundamentals and Have Fun. A must-read. 