Comments on: Car loan change of plans — again

By: How to Avoid Prepayment Penalties | The Ultimate Money Blog: Saving Green and Living Green!

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:22:16 +0000

[...] few weeks ago, my friend Kacie was talking about how she’s changing up her plans on paying her car loan off early. She was saying that she’d have to pay a 1% [...]

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:39:51 +0000

I think that sounds like a wise plan. With a 6 month emergency fund in place, you’re way ahead of the game and could be totally fine, but if having more in savings makes you more comfortable, go for it, especially when it’s not costing you much more for the car loan.

We’re doing a similar thing with a baby coming this summer. We’re setting aside all the money we’d be paying on medical school loans as a temporary emergency fund. When the baby comes, everything’s fine and we don’t need it, we’ll make a big payment on the loans. But it’s there just in case we do need it.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:57:59 +0000

I like that you are being flexible in your approach to paying down debt versus saving. The key is that you have your blog and your readers here to keep you monitoring yourself and your debt payoff and your saving. Now, if only we could run the government the way your run your finances..... :)Steve's last blog post..How To Get Rid of Time Wasters and Double Your Income

By: Renee

Renee — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:07:45 +0000

We’re working on our mortgage. We’ve just locked in a refinance rate 1.5% below our original loan from 2007. If we continue to make the same payments we’ll pay it off 8 years early. My husband’s job is pretty secure, but if we did face a financial crisis, we could immediately go down to the minimium payment and have a $190 cushion monthly,among several other changes. Instead, we hope to make even larger payments with any raises (probably won’t happen this year). We’d love to pay the house off in 15 years…shortly before we start helping with college tuition. Ugh.
I like seeing your progress on you car loan, Kacie. I’m cheering you on!

By: Curious Cat Investing Blog

Curious Cat Investing Blog — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:47:55 +0000

I agree with your choice. The value of a bit extra in your savings is worth more than paying off the loan early, especially in the worrisome economic climate today.Curious Cat Investing Blog's last blog post..12 Stocks for 10 Years - March 2009 Update

By: jennydecki

jennydecki — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:58:35 +0000

We’re focusing on saving, because anything we’re going to pay off from here on out is $3,000 or more (midwife, old unemployment debt, student loans) so we’d have to have that much to pay it off.

I’m not a big fan (and never have been) of making extra payments. Save it up separately and then pay it off in one fell swoop. (It feels better for me to do it that way on an emotional level too.) I don’t spend extra when I see we have savings, so it’s not an issue of “if it’s there it will get spent so pay something with it!”

I hope you stay safe through this round of layoffs!!

jennydecki’s last blog post..Beyond Mom

By: Blog Round-Up : Clothes, Food and Vacations « Geezeo

Blog Round-Up : Clothes, Food and Vacations « Geezeo — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:01:27 +0000

[...] Sometimes however, life throws an unexpected curve ball at you, and you need to adjust your plans to match. Sometimes it can be tough, but after calculating the options, the answer may be plain as day. Take for instance, Kacie, author of SenseToSave. After finding out that her husband’s company is laying off 2,500 people worldwide, they made a change of plans. [...]

By: Free Games Gallery

Free Games Gallery — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:08:39 +0000

I’m sorry to hear about the layoffs. You should feel good that you have about a 6 month emergency fund, most people dont have anything near that number, so you’re doing things right! As for the car, I’d hold off on any extra payments and keep yourself cash heavy. Cut out frivolous expenses, stockpile your cash, and you’ll be able to make it through the worst if your husband gets laid off. And if he doesnt? Well, then you’ve just saved that much more for a new house!

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:27:48 +0000

Way to go for having a 6-mo fund. But as much as I am gung-ho about paying off debt immediately, I think you’re really smart to save all you can for a potential layoff. My husband has been mostly unemployed for a year now (car accident/knee injury was the initial cause), and we never expected it to be this difficult to find a job! All we had was what was left from our new-baby-cushion-fund so we’re now living with relatives until he can a job. It hurts to keep putting the student loan on deferment, but we have COBRA premiums to pay for because another baby is on the way!

In this economy, save save save! $370 in interest, while maddening, is a reasonable price to pay for some peace of mind. I hope he gets to keep his job! There should be a rule against laying off people with brand new babies. :-D

By: Melonie K.

Melonie K. — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:13:50 +0000

I’m not tired of hearing about it either! I hope that the layoff doesn’t hit your hubby. There are so many right now, it’s got to be scary. My husband is military so people he works with always say they can’t be fired or laid off, but that’s actually untrue. There are ways for military to be put out of jobs too, if the right people get the right urge.

I loved reading the comment from Mrs. Money about the prepayment penalty. I wonder if it works that way with mortgages too!

Keep going – you are definitely on the right track and I agree with the other commenters: I’d do the same thing in your place.

Melonie K.’s last blog post..Frugal Fridays: Squeezing the Juice