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More difficult is dealing with the private loans. I'd try to consolidate those and hopefully lock them into a lower interest rate. Then pay this down as aggressively as possible. Not to high-jack the thread, but what sort of options are even out there for consolidating private loans? I have $35k in...

Sure your wife's income is your "extra" right now. What about the cost of the baby? I may have misinterpreted your post but from what I read I see the following: If your wife continues to work 1 or 2 days a week that money just goes straight toward paying for baby stuff. If your wife does...

Thanks for the replies. I do realize the situation is more complex than just student loans vs. mortgage, so thanks for your input. I didn't mean to make our situation seem so dire. :oops: Current E-Fund is $10k, between 3.5 and 4 months expenses. We're pretty comfortable with this number. "Extr...

Well, we are off to enjoy our anniversary weekend trip to Washington tomorrow morning. :happy We bought our tickets online for the couple paid attractions we're visiting (Ford's Theater, Spy Museum), decided on Bistro Bis for our fancy dinner out and made the reservation. We're looking forward to en...

No thoughts on prepaying mortgage with higher fixed rate vs. student loans with lower, but variable, rates?

We have roughly $35k left total on 4 private student loans, all variable rates from 2.2 ~ 3% (prime minus some small %, can't find this info on the website for whatever reason). Our only other debt is $99k mortgage @ 5.125% fixed. I have investigated refi's multiple times and unfortunately had zero ...

If you do decide to get a diamond - go for quality over size and make sure its GIA certified. That will at least maximize resale value. :shock: :oops: I spent $1200...but I know a jeweler. It's appraised for $2800. Just wanted something nice. Wife gets compliments all the time, and I picked it out ...

Is wood or shingles hiding under that aluminum siding? Sometimes nearly perfectly good wood or shingles were covered over. I'm not sure. Our detached garage is wood, and is in worse shape than the aluminum on the house. This is one reason I'd like to just do all vinyl. Rip off all the old stuff and...

SteveNet wrote:For such a small bungalow I would get it resided, your choice of materials, vinyl or other siding

Maybe it would be worthwhile to get an estimate here also, and do some research on whether or not installing ourselves will be an option.

lwfitzge wrote:just good ol weed n feed, e.g., Scott's, during early spring....

+1. Easy, and not a dandelion in site in my yard.

For the record I'm very far from a perfect lawn kinda guy. As long as there are no dandelions I'm fairly happy. This stuff gets it done.

We have a 930sqft bungalow style home with aluminum siding that we would like to get painted on the exterior. We need to put up new gutters, and while the old ones are down seems like a prime time to get this done. We also considered going with new vinyl siding (a standard for remodels in my neighbo...

- a pullup bar (boglehead style...made of 1" pipe and slung over the basement I-beam...very cost efficient 8-) ) for pullups, chinups, etc. Please explain. I have a steel i-beam across the center of the basement. Are you talking about the same or wooden i beams instead of solid 2x8s running 16...

HATE going to movie theaters, between the rude audiences and ridiculous food & drink prices and often projection quality worse than what I have at home. I mostly agree with this. However, a theater near my house recently remodeled. The theaters went from 150+ for capacity to around 40-50 people...

Thanks for all the replies! I think I'm going to pick up sets of 10lb and 20lb dumbbells. A friend of a friend will send them my way for $30 total. Not too bad from what I can find on used dumbbell prices. As much as I'd love a nice set of adjustable ones, at least right now, I don't want to spend t...

Until recently, my "home gym" included an open space in the basement, a tv, a few workout DVDs, and the wife's set of purple 5lb dumbells. After completing a round of Insanity, along with a few other cardio type workout DVD programs, I'm working on starting up a new routine that's more foc...

First off...$65/m on fast food?? :oops: Come on now. How contradictory is that to buying whole grains, buying lots of veggies and fruit, and choosing healthier options?? I think we maybe spend $65 a year on fast food (not including pizza and Chinese food...those are our vices.) Well, I categorize a...

I always prioritized payment to the highest interest rate, and used balance transfers (back when you could do them for a $0 or low flat fee) to reduce interest rates overall. This is the smart way to do it. Dave Ramsey's debt reduction plan is not the smartest way to reduce debt. It is, however, on...

Scarface tub.

First off...$65/m on fast food?? :oops: Come on now. How contradictory is that to buying whole grains, buying lots of veggies and fruit, and choosing healthier options?? I think we maybe spend $65 a year on fast food (not including pizza and Chinese food...those are our vices.) Secondly...half a cow...

I agree with pretty much everything said here. I'll add one thing: I didn't agree with his philosophy of liquidating all bank accounts / emergency funds down to $1k to pay off debt. Personally we're comfortable with 10x that amount saved for an emergency (just our number...others may vary of course)...

My spouse and I don't focus on trying to find dining experiences that cost a lot of money. It seems a rather strange way of classifying restaurant meals to us. We value comfortable dining venues, with varied and mildly adventurous cuisine choices, with a high degree of attention toward servicing th...

I am starting to struggle a bit with this now How so? A colleague of mine left (what I assume to be) a fairly high paying job as a sales engineer to be a stay at home Dad. His wife is a lawyer. I don't anticipate ever being in this situation myself, but I probably would've made the same choice. Not...

For example, I don't see any value in spending more on a non-stick fry pan. With normal use, it will only stay non-stick for so long and need to be replaced. My wife and I would say just the opposite...that there is no value in a fry or saute pan that is not non-stick :happy . For other pieces, lik...

lightheir wrote:Actually, $100 dinner for food alone for a single person is a very steep price

Talking $100 for a dinner for 2, so $50 per person.

mmm Ribs. I know right? Best food in the known universe IMHO. Where can you get a rack of ribs for less than $20? Ruby Tuesday's or Bahama Breeze! Well maybe not Bahama Breeze anymore, been a few years since I last went there. It's ironic that you mention Ruby Tuesday's...I think that's probably th...

Here's a good recent thread on this. http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=105081 We ended up with Calphalon stainless steel stuff, because we could get the whole set for about 1/2 off we bought it. We do have some extra pieces in storage we don't use. If we couldn't have got that...

So while I'm mostly positive, this notion of what a boglehead is, and this army of Frugal Fighters are really nothing more than inconsiderate. I think the inconsiderate on this forum are actually the vast minority. At the end of the day, it's an internet forum. You'll always have those that would s...

Never. I long ago realized that going to a "fine" restaurant was a waste for somebody like me who eats and extremely healthy, basically vegetarian diet. The few times I have fish when "forced to" I have plain fish broiled with nothing added. So there is no value to the fancy sau...

This happened much more frequently when I was dating. I find it interesting that multiple people have said they spend this when dating . I have never spent that much on a meal on a date. When we spend that much on a meal, we plan for it a month or 2 in advance and we'd better be celebrating somethi...

Another ridiculous thread. And yet, you wrote 3 paragraphs (more than anyone else) responding to it. Ridiculous is right in my wheelhouse. I'm happy to let you all tackle the serious stuff, and I've greatly benefitted, but you guys are rank amateurs at ridiculousness. How many time can you have the...

SPG8 wrote:Another ridiculous thread.

And yet, you wrote 3 paragraphs (more than anyone else) responding to it.

Talking dinners for two here. Just for curiosity more than anything. I realize this reflects on costs for eating out in different markets as well, which I'm curious about. I also realize that cocktails or a bottle of wine can drastically change things, so, let's not count a trip to Buffalo Wild Wing...

Thanks for all the restaurant suggestions everyone! :happy So far we've pretty much decided on Bisto Bis for our "fancy" Anniversary celebration dinner. I like Indian but wife doesn't, the Italian place we looked at is closed on Sundays. Plus we've only been to a French restaurant once (on...

From your OP, the trip will be during your anniversary. Seems like a good reason to splurge to me. This is what we ended up deciding on being the biggest consideration. After lots of research we decided to splurge on a Mediterranean Suite at the Hotel Monaco. We know it's over priced, but we figure...

After looking into this a bit, it seems as though the nicest hotels will run a pretty steep rate. I've looked at most of the suggestions here as well as some others that were rated high on tripadvisor such as the Sofitel, which looks like a cool place in a good location. We also looked at nicer room...

Hadn't set a hard budget yet. I will look into all of these hotel & restaurant options! So far I'm thinking the Holocaust Museum and Air & Space Museum sound like things we'd like. We also will probably check out the International Spy Museum. Anyone have an opinion on it? Hey...we like spy m...

Continuing our tradition of taking a weekend trip for our anniversary, we're going to Washington DC this May. Wife has been before as a kid, but I have never been. We both love museums and stuff and look forward to doing many of the tourist-y things. For the first 2 nights of our trip, we're staying...

For us it's all about balance. On a monthly basis we make sure we save for retirement, pay extra on debt, set aside a few bucks for vacations and home improvements, and even (yes...oh the shock!!) a few bucks a month to go out for dinner with friends. We try to do what makes us happy and not spend t...

I'd seriously consider finding a new mechanic. If your antifreeze level is fine I seriously doubt you have an intake or especially not a head gasket leak. Typically the tell tale signs for these is leaking antifreeze and/or antifreeze in the oil. For the record I'd make the repair and drive the car ...

All this navigation only works with phone service -right? A notepad wouldn't work while driving and relying on Wifi. Hate to admit, wife and I get by with an old flip phone Google maps allow you to download the maps...so no internet connection is required. 3G is nice to get the real time traffic co...

If you haven't already - open a new taxable account at Vanguard - Total Stock, Lifestrategy, Target Retirement - now direct your "old" mortgage payment into your new account. Rebalance according to your asset allocation. You can thank us at retirement. :beer Direct your mortgage payment i...

I got my first credit card at 18. It was a student card with something like a $750 limit. I would suggest to do the same, or forget about the low limit if you know you can trust yourself not to run up a balance. Learn to use it wisely. Pay it off every month. I haven't paid one single red cent of cr...

I don't think you need Dave Ramsey's program or any other program that costs money. All it will cost you is the price of the book...that is if you can't just get it from the library. If you do need to buy it to read it, it's worth the $15. Again, I think it will help you. It's very motivational and...

Thank you, all, I am looking into the Money Makeover program. I am trying to find out how much it costs! :) The book isn't expensive...maybe $10-15 on Amazon tops. Or you could even see if your library has it. Trust me, read it. It's well worth your time. It will also "cost" you time and ...

We bought a power recliner couch and a big lounge chair from Art Van. The 5 year extended warranty was $100. It has undoubtedly paid for itself more than once over due to electrical problems with the motors and power supply in the couch. Next time we will likely not buy the warranty, because we won'...

Random Musings wrote:
Or let her file bankrupcy on the loans before you tie the knot........

Which will do no good since they're student loans.

You didn't ask about this, but if you can delay having kids, I'd consider it as well. No debt + no kids = freedom to pursue interesting, lucrative, or even groundbreaking opportunities wherever they may be on the planet, or pursue whatever endeavors you desire. Or, if you prefer, the ability to ram...

Nancylee wrote:I think you Negative Nellies ruin it for everyone else. I will be certain to not ask for advice again, because it comes with a whole pile of scorn.

Well, best of luck.

The fact is this forum is filled with a lot of knowledge, and the only loss will be your own.

I do not have a victim's mentality! .....BUT the decks are stacked against the little people, because we don't pay attention, while The Man does. With all respect, YOU not paying attention does not mean the decks are stacked against you. In fact, saying that the decks are stacked against you is pre...

Quickfoot wrote: I'm still paying $350 a month for plastic surgery for my ex wife that she got AFTER we divorced (guilt is a powerful thing).