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On Saturday, I mentioned that I would be sitting down Sunday to crunch the numbers and pay off some debt. We did have some extra money, but something in the back of my mind told me to hold off. Something is telling me to contribute more to our savings account.
Maybe it’s the economy right now. Maybe it’s my job. Maybe it’s because I’m not feeling well. Who knows. All I know is that I want to have a bigger cushion in our savings account. That’s not a bad thing. It will slow down our debt reduction by a little bit but I’m okay with that. Paying off debt is important, but so is having some financial security. I think of our savings account as our financial blankie - it’s time to make it larger.
I have to thank everyone who used my link for the $25 bonus from Revolution Money Exchange. The bonuses I received from you and the extra money we were able to contribute beefed up our savings account by $425. It now stands at $3,629.
So far it looks like we will have some more extra money near the end of the month once payday rolls around. For right now, I think I’ll keep the gears switched and maybe try to get our savings to $4,000. That would sustain us for two months in a financial job-loss crisis.
Who knows? Maybe the debt bug will hit again and I’ll change my mind. 
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 7:46 am
My goal for debt is to stay ahead of your debt payoff. I use you as my competition. So every time you post about putting more toward debt it really motivates me. This will give me a little time to get a bit ahead of you. I’m just over $7000 right now and hope to be completely debt free by the end of the year.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 7:51 am
I think beefng up your savings is a very good idea. Having two to three months worth of savings is a good safety net to have. Especially when you have your son to consider too. You will get out of debt soon enough, but follow your gut. If it’s saying to save a little more right now, then do it.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 9:30 am
I just keep thinking that all of your amazing efforts would move TWICE as fast (think how quickly that credit AND student loan debt would be gone) if your husband could motivate his ass to go get some normal, hourly work of any variety. But I digress…
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Your first instinct is always right. Go with that. It’s our intuition that saves us sometimes from alot of grief.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I don’t think there’s a thing wrong with beefing up the savings to a 2-3 month expenses amount! I always do better when I follow my heart in this type of area.
Justine, I honestly think your comment was rude and inappropriate. Tricia and her husband are doing what they think is best for their family. We are not nearly as familiar with their situation as they are and I think it’s unfair to offer off-topic, negative comments when they are not requested.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 11:15 am
@justine:
You are right on the money. Tricia has done an outstanding job of reducing debt, but she does not seem to be doing it in partnership with her husband. Not only does he not have a job, this guy apparently does not participate in the financial decision making process in this family. With Tricia it’s always “I” did this or “I” decided that, never “we.”
Tricia seems to have two children, not one. Remember the ketchup/tomato sauce story? She “smiled approvingly” at her husband when he found a great deal on what turned out to be tomato sauce. You do that to a child, not an adult partner.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Justine & Anonymous Reader - would you feel the same about me if my husband was working full time and managing our finances and I was managing the household?
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Tricia I think you should go with your gut feeling and fund your savings account. If you later change your mind you’ll still have the money right? So really there’s no harm done just a little more interest paid.
You ONLY (must free really nice) owe less than $9,000 on your credit cards. You’ve done an amazing job at paying down your debt.
I really don’t think it matters if it’s you or your husband in charge of paying off debt, whatever, at least the credit card balance is dropping, that’s the main goal.
Congrats on the $425 in referrals - that’s awesome!
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
@Justine, Anon Reader & Tricia…
I think what Justine & Anon Reader may be saying here is “Where is the husband in all this?”
Tricia…I’ve thought that myself since you’re always saying “I”, instead of ‘we’. How one family chooses to divvy up the household chores/responsibilities is obviously up to that individual family. I often find myself wondering “Where is Tricia’s husband in all this?” as it seems you’re the one with the responsibility of paying off the debt and making all financial decisions. This may not be the case, but often-times, that’s how it comes across in your posts. Of course, since you don’t post about him often, people will wonder and assume. I wonder, but don’t assume…it’s none of my business how your family has chosen to handle your family responsibilities. For all we know, your husband could be doing wonders in the background, but since he’s so rarely mentioned (again when you say “I decided xyz…”, versus “we decided xyz…”) it just comes across as you being the one doing all the work and him not doing much.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Hi Tricia,
Wow. Good to stand up for yourself. I always find it interesting the comments that are made when the woman is in charge of the finances. It is very typical in many couples for one person to make many of the more “minor” decisions without consulting the other. In some couples, one person makes all or nearly all the decisions and that works for them. Every couple is different!
And in response to the people that think “any job” would help — the other commenter was right — we do not know the whole situation. Food for thought: I know a couple who have one child where both parents work. When the wife went back to work she found out that her (more than minimum wage) salary only covered the child care expenses that were required for them to both work. It made better financial sense for her to stay home and do freelance work when she could. I’m sure a lot of their friends/people on the outside might think she should go back to work because money is very tight for them, but they do not know the whole picture.
I support you Tricia, and I don’t need to know the whole picture to do so. I know that you and your husband are doing what’s best for your family, and not all decisions are motivated by money and paying off debt.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I have enjoyed reading your blog! I think it is right to trust your instinct. You are really doing great. Keep up the good work.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Hi Tricia,
Yes, I would say the same thing if the situation were reversed. I’m a feminist, and I fully support men and women sharing household tasks (or men doing the majority of them — little will change for women until men do half of the childcare and household work), women working in the workforce, and women being involved with finances. My comments are based specifically on having read your entire blog, from start to finish, which paints the picture of your husband as being a really nice guy who operates like a child and has expected you to “take care” of his finances since you started dating. He also comes across as someone who is immature about work - going into debt to buy expensive toys to start a business, not being willing to do enough other work while he was looking for a career-type job, not being a true partner in terms of this get out of debt plan, etc. Anyway, this isn’t the point of your post, and it’s already been addressed in previous blog entries. But, I just wanted to address your question and make sure that other posters knew that long-term readers actually do have a bit of information about the subject. And I remain saddened by the fact that you are working so hard and successfully to get out of debt but that your efforts have been slowed down by a husband who could be more of a partner in the effort and who could be bringing more resources into the home. Good luck!
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
justine - thanks for adding more. I mostly asked that question because our role reversal is a MAJOR sore spot with my mother-in-law so I was curious.
I’ll respond to everyone’s comments tonight when I have more time.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
@justine:
You said it all. I have followed Tricia’s blog for a long time and my conclusions are exactly the same. I don’t care who pays the bills, but marriage is a partnership. Both partners need to participate. If Tricia’s husband is doing all the house work and childcare or carrying half the load in some other way, that has not been clear from Tricia’s posts.
The MIL is no doubt concerned about the onesidedness of the situation. Maybe Tricia would benefit by sitting down with her and getting her perspective on the situation.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I say do what you feel is right. Paying off debt reduces stress but increasing savings eases worry. You’ve done a great job getting into the 4 figure range.
My thoughts regarding the subject that came about from the recent comments. While I don’t agree with the feminist agenda, I do support men and women working together to accomplish a common goal. I think it’s sexist to say men must do most of the housework or women must join the workforce. Whether one works and the other stays home with children, both need to be on the same page and serve each other. To each their own on the matter.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
And thank YOU for that link to Revolution Money Exchange - I got $25 plus an extra $10 for referring my partner. An extra $60 is pretty nice.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Anonymous Reader - With my MIL, her perspective is fully due to her being “old fashioned.” My place is in the home and my husband’s place is out working. I don’t agree with that at all.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Tricia, I had the same initial response you did about the whole husband thing–would people be saying this stuff if he were doing all the debt-repayment work and you were home with your son? I still wonder, frankly. I do notice some people with supposedly “feminist” ideals tend to slam stay-at-home mothers too, because we all know being an at-home mommy isn’t work. *eyeroll* I also know that people do not always talk about the housework and childcare duties that are performed because we kind of take for granted that those tasks are performed. So I was giving your husband the benefit of the doubt.
Somewhat off-topic: I wonder what this “feminist agenda” thing is that so many people disagree with. You know, I *like* having the right to vote, to have my own bank accounts and my own credit, to be employed and to have the right to my own money, and to be able to have custody of my daughter. (In the pre-feminist days the father was almost always given custody in a divorce–little known fact. I’m a single mom to boot, and they were once expected to give their babies up for adoption!) I would even love it if I had the same right to control my own body as a pregnant woman that I enjoy as a non-pregnant one, and if I could choose to utilize contraception without being called a babykiller. As a bonus, I’d love to know that if some guy raped me, he wouldn’t get away with it. The feminist movement is working on those latter three issues, and you know something? I’m glad they exist, and it’s become something of a litmus test for me to judge people when they say they’re not feminist. It’s like they’re saying I should be considered subhuman or something.
That said, there are certain things put out there by self-proclaimed feminists that seem to imply that if someone isn’t working for a paycheck, they’re not worth anything or they aren’t contributing to society, but I don’t think that is an issue with feminism, I think it is a larger issue with the larger culture that measures the worth of everything by dollar signs. A social movement is only as good as the culture that spawns it; maybe, if we want to see feminism change for the better, we should first start by looking in the mirror.