Here Is The Embarrassing Situation...

Status: Married
Ages: No way
My income: $84,000
Other half income: $18,500 (he’s in grad school)
Own outright: Dog
Debt: $140,000
401K: $0
IRA: $2,500
Savings: $1000
Stocks: $200
Bonds: $1000
Real Estate: We rent, but also invested in 2 properties, I’ll talk more about this later.
Kids: Ha. Ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, stop making me laugh – my stomach hurts!

Since the only thing we own outright is the dog, no need to go into any further detail on financial assets. Here is a breakdown on the $140K debt:

Straight Debt:

• $70K in newly consolidated graduate school student loans @ 3.5% (consolidation interest rates are a weighted average of the old debt).
  
• $30K in already consolidated undergraduate school student loans @ 4%.
  
• $2K in installment agreement for an expensive vet procedure @ 22.98% – and, the dog didn’t make it.
  

Debt Associated with an Asset:

• $18K in to Chrysler Financial @ 12% (don’t ask, I was in no position to negotiate on that particular day). I am way upside down on this deal.
  
• $6K remaining to Ford Motor Credit @ 5.9%. Blue book on this vehicle is $11K. Right side up.
  
• $6K remaining on land contract. This was a good move. More on this later.

Evil Debt:

• $2K in current credit card debt at varying levels of interest ranging from 14.98% to 22.98%.
  
• $5K in 4-year old delinquent credit card debt, a relic of the disaster that befell us when the dot-com bubble burst.
  

So there you have it, a pretty picture of major indebtedness, challenged credit, with virtually no retirement assets and no reserves. You wish you were me, don't you? Admit it! You wish you were me!