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Do you own more than a pot to pee in?

Do you have a will?

Do you have a living will?

I finally got my act together last year and got a will drawn up when I was ill. It made me realize that there was no way in hell I was going to leave a mess for my loved ones to sort out.

Now I am wondering about a living will.  What does that entail? Can you state how you want your body dealt with? Ugh I hate this topic but it's reality.

Let's chat about death!

Thank you and have a lovely evening. 

What are your thoughts?  Should a person - like me - work towards getting out of debt or build an investment portfolio?

I've finally paid off my credit cards from the BIG D (only took 4 years) and am considering attacking other debt (mortgage, student loans) or starting to invest. 

What questions need answering?



--Dave

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in collecting some monies for a very special person.  I can't disclose much information here on the site openly, but if you want more information, please feel free to PM me. 

This person has done a LOT to help others here on the site and has been down on their luck quite a bit lately and is in need of a few things.

Just thought I'd get your thoughts on the subject...

I'm thinking about taking up a part time job in addition to my other indentured servitude.  The idea is that if I work a part time job for a year, I can pay everything off and then go part-time at my current full time gig.

The drawback is that unless I can find something in the early mornings or on a work at home basis, that I'll just be taking more time away from my kids.  Plus I actually near loathe working so I'm pretty much setting myself up for a year of hating life (which if you consider the last 3-4 years ain't been no picnic might still be a fair trade). 

So theoretically, I'm going to get a small bonus in a month or so.  I want you guys' opinions on what we should do with it (after catching up our budget a little).

1) Dump the remainder into the mortgage (the HELOC, actually).

- Pro: pays down debt

2) Put it in the savings account.

- Pro: will supply us with some liquidity that we could use in a financial crisis
- Con: we may end up frittering it away, over time...

My wife thinks option 2 is the way to go; she feels like we shouldn't be in any particular hurry to pay off our HELOC, since the lender "froze" it (due to declining market conditions).

Thoughts?

Word is, 1st quarter 2010.

What do you think?

Personally, I don't believe that.

Well, here's an ongoing dilemma that gets more and more interesting.

I am in school and have been for quite some time.  I get child support and it's really not sufficient.  It wouldn't even pay rent for a studio apt. around here.  I talked with an accountant on friday and she said with the new laws here when I graduate and get a job my child support will go down no matter how much or little I make, plus i'll have to pay child care. 

Basically, if I get a job now the courts will reduce child support plus i'll lose any other benefits I'm receiving.  WHAT?  What the heck am I supposed to do?  I have no idea how to get more money coming in without what already is coming being reduced.  I feel stuck. 

Right now I'm back with my parents, which sucks monkey balls, but at least it's a warm place to stay without bills. (because hey, i can't afford any bills)  I'm not really sure what the hell to do.  My bf says not to worry, he just started a new job and that will be sufficient to take care of things but damnit....I feel like I don't have a say so in anything and it's really driving me insane. 

I can't believe 5 years after my exh left the kids and I, I am still struggling this badly.  I feel like their childhood is slipping away waiting for me to get us on our feet and have a semi normal family life. 

I likem.     They are a little more crowded these days and you would think the picking would be slim, but that's not so.  I went in looking for a pair of old jeans cause I didn't want to mess up my good ones in the garden this weekend.  The jeans I eneded up buying are now going to be my good pair and my existing ones will become my gardening pair.  I also scored a DVD / VCR Combo with built in Tuner with the original remote controll for $12.00 bucks.  I know I didn't need it, but it will be nice to have hooked up to the TV in the spare bedroom.

I guess I'm too psyc'd over buying something so unnecessary.   

I had a problem with my sink last week so I told my landlord about it.  He's very good at getting repairs done and sent a plumber the next day.  Since plumbing repairs are my expense per my lease, he paid the plumber and told me what I owed him that night when I got home over the phone.

This month is very tight for me financially, so I wrote him a check earlier this week and wrote in BIG letters across the top of the check, FOR DEPOSIT ON 5/18 (payday), post-dated it, and also wrote on the memo line in big letters for deposit on 5/18.  Then I dropped the check off in his mailbox before I went to work the next morning.  He went ahead and cashed it.  My bank covered the check but it charged me $30 for insufficient funds.

I probably should have been crystal clear with him regarding the post-dated check.  He's quite elderly and he doesn't always notice these things.  Should I try to get him to pay me back for the NSF fees or just let it go? 

I've been fairly active in the stock market for about 10 years and love talking shop.  Anybody else?

I wondered what the men on the board would feel about having a spouse who earns significantly more than they do. My income is about 8 times that of my husband. While it would be completely acceptable (and, for some ladies, desirable) that a husband earns a much larger salary it is not viewed at all the same way if the wife does so.

My husband finds it difficult. I think this is not so much because I earn MORE than he does but because after paying his child support and the debt payments on the loans his ex wife incurred he has absolutely nothing to contribute to a "joint" pot.

He has said all it would take to make him happy is to know that he could just financially support the two of us on the MOST basic level if it came to it but his inability to contribute anything at all makes him feel less of a man.

I reassure him constantly that for me marriage is for life and there will be times when each has to support the other in many many different ways - physically, financially, emotionally. In ten years time our situations could be reversed and I know he wouldn't begrudge supporting me. I also tell him that when you are married there needn't be any longer the concept of "mine" or "yours" that everything we have is OURS as a married couple. I think this helps a little but I have to be very diplomatic when discussing our finances so he doesn't feel like "a charity case" or a "leech" (his words).

He has had to struggle for money all his life - particularly after his divorce totally wiped him out - and I am very affluent (purely because I work hard and have earned every penny, not because it has been handed to me on a plate). I was so happy to be able to offer him the lifestyle we have - but it is difficult sometimes for him to look only at the positives and be happy about his improved financial circumstances. Sometimes he feels guilty that he is a "burden" financially and as I said his masculinity is threatened by being so dependent on me (as he sees it).

I already make sure that I transfer large sums of money into his English account on the pretext of it being "convenient" that we have sterling liquid cash so that when we go out he can pay on his cards and not feel like I am always picking up the tab. Also I run all our investment desicions past him and get his input (although he gives it very grudgingly saying as he didn't earn the money he shouldn't decide how it is invested).

Any other tips on how I should manage the situation to minimise his discomfort and help him focus on the positives rather than the downside?