I paid my car payment today. It is $234.00 a month. I was figuring it out and realized we only have 14 months left on our car loan! If I somehow managed to come up with an extra $234.00 a month I could knock out that dang car payment in seven months. Any ideas?

On a side note, DH still has not re-entered the work force though it does appear we're starting our own business. With that thought in mind, I'm looking at not touching "his" money -- meaning I'm looking for an extra $234.00 out of our current budget ... which isn't much.

Any ideas?

OK, I've thought about this all night long. I know I can easily pull $25.00 out of each of my paychecks. That would be $100.00 a month extra. That leaves me with $134.00 a month.

There are two problem months though. This month and April when we have car insurance. I have this months insurance ready to go but that still leaves me with April. Of course I expect our business to be running by then -- but right now I'm not counting on the business - so scratch that.

Hard to say without knowing where all of your money goes. If you can add an extra $100 a month it will still get paid off faster just not as fast as you would like.

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Almost Free
coupon savings Nov 335.41

Have you considered your tax return (if you are getting one) putting that toward it can take care of April

Can you do anything for extra money. Get a 2nd job, teach a class, watch someone elses kids. I signed up to teach a few knitting classes and while it isn't much it is extra funds. I have started taking a few knit for pay projects, I would knit anyway but getting an extra $50 this month for doing my hobby is a perk.

The other idea is to declutter can you sell something, We just sold a futon we seldom used on craigs list. I am going to try and sell my DHs old Manga mags next.

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

You want to be come a cha-cha agent?

I also agree with the lump sum idea. Your $234 a month car payment is made up of both interest and principal. You really don't have to double the entire payment to pay the car off sooner, you just have to pay down the principal. Do you know how much is left on your loan? If you could make a huge lump sum payment to the loan this month or next then follow up with $100 a month extra, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised at how quickly the car can get paid off.

So let's see, at $234 a month for 14 months, that is $3276. You probably have a principal balance of just under $3000. If you could cough up even $1000, you could pay that then call the loan company and ask them to re-amortize your loan. They'd take the $2000 balance and spread that out over your remaining 14 months (lets say by the time you gather up $1000 you have 12 months left on your loan.) That will drop your monthly payment considerably. You could then keep paying the $234 a month, plus the $100 a mouth you have in your cash slow and get the car paid off really quick. You might even be able to make another lump sum payment during the last two or three months by saving up another wad of cash.

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"I've been rich and I've been poor but independently wealthy is where it is at."

Do you eat out very much? Try and stop eating out at all.

Could you go through your house and sell items? Is there a consignment store you can take fall/winter clothes that you don't really need?

If you have an entertainment part to your budget cut it out. Go to the library for books, music or movies.

I hope it is okay to post this here. I work for a company that buys gold and other jewelry. They are launching a new division for women to spread the word on how to turn their old dusty jewelry into cash. By spreading the word they can earn commissions on the jewelry that they get other women to send in. This is a very reputable company that has been in business for nearly 20 years. This could potentially make you quite a bit of money. If you are interested in more details you can pm me.

I say sell stuff on craigslist, quick easy cash!

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A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.-Eleanor Roosevelt

My extra $234.00 a month has hit a bump in the road. I forgot that my heating bill will soon be going on. But I do know I can come up with an extra $100.00 a month and I can at least apply it towards that. Maybe pay off the car in 10 months instead of 6? That still is good. Man, I so would rather pay it off in 6.

I don't know your life situation or whether or not you have young children, but can you work part-time at a local mall in a retail store. Most hire extra help for the holiday season and perhaps you can stay on long enough until the car is fully paid.

If you feel comfortable, maybe you can post your budget for us to pick apart to see where your money is going; especially if working is not an option for you. If not, we'll continue to put our heads together for you.