You got ripped off on the roof. Sorry. Three bids from highly rated contractors is not enough. This area is renowned for extremely high repair bids.

OP here.
No worries 20:40.
9:15, that is a fantastic rate. Mind sharing the bank?

On Friday (thank you bad jobs report) we got quoted a 3.375% 30 year fixed, no cost. Good luck OP!

Anonymous wrote:There was recently a thread on here about raises/bonuses, and the vast majority of people were getting large raises, were in the private sector and were getting bonuses.
But of course, if you suggest that in another thread, then everyone says, no, that's not happening.

So were people lying about their raises? I wish I could find the thread.

But the point was that the step increases are small and only come once every 3 years and then once every 5.

New poster here. With any DCUM threads, it is important to keep in mind that there is a bias towards responding if posters have positive news to report, with less posters willing to post negative news.

Examples - threads on HHI always draw high HHI posters, threads on personal finance always draw savers and those living below their means, threads on monthly mortgage payment rarely feature posters paying more than $2200 or so (including taxes and insurance).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was recently a thread on here about raises/bonuses, and the vast majority of people were getting large raises, were in the private sector and were getting bonuses.

But of course, if you suggest that in another thread, then everyone says, no, that's not happening.

So were people lying about their raises? I wish I could find the thread.

But the point was that the step increases are small and only come once every 3 years and then once every 5.

I wouldn't rely on self-reported raises in an anonymous forum to make inferences.

I doubt people claiming 3% would count as bragging.

Anonymous wrote:There was recently a thread on here about raises/bonuses, and the vast majority of people were getting large raises, were in the private sector and were getting bonuses.

But of course, if you suggest that in another thread, then everyone says, no, that's not happening.

So were people lying about their raises? I wish I could find the thread.

But the point was that the step increases are small and only come once every 3 years and then once every 5.

I wouldn't rely on self-reported raises in an anonymous forum to make inferences.

This thread worries me, we're thinking about buying something more expensive and I just go back and forth on this. I really do feel for you. I'm going back to work for the Fed gov't and took a job with a non-Congressionally appointed agency in part to avoid sequester issues. I had no idea that raises were an issue as well. When I left my former agency I was averaging something like 4-5% a year even post crisis.

I would stop paying one of the two additions you are paying on your mortgage - either the 13th extra payment, or the extra you are paying each month. Do a cost benefit analysis of the benes to dropping one or the other. Then I would use that money for repairs or necessities. You can return to this extra payments strategy once you get a handle on repairs/finances.

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP and I did not say anything about private sector raises!

It was a response to a response. Someone suggested that you should be fine as a fed b/c you get step increases. I suggested that those step increases are small and do not come annually. I also suggested that people in the private sector are getting more like 3 percent raises. Every one of my friends who works in the private sector got at least a 3 percent raise. And in addition to that anecdotal information (from my direct experience), I read another thread on DCUM where people were reporting getting 3 percent and above plus bonuses.

That's where I got that assumption. It comes from direct experience and from reading stuff on here.

But even if that is wrong, my entire point was that the step increases are small and do not keep up with the increases in health insurance premiums, the home repair costs, et cetera.

Sorry, OP, that my comment distracted the conversation on your thread (meant sincerely). I should have known people would latch onto it and go bonkers.

There was recently a thread on here about raises/bonuses, and the vast majority of people were getting large raises, were in the private sector and were getting bonuses.

But of course, if you suggest that in another thread, then everyone says, no, that's not happening.

So were people lying about their raises? I wish I could find the thread.

But the point was that the step increases are small and only come once every 3 years and then once every 5.

I am the OP and I did not say anything about private sector raises!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you refinanced since you bought? Rates are so low right now, you might be able to lower your payments that way.

You should still be getting step increases with federal employment--unless you're at the top of your grade.

after the first few years, you only get a step increase every 3 years, then every 5. And it's a small amount. Basically, you get about a 1 percent increase in salary every 3 years. That's not a lot. Most people in the private sector are getting about a 3 percent raise each year.

Seriously? You actually think this??? Or is it just self-pity talking? Because I can absolutely promise you, OP, that "most" people in the private sector are not getting anything close to a 3% raise every year. In fact, many people formerly in the private sector are getting by on unemployment. Those who are lucky enough to be employed are counting their blessings. I know the grass is always greener but perhaps a dose of perspective might help you feel better about your situation.

OP here, You tube is a great idea to learn some DYI for future problems. Unfortunately, for the big repairs that have me spooked, we cannot DYI (eg, repointing some brick, filling crack in foundation wall, repairing concrete steps that have pulled away from house, cracks in garage slab and asphalt driveway). And, if the foundation crack returns, big structural work.

Uh oh, my anxiety has returned.

Look for a no cost refi. Perhaps Eagle Bank? We have been in our house 5 years and we have refied 4 times and lowered our mortgage by several thousand. I also wouldn't be prepaying your mortgage at this time. Good luck.

OP, if you want to tackle a DIY home project, look for how-to videos on YouTube. No kidding-- an AMAZING amount of stuff on there. Makes a big different if you can actually see it done.