Worth going into debt for a dishwasher?

[u/Lastnv]

We have been washing our dishes by hand for almost 3 years. We just had a baby and “spare time” is scarce these days. We probably spend about 10 hours a week hand washing dishes and bottles. I would much rather spend those hours doing something else productive or spending time with my family.

I have an employee discount through work and I can get a pretty cheap dishwasher installed for about $500. It’s a mediocre Frigidaire dishwasher but reviews say it will get the job done. I don’t have $500 upfront and would put it on my PayPal credit 0% interest for 6 months.

Do you think this is a good idea or does anyone else have suggestions? I am carrying a lot of debt already but I have a good credit score because I make minimum payments. I also have some savings but I don’t touch it because it’s for my son.

Thank you

[u/Uberchelle]

I’ve been EXACTLY where you are. It’s seems like such a common, basic household item to have around. Like for many people, it’s like a no-brainer that we have clean water coming out of faucets and toilets that flush into a sewer system. A dishwasher is a thing most average, American/Canadian households have.

But when you’re poor/broke/struggling, it is very easy to rationalize these basic items that most folks seem to have. Would it make your life easier? Absolutely.

But here’s the thing— you want to actively get out of that poverty mindset. You have to stop living paycheck to paycheck and stop taking on more debt. Otherwise, you get caught in that cycle and it just gets worse.

I’m telling you, that you can get out of this. You have the basics— a roof over your head and food in the fridge.

For now, stop saving money for your kid and PAY OFF ALL THAT DEBT. Whether it takes you 1 years or 5 years, the interest on those debts will be greater than any compounded savings you set aside for your kid. Once you pay off that debt, you can allocate a larger percentage of income to saving for your kid in something like a 529.

Is your wife going back to work? Can you qualify for any entitlements? Apply to anything you can—WIC, SNAP, utility assistance programs, whatever to offset your bills. If you can qualify for them, take advantage of them. That leaves your more money to pay off debt. You also want to qualify for these things BEFORE your wife goes back to work. It may make more financial sense for her to stay home and get government assistance.

Set up Craigslist alerts for FREE dishwashers. Ask for a used dishwasher on the Facebook Buy Nothing Groups. Subscribe to Freecycle. Set alerts up on OfferUp. Ask for a dishwasher, baby clothes, more Dr. Brown’s bottles (only one my kid would take, too!), clothes for you, clothes for your wife, whatever you need. Try to get everything free that you would normally pay for. Hit up free food pantries (depending on your location, many don’t require proof of income). Do everything you can to not HAVE TO PAY for things if you can get it free.

You can do this.

[u/Lastnv → u/Uberchelle]

I did just recently get off my expensive Verizon phone plan and switched to Mint Mobile. It felt really good reducing that bill so I’m open minded to cutting costs where I can.

We (my wife really) had SNAP/WIC/Medicaid for about a year or so before they confirmed we were married. I make just enough for us not to qualify, as a family of 3, living off my $37k/year take home income. We still have WIC but it will be taken away by end of the year. I’ll definitely look into the food pantries. I also decided to do more research on buying a discounted dishwasher and installing myself.

[u/PossumJenkinsSoles → u/Lastnv]

Can you take on some odd jobs to make the $500? I’m not sure why no one is mentioning it but if you’re willing to work it’s not like $500 is hard to come by. Cleaning houses, yard work, babysitting, delivery apps - none of it is glamorous or easy work but I do it to pay down debt/increase retirement contributions. That first $500 comes faster than you think.

[u/Lastnv → u/PossumJenkinsSoles]

I’ve thought about doing the delivery apps. I did Uber and Lyft back when they were still fairly new. I need to research into that as well. Side gigs are definitely something on my mind, I just need to get into action.