Lower rate early payoff??

The math way of organizing Credit cards says to pay off the highest interest rate first. I like saving money. Last weekend when CC#2 lowered my rate I stopped and paused. Should I now refocus on another card CC#3 with a rate of 12.9% interest and let the 9.9% ride? But I have decided to keep paying off CC#2. there are two reasons. The savings over 6 months is maybe about $180.00 total. It would have me paying off debt a tiny little earlier. BUT I have a baby coming. If I had to just pay the minimums on all my cards because of additional child care expenses it would be better to have fewer cards then lower interest rates. I don't think the change is focus is worth it. So I am following Dave Ramsey' snowball temporarily until this CC #2 is paid off. I think it should be complete by May of next year. Security is more important then $180.00 in fees. Then I will return to highest interest rate card first. It will really depend on Christmas expenses and how pay checks work while I am on short term disability and maternity leave. It is good to have an emergency fund so I know I can cover one month's expenses. Hopefully after that all the funds will kick in properly and I will be receiving a regular pay check. It will be a fine balance I am sure. My employer while a strong stable company is known for its flubs on payments. So I am a little nervous. One day at a time road traveled. One day at a time.

Cross stitch Posts

So November has arrived and I have finally finished "Smell my Feet". I love how it turned out. I will post pics of the finish when I do the finish. It has to be soon because I cant leave it abandoned for an entire year!


And to keep myself and my hands busy while I go to the Drs twice a week I need a small to carry with me project where I can just grab the project and go. So I am working on a wonderful winter sled. I started out wanting to keep it all the same as the pattern calls for but the unavailibility of some supplies will require me to re evaluate that. Some of the Rayon threads are no longer available. And truth be told I love the cotton much better. I knoww what the Colors would be in the regular cotton thread so I plan to use those and create a little pin keep or perhaps a door hanger. I love to hang little items on the china cabinet for the season. Lets see how far I get on the finish.

And in the evenings... The big project... is one I had started but had to stop. I lost heart. Really who in the heat of Aug wants to think about Santa. Well besides me... because typically I love Christmas all year round. I have considered a Christmas Room. But then thought. DH might object. LOL


This design is Song of Christmas......L&L 46 I love it. .

Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum is one of my all time favorite designers. I have also stitched

Spirit of Christmas......L&L 11
Nantucket Rose......L&L 20
Angel of Light......L&L 7
The Bride......L&L 9

hmmm and I am missing a Santa... But you get the idea. I love her designs.
This weekend I discovered a huge problem with some of the threads though. I had to pull out almost the entire left angel. Yep over 60 rows of stitches. to do over again. Something was wrong with the threads. The dye lots were not the same. They did not match. Perhaps by letting it sit for six months I aged the threads somehow and the yellowing of the one angel showed up like crazy. There was even a line in the skirt where I had changed threads to a newer brighter white. It was not a good combo. Out with the bad and a redo. Painful but I could not look at the finished piece and live with the error. Not when I have the ability to fix it now. It took two days of careful seam ripping and meticilous thread pulling to get rid of the yellowed threads. Ahhh but now she is ready to start fresh and whole and I will have a bigger sense of pride that the piece looks right.

So I feel ready for the baby to come. I have my nap time projects and the room ready. Come on little son.

Ask.... Dont forget to ask

Yesterday I decided to spend $35.00 on myself. I was talking to my DH about it and he started telling me about a feature that cc#2 has in order to make purchases online. They will issue another number to your card so that if you are unsure of the reliability of a web site you are not compromising your personal information. Great idea I thought. I use my bank debit card for everything, but this site was new to me and I was not feeling that it was all that secure. But I don't like to use my credit cards for anything but carrying a balance. No new charges keeps my debt load the same. Its a control issue. BUT.... Security is a bigger issue I am willing to transfer funds to pay off the purchase now in order to maintain my identity. Issue #1 I have never activated the card. Okay that is first.... Dial the number and activate card. Because of the length of time it has been since I rc'd card and activating it I got a customer Service person on the phone. He verified my info and activated it. He then asked me a strange question... "Is there anything I can do to keep you happy as a customer?" To which I immediately replied. Sure. Lower my interest rate. Thinking Yeah right he wont do it. I have tried this with other banks and they pass you around till you are sick of the service and give up or they finally tell you no. But this card has the highest interest rate of all the cards where I carry a balance. (I have other higher rates but I paid off CC#1 and the other cards have transfer balances of 4% & 5%) It is not a big deal for some of the cards because if you are not going to make any new purchases who cares what the interest is. I want to pay off the debt. That is my #1 focus. I will not shift it until it is done. So then he says.... I can lower the rate to 9.9. DONE I replied. Wow That was easy. (The rate was 15.99) We will see if that effects the balances I am currently carrying. If it does apply to other balances and not just new purchases I will refocus on another card to pay off first, which has a 12.99% interest rate. There is no need to give the banks MORE then they need to and if they are willing to give me a lower interest rate I am so willing to take it! Lets hear it for positive action steps. Oh yes and Issue #2 was I had not yet changed my name... So the Customer service rep went ahead and made that change for me too. Go team. I have to say they did a great job on their customer service and I think a LOT higher of this card for that reason. I have worked with a lot of banks both professionally and personally and I have to say it was a lovely experience getting a friendly person on the line who was able to accommodate me with such ease. Way to go CC#2 and me for asking for what I wanted.

I am not a financial professional. If you are looking for financial advise you should seek it elsewhere. If you would like to join me on the journey, walk with me for a while and be my friend......

Actions defining my priorities.

After reading paid twice's blog entry here (http://www.paidtwice.com/2008/11/06/actions-define-priorities/) which I read every time she posts. I started thinking about my actions and my priorities. My #1 concern is paying down as much debt as possible before the baby goes into day care and I have to shift my priorities. I spend money on my daughter and now my children. I rarely buy myself clothing. I rarely buy items to decorate the house although last month I spent $10.00 on some hand towels for the down stairs powder room. Mostly because we are having guests on thanksgiving and I want that bathroom to be clean. Sadly I spent a lot of money on food this month. Gestational Diabetes is a bear to maintain so making sure my sugar levels are where they need to be for the baby I do spend more money on foods. And the volume of food is increased from what I normally eat (even though I did not gain a single pound this week)

Last week I spent some time indulging my renewed passion in Cross stitch. So far it's just looking. I have decided that what I want for Christmas is to be able to purchase some cross stitch supplies. And I would also like subscriptions to stitching magazines. I miss the hobby. I love reading the blogs and seeing posted progress of other people's ideas. It's also going to be a long winter with a new born and I know that with my daughter it was cross stitch that saved my sanity the first time around. I fully expect for it to work again. But I want to act within the confines of my budget. Any hobby can go awry quickly with spending on things that you don't need. Cross stitch is no exception. But if DH is going to get me a gift for Christmas isn't it okay to get what I want??? It may also be possible to ask mom for stuff too. That way the big green eyed monster will keep me in check before my actions override my priorities.

Actions and priorities... Shouldn't your priorities define your actions and not your actions define your priorities?? That is to say set your goals. Decide what you really want for your life and then keep your actions within those goals. There are no perfect people so slipping up like shopping for the powder room last month are the little indiscretions that take place outside of the boundaries you have set for yourself. But coming back to realign my priorities... That's what counts. Always returning to my goals. Paying off my Credit Card debt. That is first for me. When I first began this journey I limited everything. Now that I am in the rhythm of the process its going okay.

What do you spend your money on?

Children, debt, food & shelter. In that order.

What do you go without or spend less on?

Clothing for myself. Decorating the house.

We don't get movies except on the rare occasion. As things move forward I will spend less on food. I continue to budget for work clothing. I rarely buy anything for lounge around the house clothing. We are cutting back our cable. We gave up the home phone. We use cells only.

What are you saving for?

#1 is having an Emergency fund. I keep $2000. Because I feel with children you need that extra and above the Dave Ramsey rule.

#2 is a down payment for a home and closing costs.

What percentage do you save?

I don't do it as a function of a percentage. I received some money from my grandmother and I have set aside that for closing costs. If we were to purchase a home right now we would have to finance 100% of the cost. This is possible for us because my DH is eligible for a VA loan. We have not been really looking at homes however so it's a pretty long way off.

My budget is pretty bare bones. It took a year to get there. It was NOT overnight. I want to be out of debt. It seems like a long time to go without buying pretty things for yourself. I have found that my children are Very expensive and they are my main priorities. DH is an awesome man and financially he has really kicked it up in terms of budget. We keep separate checking accounts. This is because we manage money differently and I would be really uncomfortable managing my money the same way he does. Having been married before I like it separate. We agree on common spending items and we agree on most of the priorities.

I am feeling comfortable with our choices. Health care evaluations are this weekend. I need to decide which plan will be best for us. It was much easier when its just me. and I find very difficult to plan for the unknown.

Priorities and Actions in Action….

Priorities and Actions in Action….

I have promised myself time to stitch if I finish the priorities on my desk. (Fear of leaving stuff undone is also motivating me. Labor looms...)

1) Scan Comcast bill to submit for work (Done)

2) Collect Sprint Bills (done)

3) Pay bills online (Done)

4) Call at least 2 pediatricians (DONE)

5) Look online at which Pediatrician takes my insurance (DONE)

6) Find pricing of benefits for next year. (DONE)

7) Call Dr about missing prescription (DONE)

8) Pay Hosp bills (done)

9) Mail Package to SK (Done)

10) Call Short term Disability Benefit # (DONE)

11) Fill out Finals Gift pack for DD (Done)

Those items were the stick. The carrot. Cross stitching. I needed a reward. I dont know why I thought it would be "quick" to handle. I had a lot to do. I rocked through it. Fear of labor was another stick. But in the end I did it. I got it all done.

And so here is the result of the stitching. As you can see I made some progress. All that is left is is a bit of sock and the back stitching. I am so proud to have completed this piece. I instantly fell in love with it and cant wait to finish it into a door hanger. That is this weekend priority and plan. Clean the house, pack for the hospital, and finish a few Cross stitch pieces. I will take more pics when they are done.

Last item is to find the thread boxes. We moved them somewhere. I would never abandon them.

Here ia a pic of the Cross stitch. It is a pattern by La D Da called "Smell my feet". It was in the JCS Oct2008 issue. I love it.

November goals:

November goals:


Stitching:
Finish three ornaments for Halloween.
Find 1 small project to take to Dr. Office with me

Baby:
Put pack in play in our room so baby has place to sleep
diapers
bottles
Pediatrician
Evaluate health plans

Finance:
Submit expense bills to Office
Pay bills

Good news. I paid down $961.59 in debt last month. Not quite sure how... but it worked. I am so excited. CC#2 new balance is $3170.32. Next month it will be under $3000 mark. Wahoo!!! I am rollin', snow ballen'

The pay down date according to my snowballs on http://www.whatsthecost.com/ is still Aug 2011. It seems a long way away. That works in my favor in a way. It gives me time to do slow and steady wins the race.

DH even was able to talk to the cable company and renegotiate a deal so that the cable bill dropped significantly. Feeling much better about cable. And I should get a refund from work for some of the cable expense. That will really help.


Notes for October....

I only spent $82.80 on gas last month. WOW what a difference commuting and a dip in the gas prices makes.

Eating out was another story. I spent a lot more eating out then I should. Its time to make sure I have quiche prepared for breakfast!

I also spent $207.87 on misc. Expenses. One night the power was out and I went shopping for the baby. The other times I really wanted to stitch something so I bought some items to create a project. they were small amounts but they added up quick. I will need to be more careful in November.

Cross Stitch love returns

I love cross stitch. It is a frugal hobby when you look at the time spent working compared to the cost of materials. Some projects cost more then others. I started out in Early Oct. looking to make a welcome baby sampler of some sort.I could not find a pattern I wanted. I looked all over the place but I did not feel inspired.

20 years ago I made a sampler for my aunt when My cousin was born and I started remembering how I had accomplished that. I remember charting out the name and the letters along with a picture I liked. Bingo! I started creating a plan. I could make a sampler for my son of something I want.

But in the mean time I have found a pattern I loved in the latest issue of Just Cross Stitch Magazine (JCS). it was called "Smell my feet". It was so so cute. I decided to stitch it first being in the Halloween spirit. I had decorated for Halloween around the house and I needed something to take with me to all my doctors apts.

Once I found the needle in my hands again I was content. It has been 9 months since I worked on a cross stitch project. I was discouraged at the lack of stitchers there seem to be. All the craft stores cater to the scrap bookers these days. JoAnn fabrics, Michael's, AC Moore.To find the truly awesome designs you have to really know the designers and do a LOT of research.

Then I did a search on technorati for cross stitch blogs. Well Of course if people are blogging about Personal Finance they would be blogging about cross stitch. I fell deeper in love. I am reading about projects people are working on. Looking at different finishes they use to accomplish these items. A pin keep, a pillow, an ornament, framed. The passion is back. And I realized I was making a mistake. Art is influenced by our moods and passions. I had limited myself to work on one project and one project only until It was completed. Well I had a monumental huge project that I love. But it is a Christmas Santa. and who wants to work on Santa in the middle of summer??? So why not pick up a little quickie project that you can complete and let Santa wait. Its the same theory as the Dave Ramsey snowball. Pick off the little things first. then roll you efforts onto the bigger ones. So this is what I am doing in my cross stitch work. I have almost completed the Smell my feet design. Once it is completed I will be picking up Santa again. It will be November and that is not too early to work on Santa. Plus after a feeling of accomplishment with the small project I feel like I can take on a bigger mountain.

As for my CC status. I picked off a med size one with a high rate of interest. I am working on another Med sized one with a lower but now the highest interest card rate of all the cards. I do believe I will be able to pay this one off by next summer. Then its on to card #3. I am sticking to the Debt snowball plan.

As for projects... I have Smell my feet to finish. Which I have already purchased the fabric and cording for. I have a plan for two others. I am going to work on them this weekend after the Hospital birthing class. I have been inspired by others finishes and I know I can do it. In a way this is mental clutter and planning on clearing it out feels so good. In the mean time here is a photo of the smell my feet in progress. I Will post it again after completed.

Cross stitch This is something in my life that I am really proud of. As a young girl I heard often the message when you leave a place you should leave it behind you even better then you found it. Well that is what Cross Stitch does for me. It allows me to leave beautiful things behind that lets me know I have been here...

Friday Funk

I am unmotivated to be at work today. The only reason I showed up at all is they pay me to do so. So sad.
So I have been looking for articles about paying down debt. Then I realized I can read about it all I want to but I still have to DO it. I even ran across someone who was whining about getting started. The thing is if you whine about it you will never start. Just DO it. Get started. Begin today. Don't buy the cup of coffee you want and send the credit card company the $5 instead. Then you have accomplished something to be proud of.

I am at almost 30% and yet I realize that means another two years minimum to go. It feels good to make progress don't misunderstand. I need to know I am moving forward and I check my NCN Chart to keep me in line. I even print it out for my desk to keep me from buying too many cross stitch projects. because it is more important to me to be out of debt then to have another project waiting for me to accomplish. It is a far greater accomplishment to be out of debt. And I choose every day to take any action I can to that end. But. I still realize it is three years of discipline. three! and with baby maybe longer. Yet what else can I do???

DH has been awesome. He has picked up so much slack I am stunned about how my grocery bill has dropped. I am staying within my budget for the first time in October in 10 years. that in and of itself is a reflection of the Major change of idea sets I have under gone. I am proud of all I am doing. I am proud that I have paid off 11K in CC debt. Worthless interest that I have done nothing but accrue. I even know that all the balances on my cards are not from actual purchases. The 28K left is all interest. Let THAT be a warning to you kids... Don't fall into the trap of I need it now. I can pay for it tomorrow.

Waiting and Hobbies

Well I am playing the waiting game now. I am waiting for my baby to be ready to be born. I am waiting for the end of the month so I can pay my bills. I am waiting to be out of debt so I can use my money on other things. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. I HATE to wait. So I do two things to keep myself calm and focused while I am waiting. One I listen to my ipod. I listen in the Hospital waiting room, I listen before I go to bed I listen when I feel anxious. I also do cross stitch. I choose a small project to work on for the fall because I knew I would be distracted and absent minded about things. I take it with me where ever I think I will have to wait. And I am making progress on it...

I was a little reluctant to re-invest in cross stitch again. This project 5.00 for the pattern, 10.50 for the fabric and 2.00 for the thread. Its not that much money but I am enjoying it so much I think it was worth it. I am really really trying to keep my expenses low. I think this will be the first October in 5 years where I did not blow my budget. That is primarily due to the fact that my daughter is away at college and



Today I went through my mail and cleaned off my desk it took about 40 minutes to shred all the papers I did not need, and organize those that need action to be taken. But I feel calmer about it now. When you know what needs to be done its so much easier to ignore... Ha ha ha Just kidding. Sort of. If you don't know what is important and might be hiding in the mail there is a certain level of anxiety builds up. If you know what you have to attend to you know if you can afford to give it a few more days or not. thats where you can make choices. If you don't have any idea whats in the pile thats when it bites you. Its important to me in my later stages of pregnancy to stay on top of things like ANY outstanding bills because they will not be on the top of the list when the king arrives.

Spending indulgences

I really get irritated when I read pf blogs who talks about nothing but shopping. I dont mean a random indulgence or a whim of a n old habit. But there is one young girl that loves to purchase shoes. I

The Ups and Downs of a Down Market

I have read a ton of blog posts recently about things to do in a down market. So I am going to write about my ongoing plans too...

Income:

I work for an educational institution. My job is sort of stable but there are no guarantees. I want to keep up to date on training and learning new skills so If I end up looking for another job I will have the ability to do so at an increase or at least the same.

I try to make myself valuable to my current employer by not complaining and doing as much as possible around the office. I am not very popular as I am going out on Maternity leave. I try to make sure that all the bases are covered and I will still have a job when I get back. It is not easy.

I have been thinking about a second job but the numbers of hours in a day always seem to limit me. I am skilled at website design but I have no idea how to find clients that would hire me to do that. There are TONS of scams on the internet to get a web site built for $250.00. That is not a very large budget for a site that will represent you. I have looked at elance and the prices are really low for the amount of service needed. And you are competing with those over seas. I am a skeptic. BUT I am also still thinking about it I will let you know if I choose to make a leap of faith there.

Expenses:

Reduce Spending.

Being a gestational diabetic has been a very hard learning curve for me. I have found it is a little hard on my sugars to eat rice and beans. As my doctor put it skip the rice eat the cow. So Lunches have been expensive. My husband on the other hand wonderful man that he is has really done an outstanding job on the dinners front. He looks for bargains and keeps us in line there. I see it as my job to try and reduce my lunches out. I need to eat more meals from a brown bag and keep the sugar and the expense down.

I need to keep on getting out of debt. As of today I have paid down 28.39% of my debt. That is a lot of progress. Don"t be fooled it is also a lot of debt to go. It will take time to get out from under $30k of debt.

A couple of years ago the interest rates kept going up and a few points meant the difference between being able to pay the MINIMUM payments of being short. These days I am putting about $450 to principal in addition to paying off the minimum payments. The snowball works!!! I did carefully evaluate transfering balances - O% offers are not free, nor are reduced rate offers. Make sure you are going to save money in interest before you transfer. I did, so I accepted some decent offers. But even still I was not able to move all of my credit to the lowest amounts. Thus Card#2 is the latest focus. At 15.99% I am working to have it paid off by March. If I cant do that I will at least have it completed by this time next year. And then on to Card #3. Currently at 12.9%. It is actually funny because the fed rates are down somewhat I am better off in what interest is accruing on my cards. My plan for the long term. Get out of debt. I just no longer want this lifestyle of can I make the minimum payment this month. It makes me sick to my stomach that I cant go maternity shopping whenever I want because I need to watch every penny so carefully. I robbed yesterday from my life today. I will not continue to do that.

Retirement... I do have about 30 years left to go. Even at 41 I see myself working until 70. I don't believe Social Security will be around for me. I have to be relying on myself. What does that mean during this down turn??? Well...
1.) I am earning more stocks per share in my 403b plan.
2.) I need to roll over a retirement plan from my previous employer. This would purchase EVEN MORE shares at a lower rate. And then when the market rebounds in 10 years or so I will have a big gain.

I am concerned but not worried. Here is why... This is the first time in my life that I have EVER had a 403b plan. My employer contributes to it at a very reasonable rate. I am contributing nothing at all and I still have more money in the 403b then I have ever held in my life. (Keep in mind it is less then 10K) So I feel hope for the future. Once I am out of debt in 3-4 years I will change my contribution to 3% or more Depending on our finances at the time. Always evaluating. Always checking.


Saving and Investing:

Our emergency fund is fully funded. Phew big sigh. I am sure that the need to dip into it is coming though.

We also have $3500 for a down payment on a home. I really want to transfer that money out of my low interest savings to a money market fund. I am investigating cheep ways to transfer the money.

Insurance:

I believe in us as a married couple. I know that we can do it together. I have life insurance, Both long and short term disability, and health insurance. I carry car insurance, and we have renters insurance. We evaluate the plans and make sure they are current and fit our changing life styles. Open enrollment for health insurance is coming to my employer and it is time to evaluate it again. We will take a look at the costs for baby and mama & hubby to see what makes the most economic sense without jeopardizing our care.

Investments:

Once I am out of debt I would like to go and get my masters. I might start before I am out of debt but I question splitting my focus. I will evaluate after the baby comes.


I am looking forward to the times when I am no longer focused on saving every penny to debt and instead shopping for solid investing tactics.

Here are some links that discuss that topic...

http://www.ncnblog.com/2008/02/25/10-things-to-do-after-you-get-out-of-debt/

http://www.gatherlittlebylittle.com/2008/10/18/debt-to-investing/


Other things to do in tough times

1. Keep communication open with your spouse
2. Evaluate your resources. Each other - and your incomes, Could I get a second job now at 8 months prego??? Debatable
3. Do you really need it? is it a savings?
4. Pack a lunch - really.

Fun Friday

I got to work from home today because of a Dr.s appointment. So I am reading and catching up on information I have not had tome to take a look at. One of my Favorite blogs is No Credit Needed. He wrote a post on his Savings account allocation. Wow. I really admire his commitment to not ever using credit again. Currently having diabetes and not having sugar is a tough commitment and sometimes I slip. To plan for the future so you do not have to use a bank. NICE. I really admire his persistence, and planning. So using a little inspiration from his own post I have added new categories to my budget. I have set aside $3500 for a down payment on a home. This is mixed in With my fully funded emergency fund. I have been sweating how to move the money to a money market account at another bank because I was afraid I might touch the money. Or I might confuse what category I was pulling it from because it is sitting in one lump sum in a savings account. The answer is so obvious TRACK IT. Duh! So By creating a break down and tracking the money I spend if I need to I fight the demon to spend from the house down payment. If I need to use money from my emergency fund I have it available. I know exactly what I need to pay back and what is allocated to a Home down payment. This way I am not going to rob my future for some crisis I am having today. I have done that enough in my life I stole yesterday from my today and I am mad that I made those choices. Compassionate with myself but I wish I had looked harder at solving the issues sooner. I don't regret the cards. They have taught me a valuable lesson and It is painful enough I am committed to not using credit cards in the same way again. My goals are along the line of NCN's I want to have enough cash in my bank account that if I need to use it I can. I expect this to take me about 10 years to accomplish given good times. If we have a few Murphy's law moments then It will just take longer. I am realistic and experienced enough to know that Murphy will call back.

So I am using the following categories for my savings...

Emerg. Fund $2000.00
Short term goals (Home Down Payment) $15000.00

They were reflected in the side bar on my blog but they were not line items on my budget.
For now I have no long term goals. Really The only other financial goal I want to focus on is paying off the credit cards. All raises and any extra cash will be snowballed to debt. The longest term goals are retirement. I am not ignoring it but I am primarily focused on debt. Once the debt is gone I will put more towards retirement and education. I want the intensity of the goal to work for me and the only way I can stay on track is to stay with it and keep paying on those bloody cards. One at a time. I have kicked one to the curb and I am praying that I will have card #2 done by March.

Sept Review

I like going over my budget numbers and having no surprises. For September I spent a whole lot less then I thought I did. I was still over my budget by about $ 200.00. The reason... I bought maternity clothes. I needed a few new items to make it easier to go to work in. I have so few options and my nesting hormones are in overdrive. I am trying to curb those emotions though. My food budget was decreased significantly by my daughter being away in college and my gas consumption is about half of what it was between teen driving and commuting with a neighbor. I actually did not think commuting would make such a huge difference but it really has. Plus the price of gas being generally down is also a plus. I saved somewhere between $50 to $60. Thats a lot.

On another positive note... We had an offer from a friend of the family for a high chair and a few other baby items. I told her we would be happy to accept any donations she cared to give us. Her baby is only 14 months old so anything she wants to give away is my gain. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on baby gear. They are such warm and wonderful people. I cant imagine any one more giving.

So over all the picture to close September is good. I have a few concerns for October. Car Insurance is due and I really want to purchase a few things for baby. I did pay a little extra to the credit card snowball. I had re budgeted to make it 900 per month because I have been feeling a budget squeeze but I really want to make progress before baby is born so I redirected any savings on food and gas to the credit cards. I want that card balance DOWN! I would be so happy if card #2 could be paid off by the time we need to put baby into Daycare. So Onward we go ...

progress updates

Calm and quiet. The hormones raged yesterday and I was shaky all day. Today I feel a sense of calm. Its a nice feeling and I have not yet felt that way in a long time. The house is quiet. I need to focus on work. I have had a very hard time caring about work lately. It comes and goes but mostly I care less about doing a good job right now. Sigh. That needs to change.

Being the end of the month and Monday. I have gathered all my credit card statements and written down my finances for the month of September as I know it. I hand write it out every month. Yep a tech junkie like me writes out every dollar on paper. Every month I use a steno pad (I like the size and the green paper reminds me of ledger paper) and I write out ALL the balances of the cards. I look at the current interest rate. Compare it to last month and the Due date. I write out each of these things for each card. This helps to keep me accountable and not like "oh no worries I am almost paid off". NO I have a long road to travel and it is only keeping my nose focused on the work that will keep the pay off schedule real. I need to do everything I can to decrease the debt before the daycare payments start. I have 6 months from today. The minimum payments now add up to under $500.00 per month. Yahoo. That leaves me with about $400 per month to pay to principle for the next six months. I will do my best. After I go back to work in March I will need to get a second job or a new income to keep paying off debt combined with child care. Depressing. But I will do what I need to do in order to get rid of the Credit card debt. I must.

I just calculated my Total numbers. This is how I justify paying the largest amount of interest off first. Not the smallest payment Dave Ramsey Way. I want to save as much money in interest as I can. Dave Ramsey wants you to feel like you are making progress. And So I calculate the total progress I have made every month to make sure I am on the right track. Even with some semi surprise charges on the statements I have still paid down the balance. I did very well last month despite my anxiety. I now owe $ 28,505.83 which means I have paid down $ 11,298.29. HOO RAH! Good Girl road traveled. Despite my anxiety and doubts I have made progress.

maintenance

The in between weeks take forever. I am waiting to be paid again and I just got paid today. I wait for the end of the month to check my progress because there is no progress in between. There 1080 days until I am debt free maybe. And today I am one day closer to holding my baby in my arms. I cant wait to see him I cant wait to rock to him and sing nursery rhyme songs. I am waiting... I am not good at waiting. But I did hear a song that reminded me of why I chose the journey today... And I think I am on the path to debt free to re learn the steps. I have to go back and remember how I got here (Unending spending and unemployment) I never said no to my daughter. I would not get a haircut for 3 months or more because we could not afford it but I would get her new clothes, take her to the doctor and spend on her. I believed that was my duty to do. Now I am paying for those swim lessons and the latest Limited Too fashion. I was conservative I never went off the roof spending but I wanted her to look like the other kids. I didn't want her to grow up feeling poor. we were. I was a single Mom for most of her life. With Child #2 I need to be a little more conservative. I can see the top of the hill and even If I have to crawl and claw my way to debt free. Even if it takes 6 years I am going to do it. I have to.

Needs

I am grumpy today. I had a long morning negotiating healthcare and I shopped online. Mostly because I was trying to clear my desk off of catalogs. But also I have started to be a little bigger with the baby and I know I will need some fall clothes. I had to take a little money out of savings for clothes. Its not an emergency but I need to be dressed in a professional way and I am finding that doing laundry every day so that I can wear the same things over and over is a little tiresome.

I am also trying to clear off my desk of un needed papers and anything that is not urgent. I have felt so stressed in the last three months. It is harder and harder to find things and feel like I am doing the right thing. August's budget was a bust. The on going projects that need attention this month are

my health
Daycare
Get rid of old paperwork
Work

My health takes a lot more care then you would think. This mornings visit ended up being a total waste of time. I spent 40 minutes waiting to check in for an appointment only to be informed that I was still missing all the documents for the check in process... Oh and by the way its your fault we are not responsible even though no one told you that a refferal is not the same as an order and oh by the way we need both. Harrumph Yeah right. I now actually have no interest in seeing a dietitian. I though it would be really helpful with gestational diabetes but really I am not interested in doing the work it takes to scale the brick walls the hospital lays in front of you. Its not worth it. But that lets the health care companies win. It means I wont get the care I need and I am paying a LOT of money each month to afford good care. Frustration level is high! Like my sugar LOL

The hunt for daycare is actually better because Hubby is going with me. Mostly. Today we have 2 appointments so far I have visited 4 other facilities. I think we have chosen the right one for us so far It is some kind of cross between personality and facilities. Hopefully it will go well. We need to reserve a spot or risk not having daycare in the spring. Not an option as I need to work.

One of my projects is to organize the OLD health care information in my desk. I have every receipt and Doctors visit my daughter ever had. Plus all of them for the last 15 years for myself. I do not think I need all this paper. BUT I am loathe to get rid of it. So I scan it in to "save" it and then shred it. I love to shred stuff. It is so satisfying to eliminate things that bog me down. Usually I feel free. Today not so much just grumpy it could be hormones and sugar.

And lastly work. I find it very hard to focus these days at work at all. Today I would say I am hiding out from work. I just dont have the passion I used to about the things that need to be done. Partially because the enviornment has beaten it out of me and partially beacuse August was so intense I think my brain is rebelling. You can only keep sustained Overtime focus for so long. Sigh I need my job though so I am going to have to fake it till I make it. Wish me luck...

August Wrap up

Well I did it. I survived August. I did not think I would but I did. Phew. The end result was I went 1400 over the budget. Mostly for taking Child to college. Thank God I had a wind fall from my Awesome grandmother. Thank you Grammie! I would not have been able to get daughter off to college without that.

Here is my NCN Progress chart. I am so proud. I have passed the 25% mark. I never never thought I would see that number change. Never never never. And here I am. Working it!


The question or perhaps worry I have now is How will things change when the baby comes? Will I be able to continue paying down the debt? I am resolved that I need a budget now more then ever. July and Aug were out of the realm of reality. I need to settle down and focus on myself now. We have begun the hunt for child care. Most cost around $1500 per month. Ihave promised to contribute about $500 per month to child care leaving my husband the other thousand. The next big debate is the MBA or second job. Dave Ramsey would say second job without question. I am actually thinking about delivering Pizzas. Although I also am looking into picking up some consulting on the side. That would earn me WAY WAY more money. We shall see. But just for todau I have a roof over my head. I have paid down 26.76% of my debt. I have made Septembers debt payments. I have covered my bills. All is okay.

Progress

Well I am proud to announce progress. My debt total is Under 30K it is 29,976.86 to be exact. I am so tickled. I love it. We are doing well and making progress. I am now turning my intensity to Credit card #2. The next highest interest rate card. I did a balance transfer a long time ago and it sits at 15.99%. Time to get it gone. By the calculations I made on the What's the cost website, I will have paid this sucker off by July of next year. Hoorah! I feel good about making progress. Its not perfect. Its not exactly what I want it to be but I feel confident that I will be doing the right thing. After all 24.69%progress is progress.

Here is my chart....

I want to be recession proof

I was reading my blogs and I read this article. I want to add my here! Here!

http://gradmoneymatters.com/2008/07/dont-go-down-with-economy.html

I have been stressing about having a new baby and worrying about my personal economy. To the point where I exploded last night.

But here is the thing. We have a solid financial plan. I am not going to be in debt forever. I am not going to take on unheard of levels of debt to compensate for not having money today because I know I am going to need all of my funds tomorrow.

There is always news that’s why they call it news. Try to keep yourself grounded.

Take care of yourself. No one else is going to pick you up when you fall. Be self reliant.

If you need help get it. You don’t have to be alone. You do have to do it.

I have had to give up my cookies. I am bitter about this. I am very bitter actually. But for the health of my baby I am giving up sugar. I can do it because I have to. Well I also have to get out of debt. So I will because I have to. I can’t live with the bank cards having power over me. I borrowed yesterday so today I can’t play. I did it to myself. BUT I am not getting out of the hold myself. I have read a thousand blogs. I listen to Dave Ramsey. I have read PF books. I have slowly over time created a plan. Knowledge did not come instantly for me. It took time and patience with the process. (I am not that patient)

I am just one pea in a pod. I am a single mother who is soon to be married again. I worry about our plans for what could go wrong. But we have solid plan (Or so I think) I do know I am just one spot on the scatter chart. I do not make the trend. As a matter of fact most of the time I buck the trend.(Thus the road less traveled) I am also not giving up on making preparations for my future. I still figure that if I get my MBA by the time I am 50 I will have 15 years of working at a $20k more per year salary. I can save that for retirement and I will be better off. I will be out of debt and I will be living in a home. These are my goals. I do not want to be a person who suffers more than average from a recession. I have been there. It’s how I got here. Unemployment for a year taught me that. I will not allow myself to be in that position again. I just won’t. I want to be a person who bucks the trend.

It’s like the last lecture says.... The brick walls are there to prove how much you want something. I want to be out of debt. I will work at it until it happens. The harder you work the better your luck. Luck is where timing meets preparation. If you are not prepared you may not be able to take advantage of what you want when it is available.

Renewed focus, Credit Card#2

So After looking at my different side bars I have decided to change the Credit card bar to read Credit card #2. I have paid off about half of what was on Credit card #1 and re financed the rest to lower interest rates. That card is GONE baby! So Credit card #2 is at 15.99% and the Balance in June was $ 4,562.21. I have made the June payment of $ 100.00. I am working on my cards in interest order. Dave Ramsey suggests to make progress with smallest first and then interest But I am tracking the debt pay down as a whole and I want to pay as little as possible to those stupid banks. I can see my progress in my NCN Chart. Interest order will accomplish that. The interest makes a bigger difference if you start with 40K in debt then if you had 10k. Its a lot of interest. As a matter of fact Credit card #2 I have never made a single purchase on. I opened it for the introductory balance. And then I never moved the money. Bad plan. Those were the old days this is the get out of debt world and I am not looking back. According to my debt snowball plan, Credit card #2 will be paid off in May 2009. As long as we keep on track. Whoop Whoop Whoop.

I think it is a sickness. I am actually looking forward to my statements this month so I can log in my progress. I am also looking forward to making my August payments. just so I can track the progress. It really helps to have a fully funded emergency fund. Hooray debt is going down this month.

The Economy and personal finance

I read this article in the NY times this morning. "Uncomfortable Answers to Questions on the Economy" By PETER S. GOODMAN It was very interesting and he covered the changes in the economy in a big picture kind of view. As I read There were a few things that gave me pause si I felt the need to write about it. After all what else is a blog for???

I graduated High School in 1985. The career counselors all said get a job in accounting there is always a need for an accountant. And I have held many bookkeeping positions. I am glad I had the skills. I have used them to get a job that paid the bills. When I graduated college the economy was so tight I didn't pursue getting a job. I was pregnant and We moved overseas. The economy was terrible and I was happy to be away from home.

In 1992 My then husband (now ex) and I returned from over seas. The economy was terrible. We questioned leaving the military life and finding jobs. Neither one of us had a lot of experience and we both floundered around for a year. Then our marriage fell apart and we went our separate ways. The economy had nothing to do with the marriage falling apart but I do think if it had been easier to find jobs when we returned to the US it would have shortened the suffering.

In 1999 I moved South to NC. I wanted a position more suited to my skill set. I had been working in purchasing. I enjoyed it a little, but I felt there had to be something more for me. So I went south to have family support while I returned to school in programming. My daughter and I arrived just as the technology bubble burst. I was in NC for 6 years and never found a job in Technology. Some of that was skill set. Some of that was I needed time flexibility to be a single parent. Some of that was the crash of the technology sector made positions harder to get.

I feel like I have seen a lot of downs. In the booms I was never in the right pace at the right time. I never benefited directly from a growing sector in the economy. I benefited generally by the economy being good enough I was able to find work. The grass has always been greener for a friend. Different friends who were able to make money based on the economy. I have never been able to ride the wave. So I find it ironic now that I am caught up in the momentum of the pay off your debts wave. I started realizing my debt was to high about 1 year ago. I didn't quite have a solid plan I just knew things needed to change. I knew when my debt started approaching my salary I was in deep trouble. It took me about six months to read enough blogs and to find Dave Ramsey to get the steps into place. Even now I still prefer a moderated approach then the extreme rice & beans every day. Still it was shocking to me to read that "Average household debt has swelled to 120 percent of annual income, up from 60 percent in 1984, according to the Federal Reserve." How can you do that? The madness must stop.

I was never able to buy a house when every one was rushing to do so. I was not in a financial position to do it. This year I have started allowing myself the hope that prices will fall enough and I will have my debt under control in such a way that I will be able to take advantage of the timing of the economy. I feel like its about time its my turn! It has to be my turn to be able to take advantage of the economy and to personally be financially balanced. To live within my means.

Actually I find it funny that we need the economy to be bad to do what we should have always done. Live within our means. To say "Long term, Americans may have no choice but to spend less, save more and reduce debts — in short, to live within their means." is so silly. It has always been true. Learning how to do it is hard. Doing it is hard. Living within your means during a down economy is even harder. Increase the income.

Now the economy will be slow because we are not spending. "it’s an adjustment we’re going to have to make.” I am comfortable with it because it was my own decision. How comfortable are you?

random bad day notes

I rarely post when I am not feeling up. This is a post from 07/16/08. I am posting it to keep it real. I have bad days too. Wednesday & Thursday were whoppers. I am so glad to be beyond this...

I am feeling depressed. I also feel overwhelmed. I have a lot of tasks and I feel powerless to effect any change. I know that life is full of ups and downs. I know that I just have a few hurdles to get me over the hump. I can do this. I know I can get this resolved. I will pursue the right course of action. But why is health care so hard? How can I keep better records so that this can be easier to resolve. I feel completely trapped.


School financing -
Well it happens all the time move one stick and you get a flood this is why I am always afraid to take action. I finally took action to resolve some financing with my daughters school. I literally hit send on my email and my ex husband is trying to make a payment to her school. What kind of craziness is that? He sent an email stating that he would in no way contribute. He has now paid 1/2 of what he should contribute with no way of knowing what else he will do .

Medical record forms -
I need to consolidate her medical records with a single doctor and get things rockin' and rollin' for her future. I also need a good pediatrician. And I need to get my blood work done. It is a little strange I cant wait for my daughter to go away to school so I can take care of myself. When does it get to be my turn? I must have had a look in my eyes because dear fiancee looks at me and said "I am so glad we are doing this. I am so glad we are having a baby. I am so happy". Phew I just need to keep thinking about that moment to keep me moving forward.


So what does all this have to do wih the price of Tea in China? Well let me explain the connection. For me having my finances on a plan keeps me grounded So when I have days like today and I become unhinged I can rest assured that at least that area of my life is under control.


It just take s a couple of hours out of my day to fix what used to become a huge flood in my life and now is just a inconvenient high water mark. It only took a few hours of my day to make sure my daughters father contributed to her life. It was not my plan for the day but it was not that hard to handle. And he needed to contribute. He is not good at it so he needed a lot of coaching.

Stop think observe plan

Stop reacting to the ex husband in the same old pattern. If nothing changes nothing changes.
Take a deep breath.
Think about what he is actually doing vs what he is saying. Act only on the actions.
Observe that the words and the actions don't match. This is a very old pattern you have seen it before. Its okay. He will not change but you do not have to live with it.
Plan how you are going to approach him when you talk with him.


How do we break a habit? One study I read about it being the best time to quit smoking when you are on vacation. That way you are out of your element and you can start new habits without feeling uncomfortable. How do you change a behavior you have done for the last 20 years?

The answer is in the grounded steps to personal finance. Stop spending. Think about the changes you want to make. Observe how others are doing it successfully. Plan for yourself a good plan of action. Its about what choices you are making that define where you want to go.

There are signs for when you are too far off the trail.And there are strategies for when you need to shore up the plan you have. Persistence and patience. One day at a time baby. You will make it happen.

Money Geekness

***I wrote this a while ago and saved it in notepad. I am posting it now for my record ***

Friday where my brain is allowed to float along is a dangerous thing. I started to look at houses. I want to buy a house next year. I think we will need at least 3% down. Than means if I want a home the size I want it will be 3% of 425000 12,750. We have 3k from my grandmother set aside. I have my fingers crossed that my mom might be generous and gift us another 12K from the estate next year. That would be awesome.

I really want to pursue my masters degree. I think that is the only way I am going to increase my earning potential. I don't know how else to do it. The problem is I also think I am going to need to take a second job so I can continue to pay down debt and still make payments to the new child support bill that I know is coming. I am so sick to my stomach about that. It takes as long as it takes. But a second job at a generous rate of 12 per hour will net 20 hours per week of about $170.00 its only about an 8K per year raise. A degree should give me an increase of abour $20K per year.

I can never remember if housing is supposed to be 25% of net income or gross income. It makes a big difference in the home we can afford. (Update: the answer is net income)


Really I am just mad about the numbers the house I want is just out of reach for us. We really can afford about a $325,000 home not a $425,000 home. I just am being greedy. I need to adjust my desires. Its too much pressure on us to get there from here. right now. I think we need to keep focusing on the debt pay off. We need to continue to contribute to a down payment fund.

I think my next steps are: Open the money market account. Open a checking account so I can get to the money when I need it. Perhaps ask payroll for a direct deposit change to $100.00 per month to go to the money market account so I done have to fuss with deposit slips every month.

Frustration... I just rail at the walls because I am not where I want to be. I want to own a home. I just do.

The third option is to be able to put down $ 85,000. Ha ha ha ha ha that is really stinking funny. Not going to happen from my pay check. Maybe in 10 years it will. In 10 years. If I spend the time to pay off my debt... Lets just run that scenario...

100 contribution per month
x 12
_____
1200 per year
x 10 years
_____
$12,000 dollars
+6000
______
$18,000 for a down payment

Paying off all credit cards. will leave me the ability to contribute 500 per month to the fund for lets say 5 years 30000+18000= 48000 we are half way there. Paying off the debt is a more effective use of my money.

Goals -

If When I become a project manager and increase my income to $70k per year (reasonable and do able) I will be able to put away another $ 30,000 in 4 years which is 80k so in 10 years if I pay off my debt and If I get my MBA Then I will have the 20% needed. Grrr I will be 51 before I take on a 30 year mortgage. Sigh. Well lets get started. today. I have got to do it. Losing my dream is not acceptable to me.

25% or less of your monthly take-home pay.

One of the best ways to accomplish something is to break it down into small, manageable parts. Complete these small parts and soon you'll have your goal accomplished. I need to do this for the PMP certification and for the MBA

http://digg.com/business_finance/WSJ_com_Five_Credit_Card_Traps_Everyone_Should_Know_About

June

After Reading this post on All Financial Matters I started thinking how true it was for me that there is a definite pattern to stuff I need and when the money is provided.

June has been bad. Financially. I have noticed that there has been a river of outflow on my checking account. There has been a change on the income. I see the drought happening and I am scared really really scared. But I know that I will work hard to find a solution. I do not want to bring this baby into a world where I cant send another child to school. No way. So in order to make sure we don't repeat with child no 2 what happened with child #1 I am on a mission to pay off my debts. I think I need to get a second job. I have hope I will be able to start right after vacation. I do have to work July 12 and I wont be able to work weekend of Aug 22nd but that mostly frees up my commitments for the summer and beyond. Once my daughter goes off to college I will be free most weekends. Dear fiancée will be frustrated by lack of me being around much but he knows how important financial stability is. He worked until 8:30 last night so he could earn some extra OT. I don't want him to get burned out though. Of course I don't want to get burned out either.

So here are some the related threads for all of these random thoughts...

My mom said she was planning on sharing her inheritance with me. I think she is being very generous. but now I feel like I know why the car has needed maintenance and why my checking account is pouring out of my account... Because I am going to receive money. Sigh. I want very much for the money to be used towards the down payment of a house. I want very much to be smarter then I have been in the past. I want to not be in debt. She has not told me how much she is sending. We have talked about amounts in the past and I am not sure how much it would be.

Here are my options for the windfall... Or maybe its just a list of financial needs I currently know about...

Contact lenses $350
Car $1000
Vacation $1000
Replacement of emergency Fund $600

Debt

$30,000


House down payment

Small 3% or $11,250 to $12,750

Med 10% or $ 37,500 to $42,500

Large 20% or $75,000 to $85,000


6-8 months of emergency Savings... $20,000



So the plan if its $10,000 then I will put $3000 towards Car, Vacation and replacement of emergency fund and find a mutual fund to earn decent interest on the 7k while we get ready to purchase a house It will also serve as a back up fund for emergency savings and down payment.

If she gifts me $20000 I will put an additional 2k towards my debt and I will put the remaining $15k into money market fund. At least thats what I think would be wise. That way I will be able to at lease make the 3% down in June if we are serious about the purchase of a home. I think Fiancée is. I know I am.


Grrr I cant remember my password to the debt snowball and as I am at work I have no way to look it up. Here is the deal. If I slow the progress of my payments from $1000.00 to 800 per month that would help me cope with the loss of child support. Rough numbers it only adds 8 months to the length of time before I am debt free. I am so calling Dave Ramsey to scream.

If I get a second job for 6 months and earn 350 per month 2150 additional dollars can be added to the debt. That will also help. For the terms of my permanent employer I cannot work while also on maternity leave and I should be able to get 12 weeks Its very generous. I do like the benefits of staying. Its one of the reasons why I do stay. Its certainly not salary. Its flexible time off and lots of generous leave. These are my choices.

So anyway...

If I were to take all 20K and roll it into my debt. would I be able to know it out in a year? Would I apply that money towards a down payment of a home. I cant truthfully answer that. I think the debt motivates me. I think the dog yipping at my heels is what keeps me focused. You saw how bad I am feeling this months and I did not know the money was coming. So wouldn't it be wise to keep on with the plan and use it for a home? Not sure I will have to include dear fiancée into the question.

The thing is... it was the crushing defeat I was felt when I thought about using a gift from my grandmother to pay off debt instead of a down payment for a home that gave me the willies enough to say NO MORE DEBT. It was the dividing line for me that was the moment of truth. So ... how can i ignore the gut wrenching telling me truly gut feel what to do with that money. I have to listen to that voice or what else do I have? I know in my heart I will pay down the debt. I have a plan. With 4 years is a long time. It is also a lot of debt. Accumulated over quite a few years. Most of what I purchased is gone. Most of what I paid for is long long gone. not its just interest on interest. I will not trade my 50s for debt. I cant do it.

June bug

Today I am procrastinating. I really really don't want to talk to my ex husband about college funding. I really don't want to talk to him at all. I have been sticking my head in the sand and hoping it will pass. And yet I also know the clock is ticking. I am trying to get it all done soon so I can go on vacation and spend time relaxing. I just don't want to do this one thing.

I have also realized because May was so expensive that I am going to need to pull funds from somewhere to get stuff done this month. There seems to be a huge sucking vacuum on my checking account. I am really trying to stop the river flowing out of my checking account but every time I plug a hole another one seems to appear. I really feel like I am sinking. But then I take stock of where I have been and I know I can continue to pay down the debt. Here are my options for June.

1) Dip into emergency fund
2) Pay just a little less then the $1000. I have budgeted for the month.
3) some combination of both.

For the last 6 months I have been putting away a little more then $1000. Typically its $1080 for the month. And I have been putting money into the Emergency fund. BUT right now child needs contacts and We need $400.00 cash to go on vacation. And if you have doubts that there are benefits to going on vacation just read this article in the NYT. I was sold. Vacations are good for you. I need one. I am so stressed from getting a sassy teen through High school I need a vacation. Besides $400.00 for the week is not a lot of spending.

So how to Squeeze $359.88 + $400.00 from the budget...

I had planned to use the stimulus for the vacation house $400.00 of it anyway. Its gone. I have also rc'd the last child support payment ever. So my budget is now reduced by $500.00 per month. I thought I could wing it but I am thinking I need to re evaluate the plan.

If I pay $800 to debt instead of $1000. It gives me $200 to vacation. I have $200.00 in checking I can use. for the $400.00 vacation money. The $359.88 can come from savings for the contacts. So there it is. I can do this budgeting stuff and make it work.

I calculated the Min payments of all my cards. That adds up to $671.00 So Even paying only $800.00 to debt I still am paying down the debt this month by $129.00. Also If I rcv the $150.00 from work for expenses I will apply that right to the debt. Then it all comes out okay. Ahhh Beach here I come.

Even with my money woes I still keep wanting to purchase maternity clothes. I need another two pairs of pants for my work. But NO GO. I will have to make what I have work for now. If I am shorting my debt repayment $200.00 No pants for me July - or Maybe August.

Keeping up the Debt Lifestyle

The debt life style. I am trying very hard not to have a debt lifestyle. I have noticed subtle changes inn my life to this end. I enjoy getting the mail. I actually look forward to getting the mail and opening the bills to see that I have made progress on my debt reduction. Even though its slow it is monthly progress. I have a three year plan. I am not sure right now that it will happen but I do have a plan. I am trying to make it happen. Murphy's law - that ole Murphy he likes to visit though. I am starting to change how I handle things though.

I believe debt does not need to be a part of my life. I know that I promised my daughter a new ipod for her graduation gift. I also know that she needs a 6 month supply of contact lenses. I have most of that money set aside for the cost. I will have to take some from savings but that is why I am putting money into savings. Its a good plan. It works. Ant truth be told her needing contact lenses is not a Murphy expense it is a planned expense and I had a plan.

One of my wake up calls happened when I realized I could no longer make all the minimum payments on the cards I had. I knew then something had to change. Last month I put over $400.00 to principle. I have changed my ways. I used to feel like debt was just a part of my life because of the decisions I had made and the choices I made. It was just a burden I carried like a rock that comes with me everywhere I go. Well I choose to put down the rock. I choose today to be debt free.

Advertising is all around us every day. My daughter is so susceptible to it. She has these ideas of what she "needs" for college based on things she has seen. I keep encouraging her to wait and see what she truly needs. I want her to understand that spending money on stuff you don't need now robs tomorrow of what you may need then.

Using a credit card means that you don't have the money right now. It also means you will not have money for the next year while you pay down what you are using it for off. Are you really willing to trade tomorrow's spending money on a quick bite to eat in that restaurant. Is the peer pressure so great that you cant do with out it? Going into debt means you have to work at that job you don't like - for a little longer and it will take your youth.

Each Summer I go on vacation to the beach with friends. Keeping up with the Jones' has always been an issue. They allow their kids to pick out a sweatshirt or a t shirt or outfits that all match. I have mostly resisted. I tend to allow my daughter one item she would like to last for the year as a reminder of the fun week she had. She has always been mostly okay

They all make more money then I do. but I think I enjoy what I have more then they do. Does that sound weird? They run from place to place each day. I tend to be a bit more of a home body. I feel like I have more quiet moments with my daughter and my future baby.

Maybe it is just a matter of style

May wrap up

I am glad to say good by to May. It has been a hectic month as evidenced here in my few posts. I try to post every Monday and I can tell even those days were crazy for me. I also have not been feeling well with morning sickness. Nausea is not fun. Given all the months expenses I was very surprised that we were able to stay on track at all this month. I expected to be writing tales of woe. I have updated my side bar percentages and to date I have paid down 15.37% of my debt. The total.... Drum roll please is.... $6,116.14. Phew. I have never had that much money in my life and yet I give it to the banks. Let that be the lesson DO NOT use credit cards. Save a little, pinch a lot. You can do it.

I told the fiancée how much debt I had paid off and he was stunned. I am too. Of course some of it is wind falls. Some of it is good luck. Lots of it is hard work tracking all the ins and outs every month.

Despite travel and graduation I was able to ...

I put an extra 88 dollars to my snowball this month.
My current expected date to be out of debt is July 2011. (An entire month sooner then when last calculated!)

I was feeling overwhelmed because of all the expenses we incurred this month. In truth I am making progress. We hosted a celebration party for graduation and I was still able to make my bills. Now vacation next month and daughters new i pod is a different story. Not sure where that is coming from. I have to do the numbers and see how much was really left over and how much I can spend on the vacation. Its going to be tight.



I am not a financial professional. If you are looking for financial advise you should seek it elsewhere. If you would like to join me on the journey, walk with me for a while and be my friend......

Traction and Ideas

I have paid off $5496.21 of my credit card debt. this brings up my total to 13.81% paid off. I am so proud of me. I feel like I am learning to breathe.

There are ways I need to improve though.
I need to build up my savings consistently over the next 9 months. I am pregnant and I will need to pay for my credit cards while I am on maternity leave. I am going to count on dear fiancée to handle rent and some other expenses. Day care scares me and it may be that we have to handle debt repayment differently for a while. We'll see. I have it calculated that I have about 5 weeks of paid leave sick & vacation. I only have to cover another three for an 8 week stay out of work. I'd love 12 but we'll see what happens with fiancees own finances. He and I are talking more about money and I am so proud of him for that.

So Traction...

Given this new information I have set a goal of card #1 to be paid in full by Dec 2008. The current balance left is $3060.41 and I am going to pay $405 today. I will also apply $200 of the economic stimulus to the card and possible 150 left from some travel expenses I had. all together that is a payment of $755.00. Quite impressive. This will leave $2305 to be paid by the rest of the year. I think I can do it. Just the fact that all the minimum payments are all lower now with the different balance transfers I feel more confident that we can swing stuff while I have this baby. Phew. What a difference having a budget has made. I can handle it vs Oh My god this will never end! Big difference - big big difference.

Secondary goal is to continue to build the savings account. I need to put at least $130 into the account each month if not $165.00 Otherwise I am going to have more Murphy surprises that I do not want to handle. This month I did not put that amount aside as I was trying to recover from the March madness. Now however with all the tax refunds and extras that I rc'd this month I feel confident that I can put 165 into savings. That would bring the account balance to 1200
about 1365. So keep on growing little savings. Keep on growing.

March left me $537.81 over budget. In April I gained $580.39 which puts things at a wash +42.58

May is going to be tough with graduation coming up. We have to plan what to get my beautiful daughter for her graduation present. Not sure exactly what its going to be yet. It somewhat depends on her dad and what he gets. It also depends on the budget.

I am applying for college loans. I know what Dave Ramsey says but it is the only way she is going to college and she is going! We have to work with her dad to make sure he can fund his share and then My share will shrink in January because My employer is going to pay a portion for her tuition. So in the spring semester I will be responsible for 2000. and for the fall I think I have to raise about $6,000. I also feel like I can get it paid off before she graduates. So I don't feel too bad about taking out the loans. We'll see though.

Incremental progress. I feel the traction this month so I feel good. One day at a time.

Every Windfall has a name

Why Debt Stinks: Every Windfall Is Already Spoken For

I read Paid twice every day and she often inspires me. Today Her topic really hit a nerve. It is the main reason I chose to get out of debt. My grandmother passed away last summer. My mom started talking about giving us some of the money she will inherit. It was a very generous offer but something about it nagged at me. Mom said wont it help you get out of debt? Gulp, it left such a sour feeling in my stomach. Something just wasn't right about spending my inheritance on debt. Stuff that is already long long gone. I wanted it to help me have a down payment on a home. I do not want to pay for my stupid tax. I wallowed in different plans for a while. I said I was getting motivated but I did allow new charges on my cards I thought I could make progress that way. HA! In Jan I started hitting the plan hard. New real commitment. I gathered steam and decided no more credit card charges. To this point I have paid off 12%. I wanted to give myself inspiration and I was not able to show progress yet. It is still a little too early in the month. Since I cant tell myself how much progress I have made lately. I decided to check the budget for a mid month check. We are mostly on track to recover in April from the additional $537.81 we were in the hole. There were actually $1094 additional expenses but the tax refund covered the majority of that. This month the money flows continue... She needs a dress, she needs shoes to match the dress she is attending two proms. UGH it goes on and on.

My windfalls saved my emergency fund last month. I have to brush myself off this month I have to say hey girl you fell down last month but you can do this. I have been worried about what am I going to do when the child support ends (Next month) and Big news I am pregnant. How can I afford this baby and still pay off my debt. I am determined to pay off this debt. I will not bring another child into this world in debt. I am going to get out of debt.I want to be lean goal oriented performer. I am on the plan. I am on track but I want to make more traction. How do I do it?


The $600.00 from the gov is going $400.00 for vacation and $200 to debt

My Original plan was to put all of the tax rebates $431 & 141 & 600 towards debt. By using the windfall to recover from march madness I miss out on putting a dent in the debt. But wait... I can hear my mom's voice saying don't beat yourself up look at how far you have come. Look at what you have been able to do in 3 months. That progress wont go away. Take a breath and know that God is with you on this journey.


I feel like a trader... I am trading this debt for the Fed return I am trading this debt for the state return and I am trading the emerg fund for the $600 rebate. All windfalls I could have used to get more traction with. I guess its allowing me to stand in place and not slide backwards but still I want some traction!

Things to say when you are grumpy about money...
Unless you have the money I am not doing this, or buying this.
I am 41 I can say no.

Bottomed out

The bottom out point was $582.85 to my checking account. That was the lowest balance I hit. I'll have to pay a service fee for it going below the minimum but still. Not too bad all things considered. The minimum balance is $800.00 I round it up and keep $1000.00 so its easy math. Also for really bad months like march. I'll finish the budget and and post this weekend. Fiancée has been so Awesome. Because I had a bad month last month I have yet to have paid a single dollar to the grocery store this month. What a sweet guy.

I am not a financial professional. If you are looking for financial advise you should seek it elsewhere. If you would like to join me on the journey, walk with me for a while and be my friend......

Follow through

One behavior I have learned (by paying stupid tax) is to follow up on a balance payment. For some reason one of the banks I have a card with always messes me up with its payment schedule. I have learned to send the minimum payment even though I just made a balance transfer. This particular card has been a thorn in my side. The Credit Card company raised my rates for no apparent reason. Then they lowered my limit. (I never made a late payment on any of my cards.) So as soon as I could I transferred all my money off those cards and waited. Well Don't cha know within 6 months they offered me a 4.99% transfer rate until the balance is paid. I crunched those numbers and saving $1000.00 is in my interest. I know Dave Ramsey wants me to feel like I am making traction but I am tracking that in the over all total not card by card. (Current paid to date is $4789.57 - see my NCN Chart.) Frankly it feels Awesome to have gone from $ 12,049.90 to $ 2,943.06 even if the progress is in reduced interest not over all amounts.

So follow through... I double checked the card that was getting the paydown. Monthly payment rc'd - Check. I double checked the card that I was adding the balance to. Balance transferred. Check. Now this card had a $ -83.26 balance. When I transferred a balance from this card previously there was an additional payment that crossed in the mail. I have been waiting to pounce on that negative amount for 4 months. I am quite a program running some actuarial table somewhere that said "nope no change in the rate"... So I waited... "nope dont drop the rate"..... so I waited..... "nope dont drop the rate"... so I waited. Ahhhh then the offer and I pounced. Of course if the rate were to change at any moment I would YANK the balance off this card and move it somewhere else. I hate this card that much. Just so you know I dont recommend this method for everyone. The fees do add up and despite the fact I have just moved two balances recently it is not something I do on a regular basis. I wanted to use that $ -83.26 to pay off my debt. And it did help me. The balance transfer for this card cost.... $ 6.74 ($ 90.00 - $ 83.26 = $ 6.74) Hooray me. I will also make the first payment before 04/22/08 (the closing date on the statement). That way I will be ready to roll when the beginning of the month rolls around again. So the balance on card #7 is $ 3,006.74

Don't panic all you Ramseyites. I am working the debt snowball. I am not putting any new charges on my cards. I just wanted to take advantage of the credit card shuffle to save myself some money. I know just because I finally can move things around does not mean I can spend money. Believe me I get it. I want out of debt as fast as I can git. I am even trying to plan to get a second job and pay down more. On a positive note I also got my State tax refund today. Its staying in the checking account helping to fight back from the deep deep deficit of spending in March.

I am not a financial professional. If you are looking for financial advise you should seek it elsewhere. If you would like to join me on the journey, walk with me for a while and be my friend......

Daughter lessons

Murphy came to visit my beautiful daughter. She lost her iPod Friday. She was so upset. She also got $200.00 from her dad as spending money. You know she wanted to run right out and spend that cash but this mean old mom wouldn't let her. This mom said she had to complete paying for her trip which she had already promised to pay for. She has $200.00 left to complete the trip. Then she can put money towards the iPod. Stuck to my guns I did. Oh boy getting out of debt stinks and hopefully she will realize why I am making it so tough on her now.

March Wrap up

Well as predicted March was a hard budget to balance. I have some scary new expenses coming and I think I have them covered but phew am I going to be glad when May rolls around because April is going to be TIGHT

Travel for my employer and fronting them the money puts an additional burden on me that I was not planning to have.

I also found out Saturday I am going to have a few more expenses before the end of the year so I am not too certain about getting a second job. BUT I have a plan. First tonight I talk to future hubby about the future. Then we map it out together. He likes plans he can stick to. Sept 2011 feels like a long way away. I am hoping for a second job this summer to ease the transition for no longer having child support. I am not sure that it is going to be possible. Trying to take that slow.

So I recalculated my debt snowball based on this months numbers. It is still Sept 2011 but the final payment is lower. So I am making progress. Currently I have paid down $4789.57 towards my debt. Last month I paid $691.60 to principal. This month will be much slower because of all the travel. The many hits to the "uh oh" fund and car insurance. But still I managed to keep my head above water.

While I was talking with my mom about how I did it there are probably a couple of things she asked me and I thought I should share with you.

Quick emergency cash....

I keep a $100.00 bill in my wallet at all times. Mostly so I don't get stuck in the city if something comes up. I don't want to need to use my credit card for an emergency. Which is also no longer in my wallet.

I also have kept $1000.00 in my checking account as a buffer. It is a condition of free checking. I probably dipped into it this month, we'll see when the fiancée clears the rent check. It will also depend on when I get the child support. Timing of all those things might be tricky. But I will not bounce any checks or run out of money. I currently think I am down to about $600.00 So I have to replenish that money. I will use the expense reimbnursement check that is $350.00 and another pay check. I should have it covered. I didnt have to dip into savings for the car insurance at all! That to me is the most impressive.

I am also trying to build up a $2000.00 emergency fund. Right now the savings account is at $1200. I do put $65.00 in every month for car insurance so I can take it out and save a little on the monthly vs every 6 month payments. So far I have been able to cash flow the insurance when it comes up. I have not needed to dip into savings. I am not sure this month that I will be able to put much aside though. I think I might have to use those funds to replace all the crazy funding I have had to do in March.

All in all, even though I got bitten quite hard in the month of march with expenses I was not expecting to pay, I was still able to recover. And I am ready for whatever April has to bring. I think. I don't want to tempt fate. I really have had enough of those Murphys' and they need to knock on someone else's door.

I feel have made a lot of progress in my life. (My mom agrees... LOL) Here are the things I have done today:

I checked a balance on line with a credit card company and discovered my credit had improved. So I was able to transfer a balance to another card. This takes one additional month off the debt payment plan. So the new date to be debt free is Aug 2011. I am so so happy. I feel like I am really making inroads on this debt. I have paid off 12% of my debt. This is BIG! At weight watchers when you reach 10% weight loss you get to stand up and cheer. So here is me I have lost 10% of my debt and I am cheering! Hooray!I will save approx $1700 in interest by transferring the balances. Heck yea 1 month earlier and $1700 less in interest. Go baby go. Card # 1 which started at $12,049.90 is down to 6378.06. Less the payment of $435 I made today Less a balance transfer of $3000. SO.... The new balance is $2943.06 . Now that is before interest next month. And the reason I focused so hard on this card is because it is currently 27.99 interest. GAG ME! I updated the Progress bar for card #1 to be 52% although in reality tracking the individual cards when you are transferring the balances is a mis-nomer. The real progress is reflected in the $39,804.12 number. I have paid it down 12% to date and I made the monthly payments today so we'll get new numbers for the end of April. LOL I actually get geeked out about doing my bills now. Its exciting to see the progress. I have become the cheapest mama on the block!

March Money Madness

Well it has been a long road this month. I will do a budget recap probably this weekend. Today I want to talk about graduation and college insanity which took place this past week. There were two forces at work on me last week. One was work and one was my family. I have never been able to travel for work in my life. When I was offered the opportunity to attend training I was excited to go. I knew pretty far in advance and gave my travel dates to my daughter and fiancée. It was not too big a deal she is a senior in high school and the pair get along most of the time. We created a plan. I was to travel to the training. On Thursday I would meet them in NC and we would then go together to a freshman registration weekend at the college my daughter is planning to attend. Great. I felt confident leaving things in my fiancée's hands and I felt my daughter would have the chance to have a little fun too.

Monday I flew to the training location. Fiancée had hurt his back. Oh boy. I was already wishing I could turn around and go home to be there for him. Tuesday he let me know that there was no way he could travel down with the daughter for the college weekend. Drat. Okay, So I hopped on line and found a cheep airline ticket for her to meet me at the airport and we would drive together to the college event. Hmmm... but wait... how would we drive? Well my dad lives not to far away... Oh no, the beloved basketball team is playing tonight. Drat. and I am going to need to get from the hotel to the college. Okay rent a car.

Now I should interject here that I have not put a single new charge on my credit cards since January. I am RESOLVED to be out of debt. So I did not take a credit card with me on the trip. I had enough coverage in my checking account to handle the trip. I have been holding a small sum waiting on the car insurance to tell me how much the insurance would be. So as I went off to training I thought I was covered. I was really resolved not to put any new charges onto plastic.

Oh but Murphy's law..... when something can go wrong it will go wrong. And so Murph dog came to visit me. First the additional plane ticket. Plus the planned expense of the hotel for the college weekend. Then the rental car. The freshman sign up weekend cost me are you ready..... $770.48. Oh its true. GULP where on earth am I going to get funding for that?

The travel out of pocket costs are $360.58. This money I will get back but companies are very slow to pay, which is why I did not want to put it on a credit card and have to front the interest. No thank you. So I have not yet figured out if March comes out even. I will pull all the numbers together.

On a side note. I had been missing listening to Dave Ramsey on my laptop while I go to sleep. (I like to listen to the archives) As I was catching up yesterday he had TWO callers ask about credit cards for traveling. He unequivocally stated that NO, you do not use credit for travel. Build up a small reserve and let it fly. Man am I glad I had that small cushion this week. This is why my goals for an emergency fund are $2000.00 not $1000.00 I just need a little more cash flow then the average bear with a teenage daughter.

Well I am really proud of myself this week. I was so nervous about needing to use the plastic. But I did it I stuck it out and I resisted the temptation to use that crutch. Yea HOO!

Feb Budget

The numbers are in... First I am updating my side bar. Every other paycheck I try to put 10% into savings. I was paid on the 15th. This means my savings is now $1209 so I have contributed 60% of my emergency fund. That is really exciting! After I have reached my goal I will start saving for my masters. I will create a bar after I have completed savings. I have a plan but I am maintaining my focus.

Budget.

I am still trying to get a handle on what we can really afford. Keeping the eating out low and the extras to a minimum makes a BIG BIG difference in our budget. Last month (February) I had an additional $341.00 left over. Now, I would put that towards debt but I also have Car insurance coming at the end of this month. I have to take care of the immediate and necessary first. With a new driver in the house it makes a world of difference to be able to know we would be sort of covered in case something happened. I have also noticed that my fiancée has been buying more groceries. That seems to make a big difference in what I am spending and what we are able to do. I also think it helped that Feb was so short. And my daughter was sick quite a bit I did not spend as much on lunches as I usually do. That should teach me to bring my lunch to work!

So there it is I actually sat down and did calculate all our spending. I have updated the budget spreadsheet and I am working on where the money really goes. It is a huge step forward in my financial maturity. I am acting like a grown up not a kid. Sigh… It’s about time.

Focus and Trust

I have some time management choices and some financial choices to make. This week I went to an information session about getting a masters degree. I have been thinking about it for a while and I wanted to be sure it was what I wanted to do. My time line was to apply for enrollment for the fall 2009 semester. I had in mind that in Sept. 2008 after my daughter goes to school I will have more time in the evenings and weekends as a result I would be able to get a second job. I would crank on my debt snowball while she is in School and I might be able to pay a large amount off before Sept 2009. The date it is currently set for. As long as I snow flake and keep going the way I have been for the last 3 months I will definitely have it paid before that.

My time line plan was to study for the next few months Take the GMATs in the fall and apply in Jan 2009 for fall of 2009. Here is the bonus... They might wave the GMAT because I have over 10 years of progressive work experience. If they were to wave the test I could probably pull the paperwork together by July and start taking classes this fall. Here is the wrinkle with that... I would not have as much time to get a second job and accelerate the debt snowball.

I read "How to Make the Time for Your Personal Goals" over on Zen Habits. I poured over it because one of my short term goals I have set is to read one hour a day. I mean to read a book for one hour per day. I seem unable to find time to accomplish this. I seem to spend A LOT of time reading blogs and not books. So as soon as I read the title I zoomed over to see if there was some insight into my life I could glean to help myself accomplish this goal. And I was brought up a little short by number one... “One goal at a time”.

It is hard for me to focus on one goal at a time. I have many balls in the air and to keep a balanced home I am always juggling something. I am also been a big fan of Dan Allen GTD. Trust in the system. If you don’t trust the system then you won’t feel confident in your minds ability to keep track of the goals. The gerbil running “gotta go… gotta go” in my head spins and spins.

I keep a running list of goals. I also track a running list of “to do” items. I use the site http://www.netvibes.com/. I make lots of little web notes into a very large list and I cut and paste based on priority. This way the list follows me where ever I go and I can jot things down before I forget them. I have so many things on my “to do” list I could not begin to get the list down to one item. I mean if you have a goal of retiring with a fully funded 401k how does someone accomplish that goal? Break it down into smaller tasks. Okay then what? Do a little bit every day or every month. But then I would have a lot of time left in a month to do other stuff if I only had one focus.

Perhaps it is a matter of while you are doing the one task stay focused on that task until you accomplish it. Don’t start doing the dishes until you have finished the blog entry. That part I can understand. I get so many interruptions per day staying on track for any given project is a real challenge. But then am I robbing myself of accomplishing my goals because I have to multi task or is it a matter of style?

There are two really big items I want to accomplish in the future. The first is getting rid of the debt I have. The second is getting a masters degree. I will not melt if I never start to read a book for one hour per day. But if I never start on the Masters I feel I will be 50 before I am finished. I will not accomplish my goals. I am determined to keep blogging about debt. I am determined to continue on the journey to be debt free. I have made Major strides in working this plan. The question is could I do both?

Ah… wait there is another factor… the cost. I have committed $ 1,000.00 of my monthly budget to pay down the debt. I cannot waiver in this commitment. I do get tuition from my employer for classes.

Evaluating the cost…

		Employer	$5,250	Me	Credits
Fall 2008	3630	$1,620			6	2
Spring 2009	3630	$1,620			6	2
Summer 2009	1815	($195)			3	1
Fall 2009	3630	($3,825)		$3,825	6	2
Spring 2010	3630	$1,620			6	2
Summer 2010	1815	($195)			3	1
Fall 2010	3630	($3,825)		$3,825	6	2
Spring 2011	3630	$1,620			6	2
Summer 2011	1815	($195)			3	1
Fall 2011	3630	($3,825)		$3,825	6	2
Spring 2012	3630	$1,620			6	2
Summer 2012	1815	($195)			3	1
Fall 2012	3630	($3,825)		$3,825	6	2
Spring 2013	1815	$3,435			3	1
Fall 2013	1815	$1,620			3	1
				$ 15,300	72	24

When I become Debt free the cost of $4000.00 per year is very manageable. It will cost over $16,000 to get the degree. BUT the average salary of someone after they complete this degree is double my salary. Getting the MBA makes it easily worth the investment of money. I would earn back the cost of school in one year.

The Challenge...

Start grad school this year? Or work for 1 year to pay off debt and then have enough progress on the snowball that would allow me to go to school.

Trust….

I trust the math. I believe in the numbers. I believe I will be debt free on or before Sept 2011. If I postpone my start of school I will be MUCH better off than if I were to start now. I came across a budget I created in 2000 to pay off a credit card. The payments were unrealistic and I remember not doing it at all. After much debate today I have come to the conclusion that I should maintain focus on debt and the degree will come next. It is the price I must pay for the poor money choices I have made in the past. And what is a year really? Time for fiancée and I to enjoy one another alone. Not a bad choice at all. Maybe if I got a job at the gym they would give me a discount. Hmmm… It is food for thought.

So In conclusion. I think short bursts of focus are good. But you have to keep balance and the big picture in mind. Of course I travel a road less traveled and so maybe my choices are not for everyone. But that has made all the difference in my life. It has made me the person who I am today.