I would never have called the information on this list a legacy. However I do believe that it is so important to make sense of my desk for my husband or DD should an emergency arise.
I cant focus today. So I am working instead on some steps that are already laid out in Dave Ramsey's plan. I will state that I did try and get started on my work but the primary bank where I was doing my work was being hacked - or down due to severe weather. Either way I chose to start this project...
Dave Ramsey's suggestions on creating a legacy drawer for your family.
http://www.daveramsey.com/article/legacy-drawer-keep-your-family-prepared/lifeandmoney_relationshipsandmoney/
There are 11 items on the list. I have done #1 and started on #3. (and I kept the cover letter open as I wrote the Financial account information because I kept thinking of things to add which means this was a GOOD exercise for me) It is intense to layout all this information to your family. I have it written down in a couple of places and it made sense to me but having to make sense of the information so that others understand it too. Well thats a bigger project then I thought. But It is important to just knock out a couple of items off your desk. The huge piles of paper on mine overwhelm me so I cnat imagine my husband going through it to make sense of it. So today there has been incremental progress. I'll take small wins where I can.
Take time yourself to go through Dave's list. It is an act of love to create this for your family. It is also very important.
Peace
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
==============
Sometimes the bloggers' efforts recall the words of poet Langston Hughes:
It's such a bore
Being always poor.
================
http://saving4later.blogspot.com/2010/12/5-bill-emergency-fund.html
not a bad idea to save any $5.00 you get and tuck it away for a cash reserve in the home. I have been thinking about how much should we have in the house just in case. I don't have an answer to that yet. How do you determine it? How much savings do I need? another $1000 ? this would put my savings accounts to 3k which is not that bad considering I want to have at least 20k as a true emerg fund. (6 months unemployment) but still when you are drowning under a load of debt it feels like $5.00 is a lot of cash. I am going to try it. I'll put it in an envelope and see where I am in 6 months to see if this is a reasonable thing to do. I rarely carry cash so it might not stack up/put a dent in my wallet that fast anyway.
A couple (2 give or take) of years back, I gave away my emergency cash to my daughter. I have never replaced it. I used to keep $100. in my wallet for emergencies. It turns out that not keeping the money there was a good thing when I lost/dropped my wallet somewhere. But I did spend the $100 more often then not. So I decided having cash around the house for me was dangerous. HOWEVER I think It is time to with caution revise my plan. It is winter what if the power goes out? What if there are major issues in the area and we need some cash on hand. I have two little kids what if they needed to eat. So
I may not have the money to keep cash around but I can do something about it I can take a small step by saving $5s I think I'll try it.
***Uopdate 2/28 So far I have saved $10. The money is in the family binder I am creating. I still think its a good idea even though I rarely have cash.
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......
Sometimes the bloggers' efforts recall the words of poet Langston Hughes:
It's such a bore
Being always poor.
================
http://saving4later.blogspot.com/2010/12/5-bill-emergency-fund.html
not a bad idea to save any $5.00 you get and tuck it away for a cash reserve in the home. I have been thinking about how much should we have in the house just in case. I don't have an answer to that yet. How do you determine it? How much savings do I need? another $1000 ? this would put my savings accounts to 3k which is not that bad considering I want to have at least 20k as a true emerg fund. (6 months unemployment) but still when you are drowning under a load of debt it feels like $5.00 is a lot of cash. I am going to try it. I'll put it in an envelope and see where I am in 6 months to see if this is a reasonable thing to do. I rarely carry cash so it might not stack up/put a dent in my wallet that fast anyway.
A couple (2 give or take) of years back, I gave away my emergency cash to my daughter. I have never replaced it. I used to keep $100. in my wallet for emergencies. It turns out that not keeping the money there was a good thing when I lost/dropped my wallet somewhere. But I did spend the $100 more often then not. So I decided having cash around the house for me was dangerous. HOWEVER I think It is time to with caution revise my plan. It is winter what if the power goes out? What if there are major issues in the area and we need some cash on hand. I have two little kids what if they needed to eat. So
I may not have the money to keep cash around but I can do something about it I can take a small step by saving $5s I think I'll try it.
***Uopdate 2/28 So far I have saved $10. The money is in the family binder I am creating. I still think its a good idea even though I rarely have cash.
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......
Finally some good news
Today is the first pay check of the new year. I waited with anticipation to see the results of my choices. I had done a lot of math but with changes to social security happening I was not sure how all the numbers would net out. I am going to "save" by switching health care and the change in SS tax $164.88 per month. Yep feels like a raise to me. Now I need to be careful about what is true savings and what will be out of pocket deductibles. There will be an increase in our out of pocket costs, I am guessing. So we shall see what our options are and if I really save any money by having this health plan. I am hoping that I do. Over the course of the year it puts $1978.56 back into the kitty. Sadly though I know there are deductibles so.... I am not sure I will truly benefit in the end. Hopefully though there will be NO MORE SURGERIES this year. Two surgeries in one year is enough for anyone.
And for those of you who are checking my math yes this calculation is lower then I previously calculated in my estimated savings for the different health care plans. I increased my HSA account from 500 to 750 as a result of knowing that we would probably have more out of pocket costs. That is taken out of each check pre-tax. I also increased the dental plan to include the 2 year old. We are going to get him the the dentist at some point this year. Perhaps closer to 3, cause he is a big baby this week.That stubborn son of mine would not open his mouth if he was asked. So maybe in the summer. ;-)
In the mean time I don't want to fritter away the increase in cash flow. $82.44 per check is helpful. I have two problems this month. #1 I dipped into my cash reserve for my checking account. So I think the first $82.44 will have to go towards maintaining the $1000 minimum balance I try to keep in my checking account. The balance did get down to $876.44 so I will be paying the stupid tax on the checking account this month. $14.00 fee coming my way. Sigh...Issue #2 is I had to dip into the savings I had. So my balance is currently: $1644.86 instead of the $2000 where I like to maintain it.
I have an automatic transfer of $105 From checking to savings. It will take 4 more "payment" transfers before the balance goes above 2k again. That means I will have paid myself back by March 15th.
Now to be sure the first thousand is for a real emergency. The second thousand is for known expenses that I like to avoid. Car insurance being top of that list. Some time ago I divided Car insurance and I think DD contact lenses to determine I needed to save more. So far the automatic savings has worked very well for me. I never feel that OMG feeling in the pit of my stomach that I have forgotten something. And although I do like to pay the car insurance with the tax return I dip into that top thousand of savings when it rolls around if I need to like in Oct. when there is no tax refund to cash in on.
OK so the math:
I am short $356.00
$105 * 4 = $420.00 // current payment pays back the deficit with $20.00 left over to go to debt at the end.
$165 * 3 = $495.00 // paid back in 3 transfers plus So I would be done by 2/28 AND it leaves me with $95 in the beginning of March to go to debt.
This is of course understanding that Murphy did not come to visit my house - which you know he LOVES me. Who am I kidding. I none the less hope for a quiet few winter months. In the past it typically is in the fall where I fall apart so here is to hoping...
The other option is to put in an automatic transfer directly to the credit card
I am leaning towards the automatic transfer. Its cleaner. I am already doing it, so the bite wont be too bad. And well I like savings in my pocket instead of those bloody debtors.
Of course I am paying interest for that privilege so there is the argument for the other side. paying off the debt faster pays me faster.
I think its the fact Murphy in the form of a snow storm or a DD need will win the case in the end. I am going to do the cash thing. I need a 2k Emerg fund and that is that. Once the savings account is paid back then I can begin to hit the debt harder. And if we use the tax return on the car insurance.... Ahh I can continue till October on the $ I have and stay focused on the debt. Lets hope I actually get a raise this year too. I think we'll know in June. If its a whopping $2.56 again so be it. LOL More reason to study programming in my spare time.
Oh and for those of you that noticed I slipped the extra $20 into my purse - Yep I always seem to feel short on pay day. Maybe that $22.44 will help me stay in balance and I can avoid dipping into savings.
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......
And for those of you who are checking my math yes this calculation is lower then I previously calculated in my estimated savings for the different health care plans. I increased my HSA account from 500 to 750 as a result of knowing that we would probably have more out of pocket costs. That is taken out of each check pre-tax. I also increased the dental plan to include the 2 year old. We are going to get him the the dentist at some point this year. Perhaps closer to 3, cause he is a big baby this week.That stubborn son of mine would not open his mouth if he was asked. So maybe in the summer. ;-)
In the mean time I don't want to fritter away the increase in cash flow. $82.44 per check is helpful. I have two problems this month. #1 I dipped into my cash reserve for my checking account. So I think the first $82.44 will have to go towards maintaining the $1000 minimum balance I try to keep in my checking account. The balance did get down to $876.44 so I will be paying the stupid tax on the checking account this month. $14.00 fee coming my way. Sigh...Issue #2 is I had to dip into the savings I had. So my balance is currently: $1644.86 instead of the $2000 where I like to maintain it.
I have an automatic transfer of $105 From checking to savings. It will take 4 more "payment" transfers before the balance goes above 2k again. That means I will have paid myself back by March 15th.
Now to be sure the first thousand is for a real emergency. The second thousand is for known expenses that I like to avoid. Car insurance being top of that list. Some time ago I divided Car insurance and I think DD contact lenses to determine I needed to save more. So far the automatic savings has worked very well for me. I never feel that OMG feeling in the pit of my stomach that I have forgotten something. And although I do like to pay the car insurance with the tax return I dip into that top thousand of savings when it rolls around if I need to like in Oct. when there is no tax refund to cash in on.
OK so the math:
I am short $356.00
$105 * 4 = $420.00 // current payment pays back the deficit with $20.00 left over to go to debt at the end.
$165 * 3 = $495.00 // paid back in 3 transfers plus So I would be done by 2/28 AND it leaves me with $95 in the beginning of March to go to debt.
This is of course understanding that Murphy did not come to visit my house - which you know he LOVES me. Who am I kidding. I none the less hope for a quiet few winter months. In the past it typically is in the fall where I fall apart so here is to hoping...
The other option is to put in an automatic transfer directly to the credit card
I am leaning towards the automatic transfer. Its cleaner. I am already doing it, so the bite wont be too bad. And well I like savings in my pocket instead of those bloody debtors.
Of course I am paying interest for that privilege so there is the argument for the other side. paying off the debt faster pays me faster.
I think its the fact Murphy in the form of a snow storm or a DD need will win the case in the end. I am going to do the cash thing. I need a 2k Emerg fund and that is that. Once the savings account is paid back then I can begin to hit the debt harder. And if we use the tax return on the car insurance.... Ahh I can continue till October on the $ I have and stay focused on the debt. Lets hope I actually get a raise this year too. I think we'll know in June. If its a whopping $2.56 again so be it. LOL More reason to study programming in my spare time.
Oh and for those of you that noticed I slipped the extra $20 into my purse - Yep I always seem to feel short on pay day. Maybe that $22.44 will help me stay in balance and I can avoid dipping into savings.
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......
Friday, January 07, 2011
New Years Rituals
I am replacing the Cross Stitch calendar on my desk it is a very small thing that I have discovered makes me happy. This year I feel like they gypped it a bit. There is one pattern for every 2 days instead of a pattern a day. Really? you couldn't do a pattern a day? Sigh. But I feel like I have started the clean slate process with setting up my calendar, Next up scanning to clear off my desk. What can I purge?
That process starts a few rituals that I do every Year in the December/Jan time frame.
The first thing I do is buy a new calendar for my purse. Yep no matter how tech I am I like my little paper pocket calendar. $7.00 (rounded up) and I am good for the year. Most if the info is is in other places but this is my at a glance when I am in the Dr's office am I free/ busy can I make this appointment first place I check.
The second thing I do is try and clear off my desk. This is going to be a BIG challenge this year. Last year I was without a scanner on my desk for about 8 months. It caused a terrible backlog in what is on my desk. Regrettably I am trying to start scanning again to move forward.
I also need to look through all these papers to see if there are any tax documents. I do have some stocks (that I debate on weather to sell to pay off debt or to keep and hold) and they send me 1099's so I need to track those. I also need to make sure I have last years return backed up. and I gather the same info for this years return.
FAFSA needs to be done as early as possible for maximum financial aid (I am writing a separate post on this topic.) and I need the w-2's to at least estimate our income so we can get that ball rolling.
I also like to empty out all last years credit card statements. Shred any old health information that makes no difference any more, and look for any outstanding questions there. I know of at least 3 things on the Health care front that needs to be addressed right away.
I like to create budgeting spreadsheets for the upcoming year. Create folders in windows that will contain my bills for the upcoming year etc.
This is a great time to back up your data. At work I bought for myself a 2 Terabyte drive for a whopping $100. It makes it SO easy to back up all my stuff. I took it to work and put all my personal files that I had been saving on my work computer onto this drive. DONE. But it reminded me that I have a TON of scanned documents that need to be backed up at home and how would I like to handle that? Ahhhh I also have a terabyte drive at home. Time to copy over the files. Especially those Christmas photos that I have yet to post for my family.
The last item on Gather little by little's list is check his safety deposit box. I don't have one, But I do have a "vital documents" folder for each kid that houses their birth certificate, bonds given to them, social security card and and pertinent data. My husband has been looking for his Birth Certificate. Perhaps I will make a folder for him too. I think it would be smart to purchase a fire proof box to house these items. I also want to get passports for each of us. Because frankly you never know when you might need one. I used mine when my wallet was missing and while it was expired it was still an acceptable form of ID. If we travel with the kids each should have their own passport for ID purposes. If I do it now then in the summer when we may travel there wont be a big panicked rush.
The digerati life suggested scheduling financial mile markers. I think its a good idea... So things I need to schedule throughout the year so I don't forget...
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......
That process starts a few rituals that I do every Year in the December/Jan time frame.
The first thing I do is buy a new calendar for my purse. Yep no matter how tech I am I like my little paper pocket calendar. $7.00 (rounded up) and I am good for the year. Most if the info is is in other places but this is my at a glance when I am in the Dr's office am I free/ busy can I make this appointment first place I check.
The second thing I do is try and clear off my desk. This is going to be a BIG challenge this year. Last year I was without a scanner on my desk for about 8 months. It caused a terrible backlog in what is on my desk. Regrettably I am trying to start scanning again to move forward.
I also need to look through all these papers to see if there are any tax documents. I do have some stocks (that I debate on weather to sell to pay off debt or to keep and hold) and they send me 1099's so I need to track those. I also need to make sure I have last years return backed up. and I gather the same info for this years return.
FAFSA needs to be done as early as possible for maximum financial aid (I am writing a separate post on this topic.) and I need the w-2's to at least estimate our income so we can get that ball rolling.
I also like to empty out all last years credit card statements. Shred any old health information that makes no difference any more, and look for any outstanding questions there. I know of at least 3 things on the Health care front that needs to be addressed right away.
I like to create budgeting spreadsheets for the upcoming year. Create folders in windows that will contain my bills for the upcoming year etc.
This is a great time to back up your data. At work I bought for myself a 2 Terabyte drive for a whopping $100. It makes it SO easy to back up all my stuff. I took it to work and put all my personal files that I had been saving on my work computer onto this drive. DONE. But it reminded me that I have a TON of scanned documents that need to be backed up at home and how would I like to handle that? Ahhhh I also have a terabyte drive at home. Time to copy over the files. Especially those Christmas photos that I have yet to post for my family.
The last item on Gather little by little's list is check his safety deposit box. I don't have one, But I do have a "vital documents" folder for each kid that houses their birth certificate, bonds given to them, social security card and and pertinent data. My husband has been looking for his Birth Certificate. Perhaps I will make a folder for him too. I think it would be smart to purchase a fire proof box to house these items. I also want to get passports for each of us. Because frankly you never know when you might need one. I used mine when my wallet was missing and while it was expired it was still an acceptable form of ID. If we travel with the kids each should have their own passport for ID purposes. If I do it now then in the summer when we may travel there wont be a big panicked rush.
The digerati life suggested scheduling financial mile markers. I think its a good idea... So things I need to schedule throughout the year so I don't forget...
- Quarterly credit checks
- Make a will
- 529 plan for kids
- Create a financial and emergency disaster plan.
- add big payments to calendar (car insurance)
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......
Thursday, January 06, 2011
New Years Reading
Reading has become front and center this week. I have a new set of glasses and I literally see things in a new way. I also asked for and received a kindle for Christmas. I just finished reading the girl with the dragon tattoo. I now understand why it was on the best seller list for so long. It was quite a compelling read. I am torn between downloading the next book or taking a break and organizing my Cross stitch. Some Combo there in I think I will find balance. Typically I alternate - Read, Stitch, do a project, Read, stitch, do a project. In the last two years I have not been doing much reading. That is unusual for me. I love to read and my desk is quite covered in books. Currently there are a LOT of SharePoint books. This is good as I move forward in trying to expand my career and increase my salary.
Yesterday I was rebuilding my computer at work and I discovered a new Mozilla Add on. It is fabulous. I am so thrilled. I did not like the new look of Bloglines and while I had been a faithful Bloglines subscriber I have a new solution. I do still like netvibes. But the Feedly add-on in Firefox is SO cool. I am content. I have done more reading this week then in the past 4 months. I am starting to feel that I am back. This is good.
Here are some of the blogs I would recommend to a reader:
10 personal finance blogs I love:
I read hundreds of Craft type blogs. I love to see what others are working on. I believed for a time that Cross stitch was dying. But there are stitchers out there. and I am ever inspired by their work.
5 stitching blogs:
If your gonna increase your income you gotta be up to date on your topic of choice....
5 SharePoint blogs:
As I looked at my favorites I did see a trend emerge. I like a good story and I also like bloggers who link to other resources. I can get so lost linking to other things. I like learning new things and exploring the world.
5 great books for 2011 - I am not sure what to do here so I am going to ask you readers to make suggestions.
New year new reads... What can you recommend for me? I would love to hear about it.
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......
Yesterday I was rebuilding my computer at work and I discovered a new Mozilla Add on. It is fabulous. I am so thrilled. I did not like the new look of Bloglines and while I had been a faithful Bloglines subscriber I have a new solution. I do still like netvibes. But the Feedly add-on in Firefox is SO cool. I am content. I have done more reading this week then in the past 4 months. I am starting to feel that I am back. This is good.
Here are some of the blogs I would recommend to a reader:
10 personal finance blogs I love:
- Clever Dude I like reading about the personal finance journey. Clever posts often with info I like to explore. In short his blog makes me think and I like that.
- Boston Gal Boston the city has a special place in my heart so when I started reading Boston's blog I really enjoyed her thoughts. It reminds me of someone I know. She also does a huge amount of reading and sends me to other sources I would not have read.
- Graceful Retirement I really like Grace. She has a saucy way of looking at things and I really enjoy getting to know her.
- Man vs Debt Lots of resources. Interesting read.
- Lazy man and money The title appeals to me. Should I be the lazy woman regarding debt. I think it would be better if I applied "Gazelle intensity"! LOL
- No Credit Needed - This guy I followed closely and really enjoyed. Lately he does not post as often and I read it less. But go through the archives and share his journey. Very cool and interesting.
- Fabulous Financials I really like single Ma's tude. She cracks me up. I don't agree with everything she does but I love being on the journey. I guess I relate because I was single for so long with a DD too.
- Wise Bread Lots of resources around the net. Variety of ideas, always something new.
- Blogging Away Debt
- We're in Debt
I read hundreds of Craft type blogs. I love to see what others are working on. I believed for a time that Cross stitch was dying. But there are stitchers out there. and I am ever inspired by their work.
5 stitching blogs:
- Becky Bee She does such beautiful work
- Blacksheep's bit of the web Edgar is creative and thoughtful I like him a lot.
- Cherry Hill cottage I just love the designs that they post here. Gives me inspiration for things.
- The Stone Rabbit One of the Most creative blogs I read. I do like her style.
- All the beautiful things The photograph of her work is amazing and I am so impressed at the sheer quantity of projects she is able to do being the mom of two girls.
If your gonna increase your income you gotta be up to date on your topic of choice....
5 SharePoint blogs:
- Everything SharePoint - Steve is a great resource. I love the links he puts up he saves me a lot of hunting in my reading.
- Meet Dux - I just love this guy. He has energy, a balanced perspective, and something interesting to say.
- Office & SP Dev Cool resource. I also try to follow as many women developers as I can.
- End user SharePoint Always something going on and new here I get tons of ideas and things to try from this site.
- Woody Windischman excellent developer.
As I looked at my favorites I did see a trend emerge. I like a good story and I also like bloggers who link to other resources. I can get so lost linking to other things. I like learning new things and exploring the world.
5 great books for 2011 - I am not sure what to do here so I am going to ask you readers to make suggestions.
New year new reads... What can you recommend for me? I would love to hear about it.
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......
Thursday, December 30, 2010
New Year - Refreshed goals
Typically I like reading other blogger s new years goals and their year long wrap ups. To my horror I looked at my blog and have not posted since July. Wow. I am not sure where all the time passed to.
In quick summary I have had a new DD child#3. She is beautiful and wonderful I am so happy she is here. She arrived via C-section so my recovery was slow. I also fought mastitis, bladder infection and nursing. Toddler adjustments to a little sister being born were tough but he is handling it OK and we are on the road to being a happy family. Lots of family visitors this time and my DD#1 home from school. In Nov I returned to work for 2 weeks only to skip out again for Thyroid surgery. It took a LOT of effort on family to make that happen and I cant say enough how grateful to my mom I am that she came for a stay.
So here we have arrived at the end of December.
Yesterday was an insane day and I want to blog about the choices I made.
As this is pretty much a pf blog lets look at yesterday from a financial perspective. I am still not sure I made the right choice and I am a bit nervous about it. It really helps me to see things written down
Yesterday was Health Care. So here we go...
Currently I have been paying $578.26 per month
If I left my health care alone it would cost me $855.82 per month. So Obviously we are NOT going to spend that kind of money
The PPO plan is $369.28 per month
The ALT plan is $288.64 per month
So.... I am going with the ALT plan. It makes me nervous but we are going to try it for one year to see if we like the plan. If I don't like it, I will change it to the PPO. We are done with the HMO.
I will save $289.62 per month by making the switch. That adds up to $3475.44 per year. Hmmmm that is two credit cards in a year. Well there is the reason right there to do it. Done. I just needed to see it in black and white. And if we end up paying a lot of $ out of pocket will deal with it when it comes.
Here were my last years goals:
#2 I have indeed lost 20 pounds. Goal for 2011 Keep it off and loose 20 more.
#3 I did not start a blog and I did not write enough code to be considered a developer. But that is a higher priority this year. Baby is here. No more kids I have the IUD to prove it. Focus is going to be on self and career. Because if I truly want to get out of credit card debt I will have to increase my salary. I have one more year at my employer so they pay the % of my DD tuition. After that I want the economy to be solid enough to risk looking. But I think I can do it. I just have to sharpen a few skills first. So Goal #3 is really #1 and I have a plan on how to accomplish it.
I have a SP environment in which to practice writing code
I have 3 developer books that I can use
I WILL sit down each morning for 1 hour per day and write code. To be a good author you have to journal and write every day. Same with programming to be a good developer you have to write code each Day. The blog has somewhat successfully helped me to be accountable to my finances and I hope the same effect will happen with SharePoint.
So there we go nothing new under the sun except t scars and a beautiful daughter. Good bye 2010. Welcome 2011!
In quick summary I have had a new DD child#3. She is beautiful and wonderful I am so happy she is here. She arrived via C-section so my recovery was slow. I also fought mastitis, bladder infection and nursing. Toddler adjustments to a little sister being born were tough but he is handling it OK and we are on the road to being a happy family. Lots of family visitors this time and my DD#1 home from school. In Nov I returned to work for 2 weeks only to skip out again for Thyroid surgery. It took a LOT of effort on family to make that happen and I cant say enough how grateful to my mom I am that she came for a stay.
So here we have arrived at the end of December.
Yesterday was an insane day and I want to blog about the choices I made.
As this is pretty much a pf blog lets look at yesterday from a financial perspective. I am still not sure I made the right choice and I am a bit nervous about it. It really helps me to see things written down
Yesterday was Health Care. So here we go...
Currently I have been paying $578.26 per month
If I left my health care alone it would cost me $855.82 per month. So Obviously we are NOT going to spend that kind of money
The PPO plan is $369.28 per month
The ALT plan is $288.64 per month
So.... I am going with the ALT plan. It makes me nervous but we are going to try it for one year to see if we like the plan. If I don't like it, I will change it to the PPO. We are done with the HMO.
I will save $289.62 per month by making the switch. That adds up to $3475.44 per year. Hmmmm that is two credit cards in a year. Well there is the reason right there to do it. Done. I just needed to see it in black and white. And if we end up paying a lot of $ out of pocket will deal with it when it comes.
Here were my last years goals:
- Pay off 28,077.53 amount of debt, or this year about $9000.00. That equates to $750.00 per month. I am budgeting about $800.00 to debt but some of that is interest. So we’ll see how I do.
- Lose 20 lbs
- Learn to be a SharePoint developer/programmer
#2 I have indeed lost 20 pounds. Goal for 2011 Keep it off and loose 20 more.
#3 I did not start a blog and I did not write enough code to be considered a developer. But that is a higher priority this year. Baby is here. No more kids I have the IUD to prove it. Focus is going to be on self and career. Because if I truly want to get out of credit card debt I will have to increase my salary. I have one more year at my employer so they pay the % of my DD tuition. After that I want the economy to be solid enough to risk looking. But I think I can do it. I just have to sharpen a few skills first. So Goal #3 is really #1 and I have a plan on how to accomplish it.
I have a SP environment in which to practice writing code
I have 3 developer books that I can use
I WILL sit down each morning for 1 hour per day and write code. To be a good author you have to journal and write every day. Same with programming to be a good developer you have to write code each Day. The blog has somewhat successfully helped me to be accountable to my finances and I hope the same effect will happen with SharePoint.
So there we go nothing new under the sun except t scars and a beautiful daughter. Good bye 2010. Welcome 2011!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Raise Update
Well I said I would post an update to all the events that have been happening. This is number 4 on the list.
My Raise is on my mind today because as I was going through old text files and posting them I came to the origional post I had written to be excited I was getting a raise and how I was going to re-invest it into my savings.
Well... it turns out that my raise ended up being an increase of $2.57 yep you read it right. The cost of medical benefits went up on July 1 just as my raise came in. And basically it all went to the cost of health care. (And people wonder why the middle class can't get ahead?)
I also received an email today from the parking services. They are raising the cost of parking to be 120 bucks. (I think that works out to an increase of $5.00 per pay period.) Now because my raise was $2.57 per pay period. I am about to be $2.50 in the hole.... till January when I switch my medical benefits plan. And that is before I jump to the next bracket in health care once my DD is born. Ahhhh Sigh.
Well. There it is. Another year of a wash in increase in pay. I really need a moonlighting position. I just don't know what I can do. I have web dev skills, I have book keeping skills. Its finding the clients that want those skills and will allow me to work from home that is the challenge.
All things considered I am glad I got the raise because otherwise this post would be about keeping my health care benefits is costing me money to work and what are my options. As it stands I am still making the change to a different plan in Jan. I hate the plan I have. But I am taking maximum advantage of it... C-Section, tubes in my son's ears and thyroid surgery. At least they didn't make any money off me ;-)
My Raise is on my mind today because as I was going through old text files and posting them I came to the origional post I had written to be excited I was getting a raise and how I was going to re-invest it into my savings.
Well... it turns out that my raise ended up being an increase of $2.57 yep you read it right. The cost of medical benefits went up on July 1 just as my raise came in. And basically it all went to the cost of health care. (And people wonder why the middle class can't get ahead?)
I also received an email today from the parking services. They are raising the cost of parking to be 120 bucks. (I think that works out to an increase of $5.00 per pay period.) Now because my raise was $2.57 per pay period. I am about to be $2.50 in the hole.... till January when I switch my medical benefits plan. And that is before I jump to the next bracket in health care once my DD is born. Ahhhh Sigh.
Well. There it is. Another year of a wash in increase in pay. I really need a moonlighting position. I just don't know what I can do. I have web dev skills, I have book keeping skills. Its finding the clients that want those skills and will allow me to work from home that is the challenge.
All things considered I am glad I got the raise because otherwise this post would be about keeping my health care benefits is costing me money to work and what are my options. As it stands I am still making the change to a different plan in Jan. I hate the plan I have. But I am taking maximum advantage of it... C-Section, tubes in my son's ears and thyroid surgery. At least they didn't make any money off me ;-)
I am becoming a yard sale junkie.
I am becoming a yard sale junkie.
Early on this summer I found a yard sale with kids stuff and I got a little Tykes slide for $8.00 Total bargain. Every kid in the neighborhood has tried it out in one way or another.
In the spring I had really awesome success at a consignment sale near my home. I had gone there the year before and I had good success getting clothing items for my infant son. So knowing I am going to need items for two small kids now... I looked online to see if they were having a sale again. They were. And there was an added bonus that if I sent in a check for $10 I could get in the door at 7:30. Vs 8am when they let in the rest of the crew. I knew all the big items last year were sold early. I also knew that I want to get a swing for my new baby we did not get one for our son and I think it would have helped. So I sent in my payment and made a plan with my husband that I would be getting up and out of the house early and he was to be in charge Sat morning. (Getting him to agree should be easier... Sigh)
With an execution plan in my head, list of needed items in hand I set off to the school where the sale was being held. Parking was crowded but not awful. I found the correct early bird line and hopped on. When they let us in I went right over to the big equip items. There were about 9 or 10 swings there. I picked one that was reasonably priced looked clean enough and headed over to the purchase area (this took all of 5 minutes) I went out to my car and placed the item in the trunk. I then returned to the entrance and re-entered the sale. I started shopping for the rest of the items on my list. I looked at the bedding. And there was the cutest bumper crib set. Pink and green a perfect match for the quilt I have in mind to get for the Oct baby. it was priced 1/2 of the online ones I have seen and very gently used. I was thrilled. I also found a hand made pink blanket and a few girl clothes. I had good success with the boy clothes although the pickings are much slimmer for the larger sizes.
So now I have been looking online and they are having another sale on 09/25. I have resolved to cross my legs and wait to have this baby till 10-1 so I can get DS's winter clothes. Keep your fingers crossed. I saved A LOT of cash buying used clothes. Its been a great find.
Early on this summer I found a yard sale with kids stuff and I got a little Tykes slide for $8.00 Total bargain. Every kid in the neighborhood has tried it out in one way or another.
In the spring I had really awesome success at a consignment sale near my home. I had gone there the year before and I had good success getting clothing items for my infant son. So knowing I am going to need items for two small kids now... I looked online to see if they were having a sale again. They were. And there was an added bonus that if I sent in a check for $10 I could get in the door at 7:30. Vs 8am when they let in the rest of the crew. I knew all the big items last year were sold early. I also knew that I want to get a swing for my new baby we did not get one for our son and I think it would have helped. So I sent in my payment and made a plan with my husband that I would be getting up and out of the house early and he was to be in charge Sat morning. (Getting him to agree should be easier... Sigh)
With an execution plan in my head, list of needed items in hand I set off to the school where the sale was being held. Parking was crowded but not awful. I found the correct early bird line and hopped on. When they let us in I went right over to the big equip items. There were about 9 or 10 swings there. I picked one that was reasonably priced looked clean enough and headed over to the purchase area (this took all of 5 minutes) I went out to my car and placed the item in the trunk. I then returned to the entrance and re-entered the sale. I started shopping for the rest of the items on my list. I looked at the bedding. And there was the cutest bumper crib set. Pink and green a perfect match for the quilt I have in mind to get for the Oct baby. it was priced 1/2 of the online ones I have seen and very gently used. I was thrilled. I also found a hand made pink blanket and a few girl clothes. I had good success with the boy clothes although the pickings are much slimmer for the larger sizes.
So now I have been looking online and they are having another sale on 09/25. I have resolved to cross my legs and wait to have this baby till 10-1 so I can get DS's winter clothes. Keep your fingers crossed. I saved A LOT of cash buying used clothes. Its been a great find.
Focusing on what I want most.
http://frugalbabe.com/2010/03/10/focusing-on-what-we-want-most/
Inspired by the link above...
Focusing on what I want most.
My priorities
1) my daughters college degree
2) I would like to be debt free
3) I would like to own my own home in which I can retire mortgage free
4) Surrounded by my loving family who I love in return.
What I want vs what I want right now.
Right now I want to go back to bed. But That could cause me to loose sick time and take away from maternity time I am planning to take in October.It is important to me to have "bonding time with my new baby so I will stick it out here at work.
I recently had a conversation with my DD. She was making a stew out of everything going haywire in her life. I tried to help her refocus on only what was important to solve for today. I asked her how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Keep a smaller focus in order to truely achieve your dreams.
She understands but is often surrounded by girls who do not share the same long term perspective. She gets frustrated by the fact they want to be soccer moms and drive a mini van. While she is looking forward to her career. It is often still a choice, despite more equality in the workplace, to have children vs a career. I was often of the Mrs degree. I still think I would like to smack that 20 year old child in me and say you are going to have to work for the rest of your life. Make sure you like what you do. focus on the work part because the marriage and kids is the easy part. Sigh... I knew so little. Yet as life journey continues I like where I am in general. I have a few sources of discomfort I want to be debt free. It causes me a lot of stress. I want to live in my own home instead of paying rent forever. But when you pull back from the details of day to day living I am happy with my Husband and family. I am proud of my DD,and DS and look forward to a second DD on the way. Most days I think I am utterly insane for being pregnant again. But I know I want to have children around me for a long time. My husband wanted to be a dad so crazy as it is, it is done with love. Who knows how it will turn out but I too want to live until I am 90 and so I must act as if that will come to pass. And take steps to ensure it will take place.
Some days I get the money I wants. I want a higher paying career, I want my masters degree, I want the super-sized McMansion. None of those things is unreachable, I just need to make them a priority. Yet I tend to fall back to the simple top 4 listed above. The first is almost achieved. Once it is accomplished I will turn to debt and a home search in a more intense way. I let myself fantasize about the McMansion. If you don't enjoy a good daydream whats the use of envisioning something? But when I envision the details of the dream most of the time I see happy children running in the back yard while my husband and I enjoy a glass of wine with each other or with friends. The location is less important then the scene I paint. Perhaps it comes from my family home which was a large colonial in the suburbs. Where we live now is just costly. We could get a LOT more house for less if we lived in another part of the country. But my#1 choice is where my brother returned to last year in June. He has just become employed after one fill year of unemployment. The prospect is not appealing. We will stay where we are for a while longer.
Inspired by the link above...
Focusing on what I want most.
My priorities
1) my daughters college degree
2) I would like to be debt free
3) I would like to own my own home in which I can retire mortgage free
4) Surrounded by my loving family who I love in return.
What I want vs what I want right now.
Right now I want to go back to bed. But That could cause me to loose sick time and take away from maternity time I am planning to take in October.It is important to me to have "bonding time with my new baby so I will stick it out here at work.
I recently had a conversation with my DD. She was making a stew out of everything going haywire in her life. I tried to help her refocus on only what was important to solve for today. I asked her how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Keep a smaller focus in order to truely achieve your dreams.
She understands but is often surrounded by girls who do not share the same long term perspective. She gets frustrated by the fact they want to be soccer moms and drive a mini van. While she is looking forward to her career. It is often still a choice, despite more equality in the workplace, to have children vs a career. I was often of the Mrs degree. I still think I would like to smack that 20 year old child in me and say you are going to have to work for the rest of your life. Make sure you like what you do. focus on the work part because the marriage and kids is the easy part. Sigh... I knew so little. Yet as life journey continues I like where I am in general. I have a few sources of discomfort I want to be debt free. It causes me a lot of stress. I want to live in my own home instead of paying rent forever. But when you pull back from the details of day to day living I am happy with my Husband and family. I am proud of my DD,and DS and look forward to a second DD on the way. Most days I think I am utterly insane for being pregnant again. But I know I want to have children around me for a long time. My husband wanted to be a dad so crazy as it is, it is done with love. Who knows how it will turn out but I too want to live until I am 90 and so I must act as if that will come to pass. And take steps to ensure it will take place.
Some days I get the money I wants. I want a higher paying career, I want my masters degree, I want the super-sized McMansion. None of those things is unreachable, I just need to make them a priority. Yet I tend to fall back to the simple top 4 listed above. The first is almost achieved. Once it is accomplished I will turn to debt and a home search in a more intense way. I let myself fantasize about the McMansion. If you don't enjoy a good daydream whats the use of envisioning something? But when I envision the details of the dream most of the time I see happy children running in the back yard while my husband and I enjoy a glass of wine with each other or with friends. The location is less important then the scene I paint. Perhaps it comes from my family home which was a large colonial in the suburbs. Where we live now is just costly. We could get a LOT more house for less if we lived in another part of the country. But my#1 choice is where my brother returned to last year in June. He has just become employed after one fill year of unemployment. The prospect is not appealing. We will stay where we are for a while longer.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
July Updates
1) my DD school has been resolved and I will be sending her off in August for the fall semester.
2) We took the cheapest vacation ever in our lives and I will have to crunch the numbers on that later. I am pleased
3) My DH is crunching numbers for daycare and a new car - enntire post coming on that
4) My raise came in. And there was an increase to the cost of my benefits. Result: my raise was $2.57 yep you read it right.
5) I am crunching numbers today and I will be posting the results of vacation, car payments, and daycare payments
2) We took the cheapest vacation ever in our lives and I will have to crunch the numbers on that later. I am pleased
3) My DH is crunching numbers for daycare and a new car - enntire post coming on that
4) My raise came in. And there was an increase to the cost of my benefits. Result: my raise was $2.57 yep you read it right.
5) I am crunching numbers today and I will be posting the results of vacation, car payments, and daycare payments
Friday, June 25, 2010
more of details matter...
So after waiting a few days for my DD's school to get the paperwork I decided to follow up...
Where is the grant money not showing up in the billing statement?
Where is the PLUS loan information I have applied for?
Why is the PLUS loan not showing up on the billing statement?
Oh.... You have another form that needs to be filled out that never got sent to me???? How silly of me. Of course I can sign that paper. Why didnt you email me in the first place..
Well after that email (and it is #11) finally the grant is being reflected in my daughter's account. Lets see how many emails the PLUS loan takes. We are waiting on the government. I am sure they will move quickly... Oh wait ;) LOL what am I thinking?
Where is the grant money not showing up in the billing statement?
Where is the PLUS loan information I have applied for?
Why is the PLUS loan not showing up on the billing statement?
Oh.... You have another form that needs to be filled out that never got sent to me???? How silly of me. Of course I can sign that paper. Why didnt you email me in the first place..
Well after that email (and it is #11) finally the grant is being reflected in my daughter's account. Lets see how many emails the PLUS loan takes. We are waiting on the government. I am sure they will move quickly... Oh wait ;) LOL what am I thinking?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Details matter
Today I did a little bit of follow up to make sure a grant my daughter is entitled to was being processed. Its a good thing I did. It turns out that the university had not completed a detailed listing of fees and the grant was going to be $750 less then it could have been. Thankfully I contacted the DD's university and they provided more information. Hopefully this will be enough. It did not look like a lot of documentation but perhaps it will do. If not we will be back in touch with both places for round 3. Getting funding this year has been a beast. I need a third job.... Sigh. I am just trying to take it one day at a time and it is not okay to have to come up with an additional $750.00
EVERYONE is becoming so tight with every detail simple transactions seem to be much more complicated. Everyone is watching every dime. I guess that includes me too. Details matter and I don't have a spare $750 anywhere.
EVERYONE is becoming so tight with every detail simple transactions seem to be much more complicated. Everyone is watching every dime. I guess that includes me too. Details matter and I don't have a spare $750 anywhere.
Monday, June 21, 2010
good news bad news
The good news is I got a raise. The bad news its $15.00 per week. I am not belittling the amount. Every single bit will make a difference. The panic I am feeling lately about minimum payments is important enough to re-evaluate how the money is allocated.
Last month when I got the news about my raise I had decided to add the $30 bi monthly amount to my automatic savings. Currently I have an automatic transfer to my savings account that takes place twice a month for $105. I think I came up with that amount based on auto insurance costs and contact lenses costs for my daughter. I realized I was not putting any money aside for known expenses. this is a foolish practice and I added the automatic payments to compensate.
In the past few months that ole Murphy he has come to visit in waves. There have been a ton of expenses that I was not prepared to pay for. I have depleted my "emergency" or back up fund quite a bit. Currently it stands at $1384.24. Which means I need to allow it to build back up to the $2000.00 level. I think I can make it by October which is when the auto insurance will be due. and of course our newest dd. 210*3= $630 puts us just over $2014. Now If I increase the amount of the automatic deposit to include my raise I will be able to "add up some snow flaking" and any funds paid over the 2k amount I can then send to pay off one credit card. Impressively the difference in 3 months is 270 *3 or $810 That's $194 to pay down debt. Nice. Lets do that!
I could pay the $30.00 directly to debt but I think at this point its really important for me to be in the habit of paying myself just like a bill. Once that emergency fund is fully funded I can put anything extra towards debt. But If I cant keep that 2000 in the savings account I may never be ready to purchase a house. So I want to practice good sound finances and keep it moving forward.
One other side note. I should get about $300 for some expenses at work paid back to me. All of that will be going to CC#3. Its current balance is 2622.54 and I made a payment in June of $465 so that card is moving in the right direction (2157.54). I want to get down from 5 cards to 4 so that the minimum payments is a bit more manageable. The PLUS loans will start to kick in and I will need to put more of my available cash to them and less to credit card debt. It just cant be helped. My dd is the most important thing.
As a result of the latest ex-husband financial entanglement it will be really important to get out finances in order for the next three months. I keep telling myself one day at a time but Phew.... I am tired of Murphy. Can someone kick him off my porch?
I notice my side bar needs to be updated. That will keep. Its not really good news and it moves in the wrong direction so I did not want to make the changes :-( But I will to keep it on the straight and narrow. The money facts are just that facts and I can face it.
Last month when I got the news about my raise I had decided to add the $30 bi monthly amount to my automatic savings. Currently I have an automatic transfer to my savings account that takes place twice a month for $105. I think I came up with that amount based on auto insurance costs and contact lenses costs for my daughter. I realized I was not putting any money aside for known expenses. this is a foolish practice and I added the automatic payments to compensate.
In the past few months that ole Murphy he has come to visit in waves. There have been a ton of expenses that I was not prepared to pay for. I have depleted my "emergency" or back up fund quite a bit. Currently it stands at $1384.24. Which means I need to allow it to build back up to the $2000.00 level. I think I can make it by October which is when the auto insurance will be due. and of course our newest dd. 210*3= $630 puts us just over $2014. Now If I increase the amount of the automatic deposit to include my raise I will be able to "add up some snow flaking" and any funds paid over the 2k amount I can then send to pay off one credit card. Impressively the difference in 3 months is 270 *3 or $810 That's $194 to pay down debt. Nice. Lets do that!
I could pay the $30.00 directly to debt but I think at this point its really important for me to be in the habit of paying myself just like a bill. Once that emergency fund is fully funded I can put anything extra towards debt. But If I cant keep that 2000 in the savings account I may never be ready to purchase a house. So I want to practice good sound finances and keep it moving forward.
One other side note. I should get about $300 for some expenses at work paid back to me. All of that will be going to CC#3. Its current balance is 2622.54 and I made a payment in June of $465 so that card is moving in the right direction (2157.54). I want to get down from 5 cards to 4 so that the minimum payments is a bit more manageable. The PLUS loans will start to kick in and I will need to put more of my available cash to them and less to credit card debt. It just cant be helped. My dd is the most important thing.
As a result of the latest ex-husband financial entanglement it will be really important to get out finances in order for the next three months. I keep telling myself one day at a time but Phew.... I am tired of Murphy. Can someone kick him off my porch?
I notice my side bar needs to be updated. That will keep. Its not really good news and it moves in the wrong direction so I did not want to make the changes :-( But I will to keep it on the straight and narrow. The money facts are just that facts and I can face it.
In between poverty and madness
This was a long financial weekend. And it continues today. Here is the low down so far....
The DD's dad is no longer making payments to college directly. Instead he is giving DD $500 per month for expenses. While that sounds like a lot its about 1/3 of his share of tuition. She as a 20 year old has been spending a goodly amount of it. Boy oh boy did she have some open eye moments this weekend as to what that money needs to buy.
Here is a breakdown of the numbers:
Her tuition for the fall is $17,700 Plus a housing element of $1050
Total owed to educational institution: $18,750
Less payments so far totaling 5962.50
Less an outstanding balance of$63.56
Current balance therefore stands at $12,723.94
My work will give her a grant of $6125 (possibly 6500) which leaves $6598.94 to be funded.
We have been taking out loans from a certain institution that has a solid reputation and with which I know many people who have loans with them. To our distress because of changes in the law we can no longer borrow money from the same place.
On Tuesday, March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 into law. This Reconciliation Act ends the Federal Family Education Loan (FFELP) Program and requires all schools to begin awarding loans through the Federal Direct Loan Programs (FDLP).
So we applied for a private loan. This was very humbling, I have a decent credit score. But I also have $26,834.32 in debt (June's number) so OF COURSE all my money goes into credit card payments and I have a high debt to income ratio. I knew that but did not really care... till I needed to borrow money from a bank... Sigh It was very humbling to be rejected to fast. The fellow asked how much the rent was. Because rent includes my husbands salary and he pays half the rent it is out of scale for my salary alone. I knew as soon as he asked it wouldn't work. They wanted my husband to co sign the loan. Nope. we were done. So now instead of my daughter borrowing the money for her school I have to take out a plus loan. Here is to hoping it goes well because if I am again rejected she will have to hit up her grandmother for the cash. With times being tight this is not the way to go.
I even crunched the numbers of going to a local state school. (She would hate it but on the surface it looks cheaper) Appearances are deceiving, Guess how much we would have to pony up per year? Yep $13402 about the same amount despite the fact that her school seems on the surface to be more expensive the room & board is cheaper and the tuition reimbursement would be less. I still would have the same costs out of pocket. Crunching those numbers does make me feel better about her choices for school. I am still sick about coming up with the cash but I do feel better.
Onwards......
I am tired of people who do not live up to their financial responsibilities. How come I choose to be responsible and not him? He is such a dope.
The reason for my title is how hard we have to swim to be in the middle. Because I re married I have to include my current husbands income when applying for financial aid. Even though he contributes only to her well being in spirit not financially. So we never will qualify for a financial need scholarship. My daughter applied for over 10 grants and scholarships we were awarded none. As for academic grants she is a good student she has a 3.4 GPA its not enough for an academic scholarship they all require 3.6 and above. So there again we are just close enough to be screwed. I am tired of being so close and getting nothing for my efforts. In the end what I will have is a well rounded wonderfully educated daughter who can now gain employment. Its a big deal and I believe the degree is worth it. And if you read what others have to go through to finance their educations having $30K in loans is not a lot when you graduate. It sucks and is hard but still plenty of people end up with in the 60's and 70's so perhaps I should not whine. But you know 30K is a lot of money to me and I am sooo tired of being in debt. I don't care about the rest of the world. This burden is heavy! and I am carrying it alone. I am completely depressed.
The DD's dad is no longer making payments to college directly. Instead he is giving DD $500 per month for expenses. While that sounds like a lot its about 1/3 of his share of tuition. She as a 20 year old has been spending a goodly amount of it. Boy oh boy did she have some open eye moments this weekend as to what that money needs to buy.
Here is a breakdown of the numbers:
Her tuition for the fall is $17,700 Plus a housing element of $1050
Total owed to educational institution: $18,750
Less payments so far totaling 5962.50
Less an outstanding balance of$63.56
Current balance therefore stands at $12,723.94
My work will give her a grant of $6125 (possibly 6500) which leaves $6598.94 to be funded.
We have been taking out loans from a certain institution that has a solid reputation and with which I know many people who have loans with them. To our distress because of changes in the law we can no longer borrow money from the same place.
On Tuesday, March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 into law. This Reconciliation Act ends the Federal Family Education Loan (FFELP) Program and requires all schools to begin awarding loans through the Federal Direct Loan Programs (FDLP).
So we applied for a private loan. This was very humbling, I have a decent credit score. But I also have $26,834.32 in debt (June's number) so OF COURSE all my money goes into credit card payments and I have a high debt to income ratio. I knew that but did not really care... till I needed to borrow money from a bank... Sigh It was very humbling to be rejected to fast. The fellow asked how much the rent was. Because rent includes my husbands salary and he pays half the rent it is out of scale for my salary alone. I knew as soon as he asked it wouldn't work. They wanted my husband to co sign the loan. Nope. we were done. So now instead of my daughter borrowing the money for her school I have to take out a plus loan. Here is to hoping it goes well because if I am again rejected she will have to hit up her grandmother for the cash. With times being tight this is not the way to go.
I even crunched the numbers of going to a local state school. (She would hate it but on the surface it looks cheaper) Appearances are deceiving, Guess how much we would have to pony up per year? Yep $13402 about the same amount despite the fact that her school seems on the surface to be more expensive the room & board is cheaper and the tuition reimbursement would be less. I still would have the same costs out of pocket. Crunching those numbers does make me feel better about her choices for school. I am still sick about coming up with the cash but I do feel better.
Onwards......
I am tired of people who do not live up to their financial responsibilities. How come I choose to be responsible and not him? He is such a dope.
The reason for my title is how hard we have to swim to be in the middle. Because I re married I have to include my current husbands income when applying for financial aid. Even though he contributes only to her well being in spirit not financially. So we never will qualify for a financial need scholarship. My daughter applied for over 10 grants and scholarships we were awarded none. As for academic grants she is a good student she has a 3.4 GPA its not enough for an academic scholarship they all require 3.6 and above. So there again we are just close enough to be screwed. I am tired of being so close and getting nothing for my efforts. In the end what I will have is a well rounded wonderfully educated daughter who can now gain employment. Its a big deal and I believe the degree is worth it. And if you read what others have to go through to finance their educations having $30K in loans is not a lot when you graduate. It sucks and is hard but still plenty of people end up with in the 60's and 70's so perhaps I should not whine. But you know 30K is a lot of money to me and I am sooo tired of being in debt. I don't care about the rest of the world. This burden is heavy! and I am carrying it alone. I am completely depressed.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Support system thoughts
Saw this article (http://amysfinerthings.com/finer-things-friday-support-system) and wanted to write my own version...
I have been feeling overwhelmed lately. Murphy is parked on my doorstep and wants to come in. I am pushing back as hard as I can and having little success...
Here is what is happening:
My son may need surgery for tubes in his ears
My daughter's father has decided he will no longer pay for college
We are having a baby in Oct
I need to have thyroid surgery. I need to work with the doctor will try and get it done before my insurance changes in Jan.
All of it is mostly manageable but right now I am feeling quite stressed about issues. In addition there are promised layoffs at my husband's office and we will find out if he is on the list today. Of course there are rumors of additional cuts in the future so there are no guarantees that we would be safe. More stress...
When I see it all laid out here on the computer I have a lot going on.
I guess its about how you spend your time but I am grateful for the people who are supporting me...
Family
My mom has been a rock and even though there is a lot of stuff going on for her she is still coming to see the new baby, and to nurse me through the surgery in Dec.
Co-workers
surprisingly this is changing for me. I used to have good support here it is changing with this pregnancy. I am leaving as soon as my daughter graduates college.
Faith - I have not found a good church in this area. Its too bad really because I do have a strong faith in God. My husband is a no go guy so I tend not to go either, mostly out of laziness.
Looking into a lawyer made me realize how important it is to get to know people in the area and take suggestions from those around you.
Looking into surgery for my son I got a lot of interesting feed back on face book. People love to comment and give input. It did make me realize though the scale of the number of ear infections is wayyyyyyyyyy above the norm and I need to make it different. I do not want him to loose his hearing.
So there we are. I am grateful by brother after one year of unemployment has a job currently. I am grateful my dad is keeping the chaos low. I am grateful my mom will support me the best that she can. I am grateful I will be out of debt some day. I am grateful that I do have a family that I love as crazy as they are, they are mine.
I have been feeling overwhelmed lately. Murphy is parked on my doorstep and wants to come in. I am pushing back as hard as I can and having little success...
Here is what is happening:
My son may need surgery for tubes in his ears
My daughter's father has decided he will no longer pay for college
We are having a baby in Oct
I need to have thyroid surgery. I need to work with the doctor will try and get it done before my insurance changes in Jan.
All of it is mostly manageable but right now I am feeling quite stressed about issues. In addition there are promised layoffs at my husband's office and we will find out if he is on the list today. Of course there are rumors of additional cuts in the future so there are no guarantees that we would be safe. More stress...
When I see it all laid out here on the computer I have a lot going on.
I guess its about how you spend your time but I am grateful for the people who are supporting me...
Family
My mom has been a rock and even though there is a lot of stuff going on for her she is still coming to see the new baby, and to nurse me through the surgery in Dec.
Co-workers
surprisingly this is changing for me. I used to have good support here it is changing with this pregnancy. I am leaving as soon as my daughter graduates college.
Faith - I have not found a good church in this area. Its too bad really because I do have a strong faith in God. My husband is a no go guy so I tend not to go either, mostly out of laziness.
Looking into a lawyer made me realize how important it is to get to know people in the area and take suggestions from those around you.
Looking into surgery for my son I got a lot of interesting feed back on face book. People love to comment and give input. It did make me realize though the scale of the number of ear infections is wayyyyyyyyyy above the norm and I need to make it different. I do not want him to loose his hearing.
So there we are. I am grateful by brother after one year of unemployment has a job currently. I am grateful my dad is keeping the chaos low. I am grateful my mom will support me the best that she can. I am grateful I will be out of debt some day. I am grateful that I do have a family that I love as crazy as they are, they are mine.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Mad money monday
Life has been busy and I have not felt inspired by others to blog. Although I have a bunch of notepad documents that I might one day go back and post... We'll see.
Picking up from my last post. I have not had the heart to change my side bar. I have had a bunch of financial setbacks last year and this so perhaps I got a bit dis heartened because we have extended the time It will take for my debt to be gone. last month the debt stood at 26713.65 It was a tough winter and fall. And predictions for may have the debt increades by $200.00 Thay was due to some traveling requested by my mom. And you dont say no to my mom. So travel we did.
There is some good news. $200 is did not put me back at $39804. I start with a fresh sheet of paper each month and I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. Someday I will be out of debt. I am here and I did not give up the ghost. I truely believe that persistance pays.
My raise has ben spent and spent and spent. It has been a blessing but spent... I have set up an automatic payment from checking to my savings account to transfer 100.00 every month to get savings back to $2000.00 It has dropped to ~1400. Some days I have to pay things out of savings so I do not increase the debt. and the emergency fund is where the money comes from. By transfering the cash into savings every two weeks the emergency fund will be replenished by the end of theyear and I can stay on track with debt pay down.
There has been one other piece of good news... I am going to have baby #3 so I will be increasing my expenses. I am doing everything I can to get as much paid down before the arrival date. but 20 year olds seem to have other ideas in mind.
One pregnancy challenge I seem to be having is keeping my mind focused which is causing me to spend too much time on facebook and not enough time on programming or work.
Picking up from my last post. I have not had the heart to change my side bar. I have had a bunch of financial setbacks last year and this so perhaps I got a bit dis heartened because we have extended the time It will take for my debt to be gone. last month the debt stood at 26713.65 It was a tough winter and fall. And predictions for may have the debt increades by $200.00 Thay was due to some traveling requested by my mom. And you dont say no to my mom. So travel we did.
There is some good news. $200 is did not put me back at $39804. I start with a fresh sheet of paper each month and I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. Someday I will be out of debt. I am here and I did not give up the ghost. I truely believe that persistance pays.
My raise has ben spent and spent and spent. It has been a blessing but spent... I have set up an automatic payment from checking to my savings account to transfer 100.00 every month to get savings back to $2000.00 It has dropped to ~1400. Some days I have to pay things out of savings so I do not increase the debt. and the emergency fund is where the money comes from. By transfering the cash into savings every two weeks the emergency fund will be replenished by the end of theyear and I can stay on track with debt pay down.
There has been one other piece of good news... I am going to have baby #3 so I will be increasing my expenses. I am doing everything I can to get as much paid down before the arrival date. but 20 year olds seem to have other ideas in mind.
One pregnancy challenge I seem to be having is keeping my mind focused which is causing me to spend too much time on facebook and not enough time on programming or work.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Wet and windy get focused day
Hard for me to realize that I have not posted since Jan. I thought it had only been a few weeks. Silly traveler....
So Instead of back tracking and trying to catch you all up I will just do a brief where have I been and then quickly move forward.
The fall was super bad for expenses. I pulled myself up by my boot straps and re focused in Feb and said no more silliness. So far Feb, March and april have been more on track and I have managed to get my debt payoff to 33% in number terms for you geeks....
I started this journey at $39804.12. Currently I have $26,713.65 in Credit card debt. I have paid off in 2 years $13,090.47 WEEEEEE I have paid off $13,090.47 in debt. I do not wish to be there ever again!
My goals have been to pay off the total of the debt in 3 years. based on the fact it took 2 years to come 1/3 of the way it looks like it will be more like 6 before I am truely free. Thats okay. Not fun but okay. As long as I get ther eventually.
There have been set backs... Health care additional costs and college expenses for my daughter.
There has also been good news. I got a small raise. Even though the place where I work has put a freeze on all raises They examined my salary and found (NOT to my surprise) that I was paid too low below market and this was un equitable. So they gave me a bump to make it more of a market rate. In truth I think I could leave this employeer and make a move to almost double my salary and that is my plan in two years... But I will blog more on the hows of that some other time.
In June of 2009 I had 23864 in debt so I am still not quite back to where I was a year ago.
I left off here... I will post this and continue more in another blog
So Instead of back tracking and trying to catch you all up I will just do a brief where have I been and then quickly move forward.
The fall was super bad for expenses. I pulled myself up by my boot straps and re focused in Feb and said no more silliness. So far Feb, March and april have been more on track and I have managed to get my debt payoff to 33% in number terms for you geeks....
I started this journey at $39804.12. Currently I have $26,713.65 in Credit card debt. I have paid off in 2 years $13,090.47 WEEEEEE I have paid off $13,090.47 in debt. I do not wish to be there ever again!
My goals have been to pay off the total of the debt in 3 years. based on the fact it took 2 years to come 1/3 of the way it looks like it will be more like 6 before I am truely free. Thats okay. Not fun but okay. As long as I get ther eventually.
There have been set backs... Health care additional costs and college expenses for my daughter.
There has also been good news. I got a small raise. Even though the place where I work has put a freeze on all raises They examined my salary and found (NOT to my surprise) that I was paid too low below market and this was un equitable. So they gave me a bump to make it more of a market rate. In truth I think I could leave this employeer and make a move to almost double my salary and that is my plan in two years... But I will blog more on the hows of that some other time.
In June of 2009 I had 23864 in debt so I am still not quite back to where I was a year ago.
I left off here... I will post this and continue more in another blog
Thursday, January 14, 2010
CREATING THE NEW YEAR
Well its new years so I like many others feel compelled to create goals for myself. Of course its obvious to me my top three.
Here is what I am focused on:
Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2010?
Family, my children, my husband, my brother, my parents.
What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2010?
Progress
So those are my answers, what are your goals? Feel free to comment.
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......
Here is what I am focused on:
- Pay off 28,077.53 amount of debt, or this year about $9000.00. That equates to $750.00 per month. I am budgeting about $800.00 to debt but some of that is interest. So we’ll see how I do.
- Lose 20 lbs
- Learn to be a SharePoint developer/programmer
I am starting a new blog for #3. I think it helps to keep me on track and focused. I like blogging. Lets see if I can make a little additional income and get some referrals for technical work by putting it out there. I am not going to blog about #2 because from my observations people who are on a debt diet then start talking about a real diet never seem to come back to the debt blogging. And really getting out of debt is more important. It makes me feel like I have lost my friends when bloggers go away. I really am missing I've paid for this twice. She was really inspirational in my focus. Of course I also like NoCreditNeeded. But he blogs much less often and his journey is less about debt and more about skills after the debt. I need and want those skills but I need to remain focused on my own goals.
As I write this blog entry I received in email David Allen's productivity tips email. You can subscribe to it yourself here... http://www.davidco.com/productive_living.php
I Love how he re-frames New Year’s resolutions...
CREATING THE NEW YEAR
What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2010?
What advice would you like to give yourself in 2010?
What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2010?
What would you be most happy about completing in 2010?
What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2010?
What would you most like to change about yourself in 2010?
What are you looking forward to learning in 2010?
What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2010?
What about your work, are you most committed to changing and improving in 2010?
What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2010?
What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2010?
Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2010?
What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2010?
So Here are my responses:
CREATING THE NEW YEAR
Love the positive language that I can create the year I want to have.
What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2010?
Having baby #3 we are attempting it, but have not had success there yet. Second biggest triumph will be to get the debt back under control. For the last six months things have been a little (a lot) crazy.
What advice would you like to give yourself in 2010?
Have persistence in paying off your debt. Perseverance and diligence these are the skills that will accomplish getting rid of debt. Towards the end Oct, Nov and Dec stay focused on the goals instead of dithering away on auto pilot. Make allowances for the fact that it is a busy time and try to put away extra before the fall to compensate for the time you know you will have more demands on yourself.
What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2010?
Increase my income, decrease expenses basic but HARD
Learn to be a SharePoint developer to increase my income.
We are giving up cable to decrease expenses further. And as I type this the thermostat is set to 65!
What would you be most happy about completing in 2010?
I would like to read more books. I have not been able to focus my attention for long enough on any single book. I just look long enough to read the answer I need. I would like to learn the information in a textbook really commit it to my skill set.
What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2010?
Ahhhh chocolate comes to mind. Then Cross-stitch, But also it is an indulgence to learn a new skill. To dedicate so much time (which I have little of) and focus (which I find harder and harder to obtain) is a luxury and therefore an indulgence. So I plan to dedicate 2 hours each week to reading about SharePoint development.
What would you most like to change about yourself in 2010?
The back sliding. I know it happens but I find it so frustrating. It is exactly these circumstances for which Dave Ramsey has you create an emergency fund in the first place. I have dipped into it a lot recently. I want to put back. (I will post more about this in a further blog)
What are you looking forward to learning in 2010?
SharePoint development
Better budgeting
Making a SharePoint Blog produce an income.
What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2010?
Having another child is a very expensive choice. But I am too old not to try to take action right away.
It is also a risk to learn programming. In two years will I be able to leave my job and take a contracting position to do development. I like security. We will see.
What about your work, are you most committed to changing and improving in 2010?
1) Learning tract for SP development
2) Be a better teacher
3) Working towards preparing my team at work for the next version of SharePoint that is coming out.
4) Encouraging users them not to be afraid of the new tools.
What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2010?
Undeveloped talent… My first thought is leadership. But what I really want to develop is the skill to lean something by reading and doing. I want to be a self learner. In the past I have learned very well by taking classes and reading blogs. Now I need to strengthen the ability to take what I read and turn it into a doing action. I need to retrain my brain.
What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2010?
Joy... My children, my husband and cross stitch. These are my biggest pleasures. I would like to spend more time with each of those things. I need to remember when I am spending time with each of those people how much I appreciate them for who they are and how much they support me and bring me happiness.
Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2010?
Family, my children, my husband, my brother, my parents.
What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2010?
Progress
So those are my answers, what are your goals? Feel free to comment.
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......
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Debt free tips from Indiana Jones
I love to read blogs. I love to see what people say. I read a lot of personal finance blogs. I read a lot of cross stitch blogs and I read a lot of SharePoint blogs. (SharePoint is a product by Microsoft) I came across this blog http://sharepointkb.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/sharepoint-tips-from-indiana-jones/ and began to think that hmmmm. I think this could also apply to personal finance. So lets see how our journey goes... 
1) You have to have the courage to take on something challenging.
Fighting my way through the debt heap has taken a good bit of courage to keep going. It has also taught me to "defend" my wealth. I hate confrontation. I hate fighting. I have come to respect that sometimes you have to stand your ground in order to not be taken advantage of. Currently I have to appeal to my health insurance some extenuating circumstances that my dd had an urgent situation and needed to get care. If I do not appeal then the health care company denies my claims for around $2000.00 Its my money. She needed the health care its why we have insurance. I have learned to be brave and take the fight to the vendors because typically I get my money back. Another example is getting a lower interest rate. See my blog entry here... http://travelfarandwide.blogspot.com/2008/11/ask-dont-forget-to-ask.html
Be brave ask for what you want.
2) Know your limits and what your good at.
I am good at dreaming. I can daydream all day long. Typically, I have to stop myself from dreaming and put my nose to the grindstone to get myself to focus on my work. It is okay to run away from the big boulders when they are flying at you but it is also necessary to know when to get to work.
3) Simplicity is often the best option. (Gun vs Sword)
Isn't this one of the favorite scenes where the swashbuckler is waving his sword and Indy just shoots him. I think this is parallel to online banking. It was a lot of fuss to pay lots of bills over the phone on cards. I love online bill pay. I just hop on my bank's web site and off I go, electric paid, rent paid, cable paid. Done. And because time is such an issue in my life now that I have a 1 year old. It takes me about 30 minutes to check all my balances and pay the bills. Once per month 30 minutes is very effective. Keep it simple. Bam just knock it out.
4) You need to know your stuff and be ready to learn.
Indy Jones always pops in with some little tid bit of history that solves the puzzle. He knows a lot of stuff and it gives him that little competitive edge over the Nazis among others. I read tons of blogs. I have learned a lot about how to do things as well as been inspired by others who struggle in the same journey.
Places to learn:
No credit needed
Dave Ramsey
WiseBread
Boston gal's Open wallet
Places where I feel inspired:
I've paid for this twice
GRACEful Retirement
5) You don’t have to be a superhero.
Indiana Jones was a geeky history professor who liked fancy vacations. I am a geeky Technology buff who likes mellow vacations. I believe if we follow the map to the treasure we can achieve our goals. And I follow Dave Ramsey's baby steps road map. you should too http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/
6) Some things never change.
Indiana Jones uses old fashioned common sense and logic to solve his conflicts. He seems to choose the best way to get out a of a fix. There is no way to stop life from becoming complicated. BUT we can keep an emergency fund in order to keep our debt from growing.
7) Know what your are afraid of, or bad at and let other people help.
Snakes why does it have to be snakes??? I love that moment. When the great hero admits to being human. But he pushes through his fears and escapes anyway. I have mounting fears that my debt is mounting. But I keep on the plan because its to only solution to escaping debt.
8) You can’t do it alone.
Jones used lots of resources on his journey. He took advantage when help was offered and so should all of us. When my mom offered to help me with some extra cash I paid it toward my debt. I am going to start cashing in my bonds (I only have 2 so its not big bucks) to pay off some if the debt. I am also going to look into selling off some stock I own to try and get the debt down further. Again we arent talking big bucks maybe a couple of hundred dollars. Any help is good.
9) You have to believe in yourself and it doesn’t hurt to be unique or have your own image.
When Indiana Jones was on an adventure he wore his unique hat. It helped to get him into the roles he had defined for himself as an adventurer. He was super confident when he came into a new situation. He believed in himself.
It turns out to be different then average is to have no debt. So my goal is to be unique. I am going to get out of debt and then build up savings. I have fantasies about how fast it will happen. But mostly I am planning to follow the steps and save for retirement. There are no get rich quick schemes.
10) You have to see things through and stay focused.
Indiana upon his return from the opening adventure in the movie said "Marcus, I had it it in my hand, Marcus. I can get it." He was completely focused on obtaining an artifact for the museum even if it took more then one adventure to get it. He was then changed to follow the arc of course, but the idea is persistence and diligence despite setbacks won him the treasure every time.
We all need to be like Indy.
This was a light and fun Holiday way to help one enjoy getting back into the grind of debt reduction. Sometimes when you look at something in a new way it gives you a different perspective. I want to be a bit more like Indiana Jones. I want to crack my whip and have my credit cards sit up and take notice. Because I am coming for you...
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......
1) You have to have the courage to take on something challenging.Fighting my way through the debt heap has taken a good bit of courage to keep going. It has also taught me to "defend" my wealth. I hate confrontation. I hate fighting. I have come to respect that sometimes you have to stand your ground in order to not be taken advantage of. Currently I have to appeal to my health insurance some extenuating circumstances that my dd had an urgent situation and needed to get care. If I do not appeal then the health care company denies my claims for around $2000.00 Its my money. She needed the health care its why we have insurance. I have learned to be brave and take the fight to the vendors because typically I get my money back. Another example is getting a lower interest rate. See my blog entry here... http://travelfarandwide.blogspot.com/2008/11/ask-dont-forget-to-ask.html
Be brave ask for what you want.
2) Know your limits and what your good at.
I am good at dreaming. I can daydream all day long. Typically, I have to stop myself from dreaming and put my nose to the grindstone to get myself to focus on my work. It is okay to run away from the big boulders when they are flying at you but it is also necessary to know when to get to work.
3) Simplicity is often the best option. (Gun vs Sword)
Isn't this one of the favorite scenes where the swashbuckler is waving his sword and Indy just shoots him. I think this is parallel to online banking. It was a lot of fuss to pay lots of bills over the phone on cards. I love online bill pay. I just hop on my bank's web site and off I go, electric paid, rent paid, cable paid. Done. And because time is such an issue in my life now that I have a 1 year old. It takes me about 30 minutes to check all my balances and pay the bills. Once per month 30 minutes is very effective. Keep it simple. Bam just knock it out.
4) You need to know your stuff and be ready to learn.
Indy Jones always pops in with some little tid bit of history that solves the puzzle. He knows a lot of stuff and it gives him that little competitive edge over the Nazis among others. I read tons of blogs. I have learned a lot about how to do things as well as been inspired by others who struggle in the same journey.
Places to learn:
No credit needed
Dave Ramsey
WiseBread
Boston gal's Open wallet
Places where I feel inspired:
I've paid for this twice
GRACEful Retirement
5) You don’t have to be a superhero.
Indiana Jones was a geeky history professor who liked fancy vacations. I am a geeky Technology buff who likes mellow vacations. I believe if we follow the map to the treasure we can achieve our goals. And I follow Dave Ramsey's baby steps road map. you should too http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/
6) Some things never change.
Indiana Jones uses old fashioned common sense and logic to solve his conflicts. He seems to choose the best way to get out a of a fix. There is no way to stop life from becoming complicated. BUT we can keep an emergency fund in order to keep our debt from growing.
7) Know what your are afraid of, or bad at and let other people help.
Snakes why does it have to be snakes??? I love that moment. When the great hero admits to being human. But he pushes through his fears and escapes anyway. I have mounting fears that my debt is mounting. But I keep on the plan because its to only solution to escaping debt.
8) You can’t do it alone.
Jones used lots of resources on his journey. He took advantage when help was offered and so should all of us. When my mom offered to help me with some extra cash I paid it toward my debt. I am going to start cashing in my bonds (I only have 2 so its not big bucks) to pay off some if the debt. I am also going to look into selling off some stock I own to try and get the debt down further. Again we arent talking big bucks maybe a couple of hundred dollars. Any help is good.
9) You have to believe in yourself and it doesn’t hurt to be unique or have your own image.
When Indiana Jones was on an adventure he wore his unique hat. It helped to get him into the roles he had defined for himself as an adventurer. He was super confident when he came into a new situation. He believed in himself.
It turns out to be different then average is to have no debt. So my goal is to be unique. I am going to get out of debt and then build up savings. I have fantasies about how fast it will happen. But mostly I am planning to follow the steps and save for retirement. There are no get rich quick schemes.
10) You have to see things through and stay focused.
Indiana upon his return from the opening adventure in the movie said "Marcus, I had it it in my hand, Marcus. I can get it." He was completely focused on obtaining an artifact for the museum even if it took more then one adventure to get it. He was then changed to follow the arc of course, but the idea is persistence and diligence despite setbacks won him the treasure every time.
We all need to be like Indy.
This was a light and fun Holiday way to help one enjoy getting back into the grind of debt reduction. Sometimes when you look at something in a new way it gives you a different perspective. I want to be a bit more like Indiana Jones. I want to crack my whip and have my credit cards sit up and take notice. Because I am coming for you...
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......
Monday, November 02, 2009
October wrap up
My retirement fund and my debt paydown reached the exact amount I have paid off in debt, 14,000. It is not a lot in the grand scheme of things but it means a lot to me. I am floating in the big debt sea and can see neither shore those little elements help to make your day.
Despite a really lousy financial October, I still am putting $200 to pay down debt. I have newly resolved that I no longer need web space I WILL be closing my website. That is a painful choice but I think we can do it. I wrote about it before here...
The October renewal plan:
Here is the run down:
CC#1 is Paid off Bal $0
CC#2 13.49% $3,833.69
CC#3 11.24% $3,590.70
CC#4 9.90% $3,690.93
CC#5 4.99% $874.97
CC#6 3.99% $2,023.11
CC#7 3.99% $11,363.51
Total is $25,335.13
So If you are following this And I know no one is I have had a bit of a back slide since July. Most of that is due to DD and College. Also some of her health issues. But I believe it will get better and I am going to just keep pusjing forward.October 2012. I can do it. I have no other choice. I Refuse to live in debt for the rest of my life.
I thought I had 6 cards and I have 7 shudder and ugh. I am paying off in interest order. I get dave ramsey's psychology first better now. On card #5 I have an automatic payment. Once it went below 1000.00 I was like thats it boom lets just knock it out. The thing is It has the LOWEST interest rate and it is until the balancce is paid off. I am better off sticking to CC#2 with a rate of 13.49% and getting rid of it. There was a time when I had 18000 on a 24% card so I know truely I am making progress. but it is very hard to feel like you are making progress. But I CAN do it. and I will do it.
Things that I have done wisely:
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......
Despite a really lousy financial October, I still am putting $200 to pay down debt. I have newly resolved that I no longer need web space I WILL be closing my website. That is a painful choice but I think we can do it. I wrote about it before here...
The October renewal plan:
Training 1 hour every day. read in a chapter, study something having to do with MS Sharepoint. From 8-9:30 every day.
Put money into savings. Currently I am not saving enough. It is a real problem. I am not sure I have calculated it correctly but I have noticed when the payment is automatic I put more away consistantly to my debt then at my other cards. I need to replenish our emergency fund. I had to borrow $500.00 to cover for my husband. He came up a bit short on the electric bill. So I have set up an automated payment schedule. Well see how November handles that and if I miss the money. (The budget is so tight I am sure I will.- My plan is to be debt free in 35 months. I do love the snowball calculator web site
Here is the run down:
CC#1 is Paid off Bal $0
CC#2 13.49% $3,833.69
CC#3 11.24% $3,590.70
CC#4 9.90% $3,690.93
CC#5 4.99% $874.97
CC#6 3.99% $2,023.11
CC#7 3.99% $11,363.51
Total is $25,335.13
So If you are following this And I know no one is I have had a bit of a back slide since July. Most of that is due to DD and College. Also some of her health issues. But I believe it will get better and I am going to just keep pusjing forward.October 2012. I can do it. I have no other choice. I Refuse to live in debt for the rest of my life.
I thought I had 6 cards and I have 7 shudder and ugh. I am paying off in interest order. I get dave ramsey's psychology first better now. On card #5 I have an automatic payment. Once it went below 1000.00 I was like thats it boom lets just knock it out. The thing is It has the LOWEST interest rate and it is until the balancce is paid off. I am better off sticking to CC#2 with a rate of 13.49% and getting rid of it. There was a time when I had 18000 on a 24% card so I know truely I am making progress. but it is very hard to feel like you are making progress. But I CAN do it. and I will do it.
Things that I have done wisely:
I am proud of myself for reducing the interest rates I am paying to the best of my ability.
I am proud of myself for trying not to carry cards in my wallett I pay mostly only cash. I have to say mostly because last month there were a bunch of unexpected medical expenses for my daughter. While you can call this murphy's law or something. It was frustrating because I do not believe she needed to go to the emerg room over a sprained ankle. So I am mad at the dicisions her employeer made for her and did not pay for.
I am proud of myself for keeping on the path to get out of debt even though It is hard and tiresome
I am proud of myself for having a budget and knowing what I can spend and what I should not.
Life is a journey. and I am on the right path for myself.
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......
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