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.
Showing posts with label Credit Cards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Credit Cards. Show all posts
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday, August 03, 2009
Debt elimination vs savings
I read Paid twice's blog often. I have found that if you surround yourself with people who are on the same path for a goal you will be more likely to achieve that goal. I really really want to be out of debt. I can not ignore the huge credit hunk of change I owe. And I have noticed that the interest rates did indeed go up. The banks want a little more from me... I do not really want to give it to them but I did borrow the money.
I currently have 6 cards that have a balance on them. 3 of the cards are at a fixed rate until the balance is paid off. I like that fact. It saves me a LOT of money. The other three cards drive me bonkers. CC#2 is the currrent card I am paying the largest amount to each month. CC#3 will be next and CC#4 has a 9.9% rate that has not increased... However... I am charging my web design space to CC#4. It is $14.00 per month. So I eliminate any debt reduction by the charge. Previously I did not want to get rid of my domain name. But currently my job focus is elsewhere and I no longer need to post a portfolio. And if I did need to host a web space I could sign up again. Nothing there is critical any more. So it has to go. It is important to revisit these charges. Because as few as 3 months ago I felt differently. But my career goals have shifted just so slightly and I feel it is no longer necessary to have web space. Actually I feel it is foolish to hold on to something that is costing me money for no benefit.
So How do I feel about Debt elimination over savings?
Well I am in the middle. It has been saving grace that I have paid down as much as I have so that when issues come up like vacation, child's father not paying for college and school expenses I just reallocate some of the debt elimination/repayment money to the current spending challenges. Life does happen. Just because I got myself into debt does not mean my child has to pay and pay. She will have her own challenges. And having a college degree for her is so important to me I would do a lot to make sure it will happen. I would even take on more debt. I know its not Dave Ramsey's philosophy - but he is a multi-millionaire and he funded his kids schools long ago. Each of his kids are in college. There is a classest divide in this country. Those who do not have good skills or a degree have a much harder time in life supporting themselves. I want my daughter to have a degree so she can get employment. I am committed to it.
SO Anyway....
I also see the value in building up savings. I used a little savings to carry us at the end of May. Things were just too tight. That is why we have savings, to bridge the gaps, so we do not feel the need to put charges on the credit cards. Well.... I would like to pay back to savings the money I borrowed. But I chafe at the pace of debt repayment. I want it all to be over now. I want to be debt free today. I also want to be skinny now and wanting it does not make it so.
There is a rhythm to each financial year. My spending is always higher in the summer because the child is home, then there is back to school, then Nov birthdays and then Christmas. So If I am honest with myself Aug - Dec are always slimmer then Jan - July. The BEST debt repayment months are during winter. But I have felt the power of debt elimination. I feel how wonderful it is that I can decided to pay less each month if I needed to. I am committed to paying of the remaining balances.
Each month just a little more goes to elimination and a little less goes to interest. It is so powerful to be able to make progress.
For myself the argument for savings is a big one we want to purchase a home. We will need to have money for closing costs and other expenses. I am not sure if one month's savings would make a dent so I keep eliminating debt. But that is where the tug and pull comes from. Rationally I think we will end up purchasing a home in 2 years after the debt is much lower. We'll see. If they offer the tax incentive again next year it will give us pause... again.
My actions are to debt elimination even though some times I feel the savings pull. I almost always choose to put the money into debt pay down. I just don't want to live a life with an expensive anchor anymore.
Food for thought. Enough ranting... thanks for reading
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......
I currently have 6 cards that have a balance on them. 3 of the cards are at a fixed rate until the balance is paid off. I like that fact. It saves me a LOT of money. The other three cards drive me bonkers. CC#2 is the currrent card I am paying the largest amount to each month. CC#3 will be next and CC#4 has a 9.9% rate that has not increased... However... I am charging my web design space to CC#4. It is $14.00 per month. So I eliminate any debt reduction by the charge. Previously I did not want to get rid of my domain name. But currently my job focus is elsewhere and I no longer need to post a portfolio. And if I did need to host a web space I could sign up again. Nothing there is critical any more. So it has to go. It is important to revisit these charges. Because as few as 3 months ago I felt differently. But my career goals have shifted just so slightly and I feel it is no longer necessary to have web space. Actually I feel it is foolish to hold on to something that is costing me money for no benefit.
So How do I feel about Debt elimination over savings?
Well I am in the middle. It has been saving grace that I have paid down as much as I have so that when issues come up like vacation, child's father not paying for college and school expenses I just reallocate some of the debt elimination/repayment money to the current spending challenges. Life does happen. Just because I got myself into debt does not mean my child has to pay and pay. She will have her own challenges. And having a college degree for her is so important to me I would do a lot to make sure it will happen. I would even take on more debt. I know its not Dave Ramsey's philosophy - but he is a multi-millionaire and he funded his kids schools long ago. Each of his kids are in college. There is a classest divide in this country. Those who do not have good skills or a degree have a much harder time in life supporting themselves. I want my daughter to have a degree so she can get employment. I am committed to it.
SO Anyway....
I also see the value in building up savings. I used a little savings to carry us at the end of May. Things were just too tight. That is why we have savings, to bridge the gaps, so we do not feel the need to put charges on the credit cards. Well.... I would like to pay back to savings the money I borrowed. But I chafe at the pace of debt repayment. I want it all to be over now. I want to be debt free today. I also want to be skinny now and wanting it does not make it so.
There is a rhythm to each financial year. My spending is always higher in the summer because the child is home, then there is back to school, then Nov birthdays and then Christmas. So If I am honest with myself Aug - Dec are always slimmer then Jan - July. The BEST debt repayment months are during winter. But I have felt the power of debt elimination. I feel how wonderful it is that I can decided to pay less each month if I needed to. I am committed to paying of the remaining balances.
Each month just a little more goes to elimination and a little less goes to interest. It is so powerful to be able to make progress.
For myself the argument for savings is a big one we want to purchase a home. We will need to have money for closing costs and other expenses. I am not sure if one month's savings would make a dent so I keep eliminating debt. But that is where the tug and pull comes from. Rationally I think we will end up purchasing a home in 2 years after the debt is much lower. We'll see. If they offer the tax incentive again next year it will give us pause... again.
My actions are to debt elimination even though some times I feel the savings pull. I almost always choose to put the money into debt pay down. I just don't want to live a life with an expensive anchor anymore.
Food for thought. Enough ranting... thanks for reading
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, July 30, 2009
Well the journey continues
July was a hard month. Financially and emotionally. A lot of events happened. Two family vacations, visits from DD, visits from my mom, and a few unexpected bumps and bruises. So my blog has been quiet. There was so much going on I didnt try to control the chaos, I just went along for the ride. Thats the name of the blog.... road traveed. And this months was a doosey. So I have been bumped and bruised. Today I have picked myself up. Brushed myself off and I am ready to be back on the financial trail.
The damage:
After vacation spending through the end of june and All of July we put $1486.88 on credit card for vacation. There may be other expenses through checking but on a credit card for two vacations $1486.88 is not bad. There was a lot of pressure to go on both of the vacations. The beach vacation is a tradition we have been doing for about 12 years. My daughter would not let me not go. Financially my husband contributed a lot more this year and thank goodness he had a lot of overtime cash he spent so we did not have to run too much on the cards. He is an awesome man.
The second trip was a vacation to visit Husbands family. I did not have a lot of vacation time left so I had to drive down on a different day and so there were gas and food expenses. It was not too bad and as it was for his family I would do it again.
Time now to get back on the horse though. Over all I am not too upset with the numbers. I want to be able to take it in stride although It makes me sick to have a debt anchor hanging around my neck. I look forward to the day I do not have to write checks to the banks and I am free. It may take longer then the origional plan BUT I will get there and I am determined to be debt free. One day at a time.
As a result of being away my desk has gone to pot. Last week I organized all the papers to help make order from chaos. This week is health care focused. Next week will be how can I save money by taking lunch to work. Thank goodness I can sit at my desk one day pr week. I do not know how I would get it done if I did not have that luxery.
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......
The damage:
After vacation spending through the end of june and All of July we put $1486.88 on credit card for vacation. There may be other expenses through checking but on a credit card for two vacations $1486.88 is not bad. There was a lot of pressure to go on both of the vacations. The beach vacation is a tradition we have been doing for about 12 years. My daughter would not let me not go. Financially my husband contributed a lot more this year and thank goodness he had a lot of overtime cash he spent so we did not have to run too much on the cards. He is an awesome man.
The second trip was a vacation to visit Husbands family. I did not have a lot of vacation time left so I had to drive down on a different day and so there were gas and food expenses. It was not too bad and as it was for his family I would do it again.
Time now to get back on the horse though. Over all I am not too upset with the numbers. I want to be able to take it in stride although It makes me sick to have a debt anchor hanging around my neck. I look forward to the day I do not have to write checks to the banks and I am free. It may take longer then the origional plan BUT I will get there and I am determined to be debt free. One day at a time.
As a result of being away my desk has gone to pot. Last week I organized all the papers to help make order from chaos. This week is health care focused. Next week will be how can I save money by taking lunch to work. Thank goodness I can sit at my desk one day pr week. I do not know how I would get it done if I did not have that luxery.
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, May 04, 2009
Debt Details
Excessive Debt is bad. I dont want to put anything on my credit cards anymore. However. I just got a letter from CC#1. I worked very very hard to get rid of any outstanding balances on that card. This bank card was a very bad one. I at one point asked them to lower the rate (24.99%) and they said "NO, you are using this like a long term loan". Well DUH If I cant get a lower rate then It will take FOREVER to pay it off. AHHH now it has a 0 balance. I transfered some of it to 3.9% offeres and I paid off the rest. If you have tracked my progress you can see that I have slowly made every effort to be out of debt. This card had a crazy available credit of $24,000. I dont need that nor was I ever going to put a single dollar onto this most hated card ever again. EVER. So When I opened my mail today It surprised me that I was sad that they have "re evaluated" and lowered my limit to $12,500.
I am actually happy that the limit is lower. I still felt a pang of "Oh no" when I looked at the paper. Isnt that silly? I have considered closing the account. If for any reason any of the banks I have cards with suddenly change how much I owe because the bank has changed hands I wanted options. I do get 8.99% offers from them all the time. Of course as I get $0 and 3.9% offers from other banks, I would not consider using this card unless one of the other banks went out of business. Like I said I want options.
So why does it bother me? Well I dont want it to look like I did something wrong. I paid off that account fair and square. I want it to be the truth, the change is a reflection of the bank's choices. BUT what will it do to my credit score? We are talking about buying a home so dont say it should not matter. It will if we were to go for a mortgage in the next few weeks. One step at a time.
All things considered this month I thought it would be tighter then it turned out to be. We made it through April and I still made payments to my debt. I will be debt free someday.
$15,236.09
Good job girl.
I have been neglecting my desk but it turns out that I am still somewhat on track. I will get out of debt. I will I will I will.
I am actually happy that the limit is lower. I still felt a pang of "Oh no" when I looked at the paper. Isnt that silly? I have considered closing the account. If for any reason any of the banks I have cards with suddenly change how much I owe because the bank has changed hands I wanted options. I do get 8.99% offers from them all the time. Of course as I get $0 and 3.9% offers from other banks, I would not consider using this card unless one of the other banks went out of business. Like I said I want options.
So why does it bother me? Well I dont want it to look like I did something wrong. I paid off that account fair and square. I want it to be the truth, the change is a reflection of the bank's choices. BUT what will it do to my credit score? We are talking about buying a home so dont say it should not matter. It will if we were to go for a mortgage in the next few weeks. One step at a time.
All things considered this month I thought it would be tighter then it turned out to be. We made it through April and I still made payments to my debt. I will be debt free someday.
$15,236.09
Good job girl.
I have been neglecting my desk but it turns out that I am still somewhat on track. I will get out of debt. I will I will I will.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Progress Update
Despite myself I have made progress. I have paid down over $15,000 in debt. Go me. I am in the middle of the journey. I no longer feel the heavy anchor so familiar to me of my monthly payments that beginning shore where I said oh if something happens I'll just use my credit card.... and the other shore where I am debt free. When you no longer see either shore the journey seems long. I know in my heart I am doing the right things. I know in my heart I will stay the path and keep pushing to be debt free. But the birth of my beautiful son and the costs of college for my daughter seem to pull at me so that I swim very very slowly to the shore where I am debt free. Had I not become pregnant and had my husband not needed to work so often on the weekends I would have taken a second job. I am still looking for opportunities to make extra money.
Today though when you break a round number like $15,000 you should stop and celebrate. I am going to treat myself to one $16.99 magazine holder for my cross stitch magazines. I dont want to spend much because I have to keep swimming. I also need to remember that the books I purchased from amazon will not have been charged to my account yet and I need to save that birthday money for when the bill arrives.
My progress from NCN. I have updated the numbers in the side bar. so Celebrate with me [ ]3 as we roll forward.
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......
Today though when you break a round number like $15,000 you should stop and celebrate. I am going to treat myself to one $16.99 magazine holder for my cross stitch magazines. I dont want to spend much because I have to keep swimming. I also need to remember that the books I purchased from amazon will not have been charged to my account yet and I need to save that birthday money for when the bill arrives.
My progress from NCN. I have updated the numbers in the side bar. so Celebrate with me [ ]3 as we roll forward.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, March 02, 2009
March Money update
Well I have paid my bills for March. I was Happy with my January progress. I had a really successful pay down of debt. But starting this month the pay off will be much slower! We have started back to work and daycare. It is a big financial commitment to have the baby in daycare. But I do like this place and they seem to care for him which is a good thing. I have committed to DH that I would pay about $500 per month. 
Feb I paid 675. So I am really shy on a food budget and other things. But I want to celebrate progress for what it is. Last month I was at 34% paid. Now I have achieved 36.85% and I have paid off $14,668 of debt. Amazing as I thought I never would get out of debt. What a wonderful thing.
DH and I went to look at an open house over the weekend. To my distress I was sad to say we are not ready to buy. We need to get rid of the credit card debt first. So. to that end I am going to cancel my Yahoo space. It will give me back 15 to my debt every month. I am not using it and It is silly to pay for something I am not using. I still want it don't get me wrong its a great thing to have web space where you can post your portfolio and do extra outside work but if its not paying for itself then it is an expense we dont need. And truthfully I never have time any more. Baby just takes up too much of it.
I think the message for today is that the debt snowball works. Yeah hoo!
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......
Feb I paid 675. So I am really shy on a food budget and other things. But I want to celebrate progress for what it is. Last month I was at 34% paid. Now I have achieved 36.85% and I have paid off $14,668 of debt. Amazing as I thought I never would get out of debt. What a wonderful thing.DH and I went to look at an open house over the weekend. To my distress I was sad to say we are not ready to buy. We need to get rid of the credit card debt first. So. to that end I am going to cancel my Yahoo space. It will give me back 15 to my debt every month. I am not using it and It is silly to pay for something I am not using. I still want it don't get me wrong its a great thing to have web space where you can post your portfolio and do extra outside work but if its not paying for itself then it is an expense we dont need. And truthfully I never have time any more. Baby just takes up too much of it.
I think the message for today is that the debt snowball works. Yeah hoo!
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, February 20, 2009
I have clarity once again
Cents:
I have managed to regain focus. It only took filling up the shredder three times! I have eliminated all the Credit card Fodder. I have sorted all my documents into a Scan pile, a Take Action pile and a Tax pile. I have written up my todo list and prioritized it. I can see the surface of my desk for the first time in two months. And it is the first time in 4 months I feel organized. Phew what a difference having a work from home day makes. It is amazing!I feel so much better.
For right now I am scanning. I need to focus on high priority items but I have less then perfect focus so I am doing the low priority and waiting until the caffeine kicks in.
I have received letters from one Card that increases my limit. It is also changing my terms. Mostly it will not effect me as I took advantage to transfer balance with an offer of 4.9% for the life of the balance. Now if they change that rate with a different rate I will be transferring the balance to a new card. But for now I am keeping an eye on it. Thats why you have to look at all of your cards each month. Those silly banks like to play games. There are no additional fees and they do not seem to have changed the grace period. As I am just paying off existing balances the grace period is not really an issue either. No new charges on any card. Period.
Stitches:
I have started working on the CUTEST bib ever for my son. I love this pattern. I am sure I will want to stitch it again as a gift for someone else. I love it! Here is a pic of the progress. The design is called "Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails" by Stoney Creek Collection. I bought the pre-made bib to go along with it. Oh I love it! It can be found here if you are interested.
I have managed to regain focus. It only took filling up the shredder three times! I have eliminated all the Credit card Fodder. I have sorted all my documents into a Scan pile, a Take Action pile and a Tax pile. I have written up my todo list and prioritized it. I can see the surface of my desk for the first time in two months. And it is the first time in 4 months I feel organized. Phew what a difference having a work from home day makes. It is amazing!I feel so much better.
For right now I am scanning. I need to focus on high priority items but I have less then perfect focus so I am doing the low priority and waiting until the caffeine kicks in.
I have received letters from one Card that increases my limit. It is also changing my terms. Mostly it will not effect me as I took advantage to transfer balance with an offer of 4.9% for the life of the balance. Now if they change that rate with a different rate I will be transferring the balance to a new card. But for now I am keeping an eye on it. Thats why you have to look at all of your cards each month. Those silly banks like to play games. There are no additional fees and they do not seem to have changed the grace period. As I am just paying off existing balances the grace period is not really an issue either. No new charges on any card. Period.
Stitches:
I have started working on the CUTEST bib ever for my son. I love this pattern. I am sure I will want to stitch it again as a gift for someone else. I love it! Here is a pic of the progress. The design is called "Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails" by Stoney Creek Collection. I bought the pre-made bib to go along with it. Oh I love it! It can be found here if you are interested.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Stitching and Cents
Well I am finally afforded 20 minutes to type. It is much harder then I imagined to get to my computer during the day with an 8 week old baby. My computer is in the basement and It is much too cold to bring him down there. Laptop??? Of course, but at night when I finally sit down typing is awkward and If the baby is sleeping I need to be sleeping. But here I am .... and things ARE settling down.
PF bloggers if hobby talk bores you skip down to the Cents section.
Stitching:
I am posting a photo of progress. It has been a delight to get back to stitching. I am trying to figure out how to move the Q-snaps so as not to muck up the beading. I have seen other stitchers using quilted batting around the frame to help in holding the frame in place. It occurred to me that the batting might solve the bead issue. I am worried about moving the frame and it would rip out the beading that had been completed. I like to mix it up I like to stitch a color, then do a metallic which I do not like to stitch with but I do like the end result. It keeps my frustration level at the end of a stitching piece low. I always save the back stitch for the whole piece till the end. I am also reconsidering that.
It is a big piece and It might be better if I did it in quadrants instead. We'll see. I do feel good about how far I have gotten this week. I had to frog 60 rows of white because the two skeins were different colors. It took me 3 days to pull all the stitches! One was a regular white from old and one a bright white. Hazards of using stash I suppose. I am so happy to be stitching again.
I finally have time to spend on stitching and I am just going to take it one step at a time. I would like to finish this project this year. After its completion, I am going to move on to smaller projects so I can get more done. I also am going to try and complete my finishes. I have never done a pin keep or a cube and I have plans to do one of each for my DD. I am also considering sending out some of the items to be finished because I know I will never get to it. I will post my progress here. Oh and I am dropping the sled project. I started it. But
I hate the colors of the bow. Not shown in this pic. And it has been a long time since I stitched on Aida cloth. I don't like it any more. I am too addicted to linen. So rather then waste time doing something I don't like I am dropping the whole thing. I might do the pattern later with different threads but. Not right now.
Cents and Sense:
Things I have accomplished this week...
1) I called CC#1 and had them adjust the "Past Purchases" balance to macth the new purchases interest rate.
2) My DH and I had a discussion about the Home purchase fund. He feels it is mathmatically smarter to pay off the credit card then to hold on to 3K for closing costs. I can see his argument, but it gave me a major sense of security. I knew that if there was an absolute extreme emergency we could dip into the fund. On the other hand it is silly to be losing money on 3K when I could gain progress on the debt reduction. Including the fact that I will be decreasing the amount of money I am putting toward debt each month. I am increasing my healthcare, I am adding child care. I really need to set time aside to do the budget for this year and that is really hard to come by.
3) Insurance. I followed up with the insurance company regarding submitting a bill for my son. He saw the Dr. In Dec and the insurance company does not have him covered starting in 2008. However... He is covered in 2009. Great execpt if I get an insurance bill in Dec for any office visits he should have been covered. So I called my employeer. They now have to follow up. and I am sure that things will need to be followed up with more later. What does this have to do with personal finance... Well I was sent a bill by the pediatrician for $223.00. I certainly would like to save that money out of pocket, He also went to the Hospital for two tests and there are probably one other insurance statements we havent seen yet from his birth. The less I pay out of pocket the farther my income goes to pay off my credit card debt.
What makes sense? Follow up follow up follow up.
I saw an item in a magazine yesterday while sitting in a doctors waiting room. there were clothes pins with each day labeled on them. I need to do one thing on my desk each day. I started With CC#1, continued with paying bills Tuesday, and follow up with insurance. I need to do one thing each day so that I can feel accomplished and organized again. I have so much to do I cant seem to wrap my head around it all. So I am doing it the way the pros do, one step at a time... Break it down and take it in small steps until the chunks are gone.
That goes for stitching too.
PF bloggers if hobby talk bores you skip down to the Cents section.
Stitching:
I am posting a photo of progress. It has been a delight to get back to stitching. I am trying to figure out how to move the Q-snaps so as not to muck up the beading. I have seen other stitchers using quilted batting around the frame to help in holding the frame in place. It occurred to me that the batting might solve the bead issue. I am worried about moving the frame and it would rip out the beading that had been completed. I like to mix it up I like to stitch a color, then do a metallic which I do not like to stitch with but I do like the end result. It keeps my frustration level at the end of a stitching piece low. I always save the back stitch for the whole piece till the end. I am also reconsidering that.
It is a big piece and It might be better if I did it in quadrants instead. We'll see. I do feel good about how far I have gotten this week. I had to frog 60 rows of white because the two skeins were different colors. It took me 3 days to pull all the stitches! One was a regular white from old and one a bright white. Hazards of using stash I suppose. I am so happy to be stitching again.
I finally have time to spend on stitching and I am just going to take it one step at a time. I would like to finish this project this year. After its completion, I am going to move on to smaller projects so I can get more done. I also am going to try and complete my finishes. I have never done a pin keep or a cube and I have plans to do one of each for my DD. I am also considering sending out some of the items to be finished because I know I will never get to it. I will post my progress here. Oh and I am dropping the sled project. I started it. But
I hate the colors of the bow. Not shown in this pic. And it has been a long time since I stitched on Aida cloth. I don't like it any more. I am too addicted to linen. So rather then waste time doing something I don't like I am dropping the whole thing. I might do the pattern later with different threads but. Not right now.Cents and Sense:
Things I have accomplished this week...
1) I called CC#1 and had them adjust the "Past Purchases" balance to macth the new purchases interest rate.
2) My DH and I had a discussion about the Home purchase fund. He feels it is mathmatically smarter to pay off the credit card then to hold on to 3K for closing costs. I can see his argument, but it gave me a major sense of security. I knew that if there was an absolute extreme emergency we could dip into the fund. On the other hand it is silly to be losing money on 3K when I could gain progress on the debt reduction. Including the fact that I will be decreasing the amount of money I am putting toward debt each month. I am increasing my healthcare, I am adding child care. I really need to set time aside to do the budget for this year and that is really hard to come by.
3) Insurance. I followed up with the insurance company regarding submitting a bill for my son. He saw the Dr. In Dec and the insurance company does not have him covered starting in 2008. However... He is covered in 2009. Great execpt if I get an insurance bill in Dec for any office visits he should have been covered. So I called my employeer. They now have to follow up. and I am sure that things will need to be followed up with more later. What does this have to do with personal finance... Well I was sent a bill by the pediatrician for $223.00. I certainly would like to save that money out of pocket, He also went to the Hospital for two tests and there are probably one other insurance statements we havent seen yet from his birth. The less I pay out of pocket the farther my income goes to pay off my credit card debt.
What makes sense? Follow up follow up follow up.
I saw an item in a magazine yesterday while sitting in a doctors waiting room. there were clothes pins with each day labeled on them. I need to do one thing on my desk each day. I started With CC#1, continued with paying bills Tuesday, and follow up with insurance. I need to do one thing each day so that I can feel accomplished and organized again. I have so much to do I cant seem to wrap my head around it all. So I am doing it the way the pros do, one step at a time... Break it down and take it in small steps until the chunks are gone.
That goes for stitching too.
Monday, January 05, 2009
taking care of yourself
Sometimes I forget to take care of myself. I become wrapped up in what needs to be done and I focus on the tasks at hand. The thing that gets added lastly to the list is me. My DH yelled at me for doing it again as I was feeling frustrated because I was not able to figure out all my bills the way they should be. I needed time to sit at my desk and I was feeling VERY stressed as a result to the hight of each of the piles. Needless to say I had to ask for time to sit at my desk and take care of some of the piles. It is stunning how much mail I receive and how much time it takes for me to focus on each task and take care of things. I hate the amount of time it takes.
So as my reward I ordered a cross stitch calendar for myself. I should have ordered it earlier. but I was hoping Santa would get it for me. It was on my wish list. The calender is no longer available. It is on order but I doubt I will be able to get it. SIGH. I just needed to speak up sooner.
On the Credit card front....
I noticed that in CC#1 Statement they did adjust the rate BUT... They did not adjust the rate of past purchases. The past purchase rate stayed the same. I noticed a while ago but Dh is watching little stuff and I am slowly recovering my baby brain so here goes... I called again. I told the first customer service person the story. Oh let me transfer you. Ok I told the second Customer service person. Ok Let me see. I got a third customer service person. OK here we go again. But cheerfully I went through the explanation of why I was calling again. I noticed that the "past purchases" rate did not change and I wanted the two rates to be the same. Oh I see. He said. Let me fix that for you. And he did. I should see it reflected on the next statement. Hooray! I do think being pleasant and cheerful helped. It also helps to be persistent. I spoke with three different people before I got to yes.
So as my reward I ordered a cross stitch calendar for myself. I should have ordered it earlier. but I was hoping Santa would get it for me. It was on my wish list. The calender is no longer available. It is on order but I doubt I will be able to get it. SIGH. I just needed to speak up sooner.
On the Credit card front....
I noticed that in CC#1 Statement they did adjust the rate BUT... They did not adjust the rate of past purchases. The past purchase rate stayed the same. I noticed a while ago but Dh is watching little stuff and I am slowly recovering my baby brain so here goes... I called again. I told the first customer service person the story. Oh let me transfer you. Ok I told the second Customer service person. Ok Let me see. I got a third customer service person. OK here we go again. But cheerfully I went through the explanation of why I was calling again. I noticed that the "past purchases" rate did not change and I wanted the two rates to be the same. Oh I see. He said. Let me fix that for you. And he did. I should see it reflected on the next statement. Hooray! I do think being pleasant and cheerful helped. It also helps to be persistent. I spoke with three different people before I got to yes.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Lower rate early payoff??
The math way of organizing Credit cards says to pay off the highest interest rate first. I like saving money. Last weekend when CC#2 lowered my rate I stopped and paused. Should I now refocus on another card CC#3 with a rate of 12.9% interest and let the 9.9% ride? But I have decided to keep paying off CC#2. there are two reasons. The savings over 6 months is maybe about $180.00 total. It would have me paying off debt a tiny little earlier. BUT I have a baby coming. If I had to just pay the minimums on all my cards because of additional child care expenses it would be better to have fewer cards then lower interest rates. I don't think the change is focus is worth it. So I am following Dave Ramsey' snowball temporarily until this CC #2 is paid off. I think it should be complete by May of next year. Security is more important then $180.00 in fees. Then I will return to highest interest rate card first. It will really depend on Christmas expenses and how pay checks work while I am on short term disability and maternity leave. It is good to have an emergency fund so I know I can cover one month's expenses. Hopefully after that all the funds will kick in properly and I will be receiving a regular pay check. It will be a fine balance I am sure. My employer while a strong stable company is known for its flubs on payments. So I am a little nervous. One day at a time road traveled. One day at a time.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Ask.... Dont forget to ask
Yesterday I decided to spend $35.00 on myself. I was talking to my DH about it and he started telling me about a feature that cc#2 has in order to make purchases online. They will issue another number to your card so that if you are unsure of the reliability of a web site you are not compromising your personal information. Great idea I thought. I use my bank debit card for everything, but this site was new to me and I was not feeling that it was all that secure. But I don't like to use my credit cards for anything but carrying a balance. No new charges keeps my debt load the same. Its a control issue. BUT.... Security is a bigger issue I am willing to transfer funds to pay off the purchase now in order to maintain my identity. Issue #1 I have never activated the card. Okay that is first.... Dial the number and activate card. Because of the length of time it has been since I rc'd card and activating it I got a customer Service person on the phone. He verified my info and activated it. He then asked me a strange question... "Is there anything I can do to keep you happy as a customer?" To which I immediately replied. Sure. Lower my interest rate. Thinking Yeah right he wont do it. I have tried this with other banks and they pass you around till you are sick of the service and give up or they finally tell you no. But this card has the highest interest rate of all the cards where I carry a balance. (I have other higher rates but I paid off CC#1 and the other cards have transfer balances of 4% & 5%) It is not a big deal for some of the cards because if you are not going to make any new purchases who cares what the interest is. I want to pay off the debt. That is my #1 focus. I will not shift it until it is done. So then he says.... I can lower the rate to 9.9. DONE I replied. Wow That was easy. (The rate was 15.99) We will see if that effects the balances I am currently carrying. If it does apply to other balances and not just new purchases I will refocus on another card to pay off first, which has a 12.99% interest rate. There is no need to give the banks MORE then they need to and if they are willing to give me a lower interest rate I am so willing to take it! Lets hear it for positive action steps. Oh yes and Issue #2 was I had not yet changed my name... So the Customer service rep went ahead and made that change for me too. Go team. I have to say they did a great job on their customer service and I think a LOT higher of this card for that reason. I have worked with a lot of banks both professionally and personally and I have to say it was a lovely experience getting a friendly person on the line who was able to accommodate me with such ease. Way to go CC#2 and me for asking for what I wanted.
I am not a financial professional. If you are looking for financial advise you should seek it elsewhere. If you would like to join me on the journey, walk with me for a while and be my friend......
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 03, 2008
November goals:
November goals:
Stitching:
Finish three ornaments for Halloween.
Find 1 small project to take to Dr. Office with me
Baby:
Put pack in play in our room so baby has place to sleep
diapers
bottles
Pediatrician
Evaluate health plans
Finance:
Submit expense bills to Office
Pay bills
Good news. I paid down $961.59 in debt last month. Not quite sure how... but it worked. I am so excited. CC#2 new balance is $3170.32. Next month it will be under $3000 mark. Wahoo!!! I am rollin', snow ballen'
The pay down date according to my snowballs on http://www.whatsthecost.com/ is still Aug 2011. It seems a long way away. That works in my favor in a way. It gives me time to do slow and steady wins the race.
DH even was able to talk to the cable company and renegotiate a deal so that the cable bill dropped significantly. Feeling much better about cable. And I should get a refund from work for some of the cable expense. That will really help.
Notes for October....
I only spent $82.80 on gas last month. WOW what a difference commuting and a dip in the gas prices makes.
Eating out was another story. I spent a lot more eating out then I should. Its time to make sure I have quiche prepared for breakfast!
I also spent $207.87 on misc. Expenses. One night the power was out and I went shopping for the baby. The other times I really wanted to stitch something so I bought some items to create a project. they were small amounts but they added up quick. I will need to be more careful in November.
Stitching:
Finish three ornaments for Halloween.
Find 1 small project to take to Dr. Office with me
Baby:
Put pack in play in our room so baby has place to sleep
diapers
bottles
Pediatrician
Evaluate health plans
Finance:
Submit expense bills to Office
Pay bills
Good news. I paid down $961.59 in debt last month. Not quite sure how... but it worked. I am so excited. CC#2 new balance is $3170.32. Next month it will be under $3000 mark. Wahoo!!! I am rollin', snow ballen'
The pay down date according to my snowballs on http://www.whatsthecost.com/ is still Aug 2011. It seems a long way away. That works in my favor in a way. It gives me time to do slow and steady wins the race.
DH even was able to talk to the cable company and renegotiate a deal so that the cable bill dropped significantly. Feeling much better about cable. And I should get a refund from work for some of the cable expense. That will really help.
Notes for October....
I only spent $82.80 on gas last month. WOW what a difference commuting and a dip in the gas prices makes.
Eating out was another story. I spent a lot more eating out then I should. Its time to make sure I have quiche prepared for breakfast!
I also spent $207.87 on misc. Expenses. One night the power was out and I went shopping for the baby. The other times I really wanted to stitch something so I bought some items to create a project. they were small amounts but they added up quick. I will need to be more careful in November.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Fun Friday
I got to work from home today because of a Dr.s appointment. So I am reading and catching up on information I have not had tome to take a look at. One of my Favorite blogs is No Credit Needed. He wrote a post on his Savings account allocation. Wow. I really admire his commitment to not ever using credit again. Currently having diabetes and not having sugar is a tough commitment and sometimes I slip. To plan for the future so you do not have to use a bank. NICE. I really admire his persistence, and planning. So using a little inspiration from his own post I have added new categories to my budget. I have set aside $3500 for a down payment on a home. This is mixed in With my fully funded emergency fund. I have been sweating how to move the money to a money market account at another bank because I was afraid I might touch the money. Or I might confuse what category I was pulling it from because it is sitting in one lump sum in a savings account. The answer is so obvious TRACK IT. Duh! So By creating a break down and tracking the money I spend if I need to I fight the demon to spend from the house down payment. If I need to use money from my emergency fund I have it available. I know exactly what I need to pay back and what is allocated to a Home down payment. This way I am not going to rob my future for some crisis I am having today. I have done that enough in my life I stole yesterday from my today and I am mad that I made those choices. Compassionate with myself but I wish I had looked harder at solving the issues sooner. I don't regret the cards. They have taught me a valuable lesson and It is painful enough I am committed to not using credit cards in the same way again. My goals are along the line of NCN's I want to have enough cash in my bank account that if I need to use it I can. I expect this to take me about 10 years to accomplish given good times. If we have a few Murphy's law moments then It will just take longer. I am realistic and experienced enough to know that Murphy will call back.
So I am using the following categories for my savings...
Emerg. Fund $2000.00
Short term goals (Home Down Payment) $15000.00
They were reflected in the side bar on my blog but they were not line items on my budget.
For now I have no long term goals. Really The only other financial goal I want to focus on is paying off the credit cards. All raises and any extra cash will be snowballed to debt. The longest term goals are retirement. I am not ignoring it but I am primarily focused on debt. Once the debt is gone I will put more towards retirement and education. I want the intensity of the goal to work for me and the only way I can stay on track is to stay with it and keep paying on those bloody cards. One at a time. I have kicked one to the curb and I am praying that I will have card #2 done by March.
So I am using the following categories for my savings...
Emerg. Fund $2000.00
Short term goals (Home Down Payment) $15000.00
They were reflected in the side bar on my blog but they were not line items on my budget.
For now I have no long term goals. Really The only other financial goal I want to focus on is paying off the credit cards. All raises and any extra cash will be snowballed to debt. The longest term goals are retirement. I am not ignoring it but I am primarily focused on debt. Once the debt is gone I will put more towards retirement and education. I want the intensity of the goal to work for me and the only way I can stay on track is to stay with it and keep paying on those bloody cards. One at a time. I have kicked one to the curb and I am praying that I will have card #2 done by March.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Sept Review
I like going over my budget numbers and having no surprises. For September I spent a whole lot less then I thought I did. I was still over my budget by about $ 200.00. The reason... I bought maternity clothes. I needed a few new items to make it easier to go to work in. I have so few options and my nesting hormones are in overdrive. I am trying to curb those emotions though. My food budget was decreased significantly by my daughter being away in college and my gas consumption is about half of what it was between teen driving and commuting with a neighbor. I actually did not think commuting would make such a huge difference but it really has. Plus the price of gas being generally down is also a plus. I saved somewhere between $50 to $60. Thats a lot.
On another positive note... We had an offer from a friend of the family for a high chair and a few other baby items. I told her we would be happy to accept any donations she cared to give us. Her baby is only 14 months old so anything she wants to give away is my gain. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on baby gear. They are such warm and wonderful people. I cant imagine any one more giving.
So over all the picture to close September is good. I have a few concerns for October. Car Insurance is due and I really want to purchase a few things for baby. I did pay a little extra to the credit card snowball. I had re budgeted to make it 900 per month because I have been feeling a budget squeeze but I really want to make progress before baby is born so I redirected any savings on food and gas to the credit cards. I want that card balance DOWN! I would be so happy if card #2 could be paid off by the time we need to put baby into Daycare. So Onward we go ...
On another positive note... We had an offer from a friend of the family for a high chair and a few other baby items. I told her we would be happy to accept any donations she cared to give us. Her baby is only 14 months old so anything she wants to give away is my gain. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on baby gear. They are such warm and wonderful people. I cant imagine any one more giving.
So over all the picture to close September is good. I have a few concerns for October. Car Insurance is due and I really want to purchase a few things for baby. I did pay a little extra to the credit card snowball. I had re budgeted to make it 900 per month because I have been feeling a budget squeeze but I really want to make progress before baby is born so I redirected any savings on food and gas to the credit cards. I want that card balance DOWN! I would be so happy if card #2 could be paid off by the time we need to put baby into Daycare. So Onward we go ...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Renewed focus, Credit Card#2
So After looking at my different side bars I have decided to change the Credit card bar to read Credit card #2. I have paid off about half of what was on Credit card #1 and re financed the rest to lower interest rates. That card is GONE baby! So Credit card #2 is at 15.99% and the Balance in June was $ 4,562.21. I have made the June payment of $ 100.00. I am working on my cards in interest order. Dave Ramsey suggests to make progress with smallest first and then interest But I am tracking the debt pay down as a whole and I want to pay as little as possible to those stupid banks. I can see my progress in my NCN Chart. Interest order will accomplish that. The interest makes a bigger difference if you start with 40K in debt then if you had 10k. Its a lot of interest. As a matter of fact Credit card #2 I have never made a single purchase on. I opened it for the introductory balance. And then I never moved the money. Bad plan. Those were the old days this is the get out of debt world and I am not looking back. According to my debt snowball plan, Credit card #2 will be paid off in May 2009. As long as we keep on track. Whoop Whoop Whoop.
I think it is a sickness. I am actually looking forward to my statements this month so I can log in my progress. I am also looking forward to making my August payments. just so I can track the progress. It really helps to have a fully funded emergency fund. Hooray debt is going down this month.
I think it is a sickness. I am actually looking forward to my statements this month so I can log in my progress. I am also looking forward to making my August payments. just so I can track the progress. It really helps to have a fully funded emergency fund. Hooray debt is going down this month.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Every Windfall has a name
Why Debt Stinks: Every Windfall Is Already Spoken For
I read Paid twice every day and she often inspires me. Today Her topic really hit a nerve. It is the main reason I chose to get out of debt. My grandmother passed away last summer. My mom started talking about giving us some of the money she will inherit. It was a very generous offer but something about it nagged at me. Mom said wont it help you get out of debt? Gulp, it left such a sour feeling in my stomach. Something just wasn't right about spending my inheritance on debt. Stuff that is already long long gone. I wanted it to help me have a down payment on a home. I do not want to pay for my stupid tax. I wallowed in different plans for a while. I said I was getting motivated but I did allow new charges on my cards I thought I could make progress that way. HA! In Jan I started hitting the plan hard. New real commitment. I gathered steam and decided no more credit card charges. To this point I have paid off 12%. I wanted to give myself inspiration and I was not able to show progress yet. It is still a little too early in the month. Since I cant tell myself how much progress I have made lately. I decided to check the budget for a mid month check. We are mostly on track to recover in April from the additional $537.81 we were in the hole. There were actually $1094 additional expenses but the tax refund covered the majority of that. This month the money flows continue... She needs a dress, she needs shoes to match the dress she is attending two proms. UGH it goes on and on.
My windfalls saved my emergency fund last month. I have to brush myself off this month I have to say hey girl you fell down last month but you can do this. I have been worried about what am I going to do when the child support ends (Next month) and Big news I am pregnant. How can I afford this baby and still pay off my debt. I am determined to pay off this debt. I will not bring another child into this world in debt. I am going to get out of debt.I want to be lean goal oriented performer. I am on the plan. I am on track but I want to make more traction. How do I do it?
The $600.00 from the gov is going $400.00 for vacation and $200 to debt
My Original plan was to put all of the tax rebates $431 & 141 & 600 towards debt. By using the windfall to recover from march madness I miss out on putting a dent in the debt. But wait... I can hear my mom's voice saying don't beat yourself up look at how far you have come. Look at what you have been able to do in 3 months. That progress wont go away. Take a breath and know that God is with you on this journey.
I feel like a trader... I am trading this debt for the Fed return I am trading this debt for the state return and I am trading the emerg fund for the $600 rebate. All windfalls I could have used to get more traction with. I guess its allowing me to stand in place and not slide backwards but still I want some traction!
Things to say when you are grumpy about money...
Unless you have the money I am not doing this, or buying this.
I am 41 I can say no.
I read Paid twice every day and she often inspires me. Today Her topic really hit a nerve. It is the main reason I chose to get out of debt. My grandmother passed away last summer. My mom started talking about giving us some of the money she will inherit. It was a very generous offer but something about it nagged at me. Mom said wont it help you get out of debt? Gulp, it left such a sour feeling in my stomach. Something just wasn't right about spending my inheritance on debt. Stuff that is already long long gone. I wanted it to help me have a down payment on a home. I do not want to pay for my stupid tax. I wallowed in different plans for a while. I said I was getting motivated but I did allow new charges on my cards I thought I could make progress that way. HA! In Jan I started hitting the plan hard. New real commitment. I gathered steam and decided no more credit card charges. To this point I have paid off 12%. I wanted to give myself inspiration and I was not able to show progress yet. It is still a little too early in the month. Since I cant tell myself how much progress I have made lately. I decided to check the budget for a mid month check. We are mostly on track to recover in April from the additional $537.81 we were in the hole. There were actually $1094 additional expenses but the tax refund covered the majority of that. This month the money flows continue... She needs a dress, she needs shoes to match the dress she is attending two proms. UGH it goes on and on.
My windfalls saved my emergency fund last month. I have to brush myself off this month I have to say hey girl you fell down last month but you can do this. I have been worried about what am I going to do when the child support ends (Next month) and Big news I am pregnant. How can I afford this baby and still pay off my debt. I am determined to pay off this debt. I will not bring another child into this world in debt. I am going to get out of debt.I want to be lean goal oriented performer. I am on the plan. I am on track but I want to make more traction. How do I do it?
The $600.00 from the gov is going $400.00 for vacation and $200 to debt
My Original plan was to put all of the tax rebates $431 & 141 & 600 towards debt. By using the windfall to recover from march madness I miss out on putting a dent in the debt. But wait... I can hear my mom's voice saying don't beat yourself up look at how far you have come. Look at what you have been able to do in 3 months. That progress wont go away. Take a breath and know that God is with you on this journey.
I feel like a trader... I am trading this debt for the Fed return I am trading this debt for the state return and I am trading the emerg fund for the $600 rebate. All windfalls I could have used to get more traction with. I guess its allowing me to stand in place and not slide backwards but still I want some traction!
Things to say when you are grumpy about money...
Unless you have the money I am not doing this, or buying this.
I am 41 I can say no.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Follow through
One behavior I have learned (by paying stupid tax) is to follow up on a balance payment. For some reason one of the banks I have a card with always messes me up with its payment schedule. I have learned to send the minimum payment even though I just made a balance transfer. This particular card has been a thorn in my side. The Credit Card company raised my rates for no apparent reason. Then they lowered my limit. (I never made a late payment on any of my cards.) So as soon as I could I transferred all my money off those cards and waited. Well Don't cha know within 6 months they offered me a 4.99% transfer rate until the balance is paid. I crunched those numbers and saving $1000.00 is in my interest. I know Dave Ramsey wants me to feel like I am making traction but I am tracking that in the over all total not card by card. (Current paid to date is $4789.57 - see my NCN Chart.) Frankly it feels Awesome to have gone from $ 12,049.90 to $ 2,943.06 even if the progress is in reduced interest not over all amounts.
So follow through... I double checked the card that was getting the paydown. Monthly payment rc'd - Check. I double checked the card that I was adding the balance to. Balance transferred. Check. Now this card had a $ -83.26 balance. When I transferred a balance from this card previously there was an additional payment that crossed in the mail. I have been waiting to pounce on that negative amount for 4 months. I am quite a program running some actuarial table somewhere that said "nope no change in the rate"... So I waited... "nope dont drop the rate"..... so I waited..... "nope dont drop the rate"... so I waited. Ahhhh then the offer and I pounced. Of course if the rate were to change at any moment I would YANK the balance off this card and move it somewhere else. I hate this card that much. Just so you know I dont recommend this method for everyone. The fees do add up and despite the fact I have just moved two balances recently it is not something I do on a regular basis. I wanted to use that $ -83.26 to pay off my debt. And it did help me. The balance transfer for this card cost.... $ 6.74 ($ 90.00 - $ 83.26 = $ 6.74) Hooray me. I will also make the first payment before 04/22/08 (the closing date on the statement). That way I will be ready to roll when the beginning of the month rolls around again. So the balance on card #7 is $ 3,006.74
Don't panic all you Ramseyites. I am working the debt snowball. I am not putting any new charges on my cards. I just wanted to take advantage of the credit card shuffle to save myself some money. I know just because I finally can move things around does not mean I can spend money. Believe me I get it. I want out of debt as fast as I can git. I am even trying to plan to get a second job and pay down more. On a positive note I also got my State tax refund today. Its staying in the checking account helping to fight back from the deep deep deficit of spending in March.
I am not a financial professional. If you are looking for financial advise you should seek it elsewhere. If you would like to join me on the journey, walk with me for a while and be my friend......
So follow through... I double checked the card that was getting the paydown. Monthly payment rc'd - Check. I double checked the card that I was adding the balance to. Balance transferred. Check. Now this card had a $ -83.26 balance. When I transferred a balance from this card previously there was an additional payment that crossed in the mail. I have been waiting to pounce on that negative amount for 4 months. I am quite a program running some actuarial table somewhere that said "nope no change in the rate"... So I waited... "nope dont drop the rate"..... so I waited..... "nope dont drop the rate"... so I waited. Ahhhh then the offer and I pounced. Of course if the rate were to change at any moment I would YANK the balance off this card and move it somewhere else. I hate this card that much. Just so you know I dont recommend this method for everyone. The fees do add up and despite the fact I have just moved two balances recently it is not something I do on a regular basis. I wanted to use that $ -83.26 to pay off my debt. And it did help me. The balance transfer for this card cost.... $ 6.74 ($ 90.00 - $ 83.26 = $ 6.74) Hooray me. I will also make the first payment before 04/22/08 (the closing date on the statement). That way I will be ready to roll when the beginning of the month rolls around again. So the balance on card #7 is $ 3,006.74
Don't panic all you Ramseyites. I am working the debt snowball. I am not putting any new charges on my cards. I just wanted to take advantage of the credit card shuffle to save myself some money. I know just because I finally can move things around does not mean I can spend money. Believe me I get it. I want out of debt as fast as I can git. I am even trying to plan to get a second job and pay down more. On a positive note I also got my State tax refund today. Its staying in the checking account helping to fight back from the deep deep deficit of spending in March.
I am not a financial professional. If you are looking for financial advise you should seek it elsewhere. If you would like to join me on the journey, walk with me for a while and be my friend......
Monday, April 07, 2008
March Wrap up
Well as predicted March was a hard budget to balance. I have some scary new expenses coming and I think I have them covered but phew am I going to be glad when May rolls around because April is going to be TIGHT
Travel for my employer and fronting them the money puts an additional burden on me that I was not planning to have.
I also found out Saturday I am going to have a few more expenses before the end of the year so I am not too certain about getting a second job. BUT I have a plan. First tonight I talk to future hubby about the future. Then we map it out together. He likes plans he can stick to. Sept 2011 feels like a long way away. I am hoping for a second job this summer to ease the transition for no longer having child support. I am not sure that it is going to be possible. Trying to take that slow.
So I recalculated my debt snowball based on this months numbers. It is still Sept 2011 but the final payment is lower. So I am making progress. Currently I have paid down $4789.57 towards my debt. Last month I paid $691.60 to principal. This month will be much slower because of all the travel. The many hits to the "uh oh" fund and car insurance. But still I managed to keep my head above water.
While I was talking with my mom about how I did it there are probably a couple of things she asked me and I thought I should share with you.
Quick emergency cash....
I keep a $100.00 bill in my wallet at all times. Mostly so I don't get stuck in the city if something comes up. I don't want to need to use my credit card for an emergency. Which is also no longer in my wallet.
I also have kept $1000.00 in my checking account as a buffer. It is a condition of free checking. I probably dipped into it this month, we'll see when the fiancée clears the rent check. It will also depend on when I get the child support. Timing of all those things might be tricky. But I will not bounce any checks or run out of money. I currently think I am down to about $600.00 So I have to replenish that money. I will use the expense reimbnursement check that is $350.00 and another pay check. I should have it covered. I didnt have to dip into savings for the car insurance at all! That to me is the most impressive.
I am also trying to build up a $2000.00 emergency fund. Right now the savings account is at $1200. I do put $65.00 in every month for car insurance so I can take it out and save a little on the monthly vs every 6 month payments. So far I have been able to cash flow the insurance when it comes up. I have not needed to dip into savings. I am not sure this month that I will be able to put much aside though. I think I might have to use those funds to replace all the crazy funding I have had to do in March.
All in all, even though I got bitten quite hard in the month of march with expenses I was not expecting to pay, I was still able to recover. And I am ready for whatever April has to bring. I think. I don't want to tempt fate. I really have had enough of those Murphys' and they need to knock on someone else's door.
I feel have made a lot of progress in my life. (My mom agrees... LOL) Here are the things I have done today:
I checked a balance on line with a credit card company and discovered my credit had improved. So I was able to transfer a balance to another card. This takes one additional month off the debt payment plan. So the new date to be debt free is Aug 2011. I am so so happy. I feel like I am really making inroads on this debt. I have paid off 12% of my debt. This is BIG! At weight watchers when you reach 10% weight loss you get to stand up and cheer. So here is me I have lost 10% of my debt and I am cheering! Hooray!I will save approx $1700 in interest by transferring the balances. Heck yea 1 month earlier and $1700 less in interest. Go baby go. Card # 1 which started at $12,049.90 is down to 6378.06. Less the payment of $435 I made today Less a balance transfer of $3000. SO.... The new balance is $2943.06 . Now that is before interest next month. And the reason I focused so hard on this card is because it is currently 27.99 interest. GAG ME! I updated the Progress bar for card #1 to be 52% although in reality tracking the individual cards when you are transferring the balances is a mis-nomer. The real progress is reflected in the $39,804.12 number. I have paid it down 12% to date and I made the monthly payments today so we'll get new numbers for the end of April. LOL I actually get geeked out about doing my bills now. Its exciting to see the progress. I have become the cheapest mama on the block!
Travel for my employer and fronting them the money puts an additional burden on me that I was not planning to have.
I also found out Saturday I am going to have a few more expenses before the end of the year so I am not too certain about getting a second job. BUT I have a plan. First tonight I talk to future hubby about the future. Then we map it out together. He likes plans he can stick to. Sept 2011 feels like a long way away. I am hoping for a second job this summer to ease the transition for no longer having child support. I am not sure that it is going to be possible. Trying to take that slow.
So I recalculated my debt snowball based on this months numbers. It is still Sept 2011 but the final payment is lower. So I am making progress. Currently I have paid down $4789.57 towards my debt. Last month I paid $691.60 to principal. This month will be much slower because of all the travel. The many hits to the "uh oh" fund and car insurance. But still I managed to keep my head above water.
While I was talking with my mom about how I did it there are probably a couple of things she asked me and I thought I should share with you.
Quick emergency cash....
I keep a $100.00 bill in my wallet at all times. Mostly so I don't get stuck in the city if something comes up. I don't want to need to use my credit card for an emergency. Which is also no longer in my wallet.
I also have kept $1000.00 in my checking account as a buffer. It is a condition of free checking. I probably dipped into it this month, we'll see when the fiancée clears the rent check. It will also depend on when I get the child support. Timing of all those things might be tricky. But I will not bounce any checks or run out of money. I currently think I am down to about $600.00 So I have to replenish that money. I will use the expense reimbnursement check that is $350.00 and another pay check. I should have it covered. I didnt have to dip into savings for the car insurance at all! That to me is the most impressive.
I am also trying to build up a $2000.00 emergency fund. Right now the savings account is at $1200. I do put $65.00 in every month for car insurance so I can take it out and save a little on the monthly vs every 6 month payments. So far I have been able to cash flow the insurance when it comes up. I have not needed to dip into savings. I am not sure this month that I will be able to put much aside though. I think I might have to use those funds to replace all the crazy funding I have had to do in March.
All in all, even though I got bitten quite hard in the month of march with expenses I was not expecting to pay, I was still able to recover. And I am ready for whatever April has to bring. I think. I don't want to tempt fate. I really have had enough of those Murphys' and they need to knock on someone else's door.
I feel have made a lot of progress in my life. (My mom agrees... LOL) Here are the things I have done today:
I checked a balance on line with a credit card company and discovered my credit had improved. So I was able to transfer a balance to another card. This takes one additional month off the debt payment plan. So the new date to be debt free is Aug 2011. I am so so happy. I feel like I am really making inroads on this debt. I have paid off 12% of my debt. This is BIG! At weight watchers when you reach 10% weight loss you get to stand up and cheer. So here is me I have lost 10% of my debt and I am cheering! Hooray!I will save approx $1700 in interest by transferring the balances. Heck yea 1 month earlier and $1700 less in interest. Go baby go. Card # 1 which started at $12,049.90 is down to 6378.06. Less the payment of $435 I made today Less a balance transfer of $3000. SO.... The new balance is $2943.06 . Now that is before interest next month. And the reason I focused so hard on this card is because it is currently 27.99 interest. GAG ME! I updated the Progress bar for card #1 to be 52% although in reality tracking the individual cards when you are transferring the balances is a mis-nomer. The real progress is reflected in the $39,804.12 number. I have paid it down 12% to date and I made the monthly payments today so we'll get new numbers for the end of April. LOL I actually get geeked out about doing my bills now. Its exciting to see the progress. I have become the cheapest mama on the block!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
March Money Madness
Well it has been a long road this month. I will do a budget recap probably this weekend. Today I want to talk about graduation and college insanity which took place this past week. There were two forces at work on me last week. One was work and one was my family. I have never been able to travel for work in my life. When I was offered the opportunity to attend training I was excited to go. I knew pretty far in advance and gave my travel dates to my daughter and fiancée. It was not too big a deal she is a senior in high school and the pair get along most of the time. We created a plan. I was to travel to the training. On Thursday I would meet them in NC and we would then go together to a freshman registration weekend at the college my daughter is planning to attend. Great. I felt confident leaving things in my fiancée's hands and I felt my daughter would have the chance to have a little fun too.
Monday I flew to the training location. Fiancée had hurt his back. Oh boy. I was already wishing I could turn around and go home to be there for him. Tuesday he let me know that there was no way he could travel down with the daughter for the college weekend. Drat. Okay, So I hopped on line and found a cheep airline ticket for her to meet me at the airport and we would drive together to the college event. Hmmm... but wait... how would we drive? Well my dad lives not to far away... Oh no, the beloved basketball team is playing tonight. Drat. and I am going to need to get from the hotel to the college. Okay rent a car.
Now I should interject here that I have not put a single new charge on my credit cards since January. I am RESOLVED to be out of debt. So I did not take a credit card with me on the trip. I had enough coverage in my checking account to handle the trip. I have been holding a small sum waiting on the car insurance to tell me how much the insurance would be. So as I went off to training I thought I was covered. I was really resolved not to put any new charges onto plastic.
Oh but Murphy's law..... when something can go wrong it will go wrong. And so Murph dog came to visit me. First the additional plane ticket. Plus the planned expense of the hotel for the college weekend. Then the rental car. The freshman sign up weekend cost me are you ready..... $770.48. Oh its true. GULP where on earth am I going to get funding for that?
The travel out of pocket costs are $360.58. This money I will get back but companies are very slow to pay, which is why I did not want to put it on a credit card and have to front the interest. No thank you. So I have not yet figured out if March comes out even. I will pull all the numbers together.
On a side note. I had been missing listening to Dave Ramsey on my laptop while I go to sleep. (I like to listen to the archives) As I was catching up yesterday he had TWO callers ask about credit cards for traveling. He unequivocally stated that NO, you do not use credit for travel. Build up a small reserve and let it fly. Man am I glad I had that small cushion this week. This is why my goals for an emergency fund are $2000.00 not $1000.00 I just need a little more cash flow then the average bear with a teenage daughter.
Well I am really proud of myself this week. I was so nervous about needing to use the plastic. But I did it I stuck it out and I resisted the temptation to use that crutch. Yea HOO!
Monday I flew to the training location. Fiancée had hurt his back. Oh boy. I was already wishing I could turn around and go home to be there for him. Tuesday he let me know that there was no way he could travel down with the daughter for the college weekend. Drat. Okay, So I hopped on line and found a cheep airline ticket for her to meet me at the airport and we would drive together to the college event. Hmmm... but wait... how would we drive? Well my dad lives not to far away... Oh no, the beloved basketball team is playing tonight. Drat. and I am going to need to get from the hotel to the college. Okay rent a car.
Now I should interject here that I have not put a single new charge on my credit cards since January. I am RESOLVED to be out of debt. So I did not take a credit card with me on the trip. I had enough coverage in my checking account to handle the trip. I have been holding a small sum waiting on the car insurance to tell me how much the insurance would be. So as I went off to training I thought I was covered. I was really resolved not to put any new charges onto plastic.
Oh but Murphy's law..... when something can go wrong it will go wrong. And so Murph dog came to visit me. First the additional plane ticket. Plus the planned expense of the hotel for the college weekend. Then the rental car. The freshman sign up weekend cost me are you ready..... $770.48. Oh its true. GULP where on earth am I going to get funding for that?
The travel out of pocket costs are $360.58. This money I will get back but companies are very slow to pay, which is why I did not want to put it on a credit card and have to front the interest. No thank you. So I have not yet figured out if March comes out even. I will pull all the numbers together.
On a side note. I had been missing listening to Dave Ramsey on my laptop while I go to sleep. (I like to listen to the archives) As I was catching up yesterday he had TWO callers ask about credit cards for traveling. He unequivocally stated that NO, you do not use credit for travel. Build up a small reserve and let it fly. Man am I glad I had that small cushion this week. This is why my goals for an emergency fund are $2000.00 not $1000.00 I just need a little more cash flow then the average bear with a teenage daughter.
Well I am really proud of myself this week. I was so nervous about needing to use the plastic. But I did it I stuck it out and I resisted the temptation to use that crutch. Yea HOO!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Debt snowball choices
Having a greater focus on when I will be debt free is very comforting. October 2011. I have a plan. So when I received a letter from a card which has no money on it to transfer a balance I said why bother? I am on track. I have a date. I can get out of debt without them. Then I thought about the debt snowball. I thought about being out of debt sooner. 4.99% is much better then 27.99%. How much of a difference would it really make? Well, Having just used the debt snowball tool, I decided to run it again. I wanted to see if I transferred $2000.00 to another card would I get out of debt any faster?
Here is the breakdown....
Without a balance transfer I will pay $7,173.00 in interest. And I will be debt free in October 2011.
If I do transfer the money... I will pay $6,181.00 in interest. And I will be debt free in September 2011.
$7173.00
$6181.00
_______
$ 992.00
BUT don't forget the balance transfer fee. For 2000.00 It should be $60.00 or 3% of the transaction. So I actually gain $932.00 Is it worth making 6 payments instead of 5? Oh yes, for me it is. I am able to be debt free a whole month sooner. And In truth I will be cutting that time shorter and shorter because I did pay just a little extra to a few cards because I like round numbers in my payments $100 vs $94 is $6.00 that I don't have to pay interest on. I also intend to snowflake any reimbursed expenses I receive from work to the debt. I will also be applying some of my tax return towards the debt. While that does not make a huge time difference I think over the next few years it will. I have also started a what have I paid down already. My highest level of debt grew to $39,804.12. I have paid off $4097.97 as of the end of Feb. That is fantastic. I am on my way. I have also funded 50% of my emergency fund. And this month it was not a struggle to put money in there. Hooo rah. I am on the journey. I actually look forward to tallying the numbers. I no longer get the sick feeling in my stomach that something is horribly horribly wrong.
Today I have to complete my taxes so that I can apply for financial aid at my daughters school. That should be a trip. so I will be getting my refund sooner then I was expecting. And we will also be getting the financial incentive in May? That money will be applied towards the debt. I am on my way..
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 the breakdown....
Without a balance transfer I will pay $7,173.00 in interest. And I will be debt free in October 2011.
If I do transfer the money... I will pay $6,181.00 in interest. And I will be debt free in September 2011.
$7173.00
$6181.00
_______
$ 992.00
BUT don't forget the balance transfer fee. For 2000.00 It should be $60.00 or 3% of the transaction. So I actually gain $932.00 Is it worth making 6 payments instead of 5? Oh yes, for me it is. I am able to be debt free a whole month sooner. And In truth I will be cutting that time shorter and shorter because I did pay just a little extra to a few cards because I like round numbers in my payments $100 vs $94 is $6.00 that I don't have to pay interest on. I also intend to snowflake any reimbursed expenses I receive from work to the debt. I will also be applying some of my tax return towards the debt. While that does not make a huge time difference I think over the next few years it will. I have also started a what have I paid down already. My highest level of debt grew to $39,804.12. I have paid off $4097.97 as of the end of Feb. That is fantastic. I am on my way. I have also funded 50% of my emergency fund. And this month it was not a struggle to put money in there. Hooo rah. I am on the journey. I actually look forward to tallying the numbers. I no longer get the sick feeling in my stomach that something is horribly horribly wrong.
Today I have to complete my taxes so that I can apply for financial aid at my daughters school. That should be a trip. so I will be getting my refund sooner then I was expecting. And we will also be getting the financial incentive in May? That money will be applied towards the debt. I am on my way..
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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