06.30.07
One more debt scratched off!
Yay! I paid the settlement of $258.01 on one of my accounts. Now that one can be scratched off. Yes, it will show up on my credit report, but I don’t care. My goal right now is paying off all my debt and my credit report isn’t as important to me. After I pay another off next month I can continue with my savings, which should be up to $1k by the end of August.
1. Get $1000 into emergency savings. (Currently I have $50)
2. Pay off AmeriCredit – $335.14 – done 6-16-07
3. Pay off old gym account – $444.89
4. Pay off Spirit of America – $478.53
5. Pay off Premier #1 – $570.89 (Settled for $258.01, paid 6/30/07)
6. Pay off Providian – $667
7. Pay off Premier #2 – $658.23
8. Pay off Premier #3 – $691.31
9. Pay off Premier #3 – $762.09
10. Pay off Orchard Bank – $1524.45
11. Pay off Capital One – $2047.42
12. Get student loan under $20k
13. Get student loan under $15k
14. Get student loan under $10k
15. Get student loan under $5k
16. Pay off student loan!
17. Save $2500 in emergency savings
18. Save $5000 in emergency savings
19. Save $7500 in emergency savings
20. Save $10,000 in emergency savings
I do have a confession to make, though. I went to get a latte on Friday (usually only buy on Mondays, but got one two days this past week.) Well, as soon as I walked in I saw Pete Hamill’s new book. I adore his writing but could have put it off, except that there was an autographed copy. Yep, another downfall. It didn’t cost any more and with my discounts I paid less for the book and latte than the book would have cost for a non-B&N member, but I still ended up paying $23 and change. I also went out for a few drinks with some work friends last night and spent $20. Oh well, that’s why I have blow money. I’m often by myself due to Tim’s crazy work schedule and my friends’ busy kid schedules, so I do enjoy time out with others once in a while.
06.27.07
Changing One June goal
Well, I received settlement offers for two of my Premier credit cards yesterday. Neither of these is a huge debt, which is why I can foresee actually paying the settlement: One settlement is $258.01 (I owe $573.35), the other settlement is $332.03 (I owe $737.84) Of course, if pay these by the due date of July 19, I won’t have the $1k emergency fund done until August. However, I’ll be out of debt a month sooner than I originally thought and pay 45% of what I actually owe. I know this doesn’t look good on a credit report, but that’s OK with me and they will be paid off and I can scratch them off my list — no more $10 payments a month, no more bills in the mail.
More than likely, I’ll receive settlement offers soon for the other two Premier cards. Of course, depending on when the due date is I may not be able to pay them. However, I if I pay the first two and call to talk to them, perhaps they’ll extend the offer (if it’s made).
I really struggled with this decision, as I know it’s important to have $1k in savings ASAP, but I feel that this is important enough to pay those settlements first. The really good part about this is that I’ve received such offers in the past but could never take advantage because I was so behind on all my bills and robbing one to pay the other. There was no way I could spare a few hundred bucks for something like this. Now, it’s a matter of switching some things around a little, but it’s totally reasonable without a lot of gnashing of teeth. 
06.25.07
Sale at B&N? What sale?
Say it with me three times fast:
I will not go next door to Barnes & Noble to take advantage of all their current book sales.
I will not go next door to Barnes & Noble to take advantage of all their current book sales.
I will not go next door to Barnes & Noble to take advantage of all their current book sales.
There, I feel better. I go over there on Monday mornings for my weekly Starbucks latte treat. It’s very difficult to walk past all the great sales they are having on books, some of which I’ve been wanting but haven’t bought yet. I have more than enough books at home to keep me busy for quite a while and have told myself not to buy any more until September if I see some at Gettysburg. It will cost me more to get some there than at Amazon, but I’m OK with supporting something like that. My only exception is the Harry Potter 7 book. My will power has limits, and I’ve been waiting quite a while to see what happens and waiting for it to come out in paperback is too much to ask.
On a sidenote, I’m trying to figure out why part of my last entry ended up on some dating blog. I supposed it’s because I have the word “relationship” in my title. It’s nothing bad, and if it gets more people to my blog I don’t have a problem with it. It’s just strange.
06.24.07
Random financial thoughts
I was just doing some figuring and had some random thoughts I had to get out of my head, good thoughts.
If I follow my plan:
1. The only debt I’ll have to deal with a year from now will be my student loan.
2. My student loan should be paid off by September 2010. I think that’s accurate, although it’s hard for me to figure the interest.
3. My emergency fund will be fully funded ($10k) by July, 2011. After that, I’ll be funding my retirement fund with 15$ of my gross income and will start investing for the long-term and/or saving up to pay cash for a house.
I’ll turn 40 in April 2011. How awesome will it to have $10k in savings, no debt, sending about $500 a month to my retirement fund and investing the rest? Obviously things happen and nothing is perfect, but just knowing that it’s possible is a huge thing for me. A year ago I never would have thought I could be debt-free within just a few years and have a real emergency fund.
I wish I had found this plan about 10 years ago, but I’m still young enough that it will make a very big difference.
06.21.07
Read Debt-Proof Living
I read this in the wee hours of the night last night. I did something to my lower back so couldn’t do much of anything but lie there, so figured it was a good time to read it.
I’m still mostly following Dave’s plan, but Mary Hunt also has some good things to say. For the most part, they say a lot of the same things. Perhaps far in the future I’ll allow myself that one credit card, but I don’t know. I’m probably best off without one at all and using debit cards for renting cars and such. Even though they usually put some money on hold, if I have my accounts set up the way they should be it won’t be a problem.
I also disagree about student loans. I’m still paying mine, and it’s a pain in the butt. However, I don’t regret getting it, I regret not paying it off sooner. For me, college was more than just getting a degree. It’s a cliché, but I learned a lot more in college than just history and other subjects. Plus, I went to a very small liberal arts school that cost more than the state universities but allowed me to do so much more than I could have done at the big schools. I do what I do for a living now because I had newspaper experience in college and learned design, etc. I never would have been editor-in-chief at the a big state school, as they usually require that you are a journalism major.
However, I like her general views on debt and how freeing it can be to live without it. I also really like the Freedom Account and will be putting that into practice after my debt snowball and $10k in savings are in place. I do like Dave’s idea of paying down debt first and then funding other items as it will get that darn debt out of the way, but I have decided to put whatever raise is coming to me into my retirement plan at work as I don’t like the idea of contributing nothing.
06.18.07
Goals update
Well, I’ve knocked out one of my June goals and am well on my way to knocking the other two out before the end of June:
1. Pay off AmeriCredit week of June 15 – DONE! I’m so thrilled to be rid of this debt!
2. Place $300 in savings – I was able to save a portion of this from this last paycheck, but most of it will be coming from the next one. This is one of those months where I get three paychecks, and it’s really going to help me get that $1k in savings by the end of July.
3. Read Mary Hunt’s “Debt-Proof Living” – I’m buying this today. I was going to buy it from Amazon, but by the time I factored in shipping it came out to about the same price and this way I can start reading immediately.
As for my main debt goals, I can cross out #2 and will cross out #1 shortly. I’m a little out of order on this one, but I’m OK with that because I’ve been working very hard on paying off that AmeriCredit debt since January. That’s a huge one for me to get rid of and does wonders for my motivation
1. Get $1000 into emergency savings.
2. Pay off AmeriCredit – $335.14 – done 6-16-07
3. Pay off old gym account – $444.89
4. Pay off Spirit of America – $478.53
5. Pay off Premier #1 – $570.89
6. Pay off Providian – $667
7. Pay off Premier #2 – $658.23
8. Pay off Premier #3 – $691.31
9. Pay off Premier #3 – $762.09
10. Pay off Orchard Bank – $1524.45
11. Pay off Capital One – $2047.42
12. Get student loan under $20k
13. Get student loan under $15k
14. Get student loan under $10k
15. Get student loan under $5k
16. Pay off student loan!
17. Save $2500 in emergency savings
18. Save $5000 in emergency savings
19. Save $7500 in emergency savings
20. Save $10,000 in emergency savings
06.12.07
This is why I don’t deal with creditors on the phone…
I deal with them in writing instead.
I started in January owing this particular creditory $1400. I’ve paid money on the account every month and, according to my records, owe $335. I plan on paying this off when I get paid this Friday.
So, just to be sure my figures were the same as theirs, I called last night to check. Yes, our figures are the same, which is great. However, after I said “I’ll pay you after I get my paycheck on Friday, just wanted to be sure our figures matched,” I’m asked, “So, do you want to pay that today?” I said I couldn’t, I will pay with my next paycheck, just wanted to check the number. Then I hear, “Well, can you pay half today?” What part of “I’LL PAY YOU WITH THE PAYCHECK I’M GETTING ON FRIDAY” don’t you understand? So, I said it again, still nice but slightly agitated, and she let it go. At least she didn’t say what I’ve heard before — “We take credit card payments, so you can pay it tonight if you put it on your credit card.” Well, then I’m not really paying it am I, although I know they don’t care about that as long as they are paid.
I realize they need to ask specific questions and she was nice and wasn’t the type who bullies or gets rude, but it’s just soooo ridiculous. I mean, I’ve paid off over $1000 on this account in the last 6 months, don’t you think I’ll actually pay that last amount so you can never hound me again?
Debating, debating
I had my annual review today and have met or exceeded my goals. Yay! So, I will probably get between a 3% and 4% raise, which will come out to about $110-$125 more a month, gross. I’m not counting it yet because it will be a few weeks before it’s final and she said “probably” at least 3%, but it really depends on the budget and how much others get, etc.
I’m REALLY debating putting that 3% directly into my 403(b) at work, or at least 2% to get the match. I’ll still be bringing home the same amount of money, give or take a few dollars, and I would feel so much better if I was putting something into that account.
I know it’s not Dave’s plan, and if I follow his play and use this to help pay off debts I’ll be able to pay them off a little sooner, start my emergency fund a little sooner, and start funding my retirement accounts the full 15%. Dave’s plan makes sense, but I’m also not keen on waiting a few more years to do this. Now that I’ve been doing well with my bills and am saving money, I feel like this is something I should be doing.
It’s tough to go against what has been ingrained in us for so long — SAVE FOR RETIREMENT! — but I will fight it. I think I’m going to post about this over at the LLNOE board and see how they deal with this.
I already am pretty sure that I never want to own a house and that instead of paying off a mortgage I will have rent payments my life. I know many say that owning a home is a good investment, etc. but I think I’d be a horrible homeowner. Plus, people act like when you own a home and it’s paid for that that’s it, lol. I know better — there are taxes, new roofs, air cooling and heating systems that break, etc. Plus, homeowner’s insurance is much more than renter’s, and then you need to get flood insurance on top of that.
I’ll have to see if Tim and I change our minds by the time we get to that point. It will be a while so I guess I just need to calm down and not worry about it for now.
06.11.07
Update and Thanks
Thanks for the comments. It’s always nice to know I’m not alone in this.
I meant to post this about a week ago but never did. I was going to skip it but decided I needed to keep a record of these accomplishments to go back and read on those days that are rough.
Paid June rent
Paid off my car repairs – $200
Paid Electric and Phone before I received the bill because it was in the budget for the week
Paid for a few magazine subscriptions
Bought a new vaccuum. I had budgeted $50 and was able to buy one and some extra bags.
Replaced my white sandles with another pair for $23, as the old ones were falling apart and not so good for work.
I’m realizing that magazine subscriptions are my downfall. Not just magazine subscriptions, but those clubs where you buy something and you get them in installments and pay in installments. I never really thought of it as debting, but it is. So, after I’m done with the current one, no more!
As for the magazines, there are a few I have already NOT resubscribed to and most of the rest I’ll let finish and then not resubscribe. The ones I’m keeping are the ones I actually read or use — Everyday Food, Civil War Times, Smithsonian. For some reason, I keep getting Self and Shape and similar magazines, but they often make me feel worse than better about myself. All those airbrushed people who I know really don’t look like that, but it still gets to me. I think I believed that, somehow, if I kept reading those magazines I’d magically lose weight, lol. I’m working on eating better and exercising, but I don’t need those magazines to do it.
Also, I got the statement for the phone bill today. I kept thinking it was due at the beginning of the month, but it’s actually due at the end of the month. So, I’ve been paying way ahead of time, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, since my June payment isn’t due until June 27 and I already paid it last week, I don’t have to pay again until the end of July. That’s $77 I can add to my emergency savings. That bill includes local phone, high speed internet and unlimited long distance. I love the unlimited long distance as my closest family member lives 6 hours away and I talk quite a bit with my family.
06.05.07
Going to be a tight two weeks
Well, I just bought groceries for the next two weeks and my money is pretty much gone until next payday. Oh, I have a few bucks in case something comes up, but I’m not going to spend it. I have gas in the car, my SEPTA pass, groceries and that little extra and that’s it. However, I paid the bills I wanted to pay with this check plus some I meant to pay off with the last check but spent on other things instead. So, my next paycheck will make things a little easier.
If I really need something, SO gets paid this week and I’m sure would help me out, but I’m trying to do this with my income for now and then bring him on board. He’s convinced he doesn’t need a budget because all his money goes to bills, but we all know that’s not true. However, he’s not going to want to do this until I show him that it can be done and that I’m doing it, so that’s what I’m doing. When I can say to him in a few months that I have $1k in savings and have paid off $x in debts while still using my same income and the same money he gives me for his part of our shared bills, I think he’ll come around. To be fair, he has been putting money away in his 401k so he is thinking about the future.
