12.03.07
Goals for 2008
While I’m on a roll, I figure I’ll go ahead and post my 2008 goals:
1. Get $1k in savings by the end of April
2. Pay off all my small accounts (subscriptions, old debts under $200, clubs)
3. Only renew America’s Civil War Magazine. If I see other magazines I wish to receive, I’ll pay immediately with my Blow money for that month, NOT check the “bill me” option
4. I will NOT subscribe to any more book/CD/movie/whatever clubs! Man! Those things are really my downfall.
5. I will pay off:
old gym account, Fashion Bug, Providian, two remaining Premier cards, possibly Orchard Bank, leaving only Capital One and my student loan.
Sidenote: I owe about $23k on my student loan. To me, that is a huge amount hanging over my head. I’m amazed when I watch TV and see commercials for cars that start at $20k. I don’t think I’ll ever have a new car, because I’m not sure I feel comfortable spending the same amount I spent for 4 years of quality higher education on a car. Once my debts are paid off, I do intend on getting nicer/newer cars than I usually buy because I’ll be able to save a decent amount to buy one with cash. I would love to buy a used Mini Cooper (which may go for $20k, anyway lol), assuming I’d be able to find one that wasn’t overused. I wouldn’t buy a used Mustang for that reason — who knows what abuse the engine has received. Oh well, that’s not something I need to worry about for a while. I’ll keep buying my low-cost but good quality used cars, like my 1991 Toyota Corolla.
The Good and the Bad
I tend to be an all-or-nothing type of person, which is why when I fall off a wagon I tend to fall hard and for longer than a few days. When I fall, it’s like “Well, I goofed that up, might as well go whole hog!” I realize that is not a healthy way to deal with things and am slowly getting better, otherwise I wouldn’t be back at this blog. 
So, instead of looking at that fall as a failure, I’m looking at it as a bump and I’m back on. A failure would be for me to simply give up completely, and I worked too hard for much of last year to do that. I looked back through my year to see exactly what I did and could do better.
Good – Went from 30 accounts to 19
Could be better – Would have been down to 14 if I hadn’t signed up for more subscription clubs, a huge weakness of mine
Good – Did great from January through July (7 months)
Could be better – Spent crazily and didn’t pay attention to my money habits from August through mid-November (3.5 months)
Good – Paid off 19 account (mostly small but they are paid)
Total paid on these accounts: $896.00 on small non-credit accounts + $2650 on car and two credit cards = $3546. total toward paid-off debts
Total paid on all debts, including those above: $4776.25 = 11.6% of salary. I’m not sure if that’s a good percentage or not, but it’s a heckuva lot more than I’d paid on getting rid of debts in a long time.
I’ve also been doing some forward planning. I realize that wages and circumstances change, but it really helps me to see what I’m working toward in order to keep on track as much as I can. If I pay $500 a month on my student loan, I’ll have it paid off by the end of 2011 and still pay off five, possibly six, of my credit accounts by the end of 2008, paying the remaining account off in early 2009. The money going toward paying off these debts can then go toward building up my 3-6 months emergency savings while paying off the student loan.
So theoretically, in 2012 when I’m 40, I’ll be debt-free and can start putting at least 15% if not 20% of my income toward retirement savings. I don’t own a home and I really don’t plan on owning one, so that’s not an issue. I also don’t have kids so there’s no college or other kid issue. I need to keep this in mind when I get down and feel like it’s taking for-ev-er to pay off my debt.
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.
06.18.07
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
05.30.07
My Financial Goals
These are in the order I wish to achieve them. The first two should be done by the end of the summer.
A few things:
Thank God most of my credit cards had relatively low limits! I had a lot of them, but they could have been so much worse!
I’ve been out of college since 1993 and am STILL paying on this student loan! I had to get some forebearances and such and at some points I should have just scrimped and paid the payments. Oh well, can’t cry over spilled milk.
The last items, student loan and emergency savings, are split up so that it’s easier for me to get to goal. That way I can scratch off mini-goals without waiting to get to the end.
1. Get $1000 into emergency savings.
2. Pay off AmeriCredit – $335.14
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
