I Made It (This Far)

No, I am not yet out of credit card debt, but if you will recall, there was a bit of stress about making it until payday (today) on the little money that was left. I don't get to see my son very often or for very long, but he came over for dinner last night (we usually go out to eat, but he was understanding and we had frozen pizzas).

It was a nice time.

When I got up this morning, I noticed that my deposits from my two jobs were in the bank and I immediately transferred some of the money that I took out for repairs (out of the emergency fund) back to its rightful place. When my FSA (Flexible Spending Account) reimburses me for my glasses later, the replenishment of the fund will be complete.

Now to build up my savings so that I can negotiate with my lowest balance credit card that I haven't made any sort of arrangement with yet. I owe over $3,000 on that one, but will begin negotiations when I have at least $1,000 in the bank.

Keep your eye on the prize and have a GREAT day!

Making it Until Payday

The nice thing about a budget is that you see where you are at all times financially. Unfortunately, this is a bleak few days until Friday (I get paid from both jobs on that day). There is a reason why it is a little bleaker than usual ( I do have enough to get gas and there is plenty of food to eat, so no worries there).

There were some unplanned expenses.

The starter in my 1998 Infiniti gave up the ghost. It is very challenging to drive a car without a way to start it, so I took it in to my mechanic and it cost $472.00. Mind you, I do have an emergency fund and there was money to pay for the repair, I will just replenish it in a few days (I am using the money that I would have paid for a car loan, which is no paid off, plus the money that I would have paid two of my creditors, which have also been paid off in the last month). I also needed to get a new pair of glasses that cost (with insurance) $374. The good news is that I have a Flexible Spending account at my full-time job, and I will be reimbursed by the end of February.

It's all good.

Planning for the unexpected is one of the many keys to getting out of credit card debt, and I have made great strides in two years, but the are miles to go before I sleep.

Have a GREAT day!

I May be Broke, But I am NOT Broken

Many times I have heard people say (in the break room) "That machine is broke". The though immediately runs through my head that the machine need to get a job and earn some money. People can be broke, but rarer are the times that we are broken.

Just because we are living frugally at this point in our lives doesn't mean that we are poor. Far from it. In the last year, I have managed to basically live on minimum wage (because I am using just the basics to survive and have cut out most non-necessities). One doesn't need a 52-inch television set to live. One doesn't need a brand new car every year to get by, especially when considering that a car's function should be to get you from point A to point B.

What do you have in your life that you can do without and still survive? If you are having a difficult time paying your bills and climbing out of debt, go with just necessities for a while. I used to have breakfast at Hardees or Burger King every day.

I thought nothing of it and thought that it was no big deal.

It is amazing how much money I have freed up just by eating most of my meals at home. Yes, I eat out once or twice a month, but even then it is at an all-you-can-eat dinner or with a coupon so that there is some savings involved. If I want to turn it up a notch, I might even eliminate that luxury.

Just find ways that you can save/make more money so that you can live your life more freely... the way you want to.

Have a GREAT day!

Are You Getting a Tax Refund?

I read quite a bit of interesting discussion on moneyning in the last 24 hours. There seems to be two schools of thought on getting a refund: on one hand, it is your money, not the governments, so if you get a big refund from Uncle Sam each year, that equates to an interest-free loan to the government. On the other hand, some tend to use the refund as their way of saving money.

Because I have been burned by taxes in the past, I fall into the second category.

I may revisit that strategy. Because of my past, I mentally would much rather overpay on my taxes and get a refund than to owe ONE SINGLE DIME. With proper planning, I know that I can tweak my withholding so that we will get little or nothing back. Right now, that would equate to an extra $50-100 a week that could be used to pay down my remaining debt. The thing is that my wife and I have managed to set aside a decent emergency fund, but it isn't nearly enough.

What do you think? Let me know.

Have a GREAT day!

Bite The Bullet and Do a Budget

It is a word that few like. I have found that a budget is something that I can live with now. What happened is that I grew tired of having too much month left at the end of my money and I was wondering where all the money went.

As it is said, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail".

* First, you may have to keep a record of every single penny that you spend. Buy a soda from the vending machine at work...write it down. Send off a payment for your mortgage...write it down. Give a dollar to a man on the street who is asking for donations...write it down. After a month of writing it down, categorize everything (meals, fuel, car payment, entertainment, etc.).

* Make a trial budget. After looking at your numbers, decide what you really need to spend. The key is to have every dollar accounted for that you are bringing in. This will take a few months for you to fine-tune your budget.

* Stick to it. Some things will not change, like your car payment. Some you have a little more control over, like food.

* Find ways that you are spending needlessly. This is imperative so that you can pay down your credit card debt.

If you need more money, try taking a second job, it doesn't have to be in your area of expertise even. My second jobs have been cleaning offices at night and cashiering. While I have an MBA, I am not to proud to actually do a mundane job to generate some debt-reducing income.

Have a GREAT day!

Vacation Planning

Sitting in the classroom (I am in training right now for a new position), I heard how some of my classmates are planning a trip on their children's spring break. The classmate was talking about taking a train ride to the Mall of America and spending the weekend there. Personally I view that as a waste of money. What is there to do at Mall of America?

Shop.

Spend Money.

I don't want to spend my time at a conglomeration of stores. Maybe because I don't like to shop. Shopping for me is to "get in, get it, and get out". A great goal is to spend as little time in there as possible. The more time that is spent there, the more money that is spent. Typically that is what the merchants want. Stores are set up to where the most desirable items are in the back of the store and you would have to spend a lot of time to get there.

And don't forget about the impulse items that are at the checkout stand. There is always candy and treats along with worthless magazines that have no literary value. Save your money and go to the library.

The library is free.

Spending time together as a family doesn't need to cost a lot of money. If you spend too much money, perhaps you are trying to make up for some deficit in your life.

Have a great day!

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

This was one of the lines that was made famous by the Great Depression of the 20th century. A dime doesn't represent that much money, but it can add up. As I like to play with spreadsheets, I was toying with the notion of a dime a day. Keep in mind that the figures I give are not figuring any interest.

A dime a day for thirty years (average number of working years) comes up to a grand total of $1,092.00 What could you do with an extra thousand dollars? A quarter a day comes up to $2,730.00 If you could muster $5.00 a day, you could have a major renovation to your home in the amount of $81,900.00. That's a lot of money to a lot of people (including myself). It would be enough for me to be completely out of debt.

It is no small wonder that stores and companies will nickel-and-dime you to death. They are not stupid. There is great money in the nickel and dimes of the world. Any opportunity for you to save a nickel here and a dime there will add up to lots of dollars that you could use to pay off your debt, to save for the future, or live life as you desire.

Have a great day!

Eat Drink and Be Merry

There are times when people ask me why I am making such sacrifices now (like eating a lunch that costs less than $0.50) when it isn't going to matter when I die.

True.

But...it may matter to those I leave behind. There is no wish on my part to leave a mountain of debt for somebody else to deal with. Although they are not personally liable for any of it, there is all the vultures, I mean lawyers, and other undesirables to deal with. I got myself into this situation, and I will take responsibility and get out. My mother used to say "if you are going to dance, you gotta pay the piper". I should have only danced with what I could afford, but, like too many people, I only thought about the immediate pleasure that I got that didn't even last long enough for the next statement to arrive. Now I am older (and hopefully wiser) and pay for things out of my checking account (or cash). If I can't afford it, I don't get it.

Have a great day!

Bucket List

Yesterday in the training class at my day job, we had a new trainer for the week. As is tradition, there is an ice breaker that gives us a chance to know more about the trainer and for the trainer and the class to learn more about yourself. Yesterday, ours was to create a five item "bucket list", or a list of things that you wanted to accomplish before you "kick the bucket".

One person stated that one of their items was to have more money, at which point, I stood up, walked over to that person and handed them a nickel. I stated that they could now cross that item off their bucket list because they now had more money.

She did.

The problem was that this was not a SMART goal. For those of you familiar with SMART goals, you know that goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and with a Time table. If not, they are just wishes. To achieve a goal, you have to know what you are going for. This takes a little bit of time, but it is worth it to have your goals specifically lined out, especially when working toward eliminating debt from your life (at this moment, I have $56,493.23 in debt and I keep several spreadsheet on my laptop to chart the progress).

Have a great day!

Day One of the First Workweek of 2010

Baby, it's cold outside.

The temperature this morning was a brisk 4 degrees when I went to start the car this morning. I love cold weather, but the heating bill goes up as the temperature goes down. Some ways to save on heating costs during the winter can help you to save a little (so that you can pay down your credit card debt):

Lower Your Thermostat - A programmable thermostat certainly helps. The one in our house is set at around 60 during the day (winter) and 65 at night. Keep extra blankets around.

Shut rooms you don't use - If you don't need to heat it, don't waste your money.

Check for leaks around windows and door - Little pesky drafts are essentially money out the door. A small investment in stopping the leaks means big savings in your pockets.

Use your fireplace if you have one - Fortunately there is one in the house where I live and I love a fire in the winter. We are fortunate that our wood is delivered to our house so we don't have to do any of the hauling.

It's New Day, A New Year, A New Life

I love New Year's Day. To me it is about taking the best of the past and making your future better. A lot of people just blindly write New Year's resolutions that they have no intent on keeping and are usually unrealistic.

As you have been reading, I have had a credit card debt problem in the past. In February 2008 I quit using credit cards. There was over $71,549.12 in credit card debt. I don't have anything to show for it, no small house, no Hummer, nothing to speak of.

How did you charge that much?

Basically, I charged everything: gas, food, snacks at the gas station....everything. Then I made the big mistake of only making the minimum payment. Of course, the credit card companies would increase my limit as I continued to charge. I thought only of the minimum payment, not the long-term cost.

Big mistake.

I first thought that I was doing the right thing by going with a debt consolidator/debt negotiator. The only thing that happened in four months was that I was $2,800 out of pocket and my credit cards were now in default. Now, on January 1, 2010, the debt is down to $56,493.23. The end is in sight now and I have become more and more money conscious. I will be sharing with you thoughts and actions in future blogs.

Happy New Year!