So Now What.... Personal Finance Blog

I looked at my pantry and fridge last night. Its full. I will have to go get some basic things - milk, bread, etc, but I shouldn't have to get much. I remembered that I had entered some receipts into Walmart's Savingscatcher. So I have a e-gift card that I can use. $13.95. So maybe I won't have to spend much at all.

I disappeared from SA again. I have been gone several months and I am returning in worse shape.

I'm not going to bore you with the details, but I will update my numbers.

To make matters worse, I will technically be 190.07 in the red after I get paid on Thursday. I will not be out of the red until 01/22. I have $200 in the account that I am holding for an expense. So as long as I don't take that out, I won't physically go in the red.

The good news, nothing is behind.

I do not have anything I can return. I have $20 in cash that I have already figured in. I am have really reduced everything I can for now.

Yuck.

The last few days have been hard. I have really not felt well. Luckily today I am starting to feel like a real person again. I'm not well but at least I feel better. Good news is that I haven't spent any money because I haven't gone or done anything except a half day at work. I did come to work today but no spending.

I haven't done anything at the house. My husband is keeping his distance so he doesn't get sick. So the sink is full of dishes and I have stuff all around my bed. Hopefully I am well enough by Saturday to get some stuff done.

I got sick Sunday night/ Monday Morning. By 6:00AM Monday I knew I had to go to the dr. Ear and throat infection. Copay and $38 in RX went on Cap 1.

I am overspending....not sticking to my budget. This Friday when I get paid, if I were to pay everything I would be $218.74 in the RED. Some of this is money to put back for Christmas, so I obviously won't go negative, but if you are looking at the numbers, I'm in bad shape. And some things I am accounting for now even though they are due in a few weeks.

Here is how it will look on 10/02:

Cell phones -220
Xmas -215
Tire Money -200
Husband's Birthday -80
Gas for Car -60
Electric -285 (Hoping for less - keep extra for other months)
Dish -100 (Should be less)
Internet -70
Student Loan -65
Payback to another account -20.00
Car Insurance -193.08
Hold for Mortgage -150.
Hold for Car Payment -65
Loan from Business -25

Like I said the Christmas Money and Tire Money don't have to move now, so I won't go negative. But it will take me until my 10/23 payday to catch up.

Yes, I had all my credit cards paid off. I had no car payment. I only had my student loan and mortgage. And then everything changed. I have done some damage and now I have to deal with it. Some of it was emotional. Some was necessity. Some was nesting. Some was social. Some was medical. But debt is debt. And now I am in it.....again.

Be prepared to see the mess I have made on the side bar.

I also had to borrow $150 from our business to get my account right.

The only way I know to make it better is to blast it on here and make a plan.

I'm doing the walk of shame.

Things have changed in the last few weeks. My last payment back to us for my credit card payoff is this week. I got a raise at work. And I bought a car. :|

The car thing is scary (but exciting). I haven't had a payment in YEARS! My last car I paid cash for. But, since I do not have credit card debt, I am applying my weekly salary from our business to pay for most of the car. The rest I have worked into my budget. I am going to go through and rework the budget and change some things. I still want to cut some expenses and plan for more unexpected things. Also, I want to build our savings. I also don't want to calculate the raise into the budget. I would love for that to just be a cushion.

I am going to the grocery store today. I want to eat as much from our freezer and pantry as possible, but we do need produce and some meat. My budgeted amount is $80 (for 2 weeks worth of groceries) and I hope to not spend anywhere close to that.

Hope the world of SA isn't disappointed that I bought a car. It really was time, I promise.

I paid off my last credit card today. But, I still owe the money. I took a "loan" from our tax savings account and paid it off. I was tired of looking at it. I didn't want any more interest, so I just did it. I'll have us back paid back in a few weeks. So, although I still technically owe it, it still feels good. It will feel even better in a few weeks when its really done.

I paid off the Discover Card today! Yeah! So as far as credit card debt, I have CC #2. It has $491 left on it. Ugh... Part of that is the unclaimed property paperwork, which both siblings said they will help with. I have $250 to put towards it in the next 3 weeks. It could be $300. So I still have to come up with the rest. I really wish I could come up with it in 3 weeks and be done. I still have some change I can count and maybe some other things I could do. I really want to be done with it. I will then just have my student loan @ $1603.41 and our Mortgage.

Well, first the Discover Card. I plan on paying it off tomorrow. I think I can come up with enough. That will only leave the dreaded CC #2. Ugh...its going to be the death of me. But I will be paying something towards it tomorrow too.

Now...unclaimed property. This has been a pain! I am grateful for it, but man...its hard. I found out my deceased father had some unclaimed property. So I am claiming it and splitting it with my sisters. Unfortunately, they are making it really difficult for me to get the paperwork I need to prove my brother is also deceased. But, I'm just going to keep working on it. Its costing me money right now with having to buy death certificates and verification letters, but my other siblings are going to chip in. In the end, if everything works out, I could walk away with around $800.

Not a lot to say....but Credit Card #3 is paid off! I still have CC #2 and the husband's Discover. But the Discover should be paid off in about 2 weeks. I still have to come up with extra money for CC #2. The extra $200 I charged is killing me.

My last post said "Lord willing and the creek don't rise" I would have all my cc debt paid off by then end of this month. Well, the creek rose. I had to go to the dr on Friday and I ending up charging $200 to my credit card between copays and medicines...because I didn't have the cash flow to cover it. So Friday was a bad day.


I am going to try my darndest to come up with $200. Count some change. See if I can do an Aflac claim. Whatever I can come up with. I have gotten this close, I just can't go backwards.

I'm looking at 4 weeks. In 4 weeks I could finally have all of the credit cards paid off...including my husband's Discover. Here is what I have left:

CC #1 - 0.00
CC #2 - 328.20
CC #3 - 56.39
Discover - 221.38

With the plan I have, they should all be paid off on 06/26. As an older coworker of mine used to say "Lord willing and the creek don't rise." Let's hope I can make it happen.

I made a little more progress, but I need another $300 to reach my goal. I don't think it will happen, but at least I am getting closer. I've updated my sidebar.

Ready for a long weekend with hopefully little money spent!

I am trying to stay focused. I have updated my numbers. I just want to be out of this cc debt!! I think I am making progress.

Isn't that horrible? SA used to be a place that I loved to be. But sometimes it all just gets overwhelming. Over 2 months, my numbers have changed. They are better than they were last month. But they are not overall better. They actually got way worse 2 months ago. And for about a month....I didn't care. But I am feeling better about it now. I am taking in an extra $200 dollars a month now. So with a new plan in hand I am going to aim towards getting rid of this credit card debt...including my husband's Discover card. So I am adding it to the list. We are both working towards that one.

Looks like a lot has happened in the last 2 months on here. I'm glad to be back.

Numbers are updated.

I feel like I am just floating. I have general thoughts and plans, and I work towards everything...but kind of half heartedly. So, I'm regrouping. I have taken 4 days off from work. With the weekend, that give me 6 days. 6 days to look and work on things. My only goal is to feel like I am more grounded instead of floating around. I need to look at things more positively and less harshly. And allow myself to feel good about what I'm doing.

Soooo....I'll be back in 6 days to let you all know how it went. I'm hoping for 6 productive, fulfilling, and somewhat relaxing days.

Not a whole lot is happening. The trip was nice. We spent about $300, including gas and our hotel. We put it all on my husband's Discover card. We will earn 5% back on all the fuel purchases and we will pay it from our business.

I am taking a few days off from work in the coming week. Going to use the time to work on my house, taxes, finances, and get ready for a garage sale in March.

Should be ending the week in the black. Everything is paid. Money is going towards debt. And I set aside a little bit for Valentine's Day. We got engaged on Valentine's Day, so its special to me.

Well, I went through my checkbook after I returned the jeans. I am short $27.17. If I come up with that, I won't need to change anything else and I will still be able to pay towards my debt. I'm sure I can do that.

We have a trip planned this weekend. Just an overnight. The expenses will be covered by our business but I still want to spend as little as possible.

Let's hope I can stay on track.

So....I had a financial flub this weekend caused by emotions. I was already on the near side of crazy on Friday and then my emotions took over and I skidded on over the line. As a woman, sometimes things are a little more depressing/frustrating/upsetting than others. I'm sure you can guess when that is. So this is how I ended on the crazy side.

It started with my dog chewing through 3 pairs of my underwear. Yes...I left them on the laundry room floor, but I think I should still be allowed to be upset about it. Then, I got holes in the crotch of my jeans...both pairs. So, overwhelmed, I went to try to get jeans. 2 stores and multiple tears later, I ended up with 2 pairs of jeans, some underwear,a shirt for an event, and $150 gone from my bank account. The worst part is, as of today, one of the pairs of jeans don't fit. So, I shifted some money around and decided I will take the pair that doesn't fit back today. That will add some money back and I will have to get creative for the rest.

Please tell me someone else does crazy stuff like this!!

This is what happens to me when I get stressed. I try to fix everything and do everything all at once. Not sure why that is...but that is where I am at right now.

Not much has changed on the money front. I should start getting a salary from our business in about another month. The extra $200 a month will do a lot!

And I am trying to get myself on a schedule. I have one, but its not consistant and it doesn't include everything. My goal is to make sure I have Housework, Meal Plans, Work, Work from home (our business), and Workouts all together. Here is to hoping this is a productive weekend.

Well, I have been using Ebates every time I can. Used it to buy Tax Software for our business. I use it to buy supplies for my job. And any other time I could. So I have $27.40 coming to me so far! The check doesn't cut until 02/15, so maybe I can get some more in there. I plan to use it towards my CC #3.


I am really trying to focus on my budget. I have $80 allowed for groceries. I have $75 worth on my list. Hopefully I can get it lower than that and leave the remaining in the jar. I really need to stick with the jars!


So I am just trying to stay focused. I feel good about where I am headed. Just trying to remember that I am a work in progress.

I was pretty excited to have 3 days in a row with no spending. Between work and hurting my back, I haven't really done much. I did have to break down and buy a few things today. Spent $13 to hopefully make me feel better. No Flu luckily...just sinus stuff.


I also watched a Suze Orman video today. It was about her and how she got to where she is now. I feel like if she can gain financial knowledge and wisdom at 29, then I can at 33! Although no one is giving me 50K and I am not suing Merryl Lynch, but she still took steps to get to financial success. And I want to have financial success! Anyway...just random thoughts.

It is amazing what I DID NOT accomplish this year. I've spent some time thinking about it. Did I not do things because I'm not ready? Because I'm not strict/responsible enough? And honestly...I don't know the answer. Maybe both mixed in with the fact that I am an emotional spender. I am very aware, I just don't do what I need to do. And sometimes I just do the wrong thing anyway.


My family came into town for Christmas. And I spent money that I didn't have. I am aware. I un-did the work and progress I had done. This is really something I need to plan for in the upcoming year. But I really enjoyed them being here.


I am choosing to continue this journey. I want to be out of debt. This is the truth. So I will update my numbers and regroup. As we come to a new year, I have 3 main goals:

* Pay off Debt - Scheduled to be by March 2015
* Coupon - Use coupons or other savings as much as possible
*Reach $1000 in Savings from Payroll

I will just take it a day at a time. And hopefully I can really evaluate what I'm doing before I do it.

Here is to a Happy, Healthy, and Financially Good 2015.

I am really not feeling well today. My throat has been sore for a couple of days now...and the nose stuff is starting. I grabbed dinner last night at a little restaurant because my husband was meeting a friend for dinner, and I really didn't feel like cooking. Well....it made me sick. Soooo sick. So that on top of already not feeling well has really knocked me down. Going home and laying down. This is turning out to not be a very productive week.

Side note...I turned the heater on for the first time yesterday. We got down to 29 last night and its 38 degrees right now in the middle of the afternoon. I have it set on 66 degrees. I don't know if I can go lower. What do you keep your heater at?

Today it is going to be 78 degrees where I live. Tomorrow is a whole other story. The high is 53. A 25 degree drop in one day is kind of brutal. It continues to drop from there, landing in the mid forties for the high. I think we will have to turn on the heater.

I spent money this weekend. Unplanned money. But, I really needed a coat and they were half off at Old Navy. So I bought a wool pea coat for $27.00 + tax. I think that is pretty good! And it will last me a while.

So here comes winter.

Yesterday I really wanted to stop at the store on my way home. Had this great idea to make garlic bread to go with our dinner. Then I thought of all these other things that could go with dinner. Then I thought....NO. Why would I do that? I have plenty of groceries at home. So I didn't stop. I went home. Completed my list of to-dos. Did yoga. And made dinner, including some homemade beer bread. Pretty proud of myself for not stopping and sticking with my plans.

Oh...and I worked on turning off the lights and using less water overall. I especially want to take advantage of not having to run the heater or the A/C right now.

I'm trying really hard to stay focused. Things are moving in the right direction, but slowly. I will update my sidebar today.

I am working to do small things at home to lower our utility bills. Reducing the amount of water in my bath. Shortening showers. Being sure to turn off lights as I leave a room. These are easy things that I can do that should make a little bit of a difference. Probably not TONS....but every little bit counts.

I am trying to stay very structured and planned. I am hoping that if I stay to a schedule and really focus on my budget, maybe I can change my habits. This is a busy week for me. I have a lot planned, so I am hoping for good things.

I took off 3 days from work. I got some things done around the house and for our business. I also relaxed and just did whatever I wanted to do. It was nice.

Tomorrow is payday. I feel pretty good about it. I bought groceries and came in under budget. I have money to send to both credit cards. I still have money set aside for the eye dr and now the contacts. I'm not going to say I'm out of the woods, but I'm definitely starting to see some light. And I will have $7 left after everything is paid. I wish it was more, but I can be happy about it.

My mom had knee surgery. The hospital was about 45 minutes away from my house. I missed half a day of work then drove all the way to my job to work for the other half. Its an additional 20 minutes further. (And my mom is doing great ) We had a special party for a friend on Monday who is going to be on a TV show. We were out pretty late for a Monday. Its a stressful time at my work. It gets busy this time every month....but there is so much other stuff going on that it feels more stressful. I'm not sleeping well. My husband and I got in an argument today. And I am getting really nervous about this Ebola "outbreak." For those that don't know, I am in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This is pretty close to home. And a person that works about 15 minutes from my house is being quarantined. Scary stuff. So I feel wore out. I spent money yesterday in gas and eating out because I had to eat before I went to work. But hopefully I can shave something off of the already tight budget. I know this is a pretty random, unorganized rant that has very little to do with finances, but I had to let it out.

Taking a few days off next week. Hopefully that will help. (Mental Health days )

I took my husband to dinner last night. We went to a really nice restaurant, but I had a coupon that was going to make it pretty reasonable. Last night was not reasonable. I spent way more than I budgeted. They charged me for WATER! And my water was more expensive than my soda. And if I knew they were going to charge me for water, I definitely wouldn't have gotten both. $3.50 for WATER! And the parking garage that we parked in (Which I have parked in before) was $20.00!!!! For 1.5 hours!!! Last time I parked there it was $7.00. And they automatically charged us 18% gratuity...for a a table of 2? So, I am going to have to trim some things. Puts me futher behind. Yuck!