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Plungers are expensive, and other random thoughts

September 11th, 2008 at 01:13 am

So, erm, I realized a little too late this evening that I have no idea where my plunger went to when I moved this past May. I had just stepped out of the shower, too. On went the clothes and off I merrily went to Target to get a plunger (not-so-merrily, actually.)

I probably way overpaid, but the only option they had was $5.64. $5.64!!! I'm sure I way overpaid. But whatever. Again, I had just stepped out of the shower so my hair was soaking wet, my clothes were all askew, and dude, I just wanted a nice quiet evening without having to go out. Fat chance.

The good news is my toilet isn't overflowing. :-)

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On a related note, I learned that most single men shop at Target in the early evening hours. Good to know.

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Apparently, lesbian couples also shop at Target in the early evening hours. Another useful fact, I'm sure.

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I'm going to transfer my highest card balance to a card with 0% on balance transfers. My min. payments have gone up (the year is up, sadly), and even though I can still afford them, it freaked me out just enough.

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$36.54 for Frontline for the dog. Flea and tick season are almost over, but I don't like taking chances as we live in an apartment setting. That's with a 15% discount at www.PetCareRX.com (and nearly $20 less than at the vet's office.) So I'm fairly happy.

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I'm also considering getting a weekend job, which I really don't want to do as I already work 10-12 hour days as it is. BUT the freelance writing thing isn't taking off as I thought it would. And again, while I can still technically manage my debt and expenditures, I'm really tired of feeling like I have no safety cushion. (And I feel this way because I don't, obviously.)

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Starbucks is selling pumpkin spice lattes! Guess where I'll be Saturday? (No worries, I have a gift card.)

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Geez, it's only 8:12 and I'm ready for bed. How lame am I???

I hope y'all are doing well!

Mo' debt, mo' problems

August 30th, 2008 at 10:34 pm

More not so good news.

Long story short ... more blacking out, periodic numbness/tingling in face, hands and feet. The doc felt a CT scan was in order. Good news ... insurance picked up most of it. Bad news ... I still have to pay the $500 deductible. And as it's a holiday weekend, I won't know the results of the scan until next week ... Tuesday at the earliest. (Though I thought ... if it was something just terrible, they wouldn't let me leave the hospital, would they?)

So I'm scared, both because I just want to feel better and because it seems I was just beginning to truly manage my debt and now this happens. Of course, on one hand I just have to shrug and think that it WILL get paid eventually, to not stress ... on the other hand, though, I'm freaking out.

*But* I do feel somewhat better knowing that I have a supportive community here, backing me up every step of the way. It makes this news slightly more bearable. :-)

$64.80

August 16th, 2008 at 06:43 pm

$64.80 to CC debt today.

Just trying to have a quiet Saturday. I went grocery shopping this morning and spent $50, partially due to needing to stock up on paper towels, TP and some other basic kitchen supplies.

Budget?

August 13th, 2008 at 09:28 pm

A couple of you have mentioned my seeming lack of a 'budget' on some of my previous posts, most notably the ones where I'm feeling a bit down and 'hopeless' about my debt. "If you have a budget, those feelings of hopelessness would go away," they suggest.

Let me make it clear ... of course I have a budget. Just because I don't post every little detail of my personal financial life on an open blog (which, if you do, is perfectly fine - it's just not for me), that doesn't mean I'm just running around blind. I know what comes in, I know what goes out, and I have it down in writing.

Suggesting that a budget should completely take care of any anxiety is a bit extreme. Sorry, but while that may work for some of you, it's not the only factor for me. I still get very depressed over my amount of debt. Not all the time. But yes, some days I do. There's no magical cure for this, methinks. It's a battle, just like weight loss is a battle. Some days will be better than others. As I immerse myself into this new lifestyle, I know it will get easier and easier. But here, at the beginning of this journey, it's still not easy.

If this seems curt or rude, I'm sorry. I don't mean it to be so. I appreciate ALL comments. But I wanted to address that particular suggestion of 'getting a budget.' Right now, it's just not that simple for me.

Just FYI - I don't post my budget because there are a few, um, "frenemies" out there of mine who, by now, probably have some notice of this blog of mine. It's bad enough they know of my debt ... they don't need to know how much I make. Not their business. So it's not a slight to anyone here, or to suggest that anyone here is less than supportive. It's just me being careful, maybe a little paranoid, but probably with good reason.

OK. Again, I hope I didn't offend anyone. I'm not trying to be curt or rude ... I'm just trying to explain. So ... let me have it!

Another $3.74 to CC debt!

August 8th, 2008 at 12:27 am

Which brings my total to $8,826.13. (I sold a book on Amazon.) I also made another sale today, a DVD, so when that is deposited into my account (I think it's also a little over $3) that'll go to the CC balance. Not too shabby, hmm?

Bills, bills, bills

August 1st, 2008 at 06:10 pm

I paid a total of $108.76 in credit card payments today, bringing my grand total of debt to $8,829.87.

Rent was due today, and I paid all of my bills up until the next payday.

I'm home from work today, and went to put gas in the car. Can I just say how good it was to pay $3.85 per gallon? MUCH better than $4.11!

Other than that, it's just a quiet day.

I want out!

July 31st, 2008 at 01:47 am

I want out of credit card debt! I'm mostly positive about the whole thing, but some days (like today), I just look at the number and want to kick myself. It doesn't help that I've been watching Suze Orman's show this week.

I still feel so, SO stupid to let it get this bad. What was I thinking? I guess ... just nothing.

Obsessing over it isn't going to help. I know this. What's done is done. But I still can't help but panic at times.

Other than my obsessive ways, there's really nothing new to report. I sold another DVD on Amazon for a profit of a little over $3, so that will go to a credit card once that gets put in my account.

Have a good night, everyone!

$50 down, $4450 to go?

July 29th, 2008 at 01:17 am

So, I made that extra $100 today. $50 to savings! I decided that I need at least $4,500 in an emergency fund (that would give me $1,500 a month for three months), so my goal is to reach $4,500, and THEN relax just a little (while continuing to save, of course!)

Let me tell you a secret ... I haven't deposited the $200. In fact, the bills are sitting here on my desk, staring at me. I'm tempted to see how long I can go without depositing them ... unfortunately, I don't think that's going to be long. I have a car insurance payment this month. :-/

I got an offer for a 0% balance transfer CC until Aug. 09, and I'm tempted to get it to transfer my BOA CC balance to it. I currently have 0% on my BOA card, but that will adjust in August to 23.99%, I believe. *But* there's a 3% balance transfer fee. What do y'all think I should do?

Still battling the southern heat ... whew!

Happy Monday. :-)

Down debt, down!

July 25th, 2008 at 10:27 pm

So, my big news: I earned an extra $100 this week at work thanks to an incentive from my boss, and stand to earn an extra $100 this upcoming Monday.

The $100 I earned today is going to CC payments ... the $100 I will (probably) earn Monday will go to savings and just to pad out the checking account a tad.

That brings my debt total to $8,938.63!

I should have even bigger news than this soon ... stay tuned ...

$5 down, $9038 to go

July 24th, 2008 at 12:28 am

I made $5.44 on an Amazon sale (bye-bye, first season of Grey's Anatomy), so paid it off to my CC debt ... bringing my total to $9,038.63.

Woohoo! The closer I get to being under $9K, the happier I will be. Should be soon ... my actual CC payments are getting to be due. (I have $150 a month allocated for CC bills, and now that I am dedicated to paying them off as quickly as possible, that number should go higher.)

I still should have big news from work ... it should be coming on Friday. Keep praying!

Other than that, not too much going on. Made a delicious pizza for dinner ... WW dough, topped with delicious tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and tons of olives ... yum!

But I wa-hant them!

July 22nd, 2008 at 12:56 am

Happy Monday!

Someone yesterday asked what recipe I use for my veggie Sloppy Joes ... basically I throw black beans, onions, garlic, bell peppers, and jalapeno together, then mix with crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. I mash it all up just a little so it will stick, then wrap it all up. Yum ...

Today was eventful at work. I may or may not have big news relating to my career in the near future ... so stay tuned! As it is, I don't want to get ahead of myself. (The worst is when you get all excited, and then something doesn't pan out, or it's just not as good as you thought it would be!)

The entry title pertains to this gorgeous pair of red shoes that Target is selling. They're $32.99 ... yikes. I'm watching them like a hawk to go to clearance. I *think* they're for the new fall season, so they should go on true clearance sometime around or after Christmas, and usually I get Target gift cards from family members. (I have a horrible weakness for Target.)

What angers me about my debt is that it's just so STUPID. If I weren't in debt, I could be doing the obvious ... saving. Not only that, but I would have room to breathe easier, and do OTHER things that I need/want to do ... save, pay bills (I always pay my bills, but it would be nice to not have to worry about credit cards!), build a more professional wardrobe, save for a down payment on a condo in a location I want, and even do what I really, really want to do with my life ... travel.

But until I get out of the red, I'll never be able to truly control my financial life ... or never get IN to the red [shoes.] :-/

Truth is, I can't do ANY of the above (except save, of course), until I emerge from CC debt.

I'm glad I realized this at ONLY $9K (as bad as it is, I know there are so many people much worse off), but what's so mortifying is that this isn't me. My parents never carried debt. We shopped clearance bins, dollar stores. Mom literally can save HUNDREDS of dollars on grocery bills. They got me a credit card with a $500 limit when I went to college for EMERGENCIES ... they watched the statements like a hawk, and I had to pay every penny back if I used it ... I rarely did.

It was when I got out of college and got my first real taste of life outside of parental boundaries did I start getting into trouble. This is also when the whole mess with my mom and her health problems started. But none of that is an excuse, it's just that I feel so, so STUPID to let this happen. To let this get so far. Because that's the thing ... I know better, I've always known better, I was raised better than this.

*sigh* I think the real key here is not escape my responsibility, but to stop beating myself up over it. Not because I don't deserve it, but because it doesn't really help the situation, does it?

Oh, almost forgot - I should have a status update on reducing my debt soon, too. Making a few payments, selling a few things on Amazon ... that sort of thing.