Getting A Plan Together

Currently, I'm just paying a set amount towards my credit card debt.  It started out that the payment was just the minimum payments but over the past few months, the minimum payment has went down and I've just kept paying the same amount.  I've finally got a plan together on how we're going to pay off our credit card debt.  The decision has been made once and for all to use all extra money to get rid of this debt.  Any extra money that I make on my check is going to debt.  The first debt on the chopping block is our American Express.  Later today, I plan to cut it up and never use it again.  It had been a convenience because Costco only accepts debit cards or American Express.  It became to easy to use it for purchases that we had cash for and then turn around and use the cash for something else.  The balance on that card is about $1100.  My goal for having that balance eliminated is January 2013.  After that, we will focus on the next in a long line fo credit cards.  Until then, Happy Debting!

Checking In

I've been so busy that I havent' been on a computer in two days.  My energy levels are at an all time low and I just can't find the energy to complete small tasks.  I haven't been on the computer in a couple of days but as I was catching up on blogs that I read, I ran across a paragraph from one of my favorite bloggers Bridget from Money After Graduation was talking about debt as a dating deal breaker.  Since I'm married that part doesn't apply to me but she aptly described how debt makes her feel. 
She said "Debt is a one-of-a-kind, soul-crushing burden. It puts a damper on every day. It turns my decent salary into pittance. It forces me to go without many things I enjoy. Ultimately, it just exhausts me with its demands on my bank balance. I want to keep the money I earn, I don’t want to give it away to my past spending — or someone else’s."  That paragraphy just resonates with me.  That's how I feel about our debt.  My husband makes a good salary and with what I bring in, we should be able to do fantastic things (along with saving a ton of money), but because of our out of control past-spending, we're stuck in a not so fun place.  The only way to get out is to put our focus on paying off the debt and whittling it away as fast as we can.

When It Rains, It Pours...

inside my house, ruining part of the ceiling, carpet and wallboard. Awesome, I know.  You wish you were me.  It wasn't really an expense we were expecting, but thus is home ownership.  It's not the roof (he took a look today), it's the chimney.  So now we wait for the chimney guys to take a look and give an estimate so it can get repaired.  I'm surprisingly calm about this situation.  So we will wait...

Another Monday Morning

It's another Monday morning and I'm enjoying the sound of silence and the crisp temperatures that have descending on my little town.  It's amazing how much more energy you have when 100+ degree weather isn't around.  I have a lot going on this week.  I need to buy some back to school items for the kiddo and do a general prep of all that.  We started putting him to be earlier so that by the time school starts next week he will be on a good schedule.  The only test will be if my husband wakes him up early this week while I'm at work to prep him for the morning portion.  Things are going okay on the money front.  We could be doing better, but we could also be doing a lot worse.  Just trying to make it until payday without spending too much.  Have a great day!

A Moment of Peace

Right now, I'm sitting at work enjoying a moment of peace.  It feels so good.  This whole summer has been a blur of activities, job training and miserable temperatures.  I'm the type of person that needs to have some quiet time each day to focus on my daily goals and to just be a pleasant human being.  Today is the first day of the entire summer that I have been allowed more than 10 minutes of quiet reflection.  It's amazing how much it invigorates me and helps me organize my thoughts.  I know the chaos will start soon but being able to have this time for reflection helps me conquer the day.  Ahhh....quiet time, how I've missed you.

Difficulty Keeping On Budget

My frustration level with my husband is at an all time high.  It's very difficult being the only adult that watches the budget.  I know that I'm not perfect and I buy things that I don't need (hello Diet Coke) but I feel like I'm the only person taking our debt reduction plan seriously.  I've tried to have conversations with him but they never get very far.  He's onboard as long as he doesn't have to be deprived of what he wants.  For example, he wanted to go to a local consignment shop that sells brand name clothing.  He ended up finding a pair of practically brand new tennis shoes and decided that they were something he needed.  He needed them because he didn't have any casual tennis shoes and they were only $20.  Forget that he has at least three other pairs of tennis shoes and will shortly need to replace his work shoes that are wearing out.  Was there $20 in the checking account to pay for these shoes? Yes.  So what's the problem?  Well you need work shoes and the $20 you spent on tennis shoes could've helped pay for the work shoes that you actually needed, not shoes that you want. This only leaves me more frustrated because I feel like I need to make up for his budget shortfalls by scrimping on things that my son and I need.  I'm so tired of putting myself in second place when it comes to finances. 

Just Blah

This summer I have had absolutely no motivation to get things done.  I feel like I'm just hanging in there.  I have no desire to take my son to the pool, to clean our house.  I have no desire to do anything except get watch TV and mess around on the internet.  It's been very difficult to get the motivation together to do anything I should be doing.  In my mind, I'm always putting it off until the next day and then the next and then the next.  I need to snap out of this funk and just get excited about something, anything.