Where it Went 9/29 - 10/12

The great news about this budget report is that I was able to bring in $500 in additional income from a court assignment I received. The good news is that I paid off A LOT of debt.

The not so good news is that I also spent more money than I had planned, partly due to the windfall. And the bad news is that I still have a big credit card balance mocking me. I'm just gonna put this out there as I've sort of been evasive about the amount in the past month as I've been trying to attack it: I have $2700 in credit card debt. There I said it. It was actually quite a bit more a month ago. It's "only" at 8.9% interest rate but it's pissing me off and I want it gone as soon as possible.

So without further ado, I will show you how I spent my paycheck plus my windfall the past two weeks:

Budgeted/Actual

Credit Card - 700/700

Law School Loan - 200/434

Perkins Loan - 94/94

Health - 65/100

Gift - 60/60

Misc. - 167/180

Beauty - 0/59

Clothes - 0/198

Yeah yeah, I know. It's pretty bad. If I hadn't overpaid the law school loan so much I would have had money for the clothes. AND if I didn't have such a high credit card balance to work off I would have had money for both the loan AND the clothes. I just really wanted to use the windfall towards erasing debt and it did to a certain extent. Look for a big student loan announcement later this week.

Also I showed up at a doctor's appointment to find out that my health insurance decided not to cover my flu vaccination. What the heck? Luckily I think I am going to be able to reduce my prescription co-pays going forward so that will help a bit. It's also open enrollment time for Flex Spending Accounts so I am looking into that as well.

If all goes according to plan, I can have the credit card paid off by the end of the year. Wish me luck!

Where it Went 915 - 9/28

Good morning! Isn't pay day great? :-)

Time to see how I spent my last paycheck before I go on a flurry of bill paying and budgeting. So here is where my money went compared to the budget I set:

Budgeted/Actual

Sallie Mae - 407/407

Defaulted Student Loan - 260/260

Credit Card - 200/200

Sprint - 74/74

Gift - 40/40

Health - 25/25

Clothes - 100/50

Charity - 20/20

Groceries - 0/30

Misc. - 152/155

Still working dilligently to get rid of our new and unwelcome consumer debt. I'm gonna pay off a bulk of it in a few minutes - that's gonna feel good - and next week I have a legal one time gig that is going to bring in some money too.

I didn't do a big clothes shopping excursion yet - just picked up a few things from Walmart which were suprisingly not cheap but I still need to soon as the weather gets warmer. Moths ate FOUR of my sweaters. I've never had moths before and I don't like them one bit.

Stay tuned for a new budget post!

They Increased My Credit Limit!!!

As I've mentioned before, I have been charging small amounts on my credit card and paying the balance in full each month in an effort to try and get the card company to raise my limit, thus improving my credit score. It's been a little over six months since I finally paid off the whole balance for the first time, a balance that I at one point had let climb up to $650 including late charges and fees on a card with a $500 credit limit. This was during my ostrich phase before I started the blog.

I log in to make my monthly payment today and voila, I see that I now have a credit limit of $5,500!!!

I have mixed feelings about this new development. I am very excited that in all this time of thinking about my money and trying to make up for past mistakes while being treated like a deadbeat by my own bank, debt collectors, student loan servicers, etc. that someone on the outside, i.e. "the man" has taken notice and had a little faith in me.

On the other hand...I know this wasn't an altruistic move on the part of the credit card company. They assume that since I have been charging a few things and then paying for them that given more credit I will charge more things. And frankly, I'm a little nervous about that too. Sure, I have been an authorized user on my fiance's Emergency Credit Card for months now with a similar balance and never ran amok, but it feels a little different when it's just "my card," you know? I am being completely honest here so take it easy on me.

Anyway, I am excited about this news and dedicated to not let it tempt me to spend. Wish me luck!

I Paid Off My Laptop!

Ahem.

Notice the sidebar update. I have just finished paying off my new laptop courtesy of Best Buy's 0% financing, which is still in effect.

There was a bunch of negative comments when I first made the purchase. And I admit, it's best to save up for big purchases, but sometimes life just throws a curve ball at you. I am working on building my emergency savings in addition to the wedding savings but really the 0% interest offer really helped out a lot.

Is this a lesson that credit can be used responsibly? I hope so. I'm just glad it's paid off so I can free up another $75 a month towards other goals.

Budget 5/27 - 6/9

Time for a budget. Some bad news, some good news and some great news!

First the great news, I got my vacation compensation finally! Only 9 weeks after I stopped working at my last job they decided to finally give me my unspent vacation money back! Before taxes it totalled $1,342!!! But after taxes I got a little less than $700 back. Screw you tax man! Also I contributed more than usual this pay period to my 357 retirement plan (good news I suppose).

Other good news, my utility bill stands at a measly $45, the lowest I ever remember seeing it and a far cry from my sad sad days of my payment agreement. It may be one of the last payments I ever make on my own to the utility company as I have finally told my landlord I am moving out! There's still a little bit of uncertainty as to whether I have to pay for July's rent but I am hoping the answer is no and this budget will also see my last rent payment ever!

Now the bad news. First we got stuck in traffic on Mother's Day and I decided to use the web on my old cell phone. Bad idea! Despite the pains I endured to make sure I was on the best cell phone plan for me, I had failed to realize that unlimited texting did not unclude any web access. So I racked up $35 in charges in one day. But the worse news is that I apparently have managed to let my credit card escape the deep dark confines of my wallet and get used for non-emergencies such as sneakers and wine. The damage: $210! So soon after I got my balance down to zero!

Anyway so here's the new budget in which I will account for the above and allocate my vacation earnings accordingly:

Starting Balance = $1904

Rent (last one?) - 725

Perkins Loan - 93

School Loan - 54

Utilities - 45.90

Sprint - 100

Capital One - 210

Laptop - 70

Groceries - 100

Misc. - 75

Fiance* - 432

I currently owe my fiance $288 in old debt plus $205 for a festival ticket. With the money I give him I will almost erase these debts AND he will filter some of the money into the wedding account! Once I move out officially I will be able to pool all my additional money into this account! I seriously can't wait for this day!

I'm Credit Card Debt Free!!!

Do I get to call Dave Ramsey? Haha, probably not yet but I have just paid off the full balance of my credit card. Goodbye $15 minimum payments. Goodbye 24.9% interest. I'm not going to close the card as it's my only credit card and only has a $500 limit on it. Hopefully they will enventually lower my rate and I can use the card responsibily to help bring up my credit score. That way in a few years if the fiance and I decide to buy a new place we can have both of our names on the mortgage.

I also paid the balance of my Overdue Utilities today so if you notice the sidebars I am currently free of all "short term debt" except for the "Boyfriend Debt." I plan on enjoying that picture for a few hours until I add new categories to it that I plan on snowballing.

Budget 03/04 - 03/17

First let me thank my readers for keeping me honest. Sometimes I think you guys are too easy on me but I know I have a ways to go before I can consider myself financially responsible. That being said, even with the shaky job future, I am optimistic that my short term debt is finally being paid off, I am cutting expenses, and sticking to a budget.

So here's where my money will be going for the next two weeks:

Starting Balance = $1146

Emergency Fund - 50
Friend C - 60
Credit Card - 100
Aunt Sallie Mae - 406
Defaulted Student Loan - 260
Nice Collection Agency - 125
Groceries - 50
Misc. - 95

I sent off $100 to my credit card today. I only owe $45 now! I was going to pay the whole balance but I wanted to wait a few days and figure out what my expenses really were for the next two weeks and where my priorities should be.

I am finally going to pay back my friend. It's kind of a weird situation and I know I should have done it sooner.

In the meantime, I have a question for my readers....when I do pay off my entire credit card balance - hopefully soon - do you think they will contact me about increasing my line of credit? Or should I ask them to? Or at least lower my rates? I've had a shady history with them but have been diligently paying at least the minimum for the last 8 months and more than the minimum for the last four months. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm not a fan of credit cards but having this one open is pretty much the only means I have of increasing my credit score.

More Good News!

Taking stock of all my finances tonight I logged into my credit card account and saw a balance below $400 for the first time! "That's funny," I thought until I realized that my persistent complaining got them to reverse the finance and late fees for the payment that never got processed. Thus, the $100 payment I made went entirely to the principal. Excellent!

This is my highest interest debt and if I don't get laid off I hope to have it knocked out by next February. Now my goal is even closer in sight!