Yes, I’m Still Here

Ξ January 29th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ About Me |

It’s been a heck of a weekend. I had a full work schedule on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I got in 36 hours for the week.

My son had his thirteenth birthday on Sunday. I told him that I had to work that day and that I couldn’t get out of it. He was OK with that. For his birthday I took him up to the store and let him pick out his own stuff. I had $300 budgeted and spent about $290 all told. Not all of it was for his birthday though.

Even so, we were within budget and he was really happy with what all he got.

I still have a hundred bucks left to last me another week and a half. It’s a bit spooky though, because I’m used to having a bigger buffer in my checking account. Although I still have a half a tank of gas left, and the pantry is still full. I don’t really have much to buy for the rest of the pay period.

But still, having only a hundred bucks to last me is a scary proposition. And that’s when I realize the value of the Full Emergency Fund. It gives me a feeling of peace that I have a thousand bucks that I can fall back on in case anything should happen.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the order that I should pay things off.

I am really starting to hate B of A, and I want to pay them off next. But I don’t think I will. There is another account that I have that is on six months same-as-cash, and the six months is over in mid-February. So I need to get them paid so that I can avoid the interest that will have accrued if I don’t pay them off.

I haven’t written out a complete budget for next payday yet, but I expect that I will pay them off at that time.

Nevertheless, it’s exciting knowing that I am getting things paid, and even though I still have a long road ahead of me, I have a lot of optimism about the whole deal. I can see how the debts will just fall off one by one until they are gone.

I think ntmom4 is right. I will just worry about my credit rating when the time comes. For now I will just keep paying on things one by one until they are gone. There’s less stress that way, because I don’t have to second guess myself.

And that being said, I’m not even all that worried about paying B of A off so fast. I will get to them soon enough, and when I do, I expect I will make short work of them.

And as far as all that food that I bought goes, we are eating better than we ever have, and if it holds out for a whole month (or for 4 weeks, actually) I’ll keep doing it this way. If I have to go back and go food shopping again though, I will work on some other way to do it. But I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

 

And So It Begins

Ξ January 10th, 2008 | → 6 Comments | ∇ Blog Updates, About Me |

I always wanted to get out of debt. Or rather, I always wanted to be out of debt. Getting out of debt is what I truthfully didn’t want. I’ve been in debt since college. I got my first credit card in college, and I took out student loans. The idea was that I could build my credit while I was in school and then I could easily pay it off once I finished school and entered the workforce. Funny how things work out though. I graduated college in ‘96 and I’ve been in debt ever since. In fact, I’m still paying on my student loans.

I always meant to get out of debt one day. I even tried paying things off last year. But it was a rough year. My job situation became unstable after early August or so, and I’ve been struggling to get by ever since.

And now I’ve had it. I’m going to get out of debt no matter what it takes. No matter how many hours I have to work or how many pizzas I have to deliver. I’m tired of working and sending off all of my money to pay debts that I’ve been carrying for too long already.

So I started this blog, River of Debt, to chronicle my journey out of debt. Maybe I can encourage someone else in the future to follow me. Or maybe I can get motivation to continue when my resolve starts to weaken.

Nevertheless, welcome to my blog. I’m still working the bugs out of it though. Feel free to comment, good or bad. It only takes a minute to leave a comment and sometimes it makes a world of difference.

Coming Soon: My first paycheck of 2008

 

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About River of Debt

    And Becoming Debt Free

    I've been in debt ever since college. I always planned to pay it all off one day and live debt-free.

    And now one day has arrived. Join me in my journey down the River Of Debt.

    Email me

     

Progress So Far


Last Updated: 5/19/08

Emergency Fund

Goal: $1000
Currently: $1000
Completed on 1/24/08

Debts

Credit Cards:
Beginning Balance:
$20,811.31
Current Balance:
$17,542

Air Conditioner:
Beginning Balance:
$6,297.00
Current Balance:
$7,011.00>

Student Loans
Beginning Balance:
$8,506.98
Current Balance:
$4,170.90

Car Loan:
Beginning Balance:
$9,151.64
Current Balance:
$8,408.75

Total:
Beginning Balance:
$44,766.93
Current Balance:
$37,132.65