Who doesn't love a raise?

The State FINALLY gave me BOTH of my raises. One was my annual raise, and the other was a 2.5% raise to give my position a more competitive salary. I'm not complaining either way. After Uncle Sam got his part, and the State took its part for my "retirement," I'm looking at an additional $200/month. Not bad.

You already know the drill: That $200 has already been sucked up into my debt snowball! Which means I hope to reach my goals just a little faster. The faster I pay off the credit cards, the faster I'll be able to start paying for my wedding! *Grinning ear to ear*

Oh, Happy Day!

Sunday was my birthday and my guy asked me to marry him! Yes!!! I'm getting married! I'm sooo excited and happy and overjoyed and filled with emotions! I love him so very much and he's made me so happy! He proposed in the most special way and did an excellent job selecting the ring! It's absolutely STUNNING!! I LOVE IT!

We're shooting for a summer wedding and we'll probably foot most of the bill. This new development will definitely change my financial goals for 2009! For one, I won't be able to save as much money because most of my expendable income will probably be dedicated to the wedding.

We haven't set a budget or anything as of yet. Once we get everything settled, I'll post it here and track our progress. I plan to continue to save a small portion of my income - I can't go through 2009 without making ANY progress towards my goals!

5 things to do with my (unexpected) tax return

So, I just got a small ($102.55) income tax return that I wasn't expecting. Woohoo! I'm rich! Well, not really. But, I wasn't expecting to get this money so, now I need to decide what to do with it. I thought of five options:

1. SPEND IT - my birthday is Sunday and I can think of a number of things I want.

2. SAVE IT - My fit fund is currently sitting at a cool $1,000. It'd be nice to see that grow. Or I could put it towards other funds.

3. GIVE IT AWAY - I really haven't given much this year, and I can think of a few people who could use a little extra cash.

4. CHRISTMAS SHOP - The holidays are just around the corner. I could use this towards my holiday budget (which I haven't quite settled on).

5. DEBT REDUCTION - Since I'm still chipping away at my credit card debt, this could be a nice psychological boost to keep me moving.


What would you do?

One down . . . nine to go.

I just called and closed one of my high interest rate, low credit-limit cards. And boy were they trying their best to keep my business! It's funny how having a balance of $0 changes your bargaining power!

Just a few months ago, I called the same credit card company and asked for a lower, more reasonable interest rate. The answer? No. I even asked to speak with a supervisor and was given the same response. They said there was no better interest rate available. Ha! That's some BULL!

Fast forward a few months to tonight when I called. After explaining to the customer service rep that I wanted to close my card, I was immediately transferred to their version of the customer retention department. The supervisor immediately offered me a 8% interest rate AND 2% cash back on all purchases. It was too little, too late. I'd already paid off the card AND I have a card with a much larger credit limit and a lower rate. He tried to persuade me to keep the card because its been open since 2005. But I have at least two other cards that have been open for longer and frankly, I don't need a card with such limited resources. Besides, if he offered me those benefits on a card with a small credit limit, I can only hope some other credit card companies will offer something even better. Needless to say, I closed the account.

I'm just glad to have those people out of my hair! BTW, I made sure to ask that a note be included on my credit report stating that the account was closed per my request.

If only I didn't have credit card debt . . .

*SIGH*

Happy Veteran's Day

Today we honor the brave men and women who have fought and continue to fight for our freedom as Americans. Whether you agree with the current war or not, let's not forget to honor those who have sacrificed so much on behalf of our country.

Weekend Spending

My money leaks on the weekends. Here's a recap of this weekend's spending:

$22.00 (mini mani/pedi)
$17.00 (Hair appointment)
$25.00 (wedding gift)
$18.00 (Mac&Cheese ingredients)
$14.00 (Car wash)
$4.00 (Chick-fil-a) (unexpected trip to WS)
$22.00 (gas)
$30.00 (gas) (had to refill my hunk's car when I drove it to WS)
$2.00 (canned food)
Total: $152.00

*Shaking my head*

Weekend Recap
I went to a "free" party. Free is in quotes because I had to bring two canned goods. Sadly, I didn't have two canned goods in my pantry but had to buy two from the store. I guess I really like fresh (or frozen) food. At the party, I refused to pay $10.00 for a drink so asked for sprite and cranberry instead. Apparently soda is free at the bar. I like free.

I also attended my co-worker's wedding. Of course I had to look fab for the event! The wedding accounts for the mani/pedi and wedding gift. Oddly enough, I didn't have my hair appointment until the next day. Don't ask...

This weekend was also my uncle's 72nd birthday! Hence the $18.00 mac and cheese. I've been making homemade mac&cheese for about 10 years now. My family DEMANDS that I make it and bake TWO 8x10 pans. Now they've upped the request to three! I need them to know that cheese ain't cheap!

I got my car washed this weekend because me and Allie (my car) are sticking it out for the long haul and I thought it only fair that she get some pampering, too. Besides, my backseat was beginning to look like a closet. Clean car = happy me!

Budget Busters

I have a confession: I just paid $65.00 for parking tickets. *SIGH*

Talk about a budget buster! Goodness! I racked up one ticket each week for three weeks in a row. THEN I was lazy (yes, the L word) and didn't pay one of the tickets until the $20.00 late fee kicked in. The doggone late fee was more than the ticket!!! I'm sitting here seething because IWASTED $65.00! Oh, what I could do with $65.00. But I'm not going to seeth long - the past is the past, right?

Now that I've thrown the L word out there, I want to share my two cents about it. Laziness in its many forms (procrastination, forgetfulness, etc) is one of my biggest budget busters. When I'm lazy, I don't pay my bills on time, and get hit with a late fee. When I'm lazy, I don't look for good deals and pay more than need be. When I'm lazy . . . well, you get the picture. Defeating laziness keeps me on top of my bills, helps me save money, and has really PUSHED me to pay off my debt. And keeps me on my budget.

*Oh, what I could have done with $65.00 . . .*

Dave Ramsey's Step 2: Debt Snowball

After you save $1000 for an emergency fund, Dave Ramsey advocates paying off your debts using the "debt snowball" method. Basically, you take all of the income you have designated for debt reduction and pay towards your smallest debt. Once that debt is paid off, you roll that minimum payment and the extra payment into your next smallest debt until it's paid off. Keep doing this until all of your debts are paid off.


I've been using a modified debt snowball plan. When I first started, I paid off my smallest credit cards, and it was really exciting to see $0 balances! But after a while, I noticed that my minimum payments on the larger balances weren't making a dent in the balance because the interest rate was so high. I wanted to save some of the money I was paying interest on, so I decided to leave the smaller debts alone and focus on paying off the cards with the HIGHEST INTEREST RATE. This motivated me more because I knew I was not only paying off debt, but also saving money by cutting down the interest payments. Once I got a few balances low enough, I applied for a 0% interest rate card and transferred the balance. I'm not sure Dave Ramsey would advocate this step, but it worked for me. Now I can focus on the low balance cards with higher interest rates.

Since I didn't start this blog until October, it doesn't really show the progress that I've made this year. In January, I decided to get my finances in order. As of January 2008, I had 8 Credit Cards with balances (yeah, crazy right?) for a whopping total of $7,986.22. I'm shaking my head right now at it! I don't know WHERE that debt came from. A lot of eating out and unnecessary expenses. Credit Cards can be dangerous.

Since January, I've paid off 3 cards and consolidated 2 others. I saved $1,000 for my fit fund and paid off $3,729.22 worth of debt! I had some relapses in June and July, so some of my current debt is related to those indiscretions. *Sigh*

Anyways... writing out everything lets me see how far I've come (and how much further I have to go).

My sidebar needs help and progress updates

Can anyone please tell me where I can find a progress bar widget? Obviously, my sidebar needs a lot of help! I'd like to keep track of my progress with a progress bar, but I can't seem to find one!

Anyways... here's my progress for the month:

Credit Cards: $4,257 ($1,030 reduction)
Fit Fund: $1002

I've refunded my fit fund. Now I'm going to focus on paying down the rest of my credit card debt.

I should receive an extra $160.00 from my part-time job. That will go straight to the credit cards. And I'll also receive $300 for an article that I'm submitting. That will also go straight to the credit cards.

Right now I have 4 cards with balances:

Capital One Mastercard (my 0% interest card until 2/09): $2,822.23
Capital One Visa : $151.07
Ann Taylor: $438.35
Citi Student Visa: $844.53

I'll pay off the small Capital One Balance, then the remaining Ann Taylor balance. I'll pay off the Citi balance with my November paycheck and use any remaining funds to pay down the large Capital One Balance. Hopefully, I'll pay the remaining balance with my December paycheck. I don't want to carry any credit card debt into the new year, but as of now, I'll need to pay $2,128.50 over the next two months! Practically impossible. It looks like my plan will have to be revised. Even with my impending pay raise (the State needs to stop playin' and give me my raise!), I won't have enough money after all of my expenses to pay $2,128.50 on the cards. It looks like I'll be credit card debt free at the end of January 2009. YAY!!!!

Not quite the timeline I had in mind, but close enough. I've had a few setbacks along the way and have had to pause the debt reduction goals to replenish my fit fund. This whole process is making me look at money in a NEW light!!!! I can't wait until I can save money and actually see it grow! Woo Hoo!!

Gas, keep on fallin'!

Yesterday I filled up my tank for (drum roll please). . . $22! Yep, you read that right. I had been riding on E for about two days. Yeah, I know. Very, very, not smart! But I HATE buying gas! So, anyways... I pulled up to my local Wally World gas pump and almost jumped for joy when I saw the price - $2.22/ per gallon (regular). I haven't spent less than $30 on gas since. . . well I can't remember! If gas hovers around this price for the month of November, I'm trying to budget $88 for gas (one tank per week).

Ever since I started riding the bus to work, I only have to fill up once a week. Riding the bus saved me a TON of money this summer when the price of gas was double what it is now. Now that the price of gas has fallen, I'll still be hopping on the Express bus to downtown. I figure riding the bus will help my poor little car last a little longer. Plus, the bus trip is free (gotta love some state employee benefits) AND I don't have to pay for parking or walk 8 blocks from my state-issued parking space. Less walking = longer lasting shoes. LOL! I swear, I'm always at the shoe cobbler because I've worn out the taps on my heels. It's nothing more embarrassing than walking down a tiled hall hearing the tap of metal every other step. So not fly!