My Debt Blog

Normally a payday is nice to get to because we’re just about broke by the time they come around. This one last Friday was very strange. The first odd thing was we still had money left in the account the day prior. My check is direct deposited and my wife’s is a paper check that has to be manually deposited at the bank. I thought about what we would do with her income but seeing it in the account, all I can say I’m impressed for both of us.

Right now at this moment is seems crazy to think I could go make a $500 or $1000 payment to either wipe out or blindside a debt. The most effective way to kill a debt is with money, but now that the money is there it makes me nervous in a good way, like which one do I kill first kind of way. She has two store cards that used to be paid off, and then got used again, with balances on them at 22.80% APR that I think will be the first victims of increased cash flow. The difference this time is we’re both going to be on the same page with it and those cards are gone once and for all.

The next project we have to work on is how we’re going to handle our Christmas shopping this year. It seems this year relatives are opting to do gift exchanges so we don’t have to buy as many gifts for people. I feel many people worry too much about making sure they get something for everyone on their list. I also think gift cards are like taking perfectly good money and reducing it’s usefulness to a specific store. The store got the money and you have to go redeem the card for the stuff. When it comes to gifts for each other, I suggested more practical things we need. I mentioned tires and I know she wants a winter coat, so those things should be reasonable and not increase our debt.

The last thing I should mention is we really need to work on our savings. I’d like to increase the EF beyond the 1k mark just so there is some extra in there if something happens. Car repair costs, something in the house breaks down, medical emergency, or anything that may require some liquidity. At the same time I don’t want to turn into one of those people that piles cash while carrying a load of debt that should be paid off.

Question to my readers: What would you do with extra cash flow from a raise or promotion?

12 have commented

For almost two years now it’s been a struggle to try to reduce the debt. The debt usually increases when cash gets low and a bill gets paid with a credit card instead. I can’t predict life’s unexpected expenses but there are some things that are out of control. Spending and eating out seem to be the biggest problem in the cash flow over the past few months. November is a little different though because our income is way over what it normally used to be in the past.

My wife’s student loan company is finally starting to want some money out of her for the loans she has with them. The first payments on these loans are not too bad right now, but are going to get much worse. If our current system continues to roll along as usual, the extra income will end up paying the student loans instead of clearing credit cards.

I don’t feel like we’re on the same page when it comes to money. She likes to shop and when payday comes I have noticed a spending trend that’s almost a reaction. I spend the money too on household things and our bills to make sure everything stays current and paid on time. After all is said and done there isn’t much money left to try to pay down our debt much. It’s starting to turn into a state of apathy for me because I don’t see an end.

Lately blogging hasn’t really been much of a motivator for me either. I’m in a constant struggle when it comes to life and money, but then again who isn’t? I’ve printed out our monthly expenses and future projected expenses, it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. Some time ago someone suggested I try letting her handle paying our bills for a month, so she understands what is going on. While it sounds good in theory, I took over paying her credit cards for her a year ago because she kept paying them late. If you let things go late it costs more due to fees and higher rates, which we really don’t need. I’m stuck in a funk and I don’t know how to get out.

27 have commented

We have been very busy during the month of October. Not so much regarding paying debt, but just working more this month. I’ve had some major projects going on at my job requiring more of my time. On top of that my wife has been busy beyond busy with her teaching job. She’s finding out first hand that teachers get paid for about 8 hours while having to work 10-12. I told her I understand it’s frustrating because I’m on salary and if I work more, it reduces what I earn per hour since I get paid the same whether I work 40 or 60 hours a week. We’re trying to find the right balance between work and life.

I would love to report the positives of the increased income, however my wife gets paid arrears instead of current like myself. So she will get her first larger check for the first half of the month at the second pay period of the month. The checks she has received so far this month have been sufficient to help get us through and have something left over.

Top priority with our paychecks coming at the end of this month is getting those bills paid. Just like there is an increased cash flow we’ll also have more bills to pay, particularly student loans. I think it’s important to get on top of those student loans so we can at least make the principle balance go down a little at a time. Mine have received payments for over 3 years and the balances have only come down a few grand. Paying down the credit cards is another important thing we should focus on.

We started to consider our holiday spending earlier this year. I think it’s important to set a specific limit on what we’re going to spend. Last year we ran into issues with spending so much money that our credit card balances went up and it was a struggle to pay the car insurance bill. I don’t want that to happen again so we need to have a plan. The biggest question my wife wants to know, what do I want for Christmas?

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I have only made one post so far this month with this one being the second. The blog lately hasn’t been a source of motivation to get out of debt anymore. Some of the comments I get are very useful for me to gain an outside third person perspective on our situation. Thanks for your support and encouragement to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

The money issues and debt has been a stress for me over the summer. I thought we could get on track by paying off a large amount of debt and keep the ball moving forward. My wife went through months of trying to find a teaching job which provided a lot of free time. Now that she has a job, it’s taking up more time she thought she had in a day. I’m getting tired of trying to make sure our finances are on track. We only see each other a few hours in the evening.

I can’t believe the comments that people have made lately. First I was being labeled as some egomaniacal control freak when it came to spending money and paying debt. Then if I don’t try to control anything I’m letting the spending and debt increase. If I let the spending continue and pay off the debt, it’s just enabling a behavior to continue. The comments that bought the farm are those suggesting divorce as some sort of solution.

I don’t have the answers to the problem anymore. Going into debt is simple, you spend money you don’t have. It is much more difficult than I thought it would be to get out of debt. I’m just as much to blame as her for the mess we’re both in. We need to get out of debt but I can’t do it alone anymore.

15 have commented

We’re in the first full week of October and money is still tight. While the bills that are due earlier in the month are getting paid, there is very little left for other things. Unfortunately we won’t get paid until next week, which is great but it’s still a week away. My wife’s income has been limited from not working for awhile, and then switching jobs, and we’re still waiting on the first paycheck from her new job. She finally got her first and probably last paycheck from the previous job, so that should hold us over to next week.

I’m a bit frustrated at the spending going on with limited income. She was going to buy tickets to a baseball game, and I had to put my foot down that we didn’t have the money. It didn’t go over well but I stood my ground. So instead of going to a game, we went downtown this past weekend. I think way too much money was spent and it just creates more stress for me than enjoyment. I’m not an anti-social person, but I strongly believe the bills should be paid before we have fun. This is a big personality difference between the two of us.

This weekend is going to be dull compared to the previous. I told her we need a plan regarding what should happen with her first big paycheck. She has two store credit cards that need to be paid off at some point. It would be nice to actually catch up on bills so that we’re in front of the next month instead of juggling due dates. If I could I would try to pay every bill as soon as it came in, not the week or a few days before it came due. Staying in front of bills helps avoid any potential problems later.

Sorry my updates have been so few and far between. The workload at my job has picked up big time and I haven’t had much time to blog. My wife is busy managing a classroom of 7th graders and we only have a limited amount of time each evening. What is interesting about this financial crisis is that it only affects you if you let it. I’m happy that the US dollar is going up in value and gas prices are down. I may have lost nearly a quarter of my 401k but time is on my side and it will go back up.

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I think my wife is realizing that I can’t manage everything for the both of us. Last week I showed her what it takes to keeps us moving forward. She knows we have bills but really didn’t take the time to even look at them, yet alone realize that we’re paying almost $300 to keep the lights and gas on. I reminded her that while my income alone is enough to operate our house and pay all the bills, it only provides just enough left over for gas and groceries. Going out to eat, buying expensive clothes, and other wants are lifestyle choices that I can’t pull off alone. I believe in a way her new job will become our bailout plan. She got the job!

We are very happy and this week she gets to go in 2 days to work with the teacher she will temporarily replace for the remainder of the year. Her pay rate is much higher than I thought it would be and she will essentially make the same amount in those 2 days than working an entire week at her former job. When she works two full weeks, her income is very close to what I bring home from my salary. The old song We’re in the Money from the Great Depression era comes to mind. I think a large amount, nearly 2/3 of what she will bring home could pay off debt.

I also think she needs to take responsibility for the debt she ran up on her store cards that we paid off earlier this year. These things could be gone early next month and there would still be a lot left over. After that I’m not sure what the next debt to focus on would be because I recently did a balance transfer to a card with 0% for 12 months. The other account is my old BoA card that I debated draining an IRA to clear a few months ago. It would be nice to get rid of either of these quickly since the debt on them is relatively old and inhibit our progress moving forward. The other major debt to tackle is her massive student loans coming due.

Our bailout plan is relatively simple when it comes down to the basics. Take a bunch of money we earn and use it to pay down our debt. The most important thing is to make sure lifestyle doesn’t get out of control so we can have that lifestyle when we can afford it later. The seasons are changing and my stress is changing into a renewed energy to keep at it. Thank you to my readers for your encouragement.

15 have commented