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The first step

May 11th, 2008 at 05:59 am

This is my first posting. I need to be able to be accountable to someone or something, and that is what i am using this blog for. I need to get focused and get my finances in order.
I have the following c/c bills:
Emerge $1,422.87
Dell $1,459.34
Amazon.com $2,493.02
Capital One $985.96
B of A $5,036.77
Discover $3,235.20
Capital One $2500
I am so disgusted with myself. I was debt free (except for mortgage and car payment) only 2 years ago. I don't even remember what I bought with all this debt. I do recognize why I have gotten myself in debt. In the last 2 1/2 years I have been told I can not have any more children due to an extended illness, so I spent money and ate a lot of food. So not only am I in debt, I'm also fat. Plus, my husband and I have not been getting along. He likes to go out to the bars every Saturday night while me and my son stay home. I feel like I have at least figured out the reasons for the spending. Now the solutions: Two weeks ago I started walking, and going to the gym three days a week. And I feel I have come to terms with not being able to have any more children. I'm on the right track, but i need some help to get rid of the debt. So now I am blogging in order to come clean with the debt.

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

13 Responses to “The first step”

  1. Apprentice Fun-Frugalist Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 11:51 am 1210506668
    1210506668

    Welcome !! Don't be so hard on yourself... $10000 is not an astronomical figure for CC debt... I've seen much higher....

    You have definitely made the right move joining here... I am relatively new here myself but I can tell you there are some great people here with a really really good grasp of how to get debt-free

    Best of Luck... You will be CC debt-free sooner than you think !!

  2. Petunia Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 12:46 pm 1210509972
    1210509972

    Welcome! Knowing how you got there (with the CC debt) is a great first step. Please don't beat yourself up over it. Dealing with the emotional impact of infertility can be a long process (says one who knows), and while some of your first coping strategies might not have been the most healthy, you are here and destined for better things!

  3. aevans1206 Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 12:54 pm 1210510498
    1210510498

    God bless you honey! Depression is such a struggle--it's amazing how it creeps into multiple areas of your life. Know that we here at savingadvice are really supportive. You can rant, cry, scream for joy any time!

  4. honeichild Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 01:12 pm 1210511556
    1210511556

    Welcome! This is a great site/support for folks who are trying to understand and control debt. You will be fine! Happy Mother's Day!

  5. compulsive debtor Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 02:51 pm 1210517506
    1210517506

    Welcome, Catwoman. Like Apprentice said, $10,000 is not a lot of debt. If you really want to feel good about your debt, go to my blog to see how much debt I have....

  6. koppur Says:
    May 11th, 2008 at 03:48 pm 1210520892
    1210520892

    Welcome to the blogs! I'm sorry about you not being able to have any more kids. My sister found out a few years ago that she can't have kids at all. She has decided to adopt. Anyways, welcome to the blogs!

  7. Broken Arrow Says:
    May 12th, 2008 at 03:49 pm 1210607369
    1210607369

    Welcome. Smile

  8. PauletteGoddard Says:
    May 12th, 2008 at 10:09 pm 1210630191
    1210630191

    Welcome! I know you can do it. You've already made decisions and first steps toward change.

  9. sagegirl Says:
    May 13th, 2008 at 07:01 pm 1210705271
    1210705271

    You can do this!! You are focused and motivated and those are key attributes to have. Take it one step at a time. Hang in there and blog often!! Smile

  10. catwoman Says:
    May 16th, 2008 at 03:45 am 1210909514
    1210909514

    Thank you so much for all the support! It is very, very appreciated!!! I am happy to report that i have not used my credit cards this whole week and usually I would have since pay day isn't until next Friday!! I am still working out at a gym that I pay less then $6 a month to, and taking walks after work. I feel much better today then I did last week. This weekend I will be going through my bills so I can get them ready for next week's payday. I am also going to start going thru my house and getting together a garage sale pile. I figure i can sell a lot of the stuff that is just cluttering up my house, and I can use the money to pay down some credit card debt! Yeah! And again, thank you all so much for your kind words, it really means a lot to me! Smile

  11. catwoman Says:
    May 16th, 2008 at 03:52 am 1210909954
    1210909954

    Smile

  12. catwoman Says:
    May 20th, 2008 at 05:22 am 1211260936
    1211260936

    I just went thru and paid all my bills and have gotten all the balances on my c/c's. I've actually built an excel spreadsheet showing how much interest i'm paying, how much purchases (if any), and how much the payment i made was. This way i can figure out how much it's costing me, and it will motivate me to get them all paid off quicker!! I'm going to start paying the smallest balance off first, then go up from there. That way i feel like i'm making progress. I need to see progress or else i'll give up. Plus, i made a spreadsheet showing how much available credit i have on each credit card. That way if i have enough on one card to transfer a balance of a lower card i will definately transfer the balance, and i will have another card paid off! I'm feeling so much better about things. I'm still working out, and I'm hoping that I will get a raise at work soon. I have put in for it, and I will hear my answer sometime in June. I have a good shot at it, but i'm not counting on it yet! I need to start selling items on Ebay again. i was making pretty good money that way. I have accumulated so much stuff it's ridiculous. I am having a garage sale the end of this month. They money i make will go into my ING account, and towards credit card debt. I'm trying to save up a $1000 emergency fund, and then i will slowly build up my 6 months worth of expenses fund. I have been putting in $50 per month into Ameritrade. I bought Suze's money book and if i entered in the code into Ameritrade and deposited $50 per month for 12 consecitive months then they will credit my account with $100. So by November of this year i will have saved up $1300. If i have saved up my 1000 emergency cash fund, and some of my 6 month fund, then that money will go towards a credit card. I'm glad I have a plan, and sticking to it!

  13. catwoman Says:
    June 2nd, 2008 at 03:40 am 1212378011
    1212378011

    I had to break down and use my credit card for gas on Friday. But i only put in $40 worth, and i will be paying that extra amount back when i get paid on the 10th. I wanted to spend much more on the card, but i resisted. But with gas being over $4 a gallon, i just didn't have enough cash for gas and groceries. I've started with a personal trainer, which i paid cash for the 6 sessions. She has also given me a meal plan to help me get on track with my health and weight. I'm on my first day and I'm glad to say I have kept to my meal plan. And i have made my lunches for the next two days so there is no excuse for me to go out to lunch this week. Tomorrow night I will make two more lunches, and then wednesday i will make the lunch for Friday. I will save about $50 per week from not going out to lunch every day. My co worker that I eat lunch with almost everyday suggested we walk to a nearby park and eat there for the summer. This is a great idea, and we will be starting to do that tomorrow. We can help motivate each other! Other co-workers in my building go for walks everyday for lunch and have told me I can join them if I want to also. So the options are there! With the extra $200 per month I'll be saving on lunches, I will be putting that into my ING savings account. I also read an article about paying an extra $10 per month on credit card balances of $2500 and it will cut years off your pay back time. I am going to calculate it and see if this is feasible for me. Every morning i used to go to the coffee stand and have a breakfast cookie and a latte. I have not been to the coffee stand in three weeks. That has saved me $75. I was spending about $25 per week there!!! Not to mention the calorie intake! I'm so excited that I'm getting back on track. I feel so much better about things! My three friends and I had a garage sale yesterday, I sold a lot of stuff that I didn't need anymore, and I made $97! That money is going to go into my savings account. I figure if I keep cutting costs, then I can build up a good savings account and won't have to rely on my credit cards anymore! I'm currently tweaking my budget with all my new cuts! I will update my credit card balances at the end of the month. I'm hoping that I will have a lower total!!

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