Wow. It has been quite a while since I have even thought about money. So how have I been doing? Well let’s see. There were several things I was working on.
My crisis plan
My emergency fund
Staying out of debt
Paying off existing debt
Well, let’s begin with my crisis plan. Not too bad, but not as great as it could be right now. I used about $100 extra for Christmas from my emergency fund and also $100 for things that had to do with the baby and some issues that have come up from my pregnancy. (I feel SOME of that money was well spent) So right now, I am about $100 below the $500 mark I promised I would stay at. I will be replenishing all of that this month. I am happy that I am able to do that this month, but still upset because if I had not overspent that would have been EXTRA money.
So I guess that killed two birds with one stone, but really that is not my entire emergency fund. I have two other accounts that I absolutely never touch and the combination of all three equals about one month’s salary right now. That is good, but seeing as I will be out of work for almost two months with the added expenses of the hospital bills means that I need at least three months saved up.
Staying out of debt. Well…. I have not added ONE PENNY to my debt since I cut up those credit cards!!! I did use a card in December to buy some groceries, but I immediately paid it back as soon as I got paid and did not owe any finance charges. How did I get a credit card you ask? Well, the old one expired and they had sent me a new one. It was kind of an emergency due to a little mix up on the finances so I used the card knowing it would be paid back only days later.
Paying off existing debt. Well, I am still paying, and paying and paying, but there is not much to say on this front. For the last two months to have a little extra cash for Christmas I paid only the minimums on my cards. However I just paid them for the month of January and I bumped them back up to the original amount I was paying before.
I wanted to write about my progress because I remember a time last year when I thought that it was impossible for my husband and I to not use credit cards. I thought that we really needed the extra help. However, I have been going without for several months and so far so good. I can’t stress how scared I was to cut up my cards and quit using them but when I did it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. The choice to make more debt was taken away from me. It was no longer an option. Before I found out I was pregnant I had a plan that was going to have my card paid off and pretty much all of my other debt in just 5 years. It is now going to take me 2 years just to pay what I owe on my credit card. However, since I am no longer adding to it I can see the end in sight!! My husband has also started chipping in. He has agreed to sell his motorcycle… if we can find a buyer and next January we will purchase his truck when the lease is up making our payments on that considerably less.
This year will be an interesting one. It is going to be tough to scrape together enough cash to have two kids in daycare. At first the baby will probably have to go to a center that takes babies and that will cost more. When she is old enough to go to daycare with our other daughter we will get a discount for having two kids in the same center. I plan on changing my deductions with my payroll department when this baby is born. We currently get a pretty fat refund each year, but I need that money throughout the year now. I have another 8 months before I will get another raise so until then it will be very tight. Luckily we have made some room for ourselves. For example the money that I pay extra on my credit cards “could” be cut back if absolutely necessary. I am also saving $50 a month in the Suze Orman Save Yourself Plan with TD ameritrade. In March it will mark one year I have been saving and I will get the $100 bonus. After that the money can go towards bills instead of savings if need be. We also have two other loans that will be paid off this year. We currently have direct deposit paying them so the direct deposit will continue going into the bank and that money will be there when we need it.
Whew, so that is how it has been going with me. How are all of you?
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Friday, January 4, 2008
Sunday, April 1, 2007
When You Don’t See Eye to Eye on Finances
The new relationship gurus all say the same thing: Discuss everything before you get into a serious relationship. While that sounds like a great piece of advice sometimes love gets in the way of reason. For many people love comes first and then money, or fights about money begin to spring up. Is it possible to live with someone who has a completely different take on finances? It can be if you follow a few ground rules.
Communication is key. If you are having money issues, don’t bring them up during a heated argument. Find a time when you are both calm and able to talk. For example don’t bring it up around friends or on a short car ride. As cheesy as it sounds, use “I” statements that tell how YOU feel about the matter. (As opposed to “You always overspend”) Allow your partner to share as well. By talking about things calmly you may come up with some solutions you hadn’t thought of previously.
Plan together. Does your mate know what you want to do with your money? Do you know what he wants to do with his? One discussion you could start out with is what your goals are in the near and distant future. (Of course, according to the experts, you should have already done this, but hey, priorities change) If your goals are not the same you should each choose the one that is most important to you, or the closest to being attainable, and help each other meet those goals.
Open a new account. If you already have a joint account, open two new accounts-one for you and your spouse individually. Or, if you are both keeping separate accounts then open one together to keep both parties responsible for the finances. Each month both of you should contribute to the joint account to pay bills. Any leftover money is yours to do with as you please.
When to cut loose. If your significant other is causing YOU to go into debt, it is time to let ‘em go. This could be from using your credit without your permission or from you always feeling the need to bail him out. I don’t know why but it seems like women have a bigger problem with that than men do. If you have tried talking and planning and setting up rules for new purchases, etc, but he or she continues to ignore it, you may need to consider moving on. This is especially true for women because we live longer than men do. We must be able to save for retirement or we will spend the rest of our lives working or trying to live off of the government. Which you could technically call living in poverty.
The number one cause of fights between couples is money. I am sure you have heard that before. However, I have found that communication and planning together truly can solve many problems before they start. Of course there are always those who are not willing to play nice. You have to be the judge. Is it worth your financial future to stay in that type of relationship? Probably not.
Communication is key. If you are having money issues, don’t bring them up during a heated argument. Find a time when you are both calm and able to talk. For example don’t bring it up around friends or on a short car ride. As cheesy as it sounds, use “I” statements that tell how YOU feel about the matter. (As opposed to “You always overspend”) Allow your partner to share as well. By talking about things calmly you may come up with some solutions you hadn’t thought of previously.
Plan together. Does your mate know what you want to do with your money? Do you know what he wants to do with his? One discussion you could start out with is what your goals are in the near and distant future. (Of course, according to the experts, you should have already done this, but hey, priorities change) If your goals are not the same you should each choose the one that is most important to you, or the closest to being attainable, and help each other meet those goals.
Open a new account. If you already have a joint account, open two new accounts-one for you and your spouse individually. Or, if you are both keeping separate accounts then open one together to keep both parties responsible for the finances. Each month both of you should contribute to the joint account to pay bills. Any leftover money is yours to do with as you please.
When to cut loose. If your significant other is causing YOU to go into debt, it is time to let ‘em go. This could be from using your credit without your permission or from you always feeling the need to bail him out. I don’t know why but it seems like women have a bigger problem with that than men do. If you have tried talking and planning and setting up rules for new purchases, etc, but he or she continues to ignore it, you may need to consider moving on. This is especially true for women because we live longer than men do. We must be able to save for retirement or we will spend the rest of our lives working or trying to live off of the government. Which you could technically call living in poverty.
The number one cause of fights between couples is money. I am sure you have heard that before. However, I have found that communication and planning together truly can solve many problems before they start. Of course there are always those who are not willing to play nice. You have to be the judge. Is it worth your financial future to stay in that type of relationship? Probably not.
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