This board hepled so much
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| Tue, 08-17-2004 - 11:47am |
To accomplish this I put myself on a very strict budget. I work two jobs so I have two paychecks and I get tips from my weekend job. I use my tip money for gas and food, and shampoo and stuff. I watch what I spend at the grocery store and buy what's on sale. I only use about 15-20$ for food. Gas is about 25$ a week. What's left over at the end of the week I snowflake to CC debt (usually about 40$). I got rid of my debit card (that thing is evil). I cut up all my credit cards and called them to get the interest lowered. I went from 29.4% to 13.4% on one card (1875$ balance), just by calling them. In about 10 months I can save up enough to pay them off. I switched my checking account into a money market account. I have to keep a 1000$ minimum, (emerency fund), but I get 1% intrest, and free checking like a checking account.
I found a new lawyer that will take on my case (to get rid of the medical bills) pro bono, and he says I have a really good case and could get a lot more than 40K. All I really want is to pay the medical bills and give him his 30%. So there is a possibility of getting rid of 40K of my debt soon.
I'm not so worried about the student loans. I like that the interest is tax deductable and only 15K of it is actually in my name. The other 25K is in my father's name (but it's my responsibility). So it doesn't look like I owe alot on paper. I wish I could get the tax deduction on the 25K though, instead of my dad.
I found out that I actually loose two insurance points this year, plus I'm taking a defensive driving course to knock 2 more points off. So my premium will decrease a little (maybe 7000 instead of 8500) next year. (Gotta love Jersey)
This board really hepled me put things in perspective. Now I don't dread working 7 days a week. I know I'm working towards a goal. I don't mind cutting back on expenses. I still don't use AC in my car. But I do occasionally in my house. I avoid toll roads as much as possible (35$ more a month to snowflake). I have accepted the fact that I'm not going shopping anytime soon, but I have tons of clothes and shoes already. I'm not going to be out of debt next week, but if I'm patient I'll get through this.
Sorry this is so long
Thanks everyone...
Sarah

You seem to have a good plan in place. Just remember to sometimes give yourself a little treat so that you reward yourself for the efforts you'll be making. It's a lot like attempting to lose weight, in order to stave off full-blown binging one needs to allow themself to eat a bit of their favorite things :)
I hope you win your case, and that your insurance will drop....to $7K...I still couldn't believe it when I first read your initial post :)
I credit this board and the people here in my becoming debt free so I encourage you to hang around especially when things get rough.
Best wishes,
Kassandra
Kassandra
"It is said that life has its peaks and valleys. The challenge is to accept them equally and experience them
Yeah and
Becky
CL of 4th, 5th & 6th grade Scoliosis
Yay, you! I think that you've made a darn good start, and I so wish that I'd gotten ahold of my finances at your age (I'm 35)!
Lisa
As far as giving myself a little wiggle room, I can do that on the occasion I get an unexpected big tip from someone at my weekend job. But right now I don't mind sacrificing a little. Every dollar that I save is one step closer to being out of this hole. Once I see the balances start to drop, I'll be OK with spending a little on myself (cash only).
When I do finally decide to go shopping I'm going to try to get the most out of what I spend. Instead of going to Express and spending 80$ on a sweater I can go to H&M and get like four sweaters. Or just get one and snowflake what I save.
I went to the grocery store last night and spent $13.69. Since I'm watching what I'm spending I have been actually eating a lot better. I eat more friuts and veggies (whatever's on sale). I eat oatmeal, pasta and beans (cause they're cheap). I haven't bought meat in a while. I get protein from milk, peanut butter (which can be put on pretty much anything) and dried or canned beans. In the event I crave a steak, I'll let the boyfriend take my out to dinner :) I even stopped buying bottled water. I just refill a water bottle from home with the water from the water cooler at work.
I feel a lot better now that I know where my money's going. This board is great.
Once my CC's are paid off and my medical bills are hopefully taken care of (meeting with the lawyer tomorrow) I'm going to give myself one day off a week. ( I get 19 days vacation time a year from my full time job). In couple years I might be able to quit the second job entirely.
Thanks for all your support....
Sarah