The 'Little' Fix
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| Thu, 06-16-2005 - 2:18pm |
I've had a couple of 'big fixes' that helped me get out of debt - two inheritances, getting married so we have two incomes instead of me living on just my income.
After getting rid of all my debt, and buying all new appliances and a dining room set, I had $6K in savings. But that all got wiped out in January. I had surgery, and insurance didn't cover it. Then a few months later we relocated and bought a new house, so what little I had saved up between January and April was wiped out again.
But I just got a small amount of money related to the surgery, $850, plus a refund from my Massachusetts car insurance for $147.50, for a total of $997.50, almost a thousand bucks!
I don't consider this 'found' money, so I'm not going to apply Jinxie's 'Rule of Thirds' (1/3 to savings, 1/3 to debt, 1/3 to spend). I'm going to put it all back into my ING Direct account, and hopefully won't touch it again!
The house in Massachusetts will sell today, and DH has agreed to pay off Empire Flooring for our new floor ($5,900), my MBNA card ($4000), buy a living room sofa (I've been sitting in my porch rocker, and DH sits on the hearth), refinance our current house (should take about $15,000). He also wanted to rebuild his savings account, buy a new refrigerator and dishwasher, and pay off his two credit cards, but there isn't enough profit from the house for all that.
I think I'll ask him to just give me $1500 toward the MBNA card, which is what I spent on the guest bedroom furniture. The rest of the $4k ($2500) I just frittered away, who knows to where. Well, not frittered exactly. $1100 to an online paralegal course, $700 to a trip to Denver to see my stepson graduate high school, $300 for baseball tickets, $200 for a lawnmower. So, $200 was frittered away. $100 of that was just last Sunday, when I bought new clothes. That leaves $100 unaccounted for, not too bad!! I'm sure between pets and gardening, I am all clear.
I feel so much better figuring that out! I thought I was really...what's the word...not 'bad' exactly...but I was going back to sticking my head in the sand about my finances. No need!
Lee Ann
