Doing OK so far, I think

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-2003
Doing OK so far, I think
3
Wed, 04-19-2006 - 6:12pm

We're doing okay so far, I think. I've put away all of my credit cards, which makes me think twice at the store before buying something.

We had a bit of a windfall this past month - extra pay from my 3rd paycheck in March, and two rebate checks from Christmas that we'd almost forgotten about. What I've been doing is paying the bills every week, figuring out what we need for the week for food, gas, etc., and socking the rest away into the savings account. Even with future upcoming bills we'll still come out a bit ahead. I plan on paying off one small CC this month ($118) and being done with it for good!

I still have to convince DH not to use the credit cards. For example, we have a laundry room with machines that take credit cards. When I do the laundry, I use the check card and keep track of how many loads I've done, and add it all up at the end of the day and put it in the checkbook. DH insists on using a credit card so we don't have to worry about doing that. But I'm not about to pay interest on laundry costs! It's bad enough we're still paying for groceries and gas that we bought a year or two ago! I can't wait until we can get into a place where we can have our washer and dryer back, so we don't have to worry about that.

These gas prices are killer, especially for those of us with a 40-mile commute each way! I'm hoping that paying off that small CC, switching DH to his own health insurance plan instead of having him on mine (it is actually costing us $200/month more that way), and electric/gas bills that will go down with the warmer weather, will help offset the cost for me to get to work. Plus, I will be turning 25 in a few weeks, so I think my car insurance will go down as well!

*sigh* Baby steps.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2006
Wed, 04-19-2006 - 9:39pm
OUCH! gas prices with a 40 mile commute...anyway to carpool, work from home on occassion, perhaps 4-10 hour days at the office and be available at home the 5th day?
I'm glad with gas prices as high as they've been I don't have far to drive. Good luck.

Proud sister of a Marine:

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Avatar for skthurber
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 04-19-2006 - 9:46pm

Yep, your car indurance will go down some. Being married is already a break, but turning 25 helps too. It wouldn't hurt to remind your insurance agent either. Maybe that can be a snowflake for you (although it may have to go to the gas budget, sigh).

-Sarah

Sarah


Mom to Gina & Tony


 


iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-2003
Thu, 04-20-2006 - 12:21pm

I wish I could work from home, because I know I easily could... but I can't. Required to be at corporate headquarters every day. And my hours are pretty set, five days a week. At least I miss rush hour traffic (my hours are from 10-7), so I'm usually not wasting gas by sitting in traffic jams. I drive a 2002 Honda Civic, and my goal is to use only 1 tank of gas per week. If I drive gently, don't use the air conditioning, and don't do too much extraneous driving, I can usually accomplish that goal. I have a friend who works here at corporate headquarters and lives near me, but she is one of those early bird folks who likes to come in at 7 and get out at 3. I can't adjust my hours so we can carpool, and she refuses to adjust hers.

I work on a helpline for car dealers, so if my job really was doable outside of corporate headquarters, it would probably not be done by me, but by someone in India. -_-

I live in an economically depressed area (near Flint, MI) and am actually one of the lucky ones, in that my commute to metro Detroit is only 40 miles - a lot of people around here drive 50, 60+ miles to get to work - places like downtown Detroit, Ann Arbor, etc. That is, if they're not using the welfare-to-work buses. It would cost me more in rent to live near where I work, than it does for me to commute from where I live. DH works locally, about a mile away, and makes just over half as much as I do, so it is good that he lives close by. We could almost get rid of his car and he could walk to work every day, if he didn't feel the need for us to have two cars... and if it didn't rain. Ever. :)