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| Fri, 11-14-2008 - 2:31pm |
Ok, first post. And I know everyone says this…..but this is long. I have been lurking on this site and have been reading everything! There are some pretty amazing women on this site I gotta tell ya. I am divorced recently(year and a half), two kids 11 and 8. I am $20,500 in personal debt(all mine) on a credit line that I have with my ex(we get along pretty good and it is a good interest rate). It was 30,000 in May of this year but I have managed to get it down to 20,500 since then but having my business help me with payments since that is reason I have the stupid debt. I’m awesome btw! LOL! I have no assets or savings that are personal. Oh, wait, not true, I just started an efund that is $90 LOL. I keep my visa at 0 if I use it.
The ex husband and I had a business that I bought after all was said and done. So you know how most people get into debt over time? Not me, I was 30 grand into debt in about 6 months. I was not aware of the taxes being behind or the gst(yes, I’m Canadian). So from catching all that up is where most of my debt came from. Believe me I do feel so stupid for not having the knowledge that they were behind but my part of the business did not involve the finances. I consider myself a smart/educated person for the most part and have beat myself up for that enough and need to move forward. I do have some equity in my business but of course have a credit line there as well(hoping that stays under control and Christmas spending picks up soon!) and a land a building loan etc. The business does ok and will do better once I have the land and building paid off (2010). I pay myself a modest salary btw.
I now live with my kids(have them half the time) and my boy friend(bf from here on out) and have moved into a small house so at least we are putting equity into something and not renting. It was killing me writing rent cheqs. He has two cars and lets me drive one. He is the best!! (I recently got out of a horrible lease that was coming due). He has student loans but I am choosing not to concentrate on that until my personal credit line is gone. We have a monthly budget I made but are having trouble getting on track with it because we just moved and got a bank account together etc and all the set up fees for everything. So hopefully that will settle out soon. He has a good job and has been there 3 months with no signs of lay offs in this crappy economy. We are also saving for an upgrade on one of the cars and next year sometime would like to save for a new house.
I have learned quite a bit from reading your posts. The snow flaking keeps me sane. I have been doing since the beginning but didn’t know what it was called, love the name. We keep a vacation fund on the dresser for our pocket change and it is getting hefty almost $500.
I sell Avon too, (you guys are right—the mascara rocks). I don’t necessarily make any money but I buy gifts for people that I would have to spend money on anyway and things for myself that I need (deodorant, soap, shampoo etc.), and I do have a lip stick problem I need to get under control. But other wise I am not a big shopper and am trying to install good spending habbits in my kids and show them the value of a dollar.
I am all for comments, concerns. Also, I am trying to find a balance between the debt and family. Sometimes it keeps me up at night and I get depressed about it. I feel guilty that I am not saving for the kids education and retirement. How do you do it ladies, HOW do you find a balance and maintain your sanity? I am going to drink a bottle of something when this credit line is paid off(contemplating the vodka as per previous poster btw) and celebrate! But until then I am having trouble obsessing about the debt!

