2009 Six Month Status

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2008
2009 Six Month Status
22
Tue, 06-30-2009 - 9:25am

The first six months of 2009 are behind us all as of today.




iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2006
Wed, 07-01-2009 - 12:12pm

DH and I are headed to Cape Cod for a few days over the 4th to stay with my brother and his family so I know we will not need to spend a lot of cash - thank god.

I might be one of the few who is feeling really frustrated at the 6 month mark. At this point we are struggling more than in January. Not getting a raise or the few thousand I normally get as a bonus has really hurt us this year.

The upside is that we have stopped using credit cards - except for the once a month donation to charity that we make (a small $24). I am thinking that I need to cancel this donation but it breaks my heart because it is tied to a small child in India who I receive letters and photos from. I really have to think hard about this one. What I consider struggling and her and her family's struggling are worlds apart.

I guess we just have to keep cutting back and cutting out as much as we can.

I really do believe that in the next 12 months things will get better. I have to believe or I get quite upset and stressed out over it all.

Thanks for the inspiration ladies.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2006
Wed, 07-01-2009 - 12:17pm

Sounds like you are making good progress to me! Especially with not having to pay Uncle Sam anymore and having one of the wee ones out of daycare. Hang in there and more flakes will add up soon.

I's struggling right now. I'm preferring to look forward to the next 6-12 months instead of back

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2008
Wed, 07-01-2009 - 12:36pm

I honestly think my personal recession happened about 4 years ago, when I moved to MI without a house sold in OH and juggled two house payments, was going through a divorce




iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2005
Wed, 07-01-2009 - 1:52pm

Well lets see.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-14-2008
Thu, 07-02-2009 - 12:45pm

Great thread Marie!

It has been a funny 6 months. My goals and plans have changed and been rearranged. My financial situation is not as cut and dried as most people on the board. I have had some fortunate things happen as well. I went from being super stressed out in January to a feeling of looking up now.

I had just over 18,000 left on my personal credit line and I was thinking I would have to dip into it more in Jan or Feb raising the amount of personal debt I would be in for my business. I had no emergency fund for myself or the store. I had no vehicle in my name. Not much of a personal credit rating in my name because of a divorce. So I had 18000 worth of debt and no house or car. I had just bought land the previous November but had just started making payments. Even this little paragraph sounds better than just over a year ago believe me! The credit line was at 30,000, I was leasing a truck I could not afford, renting an apartment and my business needed more money with no money in the bank.

Fast forward and things are so much better. My boyfriend and I purchased land and his parents basically let us stay in their old farm house. (I guess it is ours now, it is not worth much but free, we do pay a mortgage on the land). We were able to save 9000 for a car and trade in his old one. We decided not to do that though. We got an interest free car loan, traded in the car, got a student credit and took our savings to pay off my debt. So now we have a car loan but I think it is better. I got the impression that people on this board didn't think it was a good idea but I do so I am running with it! I improved my credit rating in my own name, I don't stress nearly as much, I saved about 500-600 in interest I would have had to pay on my credit line and I can now concentrate on paying off my land and building loan with snowflakes and saving for kids for college etc. We were going to do the car thing anyway so I'm ok with it. Also I had a distant relative leave my dad some money and he gave it me and I now have an emergency fund for my store that will be fully funded at the end of July. So I went from a negative personal net worth of -18,000 to a positive net worth of +5,000. Plus I have equity in land now, and my name on a new car we will have paid off in full in 36 months. My business is now worth more(5,400) as I have been making payments on my land and building and I owe less.

I think it has been a very positive six months! And the next 6 months are only going to get better. I might need my emergency fund or I might not for my business but at least it is there. I have a plan A and plan B. Once that land and building loan is paid off my credit line will be more stable for the store over time and I may even......wait for it.........work in the black one day!! That is my goal! LOL. It will happen, I just need some time and to hang in there.

I wish everyone good luck with their next six months. We have some very determined ladies on this board and I am excited to see how it goes!


iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2008
Thu, 07-02-2009 - 1:05pm

Smart people have plans A & B!

Norma


"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2008
Fri, 07-03-2009 - 2:15am

Our status doesn't look any better if you look at what we owed at the beginning of the year and what we now owe.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-15-2008
Fri, 07-03-2009 - 6:12am

We payed off Kohl's cc, bought our daughter a used car with cash, went on a vacation with cash and we are half way to a fully funded e-fund.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
Sat, 07-04-2009 - 12:08am

Well there sure have been changes here!

Community Leader
Registered: 07-26-1999
Sun, 07-05-2009 - 2:34pm

Well let's see, before I put the airline tickets for DSS's visit this summer and before buying the newer truck 2 weeks ago, we were doing pretty decently. and we still are, but we're not as well off as I would like to be since I was truly hoping we'd be debt free by the end of the year except for the mortgage, but its not looking that way now. We took another small hit with me being put on bedrest and then having the baby 2 1/2 weeks early, so I am still waiting to find out how much my disability insurance is going to help. The only small plus even though we are not getting raises this year, we are getting a one time payment of $800 Aug. 31, so that may end up saving what the bedrest ended up screwing up in my budget.

And DH keeps coming home about every other weeks swearing he is going to get fired, I don't know if he is or if he's just paranoid. but on the plus side, he is finally implementing some of the cost cutting measures I have been trying to get him to do all year like taking his lunch and seeing how many days in a row he can go without spending money, etc. So we shall see.

Overall, we are doing fine, just not as good as I would have liked at this point in the year.

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