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Archive for January, 2009

weight issues among other things

January 21st, 2009 at 05:30 pm

I used to have a weightloss ticker on my profile. I've deleted it, but am still lost in the struggle to lose weight--but I'm not too serious about it. I try to eat as healthy as possible, stick to a rough calorie count (VERY rough, I might add). In the fall, I took home a mountain bike free care of my parents and bought a bike helmet. When the snow vacates the area, I will again begin biking to and from work (a work-out, money saver AND greenie all in one). I had a coupon from Costco for $10 off a weight watchers scale. When I purchased it two weeks ago I weighed 163.4. Today, I weighed 162.2. Hurrah to that!

Also, checked out online payroll system to see what I will be paid on Friday. Thus, here is what I will be doing with that money on Friday:

23-Jan-2009 expense
Firestone 200
groceries 230
Library 60
Orchard Bank 1 25
Orchard Bank 2 25
Fed SL 50
HFC 100
savings 1169
gas 40
1899

Financial Forecast First Quarter 2009

January 17th, 2009 at 07:17 pm

I think I've shared on this blog that I keep track of bills on a spreadsheet. I anticipate what bills are due, what week they will be paid, etc. a few months in advance and as the date approaches, I zone in on what the actual payments will be. I have anticipated expenses through March also anticipating making (hopefully) a mortgage payment on March 20, for an April 1 due date. Here is the debt pay off picture:

By the end of February I will--
1) have 2K in savings (1K to be used for earnest money)
2) Orchard 1 paid off in full
3) Orchard 2 paid off in full
4) CFNA paid off in full
5) Capital One paid off in full

By the end of March I will--
1) have 1650 of Chase paid
2) car loan will be under 6900
3) hopefully will have closed on a house/condo

Big big goals. If I put my nose to the grindstone, I know we can do it. Then we'll file in April to get the tax credit and 1) pay off parents for loan 2) put the rest into savings. Continue pounding leftover unsecured debt. I anticipate I can have that all paid off by August and perhaps have even started pounding the car. Joseph's school will be out and we'll have an extra 700 per month to go toward debt. Also, I am coaching softball which will yield another 3500 or so (4K--take out taxes).

Whew. That was a mouthful. Comments are appreciated. Let me know if I'm too lofty here.

The ugly details

January 14th, 2009 at 05:16 pm

So, I've got to start afresh and get this thing back in gear. The good thing about it all is that I know I can do it because I've done it before.

Goals for 2009:
1) pay off all unsecured debt
2) pay off car
3) save all receipts to track spending
4) purchase a safe to begin keeping cash in envelopes(I live in Chicago. Can't risk a stash getting stolen).


Too many goals and I'm bound to fail. And now, the ugly details.

Credit
American Express: 1879
Chase: 3200
Orchardbank 1: 574.82
Orchardbank 2: 240
CFNA: 577
Capital One: 456.67
HFC: 2749
total: 9676.49

Secured debt
Car: $7800


On the horizon, at least, I am making extra money from tutoring at the moment. I will also be coaching softball this spring, which is an extra 4K. I have decided, however, that since I'm coaching softball, I will not teach summer school. A girl's gotta have a break if you know what I mean. Who knows, though. If an announcement goes around requesting teachers desperately, I may cave Wink Extra money is extra money.

Also in the mix is the issue of our housing situation. Our landlord is in foreclosure, which is extremely frightening. Rent for a 3 bedroom apartment is $1800 (for something decent--and not necessarily good). I have a 5 year old (ooh, gotta change that on my profile--it's his birthday today) and will not subject him to some roach infested hell hole to make it a point to save up 20% for a house, therefore...I am planning on borrowing 5K from my parents so we can attain an FHA loan on a house. Property has come WAY down and thus, we can find something decent and pay even less than we're paying in rent now. Chicago is a large city and rent is skyrocketing with higher demand. I know, I've got a lot going on.

So I hope to use the 7,500 tax credit we would obtain in addition to the rest of our tax return to pay off my parents and pay down some of the debt. Our budget is quite solid and we have plenty extra every month for us to hammer that debt to the moon. I won't share my goals for student loans until I've paid all of the other yucky stuff down.

Comment at will.

Long time...no write

January 13th, 2009 at 06:56 pm

Well, what can I say...I'm like a dog with her tail between her legs. Sigh. I am not too sure why I stopped writing here. I have been a lurker for months now, heating up with intensity, desiring to blog and finally, I have the motivation to do it.

Notice on the left where I have wiped all goals clean and left my poor profile looking empty. I've rung up the CC debt again. I can't exactly put my finger on how or why, but I have. The transition from my former position to my new fabulous position left us using credit for a variety of things and what not.

So, I'm in this place where I need to set up my goals again. The good news? I actually kept us above water this Christmas and have been diligent in using a spreadsheet to budget and keep track of our bills. I know I have the tools and the willpower to get out of this alive. Sigh. I will overcome!

Happy new year to all. I've missed you immensely.