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Archive results for “December of 2006”
On this page you will find the search results for the search term that you queried.
I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions. I actually do not care for them much because I’ve tried to make them in the past and I just break them. I’d rather start something when I’m mentally ready and just not on a certain date.
But, I’ve never tried setting yearly financial goals. Seeing that I’m already ready to pay off more debt, I guess it can’t hurt to give myself a few goals for the year.
Here we go…
Debt Goal - I would like to pay off at least $12,000 more of our debt in 2007. To account for monthly finance charges, we’ll probably have to pay around $1,100/month to make it happen.
Savings Goal - Since I only have about $121 in a savings account, it might be nice to put a few more dollars in that account. If I can double the balance in 2007 I’d be happy. It’s a start 
Retirement Goal - I will have the ability to contribute to a 401K plan this year. I am excited and I really have no idea what to expect with this. I’m waiting to get paperwork so I can read up on it. I’m on the fence right now with how much to contribute because of our debt.
Extra Money Goal - I haven’t forgotten about eBay. I still want to sell a lot of our stuff on there to make some cash to go towards our debt reduction. I also want to reduce clutter in our house 
Personal Goal - I’m not going to set a specific poundage to this one, but I would like to lose some weight this year. I just want to have more energy and be able to do more things. I’m hoping my Elliptial will help.
That’s it for now
Happy New Year!
While looking through my archives to write a recap of 2006, I thought about something…
There is always room for improvement, but for the most part we are frugal people
Here are my top frugal posts of 2006:
Ways I Save Money - Skip the Professional Haircuts - I’m gettting so good at cutting mine that my husband didn’t even need to straighten it for me the last time I cut it
Twelve Frugal Wedding Tips from my Wedding - In all, our wedding cost $2,000 with $1,000 going towards my dress and ring.
The Best Things in Life are on the Side of the Road with a “Free” Sign - Another person’s trash is another person’s treasure. We ended up getting a couch that we definitely could use.
A Few Cheap Ideas to Spruce up the Look of an Old Home - Our home was stuck in the 50s in terms of the decor. We didn’t have much money when we moved in, but we did a few cheap things that made a HUGE difference.
Saving Gas and It’s Good For You Too - We purchased a reel mower and we love it!
Tips for Finding Clearanced Items - I love getting things I need on clearance. Here’s what I’ve learned.
A Frugal Tip for Broken Eyeglasses - My glasses broke, but the replacement didn’t cost much money at all.
Six Money Saving Tips for the Grocery Store - I used to work at a grocery store, so here’s some insider tips on how to save money while shopping.
There are more frugal related posts in my archives, but these are ones that I thought were more helpful. I hope you enjoy!
For those eagle eyes out there, you’ll see that I’ve updated my debt total at the top right for the end of December. It sits at $24,398…$13,216 of our credit card debt is gone!
The past 11 months have flown by, and I thought it would be neat to highlight some posts to recap the year.
Almost $37,000 in Credit Card Debt - the scary truth when I added our credit card balances together in February.
I Can Be Debt-Free - I let everyone in on a phrase that I say to keep positive.
Calling Credit Cards to Reduce Your Rate - My first attempt at calling my credit card to lower the interest rate failed.
I Transferred the Wrong Balance - My first big boo-boo with shuffling my debt around to lower interest rates.
Finance Charges Paid in March - $417.49 - When I added up how much it was costing me a month to have my credit cards, the total wasn’t pretty.
Here it Goes, Here’s How Much We Make - Back in April, I projected that we would make $40,000 in 2006. Now that I have the numbers in for December, I can tell you that our income is just shy of $47,000 this year.
Maybe I Shouldn’t Have Been So Agressive - I became so focused on paying off debt that I didn’t leave an adequate buffer in my checking account.
Should I Save Up An Emergency Fund? - Probably the topic that stirs up emotion in a lot of personal finance bloggers. For me, I am choosing to forgo the emergency fund and pay off debt first.
Betray Me and I Get Bitter - One of my cards raised the rate on me for no reason. That wasn’t nice.
27 Years, 8 Months…Sounds Like a Prison Term - I ran a calculator and found out how long it would take me to pay off our debt by only paying the minimum payments. Eek!
Big Announcement - The Goal Date is Set - May of 2009 is still my official goal date to have our debt paid off. I’ve toyed with moving it to Christmas of 2008, but I haven’t officially done it.
Eight Ideas to Make a Few Extra Bucks - Making more money can mean more money that can go towards your debt. Here’s a few ideas.
Could Prosper Help Someone Like Me - My first thoughts about Prosper.com (who I did receive a loan from later in my journey).
Money, Marriage and Compromising - My husband and I sometimes butt heads because I am pretty agressive with paying off our debt.
Calling Them Finally Worked - Yes! Success at reducing our credit card interest rate by calling!
It Was Hard to Do But We Made a Fun Purchase - There is a balance to be found with spending money and paying off debt.
Introducing Credit Card #7 - I was lured by a balance transfer offer and added another credit card to the family.
Thank You Prosper Lenders - I officially received a loan from Propser.com. Now, all of my credit card interest rates have been reduced.
What a Beautiful Picture - The credit card with the highest balance (and was the one that raised their rate on me for no reason) was now paid off with balance transfers. It felt very good.
A Quick Post - I Got My Raise - I received a 7% raise at work
I Wish Those LCD HDTVs Would Quit Calling My Name - Whenever I go to the store, I still look at the LCD HDTVs. They are still tempting…I am still resisting.
Total Credit Card Debt - Under $30,000 - We reached a big debt milestone in July.
I Can’t Believe It - They Raised My Interest Rate - After calling and successfully reducing my interest rate, my credit card raised it.
Ways I Save Money - My Husband and I Work Opposite Shifts - It’s not the easiest thing for a marriage, but working opposite shifts is working for us so far and saving us money.
The 10 Things We Did to Erase Almost $9000 in Credit Card Debt in Less than 6 Months - I sat down and wrote down everything we were doing to pay off our debt.
Welcome New Visitors - I was given the pleasure of speaking with Scott Burns of the Dallas Morning News and he interviewed me for an article.
Money and Marriage - Tightening of the Financial Belt to Fight Debt - As with many things in life, you have to seek a balance if you and your spouse do not see eye to eye in regards to your finances.
It’s Official - My Car is Now a Pure Asset, Baby! - I don’t talk about our non-credit card debt much, but paying off our car was a wonderful event.
My Ever Confusing FICO Score - This was back in September and my FICO score still confuses me LOL.
The Ways I Make Money With My Blog - My blog is making around a few hundred dollars a month now. If you are blogger and are interested in seeing what programs I use, this is a post for you.
Running the Numbers - What Sending Even More Money to Debt Can Do - I could be debt-free in November of 2007 if we paid $2,000 a month towards our debt. That is very unlikely, but neat to think about if we could increase our total income.
Tricia…Read the Darn Credit Card Statements - I made another boo-boo here and wasn’t paying attention to my statements.
Did You Hear That - It Was My Jaw Hitting the Floor - Make sure you read those “Change of Terms” notices that you get from your credit cards.
Am I Close to the Point Where I Just Need to Earn More - There is more that we could cut in terms of spending, but it would diminish our quality of life. The other solution is to earn more.
Do We Still Use Credit Cards - I believe that credit cards can be used for “good” and we still use our cards if we can turn around and pay it right off.
Thank You for Listening to My Problems - What can I say? I have awesome readers
I Finally Did It - I Gave My Notice to One of My Jobs - It wasn’t easy (and I’m still not “done” working this job yet because I have a few things to wrap up mid-January), but it was time to let go of one of my part-time jobs.
A Very Special Interview with My 4 Year-old Son - A short interview on my son’s thoughts about money. I loved his answers.
Why I’ve Been Quiet Lately - Another one of the times where I was feeling down during this journey.
Debt Does Drive Me Crazy Sometimes - The title on this one says it all.
When You Make More Money You Spend More Money - It’s tough. When you make more money, you spend more money on things that one may consider necessities. Before, when you were making less money getting those “necessities” wasn’t even an option.
Woo Hoo - We Officially Have Health Insurance - After 5 years without - we finally have health insurance again.
My Heart Broke Yesterday - I couldn’t go to an event at my son’s school because I had to work. It’s tough trying to juggle family and work, especially when I am working hard to pay off our debt.
Credit Card Debt - Under $25,000 - Another big milestone is reached in mid-December.
And, that’s a recap of 2006. It was fun going through all of my archives. I sure wrote a lot!
Here’s to 2007!
Remember how a while ago, I was able to buy a RoboReptile from Amazon.com for $30 through their “cool deals” specials? I am thrilled with that deal and my son finds the toy “interesting.” Not a huge hit, but perhaps he’ll grow into it.
Now here’s where I splurged. I also managed to grab an Elliptical Trainer a few days later for $200 with free shipping. The regular price is around $600. I did my research on the product before purchasing and it is a solid piece of equipment.
I’ve always wanted some form of exercise equipment to use. I have a treadmill that I received for free through FreeCycle.org, but it is a manual one and it’s not easy to use. I also have an exercise bike that I bought for $2.00 at a garage sale, but again, it’s old, loud and not very easy to use. I haven’t used either in ages.
My husband and I put it together the other night, and while I do feel some buyer’s remorse for spending money, I am pleased with my purchase for a few reasons:
1.) Although I had to pay with credit card on the internet, I turned around and paid the credit card right away. So, this purchase was made with cash.
2.) In addition to shedding some debt, I need to shed some pounds as well. While I know there is no miracle machine that will do all of the work for me (although, if there was I may be interested in paying a premium price for it ;)) preliminary “runs” on the elliptical prove promising. It’s in my home office, and already I have went for breaks and spent a few minutes on the elliptical. I may try to incorporate it more often into my day to get the blood flowing and kickstart my metabolism.
3.) I received a cash gift of $60 for Christmas, and I put it towards my purchase. With doing that, the elliptical cost me $140.
3.) It was a good deal for a good product.
Now that I told everyone here that I bought it, I better use it and not let it sit and collect dust!
Bryan C. Fleming over at the Home of the Million Dollar Savings Club interviewed me a little while ago.
He’s posted the interview, so if you are interested in reading it you can check it out here.
Thanks Bryan for the interview!
I will be posting my book review on The Maui Millionaires
So make sure you come back on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday for the review and details on the giveaway :).
This confession is an odd one, because it is also a revelation. I am undoubtedly a clothing pack rat!
What I found in my closet while cleaning over the holiday was amazing. I found old clothes from years ago that were stained and torn and for some reason I was holding onto them. We are not talking about a few things. We’re talking about two big garbage bags full of clothes that would not even be accepted by Goodwill.
For example, eleven years ago my brother came to visit me and he bought me a shirt. I wore that shirt as much as I could so it has definitely has seen its day and there is no way I would wear it out of the house. But I still kept it.
Then there are the holy holey (Edited: Thanks mapgirl for the correction :)) pants. They have those holes in places where it’s difficult to fix by sewing and you can’t wear them in public. I had a stash of those tucked away.
Perhaps at one time I thought that I could make something new out of the old so I kept them. But I know most of those clothes have been there for years. It’s time to let go.
My garbage man is going to love me this week!
About This Site
Credit Card Debt
- Starting = $37,614
- Paid Off = $28,616
- Current = $8,998
- $25 ING Savings Bonus
Savings Account
- Current = $3,203
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