Archive results for “July 2009f 2009”

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Life After Credit Card Debt – July Update

Hi everyone! Tricia here again with a monthly check-in.

Before I talk about our finances for July, I’d like take the spotlight for a moment to discuss something very personal.

I have been suffering from anxiety for quite a few years now, although I didn’t recognize it until recently.

Many people suffer from anxiety. I didn’t recognize it, though, for what it really was. I always thought that it was our financial situation that caused me to have the constant worry. We were in debt – why wouldn’t I be excessively worried, right?

Once our credit card debt was paid off things didn’t get better. They actually got worse (probably because not too long after it was paid off I stopped blogging regularly – which I think was therapeutic in a way). I finally realized that it wasn’t normal.

I’m glad to report that with my doctor’s help, I am feeling a lot better. I wanted to share this with all of you now in case it may help someone else out there. I can only imagine how different things would have been during our debt reduction journey if I realized what was going on. While it’s normal to have some worry, mine was excessive.

For more reading about anxiety, here is a link to MedlinePlus.

Now on to our July finances. First things first – we still do not have credit card debt! Yay! July was an okay month. We did visit with family this month so there were extra expenses and unfortunately some unpaid time off. That hurt a little, but it’s always worth every penny to visit with family. I almost added to our savings account this month, but we had yet another doctor bill trickle in. We should be all set with doctor bills for a while, unless there is something else our doctors forgot to bill us for.

August should be a good month. There are no trips and no more doctor bills (hopefully!). It looks like we’ll finally be able to put a nice deposit into our savings account.

Here’s to a great August! It’s hard to believe summer is going by so quickly!!

Posted by Tricia on July 31, 2009 at 11:45 PM in Life After Credit Card Debt | 7 Comments »
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Changes in Eating Habits…

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in two weddings in the next 9 weeks. At the bridesmaid dress fitting for wedding number one, the store smartly ordered a size four. A few weeks later, at a fitting for wedding number two, the attendant measured me at a size two. Rather than object and say, ‘I know my body and I know it sure as hades isn’t a size two’, I said, ‘I’ll take one in every color.’

The size four dress arrived for wedding number one and it fits perfectly… which of course means…

I’m in trouble. Sure, I can get the size two dress on, but it presents the very ‘minor’ problem of the inability to breathe.

So I have two options. Lose weight OR pay a small fortune to alter the dress for wedding number two. In light of my financial situation, I thought it best to lose some weight.

I have dieted exactly one time in my life and the diet lasted 4 hours before I broke down and ate a large order of carne asada fries. And it’s not that I haven’t needed to diet. I gained 20 pounds in college and kept the weight on for three years. But… self control isn’t my strong suit.

I’ve been using the Lose It! program I recommended in an earlier post and have been carefully monitoring my caloric intake. By dinner time, I’m left with a dismal 300 calories and my debate is usually a toss up between a green salad with goat cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing or two glasses of wine. It’s not a tough guess as to which one regularly wins.

It’s been a week and all I can think about is food.

But I’m sticking with it…. at least for another four hours.

Posted by Beks on July 31, 2009 at 5:00 AM in About Me, Life Experiences, Saving Money | 18 Comments »
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Employment Disappointment…

My husband received a letter in the mail today.

He did not get the government job.

Short Term Financial Effects:
We will be able to pay our bills at the same pace since he won’t have to take a large salary cut.

Long Term Financial Effects:
Possible unemployment in 6-8 months. No government pension and retirement healthcare.

We’re still positive. He’s working. I’m working. We’re paying our bills. We’re living below our means. The construction market has started to take an upward turn and his job has become a bit more stable. So, we went on a 20 mile bike ride, grilled some chicken, and had a glass of wine on the back patio.

In the big scheme of things… life is still pretty darn good.

Posted by Beks on July 30, 2009 at 5:00 AM in General Personal Finance, Life Experiences, Money & Relationships, work | 6 Comments »
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Probationary Review…

I received my probationary review at work today. My boss reviewed the scoring range and talked about what areas employees are graded on. ‘Now, before I talk about your score, I just want to make something clear, your score is not average.’

Great. I’m going to fail this review – I thought

‘When you first interviewed with us, I told the committee that I could see you had a bright future. I put my neck on the line for you…’ he said.

And…

‘And I’m reaping the rewards. Your performance has been unparalleled. Never, have I given a probationary score this high’ he said while smiling.

There are five Rebekah’s in this department. Obviously you’re confused.

‘I have never seen such a high level of organization…’

You call it ‘organization’, my doctor calls it a case study in obsessive compulsive disorder

‘…You are well liked by your peers and HR has only praise for you…’

You’d be amazed at the power of homemade cookies and good old fashioned gratitude to others

‘…and you are always willing to put in extra time to get projects done.’

You fired someone… IN FRONT OF ME… if that doesn’t put a fire under someone’s pants, nothing will

In an environment of so much insecurity, it was nice to get a pat on the back. I didn’t think he had noticed – and was pleasantly surprised to realize he had. This review doesn’t guarantee my job (no one is guaranteed a job) but I’m glad to hear I’m doing something right.

Whew!

Posted by Beks on July 28, 2009 at 5:00 AM in About Me, Life Experiences, work | 13 Comments »
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Picks and Pans…

We all buy things we love AND things we hate. Maybe you need to be warned about the carpet shampooer that eats rugs or maybe you need to know about a great grocery dinner deal.

Here are some things that really stuck out to me this week:

PICKS:
Lose It! by FitNow, Inc.
Unfortunately this iTunes application is limited for use on iPhones or iTouch iPods but the good news is… its’ FREE. This application/program is great at helping you monitor portions and nutritional content of nearly everything you eat. It has a huge reference library of restaurant nutritional information and of everyday items from the grocery store. Users simply enter their height/weight information, the types of nutritional content they want to monitor, and their weight loss goals. While I don’t need to lose weight, this program is valuable to me since I want to monitor my fat, protein, and fiber intake for my marathon training. Diabetics can also benefit since this program monitors carbohydrates and sugars. I am now more aware of what I’m eating and how I can make small changes to my eating habits to make a healthier me.

PANS:
Sun Block by Target
I’m a HUGE fan of Target brand products. I like them just as much, if not more, than the name brands. Plus, the cost savings helps stretch my miniscule budget. Unfortunately, I was less than impressed with their sun block. We took this sun block with us on our beach camping vacation and quickly discovered it was a waste of money. Our first clue should have been its label ‘water resistant’ and not ‘waterproof’ like the other sun block products. It washed off at the slightest sweat and did not hold up at all to a quick dip in the ocean. If you plan on not swimming or sweating, it’s great. I don’t know about you, but when I wear sun block… I’m in the sun. And, the sun is hot. In heat, I sweat… er… ‘glow’. I’m fairly certain that’s normal. Sorry Target, head back to the drawing board.

What are your picks and pans this week?

Posted by Beks on July 27, 2009 at 5:00 AM in Free Stuff, Good Info, Living Frugal, Picks and Pans, Saving Money, Spending Money | 3 Comments »
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Scholarship Money!

Even though the eternal pessimist in me wasn’t expecting it…

My husband’s scholarship money came in!

We will be reimbursed for his tuition, text books, and a little extra later this week. Hello extra credit card payment! OK, so sure, doing a dance followed by a cartwheel across my office wasn’t appropriate, but it felt good.

I’ll update you on the new numbers as soon as the check clears.

Posted by Beks on July 24, 2009 at 5:00 AM in :) | 5 Comments »
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Reasons to not sell our truck…

Oops! Some readers have recently posed the question…

Why don’t you sell the truck?

I neglected to explain the reason we’re carrying the truck payment. It’s funny that no one noticed the debt on the truck earlier. It wasn’t until we paid down enough on the rest of our debt to make the truck HALF our total debt that someone asked about it.

My husband had a Chevy that gave out on us a few years ago and he’s one of those few people who actually need a full size truck for work. He tows trailers, fills it with concrete, moves landscaping, etc. A reliable full sized truck isn’t an option… it’s a requirement. We financed a Toyota truck for 26K two years ago and at the time, it was a great deal – or at least that’s what everyone likes to think after leaving a used car dealer.

Fast forward a few years, a few gas hikes, and a few construction related dents later and suddenly…

The truck is more than just a little upside-down – it’s hanging from its toe nails.

We’d MAYBE be able to sell it to someone for 8K… if we made them test drive it in the dark and promise them it got 58 miles to the gallon completely powered by canola oil. But since we’re honest folks, that’s not an option. Plus, we’d have to buy another full sized truck reliable enough to take the 25 – 30 thousand miles a year he drives for work.

Take the nearly 5 thousand we’d have to pay for our upside-down loan and add it to the cost of another truck and it just doesn’t make sense. I’d rather bite the bullet, pay if off by mid-year next year, and have a truck I know works for us.

Posted by Beks on July 23, 2009 at 5:00 AM in Debt Updates, General Debt, General Personal Finance, Loans | 14 Comments »
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