“Confessions” Archive

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Overcoming Financial Mistakes…

My husband and I both know there is some padding in our checking account. Paying overdraft fees is a pet peeve of mine so I try to make sure we have a little more than we think. This month, we both used the debit card a few times and before we knew it, the padding was gone and we were well over our budget. I had to do a pricey and frustrating balance transfer from our savings to avoid an overdraft.

I am very disappointed.

This event led to the following changes:

1. More involvement by both of us. Often in relationships, one person manages the finances. When things don’t go well and money is too tight, this person feels the stress, the pressure, and the responsibility for the mess. We have both decided to dedicate and hour each week to review each transaction. Now we have more checks and balances on each others spending – otherwise, we’ll have another bad month.

2. We are refocusing our goals and setting rewards. Our next payoff is still a ways away and we’re getting frustrated and bored. We decided to give ourselves something to look forward to after our next payoff. It’s nothing huge, maybe a dinner out or a trip to the theater, but rewards between payoffs has become something we need to stay motivated.

3. Reconsidering our numbers. We went back to make sure our numbers were working for our ever changing budget. We’ve been underspending on gas and overspending on miscellaneous necessities (car repairs, house repairs, etc.). We decided to adjust our numbers and perhaps pay a little less on our credit card so we can stop panicking when things aren’t balancing. Leaving the numbers the same would be great, but it’s obviously not working and it’s causing frustration.

4. We have decided to spread our focus. It’s easy to let finances consume our thoughts and lives. Rather than let this stress grow, we decided to let ourselves enjoy other things in life. Running, swimming, yoga, gardening groups, and organizing the garage help to keep our mind free of the finance clutter in our brains.

When there are long distances between payoffs, it’s important to work at what is frustrating you. You can’t solve everything, and it will be painful, but taking steps to at least reduce stress will help to prevent burnout. I’d rather take things a bit more slowly than give up entirely.

What have you done to motivate yourself and prevent burnout?

Posted by Beks on June 29, 2009 at 7:49 PM in Confessions, Credit Cards, General Debt, General Personal Finance, Keeping Motivated, Life Experiences, Living Frugal, Money & Relationships, Monthly Spending, Reducing Debt | 4 Comments »
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Over Budget…

Confession time…

We went over budget by $90 this weekend.

I wish I could say it was on something important like an investment, a donation to the cancer society, or giving to help a military family but…

The $90 was spent on 5 flats of chicken thighs, 3 bags of charcoal, 4 fruit pies, green salad… and a round of golf.

My husband threw two hefty BBQ’s this weekend and went golfing with his brothers.

Fortunately, we both worked extra hours last week so we didn’t fall behind – in fact, we still came out ahead. Sometimes, inviting friends over to enjoy smoked chicken and homemade pies is worth it – especially when your BBQ is interrupted by an unexpected 20 minute fireworks show.

We sang Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Joni while playing Rock Band late into the night.

I’ve been wonderfully budget conscious for months; I hope you can forgive this exception.

How was your holiday? Any budget hiccups?

Posted by Beks on May 26, 2009 at 5:00 AM in Confessions, Life Experiences, Living Frugal, Monthly Spending | 14 Comments »
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How to spend $150 accidentally…

In our continuing effort to save water and money, we installed a drip system in our garden. We are able to water our plants far less often than in the past.

My husband loves this system. He turns on the hose for a few minutes while he eats breakfast and turns it off before he leaves for work.

Or should I say… he lovED this system.

I came home from work on Thursday and heard water running. Confused, I headed to the backyard and was greeted with a mass of water and a geyser like spray erupting from our hose bibb.

Turns out, hubby darling forgot to turn the system off and the pressure built until the backflow device exploded. This water mistake will likely add $150 to our water bill.

To make matters worse, my ever so annoying dogs like to kill every living thing in their territory. The new lake in my backyard caused dead, tailless, lizard and mice carcasses to float to the surface. I guess I can be grateful my dogs aren’t bigger. I don’t think I could have held my gag reflex quite so well at the sight of bucktoothed bloated squirrels.

To the state of California – I am sorry for wasting our precious resource. I have decided to make amends and cut my already short 5 minute showers to 3 minutes. So, when you see me… and I stink… remember, I had a choice to assault your nose or assault my wallet. In these desperate economic times, I chose your nose. Please forgive me.

And yes, we learned from this. Thanks to a $30 timer, this won’t happen again.

What was your biggest home accident?

Posted by Beks on May 19, 2009 at 5:00 AM in Confessions, Home Ownership, Life Experiences, Saving Money | 7 Comments »
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Normal by the Numbers?

I’ve been asked to reveal my actual monthly budget numbers. I was reluctant at first and then realized it may be a learning experience and I should see if I am normal in my expectations of my money.

No, I am not going to reveal my housing costs. Asking a San Diegan to reveal her mortgage payment is like asking a New York housewife to reveal her age. The only thing likely to happen is a giant string of lies.

I’m also not going to reveal our charitable giving amounts. What we decide to give is a very personal decision and it’s not an amount I’m willing to change just to pay more on bills.

Savings: $50
Electricity/Gas: $105
Cell Phones: $100
Cable/Internet/Phone: $100
Grocery: $300
Gas: $260
Laundry: $10
Toiletries: $11
Clothing/House Repairs/Animal Care/Spending Money: $200
Water: $70
Trash: $18

All remaining money is used to pay our mortgage, our credit card, our student loans, and my husband’s truck.

So. Am I normal by the numbers? What does your budget look like?

Posted by Beks on May 18, 2009 at 5:00 AM in About Me, Confessions, General Debt, Monthly Spending, Reducing Debt, Spending Money | 28 Comments »
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Isn’t This Supposed to Happen MUCH Later in Life?

First off, I have a correction to make. I wasn’t completely honest with you and as much as that worked when I was dating (like when I said, “I absolutely LOVE football!” when the last game I watched was in the sixth grade), it’s not in the cards in my communication with you readers.

I’m not 27 as stated in my first post…

I’m 28.

I don’t lie about my age because I want people to think I’m younger. I lie about my age because I can’t remember how old I am. I honestly forgot I was 28.

Isn’t this supposed to happen MUCH later in life?

Why does this come up? My co-workers talk about my age a lot. They all assume I’m 21 or 22 and they act shocked when I break the news that I’m 27… er… 28. I guess the assumption is natural. I work for slightly above minimum wage and I’m surrounded by 18 year olds.

It could also be because, thanks to the greasy hot dog burner, I’m breaking out like a pubescent teenager.

Is it just me or does everyone feel 21 regardless of the emerging fine wrinkles and stray gray hairs?

It’s this mentality that continues to make me struggle financially. It’s OK to make stupid financial mistakes in your early 20’s. It’s not OK to continue those mistakes for the next 8 years. I guess I’ve always felt young so I always assumed that I’d live forever – and conveniently, that’s how long it would take to pay off my debts… including those club cover charges… from my freshman year in college.

But the reality is, if I want to retire before say… 2078, I need to take care of my responsibilities. I need a sense of urgency.

My financial class gives me that sense once a week but I find it wears away after a few days. By the following Tuesday I’m debating the necessity of Enya’s greatest hits or a discount cashmere sweater (fortunately I decided those were both non-necessities… for now anyway…).

Any ideas on how to keep that urgency? Other than someone poking me with a stiff cattle prod whenever I pull out my debit card?

How do you stay motivated?

Posted by Beks on April 17, 2009 at 12:11 AM in About Me, Confessions, Keeping Motivated | 17 Comments »
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I Didn’t Do So Well…

First of all, thank you everyone for your nice words and the well wishes for the future addition to our family. And thank you for the well wishes for quitting smoking. I wish I had better news to report with how I did today. I didn’t do so well…

I had great intentions and was pumped and ready when I went to sleep last night. When I woke up, it was a different story. The need for nicotine was right there and I couldn’t quit thinking about cigarettes. So I had half a cigarette.

As I was trying to work, having a cigarette was constantly on my mind. It was driving me crazy. After a while, even the click of my mouse started sounding like my lighter clicking. I always knew I was addicted; it became even more obvious with what was going on through my mind.

Before long, I was back downstairs and getting ready to go outside. I told my husband, “Well, I already blew it bigtime.” He suggested that I try to cut down and for the rest of the day I’ve only had half-cigarettes. True, cutting down is an option and I did that before when I was pregnant with my son. The thought was that while I was in the hospital I would give up the cigarettes completely. Well, didn’t work. As soon as I could leave my room without having the nurses yell at me I was out and about looking for where I could smoke. In fact, I almost was locked out of the hospital in the process!

This time, I want to quit and I want to quit for good. Maybe I should try weaning myself off of cigarettes instead of quitting cold turkey. Or maybe I should discuss this with my doctor when I visit him/her. Perhaps there is something I can take that is safe during pregnancy that will help. Maybe they might have some suggestions or can point me to a smoking cessation group.

Learning that I was pregnant put an urgency to quitting smoking, so I gave it a shot today. I feel very frustrated that I didn’t last very long. I recognize this feeling, and it’s lead to giving up before. I don’t want to give up. I think I need a plan, just like we have a plan for our debt reduction.

Thanks again to everyone that wished me well with quitting smoking. I feel horrible that I couldn’t do it today, but I’m not going to give up. I will become a non-smoker.

Posted by Tricia on March 19, 2007 at 7:59 PM in Confessions | 30 Comments »
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This is a Little Embarassing…

First off, something that is a little redeeming…I paid a few more debt payments and our debt total is now at $21,891. It is inching towards $20,000 and I am getting excited to be so close to that next milestone.

Now for the embarassing part. If you look to the right you will see that my savings total is down to $1,147. Just a few days ago, I was excited to let everyone know that we had reached $1,600 in savings.

What happened?

I’m not sure if I made the transfer! The money should have been withdrawn from my checking account by now and it hasn’t been done. Looking at my savings account, they money is not there and it doesn’t show a pending transfer. Usually I print or note confirmations and I couldn’t find one. So, it appears that I started to do the transfer because I remember filling everything out. Perhaps I didn’t hit the final button to seal the deal. I am so embarassed.

Add to that the fact that my math is horrible! The transfer was for $503. If you take the savings balance before ($1,147) and add them together, you get $1,650 NOT $1,600.

There’s a part of me that is saying to wait a few more days before trying the transfer again, just in case. My checking account is run so low that it would not survive two transfers of $503. Until I know about the transfer for sure, the best thing to do is to decrease the amount under savings.

I’m really surprised at myself that this happened because I am usually very detailed. I check and double check things – one might even say that I check things too many times. I almost have to wonder if this was meant to happen for some reason. That perhaps I am going to need that money for something else (like a bill I happened to forget about).

I guess time will tell, and hopefully sooner than later I my savings will increase again.

Posted by Tricia on March 15, 2007 at 6:35 AM in Confessions, Debt Updates, Saving Money | 14 Comments »
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