Q and A Debt

For the past year, I have been paying off debt. Am I debt free yet? Not yet but my debt payoff plan is gaining momentum and we are putting larger chunks of money towards our debt repayment. We have paid off three credit cards which I am so happy about. By December of 2018, we hope to be free of all credit card debt. I also expect to pay off a loan as well. I see the light at the end of the tunnel but I know there is still a ways to go before we are 100% debt free. It has not been easy and requires willpower that we sometimes do not have. Do we still go out to eat a bit too much. YES. Do we still buy a lottery ticket in hopes of winning big, YES. However, we also have recognized our triggers. Before, my husband and I enabled each other. Now we try to talk each other off a financial ledge. We are financially growing up. Paying off 3 credit cards has enabled us to plan for a family vacation as well as a family reunion. Could we pay off debt quicker by staying at home? Absolutely, but ...

Happy New Year!  I have been out of the loop lately but 2015 is here and I'm ready for it.  Or I at least hope I am..lol.  The holiday season was great we enjoyed lots of family and no drama.  I guess we are all growing up :) So on to the NEW YEAR, Mr. Man is a lot under the weather but trying to get better. I am thinking of all the things I want to accomplish this year.  Every year I make resolutions that I cannot at all keep. I'm trying to be reasonable and realistic. My first resolution is to lose 20 pounds. I've been slowly working on a weight goal and know these 20 pounds are doable. It will be challenging because I have a huge sweet tooth but I'm committed to doing it and know I CAN do it. My second resolution is to eliminate 4 of my credit card debts by the end of 2015. Reducing our debt total is a huge priority this year. My third resolution is to pay cash for our trip to Las Vegas for a family wedding. This is a big trip for us which will equal a ...

I love reading debt saving, meal planning and organizing blogs but the one thing I've noticed is that the majority are written by people who have kids under 7. While, I still enjoy reading I've been on the hunt for a blog that can provide some guidance for those of us with tweens and teens. Because as we all know they eat a WHOLE lot more than little ones.  As well as make a WHOLE lot more mess, have friends over and require a WHOLE lot more money.  And for me personally I have the added cost of a special needs child so I'm the odd woman out when it comes to finding a blog that fits our lifestyle. So I figured if I can find a few I can Frankenglue them together to give me a great guide to organinzing, saving and meal planning. LOL! So if you all have any good suggestions please do share, I would really appreciate it!

Hooray! Another glimmer of light has shown through our long dark tunnel of debt. We paid off Credit Card F.  It was our highest interest rate card. Seeing our debt slowly dissolving is motivation to keep going forward.  At times some sacrifices may seem huge but looking back they were so small and have now made a bigger impact. We can do this!

I haven't had much time to post lately...school has started so I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  By 8pm, I am absolutely tired from driving the kids (and their friends) to/from school, errands, housework, homework and checking up on Dad. Add to that a nasty upper respiratory virus and well I've been a little defeated. Thankfully, I am getting better and with that, trying to get stuff done around here.  I haven't completely updated our debt totals but they are going down which is always a good thing! In between all the chaos, I've been trying hard to list, list, list on Ebay.  I emptied out our linen closet and moved 95% of my inventory out of my bedroom.  I needed to reclaim it along with my sanity.  My Mom was a big believer of the side hustle. She said everything you have in your home cost money to buy.  So in turn, every little thing you own has value. From an old magazine, jar of buttons or a pillowcase, someone out there wi...

You must have a ton of money in savings?! Wrong! So, a little over a year ago Mr. Man received a promotion.  With it came a higher salary.  That's where fact and fiction get confused.  I've noticed more comments from family about Mr. Man's salary and how now we are "Good", as in set financially.  What my family fails to realize, is that we pay all our bills and there are quite a few.  We are a single income household with a mountain of medical debt.  Add on to that the daily expenses that are not average.  I willingly volunteer, as well as a couple of my other siblings, to check up on Dad several times a week.  With that comes gas expense, food expense and the occasional entertainment expense.  We do it because we want to but that doesn't take away the financial aspect of it.  I also have a special needs child who requires weekly therapy.  We get absolutely not one penny of government assistance and our health insurance copay is u...

Summer is only one day in and already my kiddos have posed this question to me. I told them that just because we cannot go out and spend, spend, spend, that does not mean we are broke.  I said that in order to have a nice summer getaway we need to spend our money wisely.  Needless to say they moped around until sundown when we went to an outdoor movie at our local park.  They had a blast and it was free :) We still have a few more days till payday and I'm going to have to get creative with the activities.Yesterday, Kiddo2 had me assist in putting this together...LOL!

I have not written in a WHILE! I'm so glad school is almost out for summer. You would think I could remember all these expenses like yearbooks, class parties, teacher gifts and field trips. I finally laid it out in a language they could understand..."If we save money by NOT eating out and NOT buying random junk then a trip to DisneyWorld would be possible just about every year!" They were amazed! Now....they know we would not go to DisneyWorld every year but they actually were listening to what I was saying versus tuning me out. LOL! I plan on listing like a mad woman next week.  I need to make some moola in a serious way. Plus, my organizing has gone off track and I need to get it under control again. So much to do and I'm looking forward to it :) Have a great Weekend!

It's time I just face it, I'm not very disciplined. I'm a bit scatterbrained and most certainly easily distracted. I'm not going to set any blog goals as its very hard for me. About the only thing that I've been consistent about is updating my debt totals periodically. The spending tab is going away to the great beyond. Aside from that, I'd like to say that I'm at a bit of a crossroads in my life.  I've been really thinking about what I want to do with my life and how I want to spend my time.  I thought I had everything kind of figured out but ever since Mom died, things have been chaotic.  I never have time for anything. My siblings have seemed to fade into the background more and more when  it comes to checking up/caring for Dad.  Thankfully, he's very independent but still needs a homecooked meal and company.  And I've gone through the spectrum of emotions. Where I've ended up is, how am I making the most of life both with Dad and with m...

This year, Mr. Man and I are being very optimistic. Our thinking has always been to reduce debt. We are now seeing progress where the numbers are concerned.  I have upped my student loan payments (which up until now has not been included in our total debt), we will soon eliminate another credit card payment and my focus on additional income is so much better. I have been really trying to create a personal balance in my life and I've seen that translate into our financial lives. So simple yet took this long to finally "get it". I'm considering adding an additional page with daily spending. A little more accountability never hurts. On a totally unrelated note, this cold weather has been awesome!  Yesterday, Dad invited me to lunch and we stopped in at a little Mexican place. The "caldo" or soup was heavenly. Today, I will be working on listing on Ebay.  I have a mountain of medical debt that needs to be chipped away at so hopefully I'll make a few s...

So this week will involve lots of cleaning and lots of cooking! This is the first Thanksgiving without my Mom :(  She told us all what to bring and what to do when it came to Thanksgiving and doing it all without her this year is a little scary for me and my sister. All my siblings will be bringing sides and desserts. In preparation for the influx of family, the kiddos and I will be helping Dad clean his house for the next couple of days. Keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, I made a pie! I'm a thrower together of food and not a great baker. So when Kiddo2 informed me that I needed to make a blackberry pie for their pie tasting party, I was a little freaked out.  All the other kids had signed up for the "normal" pies and I wasn't going to get off easy by sending a store bought pie. I was bummed but for my kiddos I will do anything :) So, I made it on Friday.  It smelled yummy but I have no idea how it tasted. So I'm going to have to make another so we can sample...

Came home today. I'm recovering from ureter reimplantation surgery. I'm in pain but determined to get better! Mr. Man has been my rock! Helping me  get around and basically waiting on me hand and foot. He's exhausted as am I. I am praying I feel better soon.  Financially, I don't  know where we are at.    I will use my down time to try to find new ways to save and formulate a better spending strategy. We are still on the right path but all these medical bills are throwing us for a loop. 5 surgeries in 12 months has been draining to say the least. Being healthy is the most important thing to us right now.

I never seem to have enough time lately. Between the kids, Dad, Mr. Man and doctor appointments, everything has been turned upside down. This past weekend we had a three day slumber party due to the big Anime convention in town.  Mr. Man sacrificed himself and camped out at the convention each day to keep tabs on the girls.  They loved it and we loved seeing how happy it made our kiddo and friends. I was a bit under the weather and had an ER visit the night before the convention was to start.  Turns out I had a kidney infection in addition to my current ailments. Oh what fun.  Went to the specialist and after two days of CT scans, I got a diagnosis.  I will have to have two surgeries. The first is a day surgery this coming week. Is a quick surgery that will involve some prep for my big surgery in the next few weeks.  I'm scared, anxious and weirdly relieved that hopefully I will feel better soon. Aside from that I have been helping Dad at the fleam...

So I've updated my totals. Number is still huge but I'm pleased so far with our progress to move that number down. I hope to gain more momentum with each month.  Here is Give Away #2. Its a Claude Monet Friends and Family Organizer Book.  Its never been used.  Keep your phone numbers, birthdays, Christmas Card List and gift ideas all in one place. First person to want it..gets it! A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Man took me  out for my birthday. He said I could buy whatever I wanted. The majority of the day was spent going from store to store. Every kind of store- thrift store, craft store, discount store and finally the mall. I found a few things for the house and kids. All on sale of course. I had been on the hunt for a blue purse that was roomy yet not too gawdy. Well, I found a purse whose style I really liked. Mr. Man said to get it. It was my day and when he said anything he meant it. Luckily, I'm the one whose always looking for a bargain. The ...

Well....I called about why my payment had not cleared yet.  Apparently, only one payment for this month and not two. Regardless...Credit Card H is PAID! Woohoo!!  I'm so excited and ready to start paying off another card soon. In the meantime, I am going to begin my giveaways.  I'm starting with a lovely book entitled "The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain. It's from my personal library. Its about the relationship between Hadley Richardson and Ernest Hemingway.  First reader to comment that they want it will get it :) Still working on the clutter in my bedroom. Hoping I can post an after pic soon :)

None too pleased with Mr. Man today. I won't get into the details as it is nothing major just Mars vs. Venus type stuff :D   Well this week is going to prove to be short on time for me.  Now that I'm feeling a bit better (still a ways away from feeling 100% though), I have headed over to Dad's to spend the day with him.  I take him to where he needs to go and make sure he eats something while I'm there.  He can do these things himself. I figure, if I can take a load off from him from time to time, its good for the both of us :)  In doing so though, my day is very segmented.  So not a whole lot getting done at home.  I hope to catch up next week. On the money front, my account is at 85 cents. A bit sad, I may have Mr. Man dip into the reserves. Just to make it through the week. I'm trying to find time to list on Ebay but there is so much to do I'm not making enough time to do it.  A thing listed here and there is not cutting...

Well, the kiddos were in rare form this weekend.  They drove me a bit crazy but also made me so proud.  Just when I'm about to lose it they reel me back in with their helpfulness and of course lots of hugs!  Oh these kiddos. I've been busily printing and clipping.  I'm kinda over paying full price on toothpaste and deodorant and so I've decided to stock up a bit on toiletries and such.  This is also my birthday month which means a whole lot of freebies and great coupons.  So I want to be sure to take advantage of the savings. Moneywise, I'm down to $21 in the bank and am trying to figure out how to stretch it till Friday. That little temptation to fall back on credit always tries to creep in. Its hard but now I know to just shake off the feeling. Lastly, I found out that Mr. Man's biodad passed away.  He never really knew him and has always considered his stepdad as "DAD", so when I told him he wasn't upset.  I think I took it a bi...

I've been going a bit stir crazy!  Since my surgery, I have not been able to leave the house for long periods of time.  I was not anticipating my recovery time would be this long.  You would think the 6-8 week recovery time the doctor told me about would have given me a clue ;)  At times, I am absolutely miserable but find myself having to snap out of it and be thankful that I am okay.  The good thing about being home so much is I have been decluttering quite a bit. I thought of selling the larger things but figured Dad would be happy to put them up in his booth for some quick cash...I figured its a win/win.  It's out of my house and Dad gets a little extra money.  As I clear out space it helps me focus on items that have been overlooked and can actually bring in a nice profit on Ebay. Aside from that, I have been working on our budget.  I'm happy that my 2nd installment payment will be going through shortly.  I'm actually ex...

I've been plugging away at the cleaning around here.  I'm suppose to take it easy for 3 more weeks so as you can imagine, cleaning is very slow going.  Aside from that, I have updated my debt totals. God willing, I'm working on bringing that number way down by year's end. I have been sorting through clutter and all kinds of stuff.  I took some to donate and I also have a big pile ready for Dad to take to the fleamarket.  I've also managed to get through the day without spending a whole lot of money.  Spent under $3 today at CVS.  It would have been way more but I did a CVS survey this morning for $10 in Extracare bucks and printed out another $3 ECB that they sent me yesterday.  I also had a coupon. So before, total was like $17 but I only paid $2.79 out of pocket.  Wish everyday was a low spend day.  Off I go...

For the past few weeks I have been decluttering my bedroom. I'm amazed at the amount of stuff I have.  It's a bit ridiculous.  I've formed attachments to everything and letting it go is a process.  At times I feel I've made headway and at others I feel I'm right back where I started.  Now, don't go thinking I'm like a lost episode of Hoarders. I just want a room that somewhat flows with the rest of my home.  On the money front, I've made my first payment on my installment plan.  Its Card H on my debt totals.  Three payments and its GONE! I also need to recalculate my medical bills.  I have a nice new stack of them that need to be sorted and added.  Oh what fun...I can't complain...I'm on the road to health :) My current bank balance is $43.00.  A bit pathetic.  Will we make it on that till next payday? Probably not. Luckily, Mr. Man has some cash tucked away but I'd rather not spend it.  I'm out of here for now but w...