Not Starting Out Well..

Have you ever noticed that once you put your mind to something, and have a solid plan of action that's when obstacles start popping up to deter you? I probably should have kept my goal to pay down my debt deeply ingrained in my mind. I was planning to start with my payoff plan next month, but that more likely won't happen.

I found out yesterday that one of my graduate classes that I completed last year can be transferred to my new school. Great news, right? Well....although I completed the entire semester, the class was never paid. I had to pay $662.11 yesterday in order to receive my transcript. I checked with my employer's tuition reimbursement program that offers $2500 per calendar year. Their cut-off is actually 6 weeks after the end of the semester, so I won't be getting reimbursed. :'( On top of that, I checked my bill for this semester, and the total was about $2950 for 9 hours. I was able to apply the $2500 for 2010, but I still have a $450 balance. I don't understand all of those stupid fees that these universities charge! I think I still need to find another way to make some extra income.

Arrghh!!! That money was taken out of my car fund. Now I have to find some unsuspecting person and hit them up for $662.

Tackling my Debt...the Strategy..

This is a screenshot of the calculator that I'm using to figure out an aggressive strategy to eliminate my debt. Check out my other blog posts to follow my challenge.

(click on the image to get a better view)


Here's the spreadsheet if you're interested.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AoyBCcc3F7JEdDNVWXhsTzdQT1pSNEppOHJCd21GSFE&hl=en

See ya next month! :)

I've Seen the Light!

This is a personal challenge for myself for 2010. I noticed last year that I was seriously digging myself into a financial pit, but I couldn't stop spending. My creditors were automatically increasing the limits on my credit cards almost monthly, and I just kept charging.
A really good friend of mine went over my budget with me last year, and we tried to find ways to reduce my debt. Back then, I decided to cut all miscellanous expenses. The only thing that stuck out as a sore thumb was the $500 car note I was paying on my BMW. I even considered getting a part time job to help bring in more income. Eliminating the misc expenses was a great help, but in the end, I still ended up charging things to my ccs again. Although I cut up some of my cards, I found out that I could still shop in some stores without physically having the card. lol I was addicted!!!

Fast forward to December 2009. I made a decision to turn in my car since the lease was ending in January. I was totally pissed off that I had been paying a large amount each month, and after 3 yrs I didn't even own the car. I'm never going to lease another vehicle in my life!

Here's where it gets a little funny. lol My plan was to finance a car for about 30k. I started looking at CLK500s. When I couldn't really find what I wanted, I started thinking about the decision I was about to make. When my ex called me the richest poor person he knew, I had no idea what he was talking about, of course *inserts delusional smilie*. I figured if I financed the CLK, I would have an extra $100 that I could apply to my debt. One of my good friends hinted at me getting something below 5k, and I was really offended. I thought, 'me? drive in a hooptie? um..I don't think so.."

I was talking to a good friend of mine, and telling him about this really awesome exotic car dealership that I visited with an Associate the night before. They had Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Mercedes, BMWs, Maybachs, Rolls Royce, etc. (yea, I was wondering what I was doing up in there too! lol) Anyway, the light bulb finally went off in my head when a friend asked me these two questions. Why finance a vehicle for 30k+ when you'll still need to be thinking about paying off your debt, and the car loan? Why not purchase an inexpensive car, and apply the money you would have paid towards a car note towards your debt? The light bulb FINALLY went off, and I decided to go for it. lol Sometimes it takes a minute for me to get there, but thankfully I always do.. I've been searching high and low, and I'll more than likey get a 2002 Honda Accord Coupe for 3k.

To be honest, it's going to be a little difficult going from my Beamer to probably an old Honda. There will be no more 6 disc cd player, leather heated seats, bluetooth capabilities or navigation system etc. As a matter of fact, I'm sure a few people will be talking.. In the long run, I realize that being debt free matters more to me. I want to start taking vacations, remodeling/redecorating my house, and doing whatever I want with my money. It's amazing to see that if I didn't have to pay any money towards my debt, I'd be saving an extra $15,000 a year. That's soooo frustrating to see. I can't believe that I put myself in this position in the first place. Plus, I'm having to pay out of pocket for my graduate tuition because I refuse to get a loan, and I have to start saving for my study tour abroad. Those things mean much more to me than a car. Okay, so I'll be using the money that I was paying towards my car note, extra insurance coverage and apply it towards my debt.

Here's where I currently stand. I'm going to add an update post each month.

Express $1,600.00
Bill Me Later $856.00
Credit 6425 $4,100.00
Credit 4012 $2,100.00
Dell $1,800.00
Total $10,456.00

I had high balances for target, macys, and conns appliances, but I already paid those off! I also paid off my Bank of America cc that was over the limit. It had a high balance of $3k. I discontinued my maid service. I'm going to aggressively work on paying off my current balances. I've already looked at my budget, and cut off all miscellaneous expenses. I've cut up all the store cards. Some stores (express) don't physically need your card when you're shopping, so I'm going to make sure that I totally avoid them (I love that store though).

I plan to pay off my debt within 12 months by doing the following:

1. I disconnected my cable which was $90.
2. I switched to the unlimited mobile plan with Sprint. That's about $112 per month instead of the $300+ I was paying.
3. I'm contributing $300 towards a reserve account each month just in case something pops up. 4. With the additional money that I'll be saving without having a car note, I can apply $1000k each month towards my debt.

Here's a really great debt reduction calculator that a friend sent to me. Once you enter all your debt and interest rate, you could actually see how many months it'll take to pay off. It also helps you figure out if you should pay highest interest or lowest balance cards first.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...Cd21GSFE&hl=en

I know this is really personal information, but I don't mind sharing. I'm sure there are other members out there that are trying to achieve similiar results. Who likes to be in debt, right? I'm going to try to keep myself on track, and I'd love if you guys rode along this journey with me and kept me focused and accountable. If you happen to see me talking about buying anything too expensive, please dont' be scurred to call me out on it!

Pretty please?!