The Bottom Line

Credit Card Debt $37694.34

Student Loans $19335.18
Personal Loans $2750.00
TOTAL $59,779.34

So its a big number, much bigger than I thought!

The good news…I made a list of things to start doing when I started this blog, here is an update!  All of my to-accomplish items were done!

My Accomplished List
1. Called Credit Card Number 1 and applied for a payment plan – and it was approved!
2. Canceled my luxury wine shipment
3. Started my spending diary
4. Started this blog!
5. Create list of credit card debt and interest rates – done
6. Create my budget of what must be paid each month – done
7. Bring lunch to work tomorrow – done – I have every day!
8. Canceled long distance

Whats Next to Accomplish
1. Start paying down debt, goal of $59,100 next month at this time
2. Spend less that I make in a month
3. Get one more credit card into a payment plan program
4. Cancel 2nd Tivo (this is a hard one-)I have been working on hard lately…looking at my expenses since June, coming up with a monthly budget, and today I got the final totals on just how much I owe. Yikes!
5. Figure out how to have a running tally of debt on the right of this page and what I have paid down so I can see how far I have come!
6. Cancle netflix – I dont use it its a waste of money for me!

Good Morning America’s Money Saving Tips

My friend sent me a link today with some great money saving hints and tips.  I wanted to share a few I am going to try out!

“Money for Your Used Cell Phone”
“From: Flipswap.com
Cost: Free
Savings: $30 a year
Flipswap.com allows you to send in your old cell phone or used electronic gadget at no cost to you. In return, the service sends you money back, depending on the quality and the demand of the phone you sent.
The service often refurbishes your used gadget and sells your old cell phones to South America or other under-developed areas. What can’t be re-used Flipswap salvages for scrap and for the parts of precious metals that are inside the device that are often valuable.
The average payout from the site is $30.”

“Shipping Price Comparisons “
“From: Shipgooder.com
Cost: Free
Savings: $55 a year
If you’re shipping a package, go to Shipgooder.com and enter your zip code, and then enter the zip code for the package’s destination and the weight of the package. The site then spits out every option available to you, including the post office.
It also goes into all the subtleties of two-day delivery, one-day, and all the price differentials of the various sites and locations.”

“Saving on Airfare“
“From: Yapta.com
Cost: Free
Savings: $227 per trip
Yapta.com tracks the price of online tickets. If you bought a ticket for $500 and the airline reduces the fare, Yapta sends you an e-mail letting you know about the fare change. It’s totally free.
Then you go to the airline, point out the price drop, and they’ll refund you that money. That’s the policy at most airlines. All you have to do is send your itinerary to Yapta.com.
According to Yapta.com, the average amount they save for each consumer is $227 per trip.”

The whole article is here.

The Things I am Giving Up

Okay so in my examination of where I am spending all of my money, there are things I just need to give up.  So I am!  As I work on my spending diary the goal is to add more here, and more “DONE”s when I get it off my spending list!

1. Wine Shipment – Done!
I tried to justify this..oh its just twice a year, nope tough love, buy some Pepperwood Grove, its yummy and cheap! Sometimes as cheap as $5.00 a bottle!
2. 2nd Tivo
Yeah I have two of these, one I must have and I think my roommate would kill me if I got rid of it!
3. Long Distance (DONE)
At first I was going to cancle the landline phone, but it is the same price to have stand-alone internet as local only, so I made the switch!
4. Second Fridge
We have one in the garage for beverages and extra frozen stuff, I am working on emptying it for good! Freezer almost done!

Day 1 – And it begins…

Okay so it has finally caught up with me…

Years of credit cards, minimum payments, increasing interest rates, overdraft charges, I finally can’t keep up with it.  So I am taking charge and here is where I chronicle that journey!  July 15th is today and I got things to do! 

Today is the day I start my spending diary and not just think about doing it.  Today is the day I start figuring out how much I actually owe.  Today is the day I start getting back on track and back in control of my life!  Sorry Visa, Mastercard and AMEX I need my wallet back!

So what did I spend today….$7.05 eating lunch to-go at Soup Plantation, was it necessary?  NO!  Was it because I was lazy?  YES!  Time to break some lazy habits. 

I even called up one of my credit cards to see if “negotiation” would work.  We will see on Thursday when I call and check back.  The helpful “advisor” applied on my behalf to bring my interest rate down from 28.99% (OMG!) to 15.99% and my minimum paymnet from $427 to $296.  This was after we discussed my income, expenses and what I pay in bills right now.  Now I have to cancle the credit card (whew!) and it will take 5 years to pay off with those arrangements.  HOWEVER, I went to CNN’ s Money 101 web site (CNN’s helpful money management web site) and their debt calculator said at my current interest rate, heck even the lowered one it would be 24 years until I paid it off at that rate.  Holy cow!  That was the incentive I needed!  The credit card advisor also told me I had a recurring charge…my wine club shipment, well there is a luxury expenditure that is going away!  Cancled that today too!

I read a book when I was in my 20s that was called “Be Debt Free By 30″ by Jason Anthony and Karl Kluck, so I have to admit, I only got a little bit of it going and then reverted back to my bad credit management habits.  So I am crossing out that title and renaming it “Be Debt Free by 40″!  And giving myself 7 years to do it!  That’s a little depressing, seven years!…but more depressing, would be continuing to do what I am doing!

Here’s to day one! 

My To-Accomplish List!
1. Create list of credit card debt and interest rates
2. Create my budget of what must be paid each month
3. Bring lunch to work tomorrow

My Accomplished List
1. Called Credit Card Number 1 and applied for a payment plan
2. Cancled my luxury wine shipment
3. Started my spending diary
4. Started this blog!

Win a Gift Card on Almost Frugal

Almost Frugal is celebrating her new blog!  You can enter to win a free gift card to Bath & Body Works, Target or Barnes and Noble.  I am all about winning new stuff, how is that for saving money on the things we need to buy anyway!

Visit the blog here to learn how to enter by July 17th!