G.O.O.D (getting out of debt) October thread

[newmainer]

We're almost a week into the month, so I thought i would start the new one, with good news-

i just sold a book on amazon for $100! Granted, with amazon's cut, i only make $85, but its going to pay for my banner/advertising for my wahm business, which will hopefully generate more money, all of the profits of which go to our debt. I am soooooooo .

if you're wondering what the book was... a hardback, good condition copy of The Beatles recording sessions of Abbey Road. When I was in high school, i was a Beatles freak (actually, more like junior high) and got this as a gift. i don't think i ever read it, and apparently, you can't get the hardcover editions any more.So glad i saved it! that's the kind of thing that one might just send to goodwill!

[kerc]

WOW! I'm certain I don't have any books worth 100 bucks.

We just finished our basement remodel. Ok so it isn't quite done, but close enough that we decided to move furniture back in and let dh set up his desk. Anyhow, we have three rather tall bookshelves to put back up and put the books back onto. We'll be culling all the books that we no longer "need" or imagine using at any time in the near future. Amazon.com, I figure. Although I hate the steep commission, I like that there's no charge for listing them.

[Peppermint]

Oh ladies I need support

I am having a BAD day instead of a GOOD one

I went to pay bills today, I knew I was a little late in getting to some, but as my usual way goes, I thought I had enough time. I found that one of my CCs had payment due date of the 3rd, and 2 others were today, with yet another due on Thursday. The one I was already late on, well, I jsut am sending it in, too late to do anything about that. The 2 due today and the one on Thursday, I had to call and make "speed payments" on, which is a charge of $14.95 (a piece) to make sure it posts by today. Sigh....when will I learn?

I think what I need to do as soon as I am done with this post is to print out some calendar sheets and write down every monthly payment we have, when they are due (when they should be sent by) and all of that. I have not done this in the past, b/c I didn't want it all written on my kitchen calendar where all of our guests could see our terrible/embarrassing debt.

What I REALLY need to do is to set up all my CCs to be able to get online statements and make online payments. I am really good with the few bills that I pay that way. I can do it while I nak, yk? Actual paying of paper bills requires the baby to be happily playing without me for a bit, and heck, I have to use that short span of time to shower and pee, yk?

Sigh.. I am really bummed right now mamas.

Dh will be starting his new job soon, he has another interview for a different job Thursday, but either way- it will be a new job and the way things are seeming right now, we will be paying COBRA health insurance so $750/month instead of the $600 for the next three months, with less income than he gets right now, so we will be down at least $200/month from where we have been- which was barely scraping by.

So- I am trying to figure out what I can do, where else I can cut back, or what else I can sell.

I HATE this, I am still resolved to get out of debt, and to acquire (sp?) no new debt, but I am just at a loss right now as to what I can do, and then- there's Christmas coming. :

OK, baby fussing again.

Off I go....

[kerc]

Originally Posted by Peppermint

Oh ladies I need support
I think what I need to do as soon as I am done with this post is to print out some calendar sheets and write down every monthly payment we have, when they are due (when they should be sent by) and all of that. I have not done this in the past, b/c I didn't want it all written on my kitchen calendar where all of our guests could see our terrible/embarrassing debt.

I did this. Printed a calendar from outlook or some other microcrap program. I printed them for the next 5 months, I think. each Sunday I wrote down all the bills that are due for the week. on friday I wrote down all the incoming pmts that are coming in that week. on saturday I did total in, total out and a penciled running balance on our checking.

Dh has his record keeping in quicken. That never works for me. so much more rewarding to cross it off on paper, kwim? anyhow we both have our lists now and we meet each week to discuss what's going out/in. He needs me to hold his hand in paying bills, but I guess that means we are talking more about what's going on.

Christmas....what I'm doing is selling off excess stuff and then taking the actual profit in paypal (transfering the postage to checking) and saving up for a christmas gift buying thing. we also have a 200 dollar amazon gift cert. luckily most of my family likes books

[mommy2boys]

Patty,
Writing it down helps, I got a notebook and keep all my budget and bills and write down everything in there and cross it off as it clears, helps me not forget anything. Also I too forget when to pay bills, when they are due so I signed up with mycheckfree.com It sends me emails when a new statement comes up and I set the date when it is due. It is a wondeful system for us.
We are doing pretty good finacially, we are getting ready to move across teh country and hopefully everything goes smoothly with the move and we won't have too much out of pocket expenses (military move). I'm hoping to use some (if we have any) of the extra money from the move to pay off some bills. We are very frugil so we are hoping that helps. Does anyone have any good tips for traveling with small kids on the cheap. We are planning on staying at motel 6 because htey are cheap and allow pets and we will bring a cooler, what kind of healthy snacks travel well? Any travel tips would be appreciated to help us cut costs.

[MamaMonica]

When we travel, we live on rice cakes, peanut butter sandwiches, corn chips, baby carrots and apples with some emergency cookies for when the kids lose it. We usually stop at a restaurant for a hot meal every other day. Good luck with your move.

We're still working on the mortgage- will be paying that down for awhile. Unfortunately the water heater just started leaking and we need that replaced today. The kitchen flooring is also peeling and needs to be replaced this winter or next spring. There are always surprises around the house.

My parents never had a mortgage and own their place. It's always shocking to me how much we still owe on this house after being here as long as we've been.

[kerc]

we always stop for dinner when traveling. I think it is nice to have a hot meal. preferably some little hole in the wall diner that has room and doesn't care if erin explores a bit.

we've done lots of traveling in the summer - it might still apply where you are. Dh and I like coffee (and ice cream). We often stop at this place about 2 hrs from home for a cup of java and an ice cream cone -- shared among the three of us. It calms us all down and we have fun chatting with the people who own the place.

other ways to avoid just stopping for a quick meal -- we bring along a picnic lunch and often stop at this place -- the great lakes visitors center (right on lake superior). It has a couple of nature trails that are about 1/2 mile long. We just go casually and let my daughter just run as much as she wants. We do it in the winter too...

food -- applesauce can be good when you stop. yogurt too. cheese and crackers. grapes. pretzels are our secret weapon. she loves them and we get them out when she gets pissy.

search in the toddlers forum -- there are LOTS of ideas there for traveling with kids.


i've been reading this yahoo list called something like cindy's porch -- it is about having a cash christmas. She provides daily ideas for how to save up cash for christmas. Now honestly, she's a little too focused on christmas for me, but she has some ideas for scraping together extra cash. peppermint you might check it out. www.cindysporch.net, i think.

We have about 300 bucks socked away in a low-interest savings account. It will come to us in the first of november -- one of those christmas club thingys. It didn't make much interest, but I think of it as peace of mind. We like to travel to see family and having that cash there means there will be no cc useage to attain that. We'll be continuing to put 30 bucks there every month beginning in january.

[Boobiemama]

I'm joining in here, So glad I ran across this thread.

We are in a ton of credit card debt.
My husband started a business this year, and alot of start up expenses went on cc. Then he wasnt making very much so our living exp started going on the card.
He took on a couple part time jobs until he is up and running so finally, we are making just enough to pay all our regular bills.
I am a diaper sewing wahm, so all I make there goes to bills.
I was reading the old thread this morning, and told my hubby how one of you called the cc and got the interest rate lowered. He wont do it. He says they are a pain in the butt to deal with and wont even try.
Theres only one card in my name, so if I call them what do I say?

we cant even juggle balances around since we have so many cards almost maxed out.


So I have decided NOTHING goes on the cards. If I had to go shopping, and I didnt haev cash, it just went on the card. My hubby has a biz bank acct, so mine never has muvh $$ in it, so I told my hubby from now on, if I dont have the cash, or the $ in my acct for something, he either has to give me the cash, or go to the store himself.

I am going thru my house trying to sell/ebay as much as I can.
This is so depressing, I cant beleive we let it get this far. But we moved out of state, bought a house(that was $13000 down) so at least we have our house now, started a biz, so I guess I dont feel so bad about the debt, but I really want to pay it down.

[newmainer]

I have a little calendar system too. It's taped on the inside of my bills binder, and i have bills that are due written in on the dates they *usually* are. It so rarely differs, so it works, it doesn't matter if its a day or two off. The rest of my binder is ideas taken from FlyLady, I think. In the pocket of the inside flap of the binder are all the bills that need to be paid. then i have a pocket folder for each month. As they are paid, i put the stub in the folder. On each folder, I have a list of the bills by name and a box to check them off as they are paid. that way, at a glance, I can see what I still need to pay. its been working really well for us. Pretty much the most organized we've been, as far as bills go.

Peppermint, I 've been where you are before and it sucks. But, I guess the bright side is there's always another month coming up to pay ontime and do what you need to do .

[dinade]

I have too much cc debt, a van that won't be paid off for 3 years and we scrape by every month. I'm going to take some of your organizing ideas for bills if you don't mind. Here lately I'm always paying a late fee eveyr month. Simply because we don't have any money and I'm tired of trying to come up with it for bills. The cc debt we have is business related and I'm working on not making any more cc debt. But sometimes it's just so hard. We had a little cc debt when I started the biz so that's mixed in with it also. It makes me tired just thinking aboiut paying bills. My dh threw his back out this week and he's off work. Really made me start doing the what if's scenarios. I love my van but sometimes I think it would be so much nicer without that payment.

[sm3247]

We're still kind of a mess. We all went out of town for a wedding and even though I planned for that expense, the gas, easy snacks to take with us, and all the other little incidental expenses really threw us off. So much for my starting over with no extra bills month huh?

I'm hoping that November and December won't bring a bunch of extra spending. DH and I have had a lot of talks about minimizing the Christmas extravaganza. Last year I tried really hard to keep our in-family purchases to a minimum in an effort to simplify and about had a heart attack when i realized that I was ending up spending more on office gifts than for my own child. It really got out of hand - first there was the ridiculously expensive gift someone decided to buy for the boss and "let" everyone chip in on. Then there was the office party where we each (dh and I) had to bring a $20 gift for the gift exchange game. Then, lo and behold, people showed up at the office with the stupid little gifts like red and green candles and birdhouse tree ornaments that no one wants but everyone gives. I decided to forget about the "friendly gifts" and just got a present for my secretary. If people don't like it, they can not get me something next year, right? Does anyone else get bogged down by this?

[newmainer]

Shannon, theres some great stuff in the Tightwad Gazette about how to not just "chip in" on all that office stuff. have you thought about just making cookies or treats or something? that kind of culture in an office can be so frustrating...

[Peppermint]

On office gifts---- IMO it would be the rare person who would rather have a birdhouse tree ornament over yummy fudge . I am with newmainer on yummy treats.

[cinnamonamon]

Hi everyone. I was meandering around MDC and decided to check out this forum...I'm not usually here for deep thought, kwim? I'm so glad I did, though -- this is just what I need. My dh makes a great amount of $$, but we have accumulated so many bills that we are now looking at an almost $300 deficit in our monthly budget.

I'm having a hard time cutting back and controlling my spending. Anyway, just wanted to say hi & subscribe to this thread for support -- and hopefully to help out, too!

[kamilla626]

I'm gonna need to hang out here for support too, esp. now that Christmas is coming.

I just filled out the RSVP card for a friend's wedding and had to say we won't be coming. It would be an 800 mile drive (or flight) plus a hotel & meals and there's just no way we could manage it.

It's one thing to deny myself Dunkin' Donuts or just avoid going to the thrift store for clothes every weekend, but not being able to go to a friends wedding really makes me feel how broke we are, kwim? He came to my wedding, (5 years ago) and I feel like such a jerk that I can't do the same for him.

I often daydream that Ed McMahon or whoever will just show up on my doorstep with a giant check. But I know the only thing that will really make a difference is if we spend less. A lot less. And that is so hard to do.

[kerc]

welcome to the new mamas. I can't wait till I can get off this thread -- but it will be a darn longggg time.

anyone heard from piglet in a while? did she have the baby?
yeah. i know I could just look her up and pm. but asking ya'll is easier and then i don't feel like a stalker.

christmas....i *just* realized that it is like two months away. Two very busy work months. So I need to get my butt in gear and get my gifts made. I also realized that I have a list of stuff to sell on the TP and some fleece and knit fabrics to maybe swap or sell and I should get on it. I promised myself (a) to buy dh's bday gift with paypal $ and (b). to try to save for a serger for myself. Thus far I've got 26 bucks. I want to get my dh ice skates for his bday, 26 bucks won't get me very far!

this is kind of a sewing board question, but I'm making a feltboard for my dd's birthday. She'll be two. She's getting a crown with her name on it and the feltboard from us for her bday. Anyhow...the thought is to cut shapes, numbers and letters out of felt. And/or shapes cut like clothing -- think paper dolls. Anyone have any other ideas? DH is reasonably handy at cutting stuff out (i know this from scrapbooking) and we are spending next friday night making said feltboard and her halloween costume.

[newmainer]

anytime you want to swap or sell that fleece, lmk...

[Butter]

Can I join in. We are trying to get out from under more debt than I care to think about.

A couple good things so far this month:

1.) We had a yard sale a couple weeks ago and I sorted the "leftovers" into donate and sell on eBay piles. The eBay pile has all sold and will cover our November car payment

2.) I needed basic speakers to hook my XM radio up to and the cheapest we could find were $17. Not a huge cost, but more than we wanted to spend. As we were heading to the checkout we noticed a 50% off table and there were speakers on there for $5!

[Peppermint]

Welcome to the new posters to this thread- it is a place of great support.

Felt boards- cut out pieces to go along with her favorite stories so she can "tell" the story along with you. For example- The Very Hungry Caterpillar, you'd have a caterpillar that is small, all of the foods which she could make the caterpillar eat, then a big caterpillar, then a cacoon, then the butterfly. Kids love to tell stories with the felt board .

We will be finding out this week whether the next few months here will be feast or famine, dh is up for 2 different jobs, one paying not enough and the other paying at least $10,000 more than he makes right now. Wish us luck!

I've been wondering about Piglet too, hoping all is well.

[hypatia]

Hi everybody,

This is my first time posting on this thread, but I'm so glad to find it. I worry about money constantly.

DH and I just finished law school. In three years of law school, we managed to rack up more than $200,000 worth of student loan debt. In January, we have to start paying it off. It is just so much money that just paying off our fixed expenses (housing, insurance, etc) puts us in the red. We're trying to cut down on expenses, but I can't tell you how bleak our financial future looks.

I know I have to get a job, but I'm really chafing at the idea of working. I'm just so happy right now being a SAHM that I'm really in denial about the idea that I will probably be working in three months. I don't want to slow down on breastfeeding. I don't want to leave DS with a bunch of strangers all day. I know that I got myself into this, but I just feel so much pain at the thought of separating from DS so soon. I don't know how to make myself accept it.

Hypatia