Debt Hater

The Next Phase of My Life

It's nearly 1 a.m. and I am doing one of the things that always makes me feel good: eating warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream while watching my Simpsons DVDs.

My guy helped me to move the rest of my stuff from his apartment into my new place. It was a long day, with lots of heavy stuff, but it went well.

I spent a few hours cleaning up and unpacking and have many more hours to go.

It's a new start for us, for me. I don't know what's going to happen, but, I can say this, I am not afraid.

DH

My Move Is Almost Complete and my E-Fund is Almost Depleted!

Ok, I am exaggerating a bit.

I finally sat down to put all my spending into my spreadsheet (I also working with Mint.com, planning to transition to the online program, we'll see).

I went a little nuts.

Ok, so there was the apartment deposit, the rent, the moving truck, the movers, gas, tolls, etc. Fine. My father, unasked, gave me enough money to basically cover all the moving expenses (not deposit and rent). Thanks!

Then I sold my couch on Craig's List -- yay! -- then I bought a smaller sofa bed to fit in my place. On sale with delivery fee, $407. Ouch.
I also had to pay for the cable hookup and first month of cable, $111.
And I also bought a headboard and bed frame for my new mattress (mattress courtest of my generous mother!) off Craig's List for $350. I still have to go get it and might need to rent a moving van because it may not fit in my guy's SUV... I hope it does. Still gotta buy gas though.

So, so far, I've spent about $1,977 just on the move, rent, furniture, etc. Um... that's $2,000 out of my emergency fund. Ouch!

I'm flashing back to my move to Tennessee where I was still deep in debt and my move cost me about as much as I had just paid off in debt that year. I was so depressed.
So, right now, I'm flipping out -- how could it cost so much to move down the street!? -- but at least I'm not in debt! This is a debt-free move! I'm not saying I'm pleased to be killing my e-fund in big chunks, but at least I don't have to charge any of this. That feels good.

DH

And now, for the furniture

I am sitting in my new apartment on one of those foldy chairs (the kind that come in their own carrying bag) while my TV sits on the floor, aglow and tittering with the inane chatter of cable news.
I sold my couch! Tomorrow, my kind mover is going to deliver the couch to the man who bought it from me off Craig's List. (If you follow me on Twitter, you knew this already. So follow me on Twitter!)

I feel terrible. I caught a cold overnight. My throat is scratchy, my nose runny and my head achy. But my wireless Internet is up! Yee haw!

The cable guy is adroitly hammering the cable into the walls along the bases so you can't even see it snaking from the living room to the bedroom. I am surrounded by boxes full of books. My kitchen is filled with boxes of dishes, Tupperware and random kitchenness. My stomach turns thinking about how I'm going to have to wash all of that by hand... no dishwasher. *Sigh*

I haven't eaten yet. That may be why I feel like falling over on the floor and lying there until somebody takes me to the hospital.

Next, I have to go to the DMV to change my address and get a parking permit for my new neighborhood. Don't worry, I WILL eat first.

After that, I will swing by Jennifer Convertibles, because they're having a sale and I saw some sofabeds that I think might work in my place. After that, a trip to Ikea just see what else they may have and see if they're still selling those LACK tables.

It's going to be a long day. But I'm happy. :-)

Moving My Junk From One State to A New Apartment

I like to write about my moving experiences because it can be hard to find useful information online about moving companies and such.

The best "How To Find Reputable Movers" article I've seen is at Movingscam.org. They tell you what kinds of questions to ask your movers, when NOT to use a moving company, exactly where and how to look up insurance records, consumer complaints and licensing information and exactly how to read the forms to get the information most important to you.

Beyond that, though, you're on your own.

All I had to do was move a few pieces of furniture and some boxes out of my cousins' basement to my new apartment. My GENEROUS mother bought me a new mattress and box spring, since the one I had in storage was well over 10 years old (the limit for keeping a mattress). I didn't want to bring the mattress and box spring with us, so I put it up on the local Freecycle group. Someone claimed it in less than a day!

For the remaining moderately-sized furniture and a bunch of small boxes, a U-Haul move with all my guy relatives  pitching in would be sufficient. Now, you may also remember that I NEVER wanted to U-Haul again, but when I priced out some companies, I just couldn't see paying $600 to $1,100 for such a simple move. Because I am such a pushover, though, I didn't want to have my cousins carry furniture up the stairs to my new place (on the 4th floor) or squeeze into the tiny elevator. So, this time, I hired a company to unload my truck and take everything upstairs.
I found the company on MovingHelp.com, which you can get to from the U-Haul site. (Movingscam.org warns that any moving company you find online might be suspect, but I thought I'd take the chance this once.) I punched in the zip codes and some notes about my move and got a list of movers. I selected the cheapest one that was closest to my new residence. $100 for 2 guys for 2 hours. Sold.

My relatives loaded up the truck in under an hour (go guys!). I drove the truck myself (I am a U-Haul vet. I drove -- two thirds of the way -- from Tennessee to D.C. in a truck with my car following on a tow hitch). We arrived at the apartment and the moving company arrived about 10 minutes later. They were quick and friendly. But my couch, my beloved, fluffy couch, my love-to-laze-away-on-it-watching-movies couch did not fit in the elevator. It did not fit up the stairwell. The thing that once looked so small, looked like a dinosaur's ottoman in the lobby, stubbornly refusing to me moved.

I was all but panic-stricken. I had to return the truck by Monday and I had nowhere to put the couch. The head moving guy must have taken pity on my pitiful self and offered to hold the couch in storage FREE OF CHARGE until I found a buyer or figured out how to get it in the apartment. He'd even deliver it to the buyer.

What?

Sold! Though I plan never to move an entire apartment again (I'll get to that in my next post), if I ever needed moving help, I would call these guys. They were great! And any of you in the area, if you need a recommendation, I'll give you their info.

DH

PS -- Anyone interested in a gently used, plush, cream-colored... lovely, comfortable... couch... you can e-mail me privately. *Sniff Sniff*

Those STUPID Credit Card Checks!

Ok, I wrote about this before. I wrote about the transaction fees on credit card checks. I wrote about how I vowed NEVER to use them again.

So tell me how I did this again!

I went to sign the lease for my new apartment and knew I had to pay a deposit and first month's rent. I was under the impression that they had to have a check or money order. I didn't have that much cash in checking, so I planned to charge it anyway with the intent of paying off the FULL BALANCE by transferring the money I would need out of my emergency fund.

I got some credit card checks in the mail with the promise of 1.99% APR blah blah and I was thinking, "I don't care about that because I'm paying off the balance in full anyway. But, this might be convenient when I have to pay my deposit and such."

Yes, duh, and you pay for that convenience -- 3% or, in this case, about $43.
While you may raise an eyebrow over me pitching a fit over $43, the point is that I DIDN'T HAVE to spend that $43. And $43 is a lot of money. If I'm careful, that would provide groceries for a week. It's more than a week's worth of commuting on public transportation. It's a tank of gas. Aaarrrggh!

And then, to top it off, after the check was approved, I noticed that the leasing office had a credit card machine. So... I coulda just used the card in the first place... DH you dunce...

As George W. Bush once TRIED to say:
You fool me once, shame on you.
You fool me twice, shame on me.

How quickly we forget hard lessons! Well, now this one is BURNED into my mind.

Ugh!

If y'all catch me with a credit card check again, feel free to tackle me Terry Tate-style.

DH

My Brief Apartment Hunt and Prolonged Money Anxieties

I sat at my spreadsheet and punched in the numbers.

How much rent could I afford?
Not much, not if I wanted to continue to save as much money as possible -- including saving for my big birthday trip this year.

Rent ranges in the D.C. metro area were anything from $750 to $2,200 for rooms in people's basements, in their houses, efficiencies, studios and 1-bedroom apartments.

I split rent with my guy -- $450 is my share each month. That enabled me to pretty much save most of what I had been spending on my car loan and credit card payments. I figured I could spend MAXIMUM $1,050 (i.e. my current rent payment plus the $600 I was putting on my credit card when I was in debt). So I settled on a price range on $800 to $1,000.
That proved to be a challenge.

One family was renting their basement for $850/month, but the space was little more than a hole under the floorboards. And the guy who lived there previously lived there for two years! Under the floor in a hole?! He was getting ripped off. I mean, I could hardly stand up straight without bumping my head on the ceiling!

I saw a nice apartment in my price range in the sketchiest neighborhood imaginable. I'm sorry, but the place looked like a crime scene waiting to happen.

I saw a studio apartment in a decent location for $875, including utilities. It kinda made me think of a dorm room. It was also on the first floor by the parking lot. So everyone strolling from the front street or their cars would stroll past my big window. Ew. Still, so far, it was the winner.

The lowest rent, the nicest amenities and the most convenient location I came across was a room that was, in fact, in a DORM. Yes, university apartments. A girl was moving out because she got a dog and pets were not allowed. It was $750 a month to take over her lease. Washer and dryer in the apartment. Fully equipped kitchen. 24-hour security at the front desk. Parking garage. A short walk to public transportation. Fully equipped gym in the building. Mail room. TV rooms. Pool tables. But I had to live with three children (As far as I'm concerned, college students are children, ok? I'm old school like that). Naw. But, I won't lie, for a few hours I SERIOUSLY considered it!

For the first time in a long time, I started lying in bed, anxiously thinking about money. Besides the rent, there was the cost of actually getting an apartment. There are rental application fees. Turning on cable & Internet and MOVING AGAIN (y'all know how much I HATE moving), all costs money and lots of it.

I looked at my e-fund, about $10,000 spread over four accounts (yeah, that was not on purpose. I was chasing interest rates back then and this is where I ended up). I will have to dip into it, at least to get through the transition. I also haven't done my taxes yet and I think I'm going to owe Uncle Sam this year... no, not excited about that.

I kept looking. I saw the apartment I wanted on the third day of my search. Balcony with big windows and loads of natural light into a 1-bedroom with a kitchen WITH a breakfast nook. $1125, utilities included (not cable and Internet). Yipe.

I went back to my budget and moved numbers, slashed budgets on other categories and found a way to do it. It just wouldn't be easy. I flashed back to my previous days of squeezing blood from stones to make sure I could pour the most money into my debt as possible without me completely losing my mind. I haven't tightened my belt like that for more than six months. Did I want to do it again?

Duh. I had no choice. I needed a place and with the economy in the toilet (yet finding deeper, lower toilets every day), I was going to need to tighten my belt no matter what.

I went back to apply for the apartment. But I asked if the rent was negotiable. I figured these days, everything is negotiable. The rental manager wouldn't budge, but he showed me another apartment, the same layout as the first, without the balcony. It faced the back of the building, so there was a little less natural light but all else was the same. $1,015, utilities included.

Ah so.

I agonized over it for two days. It was still the top of my price range (higher, really), but it was less than a block to the Metro (a big plus for me), I was familiar with the neighborhood, it was on a big and busy, but quiet street and there was an elevator.

I applied for it. I got it. And I will take it. I sign the lease on Friday. Perhaps, you're thinking I should have shopped around some more. Maybe you think I'm nuts for renting when it's a buyer's market in housing. Perhaps you're right. But I did what felt best to me at that time. And I did do the math (a smarter me than years ago).

I am excited about a new space! I'm already thinking about decorating and having people over to entertain! All on a shoestring budget, of course. :-)

First thing this year, I pledged to invest in myself. I consider this an investment. Believe me, I'd rather keep the cash! But I need to do this and that's what the money is for. I won't go into debt (hell naw!) and I CAN do this because I'm NOT in debt! I built that $10G once, I will do it again and go beyond it.

DH

A New Start

Whatever happened to me getting married?

Some of you may have been wondering all this time, while you newer readers may not have known at all that I am engaged.

While I was paying off my debt, I was also saving for a wedding. When I got a new job and moved to Tennessee, and my guy followed, we were planning a wedding. "Wedding" had been a line item in my budget for more than a year.

And for the past year, it hasn't been.

When I moved to D.C. to finally be with my guy in a place we both thought we could settle down in, I thought that we'd pretty much be on Easy Street. I had to find a job (which, thank God, I got on my first interview in D.C.... even though that job is now getting on my last nerve, but I'll get into that in a later post). We were squished in a studio, but we were together.

Famous last words. We had some unresolved issues festering between us, pressed hard by the stress of trying to get on financially stable ground, me dealing with a new city, him dealing with another person in his already small space, us trying to decide just who we wanted to be as a couple.

There were many days, weeks, months, moments where there was no question and no doubt that we madly in love and knew we could be something great together. But there were also moments, days... weeks... when we were at an impasse, not on the same page, not speaking, angry, frustrated, tired.

We've been working on it and I am happy to say I think we're doing really well. Much better, as far as I'm concerned, than we were doing this same time in 2008.

But, we still needed to do something different.

So I am moving out.

We made this decision a few weeks ago. I have held off on blogging about a lot of this stuff for some obvious reasons (this is deeply personal, but my blog isn't exactly anonymous). But, since this is going to directly and deeply affect my financial situation, here it is.

We're not breaking up. As a matter of fact, we want to start "dating" again, work on the friendship part of our relationship and just get to know each other in a different way. It's very exciting, although, yes, it's about a million miles away from where I thought we'd be two years ago.

I'm ok with that.

I love him. I know he loves me. We're going to keep working it out and we'll see what happens.

The dress. I still have it. It hangs in our shared closet. And maybe one day it will be worn, by me.

DH

PS -- The good news is, I found an apartment already. I'll get to that in my next post.

February Monthly Report: In the Black, but Still Feel Like I Fell Off

Finished February $260 in the black, not including the $600 I put into savings.

You'd think I'd be happy, but those two Benjamins look mighty paltry when you consider that with just a week left to go in the month, I was about $650 in the black.

I spent about $400 in a week?

I spent $41 on a bus ticket to NYC.
I donated $100 to my alma mater as part of our fundraising efforts for the Alumni of Color.
I bought two pairs of shoes (loafers, boots) in NYC for $104.99.
I went out to a club with friends: one drink, coat check and cab ride home cost $32.70.
I treated a friend just back from her European travels to brunch for $43.41.
I had some medical expenses totaling $58.21.

Total: $380.31.

Holy crap. I sure did.

February was a quiet month and I was psyched to get the end having spent very little money, especially since March is a notoriously long and painful month (and there are five weeks/Sundays in March), I wanted to go in with as big a cushion as I could muster.
You want to know something amazing:
I spent $100 UNDER my eating out budget this month! Whoo hoo!
But I went over my clothing and accessories budget $100. Um, oops.

Well... here goes nothing. March, here I come!

Update on my previous post about needing to get back to D.C. from NYC: my father bought me an Amtrak ticket back. So he saved me $100. Thanks pop.

DH

Mr. Snow, You Might Owe Me $155

I have several major expenses coming up in the next few weeks, which I will explain in a coming post.

That's why when I had to travel to New York City this past weekend for business (and a friend's birthday), I selected the most convenient, safest, cleanest and LEAST EXPENSIVE option I had available. My round-trip bus ticket cost $38. Sweet! Oh, and this wasn't no Greyhound/Peter Pan bus -- that would have cost about $30 more and, sorry, the customers can be a little sketchy (I know because I've taken it to New York before).

I had a fully scheduled weekend and planned my travel accordingly. So when the roaring lion that is the beginning of March decided to hurl a snowstorm this way, I was more than a little concerned.
By Sunday, not a flake had fallen and it was too late to change my ticket to a bus that night (before it did start to snow) without just having to buy a whole new ticket.

I decided to wait until morning.

It snowed. And snowed. And snowed. Footprints in the first snow were filled in and covered up with new snow within two hours. At 4 a.m., I couldn't see the buildings on the other side of the avenue.

By 8 a.m., it really didn't look that bad to me. The streets were well plowed and the sidewalks didn't look as treacherous as I expected. I felt relieved. Until I found out that my 10:45 a.m. bus had been canceled. I called the 800 number to reschedule. A recording told me, "Due to inclement weather, we are unable to answer this call. Please try again later." Due to snow, you can't answer the phone? They should have just told the truth on that recording and said, "Due to snow, we didn't come to work, so there's no one here to answer your call. Sorry suckers!" I tried calling 3 different numbers to reschedule. I spent 30 minutes on hold. The next two scheduled departures had been canceled, including a mysterious 13:15 p.m. departure. Where on earth did that one go? Hogwart's School of Wizardry?
When I looked at the schedule, there was a 1:15 p.m. and a 3:15p.m. So, which one was the 13:15?
(Note: I thought it was military time at first, which would have made it the 1:15 p.m., but then I noticed that other canceled p.m. bus departures were NOT listed in military time. They were simply 1:45 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 3:25 p.m., etc.)

I checked Amtrak, which I tried to avoid because of the cost. Sure enough, the cheapest ride out of town was $103.

Sigh.

So here I am, dumping my frustrations onto my blog. I'm not the only person in the region with a transportation sob story. I'm certainly not the only one with a money problem. But I really, really, really don't have $100 to spend on a way back to D.C. I could try going back tomorrow, but there's no guarantee that this will be better. It also means I can't meet other obligations.

In the end, I will figure something out. I may handle this the dumbest way possible or it might work out swimmingly. Don't know. As soon as I know, I'll tell y'all.

Thanks for listening (reading?).

DH