Debt Hater

Because you've been such a good customer...

    ... we're going to make it easier for you to get into debt that you will have a harder time getting out of!

    That's how the letter from my credit card holder reads to me.

    I got one of those standard mailings yesterday. I've been such a good customer, that my Bank of America Mastercard that I FINALLY paid off and rid myself of my credit card debt is "rewarding" me with a $17,700 credit limit.
   That's at least $2,000 higher than I remember it being.
    Very funny. I've been sending them checks for three years to pay the thing off and rather than give me something better (like, oh say, some of my money back), they give me more credit.
    Early in my debt hating and debt repayment career, I thought it wise to lower my credit limits to protect myself from overspending. But that's bad for your credit score because it can inflate your debt to credit ratio
(in English, your debt to credit ratio is simply how much you owe compared to how much credit you have available. According to bankrate.com, that ratio should not be higher than 50%. So if you're total limit is $10,000, don't go higher than $5,000  -- though, I would argue, don't have a balance at all!).
    I later learned that it really does my credit score no good to lower my balance for the sake of lowering it. So, they can go ahead and raise my balance if they want to, I still ain't using the credit card.

    DH

Biting the Bullet

    For two months, I haven't set foot in the gym. I've been paying each month, but part of me is so lazy that I didn't even care.
    Both me and my guy got quite lazy.
    But he finally got sick of wasting the money and has been going back to the gym for the past two weeks. The regulars asked where had he been and asked when I was coming back.

    That week, I said, and that was last week.

    Tuesday morning, he got up before the sun was out, before the sky had even begun to lighten. It woke me up. I was awake, but I DID NOT want to get up. Harumph! I want to stay curled up under the sheets in sweet, oblivious sleep.
    He flipped the lights on (which is somewhat rude since I was sleeping) and packed his gym bag and got dressed. I pretended to still be asleep, sliding under the covers to keep the light out of my eyes, trying, in fact, to go BACK  to sleep.
   
    "DH, every time you skip the gym, you are throwing money away," the smarter part of my brain said.
    "Shut up!" the dumber part of my brain replied. "I want to stay in bed."
    "Yeah, what about all the extra food you've been putting away? The Coca-Colas at work? The cookies you bake? The lunch you buy out more often than you used to? All the wine? You think those calories are just going to evaporate into the atmosphere?"
    "Yeah, I'm going to tie it down in June. Cut back and I'll be straight, just like I did before."
    "Mmm hmm, tell that to the extra cushion on your butt."
    "Shut up! Besides, my guy is black, he likes the extra cushion."
    "Yeah he does, but he's also the same dude who asked you last week when you were going back to the gym with him."
    *Groan.*
    "Ok DH, how about this. Your back is hurting again. You know when you were working out it felt better. You need to strengthen your core."
    "It's feeling a little better..."
    "Um, wasn't that you lying on your back a few days ago biting your lip trying not to whimper because not only did it hurt in the lower back, but your muscles were all tense up around your neck the way they used to do... when you weren't exercising."
    "Shut up brain."
    "We both know you hate going to the gym, until you get a rhythm going, then it's easy. You just need to get over the hump."
    "No, I just hate going to the gym. Always have, truth be told."
    "Whatever, you need to do something. You hate losing money on stupid things. Well, you signed up for the gym. You're paying every month. Just go."
    "AAAARRRGGHHH!! Fine! But not this morning, I'm tired from the trip."
    "Fine, but you are getting your butt up the next morning your guy gets up to go. Got it sister!"
    "Humph. Yeah."

    So my guy kissed me good-bye and turned off the lights, heading into the darkness to the gym. I rolled over and was jubilant to still be in bed. But, that was my last hurrah. I'll be back on the elliptical before the week is out.
No sense in throwing away my hard earned money. And no sense in watching those chili cheese fries spread like an oil slick across my derriere. I'm still slim, so let's try to keep it that way for a little while longer!

    DH

May Monthly Report --Not SO Bad!

    Ok, first, let's get the technicalities out of the way:

    I did not spend more money than I earned this month, TECHNICALLY, because I got an unexpected bonus and a third paycheck.

    Not only that, but I TECHNICALLY, had a cash cushion in checking because I did pretty well in April and March.

    But, rather than comfort myself with these technicalities, I will get to the stark fact of the matter -- I did spend more than I earned this month because I went way over budget in just about every category.
    But it wasn't totally outrageous. If I didn't get a bonus and there was only two paychecks this month (like most months), then I would have gone into the red by $62.
    That ain't good, but it's fixable with some discipline and purse tightening in June.

    So that's my first small goal of the month -- Save $62 in June by trimming my spending in some budget categories. Which ones? I'll figure that out.

    The second small goal of the month is to do what I planned and use the cash from the third paycheck to pay off my car this month. Now, because I did spend over a little, I will wait until I get my first paycheck of this month, just to make sure that all the other stuff I had to pay first of the month is covered before I go cut a $1,000 check. It works out anyway, since my car payment is alway due on the 14th, two weeks into the month anyway.

    And now the monthly break down:

    Where I Did Well
    Savings: I met my June goal in May by saving my entire bonus, putting it into my emergency fund. Technically, as Single Ma pointed out, I still owe my savings that $600 I would have put on my credit card.

    Cell Phone: Saved about $18 here with my employee discount.

    Transportation: Saved a total of $95 on both gas and Metro bus/train fare. Since I take the Metro, my car stays parked about five out of seven days (seven out of seven if I have no weekend plans). Funny I still only saved about $15 bucks given I don't drive. The two times I filled up did it to me here.

    Where I Overspent
    Personal Travel: I don't have anything budgeted for this, so every trip I take is over my budget (which isn't wise, I'll have to fix this). Took a trip to my guy's home for a friend's nuptials. It was a really nice getaway, even though it was 90 degrees and the sun felt like a blowtorch on the skin. At least I wasn't wearing a suit or tux.

    Dining out: I saved $43 on groceries, but overspent on eating out by $244! That's including a last day of the month meal for me and my guy. We missed our flight and were all bummed out and stressed, so we went to town at Rosa Mexicano, which may now be, officially, my favorite restaurant in D.C. The rest, I treated myself to several "I'don't feel like cooking and I'm out of debt, so I'm having a cocktail and dinner!" meals. I think I got it out of my system.

    Cosmetics: Carol's Daughter brought back their hair smoothies, so I ordered two and some shampoo for a grand total of $50.50, more than my $30 budget.

    Clothes: Already told you, spent over $300 at Banana Republic at the start of the month, on top of some more bargain purchases.

    Entertainment: Went to the movies, bought a Simpsons box set and still pay for Netflix, plus I bought some albums on i.Tunes. So, went over about $70 here. Uh, yeah. Oh yeah, and spent $20 on drinks... but don't remember when or with who... and no, I was NOT inebriated! I guess just have that much fun :-)

    That looks like all on my spreadsheet.

    So, I had a lot of fun! There aren't many purchases I'd take back (actually, if I bought a few fewer meals, I would have been in the black), but I know I have to calm down a little this month. I'll be good... but not a nun!

    DH

   

    Gifts: Again, I don't budget for gifts, so anything I buy is over budget (yet another thing I need to fix).

The Mind Doesn't Change As Quick As Your Circumstances

    Looking over what I did with my money this month, I'm... shocked?

    I think that's what it is. But, in truth, I shouldn't be surprised at all.

    Confession -- since I paid off my credit card and am officially credit card debt free, for some reason, I thought that gave me license to use my other credit card to pay for purchases I knew would be in my budget and, thus, I could pay off in full at the end of the month.
   
    No, DH, no.

    So let me tell you what happened. Everything I spent, I put into my spending spreadsheet. I accounted for every dollar. I knew exactly how much money I would have left by the end of the month.
    It looked like I had plenty of cash. My checking account was thick (well, thick for me!) and so was my regular savings. I used my bonus to replenish my emergency fund. So I had money!
    Wrong.
    Because I was using another credit card that I didn't check frequently, the balance was slowly building on that card. All the money in my checking account was already spoken for. It wasn't "extra."
    In fact, it was IMPOSSIBLE for me to have extra because I still put my monthly $600 on my card this month, like I had been doing. It wasn't like I suddenly had that $600 available, free and clear.

     I couldn't understand it. I spent the last three years teaching myself about money and debt, publicly listing my foibles and my triumphs in a blog and preaching the gospel of Debt Hateration to anyone who bothered to listen.
    So why the heck was I doing the same silly things?!

    I learned a WHOLE lot about money and I thank God for the knowledge. But I still HATE dealing with money. I didn't like it back when I was making a mess of my finances and I don't like it now. I don't really like talking about money -- not about money as an exercise or a topic. Even now, to me, money is a means to an end. I couldn't care less about the money itself.
    I still am not motivated by money. Seeing money grow in savings or investments is the next goal in my financial journey, but, I'm not going to lie, I'm not excited about it. Saving for the sake of saving does not excite me... not right this minute it doesn't.
    I think that's why I've been acting up this month. It was like I did back when I was deep in debt. I would work so hard to pay down so little that it got frustrating. Sometimes I wanted to "rebel" and spend just for the sake of breaking free of the discipline. But then, I always felt guilty because all I was doing was postponing my goal.
    So now, it's like I'm thumbing my nose at my card. "I paid you suckas off! You work for me now biatches!" But, duh, it won't be like that for long if I totally slack on the discipline I spent years building.

    I made some decisions. NUMBER ONE -- the cards are gone. All but two have been cut up and I put those away. So long as they're not in my wallet, I don't use them (I noticed that when the cards are out of site, they're out of mind for me. My problem was that I continued to carry the AMEX. Why? No idea.)

    NUMBER TWO -- yes I said I was on financial vakay for the rest of May, but I need to really consider my passions and find some new goals for myself and my cash, otherwise, it's just going to burn through my pockets.

    Now, don't get it twisted, being in debt scared and sickened the bejeebus of me so much that I'm not gonna backslide like that! But, why just stay where I am when I can finally get ahead? Now that's motivating.

I went buck wild

    There are still a few days left in the month and few days before my May monthly report, but I may was well be honest now: I went buck wild this month.

    I was so happy to pay off the credit card, I felt so free. Like Mary Mary sang, "Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance..."
    But, then I started acting up.

    I just busted out the debit card whenever. I didn't shop for groceries, I didn't cook, but Lord knows I was eating! $40 in one sitting a few times. Went to dinner with some buddies; took myself to dinner after a long day at work; just didn't feel like eating whatever I had in the fridge. I was over my dining out budget halfway through May, and kept spending.

    Had a wonderful Saturday afternoon with my homegirls to celebrate one's birthday. I had the money for that, but, maybe I didn't quite have the money to add that special "glycolic" treatment to the facial -- but I did anyway. Shoooot, glycolize my face!

    Yeah, I'll buy this CD and that book, never mind that I got a pile of books from the library I ain't read yet, movies On Demand AND from Netflix I ain't watched yet and music I just bought on iTunes.

    Anyway, I was feeling a little too free this month... you'll see when I do my monthly report. I'm going out of town this weekend, so don't be mad at me if I don't have it right on June 1... you know I be slow on them sometimes.

    DH

    PS -- In case you're wondering, I PROMISE I'm not spending any more money for the duration of this month (3 whole days. I should be able to make it!)

My Next Priority: Being Completely Debt Free

    So, I've got one more week left in May and I really just need t make sure I finish the month in the black (shoot, the way I've been spending, 50 cents in the black would be okay!).

    But I've been thinking and thinking about it and I think I've made a decision:

    I'm just going to go ahead and pay off the car.

    I've got roughly $1,300 left on my car.
    May is a 3-paycheck month for me.

    I think I'll just use that third paycheck to pay off the car.

    Then I will be totally debt free!

    I decided to do this because I hate debt (as you all know) and, frankly, the car payment felt like a obstacle in the way of my future budget/saving planning.
    So, I'm going to get rid of the car note.

    I'm also going to call my insurance company and talk about how we can lower my premium. The car is five years old. It's got its share of dings and scratches. It's got more than 85,000 miles on it... there's no reason I'm paying an insurance premium that applies to a new, $20,000 car.

    That's what I decided to do. Now, yall know me and I could write my next post like "I decided not to do that because, I just did."
    But I think I'm going to stick with this plan.

    DH

Planning out my next set of goals

    I've been having a little too much fun this month. My monthly report is going to be black (unless I go crazy in this last week), but it won't be a report about my restraint and self-denial.

    I've just been living it up and lazy with my money this month.

    But I have a lot of things I want to do AND I realize that without a specific plan for my finances, I can leave myself wide open to make a big mess. I don't want that, so I need to figure out what it is I want to do.

    We've talked many times  before on this blog that big, ambiguous goals are impossible to achieve. So, I could say "I want to save money," but what does that mean? How much money? How long? Save it for what?
    But before I get really specific, I need to know what's important to me and I what I'd like to accomplish by year end.

    What is important to me right now?

• I want to be completely out of debt. I have only the car loan left and will pay it off by September, but I'm wondering if there's a really good reason to just pay it off by July.
• I want to go on a big trip for my 2009 birthday. 
• My guy and I have some commitments to keep to each other and they're going to cost money.
• I want to work on building my cash reserves. Right now, I'd like to have $3,000 saved by the end of the year.
• I don't want to be blindsided by Christmas. I want to either save a certain amount of money and work with it to buy gifts, or buy gifts little by little through the rest of the year (keeping the total under a certain amount).
• I want to work up to saving 20% of my income... right now, I routinely save 4.7% of my gross income (but if you added in what I was paying on my credit card, that would be 21% right there).
• I want to have fun!

   

Now I have to prioritize these and turn the Top 3 into S.M.A.R.T. goals (remember, thats Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-oriented) and attach real time and money to them.

    After that, I need to figure out what my next, big, grand, important goal is.

   Until then, I'll continue my little vacation through the end of May.

    DH
 

I won't need to choke somebody

    I called Bank of America after sending a hostile e-mail (it was civil, but clear I wasn't playing around).

    The representative pulled up the notes from my previous call and my e-mail. She paused. Then she said, "Ok. As a courtesy, I can waive the finance charge..." yada yada, I stopped listening. All I was thinking was, "Damn right you will."

    Residual Finance charges. That's what cost me $5.26.
    Now that my balance is at zero, I won't be charged that anymore, so long as I pay by balance in full every month. They won't have to worry about that because there WON'T BE a balance on there ever again!

    Get this, she told me that if I had called ahead of time and told them that I intended to pay off the full balance of the account, then they wouldn't have assessed the fee. Huh? Whatever chick, just send me in writing confirmation that you're waiving that fee and you chuckle heads won't have to ever hear from me again.

    Punks.

    So my balance will be zero again. Dang right.

    DH

I'ma choke somebody over $5.26

    I owe Bank of America $5.26.

    Why?

    Because they assess finance charges by the day or something. So, even though I paid off the balance of my credit card last week, they didn't assess some finances charges until the last day of the cycle, or something.

    So, I still owe $5.26 on my credit card.

    Ok, I know that's nothing and I know that I probably lose that much money a month dropping change, buying snacks or sticking money in parking meters. But for some reason, when I looked at my balance and saw that little amount of money, I nearly went ballistic.
    Last week my balance was $0.00.
    Today, it's $5.26 and I didn't do anything.

    I called and asked for an explanation. I got the one that I sorta understood and paraphrased above (but I wasn't really listening because when I asked "Why do I still have a balance?" it was a rhetorical question).
    I was like, "I'm not cutting y'all a check for $5.26 so you need to put someone else on the phone I can discuss this with." Old girl refused.
    I hung up.
    I sat at my laptop fuming.

    Man!

    Can't a customer catch a break?! They've made large amounts of money off me in the last few years, and I can't believe that they have the audacity to squeeze another $5 outta me.

    I know I should just calm down. I paid the card off -- what's another five bucks? I should just brush that dirt of my shoulders, pay it and let it go. But I'm going to try one more time to get a human on the phone who has the authority to actually make a customer satisfied and see if I can get this straightened out. I understand that they've got all their rules and what not that they make impossible for people to find or understand, but people are legally bound by them anyway. Got it.
    But $5.26?
    Is somebody's kid not going to college if I don't pay that? Geez.

Holy Unexpected Bonus Check Batman!

    I was out sick from work yesterday and came in this morning with a check on my chair.

    I thought, "It's not a pay week is it?" Then assumed that it must be.

    I open up the check (which wasn't a check, but the deposit information -- I direct deposit everything). The total was $595.
    I was like, "What the hell? This better NOT be my paycheck!"

    Then I saw the word bonus next to Gross (this check was $1,000 before the gub'ment went crack happy on it).
    I was elated! Why? I haven't been with the company the full 12 months yet, so I didn't think I was eligible for the bonus. But, it appears that this is prorated for the time I was here (I'll have to check on that, compare it to my offer letter).

    Yay! So, guess what I'm doing with this money? Yes, right into the mini-emergency fund, plus $5 to bring the total back to $1,000, as I planned to do next month. I'm already making the transfer request online as I type this post.

    Bam, two goals in one month AND I went shopping!

    I'm on a roll!

    DH

    PS -- And yes, it just so happens to be a pay week!