3 posts tagged “savings”

Money wise, it's been a good week.  I had two full days where I didn't spend a dime.  Of course, that was because I was bedridden with a massive headache.  I know I've written about my headaches before, and I finally have an appt scheduled for this coming week at the Headache Clinic at one of the local medical schools.  I am very excited, even though it will set me back about $400 that most likely will not be reimbursed through insurance.  But when it comes to my health, I don't mess around.  I don't mind spending this money.  Besides, I have $300 in Visa Gift cards that I'll be using, so it really will only cost me $100.

Anyway, I finally paid off the Gap credit card entirely.  Wahoooo!!!!!!!  I've made approx. $100 on eBay so far, and I'm waiting on some more auctions that are about to end.  This is very exciting.  The money goes right into my PayPal account which then goes right to the credit card.  I also negotiated a fantastic deal with Chase bank after threatening to close my account.  Two years of interest free payment for a one time fee of $63.  If I make a purchase, the rate is RIDICULOUSLY high.  Which is okay, because I've already destroyed that credit card.

I did my taxes last night and went to efile them today but the IRS website is down.  Don't forget, if your adjusted gross income is below $50,000 (or is it $55,000?) you can file online for free.  My refund should be about $1000.  Higher than I prefer, but I really can't take anymore exemptions that I already do.  I can't decide between giving that $1000 to the credit card company or put it into my emergency fund (which currently only has $20).

Lots of changes have been happening.  It's really amazing how many other things in my life are starting to settle down and fall into place now that I've decided to get my spending and debt under control.  Maybe because I feel such a sense of relief I end up creating good karma or something.

So, the additional changes I've made:

1.    Walking to work instead of taking the bus.  Saves:  $78 a month.  It's about a 20 minute walk if I go really fast.  I have a FSA account where the $ can be deducted for public transportation (last year I had the full amount deducted).  This year I dropped it to $20.  Instead of buying the monthly pass, I'm walking and saving them up and  I'll just buy tokens to use only when the weather is bad.  Otherwise, I'm hoofing it.

2.  Quit the gym.  Saves:  Okay, I did that one awhile ago.  But with all of the walking to and from work (plus the dog 2-3 times a day dog walk), I'm getting enough exercise.

3.  Dropped the dog walker services.  Saves:  about $80 a month.  I feel bad making the little guy wait at home all day, but he is paper trained and he can hold it.  So now we go for an extra long walk in the morning (45 min - 1 hr) and an extra long walk after work, and a quick one before bed.

4.  Lowered cable package.  Saves:  $60/month.

5.  Bringing my lunch to work and not eating out for dinner.  Obvious.

6.  Making my own coffee.  I slipped 2 times last week and bought coffee out, but that's a huge improvement over my daily (sometimes 2x daily) habit.  I also will pop over to ING and make a deposit because then you get a free cup!

7.  Saving electricity.  Savings:  to be determined.  I'm a big leaving-all-of-the-lights-on kind of gal.  I get kind of depressed when it's all dark in my apt.  But I'm now making an effort to turn the switch to off when not in use.  My electric bill is usually only about $30 a month.

8.  Cell phone.  I did check to see if there were any cheaper plans, and there aren't right now.  I don't go over my minutes, and I don't have a land line, so until there's a better offer out there I have no reason to switch.

9.  Ebay and Buffalo Exchange.  Raised:  over $100 so far, which has gone right to the credit card payment.  I've sold yarn, craft supplies that I don't use, knitting books I don't look at anymore, clothes I no longer wear.  Buffalo Exchange doesn't really give a good rate of return, but it's better than nothing.

10.  Loose change.  I no longer pay with coins.  Any cash I've spent (total last week was under $20) I've used bills.  The change goes into the loose change jar.  I deposited $69 last week in change!

I'm still in search of that part time job.  I'm following up on a few leads at some private firms, although I'm really not crazy about the idea of it.  I can live on my income if I just get control over my spending.

Unexpected expenses this week:

That damn dog, who is by far the most expensive "investment" I've ever made.  He ran out of his heartworm medication this month, which put me $28 in the hole.  Oh well.  It could've been a lot worse, he could have actually had heartworm, right?

Okay, I haven't exactly paid off a credit card in full but I am darn near close.  Today I sold the remainder of my gold jewelry for a cool price of $1070.  Which will go right to the $1385 balance currently on my Gap Visa.  I get paid on the 15th and so the remainder of the balance will be paid off the 15th.  I think I may actually have enough to cover it now, but I don't want to mess around with my loan deduction.  That leaves 2 credit cards, one with about $7,000 and the other with about $2500.  I may do a balance transfer on one of them, depending on whether I can negotiate anything. 

The morning got off to a great start, too.  I won a $10 Amazon gift card just by posting at wise bread forums.  I'll save it for now - it'll come in handy if I have to buy any gifts.  Today I ran down to the nearby consignment store and sold a Cynthia Rowley dress for the price of....$24.  UGH.  But, that dress doesn't fit, it's been sitting in my closet for 3 years, and it's ugly.  $24 more dollars that I didn't have that will go to the credit card company.  I also sold another item on ebay for $25.  I'm trying to think of the combined effect of these little sales rather than just the individual low price...At least the rest of the clothes that I can't sell can go to charity for the tax deduction.

I also ran over to the ING cafe today to donate a winter coat.  And they gave me a free coffee!

I cannot tell you the amazing weight that has been lifted simply by finally admitting the problem and doing what I need to do to fix it.  I am so excited to feel what it will be like to owe nothing to the credit card companies...and to know that part of any excess income I have afterwards can go to the principal on my student loan...

I've also subscribed to the Dave Ramsey podcast.  I've learned some interesting things.  Especially that comparatively speaking, there are people out there WAY worse off than I am.  I think the biggest lesson I'm learning is that so far I'm really not missing all of the needless spending...like on the "treats" or the Starbucks or makeup.  I know it's only been about 2 weeks, but I really thought that the withdrawal would be much worse than it is.

Okay, I did buy a dog bone today (for the dog).  But that's been my only expenditure since last week!  That's huge!