Step Away from the Credit Card...

Well, things are finally looking better! Last time I wrote here I mentioned the temp job that I was working, well that ended about a week later. It was a good thing I had received my tax refund the day before they ended the contract! Although it did suck because I was planning to get caught up on my bills and then hold the rest as emergency money but ended up needing it to pay my regular bills. I went 3 weeks without a job, I know that is still pretty good because a lot of people go A LOT longer. I did somehow manage to stretch out my money through the whole time, and JUST ran out the day before my first paycheck.

The job I am working at now pays really well. It's a temp to hire job. For now I just plan to pay my normal bills and stash as much away as I can JUST IN CASE anything happens with this job. I've had too many jobs that have sounded promising and then ended up no where. If I do get hired on permanent I should FINALLY be able to start paying off some of this stuff I have in collections and really get back on track.

It’s been a few months, but I’m back. Haven’t written because there hasn’t been much to report, and the last few months have been REALLY hard.

I quit my job after Thanksgiving for something that SOUNDED promising. It was a state job, the pay was a little less, but it got me out of the call center environment which I have been doing for YEARS, and was MUCH closer to home (cut my drive down by about 40 miles a day!) so it seemed as though the positives were going to outweigh the negatives. Well, they hired 4 of us at the same time, for a full time 40 hour a week position… then there ended up not being enough work and we were lucky to get 25 hours a week. Meaning my paychecks were around $175-$200 a week, BARELY enough to even make rent, so all other bills were pretty much ignored. After 7 weeks they decided that there was no point in having us there and we got laid off. Somehow I managed to get lucky and found a temporary position to start the following week. I’m still at that job, but unsure how much longer I will be here, I’m filling in for a person that is out on medical leave. I’m TRYING to find a new full time permanent position, but with the hours I’m working (8-5) it’s making it really difficult to be able to schedule interviews, and I can’t afford to take much time off especially after falling so far behind in December and January. I’m STILL trying to catch up on the bills that I got behind on during that time.

I’m SO lucky that my best friend has been so willing to help me or I don’t know what I would have done. He’s been making sure that I have enough gas to get to and from work, and helping me out with little bits of money so I can buy some food so I’m not COMPLETELY starving. I’ve tried applying for food stamps but somehow according to the state I’m still making too much money… Not sure where they are getting that idea from since my monthly income the last few months has only been about $800 and my rent alone is $675. It’s so frustrating! I feel so bad that my friend is doing all of this for me and I have no idea when or IF I will ever be able to pay him back for it all. He keeps insisting that I don’t have to and not to worry about it, but I still hate being in that position, it’s not his job to take care of me. UGH.

On the brighter side of things I’m getting just over $1200 back on my federal tax return, I should be getting that next week. I owe the state $62 which I plan to pay as soon as I get the check, I have to pay back my mom $200 that she let me borrow, pay my phone bill that’s now almost 2 months behind, my electric bill that is 3 months behind and DEFINITELY buy some groceries. The rest (which should be around $700) I plan to just keep as emergency money. Once I’m caught up my income should cover bills with about $300 a month available for gas/groceries, which is definitely enough. Then I just need to hope that I find a new job before this one ends that way I don’t end up right back in the same hole. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, I better get off and do some work!

Just got in, did a bit of shopping today..I needed to pick up some random things like shampoo and toilet paper.

I also was feeling like a should get into the holiday spirit and put up some decorations so i swung around to a few thrift stores on the hunt for something. i ended up with a strand of lights for $2, what was boxed up like a strand of lights but really ended up only being a box of random bulbs (grrr) for 99 cents, and some cute lil candle holders and tray (i know not holiday decorations but whatever lol) for $7. I was very proud of myself for putting back lots of random things that I picked up and then decided that i didn't really need.

Oh, and towards my millionaire fund:
I found a penny in the parking lot.

Might write some more later
byeee

THE MOOCHER THAT WAS STAYING WITH ME IS GONE !! he moved all of his stuff out thursday night .. yay!! he didnt have money to give me (of course) using the excuse that his paycheck was smaller than he was expecting again... not sure WHY he was expecting a 40 hour paycheck when he took a day off but whatever. i've decided that i'm not going to stress over the money that he never paid me and just be happy that he is gone. he's a leech and a liar and i dont need to deal with that. i have no problem helping my friends when they truley need help, but this one didnt need help, he just wants someone to support him while he acts like a child.

on another note, i didnt get the job that i applied for with usaa. i had a feeling i didnt as soon as the interview was done. a lot of the interview questions were geared towards the sales part of the job and i've never worked a sales job before so i had NO CLUE how to approach those questions. the money would have been nice for sure, and the hours, but it's not really a huge issue. the job i have now is decent, and like i said before my manager is amazing. he's actually offered to help me look for a job that i'd be good at and help me some more with interview questions. yea, he's pretty cool.

pretty much my whole paycheck went to rent this week. the little bit that i had left i used to pay my internet bill, put gas in my car, and take my car through emissions. next paycheck i need to renew my registration, ugh. i went to fresh & easy and grabbed a few things that i needed to be able to make dinners/lunches for myself for the next week until i get paid again. i went there because almost everything i needed was produce, and with their 98 cents produce packs it was definitely much cheaper there than anywhere else..

i got :
baby carrots: .98
celery: .98
2 green peppers: .98
6 tomatos: .98
6 onions: .98
10 potatoes: .98
spaghetti noodles: .98
canned corn: .50
tomato soup: .50
total: 8.51

Oh, and towards my millionaire fund:
I found a penny in the parking lot

might write some more later.
byee!!

I had a phone interview yesterday with USAA that I forgot to mention. It went well, and I have an in person interview with a hiring manager next Thursday! They've already emailed me the information to start the background check and go get a drug test. I'm assuming that this is all a good sign because they wouldnt waste money to do those things for a person that they didn't think they would hire ... right?

They have two classes starting soon, November 5 or November 26. And the pay is about $1000 a month more than I make now.

I really hope I get it because I'm ready for a change and, not gonna lie, the money would be nice. But also at the same time I'm scared of the change. The manager I have now is AMAZING, definitely the best person I have ever worked for. But the shift I'd be working at USAA is better than what I'm working now... and the money....

Ahh ... decisions...

So today I got my birthday present from my best friend ... a dog! He kept the one that we had at his house when I moved out (because it was technically his! lol) so he got me my own.. yay! She's up to date on all of her shots and already potty trained and kennel trained. I do need to get her spayed, but I'll wait until the low cost mobile clinic comes back through, I had both of my cats done through them a few years back and they were great.

Found 10 cents in my car so that got thrown into my lil piggy bank. At this rate I'll be a millionaire lol

Went to the pet store and got a toy and a small bag of treats for the dog, and some dog food. The person that we got her from also gave us her collar, leash and kennel so I didn't have to worry about any of those things, so I only spent $8 there. I just got enough food to last a few days until I go grocery shopping, and there was a coupon for buy one get one free the toy I got on clearance and the treats were half off.

Okey doke ... I'm off to bed, goodnight all !!

well, I know it's not that long since I wrote my last entry, but I've just been thinking about stuff and hey, here is as good a place to write it down as any. and it is at least vaguely financial. and I really just need a place to rant lol.

a friend of mine has been staying with me for 2 months now, and in that time has only given me $100. he has a full time job paying $12 an hour yet INSISTS that he doesnt make enough money to pay rent or pay bills. he gave me this whole little sob story about how he couldnt afford his apartment anymore because they raised his rent, plus the amount of child support he has to pay, and he owes money to the IRS.

of course with me being a sucker, I felt bad and offered him a place to stay while he got stuff caught up. We had agreed that since he would be sleeping on the couch and not really be keeping any of his things here that he would only pay me half of the utility bills, half of the groceries and then $120 for rent. and like I said previously ... since he's been here he's only given me $100.

I mean, if he really truly didn't have the money I would probably let it slide. But he's been going on trips every weekend, plus spent $300 on action figures. then tells me this week that he doesnt have money to give me for this month because "his paychecks werent as much as he was expecting".

now maybe it's just me but shouldnt he have made sure he had the money to give me for his rent before going on all of his trips? oh and then I find out he hasnt been paying his child support, nor the money he owes to the IRS. so basically he just wants to be a mooch.

i keep talking to him about it, but every time I bring it up he gets defensive saying "he doesnt make enough money" and "cant afford to get an apartment of his own" .. his parents live out of town and he's been lying to them saying that he has his own 2 bedroom apartmentand that all he does is work and pay bills, he lies to his ex (the child's mother) and says that he cant give her the child support because all of his money is going to bills and the IRS!

i know I've been stupid to let him stay but I told him a few weeks ago that he has until the 2nd to get out because I am not a sugar mama. I have enough of my own debt and bills to worry about without having to support someone else that is fully capable of taking care of themselves.

Anyhow.. if anyone has any helpful comments or suggestions I'd love to hear them. I don't know if I should try to fight with him for the money that he owes me or just get him out of my house and be done with it.

Just realised this entry is like a novel.

Good day!

hello to anyone who is reading this...

I'm from Arizona and I'm trying to save up to pay off the ridiculous amounts of debt that I have.

My goals are to stash as much cash as I can and then take advantage of the settlement offers that I get from the collections companies, and also to get into good habits of managing my money.

I haven't done anything very saving-money-ish today.. although I did go to the college bookstore and sold back two books that I am done with.

Ok.. I will try and get into the habit of writing in this often, but I can't guarantee what I say will be interesting

Kristin

What items do you guys ONLY buy store brand?
What items will you ONLY buy brand name?

Is there really a difference between them in your opinion?

Just curious to see what everyone's responses are....

In my house we buy ALMOST everything store brand, we've noticed that most things run about .50 to $1 cheaper... sometimes more... plus my mother works for a grocery store so if we go to that store I can use her employee discount to get another 10% off store brand items.

I used to be the master of getting free or SUPER cheap stuff with coupons, and CVS extra care rewards or whatever its called. I should get back into that really, I've just been too lazy to get to the store and get newspapers on Sunday to clip coupons. I never bought insane amounts of stuff just because it was on sale, like I think it's silly to have 50 jars of peanut butter just because it was cheap... know what I mean? But I'd buy a few extra of things that I know that we would definitely use (ex: a few extra packs of toilet paper, an extra deodorant, one or two extra shampoos)... anyway, yes, I should start doing that again...

And while I'm talking about free stuff!!

New members to sneakpeeq.com can get a free gemstone ring... just did that one this morning! $10 credit for signing up and free shipping, I also got a "welcome gift" for signing up, which ended up being the ring... soooo now I still have a code for a $10 credit, and for making my first "purchase" I got a 5% discount code too (probably wont use it, but thought I'd mention it anyway)... so yea... YAY free things!

Something good to hang on to for a gift perhaps?

I spent $70 on gas this week... BLAH.

On the brighter side I now have $36 in my savings account and havent been the slightest bit tempted to move it to my checking account .... YAY baby steps.

My bank has the option to automatically transfer $1 into my savings account every time I charge something on my debit card, so I decided to go ahead and set that up.... the real challenge now will be LEAVING IT THERE and not transferring it back over LOL .... wish me luck!

Just tracking my spending for the remainder of the week...

Wednesday::
$4.27 - coffee and pastry before work
$3 - went out to a show with jae

Thursday::
$0

Friday::
PAY DAY!! = $555.32

This is going to be a rough 2 weeks though because our electric and gas bills are both a month behind and we need to catch them both up before Jesse pays his first month of bills at the house on April 1 ... plus I need to pay my car insurance and cell phone bill.... EEK!

On the brighter side of things I finally talked to Lindsey about the $420 that I still owe to APS from the old apartment. I told her that I don't think it's fair that I have to pay that whole thing just because it was in my name, when she and her boyfriend at the time were both living there. So she's going to give me 2/3 of that bill after her vacation next month.... then once I get that from her I can just put in my 1/3 and that will be bill #1 paid off!!

So I didn't do too bad the past few days .... only spent $20.18 since Friday...

Weekend Spending::
Friday::
$0

Saturday::
$10 - entrance to Ostrich festival
$4.75 - starbucks - could have done without =/

Sunday::
$0

Monday::
$.86 - soda

Tuesday:
$3.50 - coleslaw for potluck at work
$1.07 - soda on the way to work

But on the bright side .... I didn't buy ANYTHING at the Ostrich festival ... I managed to control myself and not buy unnecessary things from all the booths (even though there was some REALLY cute stuff!) and had a good time! Tiffany treated me to dinner afterward, so didn't spend anything there either.

The roommates and I cooked dinner at home all weekend, so that saved some money, and Jesse bought any of the things that we needed for dinner as well as some cleaning supplies.

I even managed to go to Wal-Mart last night with Jae to get dog food and didn't give into the temptation to buy useless crap there either!

Here's my short term goal .... since the plan as of now is that I need to move to my own place by October 1st I need to save a decent amount of money by then. I need money for a deposit... need to pay off what I owe to the electric company so I can get that turned on... and save up enough to get some basic furniture and other things needed for my own place.

I'm getting $811 back on my tax return... I plan to take $200 of that for a weekend trip, only because I won a 2 night stay at a resort in San Diego and tickets to Sea World ... I figure $200 should be enough to cover my half of the gas and food for 3 days, and maybe a little bit of extra spending money.

The remaining $611 is going to go to paying off the electric company ($420) and I'm planning to use the other $191 to get new tires for my car, they're getting worn out and I don't need to have any more blow outs on the freeway.

My goal is to save $500 a month April-September .... which will give me $3000 .... about $1500 of that will be the deposit money for my own place, and the other $1500 will be for my furniture and other things, I plan to do LOTS of thrift store and garage sale shopping for those things, and look for any hand me downs from friends and family.

So yesterday I gave a little background about the giant mess of debt that I am in ..... here's the list of it all ::

Accounts in Collections::
Chase Visa - $2410
Target - $576
Capital One - $1133
First Financial Bank - $7329
Verizon - $791
APS - $420
Old Navy - $128
Cox - $296
Chase Mastercard - $8235
Best Buy - $3200 (approx)
Sprint - $400 (approx)
Old bank accounts - $600 (approx)
I couldnt find any statements for the last 3, but that's about what I remember them to be at....

Student Loans::
Sallie Mae - $4622
USDOE - $9500

:::TOTAL DEBT:::
$39,640


Income::
$1700/month

Monthly Expenses (starting April 1st)::
Rent - $217
Utilities - $75
Cable/Internet - $40
Cell Phone - $100
Insurance - $53
and estimating
Food - $100
Gas - $100

::TOTAL MONTHLY EXPENSES::
$685

So with that remaining $1015 a month I need to come up with a plan to save some and pay off some of that debt. As of now the plan is that I am suppose to be moving into my own place around October 1st... so I need to make sure to have money for a deposit by then as well as to buy some things for my place since I have NOTHING of my own.... any ideas/suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated

So after a million times trying to create a blog and failing, I'm finally here and think I have the motivation to actually stick with it this time around. Soooo ... here we go for the obligatory introductory post.

I'm 26... college student ... working full time... and have MASSIVE amounts of debt between credit cards, student loans, and other random things that have gotten sent off to collections. How did I get into this mess?? Well ... here's a little bit of my background....

I lived at home until I was 20 ... I had to pay my own cell phone, internet, car payment, and insurance from the time I was 16. I got my first credit card at 18 ... I used it quite a bit but always paid AT LEAST double what the minimum payment was. I was working a management job and bringing home $600 a week ... one paycheck covered all of my bills... and instead of being smart and SAVING the rest (or ANY of it) I went shopping .... A LOT ... and treated my friends to dinner/movies/concerts/whatever .... A LOT.

I decided at 20 to move out with my boyfriend and a roommate ... shortly after that I quit my job and took a lil part time job where I was barely bringing home $600 A MONTH .... BIG CHANGE from what I was used to .... sooooo I started putting EVERYTHING on my credit card. I'd get offers for more credit cards ... and take them ... and rack those up as well. Since I had what seemed to be an endless supply of money I bought myself and my boyfriend everything we wanted and took us on vacations.

The minimum payments on my cards slowly started getting up to $50-$100 EACH ... and I had 7 of them. By this time I had gotten a full time decent paying job again (about $1600 a month) ... and was able to STOP putting everything on credit cards, but by then the payments had gotten to be impossible to keep up with. Of course the late fees and overlimit fees all added up and I pretty much just gave up and stopped paying them altogether.

My boyfriend and I broke up in September 2010 ... I couldnt afford the apartment that we were living in at the time on my own and I KNEW that but I was being stubborn and refused to move. Within a few months I had my internet shut off and cell phone shut off for non payment and those sent to collections... and was on the verge of being evicted. I brought in 2 roommates in January which helped to get my rent paid... I was also able to get my internet and phone turned back on through different companies.

I was starting to save a little money and was going to start working on paying off some of the smaller bills (like the internet and cell phone) and then I lost my job in April. I moved out of that apartment and moved in with my best friend who was willing to help me out until I could find a new job and get things in order ... and even then he was willing to let me pay only $200 in rent while I got things caught up.

I found a new job fairly quickly and thought that things were going to get better... until my roommate lost his job in July. Since he helped me out I felt it was only fair to help him while he looked for a job... so my WHOLE paycheck was going straight to rent and the other bills... AGAIN .. and the little bit that I had managed to save earlier in the year had to be used. He didnt have as much luck finding a job ... he picked up odd jobs here and there and helped out where he could, he also did all of the cleaning and cooking that way when I got home from work I didnt need to worry about those things... but we were definitely struggling to make it.

Which brings us to now ... he has a regular weekday job now and is a stage manager for a burlesque troop .... I have my full time job... and his boyfriend just moved in with us. All of the bills will be split 3 ways starting April 1. All of my bills for the month should be just around $400 ... leaving me $1300 a month ... my GOAL is to save AT LEAST $800 a month out of that... leaving myself $500 a month to cover gas (which my roommate will help with since we share a car) and any entertainment/clothes/whatever else .... I feel that that should be enough so that I don't feel like I'm giving up anything, and also still save quite a bit.

And there we have it .... me and the lovely mess that I got myself into.... hope you all stick around to follow my journey out of it!! I'm sure I'll be needing plenty of advice and support!