Happy New Year! It's always special when the monthly update is also January 1, the start of a new year. This year's January 1 update is even more special, as it is the beginning of the last year of blogging about my credit card debt.
Which brings me to this: What will become of this debt blog after the debt is paid off? I won't take it down. (I could use the reminder of where I've been.) But will I continue to post? By then, I'll be in my new place; maybe I could post about how things are going with that. We'll see.
But let's stop thinking about the future and get to the point of today's post:
The Savings: $3,749.28
The Debt: $5,755.60
The savings is up by $204.26. Historically, I'm doing better than I was in 2008 ($3,643) but not better than I was when 2009 started ($4,811).
The debt is another story altogether. It's down $1,530.69! What a difference a three-paycheck month makes. Obviously, this January 1 balance is much better than those in the past. After all, that's the point of this blog, right? Two years ago, in January 2008, I owed $19,022.04 in credit card debt. Wow -- just typing that figure ... it boggles the mind. It makes me sad to know I got myself that deeply into debt. What the heck was I doing?! But then I'm elated at the progress I've made. In two years, I've paid off more than $13,000. Whoa. Let's focus on that good part, shall we?
Christmas was a good one. My parents gave me gift cards, two of which are bank cards. Those can be used anywhere. I tend to save gift cards until a rainy day. I have to use the bank cards by June or else there's a $2.50 monthly fee, but I'm sure I'll find something to use them on between now and then. But for now? I haven't a clue. More on that later.
Other money matters: I received my paycheck for the freelance job I did back in December. I have some grocery items to buy this weekend at the organic market, so some of the check will go to that, but I also plan to sock some of it away into savings. And then there's the unexpected financial blessing that's due to come later this month. I don't know what I want to use that for, either.
Which brings me to this. I've noticed something about myself and my financial habits over the last 20 years: When I'm doing pretty good with my savings and can afford to spend a little, I get stingy. I question every purchase -- Do I really need this? What if you see something better later? I end up talking myself out of the purchase.
I think it's also because I know how easy it is for me to fall back into my old spending habits. This is not my first rodeo. Back when I was in college, I racked up about $6,000 in credit card debt. A lot of money for a student. It took quite a few years to pay that off, but I did. I still remember the first thing I charged after that. I told myself, "Go ahead. You'll pay it off next month." But then there was something else, and then something else. And now here we are, all these years later.
So that extra $700 or so I'll be getting later this month will likely go into savings. Ditto any IRS refund I get. I've been wanting to build up my savings, especially since I'm going to be shopping for a place this summer. It will be good to have that extra amount in there for incidentals when I move. I will have to pay to get my carpets cleaned when I move later this year. I have to budget for that and for the movers. Plus, I'd really like to get a nice couch and a new mattress set. Neither of those are cheap items. My rent deposit for this place would help toward all that, but deposits are not guaranteed. Even though all my semiannual inspections with the property management company have gone well, I still hesitate to rely on my full $995 being returned. (But believe me: I've saved every copy of my inspection report in case I need backup!)
So that's January 2010. It's going to be a great year. :-)
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