I desperately want to be debt free. So much so, that I've been thinking about suspending my automatic savings deposits. I've been considering it a while, but at first, the interest rate on my savings account was pretty decent. As we all know, though, interest rates for savings accounts have been in free fall since last year.
My idea is that rather than that amount going into my savings account, I could put it toward my debt. While it's not an insignificant amount, it would go a decent way toward helping me knock out the debt a little sooner. Of course, it would definitely affect my savings goal of $10K for 10/10/10.
My fear, though, is that I'll get out of the habit of saving. And I like seeing my savings grow. I really do.
Maybe I could make myself a deal -- I can suspend my savings deposits but only after I have a certain amount socked away.
So ... what to do? I don't know, but I welcome your suggestions.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
On the Good Foot
This month is a three-paycheck month. That means I have the opportunity to start making things right -- to, as James Brown sang in his inimitable way, get on the good foot.
More than half of the first paycheck is going into savings, with the bulk going into an account I don't have the easiest access to. These deposits have already been scheduled. I've also scheduled the payment for the Little Beast, so that account will be back at zero by the weekend.
So, yeah, I'm starting June out on the good foot. :-)
P.S. While this isn't technically a "monthly update," I'm tagging it as such since it's really like the second part of yesterday's update.
More than half of the first paycheck is going into savings, with the bulk going into an account I don't have the easiest access to. These deposits have already been scheduled. I've also scheduled the payment for the Little Beast, so that account will be back at zero by the weekend.
So, yeah, I'm starting June out on the good foot. :-)
P.S. While this isn't technically a "monthly update," I'm tagging it as such since it's really like the second part of yesterday's update.
Monday, June 1, 2009
June 2009 Monthly Update
Let's get straight to it, shall we:
Big Beast: $10,405.24
Little Beast: $68.00
Total Debt: $10,473.24
Total Savings: $4,682.82
Yes, I know. The Little Beast is back. But there's a reason: I bought a shirt. I'm going to do what I do when I use the Big Beast card: Pay it off immediately. I get the rewards from using the card (in this case, a rebate) without carrying a balance. I had been using the Big Beast for such things but then the bank changed my interest rate for no reason, so I'm not using it ever again.
The savings isn't as terrible as I'd feared, but it's not pretty. I will be making up for it this week, so next month's update should be much improved. (In fact, I'd almost considered not updating this month on the 1st and instead waiting until those savings deposits went through, but I decided to stick with the original plan. The first of the month is the first of the month.)
So ... that's it. Here's hoping June finds me regaining my footing.
Big Beast: $10,405.24
Little Beast: $68.00
Total Debt: $10,473.24
Total Savings: $4,682.82
Yes, I know. The Little Beast is back. But there's a reason: I bought a shirt. I'm going to do what I do when I use the Big Beast card: Pay it off immediately. I get the rewards from using the card (in this case, a rebate) without carrying a balance. I had been using the Big Beast for such things but then the bank changed my interest rate for no reason, so I'm not using it ever again.
The savings isn't as terrible as I'd feared, but it's not pretty. I will be making up for it this week, so next month's update should be much improved. (In fact, I'd almost considered not updating this month on the 1st and instead waiting until those savings deposits went through, but I decided to stick with the original plan. The first of the month is the first of the month.)
So ... that's it. Here's hoping June finds me regaining my footing.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Why I Save My Gift Cards
I love gift cards. So much so that other than cash, that's usually all I want as a gift from my parents at Christmas or on my birthday.
I never use them right away, though. Some people rush out and buy something immediately. Not me. I've been known to hold gift cards for almost a year, saving up for a rainy day. For me, a "rainy day" is when I've got the strong urge to buy something but don't have the cash. I can fix my case of I-Wants without my savings (or debt) taking a hit.
Yesterday was just that sort of day. For years I've wanted a portable speaker/docking station for my iPod. My fantasy, of course, has always been the Bose system, for its aesthetics and quality. But at $300, it's too expensive. Target recently had them on sale, and I'd just about talked myself into splurging and getting one -- even took out a credit card (gasp!) -- but I behaved. Instead, I went with a decent JBL speaker. Not as pretty, no, but similar functions for half the price.
After two Visa gift cards and one Target gift card, I owed 8 cents. Yep. 8 cents. Gotta love that. My case of I-Wants has been assuaged and now I can enjoy my music collection. Win-win.
The monthly update (is it that time already?) is almost here. It's going to be brutal, but ... well, it's gotta be done. That's the point of this blog -- to show the good and the brutal. Stay tuned.
I never use them right away, though. Some people rush out and buy something immediately. Not me. I've been known to hold gift cards for almost a year, saving up for a rainy day. For me, a "rainy day" is when I've got the strong urge to buy something but don't have the cash. I can fix my case of I-Wants without my savings (or debt) taking a hit.
Yesterday was just that sort of day. For years I've wanted a portable speaker/docking station for my iPod. My fantasy, of course, has always been the Bose system, for its aesthetics and quality. But at $300, it's too expensive. Target recently had them on sale, and I'd just about talked myself into splurging and getting one -- even took out a credit card (gasp!) -- but I behaved. Instead, I went with a decent JBL speaker. Not as pretty, no, but similar functions for half the price.
After two Visa gift cards and one Target gift card, I owed 8 cents. Yep. 8 cents. Gotta love that. My case of I-Wants has been assuaged and now I can enjoy my music collection. Win-win.
The monthly update (is it that time already?) is almost here. It's going to be brutal, but ... well, it's gotta be done. That's the point of this blog -- to show the good and the brutal. Stay tuned.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Buck Stops Here
I know exactly when it happened. It was when I decided to go to the Cape. It's not that I couldn't use a vacation. Believe me, I was thankful to go and I needed the break.
The beginning of the end was when I didn't move my friend's half of the plane ticket over to my savings. Since then, I've turned a blurred eye to my finances. I've used my savings as an easy backup to cover my misdeeds. And the effects have started to show. What was once a snag has become a tear. If I'm not careful, if I don't reclaim control and soon, that tear is going to be a hole.
So it's time to do just that -- reclaim control. For example, another friend invited me along for a trip to the Minneapolis. There's an exhibition she wants to see, and she has a friend who lives near there. I was all set to go along when it occurred to me just what it would cost. Sure, the airfare wouldn't be too bad, but then there would the three nights' charge for a hotel room. And then there's the car rental, food, and shopping expenses.
What was I thinking?!
So though it would've been fun, I can't do it. I've got to get back on track.
My original goal for December 31 was to have $7,500 in savings. Unless I win some money (which would be just fine with me, by the way) or am bequeathed an inheritance from a rich relative (an impossibility since I have no rich relatives), that goal won't be met. Salaries are frozen and my rent's about to go up. If I manage to have $6,000 by then, I'll be grateful. (How I'll meet my $10,000 goal by October 10, 2010, is beyond me, especially given the possibility I may go to Italy next June for a week. More on that later.)
In the short term, the important thing is that I go back to taking it one day at a time. I have to reconsider my purchases -- even groceries -- and stop with the impulse buying. If I'm bored, well, I need to stay home and craft. Or read one of the 50+ unread books on my bookshelves. Running to the store for this and that isn't doing me any favors.
The buck stops here -- literally.
The beginning of the end was when I didn't move my friend's half of the plane ticket over to my savings. Since then, I've turned a blurred eye to my finances. I've used my savings as an easy backup to cover my misdeeds. And the effects have started to show. What was once a snag has become a tear. If I'm not careful, if I don't reclaim control and soon, that tear is going to be a hole.
So it's time to do just that -- reclaim control. For example, another friend invited me along for a trip to the Minneapolis. There's an exhibition she wants to see, and she has a friend who lives near there. I was all set to go along when it occurred to me just what it would cost. Sure, the airfare wouldn't be too bad, but then there would the three nights' charge for a hotel room. And then there's the car rental, food, and shopping expenses.
What was I thinking?!
So though it would've been fun, I can't do it. I've got to get back on track.
My original goal for December 31 was to have $7,500 in savings. Unless I win some money (which would be just fine with me, by the way) or am bequeathed an inheritance from a rich relative (an impossibility since I have no rich relatives), that goal won't be met. Salaries are frozen and my rent's about to go up. If I manage to have $6,000 by then, I'll be grateful. (How I'll meet my $10,000 goal by October 10, 2010, is beyond me, especially given the possibility I may go to Italy next June for a week. More on that later.)
In the short term, the important thing is that I go back to taking it one day at a time. I have to reconsider my purchases -- even groceries -- and stop with the impulse buying. If I'm bored, well, I need to stay home and craft. Or read one of the 50+ unread books on my bookshelves. Running to the store for this and that isn't doing me any favors.
The buck stops here -- literally.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sunday, Money Sunday
Today was the kind of day that made me thankful to have savings.
It started innocently enough. I woke up early to meet a friend to go to a neighborhood festival in another city. (She drove.) While I spent a little here and there -- a corn dog, a (fairly expensive) frozen lemonade, and a Father's Day gift for my dad -- I kept things pretty much in check.
Back at her place, I commented that I'd thought about doing a little clothes shopping but wasn't sure I was up to it. We'd been out for a while, and I was hot and tired and ready to head home. But then I figured, well, it wouldn't hurt to look around. Besides, I had a coupon for the store.
So shop I did. I found a very cute shift, some leggings to wear under it, and (finally!) some white jeans. High-end designer jeans on sale no less. (I'm a very hard fit, so finding jeans that fit is akin to, say, spotting a white buffalo in the wild.) The shift and the jeans were on clearance; the leggings were just inexpensive. Still, it came to a hefty 100 bucks for the three pieces. Not cheap, but I figured that since I haven't bought any clothes in a while, why not?
I left the store, got into my car, and put my key in the ignition. Click. Click.
My car wouldn't start. Yep. That's right. There I was after my splurge with a car that wouldn't start.
I knew it was the battery. I called Triple A and a mechanic was there in 30 minutes. He was a very sweet young man -- thorough and patient. He ran some diagnostics and it turned out that my battery was completely fried. Even after being charged, it wouldn't start up without an outside power source.
So I had to buy a new battery. Yep. It has been an expensive Sunday. Days like this remind me of why it's I must stick to my savings schedule. I'd briefly considered going on savings hiatus to put it all toward the debt, but now that this has happened, I think it's more important to keep up with the deposits. Period.
It started innocently enough. I woke up early to meet a friend to go to a neighborhood festival in another city. (She drove.) While I spent a little here and there -- a corn dog, a (fairly expensive) frozen lemonade, and a Father's Day gift for my dad -- I kept things pretty much in check.
Back at her place, I commented that I'd thought about doing a little clothes shopping but wasn't sure I was up to it. We'd been out for a while, and I was hot and tired and ready to head home. But then I figured, well, it wouldn't hurt to look around. Besides, I had a coupon for the store.
So shop I did. I found a very cute shift, some leggings to wear under it, and (finally!) some white jeans. High-end designer jeans on sale no less. (I'm a very hard fit, so finding jeans that fit is akin to, say, spotting a white buffalo in the wild.) The shift and the jeans were on clearance; the leggings were just inexpensive. Still, it came to a hefty 100 bucks for the three pieces. Not cheap, but I figured that since I haven't bought any clothes in a while, why not?
I left the store, got into my car, and put my key in the ignition. Click. Click.
My car wouldn't start. Yep. That's right. There I was after my splurge with a car that wouldn't start.
I knew it was the battery. I called Triple A and a mechanic was there in 30 minutes. He was a very sweet young man -- thorough and patient. He ran some diagnostics and it turned out that my battery was completely fried. Even after being charged, it wouldn't start up without an outside power source.
So I had to buy a new battery. Yep. It has been an expensive Sunday. Days like this remind me of why it's I must stick to my savings schedule. I'd briefly considered going on savings hiatus to put it all toward the debt, but now that this has happened, I think it's more important to keep up with the deposits. Period.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)