December Credit Card Update: $13,216

Here we go...

CC1 was: $1654
New Balance: $993

CC2: Was: $2768
New Balance: $2648

CC3: Was: $4874
New Balance: $4813

CC4: Was: $4817
New Balance: $4762

New Total: $13,216

By next month, CC1 will be gone. I'm going to take whatever extra money I have to go towards making the usual 800 payment into a 993 payment. Totally within the realm of possibility.

My Christmas present budgeting went pretty well, I didn't go over, although I did splurge on myself with my 'extra paycheck' and only got to one of the wedding presents, which means a few other wedding presents are still in waiting, but I still have a few months before it is officially rude!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Happy New Year! I'll be spending mine quietly, who wants to spend 200+ to go to a weird party and have a massive hangover from cheap alcohol? not me!

Presents, Parties and Politics

Sad attempt at alliteration, I know. I'm looking forward to my next paycheck as an "extra" paycheck, the blessed gift of the accounting dept that pays me every two weeks, therefore I get two "extra" paychecks during the year. Because my usual pattern for paychecks is #1 - Rent and Utilities and Living, #2 CC Debt and Living, usually allotting 300 to live on every two weeks.

Back to the extra paycheck and what I plan on doing with it.

$100 - Total Splurge - Fancy Haircut
$100 - Gift, the boyfriend (we agreed to cap it this year, in years past it has been up to 200)
$300 - Gifts, family (5 people, with a large percentage on toys for the cutest nephew ever)
$150 - Gifts for parties, secret santas and work people (this will be a challenge)
$60 - Christmas Cards
$100 - Overdue Evansville Wedding Present (williams sonoma gift card)
$200 - Overdue June Wedding Present (no idea here...maybe a murrays cheese shop gift certificate for classes)
$300 - Upcoming end of December Wedding Present

$610 - Christmas Budget, not bad
$600 - Wedding Present Budget, ridiculous! elope!

as for the politics...I'm leaning towards Barack right now.

Addressing the "Alive"

I'm going to veer off the debt track today and address the alive part of my little story, because the following incident really has me shaken up. Not literally shaking, although at one point I was, but more in the *wow did that really happen* sense.

I almost got into a fight on the subway. On my way to Grand Central and upstate NY, I hopped on the subway to go to 2 stops to catch the metro north. I get on the subway and as soon as the doors close at 59th, this girl starts cursing, f-this and f-you and f-yourself to her friends and basically to anyone that could hear/would listen. I start feeling bad for her because I just thought, what a beautiful girl and what a hard life she must have. Seriously, face of an angel, with two guy friends who were much more fashionable than she was feminine. She was basically ready to pick a fight with anyone that looked at her the wrong way and I gave her the stink eye.

She immediately says, "what are you looking at, b****", I said nothing and looked the other way. A few minutes later I feel something pressing on my foot and it is this girl stepping on my foot (she's sitting, I'm standing). I say "excuse you" in the most stern teacher-voice that i know. she says "excuse you" and unleashes a barage of curses and insults my way. I stand there, not moving, pissing her off more (why am i so stubborn? to her, I'm just another "bit-ch" in a burberry (this is a debt blog) scarf and leopard print shoes, while in my mind I'm someone just like her, from a tough neighborhood, with neighborhood developed cajones that should have been cut off as soon as I went to university.

Anyway. I move away. She and her friends move to get off at 42nd, my stop, I think great, I'll just let them go and follow from a distance. Then I feel her stepping on my foot again, I start to say something and she whips around with "don't touch me! why are you hitting me?" I, flabbergasted, just move to get to the exit, as we are stopped, she is cursing something horrible, with the overall message of: you better just move on, curse curse curse.

And of course I feel the need to say something to her. (why god why) so I say "you'll never get anywhere in life talking like that" like that will jar her angry bitter not even 15 year old self into a reality check. it won't. although one of her friends chimes in with, "you know, she's right." yeah, I am.

Then her friends have to hold her back from hitting me or doing any of the numerous things that she was yelling she would do "get back here so I can spit in your face" "I'm going to lay your white ass out" angry angry angry.

I'm scared (and amazed/bewildered that i said anything), make my way up the stairs after almost taking a dead end up the platform, and rack my brains for the closest police location, because even though she was barely 5'6", I'm sure she could have taken all her rage from whatever went wrong in her life out on me in under 60 seconds.

The police were exactly where I wanted them, as she struggled to get past people (excuse me! excuse me! she knows manners...or at least how to move people) on the stairway after her friends (thank god!) held her back for long enough for me to get away to the safety of eternally
stationed cops. and she went down the corridor to the shuttle with her friends. kicking and screaming. rage.

I proceed to have a massive anxiety attack and almost throw up once getting to the civilized world of grand central station and the metro north.

This may be what pushes me out of NY, to the suburbs, away from the madness.

Does anyone remember the story of the actress on the lower east side who said to a bunch of teenagers "what are you going to do, shoot me?" and then got shot? I need to repeat that story to myself daily and keep my mouth shut! and eyes averted!

Why I love Suze Orman

Suze Orman is great. I just saw her on Oprah the other week and she always offers the most sensible, straightforward and, my favorite, compassionate advice. She's been there, in debt, trying to keep up the the Joneses (or Garcias), dug herself out and has gotten to a point in her life where she is secure and offering help to everyone who will listen to her.

I keep her Young, Fabulous and Broke book by my bedside for practical advice. Even though I am getting further and further away from young and nowhere near fabulous. Her steps go getting out of debt are what I go by (tackling the cc with the highest interest rate first, the amex). Suze's steps are:

1. If you are in credit card trouble, you must cut up all of your credit cards now, with the possible exception of one card for emergencies; do not carry this card in your wallet, however.
   
2. You must pay more than the minimum payment every month, as much more as you possibly can. If you owe a credit card company $5000 at 18 percent interest and all you do is pay the minimum each month it will take you over 30 years to pay it off.
   
3. You must pay off the credit card with the highest interest rate first, and the rest in descending order.
   
4. You must negotiate for yourself the best interest rates, even if it means switching credit cards every six months.
   
5. You must understand everything about how your credit card works--all fees, how the company charges you, all about the so-called grace period, everything.
   
6. You must honor all your debts equally--whether it's the money you owe Visa, or the money you owe your brother.
   
7. After you pay off one credit card, you must apply the money you have been paying that particular company to paying off another credit card.
   
8. If you doubt that you can do this yourself, you must get in touch with a wonderful nonprofit agency known as the Consumer Credit Counseling Service; they can be reached by calling 1-800-388-2227. They will help you organize and consolidate your debt.
   
9. You must never let this happen again.
   
10. After your debts have all been paid off, you are to apply the money you were paying all those months toward creating your future.

More advice can be found on her website, which is why I'm linking to it here: Managing Debt

November Debt Update $14,058

CC1: $2044
New Balance: $1654

CC2: Was: $2741
New Balance: $2768 - Payment Issues

CC3: Was: $4934
New Balance: $4874

CC4: Was: $4816
New Balance: $4762

Total Debt: $14,058 - so close to under 14k! yet so far....

I've got a new high interest rate in the room thanks to some issues. CC2, the newbie, has an early in the month date and is a Chase credit card. I have an old Citi credit card (that was paid off a while ago) account in my online bill pay. I accidentally paid Citi an extra $60 and forgot about Chase. So the payment went in 2 days late and they jacked up my interest. I've now applied for a new balance transfer with Capitol One that I should hear about in a few days.

This doesn't bother me, because I knew that I would have to transfer eventually due to the expiration of the balance transfer option on the Chase card. What does bother me is that I didn't get a notice from Chase about the interest, I received and increase in my credit! As in, "now we've really gotcha and are gonna try to make the most out of you while you don't realize you have an incredibly high interest rate (20.5%)." I don't know how the woman on the phone said that while being so cheerful.

The new Cap One card will keep that balance transfer interest rate at 0% until November of next year.

Other than that issue, I've been spending recently. I'm not proud of it, but with the holidays coming up, I really have to buckle down.

as my thighs grow bigger with the lack of a gym membership.

Weddings, Showers, Bachelorettes and the Drain of the 20something Female's Wallet

SEVEN
That's the number of weddings that I will have attended by the end of the year. And that is with one being called off at the beginning of the year (thankfully before the shower).

Having just been to a beautiful shower, where women of all walks of life from grandmother to brunching buddy were happy to see this young woman getting ready to get married, I understand the evolution of what a modern wedding has become and I don't go into a rage like some singletons. But I just can't see it for myself. That's a whole other blog, like too neurotic to get married, or cold lower extremities.

Anyway. Back to weddings. With one wedding in Evansville, previously mentioned, one in Buffalo, one in Boston and another in Boulder, and a local wedding where I caved last minute and got the hotel room for a night even though we were an hour from the city, what is a girl to do?

Certainly make the most of that one darling dress you bought on sale last year from Lord and Taylor's. And only give WHAT you can give WHEN you can give it. Martha Stewart, or someone else with better manners than myself, says you have a year to give a gift and most guides that I've read on the topic say that you should only give what you can.

Now, I've had the frank discussion with one group of college friends, who, save for one girl who was planning a big NYC wedding, agreed that it is ridiculous to cover the cost of a plate when the bride and groom have chosen to have something over the top extravagant. That in my mind would equate to a really fancy dinner that I couldn't afford and would choose to forgo. All of my friends know that I work for a non-profit, so I don't think that they are expecting a huge check, but I do like to give them something.

Depending on my relationship with the couple and what I know of their finances, I either give a very personal gift or a check/gift card. If I go to a wedding west of Pennsylvania, I give a gift off of the registry because I've found that that is what people in the west do. If I travel, it is in the $100 range, if I don't travel, it is in the $250 range (for a couple). With all of these weddings in one year, I've had to sacrifice to give these gifts but most of the time, they are welcomed with such gratitude that it makes it worth the sacrifice (and my small bonus).

The whole splitting of the gift with the boyfriend depends on how well he knows the couple. If he doesn't at all, he shouldn't have to pitch in.

Goals v. Practical

I'm looking at that 12000 in January goal and really just wondering if I will be able to pull it off. I'm already stressed about Christmas presents and have another wedding before the end of the year. But, I think I'll be able to get to at least 12500 by January. It won't be all the way, but it will still be exciting.

October Credit Card Update $14,535

CC1: Was: $2516
Payment: $823
Dumb Spending: $294
New Balance: $2044

CC2: Was: $2801
New Balance: $2741

CC3: Was: $4992
New Balance: $4934

CC4: Was: $4810
New Balance: $4816 What? this went up?

So, CC4, aka, the bain of my college years who won't give me lower than a 13.9 interest rate so I've been whittling it away through balance transfers (see: CC2, aka the Newbie). But they did give me a reduced payment for October and I took it because I am newly committed to CC1, that which should be gone already. So, CC1 got the bulk of this month's $1033 payment, with $823 going there.

Old Grand Total: $15,126
Total Payments: $1033
Interest Payment: $148

NEW GRAND TOTAL: $14,535

NYSC, I just don't know how to quit you - Literally

Two years ago I signed a 2-year contract with New York Sports Club for a monthly fee of $92. With my prolonged displeasure with the gym and sneaking suspicions that working out was making me more hungry and therefore fatter, I've decided to end this unforgiving financial partnership.

Quitters be forewarned!
You need to submit in writing you intent to quit your membership a full 30 days before they will release you. I didn't even try to get out of my two year contract and am sure that they make you sign the contract so that you can't get out of it. The woman at the counter basically turned me away saying don't bother until your contract is up.

Reasons to get a membership down the road
I enjoy swimming, but never get to do it, so once I reach that short term goal, I'm going to look into joining my neighborhood YMCA, which will be slightly cheaper (this is nyc) and will have a loverly pool for me to swim in, whereas the NYSC shared one facility in times square with a hotel, not ideal swimming conditions.

Health Insurance Bonus!
I actually get $200 every 6 months if I can prove that I went to the gym 60 times in that six month period, unfortunately, I never quite got it to the 60 visit mark, there are only so many times I can stand on an elliptical machine during the month before I want to hurl or risk hip injury mounting the damn thing.

In the meantime, I plan to put my Firm workout videos to the test and slap some rubber to asphalt, running along the brooklyn skyline is much more inspiring than watching reruns of Bravo shows and Beyonce videos.

Confession of Irresponsible Spending

As I write this to you, blogosphere, I am tempted to just say that the suit I bought was within my budget, but it wasn't. And that I spent cash, not credit, buying it, but I didn't.

I pulled out that credit card as soon as jcrew.com sent me an email announcing 20% off their final sale and that the suit I had been eyeing was still available. I have about 198 left until my next paycheck, but will need some cash for the weekend and knew that my credit card was in my purse because I used it for business travel the day before.

This is why I NEED to stop carrying my credit card. But I can't cut it up.

Advice is welcome. You can't shame me more than I already am shameful.

Goals

I need some sort of incentive to stick with this, so

Short Term Goal
To reduce total debt to 12,000 by January 2007

Short Term Reward
Reinstate gym membership when I reach 10,000, hopefully by March 2007

Long Term Goal
To pay off total debt in 2 years, my 30th birthday year.

Long Term Reward
Guilt free graduate education, to be done with the debt would free up my time and energy to devote to bigger and brighter things.

September Credit Card Update $15,126

Well, I haven't done that great, but in keeping with my resolution to be honest with myself and my debt, here is a reckoning of September payments and (yikes) usage of the credit.

CC1: Was: $2604
Payment: $450
Dumb Spending: $264
New Balance: $2516

CC2: Was: $2866
New Balance: $2806

CC3: Was: $5099
New Balance: $4992

CC4: Was: $5111
New Balance: $4810

Old Grand Total: $15,680
Total Payments (minus usage): $652
Interest Payment: $146

NEW GRAND TOTAL: $15,126

If you must know what the dumb spending was, it was a totally avoidable trip to Evansville, IN for a distant friend's wedding, a friend who I was once very close with. While I'm not saying that people should skip weddings, this was one of those cases where my irish guilt got to me and thinking that it would be really important for the bride that I be there. Not that I wasn't important, but she has tons of friends and would have been completely fine with a letter and a nice $100 gift. But instead, I convinced myself that using my skymiles and paying for a cheap hotel and car was feasible. Not only that, but a trip to target, which never costs me less than $50.

Bottom line, it wasn't feasible and I didn't have the money for it. I should have checked the regrets box. Lesson learned.

Labor Day Retrospective

Labor Day Weekend

The weekend was a great low-spending weekend. Here is the tally:

Friday night dinner/dessert: $56 (totally more than I wanted to spend)
Cab Home: $6

Saturday Train ticket: $6
Saturday dinner: $9
Drinks out: $20

Sunday Breakfast:$5
Beach Pass: $5
Sunday Train ticket: Free (didn't check!)

Monday Train Ticket: $7
Monday Dinner: $20

Total Labor Day Weekend Spending: $134

I totally credit my friends who shuttled me around this weekend in absence of the boy. By piggy-backing on their low cost activities, I was able to keep my costs down and enjoy the beautiful (free!) weather at the beach!

A slow slog

It is hard to keep a good resolution going. The day to day, the subway work subway, sleep wake sleep, tv computer tv, really pulls a haze over the goals. I've been brown-bagging it. skipping nighttime activities, seeking out free ones or glasses of wine with friends. But really have to pick up that effort.

Facing the Music - damn it's loud

Total Debt

CC1: $2604 (18% interest)
CC2: $2866 (0% interest until May 08)
CC3: $5099 (9.9% interest rate)
CC4: $5111 (13.9% interest)

Grand Total as of 8/28/07: $15,680

The sad part is that I've carried this amount for about 4 years. Although, 4 years ago, I think it was more like $12,000. At that point, my mother opened some of my mail when moving and made me right then and there cut up all of my credit cards and promise her that I wouldn't use them. If I had listened, I probably wouldn't be in this mess right now.

I always point to specific events to explain away my debt but all of them combined really couldn't explain all of the debt. Explanations (excuses) include: switching jobs, being unemployed for one month in 2004, moving cities, security deposits, christmas presents, wedding presents, shower presents.

I resolve to:

• Not use my credit cards anymore (have just removed from wallet, but, wait, how did they get back in there after my last big self realization?)
• Only buy presents that I can afford that won't put me in a precarious financial position later on
• Limit my shopping (will go into at a later date)
  
• Pay down my debt!!!

debt debt debt

Remember when you first found out you could say a word and it would lose its meaning? No matter how many times I say the word, my debt won't lose its meaning.

I've carried it since college. And now, at the ripe age of 27, I'm ready to start something new, being honest. Being honest with myself and my debt.

I'll try to be honest with spending, my amount of debt (not what I tell my sister when she asks me or my boyfriend when he notices a new shirt), my willingness to pay it off and my goals.