1204.69 Salary
0.60 Left over from last check
-------
1205.29 Total to work with

100.00 Rent (save for August)
93.17 Auto Insurance
250.00 CC1*
60.00 Student Loan (58 payments left)
25.00 Savings
10.00 ING Savings
121.00 Consolidation (save for August)
100.00 Food
60.00 Storage **
170.47 Timeshare
65.01 Electric
35.00 Medical
40.00 Gas
30.00 Personal
20.00 Offering
------
1179.65

25.64 Left Over

* Minimum payment is 417, the only way I can make that payment is to take the money I pay on my cell phone ($66) and my cable bill ($59), put that in as part of the $250 out of this check, and then use the credit card to pay those bills. Not the best of strategies but right now that's the only way to make the payment.

** I'm working really hard to try and empty the unit by the end of the month so hopefully I won't actually have to pay it anymore.

I was going to put the left over amount in my savings account but I think I'm just going to leave it as a cushion so I don't start borrowing from the money I hold out rent and loan. If it's still there when the next paycheck comes then it'll go into savings.

I also think I'm going to start using CC2 (currently empty) for grocery and gas purchases and then pay it off at the end of the payperiod. Because CC2 gives 5% cash back on grocery and gas purchases. I'll still keep within my budget and pay it off before it can acrue interest. It's a game, yes, but I think I can pull it off and make some money out of it.

My step brother just called. He's in a bind because while he was in Iraq, the allotment he had set up to make automatic payments on his truck stopped. But he had no way of knowing. He just got back and checked his scheduled allotments and found there were none.

He called the bank that the loan is through and they want $5,000 today, well by tomorrow morning. Or he can pay it off in full. Or he can sell the truck and just give them whatever he gets for it.

He can't be without a vehicle right now so selling is not an option. He's trying to get ahold of his mom and my dad but both cells say the line is busy. I called Verizon and all they could tell me was it isn't service related (since I'm not on their account, which is fine it answered what I needed to know).

And all the months of nonpayment have totally screwed up his credit so he can't just go get a loan for $5,000.

I almost offered to cover a good chunk of it with my credit card that's completely clear right now. But I didn't. I don't even know if that would be accepted by the bank.

I was able to email my dad and he's going to call my step brother back in a couple of hours (dad's at school in Wisconson so he can't get away to make calls til after he's out of class).

It just kills me to have stuff like that happen and not be able to help out, even though he didn't exactly ask me for help. So right now I'm just waiting to see what happens.

Ok so I've been saying for about a week or so now how I need to call in and see if I can get my interest rate lowered. But I never get around to it because I don't have my card with me (so don't have the account number) or I am at home where the card is but I don't feel like standing outside to talk on my cell phone (my apt isn't condusive to anything more than brief conversations without dropping calls).

Saturday I put my credit card in my wallet with the intention of calling in about it when I stopped by work for something. Only I didn't have time and I forgot about it.

Today I just bucked up and did it. I printed off the little suggested script to use when you call but then at the last minute ditched it and just plain asked. (the script suggests a more forward approach). The CSR I spoke with was really nice. He lowered my rate from prime + 10.5% to prime + 5.5%! I didn't even know my rate had gone up another .5% until I called and asked what it currently was!! Darn prime and all.

Anyway that still makes my day, I got it lowered and now that I know I can do it I'll try it again in a couple of months. The script also said I should talk to a supervisor, praise the CSR, and again ask for another reduction. But I just don't have the balls for that.

Ok so when I signed up for automatic payments for my newly consolidated student loan it said that the next payment to be taken out automatically would be August 5th. In my mind that meant I would manually make the payment transfer via my online banking (since my loan and checking accounts are linked online). However, when I called today to verify that I would be ok making the payment online, I found out that because of when I put through the automatic withdrawl request, my next payment isn't due until August 5th. Which means...I have $259 that I wasn't planning on having available.

I keep thinking of all the ways I should utilize it. Any suggestions?

a] Make the payment on the student loan anyway. Interest will be added back to the loan because I'm essentially skipping a payment. Total owed $34,448. Interest 6.625%

b] Toss an extra payment towards CC1. Total owed $15,349. Interest 18.99%

c] Pay off CC2 since I wasn't supposed to charge anything to it anyway. Total owed $141. Interst 16.99% Put the remainder on something else.

d] Pay off clinic bill. Total owed $271 and I already have $100 budgeted to pay on it. Currently 0% interest but would free up $100/mo in the budget. Put the remainder on something else.

e] Any combination of the above.

Someone asked about the clinic bill and whether or not I can lower the payment and extend it out since there isn't any interest. There isn't any interest now, but when I called to originally arrange payments they indicated that there could be. So far there hasn't been. The reason I accepted their original payment arrangements of $100/mo was because I was going in at least once a month, and adding to my bill by $20 for every visit. Plus I was concerned about the potential interest. When I went in in May they said I could skip the appointment in June and make one for July instead. But in July I'm having another test run, which will translate into another larger bill once insurance processes it.

I was actually thinking about mentioning to the gal at Curves this morning that this was my last month. My only hesitation was I wanted to wait until after my dr's apt to see if it has helped my heart any. But I do have other aerobic things I can do at home so I will call them later when I have a chance.

I logged onto my Citi account just to pass the time while waiting for something to process (I'm already at an hour past the time I should have left work) and noticed that they raised my limit again on my huge card. It went from $16k something to $18k something.

The mind boggles. I probably should call them and ask them to please stop doing that. I just haven't yet.

At least I no longer look at it like 'hey I can spend another $2k!'

Finally got around to closing my other store card account. When I was looking at buying a house a couple years ago, my friend (who is a mortgage broker) looked at my credit report and told me I'd be safe to close the store accounts. Since I paid them off, and they definately have a $0 balance, I went ahead and closed them. Makes me feel a little better knowing they can't be charged against.

I wasn't going to spend any money today but a friend, whom I used to meet every week for dinner but don't anymore since she changed jobs, is off today and wants to meet for dinner. We're going to a yummy pizza by the slice place, that has great salads too. Don't anticipate spending much more than $6. Plus it will give me a chance to ask about fundraising opportunities at the restaurant. (I just got back from a mission trip that we weren't able to completely pay for before we left and the balance got put on someone else's credit card so now that we're back we're still trying to raise money. Only about $5k more to go, better than the $8k that was originally there.)

When Citibank sends out those balance transfer checks, I put them in the 'pile of things to be shredded' because I don't have any room on the card anyway.

Today I was making an attempt at cleaning my room (I'm trying to declutter as much as possible) and went through the pile of 'things to be shredded', seperating out things that don't really need to be (envelopes and filler with no mention of my name or address) from things that definately were going to be shredded. I glance at everything when I do that, which is why it takes me so long sometimes to do anything. And noticed 2.99% APR until transferred balances are paid in full. Now I know that payments I make (were I to use the checks) would apply to the lower interest amounts before any higher interest amounts. Anyway...

I had this 'brilliant' idea. Now the checks I found have already expired, they seem to send them out rather frequently so I expect I either have some floating around that aren't expired yet or will be getting more soon. If I do, this is my idea.

My paid off Citibank card has a credit limit of $4600. Well ok, it's not completely paid off I have about $300 on it but that'll be gone soon enough. In about 3 months I'll have finished paying off my current medical bills, leaving me with an extra $100/mo to do whatever with. My stupid timeshare is currently at $7800 with no prepay penalty and I think about 14.9% interest.

I could write a balance transfer check for $4000, lowering my timeshare loan balance and potentially making it more appealing for a buyer (ie just have them pay the balance left on the timeshare loan or take over the payments). Before, when that card was max'd, the monthly payment was $100 give or take. It is more likely that it wouldn't sell right away and I'd have be able to cover both payments. I know I'm going to loose money on the timshare and I just want out as soon as possible. If it sold, then I'd have another $171 to throw at the credit card and get it paid off even faster. Even if it didn't sell and I was paying on both until the timeshare loan was paid off, I'd still be saving because a good chunk of it would be at a lower rate.

Of course all this depends on me actually having the balance transfer checks for that particular Citibank card when I get my medical bill paid off in a couple of months and that it's still at a much lower APR. But it's worth actually doing the math if it ever comes up.

Citibank1: 15,281.23
Citibank2: 60.19
Timeshare: 7,877.85
Sallie Mae: 2,583.77
WellsFargo Personal: 9,654.93
WellsFargo Student Loan: 34,448.01

All told I owe: almost $70,000. Granted the Citibank2 will be paid off when I get paid on the 5th. But still. It's rather overwhelming. I know that the personal loan will be done in 4 years. I know that the timeshare (stupid stupid stupid decision on my part) will be done in 5 years. That gives me some light at the end of the tunnel. It's still a long long long ways away.

A friend once offered me a place to stay, rent free, to help me get a handle on things. I didn't take them up on it, and now it's not available. The reason I didn't was I felt bad ditching my roomate, especially since I didn't know what her plans were for after graduation. I think if the offer becomes available again (someone else is living there now for the summer) I might take them up on it. It would give me an extra %350-$550 a month. But their situation has changed as well so it might not come up again.

The scariest thing I have ever seen is looking at my online banking and noticing the total amount under loans: $44k. *shock* I recently consolidated my student loans, one from an outside company and the other from my bank. That made up a good chunk of the total. The rest was from a small loan ($10k) I took out to start paying off my credit cards. Yes, I know you cannot borrow to pay off debt. But I had to do something. The interest rate on the loan is at least 2% less than the interest rate on the things I paid off. The amount of money required for payment on the loan is exactly the amount I had been previously spending on monthly payments. With the added bonus that I will have it paid off in four years, something I couldn't guarentee with just paying off cards.

Of the four cards I paid off completely, I have canceled one of them, one the account was already closed. The third I want to close I haven't been able to find (it's in a purse that I don't use anymore so I know where it is, I just don't know where exactly it is), but once I either find the card or find an old statement I will be canceling that as well. The fourth I am keeping open. Why? Because of the cards I paid off it has the lowest interest rate and I intended to keep the card open to begin with.

I will admit it has been a little hard to not use my paid off credit card. And I will admit I have used it once or twice, but only because I needed (and yes, I mean need not want) things that couldn't wait til my next paycheck and as soon as my paycheck arrived a week later I paid off the balance.

It is very easy to fall into the trap of using it again. I am doing my best not to fall into it. I did buy some concert tickets with it and I don't know that I'll be able to cover the expense with my next paycheck. That should have been a warning sign not to use the card but it wasn't. I know this road will be tough but I have confidence that I can do it. I also know I won't be perfect.

I have a dentist appointment tomorrow for a root canal. They will be wanting $260. Between my savings (currently at $115) and my next paycheck I should have the bulk of it. I will be charging it though because it needs to be taken care of before my paycheck arrives. And I'm anticipating having to pay some interest on it but only for one month.

I am a salaried employee but once check a month has extra money on it for extra work that varies month to month so I never budget for it. Usually it just bails me out of whatever situation I've gotten myself into.

My consolidation of my student loans allowed me to re-allocate money to actually budget for the payment of a medical bill that I've been pulling out of my extra money for the past three months. Hopefully this will make things easier.

The plan as it stands right now. Any extra money goes to my larger credit card balance (currently sitting pretty at $15,281.23). We'll see how that goes. At least my budgeted payment for that card is more than the minimum.

Every time I think I have a handle on things something comes up to throw a monkey wrench into the mix. Six months ago I was diagnosed with a health issue and the tests they ran to try and figure out what is the cause are what I'm currently paying off. I have another test scheduled in July, I expect to see the bill for that in September at least. Now that it's actually part of my budget, I'm hoping that I can just stash the money I don't spend after I pay off the current bill in my savings so when the next big bill comes I can pay it off directly instead of waiting. I also now have prescriptions to fill and while I realize that Costco might be cheaper, it's not exactly nearby. I don't know that they take my insurance and to just save $5 and to drive 30-40 minutes round trip twice a month just doesn't seem worth while to me.

Everyone tells me I just need to find a better paying job. I'm looking, sort of. It's a hard call for me to make now that I've got a health issue that requires me to find a job where the health coverage starts relatively imediately and has no pre-existing condition clause. We'll see.

I have done things though to create more take home pay. I get the same amount back in taxes every year so I changed my withholdings from 1 to 2, figured out what the increase was, and found that the amount of money I get extra in 8 months is roughly what I get back standard every year. There's a little more actually because of student loans, but student loans aside, going off of known figures, that's what it works out to. Fortunately I started that in April so for the rest of the year I have a little extra. When January rolls around I'll change it back to 1 and then after I do my taxes I'll see what the damage really is. I also changed my 401k to only take out 3% instead of 8%. My company does absolutely no matching so it's not like I'm loosing out but I just can't justify not putting anything away. Even though I've got money already in the account that will continue to work for me even if I don't put anything more in.

I also did one really stupid stupid stupid thing a couple years ago. I bought into a timeshare. I'm making payments on it every month, and maintenance fees every quarter. I have never used it. And I can't get rid of it because no one wants to take it over at 'full price'. *sigh* But every year I post on craigslist to see if someone will take it off my hands.

I really want to do some volunteer work overseas. I can't do that with this load of debt hanging over my head. That is my biggest motivation to become debt free. We'll see how things go.