Sounds more fun than the good news and the bad news!

Good news! DH got a job! Although he is going to keep working at his commission job (although he has still yet make a commission!) he will start working at Home Depot part time. Does not pay much, but it does offer benefits. He did not get the store close to home, but hopefully after a while he can transfer. Gas is too high.
I must admit, he is NOT happy, but I am THRILLED!!

Bad news. Ugh. DD1 did not get the full ride scholarship she interviewed for. They brought in 30 kids and were giving away 5 scholarships. She was number 6. She is very upset and I don't blame her. She is an alternate, so that if anyone chooses not to accept, she will get it, but the lady said it sounded like all would be accepting. Cross your fingers one of them gets a better scholarship to a school they want to go to school to more. An alternate gives you a sense of hope that I don't want to count on.
So, we are busily filling out every scholarship application we can qualify for!!

Had chili in the crock pot for dinner. Not sure what to have tomorrow night.

Any advice?? Dealing with DD3, who is about to turn 13. She is a SSPENDER!! Give her $10 and she will immediately run to the store and buy $10 in candy!! She begs constantly for fast food. I have no problem saying no, but it is a CONSTANT thing! DD1 is cheap and frugal, DD2 has expensive tastes, but generally uses her own money by saving it and spending for what she wants. DD3 is a train wreck and I am afraid she is on a bad track. I try to be firm about putting some of her money in savings, and she has about $80 in her savings and does not ask to touch or spend it. Out of sight out of mind works with her. I feel bad that she is generally the one that is left at home with dad every day and does not have any friends that live around us. She is bored.
Sooo, besides trying to teach her to cook (so that she feels more enabled to feed herself, lessening the I want fast food pleas) any other suggestions? She is short on patience, she needs some kind of "baby step" program and some kind of mission or project for the rest of the summer.

Did pretty good this weekend. Stayed at home Saturday and Sunday and cooked dinner both nights! Lasagna and chicken kebobs and rice. Gave at church, but I put that in "regular bills" and not "spending".

7/17
QT gas 30.00
Dierbergs $54.60

7/18
Laundermat 4.75 (dog got sick on comforter!)

7/19 No spender!!

Today should be a no spender too!

So I eluded in my last entry about a financial mess, so here it is:

The DH went into business with the BIL a little over a year ago. In Nov BIL and SIL decided to divorce. Things still okay with the business, but BIL started to get a little squirrely. In May SIL and her 12 CATS moved in with us while she builds herself a new home to move into. That is all well. DD3 had to give up her room and the cats are very well behaved and live in the basement. But I digress....

In May BIL tells DH the company is out of money and he has no money to pay him or pay for our health insurance. DH was expecting a commission shortly, so he pulled the money from the savings. Commission comes in, we get half. Now what? BIL is the manager of the business. DH does his job and has never asked BIL for the books or accounts of spending. SIL thinks BIL is hiding money and trying to make the business look non profitable because of the divorce. DH still won't confront BIL about the books or a business buyout. So we just keep living off savings.

I can't begin to tell you how frustrated I am. I approach DH logically, I approach him yelling and screaming and still nothing. He will not go out and get a PT job (he works from home for about 4 hours a day)nor confront BIL and do SOMETHING about this. Do I threaten divorce? This puts our home and whole family in jeopardy. I am gone 10 hours a day and work another job most weekends. Savings are dwindling. DH buries his head in the sand.

And yes, perhaps irresponsibly, but we did take SIL's "rent" for May/June and took the kids on a short vacation. I needed it!!

We have a brand new Aldi (they tore down the old one and built the new one in the same place!!) that I went to check out when purchasing the items for the chili dinner. I know the cost of things has gone up, but HOLY COW! I am amazed! The hot dog buns used to be 39 cents. Then they went up to 59 cents. Today they were 89 cents a pack of 8. Geeze, I can get them on sale at the regular grocery store for 99cents, so big deal! The canned goods are still a bargain, but the salad dressing was no big steal either. The economy has even gotten Aldi. Where now??

1/14
Arbys - 11.59
Walmart - 7.18

Well, it was back to work in subzero degree temperatures. Ugh! The girls go back to school tomorrow. DD1 drives DD2 and I drive DD3, so we eliminate the bus stop.

I am so mad at the bank. When we cashed in the 401K they said there would be a hold on the check. I talked to the bank manager and she waived the hold and I saw the money in there. Now sometime yesterday or today, a hold was put in again, so half my payments are waiting to go out, accuring more interest!! GRRRRR!

Lots of spending today:
1/4
Target - $119.58
Holiday Gift Center - $2.66
Bath and Body works - $8.55

And one return to Macy's for $34.40. What a score. We did a buy one, get one on bras the day after Christmas. I bought two of the same and brought them home and wore one. I did'nt like it, its uncomfortable, so I went to return the other one and she said I would have to return both. Haha. So I told her I would go take it off in the dressing room and give it to her, but she said never mind and refunded me for both any way! Sorry if that is TMI for the dudes!

I am grinding my way towards Christmas! Hard not to be grinchy. Hoping we will have enough to finish Christmas shopping and still pay bills.

DH is finally cashing in some 401K so we can pay down some bills. Stay tuned for an interesting 2010! DH also just "found" Dave Ramsey. Someone else told him about Daves books. When he asked me if I had heard of him I had to sigh. I was just telling him about my neighbors going to FPU, but of course that had gone in one ear and out the other. I surprised him when I told him Dave was my friend on Facebook!

Anywho, I am only making two New Years resolutions this year, one is to post blogs everyday and one is to lose weight!

Well, you guys would be so proud!

To give anyone who doesn't know (and may care), a large part of our financial problem was that I was always in charge of finances and I am VERY bad at telling anyone in my family NO. I have been TRYING to hand over the bill paying to DH, even suggesting we pay them together, but it fell on deaf ears.

So last Monday I told DH that when he was paid the next day, I would NOT be paying the bills. I told him I would show him how, but I am stepping away from all finances pertaining to our joint account. I told him when my job starts again, I would give him half of each of my checks ($420 per week, so $210) and keep the other half, out of which I will pay for my gas, food for the family, the girls and my cell phone bill, and any other bills pertaining to the girls like doctor visits, clothes, school lunches, etc. I told him I would open a new account just for these at the credit union, so that when we go to buy a new car, we can get a good interest rate. He kicked and screamed about this saying that he would like to give HIMSELF $210 a week just to spend. Ugh! I told him he was in charge of the other account and if he wants to "give himself that" then go right ahead, as long as the bills are paid. I will do heavy driving for my job when I go back, so LOTS of gas will be used!!

Anyway, I also have to squeeze other payments out of this that he is not aware of, like for paying back my mom, my daughter and our new washer!

His first foray into the payment world was ugly. He FINALLY got the idea that we are in TROUBLE!! And that we need a PLAN for this. Now, can he do it????

I waited my 2-3 business days and called Citi today to see if they had lowered my interest rate. Guess what? The request for reevaluation of my account was NEVER TURNED IN BY THE REP! Figures - right? So now it is turned in and I have to wait what?? Yes! 2-3 business days and call back. UGH! And my payment is coming up, so they better get their act together quick!

As BA spoke of business karma, I received an email from Citi asking about my customer satisfaction on my last call. Well, I told them what I thought. I was told by the current rep on the phone today, that it will reflect back on that particular customer service rep, so GOOD! She was polite and nice, but just failed to do her job.

I have been thinking about this post for a week or so. We got hit by one of the big ones, they "did'nt receive" our payment on time. I paid it electronically, but some how it did'nt go in their system on time. We were jacked up to 29.99. DH hit the roof, screaming and yelling, and it was just ugly. I have called them twice (this being Chase). The first time the "customer service rep" and I use the term loosely, would'nt move me on to a supervisor. It is bad enough, they don't speak English, but they are also rude. The second time they did move me onto a supervisor but with a comment of "There is nothing they will do about it". She told me "Chase negotiates with NO ONE." Kinda made me feel like a terrorist, instead of a customer. Will try them again.

Then came the second hit, we owe a HUGE amount to Citi. We are paperless. They send a reminder once a month that your bill is coming up to pay, but no date or amount, just a reminder. My payment has always been the 4th. I ALWAYS make sure to pay this on time so that nothing happens. Guess what?? Yep, my payment was moved to the 3rd. BAM! 29.99%. Oh, and your payment due is now something like 847.00! Their customer service was kinder and she said it could be reversed after she talked to a supervisor to call back in 3/4 business days. We'll see. I have'nt told DH yet, because I am waiting for their response.

I can only begin to describe how this made me feel. HOPELESS is the first word that pops into my mind. Frustratingly hopeless, that my government gave my money to these banks and they do NOTHING but help the American people. And HELPLESS is another one. Yes, I entered into a contract with these people, but nowhere did I state that I was perfect. I always pay on time and try to pay over the minimum due. Ugh!

I cried when I found out, I cry myself to sleep, I wake up with a feeling of dread and a little despair. Where will the money come from. Where can I get a second job, HOW will I pay all this?? The cards are cut up, yet they will be with me for years. This is what happens when you try to live off of credit cards. I am already desperately teaching my children how to save for what they want and NEVER be a slave to credit.

No, I will not kill myself over this, only learn from my mistakes and try to pass on a little knowledge learned, but I can see where these feelings might push another right over. Your life insurance could pay off all of your families bills and they would never have to worry about it.

Will let you know what happens with Citi. And I will try Chase again! I will fight even if it is useless.

I think the day I finally get out of this, we will all sing "Glory Hallelujah"!!
Basically, the last year or so I have just been juggling, but when I came clean with DH I stopped robbing Peter to pay Paul (for the most part), so now we are really living in the doodoo! Still trying to work out with DH exactly what "our" plan is. Most of the time he is still yelling and accusing, so it is taking time. My job will be on a six week hiatus when my friend has her baby, so am trying to make plans for that time as well. DH wants me to take a new job and put in my two weeks notice after 4 weeks, but I can't do this for 2 reasons: 1)ethically speaking, it is wrong 2)it is nearly impossible to find a job still! We'll see what happens. I am still going to apply for subbing and try middle school in hopes of getting a better chance. So many out of work teachers are subbing right now, not sure what will happen.

I will start with the frugal things I managed to do this week. I took the kids to the free movies and we brought our own snacks. On the day I took all 8 kids, I bought a large popcorn, got the free small bags to go with it and used the free refill option, so popcorn for all was just 6.50. We swam at the subdivision pool and we ate lunch at the house.

On the spendy side, I have been getting DD2 ready to go to camp for two weeks and for a "service" trip. I have been getting most things at the dollar store, but even then, that adds up! I have my goodies ready for fathers day, gc's to take DH to dinner, something for my sisters birthday and something for DD3's best friends birthday. Did have to buy DD2 new shoes for camp. Compromised, bought $45 shoes and made her pay $10 for it. Still way to expensive!!

I blew it as well. Took the littles to McD's yesterday, to the water park today and bought them lunch there. Ouch. Turns out their mom reimbursed me, but I took DH out on a date, so that is gone. Shelling out $10 for friends sons birthday, $25 for a graduation party tomorrow and had to buy allergy medicine, yuck, expensive. Just feel like a wasted too much money and ONCE AGAIN, completely ignored my beautifully planned budget like a selfish teenager. Ugh.

The littles mom is going to start working from home more. She is uncomfortable in her pregnancy and they are letting her do this, which is a great option. But...this is tough, because she has rigid rules on how she wants the girls raised, and I have to admit, I do slack on a few for the sake of sanity!! This will be a tough few months. I am happy to say I get July 3rd off and the 9th and 10th off, so shorter weeks will help! Will be interesting to see if she can make her own rules stick when she is with them 24/7 when she is on maternity leave. The fall will be interesting as she has them scheduled for this and that and I will be running them here and there and everywhere dragging a newborn. Ugh.

I am in one of those boo hoo, poor me, hate my life kind of moods. Somebody smack me and tell me to grow up and be an adult! I am NOT going to list all my whining, just ask for some "suck it up" help!

On the plus side, my little babysitting charge has a waterproof cast, so swimming is not out for the summer!

Just found out one of the little girls I babysit for broke her leg over the weekend. No weight on it for 6 weeks. No swimming, no Six Flags, no park, no playplace. Ugh. My own kids have been in casts in the summer time and I am okay with that part. I am just concerned because mama is waiting to see if she will get the ax for her job and taking more time off to go to the specialist and etc. will not look good. She also came home early on Fri. because she did not feel good, so they had sent her home from work.
Will keep you posted.

On a better note, had a great weekend! Got taken to the winery for my belated "going away party" from my old job. Then we have had graduations and graduation parties! Fun! Tomorrow we are going to an awards ceremony for DD1's Girl Scout Gold Award. This award will help with scholarships! Yeah!

Yep, already. I haven't been told by my friend, but she may get laid off! I have only had this job a month and half! I guess I will spice up my resume and wait to see if the ax falls! This thought was actually floating through my mind when I took this job! I won't tell you how I found out about it, but it kind of makes me mad that she did not warn me up front. Then again, they have been generous and any job is risky these days.
So, I may have to blast into the past and go back to retail or something. YUCK! I can substitute teach again, but that won't start for another couple of months, so I would have to find something else in the mean time.
I will keep you posted!

On a positive note, having this new job has been so good financially! I have been excited to see our balances TRICKLING down! Two of our cards will be back below $10,000 in the next couple of months!! Excited!

I don't know if you recall, but my MIL bought each of my girls a laptop last year. I was'nt thrilled, but its her dollar, so I let them have them. 2 of the 3 have already crashed/required fixing. The first lost its hard drive (after 3 months!!!!), I sent it in and it was repaired. The second had a crack in the screen, but we lived w/it for a while and used it anyway. When it was close to the warranty running out, I decided to send it in to have it fixed. Fixing the screen wasn't the problem, but they said I had a "liquid spill" in the unit and they could'nt fix the screen until they fixed the spill for $500. No way! So I said "Hey, send it back, we were using it, just could'nt see the screen." So back it came and guess what??? Turned it on and it would'nt work!! Called them up and they said the liquid spill caused it not to function any more. We could however, buy an extended warranty for $300 that would cover all the problems. Whaaa?? I had also been told that the unit was shot (less than a year old), but that I could go out and buy a new one, because that model was only $450 now (as opposed to the $700 new).
Long story long, I asked my brother to look at it and my older daughters one, because YES, the hard drive crashed AGAIN!!! (no longer in warranty). Anyway, he told me he could NOT find any signs of a spill and they had simple not reconnected ANYTHING inside the laptop before they sent it back. Gee, no WONDER it didn't work anymore!! He reconnected everything (drivers, WiFi, antenna, etc) and it came on just fine, you just can't see because of the screen. My brother has offered to fix it if I buy the parts (keyboard had some broken keys and the screen), so I am going to go surfing for some hardware. Not sure what I will do about DD2's.
Thanks for letting me rant. I am exercising my right to blast the scammers on my blog!!!

I hope better than mine!!

DD3 and I excitedly planted our seeds and watch them grow into healthy little seedlings. But the weather would'nt cooperate and the seedlings grew, bigger and scrawnier each day. Freeze after freeze, we had to keep then in the house. So when dh transferred them, well.... lets just say, we won't have a bumper crop!

So more seedlings are growing away busily and hopefully we can transplant them very quickly! I am really looking forward to fresh veggies from the garden, and a fat jack o lantern to carve in the fall!

Along the lines of miscommunication with spouses, here is the latest from my DH...

You all know we pulled out $400 to use as our groceries/med/gas fund. So far so good, still well funded!

Here's the kicker. DH is quitting his job tomorrow and starting a new company with my brother in law. He will start that job on Monday. We have to come up with the money to put into the new business. Now, was there discussion about where to get the money from, YES, was there a mutual decision made, NO. HE decided to pull our Roths and some out of our retirement account (which he definitely thinks of as HIS accounts). Okay, fine. The he SUGGESTS that we pull an additional $5000 from the retirement and pay it toward our high interest AMEx. Wha??? We are in debt due in part to him holding out money we needed for bills. Now he wants to pay something?? I'm not saying no, or really anything for that matter, but where the heck was he on this 3 years ago when our income tanked and our debt rocketed?

Soooo, time for DH to be paid. I was'nt going to be the bad guy this time. He said there would be a $500 bonus on this check and started making suggestions on what we could do with it. I pulled out the lovely "purple book" that houses our calendar and list of bills. I told him we had to sit down and I would show him what I am slated to pay out of this check. I also showed him my "wish list" of things I would LIKE to pay. That deflated his balloon. Plus I showed him exactly what we owe on everything and how the debt had grown in the last 2 years. He could'nt focus on it for too long, but it was the beginning of the eye opener. I also told him what I have slated to pay out of my check next week. Oh, and how we will have almost nothing left to buy groceries and gas with. At least he can't say he doesn't know what is going on with our money!! Refreshing...

Okay, I have a weird shopping addiction. Can anyone help me?

As I have stated before, I actually HATE shopping of almost any kind. I LOVE finding bargains and using coupons. I have been fully raised to be a responsible thrifty adult.

But... I have the weirdest tendency to panic when I am out of something. If the milk gets down to a quarter of the gallon, I feel the need that I have to replace it immediately. I like to have a few of everything on hand so I don't run out. Maybe it is because I don't want to hear a whiney child (or husband) complain we are out of their favorite whatever.

This ends up costing us more money in the long run. I have a list, I go to the grocery store once a week. But if I see something about to run out, I run into the nearest store to replenish it and pick up 7 other items I'm sure we'll need soon, oh and a treat too. I want to do a no spend day challenge, but I am at loathe to do it, because I would fail after a day. I feel like I need a support group for this? Any one want to join??

I have been looking for a full time positon for a long time now. When we needed a new receptionist at work, we put an ad on Craigslist and it went great. But since I have been seeking employment, I have been amazed at the scams on Craigslist! One time apparently my resume went into a big pool for a temp agency. On this last one, they were seeking a position for a market research place. They sent me an email saying I had to follow a link to take an efficiency test. No problem. I clicked on the link and was directed to this:

Seriously! It must be a genetic flaw. I absolutely hate shopping! In ANY form. Thank goodness for online shopping. It is how I do most of my Christmas shopping now!

Case in point, I must feed a family of 5, two dogs, a cat, a hamster and a fish. This requires that nasty S word! I went to Super Walmart yesterday after work. (Everything in one place is AWESOME!!) I DO make a list and make sure it is the order that the store goes in, so that I don't have to spend ONE MORE SECOND in the joint than I need to! I get my super buggy and I am off like a shot. I need to meet up with DH in 45 minutes. I scramble through tossing in items and rounding corners on two wheels. Some things are there, some are not. Gosh dog, why do they carry every form of a product, EXCEPT the one I want!!??? I do the final victory lap and rush to the checkout. This is where Mr. Murphy holds my hand. It is garanteed, I will get the slowest line with non English speaking checker. As I sweat in my big coat after my strenuous workout I heft all my purchases and try to cram them on an "efficient" and WAY TO SMALL conveyor belt. As the lady in front of me chats on her cell phone and slowly empties her cart, pays in 15 different ways and generally makes sure that I am already 5 minutes late to meet DH, it is finally MY TURN! Guess what?? Time for that checker to take a break, so I wait as they change guard..... Great here we go! I frantically throw filled bags into the cart as she scans the items, of course, smashing the bread with the milk, etc... etc... I am now 15 minutes late to meet DH. I run the card through the machine and rush out the door, the toliet paper falls off the bottom of the cart and I ran over it in my haste, claiming me a shredded wad of white that I toss on top of the milk to the furthur demise of my bread, get to the van, toss everything in and rush to meet DH, now 25 minutes tardy. As I zoom down the highway, I gloomily reflect, I forgot to hand the checker all my ever so important coupons. Sigh. This my friends is why I HATE shopping!!!!

Edit: I meant my story more as an amusement, but I still really DO HATE shopping! I keep reminding myself how blessed I am as I shop for food, but I still HATE it! DH was fine. He needed to pay for something and needed the CC that I had, I had plenty of time to get there. All was good. (But I still HATE shopping! )

Yes, I need to track my money better. I have been working on financial forms for my husband, so he can get everything together to start the business with my BIL. One year we made $120K, the next we took a bit hit and it was about $70. The next, back to $105, the next two around $85. This past year?? $45. Yikes. I wasn't sure how it would wash out, but no wonder we are scrambling. It was a bit perplexing that we really cut back this year, I just did'nt realize, it should have been WWWWAAAAAAYYYYYY back. My mentality is still too paycheck to paycheck. DH keeps swearing he is going to take over the bill payment. I hope this comes true soon!

If that is too personal, you can ignore it! DH brings home $640 every two weeks, for a total of $1280. DH also pulls out the $1500 for the house payment from our savings account, unless he gets a commission to pay it with. Any extra commission goes to the savings account, not to bills. At my work, on average, I make about $850 per month. So for 5 people, 2 dogs, 1 cat, a hamster, a fish and a 2100sq ft house, I have $2130 a month for everything. Gas, elec, phone, cell, trash, cable, car/life insurance, gasoline, water/sewer, piano lessons, food, credit card payments, medications, babysitting, car payment, misc. kids stuff, home maintainence and church. Whew!

Soooooo..... here is the million dollar question (I wish!) DH says that I should live within my means. I say HELP.THIS.CAN'T.STRETCH.THAT.FAR!! Am I out of line? I just wonder if a few brave folks would share, maybe I could compare???

(ANY NEW READERS ON THIS TOPIC, PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR CLARIFICATION ON OUR BUDGET. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU SPEND PER MONTH!!)

I am very disappointed. I feel tricked and stalked. Recently I received a 0% offer from WaMu. I was excited because my 0% offers had all expired and this was a chance to save some money. So I responded to the offer and listed my balance transfers. Turns out WaMu was not that interested in loaning me the money and they only transferred around $1250.00 worth. Not even a drop in the bucket to be sure! But since they transfer the money before they tell you they won’t approve you for much, I was STUCK.

Anyway, I waited for a statement, and became concerned when I had waited about 5 weeks. I wondered when my first payment would be due. So I went online and signed up for their online service.

(Turns out, I was ALREADY PAST DUE!! I HATE being past due and our credit shows very well for this!! No late pay here! )
So I requested a “replacement” statement and found they had already charged me a $39.99 fee and were charging 24.99% interest on it. Hmmmm.. So I saw the next due date was Sept. 4. I planned on making the first payment, the late fee, and the due payment before that date.

(The phone rings at work, YES, at my workplace!! Isn't that Illegal? A lovely foreigner informs me I must pay today. I calmly tell them I will pay them by the next due date. “I never received a statement” I explained, and could he remove the late fee? Yes, if you PAY TODAY! Give us your bank account info. Uhhh, HELLO!! I don’t think so!! He then gets angry, I get angry and I hang up on the son-of-a-dog.)

The lovely folk from WaMu have continued calling EVERYDAY, TWICE a day! I. HAVE. HAD. IT!!! I am going to use my balance transfer option on my Chase account and pay those sons of dogs even if I have to pay 4.9 instead of 0%.

There…. Now I feel better! Thanks for listening!!

Lets see, DD2 broke the "steam mop" my mom just bought me, DH was able to splice it back together. Does'nt look pretty, but it works.

Oh, next the tooth broke. Lower molar. It sucks getting old. Will see the dentist on Tuesday. She does'nt fix things, so I will probably pay her to tell me to go to someone else very expensive.

Then, the van broke - again. We have put $800 into that sucker. DH refused to talk about trading in when the first problems reared their head. They have replace the battery and the alternator. Now, it starts up, drives for a little, and dies. Starts right back up, runs a little and dies. My mom said hers did this and it was a camshaft sensor? Who knows. It is sitting in the garage and I am driving DH's $200 paperweight.

Stay tuned.....

So, DH is talking again. That is nice. We still are at an impasse on money and etc. I will cut up the cards, and we will pay them off. This should be fun! He says he will put me on a $50 a week allowance for gas and food. I told him once I filled the tank in the van, he would starve. He said okay. I don't think we are seeing financial harmony here.

On a better note, we are using the Six Flags passes again tomorrow. And DD3 is going back to school on Thursday. I picked up an extra day at work starting next month too! That will help with the bills! This week etc I will be working 1/2 day Friday for someone, then Sat, Sun and Mon and Tues. Gotta figure out what to feed the family for dinners, cause obviously we won't have much money for this.

One store has a sale on Hamburger Helper and DH HATES it!! But by golly my friends, it is CHEAP and stretches for a family of 5. I think this is something I will definately invest in. Throw in some salad and viola! Let you know how it goes!

So the husband is still not talking unless it is to yell about something. I can understand his anger and I am waiting for him to calm down.

I guess I didn't fully disclose everything. DH always had access to see what we owe, and to whom, he CHOSE not to look at it. He did'nt want to know and I forced him to know. That makes him not happy. (Well, that and the amount we owe.)

We are in $55,000 of CC debt, plus we owe around $8800 for the paperweight (DH's car) in the garage. I pay our bills on time every month, we still have credit left (unbelieveably) on the cards, our home is safe, and our credit ratings are very good. That said, the dangers of having $55,000 in unsecured debt is daunting.

Some ideas I have had for the "plan" he wants me to make to get us out of debt are>
1) I have asked for more hours at work. I don't think it will happen, so I am still on the hunt for a FT job somewhere and I have tweaked my resume in hopes I will get more calls!
2) If I get a m-f job, then I can apply for a PT job for eves and weekends.
3) I like the fact that one person on the blogs talked about how she "settled" her debts with the CC companies, offering them 30% less than she owed to settle and close the card. I think this is awesome, I just don't have the money to offer this. But this might be a good thing to save up for to help close maybe one of the cards.
4) Let go... and just cut up all the cards.

Obviously, if things continue exactly the way they are now, we just have to tighten our belts, find more things to sell, and do the snowball effect of paying off the smallest and hammering on the larger ones as we go along.

Any other thoughts for "the plan"???

Stay tuned. He told me I "owed" him $30 for something. I just turned and looked at him and said "We are in debt $55,000, I don't have the money". Well, yes, I blindsided him I guess. I had'nt planned on saying it this way, but it is how it came out. He asked how I (hello, yes, I) got us into so much debt. (No WE here). Then he asked how I plan on getting us out of debt. I should have a full time job (yes, but no one will hire me!! I AM trying!!) And he guesses HE will have to take over paying the bills and I said NO, WE should handle this together, like it should have been long ago. Anyway, initial conversation. He left, probably to go buy beer, cause this is how he deals with things. At least no "D" word so far.

I have been carrying the responsibility of this debt myself. I am going make my husband listen to how much we owe. He chooses not to know, but I am tired of doing it alone. This could mean divorce for him. Seriously. So lets see if I can do it before the end of the week.

Well another interview and another rejection. I guess I should be happy I even got the interview. I will keep sending the resumes out, but I am starting to feel guilty about killing all those trees! The worst part is having to stay at this job that is driving me to drink!!