Boomeyers's Digging Out of Debt

No, trading spaces did not come knocking at my door. My DD2 has been wanting to redo her room and finally decided on penguins. I sold a gift card for some things DD2 returned from Christmas and bought a bed in a bag set for her. Then we used the Home Depot gift cards I got for Christmas, for the painting supplies. Viola! A new room! I will try to post some pictures once we get everything back into place!

First off I have to say NO SPEND DAY!!

Okay, with that said, I need some opinions. I know what I think, but have to convince DH, so let me know if I am seeing this wrong. My mortgage broker called today. This is a person I have known for years and trust not to screw me over. He said we can refinance for no cost and that it would save us $50-$70 dollars a month. Now with the job search not going great, this would be welcome money. There is a new bank in town (that have favorable reviews) that is looking for new loans. He said we would have to pay 4 months escrow up front, but our old loan would refund us the escrow money we have in there,and we could then send that money to put toward the new loan. Our interest rate would drop about .25 of a percent. Certainly not earth shattering. We pay no fees or closing costs, just basically sign the papers and make new payments to the new bank. I guess they are giving some sort of bonus to him for new loans, cause I flat out asked him, if it is free for me, whats in it for him?? He just said "oh we still make money". So... thoughts, opinions?

Went on the job interview at the CPA firm today. I was unsettled to see that she checked my name off a list when I came in, and the list had about 15 names on it!! It was a prelim interview by some of the office staff, so they had no idea of what the salary might be. They also told me I may have to work as late as 9:00 at night during tax season. (About 2 months) I am thinking this may not be the job for me.

My best friend emailed me that there is an opening at her office. It is much farther away than I would like to travel, but it is a good company. I sent her a copy of my resume and told her to scope out the hours/salary. Stay tuned.

I did pull the CC out of hiding, but to SAVE money instead of spend. The camera we bought DD1 for Christmas was'nt working right, so we went in to even exchange it, but the lady accidently returned it instead and had to re ring it and it was cheaper now, so saved $21! Yeah!

Got a call today from the CPA firm that I sent my resume to. They want me to come in for an interview on Thursday. For a while I thought it might have said I looked like a dragon and had monkey breath. Woo hoo! We'll see how it goes. I also sent out another resume today to a real estate agent looking for an assistant. More up my alley, but whoever pays more....

Things get curiouser and curiouser... they cut the weekend hours from 9-4 to 10-2. Glad I worked this past weekend and got my 7 hours in!

DH and I were bad and went out for date night tonight instead of waiting till Wednesday. Nobody could face the spaghetti and meatballs that were on the menu!! Ugh! We put it on the AmEx that we pay off monthly, so I have to budget that into the beginning of next month. I also have to figure out something to have for dinner on Wednesday.

DH and I have been listing a lot on ebay. We have sold some stuff, but lord, sometimes those fees just bug me!

Well, I worked today and I did use my Starbucks GC for breakfast. Brought a sandwich and nachos for lunch.

DD3 had her first cheer leading practice. We had an extra hour to wait, so I went to the grocery store. I used my emergency $50 to grocery shop. I spent $36.85 to get us ready for lunches from home for the week and some more South Beach stuff to support DH's diet. Saved $5.60 in coupons.

Applied for another job. A full time one. It is amazing the slim pickins in the job market these days! This is a receptionist for a CPA firm. Sounds a little dry, will see if they call me and what the salary is.

I let DD1 drive to the mall.....ahhhh....she was doing so well, then decided maybe she did'nt have to slow down for curves or turns?? Wondering if she is just doing it to po me??

Any hoo, DD2 has had a lot of school costs, $32 for shop, $2 for an agenda, and now $6 for PE for skating. I paid the $32 with the babysitting money, she paid the $2 and I am going to have her pay the $6, plus she lent her sister $2 which I wanted to cover. So I used a GC at Barnes and Noble to buy the Wicked CD that I will give to her which will cover what she is paying for - plus!

I played Bunko last night and mom generously donated the $5 for me to play. I won $20!! So I went to Aldi and bought some cat litter. Only $3.29 there for the scoopable kind. There was only one left, must have been waiting for me! So kitty is set!

Then I will use some of the money to give at church today.

I also used a GC at Starbucks. I am not much for the fancy stuff, but I have 2 GC for there and I like a decaf when I am going to work. I got some foofy thing I won't get again. I will stop on the way to work tomorrow and get a decaf skinny vanilla latte. I think that will be pretty normal and I will get a low fat blueberry muffin. Breakfast will be served! I will pack some leftover or a can of soup for lunch. Will be looking in the paper for a new job and printing out my resumes on the good printer at work.

I also cashed in my Mypoints for a $10 Red Lobster GC. I have a $10 one from Christmas too and will have enough within the next couple of days to cash in for another $10. Using these for our annivesary dinner coming up in a couple of weeks. Plus we have a $25 movie GC. Woo hoo!

Yep, I sort of fell off the wagon. I went to Target for milk and birthday gifts for parties the DD1 is invited to. I will pay $15 per child party. This is up from $10, which I should'nt do, but do for the older kids. (15), so approx. $35 was gifts and milk. Wow! $50 in crap?? Cat food, soda, ice cream, bottled water, napkins.... Ugh! I put this on our AM Ex that we pay monthly, so not on a revolving card as a would have in the past, but none the less a CC. I also put in $25 in gas with the same card. So DEBT of $114.90 today.

Still not spending out of our checking account, no money in it, need cat litter, not sure what I will do about that.

The menu plan is going AWESOME!! Have'nt eaten out at all, cook every night and have leftovers for lunch!

Have made a tiny amount from ebay. Will list some more things. Even my mom contributed some things that I am going to put on a 3 day sale today. Maybe that will help me buy the cat food.

Mom also paid for DD3's piano lessons for the month, so nice of her! A late Christmas gift! THEN, when the piano teacher came, she gave me a thank you note for the referrals I have sent her way and a note for 2 free lessons for next month!! So next month we will only need $30 instead of $60. Woo hoo!

Wednesday was another no spender. We are out of milk, so I assume I will have to spend at some point. Maybe get gas too, getting to fumes.
So...no new debt.
Got asked to babysit today. This is a blessing of $35 which I needed to cover DD2's shop fee for school. Was running to cover it, so will take it and put it in the bank as soon as I get it. Hooray!

Amazing what having no money and no access to money can do! I did'nt spend a thing today!

I called the high school and they told me they already hired someone for the secretarial position. Bummer, it would have been a good fit. I don't think they were very professional about it either. Most of the time they send you a letter saying "thanks for the resume or interest" or whatever, nothing. I asked her if they keep the resume on file. She said no, I could send one to the main school district office. So I guess my time and effort went into the trash - ugh!

Have listed a couple of things on ebay hoping to make some money.

On a really happy note - NO NEW DEBT!
Woo hoo!

Ok, I'm not Britanny. But I did spend even though it is one of my goals to start a no spend day streak.
$1 Coffee at work
$9.75 groceries
Holy cow, I could'nt believe the groceries. It was for 4 apples, 3 bananas and one bag of chicken fries. I can't believe apples are almost $1 apiece! Will have to check out bags of apples for the savings amount, but the last few times I bought in the bags, I got rotten ones.
Anyway....tomorrow is another day!

Well, here is what has been happening in Boo land! I am running about a week behind because of the flu. I finally have the Christmas beast tamed back into the basement and everything cleaned up.

Our debt stands at about $45,000. Yes, this is the amount the DH would have been bringing home had he still been getting the consulting money. Instead, I (we) kept spending, so now it is in credit card debt. Yes, NAKED. There it is.

I took all the credit cards and even my debit card out of my purse. I now only have the checkbook, no cash, a check I have to cash and $50 I have stashed for emergencies. Yes, NAKED!!!

For goals I have decided to keep it simple stupid (as the saying goes). The big goal is to incur no new debt. Period. Hahaha. The action goal is to put $1000 in an EF before we even start hammering away at the debt.
The other action goal is to get a new job with more hours than I am getting now.
The short term goal is to have as many no spend days in a row as I can. Also, to eat at home.
I have made a menu plan for the rest of the month. If the family does not like it, they can starve. I do still have planned 2 date nights for myself and DH. I told him we have to look for coupons and gift cards so we can do this for cheap or even free. Even a small expenditure in this will hopefully be well spent by avoiding divorce!

Thank you to everyone for the well wishes of getting better. Between DD2's pneumonia, my FLU, and DD3's strep, we are a typhoid family. (Ugh more bills!) I am at about 95%, I just need to get rid of this cough!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Well, here is what has been happening in Boo land! I am running about a week behind because of the flu. I finally have the Christmas beast tamed back into the basement and everything cleaned up.

Our debt stands at about $45,000. Yes, this is the amount the DH would have been bringing home had he still been getting the consulting money. Instead, I (we) kept spending, so now it is in credit card debt. Yes, NAKED. There it is.

I took all the credit cards and even my debit card out of my purse. I now only have the checkbook, no cash, a check I have to cash and an emergency $50 I have stashed for emergencys. Yes, NAKED!!!

For goals I have decided to keep it simple stupid (as the saying goes). The big goal is to incur no new debt. Period. Hahaha. The action goal is to put $1000 in an EF before we even start hammering away at the debt.
The other action goal is to get a new job with more hours than I am getting now.
The short term goal is to have as many no spend days in a row as I can. Also, to eat at home.
I have made a menu plan for the rest of the month. If the family does not like it, they can starve. I do still have planned 2 date nights for myself and DH. I told him we have to look for coupons and gift cards so we can do this for cheap or even free. Even a small expenditure in this will hopefully be well spent by avoiding divorce!

Thank you to everyone for the well wishes of getting better. Between DD2's pneumonia, my FLU, and DD3's strep, we are a typhoid family. (Ugh more bills!) I am at about 95%, I just need to get rid of this cough!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Good Lord, I hate to whine, but I got the F-L-U!! Not the flu, the F-L-U!! OMG! I have never had the FLU like this in my entire life. The body ache, the cough, the fever, the chills. All I could do was cry that I wanted my mommy!!! Anyone have an idea how long this will last? I went to the doc yesterday and he just said take Tylenol/Ibprofin and he gave me prescription for a hydrocodone cough syrup?? I took it twice last night, but I sure felt WORSE when I got up this morning, so I think I will lay off that! We are supposed to have company tomorrow night, this has been going on since Wednesday, I hope and pray I feel better by then.

On a financial note, I had great plans of posting about my great plans! And on getting rid of the CC's and moving forward to being debt free. I may not make it by the 1st, but maybe by next weekend.

(Bebe, our sweet beagle!)
Hope everyone had a super and meaningful holiday. I enjoyed being with family and getting spoiled way beyond what I should! Tomorrow I will start shopping for next year!!

We've shopped, wrapped and baked. I've entertained and cleaned and now I'm DONE! I'm ready for the jolly dude to come and hohoho. Already cutting back on ALL spending. Have had lots of days in a row where I have'nt even left the house - love it!! Looking forward to movies and game playing! This coming year I have to get tae kwon do on our finances. Looking forward to the challenge!

I have still been looking for a full time job, but I AM being picky. I would like it to be in my area and pay over $10 an hour. I found one opening at my daughters high school for a secretary. This would work out wonderfully in so many ways!! But, I am reserving my excitement. After losing the library job, my confidence is low. I thought I wrote an outstanding cover letter (with help from about.com!) and I have the experience.... but will they pick me? I know one teacher at the school as a personal friend, so I put him as a reference. Now I will just hand it over to the Lord and see what he wants to happen.

On a good note, the ungodly monthly payment Citi was charging me went down about $200 for next month. I guess they were just testing to see if I could pay. That will help out in the budget in the long run.

Went out today and spent money buying the girls lunch (they had a snow day) and spent too much time getting a gift card for this party and a gift card for that party. Ugh!! Too much money spent!! Shame on me and my weakness!

Yes, its the incredibly shrinking or should I say disappearing paycheck! Viola'!!! Its gone! I even borrowed a bit from the savings account to stock up on the meat sale!
I got:
5 london broils
5 4pks of beef patties
5 packs of ground round
5 packs of stew meat
5 frozen shrimp rings
1 bag of chicken breast
2 bags of meatballs
2 packs of slice in bake cookies
2 16 oz packs of bologna (for DD3)
for $125!! I can stretch this meat out for a couple of months!

I really almost did it!! I almost used one of those checks from my CC to put money into my checking account to pay for some things. Yikes! I'm glad I was able to resist. For the most part, I am concerned about the 0% change I made back to my Citibank card. My minimum first payment was a huge $500!! What the heck??? Scary is what that is. It makes me mad!! But then I figure if I can suck it up and choke it out, I will pay the *&%$#@'s off faster! Ahem! Amazing how they can trap you. Be very careful!

Cue the choirs of angels singing! Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus! Our local grocery store is bestowing upon us another meat sale!! As you know from my past blogs, these have been lifesavers in this current economy! 5 packages for 19.99. I usually spend $100 and get 25 packages. Good stuff too! Shrimp, London Broil, ground CHUCK! Of course I have been trying more meatless meals too, so hopefully I can stretch this even furthur! Now to try to carve $100 into the budget for the meat sale in this holiday season. Will let you know at the end of the week what I end up with!

I was buried in bread!! Each Sunday I make up the kids lunches for the week and store them in the fridge. Apple slices, chips (individually divided into zippered snack bags), a sweet treat (yep, store bought this week - oops)and a drink. Oh, and the sandwiches, 15 of them suckers. DD3 prefers the bologna (cut into a cute christmas tree shape), DD1 peanut butter straight up and DD2 the old PBJ! All set for another week. I can't tell you how happy those sacks lined up in the fridge make me at 6 in the morning!!

Oh help! The DD1 has received her drivers permit (are these people crazy???). Just kidding! I took drivers ed and learned from a stranger. I think that was the way to go! Unfortuneately our school drivers ed program is around $300 and is not highly recommended. So my DH and I are the "teachers" and that is hard when your kids tend to think you are stupid about the time they turn 10. So... other than lots of prayers... any suggestions??

Sorry I have been absent from the blogs. I have been getting our financial (and pitiful) house in order. 2008 is going to have the be the year I go back to work and get this debt paid off!

I have made my list and checked it twice. I have 24 people on my Christmas list, plus various wonderful teachers. Out of those 24 people I have 9 completely done and a few of those were for free with gift cards from Mypoints! I have 4 more half bought for. All the teachers gifts were bought from JCPenney after Christmas last year. I give my neighbors chocolate chip bread every year and I already have the mixes bought. I feel like I am doing pretty well and hope to be done and wrapped by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. Ebay has been a big plus too, sell stuff, buy stuff! I have to list some more so I can buy some more!!

So to recap on how I saved money on Christmas gifts:
1) Prebuy at after Christmas sales.
2) Get freebies from Mypoints
3) Sell on ebay to buy off ebay
4) Make homemade gifts
5) Keep my list to immediate friends and family
6) Don't overbuy! It's the thought in the gift, not the amount of gifts!
7) Buy throughtout the year.
8) Try to wrap up (hahaha, pun!) the Christmas shopping before December, so you can enjoy the spirit of the holiday with the ones you love!

Hope you found this helpful!

Have a safe and fun Halloween everyone!

My friend Lynnae http://fromundertheclutter.com/category/blogging/ is have a "tip or treat" carnival at her blog. My tip is to make holidays homemade!! Make the costume, make the cards, make the eggs to hide, make the birthday cake. There is nothing like the homemade touch to make a special day more special!

Hello! Long time no blog! I guess I have'nt had much to say. Still struggling to pay things down and still have'nt gotten a better job. The old job will have a perfect vacancy soon, but they have decided not to fill it at all. Figures! I really have to get out of there!

So, I have had no spend days! I have also been cooking dinner at home! Got DD3 a brand new with tags winter coat for FREE, just by asking if anyone in my neighborhood had any hand me downs!

I have also been trying to organize DD3's room (it is always a disaster!) She does'nt have any "real" furniture, so I dug around in the basement and took the dresser we used in their nursery and painted it white. Then I took an old trash picked desk and painted it the purple of her room with her left over paint. Just waiting for all of it to dry and will have DH and his buddy carry it upstairs. I also painted and built some bookshelves for her room (planks from Home Depot and some brackets). I really hope we can get everything straigtened up!

So anyway, just trying to get some things done, without spending any money!

I have three checks coming from three different survey sites! Two for $10 and one for $5! Can't wait!

Go to this link to download a $5.00 off Tylenol coupon!! Just scroll down to the red Download button at the bottom (you may have to install the coupon loader, easy and quick) and then hit download and print coupon! Many Tylenol items you can find for under $5.00, so its FREE!

http://www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subpcccold...

I found this cartoon on justabeachkat's website and had to share!!

http://bp3.blogger.com/_VOGqx1wiya4/Rwl9br-Gg1I/AAAAAAAACNQ/...