my goals have changed
I am working a lot. I am working out after work. (Aren’t you proud of me?) I had the work done on the roof. Now I have other projects to do before the weather gets cold. I have some water damage outside that needs fixing, ASAP. So, heeeeere we go! My trip was great, and I didn’t come home broke, which is always a good thing. I didn’t spend any money this weekend. My bills are paid through the middle of August. I’m in more debt though, ’cause I put a big ole TV on my credit card. It’s OK, though. I won’t let it stay there long. My deadline is the end of September. It would be sooner, but with home improvements and the medical debt (which I’m paying on a payment plan), I won’t just knock it out with every available cent. In fact, if I didn’t absolutely need to work on the water damage, I’d wait on that too, but I have to have that worked on now. That is not an option. The good thing is that I’m not taking any major trips in the next few months, and I don’t plan to make any other big purchases for the house outside of non-cosmetic necessities for a while.
I am through with my goals for the moment. There is too much going on with the home improvements and the medical bills. There were some things that I didn’t absolutely need, like the TV and the weekend getaway, but I can afford them, and if I had it to do all over again, I would have made the same decisions. I am enjoying my summer and enjoying the fruits of my labor, for the first time in years. It’s nice to have these little luxuries, and I believe I have earned them.
But I am not comfortable with the TV and medical bill debt. I am not happy that it’s almost August and I haven’t paid anything extra towards my small student loan or my car loan. But it is what it is. I just know what my goals for 2010 will be, without question. For the rest of this year, all I want to do is get rid of my TV and medical bill debt, contribute to my IRA and savings when I can, have the money to pay next year’s insurance in full when it’s due in December, and make some house repairs – a new door, a garage door opener before winter, and a fix for that water damage before the first snow. With less expenses coming up, I want to get as much of this done as possible before the utilities start to go up in the fall and winter months.
Thank God for a cool summer. Here’s to praying for a warm fall. 
trip!
Got a weekend trip coming up. I have money set aside for the expenses. That kinda happened by chance, but whatever, I’m glad the money is there. I’m being as conservative as I can with money so that I can do stuff like take weekend trips and still have money left over to pay bills and make changes to my house. A little tricky, but possible. As long as I know what my balances are, I’ll be OK.
last day of brokeness
Today is the last day of brokeness. I feel better than I did at the beginning of the week about my planning. I balanced the checkbook, I finished my budgeting, and I am ready for payday. I don’t need to spend anything else besides 5 of the 6 dollars I have in my wallet between now and tomorrow when I’m paid. And I have a plan in place for what to do with my paycheck. This preparation thing is great.
out of the hole
It was Boston Gal, I think, who told me that it generally takes someone about six months to get back to where they were before they bought a house.
Well here I am, six months after I bought my house, and my June net worth is finally back to the same level of progress that I was at before I bought the house. I am investing in my IRA again. It’s great.
That said, I’m doing half the stuff I feel like I should be doing. I’m finally starting to spend money on some things I want for myself and for the house. Spending a lot. A lot. I still have the medical bills, which I’m paying on a payment plan so that I can have cash flow for the other stuff I’m trying to do. I think I’m finally at the point where I’m done with binging and starving when it comes to spending. I’m trying creative use of all the things I’ve learned to get this far so that I can have a better quality of life without sacrificing long-term goals in the process.
It’s an adjustment. It’s a little scary. A lot of times I feel like I’m messing up. But I’m continually learning.
tidbits
OK so I did a little budget projection on a post-it note, but now I’m getting down to the nitty gritty. And look how long it’s taken me to get here – an entire week into the new month, and I’m finally getting my June accounting done. But hey, at least I’m doing it.
Word to the wise: Never underestimate the savings that can come from leaving the central air off and putting the ceiling fans on.
The money I spent on buying new clothes was worth every. single. penny. I am a happy camper.
I officially don’t like contractors. Here it is, time to get the doggone work done and I’m still waiting for a call back. Can’t emphasize this enough – do NOT pay upfront. I’m so glad I didn’t.
flying blind
As I type this, I don’t know how much money I have between now and payday. I have to check. I was just living my life happily, checkbook unbalanced. It’s not good to do that, and it’s actually pretty scary. I did some shopping for myself and the house since I last checked my balances. I haven’t even done my June net worth. But it’s been worth it to me. I haven’t looked at the internet in days, I got some good napping in, went to a few barbecues, spent time with friends and family… it’s been a great vacation, but now it’s time to get back to work. And back to the financial discipline that got me here in the first place.
i went shopping!
I am so happy with what I got! I spent about $150 between two stores. I got ten tops, five skirts, a dress, and a pair of sunglasses. They let me out of work early, and I had the money to spend, so I did. I’m going out of town in a few weeks, and I need to be cute. Plus, last year, I got rid of a lot of clothes that I either didn’t fit, or wasn’t wearing anyway. So since the weather has changed over, I’ve been having a hard time with running out of clean clothes quickly. Even though can wear casual clothes to work, I still have many clothes that aren’t appropriate for work, or that are appropriate for work, but for nothing else. I needed to get some clothes, it’s long overdue, and now I shouldn’t be saying, “I don’t have anything to wear,” nearly as often.
It’s weird. I pretty much hate shopping. I hate the walking around carrying clothes. I hate trying stuff on to make sure it fits. I hate navigating aisles of women and children. I hate weeding through tons of stuff I don’t like to maybe find a few things I do like. But today, I didn’t have that problem at all. I really enjoyed myself. I feel like a regular shopping-loving woman today.
pocket money
The concept of pocket money is growing on me. I took $60 out of the ATM, ’cause going to the ATM is a chore, and every once in a while, you do need cash. I used to hate going to the ATM. If I carry some cash, I won’t have to go. Duh. My problem has always been that I spend the cash and have no idea where it went. The trick is to continue to use my debit card for stuff I don’ t HAVE to use cash for. That way the cash won’t run out before I can get the time to go to the stupid ATM again.
I know I’m late with the June monthly update – my apologies. I should be able to get it in by the end of the week…
over time
I did one thing off of yesterday’s list. I put the purchase on a credit card. I’ll pay it off over the next few paychecks, piece by piece. I know that may cost me some interest. It’s worth the convenience to me.
Instead of paying the large medical bills up front (I’ve paid all the small ones, and the big ones are the only ones left), I decided to set up a payment plan. If I want, I can pay more than the minimum. And there’s no interest involved. This way, I have more cash flow for the things I want to do.
As long as I continue to save and pay off debt, I’m allowed to do whatever I want…
