Posted on: July 9, 2009 by Matt
Last month I decided to give myself the gift of a rebuilt emergency fund by setting up a public challenge to get it back to the base of $1,000 by the end of the year. My reasoning for the amount was that $1,000 is the recommended starter fund from Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover, an attainable goal as well as an amount that makes me feel somewhat safe should something unexpected come up. When I kicked the challenge off I had $108 in my savings account, currently my progress has been a little slower than I had hoped for but is progressing just the same.
So for my current status I have $259 in my emergency fund account – an increase of $151. In addition I have also increased my health savings account from $0 to $99. So my total savings for the past month is about $250 but some of that went into savings for health care as I am planning to get a doctor’s visit in by the end of the year (it has been about 12 years since I have had a physical).
I am also hoping to jump start a couple of extra income steams by the end of the year in order to add to my savings and debt repayment plan. Currently I am working on:
- Blog income via ads and adsense.
- Writing EHow articles: 8 published so far and about $5 in earnings after one month. I have not devoted much time yet but am encouraged.
- Selling stuff on EBay: I have a handful of things that I could sell without really even noticing. Why not get rid of some clutter and make a few dollars?
In addition – my final car payment will be next month and that will free up an additional $400 per month for me to work into the budget. I am really excited about having another debt repaid and crossed off my list!
Posted on: June 18, 2009 by Matt
Back in the beginning of the year I posted on some of the things I am looking forward to in2009 and considering that we are now about half way through the year I figured I would post an update of where I stand. The past few months have been pretty interesting and quite a bit has happened so I will get right down to it.
- Getting back in shape: I have been going to the gym for 5 months or so now. Lately I have been getting up early in the morning and going to work out four or five days a week. My gym is closed on Sundays thorough the summer so I am really only missing one or two days per week that the gym is available. Since the gym closed for Sundays a couple weeks ago I have been working to get outside and do something on Sundays as well. Overall I now: get a pretty good amount of exercise, have quite smoking for over a year and do not drink. My diet is still a bit unhealthy and I tend to overeat and have a sweet tooth but I am making progress.
- No more car payments: Next month will be my final full payment followed by a half payment in August and that will be done. I am very much looking forward to not owing money to my ex-girlfriend any more and am looking even more forward to having the extra cash every month!
- Giving my site a new look: I have changed my theme twice and am thinking I will settle with this one for a little bit. So far so good I think.
- Paying off my credit card: I no longer carry a balance on my credit card from month to month! I am still getting to a point where I do not spend at all on it but my balance of nearly $2,000 that was carrying over and accruing interest fees is now gone!
- Rebuilding my savings account: I am getting there. I have my own little emergency fund challenge for 2009 running to give myself some public incentive and accountability to get my savings account back in shape. Right now I am up to $250 in the emergency fund and am aiming to reach $1,000 before the end of the year.
So far 2009 has been a pretty productive year and I am really looking forward to seeing how it all wraps up. I am hopeful that my personal financial situation will continue to improve. My girlfriend has also been taking some pretty impressive steps to improve her financial fitness as well and has impressed me with her ability to reach her goals as well. I think that right now she has more in savings than I do and was telling me the other day that now that she has the money in savings she does not want to touch it. Needless to say – I am proud of her and am awed by her ability to accomplish her goals.
Tags: Debt, Debt Reduction, Goals, Health, Personal Finance, Relationships, Savings Filed Under: Debt, Debt Reduction, Goals, Health, Planning, Relationships, Savings
Posted on: June 3, 2009 by Matt
Early last month I was pretty excited to report that I had paid off my credit card balance to Capital One. So I thought I would give everyone a quick update on where I am at this month: the card is still paid off.
The plan that my girlfriend proposed involved paying off the credit card balance and working to curb spending to keep the balance low. The result for me was a pretty empty checking account and we figured that we would use the card for expenses but would keep a closer eye on spending. So far it has worked out. Since my initial pay off of the large balance I have seen two statements.
The second statement was about half of the first for amount due so it appears that we have been gradually easing up on credit card use and easing back onto the checking account and debit card. I did have a couple of decent months at work which lead to higher commissions so the balances were paid in full and so far I have not made any transactions on my new statement period (which began in the middle of last month).
All said and done – the little plan my girlfriend put forward has worked pretty well. The process looks like this:
- Pay off the entire balance – do not worry about the low checking account balance.
- Use the card and stick to your budget for essentials.
- Keep tabs on spending, use the card sparingly.
- Pay the card off in full again – this time with a lower balance leaving more in the bank.
- Repeat
In addition – the plan plays to my emotional well being as well as I generally do not like having to pay with my credit card. The emotional reaction is enough that I will often forgo additional comfort items for myself (do I really need to go out for a coffee?) and stick with the basics.
Posted on: May 30, 2009 by Matt
As many of you know – I have some student loans that have been in collection / defaulted for about seven years now. So far I have been unable to locate a rehabilitation program for them and have been pretty much at the mercy of one nasty debt collector. They yelled, cursed and degraded me in order to get payment and I am fairly certain that they had violated the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
So when I received letters in the mail last Saturday noting that my loans had been reassigned to another collection ageny I had some mixed emotions. I was disappointed because it appeared that I would now be dealing with the original lender once again but glad that I no longer had to deal with the folks from the previous agency. I was also a bit frustrated due to the amount of digging I had to do in order to contact somebody at the correct location. I had already called the previous collection agency, the processing company and the original lender and thought I had been given the correct place to mail my payments – then I received the letters noting I had someone else to call.
Earlier this week I placed a call to the new collection agency. Much to my surprise – they were courteous, professional and really easy to work with. They did not once accuse me of anything and were glad to work with me on a payment schedule. They were more than happy to honor my previous arrangement and even offered up a couple of pleasant surprises.
First – they noted that there had been a rehabilitation program that was offered up until about a year ago. The program ended due to the economic crisis but may become available again. I had been asking if there was any possible way to get these loans back into good standing for five years and was repeatedly told no but I could settle in full if I paid up $18,000 in cash. I found it a little frustrating that I had been lied to for so long and was a bit angry but I can not change the facts now. On the flip side they also said that should the program become available that they will submit all on time payments made as eligible for the program. That means if the program kicks off a few months down the road again I could be rolled into an automatic rehabilitation and have my loans back in good standing. Of course I do not expect anything yet but the folks over at the collection agency sounded a little hopeful that the economy was headed in a positive enough direction that they have heard a little buzz about the possibility.
Secondly – the new agency will send out monthly balance sheets! It might seem like a standard practice to get a monthly statement for your debts but for some reason the old agency would not send them. If I was to call and request them they would usually say they would send something but it normally would not contain complete records if it arrived at all. I discussed options for additional payments and was told that it was ok to have the normal payments applied and to mail back extra with any of the statements provided to have the additional payment applied to that particular loan.
Given the change in collection agencies I am cautiously optimistic that I can work something out and pay these debts down! Right now the loans I have in collection have followed me along like some form of financial leprosy and I will be happy to see those debts disappear! After paying them off I will be down to my last two student loans which are both in good standing and then will be (hopefully) debt free!
Posted on: May 26, 2009 by Matt
Well I was hopeful that my student loans in bad standing were on the upswing and I may be able to work with somebody to get them back into good standing. However – over the long weekend I received letters from a new collection agency notifying me that they will now be processing the account. I was discouraged and frustrated and started to wonder yet again if I would ever be able to get these loans out of my life. I am really not sure how to put the entire ball of feelings I have about these loans into words but rest assured it is not pleasant.
I discussed the issue with my girlfriend and she helped me get through the despair of having the student loan mess once again. It seems that I have been paying money to these folks for 7 years (while working with a collection agency that would not provide monthly statements or balance sheets) and that the debt has not gone down. It sucked any positive attitude I may have had right out of me but we were able to talk it through to a point where I could see some positives. The biggest of the positives: the new agency seems to send out monthly statements that show my balance and interest.
So all said and done I believe that the new plan will look something like this:
- Call the new agency and set up payment arrangements based on what I can afford.
- Call the original lender again and make another attempt to get back into good standing.
- Continue to make minimum payments on the account(s).
- When I am able to pay extra – apply the extra to the account with the lowest balance and attack that debt.
Of course the process would go quicker if I had some extra income but currently taking another job or working extra hours and trying to make more would mean less time with my family. I do plan to put any income from the blog here back into debt repayment but other than that I will not be pursuing additional employment so I can still spend time with my family.
What would you do? Can anyone else out there think of another option that I might be missing?
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