Wednesday, August 27, 2008

What to Do?

Switched to Bach's Start Late, Finish Rich. The one thing I agree with so far is the idea of not following conventional wisdom of paying off the debt before saving for a home; retirement, etc. Lately I've been feeling I need to up my deductions again. Especially since the market is down right now. Also I'm not gaining any tax advantages. Once again, I need to work the numbers.
However, I will probably up it to at least %. I've really been feeling that.

He says some other things I like also.
Later!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

More Month than Money II

This is actually a surprise to me. Yes, I paid more to BofA, but then again I had extra to pay them and was glad to do so. However, in the past two weeks I've been having fun. And that costs $$. Dinners w/sista friends; exercise classes; birthdays, whatever. Now that I'm paying attention to how I spend my money, I see the difference between right now and when I'm operating more frugally. Also it reminds me of the times I wasn't paying attention and just spending and wondering where the money went.

I just received another $100 for some work I did. My goal is for that money to go to BofA. Not me. Check back later to see how intentional I am.

On a greater tip, I probably didn't mention I'm going on retreat in October. That retreat is fully paid for ahead of schedule. Yeah!!! A change from scuffling at the last minute. Until I find out more, I'll budget $100 since I won't need much money.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Shoes

Yesterday I took my shoes to the shoemaker to get lifts and taps. I distinctly remember I was too lazy to take them to him for taps when I first bought them. So now I'm paying the price. However, instead of being cheap like I have in the past(depending on how much was in my wallet, I might only get lifts and no taps). I added taps to the front and back and never even thought about how much it would cost.
1- I knew the price would be reasonable.
2-These things will preserve the life of my shoes.
It's a win-win. Especially since this is the second pair of this style that I bought at an unexpected $25.

I have a new pair I bought for work a few weeks ago ($29 down from $59). I'm gonna take those in for taps before I begin wearing them for the fall.

Choices. Either I pay a little now or pay a lot more later.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

"I'm Struggling with my New Teeth"

When I asked my aunt how she was doing, her reply was, "I'm fine, but I'm struggling with my new teeth." While I laughed, it made me think of the fact I have to visit the dentist concerning my implant. Now the money has already been budgeted through my FSA, which I upped to $4,000** this year. I'm a little bit scared since it's not my regular dentist doing the work. I know I need to bite the bullet and just go ahead. In this upcoming week I'll make some progress on it.

**When I'm complete with my dental work which should be 2009, this money will go into my 401K and other savings. Can you imagine my debt being paid and having mo' money, mo' money, mo' money?

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Festival Time

Harlem Week, and with it the beginning of the close of summer. Had a great time yesterday. Spent $13 on tea and ice cream. Now had I gotten there earlier I would have spent more, cause I was looking for fried fish. But it was not to be. I think I'm going to have to just buy it and cook it myself.

Friday, August 15, 2008

An Unexpected Surprise

It's a good morning when I get up and out early to take care of biz. This was one of those am's.

The decision to ride downtown to pay off a ticket was nixed when I saw a parking space on the right side of my block(alternate side parking begins @ 11:30). I got out by 8:10 and in order to use my transfer to return home I had to be back on the bus within 2 hrs. There was no line at the window to get the ticket reduced by 20%. Not only did I get the reduction, it seems that the ticket wasn't filled out correctly. Soooo you got it. NO CHARGE!

The back story: Last month while visiting the good friend I walked away from my vechicle not paying attention to the fact I parked at a hydrant. I turned around to see my boy in his little vehicle writing. Wait! Wait! I was just.... He explained why he couldn't tear up the ticket(an easy $115), but since I agreed my car was parked at an angle, he was able to give me a $45 ticket for such an obscure fine that he had to write in the code. So happy was I to get the reduction, I never noticed the ticket was jacked.

With that in stride I went to the post office to take care of biz. Again, no line. From there I hit the library; hopped on the bus within my transfer time and rode off in bliss.

Doing the Right Thing

My girls are going SkyDiving. An activity that costs $225 plus $110 for pics. Now I've done the dive solo many years ago and always wanted to do tandem. But...I'd just rather put that amount toward debt. So I've decided if I have the day available I'll just go and hang out with them. I'll also list this as one of the things I didn't do because I am paying off my debt. But that's in a future post.
Peace.

Payments

BofA is getting $500 this pay period. I planned to pay them $300, but some extra money came in and soooo they will get more. In my mind I want to give them $600 at EOM. Now I pulled that figure out of my heart, but who knows.

AMEX may or may not continue to get an extra $100 a month. My biggest concern is BofA, especially since AMEX is a biz account and does not show on my credit report. I'll see.

The next CRUISE payment is due 9/2. I'll put in on AMEX for the points. I do have the money from my Play account at ING, but I don't want to touch it. I like seeing it grow. Get over it chick I tell myself. I can probably pull it out of a paycheck, but that's money that can be going to BofA.
Okay I'm back on track. See it doesn't take that long for right thinking to kick in.

I just have to make sure I don't short myself to make life & debt payments. I don't like that feeling.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A Turnaround

Just took a look at Bach's Start Late, Finish Rich. From what I can see initially this book is structured the same as The Automatic Millionaire, however upon reading the first few pages something kicked in. I'm psyched again. The clouds in my brain are gone. I can do this. I don't have a lot of debt left and I have an option to make extra payments. Piece of cake are the words that come to mind. I know I was feeling that I was never going to save any money for a down payment, for retirement, blah blah. However, that's not true. The ? is what do I really want. This means I have to go back to my goals. Continuously. Just to know what I said I want. In the past I would set it and forget it. Now that might work for a 401K, but not for goals. Keep them in the forefront. So before week's end I'm gonna do just that. Review!

Saturday, August 09, 2008

An Admisson

Remember those debit cards I got just so I'd have them in case I needed cash? Well I couldn't find them for about two months. Embarrased, I refused to tell anyone. In my mind they were on the computer desk. In thinking about them this week I said, "I'm going to clean up that area and find them." While in the process, I went into the kitchen to empty a small bag that had been sitting for a while. Lo and behold what did I find. My debit cards. They must have fallen into the bag from the shelf on which I placed them. I put them in the envelope where they belong. Sometimes it pays not to worry.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

What I'm Reading

I left my good book home today so I could go thru David Bach's, The Automatic Millonaire before I returned it to the library. In my mind his book Start Late, Finish Rich seemed to be a better option for me. However, taking in a few more chapters while I was at work and then at the library convinced me to keep reading it. The one thing that blew me away was the example of how much of my workday is going for savings. I know most of what isn't going to pay living expenses is going to pay off debt. Who am I really working for?

Well--It's time to get out paper and pencil again. I've been wrestling with my choice to not fund my 401K, especially since rates are down and this is a better time to buy.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Extra $$, Extra $$

Saturday was the bomb. I did it. I went back. Okay, okay I know you have no idea what I'm talkin' about. Let me clue you in. I was scheduled to take a workshop. The bug in my ear was to sell some of these fabrics I've had hanging around forever. That's exactly what I did. I never took the workshop. Once I set up the fabric table, I went for it. Had a great time and got some fabrics and remnants out of my space. Yes Lord! I made about $200. I even sold a garment and made another $350. I'm excited but it's a dull excitement. I don't want to have this money just slip thru my hands. Yes I'm trying to pay for a cruise at year's end, but I want to be realistic and have most of this money go to debt repayment.

Help!!!

The Last Time

Let's get this straight--This is the last time I talk and or think about the amount of fees I paid to AX for the privilege of using their card. When I journaled today I could just see that money going to BofA, whom by the way received no additional payment this month(I'm still workin' on it). It hurt, but the pain is going away. I'm ready to get back on track.