Overextended

I have been thinking about calling BOA and just telling them that I can only pay so much of my balance, but I don't want to leave a bad mark on my credit score. I am not sure what to do though because I am paying so much and yet it's only the minimum amount since there is so much debt to pay. I really have no idea what to do.

I may be able to ask them to lower my interest rate and thus hopefully my balance will go down so that I can at least pay off my other credit card so that I can start to pay the BOA cards down. I don't know what they can do, but I feel like this is definitely getting out of hand and I don't know what the best thing to do is.

Suggestions?

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$1451

That's the amount that goes toward debt each month. I can't believe that it's that much! That is why I can never seem to save money. It is just so amazing when you have the numbers in front of you. I am definitely frustrated since it's hard when something comes up and we have to somewhow squeeze it in somewhere.

The $1451 includes student loans and credit cards. It's going to be a long battle.

We are moving to a smaller place so we will save money so I can very excited about that.

One day at a time...

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Splurging

I've been splurging, buying nice new things and thankfully I came on here tonight. I love reading all the personal finance blogs since they put me back on my feet, instead of dreaming away, thinking that my debt problems will solve itself.

Plans for the week:
-Bring lunch everyday
-No buying anything this whole week until Saturday

I read on someone's blog about going to the grocery store every 2 weeks instead of every week. I don't think we stocked up enough for that so we will have to go this coming weekend, but I am going to start trying that.

I also rescheduled one part of my CPA which took me back $95. It sucks, but hopefully this will give me more time to study and hopefully pass on my first try.

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What's my problem?

This Friday, I am getting paid and will have about $3k in the bank. I keep seeing that money and wanting to put it towards credit cards. The other half keeps telling me no. You see, in the past I have put a lot of money towards credit cards and then something comes up and we are out of money once again. And then we turn back towards the credit cards. So I clearly see his point.

The plan is to put some money into the savings account so I don't see the money in the checking account. For some reason, that money in there just makes me itch! I just want to put it somewhere else. So we will put $500 in savings and keep paying 3x the minimum payment on one of the cards so that if something does come up, we'll have some cash in the checking account.

Do you have the same problem as I do?

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Brake Issues

In May of this year, we took my car into the shop to get new brake pads. We went to none other than Just Brakes. I am not sure if they are located everywhere in the US, but they are in Georgia.

After I got my brake pads changed, my steering wheel would shudder when I brake. It was the most annoying thing ever! So we went back to Just Brakes and they said that we needed new calipers. I decided to call Tires Plus and the guy there told me that my car shouldn't need new brakes (only 44,000 miles on it) and for me to take it in to get it inspected.

Well, that was last weekend. We took it in today and he told us that we definitely didn't need new calipers and he totally said that Just Brakes sucks! We needed new brake pads and new rotors since they are warped from the bad job that Just Brakes did. I was worried that we were getting duped again. I'm not very trusting of car mechanics.

So I called Meineke for a second opinion. He said that maybe we can just get the brake pads restuffed and possibly resurface the rotors. He also said that Just Brakes suck. The price was very similar to what Tires Plus offered us so we decided to go with Tires Plus since we were getting new pads and rotors.

The damage: $297.06. It sucks that we had to pay this money, but we learned our lesson and that is, don't go to Just Brakes. I am sure some are better than other, but now we know that if it's too cheap, it is probably not very good quality.

I drove the car afterwards and no shuddering! It's the most comforting feeling ever.

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Things are Looking Up

We have about $2,000 in the bank right now. And this Friday, I get pay again. So that means that we could possibly put another $1,000 onto one of our credit cards. If we keep saving, we could possibly pay off the $3k credit card by the end of October. That is quite ambitious, but with a strong will, there will be a way. Or something like that.

I have been having the urge to buy some nice clothes for work. I keep thinking that it's such a great investment in myself. And it really is, except that I need to pay off my debt and that comes first for me. So I will suck it up and keep shopping at Target and cheaper places for cute pieces.

We are so fortunate to be where we are right now. Remember that it could be worse.

Money Dieter

Refinancing the Car

We went to a credit union to try and refinance the car. Unfortunately, it's the same song again. The last time we called a different credit union, they couldn't refinance the car since it's worth a lot less than what we still owe on it. $8k to be exact. It really sucks. We are paying a little over $500 each month. And it's not even a BMW.

Please, please. Don't rush into buying a car when you are out of options. We got stuck in this situation through a lot of rush-rush chaos. I totaled our one and only car. We had to be in a rental for the weekend, trying to find a new car. Since we didn't have any money and we had little credit, we just took whatever car the dealer would give us. We had no idea about negotiating or anything. We were young then (or that's my excuse anyways!). But just don't rush it.

Ask someone for help. Don't let the car salesman screw you over.

Money Dieter

P.S. For now, we'll be paying our $500 for 3 more years or at least until we can try to refi it again.

Doing Better

Having my parent's help really put us in a better place. We have about $2k in the bank right now. And I am saving every last little bit so I can pay my parents back before year end. I am excited about that since it is just a matter of cutting back. I also want to buy them a washer and dryer with my own money.

Tomorrow is not a pay period, but next week is! And I am excited about that. It's nice not to have to worry that I am not getting paid tomorrow. So this is how financially-secure people feel.

I love it!

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Parental Support

The other day I decided to phone my parents to ask for help. I was nervous and ashamed since I make more than both of them currently and yet, here I am, asking for help.

But it was either being prideful and losing more money or humbling myself and saving lots of money in the long run.

I was afraid that my father would say no and look down on me, but he gladly said he would help me. I sighed with relief.

I am going to pay off one credit card and then pay him back + 5% interest. He said I wouldn't have to pay him interest, but I don't think that's fair.

Relief.

$100 service fee

I am so frustrated right now. We didn't have enough money in the bank to pay for rent so now we are hit with a $100 service fee! I hate it!

I don't get paid until tomorrow. Gosh, that $100 could have gone to credit cards. Why am I constantly swimming???

This too shall pass...

The last couple of days, I have been feeling like going shopping and buying me some nice things. The husband has really helped me with that and reminding me why I'm saving and trying to pay off all the debt we have incurred.

It's a bummer not to be able to go out and buy some cute new clothes whenever I feel like it, but I do have to take responsibility for all the previous purchases that I have incurred. Depressing, but remember all...

This too shall pass!

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Raise

The yearly annual evaluations came around. Got myself a 3.5% raise.

Fingers crossed for next year. The future is what we make of it!

$888

They deposited the check for my CPA application so my balance is $888. I get paid this Friday, thank goodness!

Car Insurance

Geico called. They want their $570.

My car insurance actually increased from $532. That really stinks. I'm thinking of switching to another provider since an increase is not justifiable being that I have been driving without accidents or incidents.

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BOA

Bank of America just lowered my credit line to $7,400! That is super close to my balance. Oh dear!

The CPA Exam

I'm sending in my check in the amount of $999 to pay for the CPA Exam tomorrow. It's now or never. If I don't do it, I won't be motivated to take the Exam and I really have to pass it to increase my marketability.

But first, I have to make sure that I have enough in my bank account. It'll be sad to see that money gone from my account :(

Once I pass it, I'll get $2k from my bank though so that is my motivation!

The Money Dieter

PayDay

The husband took the car in yesterday and Just Brakes fixed it for around $100. He said that they kept pressuring him to fix this and fix that. I'm glad that he stayed strong! I hate the pressures of mechanics.

I haven't checked my bank account yet, but $1300 in my bank. I'm salary so there's no guess there. This is the last check that they are taking out for the Becker CPA Exam cost so it my paycheck will increase a little with the next check. My next check should be $1500. Yay!

This weekend, I will write down all my debt so you can follow along as I tackle them! I am also closing down my Bank of America checking account since I direct deposit my checks to Charles Schwab. BOA charges me around $5 to keep my checking account. No thanks!

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My Credit Score

I decided to enroll in one of those free trial to see what my credit score is. The last time I checked, my score was fair. I wanted to see whether it had gone up or donwn. Most likely down, but I was still curious as I want to work aggressively at increasing my score.

I checked and my score with TransUnion is at 680. I would like that score to go up to 720 by year-end. That means paying down those credit cards.

Unfortunately, my brakes need work so the Husband will be taking my car into the shop. Hoping that the total cost will be around $120. Supposedly Just Brakes will do it for $99.99 for four axles. Hopefully that's true and they do a good job.

So $120 is coming out of the checking since we are trying to stop charging on all the cards. Thankfully I get paid tomorrow. That will help out a lot since rent is due on the 1st!

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The Wake Up Call

I was going through some files the other day and came upon my "Credit Report" file. I looked through my report and saw that back in 2005, my balances on my credit cards were around $200 for one and $165 for the other. I felt so sad.

How I wish my credit card balances were that low again. But of course, that balance has ballooned now to $8k, $7k, $3k and $3k on my credit cards. In 4 years, I have gotten more broke. Of course, in that period of time, I graduated, married and started working.

The debt mentioned above does not include student loans (over $50k) and a car loan ($20k). Although I make a half-decent salary now ($51k), the daily bills still keep going from one paycheck to the next.

It's time to go on a diet!

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