Posts made in March, 2012

Debt Update – A New Goal for Debt Payoff

Posted by jefferson on Mar 31, 2012 in Eliminating Debt | 11 comments

We started this site to share our journey out of debt with the world, and to pass along our successes and failures along the way. This journey began with almost $22,000 worth of debt, and we have already made some great progress! Since today is the last day of March, it seems like a good time to go ahead and give an update on how we have been doing.

With yesterday’s paycheck and the corresponding bill-pays to go along with it, our debt is down under $14,000 for the first time! We were hoping to hit this threshold a bit earlier, but the timing of paychecks vs. bills due has been tricky the last few weeks.

Now the journey continues into April, when my raise from work will finally kick in. I got a decent raise this year (thanks to being proactive with my boss), which should definitely help in our debt reduction efforts. We also have a few unavoidable expenses coming up that will make April an interesting month all around. This makes it even more important that we control expenses, especially our grocery bill.

When we started See Debt Run, we set our original goal to become debt free by the end of the year 2012. After walking this path for 3 months, we realize that we need to scale that goal back just a tiny bit.  As such, we are now shooting for the end of February 2013.

GOALS:
End of March: 14000 **CURRENT**
End of April : 13500
End of May : 11500
End of June: 10500
End of July : 9500
End of August: 8400
End of September : 7300
End of October: 6200
End of November: 5100
End of December : 4100
End of January 2013 : 3000
End of February 2013: 0

Our bottom line is a much, much healthier than when we started this journey. When we started, our cash flow was in the red every single month. We have made a number of lifestyle changes that have helped to reverse that trend and as you can tell from the goals above– we are now cash flow positive and able to hack away at significant portions of the debt at each step along the way.

The goals above make the following assumptions:

1. We will use the majority of our income to pay off debt. Food and clothes purchases will be made as needed, but every attempt will be made to try to keep those costs down.
2. Home Improvement costs will be kept down until we are able to get out of debt. Our house has many needs, but we will “patch” things using cheap DIY until the debt payoff is complete.
3. We will snowball debt payments. As debts are paid off, the amount of money that used to go towards one creditor, will be applied towards the next. Thus allowing for larger payments as the year progresses.
4. We will come up with an extra $200-$250 of income each month via surveys, eBay auctions, craigslist, writing assignments, and whatever else comes along.
5. We will not take an expensive vacation this year. The beach is calling me, and calling me often. Instead we will plan to take a big blow-out vacation next year when we can afford to pay for it up front!
6. We will be able to pay extra in May 2012, as our paychecks and bills will finally fall in a favorable position.
7. We will finalize our debt payoff in February 2013 with our Tax Refund.

We will be hosting our first Carnival tomorrow, The Carnival of Financial Simplicity, so be sure to stop by to read some of the best articles from around the Finance World. In the meantime, See Debt Run was featured in a number of carnivals in the past week:

• Coffee Talk was featured in the Yakezie Carnival
• Habit Creep was featured in the Carnival of Money Pros
• The Art of DIY was featured in the Totally Money Carnival
• Why Have an Emergency Fund? was featured in the Carnival of Financial Simplicity
• I’m a Barbie Girl was featured in the Yakezie Carnival

Superstition Ain’t The Way…Or Is It?

Posted by michelle on Mar 30, 2012 in Eliminating Debt | 26 comments

Last weekend, we went to a friend’s house to hang out and play games.  This is our main source of entertainment these penny-pinching, debt-chasing days.  I helped my friend clear off the table, removing my purse and setting it on the floor.  My friend gasped.

“Don’t put your purse on the floor!  Here, I’ll hang it on the closet door for you.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about it.  I’m sure your floor is clean.”

So this has been my problem all those years of overspending?!  I’d never heard this superstitious saying before.  Where was my friend when I bought a house I couldn’t afford?  Where was my friend each time I went shopping for clothes I didn’t need?  How about when I decided interest didn’t need to be accounted for in a budget?  Who knew, all this time, that I just needed someone to scoff at me and tell me to pick up my damn purse?  I scratched my head at the silliness of the idea, but then picked up my purse and hung it on the closet door.  You know, just in case.

Since I was about 20 years old, I’ve had eczema creep up in various, annoying spots on my body, but mainly on my hands.  My left hand has a patch on my palm, and my right hand has a spot that comes and goes on my wrist.  I was staring off into space and scratching my left palm mindlessly while in the doctor’s office waiting room this morning when a stranger started calling me out.  Honestly, I didn’t even realize I’d been scratching my hand and was immediately embarrassed by this nosy observant stranger calling me out on my fidgeting.  Prior to the comment, we had shared some small talk about pregnancy as she was obviously due soon and I have a baby who’s almost 9 months old.

“Are you coming into money or about to lose it?”  She pointed at my hands.  There’s a saying about ‘itchy palms’ and ‘coming into money’ but I never knew the exact wording or meaning.

Knowing what she was talking about, or at least the gist, I replied “Oh,  I don’t know.  I hope the first happens!”

“Then you better not scratch!  If you scratch the itch, you’ll lose all the money.”

“I never heard that!  I always scratch.”

Just then, her name was called and she told me it was nice chatting.  I wished her luck with the rest of her pregnancy.  Immediately, after she was out of sight, I picked my purse up off the floor.  You know…just in case.

So what else am I doing wrong here with my money and my purse and my itchy hands?  Do you know any superstitions about money?  Do you believe in them?

7 Ways to Pass the Time at Your Kid’s Soccer Practice

Posted by jefferson on Mar 29, 2012 in Eliminating Debt | 8 comments

As the weather starts to warm up, lots of things around us start to change.  The flowers start to bloom (yay!), I start having to pay attention to my yard again (doh!), and most notably- the kids activities really start to ramp up.  Earlier this week, our seven year old son’s soccer season started up again.  We have always told our kids that if they ever express any interest in playing a sport or trying an activity, we will find a way to make it work.  With soccer, the seven year old seems to have found his calling.  Last season, he scored the most goals on his team, and was truly a force to be reckoned with.  With kids this age, soccer games mostly consist of a large pack of rugrats moving up and down the field en masse.  Impressively, our son seems to emerge from the pack with the ball more often than most.

As a soccer parent, I now find myself sitting on the side of a soccer field for about two and a half hours each week.  I will always watch the games with piqued interest, and hoot and holler in a loud and obnoxious fashion.  However I don’t think that I am rocking the boat too much by suggesting that soccer practices are actually quite dull to watch.  While I enjoy watching my son play, I will freely admit that I sometimes attempt to use this practice time to multitask. With that, I give you:

7 Ways to Pass the Time While at Your Kid’s Soccer Practice

Coach the Team

For most youth sports, the coaches are all moms and dads of somebody on the team.  They aren’t paid for their time, but instead donate it so their kids and the kids of others can learn new skills and have a good time.  If you have never coached a sport before, you definitely should.  It is a rewarding experience, and doesn’t require a ton of extra time.   I have coached multiple seasons of baseball for my kids, but I am not coaching soccer this year.  Soccer just isn’t my sport, and I really don’t know any drills or strategies.  But if you played the sport a lot when you were younger, don’t be afraid to step up!

Chat up the other Soccer Moms and Dads

You will be spending a lot of time with these folks, you might  as well get to know them.  You should have plenty to talk about;  you can compare minivans, discuss the best driving routes to get to practice, and talk about which kid on the other team takes the game entirely too seriously.  One time last season, I discovered a guy that I had been sitting next to for about six weeks works at the same place that I do!

Read a Book

If you aren’t coaching and there is nobody to talk to,  kids’ sports practices are a great time on catching up on your reading.  I have so much trouble finding time to settle down with a book these days.  When I am at home, the wife, kids, and house maintenance are generally demanding my attention.  When I am at work, it just looks tacky to sit at my desk and read a book.  So practice is a great time to get some reading done!  I already have The Hunger Games earmarked for next Monday’s practice.

Take a Nap

Nobody will notice, really.  Just wear some dark sunglasses and steal some shut-eye.  Compared to the rest of the world, this country seems to frown on grown-ups taking naps, but why let that stop you?  I wouldn’t do this myself, because I won’t want to get caught if my kid hurts himself out in the field and starts crying for daddy.  But I am sure that one of the other parents will poke you if this happens to you.

Go For a Run

I have seen other parents do this, and hope to do it myself this season.  Much like reading,  fitting a run into your daily routine can be challenging.  The hour or so that you have at your kids practice might be the perfect time to do it.   After all, you are outside already, and its much nicer to run around a grassy field than inside on a treadmill.  Also, there is something beautiful about dad getting some exercise at the same time that his kids are.  It sets a great example!  Be sure to tell the other parents before you take off, however, in case your kid gets injured or needs help.

Track Your Finances

This is a  financial blog after all,  and smart phones have really opened up the whole internet when it comes to being able to entertain yourself in these type of situations.  Many banks have mobile applications available for Android and iPhone,  and you can use this down-time to balance your checkbook.  My favorite mobile-app is from Mint.com (full disclosure: there is an affiliate link in the footer of this page),  and I often use downtime to go through my transactions on my various accounts to make sure that everything is categorized correctly.  This “reconciliation” helps a ton when mapping out my budget for the month.

Catch up on Your Favorite Blogs

Again, you need an internet-based phone to make this happen, but you should download a news reader app (google reader is perfect) and subscribe to the RSS feeds of your favorite blogs.  Whenever your favorite bloggers post something new, it will automatically get pulled into your reader where you can read it offline, at your convenience.  It can make your kid’s practice  go much quicker if you have some lovely articles from See Debt Run to pass the time with.