New Normal: The Financial Edition
So, my health isn't the only things about my life that has changed. I've recently tried really taking the reigns on my financial health, as well.
It all started last year when Mama first started talking about retiring. In case you don't know, I commute to work with my mother. We take her car, she buys all the gas and doesn't expect me to contribute much more than the occasional grunt while she talks for 45 minutes each way. This has saved me a TON of money over the years and allowed me to limp along with my 20-year-old car. Well, she decided late last year that she would be retiring June 2019 which gave me (at the time) 2 years to get my credit cards paid off and save enough money to buy a new car.
So, first thing I did was consolidate my two credit cards onto a zero interest for 18 months card and start paying down on that. And I started socking money away with the 5's method...meaning, every time a $5 bill landed in my hand, I put it way. I had actually saved up to nearly $800...and then I had to have a root canal and some car repairs and since it made more sense to use that money than to charge it on my credit card...well, that was $800 gone in a flash.
But I knew I could be doing more. I wasn't getting that credit card paid off fast enough and if I kept paying what I was paying, it wasn't going to be paid off by the end of the 18 months. So, after I got my tax refund, I put half of that on my card and cut off my satellite service.
Yep. I've gone old school. I invested in a $24 flat antenna that I hung on my wall and I watch 9 channels. Well, it's more like four because the other five channels rarely have anything interesting on them.
It's been an adjustment, but it hasn't actually been as hard as I'd feared. I'd already cut my television watching in half and started listening to more podcasts. Now the only time I really miss satellite is on the weekends when I would have normally been watching Food Network or HGTV. I do miss those two channels. If I ever go back to satellite, I think I'm going to get the super cheap package that mainly features those two channels and the Disney channels (for the kiddos.) But for right now, I'm content without them.
I have about 6 months left on getting this credit card paid off and if all goes well and God is willing, I should have the balance zeroed out in time.
In the meantime, though, I've had to charge more car repairs and hotel expenses on my empty card and that balance has started to climb. I'm working really hard, though, at not letting that be a gateway into mindless charging on it. I don't want to have sacrificed so much energy on getting this one card paid off only to replace it with new credit card debt. Not only am I saying no to excessive carbs, but I'm now learning to say no to buying things.
Car repair, on the other hand, isn't cooperating.
I had about $800 worth of work done in December and at least one of the things I had repaired has already gone out again. The mechanic says the part is under warranty but I'll still probably have to spend $100 or so on labor. So that's just great.
I still haven't been able to save up enough money to buy a new roof on my house, yet, either. It needs one like woah! But I've had to prioritized getting the credit card paid off. My ideal plan would be to get the credit card paid off in December, sock away the money that I had been putting towards that for a few months next year and then get a new roof. THEN start saving for a down payment on a car. But...I'm leaving all that up to God. Every time I tell Him MY plans, He laughs and says, "Nope." So...yeah, it's all up to Him. I'm not worrying over it. I'm just praying over it. He's already given me a little bit of a pat of reassurance that it's all going to be okay by giving us raises at work. They don't go into effect until July and I don't yet know how much of a raise it will be, but the promise is there. (after a two year drought!) And with that promise, I believe that all my needs will be met. I just have to stay obedient and pray and do my part by being a responsible steward of the financial gifts He's already given me.
And I promise this won't become a financial blog, either. I just wanted to get all this out there for posterity. My hope is that I can come back to this blog post this time next year and nod and smile and give an update so sparkling with joy and relief that you'll all need shades and sunscreen. ;-)
It all started last year when Mama first started talking about retiring. In case you don't know, I commute to work with my mother. We take her car, she buys all the gas and doesn't expect me to contribute much more than the occasional grunt while she talks for 45 minutes each way. This has saved me a TON of money over the years and allowed me to limp along with my 20-year-old car. Well, she decided late last year that she would be retiring June 2019 which gave me (at the time) 2 years to get my credit cards paid off and save enough money to buy a new car.
So, first thing I did was consolidate my two credit cards onto a zero interest for 18 months card and start paying down on that. And I started socking money away with the 5's method...meaning, every time a $5 bill landed in my hand, I put it way. I had actually saved up to nearly $800...and then I had to have a root canal and some car repairs and since it made more sense to use that money than to charge it on my credit card...well, that was $800 gone in a flash.
But I knew I could be doing more. I wasn't getting that credit card paid off fast enough and if I kept paying what I was paying, it wasn't going to be paid off by the end of the 18 months. So, after I got my tax refund, I put half of that on my card and cut off my satellite service.
Yep. I've gone old school. I invested in a $24 flat antenna that I hung on my wall and I watch 9 channels. Well, it's more like four because the other five channels rarely have anything interesting on them.
It's been an adjustment, but it hasn't actually been as hard as I'd feared. I'd already cut my television watching in half and started listening to more podcasts. Now the only time I really miss satellite is on the weekends when I would have normally been watching Food Network or HGTV. I do miss those two channels. If I ever go back to satellite, I think I'm going to get the super cheap package that mainly features those two channels and the Disney channels (for the kiddos.) But for right now, I'm content without them.
I have about 6 months left on getting this credit card paid off and if all goes well and God is willing, I should have the balance zeroed out in time.
In the meantime, though, I've had to charge more car repairs and hotel expenses on my empty card and that balance has started to climb. I'm working really hard, though, at not letting that be a gateway into mindless charging on it. I don't want to have sacrificed so much energy on getting this one card paid off only to replace it with new credit card debt. Not only am I saying no to excessive carbs, but I'm now learning to say no to buying things.
Car repair, on the other hand, isn't cooperating.
I had about $800 worth of work done in December and at least one of the things I had repaired has already gone out again. The mechanic says the part is under warranty but I'll still probably have to spend $100 or so on labor. So that's just great.
I still haven't been able to save up enough money to buy a new roof on my house, yet, either. It needs one like woah! But I've had to prioritized getting the credit card paid off. My ideal plan would be to get the credit card paid off in December, sock away the money that I had been putting towards that for a few months next year and then get a new roof. THEN start saving for a down payment on a car. But...I'm leaving all that up to God. Every time I tell Him MY plans, He laughs and says, "Nope." So...yeah, it's all up to Him. I'm not worrying over it. I'm just praying over it. He's already given me a little bit of a pat of reassurance that it's all going to be okay by giving us raises at work. They don't go into effect until July and I don't yet know how much of a raise it will be, but the promise is there. (after a two year drought!) And with that promise, I believe that all my needs will be met. I just have to stay obedient and pray and do my part by being a responsible steward of the financial gifts He's already given me.
And I promise this won't become a financial blog, either. I just wanted to get all this out there for posterity. My hope is that I can come back to this blog post this time next year and nod and smile and give an update so sparkling with joy and relief that you'll all need shades and sunscreen. ;-)
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