Found Money

I found out yesterday that I have $119 in my flexible spending account, which was set up for health care expenses for 2007. Awesome!! All I have to do to claim the money is to submit receipts for some of my health care bills by March 31. That’s a small windfall I wasn’t counting on!

Well, the end of the month is nearing, and I’m actually *looking forward* to getting my bills so I can total up my new balances and see how much progress I’ve made. It won’t be much, but I’m so proud that I haven’t used any of my cards at all this month. It feels good.

Extreme Self-Control at Target

One of my favorite places in the whole wide world is Target. I buy so much stuff there–it’s really hard for me to get out of there without spending at least $100. I have several pieces from Isaac Mizrahi’s line (which I get many compliments on!), I love the Thomas O’Brien towels and linens, and right now as I type this, I’m wearing the Nick and Nora flannel pajamas (cloud pattern) that I bought there two seasons ago. I mean, it’s good stuff, and it’s all so cheap, it’s hard to resist throwing in a paperback or a cute t-shirt or some kitchen gadget into your shopping cart along with the toilet paper, laundry detergent and kitty litter.

Well, dear readers, I did not think that I would be able to resist the land of temptation that is Target. I thought maybe I would avoid it altogether and buy my staples from Meijer or some other downscale big box retailer. But last night after dinner with some friends I found myself close to a Target, so I decided to put the blinders on and get some necessities from my fav store.

And what temptations there were! Fresh spring clothes, paperbacks with tantalizing covers, exercise DVDs, adorable garden stuff from Smith & Hawkin and a huge display of World Bazaar home decor. Heaven! I walked around for about 20 minutes, touching all the goodies I knew I could not have. I was so close to buying a faux vintage bar sign for my kitchen that would be so perfect, but I reminded myself of my meager checking account and stuck to the essentials:

A bag of Meow Mix
4 cans of Fancy Feast (got to treat the kitties sometimes!)
Pantene hairspray (I usually buy Aveda, but Pantene is about $11 dollars cheaper)
2 Lean Cuisines (on sale 2/$4)
1 box of Lean Pockets
Tide (on sale for $5, plus I had a 35c coupon. Also, I bought Cold Water Tide–should help with the heating bill)
A pack of gum

And that’s it! I am so proud of myself. I spent less than $22, which is a record for me!

Just need to get this out there…

OK, confessional time–I am in the middle of a big project, namely having four rooms in my house painted, so I probably won’t be able to stick by my resolution to pay $1,000 this month to my credit cards. (Although I did find a painter who is doing the job at what I consider a bargain rate!) Just wanted to get that out there. I am gathering items to sell on eBay, so if I do well there, I may not do so badly with that resolution. And oh yeah, I am taking a vacation at the beginning of February, but that was all planned before I made my resolutions. (Again, it was a bargain and I paid cash for the flight and hotel. While I’m in Florida, I plan to watch my pennies–any ideas and hints??)

So it’s the 9th day into my new world order, and I haven’t used any of my cards!! Whoo hoo! And I made $83.25 today by taking my old clothes to a consignment shop–not too shabby.

Coming clean…

I talked to my sister tonight on the phone and told her about the blog. She knows I have a problem with credit cards, knows of my continuing struggles, and she asked for the grand total. When I told her we both started laughing. Because it is just so ridiculous. I mean, I’m in debt for almost $25,000!!!! How did it get this bad? Well, that is an analysis for another day–I do have some ideas.

Anyway, I guess the title of this post makes it sound like I’ve told everyone about my problem. Hell no!! My parents would absolutely kill me (which is why I remain anonymous), and I would be embarrassed if my coworkers and boss knew. I mean, I think most people perceive that I have it together. So right now, I’ve told my sister and a couple of close friends who can relate. Thanks to you guys for your support! I’m going to do this!!

The mall is my downfall

I know going forward that not buying any new clothes is going to be one of my biggest challenges. I LOVE new clothes. There’s nothing like a natty new outfit to boost your self-confidence. But I have plenty of clothes for now, so I’m swearing off any clothes buying until at least April, when I might refresh my wardrobe for spring with a few pieces. (Yes, maybe a few! I promise, just a few.) Anyway, I ventured to the mall today to return a sweater to J Crew that I bought last month and decided against. (A $42 credit to my J Crew account–sweet!) And of course, J Crew has all of their cute spring stuff out. At the front of the store I spied an adorable purse that would be perfect for my upcoming trip to Florida, but I walked right by it, got in line, made my return and walked out. Victory!  

I then spent an enjoyable afternoon at the movies watching Atonement. (Recommend! James McAvoy is beautiful!) And I saved a few bucks by seeing the matinee!

Me: 1. Mall: 0

A New Year’s resolution that I’m going to keep

We all know how New Year’s resolutions work out for most people. Everyone starts gung-ho and by the end of January all resolve has been thrown out the window. But getting my credit card debt paid down is a resolution that I HAVE to keep this year; otherwise, I’m going to be in really deep *&$@ if I continue down the path I’m on. You see, I added up all of my credit card debt a few days ago and was shocked at the grand total: $24,706.46. Holy crap!! I knew it was bad, but I had no idea it was that bad! So my hope is that working on this blog will keep me motivated. And you, dear reader, will be able to watch as my debt shrinks. I plan to share my struggles and victories, the ideas that I come up with to save a dollar, as well as post tallies of my debt as I work through my plan. Here are some rules I’m setting out for myself:

• Pay at least $1000 toward my debt per month.
• Cut all unnecessary spending (I’m not going to totally deprive myself, but I will cut out vacations, clothes shopping, most dining out and other things that I think I “have to have”).
• Search for creative ways to make or save money (sell stuff on eBay, participate in focus groups, do some freelance work, etc.).