I can't be all that hard on myself though as I have made progress on the clutter and last year took several truck loads of clothes, furniture, and toys to a women's shelther. In addition, although I haven't lost any more weight, I also haven't gained any either. My debt has increased, but I think I have figured out my triggers and I know when I am on a spending binge as I get that glazed over look of "I gotta have this now...and this...and this...oh and since I'm buying this, I might as well get this too." I know the feeling I get when I'm in that mode. I do it at the store and I do it shopping online. I must keep my debt balance in my head at all times and realize that there is no justification for buying the "wants" when I am paying interest in my purchases.
As for exercising, I suffered a foot injury in October 2009 and have not been able to run since. I am trying to do other exercises, but I find that I have let this foot injury get in the way of progress. It has become my excuse. I've seen a foot doctor, had cortisone injections, had orthotics made, I've searched the internet high and low for a cure and bought anything and everything I could find that I thought would help. And...some did, but when the pain is gone, I have the tendency to stop doing that the things that make the pain go away and then it of course returns. Consistency is key, which is something I have found I am not too fabulous at.
In regards to the debt, I recently had a rude awakening when I got last month's statement for one of my cards and discovered they raised my interest rate (balance transfer period ended) and I was now paying about $250 month in interest alone on that single card. Now granted, I do have a lot of debt, but a lot of it is at 0% or very low interest rates. My highest rate previously that I was paying on any card was 9.9%. Thus, the higher rate and higher interest charge sent me back to my spreadsheets trying to find a way to bring the $23K balance down on that card or transfer it out. I don't want to apply for new cards to transfer this to and I have a couple of options to transfer some of the debt out, but certainly cannot get rid of it entirely. Therefore, I was forced to face my demons and create a true budget to see where I stood. With the plan I've come up with, I should be able to eliminate $800 of outflow by the end of the year just by paying off some of my 0% accounts as these were purchases that need to be paid off by a certain date in order to avoid interest charges. On one, the end date is 03/2011, but I'll pay it off by 12/2010 and that gives me a little over $300 more a month to apply to other cards. Another is for a furniture purchase I made and have about 2 years to pay on, but would rather pay it off sooner than later as that is less I have to worry about. I've also decided that I am *gulp* going to get rid of my maid service. This worries me, but we'll see how it goes...it is more money towards the cards. There are a few other nickel and dime expenses that I'm doing away with as well. Hopefully, by year end, I will be sending that $800 to other cards and will see my debt slowly get eliminated.
One thing that disgusts me is the other day, my child pulled a bag out of my closet and found brand new makeup in the bag...this is expensive department store makeup that I just stuffed away and hadn't used. As I slowly unclutter, I hope to find more. I also look forward to throwing out some of the lotions and junk I have had for years and never used. I will make a weekly commitment to spend 1-2 hours getting rid of stuff.
I am also going to focus on getting up early every day again to work out. Time to get it together. Health, wealth, and clutter-free sanity are my priorities for the remainder of the year. Procrastination is in my rear view mirror.
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