Be smart with finances.

I just paid off Credit Card #2! Now the only credit card I have left is my main card that I use periodically for purchases. The balance on that one right now is still about $200, because I have regular monthly charges on it (Netflix, the gym, etc.) that total about $80/month, plus I purchased something on behalf of a friend who is going to pay me back, so that’s about $120 of that amount.

Now I need to exercise DISCIPLINE so that I can stay out of debt, save up for a few big projects, and maybe start actually saving something towards retirement…

Bada-bing!

paid off all but about $60 of one card and all but about $200 shy of the other. I am waiting to get next month’s bill to pay the full balance, because there always seem to be charges pending or payments in process, so I want to be sure I’m not overpaying, and only paying the exact final amount. But I have the money to pay off the last bit.

So huzzah, pip pip, boom chicka wow wow, and yeeeeeeehawwwwww!

I was dumb.

That is all.

twice in the past two days. Once for something stupid, and once for something important. Well, the first one was not totally stupid (taking two friends out for dinner, both of whom were having a really hard time, neither of whom knew that the other person was also having a hard time!), but not the most necessary expense. I just wanted to do something nice to cheer them up, though I know I could have done something less expensive…! We did have a nice time, though!

The second thing I used it for was the emergency ladders, which I think is an OK credit card purchase. Cash is always better, but emergency ladders are very, very important.

but I was able to take a bit of extra time for lunch and decided to drive home instead. I made dreamworker’s tortang talong. It was yummy, and I was glad I saved the money.

because I was away from home longer than expected today and got sideswiped by low blood sugar…totally unexpected! But I had only eaten part of a banana and half a scone almost 5 hours prior, had been running around doing errands with TripleB, and was so hungry that I seriously could not think of anything else – I even started having a hot flash! So TripleB and I pulled into the nearest place to eat that looked cheap-ish (a wings joint), and I ordered a chicken sandwich and fries. It turned out not to be super cheap. :-/ I also got a small soda, which I don’t normally drink, but I really wanted the sugar while I waited for my food! The cold and the sugar helped, in fact I even got a little chilled.

So lunch was more expensive than I budgeted for the week, but necessary. I used to do a good job of keeping protein bars and peanuts or almonds in the car, but haven’t been doing that lately. I need to start again.

on my credit card. BUT I am trying to keep it within reason, and I should still be able to pay off those expenditures next month.

ZH, Mr. Peabody, and I went to find a Christmas tree for my living room today. We decided to go to a lot instead of cutting one down, since we were short on time. The first lot we went to was cleaned out, except for four forlorn looking trees in the corner. We debated in the car, and Mr. Peabody said, “Well, check the price, at least you have some comparison that way.” I got out and checked the tag – $15.99!!!!! I asked the lady at the outside stand if that was right, and she said, “Yes, last ones.” I went back to the car to report, and everyone leaped out to go examine the trees. I asked ZH if this was OK, since it didn’t seem very festive or exciting to be picking out trees out of four left standing in the corner of the parking lot near the dumpsters, but he said it was fine. We examined them, decided they weren’t bad after all, and I asked him to pick out which one he liked best. He picked the tallest one. It’s standing smack-dab in the middle of my living room now.

$15.99 for a Christmas tree – so it wasn’t a grand excursion, but considering trees can run $50, $75, or higher, I am stoked!

and it’s actually about $330 less than I thought! I’m down to about $450, which I hope to pay off in December. BUT…I may use my credit card for some Christmas purchases, but it won’t be more than I can pay off in January.

I am SO excited to be so close to paying off my second card! Then I will only have one left to pay down, and I should be able to do that quickly, I hope, barring unforseen circumstances. I DO want to fly out to see my extended family sometime soon…maybe I can get to the point where I can save up the cash first and then pay off the tickets from the credit card right away…that would be great!

my car registration and my brake repair on my credit card. Mr. Peabody was nice and paid half my brake repair. I don’t get any spousal or child support, but every once in a while he’ll pitch in for something like that, since he does make more than me. _{He’s not a total creep!}

So I was thinking that Credit Card #1 would be around $500 or less after my payment last month, but I forgot that I paid for those two things, plus a gift I had shipped to my goddaughter. So CC#1 is about $750 right now. And CC#2 is somewhere around $1,000. I read something in the mail today that said that the average American has about $16K in credit card debt (I’ve seen this figure online, too, though I did see one a while ago that said about $8K). Either way, the fact that mine is only $1700 makes me feel pretty good, though I want it to be $0! I’m getting closer, though…

I forgot to write that my refinance is completed!! It lowers my mortgage payment by about $200 every month, but I am still going to pay that $200/month (if not more), because it will take me something like $350/month extra in payments if I want to pay the mortgage off before I retire. It’s the only way I’ll be able to afford to retire…well…depending on the cost of health insurance…!