get out of debt

Just sent the final $90.00. They’ll receive it on the 15th…so on the 15th I will officially be debt free. WOOHOO!!

Now on to baby step 3: 3 to 6 months expenses in savings

Total = $590.00
Charged = ZERO
Paid = $500.00 (I wish I could have found the remaining $90 but I squeezed my budget til it bleed and $500 was the most I could put toward it.)

Emergency Fund = $425.00 (It was up to $795 but I just had to have new brakes put on my car.)

Effective on the first day of your billing cycle ending on or after 11/1/2008 (whether or not you received a billing statement), your Agreement is amended, as set forth below. These amendments apply to new transactions and existing balances on your Account.

The fixed rate of FINANCE CHARGE for your Default APR is a Daily Periodic Rate of 0.08490% (corresponding 30.99% ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE).

I just got this in the mail today. My APR right now is 15.99%. This is even more motivation for me to be out of debt by the end of September. I should call them and ask them if they’re smoking crack…I mean, why they’re raising it so high.

Total = $854.78
Charged = ZERO
Paid = $275.00

Emergency Fund = $495 (had to take Monti to the vet again and buy him a new carrier)

Total = $1,151.22
Charged = ZERO
Paid = $310.00

Emergency Fund = $666 (great number, huh?!?)

Total = $1,492.87
Charged = $0.00 (Yes, that’s zero! For the first time ever, I did not charge anything for one month! Cutting up my card was the best thing ever!)
Paid = $360.00

Emergency Fund = $800 (I need to use a few hundred to pay for Monti’s vet visits and medicine. So instead of having $1,000 by June I won’t have it until July.)

I finally did it! I cut up my card. I think I bled alittle. I was thinking about doing it last night but couldn’t get myself to make that first cut…then this morning I just went for it, hacked it all to pieces and now it’s in the trash.

I was figuring out that I’ve used it two times each month this year. The charges always equaled less than what I was sending them that month but by doing that I was just spinning my wheels. I want to be done with the debt and have an extra $300 a month to do whatever with (disperse it throughout my budget).

Total = $1,771.58
Charged = $162.72 (online shopping) I still suck!
Paid = $300.00

Emergency Fund = $600 (I should have this back to $1,000 by the end of June)

If I can control my spending/charging, I should be out of debt by the end of September.

Total = $1,882.76
Charged = $205.12 (Shoes, art and deferred billing clothes) I suck!
Paid = $300.00

Emergency Fund = $400 (must be $1,000)

The car needed repairs, $700.00 worth. Luckily I have my emergency fund so I was able to pay cash. It still hurt though. Now I must concentrate on building my emergency fund back up. I’m working on my budget now and I’m afraid I’ll have to send the credit card less for a few months. So I might not be able to make my “out of debt by August” goal anymore…unless I work tons of overtime which might be possible because I’m slammed at work right now. I’m going to try to squeeze my budget til it bleeds!!