get my finances under control.

One credit card down! Now I can start putting that card’s payment towards another one.

::commence happy dance::

In a couple more months, one of my cards will be paid off. The smallest balance, but still…feels like a big accomplishment to me!

Made two Etsy sales today. So I’m $25 closer to my goal. Once I get my savings back up to $500, I’ll start putting any extra income towards bills. I won’t get everything paid off this year, but maybe next year. :)

Haven’t sold a thing yet, but at least it feels like I’m doing something! Added several more items today. And people heart my shop! People I don’t know, even! So maybe someday someone will buy something. :)

(Well, okay, MySpace…but nobody looks at my MySpace.)

_ahem

New stuff in Etsy! (And a few older items, repriced.)

http://nmb74.etsy.com

_{Whew…pimping over. Dinner time.}

(Though not all of it’s definite.) Finished proofing that article…enjoyed that more than I thought I would. And, as R was in Nashvegas at a concert and I was heating pad-bound, I made jewelry all weekend. (Probably still have beads in my couch cushions.) Going to upload the pics to Etsy, see if anyone bites. If so, well, these blisters weren’t for nothing. :) If not…meh, I had fun making it.

I’ve decided that, for the time being, all side project income will go straight to savings. So far, that’s about $66. But over time, it’ll add up. And I’d feel a lot better if I had at least $1000 in savings. (Right now, I’ve got less than $200.)

In fact, I may abandon it. What I do seem to be using is the supplementary spreadsheet, which details what I owe, how much I owe, and when/how I plan to pay it off. This gives me a better big-picture of my debts, if not how much I owe at any given moment. (And as I’ve knocked out two of the smaller ones in the past couple of months, it also gives me a greater sense of achievement.

What I haven’t tried, though, is downloading the spreadsheets from my bank to incorporate. I may do that next month.

However, by being very frugal, I’ve managed to build up my bank account a little. So the main objective (not go in the hole) has been accomplished. And there are still a few areas where I can cut expenses yet.

I think I may be okay. Eventually. :)

And already I can see that paying off the smaller balances first might not be the smartest way to go. Instead, I’m going to start with the ones with the highest finance charges.

More importantly, though, I’m going to stop my ostrich approach to my finances. (Throw payments at people and hope to god they don’t bounce…very mature.) I’ve already set up autoalerts with my bank, so I know how much I have at any given moment. Now it’s time to create a payoff plan.