Better2day

I started on my daughter’s room and worked on it for about 3 hours. Then I applied that same level of dedication to the other rooms and I got it done. I also gave alot of stuff to the thrift store. Since another goal is to get out of debt I’m sure it would have been better to have a yard sale but it would have been another reason for me to hoard the junk so away it went! :) I also have 2 cats so keeping everything orderly just makes everything flow a little better. I also created a list of all the annoying things that I have to fix around the house – least expensive to the most expensive. Once written down on a poster board and placed on my wall, the tasks don’t seem overwhelming. Heck, the first 4 cost less than $40! Besides, it feels good to get all that stuff out of your head. I have a poster board for my household things to do, a board reflecting all of my debt, a board for my need & want purchases (car radio is a want but termite inspection is a need, as is taking the indoor kitties to the vet for their shots) and a board for my dreams. Too much to keep between my ears and it helps me to decide what to do with that unexpected $50 :)

I’ve ordered a copy of my credit report and started with the smallest “outstanding” debt and started paying them off. I’ve done that with all of my outstanding bills and now I’m working to save the $1000 per Dave Ramsey’s plan so that I can get to the debt snowball. I’m having to learn to make line items for the things I want. It’s ok to purchase things but only the things that I save for and that I can afford. Whew! I swear accumulating this debt wasn’t that difficult.

Also, I’ve gotten all of the creditor’s out of my checking account. At one time I think I had about 4 pulling monthly payments out everytime I got paid :( I finally took control by saying that I no longer had a checking account; however, I continued to make timely payments. I also had to bite the bullet of buying money orders and although it’s inconveient, it’s more dignifying that someone implying that you cannot be trusted to pay your bills like an adult so they have to take it from you. Recently, I’ve eased out of the grasps of 2 “collection agencies” and started making payments to directly to my original creditors. It appears that companies have a pre-collection agency that handles things before they go to a real collection agency that posts an additional trade to your credit report.

I’m working on a defaulted student loan that I so graciously cosigned on for my daughter. Dumb really dumb but hey, some lessons are just a little more weighty than others. Of course, the company states they can only accept what would be equivalent to a new car note towards this debt so I’ve yet to come to an agreement with them. I’m thinking I’ll send them what I can, just in case they like to move forward legally so that I can show that I want to pay them I just can’t pay what they want.

I still have goals and dreams in additon to paying off debt but I’ll just have to save for them. I LOVE to learn so in addition to being in college to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management and Leadership, I’m also interested in other arenas like Ebooks, Singing, Learning to read music, Web design, Graphic Design and other self development type classes. I’m finding a good bit of free stuff online but the local college also offers online continuing education courses that last for 6 weeks and only cost $159 per course.

Anyway…Good times – Learning lessons – Loving Life!!

This time of year, I remember the disappointment I felt as a child not having the toys I wanted when Christmas came around but a scarf or hat donated by the church. Although it was what I “needed” it was far from what I wanted. Last night, I thought of how those feelings have affected how I overcompensate for those feelings by overspending on myself and others. Funny how self destructive we can be.