I am a certifiable right brainer. Numbers, figures, and budgets have never been my thing. I use my debit card to pay for everything, I toss receipts, and I can’t tell you the last time I sat down to balance my checkbook or double check my bank account. It goes without saying, the nitty gritty of finance is SO not. my. thing.
Perhaps that is how I find myself in a significant amount of debt. Nothing inescapable, but a formidable opponent nonetheless. Truth be told, much like every other college idiot, I signed on the line for my first credit card around the age of 19. My first “purchase” was a cash advance I took out to spot my boyfriend-at-the-time some much needed money he HAD to have in order to buy a sound system for his car. He borrowed it with the intent of paying me back, but when repayment was brought up down the road, became irate and claimed it was a “gift.” Ahh…the naivety and a—holeyness of youth. What splendor!
As time went on, I realize using plastic didn’t hurt the same way doling out cash from my measly paycheck did. Slowly it began to add up. Now I find myself, 10 years later, still carrying around the sins of those “carefree” youthful days. A tank of gas here, a new dress there. And I am more than ready to unload the burden I have been carrying (and shoving in the closet, on the shelf, anywhere I don’t have to think about it…) for way too long.
After doing some initial research on reducing debt, it seems all experts agree step #1 is to formulate a budget. While I may not be a numbers person, I am an excel person, and was pleased to discover that excel offers a variety of personal budget worksheets already configured to help you gauge your spending habits, and establish a functional budget. I chose an worksheet that has an “estimate” column, wherein I can estimate my “worst case” and then plug in the “actual” figures as the month progresses.
As part of this process, I have to train myself to be a receipt saver. I have decided to keep it simple, and threw an envelope in my purse. Receipts from any purchases between now and the month’s end, will be tossed in the envelope and ultimately entered into the spreadsheet.
I also ran a free credit report (www.annualcreditreport.com) on myself to see where I stand. I believe everyone is entitled to 1 free credit report check per year.
Additional resource (awesome debt to payoff calculator) at www.creditcardnation.com .
