stop spending money

I have fallen off of this wagon and gotten back on so many times it feels like….sigh. However, things have been rocky lately with a trip to France (I received a grant but still had to come up with a lot of the money), a wedding I was in, and things are just out of whack. So I get paid this week and things should get much better—when they do I’m going back to CASH ONLY for purchases and banning myself from my credit cards and the stores where I am tempted to use them.

using my credit cards like there is no tomorrow is no longer an option.

I had a whole savings plan for the beginning of 2009 and so far, I have failed miserably. I have not put one cent into savings (other than the $2 that automatically transfer to my Wachovia savings account). I have gotten two paychecks so far in the month of January, and BOTH have been spent right away. SUCK!

But I’m saving a dog’s life, so do I get any credit?

Here’s to the next few months!

I created a Way2Save Savings Account at Wachovia. It adds a dollar to your savings from your checking every time you pay a bill or make a purchase using your check card. It’s not much, but it will definitely help me get started in the right direction.

I’m tempted to shred my credit cards…but they are just soooo helpful right now that…I’m very scared to.

But maybe in the near future I’ll add an entry about how I did it and how very, very painful it was. hehe

I went online to check my Discover Card balance and found a new tool they had, a Spending Analyzer. This could quite possibly be the best thing that has ever been created. At the same time, it is also the worst thing ever created. It calculates ALL of your spendings. All of them. And categorizes how you spent it.

In the past two years, I have spent over 15k just with my Discover Card. On what, you ask? I have no idea. However, I am known to consistently buy things for other people. I rarely ever buy things for myself. Gas. That’s about it. When I buy new clothes, I do it at the beginning of every year with the money and gift cards I got for Christmas. I don’t live extravagantly. I live at my grandma’s house with my mom and dad and pay them $200 a month for rent. The big things I have were gifts – laptop, dSLR, etc…

I just looked at my paycheck and this year alone I’ve made over 12k. Where did that money go? I have no idea. I mean, obviously, to pay my credit card bills (that I always pay off at the end of the month). But what’s on those bills? Ugh. This needs to stop.

After Christmas, I’m determined to save every other paycheck. Especially since in 2009, I will most likely be getting my own place, whether it be an apartment or a house. I’m hoping to have a roommate, and I’ll find out in April, but if not, I still need to move out. I need to be on my own. I need to start thriving. And I need to stop spending and START SAVING.

I need to find a hobby that will keep me busy and away from stores.
I don’t understand my need to spend money on stupid things. It’s all about “want” and not “need”. I don’t know if it is boredom or a superficial mood-lifter!! Anyone have suggestions or advice for me.
How can I tame the spending monster within. Should I seek counseling?

I signed up for a free account on mint.com…you link all your accounts (which for me was checking, savings, and my credit cards) and it monitors for you all in one place what your money is doing.

Now that I can look and see my negative net worth (yes, negative net worth, gosh that sounds icky), it’s easier to talk myself out of spending money that, in actuality I DON’T have because I have debt.

It just feels good to be facing my finances, good or bad, instead of pretending there isn’t a problem. So I already feel better even though I have a ways to go!

the only thing I’ve spent money on in the past two days is dog food (necessity) and paying bills (necessity)

last night we stayed in and had home cooked dinner! it was good and cheap cheap cheap!

I’ve just overdrawn my checking account because I didn’t want to check the balance because I didn’t want to see how low it was. Now it’s lower than low. If that’s not a lesson in the crippling capabilities of denial, I don’t know what is.

I’ve been terrible with money in the past and in the last couple of years have started to get my act together. I recently finished school and started new jobs, moved to a new apartment, and got a dog. I went from my low-paying, but still reliable reception job I had while in school to juggling three different new jobs with different salaries at each one (I work for non-profits…). I failed to set a budget from the get go and now I’m in a big big mess.

BUT I VOW today to straighten this out and not be back in this place again.

Can’t stop :)