One of my installments has finally been paid in full. Yey! That’s 1/3 of my payment budget freed. 2 – 3mos from now and I’ll be freed from the other installments also. I’m looking forward to it so I can start saving.
How to pay off my bills
How I did it: I got rid of/sold/cancelled anything that was not essential to my life (cable tv, house phone, excess yard watering, anything you can think of). Every dime I brought home, I ensured went to pay off bills. I put my student loans on hold (this is an a-ok thing to do, just contact your student loan holder) and used that extra money to knock out bills. I got rid of my car that I was making payments on and bought a little used car for $1200. My insurance dropped, the gas usage dropped, and the payments were elimintated, saving me almost $700 a month after all those expenses. Even that money, I put towards bills. Finally, its all paid off, and I can now FINALLY save my emergency fund, then turn the student loan payments back on. PHEW!!!
Lessons & tips: Reevaluate what is essential in your life. I decided to keep the internet and add netflix and instead cancel the tv subscription. Now I don't waste time watching regular useless shows and instead get to see movies that Ive been wanting to catch up on. oh, and save money!! I even bought dog clippers to groom my dogs myself (i have a zoo). ANYTHING that isnt essential is GONE. (If you have t-mobile, you can even add hotspot@ home for $10 a mo and your cell calls from home are unlimited!).
Resources: The hotspot@home from tmobile was a big money saver, allowed me to ditch the home line AND not worry about minutes used. Getting netflix definitely was a money saver and still gives me the satisfaction of looking forward to shows/movies. Calling my student loan servicer to put my student loans on hiatus definitely helped. Just re-evaluating what it was I needed in life, which I concluded was: Food, Shelter, Utilities :) If it didnt fall under one of those (ok netflix doesnt but hey its my only joy), then it needed to go, at least for now.
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KaliTime Camaralzman is drooling over Vladimir Kozlov. Hey, at least I'm honest...
After the realization that my bills had gone down significantly, the rest of them came back with a vengeance. My credit card payment is going to be late right in time for this lovely ‘credit card bill’ window we’re in.
I’ve been a good customer with very few late/overage fees over the years but even so, I was hoping not to test the waters of that particular quagmire until after everything had settled.
Yay, for the fact that my credit card company has a hardship program.
Boo, for the fact that I called a bit late for it to kick in this month meaning that I either need to scrape the minimum payment up [not likely] or suffer the consequences next month and onward until I can cover the payment.
Let this be a lesson to anyone out there who, like me, might be having financial difficulties. It’s worth calling the company well before the due date of your cards to see if you do qualify for one of those programs.
KaliTime Camaralzman is drooling over Vladimir Kozlov. Hey, at least I'm honest...
My debt is small now. So small. Less than 2,000.00USD. I’ve only got a few bills left and, if I can get in a few study referrals and sell a few more items, I’ll be able to go back to school.
I am happy. Doing that frugality goal last year really paid off. I not only saved money but I learned to really appreciate just what I did have going on that was salvageable.
With the help of the library and the sifted remains from my container soil, I’ll be growing mushrooms for cooking. Something told me not to throw it out and, a few days after I thought about what I was going to do with it, the idea of growing mushrooms came to me. Considering how much I’ll have by the time I finish sterilizing this soil and sifting it, I’ll have enough to double any mushroom kit I get, at the very least.
bigcitydreamer is studying for his finals
I currently owe $6000
I hope to pay them in the following order:
1. TD: $1000
2. MBNA: $2350
3. BMO: $2650
I have always been up to date with my credit card payments—that is, until I got my family a supplementary card. Now my sister has maxed almost maxed it out and I’m not sure when she’ll be able to pay off her share. I can’t even use the card anymore.
I have also availed installments on my other credit cards and I am diligently paying the amount I’m supposed to pay every month—except for last month I wasn’t able to pay the full amount but I will this month. I’ll finish paying off one of my installments in 3 months time and then I’ll be able to breathe a little better. 3 more installments to go…
LaReinaMargot este es el sitio de las metas del 2009
Siempre me pongo esta meta todos los años, pero realmente no la cumplo.
Este año quiero tener las dos tarjetas de crédito en blanco y tener dinero suficiente que me permita estar bien.
KaliTime Camaralzman is drooling over Vladimir Kozlov. Hey, at least I'm honest...
I’ve been paying them down. Even if it’s only ten to fifty dollars at a time, I’ve been throwing the money at them when I can spare it. I am determined to have one bill paid in full by the end of the year, hopefully.
I’m 22 and I’ve got 2 college loans. They are almost paid off. Both are under $300.00…
I got my license in Private Investigations and the other college I had to stop going to due to Hurricane Katrina.
I have a lot of credit cards. I have noticed that in the past, I got these cards because I didn’t have money and when I did, I would give my whole paycheck to the credit card companies in order to pay that bill off. That would leave me with no gas money, no money for food, or extra money PERIOD!
So now, I’m paying off on 6 credit cards and a loan that I took from the bank to pay on a credit card 2 years ago.
I have a payment plan and it’s working out great.
The last credit card I opened an account for was a Disney Visa card. My husband and I are leaving in November (one month away!!) to go on our Honeymoon that neither one of us could not afford in March of this year. So we finally planned our trip.
I am making payments of $180 on this card weekly!!! Knocking it out fast. I maxed it out on the airline, hotel, and the Disney tickets… Altogether it was $1300.00. I am pretty proud of myself.
NOW! All I need is some motivation that I will have all of my bills paid off by 9-9-09!!!
That’s my date!!! If not all, then I want my $1,200.00 loan knocked out and I’ll be taking care of the rest. I can do this. I have never had a late fee in my life. My credit score is AWESOME! And I’m doing pretty good.
I want to learn how to say NO to credit cards!! And I want to NEVER charge on one again.
If I don’t have it in the bank or in cash, then I don’t need to be out.
I’m working my butt off and have given up everything fun that I do. I know this is my priority.
Unfortunately.



