Ah, the Storage Unit!
Posted by msunrullieone, Apr 23 2009, 09:26 PM
Still in Debt Warrior mode for the past two weeks. I started checking out my recurring bills on my credit card---$79.95 monthly for a storage building. After getting married almost 3 years ago, my husband and I consolidated households. Many of my prize belongings (junk) were relegated to the storage building to sort through when I had "time."
Well, time is money and that price is ridiculous! I'm embarrassed to say that I've been paying that since 2006 without even blinking. Nearly $1000 a year to household stuff I obviously haven't even missed. Feel free to hold me to it, but each weekend I plan on sorting through that money drain. By the end of May, I will no longer have that darn junk holder! Another $1000 I can apply towards my bills.
Magazine subscriptions?! You know the kind where you get the trial offer and then never get around to cancelling. Once again, automatically charged to the card. Like I even have the time to read them! Called and cancelled them after wading through numerous voice prompts to finally get a real person. Stayed strong through her scripted 'don't leave us' speech. But wait there's more.... if I chose not to cancel, I could get an introductory rate on yet another magazine. Harkening back to my adolescence, I resisted peer pressure by just saying "NO." (Hi Mom!) 
I'm kinda on a debt reduction roll here. I have to say that it is a good feeling. Kind of like the way I felt with an instant approval on a credit application in days gone by. Only better!
I could use some motivation on this storage thing--besides the savings, it gets too hot here in the summer. If I dont get it done soon, I'll lose another six months of rent. Bueller?
The never-ending saga of the Debt Warrior
Posted by msunrullieone, Apr 11 2009, 12:59 PM
I'm still in 'debt warrior' mode this month. With the last paycheck, I've paid off two more bills! It is a very liberating feeling to see the Zero balance on a statement. It's not easy to pay these things off, little and big temptations crop up along the way. We recently received a phone call from a cruise line we usually travel with offering incredibly low rates. I came so close to saying "yes" and charge it to my card on-file.
Wait a minute! My card on-file? Wow, they sure make it easy to rack up debt, don't they?! I really love to go on cruises, really, really. About a week after we said "no", we received an email that the cruiseline had scaled back the returning cruise members loyalty program. I understand the economy is bad, but to cut back on the ones who are loyal? I could rant and rave about that all day.......
But, on second thought, we didn't book the most recent cruise, so maybe no ranting allowed.
So many people are suffering, I wonder if talking about cruises is even PC? I just wonder though, if everyone saves for a rainy day, how will businesses stay 'afloat' and retain their employees? Confusing world. 
Budget-Schmudget!
Posted by msunrullieone, Mar 20 2009, 01:00 PM
I'm continuing to work hard to be debt free. Sticking to a budget has been difficult for me at times. I hate writing everything down, but it has helped me see all the little expenses that add up! I never was one for the $4 latte, so I can't cut that one out. Ever notice how the latte is always picked on though?
One of my major expenses I have totally eliminated is classroom supplies. As a teacher, I routinely bought many items for my students. I worked in a school with a high poverty level and felt compelled to furnish the much-needed supplies out-of-pocket. A colleague of mine told me years ago that any money I spent on the kids was just money taken away from my own family. I found her attitude so shocking at the time, but now I can see her point. I'll make do with what I currently have--thankfully, I've been teaching for awhile so I've accumulated some materials. The rest, we'll try to be creative and figure out a way. I've tried the teacher donation site, but find it hard to compete with some of the more exotic requests. I'm just talking some paper, velcro, and printer ink here. I'll save the 'life-like rain forest' concept for another year, for Pete's sake!
Restaurants became my next plan of action. I gave up fast food for Lent and have really noticed a difference in both money saved and my health. My husband and I used to dine out once or twice a week--we've cut that down to once a month. We're saving about $200 a month on that alone.
We seldom go to the movies anymore. There really isn't much out there I want to see anyways. Waiting for it to come out on Netflix hasn't been that difficult.
I probably should give up my monthly massage membership at 39.99, but......
Regaining Control of my Life
Posted by msunrullieone, Mar 8 2009, 12:31 PM
I think the key to improving your credit situation is becoming proactive. The economy sucks right now and bad things happen to good people. No getting around that. I spent so much time freaking out about my finances, because I didn't have a PLAN! CB is a great place to learn about your rights, talk with others, and most importantly, move forward with your life.
I found that baby steps worked for me. I read and read some more. When I wasn't sure about something, I asked. It wasn't a quick fix, and it wasn't easy. My brother hired some company to "fix" his credit, he ended up just being out more money and worse off than he started! I directed him to this site about three years ago--he's doing much better now.
My credit score when I started this journey was in the high 400s--woo hoo! 
I had approximately 26 baddies and drum roll exactly one goodie. I now have all positives on my credit report and score is mid 700s.
One of the aspects of credit repair I wish to discuss is the feeling of relief in knowing that bad credit does not control my life anymore. One caveat: Once I started to receive offers in the mail a few years ago, I fell for them hook, line and sinker! I loved the instant approvals and CLIs. After struggling for so long, I felt validated when I could get the AE and the Discover. Wow, even a pre-approval for the AmEx Platinum popped up one day when I was checking my AmEx Green. Those were the days. I didn't accept the offer though. Being a special ed teacher is not exactly conducive to the 'jet set' lifestyle they seemed to be marketing with the card. Airport Concierge club?? WTH? Lived without it for this long, probably can go a little longer.
So...despite knowing better, I racked up some serious debt on some of my cards. I've been paying them off for about the past year. Being on a budget kinda stinks, but it is helping me to become debt free. Jobwise seems ok, but that could change at anytime. My husband has his military retirement pay which really helps. Hopefully, that will stick around.
What I've noticed now is a decrease in my credit lines which is affecting my overall utilization which in turn, affects my FICO score. I had to laugh at a letter I got from Citi recently. Something to the effect of ...in order to help you manage your finances better, we are decreasing your credit line from 17,000 to 8,000. This account has had a 0 balance for a few months, but seriously, they're helping me manage my finances better by cutting my line?? Citi: Pot, meet kettle.
So then
Posted by msunrullieone, Feb 15 2009, 08:31 PM
I was going along with bad credit, but I didn't really know how much it would affect me. I was catching up with some bills and making payment "arrangements" with JDB just to get them to quit calling me!
I then got injured on the job--turned out to be quite severely. Even though I was "employee of the month" in May, I was fired in June. Such timing, conveniently after the doctor had said I would be out of work 'indefinitely' due to the injury. That was when I really started to freak out! Workers comp was paying me 70% of my already meager income and the company was fighting that every step of the way. Jerks! I still had to pay child care in order to go to my daily physical therapy sessions. No child support and nearest family was 1200 miles away. None of this is meant to be a pity party for me, as it is was it is. But....you can work yourself back up if you want it badly enough.
As my bills began to pile up and my payment "arrangements" began to fall apart, I decided to get on the internet and see what I could find out about my options. I remember crying myself to sleep over one especially cruel call. When I told the collections agent that I was injured and could not work, he literally told me to get a mattress and strap it to my back and lay on a corner. Bastard!
I found CB and started exercising my rights. Instead of being the victim, I began to feel empowered. Becoming assertive about your situation in life, no matter what the current circumstances, is the only way to go for me. The worrying and despair doesn't solve anything. My grandmother gave me some good advice about worrying. She told me to take all of my problems and worry about them 10 minutes per day. Once the 10 minutes was up, no more worrying was allowed. After awhile, I felt kinda silly going to the "worry chair", so I learned to stop the needless drama.
Wow, I'm finally here!
Posted by msunrullieone, Feb 1 2009, 05:36 PM
A little background info on me: I found CB over 5 years ago now. Seems hard to believe. At the time, I was drowning in past due bills and collection calls. I was getting verbally abused by the collectors and was sinking into depression. In retrospect, I was also way too deep into the self-pity. See, it was not my fault that I got behind in my bills. I was hit by an uninsured drunk driver and was out of work for weeks--which in turn caused me to become behind in my bills. Mustering up all the righteous indignation I could summon, this drunk driver became my scapegoat. If it weren't for him, everything would have been fine in my 'credit' life. Or would it?
Looking back on it now, I wasn't very responsible with my credit, and I certainly wasn't proactive in managing my finances. I was like Scarlett O'hara (or maybe Annie?), I'll think about it tomorrow. I paid the minimum payment on-time, if I remembered. If it was a week or so late, oh well, at least it was paid. I was setting myself up for a financial disaster waiting to happen. Then, it did happen.
on Ah, the Storage Unit!