Challenging Debt

Style me Wednesday

2012-01-25T07:23:00.000-05:00

Love it Yes! Price point, not so much. But it's hot yo!

Source: store.apple.com via Shawn on Pinterest

Maybe if we get this debt paid off, I might buy myself this as a congrats gift.

Couponing Tuesday

2012-01-24T04:27:00.000-05:00

Here is a big haul done over several days at Walmart. First these bad boys went to $7.50 & $5.00. Then they went to $2.50 and $3.25 also $1.25 for the lipgloss for the kiddies. (Disclaimer 8 of the olays are my mommies. She needed last minute gifts to give).

Olay's
14 olays @ $2.50= $35*7% = $37.45
Secret / Gillette / Pantene bundle
$3.25*3=$9.75*7%=$10.43 (one purchased later. Not pictured)
Axe
3*$5=15*7%= $16.05
1*$7.50=7.50*7%= $8.03
1* $10.00= $10.00*7%= $10.70
Lip Gloss
$1.25*4= $5.00*7%= $5.35

Total OOP
$88.08

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21 Day challenge update

2012-01-23T04:51:00.000-05:00

Okay so here is where I am on 7000 steps a day progress:

01/16/2012 2518

01/17/2012 4158

01/18/2012 10184

01/19/2012 9573

01/20/2012 10067

01/21/2012 3759

If you are wondering how it is that I knocked so many steps out on the 18-20 it is because, that is the days I spent my lunch hour on the treadmill walking. The days I walk 2miles on my lunch hour I wind up doing more steps overall. So I pretty much failed all other days. However, the current challenge that is running at work has a 50K step goal between 01/17-01/23. I am on track to hit that goal for 150 bonus pts.

Style it Wednesday

2012-01-18T07:16:00.000-05:00

gazab by azulabril featuring platform high heels

Well since you see our debt numbers are sucky again. I am turning this into my wishful style Wednesday series.

Couponing Tuesday: How I do what I do?!

2012-01-17T06:17:00.000-05:00

How I do what I do?!

I learned to coupon quite a few years ago but, gave it up because, it was just me and I was only eating spaghetti or chili every night with an occasional Lipton Knorr or Zatarins for dinner. The Hubby knew that I knew how to coupon so one day after watching an "extreme" episode he decided to take it on. Well he would try and he would come back with only 40% or less saved. He couldn't figure out what he was doing wrong. So I told him that his first mistake was creating this huge baseball card binder. This takes too many hours to sort. His second mistake was that he was shopping from a list instead of the sales. So after much ignoring I went back to being the main shopper to show him how it was done (btw this was all a trick on his part to get me to do the couponing).

So I started out with the portable file with the labels for each weekend and coupons that matched that date within it. I used that method until we moved into our house. Our savings was so big that I would get greedy and want more and more coupons. Since we lived in the apartments the postman would drop off more coupons on Tuesday so I began dumpster diving for coupons on Tuesday and Wednesday (there were two trash cans right by our mailboxes and people would throw their unwanted mail into them). We racked up on coupons fast. When we moved I was already subscribed to 3 newspapers (I'm not saying that you need to do this, this is just how I do it). One of our mutual friends became interested in couponing and asked if I would talk to her about how I did it. I agreed and we went through my system as I will for you now:

Buy a couponing binder
Add sheet protectors
Buy tabs of some sort (I use removable tabs so that I can reuse them over and over again)
Buy a labeler (this is completely optional, I'm anal and love everything to be perfect and crisp)
Sort your coupons (if you have 2 or more papers, make sure that your coupons are arranged by type and pages are matched ad for ad.)
Tear the sheets apart unless you have a coupon that crosses both pages then leave the page in tact and fold one side back slightly to remind you that there are more coupons in the sleeve.
Place the sheets into your couponing binder page by page labeling the type and date at the beginning of each new insert (i.e. SS 01/15)
Buy dividers with pockets (for store coupon inserts that have awkward expiration dates and Proctor and Gamble insert that will expire after a month.)
Limit yourself to one to two stores to get you started (I shopped Publix and Kroger because, grocery stores are straight forward).
Only use coupons for what you currently eat/use and/or your family eats/use. There is no point to couponing just for a deal that winds up taking up space in your house and goes unused.
Use the couponing websites to decide which sales/store to shop (below the pictures are the one's I use because I live in the south).
If you don't like to be starred at like I don't then carry a small coupon holder to the store
If you don't like to lug loyalty cards around on your keychain or have trouble keeping up with them try key ring it is an app for your smartphone that holds all your cards for you. (Just take a picture of your barcode and label it & you are ready to rock) Hand the phone to the cashier and they can scan it with their handheld scanner (btw key ring just started offering e coupons that automatically load to your loyalty card).
If your store has an app that has coupons that you can load to your loyalty card, add it to your phone so you can load coupons on the go and have them in the store when you need them.
Print out the 2012 coupon schedule to know when to stock up on extra papers (I use this to know when I need to buy extras to get my husbands razors or if frozen vegetables are going on sale).
Beware of the Saturday Edition of the Sunday paper! The Saturday edition will not have the complete coupon selections stated on the couponing websites. (in Atlanta our say SS for the Atlanta Journal Constitution vs AJC evening edition you don't want the evening edition).

My Binder is so large
I cannot close it

Label your dates and types

I use a 3' which is 2 1 1/2" rings

I use these for my store coupon inserts and
P&G month long coupons

I label the small coupon holder for
the stores I shop in

I keep my loyalty cards in this holder
and take it in my purse so I always have it

Coupon Websites I use:

Southern Savers

Krazy Coupon Lady

I tend to use both coupon sites because, one site will always see an opportunity that the other site missed. The great thing about both of them is that they post the upcoming sales 2 or more days before they start. This way you can cut your coupons over the course of a couple days and just shop when the time comes. I usually clip mine the night before then hit the stores after work on my way home or on the weekends.

Oh, and back to the friend who wanted to learn to coupon. Well she has a great brain on her. She picked it up rather quickly and ran with it. I told her that my one couponing hurdle was the drugstores because, I didn't see how you could come out making money with them. She is the one who walked me through this deal. I wound up only paying $2.62 OOP and getting a $10 American Express Giftcard out of the deal. That girl can work a drugstore deal I tell ya.

Total OOP $2.62 after coupons
before coupons $31.31

Well that is all I have for now, I am sure I will think of more items to tell you all but, this should be enough to get you started.

21 day Challenge & Debt Repayment Plan

2012-01-16T01:27:00.000-05:00

Source: youtube.com via Kirsten on Pinteres t

I wanted to take this moment to recognize the King holiday.

We are currently winding down from an almost two week long visit with my stepdaughter. She is leaving and with that our vacation so back to reality we go. We lost our ever loving mind apparently this past week. Piled on much more debt. Yay! Definitely not gangsta. So here we go:

Chase Balance Transfer: $5,533.37

Haverty's: $3,091.69

Rooms to Go: $2,466.46

Chase expensive: $1,894.48

American express: $1,402.75

Chase PMO: $939.44

Pinnacle Visa: $45.77

Zales: $975.00

Pinnacle Visa: $45.77

Total $16,348.96

Sallie Mae 1: $40,478.26

Sallie Mae 2: $27,705.84

Volvo S40: $ $16,218.76

Total: $84,402.86

Total consumer debt: $100,751.82

Holy curse word! Whoo! Whoo! That is my first time adding everything up this year. Can't breathe must jump out window. Hyperventilating......

Okay now back to our regularly scheduled program. Yeah that sucks but, hey! Can't blame anyone but ourselves. Hubby has been paying for relatives bills this month unfortunately because they are struggling. But if we don't get our ish together we'll be in the same boat. Hubby is paying the Zales himself because that was my Christmas gift (No comment. I asked for an $18.99 pair of boots from sears and a $40 Harry Potter movie collection *smh*). This is why a monthly spending plan needs to be implemented!

***edit*** my husband got a glance at the balance and almost fell out of the chair. I think he is now motivated to get this cleared.

21 DAY CHALLENGE

My 21 day challenge is to walk 7000+ steps everyday until the end of the month. We have a competition at work to get people motivated to get fit so I need to get a move on. I said this year I'd take it seriously and so far I haven't. We've been doing this challenge since October and I haven't consistently walked over 7000 steps I keep falling short. So I am counting on y'all to hold me to it.

Goal Reveal Day

2012-01-12T02:31:00.000-05:00

I decided that instead of doing yearly goals, to do smaller more attainable goals.

Clean office/ craft room.I always get started but, stop and junk it back up so my goal for this time and this year is to keep it clean.

Set a time and day to meet with my husband weekly to go over debt and expenses. He needs to be included in what I am doing with the finances (I would like to set a budget for our household account as well as my fun money account so I bought this envelope system during the holiday)

Dave Ramsey's Envelope System

Reveal and execute 21 Day Challenge for January on 01/16 (to be updated). (I want to try at least one challenge a month to try to start to break me out of my funk).

Change car insurance to USAA (we are currently on separate policies, so we are combining now because my policy renews in February)
Change husband and stepdaughter's phone plan over to my plan (currently they are on his father's but, his father is leaving the country for an undetermined amount of time. He's going back to his home country and doesn't know if he wants to come back to the US)

Style it Wednesday: Style is what I need more of....

2012-01-11T01:02:00.000-05:00

Navy and Peridot by laura-meiers featuring bright colored shoes

If given the choice of wearing my clothes now and a new wardrobe. I would choose the new wardrobe. I have been exploring Pinterest which lead me to Polvore and I have been pinning the hades out of people's style ideas. Now I am interested in how to style clothes. I have lost my sense of style. I don't know where it went. Clothes became secondary to the debt. I guess that's why I didn't put much effort into my clothing. Now I want to buy some clothes that make me feel good. I don't want to feel like frumpalina any more. I want to apply my clothing budget to some nice pieces that make me feel better about myself.

Pleazer by kibernetika featuring platform shoes

A peek into my pantry

2012-01-10T08:18:00.000-05:00

Couponer skeptics look into my pantry and I will take you on a tour of my couponing. From the bottom up:

I have juices, oil, flour, sugar, lighters, and water.
I have tomatoes (sauces, diced and paste), condensed soups for meals, regular soups for quick meals, pineapples (ooh that's for Hawaiian chicken), corn (my husbands favorite), salad dressings and sauces of all varieties.
I have my Swiss Miss mocha, Oatmeal, broth, spaghetti sauces, rice mixes, pasta, noodles of all varieties.
Top Shelf: Yep that's candy. My husbands friend comes over often and he has a sweet tooth so I keep candy on hand, we have some taco bell quick meals for those in a pinch nights, pickles, and dog treats.

All of those things that I listed were bought using coupons. We've done pretty darn well if I do say so myself. I am a full time employee and I have time to coupon on the side. I say this to say that couponing isn't impossible. It is quite doable.

Our house in the middle of the street

2012-01-06T01:32:00.000-05:00

For those of you all who are interested. This is our house. It is only brick on the front and vinyl siding on the rest of the sides. Truthfully it is a five bedroom house but, we use one as my office. My husbands office cannot be classified as a bedroom because, it does not have a window. He is completely underground and that's the way he likes it.

Question Day

2012-01-05T01:37:00.000-05:00

How do you decide what is a good price to pay for something?

Couponing isn't as bad as others make it out to be

2012-01-03T03:30:00.000-05:00

Total OOP $2.62 after coupons
before coupons $31.31

Total OOP after coupons $26.77 before coupons
$49.04

People say that couponing is a waste of time. For those who say that I say bs. I am an advocate of couponing. There are arguments that you can't get healthy food or anything worth having couponing. Well let me tell you, all that Centrum is for my parents and the tissue is for me $2.15 out of pocket for it all when the original price of the Centrum was $9.99 each. I also received a $10 Amex for the purchase. I got paid to shop! How about the groceries, I got the milk for $1.50 I'm lactose intolerant, I got the Swiss Miss for $0.75 a box (they are mocha cappucino which is my favorite), the grinders were $0.45 each. The Kern's Nectar Juices were $0.30 and the flower was $0.80 a bag. The Wisk was $1.99. All of this was after coupon prices.

My eyes are wide open to couponing. It took me about 30 mins to prepare for the trip and we knocked everything out in under an hour. I love how much money we save. I have peaked my sister and her friends interest because, where else can you get free money with no strings attached other than coupons. I used to look down my nose at couponing but, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I am able to stock my household and my families pantry for pennies.

I see a lot of people buying those baseball card holders and dividers. Uh-uh! No! That will make you give up faster than anything. I do it the easy way. I will tell you about this in my next couponing post. I just want to let you all know that everyone can do this and don't let anyone dissuade you. If you are in need of extra cash, check out couponing.

Debt totals as of 12/31

2012-01-02T04:11:00.000-05:00

So here is where we are as of 12/31/2011

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Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself

2012-01-02T03:40:00.000-05:00

I actually took this on one of my bad days

Hi Readers,

DC here! I just wanted to let you all know what happened at the end of the year. At the end of the year I had given up on living period. I was going through a very rough time. I just didn't care anymore. I didn't care about my stockpiling. I didn't care about couponing. I didn't care about my finances (things got paid but, I just didn't care how or when). I didn't care about maintaining the house. I just gave up. I was kind of existing and not really living. I basically broke down and told my family that I gave up on life and I didn't want to live anymore. So, what I am doing this year is trying to get myself back together because, during the holidays I went from not spending anything to spending like crazy because, one of the issues is that I go from one extreme to the other. Yes, I've thought about therapy and it is still an option on the table. I was just waiting for my health care to renew because, I am financially strapped right now.

So this year I am trying to focus on getting me together as well as trying to get all my stuff back together that would be my/our:

finances
couponing
house (cleaning and budget)

The husband and I are working on spending more time together because, when we were in the apartment we were forced to be on top of each other because, of the limited space. Now we just go to our respective corners, my office is on one level and his is on another. So when we come home other than dinner we don't see each other. So we are trying to do more together and spend more time together so when I come home , I don't feel so alone.

I just wanted to let you all know what was going on in my life and to reintroduce myself to you all. Hello, I am D.C. my real name is Shawnna (Shun-na), my last name is unnecessary. One person knows my name before I was married because, I accidentally put it in my phone when I registered my e-mail so it went to them when I responded to their e-mail. That was not cool because it was my first smartphone and I didn't understand how it worked. I work with a veil of anonymity and I don't like everyone in all aspects of my business. You gotta have some privacy right? There is a blogger here (in metro Atlanta) that lays it all out there and I read her blog. I told my best friend (who reads it as well) that when I run into this lady in town I am going to tell her every creepy detail about her life with a smile on my face just to see if she realizes how much she is putting out there cause, she has no clue. I tell you all my secrets isn't that enough? Do you need every juicy detail about my life. Nah, I think a first name is enough :O). I'm 32 with two beautiful stepdaughters, a wonderful husband, and a spoiled rotten Shih Tzu. My husband has joint custody of 1 of his daughters so we spend quite a bit of money flying her here to be with us and keeping her entertained. The other he is not allowed to see at all but, that is a long story. I know when she turns 18 we will see a lot more of her so I don't worry. He speaks to her when her Mom allows her to but, that is about it. I have a wonderful support system here in my Mom's side of the family and my siblings. My father no longer lives in the metro area he moved away. I have a cousin who was raised as a Sister, my Mother and my Aunt were inseparable. Her Mother was my favorite Aunt in the whole wide world and it still sucks to this day to have lost her to cancer. So if you ask me how many siblings I have, I'll tell you three cause, I will move hell and earth if she needs me. I'm the baby in all this but, not spoiled like one. I didn't get my parents attention but, I did get things since I didn't qualify for their time.

I've been in debt now for what? Almost, 13 years, I'm tired of it. So this year my goal is to clear out the debt and go on cash. It is about $12K but hey, we are working with two incomes, bonuses, tax returns, raises, so hopefully we are moving forward from there. So yeah, that is where I am. For those of you all who have come back, welcome back. For those of you all who are new, welcome to my blog. Yeah. That's all I have, D.C. out

Happy New Year Everybody!

2012-01-01T03:31:00.000-05:00

So, It's a New Year and I told you all that I would be back. How you doing? I said I wouldn't make any goals but, some wonderful readers wanted to reason with me that goals are needed, and if I keep trying that one day I would succeed. So here it goes:

2012 Goals

Clear all credit card debt
Work on envelope system (bought Dave Ramsey's envelope kit $10 Christmas sale)
Furnish the house (family room, kitchen replace sink and stove, and dining room) in cash
Bring stepdaughter here 3 times this year
Host Christmas 2012
Try 21 day challenges to gain new experiences and perspectives

I have a larger list I am working on but, that will be discussed later. It is more detailed than this one and I am still fleshing it out. I have created goal pages for each section I'd like to work on i.e. financial, crafting, Christmas 2012 etc. So I will share some with you over the course of this month.

I need a bed

2011-12-22T08:16:00.000-05:00

The Shih Tzu that is. Right now he lays on a bunch of pillows on the floor in our bedroom. I am trying to find him one that I can throw in the washing machine when it gets dirty and plop it back down on the floor. It is taking me a while to find because, I am extremely price conscious on my purchases. My little spoiled rotten baby is giving me the evil eye because, he wants to be in bed, he used to sleep in bed with us at the old apartment and I am trying to break him of it now.

What I wore

2011-12-20T08:40:00.000-05:00

I went out on a night out with the girls and this is what I wore. I rarely dress up so I was excited to share. I am not by any means a small girl. I am almost 5' 10" so with heels I'm over six feet. Here I am wearing my Guess boots from DSW and carried my Louis Vutton Sistina MM bag (the gift from the in-laws (still hyperventilating)). One of my black shirts from a TJ Maxx run during the summer and my stretch pants from Arden B. I actually felt like somebody for a change. It's amazing what just taking a little time to dress up can do for your psyche.

Weak Christmas

2011-12-17T08:16:00.002-05:00

I have done some weak Christmas decorating this year. It was all that I could muster the strength to do. I am waiting for the after Christmas sells to go ballistic on decorations. I am going to have Christmas on crack in 2012. It still makes me smile to see the amount that I have done. My husband never had Christmas growing up so I do all the decorating. He gives gifts but, it doesn't mean the same to him as it means to me. I hope you all are having a great holiday season.

DC Out

Seriously wtf

2011-12-03T12:14:00.001-05:00

$67.68 for gas! I told my husband that I'd have to start stripping for gas money.

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So friggin sick

2011-12-01T16:03:00.001-05:00

I've been having a hard time family wise and healthwise. I am the type of person who doesn't like to talk about my feelings. It drives my husband crazy. I don't like to ask for help. You know the Jay-Z line "I'd rather tighten my belt than ask for help." That line epitomizes me. He is ready to blow! He says it annoys him to no end that I can't say what I think. I asked where it came from because, I was this way all the years we were dating and all the way up and through the marriage I have kept it consistent.

Anywho, I have a cold from hell! I was at work and speaking to my co-workers today when I had sharp pains in my lungs. I said to myself time to go. I grabbed my laptop and left my Boss a message that if he needed me, I'd be working from home and that is exactly what I am doing.

Finances, still out of control and I don't see them getting any better anytime soon. I've all but given up on it. I'm tired, tired of running on the treadmill. I don't want to think about money and be responsible for it anymore. I am tired. I'm thinking of scrapping this blog until next year. I'm tired. I don't want to talk about it. Blogging has become a chore that I avoid like the plague. Thinking about going over to my other blog and giving myself a break. I really need to get myself together and get a better perspective of this situation.

I have nothing more to say.

D.C. Out!!!! Hallah!

Next year will be better

2011-11-24T07:19:00.001-05:00

Does anyone else resolve to make next year better only to rinse and repeat at the end of next year? I look at my debt every year, figure out how to get out of it, and pay it halfway down only to run it back up during the summer. It's like people say, I have a debt threshold that once hit I panic and start throwing money like crazy at it. Then, when I become comfortable again I run the debt back up to that point. Rinse and repeat. I think, this year, I will resolve not to resolve. Anyone with me?

Thinking ahead

2011-11-16T01:03:00.000-05:00

As 2012 approaches, I have already started some planning of my goals for debt repayment.

Pay off Hubby's Chase PMO (pay me off) card by January 04, 2012 400.05 currently
Pay off Amex by February 3, 2012 $649.16 currently

This will bring us down to the mother lovers:

Chase which is $5,998.21 @ 1.99%
Hubby's Chase 1,806.71 @ 23.24%
Haverty's $3,419.31 @ 0.00%

The Chase card that I have done the balance transfer is at 1.99% until Feb 2013. So if I maintain a payment of $514.82 through October then I'm good.
Then I will refocus on the Haverty's. This one is 0% through 2013. If I continue to pay the $162.82 through to October and add the $514.82 at the end of 2012 then there will only be $50.19
due in 2013.
So that'll be two more down.

Hubby's Expense Card, aka Hubby's Chase is partially work expenses and the other his/our wasteful spending.

I think I will challenge him to a monthly budget showdown in 2012 to encourage him to join me in the debt repayment.

Sick

2011-11-14T14:41:00.001-05:00

I'm sick right now but, have a post I need to eek out. Will update as soon as I can

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Funny ish my family says

2011-11-10T06:53:00.000-05:00

So my sister was talking to my brother about his health. He told her that he has trouble breathing sometimes
She says, "Well maybe you should stop smoking?"
To which my brother replies , "No. No. That's not it."
He told her that the shortness of breath comes on suddenly.
She says, "well you know smoking can cause breathing problems."
He says, "No. No. That can't be it."

OMG! ROTFL! ****SMH***

Family, gotta love them.

To finance or not to finance

2011-11-07T20:13:00.000-05:00

PF Blogging that is. I am finding it hard to find the time to update my blog. Inspiration hits me while I am driving to work or getting ready in the morning. By the time I have a chance to sit down at the computer, it's gone. I just want to go through my google reader and mindlessly watch podcast about knitting. Yes, I knit. Debt is still being repaid and I hope to update my balances soon.