I don't write in here everyday like I planned on. Sometimes it's difficult to find the motivation to focus my attention on the big picture when the day-to-day details force my focus toward the minute and distracting. It seems to be a constant struggle to find purpose in dealing with issues that sap my energy, rather than feed it.
It continues to be a roller coaster of events. Fortunately, I'm finding myself sticking to my guns about my goal to be out of debt, and am eagerly searching for opportunities to propel our situation in that direction. Still, life inevitably happens, and forces a step back once in a while. A test of strength, and determination, I suppose.
Some setbacks:
1. I got pulled over for a blinker problem and found that I didn't have car insurance. The fine is going to be $150. This is money that should be going to debt, and it isn't even going anywhere fun. Needless to say, I have insurance
2. This last weekend I got a terrible toothache that left me in pain and unable to sleep at all Sunday night. I made an emergency trip to the dentist to temporarily fix the issue.
3. The cloggers that originally signed up admitted that they were unable to pay right now. I don't have the heart to turn them away. Some of it is the hope that they will be able to pay soon, and some is feeling bad about turning someone away because of finances. So, instead of 3 new paying students, we have 1.
4. I called our RCI card, who refused to take our 30% interest rate down a little. Then, we got a letter in the mail saying that they've reduced our limit to $3000. I hate credit card companies.
Some blessings to offset the setbacks:
1. We got auto insurance for a great rate. We got 1 car insured for $44 per month. That includes FULL coverage and roadside assistance. Pretty sweet. This was through progressive, and we had it through American Family Insurance before. With them it was about $75 to insure one vehicle, AND we had basic liability and no roadside assistance.
2. The dentist we went to is a friend of the Tolmans. The work I had done should have cost $340 or so, but he gave us his discount, making our cost only $125. How great is that!? Also, he said we could work out a payment plan to take care of the rest of my teeth (they are really bad)
I felt very grateful to be lableled among the Tolman family! (Although he did give me a hard time about being the shortest, and a dancer instead of a basketball player :)
3. We made more money on the Idaho Rhythm merchandise than we thought we would. We sell t-shirts and other things with our name on it, and have them made from a local company, who marks things up and let's us keep some of the profit. Altogether, we probably took in over $300. This helped us put extra towards our debt for December.
Each day we move closer to our goal. Even though I feel the setbacks, and know that there is pressure, I feel positive in knowing that we are making great strides towards eliminating our debt.
My next steps:
1. Get the class over Christmas break finalized. Secure at least $150-$200 for it.
2. Goal between now and January 31: pay $700 towards the chase card
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
News
The hardest part of achieving a major goal is keeping up the drive when the adrenaline of starting is over. I think that's one of the reasons why major goals need to be broken up into edible chunks. It's a type of fuel to get passed one of the smaller goals that pushes you onto the next task.
I just sent 2 checks; one went to Living Scriptures for $87. The second check was written for $540 to NCO and is sent to them. They are paid off as well. Looking at our total amount owed based on the debt elimination page, here are the figures
Old amount owed: $20,346
Living scriptures: $375 - we closed the account without receiving any more videos.
NCO: $675 - we inaccurately estimated this one too high.
Total paid off: $1050
New amount owed: $19296
I know this isn't entirely accurate because we're still paying the minimum balances on the other debts, but maybe with the interest we're paying, it's close.
These first 2 debts came off a lot quicker than we were estimating. It's amazing to see the wheels start turning when you begin to put your mind to something.
The next debt isn't scheduled to be paid off until August. I'd like to see us pay it off before June. I also know that we need to factor in some other issues. For example, we need to get $1000 for an emergency fund. That may not be a bad idea to do, then, when we have $1000 left to be out of debt, we'll throw that into the mix.
I found out that the church is against hypnotism for recreation. I'm battling between my faith and being really disappointed. I get $600 per show, and was going to probably do upwards of 6 shows this season. That would have been $3600 this summer of money that I didn't count on. I was going to do it again this summer, and could have easily made enough to pay for our summer without clogging, and maybe make some headway on our debt. But, I want to be faithful in all things, so I know the Lord will open a door to help me keep my goal as I seek first the kingdom of God.
Last night, I got a call from my cousin Angie Ebeltoft who made mention about a possible opportunity running the snow cone stand for special events at the Idaho Center. She said we could make about $2500 a piece. I don't think it will happen, but it showed me at least that there are possible doors that could be opened that I didn't know about before.
I just sent 2 checks; one went to Living Scriptures for $87. The second check was written for $540 to NCO and is sent to them. They are paid off as well. Looking at our total amount owed based on the debt elimination page, here are the figures
Old amount owed: $20,346
Living scriptures: $375 - we closed the account without receiving any more videos.
NCO: $675 - we inaccurately estimated this one too high.
Total paid off: $1050
New amount owed: $19296
I know this isn't entirely accurate because we're still paying the minimum balances on the other debts, but maybe with the interest we're paying, it's close.
These first 2 debts came off a lot quicker than we were estimating. It's amazing to see the wheels start turning when you begin to put your mind to something.
The next debt isn't scheduled to be paid off until August. I'd like to see us pay it off before June. I also know that we need to factor in some other issues. For example, we need to get $1000 for an emergency fund. That may not be a bad idea to do, then, when we have $1000 left to be out of debt, we'll throw that into the mix.
I found out that the church is against hypnotism for recreation. I'm battling between my faith and being really disappointed. I get $600 per show, and was going to probably do upwards of 6 shows this season. That would have been $3600 this summer of money that I didn't count on. I was going to do it again this summer, and could have easily made enough to pay for our summer without clogging, and maybe make some headway on our debt. But, I want to be faithful in all things, so I know the Lord will open a door to help me keep my goal as I seek first the kingdom of God.
Last night, I got a call from my cousin Angie Ebeltoft who made mention about a possible opportunity running the snow cone stand for special events at the Idaho Center. She said we could make about $2500 a piece. I don't think it will happen, but it showed me at least that there are possible doors that could be opened that I didn't know about before.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
News News
We ended up taking the car in to get it fixed yesterday. The total will likely be over $300, which was a little frustrating, but we got fixed what HAD to be done right then, and spent $125 or so. I'm finding that my attitude about the unexpected expenses are not quite as devastating to me as they were before. The longer I linger on the money that is gone, the more I stew and worry about not making progress on this lofty goal.
We also bought Kara's elliptical machine that she has wanted for about as long as we've been married. It costs $250, but is worth about double that. She loves it, and I love that she loves it. It's worth the money.
Today, Kara did the budget and the forecast for the month of December. We should make a lot of progress on our debt this month. I'm grateful to Kara because we have the extra money that we could spend on Christmas, but instead she is willing to put it towards debt. I'm not certain how much we will be able to pay off, but according to the preliminary outcome, we may be able to pay off BOTH Living Scriptures, AND NCO, and have a little money to put towards the Chase Credit Card. This is fantastic news.
I found it interesting today to feel this progress we appear to be making.
When we hit a wall and realize that we are behind, my knee-jerk reaction is to become anxious and scared, and go to work (no matter what time of day it is) in order to try and make an extra couple bucks. I pull on the reigns of any talk of spending, and go into "how to fix this" mode.
Today, I had the opposite feelings, but those feelings made me want to do the same thing. I feel the weight getting a little lighter. I feel the pressure releasing a little, and I feel a lot of confidence that our goal to be out of debt is, in fact, realistic.
I still feel like going to work to try and make an extra couple bucks.
It motivates me to work to pay this debt down even faster.
It motivates me to hold off on things that I would LIKE to have in order to live well below my means and get my debt taken care of.
I'm grateful to Kara for taking this on as a goal as well. I know that she doesn't have the same anxiety about debt that I do, so I can tell she really cares about me when she is willing to sacrifice to make this goal happen.
Next 2 tasks:
#1 Plan a Christmas break ballroom or other dance class
(after hearing how we were doing and how excited I was about it, Kara gave the go-ahead to do this class over our break, even though I was sick for Thanksgiving break and we really didn't get to enjoy it).
#2 Call either Chase or Wells Fargo to see if we can negotiate the interest rate for a period of a few months to try and pay it off quicker in that amount of time.
We also bought Kara's elliptical machine that she has wanted for about as long as we've been married. It costs $250, but is worth about double that. She loves it, and I love that she loves it. It's worth the money.
Today, Kara did the budget and the forecast for the month of December. We should make a lot of progress on our debt this month. I'm grateful to Kara because we have the extra money that we could spend on Christmas, but instead she is willing to put it towards debt. I'm not certain how much we will be able to pay off, but according to the preliminary outcome, we may be able to pay off BOTH Living Scriptures, AND NCO, and have a little money to put towards the Chase Credit Card. This is fantastic news.
I found it interesting today to feel this progress we appear to be making.
When we hit a wall and realize that we are behind, my knee-jerk reaction is to become anxious and scared, and go to work (no matter what time of day it is) in order to try and make an extra couple bucks. I pull on the reigns of any talk of spending, and go into "how to fix this" mode.
Today, I had the opposite feelings, but those feelings made me want to do the same thing. I feel the weight getting a little lighter. I feel the pressure releasing a little, and I feel a lot of confidence that our goal to be out of debt is, in fact, realistic.
I still feel like going to work to try and make an extra couple bucks.
It motivates me to work to pay this debt down even faster.
It motivates me to hold off on things that I would LIKE to have in order to live well below my means and get my debt taken care of.
I'm grateful to Kara for taking this on as a goal as well. I know that she doesn't have the same anxiety about debt that I do, so I can tell she really cares about me when she is willing to sacrifice to make this goal happen.
Next 2 tasks:
#1 Plan a Christmas break ballroom or other dance class
(after hearing how we were doing and how excited I was about it, Kara gave the go-ahead to do this class over our break, even though I was sick for Thanksgiving break and we really didn't get to enjoy it).
#2 Call either Chase or Wells Fargo to see if we can negotiate the interest rate for a period of a few months to try and pay it off quicker in that amount of time.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
NCO
NCO is a debt collection agency, and each month our credit gets dinged because of this. A lesson I've learned is that the hospital will work with you financially, only if you take the necessary steps to work with them.
According to our sheet, I showed earlier, we owed $675. After calling them, I found out that we actually only owe, $540!
That's incredibly great news, especially in connection with our Living Scriptures news today.
So, refining the plan a little. If we are able to put an extra $400 towards debt this month, we should be able to pay off Living Scriptures with $313 left. If we put that towards the NCO account, we will only have $227 left, which we can pay off in January! That, again, puts us ahead of schedule for our goal.
Awesome!
According to our sheet, I showed earlier, we owed $675. After calling them, I found out that we actually only owe, $540!
That's incredibly great news, especially in connection with our Living Scriptures news today.
So, refining the plan a little. If we are able to put an extra $400 towards debt this month, we should be able to pay off Living Scriptures with $313 left. If we put that towards the NCO account, we will only have $227 left, which we can pay off in January! That, again, puts us ahead of schedule for our goal.
Awesome!
Living Scriptures Report
I just got off the phone with the Living Scriptures people, and got some really good news. Turns out that they gave us some options to pay off a lot quicker. We have 7 movies left coming to us, so if we pay 222.25, we'll get the rest of our movies, and have the account paid.
If we don't want to receive any more movies, all we have to do is pay $87 and the account will be marked as paid in full.
That's great news in our quest to get out of debt quickly. I'm thinking that I'll pay the $87 and get out of that, and move on to the next debt. Really good news today.
If we don't want to receive any more movies, all we have to do is pay $87 and the account will be marked as paid in full.
That's great news in our quest to get out of debt quickly. I'm thinking that I'll pay the $87 and get out of that, and move on to the next debt. Really good news today.
Grattitude
After losing the income of 4 students this week, my anxiety is building like crazy. I'm trying to do everything I can to stay on a spiritual plain with this goal to get out of debt. I am well aware that when a goal is set, 2 things happen. First, unforeseen opportunities arise that I would have never noticed before. I have already recognized this in the last 2 days. I count them as blessings, and little ounces of motivational blessings from Heavenly Father. Second, I am very aware that unforeseen obstacles also become very noticeable. Situations that are largely out of my control happen. The hardest part is that they may or may not happen anyway, but when I'm so focused on this ending goal, these things affect me a great deal more than when I'm just going through the motions.
I think both the positive and negative happenings can be used for a benefit. The negative is a test of my commitment and endurance. If I'm getting tossed to and fro on the 3rd day of a 13 month commitment, what does that say about my endurance and faith? There is no doubt that I need more faith. Excitement I have, but when that "sprint-like" adrenaline wears out (and there's no telling when it will), I'll need long-distance endurance.
One way to push through the moments of adversity is to find things to be grateful for. The family that just notified me that there girls would no longer be taking classes is the Castor family. Their situation is largely financial, but I can see there are a lot of emotional and health challenges in the family. Since we have known them for the last 2 years or so, the dad has had 2 brain tumors, and lost his job at least twice. They've almost lost their house, and have been on the verge of bankruptcy. Currently, I'm told they have no registration or insurance on their cars. The family has been through so much trial. LeAnn, the mother, told me today, that it's been a 3-year trial.
I've been sick for 2 weeks, and am just getting over the worst cough I've ever had. Yet, I still have a job, I am not running the risk of losing my home. I'm not behind on payments on any of my current debt. In fact, I'm in a position to throw an extra $400 or more every month toward debt. Will there be sacrificing? Yes. I may go without some things I really enjoy. But, I also feel like there's a blessing in having the option to say "no, I CHOOSE to go without and pay off debt." Rather than being forced to say no, and say no to basic necessities as well, and be desperately searching for a job to take care of my family.
I'm confident that if I can look for opportunity to build faith in whatever situation comes my way, whether good or bad, and NOT take anything for granted, I will not only get out of debt, but I will grow stronger as a person. My anxiety is gone for the moment. Thanks, Heavenly Father, for helping me through that.
I think both the positive and negative happenings can be used for a benefit. The negative is a test of my commitment and endurance. If I'm getting tossed to and fro on the 3rd day of a 13 month commitment, what does that say about my endurance and faith? There is no doubt that I need more faith. Excitement I have, but when that "sprint-like" adrenaline wears out (and there's no telling when it will), I'll need long-distance endurance.
One way to push through the moments of adversity is to find things to be grateful for. The family that just notified me that there girls would no longer be taking classes is the Castor family. Their situation is largely financial, but I can see there are a lot of emotional and health challenges in the family. Since we have known them for the last 2 years or so, the dad has had 2 brain tumors, and lost his job at least twice. They've almost lost their house, and have been on the verge of bankruptcy. Currently, I'm told they have no registration or insurance on their cars. The family has been through so much trial. LeAnn, the mother, told me today, that it's been a 3-year trial.
I've been sick for 2 weeks, and am just getting over the worst cough I've ever had. Yet, I still have a job, I am not running the risk of losing my home. I'm not behind on payments on any of my current debt. In fact, I'm in a position to throw an extra $400 or more every month toward debt. Will there be sacrificing? Yes. I may go without some things I really enjoy. But, I also feel like there's a blessing in having the option to say "no, I CHOOSE to go without and pay off debt." Rather than being forced to say no, and say no to basic necessities as well, and be desperately searching for a job to take care of my family.
I'm confident that if I can look for opportunity to build faith in whatever situation comes my way, whether good or bad, and NOT take anything for granted, I will not only get out of debt, but I will grow stronger as a person. My anxiety is gone for the moment. Thanks, Heavenly Father, for helping me through that.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
A thought from scripture about goals
I just read in Alma 58 where I have previously learned a leson about how to achieve goals. Something stood out to me that hadn't ever before. The Nephites desire and goal was to take over the city of Manti. They wanted to get started but were forced to wait at first due to a lack of resources. Because they were ptient, the eventually succeeded in their designs. Had their passion over run their faith in the Lord, they could have been destroyed.
Patience in the achievement of goals is necessary.
Patience in the achievement of goals is necessary.
From the beginning
On this 2nd day of december, I begin this quest to get out of debt.
Here's where we are as exact as I have information at this time. Essentially, we have $20,436 worth of debt right now, and will pay over $8,000 in interest by paying minimum payments. Also, we wouldn't be out of debt until August of 2024.
Now, the lofty goal.
I want to be completely out of credit card debt by December 31, 2010. If possible, I'd like to eliminate the Worldmark debt as well. I have 13 months to do this. I hate being in debt, and never have I wanted to get out of debt more than right now.
We are going to use debt stacking, and I'm going to work as much as I can to get things paid off quickly.
Goal #1: get Living Scriptures paid off by the end of December. As of November 1st, we owed $298.00.
My plan is to see if we can offer them less than that and get it paid off with some of the final payment down. I don't even care if we get all of our movies or not. I just want out of that! I will try and offer $150, if they will leave us alone, not send any more movies, and let it go. After that, I will try for $200 for them to not send us any more movies, and let it go. If not, I'll ask if they will offer us any deal for paying off, write them a check for $298 if I have to and we are one step closer! I will report on how it goes.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
My Quest begins...
On December 1st, I have implemented a plan to become debt free in 13 months. It doesn't matter how we got here except to learn from any mistakes for future prevention. Every day I will make it my focus to get out of debt, and to prevent the need of future debt.
I want to use this as a log of the journey, including all the ups and downs, unexpected fees and costs, as well as the unexpected extra income and positive things that take place.
-lost 2 students (barboza sisters)who paid $70 per month.
-spoke on the phone and set an appointment with 2 different parents from Becky's Dance company who will hopefully transfer over. They will be paying $80 per month
-contacted students who were behind on payments and got commitments from them to be caught up by the end of the month. Total to be paid $180
-Got a phone call from Christie Stevensen asking about possible classes during Christmas break. She has up to 8 kids interested in taking a couple of classes during Christmas break.
I feel a little overwhelmed about being so far in debt, but am confident that with determination and a lot of prayer, it is doable.
I want to use this as a log of the journey, including all the ups and downs, unexpected fees and costs, as well as the unexpected extra income and positive things that take place.
-lost 2 students (barboza sisters)who paid $70 per month.
-spoke on the phone and set an appointment with 2 different parents from Becky's Dance company who will hopefully transfer over. They will be paying $80 per month
-contacted students who were behind on payments and got commitments from them to be caught up by the end of the month. Total to be paid $180
-Got a phone call from Christie Stevensen asking about possible classes during Christmas break. She has up to 8 kids interested in taking a couple of classes during Christmas break.
I feel a little overwhelmed about being so far in debt, but am confident that with determination and a lot of prayer, it is doable.
Obstacles (expenses) and Opportunities (income)-
Dec 1st-
lost 2 sisters because they lost interest. The Barboza sisters left.
spoke on the phone with Robin Dunn whose daughter and friend danced with Becky's. They want to make the switch over.
Got an unexpected phone call from Christie Stevensen asking about some classes for Christmas break while her girls are in town. She has up to 8 kids interested, and maybe other neighbor kids as well.
Dec 2nd-
Vacuum cleaner broke, and the "check engine" light came on in the car. Kara bought a new vacuum for $50.
I found an anti virus program online that would have cost us $30, but I found one for free online.
Dec 3rd-
Lost income from 2 sisters. The Castor's dad lost his job again, so they will hopefully be continuing, but without paying.
Autumn Dunn, Mikey ?, and his little sister will take classes from us.
Dec 7th-
Paid $125 to fix car
Dec 8th-
Kara found an extra $600 this month that we get to put towards debt. We should be able to pay off Living Scriptures, NCO, and put some money down on the Chase card.
Paid $250 for Kara's elliptical
Dec 1st-
lost 2 sisters because they lost interest. The Barboza sisters left.
spoke on the phone with Robin Dunn whose daughter and friend danced with Becky's. They want to make the switch over.
Got an unexpected phone call from Christie Stevensen asking about some classes for Christmas break while her girls are in town. She has up to 8 kids interested, and maybe other neighbor kids as well.
Dec 2nd-
Vacuum cleaner broke, and the "check engine" light came on in the car. Kara bought a new vacuum for $50.
I found an anti virus program online that would have cost us $30, but I found one for free online.
Dec 3rd-
Lost income from 2 sisters. The Castor's dad lost his job again, so they will hopefully be continuing, but without paying.
Autumn Dunn, Mikey ?, and his little sister will take classes from us.
Dec 7th-
Paid $125 to fix car
Dec 8th-
Kara found an extra $600 this month that we get to put towards debt. We should be able to pay off Living Scriptures, NCO, and put some money down on the Chase card.
Paid $250 for Kara's elliptical
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