Working For Financial Freedom

Our Economic Stimulus Rebate Compromise

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Last Friday we joined the millions of Americans who have received money as part of the Economic Stimulus package. (If you are one of those who makes too much to qualify for the rebate, I truly am sorry. Ya’ll pay a bucketload of taxes and it just doesn’t seem right. We paid in more in taxes than the rebate we received, but not nearly as much as a couple who makes $175K+. Anyway, I digress. Back to our compromise.)

I’ve been getting really intense lately about paying off our debt. We never stopped paying on our debt but as the total amount gets smaller and smaller I’m getting more anxious to pay it off. I have been trying to put every extra cent towards the debt and get a thrill each time I get to adjust the number.

Which is why when the money for our rebate was deposited last Friday I couldn’t wait to throw it all on the mustang loan. I talked to my husband about my plan and got a little surprise. He has other plans and actually *gasp* wants to spend some of the money! So while we don’t have the same level of “gazelle intensity” when it comes to paying down this debt we have reached a compromise for now. Half of the rebate was put on the mustang loan this morning. In the meantime we will discuss plans on what to do with the other half.

Communication is key to a good marriage; and with that also comes compromise. Everyone can’t always have their way all the time.

Have you made any compromises with your spouse on financial-related issues?

Posted in Getting out of Debt | 1 Comment »

Wow- that was quick.

I sure wasn’t expecting the surprise I found in our bank account this morning.

So way back in February I had good intentions and started filling out our tax returns with Turbo Tax online. Stress, life and procrastination got in the way and I never actually finished and filed the returns until April 15th. Talk about last minute huh?! When I filed it the IRS website said to expect the federal refund about April 29th.

This morning I checked our bank account and we got our federal tax refund today and the state refund was deposited on Wednesday. Woohoo! Thanks IRS and NC Department of Revenue I love subtracting $1,793 from our debt total.

So if you waited until the last minute to file your returns and are expecting a refund, check your bank account. You might get an early surprise.

Posted in Our Debt Payoff Progress | No Comments »

Still Here…Still in Debt

I can’t believe it’s been over 2 months since I updated the little debt tracker on the right side of my blog. We’re still plodding along. At least the debt number is getting smaller.

On a personal note I’ve been silent recently because I just feel overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with the finances, the flu, moving, our DIY landscaping project, and all that cames with putting a house on the market. I’m all for doing things yourself to save some money; but sometimes, with work, family, and life it makes it really hard to get it all done. Thankfully, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Our yard work is done and the house is on the market.

I’m also disappointed. I had set a goal to have our debt paid off April 1st. That was 5 days ago and we still have $22,439.92 left. I think I may have been a little agressive in our goal to pay off $58,000+ in 12 months and maybe I should have left a little more wiggle room for life surprises.

So, do you want the bad news or good news first?

Bad news:

1. Husband’s bonus was half of what we expected it to be. His company’s growth has not met their goals so they cut everyone’s bonus. I’m SO thankful that we don’t depend on this bonus for our basic needs, but I had counted it when figuring out how soon we could be debt-free. A smaller bonus puts us back some.

2. Mustang still hasn’t sold. We need to get on the ball with this and get it re-listed and drop the price. Once this is sold it should reduce our debt by about 10k.

Good News!

Yeah! Now the good stuff..

1. Ranger was sold. This was a paid for beater vehicle that my husband has used forever. Kind of sad to see it go, the kids have loved riding around with my hubby in it. Now I’m just waiting on the check to be deposited so that I can put the $1,500 on our debt.

2. Yard is done! The retaining wall, plants and new sod are all in. We did it ourselves (or should I say that my husband did most of the work) and it looks fantastic.

3. House in on the market. It’s been about 2 1/2 weeks so far. Just getting it on the market was a huge hurdle, now we need to find a buyer.

4. The amount of debt we have is getting smaller each week.

Hmmm… now that I have it all written down the good really outweighs the bad doesn’t it? I think I should have done this sooner. I let myself get down because we weren’t going to meet our original goal. But we are in a much better position than we were a year ago, and for that, I AM THANKFUL.

Posted in Our Debt Payoff Progress | 8 Comments »

January 2008 In Review

I’m going to try something new this month. The blog is growing, and I owe it all to my readers; those who visit, read, share my content, comment and even subscribe to my feed. Many other personal finance bloggers give a monthly update and I thought I’d give it a try.

January 2008 Stats

I started out January 1st with 88 subscribers to my RSS feed. I ended the month with 119 .

Top Referring Sites-

A big thank-you to all the blogs out there that sent readers my way.

1. Fabulous Financials
2. Being Frugal
3. Single Guy Money
4. WiseBread
5. Moolanomy
6. PaidTwice
7. Need To Be Debt Free
8. Gather Little By Little
9. Millionaire Mommy Next Door
10. Debtfree-Revolution

Here are just a few of my favorites articles from the top referring sites to Working For Financial Freedom.

Credit Card Companies Want to Suck You Dry - Being Frugal

Glblguy answered my question with Why You Should Keep Your Money in Your 401k Plan

Sadly, something thousands of homeowners are learning the hard way through foreclosure - Pay off Credit Cards with a HELOC? from Debtfree-Revolution

Moolanomy shares 50+ Frugal Tips, Ideas and Resources. Now this is my kind of list-I love anything that has to do with spending less.

As if she’s reading my mind PaidTwice shares how Less Debt = More Freedom. We try and do the same thing here, as much as possible goes towards the debt.

Want to know how much of a tax rebate you might get? Fabulous Financials found this nifty little calculator. Keep in mind the Economic Stimulus Package is in the Senate now and still has to pass; so there is a good chance the $ amounts may change.

Millionaire Mommy Next Door tells us How I Stomach the Market’s Bumpy Ride

Bought diamonds recently? Get Your Piece of the Diamond Class Action Pie - Wisebread.

Considering Paying Off My Car Loan from SingleGuyMoney. I say go for it!

Need to Be Debt Free shares some frugal tips in Adjusting to Frugal Living.

Posted in Bloggy Business | 5 Comments »

The Reduce a Bill Challenge is Back!

I have to apologize profusely to ya’ll. After some discussion with previous participants of the challenge I felt it was best to take the month of December off due to Christmas. I thought we could all use a break since Christmas time can be a hard time just to even stay on budget, let alone try and reduce it. Well…December stretched into January and before I knew it the month was half way over. I’ve been up to my ears in moving boxes and mud from our backyard landscape project that the Reduce a Bill Challenge got pushed to the back of my mind.

So here it is February 1st and the Reduce a Bill Challenge is back.

• Read this to get the info on how it works.

• Leave a post with what you plan to reduce.

• I’ll have weekly check-ins to see how everyone is doing. Come share your progress, advice for others and get help if you are struggling.

What am I going to reduce this month?

Two things.

First, we just our most recent gas bill (natural gas heats our house and our water). It was $327!!! So my first goal is to be more aggressive with turning down the heat when we are not at home.

My second goal is to reduce our grocery bill. In November I totally blew it during the challenge. Not only did I not reduce our bill, I went over budget. About three weeks ago I got serious and switched completely to cash for groceries. So far it’s worked really well and I don’t have to worry about estimating how much we have left for groceries. A quick peek in my wallet let’s me know. I budget $100 a week, and I want to spend $95 a week this month. Which means next Friday on payday I will take out $190 cash instead of $200. I’ll have to get a little more creative to make sure the money lasts.

What about you? Want to join in? Leave a post and let us know what you will work on reducing this month. I’ll post a link to all the participants on the Reduce a Bill Challenge page.

Posted in Reduce a Bill Challenge | 8 Comments »