Radio Winnings!

I've been lucky over the years to win free stuff from time to time on the radio. The items have varied from CD's to concert tickets to amusement park tickets, but normally it's nothing too expensive. It's always a treat though to win something and hear myself on the radio.

Last week I won a $125.00 gift card to a local nursery!

We just moved into our condo and our place could use some plants or something but I wasn't about to spend money on that. Now that we have the free gift card, it feels like this may be a good way to spruce things up a bit without us having to pay for it ourselves.

On the other hand... I've been considering selling the gift card online for a discounted price ($100?) and using those funds to pay down our debt. I'm still on the fence about it. I think the hubby and I will go check out the nursery later today and if nothing jumps out at us, we'll do just that. No sense in buying something we don't really like just to spend the money.

So, there it is, if we don't fall in love with anything, we're going to sell the gift card and use the cash for debt repayment. I'll let you all know what we end up doing! Enjoy the rest of this sunny Sunday afternoon. It's a beautiful one :)

It's Time for an Update...

Hi again! Why does it seem like time goes so fast as you get older? It seems like just yesterday that I posted "Happy 2014." That was two months ago, in March. I was so excited to get on here to share my news. Then I blinked and two months went by. Crazy!

Anyway, it's been an interesting ride since I last updated you guys. Here's what we've been up to - 

• May 2013 - My hubby went back to school to finish his bachelor's degree! It's an online program that takes up most of his free time, but by this time next year, I know we'll think it was all worth it.
• September 2013 - We added a new member to our family and rescued our first dog, Daisy! She's a beautiful black and white cockapoo. She is a very social dog with an old soul and a mean jealous streak. She loves to stare into our eyes until we acknowledge her presence and then she wants nothing to do with us. She's a lazy dog at heart and would lay for hours if she wasn't constantly interrupted (see below).
• December 2013 - We adopted a companion for Daisy, our second dog, Rosie. (Can you tell I love flowers?) She's a pretty cream colored maltipoo. She has an endless amount of energy, is obsessed with chasing her ball, and is extremely protective of her family. At the end of a long day of ball chasing and barking at strangers, she knows just how to come up and sit on your lap for cuddle time. 

• December 2013 - We put an offer in on our first home! It was a beautiful single family home with a large backyard for the dogs to run around until they collapse of exhaustion. It seemed like it would fit our needs and give us plenty of space.
• January 2014 - We rescinded our offer on that home after the inspection scared us off. Turns out it was a good decision. Although the house seemed great and was priced right, we were a bit concerned about committing to an hour commute each way for both of us.
• February 2014 - We found a great condo which was close to both of our jobs and put an offer in on it. It was quickly accepted! We needed to put all of our savings into it as the down payment (5%).
• March 2014 - We closed on our condo and moved in. Ahhhh, homeowners, finally! 
• May 2014 - I wake up and realize we've gotten ourselves back in the same mess were were in in 2010 when things first started. I finally sit down and write down our status so the recovery can begin. 

I try to always be the kind of gal that sees the glass half full. I'm pretty optimistic most of the time. But I must be an idiot to have gotten us back in this mess again. I'll be honest, it's hard to see the glass as half full right now. We took a major step backwards instead of forward. The only thing that's helping me stay positive is knowing that we now have the skills we need to fix this. The last time we were here, we didn't know where to start. 

I know some of you are curious about how we could end up here again. It's a combination of the cost of schooling, a trip back East to see family, and a bunch of other stupid decisions! At the end of the day it doesn't really matter "how" I guess, just that we're here.

Here's a breakdown of our current numbers. I included our investments, even though we're not fully vested yet in the 401k balances. 

Original Debt $60,555.72

Original Debt Paid Off $49,748.55

____________________________________

Current Debt as of 4/19/14 = $54,096

CC # 1 : $13,875 (Average 15% Interest Rate)

CC # 2 : $19,978 (4.99% Interest Rate)

CC # 3 : $1,020 (0% Interest Rate until 3/2015)

Car # 1 : $5,792

Car # 2 : $13,431

Investments = $33,919 (Not fully vested yet)

401K #1 : $6,000

401K #2 : $22,205

401K #3 : $5,073

Lending Club : $641

So, that's our update. I know some of you may have some choice words for us and our current situation. I'm fully expecting to hear them. This is the first step to our recovery and I'm happy to be taking it. 

Happy 2014!

Hey all!

I have soooo many things to update you on. I plan to provide an update in the next few days. I hope everyone who is still checking this site out is doing fine! I'm excited about 2014 and I look forward to sharing my news with you in the very near future.

Until then,
Take care!

Loaning Money through Lending Club!

My, how times have changed! I remember a few years back when I was contemplating different quick fixes to get out of debt. There were a few options I looked into at the time. One was a Discover Personal Loan. Another was a loan through Lending Club. After doing tons of reading, something hit me... getting more loans to get myself out of debt wasn't really fixing the problem.

I needed to change my ways and learn how to not spend more than I earn. Duh!

It took some time, some ups and downs, but I did it! We're now in a much better position financially. (Believe me, we're not rolling in dough or anything, but we're not drowning either - which is a very nice feeling.)

My hubby and I each get an allowance. I tend to use mine for a massage or a new outfit. He just started using his to invest in Lending Club. He loves the idea of helping people and also having the opportunity to earn a large interest rate. There is a bit of a gamble there, but he enjoys taking the risk and investing his extra spending money that way. Whatever rocks his boat!

Extra Money for Retirement!

(Photo Credit)

As you may know, I started a new job recently. I knew that the company matched 4% towards a 401K plan, if you put in 8%. So, I decided to contribute 8% so I could get the full company match.

Well... imagine my surprise when I noticed they were actually contributing a full 8% into my retirement account!

I thought it may be a mistake and waited until it happened again on my second paycheck, then I looked through all of my new hire paperwork and benefits information I was given and this wonderful extra payment isn't mentioned anywhere. Then I phoned our benefits department and got some more information.

It turns out that the company used to have a pension for employees and since they no longer offer that for new hires, they offer an additional 4% match which goes into the 401K plan. This was great news and a benefit that should have been mentioned somewhere as an extra recruiting perk that would have helped seal the deal.

So now instead of just 12% going in, I have a full 16% which brings me close to maxing out. I'll be fully vested in these employer contributions in 3 years. Just another incentive to stick around there at least 3 years  :-)

Our New Plan!

(Photo Credit)

I think it's important to have a plan.

We look at our plan from time to time and tweak it as needed. We've done this quite a bit since we started on our debt repayment journey, about 2.5 years ago now.

We've had some recent changes in our lives that made us decide to re-evaluate our plan... we finished paying off our credit card debt, bought a new car, and I started a new job which gave me a sign-on bonus. Our previous thoughts were to use the sign-on bonus to pay for the new car, then budget about 1k per month to have it paid off in full within a few months. We also planned on taking a few vacations this year, while saving up for a house.

Well, the new job has some uncertainties that make us feel a bit uneasy. There is talk of furloughs, layoffs and restructuring. Without having a safety net (aka - a good sized savings account) to fall back on if these things happen, my husband suggested we hold off on paying off the car and save the sign-on bonus instead.

I had a hard time seeing how this would be a good idea at first because whatever savings account we put the money into we would not get interest higher than we were paying for the car. After being focused on reducing or eliminating our interest payments for so long, I couldn't imagine willingly paying interest on something. Plus, when we got the car, we planned on it being paid off fast, so we didn't haggle for a super low rate. The dealership gave us 5.49%. They said this was the best they could offer since we were taking advantage of some other discounts they were having. We figured over the course of a few months, our interest payments really wouldn't add up to too much. But, if our plan was to now save the bonus and pay the car off slowly, then those interest payments would surely add up fast!

I knew that the only way I could get on board with slowly paying off the car, would be if we could get the interest rate lowered. Well my new company has a credit union which offers a much lower rate, 1.69% if you have an account with them. I decided to apply for the loan and was approved. This helped me get on board with the change in plan and to reduce our payments a bit.

So, we now have two car payments (gulp), but they are doable. We also now have a savings account. We have decided to reconsider the trips we we thinking of taking later this year. We want to be smart and be prepared in the event that something bad happens at work. This is progress for us. This is especially progress for my hubby. He's a guy that lives in the moment and figures "it will all work out somehow." For him to be the one pushing for us to have a safety net and be thinking of the "what if's" says a lot.

My, how far we've come!

No More Credit Card Debt!

This is how pumped up I feel right now!

I made the final payment to our no interest credit card today, since that expires in April. It felt A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! I can not believe we have no more credit card debt. Any charges we make are now paid in full each month. It's a great feeling.

I actually enjoy paying in cash more than charging stuff but since we get miles, we kind of enjoy going on free flights, so we find ourselves charging our gas and miscellaneous expenses and then just paying it off in full each month. It's sometimes scary to charge, thinking we may slip back in to a bad place, but we haven't. We have willpower, focus and commitment now. We didn't have those things a few years ago. My, what progress we've made!

Yes, we still have a car loan. Two to be accurate. I'll update more on those at a later time. We also have a savings account now. I still need to post the balance on here so I can visually see it growing and use that as motivation. I know I'm lacking with my updates, but I did want to get on here and let you guys know this big one! Today is a good day : )