Bienvenidos a three day blog. If you've just stumbled your way here or you arrived from a Google search (you know who you are), you may want to visit my about me page....and then subscribe to my RSS feed because, yes---I am that addictive.



Tuesday, July 31, 2007

debt and taxes

Speaking of debt...
One thing that my husband and I decided to do was to stop putting every available penny on the bills and give ourselves a little spending money. If my husband can come up with a different plan that we are both happy with, then I will let you know...until then...this is what we have. I love you papacito. It may be hard to do, but it could be the thing that can break the cycle of us charging more. It is the same as a diet. If you give yourself unrealistic goals and a stringent diet plan and never learn to eat healthfully, you may lose the weight but you will probably gain it back and possibly a little more. But if you take the sensible approach to eating, such as permanently eating the calories you need to sustain you at the weight you want to be at for the rest of your life, rather than a temporary low calorie level
to lose weight fast, it may take a lot longer to lose the weight but along the way you will learn permanent eating habits.
With money, if you work up a plan where you put all available money to your debt balance, then soon you will feel the effects of having no money to spend and you will rebel and end up charging more. What my plan consists of; is doing away with the grandiose plans of paying off my debt in a year, or some other unrealistic goal and paying just the minimum payment, as well as giving my husband and myself a little spending money. I bet my husband will feel more excited when I let that cool crisp George Washington cross his palm once a month...all his own to spend as he chooses. If ever there is any extra, then we can put it on debt. That way we can stop using our credit cards and start taking the slow and steady climb out of this mess. The side effect is, that we could actually learn to live within our means.

The problem today is that we have all learned to live in an instant gratification society.
we always hear:
Get rich now,
Lose weight now,
pay off debt now,

But I believe Slow and steady wins the race...crazy, huh?



11 comments:

  1. Trust me I have been there with debt. I had OVER $20K in credit cards ALONE in my early 20's...this doesn't include student loan, car payments, mortgage or any kind of big item. This was all credit card debt.

    I had to get THREE jobs to pay off everything. It was crazy, but somehow I was able to do it.

    Slow and steady DOES win the race, but keep in mind this is different when it comes to debt. The smaller your payments, the more money you pay because of accruing interest charges and this will make paying the debt off, take even longer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have to agree with what you said. I remember after college - with my loans - I felt beyond overwhelmed. All my money went to paying my bills and my loans... and I had no money to play with... so I started charging a few things. It never got out of control, but when I gave myself an "allowance" it made all the difference. I actually began to see money differently and ironically enough saved more!
    - Audrey
    Pinks & Blues Girls

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds very rational and realistic...I do agree with the fact that we have to be careful because of the interest we are accruing- but what you're saying is aside from that. And I'm the same way, if I can't at least cruise the Target clearance sections, or go out for ice cream every once in awhile, I'll just go nuts too, you have to live just a little, as long as you know you're doing the best you can.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I probably should have been a little more specific when I said slowwww.
    Not so slow that the interest will bite me in the a...well you know where. Right now I have low interest and am budgeted to exactly the amount that my husband makes, if he works 40 hours. The extra comes from any overtime he does. He regularly does about 32 hours of overtime a month...so hopefully the interest will not be too horrible. Not as if I was only ever paying the minimum with 20% or more with no extra amount put toward the balance... It can get so crazy.
    By the way congratulations bigloser on losing the debt as well!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm cheering you on! Persevere! I'm trying to learn for the future, seeing that now I still don't have this kind of problem. I hope everything will work out well for you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just skimmed through your whole blog - love it! =)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Why thnx! :-)

    Now that I think back on it...all that stressing over the debt and working like crazy had me at my thinest...go figure!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I totally agree with you and appreciate the dieting analogy. It's hard to keep plugging away when you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Allowing yourself the wiggle room to do some of the things you want makes it easier to stay on track. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks...I will keep you all up to date on the situation...as it changes.

    ReplyDelete
  10. don't worry, you'll see the light at the end of the tunnel...like everyone else has already said, you have to just keep plugging away. and you're right, too strict of a budget is just like too strict of a diet...bound to backfire.

    I feel your pain, I really do!

    ReplyDelete
  11. this sounds like a safe and reasonable plan honey. makes plenty of sense too. i've definitely expereinced the rebound effects of paying only bills and then getting sooo frustrated and blowing $100 in Lane Bryant (with a coupon of course, but still...)

    not even realizing it, i have made a small step myself this summer...i have packed and brought my lunch everyday for the past 2 months....and i can tell the difference in my pocket (waist too!) now, i need to apply my new found monies to something or than "treats for me"....need to brainstorm that.

    ReplyDelete

from the peanut gallery