stoked!

Looking at my budget for February, I think I'll have my baby emergency fund fully funded plus pay off two credit cards and make a pretty good dent in a third by the end of the month!!  Wooooohoo!  What an awesome start!

I'm so happy I decided to get working on this just as I was getting my 2009 taxes ready.  My tax returns will play a major role in the jump start I'm getting.

Working overtime is also playing a pretty big role.  I've missed having time and energy for the girls over the last few weeks, but my manager is looking into getting access to allow me to work from home.  That will be a big help and allow me to spend more time with the girlies rather than having to shuffle them to their dad or to babysitters when I need to work.  I really hope that works out as there looks to be quite a few more opportunities to work OT in the near future and OT is far easier to work out than trying to find a part-time job to supplement my income while I'm on this journey.

I had a bit of a reality check the other day.  I was talking to Gabe about the possibility of taking another east coast vacation this year.  We had talked about (and Gabe's aunt Sue had insisted) taking the girls with this time.  I thought it sounded like a great idea and was thinking my tax return would allow us to do that, but upon reflection I realized that taking our vacation last year landed me further in the hole and if I want to pay this debt off, I need to be making smart decisions about money all the time, not just when it feels good.  I called Gabe back and suggested that we consider going camping someplace relatively nearby instead.  He thought that sounded like a decent plan.  As much as I would love to take the girls to the beach this year, I know that they won't care if we wait a few years and they'll probably appreciate it more and have loads more fun when they're a little older.

Gabe is one reason that I've decided that now is the time to get rid of this debt.  We've been together for 10+ months, but we're both divorced and in no hurry to tie the knot again.  In the meantime, I want to put myself in a position to be be less of a financial burden if/when the time comes.  I already come with two extra mouths to feed so upkeep on this package deal isn't cheap.  I'd love to be in a position where I'm living, not just getting by.  My goal is $15k this year, but I would love to surpass that goal.  I'm making an effort to make sacrifices now so I can live better later.  My income would allow for a comfortable life if a third of it wasn't going toward debt payments.  I'm going to get there!

the approach

How do I keep it going?
I'm taking a few approaches to keep myself excited about paying off debt.  I want to stay focused so I'm trying to spend some time every day working on my finances in one way or another.  I look at my budget every time I recieve a bill to determine when it will be paid.  Because I'm in my first few months of using a budget, it is going to require some regular tweaking before I get it just right.  I am also listening to financially-focused podcasts on a daily basis to learn more and hear about the experiences that others are having paying off their debt.  Right now, I listen to The Dave Ramsey Show and Rebound.  I have also subscribed to MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com and am using the money tools there to help me in this process.  I'll blog more about that soon.

Why do I want to pay off my debt?
At this point, I spend about a third of my take-home pay on debt repayment.  That's ridiculous!  If I was able to save that money every month, I'd have the girls' college funds fully funded well before they were in high school.  I could afford to have them in preschool.  I could spend money on piano lessons.  And for me, I could contribute to a retirement fund and purchase stock at the company I work for.  I could buy new clothes when I lose weight.  I wouldn't be stressed out about how I'm going to pay for car repairs when they're needed.  And there is the fact that I hated going into my first marriage with debt.  I do intend to marry again someday and I don't want to bring financial baggage into the relationship.  I am currently dating an absolutely amazing man that has the desire and ability to be an entrepreneur.  Business ventures require capital.  I'd love to be a help rather than a hinderence in those ventures if we should end up marrying someday (and I hope we do <3).

Never Better

I'm totally winning at life.  I'm heading in the right direction for what feels like the first time ever. My kids are amazing. My boyfriend is incredible. My friends are fantastic. My job is challenging (in a good way). My family is great.  Things are good.

So these are my goals for this year:

1.  Make a $15k dent in my debt.

I've adopted an envelope system and am working with only cash. The only reason my check card will be out will be for buying gas (it's just WAY easier than taking the girls out of the car to go inside and pay then having to get them back in the car).  I'm working on ideas for supplementing my income to pay down my debt faster. My income would allow the girls and I do have lots of fun if so much of it wasn't being used to pay off things I did years ago.  And if/when I get remarried, I don't want to go into it with debt. This is a burden that I don't want anyone else to have to deal with.


2.  Take at least enough classes to use up my tuition reimbursement from work.

My job provides $2,500 per year in tuition reimbursement. I need to take advantage of that to inch my way toward a degree without ending up with more student loans (see goal #1). I'll be aiming for online classes still since I sitll need my time with the girlies. Being a bit of a nerd, online classes work pretty well for me.

3.  Work through the Gotham Writers' Workshop book with dad.

My dad gave me Gotham Writers' Workshop's Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School for Christmas. As much as I love to write, I haven't been particularly disciplined at making time for it. I want to work through this book and get back to writing. It might even help me get into the right mindset for taking classes. Part of the reason for this blog is to get me into the habit of writing something... anything.

So those are my goals. I'm not going to call them resolutions. I'm not even going to say that these are goals for 2010. They're things that I want to do. At this point, this is a private journal. I may open it up later if I feel like it's going somewhere.

So there.