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Barebones Journaling...
Hey Guys! Things are fine here. Surprisingly, with all the madness we've had going on around here, I'm still feeling much better than I did a few weeks ago. Let me break it down for ya....
First of all, I don't really like writing about financial issues. I just feel like finances are private and there are too many judgements that come from outsiders, family, and friends, when one finds themselves in a financial pickle. Hel and I have been fortunate over the past 4 years to get ourselves out of debt, pay our bills on time, build our savings, stop living paycheck-to-paycheck, and gain excellent credit. So we haven't had to deal with financial issues in a long time.
But then we built a house. It was our ultimate goal. This house is the reason we worked so hard. And everything was still going fairly well. But each month, I noticed that the amount of money we were spending was less than the amount of money we were putting into the bank. Not good, right?
Then we lost our renter for the old house. Ouch. Total kick to the head. They left in December. So I made that December mortgage payment, on top of our new mortgage payment, and we suddenly found ourselves eating Ramen for dinner. [Not really, but you know what I mean. LOL]
It happened really fast. And we still haven't found a new renter. But instead of sitting around and crying about it, we decided to be pro-active. So this is where I've been and what I've been doing.
1. Hel got a new motorcycle!! Now, normally this would sound like a pretty stupid thing to do when you're in financial trouble, but it's actually a downgrade. And I'm really proud of him for doing it. It's saving us about $60 a month on the note and TONS on the insurance because all he has to carry on it is liability. And he found an insurance company who gave him $141 insurance for a YEAR, as compared to the $1000 a year full-coverage insurance we were paying through State Farm. Massive savings. And since he really only drives the stupid thing twice a month, I feel fairly comfortable carrying only the liability insurance.
2. Since we were on the topic of insurance, I also made some changes to my own insurance policy -- lowered the roadside assistance, took out the rental reimbursement, raised all my deductables, and removed a few things we didn't even need. That'll save us around $400 a year. I'm also going to start paying the policy in full every six months, rather than paying it monthly. The insurance company charges a fee each month to do monthly payments. So I'll pay it out of my savings account and then make the usual monthly payment to my savings account each month instead. This way, those fees go into my pocket, not theirs.
3. We've also refinanced the balance on my car. We just switched the note from one of our credit unions to the other. It took a few phone calls and it will save us around $88.00 a month! It's also about 2% less on the interest rate, so I'll save nearly $4000.00 interest on the balance of the loan! And it will still be paid off at the same time. Sweeeet.
4. Lastly, just when you thought I couldn't possibly save anymore money, I'm changing our electricity company. We've had deregulation here for nearly 3 years, but I've always just gone with the original best-known electricity company. In Houston, that's Reliant Energy. But they charge top dollar for their electricity when you can go with one of the other companies for a major deduction in the price per kilowat. So I'm switching to Gexa. By my calculations, this should save us approximately $20-$30 dollars every month on our electricity bill. Smart!
On top of all this, I've been clipping coupons, shopping at a grocery store that has double and triple coupon days, making sure all the lights, TV's, and fans are off in the house when we're not using them, being careful about our water usage, and just making smarter financial decisions overall. I'm feeling good about it. I'm teaching the kids to be less wasteful. And hopefully next month our bills will be DRASTICALLY lower!!
We've also been postings ads everywhere in an attempt to find a new renter or buyer for the old house. That part still hurts. But we finally had a call this week and we show the house tomorrow -- so keep your fingers crossed!
Oy. Bet you didn't really want to read all that, huh? LOL
Oh!! There is one thing I forgot to mention. My computer is totally screwed. I was looking at a site one day a few weeks ago and a popup came on the screen. I didn't mean to, but I accidentally clicked on it, and it downloaded something nasty on my computer. Now it barely works. It's like a big fat expensive paperweight! ARGH. Jenn is gonna have to come down and fix it for me again, but I don't know when she'll be able to make it down. [Jenn????] In the meantime, I'm stuck with Hel's computer -- which has NONE of the programs I need. So that stinks, and it means I may have to do some barebones journaling for a while, but at least I can still get online here.
Anyway... blah, blah, blah. I have a lot to catch up on. Thanks to everyone who sent emails and snail-mail in my absence. I'm sorry for being away so long and I'm sorry I worried some of you. I miss you guys!! And I know I haven't felt up to commenting lately. But I will. Today. Promise. :)
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Damn I need you to take control of my finances! Smart girl!
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Boy...Great Work! Good luck with the new renter!
V -
It definitely sounds like you are on the right track with all those money-saving strategies. It's amazing how the little things can add up, too.... a dollar here, a dollar there, a cup of coffee here, a magazine there....for example I could cut the newspaper subscription and never miss it. As for the computer, maybe you need to run spyware protection...I've found that AOL spyware does basically nada, but that spybot works really well (I think you can download it for free)
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I personally hate money. If I had some, I might feel differently, but right now money sucks.
It's good that you have things worked out for the better right now though. That's always a sense of relief. Hopefully you'll get a renter soon, too, so that'll be one less stress for you!
Have a good one! Oh, and good luck with your computer situation. I know how much that one sucks...
-- Mallory
4/5/05 2:34 PM
The one thing you may not have thought of is Refinancing your current Mortgage's. The Rates are Great! You are Payment free for 1 month to 45 days depending on the Closing date.
There are great Loan Products out, Interest Only Loans, 3 Payment Option Loans.
As well as many others. I would love to look at Refinancing one or both of your homes. If you are interested call Jennifer Smith 615-758-3349 and we will find a Loan that is right for you and you can keep more of your money in your Pocket.
Email: Jenteam67@aol.com, Website: http://commort.net/jennifers/
I work out of Tennessee, I have lenders in most States, Call if I can help!
The Time is now before rates increase.