Financial Challenges Support Group
This community is for people who are struggling to meet financial obligations of any kind. Financial challenges include everything from the day-to-day challenges of making ends meet to managing credit card debt to bankruptcy. Get support from others who are going through similar obstacles on the road back to financial stability.
Well it's June 21st... the longest day of the year. Starting tomorrow the days start getting a little shorter. And that to me means my journey across the pond is halfway here. Plans and savings will now start coming together.
This is the time of the year, I do spend some money on me. First was the dentist and getting work that started two years ago finally finished. Cost this year was $320. I will wait on eye glasses. I'll get them next year.
It is also the only time that I invest in some new clothes. For the next four months I'll be window shopping for some new slacks... I haven't gotten new ones in two years. And those ones I'll start wearing to work. I will also look for some new shoes. I have hiker boots that I love and am quite comfortable in but I want to look for a pair of lounging shoes... easy walking shoes. A perfect shoe for airports.
What I have now are the perfect shoe. They are earth shoes, which are over 20 years old and still fit great and are sooooo soooo comfy. If I don't find that perfect shoe, that's no problem. And some new shirts and maybe a sweater. I started this purchasing journey this past week with new socks and underwear.
I might also purchase a new suitcase. Airports are hard on luggage. The one I use now is the only one I have ever used and after four years it is starting to show the wear and tear of travel. I just fear of it coming out of the airplane in a million pieces.
Been pricing tickets since the first of the year. The flight I used to take from Lincoln, Nebraska to Chicago and then to Manchester, UK has went up in price dramatically. $2,700. I like the idea of just changing planes once but that price is getting a bit to high for me. So I started looking at two stop flights, when out of the blue a new flight started at the Lincoln airport. It goes to Atlanta. So this year, I'll fly from Lincoln to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Manchester. Cost? $1,200. Less then half price of the other flight. This will be purchased July 4th weekend. I'll use my Orbitz CC and get another 6% off the cost and then pay the credit card off the next week. Money for the trip has been sitting patiently in a savings account waiting for this day.
I budget $500 for the airport layovers. This money is for food, drinks, magazines and odd stuff and also for emergencies. One year because of weather I got stranded at an airport, so instead of staying there, I got a hotel and got some needed rest that I would not have gotten in an airport.
I will take $2,500 with me on the trip and if more money is needed, I will have two paychecks directly deposited into my checking account which I can use my debit card to get. That account also has $2,000 hidden in it by rounding up my checks and rounding down my deposits as well as charging myself $25 to have the luxury of this account. It has taken three plus years to get this amount in the account but it is so nice knowing it is there. I will also have three major CC's with no balance on any of them. These are for extreme emergencies.
So far, everything that I've been budgeting for is coming together. Roughly five more months to put the final touches on it all... which means paying two months rent in December before I leave and at least two months on the electric bill. Rent insurance needs to be paid in late November and then the only bill I'll need to worry about is the cell phone, which I'll need to set up for international calling.
Starting to taste the salt air of Great Britain.... *happy dance*
This is the time of the year, I do spend some money on me. First was the dentist and getting work that started two years ago finally finished. Cost this year was $320. I will wait on eye glasses. I'll get them next year.
It is also the only time that I invest in some new clothes. For the next four months I'll be window shopping for some new slacks... I haven't gotten new ones in two years. And those ones I'll start wearing to work. I will also look for some new shoes. I have hiker boots that I love and am quite comfortable in but I want to look for a pair of lounging shoes... easy walking shoes. A perfect shoe for airports.
What I have now are the perfect shoe. They are earth shoes, which are over 20 years old and still fit great and are sooooo soooo comfy. If I don't find that perfect shoe, that's no problem. And some new shirts and maybe a sweater. I started this purchasing journey this past week with new socks and underwear.
I might also purchase a new suitcase. Airports are hard on luggage. The one I use now is the only one I have ever used and after four years it is starting to show the wear and tear of travel. I just fear of it coming out of the airplane in a million pieces.
Been pricing tickets since the first of the year. The flight I used to take from Lincoln, Nebraska to Chicago and then to Manchester, UK has went up in price dramatically. $2,700. I like the idea of just changing planes once but that price is getting a bit to high for me. So I started looking at two stop flights, when out of the blue a new flight started at the Lincoln airport. It goes to Atlanta. So this year, I'll fly from Lincoln to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Manchester. Cost? $1,200. Less then half price of the other flight. This will be purchased July 4th weekend. I'll use my Orbitz CC and get another 6% off the cost and then pay the credit card off the next week. Money for the trip has been sitting patiently in a savings account waiting for this day.
I budget $500 for the airport layovers. This money is for food, drinks, magazines and odd stuff and also for emergencies. One year because of weather I got stranded at an airport, so instead of staying there, I got a hotel and got some needed rest that I would not have gotten in an airport.
I will take $2,500 with me on the trip and if more money is needed, I will have two paychecks directly deposited into my checking account which I can use my debit card to get. That account also has $2,000 hidden in it by rounding up my checks and rounding down my deposits as well as charging myself $25 to have the luxury of this account. It has taken three plus years to get this amount in the account but it is so nice knowing it is there. I will also have three major CC's with no balance on any of them. These are for extreme emergencies.
So far, everything that I've been budgeting for is coming together. Roughly five more months to put the final touches on it all... which means paying two months rent in December before I leave and at least two months on the electric bill. Rent insurance needs to be paid in late November and then the only bill I'll need to worry about is the cell phone, which I'll need to set up for international calling.
Starting to taste the salt air of Great Britain.... *happy dance*
-
-
Can you identify these rom-coms from just a screenshot from the middle of the films? This is a multiple choice quiz so even if you're not entirely sure you can always take a guess and at least have a 25% chance of getting it right anyway, so why not have a go?! https://www.buzzfeed.com/alysaurus688/rom-com-screenshot-trivia-quiz
but I did like the Earth shoes...those have the reclining heels and they were nice....but I have not seen those in many years on sale anywhere....I bought my most recent shoes from a store a friend of mine in program owns and the shoes I bought are nice comfortable shoes but cost was around $140 pair...I got two one brown one black...for work....now I no longer work except my own business...so these are everyday shoes....I have some dress shoes that are nicer leather look shoes but one pair hurts when I walk and the other I just rarely wear....and a nice pair of boat style shoes and some flip flops...
anyway clothing shopping is no big deal...I just paid off today my suit that I bought to take to Uncles memorial service at Macys....walked into store and wrote the final check...the online check needed to be adjusted when I got home because I did not know exact change on the $111 bill that was left....I wrote the check for $112 and changed that payment I set up last night online buy $0.84 and now when that check hits Macys on due date the account is at 0.00
I can never for the life of me find the right time to book a flight. Perhaps as I only fly to Britain. I'd need a little help for planning to book a flight to Toronto.
I know after July 4th, which will be five months, prices will really start going up... and the day of the week to buy them is Wednesday...
This gives them plenty of time to get things in order for any special projects I need to do before I leave.
I will be ordering my tickets on July 2nd... this gives them a little over a week to tell me that this time off is unacceptable and to change my plans as far as dates.
It is always a great feeling to have the confirmation of tickets in my e-mail... it makes it more "real"
December 6th, I have a long day ahead of flying across the pond and starting my five week holiday.
By ordering it through Orbitz, I got 1% back in "Orbucks" which I can use for hotel discounts. I placed the order with my Orbitz CC, which gives me at least 6% off the total cost... I say at least because I think it will be closer to 8% but I won't say that until I see the final bill.
Anyway, things are coming together...