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.
Hard to believe that two months of 2015 are already in the books. Which means it is time to review my own financial books.
After the financial hit of last year with medical issues, this month put me 1% ahead of where I was last year. If there was a silver lining with being ill last year, it was being able to cut my expenses even more and to truly separate my last wants from what is truly needed.
Credit counselors advise to not use more then 30% of your available credit to keep your credit scores. For personal financial health it is recommended not to use more then 10% of the available credit. Right now I'm at 2%. So credit cards are being managed and they're not managing me.
I'm still charging myself at least $25 a week for the luxury of having a checking account, while rounding up my check plus $1 and rounding down my deposits less $1 so in two months I have hidden over $400 in the one account. I vowed that I would never be above $1,500 in hidden money in that account and never be below $1,000 in it.
So in March I will transfer out $500 to my on-line savings account from checking and start building it up again. Right now I'm still a little over $1,000 short on savings from where I was in February 2014. This deposit will cut it in half.
I still haven't gotten a medical bill which I know is coming and will be over $1,000. Right now, I have saved $890 for that bill. All in all, when the bill comes I won't have to dip into savings to pay it.
On the first of the year I increased my 401-K contributions from 10% to 12% and at the end of February it is up 4.12%
I should find out sometime in March if I get a raise, which should be 3% that money will all go into savings.
To keep growing and to improve from last year, I will need to grow another 5% for this month just to stay even with where I was last year. This just means my two savings accounts and two checking accounts combined need to grow by that amount.
And those two checking accounts? Not one overdraft or bounced check in the five plus years that I have been a bachelor. And not one late fee or one disconnect notice or even a late payment has ever happened.
The last late payment was in January 2010 when I moved into this flat. I told the landlord my predicament and he held my first months rent for two weeks. Looking back at it, it's hard to believe that I would come so far from having so very little. And I don't mean possessions, I just mean money in general.
Possessions robbed me of sleep and serenity. It stole my peace and my morals. My five year old desktop with $5 speakers makes a great TV. For local channels my 20 year old TV does just fine. My '88 Olds is the perfect car for the amount I walk. My bed frame, made from wood of an old custodial closet is oh so comfy. My pots, pans, and dishes which cost me $5 from the Salvation Army makes my food taste so yummy. My 15 year old stereo plays perfect music.
Top of the line? Far from it yet it all brings me peace of mind it's all paid for...
After the financial hit of last year with medical issues, this month put me 1% ahead of where I was last year. If there was a silver lining with being ill last year, it was being able to cut my expenses even more and to truly separate my last wants from what is truly needed.
Credit counselors advise to not use more then 30% of your available credit to keep your credit scores. For personal financial health it is recommended not to use more then 10% of the available credit. Right now I'm at 2%. So credit cards are being managed and they're not managing me.
I'm still charging myself at least $25 a week for the luxury of having a checking account, while rounding up my check plus $1 and rounding down my deposits less $1 so in two months I have hidden over $400 in the one account. I vowed that I would never be above $1,500 in hidden money in that account and never be below $1,000 in it.
So in March I will transfer out $500 to my on-line savings account from checking and start building it up again. Right now I'm still a little over $1,000 short on savings from where I was in February 2014. This deposit will cut it in half.
I still haven't gotten a medical bill which I know is coming and will be over $1,000. Right now, I have saved $890 for that bill. All in all, when the bill comes I won't have to dip into savings to pay it.
On the first of the year I increased my 401-K contributions from 10% to 12% and at the end of February it is up 4.12%
I should find out sometime in March if I get a raise, which should be 3% that money will all go into savings.
To keep growing and to improve from last year, I will need to grow another 5% for this month just to stay even with where I was last year. This just means my two savings accounts and two checking accounts combined need to grow by that amount.
And those two checking accounts? Not one overdraft or bounced check in the five plus years that I have been a bachelor. And not one late fee or one disconnect notice or even a late payment has ever happened.
The last late payment was in January 2010 when I moved into this flat. I told the landlord my predicament and he held my first months rent for two weeks. Looking back at it, it's hard to believe that I would come so far from having so very little. And I don't mean possessions, I just mean money in general.
Possessions robbed me of sleep and serenity. It stole my peace and my morals. My five year old desktop with $5 speakers makes a great TV. For local channels my 20 year old TV does just fine. My '88 Olds is the perfect car for the amount I walk. My bed frame, made from wood of an old custodial closet is oh so comfy. My pots, pans, and dishes which cost me $5 from the Salvation Army makes my food taste so yummy. My 15 year old stereo plays perfect music.
Top of the line? Far from it yet it all brings me peace of mind it's all paid for...
J0KEYJ
I like the quote..dont think money does everything,or youre going to do everything for money..
Desigol1979
My small headphones I bought 20 Months ago in Belfast International Airport do me just fine as well. I don't need to buy Beats Headphones just because Dr. Dre designed them.
Join the Conversation