One way to decrease spending

In January, I went through a time of wanting to buy things. This happens to me periodically ;). I had read about the "30 day want list". The idea is to list items that you want, and then look at the list in 30 days. If you still want the item after 30 days, and have budgeted for it, then consider buying it.
Here is my list from January:
Jan. 17
blinds for dining room

paint for kitchen

new towels

jeans
scrubee thing from Flylady

What was the result of my experiment? Well, I didn't buy any of the listed items, so I guess I certainly didn't need them. I don't think my quality of life has suffered at all.

Did I save money? Maybe. If I had purchased all of the items, I would have spent over $150.

1. Instead of the blinds for the dining room, I saved the budgeted household money until March when I spent $60 on a mirror for over the dining room mantle. I didn't use the 30 day list in March!
2. I still need to repaint the kitchen, but this will not be on my list until next year.
3. My mother gave my some towels that she no longer uses.
4. I still need jeans, but these can still wait until September.
5. I really don't need the "rubba scrubba".

Final analysis: It seems that for some items, I merely postponed spending, because I will eventually have to purchase them--paint, jeans. This is useful information. I can compare the advantage of postponing spending to the advantage of having the item now.

I think this strategy is useful for me to remember when I am tempted to spend on wants, especially when I am debt-free and have more discretionary spending money. In order to instill this habit by October, I'm going to start now. I'll let you know how it goes.

Milestone: Credit card debt under $2000!

My July snowball brought my balance down to $1984. Finally, I'm under $2000! This is huge for me because I have paid off $2000 in CC debt many times before so I know it can be done ;(

The difference is that this time I have a financial plan in place so that won't have to use credit cards again.

Frugal goal update: Spent $2.64 on breakfast at McD's with a friend. This was an out of the ordinary treat. We walked for an hour and then had iced lattes and breakfast.

Total spent $3.97. I'm getting awfully close to $5!

Debt Reduction Doldrums

It seems like I have been five months away from being debtfree for the past 6 months! Every time I recalculate how long it will take to pay off my last credit card, the pay off remains 5-6 months away. Buying a new house, moving expenses and an unplanned income drop have all contributed to my inaccurate estimates. Now, I'm just tired of the struggle to keep paying to debt reduction each month. I want to spend on house projects, new clothes and things for my kids, not credit card payments!
Objectively, I know that I have made tremendous progress in reducing my debt. I owed over $13,000 in July 2007, and I now owe $3500, reducing my debt by $10,000. On the other hand, I've been working on this for almost two years, so this journey is getting a little old. Another worry at the back of my mind, is that my income will probably be reduced by $600/month after September. That means that I really must get my credit card paid off by September. After that, I'll only have about $200/month over planned expenses in my budget, so my savings rate will be very slow.
Okay, enough whining! What can I do now?
1. Stop worrying about what will happen six months from now. Concentrate on what I can do this month--follow my budget.
2. Look at the positives--I have a little (almost $1000) emergency fund, as well as growing sinking funds for irregular expenses.
3. I have $60 in the house project fund. Decide what to spend it on. Landscaping? Wooden blinds for the dining room? Slipcovers for the living room?
4. Make a list of nonfinancial things I would like to do--distract myself with other things until these doldrums pass!

Debt is Going Down!

My credit card debt is coming down! It now stands at $4140! I am very excited to be below $5000 and I should be able to get below $4000 by the end of the month. Maybe a payoff of July is possible :).
Tracking my spending is still fun. I'm going to check my spending percentages in each category at the end of the month to see if my spending is in balance with what Dave and other financial gurus recommend. I don't want to be obsessed with spending, although I must confess that I am right now. My goal is to get a workable system in place, and then move my energy to other hobbies.
On another note, I mistakenly deleted my blog roll on Sunday. I'm slowly building it back up. If you see that your blog is missing from my blog list, please leave me a comment so I can add it!

Debt Reduction Progress

As I try to work out my goals for 2009, I want to evaluate my financial success and failures for 2008.

At the beginning of 2008, I had $11,700 of non-mortgage debt, and a $162,000 mortgage. During this year, I have paid $5500 to debt, sold my house and purchased a smaller one. My current status is:

Credit card debt:
Dec. 2008 $6200

Emergency fund:
Dec. 2008 $850

Mortgage:
Dec. 2008 $117, 000 (I need to look up the exact figure)


I am pleased with my progress in 2008. I have not been "gazelle" intense in paying off debt because another of my goals is to enjoy life now with my children and friends. Some of my splurges were: buying a share of a 20-year old boat, going to Ocean City with friends from college, going to Charlotte for a cross-country race.


I want to continue to be able to have dinner out with friends and to perhaps plan a trip to NYC in the summer to visit DD2. I want to budget for these important expenses as I plan for 2009. Realistic planning is a challenge for me. I think I need more accountability in my budget. I really want to find a system that works for me.

One Credit Card Down, One to Go!

I just paid the last of Credit Card 1. It was a store credit card that I applied for to get the 10% off an iPod for my son's birthday 3 years ago. I think I have probably paid $360 in interest and I saved about $20 on the iPod. Smart? I don't think so! Never again!


One more card to go--the largest balance $5900. Even though I won't be able to pay much more this month, just having one debt to focus on is nice. When I began my debt-reduction journey, I had 4 credit cards and a car payment for a total debt of over $13,000. The debt is coming down slowly, but surely.

Debt Reduction Progress

I updated my progress in reducing debt and increasing savings on my side charts (I'm having a little trouble updating the NCN chart). This month I added $65 to my mini emergency fund and paid $790 in credit card debt. I like seeing the progress on the charts and tickers, but I would also like to see the difference monthly in a graph. Does anyone of a widget that shows debt reduction graphically?