In the Interest of Full Disclosure

In the Interest of Full Disclosure

So I have a confession to make. I fell off the wagon a bit. I have a lot of good planning when it comes to my finances, but every so often I can get surprised by bills.

My checking account has a low interest overdraft on it and the first thing that happened was I started going over my spending budget for various reasons.

It's so easy to swipe a card and think everything will be covered next paycheck, and then to find out you are actually wrong and you've gone over.

So I maxed out my checking account overdraft to the tune of about $1200 over several months. I was doing mostly okay chipping away at it, until I had a $500 vet bill followed by a $280 dentist bill.

These wiped out my emergency fund and there wasn't enough to cover the rest. I also had to make a few purchases that will be reimbursed later.
A lot of this was me screwing up. I had a few times where I was buying food or drinks that I shouldn't have. I bought some birthday gifts which weren't part of my budget. Basically, I screwed up.
So going forward, I have pretty much wiped out my Bank of America credit card. I have one payment of $261 left to make on it, which is fantastic and I am SO proud of myself. I am next going to have to clear this overdraft, so I am a little further behind than I wanted to be.
This means no bold rejoicing yet.

From here on out, I'm doing something kind of bold. I'm moving to the cash system for my spending budget. I'm giving myself an allowance for spending and I'm sticking to it. If I don't have the cash, well, that's my tough luck.

I'm sure to get about $500 from various sources in the month of August, and I'm picking up more hours at one of my part time gigs, as well as working another part time gig. So things will start picking up and I expect swift progress. I'd like to clear these overdrafts, or at least get them manageable by September, though that feels a touch optimistic.

Regardless, it's time to get this show on the road. I'm so close I can smell it!

What a Difference A Roommate Makes

My new roommate moved in with me a week or so ago and it was a really great idea. She and I keep pretty different schedules so we are out of each others way, and I'm now paying half the rent I was and will soon be splitting the utilities. Where is all of this extra money going? Why, on debt of course! I'm not even budgeting for it, instead I'm counting it as "extra income" so that I can throw it straight at my debt. It should help me get caught up with everything much quicker and I confess, it's nice to have someone else around.

My part time work has tailed off this month as my theater has closed while they rebuild the stage, but I hope to go back to working extra there next month, which will also help greatly with the debt repayment. As things go, I'm doing quite well. I do need to cut the spending down as I now have an overdraft due to a vet and a dentist bill. I should be able to clear that quite quickly though. I had to wipe out my emergency fund for the vet so that's a bit sucky. But hey, perseverance is key and I'm sure it'll all be okay!