So my car is making knocking noises. I'm going to bring it in and pray that there is nothing wrong or that it is covered by the warranty/deductible. My EF is almost empty and so I hope its nothing serious. I have another account with 3 months of expenses so I can cover it but I just really hope that's not it. I also hope that its not something so serious I have to get a new car.

My loan is 1500 more than what the car is worth, so that loan would stink. My checks are both going to be low from the time off I needed to recover my from my illness. Please send some warm wishes my way. I'm really going to need them.

My statement came in for CC2 and I've now been bounced back to 2237 from 2194. I used to just deal with interest it was just something I ignored with but now its made me angry. If I'm able to make my big payment on CC2 next week then I think I will consider moving the balance over to the other card which is having a special balance transfer offer of 0.00% offer and 3% balance fee. The rate is good until Jan 2015 and I know it will be paid off by then.

I overspent by about 9 dollars at the game but it could have been much worse. I know I can't trust myself with my credit cards when I'm out and about for an event and I'm so glad I was strict with myself. It always hurts to wake up the next day and wake up and realized that you spent and extra 70 and have to figure out where its going to come from.

This site had been great and kept me on the straight and narrow. I still sometimes lament on not being able to afford things but keeping on the path to being debt free will allow me to splurge and afford it every once in a while like I was just able to on this game.

I remember a few years back when I first was able to go on a trip and every penny had already been paid off compared to years prior when I had to put it on a card or have a friend front me the money until I could pay them back.

I remember the first time having to come up with 1400 wasn't a Herculean task. I was out of school for a semester and they wanted me to come up with the money I had owed them for the previous one and I couldn't use my financial aid toward it. I had been working two jobs and was saving up cash and had about 1200 in my account. I was able to pay mostly in cash and the other bit with my credit card. During that time I was bummed I hadn't been able to make more of a dent in my cards but I figured if it came to being able to complete my education and saving myself some money in interest then education was the way to go.

The road to here hasn't been easy. Not having a steady job has certainly been difficult. But now I'm in a place where I have an emergency fund large enough to cover a serious issue, a few months of expenses save up, fully funded mini bucket funds and less than 3K worth of credit card debt. I do hate my part time job but it contributed to this financial state. I didn't like being a temp but if I hadn't been I wouldn't have gained such varied experience that led me to be the perfect candidate for my current contract position.

I am grateful for everything I have and know that one day if I keep working hard, saving and budgeting well I will get to that magical place were I am debt-free.

I have had a credit card with rewards for years now but I had just let them pile up in hopes to earn enough for a free trip. Since it is an AMEX though it was though to accumulate points as most places wouldn't accept it. I gave up on the dream after a while and ended up with about 10K points.

After coming to this site I realized I should pay more attention to my rewards and so I investigated and found out I could convert them for almost 100 in cash. That was pretty exciting so I immediately cashed them in. That's just 100 more toward my savings goals almost effortlessly. Then I went to two more rewards programs I participate in and found that I had almost 60.00 in rewards that I had not claimed yet. That is going into the Christmas fund. How exciting. In about a half about I had an extra 160. I really need to stay on top of those rewards!!

Well its a good and bad thing but really a good thing. After shelling out thousands for medical bills and going through pain and then a nice recovery I finally decided to shell out money on something for me that's fun tickets to a baseball game! The good news is hubby and I are splitting it and its well within my means to pay for it. As in he'll pay me for his ticket.

The bad news. I put it on a credit card so I could get rewards for it and also since I won't be able to pay it off til next week when my paycheck comes in. It's only $100 so its really not breaking the bank and I'll still be making the same large payment to my other large credit card balance and putting the same amount of money to refund my EF. It just digs into next weeks spending money a little which is fine with me.

It just feels so nice to do something fun for once it is also awesome that's its not something I splurged on but can't pay off right away which is really great and I'm getting rewards for it too. The credit card is already back in its hiding place so I don't take it out with me to the game and buy dinner, beer etc etc. I'm bring x amt of cash with me and then that's it. No more messing around with my budget! If I want this debt to be gone I have to work at it but at least that doesn't mean giving up all (affordable) fun in the process.

Today I got a little bit of extra money which I was able to use to pay off my last medical bill from all the appointments and the rest went toward the first big payment I've made on the credit card in a while!

It's pretty exciting. My next check will be a little short due to time missed for work but I'll see what I can do. I'm thinking I'll get at least two more paychecks out of my contract job if not more and in that time if I'm lucky I'm be able to pay if off while also rebuilding my emergency fund.

I was dreading paying off the card but now that the momentum has started I'm just excited to see it going in that direction and the debt melting away. Maybe if I'm super lucky I'll get picked up for something else sooner rather than later and then I can pay something else off.

Well its time to start focusing on debt. After a week or two my emergency fund will have the money back in it and then I can put money toward my credit card again.

I currently have 3 student loans that are growing instead of shrinking, 2.5 K on a credit card with an 19% interest rate and 500 on another that I will pay off immediately because that card has a 29.99% interest rate. The 2.5 K card scares me though. Last time at my old temp job I and all the other temps were laid off three weeks into our new contract and also the same week I was about to make my first big payment on my credit card.

And then there's the car loan. I've always had the thought that I shouldn't pay off the car loan before the time because if I get in an accident it was a waste of money I'm not sure how solid that thinking is. The fact of the matter is that the car needs a check up as it has been making strange noises. I hope its fine because that would mean having to make repairs and another depletion of my EF. Hopefully the repairs are under warranty.

The car is old though and paying it off would be awesome then I could use the trade in value toward a new one when the time comes.

But between the ageing car, the credit card debt I've feared paying off and my student loans of which half of growing instead of shrinking I'm frightened. Not to mention that this employment is temporary although its gone on longer than I could have ever imagined.

Guess I just have to take it one day at a time.

I'm feeling pretty bleak today after seeing all the flood damage some of which is not that far from my tiny apartment.

Although I am happy that we did not move to a condo as we had planned because most of the places we looked at are underwater now and we are save and dry.

I'd like to move into a house someday but I feel like we have other bills we have to take care of before we do that. Husband seems to just want to move into a bigger apartment and stay there but if we have a family I'd much rather be in a house. It's equity you own it. Paying rent is like money that you piss away each month here. It's not like back home where you could write it off as part of your taxes.

I have gotten no word yet as to whether my assignment will go on but I sort of wonder if my office is underwater at the moment. Some days its hard to stay positive and this is one of them.

I've been sick for a while now so doing normal daily routines has been a struggle as has going into my other job. Right now I need to shove some food in my mouth so that I can get some more work done.

I'm just stressed out beyond belief. I try not to be but it happens at the end of every assignment something always seems to come along and wipe out my money whether its a choice I made like paying off my credit card thinking I had another week of pay to replenish the hole, or some kind of emergency. Right now I'm out a few thousand due to my medical emergency but otherwise I'm okay financially. I should have more money in the bank but what can I do.

I'm hoping that I get word soon one way or the other so I can be more emotionally prepared. It's nice to be able to post on here its almost therapeutic like.

As far as the financial situation goes nothing has changed. My credit card has still been tucked away and I'm using my cash envelope system. Next week I will get paid and be able to replenish some funds but I still have to pay off bills and pay off that credit card I foolishly racked up a balance on. Hope all is well out there in the stratosphere.

Today is my first day. I don't know if I'll stick to this blog but I sure hope so. Things have not been easy for me but with the help of my now loving husband we've been fine.

I'm currently working 2 jobs and it's been stressful and to add to the mess my husband is now doing the same for when my assignment ends. My second job is approximately minimum wage I work there still because I can't rely solely on unemployment.

Last time I was unemployed long enough that I had used up my claim which is when I got my part-time position. When I was finally approached about a contract position in my field I had not been gainfully employed for 9 months. That was a scary time for both myself and my husband but we made it through.

Financially I am doing okay but I still have one last credit card to pay off, a car loan, and student loans. Until this position I had no savings. Now that I do have savings don't feel that its enough.

I learn more everyday and this website has already taught me a lot and helped me set clear financial goals.

I hope this blog will help others like me to figure out what to do with our finances. Unlike most temps can't count on having a steady income. They have to make due with what they can get and hope they gained enough experience to be hired by the company or land another great assignment.

It's a really rough place to be financially but with some common sense and support (either a stash of cash for yourself, unemployment or someone who can help you out in the interim) you can stay sane as you navigate though.