I have been away for a while and in the while things have been well not good I have had to take on a lot of debt and now my job does not have the best outlook since the company was taken over so I am not sure how this is all going to work out.

What I have been doing:

-Online jobs here and there so far have made $500.
-Lyft so far have made -150, as I am in the rental program and not able to drive as many hours as I should to make money.

I am going to try to use the money I make from Lyft which I have been trying to drive more to start up some online business or other passive income ideas. As I know I won't last for long and I need some kind of second income should my job end.

If anyone has any ideas let me know. For now I am just holding on my the skin of my teeth. I hate this I really do. I wake up in the morning hopeful and do my best but by the end of each day I am drained. Counting my pennies having to remind myself that I cannot spend money on things since there is nothing left. Cringing every time I put gas in the Lyft car or buy groceries because while I know I have to put gas in the car and I have to eat I can barely afford to do so.

The positive. I still have the house and I am able to pay the mortgage, if I play my cards right I'll be able to make 500 a week on Lyft which is enough to pay the mortgage just on that income and frees up my job money to save, invest and pay off debt.

Taxes are not fun, I found out I owe. I was not super happy.

We are switching accountants. I now owe money, have to figure out how to get a car in a few months.

Once the tax money is figured out I decided I am going to start saving for retirement.

I splurge on some shoes I am still stretching out and I feel like a dodo. No more spending like that. I thought it would be nice to have some date night shoes. I envisioned going to our anniversary dinner in a nice affordable dress and some really nice shoes.

I guess if I want to spend that kind of money again I am going to have to do the leg work but I won't be able to afford anything like that for a while. As it is I have to still pay on 2 of the 3. I felt like I deserved to get something nice for myself because I held off for so many years now I'm kicking myself.

Work has been so stressful and I still had that balance so I kept spending. For now I am going to focus on saving and setting some little part to spend on myself so I don't feel so deprived.

Good news I am closer and closer to paying off my lowest student loan.

I took out some cash and I still have a little bit left. I get paid on Friday.

My balance hit a pretty high ceiling for that credit card I shredded. I'm trying to figure out the best way to make sure the bills are paid and wipe out the balance so I can get hit with no interest or as little interest if possible.

It looks like I may be playing catch-up for a bit but that's okay. I'm going to re-work the budget and try to save up an emergency fund again. That's really the only way I see this getting better.

My part-time job is ending again and really good riddance. It used to help but now that I am in the office again it just racks up my out-to-eat bills because I'm too tired to cook or do any house chores. Quality of living at this point for me is more important than an extra few hundred bucks a month since for the past few months I've been unable to hold on to any of the cash lately because I started overspending.

My second lowest student loan is getting closer to $1000 every day. While it bums me out I can't wipe it out right now I am going to see if I can do it by the end of the year but really not a priority right now.

My credit score dropped a lot with the addition of the card for the home improvements because it really upped my utilization and it looks like it is maxed out. For some reason I did not think of that ahead of time but the good news is that it is a 0% interest rate so after a while the balance will just naturally go down. Also I did not activate the card because if you use it for regular purchases the rate is much higher.

In about 6 months that utilization will go down enough that my score will go to where it was and luckily I don't have to buy anything major that requires pulling my credit score until sometime next year.

All in all things are looking up.

And I'm going to be broke for a while. However it is nice to essentially lock in my bills.

I know what it is going to cost me each month for the mortgage no more rent increases and that is major.

However things like car insurance, electricity, and what on earth I'm going to do a about a car when the lease runs out is variable.

I can handle variable as long as some things are locked in and I couldn't be happier. We got a great deal for the area and even though some upfront costs were involved I'm grateful those things were not "rolled in" to a mortgage I can pay those improvements off as I go and at a zero percent interest rate to boot!

I need to try to find a way though to increase my income so I can lessen my monthly responsibilities so sadly it looks like for the time being I will be locked in to my part time job since it looks like our salaries will not be going up at my main gig anytime soon.

A lot of excitement though that is for sure.

It was more than time to get back to my old ways, the ones that got me to pay off the last of my "bad" debt and let me grow a decent sized emergency fund.

I have to spent the next two checks knocking out the cc new debt, settling the remainder of the car insurance, paying the registration on the new car and making sure I have at least a month's worth of bills as a back up.

However, once that is done I will be back to my system. I hadn't done it in so long it took me a while to reinterpret it.

Good thing I did though I was off about $20 bucks or so on what I should be paying out to my bills and it was nice to set up my whole buckets system again.

Even though I make less than I did before I'm confident that I can get back on track again especially since this job is one that is suppose to be ongoing. (I say it that way because I don't like to take things for granted.)

It's nice to be saving toward a car too instead of worrying about a payment. I'm going to do my best so I can save enough to get a nice safe car next time with no car payment.

Well I decided to take in my faithful old stead. She was paid off, the warranty was about to expire, and she was near 100k (which affects trade in value).

She had been creaking and making me worry so (not to mention all the recalls I had been though) when my husband told me about a great deal they had on the lot due to a hail storm I decided to go for it.

I kow have 2 years to figure out what I want to do about a car so the plan is to save what would have been my payment on had I purchased this car and see where that gets me.

Things are evening out a bit so that's good. I'd still like to pay my old medical bill but it will have to put aside for now as a lot of money has crept back on to the credit cards again. They will be paid off at the top of September in the mean time I have put my check register in my wallet and keeping my receipts so that I can note if I've charged anything to my cards and keep track of the money I have left. I have to tighten the belt if I expect to pull off feats such as getting a house and saving my car payment.

I have been kinda going willy-nilly for a while there and while it was somewhat nice to be carefree for a bit the reality is I have a lot to accomplish and I need to get it kick started like yesterday.

However I'm so pleased that my emergency fund is almost at a grand again that puts me at ease. And now with a new car that puts me a bit more at ease.

My book habit is calming down a bit more too. I just need to catch up a bit in reading. I have enough books in the house to keep me busy for years to come at this point!

I decided today to re-map out it is what I need to save and what I want to be saving for. Now that I have a steady gig my priorities are slightly different. And with rent going up as it has we are really working to make getting a house a priority it wasn't really a possibility before with my previously iffy job situation.

I still don't take anything as a given though so working on those emergency funds is a numero uno priority for sure!

Its just nice to have a bit more breathing room but more breathing room doesn't mean I get to forget about my personal finance goals! Back to work.

I spent about 2 hours yesterday figuring out the whole title thing. It's all going to work out as far as me receiving the title then I'll worry about changing insurance the registration etc once the title shows up. I'm not sure what the process is for that but I'll find out soon enough. One step at a time!

My refund from the medical bill still hasn't come in yet so I'm just going to apply that money toward my goal of saving up enough money to pay off the car insurance in full.

I took a few bucks and make a small payment toward our upcoming hotel stay and I was able to make a $20 extra payment toward my student loans which feels pretty gosh darn awesome.

As of Monday my car loan is paid off about a year and a half ahead of schedule and 6 months before even I intended to make it happen.

I should be getting 2 more if not 3 more checks out of this job and then there's the possibility of being picked up for a new project. Either way I just put myself in a fantastic position to be able to make it by longer on my part-time position if it comes to that.

I was also able to set aside of few bucks for myself which is nice. I'm going to plan to do that for the next paycheck as well.

It almost doesn't feel like its anything because I scrapped by and obsessed a little too much about getting to the finish line but I'm sure once the title comes in and I'm changing things to reflect that the vehicle is mine outright it will be a little more real.

If I get picked up for another project soon that would really help me keep up this progress. Either way I am happy to have reached one of my 2014 goals! Hope everyone else is having a lovely Friday.

I took the day for myself. Watched some movies, bought a bit of food, took my dogs out for some fun it was great. I did a bit of brainstorming while my dogs roamed.

I might be down to one job again and that hasn't been the case for a while. I had been busy but things are beginning to ease up. And as I get older I realize I need a more stable daily routine.

Right now all my time is mine. But if we have kids later on it won't be that way. I want to figure out what is important to me and what I should be spending my time on aside from financial literary materials and money tracking.

I came up with a list which was good. I spent the rest of the day though lounging. I am too exhausted to do any of the things on my list and most other days I work my butt off at one or the other of my jobs or just keeping the house tidy. Last week I got the one weekend day to myself as well which was amazing.

Having that time to myself was great but it made me realize that I don't even know what to do with free time anymore.

This week was good work wise as well so I should have more than enough money out of this check to finally pay off my car. Something I've been dreaming about for a while.

Now things seem like they are calmer again and things are going to be alright. Like I'm free to focus more on another goal like becoming fit again.

There's not much I can do about my job situation than I am already doing. I need to have something that I feel I have some control over to feel grounded. And working on becoming fit is one of those things. And the thing about that is that is something that is never just okay.

It always requires maintenance and thought. Finances do too but they are already ingrained habits for me. Now I need to build better health habits namely develop the habit of exercise since I already eat rather well.

So here is to another successful financial week, and branching out to other goals to maintain and conquer.

Today was an interesting day. I reworked my financial plan so that I'd be able to make a large payment on my car loan. I made sure I paid myself first and had the minimum I need for spending money too.

It is like stepping into the world of the unknown. The real actual end time of the project is fast approaching. However, I have been living like a pauper since February when I decided to aggressively pay off my car loan. I felt sad and deprived at first for cutting out the last of the indulgences I had allowed myself. A cookie here, a coffee there, a little meal out.

But now its become a habit. I make my own iced drinks unless I've earned a free one through rewards programs. I pay cash for all expenses so they don't loom on my credit card. This will serve me well when the assignment ends because not much will change as far as expenses go.

I started saving small amounts for the things I want and I should be able to do so even with the part-time job only.

In a weird way I feel somewhat free. It is crazy to think I just made another payment on my car that is more than my rent payment. But then it also feels liberating to know that if all goes well by the end of May, I will no longer have a car payment.

Even a year ago this wouldn't have been possible. I am worried of course as that is my nature but also excited. I have savings and a plan.

If everything works out that will be great. If not there are very few payments left on my car and I'll dip into my savings to make it work if I have to.

It's comforting to hold on to the thought that everything might be okay after all.

I got in a minor car accident this weekend. My car wouldn't stop in the parking lot for some reason so it hit another car. Such a bummer. Went in the store and found the person then exchanged info. I'll pay the deductible on the car insurance to keep my car checked out.

Right after that I called the dealership about getting my car fixed up for the recall and the parts are not in yet thats a bigger bummer.

Been feeling really down lately so work has been slow going. Started doing that thing where I internet browse items I cannot afford.

This time was a little different though. I realized because I have paid off as much as I have I am that much closer to actually affording those things if I wanted. That was kind of nice.

My grocery budget is busted so we are shopping out of the pantry until midnight tomorrow when I get paid. I have made a solid commitment to not touch the credit cards and have stuck to it. It is not fun but it is nice to know I don't owe anything to any body right now aside from my established loans and the bills. All extra money is going to the hotel stay for our trip and saving some spending money for the trip as well.

I wanted to pay the car insurance bill in full again but I'm not sure I can do it. I will need some help or have to take money out of the savings to close the gap. I think I might just do that it will be easier to cover things if I don't have the bill hanging over my head. The first priority is the car though. The car payment is much more a month to month than the insurance and if I'm not mistaken owning the car should even lower the insurance a bit.

It of course once again depends on the job situation. I am trying to commit to fitness as well so I have something else to focus on other than stress and it might mean I'll look good on the trip too.

I realized not that long ago when stressing out about debt that I have not only done a great deal in eliminating debt in the past year but have actually basically halved my debt since I got out of school and started working.

When I got out of school I had 7K worth of credit card debt, 21K worth of student loans and I got my car which was another 14K for a grand total of: 42K.

Now it is actually a little over 20K with no credit card debt (save for 400 on a 0% interest card that is being paid off each check), under 18K worth of student loans and a little over 2K on the car.

That made me feel really good. Not bad for a permanent temp!

Recently when figuring out which stock I should invest in next in my IRA I stumbled across this article: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/04/17/goals.aspx

I'm glad it did because it made me feel better and calm down a bit.

In the past few weeks I've gone $931 in the negative. But its not a biggie. Both were interest free, one on a 0% credit card and the other out of savings. I am now only $799 in that hole as of the last paycheck. While it was a bummer it was a wake up call as well.

I'd be so headstrong and exclusively focused on my goal of paying off my car that I forgot that life is still going to happen in the meantime.

My husband and I will want to go out for a dinner at some point or a vacation. There will be a birthday for someone whom I usually buy a gift. And then every once in a while we will want to go out and have fun.

I had neglected that part of my budget heavily as the time neared for my assignment to be over. I just wanted to throw every last time toward car repayment so I can have it paid off ASAP.

Well I have done a fantastic job at that for sure and if I could somehow manage some full paychecks and I can put another chunk of money toward that. But I still have to make up more of this 799 dollar deficit. I still need to budget for future things I know are going to happen so they don't end up on a credit card racking up interest or taking away from being able to pay off my loans.

And beside all that my original goal was to make sure I'd be able to pay off the car by the end of 2014 which was achieved. Then I got all ambitious, and it went from that to trying to make sure the car was paid off before December so it wouldn't take away from Christmas (which I am already saving for.) Then it turned into maybe I can pay off the car in time for me to pay for the registration, which morphed into I have to pay off the car before my assignment ends. Which ultimately lead to me being stressed out beyond belief for about the last month and a half.

I read the article realized how overzealous I had become and took a step back making payment plans and goals realizing that while they would be more difficult to reach while underemployed it wouldn't be impossible.

I also started researching ways to get some more side income to insure I can stay on track. All in all I have learned to just sit back and stick to the established plan. While its fine to reevaluate or pay some extra. It is not an all consuming omnipresent thing anymore.

The car will be paid off before the end of 2014. Anything extra is a bonus. Christmas will happen, we will be able to take our trip. Everything will be okay. I just need to stick to the plan and everything will be fine!

Well not an exciting paycheck for sure.

I charged up a stay for our upcoming trip on the 0% card so I made my first payment to that.

I had a deficit in my bill account because I forgot I needed an extra month cushion, I used most of my check eliminate that deficit.

I have another deficit in a monthly expenses savings account which I was only able to contribute a dollar toward in this check but its still better than nothing. Next check I should be able to put more.

I was able to keep all my savings including retirement savings goals which was nice.

I was able to set aside a little money for our anniversary, plus some money for a b-day gift I will be sending out shortly.

I did not have enough to pay a lot extra on the car but I could make it an "even" amount.

Next check's goal is to make sure I am able to cover the bills and fill that other deficit.

This check and the next are going to be short checks due to the lack of hours as of late but no worries. I may have been hit by a truck load of bills all at once but I have a plan for making sure they get paid off even if I am just merely underemployed.

Every now and then I am bummed I can't make super high payments to debt. I have become obsessed with paying off my car. And seriously considering what I can do for a side hustle that will ensure I bring in at least $1000 every month. If I could make that happen I could ensure that I am able to pay my bills without depleting my monthly bill fund while underemployed.

I decided that I should look back and see where I was before I buried my self in my debt sorrows.

At this point last year I had:

Income
1 contract job slated to end soon and a part-time position that paid nearly minimum wage

Revolving Credit Card Debt
476 10.24%
1470 19.8%

Car Loan
7779 10%

Student Loans
19513

Emer Fund
413

Monthly Goals Fund
Half a month worth

Retirement
614


Now:
Income
Same

Revolving Credit Card Debt
None

Car Loan
2,400 10%

Student Loans
18147

Emer Fund
3036

Montly Goals Fund
4 months worth

Retirement
2483


Debt

A year ago: 29238

Now: 20547

Difference: -8691

I have come a long way since last year. I need to be proud. I need to remind myself that I am doing all that I can. And seeking additional income is a fine way to make sure that I am still able to do so. Since I still have my part time job closing that gap is all the less difficult. I am both frightened and excited for the future. It is so full of possibility and opportunities abound. If I am even half as successful at adding extra income as I have been at eliminated debt in the past year it would be a blessing.

Nothing about this has been easy but if it were everyone would be doing it right?

So today I got word that Cobalts are now on the no sell list as far as dealerships go. It's obvious as to why but it puts a whole monkey wrench in my plan to use the equity in it to help defray the cost of a new one when the time comes.

I have an 08 so it is not one from the original batch but it is still covered in that it cannot be sold at this time and so that greatly reduces its value. I am upset about the monetary value loss and my husband is seriously concerned about the safety of the vehicle. I had just read that GM will be allowing people to have loaners until the parts came in but that article was from the first batch of recalls.

I also read there is a class action lawsuit that has to do with the issues which I am upset about. I'm also curious to know if this will affect my insurance premium. Or to see if GM will be doing anything for people who are wanting to unload the car as they now see it has a safety hazard as well as potentially deadly.

With my assignment unexpectedly coming to a stand still I am not in a position to take on a new car with a new payment. I was taking measures to be able to get a car with a small loan or no loan at all that was based on the trade in value of this vehicle. Now I'm taking the back way into my second job just in case my car fails so I don't end up in a four way intersection at the bottom of a hill. This very intersection took 2 lives last year and has caused many other major and minor accidents.

Tomorrow I will call the dealership and see what can be done until they can do whatever repair it is they deem necessary. A few days ago I found a letter about a recall which I had held on to but forgot about. It highlighted a similar issue but told me not to bring in the car unless I had had issues. I hadn't had those sort of issues so I must have forgot about it and filed it away. I will discuss this with them too as my steering column has already been replaced but is pretty tight now a days.

I don't know what to feel. All I can say is I am happy that I am safe and that I took the initiative to pay off as much from the car as I could so that I would not be even more upside down than I probably am now.

I feel for everyone who was seriously injured or killed and I really hope that GM does something for these people even if nothing can really fix the damage that has already been done.

We are here at the last phase of the assignment. It's looking like 3-4 more paychecks. Awesome for me as I finally got a handle on expenses. Now its just bills and saving money. It's still super tempting to pay off the remainder of the car balance.

It is more than likely doable and would be a great relief so I'll just see what happens.

But with the other assignment ending soon and the status on unemployment or another assignment still in the air I have to be strong. I am not quitting the part time job. They were reasonable with me about the surgery. I am bummed that a manager that was really flexible with me is leaving and another who is not flexible at all might be promoted. This could spell trouble and a ton of headaches for me.

I have done a lot of great things with this money every step has made it that much easier for me to be able to sleep at night. I'm sure that no matter what happens things will work out.

My part time job is starting to get in the way of my assignment in a big way. And now I may have to take some time off to help my husband after his surgery. I'm at the point now where if they try to be inflexible about this I will just go ahead and quit. I am sure not going to tell my husband that I have to go tend to my part time job and he is just going have to be on his own.

My assignment has noted that they would like to pick me up for future assignments and there are already some plans in the works. Which is promising although I have been told that before.

On the one hand it seems silly to quit after putting up with it for so long and beside that it would be nice to have some income other than savings when my assignment does end (assuming I do not have unemployment.) But after working two jobs for more than a year now its really starting to take a toll on my well-being.

I feel like I am at the half way point though. Almost done with the car payments. Starting to finally save toward fun goals etc and losing the part time job would mean I'd have to take money much more money out of my regular check to fund my emergency fund which would live little breathing room to save for all those other things that I just started saving for. It would be tight unless I had overtime in each check. So now its a matter of living even more frugally than I already am or continuing to give up all my time to have that little bit of extra money.

I will stick with it if they agree to keep my hours low, and give me the time off to care for my husband. But if they don't it may be time to part ways with them. I do have other companies that I can do work for doing small temp jobs. And I may be able to make it by on unemployment.

Either way I think I'm going to set a tentative end date of this December. If everything goes well and I'm still working two jobs after this conversation with them than I will keep working with them squirreling away enough money to hit the 12 months worth of expenses mark which I could save up by then if I did it aggressively I'm already a quarter of the way there if I don't count my emergency fund. If I hit my mark in December I will quit my part time job and regain my sanity.

I have massed a total of $7774 between an account I consider my emergency fund and an account I consider a fund to cover expenses in between assignments.

I am working hard toward making sure I have at least 6 months and working my way to up 12 months worth of cash for cover expenses. Right now between the two accounts I have 5 months (6 months if I deferred my student loans) worth of expenses.

The longest I have gone with out gainful employment was 9 months as last time I ran out of unemployment and had to get a part-time job to cover any portion of my expenses possible.

I am thinking of paying off my car loan in the next month. If I do this I will be effectively making sure that I have enough money in the emergency fund to cover 6 months of expenses (8 months if I defer student loans.)

I also need to save something for dentist work that is probably overdue and very necessary.

I guess we'll just have to see how much is in the checks and decide. As of right now today's check is to pay off medical debt, and the next is to pay the monthly bills. The next may will go to savings and after that I may just knock another grand off the car loan.

It's nice to be in a place like this. I've read over and over that if you pay yourself first it will really pay off but its nice to finally see the fruits of that labor and realize by cutting unnecessary expenses I have build myself some solid financial ground to stand on. It's the first sigh of relief I've felt in quite some time.

Also I was wrong in the last post I am on track for the paying off the car this year -$130 or so. I forgot to calculate in this months automatic payment.

Well I had a medical mishap so that went on my credit card as did my earlier purchases. It feels like "the curse" of 3K as that is when my last mishap happened that wiped out my emer fund. Even though I probably only have one check left I'm going to pay it out of the next one and leave the 3K in there. Maybe I can break the curse.

Also I was about $400 off in my calculation to pay off the car this year so I'll have to remedy that as well. Let's see if I can eek out two more paychecks. If not I have two months worth of bill money in there so the cushion will hold. But bills come so what can you do. I don't need to pay interest on my medical expenses especially if I have enough in there already to pay the bills. I certainly couldn't pay off that excess while underemployed without dipping into the emer fund.

I still think I did the right thing by expediting the car payment. The car is at the end of its life mileage and warranty wise it easier to take a 2K hit to build equity in it now than to have to come up with 2K to remedy a car disaster while underemployed. But more so it would be easier to just not have to deal with those payments if for some reason my underemployment lasts through this year into the next. And that way I can hold out hope to still pay down the student loan as well.

Things are very much so up in the air but at least I build a solid foundation to stand on. I am so happy I had to fortitude to stick to a plan. I don't even want to imagine what would have happened if I had not taken it upon myself to do this. And I still have a nice camera to show for it to. A hobby to fill up my time in between job searching.

As of tonight I have 3K in my emer fund plus, 4 months of expenses and I will be able to pay off my car by the end of this year even with the income from my part time job.

Even though my temp gig is ending soon I am so happy that I stuck it out and have made what I thought was the impossible possible.

I also hit 2K in my retirement account which feels really nice. I also need to find something else in invest in there. All in all I am pretty happy right now. It wasn't easy to get to this point so now I guess the challenge/focus is to keep the income coming into so that I can pay bills and keep saving while underemployed.

Also got rid of some old stuff for cash which was nice.

As my assignment is winding down and my car loan shrinks to a more manageable size. I sit here trying to come up with ways to take on the next hurdle.

Being able to continue paying those dreaded student loans while underemployed!

My next check will have overtime so I am happy for that. I can reach the goal of making another large car payment put away my usual percentages for retirement etc. And pay off the small amounts I've charged to the credit card including an appraisal for my jewelry and putting away the money so that they can be insured both for this and next year.

In crunching some numbers I've reduced my debt by 13K since I started actively tracking it in 2011. Also 5K of that debt was eliminated in the past 6 months. That makes me feel pretty amazing since I know that at least another 1K is coming off the car loan before this assignment ends. In celebration of this discovery I will be treating myself to the free coffee I earned by consuming way too much of it outside the home this week.

I'm sad I racked up another 100 in expenses this week but I will be making more of than that in OT. Plus some things have to be returned as they just didn't work out. Just have to pay the bill and plan more carefully next time. I'm also still down 2 pounds since being more mindful of what I consume. All in all I'd say that if I manage to stick to the path I've been on I will achieve success in more ways than one.

I'm pretty irritated at the moment. I went ahead and sent in that giant payment to my car loan and they processed it all messed up. They did it as a regular payment and added a late fee even though if it were actually a regular payment it would be processed early and I had not paid late on my last payment as it is an auto payment that processed already.

Has anything this crazy happened to any of you? Guess this is just a good sign that I am right to pay off this loan and be done with this bank. Back in December of last year I when I knew I couldn't do the payment on time I asked them to postpone the auto payment a week. They told me no problem not an issue. I logged in a month later and thinking everything had gone fine and not only had they not processed it but they slapped me with a late fee. I called to tell them the last rep said it was fine and they told me that person was mistaken and to just send in the payment by mail. They didn't apologize or anything.

Now this big payment is in and its over a year after the botched payment with the late fee, they said they are processing that late fee now because I had sent into extra money. I told the woman on the phone first of all that shouldn't have happened as I had received misinformation and secondly if that were true wouldn't you have processed it out of my first principal only payment that I almost made almost a year ago? The woman said everything should be fixed in 24 hours. I will wait 48 and call again if its still all messed up.

What craziness!

So I still think about the jewelry in the previous post, like daily. But no matter.

I have on my couch beside me a giant payment that is going to keep me on track toward paying off my car this year rather than a giant payment that is filling the gap in savings I would have caused by buying that jewelry.

It is really a big moment for me. In this paycheck I didn't have to pay any bills. It all went to my savings goals and spending money plus this payment.

Sending in this payment means that for the first time ever I will actually a bit of equity in my car. And it also means that I have not racked up credit card debt since paying it all of in November which is just fantastic.

As beautiful as the jewelry was I am just so happy right now. I was strong and stuck to the plan. I am on track to my goal and just took another step in the right direction. By the time the next paycheck rolls around I'll have a good idea of where I stand in my job.

I plan on making one more big payment and once that is done I will be able to pay off my car by the end of the year with regular payments and some small extras. I just feel light years ahead of where I was that first day at my first temp job out of college.

It certainly hasn't been an easy road for me but I wouldn't have it any other way. Everything that I did between here and there was only helped me become who I am now. And I really like where I am now.

Well I am hell bent on my car goal. But I went a little cuckoo for a while and tried to convince myself I should have/deserve an item that would have cost thousands.

Then I sat down and crunched the numbers. I would have had to wipe out one of my savings accounts and half of another to get a discount on the item or put it on a credit card and take on several hundred dollars of interest.

After the truth hitting me and realizing that I only realistically have another month or so of gainful employment if I am lucky I realized that I don't "deserve" anything. I choose what I want and I have worked so hard to get this this point financially. Why blow it all on a purchase that I cant comfortably afford.

I realized its a self-sabotage thing I do every time I am close to the end of an assignment. I do something that I shouldn't do financially and pay for it dearly while I am unemployed. Of course in the past few years its been not that bad in the last assignment I paid off a high interest credit card and then bought myself an item worth several hundred dollars when I could have had a wee bit more in savings.

This time I almost wiped out half my savings to get a item negating months of success saving and completely eliminating credit card debt.

I also thought to myself why on earth am I willing to wipe out my savings for this item and "make it up" in the last two checks, but unwilling to make large payments on my car/into savings and keep what I already have saved as well.

I crunched some numbers and I can affordably make two large payments out of my next two checks so that I am on track for paying off my car by the end of the year as per my goal and promise I made to myself at the beginning of the year. And I can do this just on the part time job income if I get no unemployment.

I was elated. If I had not gone crazy and tried to buy something I could not afford I would have probably never figured that I can reach my goal and keep my promise to myself.

This is not the first time this happened. At my last assignment I was about to start investing for equipment for a new hobby when I realized that for the money I was willing to sacrifice and spend on it I could actually pay off my high interest credit card.

I think that move now almost two years ago pushed me in the direction that I am in now. Every success comes with that one first step forward.

Rather than condemn and chastise myself for wanting that item I am just going to shelve the idea and stay on track. Who knows maybe in a year I can afford it? Or maybe I'll just forget about it which is fine with me too.

Either way 2014 just got a whole lot brighter for the path eliminating debt and continuing to strive for financial independence.

There is nothing more that I can do about my job situation other than what I am already doing. It will end when it ends. Instead of obsessing and hoping that there will be more money all I can do is work with the money I know I have.

I finally just decided to allocate my remaining paychecks on:

1) Building a Dental Fund, I will have insurance soon but dental insurance is iffy and I have a lot of repairs. I'm thinking 800-1000 would be a good start.

and

2) If there's something left over, I'd like to pay off enough on the car (~$900) so that there wouldn't be negative equity should it require a repair that is not covered by my warranty and so costly that I'd just need to trade it in for a new one.

Now that that is settled in my mind I have realized that I have to take steps toward my next goal which is being more healthy in general. Since I've been somewhat successful at money and often tell myself that I can't afford food that I want to cook, I am going to call my own bluff.

For the next week beginning today I am going to eat in. If I conceive of something I'd like to eat out I will just make the at home equivalent instead ensuring that it has nutrients and protein. This is great financially because in most cases it will be about half the cost.

At the end of the week I should I have proved to myself that I can eat healthy for what I can afford comfortably for groceries.

Today I have already talked myself out of eating a croissant or cookie from a coffee shop by subbing it with a PB & J Sandwich. And I will be making a cheese pasta dish at home with a side of beans instead of ordering a little bowl of mac and cheese from Panera.

With this switch I have saved myself from spending about seven dollars and insured that I am not a hungry raving mad lunatic. I think this change might get addictive...

Well our project has gone over budget so I might be out of this job quicker than planned.

The good news is that I have saved enough to have my bills paid til March after I get this weeks paycheck plus a 3 month buffer beyond that should unemployment not be an option.

My husband also started a new job with more pay and has been steadily paying off his highest interest debts. So he can now help carry me should unemployment not be an option.

And I still have my part-time job to bring in some money to try to live off my own savings for a while. And of course my shiny new toy is now completely paid off. I will need some new accessories but those are easy enough to come across frugally.

I'm hoping that even if it takes a while to get a new job I can somehow still reach my goal of paying off the car this year but well see how it goes. Nothing is set in stone and I've made some fantastic financial decisions and finally been able to conquer my credit card debt and get my expenses down to a more than reasonable level.

I'm am so happy I have not only stuck to the plan but been able to achieve goals I've longed to reach for years including getting a fancy new camera!

Figured out all kinds of budget things. SO happy that I'm still on track.

Close to reaching 4 month goal, might reach my 2K goal for IRA within a few months.

If I find a way to make an extra payment on my car every month I can pay it off by the end of the year! I think it might be doable even if I lose my main temp gig.

I'm hoping it will all pan out. Paid up on car insurance for a while too. All in all things are looking up.

Oh and my camera class is soon too. Kinda nervous but excited to learn.

The time might have come to end my part-time job. They are trying to boss me around and impede on my regular full-time temp job.

The mention of the place causes me stress. They just upped my hours which has affected my full time job. I am worried about not being able to put as many hours in my full time job which has comprimised my ability to work toward my 6 month emergency fund goal and my goal of paying off the car earlier.

It's starting to feel pointless. I was so tired and lazy I didn't make at home coffee and got some meals out which cost me an extra 35 dollars.

Christmas is here and I wanted to get the cards out on time. Between my full and part time jobs there is no time for that.

Maybe after the holidays and my shifts are less I'll feel better but right now the stress of the full time job and the unnecessary stress of the part-time job are eating away at me and I just can't take it.

I have been working both jobs for almost a year now it is overwhelming. I hope that I'll be able to recoup and renergize soon because right now things seem rather hopeless and futile.

Hope everyone else is having a better holiday time than I am.

There are things that I want to do financially, a lot of things. But my debt and infrequent income have not allowed me to hope or dream for much of anything other than ensuring that my bills are paid on time.

Now with a little cushion in the bank, cc debt paid off and being at the tail end of my car loan I think its about time I started making some solid plans. Just strive to make money and focus on paying off debts and increasing savings.

I want to be able to reasonably afford a new car when I'll need one and save up a nice down payment on a house while paying down debts and socking away money in my retirement fund. It may be a lot to ask but at least now it seems within the realm of possibility. My cash system has finally worked correctly and I haven't picked up a credit card to charge anything that I couldn't already afford/had budgeted for with cash.

Even though its coming to the end of my current assignment I feel hopeful. My part time job will cover some expenses unemployment or brief temp assignments will cover the rest. I won't be easy but it never is. And at least this time I have a cash buffer and a plan. I'm so glad I sacrificed to pay off the debt. I feels so much lighter to know cc payments should no longer derail my efforts to pay down my loans.

I'm going to do the best that I can but for once I feel secure and that is really saying something for 3 years of not knowing how the next month will go.

Well its the end of cc debt for me and I could not be happier. My temp work is in its last stages of the project but I will be getting a good amount of overtime. At this point well just see how it goes. I have added a monthly bill to my one of my cc's so that is it still be used for credit score purposes.

I have a gap of about 500 or so dollars from actually hitting my 3 month of expenses goal since I had to take on a new bill but I will plug that hole in the next paycheck. After that I think I will just save the money to hit 6 months worth of expenses if at all possible. And I'd like to make double car payments if at all possible but well see how that all goes since if I do that I will be able to pay off the car in a years time. I will have to reconfigure all my numbers for that. But for now I am going to happily celebrate my accomplishment with a cup of iced coffee. Happy Friday everyone!!

Things are going well at my contract job and so it looks like it will be going on for a bit longer.

Originally I was just going to stockpile money but now I see this opportunity to pay off my credit card debt again and it is an amazing thing to be so close to. It means to me one less payment I have to make when my contract job goes away which can be used to groceries.

Last time I had to pay $50 toward my credit card minimum and so I had $20 left to eat groceries. It was pretty gosh darn rough.

If the job goes on even longer than one month then depending on how much money is saved I will probably put my extra money in savings to build my cushion savings from 3 months to 6 months and build my EF back to 3 grand from the 1300 that it is at right now.

This next month is not going to be easy by any means but I will be so happy to know that I paid off my debt. I was credit card debt free once before and it did not last. This time I know it will since I have money in savings and did not touch my credit cards at all for the 9 month bout of unemployment I had. Weirdly or maybe not so I tend to charge on my cards when I have money thinking I will catch up.

After last weeks epiphany I do not think I will feel the need to do that anymore. I have been staying in my spending limits not buying things that I cannot afford right now. It has been so nice. And I know changing my mentality will mean I will no longer be racking up my credit cards.

My car loan is still $1500 over the worth of the car at the moment however I will reevaluate what I would like to do about that once the credit card is done depending on how long my contract employment will last and how much money is in my EF and my account with 3 months worth of expenses.

It feels so good to be that much closer to achieving my goals than sitting there in the negative because I could not wait to have something I thought I deserved or that I thought I needed.