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.

Had to empty out the last of my cash to pay my taxes. Trying to focus more on savings and debt elimination again.

My credit card debt went up a little but my loans went down a lot. It's encouraging to see both my house loan cc and my students loans below 10K.

I have some other things going on health wise. So well see if I can catch up.

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.

Well some updates. The debt on the credit card started ballooning around my birthday. It was a big one for me, I turned 30.

I've only begun to get out of the haze now and access the damage.

The good:

I now have 1000 in my emergency fund. I've kept up with my estimated tax payments and I'm fully funded in there.

The bad:

I went over board and now the credit card debt has increased.

The positive:

Now that I have an emergency fund and sorted out Christmas, I just really need to get the credit card paid off. I'm hoping I can get this done over the next few months but I have to focus on bills and staying away from putting more debt on there. When I pull cash out and stick to that things go well so I'm just going to keep doing that.

I can't wait to get rid of this albatross around my neck it has not been fun.

Well I can't seem to get the debt off the card any faster but oh well I suppose that's life and what not.

The cash system is going okay. I have to be creative about what to eat but so far so good. I've been able to put a sliver of money away to my emergency fund but it's better than nothing.

I have been paying for everything all ancillary-weekly expense things in cash since paying off that last item on the card (it was for a appraisal and I wanted to have a secured method of payment for that.)

I have two more seasonal bills I have to pay off and after that it will be the normal stuff again.

I'm pretty much halfway to having enough for my quarterly tax payment so I shouldn't be late there!!

I have been giving my self a little reward each week to wean myself off that bad spending. (Last two weeks it was one trip to Starbucks for a coffee.) This week I couldn't afford that but I found an old loyalty card for coffee at Whole Foods, that one combined with my the one I had already had in my wallet meant I had a free coffee so I went ahead and cashed that in.

I am going to see about resurrecting the envelope system I had going when I was making more money and putting way more money away.

Now that my ankle is healed pretty much I should be able to take advantage of my gym membership again ($27 a month) which will help me chill out and hopefully get back in shape again.

I have also been reading a lot. It's cheap so why not. Lol.

Hope all is well guys!

Big Bummer. While I slashed by credit card balance by 80% I'm not going to be able to pay it off in full like I wanted with this upcoming paycheck. I have to put the check toward my quarterly tax bill instead.

I think it's going to be okay but I also think I might have to skip going home to visit my family this year and maybe even a trip I had planned to go to a cousin's wedding unless I get a good deal on the flight or get a raise or something.

It's a real bummer but the thing is unless something changes I know I can't afford it. I didn't think I'd get hit with all these house expenses right off the bat. And the dental work last year whipped out my savings that I'd had for potential house expenses.

It's just putting out fire after fire since about October of last year. I'm tired and I'm broke. So broke that for the first time in years I had to put charges on the credit card for monthly bills not knowing when I'll be able to pay them. Juggling juggling. I'm one disaster away from breaking my back.

I'm hoping that in the coming month having some structure again will really let me know what I'm working with here.

I couldn't get to the bank last week to get the few bucks I have left over for grocery spending money after taking out bills, taxes, gas money and some savings. I started using the grocery card for the 3% cash back and then found myself using it too much. I bought that kitchen stuff, some groceries, household items and charged an insurance bill but then I spent an extra $50 dollars on coffee and snacks.) So that's gone too before $50 turns into $500. I hid it in the house. Don't want to shred it though since I have no emergency fund right now and I'd need something in case of emergency type deal.

While I'm still putting chunks of money toward my cc bill, I am also putting a small amount of money toward my emergency fund each week and when things stabilize it'll go up. I'd like to ideally make it go up a few bucks every month but we'll see how much money I have left over.

Things are going to be tight for a while but at least my expenses are finally somewhat fixed.

I know what the bills are going to be each month and I know I won't have a rent increase now that we have a mortgage. I just need to not get discouraged.

I've been here before and made it, I'll make it by again. I've already started planning meals so we can control food costs and eat much healthier. And that at least is a start.

I am so happy to be closer to getting this credit card paid off but I am having a hard time with this whole money thing right now.

I had a few yearly expense things come up and it feels weird to be scrapping at the bottom of the barrel now that I had had savings for so long.

I shouldn't feel too bad I've done a lot of things right I'm just working with a less money than I used to back when I was paid well.

I just have to try and get some savings back that's all. And figure out where to cut things to get some retirement money put away.

I just try to do too much at one time I guess but I don't usually have the luxury of time.

Not having the part time job has been fantastic for my stress levels and that makes it worth it to me.

Pretty soon here I will start going to the gym again and that should make me feel a lot better as well. Might keep a tracker for weight on the sidebar.

I just feel like things are going to get harder from here out not easier. And that sort of stinks.

Oh well though that's life. Once this debt is gone I will feel a little more like at equilibrium and will be able to see through the fog again. I'm just happy that I had the good sense to recognize the bad behavior before it did some really serious permanent damage.

Here's to a new routine and more savings in 2016!

Well so far so good. I had to spend a little this weekend in order to get shelf liners for the kitchen. The project took all weekend but now my kitchen is organized and I know where everything is which is great for my wallet and my waistline. It cost a little over $100 to line the whole kitchen, get a few cheap organizers and a small trash can, but it really is going to save me a time and money in the long run.

The balance on the card is down to $4000 from the original $5188. I have two paychecks in April but the third falls after the due date which means I will get hit with interest.

If my last paycheck from my part-time job comes in and is half decent or if my tax refund comes in, it'll make it easier to hit the mark. If neither of those things happen I can probably still hit the mark but it is going to be very painful.

After this whole thing is over I am going to focus on saving toward a new car almost exclusively (alongside with building up an emergency fund again). I have until August of next year to come up with a sizable down-payment if I keep this car which I might or if I buy another. I also could do another one-pay lease. I'll have to see what makes more sense financially when I get to that point.

It's just that I know with the new added payment to the 0% interest loan I cannot carry a car payment on top of everything else.

At least this deal worked out where I didn't have to do that. I mean voluntarily yes I am taking out a car payment to myself each month (or at least that was the plan now I will be getting back on track), but if I had to pay that to the bank each month with the other debt I'm carrying I would have very little left at the end of each month. It is nice to not have that over my head and still be in a reliable vehicle.

It is also nice to know the house is in good working order for now as long as we continue to take good care of it. The only other major repairs should be the roof in about 5-10 years and a possible re-model of one of the bathrooms so that it is not just a bath tub without the shower option.

Thanks for listening guys. It really helps to know that I'm not alone and that even if I get in a jam I know how to pull myself up by the bootstraps and keep on marching.

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.

The most expensive dental work is done and paid for. Now I have the money to pay off that old med bill finally.

I have no debt on my cards that I'm responsible for. I had one transaction go south but I just called the credit card company and they are suppose to refund me the cash soon.

It's kind of disheartening to see such a huge balance on there but it is nice to know that they have my back.

I'm about two months behind where I wanted to be but I'm still employed and no longer in pain so that's a plus. My goal was to start a IRA for the new year so now I think I'll do that even if its just a small amount I would like to be putting something away toward retirement now that I have a steady gig.

I'm going to have to hide the cards on myself because I've been racking up balances, not making my own coffee or food or anything. I was basically fine with it before because I was in pain and recovering from dental procedures.

I'm gaining weight though and need to take advantage of my gym membership so I bought some decent sports bras and some nice fitting but cheap work out pants so I can have something to wear at the gym other than jeans or PJ bottoms.

I just need to try and stay on track now, the last big financial move a house is just over the horizon. I can feel it.

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.

So happy I was able to pay off a huge chunk of current cc debt and put my part-time job check toward rebuilding my emergency fund too. Almost back up to $500 which makes me feel a little better.

Next time I get paid I'll be able to wipe out most of the last of the cc debt which is exciting.

Then I'll have taxes due again but that is okay its like slipping back into revolving cc debt.

I already pulled out my spending money for the next two weeks. I'm almost happy to be back on a budget and to get things back into control and on track again.

Tomorrow I will have to straighten out the Student Loan People again but no biggie. I have to do it every month. I'd rather do that then have to deal with the way they misappropriate the funds.

One time they lectured me about the way I send in extra payments and how it wasn't convenient to them. I found that somewhat hilarious.

Anyway hope I can sleep soon gotta get up and do it all again tomorrow.

Still haven't heard any new news about a new contract. Part-time job hours are sparse as I didn't want all my hours filled with dead end job work while I search for the next thing.

My little gigs are helping me pay off the student loans which is really nice to see that balance go down but rent is going up so that might be the end of chipping away at my balance in favor for making up the difference in price there.

Husband is bugging me about adding on more hours at the part-time job and really piling on the domestic chores since I am at home more now not working which is really difficult every time that I am in between jobs.

I need a new routine one that involves more gigs that I want to do that bring in cash plus exercise. Been eating out more and racking up expenses. Going to have to hide the credit cards and create a weekly allowance of cash in an envelope so I don't end up with credit card debt again. That's the last thing I need to have to do it a third time. Mostly this post is a rant but its nice to get the thoughts out "on paper" and out of my head.

Tomorows goals are to eat and drink coffee from home only, get one load of wash done and organize my side gig materials!

Luckily we live in an apartment and luckily I hadn't done the food run yet but our fridge broke and warmed up what little food we did have. So after they replaced it I was about $30 in the red on my credit cards to replace some items (that I had just bought too).

Then I noticed that some Family Dollar's were closing so I thought it would be best to stock up on cheap things that we usually get there on sale as the one nearest to us is closing down. That put me another $80 in the red although it means not having to buy cleaning products and other household products for about a year or so. Also Target had a sale on paper products so another $40 in the hole but again I won't have to buy that stuff for months now.

Then today I realized I only have one pair of pants that fit and I decided for some reason that I deserve to eat out after a meeting with work. So between goodwill for pants and food out so now I am another $40 in the hole.

I can pay this from the next check but man did it add up quickly. Funnily I have no idea were my most of credit and debit cards are but know they are in the house or car somewhere as misc charges are not popping up. The only card I had left on my person has 5% gas points only right now so I was even more mad that I lost out on good points with the card that gets 1.5 per dollar although that might have helped curb my spending.

I did need pants though as my others are falling off. I didn't need to eat out but stuck to something cheap. I did splurge on groceries and household products but we should be set for a while so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I do need to find my cards though. If I remember right I hid them from myself and boy did I do a good job because I have no idea where they are!

That temp gig fell through at my job so now I'm just waiting to hear if they have anything else. Right now I'm focusing on exercise, eating right and home cooking. I even made pizza dough last week when I normally would have spent $25 to order it out. Also stayed in my normal budget for gas groceries etc aside from the those few splurges. So I'm confident next week will go much better.

The at home coffee habit is harder to slide back into but after wasting almost $10 on out coffee I'm pretty much back on track.

Getting pants at the store that fit made me realize how much of my gut I had gained back which is great motivation to go back to the gym. I feel tired and stressed lately and other times over energized with no outlet so hopefully exercise will even that out. So just waiting to hear then about some more gainful employment. In the mean time I'm doing the best to be kind to myself while not breaking the bank and since those deficits are all taken care of, from now on sticking to the darn budget.

I turned on the "buy" switch before our trip about two weeks ago. Since then I've been getting coffee out, eating out, shopping etc.

I've also really not been up on work and took an extra week off essentially as I was caring for my sick husband. Now I feel tired broke and resentful.

I thought the offer was a done deal. It sure seemed that way. When I got back and there was no word and it was maybe I was so mad at myself. I fell for it again. Plus I spent a lot of money on vacation I wasn't planning on. I thought I could just get it all paid off the check and go on with saving etc.

Well now my checks are half what they were and its much harder. Now I'm all beating myself up and for what? I need to just get back in the work and frugal mindset and end strong.

I've done it before but not in a "transition period." When I'm between jobs I get strangely entitled to treats, drinks, toys etc. This will be the first time I go there and not have cc debt except for the hotel stay which is only $300 at this point.

It will be a whole new experience. I just hope for the best and know I did everything I could to prepare for this moment.

I still have bill money for next month set up once my check comes in and I have a few months income saved up beside my part time job. I can still pay my student loans thanks to having paid off my car early even if I can't save any money.

I'm trying to stay positive and undo the damage before it gets worse. I've added every credit card transaction against my checkbook and the minute I get paid on Friday the credit cards are going away to a hiding place or on ice if I deem it necessary. I just need to control the "f it all" urge I get to spend and self destruct.

I'd also really like to focus on working out more. I've kept up eating healthy and stayed at a set weight give or take a few pounds. I'd love to get started on losing all the weight. That should give me something to focus on since it doesn't cost much for me to eat healthy I already belong to a gym. And my hours have gone way way down leaving gym time open.

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!

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?

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.

It has been a crazy December having a balance that seemed to replenish itself every time it was paid off. But now its January and a new year.

The camera is now paid off and even though it was a low paycheck I was still able to put a tiny bit toward savings and the car goal and retirement.

Have to say I'm not doing too bad. Hopefully this cold will taper off and then I can put in some overtime hours to get closer and closer to my goals before my job goes away.

Things seemed bleak there for a while but they are okay again. I'm half way through my house organization project and I'm okay with not being able to finish it due to lack of finances.

For one thing I'm not sure of what I want to buy and for another I'm thrilled that I am right back on the if I don't have the money than don't buy it plan.

I'm just happy to know that even if I do get a little of track I can get right back on again. The other good news is that I have been saving money and working toward my goals for so long now that it feels weird to not put away money toward them.

I'm thinking that by allowing myself to get that camera I can focus again. Before it seemed like an endless tunnel of no fun and like I would never be able to get what I want to get and only things I need. But by allowing myself to get something I've wanted for two years it seems that I feel a little more upbeat now and happy.

I have also decided that at some point soon I will allow myself to buy some clothes as I have very few. Yes I need to lose weight but I need to have something to dress myself in the time being! Hope everyone is doing okay in the post holiday/trying to keep up with their resolutions January.

Christmas was awesome and I was able to reward myself with something I wanted forever. A beginner dSLR camera I'm so excited to learn about it. It came with some classes and what not to show me how to use the thing.

Things will go back on track for money but its nice to see efforts pay off. I hit my goals and allowed myself to have something I have been pinning for for years it feels pretty damn good.

Still have no credit card debt which is fantastic and it looks like the job will drag on for a little while longer so all in all a good holiday week.

The part time job calmed down and they are way cutting my hours. And we got a week off from the temp job due to some project hold up.

The great thing is the missing money is not going to affect me at all because of my planning I had already taken the money for bills out of the last check.

I am optimistic again. And Christmas is paid off. Time to plan for the future and get back on track.

I am still working at my temp job which is lovely. But I decided to do a little extra for Christmas which has put my put extra payments toward my car plan on hold.

But good news is I'm still contributing to my IRA, toward my EF and x amount of expenses month fund while keeping my cc balance manageable. I put some Christmas things on there for the reward points. It was great to see that high balance disappear just as quickly as it was charged with now rewards all for myself. I'm hoping that I can get my EF back to at least 2K again before the end of the year and fund my savings account for 4 months of expenses. That would be grand!

In the meantime I'm working in my resume to get my next gig all lined up so I can keep this financial stability going into the new year! And trying to restore balance by getting back to the gym. Need something to get all this energy out.

My sad little IRA account has finally hit $1000. I had not been blessed with (fruitful) employment until recently (even if it is only temporary) and that fact combined with a little serious credit card debt meant that saving decent money toward retirement wasn't much of a reality til now.

So I guess I can look at it as 100 bucks a year for the last 10 years and reflect on the fact that it may be better than what most people in my age range have saved. I just know that now it will grow it to several thousand dollars now that there are no more credit card issues. It's amazing how much better I can sleep at night even with a small emergency fund, $1000 in my IRA and no interest racking up on my credit cards.

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!!

Lately I've been so focused on money that I have let other goals fall by the wayside. I need to relearn balance.

I have stuck to being frugal and next week if everything goes well I will be credit card debt free. After that I will go back to saving and making double payments on my car.

But I have other goals I'd like to reach and I keep not going for them. I have had a goal to lose the 15 pounds I gained like sick and I keep putting it off. I need to start back at it. A week ago I was all pumped up for it. Picking out my gym clothes and updating my bag. I guess my thing is really that I want swim but there are only certain times when the pool is not busy so that I'd actually get a turn. I suppose I should just stick to my plan of waking up earlier and seeing what the pool crowd is like at that time.

It would be nice to focus on fitness again and fit back into my old clothes not to mention cost effective.

Does anyone else out there get to caught up in finances?

I am so happy to report that first the first time in a long time I will be getting a paycheck from which I have not already spent a penny out of.

I am so excited to see how much I'll have left over after the bills and how much I can apply to my credit card to wipe out that pesky debt once and for all.

If I wipe it out I will have one less payment when my job ends which means this time I will have enough money left to afford groceries. I am just so excited.

More training to come on my contract job really happy that is going to go on longer. If it goes on long enough then maybe I can build a nice big fat EF before its all said and done.