Layout:
Home > Blah... suggestions?

Blah... suggestions?

January 10th, 2013 at 11:04 pm

I'm feeling very "blah" about it all lately. Couldn't put my finger on it at first, but I think I just did.

I was all pumped up looking at my finances and making plans when I had money to pay down/off credit cards and options. Now, the extra money is gone and it's just the boring day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month budget, spending, bills, BLAH!

My next bunch-o-money will come in March when I get some stock. My plan is to sell (hoping for a decent stock price) to pay off more debt.

But in the meantime, I have a hard time being focused on finances. What can I do??

Good stuff: I had two weeks off from work over the holidays. I went through my office (formerly known as the mess/junk room that I really couldn't walk into comfortably) and got it pretty much cleaned out. I have a TON of books I hope to sell, but many old textbooks I fear will not. What shall I do with them? I also found some other collectible-type things I'll try to sell online. I'm quite sure nothing is worth much money individually, but it will all add up.

More good stuff coming: while my significant other's hours are shorted now (24 hours down from 40+), this shouldn't last long. His company announced that they received the needed tax credit/break/whatever it was they needed and will be ramping up sooner rather than later. Then it will be lots of hours for him. He'll be crabby, but he'll be making lots of overtime money.

Also, I started school again and I'm pretty excited about it. Only book cost and supplies are out of pocket, tuition is paid by my company. YAY ME!

Not so good: I caved and used some credit cards over the holiday. Not much though and am confident these will be paid before any interest hits.

Good: I think I'll make my weight when I weigh in for my work's "maintain don't gain" contest. If I do, I won't have to pay $25. The contest is to weigh the same or less after the holidays. I was a half-pound up early this week, but pretty sure I'm good now.

I'm not sure how to keep motivated with the financial journey. I'm terrible at budgeting but I am working on it. I've unfortunately gotten used to just getting what I need and reasonably what I want when the mood strikes (far cry from my old life when I couldn't get milk when I needed it). I can't seem to focus on the things I want in the future - though I think about them in the "oh, when I'm retired, I'll do this and have that and be like this" way - and worse I have forced myself to forget my old life of constant struggle. BLAH! Sometimes the "wow those jeans make my butt look AMAZING, especially when I wear those SHOES" thoughts are louder...

Suggestions?

3 Responses to “Blah... suggestions?”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1357864381

    My suggestion is to take a look at some online debt payoff calculators that can show you how adding more than the minimum payment will shorten the time you will be paying on your debt. Under TOOLS on the SA home page there is one calculator to try. It helps to realize how much your debt is costing you in dollar terms...sometime the percentage does doesn't mean the same thing.

  2. Maranatha Says:
    1357867271

    Congrats on getting your junk cleaned out of your office and for starting school again. I'm confident you will stay focused on your finances and your debt will be gone before you know it.

  3. snafu Says:
    1357884748

    I believe you need to give yourself rewards for meeting goals/targets. For example, if I reduce X pounds, I'll ask for a X bit of lingerie. If I reduce spending on food by 10%, gas by 10% + X no spend days it will free up funds for a special, super romantic Valentine dinner and movie with or without friends as you prefer.

    Start a coin jar to pay for some summer event is another example.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]