Ruben came over to the house Monday evening. It was a great meeting, and we are all on a plan.
It took me till now to just get a minute to get back on the computer, because I had plenty of homework after he left.
First - he gave me a great spreadsheet that helped me calculate which debt to pay first, how much, etc. And, as soon as one card is paid off, that exact payment gets applied to the next, and so on, and so forth. (www.themoneytrainer.com)I'm only posting the website because he and Jodi have been so helpful to so many women I know, and they are sincere, amazing people.
Next, he sat down with Lauren & I, and told her that she and I had to change our financial ways, and that she was going to be an equal partner in getting our family financially healthy. He stressed that this was not a punishment, but would set her on a path to financial freedom, which she will be able to see the results of her efforts very soon.
I had already put myself on lockdown on Thursday of last week, after checking account doomsday. Ruben said it was probably the hardest thing I had to do in a while, to go out to the mailbox and sort through more bounced check notices, but it actually wasn't so bad, there were only 4.
He looked at my last 3 months of bank statements and we had a funeral for the credit cards and the debit card. buh-bye!
We calculated there is $5290 in fixed payments/bills that are all automatically set up to be paid in my checking account. We changed a few of the dates to occur within 48 hours of my paycheck direct deposit, so there is only activity on this account twice a month, within a 72 hour period. (direct deposit, and then bill payment)
I had a separate account sitting dormant, so I added another direct deposit account of $250/month. (See $500 misc in budget)
That is my spending $$. I can either take a cash withdrawal on that account, use a debit card, or whatever, but I must keep a register for the bank activity on that (much fewer entries on this account, easier to work on ) and a memo pad for cash expenditures.
I am also opening in ING savings account, as many of you have recommended, a week from today when I am paid again.
I also asked my boss (Ruben's recommendation) to change the paycheck each month in which I receive overrides. I have a takehome salary of $1500/check. But I get overrides on my team production monthly, and right now I get that payment around the 16th of the month. That makes me upside down, because over $3800 of that $5290 comes out between the 1st and the 8th. That check averages about $3600, so I wouldn't be scrambling in the beginning of the month, and "rich" at the end. I hope he agrees.
I also needed to find a money buddy. Someone I could have instant access to, whenever I was considering spending more than $50 on something other than grocieries, auto, you know - the real needs. Like, a dress, a piece of jewelry, something for the kids, etc. I have to call them, and justify why I need it, before I spend it. Great idea, my best friend Mindy is going to LOVE telling me to put my money AWAY!
Lauren has her own budget, and will be making payments back to her credit cards during the summer. She gets $40 per week to have for herself, and the rest goes in her bank for her savings, and she has a payoff plan for her cards as well. She has $2k to pay off, and her dad and I will pay the other $2k, school expenses we committed to paying for originally.
He and I still need to work on her expenses for next school year, but that is for the next meeting with Ruben.
Trevor - He was told "get a job, or lose the car"...He's been out every day filling out applications. By the time he got home from Israel, and had a few days to recover, most summer jobs for kids here in town were filled. He really wants to work, but is having a hard time finding something. BUT - several kids are taking the SAT's, and Trevor got a 1500, so many families have hired him at $25/hour to tutor their kids. I'm satisfied for now. We are going on a few college tours this month and next, and he has tons of scholarship essays to write, so that will have to be his job for a while.
That's about it...I haven't spent a dime on anything other than 1 trip to the grocery store, and a tank of gas. I was trying to push off the dry cleaner until Friday, but I have a big meeting this morning at 10:30, and I really must have one of my suits. I will have to bite the bullet, and pay $53 to pick up my dry cleaning. I also have a business dinner tonight, which will be about $30, but I've already made dinner for the kids, and so that will come out of the already allocated $30 for wings we usually do on Wednesday.
So there I go! I can see how NOT spending money becomes a game, and actually can be a fun challenge to see how far you can go with it. I haven't had a panic attack all week, and though I've been a little down in the dumps (fighting hard with the ex suddenly) I'm going to be just fine.
Thanks everyone for keeping tabs on me.
Deb
It's official - Financial lockdown is my friend!
June 20th, 2007 at 11:13 am
June 20th, 2007 at 11:46 am 1182340000
June 20th, 2007 at 12:48 pm 1182343735
I did this at 30(yrs), 15 years ago. Keeping it a challenge/game made it more fun than drudge. Read "Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki Robin. Its an eye opener. Bet most of your sons friend aren't making $25 an hour. Let him experience running his own business. He can probably get more than 40 hours a week. Math tutors are always in demand.
June 20th, 2007 at 02:13 pm 1182348839
June 20th, 2007 at 02:49 pm 1182350996
It's great that you have an accountability partner. Your're doing great and you have an asset in your friend.
June 20th, 2007 at 04:53 pm 1182358404
June 20th, 2007 at 08:59 pm 1182373183
Keep posting! Love what you are doing!
June 21st, 2007 at 06:00 pm 1182448828
Lorie
June 22nd, 2007 at 07:10 am 1182496219