Thursday, February 19, 2009
GRRRR....
| By Lynn Forgy I'm sure some of you can understand my frustration - whenever I think I might be just a little bit ahead, WHAM - some unexpected expense smacks me in the face! A brief summary - I did my taxes, and thought I would get a nice refund to pay off my student loan debt and then put half of the remaindert in my 3-6 month emergency fund and the other half towards my upcoming dental surgery. So what happened? First, I got a bill from my daughter's dentist. $312 remaining from what the insurance wouldn't pay. OK, so I thought that wasn't too bad. I can handle $312. I just made the little deduction in my notebook. And then? I got ANOTHER bill from my daughter's periodontist. Apparently, the insurance didn't want to pay for that consultation either (I think she had actually reached her limit for the year and I wasn't aware of it - long story, but that's the gist). Another $110. So I made another deduction. And another, and another... What was I left with? Well, I had enough to pay off my student loan (Yeah!! Finally). And I'll be able to pay the aforementioned dental bills ($422). And I'll be able to pay back one-half of what I owe to a family member that fronted me the money for my daughter's root canal. So instead of being finished with Baby Step 2 (my original plan), I am still stuck here, and with the following debts: $600 - remaining payment for root canal $3050 - dental surgery (mine) Sometimes I just feel like giving up - except I know I wouldn't be any better off, particularly since I performed surgery on my credit cards. Grrrr... Labels: Baby Step 2, Debt |
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Preparing for Baby Step 3
By Lynn Forgy At the end of the year, I will once again take a look at my assets and liabilities. This information will be typed in a financial statement (very basic, of course, since I have not a lot of one and what seems like an over-abundance of the other) so that I can see my progress since the same time last year. Prior to this, however, I hope to have completed Baby Step 2. As you can see from the bar on the right, I have only $999 remaining to finish this step. The remainder is my student loan, and I hope to have it paid off by the end of December. In preparation of this wonderful event, I have been looking forward to Baby Step 3. At this step, I would be saving 3 to 6 months of living expenses. This would include my basics: mortgage, groceries, utilities, electricity, health insurance, life insurance, and tithing. I have been debating whether or not to include phone, cable, and other "necessities"; however, I think that it would cause me less stress if I were to just include those things that I shouldn't live without. I could live without cable, although probably not happily, and the same could be said of my cell phone. My total for monthly living expenses would be $1,500 per month, and I would need to have $4,500 to $9,000 in my fully funded emergency fund for Baby Step 3. Thinking about the length of time I would need to complete Baby Step 3 is not good for my digestion. Although if I put it into perspective, it will take a lot less time to accomplish this step than it did to finish Baby Step 2. I'd love to hear from others out there who are working on the steps! Labels: Account, Baby Step 2, Baby Step 3, Finance |
