"Set Goals and Stay Disciplined"

the cost of bikes now days!

2010-04-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Day 688

2010-04-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

It's April!

I need some April goals:

1. Pay $2,500 to debt ($160 down!)

2. Sell enough stuff this month that I make $400 and put that to debt (in addition to the $2,500)

3. don't buy things I don't need

4. get my taxes done

I might add more to this list as the month goes on.

Good news! I have my car and it's paid for! Oh, it's good to be driving again :)

I just paid $160 to my Visa

Total Debt Paid: $55, 244

Day 687

2010-03-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

I just paid $2,000 to my Visa! -- YAY! It's in the $6,000 range now...haven't been there in awhile! It's high $6,000 but ti there, lol

I'm very happy about my decision with my new car. I was in a car accident and have no choice but to buy a new car as I need one for my business. The insurance company gave me about $5,800 and I found a car for $6,500. That will be paid for in cash, no car payments! That means no more added debt - yay!

I opened up a TFSA! I plan to have $5000 in it by the end of this year. Right now I'm just putting in $100 a month. I'll just add the rest in as it comes...after this debt id a bit lower and my wedding season starts

I'm so excited to get this debt gone...just a few more months :) -- and then it's onto savings! I think I'll start a new blog for that.

Total Debt Paid: $55, 084

Day 672

2010-03-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

672 days of paying off debt and I'm still not there!

While in Vegas I spent less than $500US in the week on food. It's so expensive there! We got groceries for the hotel room but still had to eat out every day as our room didn't have a fridge. However, it was a great conference, I'm glad I went and I did learn a lot for work.

Yesterday I got my check from my insurance so I have a bit of money for the car shopping. I was given $5,800CA. The car I am going to buy is $17,000. It's a Honda, they hold their value and I'm hoping it will last me abut 5yrs *fingers crossed* I was looking for a car around the $5,800 range but I had to look at cars in the 2004 or older and I worry about how long something like that would last.

I've been taking on more work and should be able to increase my income by $2000 a month. Nice right?!! It will all go to credit, taxes and the money I borrow for the car. Taxes are killing me! Ugh!!!

I just put $150 on my Visa -- still owing $8,889.14

Total Debt Paid: $53, 084

Day 655

2010-02-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

It's never ending!

I corrected some numbers on my taxes and now owe over $7,000 *tears, tears, tears*

I paid $100 to Visa on Friday

Total Debt Paid: $52, 934

Day 653

2010-02-25T11:33:00.000-08:00

New Numbers:

Visa: $8,782.95
Braces: $3,411
Taxes: $4,216.35 (new bill)

New debt total is $16, 405

I paid $1,000 to taxes today as it was $5,216 :(

Total Debt Paid: $52,834

Day 653

2010-02-22T15:16:00.000-08:00

Here is what I got from it and need to apply or in some cases apply as much as I can:

Don't borrow money. If I don't have the money I can't buy it. (OK, how am I going to buy a decent car?!!)

80% behavior and 20% knowledge. Change my behavior. If I don't have the money, don't buy it.

- cut up the credit and only use cash (I do need credit for work
- use the envelope system.
- get on a budget and give every number a predestination (I never know month to month how much I make)
- read books about money (these cost money!)

Budget Baby Steps
1. start an Emergency Fund of $1000
2. set up a plan to get out of debt. Start with the smallest debt to pay off and work your way up. Debt snowball
3. Go back to step 1 and raise it to 3-6 months of expenses
4. Invest 15% of your income into retirement
5. set up a college fund for my son
6. Pay off the house early ( I rent )
7. build wealth

I kind of have the emergency fund if I need it. There is money in accounts I do not touch so now I guess I work on the snowball affect and pay off the smallest debt which is my taxes and the one that I should be paying. I think I can pay my taxes before I go to Vegas. That would be awesome!

I think I'll put the Visa back in the freezer :)

Day 651

2010-02-20T19:39:00.000-08:00

2010 Financial Goals

1. Pay off debt

2. Read 30 books on debt (any recommendations?)

3. Get a tax free saving account and put the $5,000 in it

4. Get a $5,000 emergency fund

Total Debt Paid: $51,834

($100 to Visa)

Day 650

2010-02-19T18:58:00.000-08:00

What day is it?!! I can't believe I am on day 650 of paying off debt and still have $$$ to go!

OK, so it's been a long while since I posted.

Here is what's new:

I finished paying off my car! Yay, right?!! Yeah, and then I was in a car accident and wrote the car off, ugh! Now I need to buy a car. I'm 30 and can't get credit. This year I am cathcing up on my taxes and will be able to get my own car...one day

I paid off the old phone bill :)

I've paid $1,200 in taxes since my last post that I owed (still more to go)

The only debt I have right now is

credit: $8,000+

taxes: $3, 200+

braces: $5,000+

Now, how much have I paid in debt? Well, the credit card doesn't count because every time I pay it off I go and spend it again on biz stuff. However, the $1500 phone bill is paid. The remaining $3000 on the car is paid. So $4,500 - yay :)

I'm going to Vegas in a few days $$$ and I need a car $$$

UGGGGGGH!

Total Debt Paid: $51, 734

Total Debt: $16, 000+

I need some new plans here.

Day 487

2009-12-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

I'm sure my goal list will grow but here are a few to start with:

pack lunches for work

make meal plans

grocery shop once a week

make income goals

live on cash out of jars/pay myself

set up payments for credit card

make donate, keep, and sell buckets

track spending

track income

track bills

don't use credit

pay debts on time

keep up with the savings account

don't go into overdraft

pay the phone old bill off this month

This is what I hope to take care of for the rest of the month.

I need to think of how I am going to buy Christmas presents.

If I plan on being debt free by the two year mark then I have to pay off $3,333 a month for the next six months. I'll save the braces bill for last as I am set up on a month to mont payment for them and take care of the high interest/effecting my credit bills first. Oh, but the braces come off the credit card...bad idea. I may need to switch that over to cheques.

credit, taxes, car, old phone bill and braces are what's left to pay before being debt free.

I made a $500 payment to the old phone bill tonight. I should be able to put another $200 on debt tomorrow :) and pay some bills with the rest of the money I'll earn/deposit tomorrow

Total Debt Paid: $47, 234

Day 486

2009-12-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

How possible is it to be debt free?!?

Since I’ve started this I’ve paid off a lot of debt. Of course I’ve lost focus here and there and could have done better but I’ve also gained more debt…like $6100 in braces for my son, over $4000 in taxes, new equipment for the business

So the break down now:

$1200 taxes

$1200 to the car

$3,600 to my mom

I’ve paid off some Visa but I’m not even going to count it as I’ve about put the money back on. So, I’ll start adding the Visa to debt payment once I really start paying it off

My goal to be debt free by my 30^th birthday did not happen

Soooooo, the new goal is to be debt free by June 2010

By June 2010 it will be 2yrs since I’ve started this

I need to get back into my whole idea of Donald Trumps “Set goals and stay disciplined” if this is ever going to work well for me.

I make a great income for being single. I should have a lot more that what I do.

I’ll be back with new goals tomorrow

Total Debt Paid: $42, 234

Day 386

2009-09-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

Still slow going...what a difference losing focus makes -- obviously!

I've been putting money into the business like crazy. I have a boyfriend who is military who I hardly see so dating isn't costing me a thing. Right now I have over $4000 sitting in the bank waiting for me to put it somewhere...I'm thinking I'll pay off the car and I'm owed a few thousand dollars as well.

I think I have something like $17,000 to go. It will be more when we figure out how much I owe in taxes :(

Total Debt paid: $36, 234

Day 333

2009-07-28T03:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted! Ugh, and I haven't been focused.

Since my last post I have only paid $1000 to debt

In the meantime I have added the cost of my sons new braces to my debt and over $3000 in taxes from last year

I have just less than $20,000 to pay by Nov *fingers crossed*

I need some new goals to get me there

Total Debt Paid: $34, 534

Day 275

2009-05-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

I paid an amount of $500 to an owing debt today....some more of the cash I owed my mother.

I'm going to try and pay off the rest of my debt in the next 3 months...or 92 days. I'm guessing it's about $15, 000 or so which works out to about $1250 a week! Yikes!!! I'll try anyway. It would be nice to have a $50, 000 debt paid in 15 months so that's what I'm going for. Wish me luck! *fingers crossed*

Total Debt Paid: $33, 534

Day 265

2009-05-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

I just made a payment to the Visa :)

Total Debt Paid $33, 034

Day 258

2009-05-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I have no idea why I haven't been in here: busy, not making the time for it...I could come up with a few reasons. Mostly I think because I was in such a slow time for work that I didn't have the extra cash to put onto debt that I found it a bit depressing.

Now that my business is picking up again and the income is now double what it was over Jan-April I hope to get back on track and finish paying off this debt this year.

I need to get back on track and follow the whole 'set goals and stay disciplined'. I need new goals for each month as the goal along the whole way has been to be debt free by age 30 which is now just 5 months away! -- YIKES!!!

Total Debt Paid: $32, 648

Day 175

2009-02-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

I did it! I hit $30, 000 -- actually just over :D

I still have a bit of a way to go, abut $20, 000

Total Debt Paid: $30, 348

Day 172

2009-02-17T18:38:00.001-08:00

Come on $30,000

Goal this week is to hit $30,000...so close!

Total Debt Paid: $29,648

Day 269

2009-02-13T14:38:00.000-08:00

This is my first post this month. Last month was the first time I tracked my income and expenses and the expenses out weighted the income. I was $1,737.45 short so a few bills were not paid and I only put $303 to debt.

I was going to go to Vegas this week for a work convention but decided not to. So instead I put $1000 to my credit card. For the first time in a long time my balance is in the $6,000+ as it's usually around $8,000. Isn't that a crazy balance to carry? Maybe I was a bit out of control!

I am going to Florida in March so I paid for the flight and convention fees.

AND, I put $700 on a advertising bill which I piled into my debt as it's taking me awhile to pay the full amount.

I paid about $1000 in bills today. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up from last month.

Total Debt Paid: $29,148

Day 251

2009-01-27T06:06:00.000-08:00

My son just left for school and I'm just slightly in shock to what he said to me before he left for school. "The kids at school think we're poor because we live here." We have a three bedroom house, fenced in yard, a shed an attic, lots of room and in a neighborhood where all the houses look pretty much the same. I rent and it's by no means expensive but we moved here from a small apartment where I paid the same rent. I like the house. There are plenty of kids in the neighborhood for my son to play with. I've painted the house, we have nice furniture, my son has his own play room with two tv's, a couch, xbox, playstation, and a weight bench. (I didn't buy the game systems or the one tv) He plays hockey and snowboards -- both costly sports. My son is by no means doing with out. I think I provide very well for him.

My son sometimes says we are poor as well and I always tell him we are not poor. I think I make great money for being a single mom. I own my own business that I work hard at and it does well. My sons father doesn't help with anything, not even child support, but my son and I still do ok. All the money right now of course goes to debt but I don't want my son to think we are poor. We just live off what we need right now.

I think I need to figure out a way to talk about money with him to explain the situation.

Total Debt Paid: $27, 448

Day 243

2009-01-12T18:09:00.000-08:00

I've been back on my laying out my monthly expenses

I've been calculating with a Budget Template which I find great for helping me out with tracking expenses. I downloaded it from the Maxed Out website. It's free to use :D

I never pay my bills on time but I hope to change that. I almost have my monthly bills paid for the house; I'm just one bill away. Then I'll have the business bills to pay.

GOOD NEWS: I am caught up on my Visa as I was two months behind :(

Total Debt Paid: $27, 448

(I can't wait for this number to be $30,000)

Day 242

2009-01-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

So, I laid out my monthly bills and it's pretty scary. So far just for rent, car, heat, hydro, cable, internet on my house and business I am spending over $4,200. That still does not include groceries, gas and what I would like to put onto debt. It's also the time of year where I advertise and it's about $1000 this month if I decide to take part. It's a once a year thing. I hope this months income will at least cover the bills, groceries, gas with a bit for debt. So far this month all my money has gone to needs...and books. Oh, I'll have to add books to the monthly budget.

Here is what I'm reading now:

The last book I read by Kiyosaki was very informative so I thought I would give this one a try since I own my own business

Cost was $14.95 on iTunes

...and this one I am almost done and just started today. It's a lot about history of business, what's worked and what has failed. I feel like I'm getting a lot of stats and it's stuff I kind of already know.

Cost was $9.95 on iTunes

So far I have spent $36.85 on audio books this month. I put them on my iPod and listen when I can. I walk around with the iPod my pocket and the earphones around my neck when I'm not using them. I have a long list of books I want to get to. After these two books there is another debt book I really want to read. I figure reading biz books will improve my business and I'll make more to pay off debt :D

Total Debt Paid: $27, 148

Day 239

2009-01-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

I went to the bank today for a 'financial check up' is what they call it. When I sat down the lady asked me to tell her a bit about me. So, I went on with: single mom, business owner, and I'm flat broke paying off debt. She was totally impressed with how much debt I have been able to pay off at day 239. So, since I don't have any money right now to invest because it's all going to debt we talked about what I would do with my money after I am done paying off my debt. I was just wondering what I was going to do last week so this meeting was helpful. I also locked my RRSP's in for another 4yrs at 4% as they are maturing soon so why not?!! I also learnt a bit about how I can be saving my my son after my debt is paid AND she then suggested I meet an accountant so I did that next and am now on my way to getting on track. The accountant gave me a list of things to gather in the next two weeks before she can help me.

The book I mentioned below is excellent. I have it on audio and have listened to it twice. It gave me a good foundation in a few areas: taxes, owning a business, liabilities vs assets, why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and how to make my money work for me.

If anyone has any suggestions on books to do with finances I'd love to hear your suggestions.

Tonight I am going to get started on the homework my new account gave me and start a money flow.

I've ben keeping track of all my sending and income so far this month. I haven't paid anything to debt because I owe so much in bill right now :(

Total Debt Paid: 27, 148

Day 233

2009-01-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

I've made it through the holidays :D I think I spent about $700ish on Christmas gifts. (ouch!) I do dislike that about Christmas. The gift buying is crazy. My family totally over does it. I still spent less than they did and I do feel a bit cheap but I can't afford to be a crazy shopper.

On New Years I didn't spend any money...except gas money so maybe $20. I went to a friends and played Wii. It was just three of there and we had a blast. It was so much better than getting into the bar scene and I started the new Year working out -- hopefully a good sign. I use to be huge into fitness. I worked as a trainer in a gym but then I got busy with my own business and took a break which has now been two years. So, I really miss it and I'm back in the books trying to re-learn what i have forgotten over time

I bought the Rich Dad Poor Dad book. I've heard at least three times now that it's the best book ever read. I bought it on iTunes for about $16. It's the audio book and I have it on my iPod so I plan on listening to it while cleaning. I'm a big fan of audio books. It's the multi-tasking of listening and driving or cleaning that I can do at the same time that I love.

I'll report back on my review of the book. I'm sure I'll have it done next week.

Still, I continue to be flat broke. All my money is going to bills right now. I think it will take me two months to catch up as I still recovery from the high deposits from the move. I made $1500 on Dec 20th that I am waiting to be paid for and with that I will FINALLY buy my washer and dryer

Total Dent Paid: $27, 148

Day 208

2008-12-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't paid anything to debt since my last post :(

I spent money in business, new desks, chairs and staff. It cost me $2700/month to cover the expenses just to run the building with rent, heat, hydro and staff. I'm going to have to make changes to that for January when things are a bit slower.

I still do not own a washer and dryer, ugh! I hope to take last weekends pay to purchase that.

My Christmas shopping is almost done. I spent about $500 so far between 5 people. I probably spent about $15 or less on decorations this year. I just pulled out all my old stuff from the attic.

I've spent the last 2hrs going through debt blogs, watching debt videos and trying out the online surveys (no luck there)

My gas bill on the office right now is about $700+. I still haven't got to paying the $500 deposit is why it's so high. How aweful it was to open a $700+ gas bill!

I have a problem paying bills on time. I need to work on this. I'm not very organized. And in the last month I have had no idea how much money I have made and where it has all gone....not on my bills as far as heat and hydro go on both the house and biz :( I need a better plan there

I spent less than $10 on groceries today after going to the bank and seeing I have about $500 in my account. But, I did pay my January rent on the house early so that's taken care of. I hope that in the new year I can be better organized and keep track of these things better.

I need tro set some new goals -- and stay disciplined/focused

Total debt paid: $26, 548

Day 182

2008-11-27T20:14:00.001-08:00

I had a birthday this week which basically means only 52 weeks to be debt free...as the goal is to be debt free by the age of 30.

I've spent to much money on business this month and I haven't started Christmas shopping, ugh!

I did pay $300 to an account today that I am WAY behind on. One of my clients actually just started working for this company I owe money to and she felt awful that she has to be the one to email me asking to pay up. And not to mention it's a tad bit embarrassing to have to tell my client I don't have the money but I'll pay $300.

The credit card is still in the freezer. I hope to put some money on it before the month is over.

Total Debt Paid: $26, 548

Day 173

2008-11-18T20:06:00.001-08:00

I now have car insurance! YAY! It will cost me about $200 a month as I have a few speeding tickets from the past.

I also caught up on my car payments today!

I turn 29 next week which means only a year left to pay off debt to reach my 'debt free by age 30' goal.

Work is crazy right now. I'm actually strongly considering hiring help. It's either expand or cut back so I think I'll try expanding to see how it goes instead of limiting myself. Hopefully I'll be able to afford the help.

Total Debt Paid: $26, 248

Day 173

2008-11-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

I had a few unexpected expenses today. My son needed new shoes because he stepped in dog pooh and left his shoes at my mothers, outside in a bucket of water! He then tried to go to school this morning in his cousins size 1 shoe when he is a size 4. So, we went shopping and spent over $50 on shoes. He also needed new goalie pads and a goalie stick as he has grown out of his (but they lasted for three years) so there was another $400+. I had only budgeted for $100 in sports and $100 in clothing for him this month and as we went over the budget for sports I will also go over budget for clothing as I still have to buy him winter boots....maybe not over budget if I can find boots under $50.

I haven't paid any money to debt since my last post but I plan on paying my car tomorrow as it's two weeks late! Ugh, and secured debt! I'm just killing my credit here.

As soon as I get the car caught up and my car insurance I'll start putting into the emergency fund -- thanks for the suggestion.

Oh, and the budget -- SCARY! So far my expenses add up to over $4,700 a month. That's just so far, ocovering the costs of rent on the house, biz, gas, food, clothing, sports....so I have the budget and the actual will be more :( I didn't know I spend THAT much money.

Total Debt Paid: $25, 888

Day 169

2008-11-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

After calculating up the numbers on my budget sheet I pretty much have enough money to pay for my bills and some debt and then I'm broke. I feel broke all the time. I always have a long list as to where money needs to go. My numbers are not all correct yet with the budget but I should have a better idea by the end of the month. I'm not sure if I am breaking even or spending more than I make right now as I do pay bills late, the phone, hydro and the car. Hmmm, sounds like a good indication I spend more than I make.

I have $10 in my wallet right now. I've been trying to feed my Ice Cap (coffee) addiction with change only this month as I never seem to keep cash long enough. I spend about $4 a day on coffee. I just put $300 on my credit card which is still frozen in the freezer :)

My income will decrease by half next month as I have some seasonal work that will come to an end. It's great for 6months and then pretty dead for the other 6 months. I'll need to find some way to make some more money AND cut from my budget. I'm very worried about this. Last year I was very broke through the winter as I wasn't watching my money, or trying to make more in my slow season, or paying debt...and I pretty much never paid the bills on time -- just the rent on my apartment and commercial space. I was the person eating peanuts for dinner (really, peanuts) because I didn't have any money to buy food. I always made sure my son would eat well and I would go without.

Once I have the time I'm going to photograph and sell and bunch of stuff I have at home online and out all the money to my credit card :D

Total Debt Paid: $25, 888

Day 162

2008-11-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

I was looking over my first post when I started this blog just this past June and at that time I was paying over $400 in interest a month on my debt...the good news is that I have paid off enough debt that I pay just over $100 a month now in interest :) -- YAY!

I remember the day when I made it to $10,000 on the amount of debt paid. I was paying my PST at the bank as I owed money...so much that there was a lien on my business and car. I paid the bill and cried as I walked out of the bank because it felt amazing to make it to the $10,000 mark. It's been a adventure! From hiding my car from a bailiff to not answering my phone in fear of a creditor asking for money that I didn't have.

I was adding up my debt yesterday on how much I owe and how much I paid and my numbers where not adding up. I forgot that I had included the car (secured debt I have a problem paying -- terrible) on the debt amount but I was counting it to what I have paid. I've sort of looked at the car debt like a bill. However, I have struggled so much with this loan I'm wondering how I missed counting into the debt. I was hiding my car for a few weeks in fear of the bailiff, not sleeping at night worrying about the car being gone in the morning...how could I forget this bill?!! I still struggle with it.

So adding the car in the amount of debt paid I am now at $25,588 in total debt paid in 162 days :) Of course I can't help but to wonder what would I have done with that money if I wasn't paying off debt. I have always been terrible with money so I think I would have blown it on a lot of nothing but I would have bought some gear for business. I'm in my sixth month and I love that I have been able to pay this much and I am totally thankful for all the help I have had in doing so. Change, I thank you the most as your blog brought me here.

I was feeling pretty terrible about failing on all my goals last month but I'm catching up and I'm focusing on the positive. $25, 588 in 161 days is pretty good and I know it's a slow process to pay off debt and there are setbacks in most things we take on in life, right?!!

Total Debt Paid: $25,588

Day 160

2008-11-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

OK, so I’m catching up and since Nov 1^st I have paid my gas bill on the house, an outstanding Express Toll Route bill, over paid on the VISA, the hyrdo bill for the old house is now paid for, my cable/internet bill is paid and I PAID OFF my Future Shop account! The Future Shop account was the priority bill to pay with it’s high interest. Now I’ll have to work on the Visa. I’m terrible for paying bills but I am working on a more organized system

The Visa is a huge problem. Every time I pay it down I out more stuff on it for business that I never have the money for. I just ordered over $3000 worth of product last month and this month I would like to buy about $400 worth or props for the business. I’ll try to use PayPal for that and my Visa is going in a plastic bag full of water and it’s going in the freezer so I can’t use it. I’ll do that now – ok done! Now I may have to move it to someone else’s freezer for better keeping.

I finished reading ‘Debt Management’ and from it have learnt a lot I need to put into play. Today I transferred my drugs to another pharmacy which will save me just over $2 a month. And I closed 2 of my four bank accounts – less bank fees.

I also have a budget in place to use as a guideline. After all a budget is suppose to be my financial life raft in all this…the biggest tool in pulling me out of this mess. So I better get use to following one to help me out here.

Total debt Paid: $23, 813

Day 158

2008-11-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

I actually failed on EVERY goal last month

1. pay bills on time -- nope!

2. buy a washer & dryer -- I bought a $2400 computer, biz expense needed...other one crashed

3. no movie rentals -- ugh!

4. blog at least three times a week -- ugh!!!

5. pay off future shop bill -- I owe just over $100. I should have paid it

6. no new clothing -- I bought cloths for work

7. get child support -- still no success here - he doesn't want to pay

8. finish reading 'managing debt' -- I'm pretty much done

New month new goals and lets hope I do a lot better this month. I would like to watch more debt programs. I really like them, they motivate me and I learn form them. I actually watch them writing notes for myself.

Today I watched 'Maxedout' and it's a Canadian show. I have not thought about where I spend most of my money but is on my business. In Oct I spent over $3000 on new equipment. This month I will spend about $2000 in new equipment. It's really eating into what's left for debt payment.

totally feeling like a failure I need to forget last month and try again with new November goals

1. I will not rent any movies

2. Blog at least three times a week (helps me to focus)

3. Watch as many debt programs as my schedule allows

4. I will not buy new clothing (winter boots not included...needed)

5. Read more on debt with the books I have

6. The Future Shop bill will be paid off

I do have a few expenses this month for the business. I'd love to buy that needed washer and dryer so I can stop using my mothers but I'm not sure I'll have the money. I still need to pay the deposits on my hydro and gas bills bills for the home and commercial space. The commercial space gas deposit is $500! YIKES!!! I think I need to consider ways to make more money :(

I did spent less than $10 today...I need more days like this

Total Debt paid: still not sure but hopefully I'l figure it out tomorrow

Day 153

2008-10-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how much time has passed since my last post!

Work is very busy -- crazy busy!

Paying off debt has been going slow but I plan on getting a lot done this month. I did purchase some needed equipment for the business. $$$ I spent about $3000 there but I have improved my work flow and am getting this done a lot quicker :)

My future shop account will be paid off thins month! Yay! One less account on my debt list!

I still need a washer and dryer. Laundry piles up like crazy in my house now that I actually have to find the time to go out to do laundry.

I closed three of my accounts today and now only have two. My one account was costing over $30 a month in bank fees so all I was doing in that account is being done in one of the two still open. Yay to saving money!

I bought winter clothes for my son and that was a $300 bill -- yikes! But it had to be done.

I was thinking about money yesterday and how much I make a year for being a single household income and I really do well -- I just need to work on learning how to manage this money. Oh, and still no child support from my sons father, ugh!

I'm off to check on everyone else now. I hope your all well!

Total Debt paid: No idea right now since I closed one account where debt was paying off through online banking. I should have checked into that! Whoops!

Day 135

2008-10-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

I spent $84.66 today on stuff I really didn't 'need' . It was all baking stuff: cookie cutters, baking sheets, cookie decorating stuff and some and pancake molds so I can make my son Halloween shaped pancakes...yes, I really didn't need the molds!

Day 137

2008-10-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot about credit counseling and I'm actually glad I was denied the counseling when I was looking into it back in June...it was brought me to this blog and my inspiration (change can be a good thing) but the agency I was talking to had radio adds (very costly, I've had them so where does that money come from???) and they charged $100 to set up the plan plus 10% of my total debt -- yikes. Not until reading more into the book I am reading I have learned that this form of credit counseling is only out to take my money. It would have cost me about $5000 just to have them help me. Instead I pay for internet, and I have bought a few books and I am doing just fine :)

I still have so much to do this month to keep up

Total Debt Paid: $23,003

Day 125

2008-10-01T04:19:00.000-07:00

It's Oct 1st and with a new month I think I'm in need of new goals with strict discipline. The bills are beyond what I can pay this month and cut backs will have to be made if I plan on paying my bills on time, buying a washer and dryer and putting money away to debt.

The process has slowed down again on how much I have put to debt. I seem to do this...have set backs but will pick up again and this month I plan on having another great month. I'm totally broke today, yesterday and the day before living in my overdraft. I will be paid $900 today and out of that will pay my rent, gas and groceries for the week.

October Goals

pay bills on time
buy washer & dryer
no movie rentals
read more debt blogs
blog at least three times a week
pay off future shop bill
no new clothing for me
get child support
finish reading managing debt
find ways to save for debt
track all incoming and out going money

I just found some money saving tips that I will need to consider:
#1 Avoid temptations.
#2 Use grocery coupons and buy generic items.
#3 Don’t use credit cards.
#4 Make a list.
#5 Pay yourself first.
#6 Cut out your vice habits and drains on your dollars.
#7 Shop at discount stores and outlets.
#8 Buy used.
#9 Downsize.
#10 Postpone purchases.

Total debt paid: $22,253

Day 124

2008-09-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

This is what I feel like right now.

After the move I have a ton of new bills with deposits to be paid and I have a nice pile of them in my purse. Really, I am afraid to open them. I missed my car payment again last month and I won't have it this month either. Ugh!

I have no idea how I am going to keep up.

I asked my sons father for child support today and he turned the conversation into a huge fight. For some reason he doesn't think he should pay support and so he hasn't. I don't really 'need' the support...I guess but it would really really help.

ALSO, my blog is now by invite only because I have a crazy ex who is now threatening to take me to court and if that happens I don't want him using this blog and my progress against me.

I just came across this interesting video: CLICK HERE

Total debt paid: $22,253

Day 117

2008-09-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

I have gone from owing 15 companies/people money to now just a list of 6. The list of six is still over $20,000

I bought a fridge and stove today. The new house is almost painted and I love it.

I bought a new book 'Managing Debt for Dummies'. it's a great book, easy to read/I'm not bored and it was 30% off :)

As I read a log in it I make notes in the debt binder I have created.

I have 3 goals to attend to this month.
1. get car insurance
2. buy a fridge and stove (yay, accomplished)
3. pay $1500 to debt

After this month I'll have a new set of goals that will include a washing machine and dryer

I'm owed about $4000 right now...joys of owning my own biz I guess

Total debt paid: $22,053

Day 110

2008-09-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

OK, I got it

Day 110 and I've paid $21,762 to debt -- yay!

My bank is a nightmare and now I can't even see how much I owe to my Visa, ugh!

Day ??? and totally lost

2008-09-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

The debt has been going well. I'm over $20,000 now since June but I'll have to get an exact number.

I've been totally busy with work.

The move went well but time consuming! I'm not even half way unpacked with the house but it's being painted. The upstairs will be done today and then I can settle things in up there. Tomorrow the painter will start on the kitchen...who is my uncle and doing all the painting for a really great price -- $350 for 6 rooms.

I'm borrowing a fridge and stove for now but should have the money this week to buy my own.

The house is fantastic! And with the rooms being painted it just makes it all the better :)

Anyway, just checking in since it's been so long. Hopefully I can get my total debt amount paid tonight and check back in tomorrow evening.

I hope everyone is well

Day 88

2008-08-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Total debt paid is $16, 962

August is my best month for income but I'm moving slowly on the debt with all my expenses. The business and my residence move at the end of the month and my business rent has more than doubled but I now have a store front so hopefully the marketing there will work out. I haven't figured out how I am going to pay for movers yet. I still need to come up with last months rent on both new locations.

I wrote a check for $2,400 to my sons school to cash for the end of the month so I can pay off last years tuition - that will be a nice bill to scratch off my debt list :)

I was really hoping to get to $20,000 this month but it doesn't look hopeful...anyway, I have scratched off a good number of creditors. I can now answer my phone without fear of a creditor :)

Day 77

2008-08-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

Total Debt Paid: $16, 562

35% of the debt paid estimating it was at $47,000 when I started but I am sure it's higher as I go along here.

Hummm, just to make myself feel a bit better...my goal is to pay off $20,000 by November. That goal is now just over 82% reached.

The car is paid off now...well not the whole thing. Just the part that wasn't paid for while I was apparently deceased. I just have to pay the bail lift fees which are over $400

I've been spending a lot of money lately. I have a new place to live, it's a three bedroom house, with an attic and shed - yay! The reason we are moving is because the apartment we (my son and I) are in is so small. Now we will have all kinds of room. So, I've paid for last months rent. The downside is I now have to buy a fridge and stove, washer and dryer. I can afford to buy new but maybe should try use to focus more money on the debt.

OK, off to read what everyone else is up to :)

August is a crazy busy month for me so I've been slow at posting here and my work blog :( I've been thinking about you all though

Day 70

2008-08-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have a bail lift looking for my car

Ugh, so I haven't been around here because I didn't want to only have bad news...so the good news is that I have put $1500 on that bill today but still owe over $1000. The bail lift (Matt a nice guy we've talked on the phone now) went to my ex's house looking for my car. I owe $350 just for Matt's time and trouble now.

This all started because for some reason my bank sent a letter of deceased to the bank where the car loan is. I'm not sure if deceased means I'm dead or I had some banking issues and the banker I was talking to about it could not tell me because he has never seen this before where I am still a live...so not sure what that happened, so the bank where the loan is canceled my automatic payments. I found out about three months later...another debt to add to my collection but it's now five months in total without payment so the bank is trying to take the car.

So....now when I go to work or am at home I park the car out of sight...just encase the bail lift comes back and is able to find me this time. He is to pick up the car today if I didn't pay the full amount owing...which I didn't but the car is not with me so hopefully I can keep putting the bail lift off until I pay the full amount. *sigh*

I'm suppose to be moving at the end of the month and still need first and lasts months rent

Anyway, the good news is I'm on day 70 of debt payment and have paid a total of
$15, 738

Obviously, the car is going to take priority right now, then I'll work on the rent.

Day 57 and 29% paid for!

2008-07-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Day 56 and I have paid $13,838 to debt (29% of the debt paid off)

…$200 on a credit card and $848 to a creditor. I have now scratched off another creditor calling me – all paid for!!! That was the one that called telling me I was going to court if I didn’t pay

In June I started with a list of 15 companies/personal loans to pay off and I now 57 days later have 9 companies/personal loans to pay off.

I only wonder why would I not have started this process sooner?!!

Yesterday I mentioned I picked up some audio books by Toni Robbins, they are great. I knew they would be…after all it is Toni Robbins. But what he goes into makes sense about what finally got me in gear to pay off this debt. I’ll post the name of it later for anyone interested. He is totally inspiring.

Day 56

2008-07-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

Day 56 and I have paid a total of $12,790.02

I saved money in two ways today:

1) I needed hangers so instead of going out and buying some which is what I was going to do I just went through my closet and tossed the cloths I never wear into 2 garbage bags that I’ll donate….so, now I have LOTS of hangers.

2) I took back 29 milk jugs which paid for more chocolate milk and put just over a $1 into my purse

Yesterday I drove for about 4hrs (work related) so I took the time to think of some ways to help me stay focused with the debt.

log into online banking daily (as mentioned)
take time to read other debt blogs (I really learn a lot from others blogs)
get back on track with the daily spending
get back on track with daily income

I was totally blaming the breakup for my off track, but I’m done with that excuse.

I went to the library today (I love the library) and I took out two books on debt and two audio books by Toni Robbins.

Off to read some blogs now :)

Day 55

2008-07-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

I think that if I log into my bank accounts daily...(like most people do, right???) ...I'll get threw this debt thing a bit quicker. So, for the next 7 days that will be my goal and I'll see how I do to start.

Day 55 and I have paid $12,590.02 to debt

I've started back on my keeping track of daily spending and plan to follow a few things over the week to cut back on my spending.

I hope everyone is have a great day!

Day 54

2008-07-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

Day 54 = $12, 399.02 paid to debt

…moving slowly this month

Work is crazy busy! Next month will be busy and profitable so I know I’ll be moving a little more quickly along in the debt payment. What a difference from last month to this month though.

I looked at getting a mortgage but I was advised to stick with the debt payment and look again in September. My idea has always been by age 30 as well when the debt is paid off so I may have to wait anyway.

I think.....ugh, I know...I'm still not as focused as I was and I'm still working on getting back to that. Tomorrow I am going to plan out the next 7days with spending using some of the tips I have learned from other debt bloggers. I need to get back on track.

Day 50

2008-07-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

$12,299.02 paid to debt in 50 days as of 3min ago, hummmm I could have bought a small car with all that money, lol

I had a credit company call me last night asking for $1,400 or I'll have to go to court about it so I paid them $400 tonight and I'll see what I can do as the month goes on as it's to be paid this month in full before they take legal action. The guy I was talking to was looking at my credit telling me it wasn't that bad and as soon as I clear this up I wont have anything sitting owing in collections :)

I think I have been spending a lot of money...and I'm ot even sure on what. Last week when I fell off track I also stopped keeping track of daily spending. I'll need to start that again to get things better sorted out.

Does anyone feel like paying off debt is a full time job?!!

Day 46

2008-07-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

After such a rough week I thought I better get some money back on the debt. So, I logged into my online banking and got to it.

Day 46 and I have paid $11,799.02

I broke it up between my high Visa and Future Shop card.

Awwwww, feels good!

Now, I'm off to read some tips on saving and set goals for the month.

Thanks everyone for checking in!

Day 45

2008-07-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hummm, so I've kind of loss focus for the last few days...relationship issues, ugh! My partner split with me last Tuesday. So, it's been a rough week and things with us are still broken

Anyway, I plan to be back on track :)

Day 45 and I have paid $10, 612.43

After this weekend I should be able to out a bit more money to debt. The camera down is still an issue but that for sure will be taken care of this month. And I need to get back on keeping track of where I spend my money. I think I totally blew any budgeting this past week...but I do have a nice amount sitting in the bank -- maybe that emergency fund I was suggested to have :)

Day 37

2008-07-07T10:22:00.001-07:00

So, what's new...

I've only paid $200 on debt since my last post which brings me to total of $10,412.43 in 37 days. The $200 is set up woth online banking so it helps to make sure I have money put to debt every week.

The storage stuff is moved today and I yet to pay the movers but that will be taken care of my the end of the day. Storage was costing me about $200 a month so yeah, saving! The movers will cost around $400 *guessing*

The camera I plan to buy this week, maybe Thursday. I haven't figured out how that will work yet money wise but I'm working on it. I have just over $1000 so far.

I still don't have car insurnace as I try to figure out how to buy a new camera

With the camera problem I won't have any money left to put to the private school bill.

Ugh, I feel like I have such a set back with the camera issue.

Day 32

2008-07-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ugh, what a poor start to the month for paying off debt!

My cell phone no longer works. It won't turn on anymore so I'll need so buy a new one as soon as possible. I run my business of it and it's my only phone. I paid $500 for my phone less then two years ago. It has internet and an planner in it, etc -- great for biz. So my service provider will replace the phone with the upgrades for only $30 instead of the $200 the phone is sold for. That's because I asked for a break with the $500 I paid for the last phone not to long ago and my outrageous monthly phone bill as I run the biz.

So, that's not to bad...

But, now I have a camera down and the guy I usually go to can't fix it as it has to be done through the manufacturer. Ugh, this will take weeks to repair. But at least we now know what the problem is. The manufacturer will take about 4-6 weeks with the camera and I need a camera 4-6 times a week. So, I now have to think, buy, rent or do without while my camera is away. It may be time to upgrade and buy another. Yikes $$$

Day 31

2008-07-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

I've wanted a studio prop for about a year now and I finally bought it today. I decided that after wanting it for so long it may be a good purchase. The cost was $200 which is a lot of money when I'm so far in debt but it will be a nice prop for the studio.

I have one of the four goals accomplished for the week:

Goals this week
1. pay a $1466.43 PST bill DONE
2. find car insurance (should have by tomorrow)
3. move my stuff out of storage by the July 8th (no moving date yet)
4. any extra cash I have on Friday will go to my son private school bill (I hope there is some money left after moving expenses but it may be unlikely)

Day 30

2008-06-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is day 30 of debt reduction and I have paid a total of $10,212.43

I paid my PST that was two years past due which brought me over the $10,000 I was hoping to concur in month one of the debt reduction plan. I paid the bill at the bank and while walking to my car I actually cried with relief that $10,000 of my debt is gone. It really feels amazing.

Day 29 on debt reducation plan

2008-06-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

...and I've paid $8,846.00!!!

Unfortunately, my main camera stopped working while I was working at a wedding yesterday. I hope it is fixable as new cameras for what I need are terribly expensive. I have two others that work but one is very slow so if the camera thats down is not fixable I'll have to look into buying another.

Goals this week
1. pay a $1466.43 PST bill
2. find car insurance
3. move my stuff out of storage by the July 8th
4. any extra cash I have on Friday will go to my son private school bill

I'm still keeping track of what I spend a week and will just try to update it every Wednesday so I have the log to see where all my cash is going. Keeping track of how much I spend does help as I second guess purchases.

8 day spending analyzed

2008-06-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

Tim Hortons - $51.63 (ugh, addictions!)
Eating Out - $74.86
Groceries - $22.83
Entertainment - $82.8
Clothing - $39.54

Gas - $154.10
Other Business - $161.03

Personal Spending: $271.68
Business Spending: $315.13

I'm on day 26 of debt reduction and with the money set up in my account to pay off debt I have to figure out where I am at right now.

I have money in the bank which will take care of my PST debt and cash on me to pay off the storage debt. On Saturday I'll have about $2000 cash to pay business expenses and the rest I plan to put to my sons private school bill and more on storage.

I still might make it to $10,000 in debt payments this month *fingers crossed*

Planning to pay off debt is seeming like a part-time job, lol. It really is involve a lot of planning.

June 25 spending

2008-06-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a week of keeping track of my spending so now I am to analyze my habits...which I will do later today after I pay off some more debt

$40.05 - gas
$5.64 - Tim Hortons
$39.54 - shoes for my son (his have a hole)
$3.66 - chocolate milk shake
-------
$88.89

I don't think I bought groceries this week as I've been at my boyfriends all week.

Todays Spending

2008-06-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

5.64 - Tim Hortons

Whoo hoo!

yesterdays spending

2008-06-23T09:34:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I drove over 500km...it was a lot of diving and maybe about 6hrs worth, or close. I'm pretty sure I spend a whole $50 on gas, but because it was work I was paid just over $200 for the travel.

All my spending yesterday was work related:

$51.00 - gas
$8.05 - Tim Hortons (breakfast on the way to work)
$5.63 - Time Hortons (snack on the way home)
-------
$64.68

...not bad. The gas I'll write off. However, by the end of my 7 days of keeping track of how much I spend I think it will be nice to know how much I do spend at Tim Hortons. I have a horrible Ice Cap addiction which cost me at least $94 a month

I have to catch up on car payments this week (about $1400) so I'm not sure how much I'll have to out on the big debt. Hopefully I can pay at lest $500 to debt on catch up on the car payments...ok -- that sounds like a good this weeks goal.

Goal this week: catch up on car payments and get $500 to debt

more numbers

2008-06-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

I drew the above image at the beginning of the month when I was answering creditor calls and viewing bills I wasn't sure how to pay. I made a list of the companies and people I owed money to with the x (me) in the middle because that's how I was feeling...like all these companies were coming at me in full force. I have some nasty letters. Of the 13 listed 7 of then wanted money right away. So far this month I have been able to scratch thee of the companies/people off my list.

On another page I have the list below -- everything I've paid this month as far as creditors go, a small advertising cost and one personal loan.

...and here I have my list of crazy high bills this month because I was behind. However, I'm all caught up now :) Well, the Visa will be a long battle.

I guess now I will make a priority list of what to pay off first with my killer interest!
Check this out...this one bill suggest I pay $73.00 a month while my interest cost me $63.45. Can you imagine how long this would take to pay off when only $9.55 of the payment goes to the amount while the rest is on the interest. Yikes! This bill will have to be near the top of the list to be paid first. The interest is something like 28%

Here is my Visa interest

...and the $104.88 I paid last month in just interest alone, ugh!

This just shows how horrible I am at keeping track of things. I was paying $100.00 a week on this bill and forgot that I had set my bank account up to do so.

I need to get organized so that's what I am working on tonight. Like, who doesn't notice $400 missing from their account?!! It's not like I have a ton of money to not notice. I'm sooooo horrible with money and keeping track of things.

My little notes help a bit but tonight I bought a binder to keep all my bills in along with drawings as you've seen here -- hopefully this will help!

ok, now total spending today:

Personal
$5.11 - Tim Hortons
$6.00 - Wallmart water and coke
-------
$11.11

Business
$33.03 - gas and drinks
$13.43 - office supplies
$100.00 - assistant fees for the day

business is a write off so with personal spending today I have done well :)

This morning before work I estimated how much I can put on debt in June and August. This is my attempt to plan ahead and I have all the paper work in my new binder which I am calling my 'Binding out of debt Binder'

Now off to make that lit I was talking about...

1. Storage (because they want me out by July 8)

2. PST (just have to sort it out)

3. Future Shop (crazy high interest)

4. Peoples (in collections)

5. Visa (high interest)

6. Master Card (high interest and in collections)

7. Goodwin (my sons private school/no interest)

8. Radio ads (advertising business expense)

9. Mom (personal loan)

10. Paul (personal loan and he is in no rush)

Only 10 things but adding up to be over $40,000
Hopefully next month I can bring the 10 down to a list of 8

Oh boy!

2008-06-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Spending today:

$5.01 - Tim Hortons
$16.00 - pizza
$11.58 - snacks
$5.25 movies
-------
$37.84 (better than my two previous days)

Usually on Fridays my son goes to the grandparents or his fathers because I work on weekends as a wedding photographer. However, he is home tonight so we got some pizza and movies. Because I am a vegetarian we usually get two pizzas but tonight we just got one with half peperoni and my half with just mushrooms...so we saved there, a bit. I figure it cost less to buy a pizza and split it than to buy what we need to make our own pizza that we never eat the left overs to as it's soggy the next day.

I'll take my son to my mothers tomorrow as I have to shoot a wedding tomorrow and another one on Sunday. So, we spent a few extra dollars on entertainment for tonight. Also, I have a few things I'm doing to prepare for tomorrows wedding. It will take me a few hours to get through the backing up of files.

June 19th Spending

2008-06-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I spend a lot

$5.80 - Tim Hortons
$10.00 - Mini putting for the kids. (their first day off school)
$67.57 - Water guns for the kids (I bought three)
$2.25 - Ice cream for my son
--------
$85.62

Business Expenses
$5.27 - batteries
$4.46 - envelopes
$4.83 - mail
--------
$14.57

TOTAL SPENDING FOR THE DAY: $100.18

I'm so hoping I don't spend an average of $100/day as it's looking so far.

focus on the solution - not the problem

2008-06-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

If what Donald Trump says works: "Don't focus on the problem. Focus on the solution" then maybe I should not focus on this huge debt I have of who knows what. I keep finding more debt and with interest it's over $50,000...but not much over. Ugh, I don't even know how much debt I have

Instead I'll try changing the focus to how I am paying off this debt and just sort of 'forget' about the amount.

I have enough cash to get me through the week till my next pay and I can't wait for Saturday/Sunday when I can deposit over $1400 worth of checks into my business account to pay off more debt.

I just might be able to pay $10,000 this month. I'm thinking about that being my next goal, hummmm....

Goal of the week reached in a day!

2008-06-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

So, it's after midnight, I'm tired and should be in bed. I've just spent the last hour going over bill payments, banking stuff, deleting old bills off my on line banking and setting up new payments.

I have my future shop account set up that I pay $100 every Thursday and $91 on the 18th of the month. I actually forgot I was doing that so I've been paying $491.00 a month on this bill. I thought I was paying $91. This is how awful I am with money! I've not set up my Visa now that I pay $100 every Monday and then I'll put whatever else I can on it. I figure Monday is a good day as I get paid on weekends. AND, I just put $800 on the Visa today so I've now reached the goal of the week and more that I set this morning :) I don't plan on making money tomorrow (um, today...need sleep) so it will be just keeping track of spending.

I also took care of the phone bill and hydro but they are not included in the debt plan

total debt paid: $6960 in 19 days

the math of it all

2008-06-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

18 months is not so far away. I was calculating that at the beginning of this month I started with a $47,000 debt.

If I want to pay it off in 18 months that will be about $2,611.

Wow, that sounds scary! But it gets scarier. There is interest on this debt and right now I am paying about $400 a month in interest. YIKES!!!

I asked for saving advice on Facebook today and one of the tips is to keep track of every penny you spend so I did that today:

$7.51 at Tim Hotons
$30.02 on gas
$55.20 with Brad and I out for dinner
$3.00 on drinks at Beckers

$95.73 in total

The idea then after the week is to analyze my spending habits.

and I paid a $800 debt to my sons private school (still owing $3,200)

My gaol as mentioned this morning is to pay off $1000 of debt this week and I'm almost there.

I have two weddings this week which will bring in about $1,4000. I hope to put that on my Visa.

I have $2,280.54 in the bank right now with a $806.57 hydro bill/disconnection notice and a $800.29 bell mobilty bill. I'll pay the bills and put the rest on debt tonight.

Total debt paid: $6160 in 18 days

By age 30...

2008-06-18T04:39:00.000-07:00

...has always been the plan -- to be debt free. Now that I am on crunch time with just less than 18months to go I often feel stressed and worried I might not make my goal. I've added a countdown here to keep myself reminded (as if I need a reminder) I'll have a list of things I plan to do to stop spending so much money that I can instead put onto debt.

Goal this week: Put $1000 onto debt by Sunday

$47,000 plus the interest in 18 months

2008-06-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

I went to a credit counselor today and was told I should claim bankrupt as my living cost more then my income and that doesn't even include the $42,000 debt I have right now to pay off. I went in there thinking I would be set up on a debt management plan but they pointed out that there wasn't any money (after my cost of living) to pay off any of my debt.

I've paid about $5000 already in debt this month. There is no way I am prepared to claim bankrupt. I believe I can get through this. No money? How did I pay the $5000 then?!! Ugh, I'll just have to take care of this myself.

Just this month I was at $47,000. I am now at $42,000. Maybe by the end of the month I'll be at $40,000. Ummmm, let's see if I can do that :)

I have a book I carry with my that includes a list of my debt. (I pay $400 a month in interest.) I'll keep track of my progress as well online with this chart.