First off, I have to say that I’m in love with our house. It’s everything and more we dreamed about during those long months of preparation. But man, does buying a home do a number on the finances. Since paying off my credit card debt and starting my method of using my rewards card for all my spending, I’ve loosened up on the day to day budgeting. It worked well for a while and was quite freeing. I felt I’d earned it. But now, with all the little things that come up both for myself and the house? I’m way off track. I have to come clean… Over the past few months both before and after the home purchase, I’ve been raiding my savings like there’s no tomorrow. It boils down to overspending – nothing huge, just inattention to the details, giving in to immediate gratification, and just plain impulse buying. It’s time to buckle down and pay attention!
Cute Man and I like to keep our finances separate. It’s not about trust, it’s about control. It’s just easier to keep track of one set of in and outflows and just negotiate the common expenses. This is what works for us. Now, with the house, we have had to realign who pays what and sorting out all that has really been a reality check. The bills! They’re killer! Savings, what’s that??? After the panic subsided, we came up with a plan that will keep us on track and allow us to continue saving a little bit, at least. As long as I keep a handle on my discretionary spending, I’ll be OK. I’m lucky as hell to still HAVE any discretionary spending money at all. It just has to remain a very finite amount if we’re to stay on track with our short and long term goals.
If I was able to keep up my debt repayment while working at the salon for peanuts per hour (with Cute Man’s major support!) I can do this. I have the incredible perk of being able to go home and enjoy the fruits of all this effort every single night. It is truly a wonderful thing to go home to our house every evening and spend time with Cute Man. It’s nice to have a tangible reminder of what we’re working toward – maintaining and building our happy life and future together.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Credit Cards. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Credit Cards. Tampilkan semua postingan
Selasa, 21 September 2010
Rabu, 16 Desember 2009
Credit Card Declined? That and Amex Thinks I’m Dead
What a shock THAT was at the Starbucks this morning! Well, it turns out someone was having a ball at Walmart and Food Lion somewhere in South Carolina with my card. Sheesh! Good thing the folks at Chase caught that early and are taking care of the fraudulent charges.
It’s just annoying at this point. Cute Man (an authorized user) and I will have to wait until they send us a new cards in order to use them again. It’s just a minor crimp in my strategy of using the card for all purchases, building up reward points, and paying the balance each month. Then there are all the automatic withdrawals linked to that card that I’ll need to update when I get a new card number. Oh, well. A few minutes of my time to make those changes isn’t exactly a big deal.
But how did they get my card? Neither of our physical credit cards is missing so I’m thinking that the number was somehow hijacked and then a fake card was made. I mean, they used it at Walmart, so they probably needed an actual card, right? In any case, I’m hoping this is the end of it. We’ll get new cards next week, I’ll fill out the fraud paperwork, and that will be it (cross your fingers!)
In other news, I finally dealt with the mistake on one of my credit reports. One of my old credit cards was listing me as “deceased”. Yep, as in no longer among the living. I put in my request for an “investigation” which I find kind of funny in this case – how much investigating is necessary to prove I’m still breathing… I mean, I could be a pretty good eye-witness…
So I’m in pretty much in a “deal with stuff” kind of mood, which is actually quite contrary to my normal state. It’s crazy to see how dealing with this stuff really isn’t all that bad once I just go ahead and just do it already. It’s the dread that keeps me from dealing… This is of course all in the quest towards home ownership. Hopefully, with this credit snafu cleared up, we’ll be able to move forward with the home-buying process with NACA in January!
It’s just annoying at this point. Cute Man (an authorized user) and I will have to wait until they send us a new cards in order to use them again. It’s just a minor crimp in my strategy of using the card for all purchases, building up reward points, and paying the balance each month. Then there are all the automatic withdrawals linked to that card that I’ll need to update when I get a new card number. Oh, well. A few minutes of my time to make those changes isn’t exactly a big deal.
But how did they get my card? Neither of our physical credit cards is missing so I’m thinking that the number was somehow hijacked and then a fake card was made. I mean, they used it at Walmart, so they probably needed an actual card, right? In any case, I’m hoping this is the end of it. We’ll get new cards next week, I’ll fill out the fraud paperwork, and that will be it (cross your fingers!)
In other news, I finally dealt with the mistake on one of my credit reports. One of my old credit cards was listing me as “deceased”. Yep, as in no longer among the living. I put in my request for an “investigation” which I find kind of funny in this case – how much investigating is necessary to prove I’m still breathing… I mean, I could be a pretty good eye-witness…
So I’m in pretty much in a “deal with stuff” kind of mood, which is actually quite contrary to my normal state. It’s crazy to see how dealing with this stuff really isn’t all that bad once I just go ahead and just do it already. It’s the dread that keeps me from dealing… This is of course all in the quest towards home ownership. Hopefully, with this credit snafu cleared up, we’ll be able to move forward with the home-buying process with NACA in January!
Kamis, 09 April 2009
A Return to Using Credit
After 5 years without having a credit card (that worked – I was paying off a bunch of old ones), I have bitten the bullet and gotten a new one. Am I scared that I’ll return to my old ways and run up a huge balance? Hell, no. I’m not the same person I was back when I was wracking it up. Rest assured that since then, I’ve learned through the bitter pill of experience what NOT to do with a credit card.
So, if I was going along so well for the past 5 years without a card, why start now? Well, it’s really about convenience. I am super proud of the emergency fund I’m building but it’s not that helpful at the side of the road when your car breaks down. ING takes several days to send the money back to my checking account. Having access to a credit card would allow me to use it in emergency situations and then continue to pay off the balance at the end of the billing cycle using my savings. It just adds a buffer.
Another reason I chose to get a new card is the rewards. I got an Amazon card because I seem to be using their site a lot lately. And with my Kindle habit, rewards in the form of Amazon gift cards will be great. I will always be able to use them. I’ll use the card instead of my debit card to get rewards points but pay the balance each month. This will also allow me to smooth out my spending instead of focusing on what’s available with each new paycheck. I’m going to try to release the kung fu grip I have on each penny. By this I don’t mean I’m going to start spending like a madwoman, but rather, I’ll take the focus off tracking every single transaction every single day. I’m pretty obsessive, really. I will still reconcile my receipts, etc. but maybe not as often.
We’ll see if this turns out to work or if I really just need to track everything meticulously like I’ve learned I need to (at least for now) with my food. Like I’ve mentioned before, the two issues are very similar for me but I’m much further along in my relationship with money than in the one I have with food. I think I’m ready to trust myself a little more to make good choices with my money without artificially imposing stop points (I’ve run out of spending money for this pay period so I can’t get ___). Of course, I’m not really out of money – it’s just someplace else. This tactic has worked well for me but I’m hoping that I’m ready to take the training wheels off. If I start careening downhill and find the brakes are shot, I can put them back on. I’ve gone back to tracking my intake carefully and I’ll do it for however long it takes for me to gain control over it (if ever). I’m fine with that. But I feel in my gut that I’ve grown financially and can handle it.
So, if I was going along so well for the past 5 years without a card, why start now? Well, it’s really about convenience. I am super proud of the emergency fund I’m building but it’s not that helpful at the side of the road when your car breaks down. ING takes several days to send the money back to my checking account. Having access to a credit card would allow me to use it in emergency situations and then continue to pay off the balance at the end of the billing cycle using my savings. It just adds a buffer.
Another reason I chose to get a new card is the rewards. I got an Amazon card because I seem to be using their site a lot lately. And with my Kindle habit, rewards in the form of Amazon gift cards will be great. I will always be able to use them. I’ll use the card instead of my debit card to get rewards points but pay the balance each month. This will also allow me to smooth out my spending instead of focusing on what’s available with each new paycheck. I’m going to try to release the kung fu grip I have on each penny. By this I don’t mean I’m going to start spending like a madwoman, but rather, I’ll take the focus off tracking every single transaction every single day. I’m pretty obsessive, really. I will still reconcile my receipts, etc. but maybe not as often.
We’ll see if this turns out to work or if I really just need to track everything meticulously like I’ve learned I need to (at least for now) with my food. Like I’ve mentioned before, the two issues are very similar for me but I’m much further along in my relationship with money than in the one I have with food. I think I’m ready to trust myself a little more to make good choices with my money without artificially imposing stop points (I’ve run out of spending money for this pay period so I can’t get ___). Of course, I’m not really out of money – it’s just someplace else. This tactic has worked well for me but I’m hoping that I’m ready to take the training wheels off. If I start careening downhill and find the brakes are shot, I can put them back on. I’ve gone back to tracking my intake carefully and I’ll do it for however long it takes for me to gain control over it (if ever). I’m fine with that. But I feel in my gut that I’ve grown financially and can handle it.
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