As you can see from reading some of my recent posts, I'm in deep financial doodoo!:box:

I hope you all don't mind if I keep a running account about my journey here. It's a good way to keep me accountable for my actions and not fall back into hiding my head in the sand.:deal:

So here goes.:idea: I'm going to be doing Dave's method but leaving out step 5 because we don't need to save for college or education expenses.

Completed
1.read Daves book
2.made some charts in excell

Planned
1.Load quicken or ms money on my computer (have to go find it in the other room with all of the mess from when I moved my computer last week.)
2.Find all of my bills and write them down and enter in the computer.
3.Make a budget.
4.Get organized!
5.Stop acquireing more debt NOW!

Ways to save
1.Work at the food bank on Mondays and bring home bread and/or veggies. (I believe I am in crisis enough to be a "client" once again and this will help our food budget.)
2.Start washing clothes (except whites) in cold water and on a shorter cycle.
3.Dry clothes for only 10 min. then hang them up in the garage or outside to finish drying. (My clothesline broke a couple of months ago.)
4.Reset the timers on the outside security lights for 5 minutes instead of 10 minutes. That would be long enough to scare a burglar and also gives us enough time/light to walk from the car to the house and from the garages to the house.
5.Use the crockpot more often.
6.Set the thermostat at 76 and dare anyone to touch it, lol. (I sometimes find it at 72!)
7.Make sure all of the lights are out including the porch lights during the day.
8.Weatherize the back door and the patio door.
9.Caulk around the windows.
10.Fill the propane tank (about $10.00) and cook most meats/veggies on the grill. (saves on electricity and doesn't heat up the house and 1 tank will last me about a month.)
11.Cut my trips to town to 2 days a week. (Monday and Friday)
12.Cut back on my cell phone usage and continue to threaten ds about using his.
13.Stop over-cooking. (I make too much for dinner and my family isn't good about eating leftovers so a lot goes to waste.)
14.Stop taking on more! I have to learn to say no. This means family, friends and charities. Not saying no always ends up costing me money.
15.Get my perscriptions changed to mail order.
16.Switch to a different brand of cigerettes (saving $5.00 a carton) then work on quitting completely.
17.Buy koolaid and decaf tea and keep in the fridge all the time to limit buying so much pop.
18.Shop at the discount grocery store BEFORE going to the other stores.
19.Make sure I eat before shopping to resist the temptation of buying a piece of chicken at the deli.
20.Pack a drink/snack cooler before leaving the house on my 2 days I drive to town.
21.List in my ebay description that I will only be mailing items on those 2 days to prevent running to town every day to mail a package.
22.Defrost my upright freezer to make better use of the space. Keep my ears open for anyone wanting to "give" away a freezer that is newer and more energy efficient. (I was told my old freezer is costing me atleast $20.00 a month to run, yikes!)


Ways to make extra money
1.List on ebay. (I already have plenty to sell)
2.Put add in the paper for larger items.(This will cost $15.00 minimum per add)
3.Have 1 more yard sale this summer.
4.Make potholders and dishtowels and other crafts to sell from items I already have here.

I think that's a good start for now. I'm off to clean up that room now and "find" all of my bills and get it organized. It's my sewing room and ebay storage room and where I keep my file cabinets so you can imagine that I must keep it better organized. I had the computer in their too but it was too overwhelming so I moved it to our bedroom and it seems better here but does keep me off the computer late at night when dh is sleeping but I should be sleeping too, lol.

I just found 2 more ways to save money!

1.I am vowing to stop using my dishwasher unless I have company. This will save on hotwater usage and power usage and of course the cost of dishwashing liquid which I will only have to buy seldom now. I pre-rinse everything anyway so I might as well just go ahead and wash them. Found my dishdrainer out in the garage but haven't found the untensil holder yet. Will look for that later today.
2.Just remembered I have a carafe! As soon as my coffee is done perking I will pour it into the carafe and use it all morning. It stays warm for quite a while and my coffee doesn't have to be scalding hot. This should save a tiny bit of electricity but I suppose it all adds up.

Back to getting that room cleaned up. Can you tell I'm avoiding it?

Took a bunch of stuff out of the room to store in the garage untill I get it cleaned up. So, progress!

Other ways to save which I forgot to add to my list is...

1. Save aluminum cans to sell. Selling for .40 cents per lb. right now. Even dirty aluminum (like a lawn chair or old tv antenna is bringing .20 cents a lb.
2.Encourage dh to bring home all pieces of copper from jobs so I can strip them to sell as #1 copper. Selling for $.72 cents a lb. (He always asks the boss first even if it is already in the trash.) Copper theft from job/home sites is at a all time high right now and it pays to be carefull so you don't get accused of theft.

Sounds like you have a great plan in place Carolyn! I know you are going to succeed! You have it all mapped out.

Good for you!!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like you have lots of great ideas!

Good luck on the ebay selling. One word of advice to avoid problems is to fully disclose that your items come from a smoking home. If people receive items and they reek of smoke then they may give you negative feedback.

Sounds like you are really getting things rolling. I am on Step 2 of the DR plan. We can encourage each other on our journeys!!

Carolyn, I know you can do it. Continue to take baby steps so that you don't become overwhelmed. We are here to encourage you along the way. Remember, many of us were/are in the same boat.

:hug2:

Thank you all for your support.:smted:

Yesterday I found a columnar ledger with 13 columns, a cash ledger, a 4 column ledger and a Dome home budget book. I kept most all of MIL's paperwork and those were in it so all were free! These will work great for me until I am ready to put the budget on the computer. Right now I need it all handy.

I've begun the process of listing all of my debts. It will take me a few days to find everything and get it all entered. The number of doctor bills at the collection agencies is unreal!

I have a very large item that I will be selling on ebay. It is a piece of Lapidary equipement that MIL willed to DS. He wants me to sell it so that he and his GF can move out on their own. It would be enough for 1st months rent and the security deposit with a little left over for moving in expenses and a good start on the next months rent. DS is 20 and his gf is 17 but they really need to do this. There is more equipement and rocks and gems that we could sell and evenually will but this is the lightest piece that would bring the most money. Them moving out of the house would cut down on our expenses and the everyday requests for cash which I can never seem to say no to.:box: DS is working a job that is not too good but he can physically and mentally do it. His GF quit her job last week so I told her she had to get another one asap because I cannot afford to support her too. She should be living at home with her Dad but that's not going to happen (long story of abuse).

My first thought is to take the money from the sale of that equipment and use it toward my debt which DS would be willing to do but it would be considered another loan since it is actually DS's so I would just be getting deeper in debt and he would continue to live here (which I would love but dh wouldn't) and he would continue to ask for money. I have lots of other things to sell, just less expensive, so it will take me longer, but I won't be owing anyone anything.


I never had a problem with the smoke smell on my ebay items untill that last batch. Always before I would not bring the item into the house until I was ready to pack and ship it. I kept them in the garage. These last few I kept in a room where there is no ventilation and had them all packed and ready to go so the items had time to take on the smoke smell. I will put "from a smoking home" in all future listings to save myself grief and bad feedback.

Well, I've rambled on long enough so I'm off to work at the food bank. Need to make a couple of phone calls when I get home around 1:30 and do some laundry.

Dolphin I am really enjoying your posts on your journey.....Thanks for sharing :hugz: .

.Encourage dh to bring home all pieces of copper from jobs so I can strip them to sell as #1 copper. Selling for $.72 cents a lb. (He always asks the boss first even if it is already in the trash.) Copper theft from job/home sites is at a all time high right now and it pays to be carefull so you don't get accused of theft.
My fiance does that but here it is seling at 2.70/lb. I wonder why it is so much of a difference?

Great idea, Carolyn. I'm on step 2, as well. Have really enjoyed reading your posts, keep up the great work! :)

Ho-Hum. Life sure got in the way of my financial strategy. Had a family emergency that has cost me $125 in gas this week so far and will cost more before it's over. Also HAD to eat out several times and some other unexpected expenses and it's all cost me about $250 so far this week. This was money I didn't have. Oh well, all I can do is keep trying, right?

You will get there, you sound very motivated. Good luck!

Jennifer

On DR step #3

So I'm typing this big long post and all of sudden the screen flickers and I lose my post and get an add for Hagen Daz Icecream, what the heck?

I am motivated but things are pretty bleak. I finally finished my list of debts except for a few misc. doctor bills that I need to find out the actual amount on. I did a 'necessities' worksheet, an non-necessity worksheet and an 'income' worksheet and it seems there's not enough money at the end of the month which is why we're so broke!

There isn't enough money left at the end month after subtracting 'necessity' bills to afford to pay an 'HEL' loan. I can't see that CCCS nor bankruptcy would help our situation either. It comes down to the fact that we can't afford to live on and support ourselves and ds and his gf on our incomes! The kids will be putting in applications starting Monday but fat chance I see any of that money but I will just be happy if they start paying their own expenses and save some for future housing.

The equity in our home is like a carrot dangling before our eyes but it will have to remain just that. Unless we sell out and move to another state (small town in the Midwest) where the housing is cheaper, we would be in the same situation if we sold here and rented and we would be eating away at our equity just for moving expenses and emergencies. A friend told me today that around 1000 homes like ours are for sale right now so I don't see us being able to sell quickly enough and we couldn't afford to pay mortgage and rent at 2 homes.

Since we don't make enough, things have to change. More stuff will be sold to payoff payday, title, and personal loans that are eating away at our necessities money. The CC companies will just have to wait and get nothing in the meantime. The doctor bills will also continue to not be paid untill these high interest loans are paid off. The cell phones will be cut off and we will go back to using trac phones and Go phones (which we already own).

I have possiblly 2 part-time jobs in the making where I will make $140.00 a month with one company for 10 hours work and a one-time or occasional $75.00 with another company. I'll know in 2 weeks if I get them. They are merchandising and demonstrator jobs and I don't have experience but they're both desperate so I'm hopeing I get them. If anyone is interested in this type of work, sign up with NARMS.COM. Surpisingly, companies do call even in a small town as long as you have a WM.

I need to keep listing estate stuff on ebay also and make that another part-time job and ignore distractions just like a home business. I don't have alot of high dollar things left but every little bit will help. Even though I'm not physically able, I'll try to find some house cleaning jobs to do. The newspaper has gone to charging $18.00 for an add to sell stuff and for minimum charge for having a yard sale. Generally a yard sale add will cost around $25 to $30 here. People say here that they won't drive all the way out to where I live unless I list stuff I will have for sale but I will go to placing the bare minumum words and see if I do get people here.

I will stop using my checking account completely except for my mortgage payment, accident policy insurance ($24.00 a month for 3 of us) and ebay deposits/fees. This will keep me from continually having to pay insufficient funds fees to the bank. We will work not only on the envelope system but a cash/money order system only. If a company won't work with that, they won't get paid!

Dh can't/won't get any extra jobs. He can barely do the job he is doing and he can't afford to jeopardize this job so for now, he'll not be contributing but will be cutting back on his expenses since his boss just stopped paying for his fuel since he moved him to another jobsite.

So here I am, just taking one small bite out of the elephant at a time. :screwy:

My List of debts:

Mortgage: $67,000
CC's: $12,525
Loans/non cc bills: $ 4,906
Medical: $ 5,993 (preliminary)

Total Debt: $90,424

One of the major credit card companies is offering to settle for 55% of the debt so I imagine the other one will also. This would reduce the total due by $6,000 but would more than likely have to be paid a less than 2 large payments which would not be possible for a long time.


Oh! I received a RAOK through this board! A very special Villager has gifted me a Total Money Makeover book of my very own! Yeah!!! I want to thank you again and I will be sure to pay it forward as soon as I can.:cowwave:

Hi Dolphin,
I know something that can help cut back on smoking if you aren't ready to quit just yet. I only smoke outside. My DH and DD are both reactive to it so I just don't do it in the house and haven't for seven years now. That might help save more too and you might feel better physically. It sounds to me like the housing market in Nevada is about the same as it is in Indiana.
Just hang in there and you will continue to find ways to stretch what you have and get out of debt too.
I have a neice that supported herself and 2 sons through ebay sales for several years. She said you do have to look at it like a business and spend a lot of time at it, but the end results can well be worth it.
Thanks for keeping us posted. I understand about being held accountable.

Kabin63, thanks so much for the tips on smoking outside. I forget to do that but you're right, you do smoke less. While I was in MO visiting my parents I only smoked outside and I didn't smoke in the van and it made a HUGE difference in the way I felt and the amount I smoked. I just have to become more committed to this. I made myself a nice sitting area with an umbrella out back but I need to fix up a spot for me in the garage since I can't seem to escape the sun in any fashion out back.

I need to stop being so impatient. This is one of my flaws with frugality. Just like doing the laundry and using the dryer. I want it done NOW and don't want to have to wait to hang the clothes out and then bring them back in. My clothesline got destroyed a few months ago so I'm having to hang things over the fence. Since I'm not able to buy or put up poles for a new one right now, I'll figure out how to make one in the garage for now.

I am going to work this weekend on setting up my ebay staging area and set it up like a business. I've got plenty of file folders and file cabinets for storage, just need to move things around.

Hang in there Dolphin, It will all work out for you. Hugs to you.

Hey Dolphin,

I just wanted to cheer you on a bit. I've been reading your posts and you sound like you're making lots of progress!

I also wanted to say that while settling a CC debt for 55% less is great (and I'd do it myself in a heartbeat, if I were in the same situation) to watch out when tax time comes. I believe that the amount that is forgiven (if you owe $5,000 and they settle for only $3000, the the forgiven amount is $2,000) is treated as taxable income. http://www.bankrate.com/dls/itax/news/20030303a1.asp

HTH

Dolphin,
I feel for ya. Smoking is one of those nasty habits that I wish I had never started and can't seem to get commited enough to quit, yet, it's allI think about. Well, that and being more frugal.
For the clothes line, do you have any clothline string at all? Could you string some up in the garage? Would your DH be willing to let you? Maybe between two trees or between the house and garage? Sorry, just thinking of ideas.
Have you ever visited the about website? They have a great section on frugality and ideas for making things. If you haven't I suggest you visit
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/testsquizze1/a/imagination.htm, if you haven't already. This is an awesome article to really challenge and inspire you. Read all 3 of the challenges and some of the responses if you can. I have been working on the first one for a month now and still haven't come to a final conclusion, but it is making me think really hard about the way I do things.
Best Wishes!

Those are some great articles on gorilla frugality!:bowing:

As of today, there is enough money in the bank to cover the house payment, a $100 payment and a $24.00 payment. There will be $12.00 left over after these payments and I have $5.08 coming from paypal for a sale I made this week. My goal is to try and leave that money in there as I'll need it later in the week for gas for my car.

We're invited to a bbq tonight and I am bringing food that I already have so no expense for food today. The kids have been sleeping all day so they've not been eating us out of house and home nor spending any money, lol.

I re-listed one item on ebay today, less that $4.00 but if it sells, I'll be glad. Been reading the supplemental income thread today and have come up with some ideas we can use for making extra income. Thanks ladies!:):

Yesterday was a good day for reviewing. I spoke to a 72 yr. old widow who has been married 5 times and she sure had a lot of good advice for me. She gave away all of her assets several years ago to her kids and has been living a very frugal like since but has throughly enjoyed it.

I also got to know a client at the food bank a bit better and found that she may lose her home by the end of August. Her reason? She has no family other than her pets but she has almost 40 cats and dogs! This would be great if she could afford to feed them and take care of them all but, she can't and she refuses to get rid of any of them, thus, she will lose her home and their home by trying to keep them all. It kind of put my smoking into perspective although I realize it's nothing like ridding yourself of a pet but we all have things that we may not be willing to give up or do without and in the long run, it/they can prevent us from moving forward. I want to move forward!:fight:

Whoa Telephus! That link you provided is very eye opening. I had no clue this could happen. Thank you so much!


"Any debt that is forgiven is counted as income, and you owe taxes on the amount that's forgiven."

Just a quick note...Dh had a stroke and missed a whole week of work due to no holiday pay and the stroke so next week will be no paycheck! Dh has no insurance so now we add 2 ER bills, 2 ER doctor bills, a hospital admission with another doctor bill added on and numerous medical tests to our list of debts. Oh well....

Carolyn, I just want to say that you and your dh are in my thoughts and proyers. I hope your dh is feeling well soon. Can you qualify for any medical assistance? It sounds like it sure would help out!
Does your ds and his girl friend help you out around the house? Or do you have to do all the cooking and cleaning up after them?
Does your ds and his girlfriend help you out fincanially when they are working?
If not, I think you should seriously think about having them move forward (out). I'm not trying to offend you. Sorry if I sound harsh. I just want to make sure your looking at all angles.
Keep your chin up!

No offense taken hon and thank you all of your good thoughts and prayers. Ds's gf officially moved back home with her dead beat dad last night so I no longer have to support or worry about her. Ds went to Vegas to live on Tuesday and was back home by Thursday night, lol. He has counseling on Monday and I will be able to make sure he takes his meds till he gets used to doing it every day. He will be job hunting on Monday, I'll see to that. And no, while ds and his gf were living here, I did everything for all 4 of us and all they did was keep their room cleaned up. If I asked they would help but I got tired of the painfull looks and they didn't do things like I wanted them so I gave up on that and no neither one was working. This is why we were trying so desperatly to either get her out or get her dad to start paying her the child support that her mother was providing.

Dh is feeling better. Numbness has left his leg but is still in is face and arm. He did go right back to work on Monday and thank God, his boss paid him for 3 days for last week when he didn't even have to. We were able to pay the doctor today and buy groceries.

I've been getting better about planning what bills are to be paid first so that's a relief off my mind. I've finally gotten it into my head that basic necessities come first, not the one who yells the loudest!

I also mentioned in another post that we are considering selling our home and buying a 5th wheel trailor to live in. We could live in it untill dh decides he no longer wants to work or we decide to move and buy a small place. This would pay off our home and all of our debts and still leave us with a retirement nest egg.

Dolphin~ Big hugs to you! I'm so sorry about your Dh! I'm glad to read h is doing much better though!

Glad to hear your dh is feeling better. Still sending hugs your way!