Owing up to my CC charges using money out of savings.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 08-14-2008, 12:15 AM

DH and I are both pretty strapped right now until the 20th. My mother's in town until the 26th and has offered to help pay for some stuff while she's here. I feel bad asking her for money, though. We've been putting money into savings pretty religiously for the last few months. We always have a hard month between now and September and were saving up mainly an EF so we wouldn't have to use CC to pay for things and to pay DS' busing fees in September because that $165.00 really broke us in the last few years.

I got groceries the other day on my Mastercard because I paid the BB card the first debt snowball amount and it left DH's bank account pretty dried up. He had over $250 left but hadn't put gas in the car. I got groceries the other day and with those came a 25c/L discount on gas. He filled the van at a cost of $92.22 originally but it came out to $74.05 with the discount. That was for 72.673L @ 126.9 a litre. We have enough gas to last for a bit, at least until we take a trip to Banff this weekend or maybe until Thursday when DH gets paid.

Anyways, I had promised myself that we weren't going to use the CC but I did. I used it for groceries ($269.09) and DS' birthday today ($113.81). Woo, I get air miles out of that. Instead of letting those new charges sit on my card until later on, I went ahead and took the money out of both our savings accounts to pay for it before I get the next bill.

I was a bit skeptical because I'm really attached to my money and I was concerned about our EF and having enough in it for DS' dental in October. You know what though? I let go of that skepticism and stepped up to the debt I had charged like the adult I am. Now that I paid those two charges, I feel pretty dang good.

Does that mean I win?

Oh, and we still have over $1,000 in our EF...at least. It's more like $1,100+.

**Cricketlegs** · 08-14-2008, 12:34 AM

The most IMPORTANT thing is not to charge!!

Better to spend the EF and replace it than charge IMHO.

What happened to your budget that you didn'y have grocery money?????That is a biggie in the budget and I am concerned about that.

Better to drop the snowball that month--did I really just type that??--than not buy groceries IMHO.

Talk to me...

**missmanny** · 08-14-2008, 12:56 AM

I think that you did the right thing by sucking it up and paying for your charges right away.

Don't beat yourself up to much - you are bound to stumble every now and then, although perhaps from now on the snowball payments should wait until the end of the pay perios when you can see how much money is left over - that way you wouldn't get yuourself into a bind again.

**Greebo** · 08-14-2008, 05:39 AM

I agree that paying the charge right away was the best thing to do, since you did use the card, but Cricket and Manny are right - better to reduce the snowball then to use CC's again.

If you're exceeding your budgeted amount for food, then your budget is wrong, and needs to be updated. It's ok to change the budget - it will take time to iron out - but you definitely pay the snowball LAST each month, AFTER the top 5 priorities (food, lights, essential clothing, roof, transportation) are paid for. If the top 5 shrink the snowball, so be it - better to pay the debt off slower than to try to fill in the hole with one hand and dig it deeper with the other.

Hang in there, you'll get it!

**ladykemma2** · 08-14-2008, 08:37 AM

if it makes you feel better i messed up in august too.

i failed to budget enough for school startup. i went against my better judgement and underfunded that category which backfired. i also was surprised by the annual termite orkin treatment, that never made it into the freedom account budget.

i had to dip into to 6 month EF snowball deposit... oops.

**Cricketlegs** · 08-14-2008, 11:05 AM

We all have rough months. The unexpected happens and throws us off our plans.

I am glad you went ahead and took care of your charges right away. That does show maturity and a sense of owning that debt.

Good for you.

We just don't want anyone here in the Village to backslide.

How much had you budgeted for groceries this month? Did you buy those groceries? Did you have unexpected things happen this month?

I know you said it was a hard month(me too, me too!)

The reason I am asking is maybe we can help with your budget to make it easier to follow every month or is this just a one shot deal??

Cricketlegs

**MomToTwoBoys** · 08-14-2008, 09:17 PM

This was mainly a one-time deal. I hadn't budgeted far enough in advance for DS' birthday and I should have, but I totally didn't.

I had meant to pull out of savings but between mom coming up and everything else, I completely forgot to pull money out of savings and cover the charges. I had enough cash budgeted for groceries but I've been putting every single last cent into savings when DH got paid. We still have over $1,100 in savings and can at least let go of another $100 out of it to cover from now until Wednesday. I get another $295.31 then. We still haven't put the check from DS' dental in the bank, so that's another $160 some odd dollars to put into the EF. We don't really need to put any more cash into savings because we have the EF and I was tucking away extra in case stuff happened. We needed to leave in about $395 for dental and $165 for the bus fees, so DS #2's school fees are coming out of the child tax benefit that we get on Tuesday.

But yeah, we had enough for groceries and it was just a matter of not putting money into checking to get groceries and using the CC. I told DH that for now on, I'm taking the extra from each payday and using that as the buffer for the debt snowball. We had the money for the snowball; it was just a matter of it being in the wrong account at the time.

I'm totally redoing the budget for September to help catch these unexpected pullages from savings. Any money past the $1,000 EF that was in savings was just there to keep DH from spending it.

**Cricketlegs** · 08-15-2008, 12:07 AM

Ahhh I see now.

I also have a few hundred over my baby Ef just to catch things that the slush fund doesn't--like dds college tuition be more than expected.

YOu are so right--this month has been something else and i am thankful I have another pay check coming tomorrow!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 08-15-2008, 11:54 AM

God, I know! Our budget's strapped even worse this month because our utility bill went up.

We're already looking at another $120 on top of what we were paying, so I'm extremely thankful that we're getting money twice this week.

**Cricketlegs** · 08-15-2008, 12:47 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

God, I know! Our budget's strapped even worse this month because our utility bill went up.

We're already looking at another $120 on top of what we were paying, so I'm extremely thankful that we're getting money twice this week.

Even though it was budgeted school shopping just hurts.

I have probably spent--$800 that is normally wouldn't getting my dds ready for school and then add the $688 tuition bill on top of that and dd needs AC work on her car.....

I will shut up now and just be thankful I HAVE it to pay.

Maybe next month it will be easier. It has just been one thing after another every month and while we have covered it all I am sick of it.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 08-15-2008, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by Cricketlegs

Even though it was budgeted school shopping just hurts.

I have probably spent--$800 that is normally wouldn't getting my dds ready for school and then add the $688 tuition bill on top of that and dd needs AC work on her car.....

I will shut up now and just be thankful I HAVE it to pay.

Maybe next month it will be easier. It has just been one thing after another every month and while we have covered it all I am sick of it.

God I know how that goes. I was talking to my mom in the kitchen earlier over a cup of coffee and I told her I was going to open a savings account for the kids and put everything I use on them into that savings account. I also have plans on putting all of the change jar for that year into the savings account at the end of the year. Right now, I have about $60 in the change jar (I need to re-count it) plus I need to figure out how much I spend on glasses, dental, school shopping and school fees and just put 1/12th of that amount into savings every month.

Hopefully DH's review at work will net him that promotion and a good size raise. God now that I think about it, we haven't even started budgeting Christmas.

It looks like I got a ton of work ahead of me.

**cottageliving** · 08-15-2008, 07:37 PM

It sure sounds like you are on the right track though!

**Cricketlegs** · 08-15-2008, 11:17 PM

Dh came home and said we owe $400 on my step dds college tuition.

sigh....

**MomToTwoBoys** · 08-15-2008, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by Cricketlegs

Dh came home and said we owe $400 on my step dds college tuition.

sigh....

Oy vey. I'd just go into my bedroom at that point, shut the door and if anyone tried to tell me about another bill, I'd plug my ears and go 'LALA LA LA'.

Wouldn't it be nice if a big bag of money just found its way onto your lap right now?

**MomToTwoBoys** · 08-15-2008, 11:21 PM

Originally Posted by cottageliving

It sure sounds like you are on the right track though!

I figured it wouldn't be an overnight change because we're only three months into the budgeting/CC non-usage. I'm figuring that I might actually extend the budget from August 20th to September 18th because DH gets paid three times in October and he also gets a tax credit, plus I get money three times then too.

I've never been worried about the Mastercard because I'm not a big spender type of person. I think it's why I'm not as hard on myself for using the CC.