Sat down with the finances

**treeluva** · 05-20-2006, 10:41 AM

Well, I have finally sat down with the finances. This whole month, I have covered my walls with my bills and receipts, and I today, I sat down a figured out how much I make each month, what I have to pay out with the Federal and State stuff, life insurance, etc, and translated it into what I make/have to pay a year. Then, I did the same with my bills. How much it is a month/year.

The first thing I will be getting rid of is the internet. I have internet access at work, so, I will still be able to check email and anything else I would like during lunchtime. It is not a necessity to have it at home, and really, it is too expensive. (I am in Germany right now, and the cost is 66 dollars a MONTH, and that is the cheapest I can get!) I figure I can use that 66 dollars a month better towards getting rid of my debt.

Next thing I am thinking about getting rid of is cable. It is 30 dollars a month, which I can use towards something else, but the only reason I am unsure of whether or not I am going to do it is because my cable comes with a really cool movie channel that shows new release movies (on DVD) at no etxtra charge, and I figure I may spend the same if not more renting DVDs to watch. So, I dont know..... I am going to think long and hard about that one.

Other than that, the only other thing is the phone.... which I really do not want to get rid of. It is my lifeline to my mother! But, I think I am going to start timing my phone calls. (It is cheaper to dial direct than it is to use a phone card) My phone bill runs me about 130 dollars a month, which is a lot less than it used to (about 300!) so I have been doing better, but I need to do better than that.

Of course, the food budget. But, I recently sent my children back to daycare, instead of having them at home with the nanny. The daycare costs about the same as having a nanny, but all the hidden costs are gone..... such as feeding the kids all day (because they are bottomless pits!) since food is covered with the daycare bill. So, that means really, all I will have is dinner to pay for, with weekend breakfast and lunches, and snacks. Also, I wont be feeding the nanny, or paying for all her personal items (yes, I paid her, and it seemed to be my job to buy her pads, shampoo, soap, basically all the essentials!) So, I estimate my grocery bill to be going WAYYYYYYY down.

In the estimations, it looks like I can have my credit card paid off before Christmas, if I do these things, buckle down, and dont go crazy with the spending, and then I can start paying down my car loan and saving for our Disney Vacation for when we leave Germany.

I am so happy I found this place! You ladies are such an inspiration!

**Lorri** · 05-20-2006, 11:01 AM

Wow you have been busy. Looks like you have thought many things through and are making a lot of changes.
Good Luck to you, hope all goes well and as planned.

**AmyBoz** · 05-20-2006, 11:02 AM

Good for you! Sounds like you've got a great plan in place!

**frugalfarmwife** · 05-20-2006, 11:17 AM

Congrats on putting all the thought and hard work into this! You'll get those CC's paid of BEFORE Christmas at this rate!

We're here for you!

kj

**Laurie in Bradenton** · 05-20-2006, 11:18 AM

Have you considered writing to your mom?? Letters are the little nice things you find inbetwen those nasty bills. Makes it easier for me to go to the mailbox if there might be letter in there for me. But as I tell my kids "You've got to send letters to get them."

Laurie in BRadenton