I went through all my bills and figured things out.
The worst part, and the main reason I came here, is that we've basically been using our "savings" account to pad our income. We are overspending past what we're bringing in by about 15-20%.
The main reason we're overspending is that our mortgage is just killing us. We knew what we were getting into coming into it (fell in love with the house), and thought we'd just budget and plan. But then add into that hubby's career going off into a ditch and it just seemed hopeless to even try. We both have engaged in our share of "retail therapy" and denial about the situation. So just cutting back to the point where we're not digging into our savings every month is going to be a feat unto itself.
So, that's my first goal - Spend less than hubby makes, even if it's just $1.00 less.
Next is an Energy bill that I didn't pay right. I set up automatic payments, but hadn't looked at the bills. So we're behind by about a month. Last month and this month combined will be $564.68.
Then our debt -
Med Bill - 242.40
CC#1 - 633.98
CC#2 - 809.72
CC#3 - 1295.75
CC#4 - 9500.00
Total = $12,481.85
The smart thing is that both our cars are paid for. So at least we don't have car payments. Yay! We also live 5 minutes from DH's work and within a 5 mile radius of anywhere I need to go to shop. So there is very little gas cost or wear and tear on either of our vehicles.
I'm not even going to think about paying down our mortgage until we get the CC's taken care of. So I'm not putting that in our debt calculations yet.
So there it is.
Nancy
The worst part, and the main reason I came here, is that we've basically been using our "savings" account to pad our income. We are overspending past what we're bringing in by about 15-20%.
The main reason we're overspending is that our mortgage is just killing us. We knew what we were getting into coming into it (fell in love with the house), and thought we'd just budget and plan. But then add into that hubby's career going off into a ditch and it just seemed hopeless to even try. We both have engaged in our share of "retail therapy" and denial about the situation. So just cutting back to the point where we're not digging into our savings every month is going to be a feat unto itself.
So, that's my first goal - Spend less than hubby makes, even if it's just $1.00 less.
Next is an Energy bill that I didn't pay right. I set up automatic payments, but hadn't looked at the bills. So we're behind by about a month. Last month and this month combined will be $564.68.
Then our debt -
Med Bill - 242.40
CC#1 - 633.98
CC#2 - 809.72
CC#3 - 1295.75
CC#4 - 9500.00
Total = $12,481.85
The smart thing is that both our cars are paid for. So at least we don't have car payments. Yay! We also live 5 minutes from DH's work and within a 5 mile radius of anywhere I need to go to shop. So there is very little gas cost or wear and tear on either of our vehicles.
I'm not even going to think about paying down our mortgage until we get the CC's taken care of. So I'm not putting that in our debt calculations yet.
So there it is.
Nancy