End of the week celebration post come early

[jamethiel]

Comment on this post with what you've achieved over the past week! Let us know what you're going to do over the next week!

I just made the last payment on my credit card. The balance is $0. I am aware that I might have to pay a couple of dollars interest to close it, but that sucker is GONE!

\o/
Before next week, I will: Cancel the credit card

Comments

[yvi]

Yay!

I don't have any debts (and I feel a bit... misplaced in this community because of it sometimes... I don't know why, I am strange), but I will be out of a job next month and I have been writing applications and I had three job interviews the past week. One rejection and one offer for an internship with a "if you work well and you like us, we will give you a job" offer so far - I'll likely take the internship :)

Oh, and over the next week, I'll try to communicate with that company and see whether they pay interns and how much, and if not I will figure out whether I can still take it.

[jamethiel]

No debts is good!

I hope they turn out to be awesome!

[juliet]

I have been considering my financial goals & am not entirely sure how to manage them. I'm freelance, which means that my income is both erratic, and arrives erratically (and, often, very very late). So it's quite difficult for me to set weekly or even monthly saving goals and to know *at the time* whether I've achieved them -- last month, for example, I had to transfer £400 out of my savings account because a client paid later than anticipated. It'll go back again, but I can only really track my savings by looking at them a couple of months in arrears.

(I should add that I'm not in debt, other than inflation-rate student loans I'm not earning enough to be asked to pay off at the moment.)

I think perhaps my aim for this month is: don't use credit card, and stay within the spending-money budget. (I do mostly achieve these things anyway!) I'd kind of like to have a figure I can watch to encourage myself, though...

eta: I forgot to say, congrats on the credit card!

[jamethiel]

How about a physical thing? Like bringing your lunch to work, or cooking dinner? Or riding your bike instead of taking the car (you may not have a bike, but you get the idea). Something that doesn't require money. Even going to a free park or art gallery rather than a movie.

And thank you!

[juliet]

The thing is, I do most of that stuff already :) I virtually never buy lunch (or dinner) out; I cycle everywhere (I've been getting public transport for the last month as I had a broken thumb, but I'm back on the bike now); I very rarely go out to movies/the theatre. My income is very low, so I'm already in the habit of not doing things that cost money.

I guess my main vice is chocolate (either the good stuff, or cheap-chocolate-while-at-the-supermarket), so I could avoid buying that next week... It feels a bit like the only remaining luxury, though, so it's a bit tough! (Savings vs chocolate... hm :) ) And books, but I'm already out of this month's books/magazines budget, so that's that anyway.

Thanks for the thought, anyway -- I shall ponder it further!

[bewize]

I'm also freelance and I feel your pain. I was out of town for vacation last month and the sudden lack of income flow this month is really getting me!

Also, I have the same problem re: savings goals. I have to set longer term plans.

[white_aster]

Congrats on kickin' that card to the curb! \o/

[jamethiel]

Thank you so much!

[delladea]

Congrats! It is a liberating feeling to finally pay something off. :D

[jamethiel]

It really, really is. Thank you!

[nuri]

We convinced the old apartment complex to go into a payment arrangement for the last 300 of the damages on the apartment (hint: leather dye + vinyl do not mix well) so that instead of trying to pay it all off this month, we can finish it next month instead. Since I get three paychecks next month, including one with holiday pay, it's a breather.

Then we can focus on other bills! Credit cards can do minimum payments until we get the medical ones under control.

Goals: Enjoy my stay at home paid vacation. It's my first in about 2 years.

[jamethiel]

That's really good! It's great that they were prepared to cooperate with you.

Enjoy your vacation! Vacations are awesome

[foxfirefey]

I was very, very good and didn't buy the bike I wanted that was on sale. I'll get a bike eventually, but now I can't do it without putting it on credit longer than a month or dipping it out of savings. Considering that my expenses have inescapably increased and will continue to do so in the short term, getting a bike just isn't the smart thing to do right now. It's very much a big luxury item, since I want to get a nice-ish one, and not one at Wal-mart or something.

[jamethiel]

It's hard when there's stuff you want. Congrats for going for longterm payoff over short-term gain!

One of the hardest things I've had to learn is: On sale is only a bargain if 1) you were going to buy it anyway and 2) it won't harm your current financial position.

[foxfirefey]

Well, technically I am going to get it someday, and I don't have any credit card debt. But still, practicing restraint is probably the best way to keep out of credit card debt. I probably could have been okay if I'd gotten it, but I want myself to have wiggle room!

[jamethiel]

Oh yes! i mean, with the on sale stuff is: sometimes it's better to get it at a higher price if it fits in better with your finances. You'll be able to get it eventually!

Wiggle room is fantastic. My next task is building up my savings buffer. Last month I had $90 worth of medication which... wow. That was un-fun.

[bewize]

Congratulations!

A quick warning - closing a credit card can negatively affect your credit because it reduces your credit to income ratio. Just something to think about before you close it.

I'm so jealous!

[jamethiel]

*nods* But it charges a yearly fee and the card I am going to use in place of it doesn't. I figure after paying off a maxed out card, I've earned myself enough points to take the hit.

Also, in Australia I think they calculate it differently. Because while having NO credit is bad, if you have too much credit, even if there's no balance owing, the banks see it as a risk. When I put in my credit card limit as $5000, ING was prepared to loan me significantly less than when it was $2000. *wry face* Life would be so much easier if banks would just TELL us outright what will negatively affect our loan applications. :S

And your turn will come! Keep working at it.

[bewize]

Achievments:

I figured out the error with my student loan payment and got that sorted before it hit my credit. So that's good, even if I did have to pay double what I normally would have this month. *cringe*

I also took on the challenge of figuring out exactly what my debt is and accomplished that. So, while I'm a bit weak-kneed at what I owe (student loans should never be studied that closely again!), I feel like I have a handle on that, too.

This week: I need to figure out my living situation. I'm unexpectedly moving out of my roommates and I have no idea what I'm going to do or how I'm going to afford it. So... yeah.

Today though, I got offered a part time job to help me make ends meet while I'll still have the time to get my own business off the ground. I started breathing again for the first time in a week.

[jamethiel]

Oh, that's fantastic about the job! Well done! And I hope you find a great living situation soon. Moving is HARD (also something that I am hopefully planning to only ever do once more in my life. I HATE IT OMG)

Yeah... debts are scary. When I first studied my credit card, I actually threw up from anxiety :( But you can't get anything under control without looking at it! I'm really glad you sorted out your payments.

[ekaterinn]

Congratulations on paying the credit card down!

This week: I survived week 2 of teaching summer school that's going to help me A) build up my savings again and B) pay for my travel this summer. I have 5 autistic kids in that class, so I'm calling it a real achievement!

Next week: I will pay off a bit more of my furniture credit card, bring the balance down to $150!

[red_trillium]

Congrats on getting rid of the credit card balance! *Throws confetti*. It's great and it's an inspiration to see that it can be done.

This week I've managed to resist buying something that I completely don't need (and would have gone on the credit card). And we got a payment for something I ordered. I resisted the temptation to just use it for the regular payment and will put it as an extra payment on the card.

I'm still debating a couple purchases. While not necessary for daily living, one will be a copy of my self-published book as soon as I'm done getting it together. I'll get a copy for me and a copy for my step mom for a Christmas gift. I'm also debating picking up a copy of 2 of my other books to on-sell. I had interest expressed by someone I work with (she's in another part of the country) in buying a few of my photos and she mentioned putting a copy of my book(s) in the staff room to get some interest/possible sales. I've been wanting to have a couple copies on hand to sell (and could always give as gifts if they didn't sell).

The other possibility is tea. I've been eyeing a few blends but might leave it for a while longer. I have tea here, although one of them is a sniffle-tea and I don't have that. When I hit my down spots I want to go crazy with purchases and get the tea but I'm trying to resist.

I do need to get off my behind and see if I can sell a few things to build up the Paypal before I do either of the purchases I want. One has a time-constraint so not sure if it will work but it definitely won't work if I don't get on it.

[indywind]

My achievements this week(ish) are actually expenses & indulgences. That seems odd, in the context of this community, so I want ot say I am posting not to go "nyah nyah lucky me" but to affirm there is nothing financially irresponsible about treating yourself well when you can safely afford it, it is allowed. Which is hard for me to remember sometimes --anyone else?

I paid for yoga classes, 10 in advance because there's a 30% discount. I know I will use them, and they're good for my physical and mental health, and motivate me to do other healthy things like drink water and bicycle (because I bike to/from yoga).

I am taking vacation --I have a ton of paid vacation time saved up which I hardly ever use because I hate to get behind at work, but most of my job functions will be on hold for a week at the end of the fiscal year and I am not wasting the opportunity.

I bought plane tickets, on credit (because I know I will be able to pay them off before I have to pay interest on the charge) to visit a friend and a sweetheart on the aforementioned vacation

and consequently I am motivated for the rest of the month by really really awesome vacation plans that do not involve any out-of-pocket expenses except travel, since both the friend and the sweetheart will put me up and feed me, and we shall have brilliant times together just working in the garden, without going to Disneyworld or any such thing.

[jumpuphigh]

I finally figured out why I wasn't getting my auto loan statements and fixed the problem AND discovered in the process that I owed about US$5k less than I was thinking.