Old goals revisited

One thing about New Year goals is that they are so easy to forget. These are the goals I set for myself last year:

• $2500 in savings. FAIL. The maximum that I've saved is $1500.
  
• Pay off all credit cards and medical debt. PASS/FAIL. I paid all medical debt and I did pay all my credit cards...but...when I bought my MacBook I opened a Best Buy credit card to pay for it. Right now that card is the only credit card debt I have.
  
• Protect my job! PASS. The fact that I'm at my school another year after so many teachers were let go last year says a lot. I've been doing alot of extra work and trying new strategies with my students. I'm concerned because 86 out of 122 students are failing. I have data and documentation that I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, but I gotta get these kids to do their work. When I put in the grades for work that they have done, the grades were okay. Soon as I started putting in zero's for missing work the bad grades came. I've talked to parents, extended deadlines, modified assignments, but they still won't do the work. Veteran teachers have all said that as long as I have documentation of my efforts, I'll be fine.
  
• After this spring, pay for school out of pocket. FAIL. I've continued to borrow for school this year. Next semester is my last, so I won't be borrowing for too much longer.

Sometimes I feel bad because I have not reached my goals. I feel like I haven't gotten anywhere financially and I am terrified to check my net worth. When I think about it, I have taken some steps to improving my situation. My job automatically takes 5% of my pay for retirement and I contribute $50 per pay period to an annuity set through my employer. I have all the insurance I need and feel comfortable if something were to happen. I've eliminated just about all my credit card debt (thank goodness!) and I'm in the process of automating my finances. Of course my paycheck is direct deposited, but I've automated my truck payment, auto and renter's insurance, and Directv. I'm still checking to see if my other expenses can be automated and plan to have them done by the end of the month.

Then I think about my spending plan that I created a while ago, my situation is not as bad as it seems IF I stick to the plan. Some of the categories have changed slightly, but overall it is the same. I always read other blogs about how people get out of debt by sacrificing, making more money, etc. I just want to be that person one day. (ETA...I just realized that the plan I mentioned was based on me not having a car payment. :( )

Overlimit Protection for Credit Cards? BOOOOOOO!

I received a survey from HSBC today asking about overlimit protection for credit cards. Basically, for a small fee, the bank would let your purchase go through if it would allow you to be over your credit limit. If you don't choose to have this protection, then it would deny your card at checkout if the purchase would place you over your credit limit.

My question is who in their right mind would want to be over their credit limit? If you have to go over your credit limit, then you don't need to make the purchase in the first place! I'm not even using my credit cards anymore because of all the fees involved.

My take is that this is an implementation meant to prey on weak-minded people (my former self) who may become desperate for cash. My days of being that person are long gone. I've paid off all of my credit cards with the exception of one (to be paid off in spring) and I've cut them up so I can't even use them. I used to always cut close to my limits and once I started paying them down, I would charge them back up again.

How do I feel about credit cards now??? I believe that it is important to have them to build up credit and to make automated payments, but I don't depend on them like I used to. In the spring, I'll request my cards again so I can make a small purchase (very, very small...like $10-20 bucks) but that's it. If I cannot pay cash then I feel that I don't need it.

With my new truck loan and student loans, the last thing I want to worry about is credit card payments.

Money and Life Updates...

This is way overdue but the car repairs ended up being more than $6,000. I refused to pay that much on a car that I had purchased only two months prior. So we traded in the Mercedes and got a 2009 Nissan Titan. The truck was the only thing we could purchase because of finance issues. The plan is to trade it in December 2010 for something that is more affordable on gas and insurance.




I received A's in all of my classes this semester so far. I will be done with my last class on November 17th. I will graduate on May 22, 2010 with my Master of Arts in Education (MAEd).








I am seriously beginning to dislike the location where I work. I don't mind teaching, but I don't like how some things are operated, the huge amount of paperwork, and the disrespectful kids. I work at an inner city school where the students basically run their households because the adults do not discipline them as they should. So when the students come to school they act the same way, which is unacceptable. There may be another job opportunity coming up soon, but I don't want to mention it just yet.



My bf and I are still together. It has been six months so far. He is in the VERY long process for applying for a city government job and has to go take another test this week. He's already had his fingerprints done and they have checked his references...all very good signs. If everything goes well, he will start training in March. This opportunity will definitely bring more money into the household.


We were considering purchasing a home, but decided against it because the homes we qualified were not what we are looking for. We are going to wait a few more years and save up for our dream home.






I feel that there are more updates but I must have a brain fart right now or something. As you can see, not much has been going on, but I am hoping for some big changes soon.

Mint has brought me out of hiding!

I've been so tied up with life lately that I have really neglected this blog. When I had things on my mind to write about I would be too lazy to turn on the computer. I also forgot the main reason I began this blog. I started to keep myself accountable and to make a plan for my very grim future at the time. Even though I am not out of that situation, I am in others and I really need to start blogging again. Especially since I logged onto Mint today and say that I spent $788.59 on food within the last 30 days. $800 freakin' dollars!!! That could have been my truck payment, credit card payment, or textbook money. I really need to get myself together before this situation gets out of control. Actually it is already out of control, but I need to fix it.