ruadisneyfan2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 20, 2006
In the spirit of holding myself accountable to a group of strangers on the internet....
In the spirit of holding myself accountable to a group of strangers on the internet....
I could have written this VERBATIM. I am still a SAHM, my kids are in school but my husband's job is high pressure and demanding. So I have to be around 24/7 for the kids because I never know if I'll have help with them or the house. Number one way to keep busy? Go to the store(s). Since I'm out, I need lunch! Before you know it I have spend $100. Repeat 1-3 times a week.
Here is what is helping me, YMMV because our hobbies/interests may differ but maybe some of it will help you...
-Load up my library hold list with books. I was a book buyer but had a rude awakening when I donated a ton to the library after none sold at a garage sale (like 50 books, all less than 3 years old). I have saved so much by not buying anymore. Reading keeps me out of the stores.
-I love the Sims on my laptop. I've played it since I was 14 and it's kind of been my guilty pleasure. I don't play it often. But I'd rather sit and play it 2 hours when I get the urge to get in the car and go to Hobby Lobby.
-Delete shopping apps from my phone (for me it was amazon, eBay, ali, target)
-Remove shopping bookmarks on my browser
-Remove stored cards from shopping sites (probably good for safety reasons too!)
-Remove all my credit cards from my wallet and put them in a manila envelope and put them in my bedroom where my husband can see them. I only carry my debit card.
-Make a list of things around your house that need to be done. Whether it's home improvement, to do, cleaning, etc and start.
-Learn to be bored. Honest. There's nothing wrong with it. If I had learned to deal with being bored in the first place I probably wouldn't have spent my way here. Granted not all this debt is boredom. Some was dental work. Some was car repairs. But the boredom made it unmanageable. It made it stressful.
Those are all great ideas. I joined a gym a few months ago even though it costs money, for mental and physical health. After last physical labwork results in the fall came back my doctor suggested I workout 4 - 5 days a week, so it became more of a priority and I think exercise helps me mentally. If I didn't live close to the gym or found myself not using it like I should, I'd cut it out, and I've done that in the past cut out memberships I don't use. But at this point in time, I'm going, so all is good. I hate cold weather so it's indoors for me. When the weather is better in spring and through fall, I like to go for a late walk especially after dinner, or like early morning, and listen to podcasts or Youtube shows, particulary the Disney park visit ones and anything finance even if I don't follow the philosophy, I just like to listen to shows.
I write down movies I want to see or scan through movie recommendations, and keep my movies list in my notes. When they make it to rentals, I'll rent them or catch whatever is on Netflix. I allocate that on my budget, usually rentals from Amazon or iTunes, I don't do more than $20 a month on. So, for that reason I keep my Amazon. But disclaimer on Amazon is I've noticed Amazon seems to have been up to something with movie rentals, seems the option to rent a movie is less available, that's been my experience, happened this week again in fact, Wednesday a movie was there to rent, and Friday it wasn't an option anymore only to purchase the DVD.
I keep my main cards in my wallet, as I do play a small bit of the credit card points game.
Great job! I don’t know if this is your thing or not, but I love watching documentaries. Netflix has a good collection. I decided this week that I didn’t have the attention span for reading after work (I get home after 7pm and have a long commute) and have watched one every night.
True, though for me my job term ended this year as I was in a temporary position and term ran out, but for others to that is definitely something they can consider.Some health insurance companies give a slight rebate/discount if you go to a gym regularly. Can't hurt to ask.
Sometimes that is the best place to hold yourself accountable. At least you know that with this group of strangers we won't judge you when you have setbacks and we'll encourage you along the way when you have wins big or small. You can't always say that with a regular group of friends.In the spirit of holding myself accountable to a group of strangers on the internet...
I want to pay off my student loan first. Hopefully the government will open soon (for a multitude of reasons), but also so I can get my tax refund to pay that down more. I'm hoping between my monthly payments from now until March, my tax refund, and my third paycheck in March will mean the end of that student loan forever!
just a tip when you are looking at upping contributions and such for this year-remember to factor into your number crunching that the payoff of your student loans means for your 2019 taxes paid in 2020 you will have little to no student loan interest to write off so if your habit is to plan on a chunk of change for your tax return it could be lower in 2020 and esp 2021 (when you've had no student loan interest to write off). i know it's not usually a huge difference but every penny counts.
I need someone to teach me the game. Once my cards are paid off at the end off the year, at least.
That board is fantastic! Word of warning--the pace is hectic and there's some jargon that takes a bit to learn. I even asked a moderator for a list of abbreviations and when he/she didn't answer, I had to trudge through. BUT that is the board I learned to fly for nearly free on for our WDW trip in December.When you're ready take a look at the I Love Credit Cards thread. Super friendly group willing to guide you through.
We LOVE former lurkers! Welcome!!!Hi, I have been lurking the Debt Dumpers thread for 18 months from Australia and have decided to take the plunge and join.
I'd love a shake right now...In the spirit of holding myself accountable to a group of strangers on the internet....I only strayed from the budget by $4.86 this week! (stupid Steak ‘n Shake breakfast when I was feeling lazy and rushed on my way to work one morning)
No income/no debt dumping this week, but maybe the spending problem is headed in the right direction.
Hey @MamaBelleRN and welcome back!Hello all I was active on this board for a chunk of time last year, then life got super busy (as it always does!) and I fell out of habit of checking in.
imbatman said:I'd love a shake right now...
I need someone to teach me the game. Once my cards are paid off at the end off the year, at least.
@Jen and Ashwin, you beat me to it. I saw someone asking and thought I'd start this one when I finished catching up on the posts.
Right about now, my only goals for 2019 are to manage to not lose my car and house. Since last summer, my health issues have drained every gain I thought I had made, and set me back even further than I was when I started. I just want to curl up in a ball, cry, and die.
Oui- prayers and pixie dust would be great. At urgent care with our five year old who ‘heard a crack’ when he fell playing in the basement and has been guarding his arm since it happened. Hoping it’s not broken, but I’m worried it is
This is when I am especially grateful to have a funded HSA so I don’t have that worry on top of it. Poor little guy!
Took husbands car in for a repair. the estimate was $300 and the total came in at $298.