minnie1928
WDW addict
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2004
- Messages
- 2,998
I'm now officially in.
Welcome to the wagon!
Following DRs advice is certainly a great start. We've been doing it for several years and I am amazed at the difference it has made in our lives.
I would keep the $1000 (as others have said). I think you will feel better knowing that if something happens you won't need to run to a credit card. So much of this stuff is emotional (as you've seen) and you need to keep those emotions in check...the $1000 will help with that. Something that helped us keep the momentum going was to pay towards our debt, even if it was only $10. I got paid every 2 weeks, so whatever was left in my checking account the night before I got paid was sent to pay down a CC. Some weeks it was only a few dollars, other weeks it was much more. Either way it felt good to make that payment because otherwise if would have found a reason to be spent on something that I probably didn't actually need.
Next is the hard part...making your money stretch further than it ever has. Your kids are old enough to help out, for the younger ones you can turn it into a game and a learning experience. My kids have been taught the value of couponing, delaying a purchase (to see if you REALLY want/need something), and turning off the lights to save electricity, etc. Try the thread about painlessly stretching your budget, there are tons of ideas there.
I would also open a high interest savings account for your emergency fund (think ING or HSBC). You might as well earn some interest on that money while it sits! ING has an ad inside the August issue of Smart Money for a $25 bonus to open a new account or you might be able to find a code if you google for it.
Good luck and keep posting!