July Goals: Debt, Snowball, Snowflakes and More…
I was stressed about July before it arrived and am now seven days in feeling equally as stressed. I wrote my goals out towards the end of June. I’d like to say that things are going well but suffice to say I’ve spent quite a bit of time - but not money - trying to organize financial matters for a plan of attack to pay off debt.
Here are my July goals:
1. Let it snow! I’m putting every cent I can find onto a Capital One card with a balance and a hefty interest rate of 14.90% In my wildest dreams I’d love to get this paid off this month but those would be dreams with a dash of fantasy. Needless to say, I’m going to chop, not chip, away at this balance with everything I can find. Snowflakes a flurry.
2. Pay-off $8,000 worth of debt. That’s a tall, tall order but I’m going to try.
3. Finish posting items we have for sale on Craigslist. This includes light fixtures leftover from construction, misc. furniture and even a kitchen sink. I haven’t had much luck on some items in the past and may have to to go eBay even though I detest having to pay a listing fee and making a trip to the post office to ship things.
4. Find miscellaneous money sources - online surveys, focus groups and more. It’s little but it adds up!
5. Landscaping - with home prices falling, I’m doing my best to help increase the value of our home in case we are forced to sell. Landscaping can increase your property value by up to 5-20%. Of all home improvements, for every dollar spent it has a recovery rate of 100%-200%. Best of all, I’m doing all that I can myself rather than paying someone and looking on Craigslist for free or near-free plants. Plus it keeps me busy rather than fretting on the negative.
6. Use July as a benchmark to see what we are spending on groceries. I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know.
OK, time to get to work.
Comment by Kelly from Almost Frugal on 8 July 2008:
Wow, you’re going to try to pay off $8000 this month? Good for you!
Comment by admin on 8 July 2008:
I’m certainly going to try! As of this morning I paid $922.80, leaving $7,077.20 to go. Maybe I’ll transfer the .20 over to make it even
Comment by Harmless Queen on 8 July 2008:
I wish you the best to try to pay off Cap1. I hope you’ll succeed in your goal
Comment by debtor on 8 July 2008:
Capitol One is tough. They’ll do anything to raise your rates and charge you monstrous late fees. I got rid of my card with them years ago for that reason and they recently pulled some dirty tricks on a friend of mine.
Have you considered finding a lower interest card and transferring the balance? Obviously if it’s a lower rate being compounded, it won’t take as long or cost as much to get rid of it.
Good luck!!
Comment by admin on 8 July 2008:
debtor - I have 3 cc at the moment with one each at 0%, 14.9% and 10.9%. Since the 14.9% is what I’m focused on paying off now I’m contemplating moving as much as possible from the 10.9% to a 0%.
Comment by Chris on 8 July 2008:
I would love to be able to pay off $8000 in one month! I have been averaging about $1000 a month because of interest and stuff. I need to get off my butt and list some more stuff on ebay.
You mentioned that you were looking for misc sources for extra money. I belong to a program called Wellness 360. In 3 months, I earned $93 (not including commission.) I am just waiting for my check. The site works well for me because I am also trying to loose wait. I’m not trying to advertise the site or anything. I just hate surveys and this site does well for me. I just figure that if I keep it up, I can get an extra $40 - $50 each month to put towards my credit cards. I have $73,000 in credit card debt so every little bit helps.
https://www.mywellness360.com/enrollWB.aspx?&source=ahm&broker=811719
If the link does not work, the enrollment code is ahm811719
Comment by ManicMom on 8 July 2008:
That credit card debt is the absolute worst! It took a long time for our family to get out from under that worry, and now we pay off the balance monthly. The one card I do use a lot is Discover. I use the reward points to purchase gift cards and then use those for dining out, movie tickets, etc.
Yeeeeah, Capital One is no longer in MY wallet. I recently misplaced the bill and didn’t pay it on time. They called me at 8 am on a Sunday morning to tell me I needed to pay or they would be calling a collection agency. WTH?? They also charged me $15 late charge fee. And how much was my bill? $14.95! Geesh, those Vikings in the commercials don’t work for the competition; they are customer support for Capital One! I paid the bill and then sent a nasty letter to Capital One’s corporate. Now they are “giving” me a $15 credit. Whoopty-doo. I’m charging up to $14.95 and then shredding the card.
Comment by emily on 10 July 2008:
I remember turning down the radio when debt consolidation ads would come on because I was trying so hard to not think about all of the credit card debt I had. You’re far more focused and creative with your “alternate income” sources than I ever was…I wish you the best of luck with getting that card paid off, it’ll feel so great when you do, trust me!