Well, it's been almost a full month since I last wrote, because things have just continued to go downhill. If you read my last post you know I felt like we were "on the brink of disaster" and now I feel like my toes are hanging over. We have had to take two cash advances in the last two payperiods to cover "surprises" and I just can't handle it anymore. I had a little breakdown tonight, this is just not how things are supposed to be!

It's crazy that I am in this situtation, because I have enjoyed reading personal finance books for about 7 years now and have been committed to being smart with my money. I know others in this community have probably wondered how we could have so many "surprises" and why I can't budget better, but without going into it too much, it's because my husband had borrowed money (a lot of money) that I didn't know about and we are now paying it back. Unfortunately, he didn't keep a record of this borrowing so we pay whenever he remembers a new debt. It's been hard, I want to pay it back, it's important to do that; it's just draining us - financially and emotionally. We've paid $1,000+ in personal debt per payperiod more than once. If it wasn't over a $1k, it was several hundred. This has been going on for months and I'm just beat.

I haven't said anything to any friends or family about this or about our debt in general. I haven't said anything here, because I don't want anyone (even y'all who I don't personally know) to think poorly of my husband. Much of this money that he borrowed was used to help out other people, ironically enough. I know it wasn't the most responsible thing for him to do and it's caused a lot of heartache (which he is well aware), but he does have a good heart. He hasn't borrowed anymore since June and has promised not to. I believe him, now it's just getting past all of these "surprises" and getting consistent with living a budget.

Anyway, it's a bit of a tangent, but wanted to explain, but try not to blame. I love my husband and just hope (and trust) that everything will work out for us sooner rather than later. *sigh* That's my prayer.

Well, I finally called on getting a payment plan for the $563.87 doctor's bill that I found out we couldn't cover and can honestly say it was a very pleasant experience. I was very upset to have to do a "budget plan" at all and worried about interest and everything, but it's 0% and they will never charge me to pay over the phone, even if I use a credit card. The woman I spoke with was more than helpful and very kind.

I have never had to do this before and was very surprised; is this a normal interaction for most people dealing with medical bills? I was very relieved once off the phone to have it done and on such a manageable schedule. I had planned to pay if off asap, but since it's 0% for the life of the plan, I may just take my time and put the extra money towards a CC that's charging interest instead of this. Who knew?

This past month has been awful for us financially and the rest of the year doesn't look that good because of it (will be playing catch up). Anyway, we had started auto deposits to our new Freedom Account on 9/15 and I can already tell that I'm going to LOVE it! I am initiating my first transfer from it back to my checking to cover a hospital bill, oil change, two small gifts and two shirts I bought (on clearance, of course). I can just tell that this really will bring peace of mind in at least some aspects of our financial life.

I did decide to use an ING savings account for our Freedom Account. I didn't want to see the balance information every time I checked our checking account. This was definitely the best decision for us. I think out of sight, out of mind is the best thing right now.

Anyway, we earned 7 cents in interest in September and that will be added to the $20 Challenge since we'll be adding all found money to that.

Well, I haven't written in a few days because I have been avoiding thinking about money; we've been hemorraging money. We've had more "surprises" that I love so much (sarcastic) to the tune of about $680 and that's just this pay period!

Anyway, on the positive side, I returned some things to Target today and left without buying anything else. I was walking down the aisle considering a purchase and thought of y'all's blogs and how some of you have written about avoiding temptation and it gave me strength! I didn't need anything, but I do need to use what money I do have wisely.

Have y'all seen the recent Dr. Phil and Oprah episodes on the current economic crisis and what it means to you? They both went through a list of things to do NOW and they both included getting out of credit card debt and living within your means. Those thoughts also ran through my head and helped give me strength. So, yeah, I exercised constraint and feel good about that.

I see A LOT of you mentioning sales on eBay. I have sold things occasionally that have done well, but it's just been stuff we've had around the house. When I read your blogs, it seems that you do this on a regular basis.

I'm curious what you're selling, where you get it to resell, etc. Does anyone mind sharing this information with me?

My husband's new payraise finally went into effect with this paycheck and it looks like my projection of our takehome was off by about $200/paycheck! I can't believe this! I just checked our bank account (it's direct deposited) and am bummed. I have no idea how I was so far off, usually I'm pretty good at estimating those types of things. I took taxes, 401k contribution, benefits, etc. into account. I think I may have messed up on the tax withholdings though. We'll see. I'm anxious for my husband to bring the paystub home so I can look it over and find my mistake. Ugh, I guess I have to realize that I may need to go back to the drawing board with our budget. Oh well, it's more money nonetheless, just wish I hadn't gotten my hopes up!

I was talking to a friend today and I asked if they were still thinking of selling their home and buying another (upgrading) in light of what's going on in the economy since the "experts" are saying we could see a "deep recession". They are a young couple with two small children and in a 4 bedroom home, just not the best of the best schools and the first will start school in about 1.5 years. Anyway, they said that they were still considering it since their decision "has to do with [their] personal budget, not the economy..."

This doesn't make sense to me. I think the economy, especially of late, has a lot of effect over my personal budget, just look at gas and food prices. We've had to adjust these in the last year to keep up with the prices. It seems like the economy, especially with what's going on right now, would have a lot to say about selling/buying a home right now.

Am I way off or did that comment not make the most sense?

Well, Broken Arrow's entry this morning about Wachovia possibly being at risk for failing got me going this morning to research what'll happen if my bank fails. I bank with Wachovia and since we don't have any savings (not yet anyway, just opened an ING account!), I'm mainly concerned about accessing my account to pay bills. I know that FDIC will cover any money I do have in checking since I definitely don't have more than their limit.

Anyway, from what I've read, my money may be unavailable for several days if something did happen so I am preparing just in case. I have filled my car with gas and we are taking some money out today. We're taking enough to cover our rent (due on the 1st) and to have some cushion. We're fine on food. I am not too worried about anything horrible happening, I think my money will be fine overall, but I feel better knowing I'm prepared and won't be late on any bills. (I don't have any other bills due for about two weeks.)

I just saw on CNBC that Wachovia is in early talks about a deal with Citigroup so who knows, maybe it's good I'm preparing, either way, I feel better now.

I just set up our Freedom Account with ING today (an ING savings account). I think I will keep our Emergency Fund as another subcategory, for the time being at least. I have set up two automatic payments a month to coincide with our paychecks. It will deposit $153 each time to cover the $262/month for auto, clothing, date night/family activities, vacation and gifts as I mentioned in my last entry as well as $44/month to the EF. I know it's not much to the EF right now, but it'll add up and it's a start.

I will also add a $20 Challenge subcategory and add any leftover money from each payperiod (basically, any unused "cushion" that's built into the budget) as well as any "extra" money we get. Adding the $20 Challenge category completes another goal for 2008! Our $20 challenge is officially started! It feels good to have taken some steps in improving our future.

I made an initial deposit of $446. Our health insurance reimbursed us this amount from our FSA, but we haven't paid it out of pocket to the hospital (for baby #2's birth) yet so moving it to this account will ensure we don't touch it until we need it.

Well, my husband and I had another heart-to-heart last night and it went really well. I think we'd both gotten frustrated with each other over finances. I have just finished reading Debt-Proof Living by Mary Hunt that I'd seen mentioned on the blogs several times and told him about some of the things she discusses. I liked her system for dealing with the unexpected expenses throughout the year and we've decided to start our own Freedom Account this next pay period (Sept. 30th). We'll have the following sub-categories to start with:

Auto Maintenance & Repair - $1,000/year
Date Night/Family Activities - $360/year
Gift - $360/year
Clothing - $360/year
Vacation (airline tickets home) - $900/year

This will require a deposit of $262/month which I will automate into an account that is NOT affiliated with my current bank. I do not want to see the balance everytime we log in. I think it will be easier for us if it's out of sight. I have already set up the Excel spreadsheet as the book suggests and am ready to start; it's exciting and feels very empowering to be taking such proactive steps in our financial management.

Oh, my husband also agreed to staying in the apartment for an additional year (to January 2011) in order to achieve our goals of paying off ALL credit card debts and building up a downpayment fund before buying a house. This is a HUGE step for us. I have worried for months about how I'd feel and what we'd do when fall 2009 came and we were still in debt facing the decision to buy a house or not. With our current plan, I project we'll make our last credit card payment in May 2010. Then we can sock away all the money currently going to debt repayment to a downpayment fund June-December 2010.

Any suggestions on creating this second bank account for our Freedom Account? Is it wise to go to a different bank? I'd love to hear any advice from those already doing this; thanks!

$49.29 was just reimbursed to our bank account from our flexible spending account (FSA). It took about a month for this to happen so I'm wondering it getting a Consumer Accounts Card would be a good idea. We're about to have a baby (in 1.5 weeks or so) and are funding our FSA accordingly, but don't want to have that hospital bill taken from our bank account for any amount of time. The card seems like a good idea since it is a debit card for the FSA account and can only be used for approved things or it's declined.

Does anyone else use a card to access their FSA? Has it worked well? Is there anything I should know? I'd really appreciate any feedback!