http://pfs.savingadvice.com Learning how to climb from debt to financial freedom at the School of Hard Knocks. info@savingadvice.com Personal Finance Student en-us http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/11/19/last-chance_55228/ I told my husband that I am finally ready to go to one of those non-profit credit counseling places. I have had it with trying to do this on our own and getting nowhere. I like to do things by myself, so it's been hard considering this option. I know we have the money to do it,... Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:26:23 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/10/24/irs-withholding-calculator_54536/ I just double checked our tax status with the online IRS Withholding Calculator and if we don't change anything, we should get $173 in a refund. I'm happy with that. It's not a huge refund nor will we owe, which is what I want. It's not enough of a refund for me to adjust things... Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:57:53 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/09/29/we-should-make-it-with-79-in-the-bank_53945/ I think that we will actually make it to pay day (midnight tonight) without overdrafting! This is HUGE. With all the craziness and unexpected expenses, we won't overdraft. This is the first time in what feels like forever, so I'm going to celebrate a little bit. We currently have... Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:12:45 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/09/26/19430-vent_53876/ Yup, my husband is still paying back his debt. He's paid about $350 just this pay period. I just did a rough total and it's at about $19,430 that we have paid back since May 2008. I did not add up what we paid before May '08. This does not count the ATM fees that we acquired (which... Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:40:42 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/09/15/september-2009-overview_53616/ Here are the September 2009 totals. <br /> <br /> <b>September 2009</b><br /> <br /> Student Loan 1: $1,658<br /> <br /> Student Loan 2: $914<br /> <br /> Bank of America 1: $7,862<br /> <br /> Bank of America 2: $7,039<br /> <br /> Bank of America 3: $4,985<br /> <br /> Chase 1: $4,313<br /> <br /> Chase 2: $2,695 <br /> <br /> Citi: $2,236<br /> <br /> Target: $2,441<br /> <br /> Overdraft:... Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:40:17 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/09/15/reducing-more-fo-the-budget-part-3-gym-a_53612/ I have really enjoyed going to the gym, but since going down to one car and our finances being in the hole. I am quitting the gym. It's sad for me, but I know it's the best choice. It'll save us $32/month and I can figure out how to do things at home. At least I have gotten back... Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:15:01 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/09/15/furlough-check-more-than-expected_53611/ Today was got our first reduced furlough check. All FT employees have to take five unpaid days off between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31. Instead of having all of the money come out of one check, I decided to choose the option where equal amounts are taken out of each check. I had calculated... Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:09:32 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/09/10/our-health-insurance-gave-us-150-for-ama_53527/ My husband's coworker just told us the other day that if we logged in to our online health insurance account (which is how we manage our account anyway), there is a tab for "Health and Wellness". There are ways for us to earn "Health Dollars" by doing things like filling our a health... Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:27:51 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/08/26/reducing-more-of-the-budget-cell-phones_53198/ Since we don't have a home phone, cell phones are not an option. We had a 1400 nationwide family plan for my husband and myself through Verizon. All of our family is long distance and about 1/2 are also on Verizon. We do fairly well on our minutes, but occasionally go over and have... Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:25:12 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/08/17/reducing-the-budget_52980/ I am working on cutting back our budget in order to accomodate the upcoming furlough as well as get us on a better footing in general. I just got off the phone with the cable company canceling the HD/DVR upgrade (we get standard cable as part of our rent) and renegotiating what we... Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:47:13 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/08/07/4244-in-rebates-and-mandatory-unpaid-fur_52782/ Well, I just got two rebate checks totaling $42.44 in the mail, which should hopefully help see us through this pay period (one more week) without overdrafting. Fingers crossed.<br /> <br /> Also, my husband's company just announced a mandatory one week furlough. We get to choose when between... Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:49:53 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/08/03/no-raise-or-bonus-this-year_52691/ I just found out that my husband's company will not be giving any raises or bonuses this year. We were wondering if we'd get a bonus. We definitely didn't expect to get the $5k that we've gotten in the past, but had hoped for a little something. We certainly didn't expect to hear... Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:32:11 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/08/01/husband-off-account_52660/ Well, it's been a little while (again). Things are still going along here. We are still paying off old debts and trying not to accrue new ones as we muddle through. It is still a very tough time, but I am happy to report one positive. We removed my husband's name from our checking... Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:48:12 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/07/10/still-dealing_52247/ This is a quick check-in. We are still dealing with surprises and issues. The total since May '08 is over $17,000. (I haven't wanted to add it up recently to figure out exactly...a little too depressing.) I know we have more debt than what's listed in the sidebar now. The positives... Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:40:22 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/05/06/why-cant-we-live-on-our-budget-rant_50813/ I am so frustrated! I HATE, absolutely HATE, the situation we are in. The surprises keep coming. We have already paid $240 this pay period (since April 30) from our paycheck to surprises and another $70 or so in money we made off of Craigslist. I am so frustrated. Our budget is... Wed, 06 May 2009 05:28:12 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/05/02/10-kohls-coupon-2-free-shirts_50711/ So, we got a $10 coupon to Kohl's in the mail. My husband took the kids to Kohl's to spend it while I slept & did some spring cleaning. The fine print said it could only be applied to a $10 minimum purchase, so I told him it'd be nice if he could get as close to $10 as possible.... Sat, 02 May 2009 11:55:35 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/04/28/company-offering-voluntary-separation-an_50618/ My husband's company is now offering a Voluntary Separation package, so we figure if there are not enough people who volunteer, there will be more layoffs. We feel fortunate that we feel pretty secure in his position. They are also suspending the company's 401k match until later... Tue, 28 Apr 2009 06:35:18 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/04/27/putting-off-the-dentist-waiting-for-fsa_50607/ My husband and I are each scheduled to see the dentist in May for a total estimated out of pocket expense of about $600. I just realized last night that it should all be eligible to be covered by our FSA. Unfortunately we have used all of it for this year, but since we're on a fiscal... Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:40:23 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/04/15/yucky-numbers-monthly-update_50366/ Well, it could be worse. The overall debt is down only a $1000 from January 2009, but if you look closely, you'll see the credit card/overdraft is actually up $800. Ugh. I don't <i>think</i> this will be the new trend. I think that we're on the verge of major debt repayment if we can... Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:53:48 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student) http://pfs.savingadvice.com/2009/04/15/paid-taxes-and-being-positive_50362/ I just had to pay $752 in taxes. Not too bad since I had estimated that we'd owe $1000. The original plan had been to not have taxes withheld throughout 2008 in order to have the money in our paycheck to pay down debt. When it became painfully obvious in August that that was not... Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:10:47 PST cmharper01@yahoo.com (Personal Finance Student)