Well, I've been silent and absent for awhile. Nothing good to report, only more unexpected debt and overdrafting. It's all very depressing and discouraging. I just want to wait until all the debt has manifested itself so I can make a plan that will stick and will not be undone the next day. I'm tired of spending my energy coming up with plans, just to see them undone.

I guess some good news is, I resisted the urge to change our 401k contributions. We currently contribute 6% and receive a 50% match (6% is the max they'll match) and was tempted to change that in order to see more money per paycheck. I even had the website open to the page I needed, but stopped myself. I know that's not the answer. The answer is staying within budget.

More good news...We will finally start seeing my husband's full raise in his paycheck (it was supposed to start on Sept. 30th) after working through things with HR. Apparently all the paperwork had not been turned in and processed. Anyway, we got a check for the backpay ($444) on Thursday, unfortunately, it'll all go towards paying back overdraft (and still not be enough).

I know I need to run the new monthly numbers, but Oct. and Nov. are too depressing. I think I'll wait until December when I can look forward to a new year and hopefully a fresh start. Then I can look at the numbers and put this year behind me.

Sorry to sound so down. I'm just feeling beat and just so sick and tired of this ridiculous situation that we're in.

Well, I have been lurking among your personal finance blogs for a while and have really enjoyed seeing the sense of community and encouragement shared. I am like some others here; I am in debt, but desparately wanting to get out and build my financial resources. I hope this blog will help keep me on track as I share our financial details with others. I have been too embarrassed to share these with anyone other than my husband.

My husband and I feel like yesterday, 8-8-08, is the "new beginning" to our personal financial story. We are both finally on the same page, we have the same goals and agree on what we need to do to get there. We are both committed and 8-8-08 will go down in our personal financial history as a day of great importance.

I'll be posting more information soon as we get down to the nitty gritty.

Thanks for everyone who's shared their stories. I have enjoyed reading your blogs and have now found the courage to share mine!