Sunday, October 30, 2005

I've been really bad about updating here because money has not been the primary thing going on here lately. Oh, yeah, we're still in debt, that hasn't gone down much. But my knee is wrecked and will probably lead to surgery, grades are due on Friday for the first quarter of the school year, and I'm still trying to set up a business in my basement.

I have the basement looking pretty good. I still have lots I want to do, but it's looking up and is actually useable now.

We haven't had a lot of luck on ebay - I need to get more posted, but the last three things I've posted haven't sold with two go-rounds (after two tries, it goes into rummage or the Goodwill pile).

So...I did update Quicken yesterday morning before noon - which was really good. :) I was very proud of myself. The bad news? We have $100 to last us until Nov 20th for gas, food & whatever (all bills are paid). Fun fun fun. We do this every month and I still can't figure out why it happens. I did a search on Quicken and found that we've been spending a lot more on gasoline than is budgeted - but that is to be expected, since gas prices have gone so high. We also went over on eating out - by a lot, which was surprising, because I don't remember going out. Figures.

Business stuff - is exciting. I've been working on that a lot. But with grades due this week, an MRI on Friday...well, I don't know how much time I'll have to work on it this week. Some, for sure, but not as much as I wanted.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Thursday was payday, and I made a vow to myself that I would update Quicken/pay bills/etc by Saturday noon -- and I did! I was so proud of myself! Isn't that pitiful? Paying my bills on time made me so happy. I think that's a sign of illness.

We actually sent the extra money from the student loans to the BECC - first time since we put the loan in forebearance that we actually did what we said we would. We also took paypal.com money from ebay sales and split them between the Best Buy card and the newer cc. Those should both be paid off by March - maybe even sooner for Best Buy. And on the BECC, next month we will be below $9000 for the first time in years. That's a cool feeling!

I've been working on business stuff - and getting my basement ready to be my workroom/office. I've been going through a lot of stuff - my rummage pile has grown astronomically (rummage will be in June). Dh and I went through all the VHS tapes, CD's and cassettes to get rid of what we didn't need/use/want anymore. Lots went into the recycle bin (can't sell tapes that we took off the TV, etc), and some into the trash. We haven't gone through them in years. Our music is on the computer and the mp3 player, and we have a huge collection of DVD's - so this is all redundant stuff. It felt good to get rid of it. We have so much stuff...but it's amazing - how much we're willing to cull to get our house looking better.

Okay - I'm off to run on the treadmill a little while. Take care! ;)
Thursday was payday, and I made a vow to myself that I would update Quicken/pay bills/etc by Saturday noon -- and I did! I was so proud of myself! Isn't that pitiful? Paying my bills on time made me so happy. I think that's a sign of illness.

We actually sent the extra money from the student loans to the BECC - first time since we put the loan in forebearance that we actually did what we said we would. We also took paypal.com money from ebay sales and split them between the Best Buy card and the newer cc. Those should both be paid off by March - maybe even sooner for Best Buy. And on the BECC, next month we will be below $9000 for the first time in years. That's a cool feeling!

I've been working on business stuff - and getting my basement ready to be my workroom/office. I've been going through a lot of stuff - my rummage pile has grown astronomically (rummage will be in June). Dh and I went through all the VHS tapes, CD's and cassettes to get rid of what we didn't need/use/want anymore. Lots went into the recycle bin (can't sell tapes that we took off the TV, etc), and some into the trash. We haven't gone through them in years. Our music is on the computer and the mp3 player, and we have a huge collection of DVD's - so this is all redundant stuff. It felt good to get rid of it. We have so much stuff...but it's amazing - how much we're willing to cull to get our house looking better.

Okay - I'm off to run on the treadmill a little while. Take care! ;)

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Bummer.

Once again, I have succeeded in putting off updating Quicken(as mentioned in the last post). So as I go to pay for groceries last night, it comes up as "NSF" for the debit card. That's so embarassing, and I'm old enough to know better. I hate updating the bills. I hate that we have no money to spend on things. I resent it. I know, I'm supposed to have a terrific view and be happy that all of our extra money is going to the BECC, I'm supposed to do it cheerfully blah blah blah. But I don't find it fun, I don't find it amusing, and I don't think it's cool. I hate sending hard-earned money to them. I know it's our own fault. I'm not running from them.

It's just that sometimes, I'm really sick of it. So I go and thump my head into the sand and pretend that it's all good.

~sigh~

So this morning, I had to get Quicken all updated to figure out what the problem was, and we're over by about $70. So I need to return two bras I bought at Penney's, and a knee brace that doesn't fit. And I need to transfer $50 over from ING to cover the rest and allow us to put gas in the car so I can get to work and home on Tues & Wed and at least to work on Thurs...because then it's PAYDAY!

And I will update the bills by Saturday noon. I will.

And I will start to update Quicken weekly so we know where we're at. Because if I had known that we were so close, I would have curbed the spending more. I just really need a new bra. Losing weight means things stop fitting. I won't go into it more for you gentlemen around, but let's just say the girls aren't happy with the fit lately.

So after payday, we'll check the damages and see what we can do. This month, we WILL send the BECC the extra $185 we set aside for them every single month. Or maybe I'll send it to the Best Buy card to get it closer to closed! Plus we have ebay sales. I'm really thinking of targeting Best Buy so it can be gone, even though we aren't being charged interest by them at the moment.

Okay. It's a plan. Now - off to figure out business stuff.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Man, I haven't been very good at getting Quicken up to date and sending smaller payments off to the cc's. I've been busy getting the basement in order and trying to figure out the web of tax forms that I need to set up my business. Ugh.

The good news is that I'm finding more and more downstairs to post on ebay or set aside for the rummage sale. That's kind of nice - more extra income there. I've posted seven things in the last week - I think that's a new record for me. ;)

It also occurred to me that if I can get the dressmaking out there, if I can make enough to cover the $2500 we get for me teaching summer school...maybe I can get away with not doing it next year! I think that may be a reason why I'm so out of it this school year. I had no time off. Summer school for 6 weeks, then dh's mother died and we were in KY for two weeks. I had one week, then back to school. I know, I know - "But you get all summer off...I don't get that much time off" yadda yadda yadda. I'm in a very high stress job (and yes, I know that there are other high stress jobs), and I can't do it without a break. If there's no break, it's not worth it. And people wonder why teachers burn out with such crap...

Anyway. That $2500...it mostly goes to keeping bills up to date and getting xmas money put aside. If we can get that throughout the year and/or with this business and/or with soc sec and/or with dh working on more ebay stuff...I could stop the summer school. Which would be really nice.

Too much in my brain. I have grading to do, and I'm really wiped out and grumpy. Think I'll pack it in and go to bed.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Starting a Business...

Man, there are about a billion sites out there about starting a home based business.

After the whole "get a job as a seamstress in a bridal shop" thing that didn't work out, I started thinking - why not do this on my own? I've been doing some research - as far as I can tell, there are no dressmakers in the area around our home. Hmm...

I need to get the basement in order. But now - I have a goal, which is really cool. Before, it was just, "Oh, get the basement looking decent". Now, though - I need an office and a sewing room. I need to get a lot of stuff out of there.

I've been working on the research and the paperwork. I need a good web page maker. I don't want it to look homemade - I'm hoping to make it look classy. I need all kinds of stuff - business cards, logo, ads, etc.

Part of it is also crafty part - making things out of loved dresses. In the past, I've made Memory Dolls out of old bridesmaid's dresses, and christening gowns out of old wedding dresses. Today, I found a wedding dress at Goodwill for $4! I'm going to get some pics and then tear that baby apart to show what I can do. I'm so excited!

It's nice to have a goal. This could really help us get some debt paid off - the profit that doesn't go back into the business can go to the BECC. I know that most will go back in, but this at least feels like a step forward, and it feels right. I'm nervous about the tax stuff, but I'll learn. My sister says she'll help (she's had her own business for quite a few years now).

Monday, October 03, 2005

Keeping financial stuff together...

I recently posted this over at http://www.womens-finance.com in the message boards, but I thought I'd drop it in here, too, because I like the idea....



About a year or so ago, I saw an infomercial for Suze Orman, and she had some type of set up that had all info in one spot - a nifty little notebook type thing with all cc's, all insurance policies, etc. And I started to think - my God, if something happened to me, dh would have no clue where to start, because I handle all the money stuff. On top of that, he has no interest in learning where we have all our money and who we owe!

But...I wasn't willing to spend the $50 or whatever that she was charging for it.

So - I bought a bright red plastic multi-pocket expanding folder. I told him that if anything ever happened to me, to go in the safe (just a little Brinks fire-proof safe) and get the red folder - that it all was in there. (It just occurred to me that I haven't updated it in awhile...I don't think the Best Buy card or the "new" cc are in there...)

I made a bunch of different titles for each pocket. In one is a cc statement, but also just a written sheet with the cc number, the phone number, and the general amount we owed them at the time (with the date on it, so he'd know when that was). I also put the web page address and our login/password.

Then, one pocket for mortgage info. One for the insurance company (car & home). One for life insurance (three policies, who to contact, etc). One with birth certificates. One with his old divorce decrees. One with important Army papers. One has the car titles. Basically, anything that he would need if I wasn't there and he had to do it all alone.

Once that was done, I felt such peace of mind. I worry so much about what would happen to him if something ever happened to me - but this was just such a weight off my shoulders, because it was all in one place, easy to find, not hidden away but still safe. Once we get a will and power of attorney + medical directive, a copy of that will go in there, too.

I'm sure I put more in there, but I can't think of it right now. Oh - bank accounts, where and what the account numbers are. Retirement accounts. Who to contact about my teaching pension. Any investments. Stuff like that.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Saturday Night's All Right...

Well, I'm not fighting, but it's been a good night. I actually got caught up with grading this evening, and so I have all of Sunday to enjoy without having to feel guilty because I haven't graded anything (I tend to put it off until Sunday evening...how stupid of me...)

Anyway - dh has come up with a great idea for extra money on ebay, selling wholesale...stuff. Until we get it all figgered out, I'm going to stay secretive and not say any more. He's very excited about it, though, which is great to see, because he tends to get very down on stuff since he can't work outside the home. So I'm really hoping this will take off.

And I am making headway on the business stuff. More to come on that later.

But - it's late. Rather, it's early (1:15 am), so I need to get my butt to bed. So tired! I'm going to allow myself to sleep in tomorrow morning, and it will be fabuloso. :)