(no subject)
Last Fall, around September or October, I got some financial help from the Coast Guard. Jeff's yeoman on his ship had been giving him problems for receiving mutual assistance, but they're not allowed to tell us no. If we need help, they're supposed to give it to us. Basically it's an interest free loan with very small payments, adjusted to our preference. We needed tires, a new windshield, and to pay off a credit card. All of those quotes summed up to $2200, so that is what they gave us. I believe we're paying either $100/month or $100/bi-monthly, can't remember what I asked for.
So, I ended up finding way cheaper prices at other places, and had enough left over to get a few other things paid off with not a penny to spare. $1800 was the exact amount we needed to pay a few other things that we still have against our names since living in NY (when finances were BAD and Jeff was accepting credit cards left and right).
Now, I say that Jeff was the one signing up for the cards, and he was, but that doesn't mean I wasn't using them. Granted, I didn't have access to them, but I thought that he knew what he was doing. I had never had a credit card, so I just left the decisions up to him. We wound up with thousands of dollars in debt, and underwater on a car we don't even like.
Okay, back to my story.. I got this $1800, got our 2 front tires replaced on our car, the windshield fixed, a negative account paid and closed, and a card paid off. Now, I had just enough left over to finish what I had started, and what did I do with it? I. spent. it.
I haven't admitted this to anyone, NO ONE at all, because I feel so much pressure from everyone.. I'm the person that everyone comes to for financial and budgeting advice, and there I was, not taking any of my own. I blame a part of it on keeping myself from spending anything for SO long (that's a major no-no, and I know that now), a pretty large part on the fact that Jeff was gone and I was seeking therapy in retail, but in the end- it was MY fault. I was irresponsible, and I am to blame.
The point of admitting this to you all? Well, I kind of need a favor from each and every one of you... I don't know if anyone actually reads the entirety of my posts, and I honestly don't write them so that you do. After all, this is a journal- MY journal. If I wanted readers, I'd make a blog (which I considered, but I am not yet brave enough to admit my mistake to people I know).
Recently, I ahve been stressing out about money. "If only I would have done this with that loan instead of this..", "How am I going to afford this when I need to pay this..", etc. On top of Jeff being gone, trying to get the house cleaned and de-cluttered before moving, and preparing to return to school, these are NOT the kind of thoughts that I need.
Today, I finished the process of filing our taxes. When the paralegal told me how much we would "be pocketing", I thought either A) I'd misheard/misunderstood or B) he'd made a mistake. However, upon signing the documents, I saw the amount of refund that I was signing for, and it was a glorious one. He hadn't made a mistake, we really are getting $4,557 back.
Now, to some of you, this may not seem like a lot. To me though, this is a FORTUNE! I really do have a talent of making our money go a long way, if not doubling itself, so I'm so excited to see what God has in store for this blessing.
Last year, we received only $1200 via TurboTax. This year, I filed for free through the legal office on our base and I have absolutely no regrets of my decision!
So, what is this favor I need of you all? If you are willing, and have made it far enough to know what I am asking begging of you, PLEASE- keep me in line with this money. Keep me accountable for where it goes. Randomly comment me, remind me, ask me, be bossy and nosey to me. I NEED THIS! I feel that this is God giving me a second chance to show Him that I can still serve Him righteously with His blessing. I am so scared that I'm going to mess up, it's literally scaring me enough that I am nervous to praise God for it. He knows my fears though, and I just need to accept that. This is a test, all I have to do is trust Him through it and I will come out okay...
My spending plan currently looks something like this (these numbers are estimates, rounded up, as I don't know what exactly we owe ATM):
- Cablevision (in collections): $400
- Tickets (in collections, 1 over a year old): $800
- USAA Card: $200
- Military Star Card: $1300
- AT&t: $150
So, after paying all of this, we will have less than $1k. Hopefully, nothing else has come up by then and we will be able to put all of that into savings. I am quite certain though that we owe less on most of those, I just wanted to round pretty far up so I don't underestimate.
Anyone up for the challenge? I will be so grateful if you are!
Love, Rachel.
So, I ended up finding way cheaper prices at other places, and had enough left over to get a few other things paid off with not a penny to spare. $1800 was the exact amount we needed to pay a few other things that we still have against our names since living in NY (when finances were BAD and Jeff was accepting credit cards left and right).
Now, I say that Jeff was the one signing up for the cards, and he was, but that doesn't mean I wasn't using them. Granted, I didn't have access to them, but I thought that he knew what he was doing. I had never had a credit card, so I just left the decisions up to him. We wound up with thousands of dollars in debt, and underwater on a car we don't even like.
Okay, back to my story.. I got this $1800, got our 2 front tires replaced on our car, the windshield fixed, a negative account paid and closed, and a card paid off. Now, I had just enough left over to finish what I had started, and what did I do with it? I. spent. it.
I haven't admitted this to anyone, NO ONE at all, because I feel so much pressure from everyone.. I'm the person that everyone comes to for financial and budgeting advice, and there I was, not taking any of my own. I blame a part of it on keeping myself from spending anything for SO long (that's a major no-no, and I know that now), a pretty large part on the fact that Jeff was gone and I was seeking therapy in retail, but in the end- it was MY fault. I was irresponsible, and I am to blame.
The point of admitting this to you all? Well, I kind of need a favor from each and every one of you... I don't know if anyone actually reads the entirety of my posts, and I honestly don't write them so that you do. After all, this is a journal- MY journal. If I wanted readers, I'd make a blog (which I considered, but I am not yet brave enough to admit my mistake to people I know).
Recently, I ahve been stressing out about money. "If only I would have done this with that loan instead of this..", "How am I going to afford this when I need to pay this..", etc. On top of Jeff being gone, trying to get the house cleaned and de-cluttered before moving, and preparing to return to school, these are NOT the kind of thoughts that I need.
Today, I finished the process of filing our taxes. When the paralegal told me how much we would "be pocketing", I thought either A) I'd misheard/misunderstood or B) he'd made a mistake. However, upon signing the documents, I saw the amount of refund that I was signing for, and it was a glorious one. He hadn't made a mistake, we really are getting $4,557 back.
Now, to some of you, this may not seem like a lot. To me though, this is a FORTUNE! I really do have a talent of making our money go a long way, if not doubling itself, so I'm so excited to see what God has in store for this blessing.
Last year, we received only $1200 via TurboTax. This year, I filed for free through the legal office on our base and I have absolutely no regrets of my decision!
So, what is this favor I need of you all? If you are willing, and have made it far enough to know what I am asking begging of you, PLEASE- keep me in line with this money. Keep me accountable for where it goes. Randomly comment me, remind me, ask me, be bossy and nosey to me. I NEED THIS! I feel that this is God giving me a second chance to show Him that I can still serve Him righteously with His blessing. I am so scared that I'm going to mess up, it's literally scaring me enough that I am nervous to praise God for it. He knows my fears though, and I just need to accept that. This is a test, all I have to do is trust Him through it and I will come out okay...
My spending plan currently looks something like this (these numbers are estimates, rounded up, as I don't know what exactly we owe ATM):
- Cablevision (in collections): $400
- Tickets (in collections, 1 over a year old): $800
- USAA Card: $200
- Military Star Card: $1300
- AT&t: $150
So, after paying all of this, we will have less than $1k. Hopefully, nothing else has come up by then and we will be able to put all of that into savings. I am quite certain though that we owe less on most of those, I just wanted to round pretty far up so I don't underestimate.
Anyone up for the challenge? I will be so grateful if you are!
Love, Rachel.