As of this morning, my credit cards are paid off.

The past week of the process has been exasperating. Dad deposited a bank draft into my account last Tuesday. The bank immediately placed a hold on the funds.

Thursday morning I took a copy of the receipt to my CIBC branch, pointed out the nature of the deposit, and asked whether it would be possible ( Read more... )

In an effort to identify behaviour patterns, I began sorting through old papers the other night, setting aside all my credit card statements. Sometime I must have thrown some out. They only go back to 2001, when my debt was already considerable but less than half what it is now.

I took a cursory look through them. I have rarely spent money ( Read more... )

While I've been busy negotiating to refinance my debts, I haven't actually given myself much specific homework with respect to new spending habits. That's okay. I had no idea what would happen when I began to tackle this huge challenge seven weeks ago.

I have set a financial plan and followed it reasonably well for the past two weeks. Although I ( Read more... )

I decided to use Dad's line of credit to refinance my debt, so I will owe him the money at less than one-third the interest rate I'm currently paying. It makes the most sense because we won't risk losing control of the property in case I find myself unable to make payments. We agreed on a minimum monthly payment that should not be difficult to ( Read more... )

I made an appointment with a mortgage broker for next week. At current rates, and for the payments I can afford, I should be able to pay off the debt in about 11 years. Last night I was exhilerated. The concern is, of course, whether I can continue to afford those payments without any job security or significant prospects beyond next winter. And ( Read more... )

Did it, yeah!

Tonight on the way home I stopped at the bank and opened a new savings account with $50 someone sent me for my birthday (thank you).

I reviewed my budget and pared down my living expenses by about $125 per month. Groceries, recreation and dining out took a hit, and books and CDs were eliminated. I added $20 a month to the medical ( Read more... )

I didn't do my homework on Thursday night, reviewing the budget and setting up envelopes for certain expenses, such as groceries. I should have remembered from February: Thursday evening isn't a good time for planning homework. It tends to be a catchup time. Last Thursday I did laundry, went grocery shopping and baked a special treat for my ( Read more... )

I did the homework last night, which means I've made the necessary preparations for debt counseling on Monday. The figures are sobering. I can see how hard it will be to make any progress without significant sacrifices, and I'm already living very simply.

I hadn't realized how high the interest rate is on my Business Depot account. The balance is ( Read more... )

I've been dragging my heals about getting started with Change No. 2. Or maybe I've just been too busy. One or the other. Anyway, I still have the rest of March and April, so there's lots of time, but I mustn't procrastinate any longer.

Change 2 of 6 for 2010 is to "establish and maintain a budget." I'm not sure whether I'll stick with the idea of a ( Read more... )

That poetry exercise yesterday stayed with me. Some of the phrases were especially fertile and inspired this new poem.

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Spectre of debtWho is the unchanging shadow ( Read more... )