Women in Red Racers - South Region

[ridmydebt]

Date	Dec 31/09	Dec/31/10
secured loan	14031	0
citicard	826	0
house	81334	79215.40
bank	5265.19	0
irs	24443.84	17877.64
truck	20999.30	17351.18
car	17637.45	12681.92
trailer	22521.16	20961.52
mastercard	7762.08	6577.84
Total Debt	194820.02	154665.50
	Total Paid	40154.52
ef	125.00	426.00
retirement	500.00	2398.00
401k	0	3478.00
kid acct 1	4000	4000
kid acct 2	1000	2000

[Elderkind]

Sword Guy: Love the story about your Grandfather! ;D
SuzWantsToBeFree: Many thanks for the info on SS. I had completely forgotten about it...
SpeechChick71: Happy to hear that the crazy roommate finally paid up!
NasaGreen, RidMyDebt & RedRuby: Great lookin' tables!

Does anyone know if we are using tag lines for new races/racers? I start my new race in a few days and want to be sure to get it right. ;D

[suzwantstobefree]

That is a good question Elder. I would think we could use the same status line system that we used before.......

Glad you are here.

I changed my 401K contribution to put an extra 2% in. I really am acting like a grown up. ;D

Anyone who itemizes and has a home mortgage, try to make your payment before December 31st so you can deduct the interest this year!!

[speechchick71]

I posted this on the other board too with all my details but here is the overview:

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!! (last of the year!) speechchick71 $5462 (joined: 12/31/09 $25,073 SU16 FL)

[suzwantstobefree]

YEAH - Speech made the under $5500 club. Great update!!!

Attachments:

[redruby]

Yeah Speechchick on your 1 year ANNIVERSARY!!!

2011 GOALS
I think I have already posted these on the old boards. But I want them posted here too.
#1 Larger EF $2000
#2 Pay off a total of $40,000K this will put me in the Below 100K club.
#3 Have a NEW ZERO (Pick-up) Due to payement size and interest rate
#4 Have a set budget instead of a flexible budget. May take a few months to get this worked out. This must me income based only.
# GO ON VACATION (CASH)

[suzwantstobefree]

Very nice goals Red Ruby

Have a Happy and safe New Year everyone.

Attachments:

[redracerris]

Red Ruby, I think those are some great, doable goals.
I finally solidified the goals I had originally posted on the other boards.
1) To pay off SL1/pay at least $290/month (if not the actual amount) on SL4. To do this, I need make $955 a month.
2) To get a job where I can make said $955 a month.
3) Make sure that all loans get under their original amounts
4) To buy a house, which will make it possible to put more towards loans.

All of this will be possible if (when) I get a job with a higher salary.
As for the house part, our rent is $475/month. If we bought a house for $30,000 or less (very possible in the area I live in), our payments, including taxes (according to mortgage calculators) would be less than $300. But I know that with all of our student loans, no one would give us a mortgage for $30,000 until I have a job that pays more, so after the first of the year, I'm going to start looking for a job as an administrative assistant or something else that pays at least $10 or more an hour.

Have a safe and happy New year! I'll be working until 11:30 tonight, then off to a friends house for the final countdown.

[jdnstl]

exciting news ladies (& gents) - my boss is giving me another raise ($1.16/hr) effective jan. 1. ;D

also, DH has found a job finally. it doesn't pay good & right now it is shift, whenever they want he goes. so he started 2nd shift monday (2-11) but starting tomorrow he's doing 12 hour overnight shifts 6-6. he'll get overtime, which will help some, but i hate that schedule. DS is acting up because he was home with DH for 2 months but hasn't seen him much the last week. he will not listen to me & is constantly asking "where's dada?" *sigh*

january is also my anniversary month. i'll put in an update next week, after i know DH's pay schedule. he hasn't shared any of that with me.

[speechchick71]

Its almost too bad we can't start over so that the directions for posting and all the other info is first like on the MSN boards.

Do you know how good I feel knowing that I'm almost 5k away from my goal? And I have one other debt that I am not racing (its a 0% deal) that will be paid off the same time I pay off the stuff I am racing. So all I will have is what typically goes on my AmEx (cell bill, health club that I just joined) and that gets paid off each month. I have been thinking about what I can start doing with my money. I have my savings budget to start working on and I already have car expenses out of that fund. I have to take it in next weekend to get the seat fixed: it goes forward, up, down, but not back. I'm guessing it is going to cost $$ to fix but its still better than a car payment!

Happy New Year to all my electronic friends!

[jdnstl]

speech - coffeegirl said this was a temp thread & she will set up permanent homes later. until then i follow what the captains want. i know updates are to be done on MSN until the move, after that i don't know. but hopefully, before my anniversary update the captains & fearless leaders will let us know if we start posting here or somewhere else.

[suzwantstobefree]

J - it is tough that DH is working weird hours but at least he is working DS will adjust soon I am sure. And Congrats on the raise

Speech - if they decide to keep us here, I am sure they can add a thread for the rules. It is wait and see for now, but it will be ok. At least a lot of us have found our new home and I am happy about that.

Tomorrow is my one year anniversary. Although I have a long way to go, I have also come a long way, baby! I have a plan for the next year and I think 2011 is going to be awesome.

[redruby]

QUESTION I would love all the advice ya'll are willing to give on the following questions.
I have a credit card that I owe$6,617.93 on as of 1/1/2010 My interest for some is 3.99 and the other is 5.99. I got an offer in the mail called REWARDS and if I use this card in grocery stores and pharmacy stores I can earn 5% back from January to March. I was thinking that if I used it to buy all groceries at Kroger(this is where I shop) That would be a total of $1500 for the three months. I should get $75 dollars back. So lets say I do this and I pay off the grocery part plus my normal payment each month. Would the payment go to pay off the money with interest rate or would it be like a 0% and pay the new bill? If it pays the interest cash and then charges an interest on the new $$ I don't know if that would be worth it. Should I try it and see what happens?? What would ya'll do??

[redruby]

Sorry 2011 and purchase interest is 8.99%

[suzwantstobefree]

Red, you would have to read the rules in the credit card fine print. That will tell you the "order" of the payment application.

[nasagreen]

elderkind - yes we will use the same tag line method here, just be sure if you are beginning a new race that you alert the updater with that. we will add another line in the spreadsheet for your name: "elderkind [2]" so we can keep them separate

speechchick- we are going to start over, with the same format as before. until then, we are going to try to catch all the updates you guys post here, although I hope that won't be too too many, and then the ones that are left on the old boards. just keep up with us, and be patient if we make a mistake

[suzwantstobefree]

Nasa - Thank you so much for all the work you and the other captains do. If you make a mistake, we know it isn't intentional. I am sure there is a ton of work to keep up with all this even if we didn't have to change boards..

[nasagreen]

Just a reminder, please stop putting any updates on the msn money thread for our region. This will be the last week we want to get updates from the old board, just so we don't miss anyone's updates.

[Elderkind]

ELDERKIND (2) UPDATE: 01/01/11 $4800 (01/11 $5000 SU3)

Well, it's time I start my second race (parental loan) and I went ahead and added in my $200 payment which will be automatically sent on the 3rd! So I ran my annual credit report this year and also checked my FICO scores. Guess what? My numbers actually dropped because I paid off my interest bearing debt and closed out most of the CC's. I knew this would happen and who thought you could be happy about a lower FICO score....

SuzWantsToBeFree: Many thanks for the update info and Happy Anniversary!
SpeechChick71: Congrats on making it to the $5500 Club and Happy Anniversary! ;D
Red Ruby: Great goals! I am also working towards a set budget instead of a flexible budget! If we can make it work, I think we could save hundreds of dollars a year! Concerning the REWARDS card, I am not 100% sure but I think it pays the interest cash and then charges for the new purchases so I don't think it would be worth your while but if there is an 800 number you could call and get the details, I would try that and see if you can get a few answers out of them.
Red Racer Ris: I like your style! You are really going for it with your goals this year and I think you will do well! Sending good juju's that you find the job you want soon! ;D
Jdnstl: Happy Anniversary and congrats on your raise and DH finding a job! ;D That is fantastic news!
NasaGreen: Thank you for the confirmation, I just revised my tagline! I second Suz and want to give a heartfelt thank you for all of the hard work that yourself, CoffeeGirl and all of our other fabulous captains have put in to moving our boards over.

[speechchick71]

RedRuby: I'm with Elderkind in that the payments you make are toward the interest. I think that was part of the law that got passed about credit card reform. And remember, too, that you won't receive that rewards bonus until the end of the year.

[suzwantstobefree]

Got it Speech - too cute!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Deleted]

I've been trying to keep up on reading posts on both boards, but I'm getting dizzy, so I think I am just going to play in this sandbox from now on.

My sincerest thanks to those who have investigated celebratory smilies for when we inevitably start to win some races here in our new home. I hope the new year will bring some good financial progress to us all.

I wrapped up 2010 with a visit from Murphy.... My car made the long drive home to see my family like a champ and then failed on me Christmas Eve. I'm trying to be thankful that it happened a few blocks from my sister's house and I wasn't completely stranded, but it was still $600 to get it back running so I could get home. Then my poor dog hurt her back and needed $200 worth of x-rays and meds to get her back running so I could get home.

Sigh. I *was* on track to finish my race in April instead of May, but it looks like the accelerated time line may go out the window. But on the bright side, Murphy doesn't usually show up until the home stretch, right? Maybe it's a good thing that I am worth his time?

[muffyinthered]

Congratulations to all the great pay offs.
SwordGuy - I am so sorry to hear about your kitty. It is always hard to lose a furbaby.
Suz - Good work upping your 401K contribution. I would love to up ours but until these CC get paid off, we need the money to live.
Ruby - I love your goals for 2011. I am hoping to get to the set budget. We don't seem to be able to do that, but I am working on it.
j - Congratulations on a raise. You work real hard for these people and it is nice that they have noticed. My BIL has always worked strange shifts. I am sure that your son will get used to the hours but it will take some time and some TLC for him to get used to it. Good luck and best wishes for DH having found a job.
nasa - Thank you for all your hard work during this transition and all the time. Thanks to all the Captains too.
Speech - Congratulations on entering the 5500 and below club. You deserve this. Hope you made it through the holidays.
I got my last week of unemployment until this extension kicks in. But at least I got our Property tax paid yesterday and our car tax that I had forgotten about but it wasn't late. Just not expecting to pay for it out of this paycheck.
I am having some problems with my MS which started yesterday (Happy New Year)! And of course it started after I saw my neurologist on the 23rd. Guess I will have to call. Talk about Murphy. I always seem to have a problem after I see the dr.

[rdy4blck82]

Well, I haven't been on in ages, but I found the new place! Yay! Kind of irritating that we have to move, but no worries. :-)

If this is a temporary place, should we add our updates here or no? I haven't updated since September!

[dizzleisdone]

Hi you'll. :DWow, it's been awhile and I'm glad I happened to read the last of the thread to see the change to this page. I've done an update there and will post it here as well..

Update 1/11/11 $4,724.19 ($8400.95(S)553
Hi there ladies :) Great job everyone. Here's another quick update.The numbers below are just me tracking my progress :) I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season and Happy New Year. I meant to post this update in early december but since I didn't here I am :) I'm very happy with my next update and by next update I would like to be under $4100.
My goals for this year are to become debt free by 8/11 by paying at least $675/mo or more in payments. If for any reason I'm not able to make that much of a payment in one of those months, I will make up for it using overtime or covvering it over the other months from other sources like tax refunds, incentives, etc. to make sure I pay it in fully by 8/11. Right now I'm saving $40-$50 biweekly as I pay down this debt and after it's paid off i'll add the $675/mo to what I was saving to save at least $755/mo. At the very least, I will have at least 5k saved if I follow this. I also want to increase my 401k a % to 4%(done today). That was a mouthful and I'm sure I'll add more to it lol. For now, I'm going to leave it at this and that I'll do more OT when offered at work( at least 5 hours if offered). Again happy holidays and you'll rock! :) Congratulations on all the updates and paydowns everyone and ttyl! :)
1/1/11 $4,724.19 11/15/10 $5316.00 10/14/10 $6,112.36 08/10/10 $7,236.66 07/16/2010 5494.75 06/24/10 5726.50 05/24/10 5730.88 04/19/10 5892.29 03/09/10 $6066.60 02/08/10 $6218.29 01/13/2010 $6399.22 12/17/09 $6569.72 11/16/09 $6749.02 11/01/09 $6921.77 9/21/09 7064?? 9/5/09 $7277.92 8/11/09 $7587.70 7/4/09 $8181.89 6/6/09 $8425.18 5/8/09 $8400.15 3/26/09 $7829.05 3/2/09 $7966.54 1/29/09 $8061($8400.95(S)553

[suzwantstobefree]

Gosh what a great (and inexpensive) weekend. My boyfriend and I decided to get out for the New Year. We haven't seen each other in two weeks aso we decided on a steak dinner and a movie. It cost each of us about $20 but we had a great evening. We saw True Grit which I highly recommend. Then we shared a bottle of sparkling grape juice which was awesome, too.

Now the "fun" begins. I am really buckling down on so many different areas now. I am going to try to diet again. I really need to lose some weight in order to make sure that I don't have to buy new clothes. I am also going to use this to help my financial "diet" too. I bought groceries on Friday and planned out my meals for the next week - both lunches and dinners. I am going to spend part of the day today cooking and putting the meals into containers so they are easy to grab on my way to work. I am also going to put workout clothes in my car so that I am ready to stop at the gym on the way home. My plan is to train for a womens half marathon next November (which is plenty of time!)

My budget is planned, this is the year that I HAVE to make it work. Last year I made a lot of progress on paying down my debt, but I didn't really have any goals after paying off my car and then my progress really slowed. This year I firmed up my goals and have a plan for getting them done.

This is the second year of the rest of my life. hehe.

[Deleted]

Sounds like you had a fun New Year's, Suz. Since you mentioned a dieting resolution, I wanted to suggest www.sparkpeople.com. It is a free community site - not so different from WIRR (actually, I learned about it from the WIRR boards) but with lots of nutrition and fitness tracking tools and information. I'm not usually a website evangelist, but I've lost about 25 lbs since joining and have found it to be very helpful (and did I mention free?)

I took my first run for the year yesterday. It was unseasonably warm here for a few days, and it was nice to get outside for a bit. I can't say the running part was nice - it was pretty obvious I had taken the past two weeks off.

[redracerris]

Happy New Year everyone!

dizzleisdone You're so close! You will definitely be able to do your goals.
craftysarah Even if you still have to wait until May, you're still going to be debt free by this year. Think of how great that will feel. It definitely has been unseasonably warm here in the south midwest, glad you got out for a run.
suz That is great that you have set up a budget for yourself and are cooking to make meals for the entire week. Congrats on the inexpensive weekend, it sounds fun!
elderkind Glad that you're still with us, but sad that you still have debt to race. Good thing is that it's a smaller amount. Always love the enthusiasm that you bring to the boards.

Had a wonderful anniversary staycation. The hotel had a pool and hot tub. We went out to Olive Garden, my Mom sent us a gift card. We also went to see Tron Legacy. We were up talking a lot. It was so nice just for a little get away.

[goalofzero]

I haven't been here in a loonnngggg time.......

The reason I'm back is this: I am so far in debt and I'm really struggling to pay my bills. I'm wondering what will happen if I pay off smaller CCs and not send in payments to the other CCs. I think I saw this discussed before so I hope someone can answer my question. I want to pay off the smaller bills and then go back to paying the other bills. I don't want to ignore them forever.

Thanks & happy new year to you all!
(I posted this on the old board; thanks Elderkind for your reply)

[speechchick71]

Goalofzero: if you don't pay off your bigger cards, the missed payments will make a dent in your credit score. Have you tried talking to them to see if maybe you can take a payment holiday for one month to allow you to pay more on one? Are you able to make at least the minimum on all of them and maybe squeeze out a little more toward one with a smaller balance? Is there any way at all to get some extra income?

You can do this, it can get done. Take a deep breath and make some phone calls. Once you do that, you can make a plan.