WOMEN IN RED RACERS

[forwardwego]

Rocky Mtn Saver Okay, How's this?

Yeehaw, Got it, Thanks!!!

mikosmommy Welcome aboard, The captains need to know what state you live in. And when you do updates, list the page # you joined on. You can do this!!! 

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Dec 1, 2014 17:54:52 GMT -5 forwardwego said:

Rocky Mtn Saver Okay, How's this?

Yeehaw, Got it, Thanks!!!

[sealy]

Rocky Mtn Saver YAY you taught me too! thanks.  

[nikiz628]

forwardwego, I DEFINITELY will share once we complete I'll recap the online exit counseling once we complete it this week, and Ill let you know if the attorney throws in any other valuable info!

[nidena]

teachermom, I've never used any special software to make a budget.  I use an Excel sheet, populated with some basic formulas, and plug in my paycheck amount and each bill prior to getting paid for that pay period.  It's what I've been doing since I attended a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University in January 2011.  It's called a Monthly Cash Flow plan and is a zero-based budgeting tool, meaning that I allocate every single dollar before it even hits my account.  I can send you a copy of the initial template, if you like.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Dec 2, 2014 1:40:14 GMT -5 nidena said:

 It's called a Monthly Cash Flow plan and is a zero-based budgeting tool, meaning that I allocate every single dollar before it even hits my account.  I can send you a copy of the initial template, if you like.

Two quick digressions: 

(a) I love to call my budget anything except a "budget", LOL.  Mine is my Monthly Spending Plan.  "Budget" is often a four-letter word, like "diet" to many of us.  A monthly spending plan is a lifestyle change rather than a crash diet. 

And (b)  people starting out with a zero-based budget should keep in mind that by 'allocated' to a purpose, as Nidena said, that includes savings and usually spending cash.  Just because you're allocating money to a specific thing, doesn't mean it's all bills and you leave yourself nothing to spend on miscellaneous life for the month or to save for the future.  Just make it a category, even if small.  If you fail to build in even a little room for 'Life Happens' during the month, the rest of this generally won't work either.  Trust me.  

[nidena]

Dec 2, 2014 9:16:20 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

Dec 2, 2014 1:40:14 GMT -5 nidena said:

 It's called a Monthly Cash Flow plan and is a zero-based budgeting tool, meaning that I allocate every single dollar before it even hits my account.  I can send you a copy of the initial template, if you like.

Two quick digressions: 

(a) I love to call my budget anything except a "budget", LOL.  Mine is my Monthly Spending Plan.  "Budget" is often a four-letter word, like "diet" to many of us.  A monthly spending plan is a lifestyle change rather than a crash diet. 

And (b)  people starting out with a zero-based budget should keep in mind that by 'allocated' to a purpose, as Nidena said, that includes savings and usually spending cash.  Just because you're allocating money to a specific thing, doesn't mean it's all bills and you leave yourself nothing to spend on miscellaneous life for the month or to save for the future.  Just make it a category, even if small.  If you fail to build in even a little room for 'Life Happens' during the month, the rest of this generally won't work either.  Trust me.  

Re: (b) Truth!!
My spending plan for this pay period included "Misc" and "Entertainment Center" along with the bills.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Dec 2, 2014 10:46:30 GMT -5 nidena said:

Dec 2, 2014 9:16:20 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

Two quick digressions: 

(a) I love to call my budget anything except a "budget", LOL.  Mine is my Monthly Spending Plan.  "Budget" is often a four-letter word, like "diet" to many of us.  A monthly spending plan is a lifestyle change rather than a crash diet. 

And (b)  people starting out with a zero-based budget should keep in mind that by 'allocated' to a purpose, as Nidena said, that includes savings and usually spending cash.  Just because you're allocating money to a specific thing, doesn't mean it's all bills and you leave yourself nothing to spend on miscellaneous life for the month or to save for the future.  Just make it a category, even if small.  If you fail to build in even a little room for 'Life Happens' during the month, the rest of this generally won't work either.  Trust me.  

Re: (b) Truth!!
My spending plan for this pay period included "Misc" and "Entertainment Center" along with the bills.

Here are my categories:

kids fund
roth ira
housing (incl food) exp
emerg/regular svngs
medical (incl hsa)
donations
car (maint/ins/fuel)
travel fund
misc cash

Equals Zero Dollars Left!

I then usually further break down my 'misc cash' (which varies depending on the rest) to take off the top anything that I know needs paid/saved before I can spend it. Since these things are getting pretty small, I don't put them in the main budget but just write them on the envelope so I know I have to pay them out of my cash.

I post my categories here so that people also understand that you're not required to budget every tiny thing in your life in order to make this work.  You can make it as broad or as detailed as you personally need/want.  I started more detailed but have gotten less detailed over time. It's just whatever you need to do to make it work for you.

ETA: One more thing. I don't try to reinvent the wheel each month.  After a few months of using this, I discovered how much needed to go into most of the categories, and I just carry that forward to start the new month/year.  Then I just tweak as necessary, rather than start at zero each month. Most categories probably don't wildly swing each month, so you can save yourself some headaches this way.

[urdoingit]

DH and I decided to sell the 2001 Ford Focus that has been sitting in the driveway for almost three years.  I posted an ad to Craigslist on Saturday evening and when I checked my email on Sunday morning, we had 11 replies.  The car was sold by 11:15 a.m. Sunday, for the price that DH wanted to get for it.  I'm still in shock over how quickly it went.

This relieves some of the stress of meeting our budget for December.  We got our personal property tax bill and it had gone up almost 50% over last year.  Evidently my little Honda Fit is as valuable to the great state of Missouri as our other 2 vehicles combined ... I really hate the whole personal property tax mess and the fact that it is due December 31 every year.

We have money in a PP Tax savings account with Capital One 360, but it wasn't enough.  With our other obligations ($800 a month payments on DDs wedding, $500 a month payments on the new roof), it was going to be a stretch to get through the month.  Now that we have the cash from the car sale, I can breathe a little easier.

Made our flight and hotel reservations for the wedding - found some discounts over the Thanksgiving weekend so we went ahead and booked them.  I will be so happy when the wedding is over and done, the kids are married, and we can get back on track with our "normal" budget. 

DH suggested that we put more into our PP Tax savings and Christmas savings accounts.  I suggested that he do that out of his paychecks as mine are already targeted for so much that I don't have any extra to spare ... I wrote down the numbers for him and he set it up his next night at work.  It is such a little thing, but it means so much to me to have him on board!

Will post an update soon ... just need to get the numbers crunched.  Race on!!!

[urdoingit]

urdoingit: 12/2/2014 $7,592.06 (3/1/13 $27,281.43 MPT279)

UPDATE	3/1/2013	10/10/2014	12/2/2014
HFLC	$14,175.00	$0.00	$0.00
Fifth Third Bank	$13,106.43	$8,137.47	$7,592.06
Total	$27,281.43	$8,137.47	$7,592.06
Diff Last Post	-$545.41
Total Amt Pd	-$19,689.37
Total % Pd	72.2%

[wudnit]

Update:  12/2/14 $24,964 (1/13/10 $172915 NEU46)


I don't know about anyone else, but I'm looking forward to the New Year!! I've done well this year and am hoping to do great next year as well.  When the year began, I owed $37,388 on my Home Equity, $23,072 on my House, and $11,985 on our apartment building for a total due of $72,445.  I am ending the year with the House and Apartment paid in full and $24,964 remaining on my Home Equity.  I paid off $47,481 in debt last year!  Makes me sick when I think of all that I could have been doing with all of that money!!  However, it is a great feeling that the remainder of my racing debt is so much less than what I paid last year and if I can just keep my eye on the prize, I could have this debt gone in August of 2015:  8 more payments.  Considering that I have been racing this debt since January of 2010 (5 years so far), it is GREAT knowing that I am getting close!  I so look forward to when such a large chunk of our $$ will no longer have to go toward debt!

[jdnstl]

UPDATE

Sep 1 14       Dec 1 14
CC1 – 0.00      0.00
CC2 – 2820.00     2680.00
CC3 – 0.00         0.00
CC4 – Closed
CC5 – 450.00       300.00
CC6 – 0.00        0.00
CC7 – 2350.00      2230.00
Auto1 – 0.00       0.00
Auto2 – 0.00        0.00
TOTAL- 5,620.00     5,210.00     Difference of -$410.00

EF/Savings – $5,210.81     $4,540.00      Difference of -$670.81
jdnstl: 12/1/14 $5,210.00 (1/9/08 $40,366.26 S34)
Total ptd - $35,156.26
Percent ptd – 87.09%

I've been at my new job for a month now. It's going well & I LOVE how amazing the benefits are. With the increase in pay I'm putting more into retirement and trying to accelerate the payoff plan. I didn't realize how long it had been since I did an update. As a co-captain I really need to do a better job!

[chelsea727]

forwardwego:  The other discover card is at 18.99%.  The 0% offers end in June and the other in August of 2015.  Our EF is only at $138 right now and I think a big issue with us backsliding is that we don't have a proper cushion.  I think sometimes I focus on gazelle intensity and then I just hurt myself in the long run if I have to use the CC's again.  DH is definitely on board but doesn't really get into the details.  He'd rather I gave him a weekly allowance and he can just stick to that..haha. It seems to be working okay, but once we have more cash-flow, I'd like him to get more involved.

seriousthistime:  I like your suggestion on paying off the other Quick Cash vs. Chase.  It would definitely give use more cash flow to pay off everything else quicker! That particular debt is one where the payment shrinks as the debt shrinks.  That could be an added benefit to paying it down sooner.

I've scheduled payment through January to have Slumberland paid off. I'm so excited for tax time to be able to pay off another debt or two quickly! 

[jdnstl]

Wow!! I had a lot of catching up to do to read through this thread & update the smilies, but it's done. You can check out our progress on the smilies thread.

To help us captains, please mark your updates like my example. Please bold the tagline and make UPDATE in caps & bolded if you like. This sticks out & helps the captains pick up your updates from the other chatter.

UPDATE
jdnstl: 12/1/14 $5,210.00 (1/9/08 $40,366.26 S34)

Great racing everyone! I hope to get shoutouts done another night this week but for now it's bedtime.

[forwardwego]

chelsea727 Yes without a bigger EF backsliding will happen. Come on over & join us on the savers thread where we will cheer you on as you build a bigger EF. It's good your DH is on board to the level of having an allowance and sticking to it. Continue to thank him for that because you'd definitely be swimming upstream without a basic level of cooperation. And praising him may encourage him to get more involved a little at a time. It's good you are planning ahead to use your tax refund for improving your finances, because once it's in hand temptations for "stuff" could rear their ugly heads. Being proactive is good. Remember that balance is important, paying down is exciting, saving brings protection & peace-of-mind. So keep both in mind and in your plans. 

Hey jdnstl it's good to see you back in the 5500 club, yea for the new job and its benefits, 2015 looking good for you 


wudnit That's greeaaat!!! Sounds like you'll be one of the first to win their race on our combined thread 

urdoingit Congrats on selling the car at a good price & so quickly....looks like 2015 could be the year for your big zero too!!


 nidena & Rocky Mtn Saver Spending plan does sound much better than budget. I think of mine as a schedule.
And you're right "diet" does sound depressing, even has the word die in it....I plan to start thinking about my "nutrition" instead.


EEk...got late...goodnight  
 

[nidena]

I "create a new copy" each month in my Excel product of the current month and add or delete lines as needed but Rocky Mtn Saver is right about most expenses not really fluxing.  I even made my quarterly "trash/water" bill into a monthly bill--instead of paying trying to allocate $120 every three months, it's so much easier to allocate $40 each month.  The utility company doesn't care, so long as they're getting their money.  I moved all my "little bill" pay dates to the mid-month pay period so that they balanced out my mortgage payment at the beginning of the month.  I've also been working a poop-ton of hours at my part-time and am using that to buy groceries in order to free up money from my full time for the CC payment.  I determined that putting in at least 20 hours a pay period at the PT will keep me in food for the whole two weeks until the next paycheck.    And I'm loving that the mall is open later for holiday.  It helps me put in a longer shift since my availability *there* is only on my days off from the FT but during the same hours--6pm to 6am--meaning that I can work from 6pm until the mall closes at 10 or 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays instead of the normal 9pm.

[teachermom]

Well.....just when I think I have a plan and things are working out.....bam....Murphy hits!! Had to buy 2 new tires today. Good thing I hadn't paid all my extra to my Old Navy card yet or I would have been charging the tires. Bummed but I didn't have to go into more debt to get them and I didn't have to withdraw from my EF I am just getting built up to $1000.

Teachermom

[nikiz628]

I might be in the minority on this one, but for my budget, I do it all on paper lol. I have a pretty pink folder with the 3 ring binding for papers in the middle. I make my budget for each month, write them out individually (1 piece of paper per month) and put it in the folder. (I do a year at a time) I break my budget down by pay date..which bills come out of which check. I also budget for groceries/dining out, fuel, savings, and misc. expenses. I tried to do an excel spreadsheet for awhile, and it wasn't bad. I just prefer the pen and paper method (I also still use a paper planner instead of my iphone calendar haha). There is just something about seeing it on paper that helps me stay more organized.

And as others have said, most pay weeks dont fluctuate by much. I "overbudget" for my electric and water bill based on the highest bill I receive in the last 12 months. When the bill falls short of that budgeted amount, I move it to the savings envelope or the misc. spending category.

I also have 3 sheets in the back of the folder labeled Water, Electric, and Gas. I write down my usage and bill amount for each month of the previous year...and then this year. So I can look back at how my usage has changed, and look ahead to see what to "expect" my next bill to be based on past usage (Yes I know these features are usually on the websites, but again, i like paper )

[nikiz628]

Quick update on my post from the other day about the end of our bankruptcy!

H's employer received the OFFICIAL garnishment termination notice today from the Judge! We finally get to keep a full paycheck for the first time in 4 years!! AND we got back last weeks garnishment from his employer (as the termination notice was backdated). This is perfect because we found out today we are responsible for our December mortgage payment, so that refund check was half the payment handed to us!

I cant remember if i posted this on the old thread or not, but we priced around our homeowners insurance a month or so ago and found BETTER coverage for almost half the price. Our previous insurance company was getting outrageous, going up at least $100 every year even though we havent had any claims or done anything to need it to be increased. We received the refund check from insurance company #1, as our mortgage company  had already paid next years premium. And then they paid the new insurance policies premium on top of that. We had to send the refund back to our mortgage company because the escrow account was now short and they were going to increase our monthly payment. That has finally cleared so we put in a request to have our mortgage payment re-evaluated, and hopefully have it lowered. This would help throw more money each month at these remaining student loans and get us to the finish line of this race faster! We should hear something in 7-10 days! Fingers crossed!!

[nikiz628]

Dec 3, 2014 2:13:46 GMT -5 teachermom said:

Well.....just when I think I have a plan and things are working out.....bam....Murphy hits!! Had to buy 2 new tires today. Good thing I hadn't paid all my extra to my Old Navy card yet or I would have been charging the tires. Bummed but I didn't have to go into more debt to get them and I didn't have to withdraw from my EF I am just getting built up to $1000.

Teachermom

teachermom Murphy sucks! He LOVES to hang out around my home. I am glad you were able to pay cash for the tires though. Count that as a small victory, even though I know you really wanted to apply that cash to your ON balance.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Dec 3, 2014 3:44:34 GMT -5 nikiz628 said:

I might be in the minority on this one, but for my budget, I do it all on paper lol. I have a pretty pink folder with the 3 ring binding for papers in the middle. I make my budget for each month, write them out individually (1 piece of paper per month) and put it in the folder. (I do a year at a time) I break my budget down by pay date..which bills come out of which check. I also budget for groceries/dining out, fuel, savings, and misc. expenses. I tried to do an excel spreadsheet for awhile, and it wasn't bad. I just prefer the pen and paper method (I also still use a paper planner instead of my iphone calendar haha). There is just something about seeing it on paper that helps me stay more organized.

And as others have said, most pay weeks dont fluctuate by much. I "overbudget" for my electric and water bill based on the highest bill I receive in the last 12 months. When the bill falls short of that budgeted amount, I move it to the savings envelope or the misc. spending category.

I also have 3 sheets in the back of the folder labeled Water, Electric, and Gas. I write down my usage and bill amount for each month of the previous year...and then this year. So I can look back at how my usage has changed, and look ahead to see what to "expect" my next bill to be based on past usage (Yes I know these features are usually on the websites, but again, i like paper )

Hey, whatever system works for each person is what they should do! I've heard experts also suggest a tracking or planning system that does not involve 'booting up' any device to accomplish. Because we sometimes lose interest/motivation if we have to delay using our system for any reason. Pen and paper will not let you down!

We maintain a separate checking account just for our shared household expenses (food, housing, home insurance, house taxes and repairs), to make sure they're always covered and no one has to juggle their personal spending cash for household items.  After looking back at a few months of online banking, I could make an estimate about how much we spend in housing/food in each 30 day period.  Then we divided that up between paychecks and each contribute a set amount each month auto-deposited from paychecks. Any overages stay in that account to cover any under-ages later on.  It's been working really well for a few years and is super-easy for us because there's no real 'tracking' involved. We can then focus our energies on personal spending.

[Ombud]

urdoingit, congrats on selling a Ford Focus that hasn't been used for years! BTW: what's a

personal property tax bill

is it like California's auto registration?

Question to all: do you make an extra payment during the month or just at the end? If the end, how do you determine how much to leave in the checking account in case something comes up next month?

[Deleted]

UPDATE

Debt	Interest Rate	12/03/14	06/26/14	PTD	% PTD	Final Payment Date
Medical Bill #1	12.00%	$0.00	$1,113.29	$1,113.29	100.00%	10/3/2014
Medical Bill #2	0.00%	$317.66	$1,192.66	$875.00	73.37%	--
Medical Bill #3	0.00%	$78.71	$578.71	$500.00	86.40%	--
Auto Loan	6.90%	$3,335.49	$3,881.71	$546.22	14.07%	--
Student Loan	3.88%	$0.00	$7,881.60	$7,881.60	100.00%	7/22/2014
CC #1	13.24%	$6,751.11	$6,859.96	$108.85	1.59%	--
CC #2	16.99%	$11,798.47	$11,756.67	-$41.80	-0.36%	--
CC #3	0% until Jan 2015	$1,749.60	$1,927.25	$177.65	9.22%	--
Total	--	$24,031.04	$35,191.85	$11,160.81	31.71%	--

amiteraus: 12/03/14 $24,031.04 (6/26/14, $35,191.85, W80)

I am so close to that next zero, I can taste it!  

[teachermom]

So far I am really liking the YNAB software.....you can have on your phone too and input transactions while they happen. Then I get home and they are posted and updated......uses Dropbox to link them. Love that because it is easy to forget and this way...I know  how much I have left in my budget for gas or food or entertainment, etc.

The philosophy behind it is basically zero based budgeting....every dollar has a job and you are telling it what it is going to do.....so no bad word here....just a spending plan for your money....including cash is recorded and tracked.


Teachermom

[bankergurl]

Hi all!  So excited to see all the chatter and great advise! 

I have been working mega OT and it will continue to be unlimited (during business hours) for as far as I see.  This is great for my pocket book, but can definitely be exhausting!   I had a number of extra expenses come up in the last few weeks, I had 3 birthdays (BF ($200), brother ($25) and niece ($20)) as well as the new hot tub cover ($300) and bi-yearly car insurance ($135), plus Christmas gifts.  So I took $1000 out of savings to cover those items, I did get a small bonus at work, so I am hoping to reimburse part of it to savings ASAP.  I feel comfortable being over $25K in savings, and really don't want to go below $20K ever.  My car is 12 years old, has 170K+ miles on it, and could take a dive anyday, so I want to keep savings up for the inevitable day when I will be buying a new car, but I will be driving it till it dies!!

No update for me just yet as since I had to refi the mortgage to my own name I have auto payments that come out on the 10th of the month, so I will post an update around then.  Still doing good with the balance going down $500 per month. 

For those struggling with budgets, if you are looking for cheap/free personal products (toiletries, OTC meds, etc.) please check out my blog and possibly find some deal ideas for CVS, Target, Menards etc.   My friends and family are always amazed at the amount of stuff I can get for pennies on the dollar.  Maybe you don't need it today, but if you can get a crazy good deal today, you can get it and then when you need an item you don't have to run out and pay full price!  Plus if it's something you don't need you can always sell it, donate it, or swap with friends and family.  I make many $$ this way!    Plus I found a great little niche selling in BFs town, he lives about an hr away in a small (population 3000ish) town and they have very limited shopping, so I post deals for lotion, shampoo, conditioner, make-up, razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, OTC meds, hair products, etc.  My shoppers get products for 1/2 the price of the store, and I make a little side money!  WIN WIN!

I have been selling like gang-busters on my local FB site. Last weekend alone I sold 44 items! Most of these are small items ($2-$5 each), but every little bit helps, and I always keep all of my sales money seperate to put in savings or towards the mortgage.

I also opened a small savings account with BF.  We each saved $25 per paycheck together for the last few weeks and when Capital 360 had their Black Friday Sale we opened an account for BF with me as the co-owner (I have been with them since 2005).  He got a $100 bonus for opening the account and I got a $40 bonus for referring him!  So we added our bonuses to the balance and now have over $400 together!  We have auto deposits set up for both of us each to continue the $25 per paycheck, so it will be going up at least $100 per month.  Just a small start together, but a positive step!  For now I will keep my BIG savings seperate.

Happy Racing Everyone!!

[Sam_2.0]

What are you all saving up for, Banker Gurl? Glad the CVS game is working for you. They've cracked down so much here that it's just not worth it anymore, but I am still working through stockpiled items from 4 years ago! Maybe once it's all gone I will try to jump back in.

Moving & having a baby set us pretty far back this year. Just hoping to eek it out through the end of this year and hit the ground running in 2015. My new job has a shorter commute and no city taxes or parking to pay, so it will seem like a small raise. And when I have to drive downtown for meetings I get to expense mileage so I may have my gas covered since my Corolla is cheap and mileage expense works in my favor

[nikiz628]

Does anyone else set financial goals for the new year? If so, do you mind sharing what yours are for 2015?

So far, my list of financial goals for 2015:

1. Get DS's savings account to $1000 (currently sitting at $755, so its not far away)
2. Have $1000 in our EF
3. Have $2000 in the car down payment envelope
4. Get student loan debt under $5,000
5. Start savings envelope for our home addition (its just a 1 bedroom addition, and possibly a half bath- hoping to pay it completely out of pocket)
6. Open ROTH IRA's for H and I

I am sure I will add/tweak this list before 2015 actually begins, but I love making lists and love setting goals as a motivator. This list makes me EXTREMELY excited to hit the ground running next year!

[bankergurl]

Hey Sam!  My savings is mainly for a new car and EF.  But it will also be for vacations and home improvements (which I need a lot of!).  Previous to the divorce I had everything earmarked for separate goals, but with all that hubub and the drainingness of it all when we separated everything I just lumped mine all together. 
I will probably make some more outlined savings goals for 2015 in the next few weeks, but I am struggling with motivation for things like goals.  When you have everything taken away from you (mentally, emotionally) then stuff like savings and goals just doesn't seem to matter much.  Most days I feel ok, and I am very happy with BF, but 12 years with someone still kills me to think about, feel like I wasted so much time and it hurts so bad.  Had a very bad night last night and was up most of the night crying.  All I can do is move day by day, minute by minute towards healing.

[sparks2710]

UPDATE: Sparks2710: 12/3/14: $5,074.21 (1/1/14: $14,316.93)


Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a great week. I forgot to update last week so I am doing it now. I get paid this coming Friday so I will be updating again soon. With Christmas right around the corner I have slacked on my debt pay down. Once we get through the holidays then I will start grinding again!


Hope everyone has a fantastic week!


And Bankergurl, I am interested in reading your blog. Can you send me the info Thanks!

[speechchick71]

I love seeing how everyone gets their bills paid.  I think the bottom line "whatever works".  Personally, I pay majority of my bills every two weeks, paying half of what is needed (usually "plus some").  So when it comes to my car payment, I pay at least half every two weeks which results in 26 half payments/13 months versus 12 months.  I make a payment to my interest bearing CC every two weeks as well which lowers the average daily balance.  It probably makes a very minimal difference but if I can do it and it saves me a few $ the in long run, I'd rather it be saved than sending it to the CC company.  The thing we all have in common is the snowball...keep on rolling!

I finished up my job in MI and am back in FL.  I was told that I probably wouldn't be full time in December but it's looking like I will be.  My official start date isn't until Monday but they had me come in today and cover for the other therapist.  It was just a few hours but every little bit helps!  I saved up some cash to cover myself in December but now I'm going to use a chunk of it to put toward my interest bearing CC after the new year.  Some day I will have that 6 month buffer that is sometimes suggested. 

I don't like calling it a "budget".  That is what my file name is on my computer but in my head it's my "Paydown plan".  I have it all set up for 2015 and I"m constantly tweaking it.  I don't typically think about a tax refund but this year any money that comes in goes toward that debt.  After my CC debt is gone, all the debt I will have is my car but I don't think I'll race it as there really isn't any reason to (with the exception of getting it off the ledger).  I'd rather throw everything into savings.  I mentioned that I'm taking some classes with the hopes of getting into another Masters program in a couple years so I need that money as I really don't want to take out student loans at my age and point in my life.  The return on a new career would make up for it quickly though. 

It's hard to believe that it's the end of the year already!  Did anyone post their 2014 goals in their regional threads?  Go back and see how you did.  My goal is just to be paid off and start saving big big.  I know it's been mentioned before but even if you're racing debt, hit the saver's board too.