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About Me:

Savings Queen

2013- TOTAL SAVINGS NEEDED FOR THIS YEAR: $168,050
TO PAY FOR EXPENSES:
Converting Real Estate IRA into Roth (pay .44% tax on $289K in rental house IRA acct) $130,050
Hubby's Jaw Surgery $15,000
(reduced to $7,000 since it's covered)
Emergency Fund $30,000

WHAT WE HAVE NOW:
7/9/13: $166,804 (including rental house account) OUCH! WE WENT DOWN!!
5/22/13: $168,511 (including rental house account)
5/3/13:$163,755.00 (including rental account)
4/17/13: $160,447.67 (including rental account)
4/1/13: $142,719 (including rental account)
3/17/13: $136,131.38 (including rental house account)
2/24/13: $128,516 in savings

WHERE WE ARE ON APRIL 17, 2013: Still need $14,602.33 to meet $170,050 yearly goal by April 15, 2014 ($1,216 per month - 12 months from April 1, 2012 - April 1, 2013)

Savings Goals:
Hubby's paychecks $2,478 X 26 wks = $64,428
My savings $1,500 mo. X 12 = $18,000
By March 1, 2014 hubby and I should meet our savings goal of $175,050 and have $50,097 in extra savings (this will give us an emergency fund of $80,097). Next year we hope to convert the remaining $100K of the real estate IRA into a roth and will need about $45K to do that. We will easily be able to meet that goal during 2014!

WHO ARE WE (money wise)?
I am a wife and mother of two grown sons. I own a business & my husband has a good job and we have done some things right (pd. off mortgage, pretty good 401Ks, more than $100,000 in savings, 9 mostly paid off rental houses (10 units). Previously we used a VISA card but now we are only using our debit card.

Most people would say we are in great shape which we are, however, I also have a tendency to overspend money at times (sometimes I worry I have a spending problem).

I want to learn to appreciate what I have and stop frittering money away. With me it is usually either wild overspending or total frugality. I want to learn to live a more balanced financial life, in the middle.

SPENDING/SAVINGS GOALS:
* Continue to stay off EBAY!!! DONE
* Write down all expenditures DONE
* Continue to use the debit card, not the charge card GOT RID OF CHARGE CARD! DONE
* FIND OUT WHAT WE NEED TO LIVE EACH MONTH! Develop a spending plan. DONE
* Continue to save my DH�s
paychecks and live on mine
DONE
INVESTMENT GOALS:
* Gather all figures for 401K,
IRAs, banks accounts DONE
* Create a Net Worth Statement DONE
* Use real estate (rentals) to produce income of $7,000 a month in income tax free

GOAL: Turn the rental account into a ROTH in 2013 so all rental income will be tax free. This is a BIG savings goal for us! We need $120-$160K to pay the taxes on this 400K account. (we have have to convert 280K of the account this year and 100K next year so we will still have some emergency fund money left)

INVESTMENT GOALS: Get our 401K invested in safe mututal funds
FEB - Created a plan and are dollar cost averaging to get back in over the next six months.

Debtor's Anonymous Meetings

January 17th, 2011 at 02:09 pm

I am on Day 14 of my financial sanity. I am so happy I have been staying on my spending plan and will pay off the $3,600 left remaining my one of my husband's car loans today.

About four days ago I started attended Debtor's Anonymous (DA) meetings over the telephone as there are no DA meetings in my area. DA is a wonderful program for people who have a compulsive overspending or charge card use problem. Fortunately, I don't really have a debt problem, but a couple of times a year I way go overboard on my spending...WAY overboard.

Although some people have garden variety problems following a budget, my problem is a little more serious than that...I have an addiction to overspending. I know my financial situation is fairly blessed, but that doesn't negate the seriousness of my addiction. It's something I will have to watch every day for the rest of my life to keep it under control.

I was reminded of that yesterday during a telephone DA meeting. A woman called in and said she had a problem with shopping on one of the TV shopping networks. Although it had gotten so bad the bank was about to foreclose on her house, she couldn't decide whether to block those TV shopping channels! It sounded so CRAZY to me that her shopping addiction had nearly ruined her life and she still wasn't ready to quit!!

I say that not to judge her, but to remind myself that if you have the problem, overspending is a progressive addiction that always gets worse, never better, UNLESS YOU DO WHAT IT TAKES TO STOP.

For me, it is the tools of the DA program. In a nutshell, they are:

1) Cut up your credit cards
2) Write down all income and EVERY purchase today
2) Don't debt today

With God's help, just for today I will write down my "numbers" and not debt. It's really that simple. If you think you may have a similar problem visit www.debtorsanonymous.org.

Just for today, I hope you and God make it a great one!!

Posted in Budgeting, Credit Cards, Debt, Investing, Personal Finance, Retirement, Saving Money, Shopping | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “Debtor's Anonymous Meetings”

Ima saver Says:
January 17th, 2011 at 03:16 pm 1295277364
1295277364

I am glad you found one to join! I have a friend who is addicted to QVC. The UPS truck comes to her house every day.
creditcardfree Says:
January 17th, 2011 at 03:16 pm 1295277409
1295277409

I think it is fabulous that you are aware of the problem and are doing something about it. I hope today is a good day for you!
Savings Queen Says:
January 17th, 2011 at 04:01 pm 1295280067
1295280067

Thanks so much Julie and CCfree! That woman's story was so frightening to me because before Christmas in my Ebay jewelry buying frenzy I was experiencing it as a TRUE COMPULSION which was terrifying. I too was having packages delivered to my house EVERY day!!! At the end, seeing those packages no longer filled me with joy, they frightened me because I knew I was out of control. For me, the DA program, writing down my expenses and even reading all the blogs here are helping me return to sanity. Just for today and God willing I will stay here.
North Georgia Gal Says:
January 17th, 2011 at 05:58 pm 1295287086
1295287086

Congratulations on taking the steps you need to take. It is very simple to deny you have a problem before it gets to the breaking point.
SavingsQueen Says:
January 17th, 2011 at 06:45 pm 1295289959
1295289959

Thanks NGG! I appreciate the vote of confidence!
wowitsawonderfullife Says:
January 18th, 2011 at 12:28 am 1295310512
1295310512

Congrats on moving forward. This forum will help you. Can you return any of the stuff you bought? It will help pay down your bills.
Savings Queen Says:
January 18th, 2011 at 12:07 pm 1295352443
1295352443

Dear Wow, I have already resold some of it on Ebay. Good advice!

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Savings Queen's Personal Finance Journey

A Spending Queen Learns to Change her Spendthrift Ways...One Day at A Time.

Debtor's Anonymous Meetings

7 Responses to “Debtor's Anonymous Meetings”

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