In mid-January I started in earnest down the road to financial sanity. Hubby and I have already made some progress and I feel markedly better. Here is where we are right now:
1) I have not even been on Ebay for about a month and have not been spending compulsively at all.
2) Hubby and created a spending plan.
3) I have been writing down all expenditures.
4) We have totally stopped using the VISA and instead are using the debit card! Yea!!
We pay our monthly VISA bills in full each month so I just paid a very painful monthly bill of $4400 a few days ago and only have one more bill of $1100 to pay next month.
5) I did the taxes over the weekend. Since we have rental properties it was AWFUL, but I did it very carefully and I am glad it's behind me. It took me about 14 hours and we even have an accountant!
Things hubby and I will do this weekend:
1) Finish our 2013 financial goals
2) Get my 401K money invested...ouch!!!
I can't tell you how good it feels to have a spending plan and be watching my spending for a change. As a couple we had so much "disposable" income that I was just disposing of it willy-nilly all the time. If I wanted something, just about anything, I bought it!
My challenge in all of this will be to keep following this path consistently during 2013. At this point I am looking forward to getting through February on the plan. Even baby steps are progress for me.
It was hard to stop using the VISA as it was a frequent flyer card. I read that Dave Ramsey said that when people charge they spend 15-20% more! I know that was the case for me. Even though, not using the card, I won't get free flights, I know we will spend less overall.
It's progress not perfection, but so far so good.
Some Financial Peace
February 4th, 2013 at 09:39 pm
February 4th, 2013 at 09:56 pm 1360014971
February 4th, 2013 at 10:00 pm 1360015232
You mention a search for 'safe' investment but even regular savings accounts have a level of risk since they pay a paltry sum, not keeping up with rising costs and reducing buying power. Only you can decide on your RISK tolerance. The housing crisis caused even housing values to decrease. They are now s-l-o-w-l-y moving forward in most markets.
February 5th, 2013 at 12:22 am 1360023749
February 11th, 2013 at 07:42 am 1360568538
Jerry