August has been a great big fat failure. I haven't even looked at all the numbers, and I don't want to.
Things are running amuck, amuck, amuck! (Quick, name that movie!!!)
Credit Cards - you give an inch, they take a mile. And this is what happened. A few small purchases lead to a few larger purchases. Old habits die hard. $350 was spent on school supplies and clothes and shoes. ($150 of it will be paid off at the end of the week). G-man got some gas. And then there were my beautiful boxes.....which somehow the cash I had saved for this got gobbled up in the great abyss of my checkbook. A little here, a little there....and now the damage is done.
The lessons here....
1) We aren't ready to be responsible.
2) We didn't plan appropriately for expenses.
The "excuses" aren't great....but some of them are real. Between July and August, we had several gifts to buy (2 baby showers, kids' birthdays), personal property taxes, and a few other smaller bills. The cats went in for check ups to the tune of $246. All of these are expenses that cut into the bottom line and we are still learning to plan for. Plus, the interest....oh, the interest....hate it. Our party in late July....that was all us. No justification there.
Student Loans - I have somewhat stuck my head in the sand on that one. We are snowballing Loan 2 right now, but Loan 1....I have been "ignoring" the accruing interest on the loan while we have been on a lower payment. It is up by $111. So the actual balance has now been reflected to show this.
Floating Money - My parents are lazy. They tend to let us figure out birthday presents, Christmas presents, etc. And then they LET us buy it all, and wrap it, and all of that jazz. Eventually they pay us back, but we have to figure out how to pay for it to start with. So, add in another $100 for what we paid for as a loan to my parents. I hear from my mom....I will send a check....and then I have to ask for it. C'mon...they don't have 90 seconds to send me a check??? It isn't about the money....they just don't care that their actions impact others.
So, bottom line....in the past month, we managed to undo 25% of our efforts. I am embarrassed and ashamed of us. I am angry with myself.
And why do I share all of this......because someone has to be the blog that doesn't have it all together! No offense to those that have wonderful stories to share that they got on board with debt repayment and did fabulous. That ain't us. We are really struggling to make this work....and I hope that this shows others that not everyone has it all together.
Mysti-- sorry you are having such a rough month. There must be something in the air, because this month has been ROUGH for us too. All we have to do is realize it is rough and try to get back on the bandwagon. I really hope things turn around for you and you don't get too discouraged. I know it is hard, I am fighting those feelings myself. You have come a long way though by realizing that you made mistakes and admitting them. Now just to get back on track. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWe all make mistakes, Mysti, and I think the one thing that makes your blog unique is that you fess up to your mistakes very openly. You don't try to cloak it. That's why I read!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would tell my parents that I couldn't afford to front the money for their gifts anymore. I mean, they're just being inconsiderate, and when it derails your month like this, it's worth it to take a stand.
You'll get back on track. Chalk the last 25 days up to poor planning and make the last six days of the month really count! We KNOW you'll pull yourself up!
Mysti - we all suffer setback. The key is to not let it defeat you. Take a deep breath and then refocus. That is what I need to do as well.
ReplyDeleteHey Mysti,
ReplyDeleteWhat's important is that you understand where you went wrong, and learn what not to do in the future. If you can take away a lesson from this, then you've learned something useful. That's an improvement on the people who spend, spend, spend, and don't even realize what they're doing until it's too late ;)
Thank you for sharing and making the rest of us who are far from having it all together feel like they aren't the only ones.
ReplyDeleteI hope September is better.
I'm sorry you're having a tough time right now, but I greatly applaud you for your openness and honesty about it. It's good to see that I'm not the only one who screws up!
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way...I love how you took it as a lesson that you aren't ready to be responsible yet. That really hit home.
@Rachel - sorry you are having a rough month too....it is almost over, right?
ReplyDelete@Red - thanks, girlfriend! And I have to commend you for having it way more together than I did at your age.
@Rhitter - breathe.....oooohhhhhhmmmmmm.
@Kevin - I am great on paper knowing what to do...in practice...that is tough. Baby steps might be too big for me....I need Embryonic steps.
@Jennifer - we all gotta stick together!
@Kaye - thanks. We can all be screw ups together. :)
Sorry to hear that you are having a rough time. We all make mistakes, but atleast you are acknowledging your mistakes and willing to learn from it. That is a big step done... A lot of us don't do that...
ReplyDeleteAnd I would tell my parents that I cannot afford to buy the gifts and will happily take it when they get to it.
You can pull it together... you can do it! It will get better!
sorry things are rough right now --- but you know, MOST of us out here are all willy nilly with the repayment - that is why we all have to be here for eachother... life happens... just try your best - i have had the best intentions now for years & still haven't gotten very far!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're right--someone has to admit to not having it altogether. It gives those of us who are in the same position someone to hide behind! I love honest blogs.
ReplyDeleteYou fell off the horse, but you're not lying in the dirt wailing about how you'll never ride again. You're dusting yourself off and climbing right back on. That's such progress from where you started, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteNone of us have it all together all the time. It's just not easy to publicly admit how we've screwed up. Human nature. Good for you for being honest, and for starting September holding the reigns!
(Not enough horse references in there? I could probably add one or two more if you need them!)
It's great that you have acknowledge all this and not just stuck your head in the sand over all of it like many people do!
ReplyDeleteSorry it was a bad month, but now you know and you can do better.
Great post. :)
You are REAL, girl. And dare I say I am so proud of you for sharing it with us? I struggle sometimes with how much to put out there; my erroneous instinct is that sharing the mistakes will make me lose credibility, when in reality it just makes your gains all that more inspiring.
ReplyDeleteNow dust yourself off and get back on that horse!
HOCUS POCUS!
ReplyDeleteMysti, stuff happens. Lord knows I know that! I hate to tell you this, but this won't be the last time you go back before you go forward, and you know what? It is OK. Big picture, you are still making progress. So just get back up and keep moving, K? XOXO.
I have to say that I'm so grateful that you are so open about not having it all together. I often feel like a newbie and a failure at getting out of debt. It makes me feel a tiny bit better to know that I'm not the only one.
ReplyDeleteI think you are kicking a$$ so far and August is a bump in the road.