Tuesday,What makes a difference?

     This flu is a bugger.  I did get a little sewing done yesterday, but it is slow going I tell you. I did get quite a bit of work in yesterday and with my 5 Wedding dresses I am really in the groove.  However the energy and drive to jump right into the shop is still not there.  It is frustrating to say the least.  I am just taking it slow.  I will do as much as I can and that is it.

     Hub's and I need to go and get a new toaster and a mat for the front door.  I also need to stop by the insurance office today.  This is if I can convince myself to make myself presentable.  This is a big IF.  Mom really needs to get out of the house as she is getting grumpy. I am sure once these errands are complete I will be wiped out.

     The weather just has not broken.  It is still colder than normal.  We usually have really wet springs.  I just want to get outside in the dirt and I don't see that happening for a while.  It has me a little discouraged.  I am sure that this foggy flu brain will clear up in another day or two.

     Laying around with fever brain allows you time to think.  I know I am really starting to make progress on my debt and this makes me so happy.  I am trying to think of why this time I have not given up.  Is it because I am older and wiser?  Maybe?  Or is it because I feel that I have no choice?  Not really. I really think the difference is that I know I can.

     As many times as I have tried before and remember this has been a 30 year journey, I have had factors  that really made it hard for me to stay out of debt.  The first was having kids at home and actually having more children.  Kids are expensive and college is expensive.  Just getting the girls out and on their own has really helped my bottom line.  Now the oldest has been out for almost 20 years, and she has by far always been our easiest  as far as finances are concerned.  She is a very self sufficient child.  She also lived through the very lean years of our lives.  The younger two were pretty oblivious.  By the time D#2 was out and could notice what life was all about D#1 was in high school. 

    So getting the kids raised has really helped our bottom line. I have always said I could have done better, but I don't regret the money spent on helping them get a good education.

     The second thing that has made a huge difference is not having a car payment.  I cannot say enough about how this can really free up money to pay debt.  If we can just keep these two old cars going for a couple more years we will really be able to achieve our goals.

     I know that the snowball method for debt is a great tool.  But I used the what payment is the highest method to attack our debt.  Paying off the cars early even though the interest rates were lower freed up over $700.00 a month to attack debt.  Getting the studio lock paid off gave me another $150.00 toward debt.  The house/sewer loan has a payment of $350.00 a month, so when that is paid off we will have that additional large sum and the debt will really start to drop.

   If you are struggling maybe the method of attacking the larger payment is a better option.  I also realize that we don't have 8-10 high interest CC's with large balances.  So this method may not be feasible for many.  It has however worked for us.  Once the Home/sewer loan is paid off, any smaller bills will be easily wiped out.  The interest rate on our personal bank card is only 6.56% so very low compared to others.

     The third and probably the most important part of our success so far has been the keeping $1000.00 in an emergency account.  Every time I have let that go, debt has crept back into my life.  Right now our emergency account is low, so that is the first thing I will work on in this coming month.  Part of it was used to pay the accountant and the dentist.

     I hate to stop my debt pay off to fund this account but I know the consequences of ignoring this important part of a debt pay off strategy.

Now if I can rank these in order of importance.

1. Emergency fund
2. pay off cars and keep them paid off, keep them running, do not be tempted to replace them.
3. raise the kids.  If your kids are small they won't notice you cutting back, if they are teenagers, they can get a part time job, they can also get good grades for scholarships.  Your children are a great blessing to you, and they are expensive, ask for help from them, explain your situation, you might be surprised by the ideas and help they offer.

Have a great and productive day, staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim