Budgets.....Gross.

As I sat down to feed the baby and write this blog post, I realized I left the bouncy seat turned on in the other room.  I was wondering why it sounded like there was a howler monkey in my kitchen.

Budgets are stupid.  Okay, okay.....I don't actually think they're stupid.  I know they're necessary for about 99% of the population.  I just don't like them, simply because I wish I had an endless supply of money to do whatever I want with.  But who doesn't??

 

I don't have 28 reasons, but a girl named Anna does.  She recommends a Spending Fast instead in this link here.  I haven't read into it yet, but I plan on reading about her ideas and what she has to say.  I actually think a friend of mine may have cleared some of her debt through a spending fast.....I'll have to look into it and see if I like it better than a "budget".

But for now, we'll talk about my yucky stinky budget. 

As of right now, I have three main debts.  The largest debt is my student loan, which I've been paying on since 2006.  And what stinks is that after all these years of making student loan payments, I've hardly put a dent in the original loan amount.  I think I've paid about 20% of it off, maybe a little more.  IN SEVEN YEARS.  And it's not even an obscene loan amount, but it's enough that I still can't write Sallie Mae a check to pay it off.  But my student loan has also always been on the backburner of my debts over the years because the interest rate is so low.  But now it's time to make it a frontrunner and pay it off so that I can stop paying pointless interest.  If I had known THEN what I know NOW, I wouldn't have accepted the full amount of the loan.  I only had to borrow for my last three semesters, but I borrowed the entire amount offered, which was above the cost of the tuition alone.  Of course at the time, I needed the extra money to pay bills.  But if I hadn't taken it all, my school loans would probably be paid off by now.  Hindsight is 20/20, isn't it?

For some reason I don't think that's what she was really thinking.

My second largest debt at the moment is to my one and only credit card.  This debt isn't NEARLY as big as my school loan debt and it tends to vary from month to month depending on what I buy and if I've worked any environmental projects lately (and therefore can pay a bigger chunk of it off with an upcoming paycheck).  Sometimes I can pay it off completely and sometimes it's a little "racked up" with charges that take longer to pay off (like right now).  But I use this credit card a lot.  So much, in fact, that in the past year I've been able to pick up $300 in Target gift cards from my reward points.  This card is my lifeline.  It not only buys me things I want, but also makes it possible to pay for unexpected expenses, like taking a cat with a surprise bladder infection to the vet.

I used to have a bunch of credit cards, and I was AWFUL with them.  I would use one to pay the other, would transfer money back and forth during "0% interest rate" promos, and the credit card companies just kept upping my credit limits because they knew I would spend.  It was out of control.  Then to top it off I was laid off from my job and things really got stressful.  But several years ago I finally got those organized, paid off and eliminated.  Lucas helped me fix that mess.  He is insanely responsible with money (not at all frugal, just crazy responsible), so I basically handed my mess to him and whimpered, "Help!".  And he did.

Me about 4 years ago.  Totally stressed and in over my head.

Me now......relaxed.....ok so that is one WEIRD picture choice.....

My third debt is one that was unplanned:  Massai's emergency stay at R.I.V.E.R.  A portion of that bill went onto the ole' credit card (hence why I owe more on it than usual), but the majority of it had to be set up on a payment plan directly through R.I.V.E.R. itself.  Because that dog was EXPENSIVE!  The good thing about this bill is that there's no interest on it, but I still don't want to be paying it for the next 12 months.  So this one has got to go ASAP.

Beat up doggy.

So those are my three debts.  That doesn't include my monthly expenses, like auto insurance, gas, groceries and whatever else I might be forgetting.  But in order to pay these three off, I need a plan.  I've already outlined what I owe, what I pay, what I spend and what I have coming in on an Excel spreadsheet.  But it's still not a plan.  Just an outline of what exists.  A plan would include putting an exact amount on what I'm allowed to spend for fun (as well as on gas and groceries) and decide what order I'm going to pay things off in.  I know how to make it happen - I've already had the "lesson" - I just need to do it. 

I just don't wanna (insert toddler whine).

Love it.

But on the flip side, you know how GOOD it will feel to pay that school loan off???  I wish I could just send them a big fat check and be done with it.  DONE.  Too bad I don't have a big fat check to send them.  Then I could be all like, HERE BITCHES. STOP RAPING ME OF MY MONEY.  I think I inadvertently signed up for a mortgage plan with that one.  A mortgage plan that likes putting your money towards the interest.

I guess I should be grateful that I only have those three debts to pay (and I am - trust me).  I have friends with much more on their plate, from ginormous med school loans to multiple car payments to hospital bills and everything else in between.  I have friends who would love nothing more than to stay home with their babies, but have no choice but to work in order to get the bills paid.  I am a VERY lucky woman in that I am able to stay at home and do exactly what I've ALWAYS wanted to do since I was little, which was be a mom.

I'm home for all of these moments.  And I mean ALL OF THEM.  As in, I can't get jack crap done because this child wants to be right HERE all the time.  Lay him down for his nap?  In your dreams.  Clean the house while he sleeps?  Riiiiiiight.  Do anything at all without him needing to be attached to my hip?  Hahaha....you're funny.

On a random note....I bought O"Fallon Cherry Chocolate Beer at Earth Fare the other day.  In my mind, I was buying a delicious dark, stout beer with hints of cherry and chocolate flavors.  I should have known that I was buying a chocolate-covered cherry in a bottle.  It tastes just like the candy.  So if you're obsessed with chocolate-covered cherries, you'll love this beer.  If you're expecting a rich, creamy, slightly-flavor-hinted stout, you're going to be disappointed, though you'll probably still like the beer okay enough to drink it.  Like me.

I guess that wraps up my talk about budgets, even though I didn't really talk about budgets.  I basically just told you that I owe money and that I needed to do something about it.  Ah well.  I'll get it figured out. 

Know what's depressing?  Tax season.  I plugged in my W2s and was getting back around $2400.....then I plugged in my miscellaneous independent contracting wages and watched that total plummet to $62.  It felt like I was in Vegas - was way up one second, and then way down the next.  Bummer.  But I still have a lot to do regarding my taxes, so hopefully that little number will creep back up.  And if not, then $62 will buy the three of us a nice dinner!

Really???

I haven't written any baby blog updates lately.....no discussions about diapers (what?!?!), or breastfeeding, or sleep patterns, or milestones.....I'll get back to that soon!  Maybe tomorrow.  :)  Until then, just enjoy pictures of my spawn:

It's a hard-knock life.

The boys!