“Monthly Update” Archive
Dec
10
I’m fully prepared for a comment from Jim over at MyDebtBlog, telling me how I cant be taken seriously etc., because I didn’t return from my hiatus when I said I was back a few weeks ago. Okay, fair enough.
I did indeed need a little more time to fully deal with some health issues I was having before I felt I’d be in a position to do the blog justice again. I’m happy to report my health issues are finally resolving themselves and I am finally interested in blogging about my journey again. Yes, I realize the proof will come in the form of regular postings and updates.
On the subject of updates, I’ve been having some problems with the websites of several of my credit card issuers, so the Debt-O-Meter will likely be updated tomorrow. Apparently some issuers aren’t allowing me to access my account on the web since entering into the negotiated ‘pay-down’ agreements. I’m calling all of my card issuers tonight to get the latest balances; I tend to shred my paper statements prematurely.
As for other events, here is a list of major happenings, all of which will be followed by one or more posts:
- I’m Now Car Free! - Turned in the car last week and have been happily taking the bus around Seattle
- Job Search Progressing Slowly
- AMEX Accounts Still Being Handled with the Lawyer
- 2005 Taxes were Audited - It looks like I will have some liability resulting from a 1099 that I never received and thus never factored into my taxes
- Going to combine PoundBuyPound with DollarBuyDollar
- Have gained about 10 pounds back due to medication issues and lack of regular exercise resulting from my illness
Again, I owe a HUGE thanks to all those readers who have remained loyal, even throughout my hiatus. I realize that many of you derive great pleasure and inspiration from the blog and in that respect I have absolutely let you folks down. My goal for 2008 is to do a MUCH better job at blogging. It has proven theraputic for me as well and I need to take advantage of that fact.
Jul
5
I know many of you look forward to the changes (hopefully lower) in the Debt-O-Meter. My payment dates with the 0% interest agreements with Citibank have changed a little bit so the Debt-O-Meter will be updated by the 15th of each month going forward. I had some unanticipated expenses this month related to my car being towed. I was careless and parked in a spot that only allowed you to park for an hour; I had parked there all afternoon. I didn’t realize this was the case as the sign was hidden but nevertheless, the two and tickets cost me almost $250 so the Debt-O-Meter won’t drop as much as I would like this month; I HAD to pay the towing company with a credit card as they wouldn’t take a check and I frankly didn’t have the cash that day. As I promised, I will always reveal the setbacks and this was one of them.
Jun
9
For all of you who have been anxiously awaiting a Debt-O-Meter, update, wait no longer. Unfortunately, I can’t quite get the graphical interface to look the way I want, so for now I will continue with the ‘analog’ version. I’ve also, at the advice of my attorney, removed the specific Credit Card balance page. In all likelihood, once the AMEX negotiations and DMP are in place, this page will be back up and running but for now I can only share the debt in aggregate. Suffice to say the interest rates on ALL the cards will drop substantially once the DMP is in place and that a much larger chunk of my monthly payments will go toward the principal rather that toward interest. For those folks who enjoy seeing ALL the details, I apologize. As soon as I get the word, I will put the uber details back up. In the meantime, I’ll keep chipping away at the Debt-O-Meter.
Jun
7
Look for an update to the Debt-O-Meter. I’m hoping to get a graphical display up there thanks to one of my readers. In addition, my balances haven’t all updated yet, so hopefully this weekend I will be able to post the latest numbers. Yes, the total is down but not as much as I would like. I’ll be working out my DMP next week and should have better news to report with a more detailed plan. Thanks everyone for all the kind words today and throughout the past two months. It DOES keep me motivated. I hope my blogging is helping at least ONE person out there from getting in the same situation.
May
30
Since I know I didn’t have a clue how much debt I had until very recently, I figured a good question for the poll this week would be “Do you know EXACTLY how much credit card debt you have”. My guess is that a fair amount of folks don’t really know how far in the hole they are; should be an interesting poll.
I’ve received a few emails and comments from folks asking when the credit card balances would be updated. I’m in the process of making my monthly payments so I should have the balances posted in a few days. Also, look for an IMPORTANT update regarding AMEX.
Also, as promised, I wanted to reveal the results of the prior two polls:
Poll # 1 — Do you feel guilty about the amount of money you charge to your credit
A total of 87 people voted in this poll and the results were not all that surprising:
- 23 (26%) people said they feel ‘Very Guilty’
- 31 (36%) people said they feel ‘Somewhat Guilty’
- 33 (38%) people said they feel ‘Not Guilty at All’
This poll indicates that among my readers, there is a tremendous amount of guilt about debt. I know this feeling and frankly the only way to get rid of it, in my opinion, is to ELIMINATE THE DEBT!
Poll # 2 — Are you currently hiding debt from your spouse or significant other?
A total of 86 people voted in this poll and the results, in my opinion were stunning:
- 23 (27%) people said ‘Yes, and the guilt is killing me’
- 63 (73%) people said ‘No, my spouse or significant other knows our financial picture’
To me, the fact that there are 27 people out there, a small microcosm of the population, that are hiding debt from their spouse indicates to me that this problem is HUGE. For those readers who find yourselves in this situation I urge you to come clean, even if that means involving a marriage counselor. I’m not a trained professional, but in my experience, hiding debt will eventually destroy your marriage, particularly if there are other stressors present.
May
3
Since I appear to get a decent number of new visitors to the site each day–decent from the perspective of how new my blog is–I’ve decided to get the credit card balances and Debt-O-Meter updated to reflect the changes that have posted so far. You can find my updated credit card balances here. As you can see, this month was a pretty good month. I’ve completely eliminated the balance on my AMEX SkyMiles as this was the card with the lowest balance. In total, I was able to payoff $1,424 this month. Am I strapped for cash as a result? You bet I am! That said, in the next few months I should start to realize some of the commissions from side job, all of which will go directly to debt. I’m eating very healthy these days and with processed foods completely out of the diet, my grocery bill is lower, although not as low as I had hoped.
For the month of May, I am going to focus on two things:
- Secure lower interest rates on the remaining AMEX cards (and others if possible) or get a personal loan through a credit union with a substantially lower rate in order to retire these debts
- Payoff the balance on the Bank of America Secured card and payoff 50-75% of the balance on the Citibank AAdvantage card
I still have a long way to go here but I’m happy with the progress this month and feel great about taking, tangible, ACTIVE steps to eliminate my debt. If I can reduce the balances by $1,500 per month, I can be debt free in 46 months. If I can manage to bump this up by another $750 per month–quite possible if I can generate a decent second income stream–I could knock that down to 31 months. Bottom line, THIS DEBT IS GOING AWAY!
May
1
I know everyone is tuning in with anxious anticipation of seeing my credit card balances and the Debt-O-Meter move. Given the due dates of my payments and the time it takes to have the balances update and payments clear, I expect to have things updated by the 5th business day each month. Just wanted to give all my voyeuristic readers a heads-up as to when they can expect to see some changes. To give you a preview, look for the Debt-O-Meter to dip below 70K. YEAH!
Apr
22
I’ve now posted what you all have been waiting for, MY CREDIT CARD BALANCES. You are probably thinking one of the following things (I’ve also thought most of these things as well):
- Holy *hit!
- That is a ton of debt, why don’t you just declare bankruptcy.
- How the heck are you going to pay that off?
- Are you a financial moron?
- How do you get so deep into the hole?
There are probably 100 other reactions that I will get when people see my numbers, and I understand the whole gamut of reactions. The amount of debt certainly is daunting, and will require both a tremendous amount of discipline and further negotiations in order to make significant progress. Amazingly, my credit is relatively intact from a late payment perspective. I had a string of late payments on two student loan accounts during the months of my divorce but those accounts will be “rehabilitated”, meaning if I make my next 12 payments on-time, the late payments will be removed from my credit. In terms of credit cards, I have one late payment in the past 3 years. That said, I’m just making the minimums (or slightly more) on these cards and getting nowhere.
You will see that I was able to successfully negotiate with Diners Club in order to get a rate of 0% and a fixed monthly payment. I was forced to close the account but from my perspective that was already a forgone conclusion.
My plan over the next month is to completely pay-off the cards with low balances, i.e. AMEX Skymiles, BofA Secured and Citibank AAdvantage. Although some of these cards aren’t the highest interest rate cards I have, I personally need the psychological benefit of retiring some specific cards.
This week, I will be sending out letters to American Express in an effort to get my interest rates down. If I am successful, I will post copies of the letters on the site. If I am not successful, I will be asking an attorney for help in negotiating. I am doing everything I can possibly do to avoid bankruptcy and feel that I can avoid it with some careful planning and negotiating.
For those of you who are wondering ‘How did I get myself in this hole?’, I plan on answering that question in a post this week. It is a somewhat complicated combination of factors that I am certain many people who find themselves in my situation have experienced at some point.
Finally, it is clear to me that I will need to do some moonlighting for a bit, in order to get this debt paid down. I am FULLY prepared to do so and I am completely committed to this journey. That is exactly why I have decided to chronicle my journey on this site. Quicken was having some issues today so next month’s update should be in Quicken format, rather than Excel.
I look forward to reading your comments!
