Day 71- On not following my own advice

Day 71- On Not Following My Own Advice

Earlier, I had recommended that you get your credit report. It has all sorts of handy dandy information you can use. For instance, if you have any outstanding loans, or if your loan company has your correct address, phone number, and email.

I did get my credit report. And sure enough, I had outstanding loans--more than I had expected in fact. And they did not have my correct address, or phone number or email. They had two previous addresses that I had not lived in for over two years. For all they knew, I was just ignoring all the letters and phone calls they had sent my way.

But, naively, I expected that the magical bill fairy would swoop in on time and switch my address. It always seems that the magical bill fairy swoops in and delivers right on time.

Well maybe the magical bill fairy has been on sabbatical for the last three months. Because I started thinking that those bills that should be coming are not coming at all.

I went to the loan's website and did some research. It seems that I have been neglecting my bills for over three months. And there it was, just racking up interest and late fees. Also, running the risk of defaulting on my loan with possible legal actions taken against me. So, in 15 minutes time, I got that all fixed.

Sure, it was a pain in the butt. And I had to prematurely raid my loan payment. But that can all be paid for with my tax rebate that is on its way.

Competency Moment of the Day: I threw an extra $158 at my debt from snowflakes!

Day 69- Back on the Bandwagon

Day 69- Back on the Bandwagon

Last week was crazy! Friday was the Interfaith Peace Witness and because I was working on the planning committee, my whole world was upside down and inside out.

And because my world was a big ball of crazed stress, my finances went super crazy. Instead of packing healthy and delicious lunches, I would eat a burrito the size of my head from Chipotle or something cheap and easy from the deli. Or, just not anything at all.

I have dropped keeping track of what I ate, especially at The Daily Plate. And while it felt good, it also means I don't really remember what I ate or how much I spent on it.

So, the first thing I did this weekend when I was done with the Peace witness was to balance my checkbook from the past week. It was pretty shocking how much I spent on stress food.

But, I am right back on the bandwagon again. And instead of eating out, I have been making all my food again. And with the March Bulk order coming in tonight, I am excited to have food in the house again. And a new batch of farm fresh CSA veggies are on their way in just a few weeks.

So my expenses are in order and food is healthy and fresh.

Competence Moments of the Week: Getting all my finances back into order by balancing my checkbook, updating my automatic debt reduction, and filing my taxes. It looks like I am getting $1,000 back from my Fed alone! (That dosn't even include Indiana, DC taxes or my Stimulus package). And pulling off a bad-ass MoFo of a peace march.

Day 63- The Snowflake Revolution has Begun

Day 63- The Snowflake Revolution Has Begun

The Good folks at I've Paid For This Twice have started a sibling site called The Snowflake Revolution. It is a blog roll of websites that focus on the practice of snowflaking.

You may remember from earlier, snowflaking is the process of putting little bits of spare money toward your debts in order to build up your payment snowballs.

At TSR, you can read all sorts of blogs that will help you work through your debt, build up an emergency savings, or work toward a big purchase like a car or a house or grad school.

Plus, yours truly signed up and is now an official member of the Snowflake Revolution. I am really excited to see what comes of this.

Competency moment of the day: After signing up to be a secret shopper, Christine and I get a hot date on the town with a fancy meal on the house.