<$Wednesday, August 22, 2007$>
Stupid debt. Smart (er) me.
| *Sponsored Post* Things aren't really quite as bad as I indicated in yesterday's payday report. While it's true (and sucky) that our savings has been cut in half, it's also true that the remainder of Husband's student loans for this semester should be enough (even after we purchase a computer) to replenish our savings and even bump it up to the goal I was aiming for before we had to start dipping into it. What's really frustrating me is the fact that I took our focus off of our debt and have only been making the minimum payments on our credit cards for the last couple of months so that we could beef up our savings, and now it feels like that was all for naught. The good news is, with Husband's SL funds filling in the emergency fund gap, I can get re-focused on debt management and come at my credit cards with renewed vigor. Vigor, I say! *shakes tiny angry fist at creditors* So I'll be going over my options, and reading up on the topic in hopes of lighting an inspirational fire under myself. I've previously considered debt consolidation--either by taking out a loan (I even tried to, through Prosper) or doing a balance transfer--but now that we're down to the two credit cards, with one having 0 interest and a low minimum payment, that seems pretty pointless. Once we get this big one paid off, the other will be a cinch to knock out by comparison. It's hard when things get tight, though, and the bugger about the big card is its huge minimum payment, which makes adding enough to it to make a difference in the balance a challenge. It makes me wish that the US had an equivalent to the UK's IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement), that provided an option for repaying your debts on your own terms that could make life enjoyable while you still meet your obligations. That would probably keep a lot more people from declaring bankruptcy to get out of having to repay their debts at all. So anyway, that's where I stand: getting re-inspired to tackle my debts and re-educated on ways to go about doing so. I'll keep you posted on my progress and any good info I come across. Labels: credit cards, debt consolidation, disclosure, goals, money management, PPP |
