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Home > I'm NOT a patient person...

I'm NOT a patient person...

June 6th, 2014 at 01:43 pm

So every month I look up all of the balances on my credit cards and enter them in my spreadsheet and calculate how much I have paid off since January. It's a huge motivator for me. My issue is fighting the desire to check them every 3 days, even when I know the balances haven't changed Smile

My 2nd job pays opposite weeks as my full time job, so I have a paycheck every week, and I spend the 6 days in between paydays pretty much obsessing over how much debt I will pay down with the next check. While some may say it is good that I am so motivated, it gets a little overwhelming.

Plus this month I had to pay $1100 in personal property tax that I had not budgeted for, so that money went there instead of too my credit card. I know June won't show much improvement, yet I still can't wait to add up my balances!

Anyone else like this and how do you cope?

Posted in Debt | 9 Comments »

9 Responses to “I'm NOT a patient person...”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    June 6th, 2014 at 02:00 pm 1402063215
    1402063215

    Oh, yes, I was exactly like that when we were paying down debt. It does become a bit of an obsession. I would spend time looking for ways to find more money other than your paycheck, to put towards debt. Sell something, earn online with Swagbucks, save your change...and numerous other ways to find small amounts of money that you can throw towards debt.

  2. twest Says:
    June 6th, 2014 at 02:02 pm 1402063331
    1402063331

    You sound exactly like me. Every day I am looking to see if I can pay 1 extra dollar toward some bill. I even put too much sometimes toward getting something paid off and forget about that car tag that is due in a couple weeks. Then I am trying to make sure I can still cover the car tags later. LOL I want my mortgage paid off today (yeah right!) so I am also constantly trying to find extra money for that.

    The good thing is that at least we pay attention to our money. I think so many don't know their expenses or income and are just taking everything day to day which is not a good approach either.

    I think for me I just love crunching numbers so I probably will always be this way. I noticed you have paid off $5000+ since January so you deserve a pat on the back for that. Keep up the good work!

  3. frugalredhead Says:
    June 6th, 2014 at 02:12 pm 1402063936
    1402063936

    Thanks! I have sold MANY things and I'm not sure how much I have left in the house I can sell Smile I think my kids are getting worried that I'll sell their beds with them still in them, LOL. (Why we ever had 4 strollers is beyond me though!)

    I'll have to check out Swagbucks - I have signed up with them with haven't really done anything. I'm already working 2 jobs, so anything else I do needs to be money I can earn sitting on my butt spending what little time I have with DH.

    My raise will come in July (I hope, it's only been a measly 1.5% for the last few years) so that will be another $50 a month to add to my debt snowball. I think once I get the first card paid off I'll feel like I'm making a lot more progress.

    Also, my snowball only includes my weekend hours at job #2 and any evenings I've already been been scheduled for. (I calculated a monthly average since the amount is going to fluctuate.) Any evenings I get between September and the beginning of February (as far as I've calculated so far) will add to my snowball amount.

    I've even gone into my spreadsheet and marked when DS#2 starts kindergarten (September 2016) because then my daycare costs will drop by about $500 and then the debt will be gone in no time!!

  4. Bob B. Says:
    June 6th, 2014 at 03:32 pm 1402068752
    1402068752

    Me, too.

  5. Permanent Temp Says:
    June 6th, 2014 at 05:33 pm 1402076030
    1402076030

    I started doing this more and more lately too. I have just tried to focus on other goals as well such as health and fitness. I'm also looking into mystery shopping. It's bringing in a few extra bucks that I've been putting toward my student loans. It's small amounts of money but just knowing the money is coming in and helping to erase that debt is a relief.

  6. Rachael777 Says:
    June 6th, 2014 at 06:20 pm 1402078824
    1402078824

    I do this SAME thing. I wish I had a paycheck every 2 weeks. (gets tiring waiting. ) I am paid 2x a month.. waiting for paint try to see progress is what Another Reader said.I LOVE the motivation that comes from little dripds and draps every day or every few times. Obsessing can be good. Smile

  7. snafu Says:
    June 6th, 2014 at 09:19 pm 1402089578
    1402089578

    Good on you for sticking to your plan! Watching your spread sheet tally balance reductions is so satisfying. It also means the amount of interest being charged is decreasing. I wonder if you've looked at being a 'frugalista' for a short time to speed up the payout by reducing those monthly expense categories. There are terrific ideas on the Q & A thread for tiny reductions which add up significantly. When I learned the dryer was the most expensive appliance to operate, I experimented reducing time, pulling out clothes after 15 minutes and slipping on hangers to air dry. Installing an inexpensive pull out from the wall clothes line allows me to hang towels and undies which adds to the life service of those items. One small change led to others to reduce work and cost of 'doing the laundry.'

    Inventorying under the sinks revealed too many containers of cleaners with tiny amounts remaining, not even practical to decant. It was easy to group products into a cardboard 6 pack holder and set one under each of the sinks to use up. In most instances adding hot water stretched use without impacting effectiveness.

  8. crazyliblady Says:
    June 6th, 2014 at 09:26 pm 1402089978
    1402089978

    I applaud you for doing so well on paying off your debts and being motivated to do so. One trick I have for dealing with those once a year larger bills is to deliberately save money in a separate savings account. For example, with my AAA membership and property taxes/registration on my car, I figure up what I think the total of those might be and divide it out over 26 paychecks. I don't always get enough saved up to pay for both of those, but what I do save certainly helps to make sure I don't put such a big hole in the rest of my budget.

  9. creditcardfree Says:
    June 6th, 2014 at 09:39 pm 1402090794
    1402090794

    I have found it helps to look for milestones too. Look for $X paid off, or debt under $X, and even X debts paid off. Celebrate getting a little farther along the time line of your goals. We love to cheer you on when you meet goals and milestones!

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