Almost like a burst of energy as we travel along this long road to financial freedom!
Good things have happened here at A Dime at a Time this week. No matter how big or small, I like to take a moment and be thankful for the financial wins that come our way.
- It seemed like it was never going to happen, but the first balance transfer finally went through! While it did cost us 3%, we now have 21 months of interest-free months to pay this bad boy off.
- We added another $50 in Lowes gift cards to our snow blower fund. We now have $225 saved towards this purchase. I feel this is also a good learning lesson as it is teaching us to save for a goal. In the past, we would have whipped out a credit card and paid for it for the next umpteen years.
- After fees and shipping, I made $27 on eBay. Not as much as I’d hoped for, but every bit helps. I relisted a few items, so hopefully, I’ll be able to add to those earnings.
- Paid another $500 towards the debt we are currently snowballing. I often tend to get overly ambitious and drain our account far lower than it probably should be. With two checks coming this week, I decided to go for it. With the way credit card interest is calculated, doing so will also save us some money. The money earns next to nothing in our checking account, so it may as well go towards paying off our debt.
This journey to get debt free sure feels like a long one. It is one with a lot of ups and downs and one that also, at times, can feel very monotonous. I guess it wouldn’t be much of a journey or learning lesson if it were all easy. Like with many things in life, I am sure there will come the point when I can look back and say that while it felt like it took forever, it wasn’t as bad as I made it out to be. Meanwhile, I’ll do my best to enjoy the journey, no matter what comes our way!
How is your week going so far?
I’ve started to pay my annual bills in full, thus avoiding any fees. Some companies charge upwards of $8 to $10 a month fee when I opted for the payment plan. That can be almost an additional $120 added to the bill! No More! I’ve been paying our bills in full now, thus saving us hundreds and hundreds of dollars (while draining my savings account LOL!)
In the end it should all balance out and I should see a better bottom line.
Fees, the nickel & dimeing is what can kill you.
UGH!
Initially paying so much up front hurts but in the end your savings account will thank you! I recently paid our internet bill that way. They give a month free for paying 11 months up front. Given how expensive our service is in our remote area, that is a nice chunk of change!
On other matters, where did you go? I miss your blog!
Cindi makes a great point. I’ve been paying our auto insurance monthly and hope to pay the whole 6 months this time. It’ll save about $30, which is another $6 a month. I think that is the only bill I have that adds a fee on for paying monthly.
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Paying our auto insurance in full every six months is one of the few smart things Hubby and I have done consistently. I’m finally getting better at creating sinking funds so it isn’t such a hardship to come up with the money all at once.
This was the first time in years I paid my ins premium in full, it felt great but not to see that sinking funds amount “sink” so low. Then I started saving for the next 6 months.
It took a while to set up, but at one time long ago, we were able to make the CC’s payments when the bill came in. Which like you said cut back on the interest amount charged, I even had a spreadsheet of how much interest we paid based upon what day I made the payment. It does make a difference to make that payment as close to the billing day as possible. (of course this was before online payments)
It’s also nice not to see that bill every month! Lol. I’m impressed by your spreadsheets!
Every little bit helps, I just seem to have crap happening all over. But I will keep smiling.
From reading your blog, you have had a rough go of it lately. Praying that things turn around for you quickly.