No new loans

It's been a few days, so I thought I'd first catch you up on things that have been going on.

The two patterns I sold on Etsy made me $6.09. Unfortunately, as you can see, my savings is currently at $.98. That's because I made a mistake on my bill spreadsheet. I forgot that Hulu and my life insurance payment will come out before my paycheck on the 10th. So, I had to take out $75.46 from my savings to cover those. Then I had to transfer out $21.74 from savings to groceries to cover this week's food bill. I did add $1.00 Stash your Cash from the grocery account - so that leaves me with $.98.

Unfortunately, I haven't paid down anything other than my mortgage, so we are stuck with the same amount on the loan paydown. I'm still waiting for my bill from my therapist's office, so I'm sure that amount will go up in the next few days.

Yeah - not feeling the greatest about my situation. I have $17.87 left in my grocery account. Really hoping nothing comes up and needs to be purchased from now until payday on Friday.

So - onto today's topic.


I’ve asked myself why not get a debt consolidation loan or refinance the house and bundle everything in a new house loan? 1st – that’s the easy way out. I made the mess, I need to find a way out of it. Plain and simple.

2nd – I would just be juggling payments without really paying anything off. And, I have refinanced my house a couple times with cash out offers and I just end up where I was. Maxed out on credit cards, but with a higher mortgage payment.

3rd – My debt to credit ratio is too high and my credit score is too low. No one is going to approve me for a new loan with decent rates. Believe me, I tried.

I want to see progress on my debt – not just sweep it under the rug. I don’t learn that way. I have to learn the consequences of buying everything I want and putting it on a credit card. Yes, it is hard. But I’m an adult and I should do the hard things. Pay off the debt and not create new debt.

These credit card companies and banks think they have us. Run up the credit cards, then get a consolidation loan at a lower rate. A smart person would then learn and not put so much on the credit card. A person might even cut up the cards, but then they always go to the credit card company and ask for a new card and start running up the debt again. It is a vicious cycle. One we have to break on our own. So suck it up, Buttercup, and put the cards away. Use them only for emergencies -  like keeping the lights on or buying food at the grocery store (not a restaurant) when you have 5 days left to payday and only a stick of butter in the house or buying gas when your tank is on empty. Try not to get into debt in the first place.

I can only hope that my son learns from my mistakes and doesn't get a credit card. Wishful thinking, but as parents we always wish our kids do better than us financially. That's all for today - I need to make money.

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