I am having a sad money day.i am in the process of paying off debt-loans and credit cards. I have the highest interest down to 9 months or less(payoff) i am so tempted to go charge. I should be motivated right? I’m not!!i am concerned about upcoming car taxes that i have no extra money to pay.i feel like every time i get to the homeplate(and 9 months is homeplate compared to where i’ve come from)something comes along and pushes me back.i’ve been closer and had to have major car repairs \on a car i get regular scheduled manitenances.just frustrating for me right now because i’m barely making ends meet. I realize i have a big mess but boy am i a better person because of this experience.
Congratulations on making progress!!
On the car taxes… after you make it through this one, note down how much it costs. Divide that by 12 and then each month, take that small amount out of your paycheck and put it away someplace secret. Year before last, I was in a panic over car tabs – high blood pressure – felt BAD!!! This year, I put away $12 every paycheck. $12 doesn’t seem so bad. It came time for car tabs again, and I simply clicked a few times on the web site and had my tabs – no stress, no worry.
You can do this and once you have debt paid off you will be doing more than making ends meet – it will feel soooo good. Another thing that always cheers me up. Calculate the percentage you’ve already paid off. I’m only at 15% paid off and I’ve been at this for nearly a year… but 15% seems like real progress to me!
You only have 9 months to go. You’re running the last mile of a marathon… it’s the hardest, but the most rewarding to finish. Just think how proud of yourself you’re going to be. And think of a small treat you can afford yourself to stay motivated (like a scoop of ice cream at Rite Aid or renting your favorite movie or buying new nail polish to give yourself a pedicure) — and maybe even something fun but free like a concert in the park!
We’ve all been there. I’m still struggling to refund my baby emergency fund from July. Turns out with some other unexpecteds, I won’t be able to finish refunding it til January. But that’s okay. Because now I know when it will be and I have a plan all sketched out in Excel. All I have to do is keep to my guns.
Find your motivator — if you’ve gotten this far, you must have something that keeps you going. Just keep up the good work, don’t fall back into the routine of charging and just keep focused on the goal. You can do this….! And regarding the car taxes -I don’t know what to tell you – if you don’t have the money at all – what else can you do ya know? that isn’t something that is being charged that you can do with out – so if it comes down to having no other options….you have to do what you have to do, but just keep on track otherwise and get that stuff paid off and don’t charge anything else?