16 years later....

      I can finally say I am credit card balance free!!!!  Not debt-free, but we are making some progress! At about the age of 20 I realized how EASY it was to get a credit card, and how FUN it was to use it. Even though I was a single mom in college working as a waitress, I had my hair done regularly, brand name clothes, and dined at fabulous restaurants.  HOW could I afford that? V-I-S-A and her sly cousins; namely Victoria's Secret, Express, NY and Company, you name the store, I had the card. And if I had the card I used it.  And if the money was there, I paid the bill. If it wasn't, I played it like Vegas and let it ride.  This has been a well-taught lesson I will NEVER forget. I am still dealing with consequences of actions sixteen years later.
      However, today I have HOPE.  Meeting number two with our money coach will have enough for me to work on and blog about for weeks and it is a beautiful day here in Florida.  We have a reserved deck with food and drinks at the minor league baseball fields tonight courtesy or my teacher's union, and so I have to keep this short and sweet.
      Today, we were able to pay our large Visa balance in full, as well as a consolidation of a few medical bills by taking out a personal loan.  The terms are five years, at 9.24%, but we are budgeting to pay double the payments and finish in 2.5 years.  That will be an interest savings of about $550 per year (an extra half of a paycheck!) and $1500 saved for the remainder of the loan if I maintain the paid off in 2.5 years plan. Can you say "ecstatic"??? I can and I am. If you can resonate with the monkey-on-your-back Visa like I have loathed for years, you should give this option a try.
    Some other juicy tidbits from our meeting I will be posting when it is not 90 degrees and sunny on a long weekend....

• Check out creditkarma.com---It gives you a free credit score, and my favorite part was the report card feature detailing where your credit is suffering and excelling. Bonus? My score was 40 points higher than the bank said it was two weeks ago.  I am wondering if adding my name to my husband's cards is already paying off? Or if old marks just happened to drop off? Or, if it is an accuracy issue. I will be checking again and checking often.
• Open another savings account that you do not touch, and keep as true savings.  I opened mine today with $5 and am going to add money I save via coupons/sales/ect. to set aside as evidence my frugal ways are benefiting our family. I will be posting more on this soon.
• BUMP UP the amount you put in your retirement account.  I talked to an old co-worker who retired a year ago today, and she has me MOTIVATED to retire in my 50's like her. You will not regret saving for retirement.
• Look closely at your paystubs for any other "fat" you can trim.  I want my $25/paycheck I have been paying to the teacher's union and will be leaving the union soon.