Facing Debt Head-On-Check!

Today I did something I haven't done in years.

I looked at my debt.

The numbers/statistics/analyzers/percentages. All of it.

And the surprising thing-it wasn't as scary as I thought it was. Somehow when all the numbers are just swirling in my head, it seems more overwhelming. But once I wrote everything out on paper, it seemed manageable.

I can do this.
I can conquer my debt.
And I don't have to be scared of it anymore.

Scream 4: It WAS a scream.

Source: pretty-photography.tumblr.com

In regards to my latest financial upheaval, there have been some tough realities to swallow. I'll share the most painful one.

For Halloween, I wanted nothing more than to watch a scary movie with my friends. It's one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season. I'm a pansy and can't handle those really gory, supernatural thrillers that Hollywood seems to be shoveling out at a non-stop speed, but I can handle the Scream series, for it's the perfect combination of cheesy and suspense. But I digress...

So unaware of what financial upset was soon to happen with my bank account that week, I logged on to the RedBox site and decided to reserve a copy of Scream 4 at my local kiosk. I didn't read the fine detail, but I had to enter my credit card information to make the reservation. Nothing abnormal about that, so I did. When I went to Machine A to pick it up, swiped my card and waited, the machine told me no such reservation existed. It was then I realized I had my ditz moment for the day and went to the wrong Walgreen's. No big deal, I'll go ahead and get it and it won't cause a fuss. Movie rented and I had a blast with my friends watching it later that evening.

Here's where it gets really scary.

In all of my awesomeness, I forgot to return the movie for two extra nights, which at the time I didn't think was a big deal at all.

Wrong.

When I went to the bank last Friday and realized I was overdrawn, it occurred to me all of the charges that I'd been spending that week. $1 charges, $2 charges, $3 charges.My breathing got short and I realized what was about to happen. I would be charged a $35 fee for each charge that went through after I was in the negative, meaning all these small charges were going to cost me a ton of money.

There on my bank account online I watched as Scream 4 became the bane of my existence.

Reservation fee: $1.20...that I ended up not using=$35
Initial fee of one night charged when you first rent the movie: $1.20=$35
Separate fee charged when I didn't return it: $2.40=$35

Are you following along with me? I'm not great at Math either, but the numbers show that I just paid $105 in FEES alone for that one rental of Scream 4. Irony? Right after I rented it my friend texted me and told me that she had rented it too. So in theory, I never needed to rent it, and now I've paid almost $110 for that rental of a cheesy, horrible, scary movie.

That fact alone makes me want to SCREAM!

Have a great Friday and stay tuned for more horrific tales in financial worries to come!

Spend wisely, my friends.

Lesson learned: Don't put minimal charges on my Debit card, even when I think I have the money to cover it. Use CASH!

Monday musings

Source: thisisnthappiness.com

'But you're so thrifty.'

'It's not like you go on shopping sprees and blow your money all the time. It happens.'

These are a couple of the reactions I got from some of my sweet friends this past weekend when I was telling them of my yet-latest financial turmoil and woe. Old me would have clung to these words, looked to them to provide an excuse, a condolescence to make me feel better in this time of crisis. This new me does not want to linger on those words, nor give them any power to allow myself to believe that I really don't have a spending problem. This time I cannot commend myself for being 'thrifty' or sparse with my shopping sprees at Target. Those things don't matter. The things that matter is that regardless of saving money while I do it, I still tend to blow extremely too much money and make extremely too many bad choices in regards to my finances.

I appreciate the sweetness of my friends, I really do, but I cannot be babied. The fact that so many other Americans are in financial crisis should not bring me comfort, nor allow me to look like part of the crowd. I need to be different, I need to be set apart. I cannot allow myself to feel okay about this latest blunder simply because America is broke and debt is common.

Commonality does not make it okay and it doesn't make it fun. 
If 'Broke is the New Black' than I'd rather wear pink.

So thank you to my dear friends for your support, and I appreciate your willingness to love me nonetheless, but let me kick my butt a little. Let me face the cold hard facts of being financially unstable and dig my way up from the depths of debt. I just need you to support that.

It's Monday. I told myself I would go to the bank today, but I haven't. I don't know exactly what I would tell them and I don't know exactly how it would help. I think Wednesday will fair better for me, I'm most productive in the middle of the week surprisingly. Plus I am still working on a gameplan.

For now I remain broke.

And positive.

Positive that I am going to rebound and learn from this, and let those lessons stick with me for the rest of my life.

Hello Old Friend (I Should Have Never Left)

I started this blog almost a year and a half ago, hoping that it would keep me in check with my finances and bank account. Somehow that hasn't happened the way I intended it to (I have a sneaking suspicion it was entirely my fault due to the lack of blogging and self-awareness--okay, I admit it was COMPLETELY my fault).

I find myself with the same (bad) spending habits and the same pitiful looking bank account.

After a trip to Target today where I came away $40 poorer and 3-items richer, I felt half-successful with my recent shopping trip. A few more stops and some slightly frugal spending later, I went to my bank to deposit some monies and checks. This is when the wake-up call happened. I won't tell you the numbers that followed the minus sign on the receipt, but it was enough to realize something, SOMETHING, has got to give.

Aside from my adventures at Target, there's really only one other way I tend to blow my money.

I'm almost embarrassed to share with you what I spend it on.

Clothes?
Shoes?
Broadway shows?
Devine decor?

I wish.

I blow my money on food.

Food, I say!!!

Food, and sometimes coffee, but mainly food.

'Fine Dining?' you wonder.

More like Chick-Fil-A and terrible take-out.

Oh, the horrors!!

So basically I'm telling you I'm broke due to a love of chicken sandwiches and the familiar feel of a styrofoam container with chinese noodles oozing out, sitting in my lap. I'm sure your next thought runs along the lines of 'What a loser!' I'm there with you. I AM a loser, I completely admit it. I'm losing my future (and present) financial security due to an unhealthy obsession with drive-thru lines. It's a painful truth I'm coming to terms with.

Would now be a good time to throw in that I happen to be single? Now I should really hang my head in disgust. Don't worry...I am. I don't think it could go much lower.

So here I am. In all my financial turmoil and despair, with the smell of Chick-Fil-A Polynesian sauce wafting through the air. I'm ready to lay it all out there. I only thought I was ready before, but a new low has proven that I NEED this. I need reform. I've been bailed out too many times and this time I have to bail myself out. It's going to be sticky and messy and horrific before it gets better. And I can't do it alone. So I need you, and all of your non-judgmental capabilities, to virtually hold my hand, help me dust the dirt off my shoulder, and lift me back up to a life that embraces financial peace and discipline. A life I can be proud to blog about.

Are you willing to help me? Can you do that for little old me? I know somewhere deep inside you probably have your own form of a target addict. We all do. Target may not be your kryptonite, but there's bound to be something that is, and if it's half as powerful as mine is you might learn something from this blog as well.

Here we go!

One small step for my wallet...

<--What I look like on a routine trip to Target.

What my Target trip resembled this week --> (minus the tan coat and bad dye job)

Sometimes I think I'm just helping the economy. We have to put money back into the system in order for things to turn around...which in turn will give us more money.

Right?

Well I like to think of my single-handed investment in saving the economy is shopping at Target.

Well, shopping period, but for the sake of this blog, I'd say Target.

I went to Target this week.

Goal in mind? Nope.
Reason? None.

I went just because I hadn't made a trip in a couple of weeks. Besides, there's always something for everyone at Target.

Most anybody I talk to has agreed: it's so easy to spend $100 at Target.

Past examples:

1. I go in for sunglasses. I leave with sunglasses ($17) plus some...end total--> $99.
2. I go in to accompany a friend. A good trip around the dollar aisle and a checkout later, $98 spent.
3. Tampons are a girl's best friend...and a quick trip in the door leads to a $102 shopping spree.

These are just a few of the many times my VISA has more than willingly spent close to $100 in the red aisles.

Therefore, let's count it a small step for me and one giant one for mankind, when I say that an impromptu trip to my favorite store resulted in the spending of a mere $21.

'It's still $21' you say. 'That's a minimum payment on one of your credit cards,' you continue.

Well, yes...I agree.

I also could contest that it could be $121, so I'll settle for the double digits spent.

I'm slowly, but surely, winning this battle.

TARGET...consider yourself 'warned.'

Spending Habits: Revealed

Project #1

I'm going to tackle the unthinkable...at least for me, anyways.

Today starts my first step towards being debt-free.

I'm printing off my past bank statements...of at least the past 3 years, and I'm going to stare my spending habits in the face.

Highlighting my Starbucks trips, Target adventures, and Restaurant expenditures.

Yikes! Yikes! Yikes!

The truth shall be revealed and I am going to realize how much money I throw away on a daily basis.

It is definitely a daunting task, but one that I know will make the difference in wanting to change my spending ways.

Here's to saving money in the future...by uncovering how much I've blown in the past.

Sigh.

Confessions of a Spendaholic

It started when I was younger.

A trip to Target on Sunday afternoons after church.
A look at the daily ad.
A leisurely stroll around the main aisle.

And I was hooked.

Target was my new fascination. I loved everything they made. I wanted to buy everything they distributed. I felt at home with the quiet and chic atmosphere.

I can truly say that I'm a bonafied Target addict.

As much joy as this obsession has brought, it has also caused financial woes.

Debt.

Alot of it.

No, not all of my debt can be blamed by Target's flawless shopping experiences. But it has definitely contributed to what now stands as a substantial amount of money owed.

This blog is about learning to balance my love of all things Target and ever growing contribution to my credit card bills.

As of today, I'm going to make a change. I'm going to confront my shopaholic ways instead of avoiding them.

I'm going to look my debt right in the eye...and then probably cry. But I'm going to tackle it, head-on. I want to be debt-free. I want to be a recovered shopaholic. I want to go to Target and not spend $100.

Bring it on, debt...cuz you're gonna lose.