No Pain | No Gain

Man, look @ my sidebar go... I have knocked out a BUNCH of medical collection accounts. All the ones remaining are with one company... I am trying to decide how best to attack those. I am starting by having the Credit Reporting agencies validating them... and will go from there.

I've been playing with our Credit Reports for the last 3-4 days. For one, we are trying to remove that house/mortgage in WI that I mentioned in an earlier post, from my DH's file.

They removed the loan.
They then added the guys name to my DH's file.
They then removed the address, but put it back on.

I have faxed them at least 4 times...all the info they requested... today I finally sent paper copies and sent them via Certified Mail. Hopefully that will work.

I wonder how his score will change once the mortgage no longer reports...

I've also done clean-up on the reports, such as removing variations of our names and SSNs that are not ours... My goal is to get our score up by June so MAYBE we can start looking at new home builders...

keeping my fingers crossed...

I swear - it's so difficult to pay collection accounts. Having to track down some of these older companies is killer. It's like a game of Hide and Seek.

I managed to get two more accounts paid this week (updated sidebar). I have a good sized snowball at the end of the month that will help to eliminate a few more!

Yeah!

Added another $100 to my Emergency Fund... Added another $150 to our Short Term account, and also moved some money to my oldest son's ING Savings account - he added 10% of his birthday money!

We have my niece's birthday tomorrow - I have $50 set aside for that... and finally, to bring us to a zero-based-budget, I have $110 for groceries for the week.

I do have about $200 extra in my checking account - no idea where that came from. I will wait a few more days, maybe on Tuesday, and check to see if I forgot to send something out, or if we just did real good at not spending so much this past week!

Oh... I also started a new stash cash fund... It's in a Christmas Tin... and it started with a few $1's before Halloween... but every time I got to the grocery store, I get $5 cash back - and now there is a little over $100 in there!! Its purpose is not yet defined, but I am hoping I can keep adding to it so that when we buy our house next November, we will have some extra cash for stuff if we need it. I like it because I feel as if I cannot take money from it... just like my ING accounts...

The plan is working... I am saving!

So... I paid a medical collection bill that's been around for a while, but has NEVER been on my credit report. I paid the sucker... and now it was added to my report with a Zero Balance. WHAT?!?!

Is that right?


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Edited to add:

Pulled out the collection letter, and it was a newer letter, one I got in October that said Pay Not and we won't Report. So I paid... I called the Credit Bureau and they said that if the account is in collections, they can report at any time, even after it's paid.

So I called the collection agency and he said "weird. we will get that taken of." I got his name and date & time of the call... I will check back later!

Hopefully it's gonna be taken off in no time!

November 7th came and went, anyone looking at a calendar could tell you that.

It's been a year since I restarted this blog... Since we decided to get serious AGAIN!

This time, it has worked. We are so close to our finish line, I think we need to get a little hardcore for the next few months. We will start stockpiling our monthly snowball into our House Down Payment savings account in April (about $1500 a month)... but before then, we have to make sure everything has been paid, that there are no unpaid collection accounts, and that we are on track for a very serious mission.

It's getting to seem almost real...

Well, a new-to-us truck! It's a 2003 Ford Ranger...5 speed. Only one owner, CarFax was clean and guarenteed...My husband spied on it for days before we decided to test drive it.

Let me tell you, paying for a decent used vechicle in CASH is fantastic!! $3900. And I no longer have to take my husband to and from work! Huge stress relief.

Our ins. only went up $21 a month - not bad.

I am looking forward to the next 12 months of SAVING for our house!! It's gonna be here before we know it.

Mouth Closed Shut (from now on, anyways)...

Look, we make good money... We paid our credit cards off... We are paying our collections off... We have money left over @ the end of the money.... We don't spend all crazy like... Except for when it comes to eating out.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Seriously.

I know better. I do. I know what needs to be done... (meal planning, shopping, stop being lazy & make lunches for the kids and hubby)...

I knew it was getting a little out of hand; we've been eating Subway at least once a week...usually when it's a school night for me.

I can't sleep... so I decided to pull the info from our joint bank account.

This does not include meals/eating out paid for by DH's debit card or cash.

Just our joint.
And just since August 1.

Not even three full months.



Here goes:

Applebees -21.74
Baskin Robbins -10.75
Baskin Robbins -9.56
Baskin Robbins -11.86
Carl's Jr -15
Carl's Jr -12.88
Chipotle -35.46
Chipotle -18.43
Chipotle -33.46
Chipotle -19.08
Cinnabon -6.98
Coldstone -11.39
Cracker Barrel -53.32
Dairy Queen -1.83
Dairy Queen -15.33
Einstein -23.51
Einstein -7.74
Einstein -16.26
Einstein -11.94
Einstein -4.84
Einstein -4.84
Einstein -2.15
Einstein -4.84
Eurest Dining -4.04
Fuddruckers -27.79
Jack in the Box -11.82
Joe's BBQ -43.56
Joe's Crab -84.06
KFC -31.89
Las Taquitos -34.48
Las Taquitos -10.94
Las Taquitos -19.36
Little Caesars -15.02
Lucilles -55
Marie Callenders-15.45
McDonalds -15.89
McDonalds -3.35
McDonalds -2.84
McDonalds -6.5
McDonalds -3.56
McDonalds -7.11
Native NewYorker-34.05
Native NewYorker-50.46
Panda Express -6.86
Panda Express -8.16
Peter Piper -25.61
Peter Piper -17.84
Peter Piper -55.12
Red Devil -50.48
Red Devil -17.66
Sbarros -31.8
Scholars Café -6.34
Scholars Café -3.73
Scholars Café -2
Someburros -32.75
Sonic -7.78
Subway -17.94
Subway -20.11
Subway -4.84
Subway -3.02
Subway -20.38
Subway -31.78
Subway -21.4
Subway -24.1
Subway -20.96
TacoBell -4.72
TacoBell -12.58
Wendy's -14.65
Wendy's -25.07
Wendy's -19.06

TOTAL???
One Thousand
Three Hundred
Thirty Seven
Dollars
and
10 cents.

I suck.

=(

Well, I finally had a chance to update our scores... There has been some improvement... not a whole lot. But, our paid and closed cards are not all reflected yet - I guess it might take some time yet. No worries, we have about 11 months before we will try to get pre-approved for a home loan. Plus, I finally printed and mailed off the credit agency dispute letters (remember that house in Wisconsin?)... So, in 90 days when we re-run them again - we should see some more improvement!!

Yay!

P.S. The scores have been updated on my sidebar.

So, I was checking the house phone's messaging system and there was a call for the hubby from a collection company.

I called them back... You know, with us trying to buy a house in 2010, we cannot ignore any calls or letters requesting money. To be on the safe side.

So, she explained that it was for an old cell phone bill, when she said the name... the first thing out of my mouth was "There is a statue of limitations." She said, "Yes there is - but only for suing. We don't want to sue you, we just want the money."

It's from 2000. It was $250. It is now $825.36. I've never seen it on my credit report, they can't sue... Not sure how to handle this one. I think first send back a letter requesting proof I owe it and proof that they own the debt. We've paid a lot of collection accounts over the past 9 years, this one could have been paid. I was shocked to even hear them say the name.

Your thoughts?!

TIA!

We've been saving, plus we will have a snowball come this month to purchase DH a new to him car. We've been without a second car for a year now, and it's been tough on all of us. I am so ready to not have to drop everything and run when he's ready to be picked up (he doesn't work regular hours). I will have less stress, more time with the kids, more time for myself... and less stress (oops, already said that).

So the tough part! What to get? Our max is $4500. I am sure we can get something - but I also don't want to spend an arm & a leg over the next year fixing things.

Also, anyone have any tips for buying used cars? We refuse to go with a dealer - don't want to pay docking fees and such. We've always bought new... Not sure what to do!

TIA!
JJ

Paid the remainder of the cards today... Dell is all we have left, and that will be paid in full, dead - next month.

Of course, there are school loans and my van... but I am not in a rush to pay those off. Our debt to income ratio and money to savings now is looking mighty fine.

We renewed our lease for 13 months, so by next Sept... we will be house shopping!!

Last year... I decided I needed to finally finish my degree. What was stopping me? $1015 I owed to the University. In the 3 years since I stopped going to school, I could not manage to pay that amount. When I realized I needed to get back in school quickly (to avoid credits expiring), I decided to take the money from my 401K as a loan.

I just checked my balance... I owe $27.66 which will be taken care of on my next paycheck! How exciting is that?

Since then I did graduate with my Bachelors... and I am now in my 3rd class of my MBA. Life is lookin' fine.

3 visits each, $500 dollars later, and we are done!

My daughter had to have 2 baby teeth pulled and a spacer put in. She also had one filling and several teeth sealed.

My son had 3 fillings and 3 teeth sealed.

Next... braces for him. That will cost us a pretty penny, but our ortho will take $100 a month until paid in full (no finance charges!).

I guess now it's MY turn (gulp - pain & money).

So...as we are paying down the last of debt, I really would like to start focusing on savings. My goal is to save $700 a month in various accounts (for various reasons, i.e. short, mid, and long term). I have updated my side bar to reflect this goal.

I would REALLY like to start adding a little bit at a time to our IRAs... Do you automate your deposits? Or do you just transfer the funds when you have them available?

I am only allowed so many direct deposits from my paycheck (and my husband even less)... with all of accounts and subaccounts... I have been making one transfer to the main account, and then transferring funds within. For example, I have 7 ING accounts, all for different goals. I usually put the money in the HOUSE (down payment for) account, and then disburse accordingly. Seems like a lot of work.

Is your savings on auto pilot? Any tips?

"No, honey... I love that you work for a satellite company and we get free television entertainment. That is great, but..."

I took the kids (and myself) to the dentist last week. Not good. Those kids need to get better at flossing!! My daughter had to have two baby teeth pulled and 3 adult teeth sealed (to prevent future cavities). My son needs a filling, some sealing done, and (dun-dun-dun-duhhnnnn!!) BRACES! I knew it was just about time, he is 13 after all.

We won't even talk about the fact that I need all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled (yeoh!).

Being the kind and considerate mom I am, I allowed the kids to get their dental work done first (while we have the money). See, selfless.

I had such a difficult time... we spent a lot of money! We didn't OVER spend, it was just expensive stuff. It cost us $220 for Sea World; but the kids LOVED it! We hadn't been since my middle child was 1... We probably won't be going again - so we considered it our last chance.

We visited the USS Midway, and did a tour.
We visited a old haunted house (The Whaley House).
We went to Coronado Island & spent a day at the beach.
We ate good (tried to be frugal).

I am just not used to spending money - we've been on a strict budget since November! It was weird.

It was all in cash, and we were about $200 under budget - not bad.

Now off to pay July bills and ensure our pay offs are on track!!!

Oh - some pics from our vacay:







And no, we did not drink the water:

So... we are leaving for vacation (San Diego) on Monday - very excited about that. We already paid the hotel room a while back, so now we just need to pay cash for food, gas, and whatever we decide to do while we are there. I have $850 saved (here's hoping we don't come close).

I paid more towards debt this month, but July will be the pay off on the last three cards (instead of June, like I previously thought).

I have been trying to get more organized in the spending department, so I got Quicken - it's not working like I thought it would. For some reason I have a hard time getting my banking information to automatically download. I think we will start fresh in August, and really try to keep track of everything (July will be too spendy). Besides, August is the beginning of the last of the bills to pay off. We are getting so close, it's nice. It certainly feels great to be paying cash for everything, including our vacation.

We've tried doing some fun things with the kids this summer; besides the pool and library, we've gone to the movies a few times (always a matinee and BYOCandy). We went and saw Transformers last week - LOVED IT!

I am abt to finish up my 2nd class (Masters program)... it's going well. I look forward to the $1470 in tuition reiumbursement! lol...

Work has been crazy; a ton of new projects coming my way. But, it all deals with recognition programs for our associates, so it's fun work!

I will post pics of Nic and Shamu when we get back!!

Until then... Hasta luego!

Well, that's what is reported on DH's Equifax credit report, anyway! Can you believe it? Thank gosh there's no fraud - seems like a simple mistake. I think the mortgage is what's bringing DH's Equifax score way down. I am sure the Debt to Income ratio is bad.

So, I need to get a letter typed up and in the mail to get that cleared up. I'd like to see it gone and removed from the report asap so I can see what his true credit score is.

Oh... Guess what we got DH for Father's Day (a bit early, I know)...?!

A new laptop! He's been eyeing one for a long while (he's never had one, just desktops). It will come in handy for work, he's a manager who's out in the field a lot. Some people questioned this purchase - wondering why we didn't throw that $600 at debt. It was something I saved for, planned for, and added to the budget. We have worked so hard, and don't spend much money any more, if any. He deserves it!

Know how he thanked me? He leaned in close and whispered the following in my ear, "There is no way you could have bought this for me, if you hadn't taken control and gotten us out of debt the way you have. Thank you!"

**GRIN**

Not sure why I didn't think of this sooner... Being the Excel geek that I am.

We switched away from My FICO to BofA's Privacy Assist, and since they don't do fancy graphs, I went ahead and created my own (not too fancy, but still).





With all of the recent changes, I am dying to know what our August reports bring!

Today was payday, and let me tell you how weird and strange it was to only have one credit debt payment due.

Very strange.
Very weird.

BUT I LOVED IT!

It's amazing. I do not need to make the minimums on our last three cards because they will all be paid off before their due date this month.

I save all of my old budgets, and just for fun I wanted to post a budget from June 2008... THIS IS JUST ONE PAYCHECK (out of 4 for the month)... Look at all of those things:



And here is our new and improved budget for June of THIS year.



What a difference.

We are getting so close...

I rcvd a snowflake on the 27th... and it paid off AmGen (2400) and Kay (1100)!!! That's a saving of $380 a month know in our budget (not to mention the interest).

In June, we have our last three cards being paid off!

In July, we will be done with Dell!!

After Dell, it's Medical Bills from our credit reports! That will take Aug, Sept, and Oct!

We should be able to start socking away money in November for a down payment on a house.

Our lease is up in Sept, I don't really want to stay; I know we can find somewhere cheaper... but we don't really want to move in Sept, and then again next Summer. So we may just sign a 9 month lease, and get gazelle in our house buying journey.

I pulled our scores... they went from a median score of 483 and 488 (his and hers) to 548 and 516 in just 3 months.

Things are just looking good...

Wow. Since January... my 401K has DOUBLED. Nice to see it moving in an upward motion! I had taken a loan out last year some time, and I only owe $190 left on it. That will be another $30 in my check once it's paid off. Nice!

I am so very excited - I've updated my side bar to indicate another credit card has been closed. When I called just now, he asked why I wanted to close it.

I told him that I had too many cards, plus hated the annual fee (which is charged monthly). He laughed and said he would close it. I didn't think it was funny, but oh well. I am just glad it's gone!!

Logged in to view DHs paycheck tonight (he gets paid tomorrow).

He got a raise... comes to $60 extra per paycheck. That's NICE! Also, he got a little over $1000 added to his 401K for Profit Sharing...

This makes me happy!!

P.S. One more hour until I kill another credit card!!

I may need to do something serious about this. Right now, our Snowball $$ is in my husband's second paycheck. That day takes FOREVER to arrive. There's only so much account checking, envelope stamping, and snowball salivating I can do. I am so excited to be able to pay off ANOTHER credit card this month!! Well, not just THIS month, but THIS Friday! We are getting there... and that's so very exciting.

My daughter turned 10 this past weekend, my mom had a lovely ladies luncheon for her, and we are taking her horseback riding on Saturday. Should be fun!

I started my new job, but still retain about 50% of the responsibilities from my old job. Just until September - but I tell you... they don't pay me enough! ha!

I start my Masters on April 30. And to be honest with you... I am looking forward to my company's tuition reimbursement program. $5200. Since my classes are only 6 weeks long, I can request a lump sum... I love lump sum money!

We are scheduled for a few snowflakes this year... so I am looking forwarding to paying off most of our debt by December. In January we will focus on the Van (and get it paid off 3+ years early) and then Student Loans.

I am praying we will be in a house by the end of next year! We've worked so hard!

In doing the new budget - I've rounded up a lot. I will be getting a reimbursement of $250 a month for childcare (I only pay $460). I will be budgeting the higher amount of course, and then use the $250 each month as a snowflake and pay off the next debt.

I am now working from home, so I have had to add a second phone line - this will also be reimbursed. So... by working from home, I am saving money on some internet (we can expense $150 a month for Blackberry, internet and phone line). I will also be saving money on not eating out or buying extra snacks for my work. It's quite nice working from home!

In regards to our credit monitoring... at FICO. It keeps saying there are no alerts and no changes... Not sure how that's possible. We've closed 5 credit cards... shouldn't those trigger something? Hmmm. Off to investigate that!

Have a great day! It's going to be a HOT one here!

We had a great weekend! We bought our little boy a bicycle trailer... it attaches to DH's bike. So, we went on our first official bike ride. The older kids had a blast, and so did Nic.

DH and I are super sore though. Maybe we went to far on our first time out?!

The trailer cost us $86 but I think it will get its use... and then we can always sell it on Craigslist (or something).

I did go shopping with a girlfriend on Saturday. We went to Old Navy and I picked up 4 tank tops and 2 summer dresses. I haven't bought clothes in forever. It was fun to shop and fun to stay on budget.

My daughter starts Softball tomorrow night. We had to purchase some cleats ($17.99) and some socks and shorts. We are going this afternoon to purchase a used glove for her. I hope she enjoys this! It will be so good for her to get out and meet other girls (and get some exercise in).

My DH found a scorpion in our garage on Friday. The kids are calling him "Woody." They have him in a glass jar. He gives me the creeps. I think he will be disposed of tonight (if I have anything to say about it). I will have to have maintenance come spray in there (if that even does any good).

Anyway - I feel like it's going to be a terrific week!

Hope all is well with all of you!

We paid off two more credit cards this morning. One for $538 and the other for $697 - What? It was only $571 when I pulled it up last week!! Yep - they charged me an annual fee. I called to close one of the cards today (same company, but I am keeping one open due to the length of time I have had it). Besides trying to sell me Term Life ins, they were pretty great. They noted my payment, I asked for the annual fee to be reversed - and they did it!

I am shocked! But pleased of course.

I made a stupid mistake. I paid a bill online using bill pay... we have two accounts, but only one is set up for bill pay. The money was in the other account - I forgot to transfer it over.

My bank paid the item. The same night, 5 Redbox (DVD rentals) cleared for $1.08 each. There was money in that account for those... but of course, they pay the largest item first... You know... they are doing me a favor! :/ I was just charged $35 for each of those $1.08s. I feel sick to my stomach. Sick Sick Sick.

- - - - - - - - - -

I am waiting for my tax refund... The IRS page isn't even locating it. It was filed on the 6th... I know it can take up to three weeks - but I would really like it NOW! lol...

- - - - - - - - - -

Darn, I still feel dumb. This just goes to show we need to make payday A LOT more simple around here. I need LESS bills!

So, we all have been really sick for the past week. My poor two-year old is suffering from an Upper Respiratory Infection, and a newly discovered Ear Infection (his first one - ever!).
So, that's money out the window (it pays to be healthy, I tell you!). I think between cleaning out the Vicks aisle at Wal-Mart and all of our prescriptions, these sickies cost us $157. Yikes!

Much to my surprise, my DH went and picked up the paperwork for the new Day Care I mentioned in my last post. I think Nic is ready for a more formal school-like setting; I think it will help his speech tremendously. Yes, it will be more than I am currently paying, but still a decent price in the grand scheme of things. I called the director just now to see how much it will cost me come Monday. I have a $100 registration fee and then I get a $400 coupon ($40 off for ten weeks). So, that's $88 a week (just $8 more than I am paying now). Effective April 1, I will receive $256 a month in credit from my employer. So, after my coupon runs out, and once I get my credit from BofA, I will only be paying about $64 a week in care - That's a savings!! And the best thing, Nic will be in a great pre-school/day care.

Well, one other thing... I did spend $9 on a mini-backpack for him. I want him to realize the move is a Big Deal!

I started this month with a new Excel spreasheet that is too cool for words. Each tab represents my 4 different financial institutions... and within each tab, there are all of my specific envelopes. It took a while to set up, but this way I can use my debit card, instead of cash I hate carrying around that much cash. The envelope still "exists", just electronically. We got paid yesterday, so I split all of the money into the different banks, and then into the envelopes.


I just did my grocery shopping (on budget!) and Costco. I cannot believe I am going to type this... I was $50 UNDER budget at Costco. WOW! And I got a ton of great snacks for the kids (string cheese, gogurts,and stuff - all healthy-ish).

I think it helped not to by the boneless - skinless chicken breast at Costoc; rather I bought it at Fry's (Kroger). It was only $1.67 a pound for fresh, not frozen!. I bought three packages with 6 huge breasts (giggle!) in each - for the same price I would have paid for a total of 12 frozen. Score!

I've got our meals planned for the week, a STOCKED freezer and pantry... the weekend is shaping up! We have a lot going on next week... so I wanted to be as organized as possible.

My littlest DS is going to be starting a new DayCare next Monday - more expensive, but well worth-it. So we are going to go by him a back-pack and get ready for his "school" adventure!