Ignoring A Problem...

...will not make it go away. Let me tell you what I did.

I had 2 credit cards that I just ignored. Completely ignored them. I did so because I forgot to pay them and was hit with late payment penalties. I called both of them and asked to have the charges removed since it was my first time and they both declined to do so. So I said "fuck it, i'm not paying them" Little did I think about the fact that they ALWAYS win. Over the course of the last 4 months, I was constantly called by the card companies and just didn't answer the calls. Even when the statements came, I just put them through the shredder. Why I did this, I do not know. I paid the other ones on time and was paying more than the minimum.

Well, as you can guess, they hit me with late and overlimit fees each month. In 4 months, my balances had double, but I still wasn't paying them. That was until I got 2 letters from collection agencies. You can best believe that my eyes popped wide open when I read both of those. I did like one of those white women reading a bad letter. I actually leaned against and slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor. I hadn't thought about my credit report or credit score up until that point, but I did at that moment. I won't reveal my credit score, but I will tell you that it dropped from the high 600s to the very low 600s in those 4 months.

I immediately called the collection agency to set up payment plans over the next 6 months to get them paid off. I then called all of my other credit card companies and set up payment plans with them also to get them paid off over the next year.

It's going to be tough because I set all of them up to pay more than the minimum due, but it will be worth it to be out of credit card debt in a year. Luckily, I am moving into a 3 bedroom, 3 bath apartment with 2 of my friends. That will reduce my monthly housing expenses by $550. After my last roommate experience, you would think that I wouldn't ever want another one. But these 2 are people whom I have know for quite a while who have steady jobs and are doing quite well. So this time, things should be better.

In closing, a word of advice to all is to never ignore a bill no matter if you can pay it or not. Just call the company you owe and let them know your situation.

Debt Diet

Like most people that I know or know of, I am not the best when it comes to money. Time and time again, I have tried to save money and have some savings to fall back on if needed. I was succesful in that only once back in 2004. Well, I am about to hit 30 years old in 11 months and it's past time to get serious about my finances. There are certain things that I want to accomplish that just aren't gonna happen if I continue my spending and no-saving habits.

I'm not broke my any means. But I am living from paycheck to paycheck and that just won't do anymore. It's high time that I start saving some money. So the whole purpose of this debt diet is to cut back on luxuries so that I can put money in the bank and not have to touch it.

So I decided to enroll in my own debt diet. I first heard about a debt diet watching the one and only, Ms Oprah Winfrey. I was watching this show and heard about a woman who was able to save $13000 in one year by cutting out all unnecessary things from her budget. She didn't go to the movies, she didn't go out to eat, she didn't spend money on anything that wasn't a necessity. Now I don't think that I could sacrifice that much, but I realized that I do have to sacrifice from now on.

Granted, I do have bills that can't be avoided, such as housing, car, insurance, and other fixed bills. But I think that my eating out, driving all over the place, clubbing and drinking, and things of that nature may just need to be cut back. For instance, I went out on Sunday evening to Django and set a budget of $20. Normally I would just get $40 from the ATM and tell myself that I will only spend $20. But of course, I end up spending it all. This time, I only spent the $20 that I got. When I left the club, I felt as though I had just as good a time as if I spent $100. I have also found out that I feel just as good when I cook instead of going out to eat. Lessons have been learned.

So I have set April 15th to be the beginning of my debt diet. I am not gonna have to cut out little habits like picking up things that I really don't need. I am gonna have to cut out treating friends to dinner or a night on the town. I am gonna have to stop feeling like I have to have cash in my pocket. I am gonna have to stop buying lottery tickets. I am gonna have to decrease haircuts to every 10 days instead of every seven.

I'm gonna have to do a lot of sacrificing, but the biggest sacrifice is gonna be my time. I'm getting a part time job at a hotel. I talked with the Assistant General Manager of the hotel I was working at last week and he said that I could come work for part-time. I thought about being a subsitute teacher, but they only allow people to start at the beginning of the school year in August. But I am gonna apply to start then.

In addition I am due for a raise on my job. I will be talking with my boss tomorrow about this. I have been at this job for 1 year and am able to do 5 of the 6 projects that we have. There are people that have been there for 5 or 6 years and are still only doing one. I think that I deserve to be properly rewarded for my achievement.

So wish me luck as I embark on this debt diet. I don't have a lot of will power when it comes to money, so i'm gonna need all the luck I can get. And speaking of luck, I think that I may just buy one last lottery ticket.

Romance Without Finance...Maybe

Why does it seem that all of the dudes that I date seem to be lacking in funds? Why? Why? Why? I am by no means rich and often am low on funds myself, but I always have some money . *figure that out* It seems that most of the brothas that I meet are just broke. I don't know if it's a lack of money or mismanagement of money, but it's frustrating to want to go out with a brotha and have to hear the words "I don't have any money." Well, we aren't going!

I fully understand that situations arise that cause you to have to spend your dough. I understand that a person's situation may not be the best. But the brothas that I am meeting seem to be on a perpetual broke cycle. I'll explain the dude that I am dating now.

He's 34 years old and is in what he calls the worst financial situation of his life. He makes $9.50 per hour and has no insurance, no car, bad credit, and his father pays his rent. At 34 years old, I just believe that a man or woman should have ish together or be on the way to doing so. When he told me that his father was paying his rent, I almost got up and walked out. He started crying and telling me how he doesn't feel like a man because he can't take care of himself. I was thinking to myself "why do I keep meeting these brotha's?" I even asked myself "Is this what I will have to settle for?"

But then something hit me. This one is different from the others. He was completely honest about his situation from the beginning. Instead of going out to eat, he cooks dinner for the 2 of us. He doesn't have a car, but gets to work everyday.

I actually think that he is trying. But that is not to say that his financial situation is not on my mind. I keep thinking about a possible future with this man. What happens when we decide to buy a house and his credit is still bad? Do I just put it in my name? Will in the next few months he ask to borrow my car to do something? *Note: No one drives my car if I am not in it anymore!!!!!* Will he expect me to pay for everything when we go out? What happens if his situation does not improve?

Finance is thing that I have to think about if I am ever to completely let my feelings get involved with someone. Yes, I want a man to do nice things for me and to be there for me and be attractive, but finances are an important part of any situation. More important than sex if you ask me. But the thing that I have to remember is that his financial situation is not my issue. It's his. I was going to just let this situation burn, but as long as I remember that this is his issue and not mine, I can sustain. But if I see that he isn't making an effort to do better, i'm out.