Friday, February 27, 2009

Good Morning! Well, yesterday I PAID OFF MY ANN TAYLOR CARD!! ($301.55) yeahhhh!! I paid it off with some of the paycheck I received back from substitute teaching. The "old me" would have sent in a minimum or just above the minimum payment. However, I am DETERMINED to reach my goal by my goal date! However, I do have a confession....I paid $30 cash towards my Kohl's bill, but CHARGED $95.38 on two pairs of shoes!! I was so disappointed in myself for not walking away. However, one pair was black, the other white....low soled, and I had been previously looking for these and never did find just a "casual" white or black pair that weren't running shoes or some kind of athletic shoe. I guess I could have just ended this note with the "paid off Ann Taylor credit card" part, but that wouldn't be fair to myself or those of you who are following my JOURNEY towards "DEBT FREE." This is about the journey....good and bad....two steps forward, one step back as they say. No, I am not proud of it, but I am hoping to get better at "walking away" from buying stuff as time goes on. Yet, though I want to be DEBT FREE, I know I will never stop buying all together. However, I want to keep it under control and not have credit card balances. SO, yes, the Kohl's charge was a disappointment to myself; I am glad to have the white and black pair of sneakers; I am VERY EXCITED that one credit card it paid off. Hopefully that excitement can keep me going to WALK AWAY from any extra charges the next time I go to make a payment on my Kohl's or Victoria Secret Cards. I will defininetly keep you all posted. Also, because I don't want to embarrass myself on my blog, maybe that "accountability" factor will be enough to keep me on the right path! Just updated my budget for today, so I am heading for the grocery store so that I am not rushing out when the kids get off the bus. I want all groceries bought, put away and the house picked up, so we can start our weekend in a calm, peaceful manner!

DEUTERONOMY 17:1 "DO NOT SACRIFICE TO THE LORD YOUR GOD AN OX OR A SHEEP THAT HAS ANY DEFECT OR FLAW IN IT, FOR THAT WOULD BE DETESTABLE TO HIM."
Footnote taken from Life Application Study Bible: "The fact that this command was included probably indicates that some Israelites were sacrificing imperfect or deformed animals to God. Then, as now, it is difficult and expensive to offer God our best (THE FIRST PART OF WHAT WE EARN). It is always tempting to shortchange God because we think we won't get caught. BUT OUR GIVING SHOWS OUR REAL PRIORITIES. When we give God the leftovers, it is obvious that He is not at the center of our lives. GIVE GOD THE HONOR OF HAVING FIRST CLAIM ON YOUR MONEY, TIME, AND TALENTS."


THE LOVE DARE....DAY 4 (Taken from THE LOVE DARE by Stephen and Alex Kendrick
PSALM 139:17-18 "HOW PRECIOUS ALSO ARE YOUR THOUGHTS TO ME....HOW VAST IS THE SUM OF THEM! IF I SHOULD COUNT THEM, THEY WOULD OUTNUMBER THE SAND."

*Contact your spouse sometime during the business of the day. Have no agenda other than asking how he or she is doing and if there is anything you could do for them." (Now, my hubby does not like to be interrupted by phone calls during his business day, so I sent him an online funny card.....)


HOME BLESSING:
Wipe down front windows of home and windows in kitchen.



God Bless! Everyone have a wonderful weekend!

DEBT FREE JOURNEY

4 comments:

  1. I would have paid cash for the shoes and if I didnt have enough cash, then I would not have bought them. Not having enough CASH in my wallet would have meant that I could not AFFORD them. I had the same problem when I decided to get out of debt. What finally made me stop was to cut up ALL of the credit cards so I did not have them. The first step to getting out of debt is to STOP BORROWING MONEY.

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  2. Melissa,
    You are absolutely right! And that is why I started this blog....so others, like yourself, could keep me accountable, and the next time I am tempted with "stuff", if I don't have the cash, I need to just WALK AWAY....especially if I am still determined to meet my DEBT FREE deadline of 8/2012! Thanks for the comment!

    DEBT FREE JOURNEY

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  3. Congrats on paying off the Ann Taylor card! Is it cut up and the account closed?

    Even though you did charge on the Kohl's card you still came out ahead by $200. I would highly suggest leaving the credit cards at home in a safe, frozen in water, or simply cut them up.

    Getting out of debt is extremely hard and long process. I would suggest that next time cash the check and keep a little for yourself for blow money and apply the rest to credit cards.

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  4. Mr. Plasectomy,
    Thank you for your comment! You are right...the next time I receive some money from my part time teaching job, I do need to keep out some cash, instead of getting too gung ho about paying off credit card debt, because then I will end up doing what I did with Kohls.......Well, let's see how I do in March!! Thank you again!

    DEBT FREE JOURNEY

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