You and I both know that getting out of debt and reaching our financial goals is WAY MORE than just scrimping pennies and slashing our spending as much as we can.
Right?
Where To Prioritize A Personal Loan in Your Debt Snowball
Have you ever had a personal loan from a friend or co-worker?
I sure have.
It’s a situation a lot of people have been in, and it has the potential to destroy relationships.
Major Update On Our 2015 Financial Goals, Part 2
This is part 2 of 2 of our summer update. If you haven’t read part 1, click here to catch up.
In our disappointment, we scrambled to figure out what to do.
Our agent put our house back on the market, and we planned to have an open house that weekend so that we could encourage more lookers.
We had already locked in our rate with our mortgage broker so we only had a couple of weeks to find new buyers if we wanted to close on time and avoid being penalized for the transaction falling through.
And then something unexpected happened —
How to “Spring Clean” Your Finances
It is mid-May, which means many of us are going through our closets, deep cleaning our homes, and getting rid of stuff we just don’t need anymore. It feels good to go through spring cleaning each year. These actions help you clear out things that are holding you back. You can do something similar with your money. Here are some ways to “spring clean” your finances.
7 Ways to Spring Clean Your Finances
Spring cleaning your finances, in some ways, looks just like cleaning out your home. You have to literally get rid of things in your budget, clean out closets and sell things, and reassess what you are doing in terms of managing your money. Here are seven things you should do this spring to evaluate your finances.
- Sweep out bad money habits. We all have bad habits that are hanging out in the corners like dust bunnies. Examine your spending habits and determine what is detrimental to your financial goals. For example, a lot of people have a bad habit of eating out when there is food at home. Identify what is holding you back and get rid of it.
- Catch up on any late payments and get ahead if you can. The spring is a great time to hold a yard sale, raise some extra money, and pay off debt or pay bills you need to get current. Get caught up on anything you’ve fallen behind on and try to get ahead where you can. This will save you money in the long run.
- Toss out any debt you may have. Staying in debt is almost like holding onto an old sweater that you never wear. It is holding you back and just taking up space where you could fit something better. Get rid of it as soon as you possibly can.
- Dust off your budget. Take a hard look at your budget and decide if it is truly working for you. Many people don’t think about creating space in their budget for things that truly matter to them. For instance, if travel is something that is important to you, be sure you make room in your budget to do it.
- Create a simple money system to track key numbers. Most people just aren’t paying enough attention to their money. Usually, this is because they make it difficult for themselves to do so. Find a way to tidy up your finances and make it easier to track things like what you are spending, how much you are saving, and debt payments.
- Plan and budget for irregular expenses through the end of the year. The end of the year brings a lot of irregular spending for many families, including holiday spending, travel, and back-to-school costs. Make a plan for how you’ll deal with these expenses.
- Clear out your paperwork. Old, unnecessary clutter, like paperwork, can be a hindrance to your finances. Instead of keeping everything in an old-fashioned filing cabinet, consider how you can start keeping track of things digitally and get rid of that stack of papers. It will help you keep closer track of your finances too.
How Often Should You Review Your Attitude Towards Money?
Annual reviews or taking a moment to spring clean your finances each year is always a good idea. However, the frequency in which you review your attitude towards money may change with time. You may find that a quarterly review is more necessary for you, especially if you have aggressive debt payoff goals. Others may find it easier to do a quick check-in every month. In the end, it is important to find exactly what works for you in terms of reviewing and organizing your money.
Readers, do you have any annual “to-do” items for spring cleaning your finances?
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My Word of the Year: Intentional
It has become popular for people to choose words to describe their goals for the year. This year, my word is going to be “intentional.” I want to be more intentional about how I spend my time and what I focus on, shifting towards things that bring me joy and make me more available to my daughter.
Intentional: Defined
According to Merriam-Webster, intentional is defined as “done by intention or design.” Some common synonyms for the word include conscious, deliberate, purposeful, and willful. So, instead of doing things on a whim or without planning, I’ll take my time and be intentional with how I move forward.
What It Means to Me
It’s more than that though. Since giving birth to my daughter I have avoided things that feel like a waste of time. My time is valuable. I could be spending it with my daughter, watching her continue to grow. So, when I’m not doing that, I want to be using my time to the fullest. This means being more intentional about how I spend my time. For instance, I need to make certain things higher priority during her resting hours instead of scrolling endlessly on social media. That way, when she wakes up from her nap or simply wants to spend time with me, I’m there to do it.
I’m also going to be intentional in other ways. We are working to be more intentional with our money and how we spend it. There are things we are doing (like cleaning out closets and minimizing expenses) that are helping us be more intentional about how we spend. For example, we definitely didn’t need a dozen streaming subscription services. Trimming some of those down can help us save for more important things.
Another way we hope to be more intentional in 2022 is with our health. Towards the end of my pregnancy and since my daughter’s birth we’ve spent so much money on eating out. Instead of spending money on fast food or eating out daily, we are going to put money towards our health and wellness. For me, this will take the form of private yoga sessions once a week. My husband is going to look into martial arts classes. Rather than throwing it away on junk food, we will be more intentional with our money and put it towards improving our body and mind.
Final Thoughts
When it is all said and done, financial resolutions and your “word of the year” only work if you have a plan to put behind them. To be more intentional this year, I am journaling daily, I’ve deleted many social media apps off my phone, and I’ve added more books to my TBR list. We are surrounding ourselves with people and things who are positive, intentionally working to create a happy, healthy life for our family.
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Should We Trade In Our Car?
Around the new year people tend to set financial resolutions and plans for the next 12 months. The beginning of the year is also a good time to get a decent price on a used car. As you know, our little family grew by one last year with the addition of our daughter, Dahlia. Before now, we’ve driven a 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI. However, fitting the car seat in the backseat isn’t the easiest thing to get done. So, we have been going through the pros and cons to try to decide whether or not we want to trade in our vehicle.
A Little Nostalgia
My husband absolutely loves cars. It is something he’s always been passionate about. One of his lifelong goals was to become an automotive journalism, which he accomplished last year. That being said, there is a little nostalgia attached to the cars we’ve had together.
Before we transitioned into being a one-car family, my husband drove around in a tiny 1999 Mazda Miata. We took a lot of adventures in that car. Eventually, Drew wanted to take it to race at the track. Unfortunately, that never ended up happening. We sold the Miata during the pandemic and still miss it dearly. It was such a fun car with so many memories attached to it.
The Golf is no different. For one, it is the first thing Drew and I truly purchased together. We named the car Gerry and we’ve used it as our primary driver now for three years. There have been road trips, it was the car we brought our daughter home in, the car we packed up and moved states away in. So, even though it is a pain to get the car seat into, part of me wants to hold on to Gerry just a little longer.
Will We Make a Trade In?
While we were initially mulling around the idea of trading in our car for something that would lower our monthly payment, we probably won’t be making a trade in unless we find a crazy good deal. The car seat dilemma is a temporary one. When we go on road trips, we can purchase a roof rack instead of buying another car. Ideally, we will pay the Golf off over the next two years or so and then pay for the next car in cash, keeping the Golf as a beater until it dies.
The only way a trade in would make sense for our family right now is if we found something that would give us lower payments with more space. With cars and real estate, that perfect mix of cheap but spacious is hard to find. Will family road trips in our little Golf be difficult? Yes. Will I also probably bump my head every time I put the car seat in the back? Also yes. At the end of the day, we have to keep our eyes set on what will be best for our family financially.
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A Look At The Labor and Delivery Bill From When I Gave Birth
Bills are still trickling in from when I gave birth last August. Our little one entered the world on August 31 and, surprisingly, I wasn’t hit with a mound of medical bills immediately. In fact, nothing started coming in the mail until late November regarding my labor and delivery bill. Here’s a look at what the out-of-pocket cost will be for our family.
The Cost of Having a Baby
While I was pregnant, I researched the cost of having a baby and posted about it here on the blog. For a lot of people, it is shocking when the labor and delivery bill arrives and it is five figures. The average amount most women pay to give birth in a hospital is around $40,000. That’s if everything goes perfectly. Additional drugs or other medical intervention will cost more. For instance, I was induced and required medication for induction. This meant my pharmacy cost while in the hospital was higher than average, but we will look at a break down of the bill below.
There are plenty of other costs to giving birth in a hospital. Many people don’t consider what they’ll eat while they are there (and trust me, hospital food isn’t it). In fact, during COVID, some of the hospital’s services, such as food delivery, aren’t completely available. On top of that, you may be in the hospital longer than you think. My stay started Monday afternoon and we didn’t leave until Thursday morning. Some hospitals may charge parking during that period of time. Be sure you are prepared for that.
Some of these unexpected costs may throw people for a loop, but what really shocks most couples is when the labor and delivery bill arrives.
The Labor and Delivery Bill
The dates I was in the hospital were August 30 through September 2. When the bill came from the medical center where I gave birth the total came to $26,250.40. Thankfully, my insurance is covering $23,548.85 of that. However, that still leaves me footing $2,701.60 of the bill. Here’s a break down…
- Labor Room/Delivery: $17,630
- Room and Board Private (one bed): $4,416
- Pharmacy: $1,772.45
- Anesthesia: $908
- Special Charges: $243
- Laboratory: $1,281
As mentioned above, I had to stay in the hospital a little longer than most mothers when they give labor. So, my room and board and paying for the labor room is a little higher than average. My pharmacy and laboratory costs are a little more expensive too. I went into the hospital because I was having trouble regulating my blood pressure. So, some additional medication was needed. Many people may pipe up and say we could’ve saved money by sharing a room too. During COVID that simply isn’t an option though, and you still have to pay the private room fees.
I honestly chuckled when I saw the bill. The most important part of labor/delivery was the anesthesiologist (that epidural saved me), but it is one of the cheapest item lines on the bill. The room, which is the most expensive part of the entire ordeal, was uncomfortable and the food was poor. At the end of it all though, we got our sweet little Chicken Nugget (her official nickname). She makes the labor and delivery bill irrelevant.
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Preparing for Financial Recovery
No one has gone completely untouched by the coronavirus pandemic. Half of Americans say they’ve been financially affected by the virus. However, many states are beginning to reopen businesses and some folks are going back to work. What many people aren’t considering is how to begin setting themselves up for their own financial recovery.
What Will Your Financial Recovery Look Like?
Before you can start preparing to recover from this pandemic financially, you need to consider how you’ve been impacted. Everyone’s finances are set up differently. Some individuals have been hit way harder than others during this time. Certain folks are out of work, while others haven’t been financially impacted (much).
If you’ve been out of work, the first thing you may do when you get back to your job is get caught up on your bills. Others may want to focus on revamping their emergency funds or savings accounts. Many will look at how they can mend their retirement accounts after the market crash.
Depending on how you were impacted by the global pandemic, what you focus on will be different. So, think about how you have been affected by COVID-19 and what your first steps need to be.
Our Recovery
For us, our financial recovery will focus on re-establishing our emergency fund and focusing on rebuilding our credit. We decided to take a break from a few payments during this time so our finances wouldn’t be as tight.
This will undoubtedly have an impact on our credit scores and the length of our debt freedom journey, but it was something we thought would decrease our current financial stress. (Worth it, in my book!) Once we’ve rebuilt some of those areas, we will refocus on snowballing our debt with everything we’ve got.
On top of that, we are also going to be looking into some hustles to help us earn a bit more to make these things start happening sooner. My husband is looking at becoming a delivery driver and I’ve looked at some additional hustles as well.
For now though, we are continuing to stay in and stay safe! Readers, how are you prepping for financial recovery post-COVID?
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Our January 2022 Debt Update
The end of January is nearly here already and I can’t believe how quickly the month went by! I am happy to say that, during the first month of the year, we had some significant wins in our debt-free journey. Here’s the latest debt update…
Emergency Fund Wins
The biggest win of January was getting our emergency fund fully re-established again. For now, we’ve only got $1,000 socked away. However, as we pay more things off, we will be adding to this. Because my husband and I work jobs that can vary in pay, it is extremely important to have a few months’ worth of expenses saved just in case.
Debt Update
Now, for the numbers…
Altogether, we made $1.,503 in payments towards our debts. This leaves us with the following account balances…
- My Car Amount Owed: $20,217
- Credit Card Total For Both: $487
- Student Loans: $24,362 (my payment hasn’t yet hit my credit report from January)
- Matco/Snap-On: $6,673
- Amount in Collections: $679
Next Month
Next month we will at least make the same amount in payments and hopefully more. We also will continue to add money to our emergency fund when we have it. There are a few additional expenses occurring next month that will soak up a bit of our savings and debt payoff cash though.
We are preparing to register our car in Georgia (finally). Our North Carolina registration is up at the end of the month. To pass inspection here, register the car, and get our licenses, it will like cost around $1,000 (oof).
Outside of that, I can’t wait to update you on where we are in another month’s time. Remember, if you are on your own debt freedom journey that every tiny step forward counts, even if it seems insignificant now!
Readers, tell me about your recent debt wins!
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Healthcare and Payment Options for the Uninsured
I’ve chatted about being uninsured on the blog in the past. It can set you back if you wind up needing to go to the emergency room or require any other type of health care. For instance, last year I learned I’d need all four of my wisdom teeth out (they are still in my mouth as you read this). Many hospitals and doctor’s offices require upfront payment, but there are options for the uninsured.
Payment Options for the Uninsured
Believe it or not, there are multiple payment options for the uninsured. I’ve come across the following ways to help resolve your medical debt.
- Look into a Care Credit card. Although I typically wouldn’t suggest adding any debt to your personal finances, it can be a necessary evil, especially when it comes to your health. If there is an emergency and you truly don’t have the money, a Care Credit card can provide a remedy. Best of all, if you pay it off within the designated period, you won’t have to pay interest.
- When you get your bill, give the office a call. Any time I get a medical bill in the mail, I call the office to verify all of the information and set up a plan to pay it off. Most billing offices will set up a payment plan for you.
- Ask about an in-office payment option. Before you leave the doctor, chat with the reception desk about a payment plan right away. You may even be able to put some money towards your visit right away.
Ask About a Discount
If the payment options don’t quite fit your budget, ask about a discount for uninsured patients before you receive the doctor’s services. Sometimes they will give you a discount because you don’t have insurance.
During a recent visit to the ER here in Atlanta, I asked about this. They required a $250 copay for uninsured individuals. However, once I got my bill, I also saw that (because I was uninsured) a 70% discount was applied to my visit.
Consider Going to a Clinic
Another thing for uninsured people to consider is going to a clinic. Some clinics are privately owned and able to give people more of a break when it comes to the cost of their visit.
I went to a local clinic for an emergency allergic reaction a couple months ago. The visit cost $150 upfront and they offered treatment a-la-carte. I needed two steroid shots, which cost $80 each. If I had gone to the emergency room or doctor’s office, this would have likely cost more than $1,000. Instead, I paid cash day-of and didn’t have to worry about it after that.
Be Sure to Communicate With Bill Collectors
Lastly, when all is said and done, it is important to communicate with the billing offices. This goes for medical and non-medical bills. Getting on the phone with them and discussing your payment options or what you can do to resolve your bill will be the best thing you can do for yourself. If you don’t, it will wind up in collections and killing your credit in the long-run
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