Oprah inspired me! - My debt diet!

PrairieMom wrote: I was watching Oprah's series on debt and got totally inspired. I took a look at my Credit card statement for last month and figured I spent $250 on fast food and dining out! I also spent $550 on groceries and $220 on gas. Here's the real kicker, I spent nearly $700 on I have no idea what.
Okay. Well, that is a lot of $, so I am going to put myself on the debt diet. (Gee THANKS Oprah! )

I decided that I would air my dirty laundry on here to keep myseld accountable, and because you all are such great support.

I am going to take baby steps, one week at a time. My goals are to completely cut out the eating out and fun $. By doing that I should also save on gas!

So this week I am not grocery shopping at Walmart. They have way to much other stuff there to tempt me. Also, NO fast food! Lets see how I do!

Anyone out there brave enough to join me?

coasterqueen replied: Well I'd join in but we went credit-card free as of Jan 1 of this year. We had to use the credit card 2x. One was for tires because we hadn't gotten our refund back in time and needed the tires. Quickly paid it off when refund was received. The other time was just recently (this past weekend) and as soon as July 31 hits it'll be paid off.

We have done AWESOME going credit-card free this year, I might add. If we can't pay cash for it, we aren't getting it. Plain and simple. So it means less going out and doing fun things, but we are much happier this way.

Jackie012007 replied: I thought that was a great episode too! Wal*Mart is an evil place to shop because of the distractions... too back DF works there and we get a discount!

Ever since we found out I was pg we have been really cutting back... we are the typical college kids who ruined our credit in a matter of a year . Since we are airing the dirty laundry here, between the two of us, we are about $8,000 in debt . However I can say that it is mostly DF's debt because he is a spender... mine comes mostly from buying books for 4 years of college and lab materials and then I bought all the stuff we needed for the apartment with credit cards. We are both in credit counseling right now, which is helping tremedously with the CC debt. We cut up all CC's and have pretty much no luxuries other than the internet... no cable, no going out (except the occasional Taco Bell run, but man I have CRAVINGS! ). It sucks but we dug our own hole so now we're slowly digging our way out... thank you surprise baby!

coasterqueen replied:
I know the college debt feeling. The debt we racked up trying to make it through college all by ourselves w/no help was HARD! We still have lots of that debt left. If I told you how much debt we are still in from college, etc you'd think $8,000 is nothing.

PrairieMom replied: We are credit card free essentially. We buy everything on the card and then pay it off at the end of the month. We are trying to get airmiles. We don't really have much for loans either, just one from when we finished the basement, but I have no idea where our $ is going ya know? We are living pay check to paycheck, just saving a little each month, but we have, um... I have been doing such wasteful spending, I know that we could save more.
At this point we can't afford a car payment, and we will be buying a van next spring, so I have to get things shaped up a little.

PrairieMom replied:
Ugh College. I know the feeling. When DH and I got married our combined debts were $56.000 because of college, well, cars too i guess. It took us nearly 7 years to climb out of that.

coasterqueen replied:
Yeah, see when we put everything on the credit card and payed it back w/paychecks is when our spending got WAY out of control. We live paycheck to paycheck too and DH curbed my spending habits FAST. We both get a set amount of money each week for spending, when it's gone, it's gone...sorry no more (that's what DH says, lol). I get so much each week for gas so I have to make it stretch! We get a set budget for groceries/cleaning supplies, etc - if you go over, use your spending money. The rest is budgeted to bills, college funds, etc. We also budgeted $250 one time each month to spend on whatever we want, which has helped tremendously to cut back on 'over spending'. For the past few months we've been using it to beautify the yard. Otherwise that money is also for buying any clothes/shoes, household decor stuff, birthdays, etc. It's still not enough, but we make do . I just don't go get my hair done, nails done, buy clothes, etc very much at all.

Jackie012007 replied:
ohhh yeah... I am starting to get my loans and stuff back because I am not returning b/c of the baby... yyyyeah so far I'm at about 50k and I still have one more year just to get my BA!!! He owes about 50k as well for his BA. College is such a ripoff!!!... and like you guys, neither DF nor myself got any help from the parents or anyone ... they just couldn't afford it.

C&K*s Mommie replied: Best wishes on the debt diet, Tara.

PrairieMom replied: I have a budget, but its something that mainly tells me what my bills will be, not how much I can spend on my bills. I'm not very good at limiting myself. We used to get allowances too but strayed from that for some reason.
The credit card is just so easy ya know? I don't have to go into the gas station to pay and drag my 2 kids out of the car, and its so hard to write out a check while holding a kid and having another kid hanging off you... plus, its getting SO hard to even find a place that will take a check anymore... Thankyou credit card companies!

Jackie012007 replied:
Do you have debit cards? That might help... convenience of a CC but comes from existing money in your checking account. I have one but don't use it because the money doesn't exist

coasterqueen replied:
Ok Tara, this is why you have credit card debt....excuses excuses. Sorry, I bet Oprah would have said that to you.

Believe me I've used them all and still try to. Thank goodness I have a DH who has seen the err of my ways and realizes if he doesn't tighten the 'straps' a bit we'll never see the light of day.

I don't know about where you are at but some gas stations here offer 'speed passes'. Ryan signed me up for one when I used the excuse it's too hard to take the kids in the store, bit. You just swipe your speed pass and it charges it directly to your checking account, no going in to pay for gas.

Also we don't write checks anymore. It's the RAREST occasion we do so. DH pays almost all our bills online and everything else we use our check card through our bank that works like a visa but comes directly from your checking account. Does your bank offer this? If not, it's a mom and pop bank that's extremely outdated and I suggest finding one who has gotten with the times.

GL w/your diet.

PrairieMom replied:
Okay Oprah! I The thing is that really I don't have credit card debt because I pay it off every month.
The debit card idea is pretty good tho. I do have a debit card, but for some reason it never occured to me to used it.
I should look at online bill pay too. My bank does offer it, I just haven't looked into it. Good suggestion! that could be quite a time saver for me too!

jcc64 replied: I have horrendous credit card debt. But I find myself using the card mainly b/c dh sends so much $$$ out to pay off our previous credit card debt that I have absolutely no cash whatsoever to buy food or gas or even to pay the babysitter. We send out roughly $1500 /mo to credit cards, it's all a vicious cycle. We do pay them, but the balance has gotten so high that I feel like we'll never wipe them out.
We don't ever carry car payments- we don't buy new cars- and we don't live extravagantly at all. But 3 kids and no raise in 5 yrs adds up to needing that credit card.
We make a pretty decent living. I don't really know why we never have any money.

PrairieMom replied:
thats my thing too. Where the heck does it go?

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I saw that episode on Oprah and thought they had some great advice! So good luck with it Tara!

We're like Karen, we try to pay everything in cash. I have a set amount per DH's paycheck to spend on groceries, etc. I use a debit card or withdraw cash from the ATM, but I check our account online daily so that I don't go over. The only items that go on the CC are emergency type stuff for the house or our cars or medical stuff (and the new computer we just bought because our old one just got fried from a thunderstorm). Money for clothes or any extras comes from that grocery money. It's a pretty good amount per two weeks, but it goes fast...and once it's gone, it's gone...no using the CC. It's helped us. My college is payed off (didn't go to a very expensive college), but we're still paying DH's, plus we have two car loans, but we pay that debt from a totally different account so that the money is not spent elsewhere.

Mommy2Isabella replied: I watched this Oprah series ... well, what has helped Sal and I the MOST is if we don't have the cash for it don't get it.

We ran into a HUGE problem when I stopped working because of the doctors orders to bed rest! We lost about 1000 dollars a month, THATS A LOT.

We are both young and like to have FUN, going to the movies, bowling, shopping< more me than sal. So when I quit working we for some reason forgot to change our SPENDING habbits to accomidate the new income. So we dug ourselves a PRETTY NICE HOLE.

We went to a baby budgeting class this past week and it def. opend up our eyes to where a lot of our money was going. With Sal getting out of the military things are going to get SO MUCH EASIER, as weird as that sounds, he will have a better paying job and of course our business is really starting to take off so that income as well as his VA pay for being disabled, and the money I will start to get in September for watching my newest niece!!

Since many of you aired your dirty laundry ... we started with 24000 in CC and 20000 in my car

Though, we never miss payments, and we are never late, it is still a lot to stomach more so with the new baby because I won't be going back to work. Though we are looking on the bright side, with every payment ... those numbers go down, and within the next few months we are going to be able to start making double payments or more

moped replied: Yes, good episode.

Luckily we don't have debt really.....very minimal, but I can spend on really stupid things. If I cut that out we would have a great chunk of savings..........

Our Lil' Family replied: I'm right there with you Tara!!! We each use a CC for every purchase, it's a Dividends card so we get a certain % back with each purchase, we pay it off each month, however hard it might be! We will not change that because that extra $ comes in handy a couple times a year for long weekend getaways.

HOWEVER, I need to start writing down what I spend DAILY! That will hold me accountable to myself. DH hardly ever spends money, just gas, but I buy just about everything for the house and then some. My weakness is the little extra things in Target or WalMart, like so many others. I have got to get better at this since we should be on a really tight budget since DH is in school currently racking up the student loan debt as we speak!

SO, I challenge anyone who wants to join me to start keeping a daily tab and reporting back here (if you feel comfortable) what you've spent. Sound like a good idea?? Anyone want to join?

Now we need a seperate thread with a cutsey name....

PrairieMom replied:
Im in! we spent $2.12 on a slurpee last night, and so far today I haven't spent a thing!

mammag replied: We gave up credit cards many years ago and I never want to go back to it. I'll admit, everyonce in a while I get tempted by all the credit card offers but I'm soooooo glad I don't do it. I may not have the latest and greatest of everything but what I get I pay cash and never have to think of that debt again. It's especially rewarding for the bigger purchases, like my new sectional. My sister was saying, you should just finance it so you have that money for something else. Then I'd be paying for this sofa long after the kids had destroyed it....no thanks.

Most of my family are slaves to debt.

coasterqueen replied:
I'm in too but I can only say what I spent with my spending money. Everything else is budgeted and even when shopping at Target or Walmart for housecleaning supplies that is budgeted so can't go over.

This weekend I bought w/my spending money that I get every Friday:

Friday: rented a movie (but used a gift card I had); bought DH some Jack, but he gave me $10 of his money for it so I had to pay $10 for that. $5.50 on a water, a powerade and a candybar at the baseball field.

Saturday: $36.81 at Target for laundry soap, cat food, and diapers, a baby clothing gift for my cousin's baby shower, and a treat for Kylie (forgot to get grocery day, so it came out of my spending money bummer!) $20 for a diaper gift card for a friend of Mine.

Sunday: I took Dh and Megan to Taco Gringo and spent $16.59. I bought some Arnica for Megan's boo boo on her head at the healthfood store for $4.59.

I have roughly $26 left or so for the week, but I somehow have one more baby shower gift to get before this coming Friday. It's gonna be a nice, but cheap one it looks like to me.

kit_kats_mom replied: I would reccomend not forgoing fun $ completely. In our house, we now use cash for anything that isn't on the list that is an impulse buy. We each get $30 week spending money. If we blow it on stuff for the kids, beer, lunches out, magazines....that's our deal. I budget for it so it's not a biggie and we don't feel deprived.

AlexsPajamaMama replied:
I am soooooooooooo just like you Tara!!
I am awful at limiting myself and no matter how many times I tell myself, ok next week I will not by anything we dont "need" I do it anyway.
Allowances dont work for us either
I use my credit card for dumb things...cuz I can.

I should sooo join you on the debt diet......
Maybe next week!!

Good Luck!

Our Lil' Family replied: I spent $16.03 this morning at Albertson's....all necessary items.... ok, well except for the chocolate chips that were $1.99

Our Lil' Family replied:
This is the reason we keep all receipts until the statement comes in. Cause I can easily blow some money in Target and have no idea on what!

PrairieMom replied: tomorrow is grocery day. Last week at Walmart I spent $145. I'd like to keep it under $100 this week. Its gonna be a challenge. Its hard to smart shop with a toddler and an infant. I will just do the best I can.

coasterqueen replied:
Do you take a list of what you need? If I tell myself I HAVE to stick to what is on my list I usually hit my targeted budget. ALSO, as embarassing as this may be, I watch how much I'm spending as they are checking everything out and if I see I'm going to go over my budget, I put stuff back. It's just the way things are, gotta do it if you want to stay w/in budget. At least for me that's how it works.

ETA that having a list made out with what I need in each aisle helps out too.

PrairieMom replied:
I never remember to put everything on the list. I DO take one tho. I am trying to get better about it. We meal plan every monday night so I know what ingredients i need to buy. We tent to eat expensive tho. I think we will stick to spaghetti and hamburgers for a while tho!
I know the isles at Walmart by memory, but I will be trying a new store tomorrow. I prefer to have things organized by isle too. i HATE haveing to back track for something I missed, or look for a particular item. Such a waste of time!

Maddie&EthansMom replied: We haven't used a credit card in 7 years. We use our visa check card for everything. It's so easy b/c you can see everything you're spending online and DH puts it all in a spreadsheet so we can see where it's going.

We need to spend less, too. Scotty and I were just discussing this yesterday. We need a bigger savings acct.

And I have boycotted Wal Mart, too.

ashtonsmama replied:
We're in the same boat. Trying to live CC free as well. Good luck Tara!

boyohboyohboy replied: We do use credit cards but had kept the limits on them low,until recently Dh got himself one that had a $2000 limit, and now it has a $1000 balance. I am working hard to get rid of that. I do try to write down every thing we spend.

I also have some trouble with one particular thing, since we are airing our laundry...I am sorry if this is to religious, but I am a new Christian,and tithing is hard for me. I tend to spend, spend, spend what extra we have so come sunday I have none left in the account, and Dh then says well take it out of savings, we have too, and I always find an excuse not too...
I need help with that. I need to learn to budget that first.I know that when I do things tend to work out much better.
does any one else have some issues with that?

My3LilMonkeys replied: Good luck to you Tara!! I am in a similar boat, we have more bills that we can comfortably handle at this point due to my DH's "need" for expensive toys (most recently, a $500.00 HD TiVo so we can watch TV in high definition - it looks exactly the same to me ). After our vacation next week I am definately needing to rebudget and cut down on the spending.

We don't use our credit cards at all, mainly because they're mostly maxed out. We have about $8,000 in credit card debt, plus a mortgage, 1 car payment, and money owed to both sets of parents for loans they gave us - and then all of the regular bills....so if we're looking to start keeping track of spending, I'm in!

PrairieMom replied:
I consider my donation a bill. We aren't able to tithe, but we give the same ammount evey month, so I figure it into my budget.

boyohboyohboy replied: You know with christmas coming this is the perfect time to get these credit cards under control!
THis was a great idea

Our Lil' Family replied:
The easiest thing for us is to write it out as a bill. I usually (and this is just my way of doing it, not right for everyone) make it my first check after I enter the deposit for the month, that way it's given and I can't spend it. I firmly believe in thithing because I can literally see in my checkbook that God makes things stretch when I give to Him first. It's amazing, but somehow he always makes it work.

Ok, done with my preaching....back on to the Debt Diet!

luvmykids replied:
We get paid weekly, so I think it's a little easier to write a smaller check each week than a big one all at once, kwim? But I do it and don't even think about it, then it's not there to spend anyway.

OK this is extremely difficult for me because I've been in denial about my awful money habits but it's extremely important for me to get a grip right now. Please don't judge me , I know some of my irresponsibilities may at the very least irritate others who work so hard at managing their money.


My main problem is that DH and I have had a really warped financial situation, I control our "personal" money and he just spent out of our company account and I'd reimburse it, if I "could", which basically meant if I wanted to. So for the last 4 years I've had basically unlimited spending because if I ran out, guess what, DH got a "bonus". Because of some things going on with us and other things going on at the company, that is no longer the case and if I don't straighten myself out YESTERDAY I will be in a world of financial hurt. The stupid thing about it all is (and I hope this doesn't come out wrong) that I *should* be able to pay bills, run the household, and still have plenty of spending money if I play my cards right.

Speaking of cards, my first order of business is to set a limit for online poker It's in my "fun budget" to play, I just have to do it reasonably. I'm going to say $20 a week from my pocket, if I win (which I have been) all but $50 goes back to the account.

The good news is I don't really have debt, I have two small credit cards that I use and pay off every month but catch myself using them on stupid stuff that I don't want to use "real" money for. I have a car payment, within budget. I need to budget better at the grocery store and eating out, and I pay my share of the country club bill which sounds ridiculous but for me, is truly cheaper than paying for swimming for the kids and golf for me elsewhere. The other bills are related to horse racing and very, when they exceed the income, we pay them personally so I have to allow room for that.

So my main goals, in this order are:
1. Start saving, I'm not sure how much yet because I haven't taken a cold hard look at things.
2. Basically cut spending in half, other than bills. Stop eating out so much, stop nickel and diming myself on the kids, control shopping urges, find a cheaper place to get my hair done, etc.

kristy-n-chad replied:
I just take it right out every week so I can't touch it. I have to remember that it is God's money, not mine, and it isn't right not to do as He wants with it.

Cece00 replied: I feel like we are doing OK, although we COULD spend a little less here & there.

We have MAYBE $700 in credit card debt right now, and it was for a Dr bill & a couple misc. items but I'm waiting on a reimbursement check from the insurance company for $960, so it will be paid off as soon as I get the check, which should be no later than next week. We had no credit card debt before then, I just charged the Dr bill on it b/c I had to, but I knew it would be reimbursed, and the misc items were an impulse purchase, but before now, anytime I charged something to the CC I paid it off before it was due...we're pretty responsible with credit cards...or should I say *I* am pretty responsible, my husband isnt too great with $$, which is why I handle it completely...he knows better to charge things on those CC's, unless he wants to die

We have a $3200 loan out right now, too, it was for debt consolidation for our wedding rings ($4k) & some wedding stuff from when we got married (2k)...it was a $6k loan, I've paid it down more than 1/2 in a year, and I'd LOVE to pay it off early, its $285 a month, I'd love to have that back for savings.

So if I saved more $$ I'd be able to pay that off faster.

Other than that...we have no debt. DH has a company car, mine is paid off...

But we are buying a house soon, so I want to have NO debt when we go into that, to make the payments easier on us...

I'd like to cut back my fast food spending to only going once a week (I go now probably 3 times a week...shame on me!) and I'd LOVE to cut my grocery bill, its SO easy for me to spend $200+ twice a month- I'd love to get it to $150-175 every 2 weeks, or even less. I really should try & use coupons & not buy as much CRAP as I do. Once I have the baby I will be A LOT more concerned about my weight, so I know I will want to buy less junk food, so that should help me cut down...plus right now I do more heating of convienent foods than cooking, and I wont be able to do that once I have the baby b/c convienent food is more fattenting.

Oh, and I'd love to try & spend less on the weekends. We easily spend $200-250 every two weeks on eating out & going to do fun stuff...I'd love to cut it down from $400-500 a month to like $300-350. Most of that is on, of course, eating out...hopefully, like the grocery bill, that will come down naturally on its own once I have the baby & I'm concerned with my weight.

But we cut down a lot from awhile back...DH gets $50 cash a week for lunches (he works out of town all week), when he used to just spend freely from the checking acct & it cost us a LOT more....we're hoping when we move to be able to bundle our services (phone, cell phone, cable) to have a sllightly lower bill. We used to spend a lot more on weekends & on frivilous stuff...and we dont do that too much anymore...I've saved quite a bit of $$ in just the past few months, its been REALLY nice to have a little "in case cushion".

Brias3 replied: Good for you! I need to try and do the same. Although I'm a stickler for paying our cards off each month, I KNOW I spend extra money all the time that needs to be strictly put right into savings. Sometimes, I feel as though I'm comfortable with the fact that we're making ends meet and I'm not accumulating debt but not focusing on what I COULD be saving/doing without.