Hazy, hot and humid. Even the AC isn't cutting it! We have one in our bedroom so we can sleep at night, but it's hard to sleep when you are lying in a pool of sweat! At least it's breaking this weekend and we'll get some badly needed rain as well as some less humid weather to follow.

I was able to visit my veggie garden a few evenings ago. I haven't really been near it since I planted it! How neglectful! I mananged to pull out a lot of weeds, and my 10 tomato plants are thriving. I'm so happy especially since last year there wasn't a decent tomato plant in the state. I have some green beans (well the plants) growing well, and 4 big mounds with zucchini, butternut squash, spaghetti squash and something else! I can't remember what the other one was that I planted, nor can I remember what I planted where. This should be fun! One of the plants has some large flower buds on it, so I'll have to keep my eyes open. I think it's the zucchini, and I don't want the veggies to be the size of baseball bats, so I'll have to be on top of it. I had some herbs not grow, so I'm going to put in a few more rows of green beans. We love them, and I'll can them up. I can the tomatoes too.

The IRS payback will start in August - $200 a month. Originally we were paying $280 a month, but I was concerned about having too much being committed. We have 5 years to pay off the balance, and with $200 a month it'll be less than that. Once our savings gets a little more plentiful, we'll start throwing more cash at this debt.

The other debt I'm starting to pay back is Parent Loan 2. Only $100 a month, but I'll feel better about it as I don't like owing family money. I feel great that we're now able to pay on all of our debts, and not just a few. Those numbers will be dropping and I like it! My mortgage has dropped to $11[u]0[u],710.75...the zero is nice and I was thrilled to see that on our statement. I showed dh - he was less excited than me, only because he's a glass half empty guy and paid more attention to the fact that we still owe well over $100K on it.

We also received dh's gas reimbursement check - that goes right to savings. He's really doing better about spending. He said he was just caught up in the moment, which I understand, but I'm still going to be monitoring him and his bank account to make sure he doesn't go all spendy on me again!

Enjoy the week, everyone!

I had just typed up a brilliant post...and then clicked on something and it vanished. Sigh.

We met with our attorney today. The bankruptcy proceedings have begun. March 1 is when we're officially turning a new leaf and can start over with a clean slate.

I saw a few local part-time positions in the paper and on Craig's List today. I will go apply to those places and more on Saturday when I have some free time. Work gets in the way of me finding more work. LOL I already checked into putting more hours in where I currently am, and there's nothing available.

DH seems optimistic after we've left the lawyer. I'm glad. He's been stressing for over a year and I hope he is able to find a job that is less stressful for him. One that doesn't require any paperwork to come home would be nice too!

Well, I updated my sidebar...unfortunately we are currently $2,930.35 more in debt than we were one month ago. That is because we had an income tax bill come due and I paid it with a "courtesy check" with 1.9% financing. The total of that was $3,581.33. Had we not had to pay that we would have had $650.98 less debt. That was the only time we used the credit for the month.

I did let my husband know what we had for debt. He wasn't mad, but he was sad to know that we were going to be working for a long time to pay this debt off. I offered to get a job on weekends (seasonal) to help, and although he was appreciative, he said to hold off and we will sit down and find the root of the problem. (To me, that's easy. We don't bring in enough income to meet our expenses. He's not as black and white as that when it comes to money.) I'm more of a "jump right in and do what needs to be done" kind of person. He's concerned that I'm going to burn myself out too quickly, which is a valid concern, but if I need to work 60+ hours a week to help get rid of the debt, why not? Especially if it's only for a few months? I think I should take advantage of the opportunity while the stores will be hiring extra people.

I've been trying to be very cautious of our energy usage. I was talking with a friend about ways to cut back on electricity, and it helped remind me to unplug things like my computer modem at night (the plug heats up, so I know it's drawing electricity while I'm sleeping!). I've also begun hanging my laundry in the basement. It was humid for a month and the laundry wasn't drying very well and started to smell musty, so I had been using the dryer. I noticed a $30 increase in my electricity bill! Neither of us mind the stiff clothes, although I do end up ironing some things that I wouldn't normally need to do if I had used the dryer. Then again, if I didn't take the clothes out of the dryer in time, they would be wrinkled and I would be ironing them anyway. I actually don't mind ironing. I find it soothing in a strange sort of way.

I was able to stock up the freezer with some on-sale meats. I got a nice ham, some bottom round (for pot roasts) and chickens. Even though there is only 2 of us, we still do like to have a Sunday dinner together. We also do like to have leftovers during the week, and I can my own stocks, so none of it goes to waste. I wonder if that's part of the reason he doesn't want me to work weekends? He'll miss out on the feasts during the winter. I would miss them too. Maybe he's right. But I'm not going to tell him that.

Heres' where we stand. Although horrible to look at, I know getting out of this debt is do-able, although it won't be quick. I equate it to losing weight. If you only have to lose 10 pounds, it'll happen quickly. If you have to lose 100, well, that will take longer.

Savings: $184.35

Debts:
JC Penney: $913.60
Chase: $4,764.91
Discover: $11,871.42
AT&T: $13,705.87
Capital One: $11,027.24
Citibank: $24,547.54

Payments this month have been applied, and more money has been added to savings already this month. Following the baby steps, I need to build my baby EF first. I would prefer it to be over $1,000, but once I hit $1,000 in savings I will reassess.

Where did all this debt come from? We certainly don't live lavishly. Much of it was to bail out our business last fall due to the lagging economy (small family owned businesses weren't included in the gov't bailout, so we had to do it ourselves to stay afloat and meet our payroll obligations). DH had to cut some of his salary early in 2008, and I was paying credit cards with credit cards for a while...amazingly I am current on all my bills, but I'm afraid that could quickly come to a screeching halt if I don't really buckle down.

Add to that $10,000 owed to the IRS in monthly installments, and 3 more payments on a car loan. It's been rough, to say the least. But I will remain optimistic and move forward.

Well, I'm finally biting the bullet and doing what I really should have been doing all along and working to get out of debt. Feeble attempts have been made, but any savings were quickly spent. I am aware that we currently have expenses higher than our income...which is part of the problem! I need to sort through this all and make it work.

I've been an active reader of the blogs for some time now, and now I will be an active participant and want everyone to hold me accountable!

There are things in our budget that we just can't touch...which doesn't help matters. If it were only me in the house, cable would be gone, internet would be either gone or be dial up, and we wouldn't eat out ever. But, to maintain a relationship with DH, I am willing to bend and cut back in other areas to make it work.

I don't know if DH has any idea of the amount of debt we're in...he knows there is debt, but I think not knowing the actual number is better for his sanity and stress level. He owns his own business which has had its ups and downs, and struggles enough with making ends meet, especially with the economy. Although I would like to sit down with him and work on a budget and fully disclose all numbers, I also know that would be detrimental to his well being. He also wants me to handle this, and has requested to stay out of it. So, until I can show something to him in a more positive light, I will keep my lips zipped.

A long-winded intro, but I will fully diclose (anonymously, of course) the amount of debt and income we have over the course of time.

You know...this feels liberating. Its like I'm in a confessional! LOL Money has always been that taboo thing that we can't talk about to anyone, but yet it feels so much more freeing already. I see positive things coming out of this blog!