Excerp from www.makelovenotdebt.com:
Wedding Vendor to Us: "Cool Kids Don't Stick to Budgets!"
Posted on March 05, 2007 by Her and tagged budget, wedding
This week a wedding vendor told us to be like the cool kids and forget about a wedding budget. Here's how it went down (approximately).
Her: Dear Vendor, how much do you charge?
Vendor: MILLIONS of dollars, plus your KIDNEYS!!!
Her: Oh dear! We can't afford that. One of your competitors has offered to charge us just one tonsil for the same services. Can you match their price, which fits in our budget?
Vendor: NO! And you should forget about your budget if you care about your guests. You are a BAD BRIDE if you don't spend MILLIONS of dollars, plus your KIDNEYS! Anyway, I've never met a bride that came in on budget, so let me just tear that budget up for you and get started on your kidney removal...
Her: AGGGHHHH!!!!
I am tempted to send the vendor a link to this educational film, Your Thrift Habits. Enjoy!
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I've always been a compulsive shopper, I'm not blaming it solely on the ADHD because I'm on medication that supposedly is suppose to subdue that, but I'm sure that my need for instant gratification (and a new Coach bag with matching wallet of course) ties into that somewhere. After looking through online realty listings of houses that, in my magical land of unicorns & fairies, I some how thought I could afford a mortgage I decided to apply online through a bank to see what I would be able to afford. Now here's the kicker: I have an excellent credit score, because I have so much credit open. I'm always on time with my payments, though they're for the most part, not much more than the minimum payment. My mom was the credit score nazi growing up, so I coddled my credit cards like I was Gollum from Lord of the Rings. But I spend spend spend, for some reason or another and work pretty much, just to pay my bills. Thus saving nothing, because I'm even chargin gas and groceries because I cannot manage to put money aside for basic necessities. Yay me. I digress....
Back to applying for mortgage online. I have great credit, but a lot of debt, and absolutely no savings. The bank e mailed me back, and I could just about hear them choking back tears of laughter through the e mail. Apparently there's no such thing as rolling your debt into the initial mortgage, you have to own a house already and then apply for a remortgage or home equity loan, but you cannot include pre existing debt into your first mortgage. Shits.
Today I decided to put on my big girl panties and be honest with myself, and Michael about my credit card debt, he always knew I was oblivious to my actual grand total of debt, and all I cared about was paying my bills on time and having a good credit score. My credit score is good alright, but now my Capitol One Card minimum payment is almost as much as my car payment. Shits. That's only one of 5 credit cards I have balances on, plus 2 consolidation loans through banks and a car loan.
I feel like an asshole because one of the consolidation loans I have I got because my parents were nice enough to get since my debt to income ratio was too high to get one on my own. And I went and racked up my credit card bills again after I just finished paying them off, because of Wedding stuff and various other things I could find an excuse to charge. I also have an overdraft account with my bank that is like another credit line that I currently owe.
I did something that I've dreaded today, and faced my debt total, said it out loud even, and called Michael to inform him. He wasn't surprised, he actually thought it was more, so that hurdle was completed. Now I have to face my mother and tell her that I charged after she helped me to get the consolidation loan and promised to burn my credit cards. If I go missing, I'll be buried somewhere in west falmouth....
I'm being honest with myself for the first time ever about my spending habits, everyone else knew, but I just chose not to care as long as my bills were paid on time. Now I'm trying to apply for a mortgage and not be stuck in an in laws apartments in my grandfather's basement for the rest of my life.
I've used some online calculators for debt management, and I'm going to do a budget worksheet. According to the online calculators I could be debt free in 3 years or less, less if I apply more money once my car loan is paid in August of 2009 and 1 of my loans in June of 2009. I know it'll happen, I just didn't picture myself married and living in a basement with our son at 25. Budgeting and real life expenses is what they should be teaching you in high school not geometry or the square root of pi. Last time I checked, I didn't need to find the volume of a triangle to balance my checkbook, thanks for nothing Dr. Piggot. Yes that was her real name, she was a weird hippy lady that went on excursions to India every year and brought back knick knacks that smelled wierd..... But I digress...
Oh and another bonus, I checked my cell phone statement, and apparently I negated to realize that I didn't have unlimited text messeging on my blackberry as I had thought. Here's a good math equation : 500 text messeges x $0.15 = $80.00 in additional charges on your bill. Shits. Geuss who now has unlimited text messaging.
Well I wanted to profess my financial responsability and how I'm finally owning up to it as I should have from the minute I opened my first credit card. I know it could be worse, but I still feel like an ass. I'm going to continue looking at online financial tips, and worksheets, and look lovingly at Starbucks with a tear in my eye as I walk past it and start bringing in tea to work instead of my grande caramel mochiatto. Please pass the Ativan on your way out ....
Oh yeah, the whole point of my post, to profess my credit card weilding sins. $24,544.09 folks. That's only credit card debt, I have 1 bank loan that will be paid off as of June 2009, the other bank loan still has a good 4 1/2 years left on it, and my truck will be paid off as of August 2009.
I'm aiming to be out of the hole in 3 years and completely debt free in 5.
3 comments:
Hey! I liked Dr. Piggot! And I love hippies!
Not for nothing, but I learned to balance my checkbook at FHS in class, among other business stuff. so they did teach it, in the 80s at least.
The problem is, yes your spending habits, but the credit card companies praying on folks like you. Everything they do is to bury us in debt so we can't get out.
Welcome to the Club!!
The Debt club that is.
Yea Baby, Misery loves company......
Its ok though because we didn't love you for your money.
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