First Timer...

So - this is my first ever blog post. Possibly the most boring one ever written too! But that's okay. It's good for me branch out a bit and do something different.

So - here's the story..... I quit my job, used the credit card to supplement DH's income over the last year. I came clean about it (the CC, not quitting - he knew about that!) 2 1/2 weeks ago - D-day - and as hard as it was, as hard as it is, lots of good will come of it. We are now working together on finances which we haven't done for years. We have a common goal - get out of debt. We plan on getting rid of all lines of credit, loans, etc. by March of 2008. If we keep it up, we could also have our car paid off by the end of 2008. It's way too cool to think about getting rid of these debts that we've had for years and years. We've been paying $95 every month for a scooter that was used for five months out of the three years we've had the loan. I'd like to fix it up and use it during the summers. Maybe next year. We'll finally say "bye, bye" to student loans, which, by the way, I'm SO grateful for what they represent - my DH has an education and has that safety net. I'll just be glad to have that extra $93!

Next to go will be the LOC attached to the checking account. I really screwed up using this and the VISA. Every time I used it, I thought I'd just make it up with the next paycheck, but that never happened and I just used it more and more. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about it. I should have just told DH about how tight money was from the beginning. Anyway - I'm sure there will be more on that subject later! After the LOC will be the Home Depot card. We had to pay for sprinklers two summers ago but we thought we would be able to pay for them with the Christmas bonus. Well, that particular year was not a good bonus year and we got enough bonus $ to barely pay for the kid's presents. So, we've carried that debt for a while - $26/mo in interest and about $12 to the actual loan. We might have paid that off by 2030....MAYBE. Anyway, after HD card will be the VISA. That is the one that I really, really, really messed up on. I added probably $6,500 - $7,000 over the last year - on a fabulous wardrobe, nails, great shoes, perfect hair cuts & color, kitchenware...oh wait......nope - none of those things. I used it for groceries, gasoline, b-day gifts, etc. Just living expenses. That card now has a balance of $13, 474...(gulp)...including the previous balance we've carried from forever ago, a new keyboard, rental car repair deductible, and my plentiful additions. The thing that makes me most ill is that I kept this important info from my hubby and it affected so much more than our debt. That was so unfair of me to do to him. If I had told him earlier, we could have worked together on it and not gotten this far behind. Gratefully, I've been able to pay all the bills, and on time. It just all catches up with you.

So....there it is. Now you know my dirty little secret. So, maybe not so dirty, maybe not so little, but a secret. Secret that's not a secret anymore, thank heaven! Before I told him, I'd been trying to work up the courage for weeks...no, months before. I'd go into my closet or into the kid's toy room and just lay on the floor for hours and try to get up enough nerve to tell him. You know how it finally came out? He was talking about how to spend our tax refund and said we'd pay off the keyboard part of the VISA bill. From what he said, I thought he was saying that the VISA would then be paid off. I had to take a big breath, I tried not to throw up, and told him the truth. Ugh - really one of the worst feelings I've felt because it was my own fault. It really sucks being accountable for something wrong I've done! I told my friend one time that it really sucks to have your husband mad at you, especially when you've done something to deserve it!

DH started his own blog and won't tell me where it is. I tried to keep this a secret because of that, but I give him about 1.2 minutes to find it...starting..........now...... He probably already has it bookmarked! He's good at this stuff. Me? Not so much. I'm not sure where to find his. I can only assume that he won't tell me because he's written things about me that he doesn't want me to see. I'm thinking he vented to his blog, not to me. Oh well...what do you do?

He's a good man with a good heart. He was (I'm guessing still is) really mad at me over this, but he's been great and we are working together now. Which is what I've wanted for a lot of years. You know what 'they' say about debt? That it's a prison? 'They' are right. I can't wait to get out! What I'd like to do is get a nice, big, fat, nest egg, pay cash for everthing, have a family vacation every year and a romantic trip every year w/DH only. I adore my children - I'm so much in love with them that it's sickening.......but....my DH & I have been married 12 years and we deserve some romance!! I want to take him to Hawaii. I've been there twice - once with my girlfriend and once with my siblings & parents (no spouses, no kids - a story for another day). Both could have been romantic, but my honey wasn't there to share them with me, so they weren't! I'd really like to go take moonlit strolls on the beach while holding hands with my hot husband!

So - back to the finances. I'm babysitting a baby to help earn money to put towards debt. I don't make all that much, but anything I can contribute is good. I started watching the baby so I could earn money so I would not need to use the CC so much. Now I'm watching him to pay it off. I was going to stop after this school year, but I'll keep watching him for another year. The mom is going to teach 1/2 days so I'll have him less, but I'll be making more per hour. He was 2 months old when I started and I make $2.22/hr. Not very good, but every little bit helps.

DH gets paid this Friday and we are going to be able to put $500 towards the student loan. As of today, we have $22, 243 in loans, not including cars. Ugh. Let's see how we look after Friday...