'Cause I haven't bored you enough with this yet...

[mousme]

Finances are teh suck. Most of you are probably in agreement with this, so I'll just leave that statement unadorned and move on.

Thus far I think I may be able to squeak by without getting my phone line cut off. A few of you (you know who you are and I am sending you massive internet squishy hugs) have been extraordinarily sweet with me, and so I shall just take this opportunity to thank you publicly (you'll be getting emails from me as well, check your inboxes).

So far I've got a little over half the amount I need in order to stay afloat. This is progress, and so right now I'm being cautiously optimistic.

All I have to do, really, is hang on until the middle of June. I'm hoping that when my parents get back my father will agree to co-sign a loan with me, thus allowing me to consolidate all my damn debts in one place. That will, I hope, put me on the road to financial recovery. I'm pretty sure I can keep up with my bills and the payment on a small-ish loan (I don't know what constitutes a small loan, but I figure the amount I'm asking for is pretty small, comparatively speaking), especially if that means that at the end of, say, a year or possibly two, everything is repaid.

My plan for today is to call Bell Customer Service and cancel all the extraneous services for which I'm paying. Honestly, I use my phone so little that, having taken a good look at one of my bills this weekend, it's not worth having all the extra shit for which they're charging me. I don't have a caller ID screen on my phone, and it's probably cheaper to just get myself an answering machine at FutureShop.

:::ETA:::

Called them and made the changes, effective this afternoon. I have saved $29.40 before taxes on my bill every month from now on. That's essentially cutting my costs in half. You read right: half. Go me. My billing date is th 26th, so I'm still going to owe them a lot of money for this month, but starting in June my costs will go down considerably.

:::End ETA:::

My plan for the rest of the week is to start looking for another job. Moonlighting is not exactly my idea of fun, but it will definitely take the pressure off for the next few months. Normally I'd apply at Chapters or a related store, but I don't think the hours there are as flexible as they seem: I wouldn't be able to do any kind of training during the day, for instance. I may still apply and see what happens: nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

I'm also going to start looking into restaurants. I think I mentioned that I heard there was a shortage of wait staff this year, so with any luck my total lack of experience won't count against me as much as it normally would. I figure that since I'm reasonably bright and learn quickly, and I can carry at least two plates at one time, that it should be okay. We shall see.

Otherwise, I will be looking into all my current expenses and seeing where I can trim off excess spending. With any luck and a lot of number crunching, I may be able to scrape together a bit more money by the end of each month.

August is the last month of the lease on my car. Since I'm planning on keeping the thing (I haven't spent four years hanging on grimly by my fingernails only to give up now), I'll have to refinance it. However, I'm reasonably confident that I can refinance it for considerably less than what I'm paying now. So that, too, ought to take off some of the pressure.

So, basically, all I have to do is make it through this summer, and then my finances won't be nearly as sucky. Light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. Provided the universe doesn't have any new surprises in store for me.

In other, only slightly related news, FutureShop has agreed to repair my DVD player (since we got the extended warranty on it and everything, I would have been highly put out if they hadn't) and, after I insisted for about twenty minutes, they even extracted the DVD that was stuck inside. They seemed perplexed that I wasn't willing to wait three to eight weeks to get my rental DVD back once the machine was repaired. Why that was such a difficult notion to grasp, I don't know.

Anyway, the news is mostly good: within three to eight weeks, I will have my machine back, one way or the other. I find that a wee bit long to wait, but I understand that they probably get a lot of requests for repairs. So. Two months max.

This is me trying very, very hard to be optimistic about the future. At this point, if I allow myself to get depressed about it, there will be no end in sight whatsoever.

Comments

[kino-kid.livejournal.com]

You've looked into loans, but have you looked specifically into a credit line? The rate is lower than a credit card, and the payment terms are more flexible (even though you should be paying way more than your minimum every month even if you don't clear your balance on any type of credit).

A credit line is very easy to get but a lot of people do not use this option. You can have credit cards and no equity and still get a credit line.

In general you will pay prime plus 2 or 3%, depending on you bank, so the interest rate varies. For instance, I currently pay 8.5% on my credit line. Which is lower than the credit cards I've been paying off for the last little while. I moved a substantial amount to the credit line, so while I am paying things off, I am paying more principal and less interest.

Also, do you have the preferred rate for your credit card(s)?

Call the credit card company and speak to a human. Tell them you want the preferred rate on you credit card. You will likely have to pay a fee of 20-25 dollars a year, but depending on how much you have on your card, you will save way more than that by getting a lowered interest rate.

When you get a credit card, they can offer it to you at 16.5% for instance. But every credit card company has a preferred rate, whether they advertise it or note. This is the lowest regular rate, and not temporary like promotions. Like I said there is probably an annual fee.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK FOR IT.

I remember a few years ago I called asked for a preferred rate for a credit card. I was accruing 17.5% in interest payments, and after a 5-10 minute phone call I had an interest rate of 10.5. Just like that.

Lastly, if you can manage to stay organized about it, check those credit card offers that come in the mail, but only do this if you can be prudent about it. Consider offsetting a part of your balance to a credit card that offers a super-low interest rate for 6 months. Check the entire details. Usually these cards will revert to their usual 18.5% interest rate or something completely ridiculous like that. If you KNOW that you can clear that balance in six months (i.e. you have already made a budget, you have earmarked the money you will pay no matter *what* emergencies you may have), then you will do it fast at one of these lower rates, like 5 or 6%.

Start budgeting! It will help you develop your action plan!

And don't get depressed about it. If you need to get IRATE about it, gimme a call!

[mellybean71.livejournal.com]

We have an extra DVD player, you can borrow it if you like. I'd need it back by the end of June for my camp but I can lend you a different one (it has volume problems though) after that. :)

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip!

When I asked the lady if there was anything else I might do, she said "no." I don't know if she considered a credit line or decided that she didn't want to do the extra work. I shall go back and try to find out.

I don't actually own a credit card, so I have no rates whatsoever. My credit rating is also currently too low for one, or so I'm told. *shrug*

I am in the process of budgeting. We shall see what I can come up with.

[kino-kid.livejournal.com]

That's not an entirely bad thing. Credit cards are evil.

Good premises to you.

[montecristo.livejournal.com]

I hope things start looking brighter for you soon, and you find some more helpful and workable financial insights. ; )

[alcinoe.livejournal.com]

I think that is is terrific that you are working so hard to get those bills down. I have found that consolodation is the way to go, but you have to be very careful not to rack up the bills again once you have paid it all off. It may seem to be a no brainer, but the freedom for a dozen little bills sometimes makes you (generic, not you specifically) think you have more money than you actually have. I fell into that trap a couple times. Ya, I don't learn easily.