When I first found this site early 2006 was actually participating in the 60% solution in which you limit your spending to 60% of your total income or less. Some where down the line I stopped, when or why I do not know. But for the New Year I have decided to start back at it again especially since I really want a house with out any debt..including a car payment. Thank God my card is paid for with very little problems. Here is what I plan on doing it's a little different than what's posted on MSN:

Total income
-10% savings
-10% irregular spending(tuition, insurance, etc)
-20% long term goals (new home)
-5% IRA
-5% fun money
50% other expenses
-----------------
100%

I got this in my inbox today from Bankrate.com and decided to share with everyone. I am sure you are aware of these steps to becoming debt free but just a reminder to 2007
1. Live below your means. You cannot become debt-free if you spend more than you earn. It's that simple! Financial stress relief is called "money in the bank" or "positive cash flow."

2. Decide where you want to spend your money. Don't let others decide for you. Know how much money you are bringing in, how much goes out and to where it goes. If you are not satisfied with the answers you get from this exercise, now is the time to change your spending habits. You (and your significant other) are ultimately responsible for how your money is spent.

3. Pay your bills on time, every time. Managing monthly bills is an essential part of staying debt free and maintaining a good credit rating. If you find this difficult, come up with a system to ensure that bills are not paid late.

4. Set financial goals, both short- and long-term. Having goals in place makes it easier to make the necessary spending cuts to get what you really want. Without reasons to cut spending and save, you will constantly be under pressure to spend money you don't have for things you don't need.

5. Use credit only as a tool and with a plan. Figure out how and when you will pay the balance. Imagine building a house without a plan or blueprints. That's what your financial house will look like, too, without a plan. Your goal should be to pay for credit card purchases within three months. Remember, unlike wine, cheese or my wife, debts do not improve with age.

6. Have an adequate emergency savings fund. Life will throw curveballs at you, ranging from the need to replace a worn-out washing machine to a temporary job loss. Three to six months' worth of bare-bones living expenses should shield you from most of these problems. Can't do three months' worth? Start with three days' worth and watch it grow as saving becomes a habit.

7. Learn how to invest your savings. Your money has to earn more money to keep you out of debt, especially in your later years. Take a class, find a referral to a great adviser or just start reading. Do it your way, but do it; and start now!

Last year my goal for 2006 was to be debt free,well I have pretty much come close...there is no cc debt but I still have my student loan. Now the goal is to pay off student loan and save $10,000 by December 2007 as a down payment for a home. The goal is to save the 20% by the end of 2008 and with no cc debt and student loan that should be really easy as long as murphy stays away

I am so happy I paid off my high interest CC (30%) I am so happy ( I keep doing that). I took a look at my account and I had little more than a $10000 just sitting there earning about $3.00 a month and this high interest CC paying about $40 a month in interest so I said pay it off and I did. My goal is to be debt free by December 31st and atleast $3000 in the EF. Now that this CC is paid off I can really start saving. I am going to write the CC company and ask them to remove any activity on my credit report regarding this cc. I was never late always paid on time as well as paying more than the minium, but I closed this account which I am sure will have a negative affect on my score...we'll see

Previous CC total: $2255.91
New Ttoal :$1242.93

Well I added $19.28 to my EF to make it an even $1400.00 this is the most I have ever saved since I can rember. Other than tax returns I have never had over $200 in my savings account just sitting there..this year has really been a year of accomplishments and I am so happy. I also paid $15.88 on cc reducing my overall balance to $2287.83...wow I feel like I will be reaching my goals after all. I am hoping to have atleast the cc's paid off by December 31 and $3000.00 in my EF so I can start socking away my checks for a house

Wow, it's payday and I had a total of $49.00 left over I also paid all my bills that are due next month and now I have $200.00 left even with the extra $172.20 on cc's so I am tapping myuself on the back

well as you all know I got a raise last pay period and I made some changes this week, I decided to save the difference, which is about an extra $60.00 a paycheck. So I changed my automatic transfer from
$75 to $150 EF
$30 to $10 Misc Account
$20 to $25 IRA

I never experienced paydays when I am not broke. Since I have taken on this seriousness with my finances I always seem to have some cash left over until the next pay period. I just checked the bank and my funds are there from the part-time job ($234.90). So to even everything out I paid $34.90 on the cc debt.

Previous total: $2584.36
New total:$2549.26
Challenge total:$393.15

I went to the mall to get my free undies and past through Macy's I kept looking at one particular dress and then placed a skirt on hold, but I did not get them Boy did this take some discipline but I am happy I just kept asking myself "need or want" " no cc debt or cc " house or live at home the rest of my life" needless to say I will not be back tomorrow to pick up the skirt. They'll be others

Today is July 31 and I must say I think I did pretty good this month, here are my totals:

Total income $1829.58

expenses
Gas:$121.05
Bank Charges: $133.00 my mistakes
Interest Paid (cc) $77.33
Fixed Bills:$118.98
Charitable Donations:$21.00
Clothing $9.50
Dining Out $43.81
Gifts:$33.10
Groceries:$207.31 ;( I did not use coupons
Healthcare/insurance: $221.65
Household Cleaning/laundry:$18.70
Hurricane Supplies:$9.88
Job exp (non Reimburse) $5.99
Leisure: $8.24
Misc: 30.54 this is way down
Personal Care $43.36
Sales Tax: $9.52
Federal Income tax: 164.32
Medicare: $25.64
SS $109.66
Total: 1482.58

Income VS Spending Difference: +$397.08
So some things I went over but a lot of things were cut. Atleast I have funds saved

I do not care what any one says D. Ramsey's plan work. I think working from smallest to largest paying off debt works. Yes it is a mind thing but it keeps you motivated. I paid off another CC ($650.28)and got 1 more to go and then I will work on the charge off (445.00 cc) and the cell phone ($750.00, I go t this for my ex, never again will I be a fool for love)

Now I will be unable to add my weekly $25.00 to the challenge and $20.00 to my personal/me account but at this point I do not care because my cc is paid off


New CC balance:$1999.76

I am soooooooooo happy

I have come to the realization that you really cannot save if you have all this damn (pardon me) cc debt. Even though I only have two active accounts left to pay off and then one charge off, in which I have not included in my balance due for CC ...it is enough to drive you crazy. I plan on paying off CC2 next pay period if it kills me. I just realize as well, that school will be starting really soon (August) and all I have saved is $107.00 towards my tuition which is not even equivalent to half of my tuition or books, so I have to up my game now seriously. I mean I have got to cut corners some place. Since the new month I have not eaten out so that is a plus and I have been eating leftovers since Sunday; I can't imagine what else to cut. I refuse to buy any books this month, and I refuse to deduct from the challenge/new home account unless it is an extreme emergency. So we will have to wait and see. Hopefully I will have at least $75.00 left over by next pay period and I can add that to the education account

Well went through my egister and found the $11.00 (additional to the challenge) I made an extra $15.00 on my part-time job and transferred $11.00 of that to the challenge. So I am glad it wasn't an error in which I would be deducting this amount from my challenge, I just forgot to add it so the total of $234.92 is correct On 6/8 I had $837.15 in the challenge account and was fustrated about all the money I owe on CC's and decided hey pay off the CC then I only had $49.00 now I am back up to $234.92 less than a month I was able to save $185.92 in about 3 weeks not to mention teh money I saved in My Misc account, Education account as well as my personal account totaling about $625.00 for the month So I did very well for June

Ok just entered my paycheck into my register not including the part-time job'spay and paid all bills even extra on the cc's. So here we go

$75.00 EF
$30.00 Misc Account
$20.00 Personal Account
$20.00 Eduction account
$20.00 IRA
$25.00 Challenge/New home account
$134.54 lights
$40.00 water bill
$20.00 Tithes/offerings
$40.22 on CC 1 ( bal: $1944.32)
$40.00 on CC 2 (bal $871.00)
$40.00 C-phone #1
$52.00 C-phone #2
$39.85 Cable

Previous balance on CC:$2895.54

As you all know I am in the process of cleaning up my credit. Any way there are a few MD bills being reported which I do not doubt, but the only thing listed are the amounts and not the original creditor or cotnact information.So I am disputing these charges with Equifax, the only one reporting the bills. I think it is from my car accidnet when I went to the hospital but I am not sure hopefully they'll eithre validate or remove it all together.

Next I went through my up coming bills and realize by July 16 at the rate I am going I will have CC 2 paid off ($911.00 balance)and one left to go ( about $1900.00 balance) so I am excited about that.

Gosh I can not wait to cream " I am debt free"

Well I was complaining about all the money I have been spending, but I also have been paying down debt as well as paying my offerings/tithes. Well I was rushing today to get to my part-time job and my mom handed me a check from my insurance company for $187.50 Last year or the year before I was in a car accident and totaled my car well my insurance company fought the other company and apparently won the case and I got some of my deductible back yeah!!!!!! I am so happy. So I look at it as a blessing all my charitable contributions were given back to me 4x more than what I actually contributed, boy am I thankful. I have gotten my overall debt down to about 3000.00 in the last month or so boy it really feels good. I can�t wait to call in on the Dave Ramsey show and yell I am debt free. So I am adding my refund tomy EF account

Well I was trying to beat the CC interest rate and pay off my cc at $406.00 but no such luck. My billing cycle ended 6/19 one day late so it cost me $411.13 to pay off this cc but atleast it is paid. So now I am down from $3302.44 in CC debt to $2895.54 which I am sure will be more than that because of the interest accrued but my goal is to have them paid off by August and then I can really start saving for me a house and a car(thank goodness my car is still running). I do see what every one means by paying off cc first, what sense does it make to earn 4.75 or less in a savings account when I am being charged 18%+ on CC debt. So I am glad I am able to pay off off my debt. With out God , you guys and my part-time job I would probably not be even close to debt free or home ownership the way I am now
Thanks

Thank God it is Friday, I am sooo tired I just don't know what to do. Went through and looked at all my bills, everything seems to be current just have a few things to pay on Monday but other than that everything else is paid. Looks like I am meeting my goals. I paid off another CC, well as of the 22nd ( I post dated the online payment) which leaves with me 3 active CC that needs to be paid first and then 1 charge off, an old cell phone bill and 1 student loan, my goal is to have everything paid for no later than October. I guess Dave's plan works after all by tackling the small accounts first I have paid off a lot of debt a total of 6 CC and 1 student loan about $2500.00, so I feel really good right now. Can't wait to check my credit score next month. And thank goodness my car seems to be running ok except today I hit a curb not once but twice at the bank and nw there is a funny sound

I have more problems with my full-time job and payday more than anyone I know. Well we got our paystubs and my check was $1089.99 about 12.00 less than I calculated and I got my reimbursment for marketing at total of $63.90 but guess what the $1089.99 won't be deposited until Monday because that is when the check was dated, nice. So I decided to post date all my online payments and I figured I will pay the following
$40.00 Home Phone
$40.00 C-phone 1
$40.00 Cable
$130.00 CC1 (paying extra on this)
$75.00 EF
$20.00 IRA
$30.00 MISC Svg
$25.00 Challenge
$20.00 Education account
$20.00 Personal Account
$20.00 Tithes
$35.00 Renewal for Sam's Club
$328.93 CC 2 (Paid in full, thank God)

Credit card payemnt:$927.70 (3 paid off)
Groceries: $98.86
Leisure:$$29.67
Job Expenses: $10.64
Student loan;$280.07 (paid in full)
Water & Sewage: 40.39
Gifts: $24.27
Charitable Donations: $20.00
Gas: $18.01
Auto Maintenance:4.79
Hurricane Supplies: $4.47
SS Tax:$16.47
Medicare:$3.85
Fed tax:$16.37
Cleaning suplies: $11.85
Personel Care:$10.40
Dining out $9.04 Way less than usual
Sales Tax:$7.15
Misc: 1.57

Well I did it, I did not want to wait until pay day to pay off one of my student loans, so I transferred funds from my EF to pay my debt. It feels soooo good
Now I only have one more to go, this one cost me $280.07
EF Balance $282.61

Well I went ahead and paid off CC5, $125.84, I figured it is better than waiting until next week (payday)especially since I am in attack mode. Now I only have 4 more to go and next week (payday ) I will pay off CC6, $944.67

I usually calculate my hours a few days before payday (well in this case a week) just to see where I am at and what to look forward to. Well all that complaining I did about paying off that cc was a waste of time and energy becsause this is one huge check...a total of 104 hours yeahhhhhhhhhh!

Now I figure, after taxes I should be getting about $1100.00 (Yeah!!!) plus an additional $228.00 from the part-time job
Anyway here is what I am looking at :
Water & Sewage: $40.00
C-phone#1: $40.00
Home Phone: $30.00
Cable: $40.00
Savings #1: $75.00
Challenge: $50.00
IRA: $15.00
CC2: $33.00
CC:3 $52.00
CC4: $20.00
CC5: 125.00 (paid in full)
Sam's club renewal: $35.00
Dental Ins :$12.00
Leaving me with about $761.00
Now I am thinking if my brother pays me what he owes me ($265.00) I can use this amount + the $761 to pay off cc2 ($944.45) leaving me with $82.00 for two weeks but at this point I do not care because I am sick and tired of these bills and I am not sure as you know how long my car will be around and I sure don't want a lot of bills if I get a new car

Well I was a little nervous but I went ahead and paid off one of my CC's $797.61
I transferred the money from my EF because the money I keep in the challenge account is located at ING and will be a few days before it's actually deposited into my linked account, so I figured before I chicken out I'd better pay it now that I am serious. So now my new total for the challenge is $237.46 this difference is not available for withdrawal as of yet but that is fine with me. I get paid next week from both the part-time and full time job and will deposit the full amount from my part-time job to my EF making up the difference next I will work on another card ASAP. God I hope my car keeps up

I must say I am blessed and sometimes I do forget. Got my first paycheck today from the part-time job...$228.94 and was able to give $20.00 for Tithes because I am thankful. I was not looking for a part-time job and my sister gave my name to her boss at her part-time job (same place) and I was hired. Then a week later I was told I need a new car; so guess what the money I make here will be used towards car payments once I get a car, so yes I am blessed. Then I transferred $8.31 to the challenge giving me a new total of $737.04 placed $150.00 in the EF leaving me with $50.00 for myself. Boy, am I thankful

Once again you guys gave me a new idea, I think now I am going to save all soda cans and turn them in. I drink a lot of oda and figured I'd better get some of my money back. I 'll have to research as to where I can turn them in and how much per pound ( Iwonder if it will be worth it) but I will add what ever I get to my challenge money

Well today we took a co-worker out for lunch, (she's leaving Wednesday for PT school) anyway the boss bought lunch today...yeah!!! I did not have to spend a dime. So I figured with my coke and sandwich it would have been about $7.00 so guess what I did , added that amount to my challenge money now brining my total to $385.17. Boy am I glad I am back on track

Boy am I on a roll, I treated a co-worker to lunch today, her last day is next Wednesday I will miss her a lot...but the money that I would not have normally spent I also added to my challenge money which was $6.55 ( now whatever I spend that I normally would not I will add that amount also to my challenge money,because it's money that could have been saved) anyway my total is now $355.41. I am so happy because I will think twice about blowing any money; with my new way of thinking because basically I will be spending twice the amount

For a minute I was slipping but now I am back on track with my saving plan I did not buy breakfast this morning and packed my lunch. Now I have added 4.27 to my challenge money again rounding up brining my total to $348.86. I will definately meet my $100.00 goal a month. It feels good to be refocused

Just rounded up my change and made a few deposits to my challenge money brining my total from $321.79 to $339.59 only about $60.00 more dollars to go before I meet my monthly goal of a $100.00 a month deposited to this account. I even gave my self a new alternative that if I waste any money such as shopping eating out etc I would deposit the same amount that I spent to my challenge money because that could have been money saved. Looks like I am back on track