Triumph and struggle over debt
Earlier this spring I got a bonus from my job and a nice tax return. The bulk of this money went straight towards paying off our debt. Payments to multiple cards, some with a balance over 1k, it felt awesome to be getting rid of the debt. We also rewarded ourselves with a HDTV. Then May came and the government gave us a $1200 stimulus check. Part went to debt and the rest to our vacation. Now it’s the start of August and I am still optimistic that my wife will land a job that will give our income the boost it needs. Without it, we’re going to struggle to pay off debt.
At the same time I am getting extremely frustrated when it comes to things that were taken care of. We had paid off my wife’s store cards she used to buy clothes, but I guess they were still laying and once again both are carrying a balance. As of today there is $152.82 on one and $316.97 on the other, totaling $469.79. Their payments are due in about a week, the minimum on each of course being $10. Even though this debt is small, it’s still giving me a headache because it’s more payments that have to be calculated.
Lately I feel myself worrying more about how I’m going to pay this bill or counting down the days until I get paid again to cover another bill. Sometimes it keeps me in a state of insomnia and there’s not much I can do to make it go away. At the same time it also hits me that these are my wife’s cards, not mine, so why do I feel responsible to figure out how to pay them? As selfish as that sounds, did she think about me during her shopping spree?
I am constantly considering the pros and cons of what cashing out an IRA will be able to do for our situation. Paying off debt however doesn’t change spending habits, so that might not fix anything. I am hoping that we can make it the next two weeks on nearly nothing. My wife will get her paycheck today which is only going to represent a few days of work, not a full two week check. There is going to be pressure and discomfort until we get to 8/15 it will ease up.
I know exactly what you mean when you say it’s kept you up at night thinking about your bills - me too! Don’t be so hard on yourself though - things will get better. Maybe you should speak to your wife and say you need to sit down and talk about your spending and your goals. Either that or let her worry about paying some of the bills. I don’t know what the best way to approach it is but you shouldn’t be in this alone. Good luck!
You need to speak to your wife about the whole card thing. She needs to understand how the whole thing is affecting you mentally. If the store cards, which were paid off earlier this year, have new balances, it clearly shows that your wife doesn’t understand seriousness of you guy’s situation.You need to have tough talk with her asap.
i wish i was reading blogs like this one three years ago. i would be motivated to take the right actions about my debts. have a look at my blog [edit: offensive link] to know what i mean…
@tvo: I should delete your comment for being pure spam. Don’t come to my blog asking my readers to save you from $1.27M worth of debt you got yourself into. I’m leaving it just for people who are curious though.