debt free by 30!

sunday night, while tackling my stack of bills, i came to the realization that i could be debt free by my 30th birthday! (including, or not, the money i owe my folks..but that's a different kind of debt..the interest free, no terms & conditions kind.)

how?! well, i have been carrying balances on 2 credit cards (one +3,000$ and one under 600$). the smaller one, i paid 1/2 the balance last month. this month, i bit the bullet and paid the remaining balance (~ 300$). what a relief! :)
so, now i'm left with one credit card balance. i realized that after doing the math, i could have it paid off within a year! (can you see my HUGE grin?!)
then, there's the car. i was fortunate to get 0.9% interest on a 3 yr loan so it is entirely realistic to try and cut it down to 2 yrs. i'll have to double up in the 2nd yr, but provided i get a job here soon, it's totally possible!
long story short, i can be...

DEBT FREE AT 30!!!!

wishing everyone a wonderful thanksgiving!

mid-month update

so much as happened/changed in the past few weeks, i thought i'd provide a mid-month update. obviously, i bought a car this past weekend! the coupe wasn't even on my radar, but i fell in love with the color & basically the rest is history! :) i love it and it's so fun to drive! i settled with my insurance company. my dad is a mad negotiator and got them to come up almost 1k without having to go to arbitration, affording me the opportunity to put a 10k down payment on my car (side note: with the blowout price of just over 15,200, 0.9% APR for 36 mos and a 10k down payment, my monthly payments are still less than they were with the mazda and i have a shorter term period..awesome! *also, since i am unemployed, i couldn't get financing, so my dad had to co-sign my loan with me*). i went to court this afternoon for my ticket from my accident. the d.a. dismissed it..it took longer to for my dad to find a place to park than it did to check in, sit for a few minutes and then talk to the d.a. but hey, it works for me. now, i just have to wait to see how much my premiums go up in january.

mentally, i can cross #2-4 off my november list..i am still working on the job situation..i had 2 interviews last week and i have another one scheduled for monday 11/22 at noon. hopefully, something shakes out here soon because it's getting more than mildly depressing....bella's having her spa day on wednesday and hopefully i'll be getting a massage by week's end!

p.s. the news i'm sharing with the world...last night, i went on a long awaited date (the guy and i have been talking for..months!) and it was great. call me aggressive or forward, but at the end of the night..i took the leap and kissed him. and it was PERFECT. i suppose there's nothing like standing in the middle of a parking lot enjoying a great kiss. i think my body went numb...i have never believed the "fireworks" analogy when it comes to kissing, but if i didn't see 'em, they were going off somewhere. he called me while i was driving home and he thought it was great too.....so we'll see what lies ahead. i probably shouldn't talk about it, but it was the best kiss of the year (if not, of my life) & i wanna tell everyone! :)

here she is!

2010 Honda Civic Coupe

(Royal Blue Exterior & Gray Cloth Interior)

despite being a monday, today was great!

details aside, i ended up submitting my cover letter and resume online this morning for a tech position and by the afternoon, i had an interview lined up..for TOMORROW! (they're doing interviews on wednesday, but i couldn't make it work since i have one in virginia that afternoon.) so tuesday morning, i will be off to ...wherever it is that i-40/i-85 is going to take me. ;) after my interview, i'm gonna drive to concord and see my old co-workers, since i haven't been in to visit since june.

after setting up the interview (excited!!) and mailing another app packet (going to a nearby town--i should've hand-delivered it i suppose..), i met my dad at my insurance company to sign the power of attorney paperwork, get my letter for court, and get my money!! (**my dad has mad negotiating skills..got them to come up $1k from their original offer, without having to go to arbitration!) so, that total + taxes/fees - deductible - what i still owed on my car = a pretty nice down payment on a new ride (& maybe less some to pay off one credit card (<$300 to go!) and some on another). :)

now that i have my money, a new ride is right around the corner..unfortunately (not really!) with my interview schedule this week, i won't be able to make it to the ford dealership until thursday (to check out the '11 fiesta)..but, maybe i'll have a decision by this weekend?!

things are looking up! God is so good!

november goals

1. JOB (STILL working on this one..but november has started off right with two packets mailed, two more to be mailed later this week, and one to be done online. i have an interview lined up on nov 10th.)
2. court (nov 16th, a result of my accident last month)
3. work out the insurance "stuff"
4. car (i can tell you i've ruled out the mazda2. it is TINY!!)
5. gym (my account's on hold for the next 3 mos.)
6. church
7. massage (i have 5, maybe 6, to get by the end of 2010!)
8. finish the "jessica" project (it should be ready to hang this week!)
9. finish my room
10. sort, purge & re-pack the living room
11. start to work on the bonus room (to be finished by christmas, as a gift to my parents)

the hunt continues

monday, i had an interview down towards wilmington. i think it went okay, but considering how well i thought the last two had gone & still didn't get an offer, i'm not going to get too excited. so, it wasn't stellar but wasn't awful either. i think it'd be a great place to be, with the exception of where to live. i drove around for about an hour or so afterwards, and didn't really see any great housing options...guess that's what happens when you're near the beach (but how can you complain if you're near the beach?!). so, we'll see. i should know one way or the other by the end of the month or early into november (since my interview was towards the end of the process this time).
in other job news, i have another interview scheduled for nov. 10 in virginia. this job, to put it mildly, would be a few steps backwards. but, it is a planning gig so i would be thankful considering i'll soon be entering my 10th month of being unemployed (7th of being supported by the government). if nothing else, it's more interview practice. this one will be a panel of 3-5 staff members including the director. we'll see what shakes out.
more news: two more jobs in the charlotte area have posted that i am going to apply for...can you tell i'm itching to get back to the queen city?! one's for a planner southeast of charlotte (monroe) and the other is for a tech in the lake norman area. the 2nd, i actually had a telephone interview with them the first go-around (the post-college job hunt) for a planner. i lacked the experience then, but i have it now, so maybe that will bode well for me this time?!

pro-actively waiting to see what shakes out....