!!!

[bzarcher]

Unexpected money windfall, yaaaaaaaay!

Checked my AmEx and found out that somewhere in there I qualified to get my line of credit raised by about $600. Still have to be careful, because I want to try to pay the balance off in the next 2 months, thanks, but damn, that's nice.

Comments

[gigerlicious.livejournal.com]

Just a word of advice - the further you go into the debt, the more rapid the credit raises come.

Credit card companies are bent on selling you intstant gratification, that's how they make their buck. It's not just a strategy, they are pushing a very insidious ethic upon America.

There's a reason our national savings rate barely hovers above zero.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

And this is part of why I want to use this only for bare essentials (groceries so that we can eat until Friday, for example), and then use a good chunk of the next few paychecks while we're on partial or no rent to hammer than debt away.

[gigerlicious.livejournal.com]

Excellent. With your job and solid living situation, it's time to swell with savings.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

*nods* My goal is that I'll be socking away $150 per month, minimum, into savings. (About 5% of each month's earnings.) Plus, I'm putting 4% of my paycheck directly into 401(k), and my company matches another 4% onto that.

[gigerlicious.livejournal.com]

I'd recommend 50% if you can manage it. Having savings like that is what kept me stable through three months of unemployment.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

To do that, I need to eliminate my student loan or car loan, both of which I am working on, but it'll take some time.

Right now, I should have about 30% of my income 'free' to work with, but I don't want to commit that 30% anywhere until I know what's going on for sure with billing and such.