Adventures in Debt

Phew, it’s almost the end of July, and I have gotten a much better handle on my finances. I’m feeling much better about things. I’ve even updated the debt meter over there on the left, so take a look.

One way I managed to save some money was by transferring money over to my Citi credit card and take advantage of the 0% interest rate till January 2009. This past week they gave me some even better news by increasing my credit limit $3000 so that I could take even more advantage if I so choose. I might just do that this week because that would have 80% of my debt in one spot, so that makes paying it off easier. I hate having my debt split over several financial institutions because it’s hard to keep track of all the due dates. This way though, I would be able to reduce that number to two, which is much easier to deal with.

Another reason why I was able to get the debt down a bit more this month was the fact that I was able to pay off more of the debt! I was being much more diligent about putting every penny I had towards it, and then also trying not to spend any more money than I had to.

So there you have it.

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll have noticed that I have leapt past M in the Change Challenge. This week has been particularly fruitful, where I found 50 cents last weekend, and then 35 cents at work by the vending machine. I was pleasantly surprised at the two quarters, as they were sitting on the floor just under the counter. This is an excellent place to search for change, as people often don’t realize they’ve dropped some change, or, in the case of pennies or nickels, often don’t want to bother picking it up. The 35 cents was a very pleasant surprise, as I found them in between the two vending machines at work. Somebody obviously didn’t want to try to rescue their quarter that had fallen there, but I reached in and grabbed it. As I was retrieving the quarter, I saw the dime as well, so it was even better! M is quite jealous at my big finds, and is anxiously scouring the ground in the hopes of catching up.

Yes! I managed to sell my unused window air conditioner this evening. A few weeks ago I attended a building tenant meeting and met a woman who lives a few floors above me. We started talking about our apartments, and she mentioned that she was frustrated that her current air conditioner no longer fit in her window (the building management is in the process of replacing all the windows, and her air conditioner was too big.) I jokingly mentioned that I had an air conditioner I wasn’t using, and she asked if I’d be willing to sell it. I was surprised, as I hadn’t actually thought about it, but after a few moments thought, I agreed. I wouldn’t be using it anyways, and it would free up space as well as earn me some money.

I asked for $75, more than I actually wanted for it.

She offered $65 instead.

I agreed.

She came by to pick it up tonight, and I am $65 richer. She’ll be more comfortable, and I’ll be $65 less in debt. I know it’s not a huge amount, but it’s definitely a good snowflake to have found!