How exactly did I rack up my CC debt?

This is the tale of how Ninja racked up her credit card debt.

After graduating college, I lived at home for a few months and during that time I had paid down my credit card debt to just $800. Then, I moved out of my parents house. There were some boundary issues present and I was sick of fighting with my mom, mostly about money. She wanted me to be debt free, but I was sick of hearing her moan and groan every time I spent *any* money because she knew I still needed to pay off the credit card.

When I moved, I wiped out my emergency fund to pay the deposit on my new apartment. I didn't use my credit card for anything, though. A couple months later, though, it was my birthday, so I bought myself a shiny new laptop. On credit, of course!!! Then, a few months later, I used my credit card to partially pay to go on a cruise with my two best friends from college. That added on even more debt.

Finally, when I got my job where I currently live, I used my credit card to buy furniture for my new apartment and for all my travel expenses. When I got here in August 2008, I owed a little over $5,000.

Luckily, I had a signing bonus, which I used to pay off about $2,000 of what I owed. I've been throwing as much extra as possible at the balance since then, and I have learned my lesson for real this time. I do not use plastic unless it's my debit card, and I never will ever again.

Weekend Update

My budget is already out of whack for the month of February.

First of all, my hair dryer died so I needed to buy a new one. That was the least of my worries, though. I did my taxes Friday night, and I owe the state $901. I am not pleased! However, my parents are graciously giving me a gift of $901 to send in to cover it. Bullet dodged. I didn't ask them for the money--they offered of their own accord. I am only getting $89 back from the feds, but it beats having to pay them.

Second, those pesky overdraft fees did hit--to the tune of $105. I called my bank, only to speak with the most unhelpful customer service person ever. However, when I went to visit my branch in the afternoon, and talked to my personal banker, she did everything she could to listen to me and e-mailed her supervisor to see about getting some of those fees refunded. Hopefully, that will happen--if not, it's a stupid tax on my part. I really like my bank, so I'll be disappointed if this can't be fixed (even partially).

I explained to my personal banker about wanting to pay off my credit card, and she said that the bank has a credit card with 0% interest for 6 months and then 9.99% after that. It's a way better rate then what I have now, so I applied for the card and will be moving that balance over. Then at least all monies I pay go to the principal.

Finally...she told me that my credit score is 717!!! This is absolutely wonderful, even though I no longer believe in using credit. It will still help me in a few years when I'm ready to get a house. Now...remember, I'm 24 years old so that is an extremely high score for my age. =)

Today I'm on a mission to find a part time job. I'm hoping to either be a server in a restaurant, or to cocktail waitress at a bar or lounge. My good friend Y is coming with me because she's looking for a side gig as well. It would be nice to work somewhere with a friend!

Possible Overdraft Fees

I was really excited for today. I had budgeted so well since my last payday, and I was sure I'd have about $100 to move into savings.

Not only was I wrong, I might be hit with some overdraft fees tonight!

I thought all my bills for January had been paid, but I was wrong. The fees for my ninjutsu dojo hadn't been taken out yet. I have them set up on auto-draft and I completely forgot that they are paid on the 28th each month. So that came out last night, and then this morning I had grabbed an Egg McMuffin at McDonald's (paid for with my debt card). I checked my account balance a little bit earlier, and saw that I was -14.23. Yikes!!!

So immediately I transferred funds from savings to make my checking account positive, and then I called my bank because I didn't see any overdraft fees yet. They said that:

1. Since I moved the funds over before 2 p.m., they will officially "post" at midnight.
2. Whether or not I am hit with fees depends on if the merchants submitted paperwork for the pending transactions to be posted at midnight tonight. Both my ninjutsu fees and McDonald's are pending, as are a couple other things. But the customer service lady said that I moved enough for everything to clear--and the most important thing was that I had done it before 2 p.m. so it could be processed with today's business.

I get paid at midnight tonight (direct deposit) but that doesn't offically "post" until midnight tomorrow--so while it'll be "available," it can't help me avoid possible fees. Ugh.

I won't be able to see if fees were assessed until tomorrow morning. If they are, I'm going to call and ask for a refund. I know it's my own fault, but since this never happens they may be able to do it as a courtesy. If they can't be refunded, I'll probably be paying an overdraft fee stupid tax.

Next month, I'll be using cash envelopes and therefore hopefully avoid this whole scenario from happening again. =)

At least it's going to be payday. I will update tomorrow with what happens with this.