Today is payday:
My money went the following places:
$1192.00 gross
$23.64 Dental
$83.84 Medical
$23.84 401K
$4.17 Vision
$66.98 Social Security
$28.15 Federal Tax
$21.00 Colo. State Tax
$6.18 Life Ins.
$40.00 Savings #1
My Savings #1 balance is now $40
My 401K balance is $767.00
My rent is $625.00 + $62.50 late fee
$200 goes to a bill (7 more months)
I have a negative balance of $-8.97 left over.
This is a sad situation.
Payday
June 27th, 2008 at 08:31 pm
June 27th, 2008 at 08:36 pm 1214598994
Sad situation indeed.
Good luck.
June 27th, 2008 at 08:47 pm 1214599640
June 27th, 2008 at 08:56 pm 1214600180
Why do you have vision insurance? Sounds like you need the $4 more than the vision plan. Use coupons out of the newspaper for deals on exams and glasses. Sometimes that could work better than the $4 vision plan. Check your medical plan - does it include vision exam coverage? Also check to see if there are discounts on frames and lenses on the medical plan. Many medical plans offer vision discounts.
Second - check with the state that you live in and see if they have a low income medical plan for single parents with children. Our State (WI) has Badgercare. Price will vary depending on what your income is and how many children you have. Could save you some money on those medical premiums. If not, does your employer offer more than one medical plan? Be sure to select the highest deductible plan that includes an office visit and Rx copays. Most people will see their physician for the office visit copay and have their prescriptions filled - another copay. Most people never touch their deductibles or spend less than $500 of a deductible in any given year. If you do incur expenses covered under the deductible, pay $25 on the medical bill every 30 days. As long as you make a payment every 30 days, the medical provider won't send you to collection. And, in most cases, it is an interest free loan. I incurred a $2500 hospital bill after surgery. Took me 2 years to finally pay it off - every 30 days I sent them anywhere from $25 to $100. Good luck.
June 27th, 2008 at 09:49 pm 1214603354
June 27th, 2008 at 10:20 pm 1214605212
Also - is your son still in private school? Any particular reason, like the public schools are just not up to par? (Just wondering!)
June 27th, 2008 at 11:21 pm 1214608893
I noticed $49.15 is going to income taxes.
Do you usually get a tax refunds each year? If so, you might want to think about adjusting your withholding so that you take home more each month. It would mean no refund (which can be an adjustment psychologically), but it sounds like you need as much as possible each month in take home pay.....It will help prevent any more late fees.
June 28th, 2008 at 12:55 pm 1214657706
June 28th, 2008 at 04:47 pm 1214671638
June 29th, 2008 at 07:41 pm 1214768464
June 30th, 2008 at 02:30 pm 1214836259
Thanks guys for all the support! It really helps generate new possibilities.