Bad decision #1 - Booked a hotel room for the night of the Pearl Jam Concert at the cost of $200. The concert is 2 1/2 hours away. At first we decided to just drive back right after the concert. But the more I thought about it the more I wanted to have a night away. We are leaving earlier in the day now to hang out at the hotel some and get some dinner. The hotel 1/3 mile from the concert so we can just walk to it. And our 9 year anniversary in 1 week after the concert so I was counting this as our anniversary celebration. But I didn't have the $200 up front and just put it on the credit card.
Bad Decision #2 - Spending $223 on myself for fall/winter clothes. I got some great deals but really all I needed were some pants. I could have gotten away with spending a lot less.
Bad Decision #3 - Going over what I was comfortable with on the investment property. I originally said I wouldn't spend over $63,000. In the end it ended up being $68,000. That ended up costing us an extra $1200 out of our savings for the down payment. We didn't have enough in our emergency fund to cover the down payment so I took money from the savings account that was supposed to be set aside for other bills. Now I have a $962 car insurance bill and don't have the money set aside to pay it.
Bad Decision #4 - Booking a trip to California for January. We still haven't saved any money for the trip. I justified it because I haven't seen my dad in a few years but we could have waited a little longer. Turns out he's thinking of coming to visit here by June of 2014. So we would still have gotten to see him next year and could have saved a lot of money.
I have to get back to work now, but I am going to really think about the best way to fix these mistakes. I'll be back later with what I've come up with.
You really can't change your decisions that are already done. The investment property is already a done deal. Don't beat yourself up. Put together a game plan and you will feel better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other poster's statement. We can't change what has already been done. Life happens for what ever reason, and we make some choices based on the situation at that time. It will be OK, Try savings as much as you can to get the car insurance paid. you don't want to be caught in an accident and not be covered. Best wishes.
ReplyDelete#1--cancel motel and sell tickets.
ReplyDelete#2--take back most of the clothes except the pants.
#3--you have not lost anything. #1 and #2 will cover some of this.
#4--cancel
Whew, that was easy. You are welcome.
You know I didn't actually think about returning or not using anything. I laughed when I read your post. I did start to think we could cancel the hotel for our concert but then remembered I booked the non-refundable rate so I could get a cheaper price. This concert is on Mr. Ripples' bucket list and he paid for both our tickets out of his spending money so we are definitely going to the concert.
DeleteHave you tried to understand why you make these decisions that you know, deep down, don't match your financial goals? One is understandable, but four? I'm guessing something is driving your desire to spend. Stress over your husband's employment? Something else? I think if you can dig a little deeper to understand what's happening, you'll have a better long-term fix. We can help you with short-term solutions, but if you continue to spend in a way that doesn't match your financial goals, you will not achieve them.
ReplyDeleteI would still try to cancel the hotel. Tjey may allow you to cancel anyway, especially if they know they can rent the room due to the concert. I'd also take back all of the clothes, except for the pants. I would also cancel any parts of the trip that are refundable.
I hope that wasn't harsh - definitely not my goal. Just sharing my $.02. :-)