Well, I hope nobody minds if I got into specifics about my money, but hey, this is my journal, after all!

April Bills (will mark off once they're paid!)

Car Insurance....$111...PAID
Rent...$795...PAID
Phone/DSL Bill...98.63...PAID
Amy School Loan...On Forebearance (owe approx. $4000 plus ?? interest)
Hubby School Loan...On Forebearance (owe approx. $11,000 plus 4.17% interest)
Gas Bill...$102.30...
Water Sewer...$0...PAID (ok, well, we must have overpaid at some point)
Credit Card #1 (C)...$40...PAID (owe $963.34 plus 14.15% interest)
Credit Card #2 (P)...$179...PAID (owe $1470.34 plus 21.24% interest)
Cell Phone...$56.20...
Electric...$88.37...
Dad...0...(we owe him approx $15,000-20,000 from when he was trying to help us dig out before we went w/ bankruptcy)
Gym...$29... (year contract - unbreakable or I would!)
State Tax...$75...PAID
Federal Tax...$25...PAID (on payment plan - now owe $892 plus interest)
Vet...??????? (God knows - dog had surgery, but vet is nice, knows our situation, and hasn't even worked up a bill yet. I am anticipating around $500)
Collector #1...$138.50... (will pay $138.50 this month and next and then be done!)
Collector #2...$50... (owe $265.55, on payment plan of $50 per month)

First off, I think journaling is an amazing tool! I have a weight loss journal in another forum and have made an entry nearly every day since January 1. I have had many ups and downs but I have lost over 15 pounds and am so proud! I am almost halfway done, and I truly attribute so much of my success to that journal. So, why not a money journal? I need all the help I can get, lol!

Hmmm....where to even begin? I guess a little about myself would be appropriate. My name is Amy (obviously) and I am in my late 20's. I live on the gulf coast with my hubby of 3 years and 2 small dogs. (sorry for the lack of concrete details, but if I am going to "let it all out" concerning my finances, I'd rather have some anonymity)! I lived in the north for all of my life up until July of last year. We moved south when hubby got a great job down here. Life was going ok until January 1st, when that "great job" went down the tubes. Hubby lost the job and I won't even go into how he was used and how much of an *sshole his boss was. Use your imagination! So, now hubby has no job and I make $9.38 an hour. Sad, so sad. Why did I bother getting a college education again? For that matter, why did he?

My relationship with money is not good a one. My parents are well off and I grew up not totally spoiled, but I had a great life. We never struggled and I had what I needed and a lot of what I wanted. We went on family vacations every year and I can't think of anything I'd change. Ok, so fast forward to when I got out on my own. I was used to having money and being able to spend money (well, my parent's money anyway) and I had a VERY hard time living within my means. I got a couple credit cards and life just went to h*ll after that.....

I got married in '02. My hubby was fairly financially responsible but I somehow managed to corrupt him. He got a couple credit cards and they all got racked up (in addition to my racked up ones...). In our defense, a lot of it was medical bills due to an accident that hubby got into on our honeymoon (yea, long story) but a lot of it was also irresponsible spending on our part. Again, it was living outside of our means. We ended up declaring bankruptcy shortly after we got married. The amount was around $60,000. Gulp........

So.....fast forward again to today. Hubby has no job at all and I work at a tv station making a whopping $9.38 an hour. We are both college educated but cannot seem to get jobs that pay well. Hubby is getting unemployement (thank God!) - $288 per week. He has tried to find some kind of job until he finds something worthy of his education, but nothing like that around here pays more than minimum wage (i.e. he makes more just staying on unemployment). Needless to say, things are tight! We have racked up more debt since the bankrupcty and need to pull out of this yucky yucky cycle. I am starting this journal to track where my money goes, to track bills, savings....everything. I think it will really help me.

I will go into more specifics on our budget in my next entry, but I want to end this entry saying that I love input and help of any kind. Please feel free to post ideas, encouragement, whatever! That's what keeps me going!

Thanks for letting me vent! It feels good to start the road to financial recovery!