Money and Emotions;.....Stress !!!!

I am no psychologist, psychiatrist or mental health professional. However, I do know for a fact that emotions play a role in our financial life. Recently, it occurred to me that I tend to make decisions when I am emotionally unstable (for lack of a better term). Once the emotions clear I look at the impact of my decision and it is normally not good.
This week I stayed home from work, so I can relax and release my stress. No additional money was spent outside of the normal expenses, rent and groceries etc. I actually saved money in gas and tolls since the car has been parked for a few days. The extra free time is being used to research my options for a part-time job to bring in additional income.

The picture is clearer now

Today is the day of reckoning. I finally decided to sit down and add up the balances on my four major credit cards.

Here goes:

Card 1 $5,192.24
Card 2 $3,325.37
Card 3 $2,595.32
Card 4 $3,300.00

The balances are not a surprise. However, the thought that my credit card debt was under control is now out the window. Writing things down really brings them into perspective. The number in my head was a grand total of $9,000. Without summing up my balances, it is clear that my 'head' number was off by a few grand. At the time $9,000 just seemed like a manageable number. I have no clue why!

What is my plan of action?
Card 4 has to be paid off by September because it is a 0% rate that ends in September. After I tackle card 4 then I will tackle card 3. The debt reduction plan is paying down the smallest balance first. This will give me a morale boost.

Short Term Goals

On my journel to financial freedom, baby steps will be the key. I am going to make small goals that I can accomplish fairly easy.
My first goal is to save $1,000. This would be the start to my emergency fund of $15,000. This would cover 6 months of living expenses without going further into debt.
So far there is $300 in an HSBC account. This goal should be accomplished by the end of August.

Welcome to my world

I decided to start this blog today May, 25 2006 about my financialjourney.
Am broke. Why?
I am not going to make excuses. I spent more than I earn, and charged the rest to credit cards.
Because of those credit cards everyone gets in college, I currently owe a few thousands dollars. (notice there are no exact figures). My goal is to pay this off within a year of today's date, save the ever elusive emergency fund and pay off student loans.

I welcome all comments and questions, hopefully visitors to my blog can hold me accountable.
There will be more about my debt in the next post.