Money and Mental Health

This is actually a positive post about the effects money has on your mental health. It is so true on so many different levels that money does not buy happiness, etc. etc. But not having to worry so much about money lately has really relieved a lot of stress in my life. 2 Fridays ago when traffic was backed up so much that I was going to be late to pick up the baby at school, I jumped onto the toll road and, although that cost $3, I didn't worry about it like I used to. And yes, I do think that $3 is a lot of money. But I finally had it to spare.

I will admit that this recent dental cost of $835 has been a big blow, but I did some creative things in order to pay for it. (See below post.) I just cannot have money being one of the things to constantly worry about anymore.

Even today, when I saw that I have lost about $10,000 in one of my retirement accounts. I refuse to worry. There are bear markets and there are bull markets, and I'm 30 years yet away from retirement.

This is what an Emergency Fund is for

I just had gum surgery, which cost $835 freakin' dollars.

Although I am terrified to touch our EF, which according to the Dave Ramsey plan is "only" $1,000 anyway, I am going to take $100 out of the EF to pay for this surgery. The remaining funds used to pay for the remainder are:

$100--reduced Mastercard payment
$100--reduced Discover card payment
$100--borrow from Ma
$200--take from other savings account which was created by a 0% credit card advance
$235--covered by funds from regular budget

And now, I have completely spent my annual FSA, which was only $1,500 and the maximum allowed contribution by my work. And it's only October. Still, I hope those $1,500 pre-tax dollars make a difference come April 15.

Another Decision Made

I have decided that, on top of all our other stressors in life (S's ongoing career/job search, still dealing with the aftermath of the custody battle) that if I can ease up on at least the financial stresses that will do us a world of good. I have decided that instead of putting $1,000 towards the credit cards each month, I will ease up and aim for a ballpark of more like $800-900, thereby freeing up some funds so I don't feel so panicked when we want to do something nice like have a romantic dinner out together. Or buy some new clothes. Or go see a movie that's not a matinee. B/c right now we almost NEVER do those things, and it's reflecting on our marriage.

I appreciate Dave Ramsey's "gazelle-intense" approach to paying down debt, but most of the folks he counsels have done stupid stuff with their money. All we did was try to win a custody battle so the baby could have a much better life with us. And we don't need to add insult to injury upon ourselves by struggling so much with $. Finally, I was smart enough to get most of the remaining debt--$11K out of $20K remaining--at fixed low-interest, at APR's of 6.99 and 4.99%. And the rest is currently at 1.9-0%, yes to expire next year but I'll deal with it at that time, now now. So I need to quit beating up on myself and making our lives miserable.