First Pay Check of 2010

Ok, so I was a day ahead. Now I'm back on track!! My frist pay check of Janurary will be comming soon. I have been thinking about what to do with it. My goal is to pay off debt, and after going through my cuboards I have plenty of food and things so I don't have anything to buy for awhile anyway.

My total of debt that I can start working on paying off totals $3,037.00 This does not incude two credit cards that are closed in an collections for $2,200 and a studnet loan in collections of $5,500. So I guess he real total would be about $10,000 (oh that's a lot).

But atleast I can work on the $3,037.00 for now. The frustration is trying to figure out which on to pay off first. Tax Lien, parking tickets, medical bill, dentist bill. I mean do I pay off the $86.00 medical bill, or the tax lien first for $220? Often I hear people like Suzie Orman say pay down which ever is gaining interest, but doesn't that go towards credit cards? She's never said anything about other debt that is just sitting on my report. Things that are on my credit report are not gaining interest. So I guess the next most important is who can garnish your wages.

So, I am out to figure this alone, and do the best I can. What I decided is that if you have a tax lien on your credit report it will stay on their for 7 years (stinks I know.), but they can garnish your wages if you don't pay it. That is the last thing I need, I collect disbility and its not much.

Clark Howard has said to always pay yourself first. And always take .10 cents of every dollar out of your pay check and stick it into savings. My first check of Jan. will be coming at the end of this week. It will be for $418.00 my plan is to put $40 into my savings account, and pay the first tax lein I have for $250. This will leave me only $128.00 from my check until I get paid again at the end of the month. My check of $418 is a disability check because I am in congestive heart failure and have heart disease. I cannot work anymore. My husband's pay take care of all of our main bills, and I pay for food and household items with my disability. But its still so hard, because I cannot get any more money.

I have to make the best of what I have and strech it as far as it will go. I mean I have heart failure and a pacemaker, my liver is also failing to, and I have debt. But you do what you can with what you have and God will do the rest.

Currently:

11 Items on Credit Report
Total: $3,037.00