Blogging Away Debt Our Journeys to a Debt-Free Life

by Elizabeth S.

Update on Debt Reduction Strategies

I called to find out about the line of credit I applied for. It’s a good thing I am decent at telephone negotiations, because they definitely gave me the runaround. The application was stuck somewhere in the system, but I finally found out it is now conditionally approved (pending income verification). No comment on how I was supposed to find this out (carrier pigeon? Smoke signals? They certainly didn’t call, write, or email). The problem is that they approved me at a much higher rate and told me the promotion I applied for had expired!

Politely, I noted that I applied a few days after I got the email, well before the deadline of the 19th. I’m not psychic and no one reached out. For some reason, I had to explain that to two different people over the course of 35 minutes. I dislike wearing the “can I speak to your manager” hat, don’t you?? Regardless, the application moved ahead and I’m now putting together my proof of income. Fingers crossed they accept it. I included my bonus in there which wasn’t smart, in retrospect, but I receive that bonus every year.  I’ll include my tax returns as evidence. I also have side income I need to submit proof of. The whole thing is still a bit shaky but I remain optimistic.

What to do with a $9500 line of credit?

I plan to pay off my two credit cards with it. They are both at 19.99% interest and the payments are stressing me out! I’m not sure what to do with all the payments and subscriptions that come off my main Visa card. Things like my weekly transit pass, monthly subscriptions such as Netflix and Spotify, pet insurance. I don’t account for these things properly in my (let’s be blunt, non-existent) budget. I’m thinking of closing one credit card and keeping the other one open for these items, and paying them off every Monday to stay on top of the balance. How do you handle monthly payments on a credit card? I prefer the protection of Visa to Visa Debit linked to my checking account. Getting money back from erroneous billing/fraud in your checking account is next to impossible, whereas it’s fairly easy with credit card companies.

Eventually, I’d really like to switch to a travel rewards card. I want the premium economy leg room and airport lounge access, baby! A girl can dream. For now, I need to demonstrate I can be responsible with credit and work with what I have.

Surgery went well

Update on the glomus tumour removal! I feel SO MUCH better this time around! My hand already has more mobility than it did three weeks in to healing last time. The surgeon went in from the side to avoid existing scar tissue, and I get to keep my fingernail this time. I also have to say, this was my first time at this particular hospital (Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto). It was just so nice compared to the Scarborough hospital, which is down the street from me. Sunnybrook is far more advanced technologically! They were scanning the barcode on my wrist everywhere I went and had monitors in waiting rooms for families to see their loved one’s surgical status. I was able to give my parents my patient code and they could see my status online, too.

I moved around a bit in prep, and I was given three heated blankets in that time. The nurses would wrap the blanket around my shoulders and give a little squeeze. It felt so nice! And then in the OR, the surgeon noticed tears in my eyes, and he asked what was wrong. I said I regretted not having my parents there that day. He said his daughter is 30 and she would want him there if she was having surgery, too. He said, “We can go as slow as you want. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do. Let’s talk through what’s next and you can let me know when you’re ready.” He was so compassionate, and I was so tired and emotional. His kindness warmed me right through. He held my hand for a bit, and I will remember that forever.

Next up…

Time to get the financial house in order. It still feels like I’m free-falling with spending and expenses. The goal: get the whole budget done to minimize anxiety. I’m beginning work on that right now. I’m off work til Wednesday!

Elizabeth S.

Elizabeth is a single woman in her early 30s, working as a manager at a software company and living in the most expensive city in Canada. She hopes to blog about her journey to eliminate debt and build savings for home ownership someday. Whenever she has taken two financial steps forward, she’s always taken a step back with a bad credit card purchase (we’re looking at you, unnecessary iPhone of May 2019). Elizabeth lives alone with her fur kids, a dog and cat, and when she’s not in front of the computer, she enjoys running, camping, reading, and baseball.