It's too Darn Hot!

I think Cole Porter said it best. Summer in Houston, namely August and the coming September are to darn HOT!

Wow, it has been all summer and I haven't said a peep. I just can't seem to quite get the hang of this.

Here are some highlights.

Mamma Mia: LOVED IT! I already have seen it twice and will likely again if I get feeling low before it leaves theaters. It is just plain fun. If you read the reviews, forget them! The critics just don't understand a good time when they see it. The music is faboo, you have a good time, and yes, it sometimes borders on the ridiculous, but who cares? With a super trooper cast headed by Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnon, honey honey, you just can't help but have a good time.

Summer Olympics: I always look forward to the Olympics. The best thing they ever did was stagger Winter and Summer. Swimming and Gymnastics. Paul Hamm has a broken hand? Talk about a nail biter! And Phelps set to get a million dollar bonus? Good gracious!

Still, I have to ask, is it just me, or does the Olympic Stadium look like it was attacked by a roll of duct tape?

So should I read the Twilight series? I haven't heard so much hubub on a book since Harry Potter!

Summer was rough financially speaking. Price of gas and all, but some progress was made.

Total Debt: $13,645

Another Bench Mark!

After May's bill payment, on June payment, and playing Tweedle Dee for an hour, I broke $14,000!!!!

Yippie!

No details, sorry. Time is short. But I have done the math.

Total Debt: $13,755

Play Piper! Play!

It has been so long since I did this, but I have been making payments.

Payment Sent (2/15) = $221.44
Attributed to interest = $57.79
Attributed to montly budgeted expenses = 103.65
Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $60

Total Debt: $14,360

The Piper is Being Paid

Dear Readers,

I am sorry that I have not been keeping you up to date since my birthday. I have been very lazy and catching up on Battlestar Galactica. I am all caught up, but also paying the debt!

Efforts made include a couple of party gigs ($200), remainder of March Payments ($50) and April Payments ($141).

I am no longer posting my goal. I don't think it is realistic anymore. I think if I break $12,000 this year, we will be doing good. An interest rate just went up, which will slow me down a bit by either paying it, or switching to a new rate. Switching will garner a fee, but if it can be a locked in rate, I will defintely take it.

Total Debt: $14420

And I Thank You

We had some Amazon.com shopping last month, AND an Amazon.com payment from all the holiday shopping.

Monarch of the Glen is a BBC series that ran 7 seasons before ending. I have been catching it on Netflix, but the complete collection is now available in one set. This is just a fantastic series! First off, it is set in Scotland. The scenery alone is worth the price of admission. The cast is charming and the story lines are great too. You should check it out.

I personally thank the shoppers that bought the following items:
-- Charmed - The Complete Second Season
-- Basement Bhangra

I also got a payment of $15.14. I will send $15 to the CCs!

Total Debt: $14811
2008 goal Attained: $689 (of $5,500)

Time To Pay the Piper

It's that time again.

Minimum Payment = $224
Payment Sent (2/15) = $262.28
Attributed to interest = $58.63
Attributed to montly budgeted expenses = 103.65
Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $100

Total Debt: $14826
2008 goal Attained: $674 (of $5,500)

Time To Pay the Piper: Breaking $15,000!

Well, it has been too long since I posted. This is supposed to be my view, and you get nothing. Well, at least today you get debt pay off!

Minimum Payment = $15
Payment Sent (2/15) = $59.36
Attributed to interest = $9.36
Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $50

Now, last week, when my voice lesson got taken by the lovely Doris Davis, I absorbed the money because my budget is going to hell this month. Ms. Davis needed the time again this week (she is recording a CD), so I will call this week's lesson money Found Money.

Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $35

Total Debt: $14926
2008 goal Attained: $574 (of $5,500)

February is Not Kind

Boy, I was being really positive and hopefull in January. I set an ambitious goal, and even made some great strides in achiving it.

Then came February. Things may not have been all so rosy after holidays as I thought and the balloon payment premature. Money is super tight right now. Crazy so.

First of all, I switched phone providers. That will cost me an extra $200 bucks right there this month. I had about $200 in my Amex Savings that I was hoping would go to the CCs, but it is now going to my bank account to get me through to payday on Friday.

And, I am basically paying for cell phone service twice this month on budget. And that budget just when up $10! We shall see if Sprint, who screwed up my account a few months ago, doesn't also ask for more money as they might think I had an "early termination." They better not is all I am saying!

Also, it looks like any "found money" will also go to off set the new phone service. I have no lesson this week, but unlike last month, it will not go to the CCs. I also have some rolled change that might have to be sucked into the void known as Chase Checking. I may make that $11 payment for no other reason than to get below the $15,000 mark though. Just to keep hope alive.

On the up side, Verizon is a much better service for me. I can text certain coworkers, whom I text a lot, for free, and talk to them for free. As is true with any Verizon customer. And, most importantly, Verizon seems to be the only service with a tower aimed at my apartment. Sprint was bad, and according to my I-Phone buddies, AT&T isn't so hot either.

Total Debt: $15,011
2008 goal Attained: $489 (of $5,500)

Attention Amazon Shoppers!

So, the 4th quarter of 2007 ended with my commissions totaling only $7.96. You need at least $10 in commissions for them to pay you, otherwise it rolls over. Most of that was earned in December, so I will thank the holiday shoppers who bought the following items:

-- The Black Swan
-- The Rough Magic
-- A Chorus Line (1975 OBC)
-- Broadway: The Great Original Cast Recordings
-- The Best of Broadway
-- Ultimate Broadway

It is very likely that at least $3 will be earned in the first quarter of 2008 and I will have something to add toward my debt goals!

Total Debt: $15,011
2008 goal Attained: $489 (of $5,500)

Milestone Coming!

In doing yesterday's Pipe Post, I noticed, I am only $31 away from breaking $15,000!

And, last night, I realized, I had $20 in found money to send, so that will make it $11. WOW!

I had a few receipts on my desk at work that I needed reimbursement for. I finally cleaned up my desk and took care of those. Now, it was penny ante stuff, so it only amounted to about $20 in cash, but I can use that money to pay for entertainment stuff this weekend and send the $20 that is in my bank account that would have been used for entertainment stuff, and send it to a CC.

Total Debt: $15,011
2008 goal Attained: $489 (of $5,500)

Time To Pay the Piper

Welcome February! Another bill is due. I only have two, but this is the bigger bear. January was a little lean, so I can only pay around the minimum payment, but it will still be progress! I am setting up an on-line payment now, so even though it won't be paid for two weeks, I want to report it as I act on it, if you don't mind.

Minimum Payment = $227
Payment Sent (2/15) = $227.90
Attributed to interest = $59.25
Attributed to montly budgeted expenses = 103.65
Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $65

Total Debt: $15,031
2008 goal Attained: $469 (of $5,500)

Time To Pay the Piper

Well, by the looks of it, I made some great progress this month. But even still, payments still come with due dates and it is time to send money to Bank of America.

Minimum Payment = $49
Payment Sent (1/25) = $60.65
Attributed to interest = $10.65
Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $50

Total Debt: $15,096
2008 goal Attained: $404 (of $5,500)

Happy MLK Day

Today we recognized Martin Luther King, Jr. by honoring his birthday. Many institutions were closed, including the University building where I have my voice lesson.

Because I had no voice lesson today, I didn't need to pay for it. This is a little bit of found money I will send to MasterCard!

Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $35

Total Debt: $15,146
2008 goal Attained: $354 (of $5,500)



I would also like to thank the Amazon shopper(s) who bought the following items:
-- Art & Fear
-- Portraits from Life in 29 Steps
-- The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing: A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical Tradition

With a Little Bit of Luck

Back in December, I had a loverly little gig singing cockney Christmas Carols for the holiday party being hosted by the landlord of a big downtown building for its tenants.

Somebody had the brilliant idea to make the theme "My Fair Lady". Not Dickens or "A Christmas Carol", not even "White Christmas" or "Love Actually", but Shaw's ever perennial holiday favorite, "My Fair Lady".

The lobby of the building was sparsely decorated into two opposing vignettes. The Ascot race and Kensington Garden. Various characters were hired to entertain the troops. Wandering the party were Henry Higgins and Col. Pickering. At the Ascot were "Ascot" Eliza, Mrs. Higgins and Freddy Ensford Hill. In the Garden were "Cockney" Eliza, Alfred Dolittle, and his friend Jamey (me).

I spent two hours singing raucous versions of carols in a ridiculous cockney accent and working the crowd. ("Penny for a pint!" "Happy Christmas, Gov'na!") We had a little fun with some people who elected to dress up themselves. One group of young ladies were all dressed up as Eliza. There was an "Ascot" Eliza, a "leaving Higgins" Eliza, and a "Ball" Eliza. I shamelessly pointed them out repeatedly as the "Three Elizas". Kind of like the three Marys, but not.

I made $300 for that gig. The rest of December was crazy busy. I had my regular job which included performing in the children's show The BFG (Big Friendly Giant), performing in the MainStage show Mr. Pim Passes By 4 days a week and assistant directing Caroline, or Change (a sort of free internship, prove yourself kind of gig) just about every other day left.

With all this craziness, that meant a lot of eating on the run. Add the holidays to that, and December can get expensive and quickly. So, I have held that $300 in abeyance to make sure I can survive through January. AS it turns out, my earnings for Pim managed to get me through, so now the Cockney Carol money can be attributed to my debt reduction plan. Woo hoo!

Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $300

Total Debt: $15,181
2008 goal Attained: $319 (of $5,500)

Paying for Myself

Because I am not sure if people go back to read the comments responding to there comments, I wanted to post this little exchange. Plus, I made so many typos, it was kind of embarrassing.

In UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, Chris said...
Drew:
Your crediting yourself $19 toward paying off your credit card debt because you saw two movies for free seems disingenuous at best. The way to pay off your cards is to send checks to the credit card company. Then, when they send you a new statement, you can consider the difference between the old balance and the new to be true debt reduction.

I said...
Chris,
I think you misunderstand. I SENT $19 (added to this month's payment which is already included in the initial goal, fyi).

Since I saw the film for free, I sent the money I would have paid to see it to the CC company. Because it is going to be up for a lot of Oscars, I would have most likely spent the money anyway. Since I saw it for free, I "paid myself" for the film. Likewise, UTTS was a DVD I would have eventually bought for myself. I simply paid for it twice. Once to Amazon for a gift and once again to "myself" as the gift was no longer needed.

My monthly budget for paying these bills will never be enough. I will have to chip away at it whenever I can. Fortunately, with on-line bill pay, I can do this weekly!

Total Debt: $15,481
2008 goal Attained: $19 (of $5,500)

Under The Tuscan Sun

Under the Tuscan Sun (Widescreen Edition) was released a few years back, and I re-watched it just this weekend. It is one of the most charming movies released in recent times.

Diane Lane is just perfect in this film, and the Tuscan country side is nothing to sneeze at. It is breathtaking. Italy is the true star of this film.

UTTS is a wonderful feel good movie. Something that is bound to cheer you up when you are feeling down, and long for a European vacation. One may not be able to *69 Italy, but when can we go?

The copy I have is a recent purchase. I originally bought it as a Secret Santa gift for a friend, but since she already had it, I kept it for myself. Since the gift was already bought and paid for, I will buy it from myself and attribute the $10 towards my goal for the year. For lack of a better term, I am going to call this "found money." Money I will send to my credit cards that isn't budgeted or earned through work.

I also saw There Will Be Blood for free this week. That would normally cost $9.00. I will pay myself for that as well.

Total Debt: $15,481
Goal Attained: $19

Credit Cards Are Bad!

Karyn said it best when she created her web site, CREDIT CARDS ARE BAD.

2008 will be my 40th year in this world. I want to make it the best year ever. I want to be in the best shape of my life, both physically and financially. One way I hope to achieve this is share my work against my credit card debt to everyone.

I have $15,500.00 in credit card debt. I know, I know, how the hell did that happen!? Well, more than half of it was due to Tropical Strom Allison in 2001. The rest grad school and even mispending when I had a higher paying job.

As a working artist whose "day job" is also in non-profit arts, most headway I make on this total gets eaten up by something or other. Today, I am setting a goal for 2008. Pay $5,500.00 off by 12/31/08. And I will share my progress here.

YOU CAN HELP
Do you shop Amazon.com? If so, you can help me by starting your shopping here. Just come to my blog and click on the Amazon.com link of your choice to start your shopping. Every cent I make in commissions will go towards the bottom line, and I will report all my earingings here. Just click below...



Total Debt: $15,500
Goal Attained: $0.00