Beginning Of July Tally, etc.

Once again, I am late in posting my beginning of the month info, but I do always make a note of the numbers at the beginning of the month.

Credit Card Debt: $880.29 (Down $206.86 from last month's 1087.15)

Auto Loan Debt: $3864 (Down $138 from last month's $4002)

Paintings sold: 1!

I was happy to sell a painting, as always. This one was different to me because the other paintings I've sold have been to people I've known in some way, though often the connection was vague. This was the first painting I've sold to someone who just stumbled across it on my etsy site. Of course, I would love to be selling a lot more paintings. I told my boyfriend it would change my life significantly if I were able to sell 15/month. Even 10/month would be great! I stepped up my getting-myself-out-there efforts last month by doing more with twitter, making a facebook fan page, and trying to be more active with the etsy forums. I got more twitter followers and more views when I post new items, but it hasn't seemed to help with sales. I think with a lot of that stuff, you're advertising mostly to other etsy sellers, and they aren't necessarily buying. So, in July, I am starting my journey into actual advertising. I looked into a nursery decorating blog, because I think roosters and chicks would look great in a nursery or kitchen. I submitted an ad and they still have to approve it, but I have high hopes that this could help. If I see some sales from this, I will look into more advertising. I was able to find a hip, high-traffic nursery blog quite easily, but my quick search for kitchen decorating blogs hasn't turned up quite what I want, yet. I have a while, though, so I can see how my initial effort works first.

Moving on to money matters: I was glad about the amount of debt I got paid off in June, because it was kind of a high-spending month for me- I went to Chicago for four days to see my boyfriend. I put a certain amount of money aside each day to be split between savings and going on these trips, so it's not too much of a financial hardship, but it is more spending than usual. So far in July, I've had to buy contacts and some clothing (I really didn't have any summer type pants in decent shape) and I put those items on my credit card, so I'm up a little in debt. I'll try to pay that stuff off by the end of the month, but I don't know. Saving is starting to seem like it should be my main objective, so I may back off on paying the debt down. I feel conflicted about the whole thing- I would love to be (credit card) debt free, but the economy is worrying me so much. Things at work are kind of scary, and I'm probably going to be okay, but I think many people are having that worry. I do work for tips, and even if my job is secure, it's a scary time to be depending on generosity. I just have to keep doing my best and hoping things will be okay, like everyone else.