Personal Finance Blogs

First and foremost - THANK YOU for all of the kind comments that were left on my last post. As you can imagine, being bad debt free is a reward in and of itself, but to hear your kind words ... it's just amazing.

So yeah - this is the second weekend of my life being debt free. Before you think that I'm totally living it up in some swank location, I'm at the cab company pulling a 12 hour shift. But that's OK - as some of my long-time readers know, it's during this time at...
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Just over a week ago, I refilled the black ink for our printer at Walgreen's for $12.99. I was able to print for several documents. Now, the printer doesn't think it has a color cartridge. But it does. This cartridge may be low on ink, too.

So far I've been trouble shooting. I've rebooted. I've pulled the power cord out. I've removed and reinserted said cartridge. I've cleaned the connections. Nothing works. This printer only works if the color cartridge is in place. The black...
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Now that the debt has been paid off, DH and I would like to work toward living off one salary and socking away the other. I just added up all the expenses (bills) that come out of my paycheck and was shocked to see we have close to $400 left over at the end of the month. I'm not confident that's accurate yet because we just moved and I know water/electric etc. will change a bit. That $400 would have to stretch over all non-bills: food, haircuts, entertainment, etc. So we aren't...
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It's been a long time since I posted any updates on coupon savings for the year and average per week. I finally figured the tally, and so far this year on grocery, household supplies and dog food it looks like this:
Before coupons = $6,647
After coupons = $4,853
Savings = $1,794....roughly 27%
At week 45 of the year, that makes our average per week $107.85. It's not as good as I'd like, but it's not that far off from the $100 I was shooting for.

My list of things...
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Whenever you sell wheat, corn, milo, soybeans or cattle (and I think mushrooms, hots, cotton, well, most any farm commodity) you are forced to pay some amount to the marketing board associated with that product. For instance, for wheat, the Kansas Wheat Commission gets $.01 per bushel for any wheat changes hands from producer to 1st purchaser in 2008. In 2009, it is going up to 1.5 cents per bushel. For soybeans, it is 0.5 percent of the market price per bushel sold.

For...
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I will be talking about Amish and Mennonite foods, Christmas traditions and culture tomorrow at the Orlando Public Library's Main location on Central Avenue at 2:00 PM ( Saturday.) Come on down and stock up on Sorghum, Pineapple Salsa, and Blackberry Jam, and last but not least, get your cookbook signed and sample my homemade foods!!
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Was doing a little unpacking and came across my old Atari. We had it hooked up in college but I haven't played it in years. Why not put it on craigslist?

I check out craigslist to find someone posted early today looking for an Atari. Sent him an email and viola! Atari is gone and I'm a little richer. Awesome.
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We offered 290K.

Realtor believed it was a good offer.
It was declined a day and a half later.

Today (realtor was trying to convince the seller for 2 days) she came back saying she is willing to sell it for 315K.

She is being very emotional about it.
She originally listed it at 359K (which had no basis in reality).

We are not taking it. We can afford it, but I don't believe this is the right price. I looked up records of sales in that building and they are...
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Today I feel sapped of my energy. I just feel like all I can do is shrug my shoulders and have them become rounded. I was critiqued about something that only hours previously had made me feel so happy and accomplished. This person's words made me feel like no matter the qualities I offer and my skills, there is something within them that makes them not be able to see what I offer, or see me as someone who cannot improve or achieve higher. This has left me feeling a bit blue to...
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Regular Savings:
Emergency Fund $2255
Anniversary Cruise $1800
Cushion $660
Vacation 2010 $460
HRA $380
MN Trip $300
King Mattress $750 - Complete
Big Screen TV $425 - Complete
Total Regular Savings = $7030

Retirement Savings:
Roth IRA $1340
Rollover IRA $1700
401K $7500
403B $5500
Total Retirement Savings = $16040

Total Savings = $23070

Right now we are working...
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Reminisc
ences of a Chase operator

Class action lawsuit over Chase's $10 monthly fee

Chase sent my hubby a credit card solicitation. I remember when Capital One, American Express, FirstUSA used to send him offers. I can't think of why they'd send solicitations nowadays: they have been working hard to shed themselves of their icky customer base (icky defined as: people who pay in full and/or on time). Even American Express has given up on us.

I apparently still have...
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We are getting some OT at work and I am very happy to hear it!
I did 1 1/2 hours today and am going in tomorrow to do 5 hours, and am hoping to be able to get 10/15 hours for the next 2/3 weeks. That would really help with the upcoming medical bills!

Also we went to Coldstone Creamery today! YUMMMMY! I had my free coupon from the radio contest and also a $1 off coupon from the paper. So DH and I each got a medium size ice cream, total $2.82! $1.40 a piece is a good deal for Coldstone!
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10/21/09: Starting point
Seven cards for a total of $6,887.96.

10/24/09: Paycheck #1
Five cards for a total of $6,597.63.
Total spent towards debt repayment: $290.33.

11/6/09: Paycheck #2
Three cards for a total of $6,651.46
Total spent towards debt repayment: $439.66.

Oh, good lord.

Although I've knocked out two more cards and put $439.66 towards debt repayment, I've actually ACCRUED debt in the last two weeks.

This is what happened: one big surprise (Lucy's...
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ok heres the jist of things. when i was 16- my mother opened a credit card in my name with my knowledge- it had a 500 dollar limit and within 6 months i ran it up to the limit- then i opened another one with a 3000 dollar limit and i spent about 1500 dollars on it and then my mom spent about 1800 dollars on it putting it 200 dollars over the limit. she said she was using it to pay her bills but then she would pay it on time to improve my credit. those are the only credit cards...
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1. Emergency Savings: $549.56

2. International Travel Fund: $250.00

3. Fun Savings: $22.54



1. My Emergency Savings account continues to climb. Excellent!

2. The International Travel Fund also continues to build. Huzzah!

3. My Fun Savings fund, however, is languishing. I'm thinking about closing it, actually. I don't keep enough in there to meet the minimum, so the bank took out three dollars! Ugh! Right now I'm using my regular checking account for both...
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Above is a picture of me in my new suit just before heading off to my interview. K, the person who took over at the gym took the picture.

Overall the interview went pretty well. I answered the questions fairly easily, and the interviewer seemed to like me.

Near the end she told me that one thing they were looking for is someone who can look her in the eye and say they'll be there two years. I told her that I could say that with confidence, because my master's program...
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Yesterday was my biweekly savings day, and I put $200 into the Xmas fund. (We put aside $600 each year, $200 going to buy presents for each of us. All extended-family and friend gifts come from our own spending money.)

I also sent a $1400 personal loan payment yesterday and it left my bank account today, 10 days earlier than usual. I have all this money for various line items in the checking account, and it will get replenished on payday (the 16th, which is when I was originally...
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I transferred out the $75 bonus interest from the checking account at BoA today.

While I was there, I received a flier letting me know that if I set up online bill pay and pay three bills within 30 days, I will receive a bonus of $35. Certainly well worth it, so later in the month I will deposit the money for my electric, gas and Comcast bills, pay them, and enjoy an additional $35.

So if you're new to BoA and not taking advantage of online bill pay, do so and collect $35!
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But to tell you the truth, we are getting along quite fine without it. Of course we WILL get it fixed eventually, but there are so many other things going on at the moment that it is not really high priority.

To be honest, FOOD is not really high priority at the moment. Last week I ate minestroni soup four nights in a row. Yep. And I will probably make a big batch of it again this week. It's easy, healthy, cheap, and I like it (delicious with a piece of a fresh baguette and...
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ok i was asked to temp again next week plus i have a third interview with the hiring manager and CEO. Lord I am praying for this job and I will be practicing my interview questions all weekend
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