Creditcardfree's Personal Finance Blog

Today, I did a little pre-Christmas shopping browsing. I didn't buy any Christmas gifts, but wanted to look around to get ideas for certain family members. In the end, I bought myself a gift! Bon Jovi's new CD for about $12.

So much for shopping for others. I think I can consider this a birthday gift. I did return a pair of pajamas my husband bought, since I will wear the yoga pants my sister gave me. In other words, the money ends up being a mute point.

Geez! Why am I even talking about it.

My family is getting a Wii for Christmas. I purchased the console when the price dropped to $199. But...I hear you need additional remotes. And, of course, games!

It comes with Wii Sports (I think). But, any thoughts/advice on which other game or games I should get?

I'm thinking maybe two, maybe just one, additional games initially. Those will give us plenty to play with over the holidays.

I've also heard you can buy games used, as well as rent them from the video store.

I'd love to hear what you think my initial investment should be. We will get the girls a few stocking stuffers, but the Wii is our gift this year.

I made our regular home equity loan payment yesterday. It isn't really due until December 1st. I've been paying the payment a couple weeks ahead for cash flow purposes. Our next regular payment is in 2010!

Of our $118.01 payment, $86.24 went to principal. Our new balance is $5,171.95.

Year end goal is still to get this loan under $4,000. I think we'll make it.

The stock market rise this year has me tracking and checking our retirement account balances pretty frequently. Turns out we are VERY close to hitting a milestone. Our combined retirement accounts are about to hit 6 figures for the first time. We are less $1K away.

It feels great to have almost obtained this milestone. Unless the market drops quite a bit, we should actually hit the milestone by the end of the month.

Yipee!!!

I made a principal payment towards our home equity loan this evening in the amount of $665.00. This brings our loan balance down to $5,258.19!!

I'm excited to be getting closer to another milestone. Under $5K will be very nice.

So far this year we have paid an additional $8,058.17 towards this loan.
Amazing!!

My parents gave us each $100 for our birthdays. Yipee! I love cash gifts.

My sister gave us beer glasses and beer (for DH), a stainless steel water bottle and yoga pants(for me).

I feel very blessed! Basically, the cash will help offset our own birthday costs. I still don't know what DH has spent on my birthday, but I'm sure it's over $50, but less than $100.

I'm still waiting to look at our bank accounts. It's pure torture!

Oh my gosh what a crazy day! I went to a gym with two neighbors that aren't currently gym goers. We ALL signed up for memberships. I even signed my husband up, even though he has not visited!! What am I doing?

Actually, we are all really excited. In fact, we are going back up to actually work out!! Can you tell we like to be together and are excited?!

I paid an upfront membership fee of $79 for my husband and I to have a metro membership. This means we can visit other locations, including one with a running track, sauna and pool! I don't pay anything again until January 1st! I think our rate is $69/month. This seems a little high, but we are getting some extras with the ability to go to mulitple locations. I also can adjust my membership anytime to single...like when you know who gets deployed. Nice of them to work with us.

So excited!!

It's payday! I do always love me a payday. I know. Incorrect grammer. Anyway, there are decisions to be made and they are not directly related to payday.

I bought a pair of pants and a top from JC Penney a few days ago. We thought we were attending a baptism this weekend. Turns out the date has changed and we can't attend on the rescheduled date. I rarely dress up, so I need to decide whether to return the items or not. I paid $34.22 with tax for the two items. It is possible that something will come up in the next several weeks where dressy could be nice, but not necessary. So, I need to decide. Thoughts?

I'm going with two neighbor ladies to check out a gym this morning. Our membership expired this week, so I'm in the market for a new one. I will need to decide on that soon.

I have been told not to look at our bank accounts until my birthday. My husband has been shopping and doesn't want me know the amount spent or where he shopped. Ugh! Do you know how hard it is NOT to look at your bank account? It is hard!! It's even harder when it is payday and I should be paying bills. Help. I think I'm going to go crazy.

We are traveling this weekend and expect to spend a few dollars. Oh...but we are celebrating our birthday's with extended family, so cash and gifts will be exchanged. Yipee!!

I hope your payday is more fun than mine. I'm sure it will be since you can actually look at your bank account!! Enjoy.

I made an easy repair yesterday. And it was inexpensive. $3.12 to be exact!!

When we closed our front door, I could see daylight coming in at the top and sides. Obviously, air from outside was coming in as well. Last winter we attempted to add some weather stripping. It didn't work. We rigged up an adjustable shower curtain rod between the door and the wall across from the door to push the door in closer to the weather stripping. It helped, but it didn't get all the areas sealed up.

The truth is the shower rod is tacky and annoying. It is probably an inconvenience and a hazard if there was a fire!!

This week I evaluated the door again. The original weather stripping is attached underneath wood. In order to remove the original weather stripping, nails and boards would need to be removed. If anything is damaged in the process...more money for wood and paint. Ugh!

I began my removing the foam weather stripping that I placed NEXT to the original weather stripping last year. I bought more foam weather stripping ($3.12 remember!) that was slightly wider by 1/4 inch and thicker by 1/8 inch. I put this new foam weather stripping UNDER the original weather stripping. As a result the new foam weather stripping simply pushes the original out farther so that it can make contact with the door and create a seal.

Guess what? No light is showing AND no air is blowing in. Yipee!!

Here are pictures:

I have never done layaway. I have a friend who has used the service frequently over the years. When we were 16, she used layaway to pay for a leather jacket she wanted.

This is the same friend who recently choose to take out a 401K loan! And she is using layaway for holiday gifts this year. Her tweens are getting small tvs and dvd players for their rooms! Ugh.

It seems layaway is used instead of credit cards, right? So that one can pay over time to make a larger purchase. I don't think there are fees involved. Correct me if I am wrong.

Let's just say I'm not a big fan of layaway. I feel you should save your money over time to make large purchases, especially holiday gifts. Christmas arrives the same time every year!!

What do you think of layaway?

Yes, Petunia. I am sorry I asked for questions! But I will answer all of your questions even though most of them are NOT related to finances.

Monetarist or Keynesian? Yes, I had to look this one up. I would guess I lean to the monetarist theory. Less government intervention.

TP: Over or under? Over. Otherwise I can't find the end. Oh, and I probably tend to scrunch rather than fold. TMI!!

Toothpaste: Squeeze or Roll? Squeeze and then roll when needed! Doesn't everyone here roll to get the last remenants of paste out?

Chicken or Egg? Does anyone know the answer to this one? I don't. It's a question that haunts me. Lux, you are killing me here!!

If a tree falls in the forest....
Well, as a frugalist, you should chop the tree into logs and use it to heat your home for a couple days!

Nature or nuture? Nuture. I'm not going to explain. I tried to write several sentences to do so, but this topic is too deep for my blog. Or is it my brain?

The question forum is now closed and will NEVER reopen. Ever. If you have questions, post them on your own d** blog! Those are my final answers.

Thanks for participating!!

I feel my finances are kind of boring right now. We are just waiting to get paid so that we can pay more towards the home equity loan. This leaves me with little to write about.

So...

Do YOU have any financial questions for me? It's okay, if you don't. Ask away if you do. I reserve the right not to answer, if necessary.

On a side note: I did get a $20 gift card in the mail to Barnes & Noble. I have no idea what I might find to buy...yet!

The home equity loan should be paid off in February or March of 2010. I'm really looking forward to it, primarily because of our new plan!

We will start funding our girls college accounts again after a little more than a year off. The remaining extra funds will go to increase our emergency fund by $5000. I expect to complete that by the end of May 2010.

Once, the EF hits $15,000 I'm going to divide our extra funds towards paying off our van loan (did you know I had one?), adding smaller amounts to the emergency fund and saving for a truck!

I'll be giving you lots more information about these goals as they are happen. I know you like that kind of thing!

Deployment is getting closer. As a result there will be some extra government cash to help us realize those goals. Yipee for that. Of course, that's the ONLY positive thing about deployment. Emotionally it is a huge drag.

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 could be missing and it would still print.

I think my best bet is a new printer. Yes, I could go get the color refilled for $12.99 and try it. My gut says this would be wasted money. The cartridge isn't being 'seen' by the printer as it stands now.

I could buy a brand new cartridge for around $22. This might work. Or, it might not. If it didn't work, I might be able to sell on ebay for at least half the amount, making it equal to getting the original refilled.

If I buy a new printer, I will spend about $40. I already looked at which one I would buy. Ink would be included.

If I tried all options and still ended up with a new printer, my outlay would be $75. If I just skip all the guessing, I spend only $40. I might be able to sell the printer online with full disclosure of problem.

Thoughts anyone? Oh, and my daughter NEEDS to print for school this weekend.

In saving for our taxes and homeowner's insurance, I've come upon a snag. It's my error really.

I told the bank with our money market account to pull money from our regular savings account with our primary bank. Um...we don't have a savings account with our primary bank!! Opps.

I have to go through a few extra hoops. I now need the bank to confirm the account that I do want them to pull this escrow money from. They are going to give us those nifty small deposits that you have to verify. So, sometime next week everything should be up and running!

My daughter's have concerts (vocal and band) next week for school where they need to dress nice. My youngest has a dress, pants and a shirt that will work, but she needs shoes. My older daughter needs everything!

Last night, we went to the mall and hit JC Penney's. My older daughter found pants for $12.99 and a shirt for $14.99. With tax, I spent less than $30!! I'm thrilled that we were able to find items quickly and at great prices.

We attempted one shoe store last night, but did not come up with anything that would work. We will go again this weekend.

In addition to dress clothes and shoes, my daughter's need snow gloves and boots. They both WANT new snow pants, but they don't NEED them, so they are last on the list. I'd like to find the snow pants used, if possible.

I need new clothes, too!! For some reason, I'm always on the last of the list. Well, it's probably because I don't work outside the home.

My daughter's rodents all passed away in October. The hamster died first. Then exactly two weeks later one mouse died. Our oldest mouse, who was getting thin and arthritic, died two days later.

Cause: unknown

They are all buried by one of the trees in our yard. They each had a private ceremony. A simple unmarked rock identifies each grave.

We all grieved in our own ways. Someone wanted to get a bird. Someone had tears. A couple of us felt relief from the costs and time involved in caring for them. They are missed. Even the cats seem lost!

Financially: no bedding, food, cleaning supplies to buy. The cages and accessories are up for sale on craigslist.

We received a card from Qwest our internet and phone provider. They want to rewards us for being long term customers with a $50 Restaurant.com gift certificate! Nice. Too bad we have to call to claim it. Not nice.

Our water bill was in the mail, too. The amount was as expected, but I noticed that our bills have been estimated 3 out of the last 4. So I inquired. Turns out they need to replace some equipment that sends them our water reading. I have an appointment on Thursday for this.

The rest of the mail...various coupons. Bed Bath & Beyond, Petsmart and Target. I can't believe how many store coupons I have sitting on my desk right now. I generally make a pile, but I don't have a way to keep them organized like I do manufacturer coupons. Yesterday, DH and I used coupons to get our hair cut. His was $6.99 at Great Clips and mine was $9.99 at Cost Cutters. I like coupons for things we will use/buy anyway. I just have to be careful not to buy something just because I have a coupon, which I usually do pretty good about.

Remember, we deleted the escrow account with our mortgage? Here's the breakdown of how we will save for our own homeowners insurance and county taxes:

$1361.00 March Taxes
$1361.00 September Taxes
$658.47 Homeowner's Insurance (October)
---------
$3380.47 Annual Total
$281.71 Monthly Savings

I have simply rounded the amount up to $285. I have set up a monthly draft to our money market account where I will save this money until needed. Obviously, if taxes or insurance go up significantly, I will be short. However, since this money will be sitting with our emergency fund there will always be extra money available if needed. I also plan to stay on top of any tax changes or increases in homeowners insurance and adjust the draft when necessary.

When doing this calculation, it is important to run down the balances each month to make sure there is enough money in the account when the first payment will be due. If it is short, then you need to start your account with at least that amount, or divide it over several months prior to the first payment. Run through the full year to make sure you won't have a month where you are short on funds for the payment.

Automated savings is the only way to go!! It is so easy. Record and go.

There are only two months left of 2009. Have you accomplished your goals for the year? If not, can you still wrap them up?

I looked at our goals that are on the side bar. We are most definitely on track to save 15% for retirement. It helps that that the goal was automated!!

The home equity loan began 2009 with a balance of $13,999. Our first goal was to pay off $7,000. We did that!! A few months into the year we thought we could get ambitious and pay the whole thing off. It is very clear that we will not get there with the cash we have or expect to have available. Right now, I think we can get the loan under $4,000. Which means we will have paid over $10,000 in debt off this year.

We did pay for our Disney World vacation in cash!! Yipee. So fun. And the ONLY way to go on vacation. Trust me.

We also paid for our daughter's braces in cash. On some level we knew she would need braces, but we didn't have this in our plan at the beginning of the year. She's only had them on for two months and there are no lingering bills just straighter teeth!

We made zero college contributions. This is a little disappointing because the market was low at the beginning of the year and has rebounded, so it would have been a good year to be investing. So be it. We will contribute in 2010...once we have that HEL paid off.

To wrap up. The final two months of 2009 will consist of saving for retirement and paying another $1925 in principal towards the home equity loan. In order to do that we have to make conscious spending decisions during the holidays.

What are your financial plans and goals for the last two months of 2009?

Remember how we canceled the escrow account on our mortgage? Of course you do! The remaining funds, $404.34, were returned to us. I found the check in the mail yesterday. We had received a statement the day before from the mortgage company that indicated it wouldn't be sent for another 3 weeks! I was a little surprised that it arrived earlier. No complaints here. It is our money after all!!

My Global Test Market rewards check finally arrived yesterday, too. It was for $50!! Nice.

All that money is safely sitting in our account...waiting to be designated. Right now, I'm in a hoarding money mode. I've been feeling a bit uneasy about money. I'm not expecting a job layoff, of course, but want to bump up our slush fund so we don't feel so pinched each payday. Once I feel a little more in control, I'll be hitting that home equity loan a little more.

I'm a planner. I plan ahead. Ocassionally, too far ahead. Two weeks ago I bought a large bag of candy for our trick or treaters. I told the family: have a couple pieces and save the rest.

A day later, my husband realizes he can't resist the candy, so buys another bag for us to eat. A big bag. Fine. I guess I could eat a few pieces of chocolate. Who am I to argue!

He mixes the new bag of candy with the first bag! What? Why do that? Here's the confession: over the course of a week we eat both bags of candy. Both bags. Large bags of chocolate candy. Now that can't be healthy. I'm sure that was nearly $20 worth of candy.

I bought another large bag on Sunday. Yes, I had a couple pieces again! But that bag is ready for the beggars tonight.

Yes. Tonight. October 30th. Our town among others in this state trick or treat the night before Halloween. Oh! And you have to tell a joke at the door.

Joke: What do witches put in their hair?
Scare spray!

Have a great Halloween! I hope I can stay out of my daughter's candy. Well wish me luck anyway.

Yep...but not for us!

One is for a woman who lived in this house prior to us. The debt seems to be in her maiden name. The company only leaves messages. If I do answer the phone, then I hear the same recorded message.

The second collection call is for my brother in law!! He lives in another state. I denied knowing him...which my husband said was okay. I don't know his situation exactly. But collectors are relentless and I don't want to get involved. That time it was a live person and she said she would remove our phone number. Good!

My BIL actually has always worked for his older brother (another BIL). He doesn't have his GED and does handyman type work for rental properties. I just found out the older BIL had to file bankruptcy. As a result not as much income/work for the brother in law we are getting collection calls for. Ugh! I'm so sorry things are not going well for either of them. It is just very sad.

As a precaution, I'm going to pull our credit reports today. I don't expect to find anything. If I find something...I'm sure you'll be one of the first to know.

Payday is Friday. Unfortunately, I don't think I have extra for our home equity loan!

Turns out our gym membership is about to expire on November 14th. We paid in full for a 3 year membership...well, three years ago! We need at least two more years. So, the extra cash needs to be held until I figure out the gym membership costs.

Darn.

I sold 7 of the 8 items I listed last Sunday on ebay for $35.96. The total isn't great, but it is better than a garage sale! I also sold two more Halloween costumes Sunday morning that were listed on craigslist for $10.

Here are my new Ebay Challenge totals:

Oct Total = $87.96 (so far!)
Sept Total = $110.00
June Total = $55.25
May Total = $197.75
April Total = $22.22
March Total = $83.13
February Total = $66.50
January Total = $4.95

Yipee!!

Without further delay, here are the pictures of our new couch and ottoman in our front living room. I'm standing by our front door. I wish I had a wide angle lens to show the room off better!







Guess who likes the ottoman. The kids and the cats!!

I'm going to need some artwork for above the couch. That wall is too big to be bare.

And if you were interested in this couch I found out it is made by United Furniture Industries. The tag said Simmons, but upon further inspection UFI is the true manufacturer. You can look at their website

A month ago we bought a couch and an ottoman. They were special order. Today they arrived!!

It's been a long month without a couch in our living room. I found myself just laying on the floor in there!!

It looks so much better and fills in the space nicely. Now...I just need some pictures for above the couch. It's always something.

Yes...I will post a picture soon.

I did sell one item as a Buy It Now, earlier this week. Right now I have 4 items with bids out of 7 listings! The listings end on Sunday, so I will give you a final update early next week.

I have already thought of a few more items I could list! Not sure when I'll get them up though. Do you have unused items around your house you could sell? Go check a drawer or a closet and see what you find!

I took care of it yesterday. I emailed Bank of America and confirmed that we did indeed like to delete our escrow account. They emailed back within a couple of hours that it was complete and a check with our escrow balance is on its way!!

As of November 1st, we will only send Bank of America our mortgage payment consisting of interest and principal. That will be strange!!

The escrow check will be for $404.34 which is just under the amount they would needed as a buffer or low balance amount. I may find something to do with that money. Maybe the home equity loan?

I will begin setting aside $281 per month to account for taxes and insurance right away. The first payment I need to make is not until March 2010!

I feel very confident this will work well for us. I plan to set up email reminders for the taxes since I will only be billed once a year for those.

My daughter has been home since Friday with what started out as a sore throat and no fever. I kept her out of school as a precaution.

Over the weekend her temperature was never over 100. She began coughing and was low on energy. She had a stuffy nose. She was still able to play games and make believe on the floor with her sister. She did not sleep extra.

Sunday night we thought she would be ready for school on Monday. Monday she looked run down and felt that way. So she stayed home and has been home everyday since because in the afternoon she will spike a fever over 100 degrees. As a result have to keep her home for another 24 hours.

Yesterday, we visited the doctor who said this is most likely the H1N1 influenza. I was shocked. I just thought she had a cold!!

Luckily tonight she is not running a fever at all. She will go back to school tomorrow. In fact, she has been catching up on homework all day. Unfortunately, the cough still remains for now.

We hardly ever get the flu and rarely have vaccinated for it. I'm glad that my daughter's experience has been mild. I have heard it has been the same with other children in our area. She now will have immunity for the H1N1 this season.

I have read some