MariRDH's Personal Finance Blog

I just had to post this picture of our new 14 foot canoe on top of my little tiny Honda Fit!

We received $900 just as expected. We've decided to use ours to actually stimulate the economy in our own little way.

We are using about half to buy a canoe so that we can go fishing and camping this summer as a family. The other half will be used to purchase clothing for myself and my husband as neither of us have bought any new clothing in at least 3 years, and unfortunately we have both "expanded" in that time. I am hoping to have $50-$100 left over, but anything left over will go toward the goal CC.

I got paid today, so $2.93 goes to the 0% CC.

New Balance on Goal CC: $7,767.79

Received $20 from MySurvey and $5 from Pinecone Research this week so I am putting an extra $25 toward the 0% CC.

New Balance on Goal CC: $7,770.72

Also, bad news: I paid $3.39/gal for gasoline at BJ's (cheapest place around)- up from $2.99 a month ago!

Good news: I got 36.1 miles to the gallon on my last tank of gas.

I have totally been avoiding my blog. I have not had anything big to post, and I know I should be posting the little things because that is what keeps me moving in the right direction but...inertia.

I have also been slacking on putting my purchases into YNAB. It is okay because I buy nearly everything with my debit card or check so I can always go back and compare my bank accounts to the YNAB and catch up. Still I should try harder to make sure I am current on how much I have available in each category so that when I am out shopping I know when I need to stop. It has not been an issue so far because I am not a shopper, but I need to keep up with it so that it does not become a problem in the future.

Anyway, not much to post but I am trying. So, toward the goal credit card:

Last paycheck dollars & cents- $8.56
ING interest earned in April- $15.12
Not sure where it came from but it is showing up in my YNAB software toward the goal- $4.96
Total extra toward goal CC: $28.64
plus regular monthly payment of $175=>
$203.64

New Goal CC Balance: $7,795.72

As a matter of fact I am hoping to pick up another day of work soon. This office is super busy lately and the patients do not like to be told that we are booking hygiene visits 3-4 months in advance. I am going to be asking the dentist soon if I can possibly work one more day at the office. That would cover most of the very expensive health insurance premiums that come out of my paycheck, and allow me to put more toward paying off the credit card.

Wish me luck!

The bad news: Gasoline is up to $3.06 in my little NJ town.

The good news: I am consistantly getting 35 miles per gallon in my FIT.

I still have not inflated the tires past the original psi. I do need to check them. I went for my first oil change (free at the dealer where I bought the car), and noticed after I got home that their "checklist" says the tires are at 30psi. I find this strange since the door jamb lists 32psi as the recommended pressure for my vehicle, so wouldn't their mechanics know to inflate them to 32 when I was in for the oil change?

Anyway, I really need to keep improving the fuel economy because my funds are really tight with paying so much for the health insurance now. *sigh*

http://www.njcfe.org/Resources/youth_tab.pdf

It is a 15 page PDF with lots of very basic info geared toward young adults - how to figure interest, things to think about before buying or leasing a car, how the rule of 72 works, and lots more including short quizzes and extra learning experiences. I would think it would make a great starting point for young people in high school or homeschoolers - especially after discussing the scariness of "Maxed Out"!

I found this site from a link in an AOL story about high school seniors and the little they actually know about personal finance. The articles says, "High school seniors, on average, answered correctly only 48.3 percent of questions about personal finance and economics, according to a nationwide survey released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve." Yuck.

Just watch the documentary "Maxed Out"!

It is available for free online, and that is where I just finished watching it:
http://bestdocumentaries.blogspot.com/2007/10/maxed-out-full...

I had read the book last year, but the film was even more potent. If I had any doubts whatsoever that getting out of debt was the right thing to do (especially credit cards), then this definitely pulled me back to reality.

I twas a little heavy on the anti-republican, pro-democrat agenda there toward the end, but not so much to make me stop watching or doubt the underlying truths the film is exposing. It is a crying shame that people/corporations can not treat each other better as one human being to another.

I have several sub-accounts over at ING that earn interest, but I only allow the EF to accrue it's own interest. The other accounts I transfer the interest every month over to the current goal so, $13.02 in interest going to the 0% credit card this month.

The regular monthly payment of $175 went through the other day and I had $5 leftover in the YNAB budget last month to add, so I owe under $8k on this debt now! Hooray!!!

New Balance on 0%CC: $7,999.36

I got paid on Thursday, and continue to take the ones place and change and put it toward the goal. This check was funny because there was no change. It was an even dollar amount which is really unusual. Anyway, $3.00 toward the evil CC debt.

I just noticed that I see a google ad under each post I click on specifically (not if I am looking at the whole blog, but if I click a specific post), and another ad at the top of this page where I am adding a new blog post.

They do not bother me. I am just wondering - Did these just start or have I not been paying attention? *blush*

I found $172.80 in the budget for the 0% CC. I have been skimming money from some of my other categories that I feel are okay with a little less. I hope I'm right. I'm also looking forward to my next paycheck this week and putting even more toward this goal. I really want this debt GONE! I need to move on and be able to buy a house, and that can't happen until this is paid off.

We actually have more debt after this is paid, but it will be a really good chunk gone. I'm not sure what the next goal will be (paying off more debt or saving for a down payment), but nothing can happen until this goal is met so I am trying to get there as fast as humanly possible.

New CC Balance: $8,195.38

Happy day here - a new record for fuel economy in my 2008 Honda Fit automatic.

I have not increased the air pressure in my tires yet, so they are still at the manufacturer's spec (should be 32psi, but I have not checked). There was no highway driving involved, but I do drive rurally on my commute so I can go 5-10 miles without stopping in one section which helps my fuel consumption. Again, I have really taken my slower driving seriously on this tank of gas, so I would say 90% was me driving 5-10mph under the posted speed limit trying to keep my RPMs as close to 1500 as possible, but allowing up to 2k RPM. My husband did drive a few short trips on this tank that were anything but hypermiling (says it drives him crazy to go even 5mph under the limit) so I may be able to do even better in the future which is extremely exciting.

If I can keep this up and gasoline prices do not continue to rise so fast, I am hoping to be able to sweep about $10 from my gas category to the 0% CC at the end of the month.

In other news, I tried to pre-pay my one CC, and they ended up sending me a check for the credit amount. I wish my CCs would send me money every month instead of the other way around! *LOL* I've got a grace period so I guess I'll let it sit and earn interest until the end of the month and then send it back to them.

I am feeling a little bit better since my last post. Thank you again to all who posted support and encouragement for me! I truly appreciate it.

I received a check in the mail yesterday for some side work I do as a mail decoy - $58.50 for 3 months of work so not a lot but a nice little "extra". I took that money along with $40 I had leftover from my "allowance" last paycheck, $54 I cut from our budget this month and the interest earned on my ING checking account last month and made a payment to the 0% CC - a total extra payment of $153.82 that will go through tomorrow.

Updated 0% Credit Card Total = $8,368.18

Now that my EF is at my initial goal of $5,000 I am starting to feel lethargic with my plans. I know that the next step is to pay off debt but it is looking so bleak at the moment.

My boss took me aside this week and explained that the health insurance premiums are more than she originally thought, so they are going to be basically 25% of my pay. Basically it is going to take up all the "extra" that I was going to put toward the CC you see on the left. I feel as though we will never get anywhere. Every time I feel like we are *finally* getting up some momentum stuff like this slams into us.

I have $1,200 set aside from the tax refunds that were over and above the $5k EF. It is sitting in an ING account until I can decide what to do with it. I just don't know.

Gasoline prices just keep going up and up! I know NJ has some of the lowest prices in the nation and that is why it is so scary to me that I just paid $2.89/gallon...what must some of you be paying?! The future is not too bright as far as crude oil price futures go, so I have been trying to find ways to get better MPG with my car.

I found this website - http://www.cleanmpg.com a few weeks ago and it has truly inspired me. I have a 2008 Honda Fit with automatic transmission so some of the tips they suggest do not pertain (a lot of the advice is for manual transmission vehicles), but I have been driving much more slowly - 5 to 10mph under the limit depending on if there are other drivers behind me instead of my usual 5-10mph over the limit. It has only added 5-10 minutes to my usual drive to and from work so no problem there as I still get there 15-20 minutes before the start of the day. I have also been coasting to stops (something I have always done but now I am coasting for longer distances), and putting my car in neutral at long red lights. I am not even sure putting the car in neutral helps my MPG that much but it is something I saw mentioned that is doable with my auto tranny so I am trying that for now.

I plan on increasing my tire pressure this week. Honda recommends 32psi, and the maximum sidewall on my tires says 51psi, so I plan on going up to 40psi. I have been keeping track of my fuel economy through www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do which allows you to track all your fuel purchases and calculates your MPG for each tank of gas. With just the few alterations I have made in my driving in the last 3 weeks I have increased my mileage from 30mpg to 32mpg and even got 35mpg on the highway last week. I am hoping to get 34-35mpg on a regular basis once I increase the tire pressure.

I have taken this on almost as a new hobby and try to challenge myself to do better each day. I am actually enjoying driving slower and paying close attention to the RPM gauge which is surprising since I tend to have a real lead foot!

WooHoo! I checked my ING checking and the IRS deposited our federal refund yesterday as promised.

I now have $5,000 in our EF!!!!!!

There is some leftover from the refund which I have put aside in a separate ING savings. I'll wait until we get our state refund and then decide where to allocate the rest of the money. I am just thrilled to have a fully funded EF for right now.

I talked directly to the insurance company today, and they explained that they do not allow monthly payments without auto debit because it is too easy for the coverage to lapse. I do understand that logic, but still think it would have been fine for me personally. I decided to pay quarterly so that I will not have to sign the auto-withdrawal form. It is more than I had budgeted this month, but I should be able to make it up in March's budget. Thanks to YNAB I know where all my money is all of the time.

I am very annoyed right now. I applied for Disability Insurance with 2 companies through an online servie called "Quote Retriever". I have not been impressed with the service at all, but have muddled through in the hopes that once a policy is in force I will be able to deal directly with the company I choose instead of them.

So, I chose the policy I wanted of the two I applied to, and they requested 2 additional documents and a check for the first month's premium. No problem. I signed and faxed the forms right away (practically had to sign over my first born, but whatever), and the lady at Quote Retriever wanted me to fill out and fax her an "Automatic Bank Withdrawal Form" with my bank account and routing number that gives the insurance company permission to auto debit my checking account each month. Well, I have worked in banking and I know that once you sign one of these forms you might as well forget having any control whatsoever over your money because the company can take as much as they want whenever they want...cause you signed that it was okay. I explained that I did not allow this and that I would set up an auto payment through my online bank myself. I did just that through my ING Electric Orange account. The check was mailed last week and received yesterday.

Today I get an email from the QR lady again telling me that the company will not put my policy in force unless I either sign the Auto Withdrawal form and allow them to take money from my account each month or pay them in full for the year. Does anyone know if this is legal? I mean, if I skip out on a payment they can just drop my coverage like any other insurance. I don't get this at all...and I am fightin' mad!

I lost my patience waiting for the college to send me the amount I paid in tuition/fees in 2007 - Actually they sent it and it was BLANK! I called and they said they can send me something else showing the amounts, but I just can't wait another day. I went online and multiplied the number of credits I took by the amount they charge per credit and used that for the taxes. It ended up having absolutely no effect on the taxes since even without it we were getting everything back plus the EIC since we were so "poor" this year. I should be posting a full EF in just a few weeks!!!

I still have not made a decision about the rest of the refund money. We shall see.

I am adding $7.99 to the EF today for the last Free-bate from my contact lens solution which I received yesterday. I am over 1/3 of the way to my $5,000 goal now.

New EF Balance: $1,701.67

I have all of our W-2s and 1099s ready to go, but am waiting on a statement from my school (tells how much I paid last year in tuition/fees so I can get a credit), and the statements from SallieMae for both of our student loans (tells how much we paid in interest on our loans and lowers our AGI).

We will definitely be getting a refund this year so I'd love to get moving and get the taxes filed. I started putting the information we do have into TaxSlayer (free federal and state filing for us this year), and found out that I also have to wait until after February 8th for a certain form that the IRS has not yet released for 2007 (I think it is the form to report the school tuition/fees actually).

I am anxious to receive the money so I can put my plans into action. Between refunds from federal and state taxes, we should have enough to reach $6,000 in the EF and have some leftover.

The leftover amount will probably be about $800. Here is where I have been second-guessing myself. I intended to put the money over and above the EF towards the $8,800 credit card that is at 0% until Feb 2009, but now I am wondering if I should put it toward a trip to DisneyWorld for the 3 of us.

My daughter has never been and she will be 10 years old this year. I am feeling sad that we have not been able to take her and, while I know she is still a little girl, she is getting older. We have alot of plans (pay off debt, buy a house, save for her Bat Mitzvah, etc), and if we don't do it this year I am afraid we will not be able to do it for another 4-5 years or more...and then she really will miss the magic of seeing Disney through the eyes of a child. :'(

I guess I will talk it over with my husband and see what he thinks, but his eyes tend to glaze over whenever I try to crunch the numbers with him.

I just added the interest paid from our ING accounts to our EF. Between all the accounts we made $10.31 in interest.

New EF Balance: $1,668.68

Edited to add: I also realized while looking at my YNAB program that I have an extra $25 to put into the EF. This is from an insurance premium that I had budgeted for in January but the policy did not go into effect until February. The other part of the money I used to spread a little love to some other budget items.

New EF Total: $1,693.68

Received my last paycheck for January today, so I put my standard $100 into EF plus the dollars and cents from the paycheck ($7.06).

New EF Balance: $1,558.37

BUT, this paycheck is also the first time I am getting 3 paychecks in one month for 2008. It will happen again in July.
Because of this I have a bit of "extra" money that has not been allocated. Therefore, I will also be adding an additional $100 to the EF this month. WooHoo!!!

New Total EF: $1,658.37

My husband sometimes plays the lottery but never wins. (Story of our lives, right)

Anyway, back in December he tells me that one ticket has one number plus the special ball (Mega Ball or Super Ball...can you tell I don't play?), but he is going to throw out the ticket because it's probably only worth a dollar or two. *Picture my mouth hanging open in disbelief*

I took the ticket in today and got $3 to add to our EF. I was pretty happy about it too.

New EF Total: 1,451.31

Yep, I'm back in the game after a 2 year hiatus. When I was in school it was just too much time and effort to keep a close enough eye on things to play the game, but now I am back and (hopefully) better than ever.

I had 2 credit cards (my DH has 2 also but I keep them separate from mine...lesson learned the hard way not to put his debt in my name). Anyway, CC#1 was offering 0% through my January 2009 statement with a 3% transfer fee/maximum $75. CC#2 was offering "no-fee" transfers at a low rate. So I transferred my balance from CC#1 ($700)over to CC#2 to clear it of any balance (at no charge), then I transferred back the whole amount ($8800 = balances from both cards) to CC#1 at 0%.

I have been playing with the numbers, and if, once I reach $5,000 in my EF, I put all my future EF payments toward this debt plus part of our tax refund plus the usual payments I was already making it will be close to paid off before the 0% expires (about $1,000 left). After this is paid off I will resume $200/mo to EF and start $200/mo toward a down payment on a house and snowball the regular payments into our next debt.

I am just completely sick and tired of paying interest on this money. I have probably paid them 3 times over the balance in interest over the many years I have had this never-ending revolving debt. It is stopping NOW! I am definitely seeing what Dave Ramsey means by "gazelle intensity"!

Mailman delivered 2 rebate checks for $8.99 each - it was a Free-bate offer for my contact lens solution. The beauty of this rebate was that it read "one per person", not "one per household", so I was able to send one in for me, my husband and my sister. The last one should be on its way to me soon.

I also made my biweekly deposit of $100 from my paycheck to the EF so...

New EF Balance: $1,448.31

Today was payday so I am adding $4.44 to my EF bringing the new EF total to $1,330.33.

In other news, I spoke to the boss about the medical insurance and she assured me that it will be in effect as expected. I also called the insurance company to check and all seems to be in place now. While this is great news, I am very upset right now because of another thing that was said in the same conversation with the boss. When I was hired, it was stated that they would pay 50% of my insurance for the family. Now they are saying they are going to pay 50% of just my portion and I will have to pay 100% of the family portion. I don't even know how much it will be yet as the boss said the bill was not clear so she has to call and talk to them again. I won't find out until I am paid in 2 weeks and there is some mystery amount withheld from my paycheck!

I am really feeling like I have been taken advantage of which sucks because I actually like my job, my coworkers, etc, and I did not speak up today like I probably should have (okay definitely should have). The problem is that I was told "X" when interviewed and offered the position and now it seems that almost every detail has been changed!!! Of course, this is my first job in the field, I am just starting to feel comfortable with my job and I don't want to have to go through looking for another position so soon! I am not even telling my husband because he would completely flip out and want me to quit this job and find another. *sigh* I guess I am feeling like at least this is the devil I know. Plus I really just need to work so we can have a healthy EF and get out of debt, especially with all this talk of recession/depression.

Any insights?

Okay so it was a very small amount, but I was giddy with excitement last night.

I took my hubby to Atlantic City to see Don Rickles for his birthday. We had dinner and had a little time to waste before the show, so we put a few dollars in the slot machines. He played (and lost) $5 on video poker, then I put in $1 on a very strange nickle slot that I could not understand so I lost that. Oops. We both rambled over to another section of nickle slots and put $1 apiece into different machines. He bet his whole dollar on one spin and lost. I bet 5 credits (still have no idea how much that actually was...maybe 25 cents) and WON! It kept adding more and more credits until I had a final total of $20.65! Seven of the $8 we spent was mine, so I nearly tripled my money. I cashed out, took my money and ran.

After that we went straight to the show and really laughed and enjoyed ourselves. It was a great night...and I wound up with $13.65 to add to my EF.

I also received my check from ViewPoint Forums for $34 which will be deposited to my EF Wednesday (my next day off from work).

New CF Total: $1,325.89

I just opened my mail and found a check for 2 weeks ago when I filled in at a friend's office for the day. I am continuing to add the ones place and the change to the EF, so $7.50 added. WooHoo!

New EF Balance: $1,278.08
plus $0.16 interest earned at my credit union last month...

Total EF Balance: $1,278.24

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can....