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....

I cashed in $40 from my Lightspeed survey account via PayPal last week.
It just showed up in my local bank so I will be transferring to the EF at ING today.

I am also waiting on a check for $34 from Viewpoint Forum (another survey site) so I will posting another EF deposit as soon as I receive that money. WooHoo! I am so excited that the EF is growing so rapidly now that I am really looking in every nook and cranny for extra cash to fund it.

New EF Balance: $1,270.58
With this deposit I've surpassed 25% of my $5k goal!!!

That is the question I am trying not to stress about at the moment. Here is the story (in case anyone is actually reading this)...I graduated (May07), passed my board exams(Aug07) and my license to practice dental hygiene finally arrived (Oct07). I interviewed for about 5-6 dental offices before I found what I felt was the right place for me and started right after I received my license. I actually took a lower wage due to other benefits offered here. There were a few reasons I chose the office I currently work in but one of the biggest was that I was offered medical insurance for myself and my family with 50% paid by the doctor, and he would waive the 90 day waiting period.

So why am I worrying about medical insurance 3 months later you ask? Funny story (okay, not really) but turns out that the DDS did not have the authority to waive the 90 day wait. I found that out a few weeks into the job. Okay, I understand. It was an honest mistake and I feel her intentions were good. We'll just wait for January when the 90 day wait is complete.

Fast-forward to January 2. I call the insurance company to request another card for my DD (I like to have 2 for her so both I and my DH can have one on us at all times). The insurance company tells me that they cannot pull up my information because "the start date and the termination date of your policy are the same day". I try to delve into it a little more but they will not divulge any information to me - I will have to get the DDS to call them. Easier said than done as the DDS is busy trying to treat patients as well as run a business. Anyway, I spoke to the DDS and she is supposed to call the insurance company. Tells me she did not get around to it last week so will call and let me know this week.

Upon further thought, I realize that I am the only employee using the plan. Guess what? A small business health plan must have at least 2 employees!!! I have a real bad feeling about this. Hoping for the best of course, but my DH is planning for me having to look for another job.

I received a "Try it Free" rebate check today from YoPlait YoPlus yogurt, so I have another $2.99 to add to our EF...and the yogurt was pretty tasty also!

New EF total: $1,230.58

I got paid today and even though it is a very small paycheck (office was closed from 12/22 - 1/2) I had an idea. As I logged it into YNAB under Income:Primary I decided to automatically place the amount in the ones place and the change into my EF category. So, for example, if my check is for $548.44, I will budget $8.44 to the EF before allocating my other categories. I'll automatically have to live without that money so I shouldn't miss it. I get paid every 2 weeks so that should give me a good bit of extra money toward the EF each month. I really feel like I am getting the new year off on the right foot for once!

Tomorrow's EF deposit will be: $4.55
Making my new EF total: $1,227.59

I am so excited! I totally forgot about the interest we would earn on our ING accounts for December plus the 1% cash back promotion on the Electric Orange debit card. I just checked my accounts and we earned a total of $14.87 that I just moved into our EF!!! WooHoo!!!

New EF total: $1,223.04

Last night I said I would put my "found money" - rolled coin and Pinecone check into my EF. This morning after looking over my YNAB budget I decided to put all bits of extra money such as this into my Roth IRA.
I added a new ticker to show the gold bars moving closer to the retirement treasure chest! Right now I am aiming to contribute at least $2,500 toward the Roth this year, but in reality I'd love to save the maximum which is $5,000 for 2008. I'd love to have to go in and make a new ticker showing the extension from $2,500 to $5,000 before year end but we shall see.

I am trying to post something almost everyday so that I keep myself on track so I apologize in advance if these posts are utterly inane or boring!

My DH and I took our DD to see the newest Disney film "Enchanted" today. It was very cute - much better than the dread I felt watching the television ads for it. We saved about $8 by going to the matinee and about $5 by smuggling in a can of Pringles we bought for New Years Eve. We did buy 2 sodas and a pack of Reese's Pieces so the theatre still made out like bandits on us, but a little less than they usually would have.

I also rolled our coins today - $10 dimes, $8 nickles, and $2 pennies makes $20 to put toward our EF! I also have a $5 check from Pinecone to deposit as well. I haven't added this to my ticker yet since I have not deposited the coins or the check yet but it will bring my total EF to $1,233.17 so far. WooHoo! We're making headway!