Okay, I am in the market for a great CC. I am really not interested in a new account, but my 0% offer on the FIA card ended last month and is now at 12.99% which is way too high. I asked at my credit union and their lowest rate on personal loans is 7% which I think is exorbitant considering the lending rate right now is around 0% for banks and credit unions and my current personal loan with them is at 6%. I was really disappointed. Anyway, I was just over at www.creditcards.com comparing transfer offers, but thought you all might have some great suggestions to help me narrow things down.

My credit is excellent. Although I have not pulled my scores for about a year they should continue to be in the 780-800 range. I was just thinking that if I could find a card with a nice transfer offer plus a great all-around card I would keep it as my one card after everything is paid off.

I'd love to take into consideration all of your suggestions if you have a card you think is pretty great, but I am leaning toward a "rewards" card of some type since I do not currently have one and if I'm going to keep it later on I'd rather use it to get rewards in return...preferably cash since I can't think of anything we would want all the time otherwise. But, again, I'd love to hear all opinions.

Okay, I decided to use the Federal refund to pad my "freedom account" (a Mary Hunt, Debt-proof Living idea where all money for intermittant but expected expenses is kept). We've got loads of different categories to save for in there such as my DD's summer camp, car repairs/oil changes, gifts, etc. So that big chunk makes me feel much more in control of those expenses and ready for when they come due.

The state refund was about 1/3 of the federal and I split it like so:
10% fun money - 5% for me and 5% for hubby
10% charity - split between 6 different places we give to
40% EF
40% debt - this brings this debt down to just under $284 and should be paid off with my next paycheck!!! WooHoo!

It is exciting to see such nice progress and feel a little bit more secure in our future finances.

I just got my last paycheck from the old 1 day/week job, and I put the dollar place and change from FT job so new EF Balance: $5,467.

My husband and I usually don't get crazy over V-Day. We'll use it as an excuse to have a nice dinner or buy a card but not too over the top. Well, this year I was sad because my hubby was going to be away for V-Day weekend. Right before he left this morning I got a delivery from ProFlowers - 2 dozen red roses and a box of chocolate truffles! I was extremely surprised and thrilled. A couple hours later another ProFlowers delivery arrived - this time for our daughter, a dozen multi-color roses! Then this evening my daughter and I went to have dinner at my in-laws and guess who had just received a beautiful bunch of tulips from her son?! Needless to say she was thrilled as well.

I've gotta say, hubby definitely scored mucho points today!

Thanks to BlueEyes' blog and all her talk about the rebate money she has been saving in her "Extra Income Fund", I decided to stop being so darn lazy and try my hand at the Walgreen FAR items this month. I think I did great!

Bought:
Revlon concealer pen $7.49
Revlon lipgloss $9.99
Zucol cold relief $7.99
Thermacare heat wrap $2.49
Fructis shampoo $3.99
Total rebates I will receive back: $31.95

Total I actually spent thanks to manufacturer's coupons and a $5/25 Walgreen coupon my dad got in the mail: $19.95

Profit: $12.00

HOORAY!!!

Edited to ask: Why isn't the hyperlink I made to BlueEyes blog working???

I got paid for 2 Pinecone surveys this week plus $15 I requested from Lightspeed survey. I also had $3 sitting in my PayPal from a Pinecone survey I did at the end of December, so $24 to the EF. That pushes me over the $5,300 mark on my way to $10,000.

Okay, so first I need to clarify and admit that this is really my darling husband's bailout plan...and it is limited to the credit card banks and automakers. I just thought it was so excellent I had to post it on my blog.

Bailing out the credit card banks and the big US automakers:

Step 1: Federal government pays off the outstanding debts on all customer credit card accounts and auto loans for the big companies that are requesting bailout money.

Step 2: Citizens whose credit card and/or car loan accounts are paid off by the gov't are given low-interest-rate federal loans for the balance that was paid for them. They no longer owe anything to the CCs or automakers.

Step 3: Citizens pay off their debt directly to the government each month.

Step 4: People who "opt-in" to this program are not allowed to take on any new debt until the federal loan is paid in full --- excluding mortgages, and car loans for those who were not part of the car loan bailout.

Step 5: Everyone is happy. The citizens are paying off their credit card and auto loan debt at a lower rate, without extra fees and penalties, and not able to get into further debilitating debt. The banks and the automakers get their bailout money. The government throws money around like they enjoy doing.

Win-win-win as far as I can see.

January was a 3 paycheck month for me. We use YNAB to budget, but are used to being allotted our "mad money" every 2 weeks. For this "extra" paycheck I'd love to be able to put the whole check toward EF or split between EF and our smallest debt (the personal loan that is down to $1,486). I can not wait to pay that loan off! I have been paying $230/month on that which is the minimum plus $103 from a loan I paid off prior to this one. Once that one is gone I will add the $230 to our next debt in line and really get rolling.

Anyway, I ended up taking 1/2 of our usual amount of "mad money" from this extra check instead of the whole amount or nothing. My DH is still not happy to have his mad money cut in half, and I tried to explain the concept of the "extra check". He is not happy but he is living with 1/2 the mad money for the next 2 weeks until I get paid again.