Amber's Personal Finance Blog

Whew! I am really glad the weekend is over. First, Friday night we went to the boat parade, a first for me, and it was really nice. Then Saturday, we attended a parade downtown which was also nice and fun. However, my BF lost his dog tag I bought him for his birthday
Lastly, today was the BF youngest daughter's birthday party. I can't understand for the life of me that he insist on spending all this money for a birthday party, when he has all this back child support to take care of. I offered to buy the cake, my gift to his daughter, and I made it clear, I am not spending a ton of money on a cake. Last year I think he spent close to $80 on a cake. The cost of the cake $35.
Now the kicker is, after the party the daughter whose birthday it is called because she was hungry. What! Are you kidding me? I gave him $30 because, apparently he had no money for the week. So I ask why spend the money? His response " Becsuse I had it at the time" My response, "Yes, that's true but what are you going to do for the rest of the week?" of course no response.
The only reason why I gave him the $30 is because I know if the shoe was on the other foot he would do the same. I did tell him, we are going to have serious problems if he does not make an effort to get his finances under control.

I asked him, if he would like to set a limit on Christmas gifts, he said no. But I already know I am not spending over a $100 on him. This is crazy, you can't afford it, I'd rather not even exchange gifts this year.
Long story short, I am out $75 in gifts, $40 for gas, and about $10 in miscellaneous stuff.

Okay last month I used my ING account to pay my cable bill. Well I received a check payable to the cable company with my address listed as the company's address, so I thought the check was a fraud and trashed it. Long story short, the cable bill was not paid, ING will not re-issue the check until 90 days has past, even though I advised them I trashed the check and I do not have an extra $114 laying around.

This really suck!

Next, I am tired of living at home. My mom, likes to make it known its her house when its convenient. For example, the sink is leaking and needs to be fix so its our house. I want to make some changes so its her house. Ughhhh, I hate the situation that I am in

Oh well

Once again my BF does not have his portion of the money to take a trip that I have been planning since January this year. On my bucket list is to visit every state, so for the upcoming year we were to start with Alabama. Well now as he puts it "He is in the hole" and I refuse to foot the bill this time for my birthday. This year I paid for everything, food, gas, the hotel, the theater, and the theme park. He was to give me some of the money back and normally he does but he did not. We have been together for 3 years and when it's his birthday I usually foot the bill but since he stood me up year, I did not pay for the hotel room.

Now here is the kicker, he wants to rent a hotel for Christmas for 4 days, I'd rather use that money for my trip.

Long story short, I am not paying $500 for us to fly to Alabama. If he wants to go dutch, that is perfectly fine with me.

On a different note, Publix had BOGO AJ frozen pancakes so I saved $2. 86

I received portion of my mileage check from my employer and was short $2. I think they do this on purpose hoping that you do not notice because it happens all the time. The person of course, who cuts the check was not in today, not surprised. So I deposited the funds and added $200 to my Challenge/EF account. Now I am just waiting on $91 hopefully I will have it by Friday. I'll add the $91 to the challenge and I would have met my goal above and beyond.

That's it in a nutshell

I usually do not mail off rebates but today, I sent in for my $10 rebate from Macy's for a George Foreman Grill I purchased on Black Friday.

I have already paid the bill so once received I will add to my challenge. Noting it here helps me keep track of when my rebate was sent

Just took my final and I received a 94 on my exam, yay! So I added $3 to my challenge/EF because my overall grade for the class will be a "B". Not bad being that I had a rough start.

On a different note, I usually drive to the boonies for work a few times out of the month. I packed my lunch, ate and found myself starving on my way back. So I had to buy something to eat, $8

I could not figure out why I was so hungry but then I realized that I only had a half of a bagel and water for lunch. I wasn't really hungry earlier.

Because I did pack and eat my lunch I am not adding this amount to my challenge.

I fell off the wagon, about $65 in dinging out this weekend.
$43 for dinner with cousin and BF
$12 for breakfast and dinner today
$6 for breakfast yesterday

The bad news is the $43 and $6 came out of my leisure fund so I have cleaned that out for the month but on a positive note I had the money.

$12 was not in the budget so $12 was added to my challenge for dining out.

This was the wrong month to spend my leisure fund so quickly and foolishly

Today I received my MyPoints gifts card for J.C.Penney's and Old Navy, both for $25 each. I added the $50 I would have spent to my $20 Challenge/EF. I'll be giving these away as Christmas gifts . Now I am waiting on the $37.50 check from BoA, not sure if I'll simply add this to the challenge or use it towards Christmas gifts. My goal which was set in mid-November was to save a $1000 by December 31st and at the rate I'm going it looks like I will meet my goal mid-December

Okay I am unsure, I purchased Panera yesterday for lunch today. So of course I packed my lunch but I am unsure if I should add $2 to my challenge. Normally when I pack my lunch I add $2 to the challenge, but since I purchased this yesterday I am unsure. Lol

On a different note, today I went to Wal*Mart and purchased the following:
-Old Spice Trial size body wash $.97
-Coupon, buy two get a $1.00 off
-Cost $.94
-Garnier Shampoo trial size $.97
-Coupon, buy 1 get a $1.00 off
-Cost, +$.03
Not bad

Expense Categories
Miscellaneous $372.47
Federal Tax $266.12
Insurance $202.82
Cable $174.00
Cellular $132.54
SS Tax $120.14
Electric $117.43
Gasoline $115.03
Groceries $101.52
Dining Out $83.41
Auto Maintenance $80.73
Water & Sewage $59.93
Internet $49.41
Entertainment $43.12
Medicare Tax $41.48
Manicure & Pedicure $29.00
Household Unassigned $19.96
Personal Care: Misc.$10.60
Personal Care Unassigned $8.98
Sales Tax $8.03
Personal Care: Feminine Prod.$8.02
Total Expense $2044.74

This may not be 100% correct, I paid a lot of December bills in November (yesterday) but unfortunately my software sorts by the date. Either way not too bad, I socked away about $300 last month as well.

Next month, even with Christmas, my goal is to knock $200 off my total expenses. In addition, I need to keep better track of my spending, too much in miscellaneous items.

Just redeemed my cash reward from BoA for $37.50
Once received I'll add $12.50 to this amount and give the cash to my BF daughter as a Christmas gift.

I had Panera's today at a whopping $14.58, I bought dinner and lunch. After my purchase I felt really guilty. I used my BoA card to earn the points and paid the bill as soon as I got home.

I also missed the gym tonight so $2.00 was added to my challenge.

I just checked my account I have about 5 months left and I'll be car payment free.

That's my day in a nutshell

I can not believe it. First I made a special trip on my way home from class to Best Buy in order to earn 225 points just for walking in, and of course my ShopKick is not working properly

Next, I go to my dad who has told me since October that he was not interested in changing his Medicare part D prescription drug plan (which I advised him to since his meds were not covered under his currently plan) but low and behold 7 days before enrollment period ends and my second day back to work after a week vacation, he wants to change his plan. Arrrrggghhh

Then I make an attempt tp pay my Target bill online and was told I was only allowed two payments with in a seven day period, what! Now I have been using my Target card to earn the 5% discount and as soon as I get home I pay the bill. Well, looks like I have done so twice this week Good thing my minimum payment isn't due until the 6th so I was able to schedule a payment.

Finally on a good note, I still had about $11 left in my account before payday so I added this amount to my challenge/EF. In addition, I paid bills today and every bill due with the exception of one, I over estimated the total amount due so I added another $115 to my challenge/EF. Also I packed lunch, had breakfast at home as well as dinner so $6 added to my challenge.

I had class tonight, so I did not make it to the gym and I am not adding $2 the challenge, this was a good reason not to head to the gym but I'll be back tomorrow.

Total saved $132

It feels good to be back on track to financial freedom.

Today I went to Target and collected over 200 points using ShopKick, hoping to earn enough Best Buy points for BF Christmas gift.

Then I bought the following
Personal care product:3.99 less $1.00c= $2.99
-Personal care product:$.92 less $1.00c= $.08 for me
-Target savings using cc (paid once I got home): $.50
Total savings $2.50

$20 Challenge update
-$6 no dining out
-$1 gym
-$1 Study
Total $8.50

All in all I added $10.50 to my challenge

I saved a buck today using a coupon for Chinet plates, I also studied so a dollar was added to the challenge and I went to the gym and added a dollar to the challenge as well. All in all $3 saved.

Today is my last day off before returning to work and I must say I have been a lazy bum all day. The only thing I can say is that I have done some studying, that's it.

I am really enjoying this day, really

Okay I am new to the couponing the thing. But I think I did okay for the first time.

CVS purchases
Old Spice Body Wash $3.49
Old Spice Body Wash $3.49
Dawn Antibacterial Soap $.99
Total $7.97
Less Coupons $4.99
Total $2.98

I have completed 3 out 4 Lifestyle Improvement Program through BCBS bringing my total to $150 in gift cards
I'll complete the fourth phase between today and tomorrow to earn an additional $50 whooo hoo.

We're planning a trip in January so $200 in gift cards will be nice

Well today I tried to mend a friendship between two friends, I am friends with both women who are not speaking to each other but I have learned to stay out of it. So with that said no more bringing folks together. I'll just remain friends with both.

On a different note my brother gave me $300 to get my mom a tv for Christmas, I was trying to find the best deal for the best buck but ended up spending $295, so I earned five bucks on the deal. So $5 was added to my challenge/EF--I do think I got a really good deal on the TV

I also studied today for a little while and added a $1 to my challenge/EF. Total added today to the challenge $6

On a different note, the BF ask if I wanted to head out to breakfast, we're both in the hole so I said to him "I have no money" his response. "Me either" so then I respond "We shouldn't be going" In the end, I cooked breakfast at home for both us saving over $30.

I picked up my 3 free picture collages from Walgreens and I must say they look great. I was able to get three free, I had the BF sign up as well as my sister. Lol I know some would say I am cheap but I am saving money.

I have a $10 GC from VS, I hope I am able to find a $10 night gown or even one for $12. They usually have them on clearance it will be a great Christmas gift for my cousin or BF daughter.

Well this is a continuation from a previous post. As you all know my BF accounts were frozen for over $80k. As I mentioned before he has an attorney that I think he should have fired a year ago, see he is paying child support for two kids one which he has custody for.

Long story short his attorney finally called back, and guess what? She admitted to him that she does not handle cases (family) such as his. WTH! Was all I could say. However, she will refer him to some one in her office. Are you serious? I said to him I would file a complaint with the Florida Bar Association. A year later, suspended license (she advised him to payless only to find out this was not agreed upon in court so he was in contempt) and over $82k later you realize you don't handle such cases.

I told him when he hired her to go with some one else, but no.
I did advise him not to use anyone in her office

Whew I almost missed out on $10 from ING. ING is offering $10 if you paid 5 bills via there bill pay center, so I paid the two additional bills I needed and $10 should be credited to my account by December 31st. Of course once I receive my $10 I'll deposit it to my challenge/EF

I completed my BCBS PHA survey and blood screening, all at no cost to me so I will be receiving two $50 gift cards We are planning a trip in January so the money will be used for our trip. I have two more surveys to complete which will give me two $50 gift cards bringing my total to $200 yay!

Nothing like free money

One thing I hate is an unsupportive individual. I am back at blogging which helps me keep track of my finances here, no one knows I blog about my finances and I'd like to keep it that way

In addition, I collect points from miscellaneous sites such as: MyPoints and ShopKicks. Once I accumulate enough points, I cash them in for gift cards which I use as gifts. Well the BF and I were out and about and of course I was trying to collect points so that I can get a gift card for his daughter for Christmas. Well long story short he was very annoyed that I wanted him to drop me off at the mall entrance while he parks so that I may collect 300 points and I ended up not going to the entrance.

This really irritates me, yes I have not discuss my financial position with him but he knows this year we're both financially strapped. After I explain to him that right now I have enough points for a five dollar gift card, it's black Friday and you can earn 3x as many points and that I am very close to a $25 GC it was almost if he was "so embarrass" that I was doing so.

Well I have decided that he and I will no longer go shopping together, because as long as I'm saving I will collect points where ever I am and if he is embarrass then we won't go together.

Wondering why is it when I am making some sort of headway Murphy always step in? As you all know, I am trying to sock away enough cash in my EF before I start paying down my CC debt and I am so close to reaching my goal before the end of the year and now I need a car battery

I have a car fund which will cover about $40 of the cost of the battery but the difference will come out of my EF. I really do not want to touch any of that money unless I lose my job or become sick, but I understand that a car battery is a must.

Still feeling sad though

Whew, I figured out what to get my BF for Christmas. He mentioned he wants a radio for his car, $60 at Best Buy, also a wet/dry vac $20 at Wal*Mart so all in all his gifts will be under $100.

Also I am racking up points with ShopKicks hopefully I'll have enough points for a $25 GC for Christmas

Woke up feeling very thankful for the following:
-another day
-family/friend
-a job
-health
-back on track to financial freedom
-a roof over my head
-food on the table
-clothing
-happiness
-many more things

Just wanted to say yes I am thankful and hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving

Thanks to Trying Hard, I ordered my free photo collage from Walgreens.com using the coupon code RGIFT2U. It is a great Christmas gift for my BF so I saved $3.99 which will be added to my challenge/EF

So that's one of his gifts and a few more to go, he wants the Sean 8 NCIS and a dry/wet vac and that's it.

I know over the last few years I'll post "I'm trying this blogging thing again" and nothing. But as I sit here I realized that yes I am back on track. I have blogged every day now for a little over a week In addition, I am so stuck on saving this, not spending that, that I know I am definitely back at it this time.

With that said, I have socked away over a $100 to my challenge in a week, created a price list, and just finish clipping my coupons and creating a spread sheet to keep track of all my coupons

Tomorrow, I will get the newspaper from my BF mom, because she doesn't clip coupons and the only thing she reads in the paper is the obituaries. So once the paper is in my hand I will sock away $1.50 (cost of paper, had I bought it) to my challenge EF.

I'm not into extreme couponing, I don't find the need to stock up on items I do not use, but I do want to save money if I can.

Further more I am watching the news and all these people are lined up already for Black Friday, personally I do not want to be in that mess spending money I do not have. So, I will wait for my gift cards from MyPoints and get Christmas gifts then.

I refuse to go overboard this year, or use my CC.

You know sometimes my mom thinks my BF is her BF. She is retired, home all day and says to me when I got home that she forgot to buy stuffing. Being that I am on a budget and she gets food stamps, I say "I wish I had known prior to coming home but I am not going back out, because my mechanic is coming to check out my car which is acting up." Her response, "Call BF and tell him to go" First of all his money is not your money, secondly he is at work until late, third you get food stamps and fourth you have been home all day not doing a thing. Not to mention his account has just been wiped clean (she isn't aware but its not her business either).

So I respond saying, "Well BF will not be home until late." Her response, "Well I guess we won't have stuffing" Really? You're that lazy and cheap? The reason why I say cheap is because she always mention that my "BF must make enough money" I can't stand when others count someone else money.

Sorry I just had to vent

Okay as I left my doctor's appoinment I headed to Wal*Mart. I pick up some items and was shocked that the tv converter was $19.98, after standing in line which seemed like eternity I got a refund.

Headed to my car, loaded, drove off and realised my cell phone was left in the shopping cart. Thank goodness I wasn't too far away before I realized I left my phone, upon my return it was still there, whew!

Next, on the list, enter cost of items on my price list--check, all done.

Woke up this morning and was unable to have breakfast because I have a doctor's appointment at 11 which I had to fast for. I wish I knew ahead of times, I would have scheduled earlier because I am starving.

As I prepared myself to head out to my appointment, I was trying to figure out where I could grab a bite to eat, but then it dawned me...pack your lunch! So I packed a banana, juice and P&B sandwich, now I can add $2 to my challenge.

Next I was changing purses and found $8, yay! So this was added to my challenge as well. As you know I gave my BF everything I thought I had in my purse last night.

Today's total so far $10

It has been since forever since I have blogged, but I must say since this week and I have blogged consistently I have also saved consistently. Since November 14th I have socked away $137.34 and the week is not even over yet.

Yes I lost $20, gave my BF close to $50 but either way you cut it I saved more than I have in a week in a very long time.

I also created my price list. I created a spread sheet with the list of stores I frequent, which include the most common items I buy and the cost of each item at each store. Yes this will be time consuming but once completed, well worth it.

In addition, I will be clipping coupons and socking away what I save on coupons. Now I don't want to be a coupon fanatic but I do want to be able to get a good deal on items I need.

I have done it in the past (paid down debt while saving) so I know that it can be done.