Amber's Personal Finance Blog

I took a look at my total thus far for the month and I am proud to say that my expenses are down.Way down... I'm especially proud because there's not a column for clothes and my hair expense dropped dramatically

Expense Categories
Miscellaneous $23.95
Education : Books $43.99
Federal Income Tax $183.37
Social Security Tax $98.74
Groceries $68.35
Cable/Satellite $64.68
Bank Charges: Interest Paid $64.67
Online/Internet Service $60.07
Gasoline $53.17
Water & Sewage $51.24
Storage $48.47
Services/Memberships $47.91
Dining Out $29.62
Medicare Tax $23.09
Charitable Donations $20.00
Gifts $17.25
Sales Tax $12.59
Hair Care $5.59
Feminine Products $4.01
Hobbies/Leisure: Lottery $4.00

Grand Total -$924.76

That is how much my brother owes on my mom's CC. My God, I wouldn't be able to sleep
When she(mom) spoke to his wife, she(SIL) claims she told my brother to stop using it...hello!!!!!!!! he's not the only one who ran it up. They have earned a whopping $48,000+ points meaning that through out the last few years they have charged almost $50,000 on a cc that is not theirs
About 2 years ago they paid about $10k on the cc bringing the balance down to a little more than $3k and now once again charging it back up. My mom had to call the CC company to get the interest down because after a few late payments it went up

I went ahead and paid off my Target CC(part of my challenge), so 3 down and now 1 to go. I struggled with this because I wanted to add this money back to my EF (it's the money my sister owed me) but I know from experience you can save more when there is no debt
YTD challenge $1712.86
CC balance $4008

Today was my birthday and I had a ton of emails wishing me a happy birthday...sites like Mypoints, Macys, Coke rewards and even saving advice. I thought it was neat because of all the emails I got this is the only site that didn't want me to buy anything
My mom and I went to dinner, my treat and TJ Maxx home good store and I did not buy a thing. Mom on the other hand picked up some things I used the cc but she paid me as soon as we got home, which I knew she would
I also finished up one of my projects for school so that was a plus and watched a great Lifetime movie
I paid $1.06 on my cc/challenge and picked up my check from my sister, whew glad that is over
Today's spending:
Expense Categories
Dining Out $14.56
Misc(mom purchase) $13.97
Gifts(dinner for mom)$14.56
Groceries $7.84
Sales Tax $1.01
Total Expense $51.94
All expenses were put on the cc for point but as soon as I got home I paid it

Today was payday and I'm broke again

I paid the following:
$130 EF
$10 Misc/gift fund
$10 Personal checking
$10 house fund
$25 IRA
Total Saved $185

Expense Categories
$183.37 Federal Income Tax
$98.74 Social Security Tax
$64.68 Cable/Satellite
$60.07 Online/Internet Service
$51.24 Water & Sewage
$23.09 Medicare Tax
$20.00 Charitable Donations
$1.00 Hobbies/Leisure : Lottery
$1.00 Miscellaneous
$47.91 Gym fees
$471.22 CC 2
Expense Total $1022.32
On a different not my sister called to say she has the $300 she owes me so I am picking it up in the morning in order to pay off cc 2

Well I received my $7 check from surveysavy so I added this to my challenge

YTD contribution $917.39

Well my sister did not call today nor did I call her. I am going to see when she's going to call for me to pick up my money. I know one thing this is definitely the straw that has broke the camel's back.

On a different note I had to spend $21 today at the grocery store
I did have breakfast and lunch at home

Well I had already made up my mine that I was not going to call my sister and she called today to tell me she was waiting on funds from her 401k before she could pay me back. First of all I told her this money was for my tuition, even though it isn't and if she wasn't going to be able to pay me back then don't borrow it. What bothers me the most, is what if I really needed the money for my tuition, it shows just how selfish she is. She knew it was a possibility ( a strong possibility)that she wouldn't be able to pay me back and yet she took the money. In a way I'm glad because this is the final straw, I'm going to tell her that the school dropped me and have her to think I am not taking a class...she won't ask me again and if she did it would be easier to say no
On a different today was a no spend day plus I received a survey check for $4

My teacher posted a question wanting to know what motivates us...and I thought long and hard and the only thing I can come up with is to be successful and working hard so that, that may come true but I am stumped I am pretty much happy with who I am, yes I have made some mistakes but no regrets
I was wondering what motivates you guys

Called my sister today to tell her I was on my way to pick up my money since she never called to say she had it and of course she doesn't. She said she'll have it on Monday, now my thing is this I told her I needed it back by Friday (like she promised ) and that it was my tuition money (which it is not I lied). You think she would call and say I know I owe you but I will give it to you on Monday? Nope...that is what annoys me with her, when she says she's going to pay you she never does and avoids you like the plague. It wouldn't be so bad if she just called. So I politely told her (in a firm voice) that if she causes me to be dropped due to non payment it won't be nice. We'll see if she calls me Monday

On a different note I got a X-mas from freecycle for next year and hit the gym today so no money was spent, but I have none to add to my challenge...darn
I even managed to get a couple of hours in to study

Well Friday has come and gone and Saturday is almost over and I have not heard from my sister, which doesn't surprise me. Tomorrow I am calling her to let her know I will be there to pick up my $300
Then my uncle call to tell me he was waiting on a $1500 check to pay me my $500..what! it's $550 not $500
You know, I know times are hard with every one but lending money always get me in an uproar, I do it because I always think what if I needed the money and then I give in. And I am always driven crazy. My uncle had already informed me that it would be a while before he could pay me but I wasn't thinking 6 months. My sister on the other hand, is a different story and I should know better (no excuses)
I returned my text book for $140.80. I went ahead and kept the homework manager that comes with it
Got my BoA bill and the finance charges were little more than $55, I can't wait to pay this card off
Anyhow I went to the gym missed yesterday and forgot to work on my abs so I'll be headed back tonight. The funny thing is, I went to Publix after wards and could not resists the vanilla cake
I am a little upset because I can not add to the challenge and needed to take money out of my EF to last me until next pay period. I knew I had socked away way too much but but thought I would give it a try
Yesterday and today's spending

Expense Categories
Education : Books 43.99
Gasoline 33.17
Groceries 11.74
Misc (co worker owes me $3) 8.95
Dining Out 2.22
Hobbies/Leisure : Lottery 1
Grand Total -101.07

I bought a book yesterday for a class $167, well found the international version today for $50.94 including shipping (brand new)so I will return the one I bought tomorrow first thing in the morning.

Well my winning streak for not dining out ended today. Came home from work to have lunch and mom decided she wanted my turkey and left me enough for a half sandwich I'm not annoyed that she had it only annoyed that I'm the only one who ever buys it.And Boar's head is not cheap. Anyhow I was starving and heading to gym so I stopped at McDonald's and got a kids meal costing me $3.30 so $6.60 was paid on the BoA cc/challenge.
Today was the first day of class which I'm happy with because the instructor seems to be really nice and I'm closer to graduation. The only problem was the book cost me $167 arrrrgh. I emailed the instructor prior to class for the ISBN number and never got a response so I had to buy it today. But I am really considering copying the first few chapters and ordering online, the international version for about $40 plus shipping
I always buy international books which are the same material but are in black and white...like who cares, but we'll see

Other than paying off CC I had a no spend today. I also have had lunch and breakfast at home no dining out for me until I get this cc debt down.
On a different note it was raining today so I didn't feel like going to the gym but will go tomorrow right after work, I also read chapter 1 for my online class trying to stay ahead of the game

I just realized that I did not get a bill from VS so I called them and the address was incorrect, thank goodness I will not be charged a late fee. So I decided to take the money out of the EF to pay them off a whopping total of $367.06. I know this was not an emergency but my EF goal is $1000 and I had more than that in there so why earn less than 2% interest to incurr more on the CC
So now I only have 2 CC lefts and I plan on paying Target off the next pay period
YTD paid on the challenge $907.09

I decided to pay off two CC since I am earning less (interest) money on my savings account and these balances are driving me crazy; in addition, in the past what I have
learned is that once your CC is paid off you can save a lot more much faster so I said what the heck and took the money out of my house fund
Total paid $506.66
Paid:
-Macys store card
-Macys Visa Card
As I was balancing my account I notice that one of the CC mysteriously tacked on a dollar my previous balance was 81.73 but on my new statement it states my previous balance was 82.73 and no reason for the extra buck so I will be on the phone with them at lunch tomorrow.
This is part of my challenge so I am adding this to my YTD balance

Also any one looking for the link to Pinecone I posted on a previous post

This link was sent to me last month and appears to still be active so if any one wants to sign up here it is

Here is the link to the registration:

Added my weekly deposit of $10 to the challenge. I have about $20 to last me until next Friday and I am really trying not to transfer any funds from other accounts. Also I have had breakfast, lunch and dinner at home for the last two days but haven't been able to add to my challenge so all in all I'm doing ok about not spending any money

After I left the gym today I was so tempted to head into Khol's and buy a few yoga pants. On my way to the gym I noticed the huge 60% sign, it took a lot for me not to go in but I'm glad I didn't
Today's spending:
Expense Categories
Groceries $9.08
Misc.(Loan to sister) $300.00

Grand Total -$309.08

It would have been a great day had I not loaned my sister the money

I totally forgot that my sister asked to borrow $300 for her rent until Friday... she gets on my nerves with that $%%@# gosh. Last month she called and my uncle ended up lending her the money and now she's calling again. Why did she move into a place that she could not afford? Her and my BIL separated and she had been saying for a while that she was going to file for a divorce so why not look for a place in case you have to live on your own in which you can afford? And my BIL he is so pathetic how she ended up with him only God knows. Now he has his things in my storage you think that he would call me and say here is a few dollars? Nope, but the only reason why I have not called him is because before they moved they allowed me to store my things in storage but I have a trick for him. I am going to start buying things for my new house so that when I finally move I won't have to worry about anything and the first thing I am buying is a bed so he can get his crap out

Anyhow went to the gym so a buck was added to my cc challenge

washed my own hair but I have no money to add to the challenge for doing so but when payday rolls around I am adding $35 to the house fund

I decided to cash out my reward points with BoA so I should be getting a check for $120. Once received it will be added to my house fund. No need in having the money sitting there not collecting interest on it and since I do not plan on using the card for a long time I won't be earning any points anytime soon anyway

I signed on to my paypal account in order to send Ima the link to sign up only I didn't find one. However, I found that Pinecone had sent me $3 for a completed survey which I gladly transferred to my challenge house fund

Went to the gym and was only able to do 20 minutes of cardio and some ab work since my uncle was here and does not have a key to lock the door; but I plan on going later
$1 added to the challenge cc debt
Challenge YTD $19.31

Went to the grocery store and only bought what was on my list with the exception of corn so today's spending $9.08 thus far

The Heat won tonight and I am doing the happy dance. I'm a huge fan of number 3 Dewayne Wade (my future DH of course, lol)any how like Ima when the Braves win she adds to her challenge so the Heat won tonight and I am adding a buck. They started out really bad but in the end they did it

Go heat

YTD Challenge $18.31
New Home $1222.17

I can't believe I received my 1040 booklet from the IRS already, it's only the 3rd of January.
I'm really in no rush to file my taxes because any money I receive I'll be adding to either my house fund or EF, haven't decided yet but either way it's saved
I'm sure that there are a ton people out there who will be filing their taxes via rapid refund and for the life of me I don't understand why

Almost went to Sonic for burger and fries but changed my mind and decided to make a salad. Just hope I can keep this up
Have to go to the gym later, my shoulder is so sore. I normally do not work my arms and chest are but I did the other day and now I am paying for it

I am still waiting on the following:
Inboxdollar $28.34
Surveyspot $7
$25 Giftcard from mypoints

Just a mental note to myself

Just received my check from SurveySavy for $3.50 which was added to my challenge home account
YTD Challenge $17.31
New Home Balance $1221.77
I hate that I had not stuck to my guns last year, there is a fixer upper (townhouse) with not much work for sell in the area I want to live in for $50K 2 bedrooms 2 baths. This is just more motivation for me to get this debt paid off and money saved

I forgot to post my daily spending from yesterday so here it is:

Expense Categories
Personal Care:Feminine Products $4.01
Personal Care: Hair Care 5.59
Sales Tax $.62
Total $10.22

Grand Total -10.22

Went to Target picked up only what I needed and used the 10% off coupon saving $1.07 so I paid this amount on the cc. It seems like my CC debt has not decreased one bit and I haven't charged a thing...darn interest. I have got to pay it off ASAP
Went to the gym so another buck was added to the cc challenge