Amber's Personal Finance Blog

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

My mom paid me the money for the stuff I bought for her on the cc the other day. She actually over paid me so the difference went towards my debt ($1.06)
Plus my nephew returned the $6 he owed me which I needed. There's some personal items that I need so I'll go to Target and use my 10% coupon

YTD Challenge $11.74

I just received a payment from Pinecone in the amount of $3 so that was added to my challenge/home fund (YTD $10.68) bringing my grand total to 1218.27

Had breakfast at home and brought my lunch today plus snacks so $2 added to my challenge/cc
YTD for the challenge $7.68

I pretty much just relaxed today and then headed to the gym worked out for almost 2 hours one of those hours on the elliptical burned 420 calories then hit the grocery store spent $19.57(.43 applied to challenge/cc debt) and it was basically all healthy foods,which is more expensive Took my sister my car so that she can run some errands tomorrow.

And then I came home and watched a program on PBS regarding the concentration camps in Germany. As an African American I know what blacks went through in this country and some of those stories are almost unbelievable and then I watch this story and I just can't understand why people would want to hurt another group of people based on race, religion or gender or anything else for that matter. To see those people being brought out of those camps was just terrible reminds me of slavery and the Jim Crow era of the early 60s...I just can't even imagine what people were going through back then. I thank God that we are moving in a new direction. I must admit I was not an Obama supporter at first and changed my view of him later on in his campaign but I have to say I never thought I would see an African American as president in this country and to me it is a symbol not only to this country but people around the world how race, sex, religion are becoming no longer a major factor for decisions

Here's my spending for today:
Expense Categories
Gasoline $20.00
Bills: Storage $48.47
Gifts(apples for sis) $2.69
Groceries $16.45
Sales Tax $0.43

Grand Total -$88.04

Well I added my buck earlier today and now I am adding $2 more to my challenge/ cc debt 1. had lunch at home and 2. going to the gym now. Oh and I forgot $2.25 was earned in interest for the challenge...I have to laugh to myself because a little over a year ago I was earning much more than this and I had a lot more saved.

Added $1 to my challenge/cc debt fund today, the first amount for the year. This amount was added because I had breakfast at home and will pay another buck when I go to the gym. I know this is a small amount but every little bit helps and I figure in the end if I have breakfast and lunch at home as well as hitting the gym daily that would be $3 a day $21 a week and $84 not including regular payments. So I plan on keeping this up, this one of the ways that I paid off my debt

My favorites on internet explorer is not working so I can not bookmark any pages...any suggestions

And I plan on living on less than I make, that's my new year's resolution.
Today I plan on just relaxing and heading to the gym, so it will be a NSD. I just check the interest that I have earned for December and it was a whopping $5.25 but I guess I shouldn't complain it's more than I had yesterday

On a different note my mom realized that someone tried breaking into our house on Thursday and I believe it is S, the old family friend who wanted to move in. He's the one the grandmother put out because he stole her CC. When she(mom) went out the back door she notice from the outside that the lock was broken, as if someone tried to pick the lock. It's so strange because that day my mom and I went to TJ Maxx home good store and for some strange reason I decided to hide my laptop under some blankets. I figured if some one breaks in the alarm will go off but the person would still have a few minutes before the cops came...I have no idea why I had this though, just glad I did

Just wanted to wish every one a safe prosperous New Year

Well my numbers are in and compared to last year I did much worst. My income dropped about $6k since I quit the part time job and all my expenses were too high

Total Income $30,816.86

Expense Categories
Automobile $1,620.29
Bank Charges/Finance $126.72
Bills $36.00
Cash Withdrawal $35.00
Cellular Services $745.83
Charitable Donations $225.00
Clothing $3,323.76
Dining Out $701.58
Education $1,166.69
Entertainment $55.00
Gifts $609.02
Groceries $2,037.73
Healthcare $5,386.66
Hobbies/Leisure $134.96
Household $815.28
Hurricane Supplies $100.14
Auto Insurance $895.47
Internet $481.39
Job Expense $31.78
Leisure $9.00
Loan $1,130.33
Misc. $7,019.17
Personal Care $1,529.21
Phone/Wireless $43.47
Services/Memberships $172.00
Snack $15.10
Taxes $4,619.09
Travel/Vacation $440.19
Utilities $2,118.12
Expense - Unassigned $2,260.76
Total Expense $37,884.74

Transfers
Auto Loan -$2,136.12
Grand Total -$9,204.00

Total cash on hand $3678.02

On the eliptical and I also burned 309 calories so I added $1 to the challenge debt. Today is the last day of the year and it seems like I have gone backwards but I'm looking foward to a new year. I have to go through my expenses and am afraid to even look, but oh well

I was upset because I left my lunch at home and then I remembered I had a GC for Sweet Tomatoes so the only thing lunch cost me today was .49 so I added $1 to the cc debt for dining out and $7 to my challenge house fund because that is what I would have spent had I not had the gift card

I was doing so well these last few weeks and today I forgot my lunch, arrrrrrrrgh
So now I have to buy lunch which burns me
In addition, I had breakfast at home so rather than adding my $2 for not dining out I was only able to pay $1 towards my challenge/cc debt because money is really tight until the next pay period
I also had to cancel my oil change and tire rotation but that's ok because I have a little more than a 100 miles to go before I actually need to take care of this

After the day I had I went to the gym and worked out longer than I ever had. 1 hour on the eliptical and I wasn't even tired, I couldn't believe it. I remember there was a time that after 10 minutes I would be dizzy and huffing and puffing but not tonight; I felt great. Then I worked on my legs, arms and abs, I am so proud of myself. Tomorrow it's just cardio and abs
The eliptical said I burned 425 calories but since I worked on other things I wonder how much I really burned

Well I have a lot to blog about (sorry for the long post)
First, I just realized that I am going to have to cancel my appointment for an oil change as well as tire rotation until next pay period and besides I still have about 200 miles to go before I actually need one. I also have to cancel my dentist appointment for the crown until mid February. I totally forgot about my storage bill of $48.47 this amount is automatically charged to my BoA cc on the first so I went head and paid it in addition to adding $2.00 for going to the the gym

Now on to family and friends, My mom and I go to TJ Maxx home store and on the way she says oh I left my CC but I am not buying anything (my mom is a saver and will save every dime so I wasn't worried) But we get to the home store and she finds some things and asked if I can charge Arrgggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! I am so annoyed because I do not want to charge anything, I MEAN NOTHING. I know my mom will give me the money that's not even the point because she's good about paying bills and saving ( I wish I was more like her when it comes to money) but I simply do not want to charge thing any more bottom line; needless to say I charged $48 worth of stuff


Now my sister (oh boy) About 2 weeks my sister called to borrow $300 I lied and told her I had the money in a different account and if I transfer the funds it will take 2-3days before I can get it. So she says to me go ahead and transfer the money and I will call my uncle. Well she called my uncle who loaned her the money. She paid him back. Well today she calls and she says to me, did you transfer the money? Well she caught me off guard and I said to her no because you borrowed the money from N. She then says well transfer it because I need to pay my rent and she'll give it back to me next Friday. Now this is my savings for my new house and I do not want to touch it but I told her it was the money for my tuition. If was I thinking I would have told her I already used it to pay my tuition (lie of course) Now when she borrowed the money two weeks ago, it was to pay her rent (of course she was late) now two weeks later she need to borrow money again. It is obvious she can not afford this place. I told her when she was looking for a place to move into a two bedroom but because her two boys was going to live with her and my BIL. But according to her they needed their own space and she wanted them to be comfortable (These are grown $%$% men). First of all she just lost her house, which was a 3 bedroom; how come the kids couldn't share a room and if they wanted their own space then they should buy or rent their own place. Then her and my BIL separated about a week after they moved into this 3 bedroom apartment, my middle nephew who is so disrespectful cussed her really bad and moved out (mind you he’s in his twenties and do not work so it wouldn’t make a difference if he was there or not) and now her youngest son has decided to live basically with his girl friend and go to her place (my sister’s) to eat and shower. Come on !!!!!!!!
Either way I said Ok but she won’t get it until close to her payday to ensure I get my money. I will tell her the funds were transferred on Tuesday and if she's late with her rent then that is her problem

On to a friend of the family. My brother use to date this woman who had custody of her grandson after they broke up she stopped her grandson from seeing my brother. Ok we have not seen him in years I would say maybe 10 (he’s 18 now) well all of sudden he started coming around and I had this bad vibe about him, couldn’t put my finger on it. So my mom and uncle would give him a few dollars here there. First he tells my mom he has a job, only to tell me that he never told her that. Then he comes here with a necklace that is worth $600 but he is selling it for $50 hmmmmmmm. Anyhow his uncle is still friends with my brother and told my brother to let us know to watch him because he has been breaking into homes (I knew it was something) Well for about 3 weeks he has not been here and today he shows up. Asking my mom if he and his girl friend can move in because his grandmother put them out accusing them of using her credit card and charging $1600. WHAT! He say’s that there were times when she (grandmother) would send them (he and girlfriend) to the store and they never remembered her pin number and would have to call her for it, yeah right. And the kicker is who ever used the cc withdrew $400 one day and went to the mall the next. Yeah and we’re suppose to let you move in?

Now after I had a chance to calm down from today’s events my phone rings and it is my nephew (my sister's son) can he borrow $10…WTF!!!!!! I am really pissed because my sister had previously informed me that on Saturday he came home to let her use the car (hers was repoed) she goes on to tell me that on Saturday he comes in and ask to borrow $10 for lunch and he was paid on Friday. Now why is it Saturday and you do not have any damn money? You’re not paying rent, water, electric or anything else. He’s got this girl friend with a baby who I think is taking advantage of him. First of all he has a learning disability in addition to schizophrenia. The girl friend who is not from the U.S. is dying to get married. First it was her mother with only a few months to live and they needed to get married, next she was moving to Canada and needed to get married then they were going back to Haiti and needed to get married…unbelievable

I cant wait to get to the gym to release some stress

Well I have a $124 left in my checking 1 account to last me for two weeks but I have to get an oil change and have my tires rotated which is about $80. Oh I forgot I have about $40 left in cash. Maybe I'll put the tire rotation off until next pay check
Glad I was able to fund my house/EF fund not by much but something. My goal is to not spend a dime on anything if I can help it until next pay period
Income
Wages & Salary
Gross Pay $1,174.13
Total Income $1,174.13

Expenses
Cellular $101.47
Charitable Donations $20.00
Car Loan - Interest $118.27

Mom's cell $40.00
Taxes
Federal Income Tax $121.74
Medicare Tax $17.02
Social Security Tax $72.80
Total Taxes $211.56
Utilities
Electrcity $113.97
Total Utilities $113.97

Total Expenses $605.27

Transfers
Auto Loan -$263.02

Income less Exp $305.84

Added $2 to my challenge/cc debt; had breakfast at home
So far I am doing pretty good with not dining out for breakfast or lunch

Went to the gym and paid $2 towards challenge/cc debt
Tomorrow's payday and as I'm going through my up coming bills and I'm broke already.
$381.29 Car
$25 IRA
$113 Electric
$40 mom's cell phone
$100 my cell phone
$43 water bill
$20 church
$70 EF
$10 misc savingsI haven't decided how much goes towards the house fund yet, plus tuition is due

My day is over, when I leave here (work) I'll be heading to the gym.
Anyhow I did not spend a coin today but
I added $2 to my challenge/cc debt,for not buying breakfast or lunch
Plus I got $3 from Pinecone so I added that to my challenge/home fund

I am so proud of myself; I managed to hit the gym ($2 added to my challenge/cc debt) and completed a full work out. In addition, I washed, colored and curled my own hair which saved me $35 so $35 added to my challenge house fund (bal $1192.82). The goal is to up this account by $500 each month. I also had breakfast and lunch at home so $4 was paid on the cc debt). All in all today was a good day

To go to the gym that is. I guess this is the two week hump I heard about. Today I simply wasn't in the mood but I went any way since I'm paying for it. I did do the 20 minutes on the eliptical but only 30 crunches instead of the normal 50

Tomorrow I'll get up early and make up for tonight
either way $2 was added to my debt

My brother and his family are on their way from GA to surprise my mom, how long they are stating? I have not idea but either way it will be too long. I love my brother and his wife who is really nice but they drive me crazy. My nephew I adore but he's such a whiny little kid it drives me crazy and my neice, my SIL's daughter hmmm I just don't know. The thing is, is that we really don't have the space so we'll basically be on top of each other which is the problem that I have. Either way, they'll be here and I would have to deal with. I am hoping and praying that the $25 GC from mypoints arrive today so I can give it to my neice as a Christmas gift otherwards I would have to give her cash which I am not hoping for
On a different note I had breakfast at home so I am adding $2 to my challenge cc/debt

It's 1:55am and I just left the gym took a quick shower and now am catching up on all my recorded programs. I'm so glad that I joined the gym, not only am I losing weight but I'm feeling much better
$2 towards the cc

Went to Publix because I needed some bandages and neosporin for a hang nail that is going to be the death of me.
In the mist of my shopping I was feeling lucky so I bought a $1 scratch off and didn't win a thing so $2 is added to my house fund...not lucky after all

I just transferred $10 to my challenge/home fund and decided to transfer $10 a week to this fund, not much but a start. I also notice that I did not included $21 from Pinecone and $15 from lightspeed so my new total is $1155.82 a little less than $10k to go

Went to the gym today and also had lunch at home so $4 added to challenge/cc debt
All in all I did not spend any money today other than adding a total of $6 to my challenge/cc debt
I figure $6 a day for 30-days will give me a whopping $180 towards the cc...we'll see

Ok I had breakfast at home today so $2 will be added to the challenge/cc debt. In addition, I am on my way to the gym but won't add those $2 until I have actually gone and worked out, any thing could happen

Well for the new year I am setting goals for myself, so here they are


•Pack lunch
•Have breakfast at home
•$5k in EF
•$10K towards new home
•Complete school
•Contribute more to IRA
•Keep up with my blog (it helps me a lot)
•No new clothes
•Twice a month at the hair salon

I should be well rested, I slept majority of the day.
I can say this Christmas I made out like a bandit; I only spent a total of $4 and some change on gifts. Thank goodness all the toys were given to me for my God daughter and her sister, my nephew and the two other gifts I bought I had $10 JC Penney coupons so I only had to pay the difference
Mom made the roast beef that I loved so dinner was great. Unfortunately I have not heard from the guy I had met which I was a little down because of that but oh well. I made a point to not call him any more I was hoping things could have worked out but after my trip there and the way he was acting I knew deep down that things were not going to go any where
On different note I did not spend any money today so $2 was added to my challenge/house fund