Amber's Personal Finance Blog

I was unable to pack lunch today because my uncle ate all the left overs which I was not aware so I ended up buying lunch costing me $9.89 so I paid $19.78 on the BoA CC for my challenge. I have decided that when ever I eat out I am doubling this amount and paying down my cc which is part of my challenge. Oh well

Paid $2 on the BoA cc...I am so proud of myself I have not been dining out so I have been adding a couple bucks to the cc. Hopefully I will get it down ASAP

Paid $2 on the BoA CC (challenge)since I went to the gym. I figure $4 a day for 7 days is $28 and for the month it will be $112 which is a plus
Tomorrow I will make breakfast and pack my lunch which is another $4 in addition to going to the gym. As long as I am blogging/being accountable... I should be able to get this debt down again

Added $35 to my challenge because I washed and colored my own hair this week
I am also going back to the gym but until I actually go I am not adding the money to my challenge
New total $1067.00

So far I have added a total of $6 to my challenge/home fund. I have gone to the gym three times since Friday and every time I go I add $2. I am really liking this whole work out thing. I was on the treadmill for minutes and managed to beat my last distance; in addition, I upped my weights for my abs work out. However, I did not work on the legs today, I was told I should do every other day so tomorrow I will work on them but I plan on going back this afternoon
New total $1032

For any one who is tryng to join, I got this email the other day:

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Woke up this morning and the only thing that was on my mind was going to the gym. I do not know if it is because this is all new to me and I am simply excited or what but I went anyway and am glad I did. I love the treadmill I did another 20 minutes, worked on my abs and legs again but this time I reduced my weights and was able to go a little further. Next week I meet with the personal trainor and he/she will set up a program for me to follow. So I am adding another $2 to my challenge for the gym.

It amazes me that when I am not blogging here I am not saving...any how went to the gym today so I am adding $2 to my challenge. You know I feel really good even though I did not do too much (first time at a gym) I was on the treadmill for 20 minutes and after I got off I was a little dizzy. But then I worked on my abs and the flexion machine, boy I just realized how weak my legs are...really weak. I plan on going back late tomorrow night again. What I like about this gym is it is open 24 hours and I can go anytime, tonight I went in at 1:20am and only one other person was there

Did not buy breakfast or lunch today so $5.00 was paid on the BoA CC

Well in the small amount of time I have been gone I have managed to rack up my CC debt to a tune of about $4000 (I'll update the side bar over the weekend) in addition I managed to lower my challenge fund all in the name of shopping. But over a course of a week I have made small payments to my cc and joined a gym
I also went to visit the young man I met back in October and he turned out to be a jerk, well I really shouldn't say jerk but he was definitley different than I expected. I ended up buying breakfast and dinner the first day I was there and the second day well I was kind of ready to get home and we did not go out or anything but it's over and done with so I won't worry about any more
There are a number of things I bought that I plan on returning this weekend almost $200 worth of stuff and I am waiting for grades to be posted...hopefully I passed this class and I'm down to 3 before graduation.

I met a guy the other day who I thought we had hit it off, he had not kids (thank God), married once and a decent job. We talked for a while laughed and joked. But I haven’t spoken to him in a few days in which I was a little disappointed. I have to keep in mind that he has a job in which he travels a lot, and I do mean a lot.
But being single is very hard/a bummer and I am so ready to settle down that I tend to get blind sided by any one who seems to be interested. Oh well, maybe I will run into Mr. Right some day
I guess I am sick of spending holidays, birthdays by myself and it would be nice to have some one to go to dinner with or even catching a movie with...it would be nice
Oh well

I made it to the Obama event today, second in line at 5am. Even though I did not support him at first I do now and the feeling today...well all I can say is amazing
I couldn't up load them, just one sorry

Well guys I have been so busy with politics and volunteering on the Obama campaign that I have not had time to do anything even school work
It is amazing because I am a registered democrat and was really considering voting for McCain until he chose Palin as a running mate but that is neither here nor there and we all have our own opinions . But what surprises me is that I am volunteering, something that I have never done, ever
But I am glad to report that I finally got my cc debt down again, I took the money out of my challenge. I am a shame to say that I racked it up by shopping and dental work and not posting which keeps me accountable for my actions
So after the election you should hear more from me on a regular basis, hope every one’s ok
Oh and ceejat thanks for the site info, now I am hooked...lol

Hi guys
I am still alive, just been caught up in this election. I am 34 and have voted in every single election since 18 even local ones and lately I have been sleeping and eating politics; blogging on Ireport.com. In addition, I have managed to rack up my credit card and not save anything towards my house/challenge, falling back into old habits I will post new figures within the next few days. But I must say I miss every one here and I am sure we have some new bloggers as well, sorry I haven't took the time to welcome you so I am say it now WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One thing I can say is that you guys keep me on track and I feel so guilty for back sliding and not posting which I contribute to my back sliding

Miss you and will back real soon

I have had the worst week. First, my dad and I have it out because he thinks that I am trying to steal his rental property. It is a long story but basically my dad is an alcoholic and all his life he has thought that some one is trying to rob him and now I think he has early signs of dementia but it doesn�t bother me that he thought I was attempting to steal his property (his new tenant mailed me the rental check in stead of him, and I cashed it the same day and took it to him) but what bothers me is that my oldest brother thought/thinks the same thing. Thank goodness I have other siblings including my uncle who all know better and who called him and gave him (my brother) a piece of their minds. But to make a long story short I will no longer over see his rental property or anything else for him. I did tell my dad but I know by next week he will be calling but the brother who accused me can handle it from here on out and he will soon find that is not an easy job especially when you are not being paid.
Then I spend a ton of money for hurricane supplies, even though the storm is way south of us we should start feeling some strong winds in addition to a lot of rain
And yesterday I went to see a friend and her niece who is also my friend who is a nurse is in a terrible situation. We have to keep in mind that just because it appears as though people are doing well they really aren�t. In her case she has a car in which she has not made a car payment in over a year and will not turn in the car, she has lost her last 4 jobs and now is at another place, in addition to the car she has a ton of other bills
On a different note I watched all my rental movies from the library today, I don�t know why I never picked up movies from their before. I just had a nice relaxing day today.

Wow I have had such a busy weekend. Today I watched Juno" and " Delores Claiborne which were great. But I had to move my things to another storage, my sister who lost her place told me this week that she was going to move her things to the spare bed room at her new apartment and if I wanted to place my things there I could but once I made it to the storage I decided to place my own things in storage. If she had told me months ago I could have went through those things and got rid of some stuff but oh well. The problem that I had was that I mentioned to her let's just split the bill and she said she would not be able to pay $20 a month well guess what she too has things in the new storage as well as her husband and of course I am footing the bill. The only reason why I am not really complaining is because I did have my things in their garage for some time but I just simply wish she had been honest with me months ago.
Now I did go out this weekend with a few friends which ended up costing me about $30 not too bad but bad enough. Then I gave my uncle $20 for helping move my things at the last minute and I also gave my nephew about $6 . I tell you I can strangle my sister she drive me nuts
Now I have some one who is giving away a queen size bed with box spring on free cycle that I am going to try and pick up tomorrow, since my sister gave my nephew mine and then asked me after she gave it to him.
I also made an attempt to pay my tuition and am having the hardest damn time I am so annoyed because that means I am going to have to make a special trip to the college
Enough with my rant that is it for now

I am proud of my nephew, he just left today to help out with the storm. Last year he graduated from firefighting school but haven't landed a job yet due to budget cut and job freezes; however, he is working as a medic. Anyhow I am a little worried but it will be a great experience for him.
On a different note I decided to volunteer for the Department of Aging since I am scheduled to graduate next year and want to work in the same industry, so this too will be a great experience. Unfortunately I am only taking one class this semester so next semester it is going to be tough so I better enjoy my little break
I also added $3 to my challenge, this was money earned from Pinecone

Sorry long post
Ok I met this classmate a few semesters ago and what I notice with her if you got a 90 she got a 93, if you had 86 she had 90 and so on but she will never tell you her grade first she always ask you. However over the summer we took a marketing course and she asked me again what my grade was and I told her but she never told me and I did not ask. No mind you she says she did not answer the last question on the final which was worth 10 points but yet she got a 100 and there was no extra credit. So over the last few weeks she has mentioned how she needs to register for the marketing class, but of course I did not say anything because I figured if you took the course and passed then there was no need to register...I guess she forgot
Anyhow we have a mutual friend who was register in my Thursday night class that I did not attend tonight because I wanted to watch the DNC (being that history is being made today whether I agree with Obama or not) so she calls me up to see how the class is going and says to me A is dropping the course because the instructor is a jerk (that I already knew) but the point that I am trying to make is that I asked her for A's number to see if she wanted to commute to another campus together and of course she says to me she did not have the number (God forbid if A and I take a course and move closer to graduation with out her) So I am thinking if she just called you on your cell wouldn't the number appear? In addition, in the past when we all have taken courses together she has whipped out her phone and looked up A's number with out any problem and now today you no longer have it hmmmmmmm. I know some may say well maybe she doesn't want to give it to you. Well she has in the past and unfortunately I missed placed it and she was to call me just the other day because A has a book that she was lending me and this so call classmate was going to give me her number to get the book, now she no longer has the number. Yeah right?
The point is, if she thinks that you are doing a little better than she is she is not happy with it and she knows that if I complete this semester I will be graduating in the spring. I am just so annoyed because I have caught her in so many lies, one minute she will say I do not need to take the accounting class because I already have then she'll say oh I registered for that online. blah blah blah I wonder why
But when she calls I am just going to tell her what I think and cut her loose because friends like that who needs enemies

So in the end I am only taking one class but I am meeting with the HR director at the Agency for Aging to do some volunteer work since that is the place that I would like to work after graduation, in addition giving me a little break

On a different note, my uncle called today to borrow $800. I will lend it to him because he has never asked before and it must be serious if he is asking
My beautician called as well she needed to borrow $20 now I have been going to her for about 15 years and she has never asked so I gave it to her and when I went in on Wednesday we called it even

I have had two no spends days (Saturday and Sunday) I have stayed in all weekend not even moving my car
Today I did laundry so $3 will be added to my EF (goal is now to get to $2000) because I line dried 3 loads. In addition, my co-worker on Friday gave me a gift card for Sweet Tomatoes ($10) so I added this to my EF as well.
New total $1554.05
On a different note, I finally got my bridge in on Thursday which cost me another $450. I wasn't expecting this I thought when I paid the dentist $800 the last time that, that was it but I guess not. So $450 was deducted from my EF
So far this year I have spent $3270 on dental work and I have not even started the implant as of yet

I planned on staying in all weekend, so I hit the local library on Thursday and picked up 5 movies to enjoy over the weekend and thus far I have watched two out of the five and finished up a book I was reading. What I have found is that sometimes being single can be tough but if you get out and do things it's not so bad and I am enjoying my "no spending money" weekend
School starts up Monday and can you believe I have not paid my tuition or did any price comparison for books nor picked up any supplies and most importantly informed my boss I have to leave an hour early on Mondays, I guess you can say I am really not into it this semester. I am burned out but I need to get over this, real soon and get the ball rolling
In addition, we have a serious problem with ants, they are even in my bed and I do not eat at all in my room. Where are they coming from? I dropped some ant kill but can't seem to get rid of them. I had to trash a brand new bottle of pancake syrup because of them...arrrgh

We must all give thanks and be happy for what we have. I say prayer every night thanking God for the things I have but I never really considered how Blessed I truly am.
Today I spoke to a long time friend who I have not heard from in a long time (via email) and she has been through Hell and back it seems. First her mom died, then her sister was just killed and prior to that she was diagnosed with HIV leaving 6 small children behind and then her grandfather passed away with pancreatic cancer. I can�t even go into more details because the stories behind these deaths are so traumatic and heart breaking. I just ask that you guys keep B in your prayers because she really needs it and remember when you think things are bad for you there is always someone else with far more troubles than yours
Here is my list of things that I am thankful for (not in any particular order except for number 1) what about you?
1. God watching over me
2. a roof over my head
3. transportation to get to and from
4. a job
5. my family and friends
6. my education
7. my health
8. Clothing on my back
9. food
10. running and drinkable water
11. electricity
12. a nice comfortable bed to sleep in
13. funds saved for a rainy day
14. this forum, which helps me to cope with a lot of things happening in my life
15. my sanity- Lord knows at one point I almost lost my mind
16. making it through yet another storm
17. waking up this morning
18. getting to and from today safely

Yesterday was pay day so I paid the following:
$1512 on cc (this money came out of my challenge much of it dental work)
$192.04 Electric
$20 Tithes
$100 on cc
$51.03 Water
$53.53 Directv
$25 IRA
$170 EF ($40 of this was from not paying a phone bill for the land line I no longer have)
$10 X-mas fund
$20 personal spending account
$40 Challenge
$20 Tuition fund
$20 Car fund
Not bad, I actually saved $260 out of my check and still have about $400 left after pain bills but it goes quickly. Oh I forgot I added the extra $10 saved on the satellite bill for referring my dad so I actually added $180 to EF saving a total of $270
Anyhow Tropical storm Fay just left I am so glad that there was not much damage in our area. My sister lost power for a short while but it came back on. The winds were really picking up and it could have been worst but thank goodness it wasn�t.

Wasn't a bad day today. First I had breakfast at home so $2 went towards my cc then I worked a half day so lunch was also prepared at home (another $2 towards the cc). Took a short nap and then hit the dentist, I can't wait for all this to be over. I had to be fitted for my permenant bridge and the next visit should complete everything.
After the dentist I hit the library, I was unable to locate my library card so it cost me $4 to replace and $2.40 in late fees I am always late on my returns and I do not have a good reason as to why. Be that as it may I rechecked out the book I did not finish reading and two movies for the weekend

I received our electric bill today and it was $197 and my mom had the nerve to say " did you see how much the electric bill was?" I was so annoyed. Because she is the one that falls asleep with the TV on, leaves everything plugged in and is here all day with the a/c on. But what can I do other than pay it
On a different note I had breakfast at home so $2 went towards the CC and then I had McDonald's for lunch so $3.31 went towards CC.
I tried hitting the beach but once again as soon as I pulled up the rain began shortly after
And last butnot least $3 went towards the challenge, earnings from a Pinecone survey

I had planned on hitting the beach early but my plans got all screwed up. The dentist called stated she would see me at 11:15am but when I called back to confirm no answer. So I stuck around for awhile and still no response, her husband called and stated he would meet me if she did not respond. So on my way to Blockbuster's(after no response) to return a movie for my uncle she calls but guess what she did not have a key to the office...hmmm
Anyhow to make a long story short I have to lose an hour from work tomorrow to go to the dentist. I can't understand why this temporary keeps coming off, I don't even eat on that side.
Anyhow I finally made it to the beach only to be there for 30 minutes and have the skies to open up. Then I could not close my beach chair, can you stand it? So now I am carrying all this stuff in this thunder storm along with an open chair that I had trouble getting into my car
arrrrgh!!!!!!

Te dentist finally called me regarding my bridge so I am meeting his wife at 11:15 today. I prefer her but I think she is no longer working any more which sucks. He's a nice guy but I think nice simply deosn't cut it.
Any how I a plan on hitting the beach today and spending my entire day there. Thursday I was there all afternoon and had the best time

I am very nervous, I am having all this dental work done and my bridge is costing me about $2500. It has fallen out three times all on a weekend. Now I know this is a temporary but I have had work done in the past and the temps never fall out. A call was placed to the dentist and if I dont hear from them by noon, I'll call the emergency number. No way am I going all weekend with missing teeth

I have fell off the wagon a number of times since I have not been posting regulary, but I plan on getting back on board.
Any how I returned a pair of $123 jeans that I did not need and a $22 dress that was not needed. In addition, my hair expense sky rocketed so I have got to go back to every other week. Here is what last month totals and I am not happy

Expense Categories
Gasoline $286.54
Cellular $80.52
Charitable Donations $20.00
Clothing - Unassigned $176.63
Clothing : Acessories $59.99
Dining Out $71.31
Education:Supplies $1.49
Gifts $12.75
Groceries $201.90
Dental Care $800.00
Prescriptions$15.00
Hobbies/Leisure $97.00
Household: Supplies $4.84
Job Expense : Non refundable $25.50
Loan - Unassigned $194.31
Miscellaneous $261.88
Personal Care Unassigned $10.87
Personal Care: Dental Hygeine $7.67
Personal Care: Products $34.42
Hair Care $278.97
Snack $0.25
Federal Income Tax $266.74
Medicare Tax $36.30
Sales Tax $31.84
Social Security Tax $155.21
Cable/Satellite $43.53
Electrcity $142.22
Water & Sewage $89.68 (prepaid for August)
Grand Total -$3,407.36

On a different note I got an "B" in my accounting class I was so excited because I could have sworn that I was hanging on my a thread

I live about 5 minutes away from the beach and haven't been since I was about 13 or so. About a month ago I bought a beach sticker and have only been once so I decided to go today and I loved it. I hated to leave. I had my beach umbrella, my cooler with lunch, tons of magazines and a book as well as my iPod, oh I forgot I bought a boogie board so that I can float (since I can't swim) The weather was great and I will be heading back next weekend

Well I have not been blogging much and for that reason have been spending a little more. Anyhow, I returned my Mac so $964 was credited back to my CC. My boss gave me $20 so I added that to my EF.
On a different note I received an email from ING about lost money sitting there waiting to be claimed. Now I check this a few years ago and found money for my BIL and a friend�s sister so I decided to check again for myself and guess what there was $58 available to me from an saving account that I had with Albertson�s when I worked there
Then I started checking out my family members, my uncle�s wife $651, my SIL, my brother and cousin all had unclaimed funds. Can you believe it
Here is the link for any one who wants to check�good luck

http://www.unclaimed.org/