Amber's Personal Finance Blog

Life with out my laptop has been tough, I mean I do miss the internet but the problem is I am unable to input my data into my MSMoney software which is a huge set back for me. Right now I am unsure of my balances, I mean I know that there are funds availbale but it is a matter of how much. I have been using the cc recently and am unable to really know what is going on.
Anyhow Bestbuy said it will be up to 5 weeks before I get my new laptop back, which I plan on selling on Ebay since I have since ordered a MAC (too many problems with PC) In the end I could have simply replaced the LCD screen on the one that burned out(about $200+ labor) oh well.
Today was payday and I paid my car payment, $200 on the cc(not nearly as much as I owe) cell phone bill, mom's cell phone, water bill. Atleast I was able to add $130 to my EF and $10 to my vacation accout as well as $25 to my IRA
well just wanted to catch up with every one I do have a ton of other things to post but I need to get some ore studying in (account test)
I forgot a light buld went off and I hooked up my old laptop whose LCD burned out and hooked it up to my old moniter so I am able to check emails and accounts

Ok I called Bestbuy to check the status of my laptop, do you think they would have called me to tell me it would be another 3-5 weeks before I get my laptop back, no. Thank goodness I ordered one from Apple. Anyhow I spoke to a David who said that they ran a hardware test and found that there was a problem (possibly)with my fire wire port in addition to the motherboard (he thought) anyhow because it is still under manufacture warranty they will send it to the manufacture to be worked on. However if it is the software (which I know it's not)then I will have to pay and to allow 2-5 weeks. Unbelievable, you would think they would just simply replace it

Of course Bestbuy's Geeksquad still have not given me back my computer. I went ahead and ordered a MAC. I know I know, I really do not have the money it is coming out of my challenge but I am sick of the PC always acting up and now that I am back in class I need a computer like ASAP. I will try and sell the other one, it is practically new. When I ordered the Mac they also had an offer for a free iPod which I have been dying for.In the mean time I have to check my emails at work which sucks and it is the end the month and I need to balance my checking accounts and I do not have my computer
On a different note I have not eaten out once this week so I added $12 to my EF ($2 x 5 days plus I bought a candy bar for $1 so I doubled this amount and added to the EF) My brother called and said he will be sending me my check for $500 and this will be added to my EF account as well

I just purchased this new laptop and now I can not log onto the internet I have to check all my emails at work which sucks. Took it into to Bestbuy whose Geeksqaud has no clue. I told the guy it was the drivers and I was afraid to delete anything but he wanted to do it his own way cost me $53 and they still have it, he told me to give him 30 minutes (yeah right). Thank goodness it is still under the manufacture's 30 day warranty. Can you believe he wanted me to take it home, what and it is still covered and when I still can't connect pay you $100, I don't think so
I did not eat out today so I added $4 to my EF and another $35 because I washed and colored my own hair. Not sure what the balance is but will double check later
On a different note I added $3 to my challenge from Pinecone
New total $4404.42
Oops I forgot I got a "B" in that marketing class, thank goodness. It was going to be the death of me

Went to the dentist and he recemented the temporary bridge with some packing as well. Then I went to my sister's to help them move some stuff and now I am home relaxing.
I am tired, I wanted to go to the beach but changed my mind
Nothing else to report

Ok I am laying down watching TV and I hear click/pop. Remember the $1250 (total when completed will be $2500) that I spent on my bridge? Well the bridge fell out arrrrrrrrrgh. Thank God it is not broken and I am going to the dentist in the morning and I better not be charged because I told him on Thursday that it felt like a suction when I ate and he was to put in some type of a packing on Saturday which he should have done anyway. I am sure the pulling I was experiencing contributed to it coming out
On a different note, I am sure I have complained about my mom and money before. If you have a nickel she wants half and it drives me crazy. I received $43.91 yesterday from the phone company and my mom and her friend was here when I opened the mail and what does she say to me "you better give me that check" I was so PO'd I simply responded this is gas for my car. I hate when she does things like that it drives me crazy and a another bad habit that she has is constantly eating my lunch or dinner; not because she is hungry which wouldn�t bother me but just because. I can have a half of a sandwich left from lunch that I am having for dinner and starving and she�ll just finish her dinner and still want half of that. It drives me nuts, I finally said something like I would like to eat in peace some times and now she sits and stares at me while I am at the table. I hate the begging of it, especially since she doesn�t need to. I know it may seem selfish but it drives me crazy and she is getting worst or maybe I am because now at times (a lot lately) I would simply stay in my car and eat or go by my dad�s
Speaking of dad I filled out his stimulus paper work with the wrong SSN (first 3 digits) I hope it doesn�t screw up his chances for a refund
In regards to my sister my nephew said he thought she went to the hair salon yesterday. WHAT! You are in the process of losing your house and you are at the hairdressers? Unbelievable. My nephew wasn�t sure but I am almost positive she was. I gave her a $100 yesterday because I had some things in her garage that she took to the storage and I am sure she used this for her trip to the salon, unbelievable
But in the end I added the $43.91 t my challenge

All I could say was wow, I called my sister today and when she called back she said she wa in the processing of moving because her house went into foreclosure. I thought WHAT! but she seemed ok with it. She said her mortgage had adjusted to $4000 (OMG) and I asked why did she get an adjustable mortgage and of course I did not get a real reponse. I feel really bad. I wish I could help them out but I can't. Times are real hard now

Today was not a bad day. I went by my brother�s shop, I have no idea what he is planning but I think he should look for a job. He has all this stuff (junk) that he wants to sell and make money. Grant it some of the stuff he may sell but a lot of it is junk and I have tried telling him that there must be a demand for his stuff to sell. He has really old books, not in good condition, old vinyl albums in pretty good condition but who are buying these items. I know that there are collectors but when I checked EBay to see what some of them was selling for they were going for $2.99. I mean is it worth it after shipping and paying EBay
Anyhow, I did not get a chance to see my dad today but I was able to speak with him, he does not celebrate Father�s Day (he�s Jehovah Witness) but I was finally able to use my $30 beach sticker, I bought with the intentions of hitting the beach every weekend for the summer but now that I am no longer on the part time job I guess I will. The sun was so hot and the water was so cold (to me anyway) but it was still beautiful. I use to live a little north of here and always went to that beach because of the shops but I hit my local beach today and it was beautiful one of the best I have seen. So guess where I am going next week.
Then I came home took and shower and then a nap. I actually saved $45 today because I washed and colored my own hair so I added that to the EF and not one coin spent today

I almost forgot to wish my friends here a Happy Father's Day

I spent $4.98 on my God daughter�s birthday gifts. Her birthday is the end of the month and thank goodness Kohls sent out two $10 GC if you spent $10. Well yesterday I went in and the items came to $13.98 ( I did not realize that the shorts were eight dollars) but oh well and today I went in a found a really cute dress for $11 so $1 and some change was spent and I am done, unless I get another.
Next I ordered Directv for my dad because my brother is moving in and would like it, I had a refer a friend coupon and since I referred him I will save $10 a month on my bill for five months and my dad will save the same . God forbid if they gave you the $50 at once but oh well. I have to remember to add the $10 to my challenge every month
I did go to McDonald's today and spent $3.31 so $3 was added to my EF plus the $20 saved with the GC

Well my brother called to borrow $500 so I loaned him the money. I have no problems with him reimbursing me; my sister is a different story
I also checked to see if grades were posted for my online class and again the professor still has not posted them but he changed my grade on the first assignment giving me an extra 1.5 points. Why I do not know, but I am happy

$35 went to my EF because I did not go to the hair salon. I have been trying the every other week thing and it seems to be working. Maybe I will skip next week also

$163 for the electric bill this month
I can't believe it. Seems like every thing is on the rise. But I must say my Direct TV bill was $10 less so I am adding those $10 to my EF

Well yesterdy I was really upset, and just decided to Hell with the part time job, well I guess things happen for a reason because my brother has all this extra stuff that he wants to sell, so I am going to post them on Ebay and he said I can keep the money made and not only that I have a friend who moved to NY and I have been dying to go so I am going to book a weekend trip.
I transferred $1600 from the house fund to pay cc, but I only paid $1000 I have to balance the account and wait for some oustanding payments to post before I make the final payment either way the cc is under $1000

As much as I love going to my part time job it was not the worth th $9 I was making. I got a call today because I went to visit one of the residence and even though I wasn't fired I am just tired. I get a call every other month about something I did wrong and like I told the boss today it would be nice to be told once just once something nice. I think that is why my BP was up because I am constatly working as if I am walkig on egg shells. I know the economy is bad right now but I am going to look for me another part time job

Ok I went to the dentist today and it cost me $150 for the extraction which I thought was including when I paid half the money for the bridge ($1250) any how I have the temporay bidge in and it will be in for a while. I can't afford this. I have paid so much money thus far on my teeth it is crazy. I have depleted my savings and now I am taking money from my house fund to pay off the CC in which I charged my dental work and my new laptop. Thank God I get paid Thursday from my part time job, which I may not have because now the boss wants me to call her which never is a good thing. I have no idea what is going on but I will soon find out

I did not eat out today so I paid 2 on the cc, my how quickly it adds up I know I have the EF but I hate to see it dwindle down but I went ahead and tranferred the $1000 to pay on the cc; at least it would cover part of the $1250 dental work

I had McDonalds for lunch today so $5 is paid on the cc to match what I could have saved

I have not been keeping track of my budget like I am suppose to, therefore going well over my dining out budget and other things. In addition, I bought a pair of yellow shoes yesterday for $21, which was more of a want than a need. Any how, I have decided to stop adding to the challenge until I pay down the cc. I am planning on paying $1000 once my EF hits $2000. The reason for the high CC, my emergency dental care and my laptop crashed so I needed a new one.
On a different note, I contacted the bank who financed my last vechile (which was totaled) the gap insurance was to pay the difference and did not, thisd I know. Any how when I called they said that there was not a balance due on the account and did not know why it was being reported 120+ days late because the account was paid in full. So the rep placed a request to have it corrected. In addition, a doctor bill that is showing as non payment on my credit report was paid so I sent in a copy of my cancelled check and the bill from the doctor's office to have that cleared up, now it is a matter of finding the other one. I am trying to clear up everythig before I apply for the loan and send in my paper work for the grant on the new house, that way there are no problems

Added my weekly deposit of $25 to the challenge, so my new total is $5876.51. I also went to Macy's today to pay a $20.21 CC bill. Thank goodness I caught it because I would have ben hit with a late fee after today. I never use this card (I guess I did) I usually use the BoA CC because I get points. Maybe I pulled this one out by mistake.
Oh I forgot to post the other day I went to the dentist and the tooth that was extraced is healing nicely, but the tooth that I needed a bridge on fell out. All I could do was laugh, at least I was at the dentist. So I use the CC and paid half for the bridge which is more than the implant ($1250 charged on the CC)
This was a short pay period week but the next time around I'll pay half on the CC since I added the new laptop as well

I went into my part time job yesterday after having two weeks off. I was in such a good mood and then an incident occurred with a resident who is not allowed in the main building. The security guard basically told me to mind my own business well I am on final and written warning so I contacted my boss and guess what she did not want me to write the notes in the log (mind you it is company policy to do so) but to write a report and slip it under her door. Well I did that in addition to sending her a email so that I can have proof of what took place and I also noted on the note "per your request� so that there is no misunderstanding in the future; since there always is
On a different note my mom who if you have a nickel wants at least half of that made me so mad last night when I came home. One of the resident who passed away thought enough of me to leave me some perfume and a beautiful handkerchief and when I said to her Mrs. H left me something she says I hope it is money. I was so upset...it was more less the way she said it. Like it didn't matter what she left if it wasn't money
As far as the challenge goes $14.29 ws added in interest yesterday so my new total $5851.51

First my co-worker comes up to me and ask if I would like to order lunch and I assume he is paying since he owes me $10. Anyhow we order and guess what? I paid $10 for my lunch. I actually paid about $2 more than I should have because he did not have enough arrrrrrrrrrrgh. I was so upset, because I had packed my lunch and now I was short $10 for my monthly budget for dining out, plus it wasn't that great.
Next my computer finally gave out so I bought a new one for $900 returned it for a cheaper one which I really don't care for but it saved me about $300 and it gets the job done. But now my file for MS Money which I backed up on my new hard drive won't open so I will have to re-add all the data on this computer. At least my school stuff was saved and uploaded
Next I go to the dentist and the extraction is healing very well (getting an implant) But when I went to get the impression for my bridge on the other tooth (which I was having problems with, that is why I switch dentist) the tooth fell out. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. It's been one thing after another.
On a different note, I saw on freecycle that a perfectly good washer and dryer was being given away so I responded, hope I am the first. I am starting to look for things that I will need for my new house.
I haven�t bought breakfast for the last two days so $2 went to my challenge and $2 went to the EF
New total for the challenge: $5837.22

Here is a link for $10 off at Walgreens if you spend $30 or more ( I am not sure if you can use it on meds)

If you would like to join Pinecone send me an email to veronak@hotmail.com. I just got a referral email form them to refer those who are interested

Finally set up my budget using my checkbook

I am so afraid of change and I think that is what holds me back. I have had the loan papers now to refiance my car for a possible better rate and have yet to fill them out and I finally went in to the office today and did it. The loan officer stated that once they are able to verify my employment I wll then be contacted regarding the loan status. My rate is very high and I have since cleaned up my credit paid off a ton of things and always paid my current loan on time and well over the amount due. So keep your fingers crossed.
I also cancelled my land line which I have been holding off on for a while, why I still don't know so that extra $40 saved will be going to my challenge every month. Next I am going to drop off the paper work for the grant. I have filled them out but have been so afraid to drop them off. Why? Change...I really need to over come that fear.
Today was a no spend day thus far but the day has not ended as of yet so I will wait to add my $2 but I will add $2 to the challenge and $2 to the EF for preparing my breakfast
$5826.38

I called AT & T for a refund and the idiot I spoke to told me he could not give me a refund. Now I only wanted to refund for the this year being that I never reviewed my bill and simply paid it. When I asked to speak to his supervisor he informed me that his supervisor would not give me a refund either, I informed him to then let me speak to his supervisor. Anyhow to make a long story short I got a credit of $45 from the supervisor who was not going to give me the refund. I also called regarding my cellphone and my contract is up next March so I will cancel then and switch to MetroPCS

This is why I like to receive my bill. I have finally decided to cancel my home phone service and simply increase the minutes on my cell phone saving me about $30 a month. Any how I log on to AT & T and notice that there were charges for a long distance service called Nickel Value Plan for a total of $9.76, because I never called long distance and my bill was the same for months (over a year) I never questioned the amount of the bill I simply paid the amount due. But when I went to cancel I notice this charge, I am POD'd I have to go through all the statement that are available online and try to get a refund. I can retrieve some statements back to May 07, it is my own fault. I don't know what possessed me to stop checking my bill when I was notified of the paperless billing. I know how these guys are, I once had a creit of about $90 because they screwed up. Being lazy I guess

Just wanted to wish every one a happy and safe Memorial Day. I am praying for those of you whose spouses/love ones are serving all over the world. It is definately appreciated
On a different note I am going to see Mr. H today since I did not work this weekend, he is the sweetest old guy I know, it's like having a grandfather.
I washed and colored my own hair today so on Friday when payday rolls around I will add the money saved($50) to my challenge. However, I am adding $2 to the EF and $2 to the challenge because I made breakfast this morning and I usually spend about $3.71 buying breakfast
New total for the challenge $5826.38 and EF $1668.35

Well I bought a passport today in order to save all my files and free up space on my laptop, since I am having problems. But I have not deleted anything as of yet until I am positive that it will work ok and I know what I am doing. So $100 spent but this came from my miscellaneous account since I am really not saving for anything in particular other than furniture I guess. Any how I wanted to hit the beach today but because I forgot to shave I opted not to go but will go first thing in the morning for about an hour. I have to look at my transaction for the month which I know I am way over on the food and gas bill