Amber's Personal Finance Blog

I had a queen size bed that I bought from a friend for $100.00 when I moved I placed all my things in my sisters garage well she gave my newphew my bed and after she did called me and ask me if I wanted it, can you believe it. Well another friend is selling hers for $150.00 right now I do not need a bed at this point (until I move) but hers is practically new, she bought it and basically moved in with her b-friend so this has been at her place basically unused. Being that I will be trying to buy me a place next year I am wondering if I should go ahead and purchase this bed and set it to the side explaining to my sister do not touch. Matter of fact I have to go over there this weekend and wrap my sofa because she has a new dog and I am sure she is not taking care of my stuff, allowing her dod to jump all over my sofa but that is the price you pay I guess. I will be see if she will come down on the price to $125.00, for the bed that is and pick it up next week (payday)

It seems like when ever I pick up lunch for anyone else I am always screwed out of money. I had GC for the Oliver Garden since X-mas and decided to use it. Well of course everyone wanted to order and I ended up spending a $1.00 more than anticipated. It's not the $1.00 that I am upset about, it's the fact that when ever I pick up lunch I always have to add to the order But I will from here on out keep my big mouth shut about where I am going for lunch.

And to top it off I ended up spending $2.88 at Walgreens for a snack and pop so of course I had to match this amount for the challenge adding $3.12

Then my sister called wanting to borrow $200.00 which I clearly do not have. At first I said ok but now I have to call her back and tell her no, I am not cleaning out my EF to lend money. I just got the money my brother owed me after 3 months, which I find out he owes me $20.00. Get this he gave me $300.00 which I used to pay off my cc thinking I made an extra $30.00 well the $30.00 was for my nephew so now I have to pay my mom the $30.00 because she gave it to him. I wish I had known all of this before.Apparently my brother forgor about owing my nephew...arghhhh!!!!

And last but not least got a phone call last night from a friend , her daughter is my God daughter and today is her B-day of course I forgot but the kicker is a last minute b-day party was planned and of course I have to go bearing a gift
Not that I do not love my GD but by looking at all my accounts I am broke until payday; which hopefully will be next week, who knows with my boss

Ate out today and spent $8.44 so I added only $8.43 to the challenge
New total $164.24

Wow 10 more days and the month is over. I decided to check out my spending for the month and here it is, time and money sure goes fast:

Federal Income Tax: $182.08
SS tax: $116.49
Medicare tax:$27.25
Sales tax: $9.91
Personal care: $56.32
Clothing $46.11
Groceries: $126.70
Charitable Donations: $40.00
Dining Out: $39.45
Gas: $38.01
Auto Maintenance:$27.27
household:$14.83
Hurricane Supplies:$19.10
Leisure: $29.67
CC Debt: $1843.21
Bills (water, Electric Cable etc)$443.52
Healthcare:$21.65
Gifts: $33.21
$349.77 Misc
Total: $3464.55

Wow, but atleast 5 CC are paid

Well I was trying to beat the CC interest rate and pay off my cc at $406.00 but no such luck. My billing cycle ended 6/19 one day late so it cost me $411.13 to pay off this cc but atleast it is paid. So now I am down from $3302.44 in CC debt to $2895.54 which I am sure will be more than that because of the interest accrued but my goal is to have them paid off by August and then I can really start saving for me a house and a car(thank goodness my car is still running). I do see what every one means by paying off cc first, what sense does it make to earn 4.75 or less in a savings account when I am being charged 18%+ on CC debt. So I am glad I am able to pay off off my debt. With out God , you guys and my part-time job I would probably not be even close to debt free or home ownership the way I am now
Thanks

Well I finlly got the money my brother owed me he actually gave me $300.00, $30.00 more than he should have. I am going to take this money and $100.00 out of my EF to pay off a $406.00 CC bill and I will be down to 2 CC to go.

I also ate out agin today, I was doing so well I had breakfast and lunch today at McDonald's what a waste, but I am heading to Walmart and Publix for dinner

Added a total thus far today to the challenge of $9.58 giving me a new total of $155.81

Oh boy went to Dunkin donuts today and was told that my debit card denied so I used a cc. Now I am balancing my check book and guess what I was charged. This is going to be hard to fight because I do not have a receipt for the transaction because there employee told me it declined, it's only $1.81 but still I'll call the bank tomorrow and take it from there but fighting charges at the bank is far worst than the cc companies

It's nice to be able to add to my challenge account, since I went from $797.00 to about $38.00 But I can't complain because I paid off a CC. Any how all bills are pretty much paid for this month and now it's time to add what I would have paid in stamps so I will add $4.84 (stamps were actually $4.29) to the challenge and after adding $2.00 for going to Dunkin Donuts and wasting $1.81 today my new total is $146.23

Today I got an offer in the mail for 2 free issues of Essence and after that the subscription would be $18.00 for 18 issues unless I cancell my subcription, in which I plan on doing. First they tell you the two magazines a free in bold large prints then in the small prints you notice you will pay a dollar for these issues along with your subscription. Can you stand it. What a way to get business the least they could do was give me the two for free if I subscribed

Well I spoke too soon the money my brother left was not to pay me back but he wanted me to pay his cc bill, can you believe that. He use to be really good at paying you back but now he is just taking his sweet little time and the kicker is he's planning a trip to Key West. But he says he'll psy me on Monday or tuesday and his bill isnow due until the end of the week so I am waiting to see if he pays me or not before I deduct the money for his cc ( I will pay it on time )

Today was another huge spend day
$2.99 Hurricane Supplies
$14.80 Groceries
$2.98 Household supplies
$.56 Sales Tax
$58.48 Dad' Meds
Total : $79.81
Transfered $1.15 to challenge giving me a new total of $139.39

Thank God it is Friday, I am sooo tired I just don't know what to do. Went through and looked at all my bills, everything seems to be current just have a few things to pay on Monday but other than that everything else is paid. Looks like I am meeting my goals. I paid off another CC, well as of the 22nd ( I post dated the online payment) which leaves with me 3 active CC that needs to be paid first and then 1 charge off, an old cell phone bill and 1 student loan, my goal is to have everything paid for no later than October. I guess Dave's plan works after all by tackling the small accounts first I have paid off a lot of debt a total of 6 CC and 1 student loan about $2500.00, so I feel really good right now. Can't wait to check my credit score next month. And thank goodness my car seems to be running ok except today I hit a curb not once but twice at the bank and nw there is a funny sound

I am so excited my brother paid me back the $250.00 he owed me, actually it was $270.00 but when I called him the other night I only said " two something was what he owed" because I scared to call and ask. So I don't mind the $20.00 I'll write it off as a gift or when he ask me to pay the CC again which I am sure he will I'll add it back on (yes, I know shame on me) but I am adding this amount to my EF brining my new total to $607.61

I have more problems with my full-time job and payday more than anyone I know. Well we got our paystubs and my check was $1089.99 about 12.00 less than I calculated and I got my reimbursment for marketing at total of $63.90 but guess what the $1089.99 won't be deposited until Monday because that is when the check was dated, nice. So I decided to post date all my online payments and I figured I will pay the following
$40.00 Home Phone
$40.00 C-phone 1
$40.00 Cable
$130.00 CC1 (paying extra on this)
$75.00 EF
$20.00 IRA
$30.00 MISC Svg
$25.00 Challenge
$20.00 Education account
$20.00 Personal Account
$20.00 Tithes
$35.00 Renewal for Sam's Club
$328.93 CC 2 (Paid in full, thank God)

YesterdayI spent a total of $72.12
$8.81 for lunch
$8.94 a gift for my nephew
$10.00 for parking, went to a concert and my sister had no cash
$3.00 Snack ( at the concert)
$30.00 at the hairdresser
$14.37 for earrings, can't find my old ones
and added $24.06 to the challenge

Well I just check the bank to see if any checks cleared and guess what I had a check from my part-time job deposited, it actually wasn't suppose to be in until Friday. I got $234.18 nice, so I trasferred the $100.00 back to my EF account from yesterday. What a nice surprise since we are not etting paid until Monday from my full-time job

Well I spoke with my brother regarding the money he owes me($270.00) he stated he was going to give me something this week. I felt kind of bad for asking but I just paid off a lot of debt, cleaned out my challenge account and savings account to do so. I have no idea why I feel so bad but I do, it's not like I owe him.

And speaking of challenge, I just checked my ING balance and it is actually $89.19 about $7.00 more than what I had, so that is good news.

I also transferred $100.00 from my so called EF, that is a joke right now...well I did so to cover me through the weekend. I ended up paying $33.45 (leaving me with $52.00 in my everyday account) on one CC that for some reason the due date was changed from the 27th of every month to the 16th. This is about two weeks difference (?) The odd thing about it is I just read some place maybe on this site that those of us who pay online seldom check our due dates when the bills come and often get slapped with a late fee because banks change their due dates. I do this alot..not looking at the due date just opening the mail checking the balance, chages and amount due, bad habit. thank goodness I have not had a late fee in over 2 years.

I also ended up subtrating the $11.65 for my automatic dental payment it is due around the 15th or 16th

Wow, just thank God I had some funds

Well I knew our boss would not complete the time sheets until Thursday...gosh that messes up my plans. Now I have to transfer what few dollars I have from my EF to my checking just to cover myself for the weekend. Can you believe he said that those of us to had direct deposit will get paid on Saturday. I have never heard of such a thing. But I do get paid from the part-time job on Friday so we'll see.

Well I was suppose to have lunch with a paralegal who I am trying to do business with, well she did not show, and I ened up spending $8.81 on lunch because I did not bring any And the kicker is I will not get reimbursed by my employer
So instead of matching what I spent I simply transferred a little less than half to the challenge ($4.19) Boy am I upset
New total $82.59

I had this in my inbox from dollar stretcher and just wanted to share:

To make all of your pots, pans, etc. non-stick, try this! Pour
white vinegar ($2.09 a gallon) in your pan to the appropriate
depth. Bring vinegar to a boil. Boil at medium heat for five
minutes. Allow the vinegar to cool to room temperature. The
same vinegar can be used several times until the smell becomes
weak. Make sure you have adequate ventilation as the fumes can
be irritating to your nose and lungs. When doing larger pans,
don't forget to toss in all of your metal utensils, bakeware,
BBQ racks and accessories! Even your old skillets and
saucepans will be non-stick for up to two months depending on
usage and washings.

I know when ever I stay at home I never spend any money, well I spent an aditional $5.31, dinner for mom and I at McDonalds, and $10.00 for meds. I decided not to go to walmart only because I know i would spend a ton of money. So I added $5.69 to the challenge matching what I spent for dining out and now my new total is $84.09.

Also as you guys know I have been marketing now for about 3 months and got my first referral from an attorney's office I am sooo happy this will be a extra bonus on the check, well it should be. So oeverall it ended up being a good day

I was on a roll until I left the house, I ended up spending $23.19. $20.00 for gas, the station advertised $2.87 the lowest I have seen in a while, well of course they were out so I ended up with the next best thing at $2.99 a gallon. Then I headed to Walgreens and spent $3.19 on personal items...not to mention when I get off I have to go to Walmart and Walgreens again for medication but in the end, I ended up adding $.81 to the challenge with a new total of $78.40

Credit card payemnt:$927.70 (3 paid off)
Groceries: $98.86
Leisure:$$29.67
Job Expenses: $10.64
Student loan;$280.07 (paid in full)
Water & Sewage: 40.39
Gifts: $24.27
Charitable Donations: $20.00
Gas: $18.01
Auto Maintenance:4.79
Hurricane Supplies: $4.47
SS Tax:$16.47
Medicare:$3.85
Fed tax:$16.37
Cleaning suplies: $11.85
Personel Care:$10.40
Dining out $9.04 Way less than usual
Sales Tax:$7.15
Misc: 1.57

Just wasted $31.74 on a pair of shoes at Victoria Secrets so I had to add $32.00 to the challenge brining my new total to $77.59 And my boss who doesn't like to do the time sheets on time may not be here to do them on Wednesday and if he is he may not, which means we won't get paid until Monday or Tuesday of next week depending on when he does them This is a huge check...104 hours and I get paid Friday as well from my part -time job but if I deposit my check it won't clear for two days. I really wanted to pay off another CC this week but looks like all my plans are not going the way I planned them, atleast the student loan was paid off today

Anyone knowhow to use these codes, when ever I try it nothing seems to be bold or underline, may be I am doing something wrong
vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]

Just rounded up my change and added .93 to the challenge giving me a total of $45.59

Well I did it, I did not want to wait until pay day to pay off one of my student loans, so I transferred funds from my EF to pay my debt. It feels soooo good
Now I only have one more to go, this one cost me $280.07
EF Balance $282.61

Well I did it again, I paid off a CC..Target. The balance was only $4.25 but that is another item on my credit report with a zero balance and no slows pays or tardiness I am so happy becaue now I know I am getting serious. I also transferred $1.25 to the challenge brining my total to $44.66 I am hoping to reach $100.00 the end of this week and another $100.00 by the end of the month

Well I thought today was going to be a no spend day, I had to pay the water bill $40.39 so I needed to transfer from my EF but will replace on payday. And went to Publix, spent $12.33 also added $1.28 to the challenge and found out what tax 11 was, it's additional tax when you purhcase propapne I should have boughtit when it was tax free during hurricane supply week
Challenge new total:$42.91

Thus far I do not recall a no spend day in a while But tody I spent a total of $48.98
Gas $8.01 (cheaper by the job)
Groceries $14.10
Hurricane Supplies:$4.47
Leisure (books) $15.29
Personal Care: $1.72
Misc:$1.57
Sales Tax: $1.50
Tax 11: $.32..I have no idea what this is, but I plan on caling the store
Snack: $2.00
So rather than adding a few cents to the challenge from rounding up I decided to add a whole dollar...lol ($1.03) giving me a new total for the challaenge of $41.63

Wow I just finished a " Child of God" by Lolita Files, a very good book. A friend of mine gave it to me and I had it for months, but I finally decided to read it and boy was it good. Its' a work of fiction (African-American) about 3 generations of one family, which consist of incest and voodoo. I just had to finish this book started late last night and could not put it down tonight, now it 1:04 in the morning. boy, nothing like a really good book