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Money Saving Day....

February 19th, 2006 at 05:13 am

Had a good today. Desperately needed new makeup which can cost a fortune, but I ended up paying only $12. I am not brand loyal when it comes to foundation, so I found some on clearance that I also had a coupon for - spent $3 on a $12 bottle of foundation. Not bad. Also picked up my eyeliner (no way around that $5 - it's the only kind that works for me, but it lasts for at least a year) and cheap mascara. May not sound like much of a savings, but makeup is expensive. Didn't think I'd get out of there for less than $30 or so. That $12 is the only money I've spent on myself this month and all I plan to. Go Amy! Smile

Besides our normal bills, we always spend $35 a week eating out, $10 a week for gas, $10 a week to church, and about $70 a week for groceries. I am very strict about sticking to those numbers. Hubby also gets some fun money - maybe $50-75 a month so he can keep up with his gaming addiction (that Xbox 360 could be the death of me, lol!). Any other money goes to the CC's. Compared to the way we used to spend, we are doing really well!

Today I looked at ways to cut down our car insurance. I tried raising our deductibles to $1000 but it was only going to save us $2 a month! I realized it's because our car is so old that it's not worth even getting the comprehensive or collision coverage. Once I switch it we will be spending $70 less a month on car insurance! I am excited! Just want to run it by my dad before switching... I trust his opinion on these matters.

Not much else happening. Getting ready to go to bed so I can get up for church in the morning. Didn't make it last week - really need to go tomorrow!!!!!

Till next time!

Savings Challenge Update!

February 18th, 2006 at 02:02 am

Added $65.94 to my savings challenge today! Smile $10 is our gas budget this week (replacing it with the free gas card I talked about a couple posts back) and the rest is from my Ebay sales.

I hope some of the other pending money comes soon. I was hoping to end the month at $400. EEK! I've got a ways to go yet!

Current Challenge Savings - $86.11
Goal is $4000 by the end of the year! Yikes!

It's Friday!!!

February 17th, 2006 at 02:20 pm

Happy Friday Everyone!

In Control (and lovin' it!)

February 16th, 2006 at 02:42 pm

Well, it's been an awfully long and particularly stressful week. My co-producer is really sick so it has just been me doing the entire show all week. It's been so hard and about 3 times the amount of work. Management has not bothered to try to get anyone to help me (which wouldn't happen on any other shift...."overnighters" are the "red headed step child" of the station.). I have not even gotten so much as a thank you. Fortunately the people I work with are great. The anchors have been very complimentary and I think that's the only thing keeping me sane!

Other than work, life is great! It's amazing how a shift of attitude about money can change things so quickly. It was less than two weeks ago that I posted on the board about all of our debt and how I felt so discouraged about ever getting it paid off. Now I feel great! I have a plan and I'm going for it. I rolled a lot of our CC debt onto a 0% card, our vet bill is taken care of thanks to a no interest loan from hubby's boss, and I am working toward my goal of paying off my parents.

Yesterday was my payday and I paid off the rest of our bills for the month. It is only the 16th and the bills are PAID!!! I can't remember the last time that happened. This time, it's for real! I am so excited!

Haven't done much in the money making department this week. I have pretty much worked and slept and that's it. At least I'll have the overtime! I did take a $2 survey yesterday. Does that count? Lol!

Oh yea - I am also very excited, because soon I will know my FICO score! I have never known it actually... Sad, huh? The new 0% interest CC I got has my score info when I log into the website! Since I'm a new customer it could take up to 4 weeks to show up, but then I can look at it anytime I want to - for free! It's going to be great to watch it grow! That will definitely become one of my goals.

Just checked Ebay - both of my autions have bids. Yea! Smile I really need to get off my butt and get all the other stuff listed. Right now that is my best bet at bringing in some decent extra money. Hopefully I can get to that this weekend.

Well, that's it for now! Time to get some sleep. I'm sure I'll be going in early again tonight and working triple duty. Oh well - at this time tomorrow my weekend will have begun! Big Grin

Makin' Money!

February 14th, 2006 at 04:23 pm

Good morning!

A good day today - both of my ebay auctions are now paid for! Minus the shipping, I made $55.94. I'll add the money to my challenge total once the money is transferred from Paypal to my ING account. I added 2 more auctions last night. I wanted to do more, but it just took so much longer than I thought it would. I will add a couple more tonight.

I signed for a trial of stamps.com and got $5 in free postage that I used too - great! Plus, for signing up for the trial I got $10 bucks! Not bad! I am almost ready to cash out from that site. What site, you ask? I'll spill the beans in a future post because I am hoping referals will be allowed in the blogs soon. That way, if you sign up at the site through me, I get $5. Gotta do what I can to keep my savings growing! Wink

Well, hopefully my challenge account starts growing soon. I have so many things pending. Now I have to sit back and wait to actually get paid. Hurry, hurry!

Ooh - good news! I just checked Ebay and one of the things I listed last night already has a bid! Go me!

I truly feel like I am making progress.
Once I actually get paid for everything I've done so far for my challenge, I've made about $200 total! Not bad considering I just started on the 9th and today is only the 14th! Wow! Not sure if I can keep up at this pace though... There are only so many things I can sell on ebay and so many offers I can sign up for. Time will tell! Hopefully new things and ideas will constantly be popping up!

That's all for now! I will blog more later if I have time!

Happy Day!

February 14th, 2006 at 12:05 am

I am SO happy right now!!!! I applied for two separate CC's - one for me, one for hubby. They are both 0% interest on balance transfers until '07. Got the approvals in the mail today! I have to admit, I was a little scared we'd be denied. Our credit is ok, but not fabulous. I have been too scared to pull our credit reports to see what our actually scores are but it is my goal to do that SOON. I know it needs to be done! Anyway, now we can transfer a huge chunk of our CC debt over, which means we can pay it off that much faster. I am THRILLED!!!!!! Big Grin

Also, my parents sent us a box of valentine's goodies. They are so sweet! Pens, candles, and girlie stuff for me, and flavored coffee and salt and vinegar chips for hubby (he is addicted to both of them and can't get his favorite brand of chips where we live now). They also sent a card w/ $30 and said to use it to go to dinner. It amazes me more and more each day how great my parents are. If I can be half as good a parent some day, it's gonna be great. I love them so much! I know it's not about giving stuff, but they just make me feel so loved. Ok, getting a little sappy here, lol!

My ebay auctions will both be over in about an hour - I am up to 57.39. Smile I am about to head over there now to post the new stuff.

Hasta luego!

Monday, Monday....

February 13th, 2006 at 02:48 pm

Monday already?! The weekend sure did pass me by!

So, never made it to church on Sunday. Hubby had a movie on while I was trying to sleep Saturday night and I managed to get sucked in. So we stayed up til 3am to watch it. Then we decided - what the heck - let's go to WalMart! We normally do our grocery shopping on Sundays and we weren't tired so... It was kind of funny. Haven't been to WalMart in the middle of the night since my college days, lol! We got our groceries (stuck to the budget - yay!) and came home.

Work stunk last night. My partner in crime is sick so I had to produce the entire hour and a half morning show solo (I normally only do a half hour). It was crazy, but felt kind of good when everyone complimented me on a job well done. Tonight it's the same thing - just found out he'll be out again. Sigh....

I have another savings venture now... My parents invited hubby and I to go with them and my brother to Disney World in October. My parents are amazing and want to pay for it, but I am going to try to give them as much as I can. I'm going to save $10 from every paycheck (we get 6 a month - 2 for me and 4 for hubs cause he gets paid weekly). It'll only be $500 or so by the time we go, but with the other savings and paying of CCs it's about all I can swing. I know they aren't expecting anything so it will definitely be appreciated.

Speaking of the parents, I told them my plan of paying them $4000 a year for the next 5 years. Now that they know, there's no backing out! Wink They were very supportive but in a way I think they don't expect us to be able to do it. I can't wait to show them that we can and will! I know they will be so proud. (did I mention how blessed I am to have the most amazing parents in the whole world?)

My two Ebay auctions end today. So far I am up to a combined $51.73. More than I expected to get! I hope I don't have any problems though. So far the high bidder on both items has no feedback. I have had problems in the past with first-timers. Hopefully it will be ok! And, my huband got 7 more things boxed up for me - I hope to post them tonight!

That's really about it. It's a slow day. I don't have any new money making ventures at the moment. I need to come up with some new ideas so I can get the money rolling in! I do still need to sign up for some bank offers. Not sure why I keep putting that off - ugh! I think I'm going to go look into that right now!

I'll try to blog more later! Until then...

Coming back to add that I got an email from Sharebuilder confirming my promo code which means soon I'll have my $50! So, I just went over and opened an account for hubby too! Another $50! Not bad for a days work.... Free money sure is addictive!

Free $50!

February 12th, 2006 at 06:53 am

Started feeling guilty for not blogging yet for Saturday or Sunday, so here I am! It's 12:45am and I have to be in church at 7am, but what can I say? I am a night owl.

Speaking of feeling guilty - I was also feeling guilty for not working on any of my goals. So, I went ahead and read a bunch of savings blogs. There was some good info, but I haven't gotten any new ideas yet. I will keep reading - I have many, many more to get through. I also signed up for a sharebuilder.com account (thanks for the suggestion from mjrube!). Used the ENTERTAIN50 promo code for a free $50 bonus (had to spend $5 to get it). I'm sure it will work, but at the same time I am hesitant so I decided to wait til I see the money before opening another account for hubby (aka, another $50). Won't count the money towards my challenge until it comes.

I must admit, I am feeling a little frustrated. How in the world am I really going to save $4000 this year? It seems like such a lofty goal, but a necessary one. Getting my dad paid back nags on my conscious every day even though he is totally cool with it. Well, I am not cool with it! Can't wait to get that off my shoulders.

On a good note, my current ebay auctions are up to $31. I am listing a bunch more things Monday night.

Hope to sign up for some bank offers tomorrow. Right now I gotta get to bed or I won't be able to get up in the morning!

Til' next time! Smile

Addicted to blogging

February 11th, 2006 at 02:12 am

Hmmm...third post of the day. I think I am addicted to my blog! Smile

Just a couple of things to report. Hubby is catching on to the whole budget thing! Tonight he bought me flowers and a pink travel coffee mug I've been wanting from WalMart (for Valentine's Day he says). At first I was like "But we're not supposed to spend any money!" He quickly reassured me that he took it out of our weekend eat-out budget (which is $35 btw). That's totally cool with me because the whole eat-out thing is his gig anyway. I could care less if we eat out or not. I was so excited that he thought it through where the money was coming from and didn't just spend blindly. Go hubby! You're getting it! And, I got flowers and a new mug! Yay!

I got three survey invites in my email today - each for $2. One I didn't qualify for and the other was filled -- but I did get into the third one! Not sure when the money will show up in Paypal, but that's ok. I never seem to qualify for those things, so that 2 bucks is making me do a happy dance!

Last but not least - I got two Exxon Mobile $10 gas cards in the mail today! I got them for signing up for a $1 trial offer (now I gotta cancel!). If anyone's interested it's posted on this board in the freebie section. That's where I heard about it, anyway. The trial offer was for a company called Great Fun. Anyway, our gas budget is $10 a week (we only have one car and both work really close to home) so that means I got to take $10 dollars from our checking and move it into my savings challenge account over at ING. Same thing next week! Smile

Alright, it's Friday night... Time to sit down, relax, and watch a movie with my hubs.

More tomorrow!

Current Challenge Savings - $20.17
Goal is $4000 by the end of the year! Yikes!

Current CC debt - $4322.50
Goal is pay off as soon as humanly possible!

Making some progress.....

February 10th, 2006 at 03:53 pm

It's the weekend! As most of you are just starting your work day, mine has been over for 2.5 hours! It's the one good thing about working overnights! Smile

I have put those couple of hours to good use. I gathered some Ebay stuff as planned and will post it this weekend (have to have my hubby make some boxes first so I can weigh the stuff for postage purposes). My public service announcement for the day: you might be surprised at what you might find to sell if you look around your house. I just started going through closets and drawers and came up with at least 15 things that I *think* will bring $5 or more. I forgot I even had some of it! I actually stopped looking because my "to sell" pile is making a mess in the family room. Once I get that stuff posted and boxed up I will find more to sell.

Also on the Ebay front, good news! Both of the items I posted so far have bids and I am making $20! Not bad for stuff I probably would have pitched in the trash... Both auctions still have 3 days left so I have a feeling that amount will go up.

Also today, I made $15 easy PayPal dollars. I am passing this one on for sure - hope it's legit, but it sounds ok!

Text is http://www.freesamplesite.com/ydf/showthread.php?t=180020 and Link is
http://www.freesamplesite.com/ydf/showthread.php?t=180020 I hope someone gets in on this one on time! Supposedly it is for real - people there posted that they've already gotten paid. I haven't gotten mine yet though. I will keep you posted! edited to add - this is a dead deal now. And, even though some ppl got paid, I never did.. Frown I am still hoping though...

This morning I also found a couple more books that are accepted by ebookdrop.com. I'm only making like $3 on them, but hey, I'm not complaining!

The most exciting part of my day is that I get to update my challenge savings! I now have $10.17! I went into mypoints.com a week or two ago and realized I had some forgotten points that I never cashed out on. So, I cashed out for a $10 WalMart gift card. It came in the mail yesterday and since we do most of our grocery shopping at Walmart, I took $10 out of our grocery money and will replace it with the card. I transferred the $10 to my ING account (which I thought was empty) and realized I had 17 cents in there. Yay! $10.17. I have money on the way from a couple places too, but I won't count any of it until it's actually in hand. ING will be my official account where I keep my savings for now...

So, there you go! May not seem like much, but I feel like I have had a pretty successful day so far and it's only 10am here!

New goals:
- Open bank accounts for bonuses! (thank you mjrube94)
- Read other blogs and message boards for more ideas on getting some extra cash!
- Post new items on Ebay
- Sign up for 2 more survey sites that I just heard about

Time now for bed so I can rest up for my money saving weekend!

Current Challenge Savings - $10.17
Goal is $4000 by the end of the year! Yikes!

Current CC debt - $4322.50
Goal is pay off as soon as humanly possible!

Happy Friday!!!

February 10th, 2006 at 07:10 am

There's nothing like a Friday to make me happy! We have the weekend to look forward to, plus hubby gets paid every Friday. Now that's a good day!

I have two goals for today - go around the house and gather up everything I want to sell on ebay, plus check out some of the bank deals where you open an account and get a nice little cash bonus. It's my goal to sign up for at least 2 today (but only if you can open an account with $1 - I don't have a lot to spare).

I'm concerned about my savings challenge, because if I really expect to save $4000 this year on side stuff alone I really need to get cracking. Doing a lot of little teeny things like surveys and stuff is not going to add up fast enough. I need ideas to bring in more. December is always a hard money month with the holidays, so I figure I really only have 10 months (including this one) to reach my goal for this year. And that's an average savings of $400 a month - gulp! I have to admit, that seems pretty unnattainable right now. I just hafta figure out how it's going to happen. I wish I could get another job, and I could technically, but I just don't think I could handle it. I already work screwed up hours (10:30p - 7a) and sleep my days. I am tired a lot because I don't sleep as well during the day as I would at night. So taking on another job seems too daunting and I don't think it's something I could stick with. There have got to be other ways to bring in some cash! I just can't think of them right now... One thing I am thinking could really help is our tax return (if we get one!). We haven't done our taxes yet and hope to really soon. I am praying we get money back. That entire sum will be added to my savings challenge! That could help a lot, but there's no telling. Last year we had to pay - quite a bit! So much, in fact, that we had to go on a payment plan with the IRS. I am making the last payment on that this month! For '05 though my hubby was unemployed most of the year. And I had a 0 witholding on my income, so I'm hoping (PRAYING) for money back this year.

Anyway, I am starting to ramble, so I'd better get working. Only 6 hours till I get to go home and get started on those goals! 7am can't come fast enough. I will probably report back later. Have a great Friday everyone!

Starting Fresh...

February 9th, 2006 at 02:43 pm

For me, the road to financial success is much like a diet... I start and I do well for a while, but then I fall off the bandwagon and never look back. *Sigh*

I forgot I even had this journal from last year. I had good intentions at the time, but never got anywhere with my plans. You know what they say - "The road to h*ll is paved with good intentions." It's time to turn those intentions into honest to goodness actions, and that's exactly what I intend to do! (and I am counting on those of you who read this to give me a swift kick in the pants when needed!)

Starting now, I am on a new plan to financial FREEDOM!! I am tired of being young and poor (I'll be 30 this year) and living paycheck to paycheck. It's ridiculous. So, the fun begins!

I am "sort of" doing a $20 challenge, but rather than start with twenty, I am starting with zero (cause I don't have an extra $20, lol!). So far I have posted 2 things on ebay and am waiting on a couple small checks from ebookdrop.com. I also signed up with a ton of survey sites and hope to make small amounts of cash that way. I am working on other ideas to save money/get extra cash as well. Neither my husband or I make much money (so much for those expensive private school college educations!) so the money I save will have to come from me being creative. All the money we make at our wonderful low-paying jobs already goes to bills and CC debt (bad, bad!).

So, welcome to my world! I hope you will follow me on my journey, because I know I will need all the ideas, motivation, and encouragement I can get. I can't wait to be debt free and I hope I can do it soon! We want to buy a house, have kids, get a second car, and do all those other things people our age are doing. But I refuse to do any of that until we make a significant dent in our debt. Ah, how much debt, you ask? Well, since you don't know me and vice versa, I will disclose.

Currently we owe:
- $1200 for hospital bills (didn't have ins at the time)
- About $4300 to CC's (just rolled one balance onto a 0% APR card, yea!)
- $500 to my hubby's boss (who bailed us out because we couldn't pay our vet bill)
- And, because you always have to have a grand finale....get ready for this...$20,000 to my dad, who very graciously lent us the money to help get us out of debt a few years back (even though we were in WAY over our heads and had to declare bankruptcy anyway).

Yes, the B word. Bankruptcy. It makes me sick to my stomach because I've excelled at everything I've ever done in life - got awesome grades, and always made my parents proud. I am a complete goody-goody, by-the-book kinda gal. People IRL (in real life) would be SHOCKED to ever know that I of all people have had a bankruptcy. But, for some reason, I have never been able to live within my means or control my $$. And, even after going through that experience I still managed to rack up another $4300 in CC debt.

But I will say it now, and I will say it LOUDLY and PROUDLY! I will turn this around. I will become a success story. And I WILL make it to financial recovery!

Ok, so now that I've blabbed on and on -- here's the plan. Everything I save for this challenge will go to dad. My goal is to give him $4000 per year for 5 years to wipe out that debt. I am using the snowball method for our CC debt, and making monthly payments (no interest) for the hospital bills and the money we owe hubby's boss. I haven't gotten far ahead enough to figure out how long it will be until we're debt free, but I just want to make it FAST!!!!

I am going to be updating 2 things as I blog:

Current Challenge Savings - $0
Goal is $4000 by the end of the year! Yikes!

Current CC debt - $4322.50
Goal is as soon as humanly possible!

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!!!!!!!

My .04 cent raise - update!

April 27th, 2005 at 02:22 am

Ok, so here's the story. I totally chickened out after writing that email...so I basically sent a retraction saying that I was sorry to let my emotions get the best of me and that I didn't want to pursue it. My supervisor is cool - his response made me laugh. I guess I'd be more angry if that was my raise for the year, but it's an almost certainty now that I'm going to get one of the producer jobs (there are TWO openings now!). At least I know that's at least $11 dollars an hour. Not the most I've ever made, but more than I make now, so oh well.... I had a conversation with the janitor at the station who used to be an EMT and also a police officer! We had a nice venting session about how little we make now in comparison to the past. I feel bad for him - he's 48. I'm only 28, so I figure I have time to work up to the big bucks, lol! Anyway, here's the reply I got from my supervisor:

Sorry...but you're right in assuming it's not me. I actually had no idea what you made. ...just a little history though...don't know if it will make you feel better or not...I worked here for 2 years before I made more than $10,000 a year, and I wasn't making as much as you until I had been here 7 years. After 16 years I'm only making a little more than you. Frown

If you're working here because you think you'll eventually make good money, you're in the wrong place. But, if you take advantage of all the learning opportunities, you can go somewhere else and make better money.

...also, don't take the .04 cent thing as personally as you are...It does suck, but I'm pretty sure it's based on some sorta formula...X number of months(less than a year remember) gets Y percent raise. It's a corporate thingy, not "Amy is only worth an extra .04 cents". Hope this helps more than it adds fuel to the fire...but if you DO go into "disgruntled worker" mode...remember...I ALWAYS LIKED YOU!!! : ) Have a great night!

The biggest insult of my life! con't....

April 26th, 2005 at 09:07 am

Ok, I just sent off an email to my supervisor.......Hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the a$$.... Here's what I said:

I apologize in advance for not saying anything in our meeting, but I needed a chance to pull my thoughts together. I wanted to ask about my "new compensation". I don't want to ruffle any feathers, but I also don't want to keep quiet about something that is really bothering me.

I was really happy to get a such a good review, but I am really disheartened (not to mention completely insulted) by my four cents an hour raise. In all honesty, it would be much less insulting to get no raise at all. I get the impression that it's not your decision, so I am not aiming any of this at you, but I really don't know who to talk to about this.

I am hoping this is all a mistake, because I know I am worth much more. I come in here each and every night and really bust my tail to do a good job. I am not here just to get my job done and go home - I truly care about the show and making it the best it can be. I have been 100% reliable, not even calling off when I am sick. I have made it my priority to learn and grow so that I can be an even bigger asset to this company. I am giving my all, yet I don't feel that I am being appreciated in return. Seriously, I mean no disrespect, but I am so completely dumbfounded by this situation that I don't even know what else to say.

What should I do? I am a professional and I refuse to let this affect my job performance, but I cannot bear to let this go without some kind of resolution or explanation. Surely I am worth at least that much.

Thanks,
Amy

The biggest insult of my life!

April 26th, 2005 at 01:37 am

I am SOOOOOO pi$$ed off right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My supervisor called me last night (he works days, I work nights) and asks if I can come in tonight for my review. Ok, no problem. I just got back, had an excellent review, no problems, and everyone is happy with my work. I have never had any issues, and people are constantly telling me that I am really good and constantly going above and beyond, etc. So, at the end of my review my supervisor says, "I don't know what you're making now, but here is your new compensation" (and shows me the paper). The higher ups decide that, not him, so I don't blame him for this. But, my new "compensation"............$9.42, exactly FOUR CENTS higher than my previous hourly wage. I have NEVER EVER been SO insulted in my entire life. I go in there every night and bust my a$$ for 4 f'ing cents. I cannot believe it. I didn't say a word about it, just smiled and signed the damn paper. I am not a confrontational person which is why I chickened out about saying anything. I was so mad I came home and burst into tears. I can't believe I even work for such a piece of $hit company. Hell, I made almost this much when I worked at McDonalds. Anybody out there who is reading this, don't ever work for the television industry if you expect to make any money. It is not worth the college education, unless you're the "on air" type. God, 4 cents. I can't even believe it. I would have been less insulted if I wouldn't have gotten a raise at all. Pathetic.

Some more possible extra $$.....

April 24th, 2005 at 12:08 am

Yay! We just finished putting up nine auctions on ebay - some of hubby's toys. We researched what was actually selling first, so we are fairly confident that the items we chose to list will sell, and at a decent price. Plus, I added another book to half.com. It's a huge reference book and I listed it at $50. Others were selling the same book for $75 and up, so I'm hoping someone will see mine as a bargain and snatch it up!

We got our higher interest credit card statement in the mail today. Thanks to the inspiration I've garnered from this site, we've taken our balance from $1525.34 to 1361.66 in one month's time! That may not sound like much, but we've been in the minimum payment trap for so long that it amazes me to actually see our balance drop!!! I can't wait until our state tax return comes - that's another $300+ to put towards it!

Looking at the #'s tonight....

April 23rd, 2005 at 02:46 am

I was just looking over out budget (although I hesitate to call it that - it's not really.....)... Anyway, it looks good so far! We have not spent over the amount that we said we were going to spend on any one thing. That is VERY important for us, cause we are living off of one income and there is no extra. If we slip up, we have to pull out the credit card. And I REALLY don't want to do that!

As for my goal of bringing in extra cash....well....it's a slow process. So far I've only brought in about $30 extra:
$15 for attepted blood plasma donation
$11.26 for books sold on half.com
$5.00 for a pinecone survey (HUBBY GOT ACCEPTED - YAY!!!!!!!!!!!)
______
Total = $31.26

I really need to up that amount! I am hoping to be able to donate plasma again soon, plus I'm still waiting to see if I get accepted to writeforcash.com. Also, hubby says we are putting some of his toys up for auction on ebay this weekend! We plan to put all of this extra towards our high interest credit card.

Scatter brained!!!

April 22nd, 2005 at 02:07 pm

Ugh!!!! I am SO scatter brained lately. I do and say the stupidest things before I can catch them. The other night I put frozen lima beans on the stove.....without any water!!!! Then I put chicken in the oven. I forgot about it and was freaking out that I burnt it all. When I went to check...it was still frozen. I had forgt to turn the oven on. This is so not like me! I have had so much on my mind lately about finances, weight loss, my *maybe* promotion, hubby's job situation, etc that I haven't even been able to sleep well. It's driving me crazy..... My job performance has been less than ideal and when people talk to me I find my mind wandering. I need some serious TLC this weekend! I feel burnt out and I need to get my act together. We are going into May sweeps at work which means nobody can take vacatin time. I wish I could have a break. My brain just won't shut up.... Thought after thought keeps coming at me five million miles an hour. My brain is on hyper overdrive. Ok, sorry for the vent, but I feel better now! Nothing new to discuss regarding finances.... More to come!

Another sale!

April 21st, 2005 at 01:42 am

Yay! Just made another sale on half.com. That's another $6....woohoo!

Sticking to that darn budget....

April 21st, 2005 at 01:36 am

Haven't journaled in a couple days so thought I'd drop in. Nothing really new to report in the way of money, which is why I haven't posted. I am worried about our budget though. Hubby started with the personal trainer and this diet is going to kill us. He has to eat 6 meals a day, including 185 grams of protein. I try to budget out no more than $80 a week on groceries, and that includes dog food and hubby's allergy medicine. Now that we have to keep so much meat in the house, I'm not sure how we're going to do it. His trainer wants to start him on those protein shakes too but those things are SO expensive. Sigh..... We are going to try to make it to Sunday without buying any more groceries. Otherwise, our budget goes out the window... I'm not sure if we can make it.

Other than that...nada! I haven't sold any more books on half.com and haven't been back to the blood place (still bruised). I am also waiting to hear back from writeforcash.com - I hope to be accepted soon! We need extra money! Hubby does have a job interview tomorrow though! Ultimately he wants to be a firefighter (hence the trainer) but he really needs something in the meantime. We have no idea when there are going to be openings in the fire department. So, I am crossing my fingers! It's really decent pay for the south too, so I am hoping by some miracle that he gets it. And, maybe this makes me a bad person, but I am secretly hoping that he gets and loves this job so that the firefighter idea and the trainer go out the window...... Ok, sorry. I know it's been a dream of his, but who wants their hubby to have such a dangerous job? Ok, getting off my soapbox now. More to come!!!!

You've made a sale!

April 18th, 2005 at 06:25 am

Oh my gosh! I was so excited to log onto my email and see the unread message "You've Made a Sale!" Easy, easy, easy! Half.com - I love you! Lol! Ok, so it's only $6.50, but I could get used to this! Man, I donated SO many books to charity a while back. Now I kinda wish I would've kept them. Oh well. I will definitely keep my eyes open at garage sales and thrift stores. Now I'm really motivated to get the rest of my old books out of the shed and post them. I really love the fact that there are no listing fees. I don't even have to worry if they don't sell. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain - Yeah!

Half.com

April 17th, 2005 at 08:50 pm

Half.com is great! I love how easy and fast it is to list things (unlike ebay where I am forever writing descriptions, taking pics, etc). No listing fees - just a comission taken if your stuff sells. Cool - plus they reimburse you for the shipping. I only posted 11 books, so I'm sure I'll only make a few bucks. I have some more in the shed I need to go dig out too. Maybe I'll do that later! Ooh - I LOVE making money! Lol!

Ticking some more things off my list!

April 17th, 2005 at 07:45 pm

I've spent some time surfing the web today and have completed a couple more things from my Friday list.

First, I submitted my app for writeforcash.com. I am very excited - it sounds like a lot of fun! I hope I get accepted! $15 an article isn't bad for someone like me who just wants to do it as a hobby (and for extra cash, of course!).

I went over to wahm to check out some of those at home call center companies. I figured it would be a good suppliment to my income..... I came away feeling like it's not going to be the thing for me. People said LiveOps is horrible - the people are horrible and the way they do business is horrible. Ok, then...forget it! WorkingSol is supposedly really good, but they are swamped with applications and aren't taking anyone right now. As for the rest, well, in general, the consensus is that they are mostly things like trying to sell magazines to people who are entering sweepstakes. No thanks......

Now I am going to spend a little time checking out half.com and amazon.com because I have some books I can sell.... I was going to do ebay because I've done a whole lot there in the past, but I've heard that these other sites are better for books. So, off I go! I'll report back later!

Comic Books

April 17th, 2005 at 06:42 pm

Ok, not so fast! I should have done more research before getting excited about selling the comic books.... We looked into it and most do not sell at all, and the ones that do sell seem to go for very little money. Basically these books need more time to go up in value. So, it's a no go. Boo.... And I was thinking it was going to be a quick few hundred bucks. Oh well. Hubby even called a comic book shop and the guy said that comics that go for decent money right now are from the 50's and 60's. Hubby's are all from the 80's and 90's so.......maybe in about 20-30 years, lol!

Sunday

April 17th, 2005 at 04:49 pm

So, my poor to-do list from Friday has been sorely neglected. I did pay bills, which felt great to get out of the way, but haven't accomplished anything else yet. Mostly I am concerned about getting my gym membership cancelled, but I am such a chicken. That has to get done tomorrow!

I've decided not to go to the blood plasma place again until my bruised arms look normal again. They look awful, and it's bad enough that it's going to be in the 80's this week and I can't wear short sleeves. My left arm is dark purple from my inner elbow all the way down to my wrist. Never in my life have I seen a bruise that bad, or that big! I am hoping once they clear up, they won't bruise next time as long as it doesn't infilitrate again. We'll see.....

Today I worked on my money plan for May. I know I should make an actual budget, but somehow it is just easier for me to list out out the paychecks/unemployment payments and their dates and then list next to them what will be paid out of each one. I don't allow for frivilous spending in my money plan, so any extra will go toward that high interest card. And, something very cool came out of making my plan. I realized that the $300 for hubby's personal trainer actually fits into the budget. That means that when our $300+ tax return arrives from the state, we can apply the whole thing towards our credit card! I am shocked at how seemingly fast it is going to be to pay that thing off! It's amazing! I now see the light - all it takes is a little effort. Before, any extra money we had just went to frivilous spending and eating out. Not anymore!

And, great great news!!!!! My hubby is going to sell off his comic book collection on ebay! He says that most, if not all of the money we make can go towards the CC!!!!! EEK! I really hope they sell - that is going to be awesome!

Well, that's all for now....more to come!

I love making extra $$!!

April 15th, 2005 at 05:21 pm

Yippee!!!! I signed up for Pinecone (Thanks J!)! Ok, well I signed hubby up anyway. Can't wait to see if he gets accepted. $5 per survey is awesome!

Speaking of little money makers, I did some research on an at home business opportunity called Disciple's Crosses. Basically you buy the startup kit and make these cross necklaces. You get reimbursed for the materials you buy, plus you get paid $1.25 per cross from the company or you can sell them on your own. It sounds legit according to a whole lot of threads going on about it over at wahm.com. I thought seriously about it, but then I ended up deciding that I probably shouldn't get into something crafty that will frustrate me. It was exciting to find a legit home based business like that though, so I am going to see if there's anything else I can find more suited to my talents. {Edited later to extend caution to anyone who reads this and thinks it might be a good idea... I've read more and although this is "legit" it takes quite some time to get paid and they are not reliable. Not worth it in my book}

Anyway, I've got to get some sleep or I am going to pass out, lol! Sleep

Friday's Goals...

April 15th, 2005 at 04:39 pm

I am already feeling lazy and I don't want to complete my daily goals. It is Friday, after all! Here's what's on my list....Anything I don't get done I will move to Monday (or maybe do over the weekend if I get motivated enough):

Friday's To-Do's
[list]Cancel Gym Membership
[*]Post my books to sell on half.com or amazon
[*]Put in application w/ writeforcash.com ~ DONE! (can't wait to see if I get accepted!)
[*]Put in applications for at home call center work (as seen on wahm.com) ~ (after researching, have decided this is not a good option for me.....)
[*]Pay Bills! ~ DONE! (yay! all bills due in the month of April are PAID!)[/list]

Can you tell I'm brushing up on my Vb code? Smile

Oh yea - got my paycheck - $873.42. Enough to pay bills, hubby's trainer, buy groceries and.....drumroll please.......put $13 more dollars towards our high interest credit card! That makes $192 this month! WOW!

Also, good news! The A/C in our car is broken (not good when you live on the gulf coast) but my parents are paying for it for an anniversary present! Yay! They are sending us a check for $200..... Hopefully there'll be some left over! Big Grin

Happy Friday!

April 15th, 2005 at 01:23 pm

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!!! Big Grin

And, it's the 15th, which means pay day! I am very anxious see to my paycheck. I am not on salary, so it varies depending on how many hours I work. There should be quite a bit of overtime on there, plus my Easter pay. Since I don't really have a choice but to work on holidays (the news never quits) I get paid double. It is nice! I have quite a few bills plus hubby's personal trainer and groceries to pay out of it, so I am praying there's going to be enough $$ to cover it all! I should know in about an hour.

So, what's on tap for today? I do have a list of things to accompish. I'll post it when I get home.

Good news on the "trying for a promotion" front. I heard through the grapevine that my competitor might be backing out because he doesn't want to work overnights. Um, sorry dude, but you gotta start at the bottom and work your way up. Plus, I also heard that the assistant news directer already told the 6a producer that it looks like I will be the one chosen! Anything can still happen, but it is nice to get a boost of confidence.

Well, that's all for now - more to come!

Blood money....lol!

April 15th, 2005 at 03:56 am

Geez oh man....... Donating plasma was an experience! I was totally not expecting the way it all went down. First of all, I got there about 9:10am. I didn't leave until 12:45pm. EEK! I was very uncomfortable when I got in there because obviously the other people in the waiting room needed that $20 A LOT more than I did. We're talking some scary looking people. They even have a security guard posted in there, so you can imagine what kind of riff raff they get. There was some creepy guy trying to hit on me... (and I quote "You cute, what yo name?). But, it got better!

It's kind of a long process your first time because they examine you and check your urine to make sure you are in good health. I wasn't expecting that, but it was ok. The nurses there were SO nice that my comfort level went up immediately. Oh, but did I mention that I had to sit in the waiting room for an hour before they even called me? Not expecting that either. Then you go to the screening room where they prick your finger to check for iron and ask you all the sex and risk questions to make sure you're not at risk for AIDS. No, thank you, I am not a man who has had sex with another man since 1977........ Lol! Then you go to another waiting room before you actually get into the bed and get hooked up to the plasma machine.

So, once I got back there, they got me all hooked up. Not bad - there's only one needle in your arm - the machine goes in cycles - draws your blood and seperated the plasma, then once the thingie is full it returns the rest of the non-plasma blood elements back into your arm. That's where the trouble came in...

The incision point infiltrated.... That means that because my veins are small, they couldn't handle the rate of return and the fluid was building up in my tissue. It literally looked like there was a golf ball under my skin - all the nurses said they had never seen it that bad. Great. They pull out the needle and put on an ice pack. Then I get asked if I want to continue by using my other arm. I'd get $5 extra cause they had to stick me twice. Sure, why not? They slowed down the rate of return on the machine and go me going again. Again, I went through 3 or 4 cycles before it happened again! Damn! And, because I did not finish my donation, they would only give me $10 instead of $20, but they did give me that extra $5 for sticking me twice. So basically I wasted 4 hours of my day to get $15 and two swollen, nasty bruised arms. Hmmmmmm.................

So, would I do it again? I guess what's keeping me going is that $180 dollars a month. You can go twice a week - the first time you go in a given week you get $20, the second time you get $25. That's $180 dollars a month, or $2160 a year. Hmmmm... that would pay off those CCs pretty quickly. So, yes, I am going to try it again. The nurses were super nice and $20-25 for an hour or two of my time isn't bad. They told me if I drink a ton of water before I go, I shouldn't have the same problems again. Plus, they can slow down the rate of return even more. So, heck, I am going to try it again and see what happens. If I infiltrate again I will probably stop going - not worth it in my opinion.

So, there you go! That was my experience! Not the greatest, but not so bad that I wouldn't try it again....

Confession time...

April 14th, 2005 at 02:45 pm

I have been avoiding mentioning this is my journal so far EEK!, but it is a huge money nightmare that has to be mentioned. I guess if you look at it the right way it's an investment but.... Ok, enough beating around the bush. I am allowing my hubby to spend $300 for 3 months (that's $300 each month) to go to a personal trainer. What am I, crazy???? I know, I know, but after he got laid off he decided that he wanted to change careers. He was a graphic artist and went to a very prestigious art school for 4 years. Problem is, the job market stinks. The phrase "starving artist" is SO true! It's hard to get and keep a job in that business. He's fed up with it and gets no satisfaction out of it anymore. It's sad, because he's REALLY good, but he just wants out. He doesn't really have the business savvy (or the desire) to go freelance, so that's out. He's always wanted to be a firefighter, so that is the goal he is working on right now. That's why he needs the trainer. He's out of shape and doesn't really know how to go about doing this on his own. There's a very rigorous physical test that he'll have to pass to get accepted. So.....$900 (that we don't even really have) goes down the drain. I am bummed, but I am trying to be a supportive wife. $300 a month is actually cheap for a trainer in our area. He called around and most people charge between 500-800! Whoa, baby! So.....yikes!!!! I already have it budgeted for this month (he's starting Monday). It's coming out of my overtime + holiday pay from Easter that will be in my check on Friday. (I get paid double for working that day) The next month I'm hoping we'll have our tax return back, so it can come from there. As for the 3rd month, no idea yet.... Yikes! We've already agreed that as soon as he feels comfortable doing it on his own, the trainer gets dropped. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later! Then, in the summer he might start taking EMT courses....So....good investment I guess, but watching that money disappear is going to be so hard.

Well, I need to get going! My work for the day is done! Yay! I am going straight to the blood plasma place after this. I admit, I have my doubts and am scared (I am willingly letting someone put needles in me?!) but I figure I'd try it once. If I sleep, it'll be the easiest $20 I ever made, lol! If I sit there super bored for 3 hours, well, I may have to reconsider doing it again! Anyway, I'll post later about how it goes!


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