2010

2009 was a better year than 2008. May the good run continue in 2010. I will continue to practice the things I've learned, and improve on the ones that are still lacking.

Random Rants

My neighbors are having a very loud thanksgiving dinner. I am giving them till 10 pm to shut the hell up.

I had to work today, there were lots of people out shopping on Thanksgiving.

Some people lie to damn much, just lie for no reason. Don't worry it will all come to light.

I love my family, but I don't love being around them. Is that a bad thing?

I was told I enjoy my own company too much. Does that make me anti-social.

If you baby's father is not paying child support, then take him to court. Do I look like the bank? I am working two jobs, maybe you should too.

I think it may be time to give up the part-time gig. I'm still thinking about it.

I'm still waiting on final approval on my new place.

Here are a few details:

It is two bedrooms instead of my current one.

No more stairs.

Washer and dryer inside....no more going to the laundromat.

Dishwasher.....nice

15 minutes off my commute.

Am back...updates

It's been a while since I've blogged. Life has been busy, busy, busy.

New Tires $320 - cash. It's sure feels good using those green backs.

My lease ends in a few weeks and I will not be renewing. I am working on moving as we speak. Details to follow.

I managed to save over 10K for the year. It feels soooo good. How did I do it? I saved all the money from the part-time gig. Also, I received 2 raises for the year, and I saved those also.

Recent Financial Updates

My car has to get new tires ASAP.

I have to move out of my current apartment within the next two to three months.

I just received a very nice raise.

The part-time gig is still around.

Finally managed to lower my cellphone bill.

Changes in banking are coming up soon.

WellsFargo is following Chase and Bank of America

New Retail Shopping Habits

Based on my own personal observations at the part-time gig, it will be very difficult for retailers to get consumers to pay full price again. I've seen countless customers disappointed when the clearance item does not have an additional discount. They balk at retail prices that have no promotional sales. Bad habits, or in this case good habits (saving) will be hard to break.

CNNMoney.com has an article on ways to cut spending by $500 per month.

Savings, savings, savings

I've been saving alot of money lately. It is for a specific goal. I will reveal more later.

Every thing is on the rise

The sales tax in NYC just went up.

The subway fare went up.

My health insurance payment went up.

My car needs tires.

My rent will go up 3 or 4% in November.

The only bright light is my salary goes up 4% this month, and even that doesn't cover the other increases.

All quiet on the financial front. I am still saving a little at a time.

Husbands to be on Bridezilla

Da hell they find these men from without backbones. Geeessshhhhh!!

These women have no class whatsoever.

Hours are definitely on the upswing at the part-time gig. I love it!!

RIP Walkter Cronkite

Your card declined...this means you are over the limit...

plain and simple. I have no other way of explaining it.

I am sick of customers asking me what decline means. Hello!! How do you not know the balance on a small store card with a $1,000 limit.

Gimme a break.

Due to recent family obligations (financially) I've had to make a few changes:
No more buying clothing or accessories or anything of the sorts until September.
I put my Netflix account on hold.
Eating out for lunch is down to maximum once per week.
Will try and keep all variable expenses to a minimum.
No more taking off Saturdays from the part-time gig unless it is a family emergency.

I need to build back up the money I spent from the Efund. Think minimum 2K

Being unorganized can cost you

I was gone for a week and didn't organize my finances like I should have. As a result I got hit with an NSF fee of $20. Oh well, I will chalk that up to a lesson learned the hard way. Now that am back the check book is balanced and all is well in the world again.

I am thankful for...

health

family

friends

my employment (1 full-time and 1 part-time)

a roof over my head, and food on the table

life in general.

I am thankful.

Capital One...

customer service sucks.

I cooked last night and took my lunch to work today. It tastes way better than the crap I buy and it is way cheaper.

Updates

Life is nice and slow. I am not too stressed.

Is the economy picking up? or is it getting worse? There is too much contradicting news right now. I know my economy has gotten a bit better, hours at the part-time gig are steady.

The price of gas keeps creeping up. outch!

Paying yourself first feels soooooo good. soooo good.

Follow me on Twitter

http://twitter.com/tiredofbeingbro

Money on TV!!

I am sitting here watching Bridezillas. This is would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad.

Picture this:
Brand new SUV $58,000

Credit card declined when buying gas: priceless!!

Nice way to start a marriage. Miss bratty bride maxes out her credit card without telling her soon to be husband. Wow!! Starting a marriage in debt in secrecy.

Experian sent me a letter indicating that the balance in question was paid off over a year ago. The letter is great, but hellooooo I need you to update my damn records. I will be following up with them in about 30 days.

Credit Report

I pulled my credit report this week to review for errors. Lo and behold damn Experian still has a balance on a credit card that I paid over a year ago. They are the only one still reporting that card with a balance. The other two agencies has the balance as 0. I disputed the debt and am waiting on a response from Experian.

It is really important to take advantage of the free reports.

Random Thoughts

I don't worry as much about money as I used to. Why? I've finally realized worrying doesn't help, except to give me heart burn. I am learning and making better financial decisions. Does this mean everything is perfect? No, far from it. There is still a long ways to go. However, small steps are getting me there.

My credit card debt is disappearing nicely. It will be a small celebration when it finally reaches $0 by year's end.

There is money in the checking account from week to week.

My eating out has gotten worse in the past few weeks because of family related stress. I haven't been cooking. That has got to improve this weekend, so I have lunch for next week.

My car has over 30K on it and I need the recommended service package for 30K. The estimate is $450. I will be calling a few other places to get prices on it. However, I'm not worried. It will be done next pay day. Saying that feels soooo good.

I've been spending more time talking to the man upstairs!!

Hours at the part-time gig are up, then down, but back up again.

It's Pay Day

Pay day used to bring a certain amount of dread and stress to my life. This is how it used to be:

Look at direct deposit (knowing all well all the money is gone and then some).
Look at number of bills needing to be paid
Pay bills and have no money left by next day (except for cash waiting for bills to clear).

This is what pay day looks like now:

Look at direct deposit
Transfer money into savings
Pay bills (less envelopes in the mail box now)
Checking account cushion of at least $25

Change is good! slow and steady wins the race.

ING Savings Account

The APR is now 1.5%. Oh how times have changed.

I am quite certain that I will be credit card debt free before the end of 2009.

Insurance Premiums Vent

It seems as if every year my health insurance premium goes up. However, every year less and less services and prescriptions are covered.

What to do with the part-time check...updates

Hours at the part-time job has suddenly picked up. This means that my paycheck will go back to its pre 2009 amount. However, for the last few months I've learnt how to adjust without it. So I will be using that amount to get rid of my debt now that my savings goal has been achieved.

My 6 month car insurance premium is due today. I will be paying it all at once, and I didn't even panic. This blog has really helped to improve my finances. I'd like to think all my readers, all 2 or 3 of you. LOL

My savings goal of $5,000 is almost 50/50 in CD's and a regular savings account at the credit union. Using CD's was a critical tool in achieving my savings goal. The threat of loosing the interest before the CD matures was enough for me to keep it there. This may not work for some people but it sure works for me. As for the money in the regular savings account, I like seeing the comma (,) so I won't be touching that either. For someone who is just now leaving the check to check crowd and joining the savings crowd, a comma is a huge thing.

I achieved my savings goal

Now to focus on getting rid of the my debt balance even faster!!! Go meee!!

April 11th taxes E-filed

This is a step up from last year. Next year I'll aim to complete my taxes before the month of April. Baby steps!

Living Expenses - Efund

The basic breakdown of my living expenses adds up to $2,067.66. This does not include any debt repayment except for my student loans which are a total of $200 per month. This breakdown means that I can survive for almost 1.5 months on my current savings. This is good progress. This breakdown could be even less with disconnecting the cable and taking away some features from the cell phone plan.

Savings

I am very close to having $3,000 in the bank. That would be the most I've saved in the past maybe 4 years. Saving is really a habit that has to be developed. I am proof of that.

Slow and Steady wins the savings race.

The Economy is Slowly Rebounding...

in my neck of the woods. Sloooowwwwlllyyyy is the key word here. My hours at the part-time gig went up in the last two weeks. That is my economic indicator. LOL Let's hope this is a continuing trend. I received my highest paycheck since 2009 began. That is a good sign.

Family, Friends and Money

The people around me think I have money to freely give because I have a second gig, aka the part-time job. Helloooooo, I am not out there working a second job to be Ms. Banker. They get on my last nerve.

Updates

Hours at the part-time gig increased in the last two weeks. I am hoping this will be a consistent trend.

I got a raise this week which resulted in a small increase in pay. I am thankful to have a job, and to get an increase. Any increase no matter how small is appreciated and goes a long way.

Eating..Cooking...Money..Etc

Lately I've been cooking more. The key in not getting into a rut is trying new recipes. My new thing is to pick two recipes for the week and purchase my ingredients that week. I will cook twice that week which is usually a serving of five or more (am single). The left overs I freeze until next time. The recipe for tonight was my version of jambalaya. Next up later this week is soup. Not a particular type of soup, but whatever ingredients is in the kitchen type of soup. As long as it is well seasoned there is no problem.

I do not like to cook at all. My new method makes it easier on me, and I actually look forward to trying new recipes. Whole Foods Market has great recipes on their website. Those are the ones I've been using as well as a mix from about.com food section.

In my quest to eat healthier (organic, more whole grains, raw, blah blah blah) grocery shopping is a bit more expensive. However, because I am eating out less when it comes to lunch, my overall food bill is pretty much the same.

My Financial Psyche...Plans etc

The DOW dropped even lower. Now, I am not an expert but can this thing drop any lower??

I am not even sure what is left in my old 403B anymore. I am still contributing to my pension at the current job.

The game plan right now is to continue pay down debt and save as much as I can. I've had to adjust my plans because the income from the part-time gig is almost non existent. However, I am still on track to bring the e-fund to the full goal before June 30, 2009.

My brown bagging is now at almost 100%. I eat out at work maybe once per week. In driving on the weekends I run all my errands in one trip as much as I can.

The small adjustments I've been making has helped me cope with the decrease in income.

Hours at the part-time gig are almost non existent.

I am still doing ok financially. Funny, how quickly we adapt to new financial circumstances.

The Stimulus Package Debate

What are your thoughts?

I've been following this a little too closely. Too many experts too many predictions.

Home-buyer tax credit is it $7,500 or $15,000 or now $8,000.

Will it create jobs or save jobs? Will the states get much needed aide.

I think we should all just wait until the final version is passed. Whether you agree with increased government spending or tax cuts it doesn't matter. The media is going crazy trying to provide information too consumers, but I think right now we are on information overkill. At least I am.

I will not click on anymore news article about the stimulus bill until it is signed into law by President Obama.

My 2 cents.

Updates

Wamu was bought out by Chase recently. As a Wamu customer the only change I've noticed so far is one branch close to my job that is closing by the end of the month.

I added a few dollars to my savings accounts. I am now at almost half of my $5,000 goal.

For the past few months I've been paying all my bills and using my debit card only. No credit cards whatsoever. This is the longest period of time in my adult life that I've gone without using a cc. It feels wonderful.

The price of gas has creeped back up to $2.03 in my area.

The recession has hit me hard

Paycheck from the part-time job is down about 70%. I am still hanging in there till the spring to see if it improves.

I am coping by eating breakfast and lunch at home, driving less and forgoing non essential purchases.

Shares of J Crew up 10%

I need to start a clothing line and have the Obamas wear something. Interestingly enough the J Crew website is having hiccups. I went on there tonight out of curiosity (not buying anything).

Debt Collection Now a WITCH Hunt

NY DailyNews has an article about what I would call new debt collection practices.

The Tax Man Cometh!!!

I did a tax refund estimator on HR Block today, and it's not looking good.

Tomorrow I will be making adjustments at both jobs to make sure this is not repeated next year.