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.