Owner: Me vs Debt URL:http://mevsdebt.blogspot.com Join Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:02:15 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Join me in debt reduction and wealth building. Lets use money to make interest, not pay it! Site statistics:Click here
Day 19 (Or "Save Often") 2008-03-22 08:27:06 Today will be day 19. As in 19 days of work straight.I just spent the last fifty minutes writing a post about my first call from collections. It disappeared when I hit the publish button. I'll write it again tomorrow morning, but for now... I'm mentally drained.Gotta save some of this caffeine lift for a few semi-important meetings at work today. I'm making it a goal to write my first patent application this weekend, I'll be getting some guidance from our contracts office. I'm also going to have to fill out some paperwork to get the ball rolling on a very likely grant from NIH. This will all be worth it if that goes through... we get a percentage of the funding we bring into the company, bonus! Oh yeah, and I'm getting my stitches taken out, finally!All work and no blog makes Amanda Read more:Often
Some giveaways around the blogosphere... 2008-03-19 10:09:42 Work sucks. Freebies rock. Win a Craftsman Cordless Drill! at Rather Be Shopping for sharing your home improvement story.Subscribe to Cash Money Life to find the secret phrase and get some PF reading materialTell Debt Kid what you'd do with $10k to win $100 in your Lending Club Account
More Balance Transferring 2008-03-18 07:07:39 I mentioned that Citi increased my credit limit... well I took advantage of that by transferring a large portion of my Capital One balance over there.My Capital One card had three different interest rates - 14.4%(standard), 2.99%(fixed), and 0% (for 3 months). Of course, every payment I made went to the lowest rate balance first. I decided to transfer about $2k to Citi with no fee at 6.9% APR for six months. Then I sent all of my income tax funds to Capital One leaving me with a balance of $168. I should be able to pay that off with money from my next check :) This move reduces my monthly finance charge by about $20 and leaves me with just two credit cards! Down from ten... um yeah. Wow, that feels good.Prosper loan continues to be my highest APR at 14.4%, however I think I'd like Read more:Balance
, Transferring
Life After Debt: Roth IRA 2008-03-17 06:35:52 I often think about how I will use the funds that are tied up in debt reduction once the debt is gone. Currently, I aim to put $1400/month towards debt reduction. If things go as planned, I will be debt free by January 2009. What is my first major goal?Near Term Goal: Open a 2008 Roth IRA with VanguardI will save up at least $3000 to open a Roth IRA with Vanguard. I say at least $3000 because thats the minimum opening balance for many of Vanguards funds, but I could end up contributing more if I redirect all $1400/month to the cause from January-April 15th.I'm happy with my ShareBuilder Account so far, but if I want to invest anymore I'll have to pay $4 per trade and an annual fee of $25. Not too bad, but there are no fees with Vanguard. If I choose to invest in a balanced target re
Link Love - Taxes Returned Edition 2008-03-14 08:17:34 I got the rest of my income tax return today :) I paid off my car insurance for the next six months and sent a big fat electronic check to Capital One. Debt reduction: 42%. Awesome! If you like things that are awesome, be sure to check out a couple must read posts from the past week or so:Steward at My Family's Money writes about why his family is committed to living debt free. Great post!In response to the Dave Ramsey series going on at the M-Network, From Mike describes his own Debt Snowball approach. This variation of the Ramsey approach makes sense to me. Once my debt snowball outgrew my emergency fund goal, I decided to put it on hold too.Jacob at Early Retirement Extreme sees value in a book that doesn't get much love from PF Bloggers. He says that Rich Dad Poor Dad is about Read more:Taxes
, Edition
Worker's Compensation 2008-03-13 07:10:51 I'm new to the full time work force so I never really thought about worker's compensation... until yesterday when I had to go to the emergency room. At work I'm building a model for a project we are trying to get funding for. The deadline is approaching quickly, I've definitely been rushing through it.Well yesterday I accidentally stabbed myself in the hand with a razor knife... ouch. Always cut away from yourself... I know! Somehow the common sense turned off for a second and next thing I know I'm bleeding everywhere.Getting cut at work is no huge surprise. It happens all the time. What surprised me was the depth that I could see into my hand when I went to wash it out. I knew I needed stitches. I put pressure on it, called HR, and went to the hospital.The whole time I was more wo Read more:Worker
, Compensation
$149 Mystery Credit 2008-03-13 06:48:04 Not that I'm complaining... but I have a $149 mystery credit in my checking account. I checked my account quickly this morning to verify the balance and this popped up in the pending credit section. I have no idea what it could be.I'll update once I know what it is... until then... any guesses?The not-so-exciting conclusion to the mystery: its part of my state income tax return. Weird because the full amount in over $500 and they said it would be direct deposited on Friday. As Steward so publicly called me out - my Captain Hook costume was out of stock! They credited my account and I'll have to make due without ;) Oh well, I'll take it. Another snowflake...
Read more:Mystery
The Carnival of Debt Reduction is Up 2008-03-11 07:41:00 Ana @ Debt-FREE Revolution hosted the Carnival
of Debt Reduction. She highlighted my dumbest purchase ever post. Some other posts that caught my eye:Prosper Rocks! @ Debt Reduction Formula - Ryan read about my experience at Prosper and was inspired to take some of his debts away from the credit card companies. His listing was funding in less than an hour! Rock on, Ryan!The Irony of Debt @ Paid Twice - I can relate to this post. I still have the buy now, pay later attitude... even with my debt. I have spreadsheets filled out a month in advance, ugh. The transition of mindset is a tough one.
4 Credit/Debt/Money Documentaries 2008-03-11 07:37:15 A few recent posts at From Mike and My Money
Blog have sparked my interest in money/debt/credit related documentaries and videos. My original list included 7 videos. Thats too many for one post, so this will have to be continued. Here's four to get you started :)Maxed OutThe subject of both aforementioned posts was Maxed Out. Although I remember enjoying Maxed Out the first time I watched it, it seems a little dramatic now... and not all too informative. It definitely plays on emotional response. Thats one way to spread the word. Some of the other videos I've found are definitely more educational. Have you watched this? What do you think?The first two minutes of this clip are the highlight of the movie in my opinion :)Here's the full video:The Two Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Moth
Anyone Interested in a Sharebuilder Referral? 2008-03-08 10:18:33 I've been pretty happy with my Sharebuilder account. I'm looking to invest in a couple of specific companies as part of my 2007 IRA. I'm almost out of my 7 free investments so I thought I'd try to tap into the referrals. Here are the terms:Just enter the names and email addresses of friends, family and colleagues below. You’ll get 5 Free ShareBuilder Automatic Investments when someone you refer starts investing through ShareBuilder, and they’ll get $25 to invest!So there you have it, I get five free trades (a $20 value) and you get $25 plus 7 free trades if you open a new IRA. I have 5 referrals available. Is anyone interested? I'll need your email address to send the link... let me know if you have any questions.
Read more:Anyone
, Referral
Refund and a Credit Limit Increase 2008-03-07 07:54:17 The last month of my previous contract with Sprint (back in October) I accidentally paid the bill twice. Who does that? Me. I sent a check at the beginning of the month and then paid by phone later in the month. So you think they'd just credit my new account or send me a refund check? Nope they just continued to send me bills for -$28.60 every month. I called to ask them to send a refund check and they refused. "Thats not our policy, you have to go to a Sprint store." Once I was driving and I saw a store that clearly said Sprint. I went in to ask for my refund, but they were not an official Sprint store so they weren't authorized to give it to me. I eventually wrote it off. After they sent me an extra $75 in my rebate check I figured we were even. Then last week, out of nowhere Read more:Refund
, Limit
Payday and I'm Pumped! 2008-03-07 07:53:54 Payday has taken on all new dimensions to me. Everyone loves getting paid. I love paying bills! Direct deposit, online bill pay, fill in the spreadsheets, calculate the networth, update the sides bars, woo!Take that, debt.
Read more:Payday
My Dumbest Purchase Ever... Debt Reduction Scam 2008-03-07 07:01:17 Debt Kid is asking readers to share stories of their dumbest purchase ever. Go leave a comment or a trackback from your blog to win his dumbest purchase ever... a DS Lite.Honestly, its about time I got this off of my chest. It was so dumb that I pushed it out of my mind until I read Debt Kid's post. My dumbest purchase ever: I got sucked into a debt reduction scam during my sophomore year of college.At that time I has maybe $3000 in credit card debt. By then I had put at least four semesters of books, a pair of glasses, dentist bills, and groceries on credit. I only worked about 10-15 hours a week while going to school full time. Even at $12/hour, that was barely enough to pay my rent and bills. I paid more than the minimum every month, but I just couldn't get ahead. My rent alon Read more:Purchase
Monthly Review - February 2008 2008-03-06 14:36:41 February ChallengeGoal: $400 Additional IncomeActual: $432.28I met my goal to make an additional $400 this month with very little work on my part. Thats lucky for me because I had very little time to focus on bringing it in this past month. Thanks to those that have used my referral link to sign up for online tutoring, prosper, and ING; every little bit helps! Also thank you to the folks that traded me a futon and tv for cash... you rock! (Little did they know I probably would have paid them to get that stuff out of my apartment!) Here's the complete list:Money Makin'$289.68 Tutor.com$90.00 Stuff on Craigslist$25.00 Prosper Referral$7.60 Prosper Loan Payments$20.00 ING ReferralsFebruary Net WorthNet Worth: ($56,636)Increased: 3.66%I redirected some of my debt reduction funds and cash i Read more:Monthly
, February
Blog Festivities! 2008-03-05 18:55:50 I'm finally catching up with some writing AND reading this week. Here are some links for you:No Credit Needed hosted the Carnival of Debt Reduction. He included my post about how to handle a balance transfer in your debt snowball. Some other posts that caught my eye:When I Woke Up and Smelled the Coffee @ Being FrugalThe Waiting is the Hardest Part @ Not the Jet SetBroke Grad Student hosted the Festival of Frugality. He selected my dumpster diving post as a Top Ramen. Woo! No one appreciates extreme frugality like the broke college student! Some articles I enjoyed reading, just to name a few that are new to me:The Making of Homemade Soap @ Bad Human! Don't Take Chemicals From Strangers!Is there anything more wasteful @ Uncommon SenseBuy a Shop Manual @ Save and Conquer
College Memories: Dumpster Diving 2008-03-04 21:18:04 Dumpster diving? It sounds much worse than it is. Some of my best friends in college were close to being classified as 'Freegans'. They liked living under the radar and outside of the influence of capitalism. Lets admit it, most people are wasteful. Why shouldn't there be a subculture that thrives on the waste of others?On the way home from a late night at the library my roommate asked me to stop at Zingermann's. But they're closed at 2am, aren't they? Yeah, exactly the point. We parked the car and went around to the back. We grabbed two large, tied bags of bread from the dumpster and carried them over our shoulders - the bakery equivalent to Santa Claus. Feeling in the spirit, we crept into the co-op homes of few friends and left several loafs for them to find in the morning. W Read more:College
, Dumpster
, Diving
Student Loans Out of Deferment 2008-03-04 09:50:54 Well both of my federal student loans are officially out of deferment. With about $31.8k in a consolidated Direct Loan @ 4.375% and about $13.4k in a Perkins Loan @ 5% the bulk of my monthly payment goes to cover more than $180 in interest. I get so focused on paying off my credit cards that I forget about the mountain of debt waiting for me once I'm 'out of debt'. Goodbye Debt, Hello.... Debt. At least the student loan interest is deductible. This is my first year paying taxes and I'm already sick of it. Plus hey, don't expect me to run out of debt reduction rants anytime soon!I've already started thinking about how I'm going to allocate debt reduction funds once the credit cards are paid off. Of the $1400 monthly snowball I plan to redirect at least $400 to my Roth IRA. Of the rema Read more:Student
, Loans
, Student Loans
A Debt Snowball Dilemma: The Promotional Balance 2008-03-03 07:29:46 The Debt Snowball
MethodIf your looking to get out of debt, you're bound to run into the phrase Debt Snowball again and again. And with good reason - its a great strategy! You'll typically see it outlined in one of two ways: lowest balance first or highest interest first. There are advantages to each. Ultimately, the best method for you is the one you will stick to. It takes focus and determination to climb out of the hole. Here's a quick overview of two common strategies:Lowest Balance
FirstList all of your debt in order from the lowest balance to the highest.Designate an amount to put towards debt each month... as much as you can spare.Pay only the minimum on all debts except for one with the lowest balance.Put the rest of the into the lowest balance debt and don't stop there. Any
National City Visa - Paid in Full 2008-03-01 13:53:04 My six month long debt snowflake target has been eliminated! I transferred $7000 to a National
City Visa at 0% back in August. I've paid it off just in time - not a single dollar in finance charges! Now I'll be able to consider adding the National City's Everyday Rewards to my cash back strategy. More on that later.The next highest interest debt on my list is my Prosper loan at 14.94%. Thank you, lenders, for helping me out of a bind, but now its time to pay back and move on.
This Week at the Carnivals... 2008-02-29 08:37:48 Its been a busy week, but I'm getting back into the swing of things :)Be sure to check out this weeks blog festivities, great themes!Being Frugal hosted a groovy 70's edition of the Carnival of Debt ReductionBroke Grad Student hosted a college years edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance
Read more:Carnivals
Kudos to Teenage Investors! 2008-02-24 14:29:56 Foxie from Dreaming of Ferraris is not even 20 years old and she's already thinking about opening an Roth IRA. She recently finished reading Smart Women Finish Rich and which brought her attention to the long term tax advantages of these accounts. Does anyone else wish they would have been thinking that way at that age?She's not alone, but I'm always surprised by economically wise teenagers. While I was wasting my small earnings on chicken fingers at Denny's there are were kids thinking about tax advantaged retirement accounts and aggressive investment strategies. Wow. I didn't even save up enough to get me through a whole year at college. I wish I would have friends like these.Take William, for example. William is my former college roommate's younger brother. He was a sophomore in Read more:Investors
Debt Reduction vs. Retirement Investing 2008-02-23 13:55:11 I've wobbled back and forth in the ongoing dilemma of debt reduction vs. retirement investing. My drive to eliminate debt is strong and I've reach a point where I feel confident that I'm on track to do both.My highest interest debts have been eliminated. Last June my average APR was somewhere around 25%. Now all of my standard APRs are below 15% -- the average is below 10% with a portion of my balances at 0% APR until July and another portion fixed at 5.99% until its paid.I've eliminated one third of my personal debt and I'm definitely on track to eliminate the rest if not by December 2008, then definitely by January 2009. That one month set back won't cost me much in terms of dollars, but not investing in a 2007 Roth IRA would be a forever lost opportunity.That being said, I have decid Read more:Investing
I Can't Stay Away! 2008-02-20 18:57:25 I've been out of the loop trying to reconcile some personal issues, but I can't stay away! Things are going just fine and I plan on getting back into the blogging groove as soon as possible. I have carnivals and festivals to catch up on, sidebars to update, emails to read, and news about a possible career change! Stay tuned :)
Read more:Stay Away
Investing in a Roth IRA 2008-02-11 06:50:30 The debt reduction vs. retirement savings question has been rolling around in my head for quite some time now. I've gone back and forth on the issue, but now I'm finally ready to get started. Beyond the obvious arguments for funding a Roth IRA here is a snapshot of my reasoning:No minimum investmentMrs. Micah's decision to become an investor was my first push. Sharebuilder IRAs don't have a minimum investment amount (as opposed to the Vanguard funds I had in mind with $3k minimum investment). That means I can put something into my 2007 IRA without doing to much damage to my debt reduction plan. Goals don't have to be set in stone. With any big plan you have to be prepared to adapt when presented with new information. I will eliminate my debt, there is no question about that. The t Read more:Investing
Update on 2008 Financial Goal 2008-02-06 08:00:13 When Moolanomy reviewed his progress towards meeting his 2008 financial goal he realized that he might fail. His goal was to reduce utility costs by 10% or $35 per month. With a new baby and relatives in house to help out, costs are actually going up.Faced with this new information he sees three options:Do nothing and accept the failureTry harder to achieve the goalRevise my goal to reflect new assumptions and conditionIf you fail to foresee changing conditions when you set you're goal you have to be willing to adapt and continue to make progress towards a revised goal. Thats exactly what he has in mind. He's going to take some time to revise and reflect while still working towards locking down energy loss in places like insulation.In this post he also asks me how my 2008 resolution is Read more:Update
, Financial
February 4th Edition of Credit Report Stories 2008-02-05 07:25:29 Welcome to the February
4, 2008 edition of credit report stories!RacerX presents 720 FICO and Beyond posted at Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money, saying, "With Rates dropping it could be a great time to refinance or consolidate debt. But to get the best rate you have to have at least a 720 Score!"Taylor presents A Truly Free Credit Report
posted at Super Blogging.Raymond presents Tips and Advice On How To Raise and Improve Your FICO Credit Score posted at Money Blue Book.Submit your blog article to the next edition ofcredit report storiesusing our carnival submission form.Past posts and future hosts can be found on ourblog carnival index page.
Read more:Edition
, Stories
First Carnival of Cash Back & Rewards 2008-02-04 06:53:17 Welcome to the 1st Edition of the Carnival
of Cash Back
& Rewards
The Carnival of Cash Back & Rewards was started to gather opinions on rewards programs and bonuses all in one place. First
and foremost I advocate responsible spending. Once you have that under control why not take advantage of free and easy money? Read these bloggers opinions on whether or not its worth your time. This week we've got everything from writing contests and government handouts to MyPoint rewards and credit card reviews.Cashback Credit Card Reviews Jim presents Citi CashReturns: We Got A $500+ Rewards Check posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. (That's $500+ in one month due to wedding expenses! Way to take advantage of the 5% promotional period, Jim!)Steward presents Did I Make the Right Cr
Monthly Review - March 2008 2008-04-02 13:17:32 March was a busy month for me. Put in a lot of time at work followed by some much needed rest, relaxation, and catching up with good friends. My income wasn't quite where I wanted it to be, but my income tax return helped make it a great month. Here are the numbers...March ChallengeGoal: $400 Additional IncomeActual: $269.58I thought about counting my income tax here, but then I'd probably have to subtract it every other month of the year, right? I didn't meet my goal this month, but I have a feeling the extra work I put in over the last month will translate into a raise this month at my review. A 4% raise would translate into over a hundred dollars a month added to my budget for here on out. Plus even more into my 401k once I start getting matched funds in June. Not to mention, if Read more:Monthly
, March
The Hard Work Pays Off 2008-04-05 07:30:08 I've been working hard this year. My company is small, so workloads come in waves. There are lulls when not much mechanical work needs to be done. Then sometimes I've got to balance several projects at the same time. Recently its been a balancing act. But the hard work pays off. My bi-annual review was positive and I was offered a raise. Not the 4% raise I was hoping for... a 7% raise... awesome! That was a huge surprise given the fact that I just got a raise back in November. This more than makes up for the tutoring income I sacrificed last month and I hope it justifies my time off of the blog. It will help greatly with the extra hospital bills that came my way last month and I think its safe to say that my job is secure for now. And that, of course, is priceless.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Debt Reduction 2008-04-07 15:49:16 I listened to Rich Dad
, Poor Dad during my commute last week. I thought it was a great book - not necessarily because of the advice it gave, but the comparison of two extreme ways of thinking. There weren't a lot of specific tips and thats ok - I like to find my own way. It was more inspirational to hear how your mindset influences your finances.One of my favorite parts was how Poor Dad said, "I can't afford it."By saying that you can't do something you are giving up. You're brain stops working.While Rich Dad asked,"How can I afford it?"By asking the question, you've pretty much told your brain its possible and put it to work on finding a solution.If you put this into the context of debt reduction, you get my story. I didn't like the thought of paying off debt for the next three years
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