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Archive for January, 2008

Finally Adding Some Challenge Money

January 26th, 2008 at 05:34 pm

After a long stretch of having nothing to add, I got a rush of rebate checks and survey checks in the mail. So I am adding $176.05 to my challenge money. The nickel was a parking lot find.

Old total: $28
New total: $204.05

Busy Little Bee

January 24th, 2008 at 12:09 am

That is what I feel like anyway. I quickly found that this teaching job as well as my other responsibilites leave little spare time. I have now added to the mix a weekly tutoring session. It seems one of my fellow teachers is having trouble in algebra so I am tutoring her a couple of times a week.

I know I am blessed to be a housewife in my normal life and certainly do not want to seem ungrateful for these money earning opportunities. However, it has made me think extra hard before I spend money on things I do not need. My main focus is getting that debt wiped out.

I have taken a moment to update the balance on that. I am expecting the total to drop significantly in the next two months. It gives me hope of meeting our goal of being debt free by the end of June. I am counting on my displeasure at working so much to keep me from taking on any new debts in the future.

A Job is Not Fun

January 15th, 2008 at 11:01 pm

Okay, I knew this but after six years as a housewife I had forgotten how not fun a job truly is. I keep focused on the paycheck I will get at the end of the month and the larger one at the end of February.

Unfortunately I do not have much extra money this month to add to the debt. Looking at the bright side though the February payments will be much better.

Another downside of a job is I do not have the free time that I did before. I am keeping up with the other blogs but not posting much. I only have 17 days left though, and I can happily get back to my frugal housewife status.

Reward from My Points

January 13th, 2008 at 08:28 pm

Dh and I have wanted season one of USA network's show Psych. I cashed in part of the MyPoints I had earned and got an Amazon gift certificate. I paid 1.99 oop which comes from our entertainment budget. I also opted to wait until now to purchase it since the price jumped up after Thanksgiving. I know they offer price adjustment, but I was afraid it would not drop within the time period. Patience save us about $7.

Closed Account

January 11th, 2008 at 04:17 pm

Thank you all for your input regarding my online banking post. We decided to go with ING. It seems to be the easiest to use and very good for a beginner. We could have applied the money toward the debt. Having a new home is a big goal of ours though. Even if we only have a little money in our house fund, it is a start and helps keep that goal in our minds. It will be great to see that money earning more interest as well.

I really appreciate everyone's comments and the individual blogs. Being here makes me less passive with my finances than I was in the past.

Online Banking Opinions Needed

January 10th, 2008 at 05:05 pm

Dh and I have some money in a savings account that is our mini-house fund. I got our latest statement, and we earned *hold onto your seats* $0.35 in three months. Now I realize that we do have a bunch of money in there, but .5% interest is lame. I want to try an online bank but have no idea where to start in regards to choosing one. Since everyone here has been so helpful, I am turning to all you for help. I am interested in opinons, positive and negative experiences, and basically any advice you want to share.

The Year Thus Far

January 9th, 2008 at 08:09 pm

The first nine days of 2008 have been quiet for the most part. The only mini-problem was a busted waterline due to the cold temperatures. Fortunately dh is good at fixing that type of problem. It only cost us $20 in materials.

The only other spending was for a few groceries. I have spent most of my time at home. I will start teaching next week but will not get paid until the end of February. Oh well, it will make for a good debt payment in March.

Joining $20 Challenge

January 7th, 2008 at 11:30 pm

I discovered that I had $25 in my paypal account from a mystery shopping job. I thought it would be fun to see how much money I can "earn" despite my housewife status. I think it will help me better see how all of my little things add up. I am going to start with that $25 and make my first addition of $3 from a survey payment.

Current Total: $28

I do not have a goal in mind. I simply want to see what my year end total will be.

I need to post a general update since it has a been a while and will get to that later tonight or tomorrow.