How I Save Money.net

How I Save Money At CVS: 9 November 2009

LuLuGal — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:58:51 +0000

Today I paid $0.00 out of pocket for $21.11 worth of items. I wanted to make two separate trips so that I could get two scans of my green bag tag and be that much closer to getting an extra $1 ECB but then on Sunday I was handed a $4 off $20 card so I decided to combine the items I was looking at and just have one trip.

Transaction 1

Item: Nova Max glucose monitor

Price: $9.99

CVS Extra Care Bucks earned: $9.99

Item: 8 packs of Olive oil deep conditioner

Price: $1.39 each

CVS Extra Care Bucks earned: $5.00 + $4 for buying $20 worth of items

Total coupons used: $0.00

Total out of pocket today: $0.00

Total CVS Extra Care Bucks earned today: $18.99

Total out of pocket to date: $253.77

Gift Card balance : $11.47

Total CVS Extra Care Bucks earned to date: $687.29

CVS Extra Care Bucks Used to date: $664.30

CVS Extra Care Bucks Balance: $22.99

Abbreviations used

MFR = manufacturer coupon

ECB = extra care bucks

Join me next time as I look for more ways to save money as I visit CVS.

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Frugal Tips For Fighting The Flu (And Colds Too)

LuLuGal — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:41 +0000

I had been fighting a cold for about a week and battling coworkers who keep claiming that I have H1N1 or Swine Flu as it is commonly known. I did some research on the flu vs. colds and since I did not have a fever and only had minor body aches on the first day, I concluded that I have a cold and not the flu.

Now I did not visit a doctor because I have had colds before and I figured that I could take care of it on my own. If I had gotten worse or
shown no improvement then I would have gone to the doctor. There are a few frugal tips I have followed that have helped me to fight this cold and I hope they help you too.

Stock Up.
I know that it might seem silly to have an arsenal of cold medicine on hand but when the cold or flu strikes the last thing you want is to have to drive to the store for medicine. I buy cold and flu medicine when it is on sale or when I have coupon and make sure I have day and night time versions to last for a few days.

Blowing your nose constantly really gives the tender skin on your nose a beating. I have found that using baby wipes cuts down on the amount of irritation and prevents the skin from peeling off my nose. Now you can also use a moist tissue but that just falls apart for me…so I prefer baby wipes. Places like CVS often have deals where you can buy one pack of baby wipes and get one free…so I stock up on those for daily use and then just have enough for medical emergencies.

Use Coupons.
I cannot stress how important it is to use coupons to get things at a reduced price. I do try to use generics when possible but I have found that Tylenol cold and flu really works better for me than the store brand when I am sick. So I use coupons to get the Tylenol version of medicine and get some great savings.

Rest.
I know that you can feel like you need to slog on forward with your daily life but at this point your body really needs rest. If you cannot take the time off work then make sure you take a nap as soon as you get home. Even resting for 30 minutes will help your body regain strength so that you can fight off the germs. Take the night time medicine (the one that makes you drowsy!!) before you go to bed. It is stronger to fight the germs and will help you sleep better through the night.

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How I Save Money At CVS: 5 November 2009

LuLuGal — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:59:15 +0000

Today I paid $0.00 out of pocket for $12.50 worth of items. CVS was having a sale on Glade candles and I love candles so I thought I might as well stock up on some now. I had to BOGO coupons so I think I got a pretty good deal and now have a stash of scented candles to make my place smell all yummy!!!!!

The sale was that you get $3 ECB when you buy $10 worth of either candle refills or the holders and they were on sale for $2.50 each. So I bought one holder and got one candle pack free and then bought two candle packs and got another candle pack free. I also got $1ECB for scanning my green bag tag….which is a tag that you buy for 99 cents and attach to your reusable shopping bag. Every time you scan the tag (only allowed once per day) it registers and on the fourth scan you get $1ECB so it pays for itself in the first four trips. After that you just keep getting ECBs for using your own shopping bag.

Transaction 1

Item:4 Scented Oil packs and One Scented Oil holder

Price: $2.50 each

CVS Extra Care Bucks earned: $3

Total coupons used: $5ECB + buy one holder get one candle free + buy 2 candles get one free

Item: 4th scan of green bag

CVS Extra Care Bucks earned: $1.00

Total out of pocket today: $0.00

Total CVS Extra Care Bucks earned today: $4.00

Total out of pocket to date: $253.77

Gift Card balance : $34.32

Total CVS Extra Care Bucks earned to date: $668.30

CVS Extra Care Bucks Used to date: $664.30

CVS Extra Care Bucks Balance: $4.00

Abbreviations used

MFR = manufacturer coupon

ECB = extra care bucks

Join me next time as I look for more ways to save money as I visit CVS.

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Looking For Hosts For Carnival Of Twenty Something Finances!!!

LuLuGal — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:52:18 +0000

I am looking for hosts for the Carnival Of Twenty Something Finances.

The Carnival of Twenty Something Finances runs every Monday at a different blog and highlights things that everyone should know but that Twenty Something Year olds usually need to focus on. Please sign up to host an edition of the carnival. We need everyone to participate for the carnival to be successful.

It is easy to host a carnival as you go through the process listed below:

* Pick a date to host and email me or leave a comment here

* You start to receive submissions via email two weeks before the carnival needs to be up

* You receive a condensed email containing ALL the submissions on the Saturday before the carnival goes live

* Copy and paste the submissions to your blog, add pictures or other formatting and post

* Invite others to host the next edition of the carnival

Here are the upcoming dates for the Carnival of Twenty Something Finances

********************************************

Nov 09, 2009	Foreigners Finances
Nov 16, 2009	unknown
Nov 23, 2009	unknown
Nov 30, 2009	unknown
Dec 07, 2009	unknown

********************************************

If you are interested in hosting an edition of the carnival just leave me a comment or send an email listing:

Your email address

Your blog URL

The date you want

Thanks for hosting and remember to ask your posties to link back.

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Tracking My Finances In 2009: 5 November

LuLuGal — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:23:20 +0000

Welcome to tracking of income and expenses for the month. Please note that I get paid on the last day of the month so my cash flow net effect will usually be negative until the last day of the month.

This does not mean that I am adding to my debt, it just means that the money coming in is less than the money going out because bills are due starting on the first but I don’t get paid until the last day.

So again to clarify (since I get so many questions), this shows the cash FLOW for the month. On Day 2 of every month I will have a negative FLOW because I have paid rent etc so money has LEFT my checking account. I have not had any money come in on Day 2 of the current month since I got paid on day 27 or 30 or 31 of the previous month so that income is counted for LAST month.

Income for the month to date: $100.47

Expenses for the month to date: $890.65

Net effect: -$790.18

Since the last posting I have paid rent and all other apartment associated costs. I got $5 off my rent for filling out some survey for the apartment. I know that a lot of other people did not do it because they thought the survey was a waste of time. It was about 6 questions where you had to tick boxes so I did that while I watched television so it was not a hassle for me. Yaaay, $5 off my rent to go towards my snowflake account.

I also spent $64.16 on food and $17.41 on household items. I used $3.76 in coupons on those two purchases and that does not include the $30 coupon where I got the free diabetes testing kit. I put $10 in church and paid two personal loans.

The income for the month came from a combination of private ad sales and interest from my ING accounts.

I will see you guys and gals later as I continue my journey to save money and become debt free!!!!

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Free Diabetes Kit And My Good Deed For The Day

LuLuGal — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:00:44 +0000

I recently scored a FREE diabetes kit at CVS through a combination of using coupons and CVS sales. The diabetes kit contains
one monitor
10 testing strips
testing solution

and normally sells for about $60. I had a coupon for $30 off the price and the kit was on sale for $15 so I managed to get it for FREE by using my CVS card. I still have one of the kits that I got earlier from another CVS deal and I decided to give away my kit. Our secretary is diabetic and that kit is one of the ones she uses so I gave my find to her. She was very thankful because those diabetic supplies can get expensive and her eyes almost dropped out of her head when I told her that I did not pay anything for it. She has a CVS card but does not know how to really work the deals at CVS so I told her to be on the lookout as November is diabetes month and CVS will be having some great deals on supplies.

It always feels good to get free stuff and now I feel great for helping someone in need.

Check out my Experiences with LASIK surgery

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How I Save Money At CVS: 2 November 2009

LuLuGal — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:04:48 +0000

Today I paid $0.00 out of pocket for $14.98 worth of items. Yes I got some more shower stuff since you know how much I love them. I was going to get lotion because I am close to running out of what I have right now but the lotions were way too expensive at $9.99 apiece and I did not have a coupon for them.

Transaction 1

Item: Two Olay Body Washes

Price: $7.49 each (get $5 ECB when you spend $14)

CVS Extra Care Bucks earned: $5.00

Total coupons used: $9.99 ECB plus $1 MFR +$1 off any body wash

Total out of pocket today: $0.00

Total CVS Extra Care Bucks earned today: $5.00

Total out of pocket to date: $253.77

Gift Card balance : $37.03

Total CVS Extra Care Bucks earned to date: $664.30

CVS Extra Care Bucks Used to date: $659.30

CVS Extra Care Bucks Balance: $5.00

Abbreviations used

MFR = manufacturer coupon

ECB = extra care bucks

Join me next time as I look for more ways to save money as I visit CVS.

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Carnival Of Twenty Something Finances Lost edition

LuLuGal — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:49:08 +0000

Welcome to the October 26, 2009 edition of twenty something finances.

Super Saver presents End of Year Tax Planning – Deductions posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “For me, October is a good time to review my 2009 financial status for tax return filing purposes. It gives me a few months to make any changes that can lower my taxes.”

Hank presents The Top Fifteen Personal Finance Statistics That Will Blow Your Mindposted at Own The Dollar, saying, “A few of the most important personal finance statistics that impact you!”

Tom Drake presents Insurance You Can Do Without – Rental Car Insurance | The Canadian Finance Blog posted at The Canadian Finance Blog, saying, “Every time you rent a car, you won’t get away from their counter without either accepting or rejecting their form of car insurance. Is this insurance necessary? It’s best to find out in advance, before you rent the car.”

Evolution Of Wealth presents What?s in a Number? posted at Evolution of Wealth, saying, “People focus so much on areas that they can’t control that they loose track of the ones they can. Focus on what you can change and make the change for the better.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Ally Bank (GMAC Bank) Review posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “I cover some good options for savings and liquid accounts.”

The Smarter Wallet presents How To Get A Credit Card That’s Right For You posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “on how to get a credit card.”

Jeff Rose presents Why You Should Keep Contributing to Your 401k posted at Jeff Rose.

David presents Credit Card Offers for Pet Lovers posted at Credit Card Offers IQ, saying, “One option that I have recently found that can make these costs a bit more manageable is Care Credit.”

Manshu presents Prepaid debit card fees and facts posted at OneMint, saying, “Fees and facts about prepaid cards that you should keep in mind while using them.”

Mr Credit Card presents Chase Slate Card with BluePrint Review posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

MoneyNing presents Credit vs Debit Transactions with Your ATM Card posted at Money Ning, saying, “Are there any difference with saying credit or debit when you hand over an ATM card?”

CreditCardAssist presents Borderline Credit Scores Equal Less Credit Opportunitiesposted at Credit Card Assist, saying, “New regulations are dramatically effecting the credit landscape as card issuers and banks are sharply restricting credit card access for applicants with borderline credit scores.”

Leslie Brown presents The Ten Best ETFs You’ve Never Heard Of posted at ETFdb.

The Debtress presents Money-Saving Tips: No-Spend Days posted at - The Debtress Blog -, saying, “No-spend days are a great way to flex your budget muscles. Get some tips on having your own no-spend day.”

Anthony Samuel presents Credit Card Delinquencies and the Economy at Large | Clearchoicecreditcards posted at Clear Choice Credit Cards.

nissim ziv presents 20 Common Job Interview Mistakes to Avoid posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, “No job interview is flawless. One of good techniques preparing for your upcoming job interview is learning from others’ mistakes and knowing how to avoid these common mistakes.”

Joe B presents 3 Reasons to Do Asset Allocation at This Time of the Year posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “Autumn is a great time to review your investment portfolio and make sure your asset allocation is consistent with your investment strategy. There are 3 main reasons why you should look at asset allocation.”

GLBL presents Money Savings Tips for a Wedding posted at Gather Little By Little, saying, “I will share all the money savings tips related to weddings that I used for my own wedding: – Talk to people – Go back to school – The DIY method – Try combinations – Prioritize”

Paul Kamp presents Generation Y Surprises posted at Don’t Quit Your Day Job – Personal Finance, Economics and Investing, saying, “To some it may be a surprise, but to me it seems like second nature: Generation Y appears to be more enchanted with investing in the current recession. With lots of years to go, we’re making the right choice.”

My Life ROI presents Budgeting Worksheet for Teens posted at My Life ROI, Getting the Best Return On Life, saying, “A budgeting worksheet for teens and young adults who do not have complex finances. A step towards financial responsibility.”

The Debtress presents Seasonal Spending Habits posted at - The Debtress Blog -, saying, “Winter’s almost here. How will the change in weather affect your spending habits?”

Joe B presents How a Good Credit Score Can Make You Save Money on Credit Cardsposted at CreditCardsFinder, saying, “In fact, there are a lot of advantages available through credit cards when you have a good credit score.”

Sarah Eliza presents Wallet-Friendly Ways to Make a Difference TODAY, aka “Broke” and “Charitable” can still go hand-in-hand! ;P posted at Devastate Boredom, saying, “I would love to host the carnival!”

Intelligent Speculator presents The flaws of fixed income ETF’s posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, “ETF’s are not perfect, especially fixed income ones. There has been increasing attention towards the different problems that can be found in fixed income ETF’s in articles by the mainstream media.”

Susan Saverton presents posted at Pasadena Financial Planner, saying, “Appropriately setting your personal asset allocation in line with your personal risk tolerance is a critical decision for every investor. The percentages that are allocated to various asset classes tend to change slowly over time, so it is important to get it right at the outset.”

Tyler Tervooren presents I Am Responsible for the Corporate World’s Waste, or A Lesson in Micro Economics posted at Frugally Green, saying, “When a fellow blogger questioned why we focus our environmental efforts at the individual level when large businesses waste so much more than each of us without prejudice, this is the response I wrote. The answer, interestingly enough, is all about money. You may not have much, and I may not have much, but together, we have more than we could ever imagine. Money talks, and when we use it to tell the business world what we really value, they listen and provide.”

Peak Personal Finance presents How to Compare Secured Loans posted at Peak Personal Finance.

Jeff Rose presents Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps Explained posted at Jeff Rose.

ABC presents Calculating Taxes On Capital Gains and Capital Losses posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “Simple calculation for capital gains/losses on stocks, etfs.”

Darwin presents 5 Reasons Living Paycheck to Paycheck Costs You Thousands posted at Darwin’s Finance, saying, “5 Reasons Living paycheck to paycheck is costing Thousands of Dollars due to these hidden fees and missed opportunities.”

Baker presents 92 Quotes About Debt That’ll Make You Think, Laugh, & Tweet! posted at Man Vs. Debt, saying, “Here’s a massive compilation of 90+ famous quotes on ‘Debt’ that are all less than 120 characters long! Which one is your favorite? Come tweet it out!”

April presents Should You Stop Funding Retirement to Focus on Debt? posted at Get Rich Slowly, saying, “Whether you should halt your retirement contributions in order to focus debt is one of the most heavily debated dilemmas in personal finance. Variables such as age, career, risk tolerance, and even personality type make each situation unique.”

Engelbert Hudson presents The Definitive Oil ETF Guide (Five Minute Edition): Crude Oil ETFs posted at ETFdb.

BWL presents $50 bonus for opening ING Business savings account posted at Christian Personal Finance, saying, “ING has a great promotion running for the next few weeks – $50 for opening a business savings account…”

debt kid presents Open Enrollment: 5 Ways To Save Money On Health Insuranceposted at Debt Kid.

Billeater presents Scan Your Way to a Lower Grocery Bill posted at Billeater.

The Amateur Financier presents Terms From Wall Street That Make Me Laugh posted at The Amateur Financier, saying, “A humorous take on some of the terminology used by Wall Street investors.”

MBB presents ETrade Online Brokerage Review posted at Money Blue Book Blog.

Mr Credit Card presents Getting Started With Coupons posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

David presents Choose Where You Want to Live, Then Find a Job posted at Money Under 30, saying, “Here’s some unorthodox but inspirational career advice. Choose a city. Choose a lifestyle. THEN worry about where you’re going to work. You might just be happier for it.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of twenty something finances using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: twenty something finances, blog carnival.

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I Don’t Know My Credit Card Due Dates (And Why I Don’t Care)

LuLuGal — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:25 +0000

I used to know the due dates for my credit card payments back in the old days before I started blogging. I used to wait for the bill to come in the mail and then whip out the trusty old checkbook and write out a check. Then I used to put the check and the payment coupon in the envelope and hunt around for a stamp……walk over to the mailbox and send off the payment.

I needed to know the payment due dates because if there was a problem or if I was out of town then I needed to make sure that I sent off the payment in enough time for the card company to receive the check and deposit it before the due time.

Then along came ING with its wonderful Electric Checking account. I can now push a check from ING without even needing to wait for the statement to come in. Because ING is so fabulous they don’t care how many checks I ‘write’. So with me deciding to automate my finances and set up a zero based budget I now send off a check every week to my credit card. Since they are getting the money every week, it does not matter if one check goes awry (interesting word that one!!!) because there will be another to follow it in seven days. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for any payment to be late because I am even paying more than the minimum payment with each of the four checks that the credit card company gets.

The basics of my Zero Based Budget go like this:
Every dollar has a purpose
All spending areas have a total
All bills are paid automatically via credit card
All credit card bill totals are paid in four payments per month
Amounts less than the budget go to overage account

So let them go ahead and change due dates all they want…..I don’t need to know the date coz the check is ALWAYS in the mail.

How do YOU manage your credit card payments?

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How I Save Money At CVS: 1 November 2009

LuLuGal — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:21:49 +0000

Today I paid $0.00 out of pocket for $9.99 worth of items. I recently got a $50 CVS gift card by cashing in $45 of rewards from Discover. I have decided to only spend from the gift card and to only buy items that give ECBs back for the rest of the year in an effort to work on my Millionaire List.

I got a diabetic monitoring system that is different from the one I gave my coworker last week. I am not sure if I am going to donate this kit or keep it for personal use or send it to my family as yet.

Transaction 1

Item: Nova Max Blood Glucose Monitoring System

Price: $9.99

CVS Extra Care Bucks earned: $9.99 making this item FREE

Total coupons used: $1 instore

Total out of pocket today: $0.00

Total CVS Extra Care Bucks earned today: $9.99

Total out of pocket to date: $253.77

Gift Card balance : $40.27

Total CVS Extra Care Bucks earned to date: $659.30

CVS Extra Care Bucks Used to date: $649.31

CVS Extra Care Bucks Balance: $9.99

Abbreviations used

MFR = manufacturer coupon

ECB = extra care bucks

Join me next time as I look for more ways to save money as I visit CVS.

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Tracking My Finances In 2009: October Recap

LuLuGal — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:38:55 +0000

I came in under budget for October by just barely $43.27. Ouch!!! But it could be $1 and I would be happy just knowing that I am in the black for one more month and making progress on reducing debts.

I went way over budget in the food category because I sort of lost my mind and ate a lot of Taco Bell. I know this is not an excuse but I was sick a lot and just felt too lazy to cook so I ended up running to T.B. to get things to eat during the week.

I also technically went over the credit card category by making a big snowflake payment to the LASIK card so that I could get rid of the balance on it. I will be making the final payment to the LASIK card this month and will start the new year free of that debt.

I was also over the car budget because I bought new tires and I will be getting the second set of tires this month as well. This money is coming out of savings so I am not increasing debt but it just means that the emergency fund is dwindling. I will NOT take money out of my Never Go Back To Fresno Fund but my emergency fund just looks sad right now.

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Increased Bill After Doctor Visit

LuLuGal — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:56 +0000

I recently went to the doctor for my yearly exam and on the first round everything looks good. I just have to wait for the results of my Pap Smear to come back and I am praying that my results are normal or negative or whatever it means to not have to go back because something is wrong. I had a few pieces of news that ranged from good to bad as follows:

Great news: The copay for visiting the doctor is going to be reimbursed by the Flexible Savings Account where I am putting in money pretax to help pay for my medical needs.

Good news: Everything looks good so far and surgery incisions have healed nicely. (thanks to the VERY expensive Mederma ointment that I rub on them every day).

Strange news: I might have had the H1N1 virus commonly known as the Swine Flu about three weeks ago. At the beginning of October I came down with flu symptoms and have had an ongoing cough. The cough stays a few days then stops a few days and comes back again. When the doctor listened to my lungs he said they sounded clear and since I coughed up clear mucus and did not have a fever he did not think that I had an infection so I did not need antibiotics.

Bad news: He switched me to a new birth control pill (WHY??????) and this one is THREE times the cost of what I was on before….and there is apparently no generic.
HUH?
I am calling the office back to see if I can get switched back because I like what I am currently on and the new pill contains higher doses of hormones. If I have been doing fine on my current type for over a year I do not see any reason to just switch…and to go to something that is so much stronger. Here is a cost comparison of the pills:

As you can see the one month supply for the proposed pill is almost the same as the three month supply of the current prescription. The three month supply is more than what I have put into my FSA even after increasing the amount as I thought I was going to stay on the same prescription.

Grrr!!!!!

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Disconnected: What An Overheard Conversation Taught Me About Finances

LuLuGal — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:04:23 +0000

I recently overheard someone talking on the phone about a bill being late. She claimed that she had contacted the company and they told her that they could not give any more extensions on the bill and the (electricity?) service was going to be cut off in four days if the bill was not paid. At first I felt sorry for the person but then I realized a few things:
* She had just bought pizza that day for lunch
* She had just gotten a manicure AND a pedicure
* She had just gotten her hair done that week

I immediately lost the sorry feeling as this is obviously someone who does not prioritize. I have heard this person talking about clothes and expensive purses that she has bought…yet here she was worried about finding money to pay a bill. This told me that she either did not have a budget or if she did have one she just was not paying attention to it.

I thought about my own finances and how I use a zero based budget. Every dollar (actually every cent) that I make has a job before the money even hits my account, whether that is to:

pay regular bills
reduce debt
increase savings
other

Now the first three categories speak for themselves because I obviously take care of my rent, electricity and so on. I include things like groceries in regular bills because I have set amounts that go towards each category as well. I also have a budget amount that goes towards paying debt and it is slightly more than the minimum on each credit card and loan. I have a second snowflake amount that goes towards debt but that is talk for another day.

image from femtalks.com

I classify my savings as a ‘bill’ that is pushed from my ING Electric Checking to a savings account in ING. Most people decide to view their savings as what they have when all the bills are paid..but I chose to designate my savings as a bill that has to be paid so this way there is really nothing left over at the end.

In the other category I have fun money which is a set amount that goes towards anything I want. I have a sub account in ING that is for fun money and if I want something not already in the monthly budget then I see if I can afford it. If for example I see a new outfit that I want (rarely happens) but have already spent my clothing budget for the month then I can take it out of fun money. Or if I go out for the weekend I can take food purchases out of fun money instead of my grocery budget. (This is NOT my emergency fund, though which is a bill.)

I make sure to overestimate bills every month so that I can budget for them. Any money left over (say I spend $65 on gas instead of the budgeted $70) simply rolls over to the overage fund and becomes a snowflake in a few weeks.

So my advice to ’she of the freshly done hair and nails who buys lunch every day’, next time make your LIVING expenses be the priority in your life….after all you can’t see your new manicure in the dark!

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Carnival Of Twenty Something Finances For October 26

LuLuGal — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:43:52 +0000

Welcome to the October 26, 2009 edition of twenty something finances.

Hank presents The Top Fifteen Personal Finance Statistics That Will Blow Your Mindposted at Own The Dollar, saying, “A few of the most important personal finance statistics that impact you!”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Ally Bank (GMAC Bank) Review posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “I cover some good options for savings and liquid accounts.”

The Smarter Wallet presents How To Get A Credit Card That’s Right For You posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “on how to get a credit card.”

Jeff Rose presents Why You Should Keep Contributing to Your 401k posted at Jeff Rose.

Manshu presents Prepaid debit card fees and facts posted at OneMint, saying, “Fees and facts about prepaid cards that you should keep in mind while using them.”

Mr Credit Card presents Chase Slate Card with BluePrint Review posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

MoneyNing presents Credit vs Debit Transactions with Your ATM Card posted at Money Ning, saying, “Are there any difference with saying credit or debit when you hand over an ATM card?”

Leslie Brown presents The Ten Best ETFs You’ve Never Heard Of posted at ETFdb.

Anthony Samuel presents Credit Card Delinquencies and the Economy at Large | Clearchoicecreditcards posted at Clear Choice Credit Cards.

The Debtress presents Seasonal Spending Habits posted at - The Debtress Blog -, saying, “Winter’s almost here. How will the change in weather affect your spending habits?”

Peak Personal Finance presents How to Compare Secured Loans posted at Peak Personal Finance.

Jeff Rose presents Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps Explained posted at Jeff Rose.

ABC presents Calculating Taxes On Capital Gains and Capital Losses posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “Simple calculation for capital gains/losses on stocks, etfs.”

Engelbert Hudson presents The Definitive Oil ETF Guide (Five Minute Edition): Crude Oil ETFs posted at ETFdb.

debt kid presents Open Enrollment: 5 Ways To Save Money On Health Insuranceposted at Debt Kid.

Billeater presents Scan Your Way to a Lower Grocery Bill posted at Billeater.

The Amateur Financier presents Terms From Wall Street That Make Me Laugh posted at The Amateur Financier, saying, “A humorous take on some of the terminology used by Wall Street investors.”

MBB presents ETrade Online Brokerage Review posted at Money Blue Book Blog.

Mr Credit Card presents Getting Started With Coupons posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

Technorati tags: twenty something finances, blog carnival.

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I Have To Eat My Fingernails

LuLuGal — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:58:51 +0000

Well not really…but I am going to have to watch my food budget for the month. I currently have $11.27 left in the food budget for the month and we still have a whole week left.

I have no fruits for snacks and part of my healthier eating strategy says that I should eat at least one piece of fruit every day. If I go shopping for bananas on the weekend that is surely going to take a chunk out of that $11.27 PLUS I will still need bread and milk.

http://weblogs.cltv.com

I guess I could take the fruit money out of the gas budget since I am way under my gas budget…but would you guys and gals hold it against me?

Would I be a Frugal Fraud for using the ‘gas’ money to pay for food since I was obviously careless this month with the food budget?

I do not want to go over my budget in any category but I do want to eat healthy and since I have been under budget for gas every month I think this will not be too bad….as long as I don’t make a habit of it.

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Upcoming Doctor’s Visit And Using My FSA

LuLuGal — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:00:16 +0000

It is getting close to THAT time again….you know the time when us ‘wimmens’ have to go to the doctor for the dreaded Pap smear and physical. I have a $20 copay that I need to pony up before I can even see Mr. MD but luckily this is part of the budget for the year. I have been contributing more this year to my Flexible Savings Account and since I can claim the copay to the doctor on the FSA online I will be getting the full amount as a reimbursement.

The FSA allows my employer to take money out of my paycheck before taxes and I am left with a smaller taxable amount. Yay!!! I then spend money on various things like prescriptions and copays and file a claim for those amounts. I get reimbursed for the amount spent and therefore I come out ahead since I will be paying less in taxes than if I had not started the FSA.

I only put in $60 last year and this covered the cost of my birth control but this year I am putting in $120 to cover the cost of doctor visits, birth control, dentist visits and sundry items like contact lens cleaner. I do not ‘need’ the contact lens cleaner since I got LASIK and now have perfect vision (hooray!!!!! I did spend a lot of money on it) but I do wear colored lenses every now and then just for a change. If I have any money left over then I will use it to claim for bandaids that I will be using to restock my first aid kit.

Now let me practice my relaxing breathing so I can be ready for the doctor. Here’s to having a boring and uneventful exam and with all tests coming back negative. After all I do NOT want to end up in the hospital again.

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What I Am Doing To Reduce Debt And Expenses Before 2009 Ends

LuLuGal — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:31:09 +0000

I have to pay off the LASIK credit card by the end of December 2009 or all that glorious interest free time comes crashing down on my head. If I am carrying a balance on the card when the promotion ends in January 2010 then I will have to pay all the interest retroactively from the time that I had my eye surgery up to now.

The balance on the card is currently $1113 and the minimum payment is $45. I have been making payments every two weeks on the card in the amounts of $60 and $58 as I am working on my debt snowflake and trying to become debt free. The $60 is the regular payment that I have been making…well above the minimum payment, and the $58 is my snowflake payment to the credit card.

To pay off the balance of $1113 in three months I need to pay $371 per month towards the card. I have been paying $118 per month, which means there is a shortfall of $253 per month. Where am I going to find an extra $253 per month for the next three months? It will not be easy but I am going to do a few things to get that money for the short time period.

I have some money budgeted that can go as extra payments to the card but between that and the regular payments and monthly snowflakes, I still have to find $584 to pay off the card in full by the end of December 2009. I have decided to make some adjustments for the next three months to help me to reach my goal.

1. Snowflake entire Adsense payment.
2. Reduce CVS shopping
3. Cut back on spending

Adsense
I normally take a part of my Adsense income for the month and send it off towards debt, while putting the balance in savings. I will be sending the entire payment received in October, November and December over to the LASIK card.

CVS
I recently ordered a CVS gift card from my Discover cash back rewards so I will only be using the balance on that card to get things that I need from CVS. I will not be spending any money out of pocket for the next three months on CVS and whatever money is left over in my Personal Items category will be sent to the LASIK credit card.

Spending
I have noticed that sometimes I go ahead and use up the money in my spending categories when I am way under budget. For example, I normally only go to Subway on Sundays (and eat half a footlong and save the other half for work on Monday) but if I am way under my grocery budget then I might go during the week as well. I am going to carefully monitor my categories for the next three months and TRY to cut down on the ’spending just because’ areas.

All extra money from these three activities in addition to the additional $70 from the paycheck should totally eliminate the balance left on the LASIK card by the end of the year.

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Joining The Million dollar Club

LuLuGal — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:00:38 +0000

J from Budgets Are Sexy started a Million Dollar Club for those of us who want to have that amount to retire. In order to join, you have to list the steps you are going to take to build up your wealth so that you can grow to have one million dollars.
I have found that writing your goals down makes it easier to reach them so here are my steps for getting my One Million Dollars:
1. Save a dollar a day
2. Pay off credit card debt completely
3. Pay off car loan
4. Pay off personal loans

1. Save a dollar a day
It might not seem like much but if I can put a dollar a day into my Never Go Back To Fresno Fund then at the end of one year I will have $365 in there before interest. Since interest rates fluctuate so much I am not going to even try to calculate what the value of this money will be but will just be happy with the fact that by doing nothing else I have put away $365.

2. Pay off credit card debt completely
I am well on the way to being completely free of credit card debt after carrying debt on various cards for almost 10 years. I will be finished with the LASIK card this year in December and will only have the balance on the Citi card to worry about. Currently this balance is $2695 and based on my current payments I should be finished paying it off in August 2011. Now this is obviously a ridiculous time frame so I plan on having that card paid off before my birthday in July. So I will have to put any additional money towards a snowflake payment to that credit card so I can say happy birthday to myself next year with absolutely no credit card debt.

3. Pay off car loan
The balance on my car is about $6,000 and my snowball calculator says that based on my current payments I should be finished with it in October of 2011. I am not going to be too aggressive on this one but I would like to be debt free in 2010 so I am trying my hardest to see if I can get apply extra money to the car loan after I have paid off the credit card debt.

4. Pay off personal loans
I do have two small personal loans that I will be increasing payments to in the new year as well, after I have paid off the credit card debt, which has a higher interest rate.

Those are my goals for 2010 and the savings of not paying interest on those debts will help me to get closer to my goal of One Million Dollars…and beyond.

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Tracking My Finances In 2009: 13 October

LuLuGal — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:07 +0000

Income for the month to date: $11.32

Expenses for the month to date: $2027.51

Net effect: -$2016.19

Since the last posting I got $3.96 from Lending Club loans that have been repaid. I must say that the little Lending Club experiment has been going well and the money is slowly but surely trickling in.

I ‘paid’ $70 for my car insurance. I put the word in quotation marks because I paid the full premium up front and this is only the budgeted amount which is being paid towards the credit card. I also spent $51.01 on household items including cold medicine to battle this cold I have been dealing with.

I used a $1 coupon on my groceries this week so yippee there goes one dollar towards savings.

I will see you guys and gals later as I continue my journey to save money and become debt free!!!!

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Why I Am Keeping My Budget The Same After A Salary Increase

LuLuGal — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:24:32 +0000

As you all know I am a teacher and sadly I do not get paid a lot. I do get a small increase in salary every year but the amount is so small as to be insignificant on a monthly basis.

With the new school year we got a slight increase (even after increasing contributions to my Flexible Savings Account) that now gives me $70 more per month.

I have decided to keep my budget the same as before the increase and to pretend that the $70 does not exist. I am doing this for three main reasons:
1. I can treat the ‘extra’ money like a bonus
2. It will add to the buffer in my ING Electric Orange checking account
3. I am not experiencing lifestyle inflation.

Lifestyle inflation usually occurs when you start to earn more money. In an effort to not see any ‘extra’ you increase your spending to match the increased level of income. I have decided to keep my budget the same and let the additional income roll over in my ING account where it is earning interest.

I actually will be using the extra money until December to pay off the LASIK card so that I can be free of that particular debt before January, when the interest rate becomes retroactive. I am not going to add that money to the budget however because I do not want to see it there.

I know this is a silly mind trick but it does help to keep me on track with my budget and it is one tool that really works for me.Since I do a sweep on the last day of the month to move extra money from my low interest checking to my higher interest savings accounts in ING then I will have a good amount that goes into the Overage account that can be used to reduce debt.

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