*Sigh*

Has it really been a month since I posted? Wow! I've been busy working, playing and shopping.

Unfortunately it seems that I've been shopping a bit too much! I haven't saved what my goal was, November only totaled just over $700. Not enough.

Also, this month I have not saved ANY money! I've been shopping a lot, but will get myself back on track. All my Christmas shopping is done.

I also got hit with a case of Strep Throat last week! Ouch!! I had to pay $70 to cover that bill which really isn't much, but who wants to pay to be sick? The pain was incredibly awful too :(

Must try to not be so hard on myself and just let this one go. I do have some money coming in from October and November housesitting/caretaking, but who knows when it will arrive.

Free Money

Feeling a bit behind since I have only deposited about $200 into my AMEX savings account this month so far. I know I'll have more to put in as the month goes on, but it just doesn't seem like much. The good thing is, I have some money from other irregular sources coming in.

I have been a Upromise.com member for some years now and a couple of weeks ago I requested a check for the balance of about $65.00. Their site said it would take up to 8 weeks to reach me, but it arrived this week and went right to savings. :)

Also, I'm a member of ebates.com and so I can get some extra money back when I shop online. I just logged into my account and they are sending me a check for about $15.00 with another $30.00 pending for the next round of checks!

I love free money!

Beautiful Weekend

Last weekend I spent some time with friends and relatives going on a walk to see the leaves. Some time ago, one of them showed interest in Dave Ramsey and getting out of debt so I loaned her my "Total Money Makeover" book. I wish I could say she's been working on her financial situation, but she hasn't. However, she did ask me again today what station Dave Ramsey was on, on the radio.

I had a little talk with another of my cousins and told him that if I had started saving when I was his age (20), I could have a paid for house right now. Hopefully that got him to think a little because he is at the age where he just wants a fun and fast car. He told me that he pays about $800 a month on the car payment and insurance!! Yikes!

I really want friends and family to realize what they can have if they don't accumulate debt, such as less stress, security (savings), and the ability to do things for others.

Oh, and there weren't many leaves left on the trees, but it was beautiful!

First Month of Amex Savings

Just about a month ago I opened a High Yield Savings Account with American Express where the interest is 1.30%. I opened the account with $5,130 and now have just over $6,600 in it. Of course I've been waiting for a month to go by so I could see what the interest earned would be, and it showed up today! A whopping $6.52!

I know this isn't a lot of money, but it is exciting because it's free money! So much more than if I had kept my cash at my local credit union where I was earning .25%.

The other option is to open a CD where the interest rate would be around 2.75% if I keep the money there for 5 years. I am thinking of doing this, but only with $1,000 or so. I hate the idea of keeping money tied up for 5 years when I don't have that much, just in case I need it.

One option I thought of was to set up a 2 year CD, 3 year, 4 year and then the 5 year. This way I would have access to my cash sooner, and then continue to set up 5 year CD's so that I will have a 5 year CD closing yearly and get the higher rates. This is all unless/until I decide to put money in a mutual fund where I would (hopefully) earn more interest.

Seems I have a lot to learn.

Still on track...

Two things I'm on track with...savings and going to the gym.

The month of October I was able to transfer $1,630.00 to my savings account! Yipee!!

Also, I've gone to the gym as planned, three times a week for a total of 10 times now! This is my fourth week of going and I do feel like it's becoming a habit.

This month I don't think I'll be able to save as much, but should still be able to reach my monthly goal of $1,000.00.

Did I make it to the gym?

I did make it to the gym last Friday! Yay! I've also been twice this week and plan to go tomorrow (Friday). So far, so good. If I can make this a habit I'll be happy ;)

To be, or not to be...healthy

Not long ago, a wealthy someone I know passed away due to complications caused by diabetes. He still had another good 30 years or so to live, if he had only taken care of himself. This, to me, was a wake-up call...but I have just started to act on my feeling.

I don't want to be that person. I don't want to be wealthy and unhealthy, unable to enjoy what I've worked hard for. Therefore, I have decided to exercise on a regular basis. The goal is not to change my body, I don't think I need to lose weight...just want to be fit.

Last week was the first time I went to the gym in several months...since Zumba, which I quit going to. I went twice, Tuesday and Thursday. This week I went Monday and Wednesday, and plan on going tomorrow. The goal which is reasonable, is to go three times a week. I know this isn't much, but it's better than the non-exercise life I've been living! Oh, and now I'm actually using the gym membership I've been paying on month after month, even when I didn't use it!

Exercise, it makes me feel good ;)

Thrift Store Shopping

Yesterday I decided to go to ditch the gym and visit a local thrift store. Reason being, the night before, I was up reading blogs about people's finds that they either keep for themselves or sell on eBay...that was my inspiration.

Upon arriving, I looked at the stuff they keep in cases to avoid theft, then off to the furniture, dish ware, shoes, and then clothes. What I found was a pair of shoes for myself and two to sell, two down vests for winter, a cashmere knee length coat for my mom $15, three great Kirkland (Calphalon style) pans w/lids in super condition for "my guy" who was just telling me he needed some, and best of all..............a gold "road runner" pin weighing 8 grams with a ruby for an eye!! This pin cost me a whopping $3.00 and is worth $200-$300. I researched it online and found an identical one! I feel the store was calling my name for this reason alone ;)

Score!

Now I just need to get these shoes listed so I can feel good about spending $80 there to cover everything else I bought, although $15 was for the pans which my guy will reimburse and the rest I am confident will come from the sale of the pair of $20 shoes I purchased.

I think I will be visiting the thrift store a bit more often.

UPDATE: My guy was really happy with the pans :) and I was reimbursed. Not that he wouldn't pay me, because he agreed before I purchased.

Savings goal

Now that I'm debt free, I want to save money and have decided on an achievable monthly savings goal. The target is to save at least $1,000 per month.

So far this month, already $850 has gone into savings! The breakdown is:

$250: Paycheck overage

$550: Caretaking in September (just got the check today)

$ 50: eBay

Currently I'm waiting on a check for $160 for transportation services in September which will bump the total to $1,010! Plus, two more paychecks this month and more eBay which means at least $1,500 in savings this month...that's the plan. Really though, every month will be different and this month seems unusually high.

Besides that, I can't think of any other income I could possibly throw at the savings. Honestly, I never thought I would be able to save that much money.

I feel blessed.

Loose change

Just dumped some change into my big ol' pot and thought I would snap a pic. This is what it looks like inside...

I wonder how long it will take me to fill it up! Actually, I don't think I'll wait that long before taking it to the bank. Better to earn interest than just let it sit there :)

Confession...

In my last post I stated that I wanted to let my Branch Manager know that I would not be saving money in the Credit Union because American Express was offering a higher rate at 1.30%.

Yesterday I went to her branch and got to sit and chat. Talking with her is enjoyable and I found it interesting when she told me she learned a lot about finances by hearing other people's stories over the years. She would think, I want to have that, or, I'll never do that.

So, I told her about the Amex deal and that I took all the funds except $1,000 out of my savings account and made the transfer to the new account. She understood and said, "So you're here for confession?" I thought that was really funny :) and told her that it sure seemed that way!

I had to explain to her that the reason I wanted to let her know is to avoid thoughts of me falling off the wagon and using up my savings when this isn't the case.

No big deal, but I feel better :) I guess it was confession! LOL!

American Express Savings

Recently American Express has been sending me flyers and emails regarding opening a 1.30% interest rate High Yield savings account with them. Ok, so first I thought...right, I don't want that. But, after looking at my last bank statement received and seeing that I am only getting .25% on my savings of almost $6,000 I figured it would be worth it.

I took the bait and just opened the account a few minutes ago which is managed online similar to ING accounts.

After using a savings calculator online to see what the difference would be on one year of having $5,000 in an account, I see it isn't much, but every little bit helps right?

Looks like this for one year:

$5,000.00 @ .25% = $9 interest

$5,000.00 @ 1.3% = $46 interest

Therefore, I would be getting an extra $35 in "free" money. Worth it in my book, and actually it will be a bit more because I will make regular deposits into this account.

Crazy as it sounds, I feel sad to have to tell my Branch Manager that I will be pulling the funds out of my account and why, the next time I go to put money in there to transfer it to Amex. No, I don't HAVE to tell her, I WANT to.

Really hoping savings interest rates get better, in the meantime this will help a bit.

Children and Savings

When I was a young girl, I liked selling things and making money. I would be out with a typical lemonade stand, pushing a cart around and selling candy to the neighborhood kids, selling different beverages which parents thought was coffee (it wasn't)...anything to make money. The problem is...I never saved it. Most likely it was spent on penny candy from the corner market! Oh, which by the way, I always counted the pieces I received...if I paid 50 cents, I wanted 50 pieces, or whatever it came to before tax.

Seems like I always knew I wanted to make and save money but didn't have any teachers or role models to follow or look up to in this regard. However, when I was about 10 years old, I asked my mom to take me to the bank because I wanted my own savings account. She took me, and I got one. Unfortunately I never had more than about $10 in it and eventually closed it.

If I had proper direction, I could have had a LOT more saved! My mom is not a saver, and my dad isn't either although I thought he was. I wanted it, I craved it, but didn't know how.

When I was 15 years old I went out and looked for a job because of wanting to buy my own things, and got hired making $4.25/hr. Unfortunately I didn't save money then either, but I sure did have the coolest clothes I could afford!

The savings only started a few years ago and I emptied it when I did the Dave Ramsey thing and got out of debt. It was around $1k. So, now, I start again.

All this brings me to the reason I even posted this. Today I visited a branch of a bank I have an account with, not my primary credit union. While there I heard a lady behind me ask who to talk to about setting up a savings account. The teller told her where to go, and shortly after I heard someone ask how old he was, and a boy's voice said, "Twelve."

This made me remember wanting to set up an account when I was so young. It made me smile and feel really good that this boy was getting a savings account at a young age. My only hope is that someone teaches him how to save and it benefits him in the future.

Hindsight is 20/20

Savings Interest Rates

You know what really irks me? Current interest rates on savings accounts. My basic savings account is only at .25%! Yes, a quarter percent! I have another "special"savings account which is fluid, but if I take money out then I don't get interest on the remaining amount for a quarter, or something like that. Anyhow, that savings account gives me 1%, and with the small amount of just over $400 in that account, I earned a whopping 89 cents this quarter.

On the other hand, my basic savings account has close to $6,000 and this quarter I earned $2.76 at a .25% interest rate.

This "special" savings account requires a set amount to be transferred into it on a monthly basis from my checking account. Besides this, I am only allowed to change this set amount and add money to it once a year. When it was "open" this year, I kept the transfer amount at a measly $30 per month because it was so close to my debt free date and I didn't want to take any chances.

I'm thinking that at my next opportunity I will transfer a chunk of my savings to this "special" account and increase the transfer amount to at least $100 per month.

Oh, how I wish the rates would go up. Yes, I know I need to put money in other places, like maybe a CD or Money Market account, but feel like I have lots to learn before I can do this.

Work, work, work

Just got home from work a short while ago, settled in and got a glass of water. I proceeded to go in my room, turn the computer on...and back to work I go. My eBay is waiting for me as well as another side project to make money. Maybe I should do laundry too.

Sometimes I feel like I work too much, but really maybe it's just that I have so much going on. I'm not one to go home, turn on the TV and relax for the rest of the night. I like to keep busy, but times like this make me feel like I do too much.

My ex-BF told would remind me occasionally that I'm a human being, not a human doing, therefore, I should relax and just be...not do. He always joked about how busy I always was. We still talk every so often and he still makes comments about how busy I always am.

I hope and pray that one day it will pay off...

Symphony

A few days ago I bought my mom a last minute ticket to go to the symphony. I don't know when the last time she went was, but it sure felt nice that I could do this for her.

I'm not much for doing those types of things (symphonies), but they are nice occasionally. The guy I'm seeing suggested that I go with her, and surprise her. I agreed to this and while she was getting ready to go, I was too.

When I asked her how I looked, she said, "Beautiful, where you going?" :) I said, "The symphony." Her response was, "Eeeeeeeee! Seriously?!" ...pause... "Eeeeeeee!" She was so happy that I would be accompanying her. Made me feel good.

It was a really nice show and we had a good time. Afterwards we went for a snack and then home.

Things like this, make the sacrifice of getting out of debt, totally worth it.

Not Much

Yesterday I dropped my new phone and I didn't have a phone protector on it, reason being, they add so much bulk and the rubber ones get stuck in my hair. :( Yeah, I know, sob story, but it's the truth. It got lightly damaged and I had to use some E6000 glue on a small piece where they had super sticky double sided tape. I think it will hold up now. It's ok.

On another note, today I went to lunch at an Asian place and my fortune cookie said:

"You should do well at making money and holding on to it."

Thought that was great :)

Cell phone died

My cell phone quit working a couple nights ago so I had to go to Verizon yesterday to see if they could tell what was going on. They couldn't, but since I pay for insurance and there were no visible signs of damage, they gave me a new one at no charge! I'm sure it's a refurbished one, but at this point I'm happy, it works :)

I had been wanting to get a new one because the other one was constantly acting up. Now I have it, and am quite pleased. Lately it seems the customer service has not been the greatest at VZW, but yesterday they were awesome :). Keep it up guys!

Just Waiting

It's Sunday, and I've been sick since Wednesday. Haven't been able to do much because of being weak and needing sleep and rest. My head hurts quite a bit, I'm still coughing, and my sinus keep acting up.

However, it feels like I'm getting better since I've been able to get up and do laundry without getting exhausted. :) I can't wait to be back to my normal self, a busy body.

Well, at least I've watched some movies which I never seem to make time for. :) I will watch some more today.

I like New York...

New York City was a lot of fun and I really like that place! Went to a Mets game (free 12th row tickets behind home plate courtesy of some chick!), took a free ferry to Staten Island, pasta and wine in Little Italy and a quick trip to Central Park on a rainy day.

Didn't buy anything to bring back home, I don't believe it! All I wanted was a sweatshirt but couldn't find exactly what I wanted. Seems like I spent lots of money on the taxis, the subway, the LIRR and Amtrak to NJ.

My friend's luggage didn't arrive and Delta did not deliver it until 60 hours after we arrived which was the day we were leaving. Actually, it took them about 36 hours to locate it...and it was a direct flight!

Poor guy had to go shopping and use some of my toiletries, I felt really bad for him but he was a great sport about it. He did have to do some shopping since all of his clothes were in the checked luggage.

We'll see what Delta has to say about this, an email has already been sent.

On another note, my poor friend was sick the whole time we were there. Our stomach flus were gone, but he had sinus issues and upon our return, I got sick! So now, I've been sick three time within a month...lame. I'm in bed now and just waiting to get better.

While we were gone, I left my car and $700 with a mechanic to fix the timing belt, water pump, bushings on both sides, oil change, brake fluid flush and fill and transmission fluid flush and fill. Since my car registration with safety and emissions ($160) are due this month and I just spent $700 on the car, plus $150 for two new tires and an alignment, I think I'll be keeping this car for at least another year to make it worth what I put into it. It drives a lot better too, since the bushings were changed. I definitely notice that!

I was just happy that this crazy car bill didn't set me back since I had money in the bank to cover it. It was a great feeling when I was able to go to the bank and withdraw $700 cash to pay for the car repairs rather than using a credit card!

Lovin this feeling and hope it stays forever!!!

NYC!

So much has happened since my last post that I don't know where to begin, so I will just jump in to the present time.

Tomorrow I leave for a short trip to the Big Apple, New York City! This is my first time going there and I'm excited! Relatives of my guy friend are going and told us we could join...and the room would be paid for, but we are going to stay with his cousin in Manhattan.

They've all been there before so know it a bit, I'm trusting them for a great time! They are fun people.

Best part is that I didn't charge my plane ticket and don't need the money for missed work while I'm gone since I'm debt free!

On the downside...I caught a stomach bug and am in bed right now since last evening. My guy friend got it too and we just hope we're better by tomorrow. As of this morning my stomach didn't hurt (since it was empty after last night), but I have terrible body aches and am weak. Wasn't able to work today either.

Hoping all goes well.

It's mine!

Last Friday I received the title to my car in the mail!  It's officially mine ;)

This week!?

This could be the week that I am debt free! I have submitted my bill to get paid for housesitting...but knowing the history, it could take a while to receive payment. I will get my day job paycheck probably Wednesday so that will cover some.

Exciting and frustrating at the same time!

Planned on 9 months, only took 6

This afternoon I went to the bank because I had to deposit the $100.00 check my dad gave me and also some cash I have been lugging around. I don't like to have cash, because if I get robbed or it gets lost, I'll never see it again.

So, I went in and the Branch Manager who set up the loan against my car was there and helped me. I didn't tell her that I paid the car off, I guess because of feeling bad for still owing AMEX. When she looked at my account she paused and said, "You paid off your car? When did you do that?" I told her, "This morning!"

She was so happy for me and gave me a high-five. Then I told her that I have a little left to pay on the card. She couldn't remember when I took the loan out and asked; it was in October and at the time I told her my goal was to pay it off in 9 months...but it only took 6! SO cool!!

I balanced my checkbook and figured out how much I had in my account to transfer to AMEX, $450.00. The housesitting check will be coming soon and I get paid again next week. Also, I have $90 going into my account from eBay, and the 1st of next month I will be requesting another housesitting check for about $240.00. I also have to return some purchases and collect money owed to me for things I used my card for. This should cover the AMEX charges. :)

Bye bye car loan!

The paycheck was deposited this morning and the car PAID OFF! :). What a great feeling! Well, technically it wasn't the car I paid off, but a loan I took out and used the car as collateral. Originally I paid the car off in October, I blogged about it.

When I awoke this morning there were two messages on my Blackberry...one to notify me of the direct deposit going through and another from the guy who sends my housesitting check. He didn't say anything other than the check is on its way. Once I get it, I will transfer funds to AMEX.

Tonight I MUST sit down and balance my checkbook.

Paying off my car...again!

I'm really excited about tomorrow...I am getting paid! :) This is good because I only owe $346.xx on my car loan and I will be paying it off!

This WAS supposed to be my last debt, but I've been [shamefully] using my AMEX card. The only reason I use it is for the Skymiles. Not long ago I was using it to pay for work expenses which I would get reimbursed for, but then started using it for personal things again. This means that after my car loan, I will have to pay AMEX off...again. It's not that much and I'm confident that it will be paid off fast!

I bought my brother a new cell phone a few days ago. I felt bad that I didn't give him a Christmas present last year, and his old hand-me-down phone just broke....totally died. He was really happy to get the new phone which made me feel good. Yes, I used the AMEX. After the rebate it's only costing about $60.00 which isn't bad.

Anyhow, besides feeling a bit down that I added to the AMEX account, I'm happy that once again I will be paying off my car, and this is not a debt that I can add to the balance like a credit card.

Sadly, I have not received my housesitting check, or a response to my email questioning it all. It is supposed to be $160.00 which will go right to my AMEX card when I get it. Gosh, in ten more days I'll be requesting a check for the month of April...

On the other hand, my dad gave me $100.00 for running some important errands for him which he could not do due to being out of state. That check gets deposited tomorrow :)

Taxes

My Federal Income Tax return was direct deposited and landed in my account today. I have already made the transfer to my loan which brings my balance down to $346.xx!

I have not updated the sidebar and had put my state taxes towards the debt as well. Total return were around $640.

If I got paid today the car loan would have been paid off! BUT I won't be getting my check until Tuesday...and the housesitting check, I don't know when that will come.

I have some extra expenses I need to pay AMEX :( but it won't take long to do.

It's like pulling teeth!

I've been waiting for my housesitting check for almost two weeks...the guy that mails them seems to be a slacker. Never even responds to my emails when I tell him how many says he owes me for. It has been a pain for the last several months since I have to wait 2-3 weeks to get the check when I can have it within a week if he's on the ball.

I know everyone is busy...but when you owe someone and you have the money...is it really that hard to write a check and mail it?

I just sent him a reminder note by email. I try not to bother people, but next time I will email him sooner to follow up and I'm sure that will get things done quicker.

On the brighter side...I'M SO CLOSE! :)

28 Days to goal date!

I know, I know, I've been terrible with posting. I think about it often but don't do anything about it.

The good news is that I'm still working on my debt and my projected debt free date is in 28 days...April 30th! I got off track a bit but do feel that I am going to make it! I owe $1,050 on my loan and have two paychecks, taxes and a housesitting check all in my favor this month.

Is it possible that I can reach this goal before the 30th? Yes, anything is possible!!!

Payday!

Got paid today so took $455 from the total and paid my loan down a little more. My new balance is $3,211.xx!

Really wish my housesitting check would arrive...it's a big one.

Debt free friends?

Still waiting on housesitting money and my paycheck, but I had some eBay funds come in...so I updated the sidebar.

Many times in the past I was jealous of my friends when I would find out that they didn't have very much debt. It sort of made me feel like a loser for not being able to keep my debt under a few thousand dollars. For instance, I have a friend who has traveled quite a bit and lived in other countries for months at a time. One day we talked about credit cards and such, this is when I found out that her debt was somewhere around $1K and she could pay it off within a couple of months!

It was then that I realized she is able to travel and have fun, due to being nearly debt free, *and free spirited* :) She did not come from a wealthy family and everything she has, she earned.

She's only one of my friends who can do what she wants...because she's not tied down to credit cards... I'm almost there and hope to travel with her *again one day!!! *We took a trip in the US together once - it was one of the best trips I've been on!*

Extra money

Today some money from eBay was deposited into my bank account, so I immediately transferred it to my loan. This brings my balance down to $4010.xx.

I am expecting more in my account tomorrow, and will update the sidebar as soon as I can get to a computer (this post is via cell phone - love it!).

Will also get paid next week from my job - and hopefully also for housesitting :)

***We can do almost anything...if we only apply ourselves...***

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Mini Vacation

It's official...I'm going on a weekend trip to Chicago! The ticket cost me about $150 because I used a companion ticket and split the cost between my friend. My companion ticket was going to expire at the end of March. In past years I have let them expire :( but not this time! - Plus, I think I earn Skymiles as the voucher was issued to me :) - yes...I still have the old AMEX card and intend to keep it.

We are going to stay at a friend's house so don't need to pay for a hotel, just food and entertainment. I know this can get expensive in a place like Chicago, but will try to keep it at a minimum.

I'm so excited, after buying my ticket last night I was dancing around last night like a kid who ate a bag of candy and had a few sodas!

It will be a good time...and great for me to get away!

P.S...My debt is at $4,147 as of today.

*sigh*

I've been quite bad, spending money like I shouldn't.

The last few days were spent with new made (from out of town-so it won't happen again) friends and although they paid for more than I did, I still spent more than I normally would. How the money was spent: drinks and entertainment.

Drinks: $22 - they paid for my drinks which totaled more than this, and I paid a small amount for theirs.

Entertainment: $50

On another recent occasion, I spent an additional $20 for winter fun for a cousin's birthday.

The memories and sanity obtained through these outings are more than worth it!!!

However, I sent about $65 on a pair of shoes today. I'm not going to wear them right away to decide if they will go with many outfits and are worth keeping. :). If they aren't, I will return them within a month.

Oh, and spent about $17 on undies. They were all very inexpensive as I went to TJ Maxx. No, I didn't NEED them, just wanted a sexy update.

Oh wow...I've spent a lot! Must re-focus - after a possible quick trip to Chicago soon!

Payday was Monday

Forgot to mention that Monday was payday and my current balance is now $4,231.xx! By the end of February, my balance should be around $2650. This includes income from my job, and housesitting. :) I'm looking forward to reaching this mini goal!

Also, I broke down (again) and bought a pair of beautiful shoes! These cost me $40 plus tax. I've been needing, yes needing, a pair like this for a long time.

No insurance

My throat has been hurting for about 7 days now, and about 5 days ago, I got white spots in my throat. Then it seemed to be getting worse so on the fourth day, I went to a clinic to get checked out. I was worried it was strep throat. The visit cost me about $50.00, the doc took a sample from my throat and ran the test, it was negative. I'm glad for that! I have so much going on right now that if I had to be isolated for the first 24 hours of antibiotics, I don't know what I would do!!

The doc told me that I may have mono (!) although it's too early to tell, and asked if I have been sleeping enough. The truth is, no, I haven't. I've been running my body to the ground which I know isn't good for anyone. So, he told me to get lots of rest, gargle with salt water 4-5 times a day, and that the spots and soreness should go away in time. He also told me that about 95% of the people he has seen with the same thing, were University students! They party and don't sleep enough.

Although I'm glad it isn't strep, it worries me. He also said it is probably just food stuck in the holes of my tonsils...gross!! That's part of what the gargling is for. Sick!

Today when I woke up, it seemed to feel a tiny bit better, I surely hope it gets better soon. I've been doing the salt water gargling which isn't too bad. I think the spots are about the same as they were yesterday.

Luckily there is a clinic for this type of thing which isn't too expensive when you don't have insurance. Even when I do get insurance, I will stick to an HSA, so I'll still have to pay for things like this.

At least it isn't the flu where I hurt all over and am miserable!!! I feel good...besides my throat. :o)

And the ball keeps rolling...

I need to check in as I paid some on my loan with money from housesitting. The new balance is $4563.xx! I don't even think I realized that I'm under $5K! It's amazing...this is the least I have owed in YEARS and it's getting better all the time!

I should get paid on Monday and will be paying more towards the dreaded debt.

I must admit though...I went out with the girls yesterday and spent about $20 on drinks. I needed it.

I'm such a lightweight when it comes to alcohol...which has its pros and cons. It's good because I spend less to feel a buzz...but bad because I have to really pace myself...I guess that isn't a con. I just have to nurse my drinks.

Posting

A lot of the posts I've made lately have been from my cell phone. It's really nice that we have the ability to do this because I don't always feel like going online to post here.

However, when I send an email from my phone to post something, I'm not able to update the sidebar and that's why it doesn't always match my posting totals.

Today I was able to pay $160.00 to my loan making the new balance $4,810.xx. Blows me away! This time I am actually on the PC so will go update the sidebar now. This is so exciting!

Glad it still exists

I'm really thankful that people still use eBay! For some time it seemed that it disappeared, but thankfully that was only true in my circle of friends. Because of it, I have been able to sell and make extra money to pay down my debt.

Today I transferred funds to my loan and the new balance $4964.xx.

Payday

Got paid yesterday and made a payment of $400.00 to my loan which brought my total balance to $5,240.xx and I have updated the sidebar.

Debt free goal date updated!

After going over my budget for the next six months I realized that it is possible for me to reach my debt free goal by the end of April instead of June!!!  I just need to keep up the eBay, bump it up a notch or two, and not miss any work days.  So excited!

New Year...

So, it's a new year. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions because I have a hard time keeping them. After all, shouldn't we strive to be better and reach higher goals daily and not just January 1st hoping it will last all year?

That being said, I (as I mentioned it in my last post) am proud of myself for paying off so much last year and sticking with my goal. It wasn't a New Year's resolution when I decided to get out of debt, I was just sick of being IN debt and was determined to get out.

I've never been much of a goal setter, and I feel like this is why I've never done anything HUGE. Many people think I've done so much, but I am my own worst critic...I want, or expect more from myself.

Not having defined goals makes it almost sad to think that soon I will be debt free. Although I know this is a GOOD thing, I don't have a big goal after this and need to come up with something. Of course I have a small list of things I need and want to do that involve money:

•Get health insurance!!!
•3-6 Month emergency fund
•Save for a better car
•Save for travel
•Take a class of some sort (this is frustrating)
•Save for retirement

Things I don't want:
•Marriage
•Children
•Pets
•Debt (the obvious)

What to do? How to figure it out? I love so much and can't narrow it down. I don't want to start something and not want it 100% in the end, or wish I had done something else.

Hmmm...traveling and soul searching may be needed.

Now I'm just rambling.

~P.S. I paid more to my loan on Friday with money that was in my PayPal account and extra in my checking account. New balance is $5,636.xx! Should get paid tomorrow and will update again.