Gasping for Breath

So we have this new thing in Portland...Metro-Fi has made portions of the city wireless. You can access it for free if you can put up with ad banners, or you can pay $20/mo for it. Because of where I live, in order to pick up the signal I'd need to buy something to boost their signal. Which costs about $120ish. Right now I'm paying $48/mo for Comcast.

I wish I could try the service out at home first without having to shell out so much for the wireless modem. I think it would be a great deal that would balance out soon enough...but I'm a little skeptical to try it.

My interview seemed to go well. They asked for references, which I sent them. Don't know when I'll hear back. I figure I should give them at least a week or two and then figure they don't want me.

Assets $ Diff % Diff
Cash $1,469 $188 14.68 %
Retirement $27,438 $1,098 4.17 %
Cars $2,125 ($180) -7.81 %
Total Assets $31,032 $1,106 3.70 %

Debts $ Diff % Diff
Student Loans $35,671 ($107) -0.30 %
Credit Card $10,908 $10,908 -
Other $16,492 ($15,039) -47.70 %
Total Debts $63,071 ($4,238) -6.30 %

Net Worth ($32,039) $5,344 14.30 %

Definately headed in the right direction this time...

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2007 Goals Update:

1] Consumer debt down to $14,000. Currently at $27,400. Monthly amount of decrease needs to be $1675 in order to meet this. I have my doubts about actually meeting this goal but still trying.

2] EF holding steady at $1,000. Currently at $862.12. Need to increase it by $18 each month to meet this.

3] Medical savings at least $500. Currently at $353.73. Need to increase it by $19 each month to meet this.

4] (Non monetary goal) Holding steady at my current goal weight. Currently I have 23 lbs to go. Need to loose 3 lbs a month to meet this.

I have been steadily dropping weight for a while now. Taking it easy, going slow, making sure I'm dropping it for good not loosing it to just gain it back again later.

The downside...

Well I have a job interview tomorrow. The dress code for the company, seeing as how it's a marketing type company, is professional business attire. Or so I'm assuming. I prefer to overdress for interviews.

I had a stash of what I called my Interview Clothes. About 3 pairs of pants (black, black with white pin stripes, and black and white check), three or so shirts (two silk, one cotton that paired well with the pants), and two black blazers.

EVERYTHING IS TOO BIG AND LOOKS AWFUL ON ME!

So this stash that I thought I had, that I thought I could make work should the need arise that I had to wear professional type clothes is gone.

And I have almost nothing to wear to the interview tomorrow.

Fortunately, this random nice shirt that I found on clearance ages ago and bought even though it was a little snug at the time, will do ok for the interview. Since I'm actually interviewing for a tech job, I'm hoping I can get away with wearing what I consider business casual (khakis, cords, knit or cotton shirts) for the actual job should I get offered and accept it. I'm fairly certain my current work wardrobe of TShirt and Jeans will not cut it. But I'm ok with that, I'm sort of getting tired of it anyway.

They asked me for salary requirements. Ugh that's the worst I think, I'd prefer to know what they are expecting to pay before I apply. But anyway, I did some research on how to properly phrase it (I had no clue that a range was acceptable I thought you had to give them a solid number), took my current pay, gave myself a 10% raise, and made that the minimum of my range. And they still want to talk to me. So either I'm at the low end, or right on target. I'm hoping I'm right on target for what they want to pay.

They also have some great perks, so even if I got exactly what I'm making right now I would be making more. Trying not to get too excited about it til it actually happens. And if it does, I have no idea how I'm going to break the news to the powers that be. But one step at a time....

I have made two purchases on my empty credit card this week.

First, tickets for my favorite band went on pre-sale on Wednesday for a venue in Seattle. Granted the show isn't until August but there isn't one scheduled for Portland yet. And I wanted to go. So I bought two tickets (total $121 after fees, darn ticketmaster). I will pay it back from my savings before interest fees occur. I am also going to try and get better seats when they actually go on sale tomorrow. I will have no trouble turning around and selling whatever I don't need as they tend to sell out quickly. Plus whoever I take with me will pay me for their ticket it's just too early for most people to plan so I don't know who that will be yet.

Second, a beach house rental for my women's group. I'm organizing a retreat and it was easier to just charge the two night stay ($310) and have people pay me back then to have everyone come up with the money right away. They have already started giving me money for it and I am certain it will be paid off before interest gets charged. We've done this in the past and it's worked well.

Funny thing, even with this semi-extravagant spending I don't feel the urge to just start charging everything. That's good. I have been very careful with this card and I want to keep it that way.

Aside from the grocery shopping I'm going to do today (since yesterday was payday and it's time to restock some things), I am planning on spending about $80 today.

My step brother is leaving to be stationed in Okinawa next week. We're having a going away party for him tonight. It sounds like his wife's family isn't going to be there for various reasons (lame but whatever) so it's just going to be us (myself, youngest brother, middle brother with wife, and step brother with wife and baby and maybe step daughter).

Youngest brother doesn't have any money, well he has enough coming in to cover basic expenses while he goes to school so I already told him I'd cover his dinner.

Middle brother and wife have been going through some trying times. Wife had some swelling in her brain that resulted in her having eye surgery. She's been off of work for a month now which has saved them a lot in gas but still cuts into their budget. Although Middle brother also had a recent raise of $2/hr that kicked in right about the time that wife took sick so they're not totally strapped but close. So I'd like to pick up their bill as well.

Step brother is leaving. I want to do something nice for him but because he's heading overseas there's really nothing I could give him that would be appropriate. So I'll treat them to dinner and give them a little more wiggle room as they sort stuff out. Step brother's wife and baby will be staying in the states an extra two months before following him.

We're going to Red Robin where it's next to impossible to spend less than $10/person unless people share. There's six of us (plus possibly a 5 yo) so that's at least $60 plus tip. I have $60 set aside to pay for eHarmony but I talked to J, the guy I've been dating briefly, last night and I think I'm just going to give it a little more time before I throw in the towel just yet. So instead of spending it there I'll just spend it on dinner tonight. If I do decide to join eHarmony I'll just use money from my babysitting jobs that have become more plentiful as of late.

Granted, if more people show up (ie close friends) it'll be trickier to pull off. But it's something I really want to do AND I can do it without charging it. It makes me really happy to be able to do these things and I don't make a habit of it (though I'd like to but I realize that's part of what got me in trouble before with credit cards).

I called today to cancel Credit Protector and the dude was all telling me how he could lower my interest rate to 6.99%.....It wasn't until our conversation was over that he mentioned 'ok I'll send a balance transfer check out to you'. Umm since I recently did a balance transfer don't you think I would know to do that myself if I really wanted it. Such a let down, I seriously thought he was going to lower my APR. He's sending the check but I'm shredding it as soon as it arrives. Bah.

I'm feeling sick and since this is like the 5th cold I've had this season, and I just got over one a couple weeks ago, I think I'm going in to see the dr about it. Another friend that I saw on Sunday came down with the nasty cold that's flying around and I'm starting to have the same symptoms. I probably will not go into work today but instead just rest. Which sucks because I had plans for this weekend, plans to declutter and take control of my bedroom. *sigh* My first down weekend....

Anyway. Happy Friday everyone!

Seems like forever since I've blogged. Probably because I had a four day weekend (burned up my last two vacation days) and haven't really been around the computer much.

I found out that I'll be reimbursed for most of what I spent on food for the baby shower I helped co-ordinate last Saturday. I knew that the soon-to-be grandmother had sent a check to the gal organizing everything but didn't know how much. I spent about $48 total and the organizer bought stuff too. Turns out between the two of us we only spent $16 more than what the grandmother sent us so we split the difference. I was planning on donating $20 to the cause so that works fine for me. She'll give me the check on Thursday.

I also still had money from the cash I got paid last week Monday so I included that in my Tuesday Deposit. Total to be deposited is $75, would have been $100 but the guy who pays me on Sunday didn't have a check with him so I'll get it on Wednesday.

I have decided to join eHarmony. The guy I have dated a couple of times from the free communication weekend isn't working out and they're having a special (that they run often apparently) where you can get three months for the price of one. I'm not actually committing to it until I finish sorting out the guy but I took the $60 out of my Tuesday Deposit so I'm still putting $15 into savings today.

I just got an email from the gal in charge of the Monday childcare that I've been doing and it might actually turn into a regular thing. As much as I'd love to pick up every possible extra dime, I can't commit to every week and keep my sanity. Especially since I'll most likely be doing Wednesdays as well, the first three of every month. So I think we've decided on every other week, with a second person helping which actually drops the pay from $25 to $20 because she only has $40 in the budget for child care. But I'm ok with that. I also told her I could be a backup on the off weeks in case something happens at the last minute with the regular sitters.

One of my drugs is coming out with a controlled release version (meaning I would just have to take one a day instead of two a day). Apparently not all insurance companies are covering it so I called mine today to see if it was. It is but on the most expensive tier, I pay $35 for it now and it would be $50. Since I take other things twice a day it's not that big of a deal for me to continue taking it twice a day. But I will have my dr write me out a prescription for it because I'll be getting a coupon for a free 30 day supply from the manufacturer. The other good news with that particular drug is it'll be coming out in generic soon too which means it should drop in price from $35 to $10.

And in non-financial news, I'm doing the Photo 365 thing too. I included the link in my links section but here it is: http://picasaweb.google.com/ldyfaile/Photo365 I plan on updating it as often as I can. I will take a photo a day just might not upload it that day. It looks like you can subscribe to a RSS feed as well for it. I love Google.

This morning I was running late for work. Normally my habit is to change the radio station if it's not playing music but sometimes the dj's aren't too annoying so I'll listen to what they have to say. They mentioned the line-up for the US Live Earth concert that's coming up in July. On the list are The Police (I wouldn't mind seeing them live even though I'm not a die hard fan) and the re-united Smashing Pumpkins (around the time of Mom's death my youngest brother went through a huge SP phase but he's never seen them live). Tickets go on sale Monday morning at 10 am.

I had this brief fleeting thought 'wouldn't that be cool if I could surprise my brother, buy a couple tickets to the concert, and maybe score a cheap flight, etc etc'. That thought was very brief. Chances are the ticket prices for the event are going to be over $100 each. The cheapest flight I found was for $350 each. Then there's hotel and food and transportation, all of which would be on me since it would be me surprising my brother who's going to school right now.

As much as I'd love to do it, I just can't justify it. And I'm not about to just pay for him to go by himself, it's not that he's not old enough to travel on his own just....

So for a brief moment I considered it but after weighing all the facts, nope it's not going to happen.

I wonder if that would be a good investment though, pick up a couple of tickets for the event and then sell them on eBay with no reserve and starting price at the price I paid for them. Hmmm.

I didn't intend to splurge. But I had an opportunity to go to Costco over the weekend. While I didn't buy much really, and what I did buy I got a good deal on, it still made this payperiod's grocery budget tight. The flip side being that the next few payperiods grocery budget will be a little roomier since I won't need to buy some things for a while that I use almost every day.

Then I took my friend out to breakfast at McDonalds (an old family tradition) and spent about $7 total. Which zapped the rest of my cash. So I pulled $40 out of savings and then wound up at Saturday Market. Spent $5 on lunch and found the perfect bag for $8. I hate carrying a purse but with summer coming up and my desire to carry my digital camera with me a lot more it's something I was planning on getting anyway.

So now I have $25 to last until the 20th. Shouldn't be a problem, there's only a couple things that I'll need to restock.

I'll be getting paid cash for work tonight so I'm thinking about just hanging onto it instead of depositing it, giving me $50 on hand. Reason being, I'll be buying a bunch of food for a baby shower on Friday and I'd rather spend cash. I will be reimbursed for whatever I purchase but cash just seems to be easier for me to limit what I spend. To easy to overspend with a card.

I also have $30 that I'd pulled out for a baby shower gift. I'm not really planning on spending that much and I have a coupon for one of the places she is registered at plus I might be going in on a gift with another friend. All told I'll probably be putting a lot of money back into the bank after this next weekend is over.

Just right now I feel like I'm bleeding cash left and right. But I know I'm not really spending all that much all told.

My funds got released off of hold yesterday so I paid off the balance on my loan, completing the transfer from 14.42% to 3.99%. According to my online banking that loan is paid off so I took the payment that I'd been holding in reserve, just in case something didn't come through in time, and paid it on the CC I did the balance transfer on. That way I've started the ball rolling over there as well, even though I won't get the first statement until the 20th.

I'm very excited! I'm ready to hit the ground running. I bumped up my EF a little too so by the end of this month it should be fully funded and I can start taking my extra cash and putting it towards my debt. Yipee!

Still not all together certain I'll be able to make my first 2007 goal but by golly I'm going to work as hard as possible to get it as close as possible!

My chart got updated at

NCN Network. That's pretty cool. Right now it's at the top of the list though that will change when he does more updates.

I'm trying hard to find that balance. I'm not good at taking care of myself, I am good at running myself ragged especially with odd jobs here and there.

I just turned down another night of child care work this week. I had the opportunity to work tonight (but I couldn't because I'm attending a surprise party that I'm planning) and I just got a call to see if I could work on Friday night (I can't because I've made plans with my roommate already).

I did however work earlier in the week on Monday, that was unexpected. And I will be working the next two Mondays and the next two Wednesdays. So it's not like I'm always turning down extra work.

Part of me wants to do as much as I can to be rid of my debt. I realize that $25 here and $25 there isn't much but this week it would have been $100 total instead of $50 and normally it's $25.

Perspective. It's all about perspective.

I need to spend time with my friends, even if it involves a little money here and there. Because life is too short not to spend it with those that mean a lot to you. Plus I have a spot in my budget for just such an occasion. I need to focus on paying off debt. And I do that as well as much as possible. But I can't let it totally consume my life. It's bad enough it consumes my thoughts as much as it does. I don't mind it, it keeps me focused.

I can't wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow is a double pay day. I get paid, and get to pay my regular bills. Plus the rest of the money that's been on hold gets officially deposited into my account so I can actually pay some things off/down. That makes me happy and excited so I want it to be Thursday already.

My Tuesday Deposit doubled this week. I got a call yesterday while I was at work asking if I could babysit last night for a meeting. Two and a half hours and the pay would be $25. Rock on. Added that to my Tuesday Deposit and I put $50 into my Emigrant account.

I had a nice little panic moment this morning when I realized that my loan payment was due yesterday and I wasn't sure that I'd made enough payments. See, I get the money that makes up the loan payment at different times and since I now I can make payments online I make smaller payments as soon as the money comes in. Fortunately I did in fact make over and above the required payment last month. Phew. I figured I did but since it was on automatic (after a fashion) I just wasn't sure.

Speaking of automatic, I read The Automatic Millionaire. Eh. Some of his ideas I already use/do. But I have to laugh at the house idea. I totally agree, if you're paying $1500/mo in rent you might as well own a house. But I rent a cheap apartment and I share the rent with a roommate. I pay less than $300/mo just for 'rent' alone. Not counting my cell phone, my total 'house costs' are $350. I am NOT going to find a mortgage payment that low. I do want to own a house someday. But after all my other stuff gets taken care of.

I'm slotted to babysit again for the next two Mondays plus the next two Wednesdays. Yipee for extra cash! I am not complaining in the slightest.

Assets $ Diff % Diff
Cash $1,281 $147 12.96 %
Retirement $26,340 $943 3.71 %
Cars $2,305 $0 0.00 %
Total Assets $29,926 $1,090 3.78 %

Debts $ Diff % Diff
Student Loans $35,778 ($122) -0.34 %
Other $31,531 $5,475 21.01 %
Total Debts $67,309 $5,353 8.64 %

Net Worth ($37,383) ($4,263) -12.87 %

Things are a little bit in limbo right now. I did increase my debt by a little when I did the balance transfer but some of the funds are on hold still so it looks like more than it actually is. Next month will be a better snapshot.

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2007 Goals Update:

1] Consumer debt down to $14,000. Currently at $31,531. Going the wrong way right now. Monthly amount of decrease needs to be $1,948 to meet this. I am going to keep plugging away at this but I don't see it actually happening. *sigh*

2] EF holding steady at $1,000. Currently at $681.62. Need to increase it by $36 each month to meet this.

3] Medical savings at least $500. Currently at $267.54. Need to increase it by $26 each month to met this.

4] (non monetary goal) Holding steady at my current goal weight. Currently I have 24 lbs to go. Need to loose 3 lbs a month to meet this.

I will need to buy new shoes for doing Portland to Coast. I wanted to buy two pairs, one mainly for training and the other for the actual event (that I would break in during training but not use quite as much). That was a trick I learned when training for a marathon, if you find a pair of shoes that really work for you buy two pairs because chances are if you wait til you actually need them that style may be gone.

I used Brooks Addiction 4 Men's running shoes for the marathon. For the walk it was perfect, just enough room in the toe so I wasn't smashing my feet when I walked and I managed to only get one blister out of the whole thing and it was near my callous on the side of my foot so I didn't really notice it anyway.

A year or so later I picked up another pair of the same shoes, apparently it was a popular style so Brooks kept it around.

This year I had resigned myself to having to go to a running shoe store to get fitted and see what brand/style would work this time around. I remember paying about $75 each pair for the shoes I got before.

On a whim, I decided to check online. I rarely buy shoes online because I can't try them on. But I found someone that had the exact style I was looking for on clearance. Total price for two pairs including shipping: $78. Rock on. I think I'll wait til next payday to actually buy them. But that made me happy!

We are on the main page as far as in the top running for votes. Voting ends on the 28th. As much as I hope we get it, it's hard to say that I hope we beat out some of the other ones that are in need of more than we are.

If you haven't checked it out yet (I don't remember if I posted again once the voting started) check us out here: http://www.robinhoodfund.com/cast-your-votes/wish/id/2310

Basically our wish is money to pay off a shared debt on a credit card that was generated when we didn't raise enough money to go on a serve trip. We could have chosen not to go but the airline tickets had already been purchased for us by a third party and we would have had to pay for it regardless.

Anyway...

Happy Monday! No wait it's Tuesday, I took Monday off so I'm all out of wack.

I really really really want to do Portland to Coast which is the walking portion of the

Hood to Coast relay. I found a team and was given two options. Pay the entrance fee now (the captain had already paid the fee to lock in the spot) or agree to pay by race day (August 24th). I didn't want to put it off, I do have it in savings although it doesn't exactly qualify as an emergency. So I told him I would mail him a check. Cost is $131.50 but $25 of that is to go for team fleeces.

I didn't really take in all the fees that are associated with this event. If we can't find vans/suv's to borrow we'll have to rent them to the tune of $800 each, or $1600 for the weekend so $200 each teammate. Then there's the hotel stay. After 127 mile relay race chances are no one will be heading back home afterwards. That's another $180 just for one room because none of the hotels in Seaside let you book for just one night on that weekend. But I might be able to share it with a teammate.

The captain is trying to get us sponsored. If that happens then hopefully we can use that money to cover the rental of the vans. Or if we find vans to borrow, perhaps that will cover the cost of our entrance fee.

I am really looking forward to this adventure. I meet my new teammates on April 7th.

I figured that the balance transfer check I deposited today would be put on hold. I just didn't know for how long. The only other time I've deposited a large check it was from a Wells Fargo Loan to a Wells Fargo Checking account. It did take a couple days but not quite as long as this one will.

Deposited: $11,000.

$100 available now.
$4,900 available 3/28/07
$6,000 available 4/5/07

Ok, so it could have been worse. One of the things I plan on paying with this BT is a loan for over $8,000. So my plan of attack right now is...

Pay $5,000 on loan as soon as it's available (3/28). Once the rest of the money is off hold, call and get a 10 day payoff balance, pay off the rest of the loan and pay the rest of the stuff I had planned on paying with it.

I think that's the best senario right now. I don't know how interest is calculated on said loan but if it's like credit card interest the more I pay on it now the less I'll have to pay later. At least that's my theory.

(but first, to whoever posted the recipe for the crockpot pizza.. I overthink when I read recipes, the 12 oz of cooked noodles is that 12 oz before cooking or after??)

Yipee payday is here! I really don't know why my Jan 20th check was one number and my Feb 20th (and March 20th) checks were another. A smidge higher, by a little less than $10. Odd. But I still budget off the lowest check I receive so we'll just forget about it for now.

I paid all my bills. Yay! I figured out how to pay my Citi loan online. I have to transfer from external source to Citi checking and then from Citi checking to Citi loan. Pain yes, but it still beats the check getting 'lost' in the mail. Not that that's ever happened to me or anything.

I made my Tuesday deposit of $50 and deposited $12 left over from gas last check into my 'visit friend' fund.

The statement at Citicards hasn't shown up yet so I'm holding off on depositing that check. I won't be waiting til Tuesday next week to take care of my balance transfer check.

I turned down an extra $25 for babysitting this Thursday night. I meet every Tuesday and Thursday with people from church. The every Tuesday is something I can miss and if the right opportunity presents itself I will miss it. But the every Thursday is more of a close knit accountability thing and I need to try and be there as much as possible. Perhaps over the summer when we don't meet as often, I can pick up some extra work.

Not much been going on in the money realm of my life lately.

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I went on a date, first time in about 6 years, on Saturday. I'm still a novice when it comes to dating so I went fully prepared to pay for my portion. He wouldn't let me though and insisted I take home the leftovers (we split a small pizza). We have tenative plans to get together again soon. However we both are pretty busy with work and life which makes actually nailing down a date/time a little difficult.

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I remembered when I went to get my check for last night that they owed me for two weeks. That was a nice bonus since I'd forgotten about it. My Tuesday deposit is currently $50. It might wind up being $55 if I don't spend any money tonight.

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I got my balance transfer check (at the rate of 3.99%) while I was gone for $11,000. I'm waiting to cash it until I know for certain my balance is $0, but new statements should be coming out tomorrow. I'm debating what to do with that money. Here's the current plan:

$8,250 to pay off loan (14.4% interest)
$1,000 to go into savings account just in case my brother needs to borrow it for school (4.5% interest). If he doesn't need it then it'll go to pay off my loan at 10.9%
$1,000 to take over my portion of a debt on someone else's credit card. (7.99% interest)

With what's left, approx $750, I think I've decided to bump up my EF to $1k and then take what's left over and put on my loan (10.9% interest). My EF just never seems to hit the full mark. Once I hit that then I'll start putting my extra pay towards the higher interest loan. Every little bit helps.

I left with a little over $60 in my pocket for food. I came home with about $8 because my friend paid for a couple of meals plus the places we stayed offered decent breakfasts included with the rooms. I also spent $10 on a tshirt for me since I saw it the last day I was there and knew I had the money to spare. I did reserve a room with my card and its obvious the authorization is still out there because it shows in my available credit. However when we checked out my friend put all charges on her card so the authorization should go away soon. My balance still says $0.00.

I had a lot of fun. It was crazy, I played navigator and secretary. We found her an apartment that was a little over her budget but it was something she could find out imediately about as opposed to having to wait 1 or 2 days. They were unloading the trailer when I left for the airport.

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I checked on the status of my balance transfer request, it has been approved so yay! I also happened to look and see what is currently available and the only option now is a 6.99% rate until paid off. I am soooo glad I put in the request when the 3.99% rate was available! Now I just have to wait for the check to arrive and hold onto it until the 20th to make sure the balance is $0.00 before I deposit it.

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Apparently there are a couple of hoops to be jumped through in order to make payments online to my Citi loan. I can't transfer directly from another financial institution to my loan. Instead, I have to do a transfer to my dummy Citi checking account and once it arrives there then I can transfer the payment to my loan. It's still faster than mailing it in, especially if I can submit it before noon my time. They reflect the interest accrual daily in the balance so I've been itching to submit a partial payment. But I had to wait the 14 days to set up my external account. Soon it will be down to a science and I'll be saving on interest.

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I was asked to be in a wedding. I don't really want to do it but it means a lot to the bride if I do. Before I left for Utah it had been called off by the groom over something totally stupid. One of those things where you think 'good thing it got called off now'. I was just informed by my brother that the wedding is back on. *sigh* I'm just too nice sometimes. The only positive thing about this wedding is it's in an area where I have lots of friends and family that I've been meaning to visit so perhaps I'll make a vacation out of the trip.

I'll probably write more about my trip later. But just a couple quick things..

1 - Safeway has these salad things on sale, I think it's called Essential Salads, they're something new near the lunch meat. Anyway, they're on sale right now 10/$10 and there's a coupon dispensor right next to them with a $1 off coupon for it as well. So it's free. I picked one up today...

2 - I found this website, http://www.robinhoodfund.com and posted a wish request. Registration is free and voting begins March 28th so please register before then and vote for us once voting begins! Check it out at: http://www.robinhoodfund.com/cast-your-votes/wish/id/2310

Post #2 today.

Part of the point of getting the loan for the balance of my credit card was to lower the interest rate and to free up balance transfer space. The card that I cleared has had a pretty steady offer of 3.99% until paid in full. The plan was to request a check for $11,000 on the 15th figuring that by the time the check arrived then the statement showing a $0 balance would have already arrived so I could safely cash it.

Today on a whim I went and checked to see what balance transfers were an option. There were two, one for 3.99% and one for 6.99%. The rest of the terms were the same. That got me to wondering if there was a chance that the 3.99% one might be going away before I wanted to request it. So I took the plunge today and requested the check. It'll break down something like this:

$8,500 to pay off loan at Wells Fargo that's currently at 14.45%
$1,000 to transfer partial responsibility for Croatia credit card to myself. Currently it's on a card at 6.99%
$1,000 to stick in ING account just in case brother needs it for school. His GI Bill has been sorted out and it's still not quite right. But he has money coming in so he shouldn't need it. I just like cushions. If it turns out he doesn't need it I will pay it on my higher interest loan.
$500 to pay on my higher interest loan.

I picked $11,000 because near as I could figure, that was the most I could request and have the minimum payment be about the same as my current Wells Fargo loan payment.

When the check arrives I will hold onto it until after the statement shows up online. Once that happens I'll deposit the check and request a 10 day payoff balance. Chances are it'll be less than $8,500 and any extra left over will just go towards the higher interest loan.

This Tuesday is a little off. I didn't get paid on Sunday, the guy had run out of checks, so I'll get double the next time I work which isn't this week but next week. I did get $5 from Creation Rewards and I got my $100 tow reimbursement check from insurance. Plus since it's near the first, I have my roomate's rent check.

$5 went to Emigrant. $100 will go to Wells Fargo. And rent of course goes into checking.

I will probably be getting gas tomorrow and since they wiped out my change in the ash tray I have to start over again. So from my change bank I pulled 3 quarters, 2 dimes, 1 nickel, and 4 pennies to seed my ash tray again. In Oregon you can't pump your own gas and usually the stations I go to you just pay the attendant not a cashier with a drawer. So I try to make sure I have enough for exact change and try to remember to tell them to not top off.

Boy what a confusing time I had this morning. My method got messed up, I double added a couple of deposits so I thought I had more money than I really did, etc. But I sorted it all out and wound up with the following:

- All regular budget items taken care of.
- Another $20 paid towards a retreat I'm going on. It's $70 total but I'm hoping to be able to pay in installments each month. This payment makes $40 that I've paid so far.
- $25 on a Kiva gc for my dad for his birthday on Saturday.
- $40 pulled out for my vacation
- $40 held onto for the next paycheck, just to be sure all bases are covered.

I pulled out my gas and food budget too. I'll leave half of the food budget at home and most of the other half will be added to the $40 I pulled already. The only food I NEED to buy before I head away is I'm signed up to bring a main dish for a potluck on Tuesday. Otherwise I can skate by on whatever's in the house. I don't have to worry about hotels during my trip, my friend said she would cover that as a thank you for coming along and helping her move. So I think $80-$85 should be plenty for food over about 5 days of travelling. Hopefully we can stop at the store and buy things to eat in the car for our driving days instead of eating out every meal. I am planning on NOT spending every dime I take with me

I haven't decided if I'm going to fill my tank before I leave for vacation or not. If my friend who works in the woods at a special school is home while I'm gone and needs the car then I'll fill it for him, otherwise if it's just going to sit at another friend's house I'll leave it at about half tank. My roomate will also be gone while I'm gone so I'm making arrangements for it to be somewhere that can be checked easily.

I went to Seattle this weekend. I caught a ride from some friends already going up so I saved $40 in gas. But then I spent more than I had intended on some things. Fortunately, not more than the $40 I saved in gas. It was worth it to surprise my friend that's moving away though.

The kill switch was installed this morning. Unfortunately it wound up being in a slightly more visible place than I expected but still not where I would look first if I was trying to quickly steal a car. So I think I'm going to continue using the club, give them something to focus on and perhaps draw attention away from the switch. I do feel better knowing it's there even though I do think it's painfully obvious. *sigh*

When I get my check from insurance for the tow I think it'll go into my brick and mortar savings account. That one's taken the biggest hit out of all of this. I try to keep all three accounts someone even but especially the local one since that's the one I can get to immediately if necessary.

In talking with someone at the gym this morning I decided to look into having a kill switch installed. Basically it means you have to do something special or the car won't start. The gal I talked to said she got it installed for $60 on her car.

I called my mechanic and he said to just get a car alarm with a kill switch. I called around about that and nothing was less than $200 installed. Umm not really what I was looking for.

I did however find a place that installs just the kill switch for $65. Now that's what I'm talking about! Appointment is set for Monday morning 9 am. I am leaving this weekend to go to Seattle so my car will be left unattended at my friend's house, armed only with The Club. Hopefully it will be ok. I know it will be but I'm a little paranoid now.

I dropped my car off at the shop to see if the random weirdness going on with my power locks was in any way related to the theft. Unfortunately it's not. And it's $212 to fix. Umm it can wait. So in the end it'll be $42.50 for the diagnosis plus $65 for the kill switch. Still cheaper all told than the alarm.

Thank God for an EF!

Post #2 today.

I got my Explaination of Benefits yesterday for my last doctor visit that showed that I owed money over my co-pay. I couldn't remember anything different than my usual doctor visit so I was going to call my insurance company about it but instead decided to call the clinic itself.

The office I needed to talk to were all in a meeting but I left a message and someone just called me back. I forgot that I'd had an EKG done, something I'd not had done at the clinic before. That's what the extra charge was for. It's not much, $10 and change, but still. I have memories of my 60 year old grandmother getting charged for labor and delivery stuff when she was in for her gal bladder. So I call on that stuff.

Since I had her on the phone, and I have enough saved up that I could cover it, I asked about the Echo I had done in July. Part of my reasons for starting my medical savings account was to be able to cover tests that I have to have now and again instead of making payments. But I never got anything from insurance regarding it. I did think it odd, but never remembered to call and ask. She looked up the test in question and said that they only billed for the doctor visit. She said that sometimes things get missed and basically left it at my gain.

From what I remember of the first one, my portion would have been $145 at least. I am so not complaining!

Assets $ Diff % Diff
Cash $1,134 $528 87.13 %
Retirement $25,397 ($248) -0.97 %
Cars $2,305 $0 0.00 %
Total Assets $28,836 $280 0.98 %

Debts $ Diff % Diff
Student Loans $35,900 ($106) -0.29 %
Credit Card $0 ($18,012) -
Other $26,056 $17,544 206.11 %
Total Debts $61,956 ($574) -0.92 %

Net Worth ($33,120) $854 2.51 %

Next month I'll be transferring some of the Other to a Credit Card at a lower interest rate but I'm waiting for that credit card to show a $0 balance before I do any balance transfer.



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2007 Goals Update:

1] Consumer debt down to 14,000. Currently at $26,056. Monthly amount of decrease needs to be $1,206 each month to meet this. Not looking so hot right now. Hopefully once the balance transfer goes through and goal #2 is met then that will help.

2] EF holding steady at $1,000. Currently at $723.60. Need to increase it by $28 each month to meet this. Not a problem so long as I don't have any emergencies come up. And for the record, I did this past month but my EF still increased, so rock on.

3] Medical savings at least $500. Currently $144.55. Need to increase it by $36 each month to meet this. Shouldn't be a problem, at least until I need to get my crown.

4] (non monetary goal) Holding steady at my current goal weight. Currently have 26 lbs to go. Need to loose 3 lbs a month to meet this. Shouldn't be a problem.

So not everything is right with my car. The power locks started tweaking a little last night but this morning they were fine. I talked to my agent and she'll be getting back to me about where to take it, etc. Especially since I already told whoever called yesterday that there was no damage... Ugh. I don't mind not having power locks but I don't want it to cause other problems elsewhere.

I am leaving in a week for a 'vacation'. It's more of a working vacation in that I'll be catching a ride up with my best friend's parents to Seattle (I'll see if they'll let me pitch in for gas). Once we arrive we'll start loading the truck/trailer with all her stuff. The next day we'll start the drive from Seattle to Utah. That they are planning will take two days. That means hotel stay at least one night en route, shared with my friend. And food, potentially lots of eating out unless I can talk them into picking up stuff to eat in the car on the way. Once we get to Sandy, UT then she's got to find a place to live (she's looking now but hasn't found anything yet). I expect another two or three nights in a hotel, again shared with my friend, unless she locks in a place before we get there and I can stay with her. Then I fly back to Portland.

Her parents are the type to pay for things so its possible that they won't let me pick up my own tab. But I'm going prepared to anyway. We're leaving three days after payday so I should be able to go without restocking foodstuffs heavily. I'll take half of my food budget ($50) on the trip with me and leave the other half at home for when I get back. The rest of the trip money I'll pull from whatever is extra from my paycheck. My plan is to bring it all in cash so I don't have to track my debit card receipts. I'll seperate the food money from the rest of the money that way I know what goes where when I get home, if there's anything left. I'll also take my empty CC as a 'just in case'. I'm really looking forward to the trip.

Post #2 today.

Because of the oddity of my case (stolen car, no damage, back within 48 hours, the only bill they got was a tow bill) I got sent to Special Investigations.

I explained it all to him, he was impressed actually that I got it back so fast and with no damage. Apparently he had two ways of running it. Stolen car, there's a $100 deductible and I would be reimbursed $38. Tow, they reimburse me $100. Since there's no damage, he went with the Tow. I'll be getting a check in the mail. Sweet! I'll put it back into my two online accounts that I would have deposited into today.

I just got a call from the Portland Police. They found my car, not too far away either. No visible damage to it. I can't pick it up til after 8 am because they charge a gate fee for getting it before then. Very excited am I! First stop on my way home...picking up The Club!

My Tuesday Deposits will not go into their respective accounts but instead will go towards the retrieval fee of $138. I had $80 to go to Emigrant and $48 to go to ING which leaves me just a little short but I'll pull that from my brick and mortar savings plus a little extra for The Club.

Yesterday in the mail I got a coupon for a free 30 day supply of Coreg. That's my most expensive monthly medication! Rock on. Can't wait to use it.