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Archive for January, 2008

A good day today!

January 31st, 2008 at 10:20 pm

It was a very good day today. I learned something new at bridge today and I will teach it to my Monday gals when they come here to play!
I think I learned how to create a folder at computer class. I am not sure what i will do with this folder?? Or what I need a folder for??

Dinner at home!

January 31st, 2008 at 01:42 pm

We had dinner at home last night. I enjoy going out to eat every night as most of you know. However, lately, things have been so slow at the restaurant and during the week, they have been closing early.
If we have to eat that early, we might as well stay home and eat, so that is what we did last night.
So, I saved $20 by not eating out and I am going to add that to my $20 challenge.
Prev. total $1683.00
today 20.00
new total $1703.00

Just under the wire!!

January 30th, 2008 at 02:44 pm

I opened a c.d. last Thursday at a new bank. They have been advertising their c.d. rate of 4.8 % for about 2 weeks. In yesterday's paper (we have a once a week paper) there ad was about their hours, not their good rates. Looks like I lucked up and got into a good rate, just under the wire!

Does anyone remember when if you saved by the 10th of the month, you got your interest figured to the first of the month. I used to work in a small savings and loan and that is how we paid interest on our savings account!!

Well yesterday, I stayed home, spent no money, used no gas, the stock market went up and I walked a mile, so that is $4 more to add to my challenge money!

Prev. total $1679.00
today 4.00
new total $1683.00

C.D. rates

January 29th, 2008 at 03:28 pm

Someone asked me how long I got my C.D rates for.
Last Thursday, we went to a new bank about 25 miles away. They were advertising rates at 5% for 6 months and 4.8% for 1 year.
I opened a jumbo c.d. for one year.

Then, yesterday when another c.d. matured, I took that ad to the other bank and asked that they match it. They did, even tho their rate had fallen to 3.3%

Sometimes, it pays to ask for a higher rate. Sometimes they will give it, and sometimes they won't.

I currently have a jumbo that is paying 5.5%, because I asked the president of the bank what he could give me. The bank was paying 5% at the time. (last May) So, I say ask, it can't hurt and it might help!!

Grocery savings

January 29th, 2008 at 03:22 pm

I stopped at the grocery store yesterday and picked up 3 things, but with my store card, I saved over $3 which I will add to my challenge money.
After that, i spent the day playing bridge, which is a lot of fun for very little money ( a few snacks)
Prev. total $1676.00
today 3.00
new total $1679.00

i got 4.8% today

January 28th, 2008 at 03:20 pm

I went into the bank to roll over my c.d. today. Even tho they are only paying 3.5% on c.d.'s now, they rolled mine over to a 4.8% rate. I guess they did not want to see me walk out the door with that money!!

Plus $4

January 27th, 2008 at 08:37 pm

Well, I just got back from Bi Lo's. I saved $3 on two steaks and another $1 from buying "elations" I will add $4 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $1672.00
today 4.00
new total $1676.00

Great Deal!!

January 27th, 2008 at 06:20 pm

I got a great deal on a new chandlier last night. We are building a really big house with a really big foyer and this chandlier is going to look great!

It was over $500 but they only had two and they were on sale for $180. We paid for it, but could not fit it in the vette, so dh will have to go back for it next week.

I am happy when I save someone else money too. This is a spec house we are building, but we are building it for another couple to sell.

Thank you card!

January 27th, 2008 at 02:25 pm

I opened a new c.d. at a new bank in another city last Thursday. Yesterday, I received a thank you card from them. I thought that was very nice! I don't remember ever getting a thank you card for opening an account!
Oh, and also, the lady that opened the account gave me a free red umbrella!!
( I drive a red vette)

My C.D. is due!

January 26th, 2008 at 03:32 pm

I have a c.d. that is coming due today. I am supposed to go into the bank on Monday to roll it over. The rate is bad, but the guy on the phone said he would match the rate that I am getting in another town, so we shall see. If he doesn't, then I will take a check for the entire amount.
I did earn $2644 in interest for the past 6 months, so that will help my net worth a little this month.
It will still go down a lot due to the terrible stock market in January!

Free money??

January 26th, 2008 at 02:35 pm

I opened up a jumbo c.d. Thursday afternoon. So far, it has not been deducted from my money market account, so I assume that I am being paid interest on that money in two different banks. That is about $75 extra that I am earning. I love free money!! Don't you??

A few more dollars!

January 26th, 2008 at 02:00 pm

The stock market did go down yesterday, but the two days before that, it went up. So that is $2 more to add to the challenge. Then I had a no spend day yesterday and a no use gas day, so that is $2 more. Since all I have is a $5 bill, I will round that up to $5 and add it to my challenge money.
Prev. total $1667.00
today 5.00
new total $1672.00

Got a nice check

January 25th, 2008 at 10:14 pm

I got a nice check in the mail today for $551. It is going directly into my challenge money.
Prev. total $1116.00
today 551.00
new total $1667.00

A Big Move

January 25th, 2008 at 05:16 pm

I have often bragged about my local bank appalachian Bank which offered money market accounts paying 5.25%
These accounts worked out great for us, cause we could make 6 withdrawals a month and that was all we needed when we were building a spec house.
I had 2 accounts there, one in joint names with $200K and one in my name, payable on death to my dh, for $100K.
That way, all $300K was fdic insured.

A few months ago, when the fed cut the rates, my interest rate dropped to 4.1% Yesterday, I was shocked to see that the rate had fallen to 3.4% I called the bank to see if I could move into a c.d. paying about 4% and was told no!

So, I called my husband to come home early from work and we drove to another town about 25 miles away.

I opened up a joint c.d. there for 200K earning 4.8% interest for one year! They had a 5.% rate for 6 months, but i think rates are going down, not up, so I took the lower rate in order to lock it in for a full year.

I figured I will earn an extra $2720 in interest money by moving it to the new bank.

That is worth losing a few hours pay.

Jan 25, 2008

January 25th, 2008 at 01:54 pm

Just 11 more months til christmas! Have you started to save your christmas money? I have!!

OMG

January 24th, 2008 at 10:58 pm

I check out my local bank accounts every day and record the amount of interest that I have earned.
I was very proud of my one local bank. For a couple of years they have paid 5.25% on a money market account and I made decent interest while we used the money to build spec houses.
Several months ago, the rates dropped to 4.1% but I still kept the money locally.
I was shocked when I went online today to see that the rates had dropped to 3.4%

I called the bank and explained that i had 300K in there, but they would not give me a rate above 3.6% Looks like I will be moving on!!

Early grocery shopping

January 24th, 2008 at 01:27 pm

The snow word was in the forecast yesterday morning, so I did my grocery shopping early. We NEVER have any meat in the freezer cause my husband does not like frozen meat, but I decided we need to have something in case of emergency. I got a really good deal on a roast and some cubed steak yesterday.
All in all, I saved $10 using my advantage card and I am ready for snow.
BTW, the snow has now been called off.
Challenge money:
Prev. total $1106.00
today 10.00
new total $1116.00

Boy, rates are down!

January 23rd, 2008 at 08:48 pm

I have a jumbo CD coming due this Saturday. I called last week to get rates at several local banks. When the fed lowered rates yesterday, I called again today. All of the rates were lowered some to 4% and some even lower than that!
I just opened an account at Umbrella bank cause they were paying 5% and today they are down to 4.65%
Wow, I just can't seem to move fast enought to get a decent rate!

At least this is taking my mind off of the falling stock market!!

Redeemed the rest of the points!

January 23rd, 2008 at 04:53 pm

Well, I went to my Chase mastercard rewards program and redeemed the rest of my points that I had acrued.
I should be getting two $50 check in a week or too.
For free!!
I will add them to the challenge when I get them.

redeemed my points

January 23rd, 2008 at 01:47 pm

I checked with my Chase Mastercard on Monday. I have not received my bill yet, but I have racked up over 10,000 points.
Last month, I ordered a $50 check from them and on Monday, I ordered another $50 check. I guess that is the maximum check, because I still have over 5000 points left, which is worth another $50 check.
They pay 3% at home improvement stores, and my dh stops at Home Depot almost every day.
I like this. It is nice to be paid to shop for building materials.

Don't watch TV today!!

January 22nd, 2008 at 02:22 pm

Looks like the stock market is really going to go down today. Also, the fed lowered the interest rates, and that is bad for savers. I have a c.d. coming due on Tuesday. I was all set to take that money to a bank in the next town that is paying 5%. I bet that rate will change this week!!

All those stairs!

January 21st, 2008 at 04:22 pm

They really added up yesterday. I did more than 20 flights of stairs plus I used no gas and had a no spend day again yesterday. So that is $3 more to add to the challenge.
My bridge game got cancelled today because one of the regulars fell and broke her leg.
I still have to go to the town to make copies and to get a few things that I am completely out of. I try and keep 2 of everything we use a lot, but somehow I slipped up.
Prev. total $1103.00
today 3.00
new total $1106.00

Something nice for hubby!

January 20th, 2008 at 11:29 pm

I did something nice for my husband today. Since he likes the Barrett Jackson car auction so much, I taped the whole thing on our VCR and went down and stopped the tape so he would not have to watch all those commercials.
He was outside in the cold all day, earning money for me, so it was the least that I could do.
I made lots of trips up and down those stairs!!

Money for the challenge.

January 20th, 2008 at 04:35 pm

Well, I had a no spend, no use gas day yesterday, so there is $2 for the challenge. I also got a $10 check from nfomy survey to add.
Prev. total $1091.00
today 12.00
new total $1103.00

Best ways to break out of the debt trap!

January 20th, 2008 at 04:18 pm

You need a plan to break out of the debt trap!!
1. Get serious. Decide righ now that you are going to do whatever it takes to get out of debt and stay out forever. Make a commitment. Write it down and date it. Refer to it often. Put it in a place where you can see it everyday.
2. Start saving. You can not spend it all. Even if you are deeply in debt, you still must save something. Start with $5, stick it in a jar and add to it every week. Save all your change.
3. Start tracking your money. It is not that you don't have enough money, you don't know how to manage what you have. Get a small notebook and wite down every penny you spend.
4. Know what you owe. Make a list of all your debts. Write down the current balance, the current payment and the interest rates.
5. Design a plan to pay off your debts. Some pay off the smallest debt first, then add that payment to the next debt. Others pay off the highest interest rate first. Choose your plan and start on it immediately.
6. Have a sale. Declutter your life with a huge garage sale and apply that cash to your debt.
7. No more new debt. Make a commitment that from this day forward, you will incur no more new debt. Put your cards away and do not carry them with you.
8. Persevere. You are starting on a new journey in life. Some days will seem much harder than others, but just know that you can do it!! We are all here at savingadvice.com to encourage you on this new journey!!!

16 degrees

January 20th, 2008 at 02:38 pm

It is 16 degrees out with a windchill factor making it feel like 5 degrees. My dh has gone to work. He felt bad about missing most of yesterday because of snow.
I feel so badly that he has to work outside all winter. Why does it always seem to work out like that?
He stopped and bought kerosene for his kerosene heater. He got 2 gallons for $10. I hope none of you have to heat your homes with kerosene!!

I spoke to soon!

January 19th, 2008 at 07:30 pm

The snow is here now. They have been predicting it for days. It finally hit the mountains of north Georgia around noon, so I called my husband to come home. I didn't have to try too hard to talk him into it.
The Barrett Jackson auction started at 2 pm. and he is happily watching that.
We have about an inch of snow on the ground, but it is not laying on the roads yet. However, I am planning a stay home, eat home day and evening. So, no money spent.
I too was excited when I first moved here and it snowed. Now, the novelty has worn off and I really would be happy if it never snowed again!

where is the snow??

January 19th, 2008 at 03:51 pm

They have been predicting snow for days now. It was supposed to come in after midnight last night and all activities have been cancelled around here.
My dh slept in late, convinced that he would not be able to get to work today.
Well, about 9:45, he decided to go to work.
When I see the first snowflake, I will call him and tell him to come home. In the meantime, he is earning money!

Down $29,000

January 18th, 2008 at 05:35 pm

Well, my net worth certainly took a hit this month. I am down $29,000 in mutual funds just since Dec. 31st!!
I try so hard to make my net worth go up each month by saving and adding to my money market, but i sure can't control the stock market!!

throw away mail!

January 18th, 2008 at 03:10 pm

Don't you hate when all of your mail goes directly to the garbage can? That is the way my mail has been the last two days.
I get lots of catalogs and lots of offers for credit cards. They all go into the trash!
Remember when we use to write letters? Those days are long gone.
Oh well, maybe I will get a bill today? Or a check?? I prefer checks!!!!!


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