Ima Saver's Personal Finance Blog

My saving direct ( a division of Emigrant bank) raised their savings rate today. They are now paying 1.24 on a savings account, the highest rate I have found.

My $20 challenge finally broke the $9000 mark. As of today, my challenge total hit $9007.00.

Some sad news with FIL. He is feeling badly and does not feel like he will live much longer. (he will be 95 in Oct.)
He called last night and wants my husband's help. He wants to leave everything 50/50 between his two sons.
His youngest son, in spite of having a good job and his own business, is almost bankrupt because of his wife's spending. (He spends too)
He wants my husband to talk to me and see if I can help him out. Unfortunately, he gave his house to his youngest son several years ago and the house is in the son's name; even tho he (FIL) pays the taxes and all of the upkeep.

Sadly, it is too late to do anything, he gave the house away to the youngest son. It is to late to try and go back to having the home in his name. We hate to tell him this, because we want him to die in peace.

His reasoning was, the youngest son owes so much money that he needs the money more than my husband does. Now, he realizes that everything he owns (FIL) will be sold to pay off some of the debt, and it upsets him. I don't know what to tell him.

I do think it is time for us to update our wills.

My husband builds houses and we have been building spec houses for the last few years.
We just lowered the price of the spec house that we put on the market several months ago. It was listed for $272,000; we have lowered it to $250,000.

I watch the tv show about all the homes for sale, and I wonder why this one is not selling. I saw a terrible looking house, needing lots of repairs, for sale in queens, n.y. for $980,000. I guess the word is location, location, location!

This house is located in the beautiful mountains of north georgia. It has 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, rec room with kitchenette, laundry room, etc.
We have only had one serious looker. They were a young couple and could not get a mortgage due to their high student loan debt.

I might also mention that the home is brand new, has a mountain view and is on a creek.

We have $245,000 in the house, so after realtor comission, we would be selling at a loss. I guess everyone is looking for a bargain, but it makes me wonder if we should continue building spec houses.

My husband prefers it cause he can draw the plans and build it the way he wants to. (It has to be perfect, or he is not happy)

We have already started a second spec house, but it will be cheaper. People seem to want something in the $200,000 range, so this will be a two bedroom, two bath cabin, with a killer view. (and lake access)

What are new houses going for in your neck of the woods?

Yes, my little baby Abbey is three years old today. I guess she is no longer my puppy. She is all grown up. I think we will celebrate with a doggie cake for supper. (Actually a piece of homemade egg custard pie)

I saved $15 using my advantage card at the grocery store today, pluw I had $4 in other savings to add to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $8958.00
today 19.00
new total $8977.00

I have been adding $5 to my $20 challenge every time the braves win, but I have decided now to add $1 per run, every time they win. The team has a lot of new players (most of them) so they are not in first place, but I still enjoy watching them.
The past three games they have managed to score 23 runs (and win) so that is an extra $23 I have add to my $20 challenge money. My total stands at
Prev. total $8942.00
today 16.00
new total $8958.00

I had to log in again, and I never logged out! Oh well, I am here!
I received $31 in interest in my GE Bank account which will be added to the $20 challenge:

Prev. total $8911.00
today 31.00
new total $8942.00

For the past week or so, I have had a problem logging into saving advice, so I have not posted.
Finally, today, I got thru.
I got $127 in interest for Mysaving direct savings account for the month of May. I have added that to my $20 challenge along with several other item that I keep track of, such as braves wins and no use gas days. My $20 challenge stands at:
$8911.00
I am on my way to $9000!

Many thanks to ALL of our veterans and the men and women now serving in the armed forces. God Bless America!

WE have had a great holiday so far. WE had dinner out with friends from Fla. and yesterday,we went to a car show. WE had the oldest and the newest car there.

Gary drove his 1933 ford victoria and I drove the new 2015 corvette. No trophy, but we won several door prizes. We are having dinner tonight with a Viet Nam vet and his wife.The braves have won their last two games so my $20 challenge looks like this:

Prev. total $8709
today 12
New total $8721.00

I get a monthly check from capital one, which is one of my 2 credit cards. I always pay it off in full, but I enjoy the 1 1/2% that it pays me back. My husband has a different credit card that pays back 3% for home imporvement purchases. He uses that one at home depot for building supplies purchases and I pay that off in full every month also.
Also, our regular building supply place gives us a 5% discount if we pay it off by the 10th of the month.

These small rebates do add up and I appreciate them.

$20 challenge
Prev. total $8651.oo
today 13.00
new total $8664.00

My husband used weyerhaeuser floor panelings on the house he is building and they offered $1.50 back per sheet, for every sheet we bought. I am always very careful to send in any rebates on building supplies. Today, we received a check for $70 which I will add to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $8576.00
today 70.00
new total $8646.00

My goal for the year is $20,000.

I met Elvis and Gary (my husband ) the very same week, back in February of 1977. Gary proposed, Elvis didn't!!
I think I chose the right man. We have been married for 38 years today!

I applied for a credit card with USbank.com because they were offering $200 cash bank if you charged at least $1000 the first three months. I met the requirements only to find that I have to take a $200 credit on my charge card.
My dogs have several vet appts. this month; rabies shots, heartworm tests and grooming, so I am going to use my $200 credit for that. I have a "pet fund' and I will take the $200 from that to add to my $20 challenge. Needless to say, I won't use my usbank card again. I prefer credit cards that actually send you back a rebate check or at least credit your rebate to your checking account. Both my capital one credit card and my quicksilver credit card pay that way, so I will keep on using them.
I keep track of all my credit card purchases and pay them off in full each month. I just charge to get the cash back.

Prev. total $8343.00
today 200.00
new total $8543.00

Snafu,
You are always here with the greatest comments and also some very good advice!! But who are you? Do you post on a blog here? Please escuse me if I am asking a silly question. Remember, I am old, maybe even senile???? Bur I really enjoy your comments!!

I just want to wish everyone a happy mother's day. Call your mom and tell her you love her!!

Yes, Elvis was actually called in to pitch to the Braves last night!!
The braves won 9-0 and for that I am glad. I am still adding $5 to my $20 challenge every time they win, but unfortunately, they have lost more games than they have won.
They got rid of most of last year's players and basically have a brand new team, so I am not surprised that they are not doing as well as I had hoped. I will continue to watch and root for them and learn about all the new players. My $20 challenge stands as follows: $8304.00 year to date.

I got my GE savings bank interest for the month of April to add to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $8248.00
today 28.00
nw total $8276.00

I recieved $141 in interest from MySavings Direct account last month. They are paying 1.04% interest, not great, but the best I can find for a savings account right now. I have added that to my $20 challenge

Prev. total $8097.00
today 141.00
new total $8238.00

May is my favorite month. Everything is blooming. It is not too hot and not too cold! Just perfect.
I have my $20 challenge up to $8097.00 beofre I add last month's interest to it. The interest is pretty low because we have so much cash tied up in real estate, two spec houses and 5 lots.
$20 Challenge $8097.00

My social security check came in on Wednesday. I have never cashed it. I always add it to the $20 challege. They say you should wait to take your check until you are of full age, but I took mine at age 62. My reasoning, no one in my immediate family has lived past 70 and I vowed to save every check and I have.

Prev. total $7468.00
s/s 529.00
new total $7991.00

Getting close to $8000

I received $46 from a cisco stock dividend. I will add that to the $20 challenge:

Prev. total $7416.00
today 46.00
new total $7462.00

I got a capital one check in the mail today for $11 so I will add that to the $20 challenge:

Prev. total $7400.00
today 11.00
new total $7411.00

I am sure that buying a new tv is nothing to most of the members of this forum, but to us (dh and I0 it is a very big deal.
First let me say, we have 3 tv's. One is seldom used. It is upstairs in my husband's office. He has his drafting table there (yes, he still draws all his house plans the old fashioned way, with pencil) and I have my computer there.
Our second tv is in the kitchen-dining part of the house and is used quite a bit in the evenings.
After supper, we watch the 3rd tv in the bedroom.

When DH built this house 20 years ago, he put the kitchen tv and the bedroom tv into built in cabinets. That way, we could close the door and no one would suspect that we had a tv in the room.

Our tv's are quite old. I know we bought the upstairs one with us from Fla. and that was 30 years ago. Yes, it still works great!

Our bedroom tv is the problem. About 2 years ago, the remote quit working. I can remember well when tv's had no remotes. You had to get up to change the channels. Guess what? That still works; so I get up and change the channel. (I can also remember when we had only 3 stations and color tv cost $600, so we only had black and white for many years)

A few days ago, something happened to the picture. It is now a terrible picture, much lighter on one side than the other.

The decision, we need a new tv!! First of all, to find one small enough to fit into the cabinet. It could not be any bigger than 21 inches. We bought the smallest one they had at wal mart. It fits, but you cannot close the cabinet door.

It is hard to believe that the new tv can be held in just one hand! The old tv was huge and dh had to struggle to get it out. (I bet it weighs easily over 100 pounds)

WE are extremely old fashioned (remember, I have never had a cell phone, nor do I want one), so this new tv was a mystery to us. Somehow, we got it working, we don't know how. I did have to go thru each chanel, one by one, to get the chanels to program in. I am sure there was an easier way.

We also, could not believe the price, $129. WE have always paid $400 or more for a tv. When your tv acted up, you called a tv repairman. I am sure they don't exsist anymore.

So, we have a tv in the bedroom now that works with a remote. I cannot say that I like the sound on the new tv as well as the old one. I guess we take the old tv to the dump! It kind of makes me feel sad to just throw it away.

WE even stopped and looked at new laptop computers while we were there, cause I do need a new computer. Mine is about 10 years old and is giving me trouble. I did not understand the new computers at all. I don't think we will ever make it into the modern world.

Heck, I even married a man 7 years younger than me so that he could figure out all this stuff! He hasn't been able to figure out all the stuff in his new car yet!

Guess I will go and watch the Braves game on my old tv upstairs in the office. It belonged to my mother and she died in 1978, so I don't know just how old the tv is??

I took my coin jar to the bank today. I will add the $38 to my $20 challenge.

Prev. total $7290.00
today 38.00
new total $7328.00

I did my first transfer today from My savings direct into my local checking account. I do a lot of transfers during the year, because I am always moving money from my savings into my local checking. I use my local checking to pay all the bills on the spec houses that we built.
I did keep my money locally in the bank, but in February they stopped offering accounts that pay 1% interest. Instead they are back to pay 1/10th of 1% interest which is what most banks now adays.
Since I keep a lot of cash in savings accounts, I am always shopping around for the accounts that pay the best interest rates.
One of these banks is My Savings Direct (Emigrant Bank) which is paying 1.05% interst.
I ordered the transfer this weekend and the bank noted that it would be processed on April7th (today)
I was happy to see that the transfer took place this morning and when I checked with my local bank, the money was already there. I am glad to see it went so smoothly.
I think I am really going to like Mysavingsdirect. I really also like the fact that they post interest, month to date, every single day!!

I watched th Lizzie Bordon movie last night. I also watched the one starring Elizabeth Montgomery in 1975. (Plus I read the book)
What is your opinion? Was Lizzie guilty or not guilty or murdering her father and step mother?

I got paid $56 in interest from my capital one 360 account. I have moved the money from that account because they were paying less interest than my other accounts.
Have any of you found savings account or money markets that are paying 1% or better? My local bank use to offer a 1% account but they don't anymore.

Prev. total $7208.00
today 56.00
new total $7264.00

I opened up a new account at GE Capital Bank a few months ago. I usually like to keep my money locally, (cause we need it to build spec houses), but my bank could not offer me any decent savings rate. I earned $27 at GE which I will add to my challenge money.

Prev. total $7181.00
today 27.00
new total $7208.00

I received $91.89 from My savings direct bank, which I will add to the $20 challenge:

Prev. total $7090.00
today 91.00
New total $7181.00

I love the first of the month since that is the day interest gets posted to my savings accounts.
April 1st is also my quarterly interest on my c.d.'s being held at Melrose Credit Union.
I was kind of leery when I took them out, over 4 years ago. The best interest rates I could find were 2.9 and 2.8%
Well, so far, I have not found anything better, so I am happy with those rates. My two c.d.'s paid me $379.79 (2.8%) and $1585.15 (2.9%).
As usual, I will add them to the $20 challenge.

Prev. total $5126.00
today 1964.00
new total $7090.00