Gosh, I am glad the month of January is over. It seems like such a dreary month. Plus, at least one month of winter is past and spring is a little bit closer. (my favorite season)
February is the month for my husband and my oldest granddaughter"s birthdays. It does not seem possible that she is turning 19 already. My how time flies!

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??

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!!

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!!

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)

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!

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??

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!!

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.

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!!

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!!

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!!!

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!!

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!

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!

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!!

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!!!!!

It was so nice to go out and eat last night after staying home for 2 nights in a row.
Then we went and filled my car with gas. I can't believe that it took $40 to fill it, but at $3.32 a gallon, it is no surprise!
We are expecting snow again tonight, so we may be snowed in this weekend.
I know people enjoy snow, but my dh does not get paid when he does not work. Plus, he hates staying home unless he has something to do!!
Guess I had better prepare to cook this weekend!

The best ways to lower your electric bill is to read your meter daily.
Write it down and keep track of how many kilowatts you use each day.
Walk thru the house and turn everything off. Get in the habit of having nothing running unless you are in the room.
No tv, lights, etc., on in an extra room.
If the plug feels warm, it is using power.
My best advice is with your electric hot water heater. Turn it off at the fuse box. Only turn it on about 20 minutes before you need it for a shower or to run the dish washer!!

Take what you save on your electric bill and add it to your $20 challenge each month. That is what I do!!

The snow started about 6 pm last night and we got an inch or so fairly quickly. The good news is, we did not get the sleet and ice they predicted, so the power did NOT go out.
DH was happy as a hog watching the old cars on Barrett Jackson auction and I caught up on reading some magazines.

I finished Jan. issue of money and saw that savingadvice.com was mentioned in there. Since I post so much, I told dh that that made me kind of famous. (lol)

opps, forgot to mention that I also made a liquor run before the big snow hits! I have to drive to North Carolina in order to buy liquor.
I always thought that by now this are would have allowed liquor sales, but I have been here almost 24 years and it has not happened!
Ok, we should be all set for the storm. I even stocked up on my favorite Hood low carb chocolate milk! Yum! I have cake and chocolate milk!!

Dh called his father tonight. We are still trying to see if we can get his name off of a loan that his brother made to fix the roof on FIL's house. We are told it is off, but we have no proof on that.
In the meantime, FIL says he is going to list his old car for sale.
Obviously, my dh got his love of cars from somewhere. My FIL was working on restoring a packard for over 30 years. He finally got to old to work on it and gave up.
He bought himself a 1941 packard back about 25 years ago.
He has decided to sell it. Guess who wants to buy it? You got it, DH!!
OMG, we practically have a recession and we are thinking about car #6!!
Good thing I really love this man and he works so hard!!

Today is the day to pay your estimated income tax, Jan. 15th. I just got back from mailing mine to Uncle Sam!!

The stock market has been open for about 2 minutes. It is already down 140 points. Do you think this will be a bad year for the market. Citi is really down today. Let's see what happens!

WE will be staying home tonight. Have you heard of the Barrett Jackson auction? Well, we will be watching that and my husband will be drooling over all the fancy cars!

They are predicting snow for Thursday. I hope they are wrong!

Today will be a no spend day for sure! The "girls" are all coming over this afternoon to play bridge. It is amazing how much fun it is to play bridge. I would do it every day if I could, and it costs nothing!!
We do have a few snacks which I buy in advance on sale if possible. The gals all drink water or bring their own drinks, since I never drink coffee or tea. I do have to warm the house a bit, can't freeze them to death!!

Hubby came back home this morning after leaving for work. Something wrong with the brakes on his van. We have had such an expensive time since October. I was hoping all the extra expenses would go away for a few months so we could catch up. It is not to be.

He took the new vette for his work vehicle today! At least it will class up the job, at the house he is building!

I was looking for my perpetucal calander today. A friend had a birthday today, but had no idea what day of the week she was born on, so i told her.
While searching for that in my desk, I came across a calculation that I had made many years ago.
I was figuring out how much money I would need in CD's to earn enough interest to live on.
I figured that we could live just fine on $24,500 a year. I just wonder how many years ago I figured that amount out? It sure would not be very practical today. Of course, I do know that some people do live on that amount so it is possible. We would certainly have to downsize and I guess we are not ready to do that.

I still read the meter everyday and write it down. I think it makes me think about how much electricity I use everyday. I expect this month's bill to be higher than usual. We really did decorate a lot for christmas, outside. I love to see christmas lights, so of course, I turned them on every night, even if we were not at home. My neighbors across the street, decorated too, so our little end of the road really looked quite nice!
I am still being frugal about keeping the hot water heater turned off all day.