First Step to Freedom

Christmas Swapping

2008-12-05T18:08:00.002-05:00

One of the ways I'm saving money on presents this year is by trading items on Swaptree.com. It's an awesome website where you can trade music CDs, DVDs, books and video and computer games. Once you have an account, you can enter the UPC or ISBN numbers of the items you are willing to trade. You can import lists of items that you want from your own file, web pages or by creating a "wish list" at Amazon.com.

The only costs involved are postage fees for the item that you are trading, and you can print postage-paid labels from swaptree's site, if it's not convenient to go to the post office. For this service, swaptree will bill your credit card for the postage incurred(about 50 cents more per item than the post office) plus a $1 fee at the end of the month. The postage service is worth the small extra fees to me because I live more than five miles from a post office.

I have traded about 20 items, and I've been happy with everything I've received. I've gotten 3 Nintendo DS games for my children for Christmas for a total of $10.25. They will make great stocking stuffers!

Happy swapping!

2008 Personal Goal Recap

2008-12-04T12:45:00.004-05:00

What have I been doing since 9/17/2008? Nothing that should have kept me from posting for this long!

Was I successful with my 2008 personal goals? Let's see what happened. . .

1. Date night w/hubby once per week. Not even close. We did have several "dates," and we do have more time to ourselves now that the kids are older and with friends more often. We'll keep the goal on the list for 2009.

2. Lose 20 pounds. I'm halfway there with 10 pounds lost, and I still have 27 days to lose a couple more. I started the year by losing 8 pounds, but by June, I regained those plus 7 more. I rejoined Weight Watchers in October, and I've had steady losses since then. So, I'm hoping to say good-bye to the other 10 pounds by the end of February 2009.

3. Organize family photos. Again, not even close. I do have some of the photos sorted by year in boxes, but that is as far as I've gotten. On the list again!

4. Family vacation to Seattle. Finally . . . Success!! We completed this goal in October. We had a wonderful week on the Olympic Peninsula and in Seattle, with accommodations provided by hubby's aunt and uncle. We hope to return in a few years for more exploring in Olympic National Park.

5. Develop materials for a finance class. Begun, not completed. This goal will also be transferred to 2009, and I have a friend to nag me to finish it.

Although I didn't complete most of my goals, I'm happy that I made at least some progress on all of them. I'll spend the next few weeks figuring out my 2009 goals to post in January.

Balance Transfer Update

2008-09-17T15:09:00.003-04:00

In my last post, I was approved for a Capital One Mastercard with no-fee balance transfers. I received my balance transfer check within a week, and I was able to open a $15,000 1-year CD with a yield of 4.25%. I expect to earn about $640 in interest on the CD, and I'll also earn about $300 on the additional $4,000 in my money market account, given the current yield of 3.31%.

I'll be able to keep all of the transfered money earning interest by making a monthly balance transfer for the amount of the minimum payment to one of the credit cards I use regularly. Because I can make multiple transfers and the 0% balance transfer rate is good for 15 months, I'll earn more than $900 for the life of the transfer.

I'll definitely keep my eye out for other arbitrage opportunities.

Making Money with 0% Balance Transfers

2008-08-23T08:05:00.003-04:00

When interest rates on MMAs were higher, I used 0% balance transfers to earn extra money. Since the rates have been lower, I hadn't been able to find good offers where the interest I would earn would be enough to cover the transfer fees. About a week ago, I received an offer from Capital One Mastercard for 0% for 15 months with NO Transfer Fee. Needless to say, I applied right away and transferred money to two of the cards I regularly use. Now I'm waiting for a check from Capital One for the rest of the money, and I'll put it into a CD.

Once I open the CD, I'll post a follow-up with what I expect my profit to be.

July 2008 Net Worth Update

2008-07-02T15:27:00.003-04:00

Our net worth has declined again, mainly because of the lower values of our stock accounts. Fortunately, July is a three-paycheck month, so that will help a little. Our liabilities will still be higher than normal through August until we pay a large credit card charge (for hubby's work) that posted at the end of June but won't be due until mid-August. We have already been reimbursed, and we'll get to earn interest on the money for almost 45 days.

Assets $467,671

Liabilities $202,345

Net Worth $265,326

Credit Card Fraud--Protection from Ourselves

2008-06-20T10:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I received a call from the Security Department of the Visa credit card that we use for most purchases. They wanted me to verify a charge from a company in the UK. It was for a large amount, and since my husband hadn't mentioned any large purchases for work, I told the rep that I would check with my husband, but that I thought the charge was NOT valid. Then I called my husband to see if he had ordered anything, and he said, "Yes, I already received the product. It's a valid charge."

I'm grateful that we have good fraud protection--I just wish hubby had told me of his plans! Thirty minutes of back and forth with the credit card company and my husband, and I think everything is worked out.

Moral of the story: Call your credit card issuer if you plan to use your card buy anything from outside of the US.

A Summer Cold Got Me!

2008-06-16T10:31:00.002-04:00

My children were sick a couple of weeks ago, and the germs got to me last weekend. I have been trying to get over a cold for more than a week now, and I'm ready to feel better! I'm going to spend some time on the couch again today in hopes that tomorrow I'll be back to normal.

Summer Temps and the Ice Maker is Broken

2008-06-06T16:21:00.002-04:00

Our ice maker has been slowing its production for the past few weeks, and it's not even close to keeping up with our ice needs. Now it's going to be 100 degrees this weekend--what a time to be without ice! I had hope that the ice maker would magically start working again, but so far that hasn't happened. We've resorted to buying bagged ice, and I don't foresee that as a long-term solution. Hopefully, my husband will spend some time looking at it this weekend so we can order either parts or a new unit.

Our refrigerator is less than 5 years old, and I'm disappointed that the ice maker is having problems already. Our previous refrigerator was 18 years old when we moved, and everything still worked. We left it at our old house because our new house could fit a larger refrigerator and we wanted a more energy efficient model. I guess our money from the energy savings will be spent on a new ice maker!

Coupon Savings over the Weekend

2008-06-03T11:12:00.003-04:00

My family went shopping together over the weekend in order to combine errands and save money on gas. We needed to return some items and make other purchases, and we went to 6 stores. Thanks to the Deal Finder at the Life Takes Visa website, got a coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase at Lowe's Home Improvement. Additionally, I had received a coupon in the mail for $5 off a $50 purchase at Target. Because of these coupons and others from the Sunday paper, we saved $19 on items we would have purchased anyway.

I love coupons!

June 2008 Net Worth

2008-06-01T10:07:00.007-04:00

I didn't post May net worth since I was out of town during the first week of May, and I didn't have my account information with me. I'm just going to pick back up with June since I never bothered to look up the amounts for May.

Our net worth has rebounded a bit, mainly because the value of our stock accounts has gone back up. Also, our liabilities are slightly inflated because I used a credit card to purchase $1200 in Kroger gift cards to get the 10% bonus. We'll use the cards over the next few months, and everything will even out.

Assets $478,726

Liabilities $202,185

Net Worth $276,541

Kroger & Sears Offer 10% Bonus on Tax Rebate

2008-04-25T10:31:00.004-04:00

Starting May 2, Kroger will offer customers an extra 10% when they purchase a gift card with their tax rebate money. For example, if you purchase a $300 Kroger card, $30 will be added to your balance. If you received a higher federal or state tax refund, you can use that amount instead of your rebate. You do not have to bring the paper IRS or state check in order to take advantage of this offer. If you're already a Kroger customer, you can earn a quick 10% on money that you are going to spend anyway.

Sears is offering a 10% bonus as well; however, as of this writing, you will need to bring your check to the store in order to receive the bonus. Blogger Lisa Everitt thinks that Kroger is more likely to be successful. Why Kroger Will Get Your Tax Refund (and Sears Won't)

What about you? Do you plan on buying gift cards to receive the bonus?

I will probably buy some gift cards at Kroger. I shop there anyway, and it's hard to pass up 10% on my money! If we needed an appliance, I would take advantage of the Sears offer as well.

2008 Financial Goal Progress - April

2008-04-24T10:30:00.006-04:00

Two days ago I posted an update on my personal goals, and now it's time to highlight progress on our financial goals.

1. Pay for braces. Accomplished during the first week of February.

2. Refinancing our mortgage. Done - the closing was on February 4th.

3. Contribute 12% to retirement plans. Ongoing - my husband also receives a 2% match.

4. Find a job/source of income for me. I still don't have a steady source of income. I've applied for some jobs, but I haven't even gotten any interviews. Now that we've completed our refi, I want to start using credit card balance transfers to earn some extra interest again.

5. Consolidate retirement accounts. No progress yet. My husband doesn't want to move the accounts while the stock market is down. This will have to wait until he sees the light.

Overall, I'm pleased with my goal progress. I'll concentrate on finding a source of income, and wait a few months before working on the retirement accounts (and my husband) again.

2008 Personal Goal Progress - April

2008-04-22T07:44:00.002-04:00

Lets review progress on my 2008 personal goals; Since the end of January, I've lost 5 more pounds, for a total of 12 pounds. Only 8 more pounds to go to get to my goal of losing 20 pounds. I've been exercising on the elliptical machine for 45 minutes 3-4 times per week, but I haven't been consistent about working out with weights. I'll set a goal of weight-lifting 2-3 times per week.

Date nights with my husband have become more frequent. I'm still working on the "date night every week" goal.

I have only worked on organizing photos two or three times. We just cleared out some stuff from our bonus room by having a yard sale, and now I'll have more room to spread out photos.

I haven't started working on the materials for the finance class I want to teach. I'm still looking into how to get my class added to the Continuing Education schedule.

My goal of going on vacation in Seattle is one step closer to reality. We booked our flights, and we'll be in Washington state for a week at the end of October. Now I need to get our passports in case we're able to visit friends in Vancouver while we're that close.

So overall, I've made decent progress on three goals. I need to step up my efforts with the photos and working on class materials.

The next post will be an update on my financial goals.

Living in the Real World/April 2008 Net Worth

2008-04-15T14:54:00.005-04:00

The remainder of March and the first part of April have been a whirlwind. I've had several projects that have required time away from the computer, and blogging went by the wayside. Over the next few days, I'll get back up to speed, and I'll be posting 2-3 times per week.

Our net worth took a pounding from the drop in the stock market, but we're still continuing to put 12% (+ 2% match) into the 401(k) and the Roth 401(k). Hopefully we're getting some bargains right now.

Assets $466,983

Liabilities $200,926

Net Worth $266,057

In my next post, I'll update progress on my goals for the year.

March 2008 Net Worth

2008-03-03T17:12:00.009-05:00

In an effort to more closely monitor our finances, I am going to start posting our net worth each month. I've never followed it that closely before, so I'll be interested to see how the amounts change throughout the year.

Assets $481,663

Liabilities $201,054

Net Worth $280,609

I'll update this post with a better breakdown of the categories once I figure out how to make a table that looks good. I'm still a newbie with html, and I don't want to post an ugly table.

Rain Barrels - Recycling and Saving Money

2008-02-20T11:45:00.006-05:00

Most of the state of NC is in an exceptional drought, and forecasters are predicting lower than average rainfall for 2008. So what are we doing to help conserve water?

We bought two rain barrels that we will use to water our garden and potted plants this year. The town where we live sells 60-gallon rain barrels for $87 each. We were planning on buying one. Luckily, before my husband left to purchase it, I googled "rain barrels Raleigh." We found that the city of Raleigh sells recycled plastic pickle barrels that have been converted to rain barrels for $37 each. So for $13 LESS than the price of ONE from our town, we have TWO rain barrels that will hopefully cover our outdoor water needs. Last year, our water bill was $10-$20 more per month when we had to water, so the barrels should pay for themselves in about 6 months. In future years, we should save at least $90 per year on water costs.

In addition to saving water, we are reusing something that would have normally gone to the landfill. The barrels hold 55 gallons, and they come from the Mt. Olive Pickle Company in Mt. Olive, NC.

It's supposed to rain here on Friday. We are looking forward to seeing how much rain it takes to fill the barrels.

Happy Presidents' Day!

2008-02-18T16:31:00.003-05:00

I did my part to help the economy today by spending about $70 on new towels at Kohl's. They were having a sale, and I had a 20% off coupon. I replaced the towels that my husband and I use, and I also bought new guest towels. Some of our old guest towels will celebrate their 15th birthday in August--I think we were way overdue!

I also spent $74 at the grocery store. I went over budget by $75 last month. Hopefully I'll be able to come in under budget for the next few months to make it up.

It's a banner week! Today the Federal Tax Refund arrived!

2008-02-08T19:49:00.000-05:00

And not a moment too soon after refinancing our mortgage this week. We'll get the refund from our old escrow account next week, and that will help bump up our savings again. Two other deposits are also coming next week, expense reimbursement and my husband's bi-weekly pay. Our savings account will be back to normal soon!

I already received my NC tax refund!

2008-02-07T15:25:00.000-05:00

Wow! I filed my taxes on the afternoon of Feb. 1st, and my refund was deposited in our checking account last night!

Out of my "comfort zone"

2008-02-05T13:13:00.000-05:00

I'm a very private person by nature, and I have a hard time reaching out to others. Now that I'm a 40-something, I see how much I need a support system around me. I'm trying to help and receive help from others, and it makes me nervous whenever I ask for anything. Writing this blog and sharing my thoughts is a huge deal to me, and I'm surprised at how easy it has been to find something to post.

I did several things today that were hard for me to do. I called to ask a neighbor if she can give my daughter a ride home from a meeting. I've picked up her daughter a few times, and so it's not a big deal, but it was hard for me to make the call. Another new thing for me was leaving comments on other blogs. I've never done it before, and for some reason I felt self-conscious, even though no one knows who I am. Also, I called a new neighbor to offer to bring her dinner. She had a baby several months ago, and I had offered to bring a meal when I spoke with her husband. It hadn't worked out for me to bring anything before now, and I feel like I've checked off a big item on my to-do list. I felt bad for waiting for so long, but better late than never.

2007 Taxes are done!

2008-02-04T13:09:00.000-05:00

It's a new record--I filed our taxes on February 1st. That is the earliest I have ever finished! I used TurboTax this year, and it was FREE, thanks to State Farm Insurance. If you're a State Farm customer, you can use this service through their website; you have to first sign in at the State Farm website and link to TurboTax Online from there. I liked the TurboTax interface, probably because I am a long time Quicken user. Importing my husband's W-2 made the process even easier. Last year I paid $16 to e-file, and this year it was FREE!

We should receive our state and federal refunds by February 15. We are getting back about $2,400 this year, combined. Yes, I know, change the withholding. We have done that, and for regular income, we are right on target. However, my husband receives a substantial bonus each year, and the taxes deducted from that income account for the majority of our refund money. Does anyone have any ideas of how to change the W-4 so they don't overwithhold for an "extra" paycheck?

2008 Financial Goal Progress - January

2008-01-31T16:37:00.000-05:00

Two days ago I posted an update on my personal goals, and now it's time to highlight progress on our financial goals.

1. Pay for braces. My daughter just received her braces on Jan. 29. The office manager is on vacation until next week, and another employee couldn't get the system to give me a discount for paying within the first 90 days. The office manager is supposed to call me next week to resolve the issue. This goal should be accomplished within the next week.

2. Refinancing our mortgage. Please check out this post about why we are refinancing now. I locked a 30-year fixed rate of 5.5% on Jan. 14. This goal should be accomplished by the end of next week. The closing is scheduled for the morning of Feb. 4, and the loan will disburse on Feb. 8, if all goes according to plan.

3. Contribute 12% to retirement plans. This was our contribution amount last year. We just had to verify the first paystub of the year to be sure the payroll conversion where my husband works transferred our information correctly.

4. Find a job/source of income for me. So far I've made $25 from opening an account at E*Trade. I will get more focused in the search within the next two weeks so I can start working mid-February.

5. Consolidate retirement accounts. No progress yet. With the refi and working on our income taxes, this goal has fallen off the radar for now. I'll talk with my husband once his big project at work is completed, after Feb. 9.

For January, I'm 2 for 5; a pretty good start to the year.

Insurance Issues - Update

2008-01-30T08:11:00.000-05:00

In a previous post, I detailed two issues I was working to resolve with our health insurance company and doctors offices. We received the $27 balance that the specialist owed us, and now that matter is completed!

The other issue didn't come out in our favor. The office manager from the optometrist's office sent me an updated bill with corrected codes, but our insurance company still denied the claim. At this point, I'm tired of going back and forth with the doctor's office, so the fee will have to be an expensive lesson to us.

From now on we will not pay doctors upfront; we will wait until our insurance company processes the claim. This is the only way that we can be certain of what we owe, and it also gives the doctors more incentive to help us with any issues that arise with the insurance company.

2008 Personal Goal Progress - January

2008-01-29T09:49:00.000-05:00

Lets review progress on my 2008 personal goals; so far, I've worked mainly on one goal - losing weight. My goal is to lose 20 pounds this year, and so far I've lost 7 pounds! Go, me! I started exercising again at the beginning of January, using a workout from Fitness magazine. In February, I'll pick a different workout so I won't get bored.

This weekend, my husband and I will have our first official date night. We had several nights this month where we were able to spend time talking without interruptions, and that was very nice!

I haven't worked on our photos yet, so in February, I plan to spend at least 15 minutes per day organizing the photos into chronological order.

I will start working on the class materials in mid-February when my children go back to school. They attend year-round school, and they have three week breaks throughout the year instead of a long summer break.

Once we know the amount of my husband's raise, we will decide if we can do the Seattle trip this year.

So that's the update for now. I'll post updates on our financial goals next.

Refinancing to a fixed-rate mortgage

2008-01-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

We purchased our home a little over four years ago. Our mortgage was from our credit union, and it was a 2-year ARM that could go up a maximum of 1% every two years. The starting rate was 3.75%, which was well below 30-year fixed rates at the time. Also, choosing this mortgage allowed us to skip the PMI since we only wanted to put down 10%. It was a great option at the time.

Fast forward to 2008, and our rate adjusted to 5.75%, still a very reasonable rate. However, our home value has increased substantially, and we're below the 80% LTV threshold for PMI (closer to 60%). This week, I was able to lock in a 30-year rate of 5.5%. We're not planning on moving for at least another 8-10 years, and I wanted to get a fixed rate while rates are still low. Will rates go even lower? We'll see, and if they drop like a rock, we'll refinance again.

We will continue to pay the amount of our current payment in order to reduce the loan payoff term.

Financial Goals for 2008 (Pre-Raise)

2008-01-15T09:15:00.000-05:00

Well, the hubby and I had a preliminary goal setting session, and we came up with some goals that we want to accomplish this year. Some of them may get tweaked once we know what our projected income will be this year. Here goes:

1. Pay for braces for DD#1. This will take about $2500. Fortunately, it will be $2500 tax-free because we found out she needed braces in time to add the amount to our flexible spending account for the year.

2. Refinance to a fixed rate mortgage. Look for a more detailed post explaining why we're doing a refi now.

3. Continue to contribute 12% to retirement accounts. The company puts in 2%, so we're at 14% total. For 2008, the contributions will be split 8% (including 2% match) to regular 401(k) and 6% to the Roth 401(k).

4. Find a job/source of income for me. I quit my part-time job in June 2007 because it was far away (36 miles, roundtrip) and my daughters' daily school schedules are off by almost two hours for this year and next, i.e., one starts school at 7:30, and the other one starts at 9:15.

5. Consolidate retirement plans from previous employers. We currently have accounts at four different institutions, and I would like to move the other three to Vanguard. We would be able to reduce our fees, and we would be eligible for some additional services.

That's the first look for the year. We'll revise and post as needed.

ING Direct Referrals Available Again

2008-01-10T09:07:00.000-05:00

ING Direct is being generous in 2008. You can earn a $25 bonus for opening a savings account or a checking account with at least $250;however, you need a referral code from an existing account holder. The APY on the savings account is 4.10%, and you can earn up to 4.80% on the checking account, depending on your balance.

If you send me an email, I will send you a referral. I will receive $10 for each account that is opened. Help me to help you! Thanks for your support!

Freecycle and save the earth

2008-01-08T11:04:00.000-05:00

I love Freecycle! What is Freecycle, you ask? There are local groups on Yahoo where you can post items that you no longer need and that you don't care to sell. You can post an OFFER, and group members will email you with a time when they are willing to pick up your stuff. So far I've offered kids VHS tapes and a cordless phone. I've gotten quick responses and fewer hassles than selling because it's FREE, who's going to complain about that?

This service gets things into the hands of people who want and can use them, and it keeps the items out of the landfill, for a little longer, anyway. It's interesting to see what's available, and it changes constantly. Today's offers include everything from underwear (new!) to a mattress and box spring set.

Once you have confirmed that someone is picking up your OFFER, you post a TAKEN message to the group. It's that easy! Check out your local group for specific rules.

Insurance Issues

2008-01-04T16:13:00.000-05:00

I spent about an hour today trying to resolve a claim from my husband's visit to the eye doctor in October 2007. He went to a new doctor because the doctor we've used since the mid-90s could not find the cause of his headaches and vision issues. Because he was unsure of our insurance coverage, my husband paid the full fee of $199, and we filed the claim ourselves. The new doctor coded the visit as an annual exam instead of a problem-focused (ah, the irony) exam, and the insurance company denied the claim because my husband had already had his annual exam in 2007. Now I have a problem to focus on!

After talking to the insurance company, I called the billing manager to ask him to change the codes so that we can resubmit the claim. The billing manager told me he would speak with the doctor and call me back. Five hours later--still no call back. On Monday, I will call again because I would like to get back at least some of our money.

In addition, the eye doctor referred my husband to a specialist for another $75. On my husband's second visit there, we were overcharged by $9--it was on the bill, and my husband overlooked it. Then after the insurance company processed the claim, our part of the bill was reduced. Balance due to us--$27. I will also call this office on Monday, unless a check arrives tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

One Month Later . . . 2008 Personal Goals

2008-01-03T12:43:00.000-05:00

Well, the holidays kept me busy, and now it's time to focus on the new year. Here are my personal goals for the year:

1. Have a date-night with my husband once per week. We're great with family time--we need to make more time for ourselves as a couple.

2. Lose 20 pounds. I used Weight Watchers to lose about 40 pounds 6 years ago. I've gained half of that back, and it's time for the pounds to go away again.

3. Organize family paper photos into albums. This is ugly--I haven't put pictures in albums in over 10 years! Ack!

4. Take a family vacation to Seattle. Staying with relatives for part of the trip will make this possible.

5. Develop materials for a basic finance class I can teach through the local extended learning or community college program. Teaching a class will give me the leads needed to start a financial coaching business.

Financial Goals for 2008

We will make our annual budget at the end of January once we know the amount of my husband's raise, and I will post our financial goals then.

The First Step for First Step to Freedom

2007-12-03T16:16:00.000-05:00

I finally did it! I started the blog I've been considering since summer. In an effort to become more focused about our finances, I am working on our 2008 goals. I still have to research some costs and have the family meeting. Check back later for more about our family and updates on our progress!