Christmas Swapping

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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"

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.