Read those bills!!

I will admit that I don’t always read the mail that comes for me. In fact the only thing I do read on my credit card, phone or cable bill is the amount that’s due and when it needs to be in there hands. I never sit down and read the charges that are due. I just pay the company what they want, when they want it.

This is how I have lived for the past two years on my own. I found that the system has been working and have not found any flaws. This was until I got a bill from Comcast.

When I canceled my cable with Comcast they told me I would still owe a balance. I was okay with this because I knew that I was slightly behind in my bills. When I signed on to Comcast.com to see what I owed, I was crushed to see my bill at $212.00 outstanding. I guess I would needed another month just to pay off my cable bill L

When I got home last night I saw that Comcast had sent me my paper statement (thought I really signed up for paperless!!) and told David that I needed to pay that this Friday and that I still needed to return the cable box still sitting in my car. With this David looked at my bill and said I shouldn’t be paying anything. He then pointed out that this bill was for cable from May 15-June 16!! I canceled my cable for April 29!!

So now I find that I was going to be paying for cable that I wasn’t even using! I called Comcast today to find out what exactly I owed. The customer service rep looked up my account at found that I only owe $10.84!!!

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!

I was going to pay $140.00 of my hard earned money to Comcast on Friday!! I asked why my balance showed $212 due and it was because I still had the cable box. Guess where I went during my lunch break? Right down to Comcast to return the cable box!!

Returning everything closed my account for good and I paid the $10.84 outstanding balance. I am officially done paying Comcast!

So where is the extra going?

Budget for Cable: $140.00
Actual Cable bill: -$ 10.84

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Total $129.16

20% into House fund: $ 25.84
Pay Credit Card #1: $103.00
Extra to House Fund: $ .32

I'm a junkie

A product junkie that is :)

Some women have closets full of purses, others have racks overfilled with shoes and some women even have their fair share of jewelry. My serious problem is beauty products.

In my room I have dozens of hair, body and makeup products. I have three shampoo bottles that still have ¼ of shampoo left, yet I only have one bottle of conditioner. I have at least six bottles of lotion that promises me a tan in a day’s time. Three bottles of lotion that claim to erase cellulite.

Lotions that promise this and hair products that promise that.

Not to mention my collection of product tools like a vacuum for my face that promises to remove blackheads an egg shaped foot scrapper that promises me soft feet.

If there is a new product with a promise out there, I will most likely buy it.

The problem is now I have a huge bag and a box filled with all these products. I barely use half of the stuff!

I decided to make a list of what products I really use daily:

- Aveeno body lotion for my face and body
- Shampoo
- Condition
- Body wash
- Curling gel
- Straightening iron
- Hair dryer
- perfume
- face wash

After seeing this list, I could easily get rid of 80% of my stuff and never miss it. Pretty sad how much money I have spent in products not to mention the time I spent browsing the product aisles at Walgreens or CVS.

My goal for one whole month (May 13-June 13) is to say no to the products. If I need to go to Walgreens/CVS I will walk away from that entire section. Too risky. I am to use whatever I have in my bag of products. I am sweating just thinking about not buying the latest product.

My ultimate goal is to reduce what I would normally buy. The sad truth is that I go to Walgreens to pick up my prescription which is just $10, but leave the store spending $40 or $50 dollars. At least once a month I do that which fills up my room with useless junk. When I lived in my apartment I could hide all the products in the closet. But now my living area is much smaller and I can’t hide my habit anymore.

Here’s to being more frugal : /

Cleaning out the extras

I went through my Disney credit card statement because I am trying to make sure that I am not making foolish purchases. Since I want to pay off this credit card ASAP, every penny matters right now. Halfway through my statement I saw a $9.99 charge every month.

In June 2009, I went to the mall to buy my Dad a Fathers day gift. I went to FYE which sells DVDs, CDs (do people still buy these?!) video games and movie/video game inspired apparel. I was sure to find something for my Dad at a place like that.

The salesman was EXTREMLY friendly and incredible helpful. He helped me find the perfect gift for my Dad. While I was checking out, he mentions a promotion called “VIP Backstage Pass”. I would sign and immediate receive 20% on my purchase. It was free for the first 3 months and then it would be $9.99 each month. The salesman told me to cancel it right away so that I can have my 20% and not be charged monthly. Sounded great to me and I signed up right away.

It’s been 2 years and I have YET to cancel my subscription. That means my credit card has been charged $199.80!!!

There has been no real reason for me not canceling my subscription other then the fact I keep forgetting. It is so important to check that credit card statement monthly to avoid unnecessary charges like this.

I got the phone number online and called to cancel. The customer service rep was determined to keep me as a member. She would talk very fast and keep offering me different gifts. I kept saying no. Please make sure you are 100% sure what they are saying to you. At one point it sounded like I had $40 is coupons in my account that she was going to mail to me. She then threw in quickly “If I keep the membership open”. I was getting pretty irritated after telling her “No” three times. Just be firm and ignore all those fancy offers they tell you. I admit a few offers she said sounded really tempting! If you haven’t used a membership in over a year, it’s just not worth the money.

Finally I canceled and now I am saving $9.99 per month to help pay off my credit card faster. Yay! I am not going to deposit that into my House Fund because I am really looking to payoff my high credit card balances.

Happy Mothers Day!

Mothers Day is this Sunday. This means I need to get my rear in gear and get her something that shows how much I really appreciate and love her.

Then I started thinking. Since when did Mothers Day turn into such a commercial holiday where you are pressured into finding the perfect gift? Where the more money you spend the better.

When I was little, a picture that I drew with my own two hands was more then enough! Now whenever I turn on the television or go online, I am presented with gift ideas that tell me buying a $500 diamond necklace is the only way my Mom will know I love and care about her.

I am very lucky to be blessed with a sweet, caring and understanding Mom. She NEVER has made us feel that we need to buy her fancy or large gifts. Taking her out to lunch was more then enough for her. My Mom even told me last week not to buy anything big for her. A house plant would be more then enough.

After much debate and thought of what I should get my Mom, I decided that I would head to Things Remembered at my local mall. When I was planning my wedding, I bought all the bridesmaids/Maid of Honor’s gift through them. They were not only gorgeous but the staff was amazing and so helpful. They even redid the jewelry boxes I first ordered because I wasn’t 100% satisfied. All for free! Don’t be afraid to call up a business if you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase/product. Most companies strive to make their customers happy.

Before I left, I Googled “Things Remembered printable coupon” and found tons of sites with coupon offers. But the best one I found was $5 if you spend $25 right on the Things Remembered website. All I needed to do was sign up for their Reward program and received a printable coupon in my email. I also did a search on their website to get a good idea of prices and what I would be able to afford.

When I got there, I saw that they were having a really great deal going on. If you buy any of the jewelry there and have it engraved, you get a free jewelry box (which needs to be engraved too). I was very happy to find plenty of affordable necklaces/bracelets. I found a really pretty heart shaped pendant that had a amethyst stone and a second piece that you can engrave. My Mom will love this!

The necklace was $19.99 so I was well in my budget. But then I got to the engraving part. It was $3.00 per word! That was just for the standard engraving too. You could add color engraving, symbols or fancier script. But I was on a budget so I stuck with the basic engraving.

I wanted to have “Mom” on the jewelry box and “You’re an amazing Mom. Never Forget that” on the necklace. It came to $24.00 just for the engraving!! Yikes! So I condensed it to “You’re an amazing Mom” It wasn’t what I wanted on there but I couldn’t justify the price. Even with the $5 off coupon, the total came to $34.05. Slightly higher then I wanted to pay but I know my Mom will love this.

I wanted to make a blueberry coffee cake for my whole family to enjoy. My sister was making breakfast on Mothers Day which would mean everyone would be full for the entire day. So I wanted to make something light that they can enjoy later in the evening and even for breakfast the next day.

Since my brother has Celiac disease (Gluten intolerant) I had to search for something that the entire family could enjoy. At Market Basket I was able to find the mix for a blueberry coffee cake for $2.99 because it was the stores brand! All I needed was to add blueberries and other items that I had around the house. I found a cute platter at Kohl’s for only $3.99 marked down from $7.99! I love buying cute inexpensive platters toped with homemade goodies to give as gifts. Its two gifts in one!!

While I was at Kohl’s I really needed a pair of pants for work. I budgeted myself $25 which I added to my $35.00 Mothers Day budget. I went directly to the clearance section and found a pair of cute pants for $17.60 marked down from $44.00! I will never buy pants full price ever again. I found so many great pairs for under $20.00!

To go with the necklace I decided to buy my Mom a small pair of earrings. Since I saved so much on the pants, I could spend about $10.00. I was able to find a cute pair of heart shaped silver earrings for $7.20 marked down from $12.00. They will go perfect with the necklace I bought her.

At the checkout I had a 15% off coupon and a $25.00 gift card. I ended up only spending $.07 out of pocket! This is why I love shopping at Kohl’s!

I didn’t have time to make a card for my Mom so I ended spending $5.19 for a card and gift bag! I was not too happy to spend so much on a card that my Mom will read once and probably throw away after a while. Next time, I am making my own card and purchasing a cheap roll of wrapping paper at the dollar store!

My biggest blow to my budget was the flowers. I planned to spend under $10.00 for flowers but everything was double or triple what they normally are. David also wanted me to get a bouquet for his Mother. Since both Mom’s like carnations, that’s what I went looking for.

At Stop and Shop I found small bouquets of single colored carnations. I decided to buy $30.00 worth or different color carnations and then split it into two bouquets. I was pretty darn lucky to find an employee at Stop and Shop who was putting together flower arrangements for people for free. I had her split the two bouquets up for me and they really looked great. I just hated that they cost $15.13 per bouquet! Usually the same amount of flowers would be no more then $10!

All in all, my Mom ended up loving her flowers and gift. The smile was worth the money. I love my Mom so much and wish I never had to have a budget on her.

Happy Mothers Day, Mom!

Now to do the math: Did I break the budget? Am I getting anything for my House Fund???

Budget for Mother’s Day + Pants budget: $60.00 ($35 + $25)
Things Remembered: -$34.08 (including $5 off coupon)
Blueberry coffee cake mix: -$2.99
Kohl’s: -$0.07 (15% off and a $25 gift card used)
Walgreens -$5.19
Flowers: -$15.13 (Crazy!!)
_____________________________________________________________
Money into House fund: $2.54

Notes:
Not bad but if I bought my Mom a houseplant instead of carnations and made my own card, I could have saved more.

Payday!

Today is payday!! Yippee!!! My favorite day of the week!

Where I work, I get paid biweekly. It used to be weekly but then they changed it a few years ago to biweekly. It seems like I am constantly broke on this new pay system. But I try to make it work.

I decided that every pay day I would do what I call “Extra Cents”. I have 3 accounts that are in constant use: My Main checking account, my Savings account and another checking account that I use to pay Kindle and Ipod downloads, Netflix subscription and anything on Amazon.com.
These 3 accounts all had cents in them. I withdrew the extra cents right into my house fund. I would never miss 0.78 cents from my account.

Checking account #1: $0.66
Checking account #2: $0.78
Savings account: $0.38
________________________________________
Money into House Fund: $1.82

A new book for my Kindle

I desperately need a book to read during my lunch break at work. It allows me to escape. This was not something that I was willing to whittle out of my budget.

First I want to say that I HIGHLY recommend getting a Kindle/Nook/eReader. I personally have the Kindle and LOVE having so many books at my finger tips. The Kindle is small enough to fit in my purse and the battery last forever. I bring my Kindle with me everywhere because you never know when you will need to pass some time (like the doctors office!). Plus you can read that trashy novel with the scandalous cover and no one will ever know! Tee Hee ; )

A month ago I joined a Kindle book club online. I figured it would help me read books that I would normally never purchase and learn new things about my Kindle. Well I was right about both of those things. Not only have I read a book that I would never in my life choose (Leota’s Garden) but I found out that it was 100% free!!

FREE = Exactly in my price range J

Doing further research I found several books on Amazon.com for the Kindle that where free! I am so excited by all the choices they have on there. Classic books, science fiction, romance novels, short stories and more! The best part is if I really can’t stand the book, I didn’t waste any money on it! Score! : D

My monthly budget for a book: $10.00
Fairy Tales and other Stories: $ 0.00

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Money into the House Fund: $10.00 (woot woot)


Here is just a small sample of other books free for your Kindle on Amazon.com:

Hailey Twitch Is Not a Snitch
Two Wars
Today We Are Rich.
Digital Disciple
A Promise of Forever Love
Pride and Prejudice
Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Updated and Expanded Edition
Doing Good
Almost Perfect (Perfect Trilogy)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Dracula
The Holy Bible English Standard Version (ESV)
The Scarlet Letter
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
The Count of Monte Cristo
Do the Work
A Fool Again: A Novella
War and Peace
Little Women
Jane Eyre
Circle of Friends Cookbook 25 Slow Cooker Recipes: Exclusive online cookbook
Sense and Sensibility
The Abandoned
Treasure Island
Mormonism Mama And Me
The Art of War
Hide in Plain Sight
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Let's Get Naked
Emma
The Time Machine
Ancient Art History 101: The TextVook
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Anna Karenina
The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights
The Secret Garden
Dots and Boxes
SEALed with a Kiss
Tailor-Made Bride, A
Sparks Fly (A fun contemporary romance about the "magic" of falling in love)
A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
Too Close to Home (Women of Justice Series #1)
Making Waves: A Novel
Dead Girl Walking
Secret in Salem
Disaster Status
It Happens Every Spring (The Four Seasons of a Marriage Series #1)
Lie Down in Green Pastures
The Shepherd
Songs for a Teenage Nomad
Dark Legacy
The Call of Zulina
Long Hard Ride: Rough Riders, Book 1
Team Secrets Of The Navy Seals
Baby, I'm Yours