Weekend Challenge

I challenge everyone to do one positive thing for your finances this weekend.

It doesn’t have to be big.

Here are a few ideas:

• Shop around for your cable, cell phone, insurance or other services and see if you can get a better rate
• Take your change to the bank
• Post some things for sale on Craigslist
• Open an online savings account
• Start getting things together for a garage sale
• Cut coupons out of the Sunday paper
• Calculate your net worth if you don’t already know it

What will/did you do this weekend?

I’m going to work on setting up a website for my graphic design snowflaking business.

Photo Credit: Un piccolo passo…/ One small step… by aldoaldoz, used under Creative Commons licensing

 

The Drugstore Game; Depression and Finances

Back when I was interning as a bank teller (Is that the “This one time at band camp…” line of this blog?), my co-worker Patsy used to go through the Walgreens ads methodically and then show us all the things she bought for “free” after mail-in rebates. At the time, I thought this was a little nuts, especially since most of the items were things I saw no use for. So I’ve always been a little suspicious of personal finance bloggers who constantly post about their drugstore “deals.”

Fast forward to today at 5 p.m. I’m positively intrigued by an article on the MSN Money Smart Spending Blog about “The Drugstore Game.”

There is a CVS right by my stepson’s school, but I never go there for anything besides prescriptions because their prices tend to be really high. But I do have an Extra Care card that I’ve never activated, so tonight I decided to give “The Drugstore Game” a try.

I purchased a Schick Intuitions razor for $8.88, used a $4 off coupon, and got a a $6 credit for my next purchase. I also bought Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste for $2.99 and got a $2.99 credit for my next purchase. So, if there are any Extra Care Bucks specials for things I use next week, I can stock up using my $8.99 in credits, which will give me credits to use the next week. I think I love this idea already!

Of course, the main reason I needed to go to CVS was to pick up my antidepressant prescription. Before now, there were only two people who know I am depressed – my husband and my sister (although I’m sure others have their suspicions). So I just have to mention this post from Make Love, Not Debt on the costs of denying depression. I can completely relate to this, and I think it’s great that he had the courage to post about it.

Photo Credit: i never understood the slash by Walsh, used under Creative Commons licensing

High School Reunion Drama

My 10-year high school reunion is next month.

There is going to be a barbeque on Saturday, an evening event with dinner, a DJ and possibly a mechanical bull (!) on Saturday night and an afternoon outing at the lake on Sunday.  People are ticked though because the evening event is $50 per person with a cash bar.  In our town, that’s a little ridiculous…

Still, I am probably going. 

But that is not the end of the drama.  Apparently the popular people planning the event left out some of the class officers, can’t find a bunch of people’s addresses and planned all of the events except for the barbeque outside of the town we graduated from (thus not contributing to its economy) and scheduled the reunion for the same weekend as the town’s annual “Community Days.”  So now other class members are blasting them on MySpace and scheduling their own events for that night.

Can we say high school all over again?

Photo Credit: High School Yearbook Photo by stillthedudeabides, used under Creative Commons licensing

Snowflaking on the Side

I know I’ve already mentioned this once, but I just have to point out Antishay’s great series on Building a Snowflake Business.

This is really helpful for me since I don’t have the hours for a part-time job, haven’t been getting large bonuses/raises at work lately and have cut the budget as much as I plan to (for now).

I’m planning to post some things for sale on Craigslist tonight, then get started on implementing Shanti’s ideas for snowflake businesses.  There are a lot of areas I have training and expertise in (writing, graphic design, piano, etc.), but always seem to lack the confidence to get out there and try to make money with them.  But I think getting out of debt is worth it!

Photo Credit: Dog Day Morning by DWinton, used under Creative Commons licensing

Home Improvements Are Tempting Me!

I knew that stopping the debt snowball to replace our heat pump and hot water heater was necessary, but also dangerous.

You see, once I get started on a home improvement project, I want to keep improving!

Here is my list of things I currently want to do to the house:

• Install a storm door for the front entryway
• Replace the water-damaged storm door that leads out to the deck
• Replace the door leading out to the patio, which doesn’t close right and has rotted in the corner
• Put new knobs and deadbolts on the doors (shiny brass is icky!)
• Tile the floors in the bathrooms and laundry room
• Replace our aging dishwasher, stove and microwave with stainless steel appliances
• Replace our aging washer and dryer with front-loading machines
• Remove the popcorn ceiling texture from the ceilings
• Replace the ceiling fan in our bedroom
• Replace the carpeting
• Get a twin-size bunk bed for my stepson to save floor space in his bedroom and make it easier for his friends to spend the night

Some of these are needs and some are wants, but I don’t want to use our debt snowball payments for any of them.  So, it might be a while…

Meanwhile, my husband has this itch to finish the basement (once we’re sure we’ve got the water problem taken care of).  I don’t really think this is a good use of our money, but he’d like to at least finish the “office” section of the basement before we have a baby (the current office would be the baby’s room).  So, we’re trying to allocate some of our budget toward that without sacrificing our debt repayment.

Conflicting goals are such a pain!

Photo Credit: M. Design Interiors Inc. by decor8, used under Creative Commons licensing 

I’m Taking a “Staycation”

Who knew that taking a vacation in your own city has its own buzzword?  Staycation!

According to the Urban Dictionary, a staycation is defined as follows:

1.	staycation
	A vacation that is spent at one’s home enjoying all that home and one’s home environs have to offer. Even though I live and work in New York, I don’t always get to enjoy all it has to offer, what with my work commitments, but I sure did have an awesome time here during my spring staycation.

Check out the call for digital postcards and videos from your staycation at CNN.

Now I can be cheap and trendy!  Just call me the budget travelista!

Finance Girl: Reluctant Patriot

On Friday, we received our $1,500 economic stimulus payment and a $213 state tax refund.

So, being proud Americans, we spent $3,467 on a new heat pump and $674 on a new hot water heater before the deposits even had a chance to hit the bank.

No need to thank us, America. We’re just doing our part to save the country…and not bake to death this summer…and have a hot shower that lasts more than five minutes…

Photo Credit: Be Patriotic or Else by Mike Licht, used under Creative Commons licensing