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 [...]

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Reminder: Submit Your Diamond Claim by May 19

If you or your fiance/spouse purchased any diamond jewelry or loose diamonds between January 1, 2004, and March 31, 2006, be sure to get your claim in for a piece of the $295 million class-action lawsuit against DeBeers.
You can read more about the lawsuit here. 
Although there’s no telling whether you’ll get $10 or thousands, you can [...]

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Having Second Thoughts About Painting

Speaking of emergencies, I’m concerned we’re going to have one if we attempt to paint our house ourselves. No, this isn’t our house, but it’s about the same height. Yikes!
We are definitely in over our heads, and we haven’t even started yet. Last night we watched “10 Things You Must Know About Exterior Painting,” and [...]

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Buy an Emergency Kit Tax-Free

I was really looking forward to the new episodes of my favorite shows tonight, but My Name is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock and Grey’s Anatomy were all partially upended by tornado/storm coverage, so I’m going to have to watch them online (my computer is getting too old to work this hard!).
Not that I’m complaining [...]

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Thursday: My Favorite Day of the Week

I love Thursday!
The anticipation of the weekend…
Payday is close enough that I can gas up my car without guilt (I’m on E!)…
I can start looking online at clothes I want to buy with my $60 personal spending money…
New episodes of The Office, My Name is Earl, 30 Rock and Grey’s Anatomy all on the same [...]

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Angie’s List

If you haven’t heard of Angie’s List, you’re not alone.
Angie’s List is a website where members can access and submit reviews of local companies, contractors and even doctors. I guess you could say it’s kind of like a member-generated Consumer Reports for local services.
While some cities offer free trial memberships as initial reviews are gathered, [...]

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Save Money by Visiting the Store Less Often

In the past two weeks, have you made an “emergency” trip to the store because you were out of something you need, like toothpaste, paper towels or shampoo?
When visiting, did you only purchase the item you ran out of?
On Thursday, I made a Target run for Q-Tips (which I’ve been out of for a few [...]

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More Funny Financial E-Cards

Courtesy of someecards.com:

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Acting Pro Se is Such a Pain

Recently, my husband and I have been diverting our regular debt payments to savings to take care of some potential foundation problems. The longer the money sits there, however, the more ideas we have for things we “need” to spend money on.
Here’s one example:
My husband’s ex-wife, who used to have joint physical and legal custody [...]

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The Costs of Chronic Lateness

You know that person that comes into work 20 minutes late every day, keeps you waiting at the restaurant and interrupts church by trying to find a seat during the prayer?
That’s me.
I am chronically late.
I don’t do it to piss you off, because I think my time is more valuable than yours or because it [...]

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Next Year Will Be Different

I was so proud of myself last year.
In 2007, my big, fat federal refund was in my checking account by February 15. It was the first time I hadn’t waited until April to do my taxes. Believe me, I know where the city’s post office that’s open ’til midnight on April 15 is.
This year…not so [...]

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My Taxes Are Done and It’s Not Even Midnight

Ah, done at last…until we’re audited, that is.
Actually, I think we did our taxes correctly.  We finished last night after work and I even had enough time to watch Desperate Housewives before I went to bed. 
It’s such a good feeling to be done!  We didn’t pay any money, and, instead of owing $1,000, we’re getting a [...]

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Procrastinators, Unite!

Sorry my posts have been a little irregular lately, but I haven’t been eating my Activa have been trying to finish my taxes. 
I thought I was almost done, but it turns out I hadn’t started the state forms (I have to file two state tax returns since I live in one state and work in another).  [...]

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Oh, Hail No! (Do I Have the Right Car Insurance Deductible?)

 
This afternoon, an unexpected hail storm blew through town. Seeing as how I was at work and we have uncovered parking, there was little I could do to protect my car (except run through the parking lot in high heels while dodging ice pellets and move my car into the underground parking garage across the [...]

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Shrinking Debt, Shrinking Waist?

So far, my debt-reduction efforts have been leading to weight gain, not weight loss. After all, sitting in front of a computer for hours and not buying salads because they’re more expensive than burgers does not a thin person make.
I weighed myself on Monday and I’m at my highest weight ever – 143 pounds. Yeah, [...]

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Carnivals and Other Recommended Reading

Carnivals I Participated in This Week:
Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Money Ning, which included my post Financial “I Never” with Finance Girl (I had a fun time writing this post, but no, I wasn’t really taking shots).
Carnival of Twenty Something Finances, hosted by The Bag Lady, which included my post Childhood Money Memories, Part [...]

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Kansas vs. Memphis: Who Would Win in a Financial Championship?

Well, we all know that Memphis is going to win the NCAA basketball championship tonight (OK, so I’m making that up – I could really mostly care less.)
But which city would win a financial battle off the court?
Let’s compare the financial stats of these two cities, brought to us by our lead stat keeper, Money [...]

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How Often Do You Pay Bills?

I’m a planner, a scheduler. I do laundry on Sunday. I pay bills on Tuesday. I give my stepson piano lessons on Thursday.
I find that by assigning tasks specific days of the week, they’re more likely to get done (maybe that’s why my house is never clean – I haven’t assigned a day for that).
Now, [...]

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Funny Financial E-Cards

My husband read my post on Debt as a Symptom of Sexual Addiction and sent me a lovely e-card today…

Here are some good finance-related e-cards from the same site…

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Why Did We Buy This House Again?

Ah, spring…that lovely time of year when I’m again reminded that buying this house was perhaps not such a good idea.
What do they say? April showers bring May foundation leaks?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Our naive first-time homebuyer, no-down-payment, 2005 height-of-the-housing market purchase has quickly turned into a real-life version of The Money Pit.
Here’s [...]

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Finance Gets Personal Featured on MSN Money

MSN Money’s Smart Spending blog is featuring my post, 10 Signs You Have Financial OCD, in Are You Obsessive-Compulsive About Money?
Thank you, Karen Datko, and welcome new readers.

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Why Does Dave Ramsey Push Identity Theft Insurance*?

If you’ve listened to the Dave Ramsey Show for any amount of time, you know he is constantly recommending Identity Theft Protection from Zander Insurance. Every time the subject of identity theft comes up, he gives a little spiel about how he’s purchased it for everyone on his team. But why would he recommend this [...]

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Debt as a Symptom of Sexual Addiction

Debt is a symptom of a problem in your life.
It could be that you want desperately to be liked, and are trying to keep up with the Joneses. Maybe you are unable to set boundaries with your children and give in to their every whim. Perhaps, like me, having the “perfect” outfit or the “right” [...]

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Check Out the St. Patrick’s Day Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance

Lynnae of Being Frugal is hosting the Carnival of Finance #144, which includes my post 10 Signs You Have Financial OCD.
It’s my first carnival, and I’m excited to be included! Be sure to check out all the other great posts.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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Sorry For the Technical Difficulties

I switched my Blogger account over to WordPress this weekend, but it took me a while to figure out how to get everything up and running. I think everything is pretty much back to normal now, I just need to work out some of the widgets (God, I sound like such a geek right now!).
Please [...]

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