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I have a really good credit score right now (somewhere upwards of 750).  This is extremely important to me, because I really want to qualify for a good mortgage rate, and well, just because.  I know that several factors affect how my FICO score is calculated (for example, the credit bureau takes into account the number of inquiries, my payment history, my debt to credit ratio, and how my debt compares to my income).   (more…)

Its the middle of the month (almost) so I’m posting my mid-Month roundup of income and spending.  We’re doing well in income this month because my business has its first customer.  Our spending is not quite on track because of the broken car window.  But, its looking like we’re definitely going to end the month with the balance paid off on my credit card (more…)

Yesterday someone broke a window on our car while it was parked in a secure parking garage.  They stole a GPS System, and left a ton of shattered glass in its place.  We need to have two cars (there is no public transportation to speak of here, and I need to get to my part time job and Fiance to his full time one).  So, I got on the phone last night to try to find someone to fix our shattered window.   (more…)

Wide Open Wallet Hosted the Olympic Edition of the Finance Fiesta.  My commentary on the Financial Lessons from Discover Card won a gold in The Credit and Debt Event.  

No Debt Plan Hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance.  My article, When It Comes to Money Decide With Your Heart, was included.  

The Carnival of Money Stories at Broke Grad Student included my 9 Biggest Money Mistakes

My post about my Feelings on the Mortgage Bailout was included in the 152nd Carnival of Debt Reduction hosted at Living Almost Large.  

The Olympic Edition of the Money Hacks Carnival at The Personal Financier included my post on saving energy using X10 Home Automation.  

My post (with my name spelled wrong- OOPS! My “O” key is broken & I didn’t double check the form!) on Once a Month Cooking  was included in the Festival of Frugality at MoneyNing.  

Lately, the deals at CVS haven’t been quite as good, so I have been expanding to Walgreens and Rite-Aid.  These stores, too, offer a wealth of great deals.  But, they can be confusing for newbies to the Drug Store game.  This confusion is compounded by the fact that there are different rules for Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and CVS.  Here, I provide a guide to newbies who want to take advantage of the deals that Walgreens has to offer. (more…)

Yesterday, I got ANOTHER letter from ANOTHER lender, urging me to consolidate my loans, lower my payments, and stretch out my payments over the next 35 years!  It seems I get these letters an average of once a week.  Now, I know that they are trying to help, because student loan payments are not manageable for many when they first graduate.  But some of these programs seem to be urging me to think along the same lines as the mortgage loan brokers who only want me to consider my monthly payments without an eye on the long term consequences.   (more…)

The other day, I was cutting up brownies into serving sizes after I baked up a pan.  I specifically did not want to eat a brownie. I was about to go out to dinner, and I had already had sweets earlier in the day, and I was going to be having desert later that night.  So, instead, I proceeded to eat the crumbs that were left after I cut a brownie.  The pieces that stuck to the bottom of the pan also got eaten off the bottom, before the pan made its way into the sink.  And that last little piece that wasn’t quite big enough to be a serving size… well don’t even get me started on that.  Ultimately, I think I probably would have eaten less if I had just cut myself a normal size brownie, but thats not really the point here.  The point is that, in dieting and in budgeting, the crumbs count. (more…)

Parents, listen up. Here is yet another reason why you need to 1. Limit Your Kids TV and 2. Talk to them about personal finance.  If you don’t, Discover Card will.  I am referring here to their latest commercial, which I saw on TV and which you can check out on YouTube here.  The commercial opens with the Oh-So-Profound Line that ‘We Are a Nation of Consumers… And That’s OK.” (more…)

I was at an Estate Sale this weekend, and I was talking to one of the staff member’s. She told me that the story was a very sad one.  A man and his second wife had bought the house together 20 years ago.  The wife put in $44,000 to the sale of the house, but for whatever reason the house was only in the husband’s name.  Well, he died without a will and the son from his first marriage pressured the wife into accepting her original $44,000 back and taking nothing more from the estate (he even got her to sign a legally binding document).  She was timid, and meek, and grief stricken and went along with it and while the son sold the house for $280,000 she was out of luck and forced to move in with her daughter-in-law.This is probably unlikely to happen to most of you, unless you happen to be a meek person with a very ungrateful (step) child.  However, everyone still needs to have some things in place to protect their loved ones in case of emergency or death.   (more…)

 I’ve been told that Once-a-Month Cooking is a great way to save  money.  The idea is you make 30 days of meals all at once and freeze them.  That way  you save time by cooking in bulk, and money because you plan your meals around  what is on sale and you won’t feel inclined to eat out because you’ll have a freezer full  of pre-prepared food.  I’m trying out a variation on once-a-month cooking, whereby  I’m building a stockpile of meals in our freezer over time.   (more…)