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is up at Mighty Bargain Hunter.  Check it out.

Carnival of Debt Reduction is also up at SimplyForties.  Check that out too

When I was living with my now-ex, we became pretty frugal together.  He didn’t start out that way, but with quite a bit of discussion, he became that way.  For a long time, we supported each other’s efforts to save money.  It became almost like a contest- who can spend the least, who can make it through the day without using the ATM card.  Before I made a purchase, I would think, is this really worth it, he will know that I have been spending.  And, of course, they say that it is also less expensive for 2 people to live as it is for 1.  (more…)

I just went and used some Register Rewards to get some free hair ties, Fibersure, and Toothbrushes.  The deals are pretty simple:

• The Colgate max White or Max Fresh Toothbrush is $3.29 with $3.29 back in Register Rewards.  There is a printable $1 coupon here if you click Sign Up now which actually makes this a moneymaker
• The 18 pack of Scunci Elastics is on sale for $2 with $2 back in Register Rewards
• 10 count Fiber Choice is on sale for $2.49 with $2.49 back in Register Rewards

I purchased the Scunci first for $2.00. I then used that $2.00 register reward to purchase the Fiber Choice, and paid .49 and got back $2.50.  I then used the $2.50 register reward plus the coupon to get the toothbrush, buying a .15 clearance breath freshner so I would be able to use both.  Then, use the $3.30 register reward to get the $2.49 Fiber Choice and a .50 “filler.”  My “filler” was the Big rolls of toilet paper on sale for .50 with the coupon in the ad.  Use the $2.50 Fiber choice to get the Scunci and another .50 filler.

Then rinse and repeat. End up with a whole bunch of toothbrushes, fiber choice, hair ties, and toilet paper (or your filler of choice- there were some dog food cans on clearance at my Wags that would also make a nice .50 filler) for only a few cents plus tax.  True, you’ll have spent the original $2 if you don’t have register rewards to start with, but then you should have the register rewards at the end to spend on whatever you’d like.

For a beginners guide to Saving Money at Walgreens, check here.

Is up over at Stretchy Dollar.  Check it Out.

There have been times lately where I was a little down.  My life isn’t exactly where I want it to be, my debt is not getting paid off as fast as I would like, and I’ve been really striving to find opportunities to increase my income without taking a job that I hate (if I could even find said job-that-I-hate in this economy).  One of the things I decided to do was to volunteer for a local pet rescue organization.  I’ve long been thinking about doing something like this, and a few weeks ago I actually took affirmative steps to find an organization that I wanted to join and to contact them.  (more…)

Some people think that only big purchases need to be thought about and considered. I’ve read posts and articles that suggest that for every $100, they take 1 day to think about the purchase (i.e. a $500 purchase needs to be considered for 5 days before pulling the trigger).  However,for most of us, I don’t think that it is the big purchases that cause us the most financial trouble.  I think it is the little purchases that we don’t notice that add up- we throw the McDonalds or the coffee or the toothpaste or the lunch meat on our credit cards and then at the end of the month we can’t understand how on Earth we have a $500 balance.  So, I’ve instituted a 5 question test before I buy ANYTHING.  (more…)

One business that seems to be thriving in this rough economy is debt consolidation firms- you know the type, the places where you can go to get help when you are in over your head with your credit card debt. The radio seems to have exploded with commercials- “Get Out of Debt Now!” and there are all sorts of groups out there with a simple Google search that promise that they can help you resolve your problems with credit cards, mortgages, tax liens, etc.  And those are just the ones you hear about on the radio- if you participate in any Paid-To-Try sites (sites where you get points towards money or merchandise for trying out offers) you will see hundreds of ‘law firms’ and ‘organizations’ that are desperate to work with those who have $10,000 or more of credit card debt (Lexington Law Firm is one such organization that comes to mind).  (more…)

I sign in to my credit card account on a pretty regular basis even though I don’t use the cards, because Citibank has a ‘tools’ menu and every so often the option appears under that menu to ‘raise credit limit’.  When that option appears, Citibank raises the limit without a hard pull on your card- this is a great thing because it reduces my credit utilization (amount of credit used versus amount of credit available) which raises my credit score (since % of credit used is one of the key components in determining your FICO score).  Under this same ‘tools’ menu, there is an option to Request Cash Advance.  The interest rates are astronomical for this option- upwards of 25% intrest and sometimes more if you have bad credit already.  (more…)

I have not been keeping up on posting lately, and I apologize and I hope you stuck with me. I do have a good excuse though- my live in fiance of 3 years and I split up and he moved out.  Because this is a personal finance blog, I won’t get into all the gory details of the breakup.  We (I) just ultimately decided that I was with him for the wrong reasons and that we didn’t have enough in common to sustain a marriage for the long hall.  Now, the personal finance lesson in all this- I do have some of his debt on credit cards in my name.  We have an agreement (in writing) that he’s going to keep paying it and we kept our joint bank account open so he can deposit the money in that account to do so, so hopefully it will go alright from that end.  Major lesson, and a mistake I thought I’d never make- don’t transfer other peoples debt into your name!  Now, we have to stay in contact at least until this is resolved, and that is frustrating to me.  This also means I need to look for more permanent/full time work since he was paying a lot towards my loans.  I do have a few things on the horizon, and I am just happy that this happened before we got married and had kids and had a real host of troubles!  Anyway, we should be back on schedule with our regular personal finance posts later today or tomorrow at the latest.

One of my friends recently got laid off.  She has decided that now is a great time to go back to school to get her masters, something she had always thought she would do later in life.  It seems like going back to school during a time of rising unemployment is a growing trend, not just in the U.S. but in the UK as well.  I know that during the last recession, admissions numbers for law schools and MBA schools went way up (I know because it was the year I applied to law school).  This article reports a jump in admissons applications for universities in the UK as well, during this current recession. (more…)