The Ultimate Money Blog

When I got the mail today, I had received my rebate check from my National City Everyday Rewards Visa! I am so excited! Of course, I had been checking my rebate amount each month when the statement came, so last month when the rebate balance was $99.25, I was a little bit bummed. (Once you hit $100, the check is mailed). I missed my check by $.25! I was patient, and received it with my statement this month.

I’m going to use this check to make a payment on that student loan. I’d love to go out and buy a new digital camera, but I’m going to be responsible and keep chiseling away our debt. It’s for the best.

Here’s my proof of payment:

I don’t know why, but I always enjoy seeing copies of people’s checks, especially when it involves them making money online, or easy money!

Do you think I should use the check for paying on the loan, or do something fun with it?

The financial institution I work for is set to announce its earnings tomorrow.  I went out after work with a few other office managers who seem to think that after tomorrow we’ll all be out of jobs because our bank is the next to fail.  While it’s a concern, I don’t think that is truly reality- yet.  I am one of the optimists and I say that we’re going to be fine.

If all the people would stop freaking out about IndyMac bank failing, then so many other banks won’t be in trouble, like others are predicting.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many questions I have had about FDIC insurance and how to style accounts so that they are covered in the past few days.  It’s been horrible.  I am tired of telling people to add a beneficiary to their account to get $100,000 extra FDIC coverage!  I understand it is my job, but I also feel that consumers should do a good job of educating themselves on their money.  I had a customer today tell me that the person who opened her account should have let her know about the $100,000 per depositor FDIC coverage.  We have signs put up all around the branch letting people know about this.  It’s not like we are hiding it.

I think it all boils down to making smart money decisions.  Sure, if you’ve got more than $100,000 in an account, make sure you add a joint owner or beneficiary! Just make sure that you do it as soon as possible for peace of mind.  If people start making a run on the banks, of course they are going to run out of money and will have no choice to go under.  Make sure you cover your assets.

I am worried that I will be out of a job soon, but at the same time, I know that is something I cannot worry about.  It’s totally out of control.  I’m going to sit back, take one day at a time, live frugally, save my money, and pay off my debt.  After all, isn’t that all we can do?

Do you think more banks are going to fail? 

I am so proud to announce that we owe less than $9,000 on the student loan! Lately, every little extra “snowflake” money I get, I am putting towards this. It feels good to be under a “monumental” number, like the thousands. I am debating whether or not to put some of the stimulus money towards it. I am also expecting my quarterly bonus on the 15th of next month, so I may put that towards it too. At least some of it!

It feels really good to be making progress on paying off this debt. I’ve been worried more about saving lately, and a lot of our extra money has been going right into savings. I think tonight I’m going to sit down and create the sub accounts with ING that I’ve been meaning to. I am not a spreadsheet person! I like to have it all visualized for me. Once I get that done, I’ll have a better idea of how much money I have allotted for each fund, and then go from there. I think it will work better for me.

Only $8800 left!

I’m back from my lovely vacation. I had a great time even though we didn’t get to go camping because the Trooper decided to die about 15 minutes from the campground. Rather than spending $200+ on a new water pump, we decided to try to drive it home. We were stopping every 15-20 miles to add water to it. Not fun times! I’ve decided that I will be listing the Trooper on Craigslist tonight. The retail value is worth $4325, trade is $2875, and I think I am going to list it for $1500 Or best offer. It’s had a tree fall on it, and now it needs a new water pump. I can’t wait to get rid of it! I just hope someone wants it.

Instead of going camping, we went to visit my family in Michigan. One thing that I noticed while being up there is how much Michigan’s economy stinks! I know that hearing that all over the news never seems like a reality until you actually see things for yourself. There are SO many foreclosures, lost jobs, and the general atmosphere there is down. It was really sad to see, as I grew up there. My mom wants us to move back there, but as much as I’d love to be around my family, there’s no way that I can make that sacrifice right now. Maybe in a few years.

We didn’t spend a ton of money. In fact, we really only spent gas money (about $200) to get there and back, and $100 in spending money. I am really proud of us! We had a great time and didn’t spend a small fortune while we were gone. It was definitely worth it.

Our next vacation is scheduled for Labor Day Week! I can’t wait!

As you are reading this, I am camping in the great wilderness.  Okay, it’s probably not the “great wilderness”, but it’s vacation, and I’m happy that I don’t have to be at work!  When Mr. Money and I knew we had some time off coming up, we debated on what we were going to do during the vacation.  We talked about going camping (saves money), visiting family, and just staying around the house and getting some home improvement projects done.  We decided we would do a little camping and then go visit family.  That would be something we would both enjoy, and we wouldn’t spend too much money.

Being as frugal as I am, I seriously considered just staying at home.  With current gas prices, I couldn’t justify driving or flying the 1500 miles to Colorado. We talked about skipping the trip to visit my family, but it’s only 5 or 6 hours, and won’t cost us that much.  We haven’t seen them in awhile and it’s definitely overdue.  Mr. Money had wanted to go camping, so I said we should do that for a few days and then go visit family for the rest.  We compromised.

I always wonder how others view vacations.  A lot of people consider them a waste of money because you have nothing to “show” for the money you’ve spent.  Some people consider it an investment in their sanity (I agree!) and that is money well spent.  Others think that they can’t take it with them, so why not spend it now while they can and enjoy it.

How do you view vacations? Are they a good use of money?