Financial fitness group Part 1

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  • VeganInTraining
    VeganInTraining Posts: 1,321 Member
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    Doing my 200 for the month has definitely made me aware of how important a grocery list is for sticking to a budget! Yesterday I told my husband I was buying my school books and he said "but we are sticking to 200 dollars for the month." I had to explain to him, 200 dollars for food, gas and the like, that means not buying stuff we don't need. If i don't buy the books NOW I have to take the semester off, I hardly see it as a failure....to me school books and tuition fall under "bills."
  • ket_the_jet
    ket_the_jet Posts: 1,257 Member
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    Yesterday I told my husband I was buying my school books and he said "but we are sticking to 200 dollars for the month." I had to explain to him, 200 dollars for food, gas and the like, that means not buying stuff we don't need. If i don't buy the books NOW I have to take the semester off, I hardly see it as a failure....to me school books and tuition fall under "bills."

    Library?
    -wtk
  • VeganInTraining
    VeganInTraining Posts: 1,321 Member
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    Library is worth a try! It's a math book which comes with a code for the website, but I think I can buy the code separate so that would save some money....good idea!
  • jbdowns35
    jbdowns35 Posts: 352
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    Someone recently told me that you can buy used books online and save up to 60% off. Also ask the school book store for used books. After your semester, sell them back to the school.
  • VeganInTraining
    VeganInTraining Posts: 1,321 Member
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    Bahet: I have a question. I just pulled my credit report and I'm going to make sure that all that everything is accurate. If it is all accurate then is it save to shread old credit card bills and what not (for the cards that i have already closed) I have the last 2 years worth of bills and correspondance but no longer have the cards so I feel like I should be albe to trash them!
  • Ocarina
    Ocarina Posts: 1,550 Member
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    Library is worth a try! It's a math book which comes with a code for the website, but I think I can buy the code separate so that would save some money....good idea!

    Emily!!!!!!!!!!!!! I might save you some misery. RENT YOUR TEXTBOOKS!!! Look it up. It can be done for like 20 bucks for 180 days. Sometimes cheaper, sometimes around 40. It beats spending the 200 dollars for the math book itself. You can get the code for the book separate usually, I'm going to guess you are using course compass. If you are that is possible. I'm not sure about other math programs but it's highly possible.

    Anyways, hi guys! My name is Katie and I wanted to join this group. I feel like I've been on a roll with the self-improvement type of stuff since April 2010. I quit smoking at that time and haven't looked back. ALL my friends and husband have attempted to quit and have failed miserably repeatably but one of these days they'll do it! I don't mean that as a bragging moment but as a prove to myself moment that I can do something hard and stick with it.

    I also jumped on this website last April and have successfully gone from Obese to Healthy as of today. The other thing I've done is pick up a part time job FINALLY for 20 hours a week at a grocery store. Why you ask? Well, I'm using the job to start a mission with saving money for school and paying off other debts that me and my husband have accumulated. We also are using his overtime money to pay off my student loans as I want to "recycle" my loan money for next semester instead of pulling more loans out. I will still use financial aid as I qualify for a $1900 grant but I will deny all the other loans. That would be a great feeling. Us together have no car debt (thanks to loving parents), we rent so we have no house debt, and we have no credit cards. I personally have credit card debt from 5 years ago that I haven't ever paid on but am not worrying about that until I get a full time job due to the possibility of the debt getting written off.

    Our goal right now is to pay off debt from my husband's schooling as he couldn't finish his first semester while working full time. This will hopefully redeem him with FAFSA and when I finish my Bachelors he can go back to school or he might go part time. It's all his own accord and he doesn't seem to be rushing it just yet.

    I also had to turn on the heater yesterday as the weather dropped 40 degrees over night and we have a big rule that it will sit at 68 degrees during the day and drop to 55 at night. I DO NOT want to pay 100 dollars a month for gas and am determined to get that lowered so we can enjoy more food money.

    I was also really happy as my car insurance dropped to 60 a month for two people when all my tickets from 5 years ago fell off in August so we are saving there as well.

    It can be done, it just takes time!! I would LOVE to get with you guys on a regular basis and plan financial stuff out because this self-improvement stuff is fun! :)

    Sorry for the lengthy post.
    Also I just started with E-Mealz.com because I want to save even more money with groceries. I'm VERY excited. I even got Dave Ramsey's 2.50 discount so our subscription costs 12.50 every 3 MONTHS! It will save us HUNDREDS of dollars, give us variety in our lives, and alleviate stress about food.
  • minussam
    minussam Posts: 127 Member
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    bump
  • VeganInTraining
    VeganInTraining Posts: 1,321 Member
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    Welcome Ocarina, sounds like you are getting all parts of your life and i think that's fantastic! I will definitely try to rent my textbooks. I saw a link for it on my college website and then when I clicked on it I got lost in the black whole of the interent :-/ But when I purchase from them they buy them back for way more than amazon or any other place so that's cool :) Oh and congrats on quitting smoking! that's fantastic!

    So today the guys at work are having a bbq extravaganza with a 5$ buy in. Granted it's "only 5$" but that is the attitude that got me into debts and is making me pay it off way slower so I talked to the grill master and he agreed to bbq some chicken for me if I bring it in. Of course this has brought up a bunch of questions from the rest of the guys and now I have haters! LOL i made the mistake of telling the WRONG guy about the no spend month and he has offered nothing but discouragment! I can't wait to tell him at the end of the month that I stuck with it!
  • Bahet
    Bahet Posts: 1,254 Member
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    Bahet: I have a question. I just pulled my credit report and I'm going to make sure that all that everything is accurate. If it is all accurate then is it save to shread old credit card bills and what not (for the cards that i have already closed) I have the last 2 years worth of bills and correspondance but no longer have the cards so I feel like I should be albe to trash them!
    Probably. I'd keep the bills for any expensive items you still have such as furniture. I'd also highly recommend keeping any bills that were deducted on your taxes either as business or medical or charitable expenses. Those should just be filed with your taxes. If it was items that are gone or pretty much worthless and nothing was used on a tax form then it's fine to shred it. Don't just throw it away. Shred it.

    Also, when I shred documents I scatter the pieces among a few different trash receptacles (some in the kitchen garbage, some in with the cat litter, etc) and I also divide it among at least 2 different weeks worth of trash collection.
  • VeganInTraining
    VeganInTraining Posts: 1,321 Member
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    Looks like we all took the weekend off! How have you all been? All I have to say is October was a bad month to do a "no spend month" I REALLY want to carve a pumpkin. I may end up carving one in November just because it's one of my favorite Halloween things to do
  • luvJOJO
    luvJOJO Posts: 1,881 Member
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    @ hinezie -- Contact the credit agencies directly and submit a copy of the paid debt along with a letter stating what you said here. Then report the debt collection agency for breach of fair debt collection practices. They cannot dictate the terms at which you repay. The fact that you pay it off whether it's an amount they like or not, is what matters.

    Thank you so much!!! I am definitely going to take your advise and do what you said.


    Update on my situation - I filed a dispute with all three credit agencies. I did the dispute online and didn't really have a lot of room to explain everything but so far one credit reporting agency has already removed the item from my credit report. I'm crossing my fingers that the other two companies will follow suit. That just goes to show you the importance of checking your credit report on a regular basis to check for inconsistencies, etc. And I always figured that once it was on there you couldn't do anything about it but I was very wrong. Thanks Bahet!
  • luvJOJO
    luvJOJO Posts: 1,881 Member
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    Credit cards aren't the problem. Buying things on credit that you can't pay off every month is the problem. I buy EVERYTHING on my Discover card. It's like getting an automatic 2-5% discount (part of that whole $5/day thing :wink: ) BUT I pay the card off every month. So my money stays in the bank earning interest for an extra month on top of everything else. If you can't pay it off and have a high interest rate, call them and ask them to lower it. If you have good credit and a good history with them they will probably oblige. They'd rather lower your interest rate than lose you as a customer.

    I also use my credit card for all purchases every month. I always heard that this was a good way to build your credit. I have an American Express that I put everything on and then pay it off at the end of each month. With American Express I can only get points but I know that some of the other cards offer cash rebates. Do you think that's the better way to go?
    Question Bahet, you say that your money stays in the bank earning interest for an extra month, are you keeping your money in a savings account vs. a checking accout to earn interest each month. I use a checking account and use online bill pay to pay all of my bills including my American Express. That is the only thing I don't use my American Express for (rent, electric bill, medical bill, etc) I mainly use it for monthly purchases (gas, groceries, necesities, etc.). Thoughts on this???
  • Bahet
    Bahet Posts: 1,254 Member
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    YAY! I'm so glad I was able to help you!! :happy:

    I do hav the money in my checking account. I have a money market checking which does require a minimum balance to earn interest. The amount varies by bank but typically $1000 will be the minimum. Some regular checking accounts earn interest as well. Again, it will vary based on your bank. At today's rates it's a pittance of an amount but, hey, it's better than nothing.

    You have American Express. May I ask why? Do you havean annual fee with them? I don't recommend them at all because of their annual fees. I use a Discover card and also have a Capital One Visa for those few places that don't take Discover. Neither charges an annual fee and both give cash back. With the Discover card I can also choose to get the money in the form of a gift certificate for various stores, restaurants, etc. Most of those will add a bit extra too. For example, I cashed out $20 in rewards a few months ago and got it as a CVS gift card worth $25. So I got money back from things I was going to buy anyhow then got an extra $5 to spend at a place I also shop at regularly. I figure if I use that to buy things with CVS rewards points I might end up making a nice amount of money for doing nothing more than buying things I was going to buy anyhow. :laugh:
  • luvJOJO
    luvJOJO Posts: 1,881 Member
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    You have American Express. May I ask why? Do you havean annual fee with them? I don't recommend them at all because of their annual fees. I use a Discover card and also have a Capital One Visa for those few places that don't take Discover. Neither charges an annual fee and both give cash back. With the Discover card I can also choose to get the money in the form of a gift certificate for various stores, restaurants, etc. Most of those will add a bit extra too. For example, I cashed out $20 in rewards a few months ago and got it as a CVS gift card worth $25. So I got money back from things I was going to buy anyhow then got an extra $5 to spend at a place I also shop at regularly. I figure if I use that to buy things with CVS rewards points I might end up making a nice amount of money for doing nothing more than buying things I was going to buy anyhow. :laugh:

    Honestly I'm not sure. LOL! I believe a while back someone talked me into it saying it was a very good card to have and looked good on your credit report. And yes I do have an annual fee with Amex. (boooo!) It is the only credit card I have with an annual fee (and yes I have quite a few, but not with balances). I guess the main reason that I use it now is because I have accumilated around 50,000 points and I'm building on that. Other than that, I do hate the fact that there is an annual fee and lots of stores don't accept Amex because I believe they charge the merchants higher fees.
  • Ocarina
    Ocarina Posts: 1,550 Member
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    Looks like we all took the weekend off! How have you all been? All I have to say is October was a bad month to do a "no spend month" I REALLY want to carve a pumpkin. I may end up carving one in November just because it's one of my favorite Halloween things to do

    Hey! Ya October would be so hard. I think October, November, and December are the worst since they all have holidays that require some contributing towards something. A pumpkin in November isn't too late at least since it's still very much in season for Thanksgiving! I might do something with pumpkins but am not sure yet as I've been crazy busy. My weekend went really well though... I started my first shift at my new job on Sunday and it went well even if it was only orientation. They are giving me more hours this week which is great too to finish up orientation. I'm not sure when I start my actual job and that is graveyard but should be fun! :) I stock shelves so nothing too complicated lol. I'm just planning on surviving the week and don't feel that I did as good on my math test as I thought I would. I'll be happy to have passed it.

    You all make me interested in getting a credit card just to put some bills on then pay that off every month. Do you guys know of any places that will let me open a card with terrible credit? I'd like to build up my credit again even with the debt I owe on it. It would hopefully at least balance things out. Talk to you all soon.
  • JaniseCookston
    JaniseCookston Posts: 49 Member
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    My husband and I have been doing Dave Ramsey's plan since July of 2009. We are planning to be completely debt free by our three year wedding anniversary this coming April. So far we've paid of $31,820 with $29,403 to go. We cash flowed a cross country move and new used car in the process.

    I just started MFP back in April of this year and I reached my goal weight yesterday. I've lost 30 pounds. I really think learning how to get my money under control has helped me learn how to get my health under control by building self discipline.
  • boomboom011
    boomboom011 Posts: 1,459
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    My husband and I have been doing Dave Ramsey's plan since July of 2009. We are planning to be completely debt free by our three year wedding anniversary this coming April. So far we've paid of $31,820 with $29,403 to go. We cash flowed a cross country move and new used car in the process.

    I just started MFP back in April of this year and I reached my goal weight yesterday. I've lost 30 pounds. I really think learning how to get my money under control has helped me learn how to get my health under control by building self discipline.

    awesome work my friend!!!!!
  • Bahet
    Bahet Posts: 1,254 Member
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    Hinzie, Amex doesn't look any better than Discover or Visa or anything else. They do also charge mechants a higher fee. My suggestion is to use the points for whatever you are saving them for then cancel it. Make sure you open a different card first though!



    Ocarina, Talk to your bank. They may have something you can use. Pull your credit reports and check them over for errors. If you are past due on things pay them off or at least get caught up. Make sure you are never late on payments. Try to open something even if it's just got a $100 limit then use it and pay it off regularly. Do not ever make a late payment. The best way to build good credit is to use good credit - pay on time, pay the minimum, don't have too high of a debt to income ratio, etc.
  • solpwr
    solpwr Posts: 1,039 Member
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    Money matters and diet have a huge commonality, they both require discipline.

    I keep my own spreadsheet. In it I have these worksheets: Fuel, cash on hand, checking account 1, checking account 2, credit card spending, long term debt, mortgage balance, savings account, stock market account.

    Generally each month has its own column. On the checking accounts each pay period has its own column. On the fuel and cash on hand worksheets, each day has its own row.

    So I log my fuel purchases on the day they occur. Because I've been doing it this way for years, its easy to look back at fuel costs, prices, and how much driving I'm doing. And it helped me decide to join a vanpool when one became available. Huge savings there.

    And I keep track of my cash on hand daily. I add a comment for each time I spend cash. I pay myself $40 per paycheck no matter what. I usually have $200 or more in my wallet. When it gets below $100 I stop spending.

    But I buy almost everything with credit cards, and pay them off every month. The only balances I have is a car that I bought on a credit card (using 2.9% financing).

    I too believe in the cashback from Discover, but also the Costco American Express is awesome. 3% cashback on fuel if you buy fuel at Costco.

    The other thing, have a budget and stick to it, just like MFP net calories. Budget things like entertainment, Netflix, power/utilities, Internet, cell phone, alcohol, food, clothing, etc. Look at it like paying ahead for each item. If you have a $50/month clothing budget, save a few months, don't buy any, and then you have extra in that pot. This even works for the power bill. Where sweaters and go with a cooler house during a winter month or two, you'll put yourself ahead on the budget for the year.

    I cut out satellite radio in my car this year. I'm riding a vanpool. I can use my iPod, right? $100 here and there adds up! Once I have my credit cards totally paid off, I can renew the subscription. If I really miss it.

    A couple of other really cool things. I believe in having 6 months emergency fund, where you could pay all your basic minimum expenses for 6 months. That's like $30K for me, or close to. But you can put $6K per year in a Roth IRA, and the income from the investment is tax free. The amount you invest can be withdrawn at any time without penalty, so it works for an emergency fund. (Thanks Suze Orman).

    Another thing I do is use the flex packages for medical and childcare at work for the tax benefit. This adds up too.
  • Bahet
    Bahet Posts: 1,254 Member
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    Excellent post Solpwr!! However, I find one area where I disagree with you. I do not recomment a Roth IRA except in certain circumstances. If you are not eligible for a tax free traditional IRA or if you think you'll make more money when you are retired than you do while working then a Roth is the way to go. In most oth circumstances it is better to take the tax free status now. Odds are you are in a higher tax bracket when you are working than you will be after you retire. If that's the case it's most likely in your best interest to take the tax exempt status now.

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