It looks like the Fox Business Network is celebrating Financial Freedom today. They're playing back to back Debt-Free Friday episodes of The Dave Ramsey Show. Thats a pretty good way to celebrate, I think!

So yesterday the air was off, but when I came home tonight, after trying to do Tae Bo in the 85 degree living room, I turned the air back on. I sleep better this way and my sinuses were driving me crazy.

Oh well, it was nice to have fresh air in the house yesterday & part of today. Plus yesterday was like 10 degrees less than today

In other news, I picked up some groceries and some gas today.

Tomorrow, I'm going to happy hour with some friends. $2.50 Captain & diets and a 1/2 pound of shrimp appetizer. YUMMY!

I'll pack breakfast & lunch for work and I'll probably spend about $15.00 including tip for dinner.

I'm hoping to make Thursday & Friday both no spend days. We'll see

Today, I shredded 5 large bags of paperwork. It's been piling up for a VERY long time and I shredded a ton of stuff, freeing a lot of space in the wardrobe that was housing the paperwork. I worked my shredder so hard that it overheated 4 times! I think I might need to upgrade the shredder soon. Junk mail is coming in more & more these days.

Also, I got together more clothes for Goodwill. 3 full bags, plus a bunch of dvds, in adittion to the 3 bags of clothes I've previously donated. Losing almost 40 pounds freed up a LOT of clothes to donate





To prepare the documentation for tax purposes, I made up an itemized spreadsheet of both batches of clothes with descriptions of the items and their values for a total donation of $476.00.

I researched valuation charts from Goodwill and the Salvation Army to make a good determination of the value of the donation. I stayed towards the lower range of values in an effort to stay fair with the amount I'll be deducting in my taxes. All of the clothing was in Very Good to Excellent condition. Several of the dvds were never opened (they were gifts).

The local Goodwill by my work has a large dvd and video selection, so I know they'll go to good use.

I am probably going to have more clothes to get rid of in the next few months, but I'd rather do things in smaller batches than load up a dozen bags at once at the end of the year. Plus, all the extra room in my closet is nice!

I found 3 cents today. Two pennies were heads up, one was heads down. So I guess my luck is still good at 2 to 1

I filled up my gas two days ago and I was so excited to find gas at $3.99 at a local gas station. Down from $4.04. I'll take it while I can get it I still have a 1/2 tank left after running to Philly & back plus all my errands today. I'll probably fill back up tomorrow since I'll be driving 2 hours to the beach and back and I certainly don't want to fill up down here. Prices are MUCH higher at the beach.

So the guy came to see the room today. I promised my dad I'd call him it as soon as it was over, which I did. But the interview went very well.

He's pretty nice. A few years younger than me, in the year between undergrad and graduate school. He's working at a restaurant in the local hospital and saving money towards grad school. (I liked that!)

We discussed the rent ($450.00) and the need for 1 month's deposit. I showed him the house, introduced him to the cats, which he responded well to. He said he was impressed with the amount of space and cleanliness of the house. And he even asked why I had priced the room so low.

Before putting the ad on Craigslist, I had reviewed 'the competition' and determined the rent of $450.00 was appropriate. I actually was hoping to attract roommates who were near my age, maybe just a few years out of college. And I knew there were a LOT of housing options out there right now. So I priced what I felt was the amount where I would come out ahead enough of the increased utilities to make renting the room out worth while.

I asked about references (yes), drugs (no), smoking (no), parties (no). We talked about overnight guests (no/rarely).

He's looking for a one year lease, which is where I was comfortable. We'll have 30day out clauses just in case.

He liked the room and was fine with sharing a bathroom. He'll have full access of the living areas, kitchen, basement & washer/dryer. He only has bedroom furniture, although I had plenty of storage room in the basement if he had needed it.

We talked for a little under an hour after the tour, getting to know each other. We talked about where we work, what he'll be doing in grad school, pets, and movies. We seemed to get along. Of course, you can never really know someone until you live with them.

All in all, I let him know to think about it, email or call with questions and let me know. I'm not in a huge rush and I want to think things over for a few days, talk it out with my family.

We'll see how it goes. I have a feeling he'll be calling back and saying he'll take it. He won't need the room until August 1st, which gives me plenty of time to put up rods and shelves in the spare room and install the new pantry door.

Last week, I put another Craigslist ad up for a room for rent. Got a couple of responses. Couple of scams responded. But one guy seems ok. So we did the email thing and he asked me to call to set up a time to meet & see the house.

Calling him felt like calling a boy for the first time. I was all nervous. Well, he's coming to see the place on Wednesday.

Its a little nerve-wracking to let a stranger into my house. But, I really could use the money. So hopefully, it works out.

I did some cleaning today and I'll sort out some stuff from the pantry and linen closet to make room for his stuff.

I'm requiring a deposit and am going to write up a contract. Which is something that he suggested (I was already going to do it). I am going to do research online about agreements for renting a room in your home. But if anyone has suggestions, please feel free to give me advice. I really need it!

Today I turned the AC back on. I'm trying to keep it up during the day and use the house fan, turning it down a bit more when I go upstairs to bed.

This weekend, I'm working to get some stuff down around the house. I have a ton of boxes of items that I had bought/or was gifted when I moved into the house. I don't know why I was keeping them, but I'm broke down the boxes and drop them off at a recycling box. Wow, that cleared up a LOT of space.

I have several other goals for stuff to get down around the house this weekend.

In between all this stuff, I'll be snuggling with the kitten, watching movies borrowed from the library and cooking up a storm.

- Clean kitchen, wash kitchen floor
- organize cabinets, purging some inherited, but ugly glassware to give to Good Will
- clean, dust & vac living room.
- organize basement, sweep basement stairs
- clean litter boxes
- clean spare room, remove all stuff from closets, and put desk up sale on craigslist
- clean my bedroom
- clear weeds from rock beds in front of house
-trim bush in front of house
-trim area around deck in back of house
-take back borrowed chairs to mom & dads
-put up items for sale on craigslist: chair pads never used, TI-83 calculator, scientific calculator, and movies
- talk to mom about putting up extra furniture that I inheritied from my aunt up for sale. Its not quite my style and its just sitting in the basement.

Things were crazy at work today. As an exempt employee, I worked a 43 hour work week, but got paid for 40... Boo! I needed to get some things done before going on vacation and I'm glad I did, because now I can just let it all go. Under that day I go back to work and have 300 emails to deal with.

After work, I picked up the kitten from the vet. The vet's office staff said that he was acting like he had no pain at all! They said he'd been showing off all day, running around and chasing his tail. They said they all took time to snuggle with him because he's such a lovey little kitty.

I packed lunch for work, but did spend $4.49 for special newspaper litter. And I stopped at a different veggie stand and spent $18.10 for a TON of fruits & veggies.

I thought it was interesting that the produce stand guy thanked me for using cash. He said they get charged 99 cents for every time a customer uses a card. I'll have to remember to take cash next time.

I also went online and bought a season pass, plus one guest to Philadelphia Zoo. Its about $4.00 more expensive than buying a ticket for me, one for nephew, plus parking. And it'll motivate me to take him at least one more time in the next year.

Tonight, I'm vegging. I still have my headache and I want to rest up. But tomorrow, I'm going to clean and organize and make lists, all of which I'm looking forward to. I'm also heading to Lowes to look for a new pantry door. I can't wait to get one

Today was a no spender. I packed lunch and ate dinner at home. I'm prepacking food for tomorrow. I'm fighting a migrane right now though. It started at work and just isn't going away with meds.

If it doesn't feel better, I may end up splurging on some food on the way home from work tomorrow. I am SO not up to cooking when I have a full-blown migrane.

Tomorrow starts my week long vacation. Given my vet bills, I plan on making this a VERY frugal vacation. I'm not going away for the week, but am planning on taking day trips.

I plan on vegging over the weekend, hanging out with family and friends.

I may head to the beach on Monday, which is about 2 hours away. I'm going to pack lunch & drinks, but splurge on some beach fries. My other expenses will be tolls, parking and gas.

Tuesday, I will be going to the Philadelphia Zoo with my nephew. I plan on bringing lunch & drinks, so my out of pocket will be gas, tickets & parking, which is close to $50.00.

Wednesday, I'm going to chill again. Maybe see a movie with my parents. I also might make it to happy hour with some people from work.

Thursday and Friday are up in the air, as is next weekend.

I want to hit two different state parks or walking/hiking. $3.00 entrance fee each. I'll pack water & a snack.

I also have a list of things I want to do around the house, as well as getting my hair cut, car oil changed and making dinner for my parents one night.

I've also stocked up on movies and books from the library. Several cookbooks caught my eye and I plan on trying out some recipes.

The new kitten has cost me about $600.00 between shots, neutering, declawing and one sick visit. UGH. The kitten was not planned, but I do love him. So I'm going to work hard to cashflow the bills.

In the meantime, I packed food for work, but we had an unplanned food day & I contributed $3.00 for pizza. It was SO worth it. The pizza was great

I dropped the kitten at the vet after work and headed to my parents house for a birthday dinner for my sister and dad. I had already given my Dad his gift (shared with Father's Day).

For my sister's birthday, I had previously bought a ticket to an event for her, but I didn't want to go over empty handed. So I gave her a small jewelry box that I had gotten from the dollar store and I regifted a vanilla candle. So no money out there.

Tomorrow, I'm planning on packing food for work and am hoping to get a no spender. We'll see

My dad's hard to shop for, but I got him a 50 cent Father's Day card and a Sidney Sheldon biography for $1.00 at the Dollar Store. I already had treated him to Indiana Jones last week as part of his present.

My nephew spent the night last night and I had him make a Father's day card for Pop-Pop. His dad's not really in the picture much, so my dad has stepped in. The little bugger made a card with a picture of a butt on it. Yes, a butt. Because he's a bit obsessed with the word lately. So I made him make another card. But I'll let him give Pop-Pop both since he'll get a kick out of the butt one

Well, due to a budget constriction at work, they will no longer be sending me to Arizona. Boo! So I won't be able to enjoy a few days of vacation there before heading back But maybe I'll have the chance in a few months.

I still have my vacation scheduled for the week of the 23rd & I'm looking into things to do besides enjoying not working for 9 days in a row I'm going to try to keep things frugal. So I'm making a list of my vacation goals & estimated expenses.

1. Spend at least 2 days of doing Nothing. Sit around in pjs, make food, play video games, watch daytime tv, watch Netflix movies. (No extra cost)

2. Try a few new Weight Watcher recipes - meals, cookies, sweets. (Estimated $25.00 cost)

3. Take my nephew on a day trip. No destination set yet. I need to see what he's like to do. (Est budget $50.00)

4. Go to the beach, which is 2 hours away. I'm considering getting a hotel room & crashing over night so I can get two days in. (Est cost: gas $50.00, food $40.00 and room $100.00)

5. Go to a state park about 30 minutes away. Pack a lunch & spend all day hiking around. I will be packing LOTS of water. ($3.00 admission plus maybe $5 for Subway)

6. Organize basement. List at least 20 things on Craigslist. I have tons of stuff to get rid of. Dvds, video games, seat cushions, glasses, and more. (Free)

7. FINALLY get around to getting a new pantry door. I have a $50.00 gift card from my birthday to go towards it. (Hopefully free after gift card)

8. And I'm thinking about painting the downstairs bathroom. Should be a one-woman job. Small amount of paint. (Est $20.00)

I'm still playing around with what I want to do with my vacation. I might keep or purge some of the above ideas. We'll see



And completely off topic, here's the Mini BBQ Meatloaf muffin recipe that Mom-Sense requested:

1 pound Ground Turkey (Or lean ground beef)
1 Box StoveTop Stuffing
1/2c Water
2 egg whites
1/2c BBQ sauce

Mix together & divide by 12. Bake at 350 in muffin tin. 34-40 minutes.

I turned the AC on today, its in the high 90s outside with high humidity. I'm keeping the AC at 80 now, supplementing with the ceiling fan. I was keeping the AC lower, but I keep upping it, seeing how much I can take

Today I did a ton of laundry, and line dried it. It'll dry quickly in this heat

I worked on a meal plan and my goal is to not spend on eating out this week. I pre-made some meals to take to work. So I'll be all set.

Tonight, I'm enjoying a Netflix movie & I'm heading to bed really early. We're swamped at work & I'm going to head in at 7. Ugh.

In an effort to get back on track, today will be a no spender. I packed breakfast, lunch & snacks for work. I am heading to the park after work (as long as its not raining). Otherwise, its Tae Bo in the living room.

As for tonight, I plan on playing with the kitten (he's got WAY too much energey), watching a Netflix film (reactivated by accident), and organize the kitchen. Fun times

I have a lot of planning to do about my upcoming trip, so I'll be making lots of lists for that!

Hi all! Its been awhile since I've been here and I miss you guys! My computer is down at home & I'm crazy busy at work, so I haven't been able to get on. I should be up and running in the next week or so.

Can't wait to get back!

Today was a no spender, tomorrow is definately not.

I rescued a kitten yesterday morning. It had been crying in my & my neighbors' back yards for two nights. We couldn't get it, so we were feeding it a little. Its only a few weeks old and was starving.

Well, yesterday, I was able to capture it and now its living in my spare bedroom. Separate from my cat Colbi until I can get her to the vet tomorrow to be sure she's not sick.

So far, I've spent $1.00 for a cat food/water dish. $1.00 for cat litter. $1.00 for cat pan liner bags. $3.49 for a litter box. $4.49 for kitten food. (its WAY too young to eat my cat's adult food.

The kitten's a sweetheart. Tiny, probably only 4-5 weeks old. Its skin & bones and although I didn't want/need a cat, I'm going to keep it. So I have lots of upcoming vet expenses for shots, neutering, and declawing.

I'm going to work something out. In the meantime, I get to enjoy the cuteness of the baby kitty I'll try to take some pictures and post them when I can. He is SO adorable.

My good friends and I hung out this weekend. We had a lot of fun. My one friend gave me some neat candles (which I love) and a $50.00 gift card to Lowes. She knew there were things I wanted to get done around the house. This was WAY too generous, but its very typical of her. I've put the card away until I prioritize the house stuff. I want to fix a few things and do some painting. I think I'll get the most out of just planning what I'll use the gift card for

Its been a while since I've posted. Its just that the last two weeks have been crazy at work and I have spent my evenings working out, celebrating my birthday & attending my nephew's baseball games.

In the midst of all this, I have been working towards making my life more simple. And usually simple means more frugal

-Last weekend, I organized my closet to make room for my new clothes. I managed to clear out two large trash bags worth of clothing. I'll be donating those to Good Will. I also am planning to part with a few business suits. I'll keep a few, but my workplace is casual and there's no longer a need for so many. (Cost of organization $0, plus tax benefit of donation)

-I organized my jewelry and found several forgotten pieces. So now I get the pleasure of wearing them again. (Free)

-I was in the habit of cleaning my kitchen and living room before going to bed. Mostly just picking up, but I'd gotten out of the habit due to all the running around I've been doing. For the last few days, I started doing it again. 10 minutes tops, but it is SO nice to wake up and come home to. (Free)

-Except for yesterday, I've had the heat off & windows open. The fresh air has done wonders for my mood and my electric/gas bill. (Electric/gas savings - my bill was only $70 this month and will be lower next)

-I've been spending a lot of time outside (walking). I had a little white butterfly follow along with me. It stayed with me along the bushes next to the walking path for nearly a mile.

I've found the walking to be very stress releaving. For the most part, I've been able to leave my work at work, but lately some of it has been coming home with me. I like what I do, but I have a lot of responsibility. The walking has really helped with the stress and with my sleep. (Cost -gas to get to the park; benefit-improved physical & mental health)

-I've been enjoying learning to cook new things. I take out cookbooks from the library and I've been tweaking the recipes to be more Weight Watcher friendly. I don't cook exactly from scratch, but I do much better, both money and health-wise, than eating out every day. (Free, plus less eating out spending)

As for this weekend, its all about friends and family. My good friends are taking me out to dinner tomorrow night for a belated birthday celebration and then we'll be watching a movie at my house. I had suggested Steven King's The Mist, figuring it was worth it to rent. But when I went to the library, there it was on a shelf. A free fairly new release. What a surprise!

In the morning, I am heading to the May Market which is run by a Garden Club in the small historical town near one of the parks I walk in. I plan on picking up some herbs and getting my walk in. Then I am planning to go to my nephew's ball game. Its actually a lot of fun to watch the kids and its a chance to hang out with my mom 1 on 1. She watches my nephew on Saturdays since my sister works.

I will be working on a meal plan and exercise plan for the week. But I thought I'd at least share the exercise I've done this week.

Last Saturday: 50 minute 2.75 mile walk
Last Sunday: 25 mins Aerobics
Monday: Off day (I have my Weight Watchers meeting that night)
Tuesday: 44 minute 2.6 mile walk
Wednesday: Off day (Family birthday party)
Thursday: 30 minutes Aerobics at home
Friday: 48 minute 2.75 mile walk plus 20 minutes push mowing
Tomorrow & Sunday (weather permitting) - both will be 50 minute walks at two different parks.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I headed to Old Navy to look for some work pants to replace the waaaay too big ones I'm currently wearing. I have lost 33 pounds & they just don't fit anymore. I was looking like a slob at work.

I got one pair of pants. Plus two cropped pants for walking (desperately needed too due to weight loss), plus two pairs of running shorts, plus a cut spring top, plus a running sports tank top. See a pattern? I bought a bunch of workout clothes (much needed) but I ended up with only a single pair of work pants.

Here's the cut spring top:




So I still need to go shopping for pants. I'll be heading to Kohl's this weekend. I also need to look for non flip-flop sandles for work. UGH.

I've decided that I need to plan more funds to go to my clothes budget. I'm working to lose another 20 pounds and when I'm done, I'm going to need a LOT of new clothes. What a hardship

My air popcorn popper broke today. I was pretty upset because I was craving popcorn. But then I remembered that you can cook popcorn kernels in a paper bag in the microwave. I sprayed a bit of olive oil spray and put the kernels in a bag in the microwave. A minute & a half later, I got my popcorn! Nice!

So no need to invest in a new popper anytime soon. I just have to get some more paper bags

Today I slept in, which I haven't done in quite a while. I had breakfast at home. Yay cheerios and milk. Drove to get gas $50.00 (ugh) and then to a different park than I usually go to.

This one is located on the water about a 10 minute drive from my house. Its in a historic district and has a walkway along the water, going through wetlands. Its really beautiful. I made a 2.75 mile walk in about 49 minutes. I walked slower than usual due to the neat surroundings. After the walk, I sat on a bench by the water and soaked up the sun. It really was VERY relaxing. I don't have pictures of the park, but I did find one online if anyone wanted to take a look.

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/photos/photo_delaw...

I was ravenous when I got home, so I made pasta salad and homemade buffalo chicken nuggets. I had bought a big bag of frozen grilled chicken strips to put on salads and with pasta. However, they have a weird seasoning and are not very tasty by themselves. So I devised a way to enjoy them anyway. I coat them in buffalo sauce and then with Extra Crispy Shake-n-Bake. Very quick to make and very good!

This afternoon, I'm doing some cleaning and watching some old movies that I got from the library.

My frugal goal for this week is to take breakfast & lunch to work & not buy anything.

Still enjoying the nice weather. Last night, I went to my nephew's teeball game. Brought my own drink & snack and afterwards, just vegged at home.

Today, I visited an old family friend with my dad. She's battling breast cancer in her 80s and its a matter of time. But she's doing very well and is hoping to enjoy one last good summer at her house at the beach. I'm going to try to take a few days this summer and visit.

Before visiting, I stopped & bought a $5.85 quart of ice cream from a local dairy farm. She really has a sweet tooth.

Afterwards, I went to another tee ball game with my sister & mom. I brought my own water, but did buy a $1.00 soft pretzel. I'm vegging at home again because I had planned to go out with friends, but got a nasty headache instead.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to hit the park for a 3 mile walk and then spend the rest of the day cleaning the house. Those bathrooms need to be done

All in all, a pretty frugal weekend. Next weekend is my birthday, but I think its all going to be low-key, which is fine with me!

Its been a great week weather-wise. Its supposed to hit 80 degrees tomorrow, just in time for a night tee-ball game for my nephew. I've had the heat off all week, except on night when it dropped a bit.

Work has been very busy, but good. This new position (that I've had since November) is awesome. Its very challanging, which I LOVE!

On a health note, I've been working out the last few weeks. Walking, a little jogging and Tae Bo. All great workouts. I've been trying to take advantage of some of the local parks.

Money-wise I did a little clothes shopping last weekend. I cashflowed it all, but that means less to my student loan. It was needed since I'm down another size in clothes. I still need to get some new pants. Mine are pretty much falling right off me (Yay!)

We had some really cold weather, then the last 3 days have been SUPER nice. I've been able to keep the heat off & even open some windows during the day. I'm going to LOVE my electric/gas bill this month. Lets hope this keeps up.

Oops! My 2 year Blogaversary was on the 5th. How time flies. I've been crazy busy at work and at home.

I am still working hard to paydown my student loan, which has a balance of $3,047.79. I'll update my totals later tonight to reflect this.

I've been enjoying some nicer weather and utilizing different parks for walking. I'm thinking next weekend, I'll head to the local state park and buy a yearly pass. For $27.00, I get access to several awesome parks. It'll be worth it, plus its motivation to keep working out.

My goal for this month is to keep my grocery bill on budget. Since working on eating healthier, I seem to go overboard. But I have done well so far. I've been utilzing my local Produce stand for veggies and fruit. Really great prices!

Today, I was able to get the following:

9 medium/large tomatoes
1 large green pepper
1 celery
1 Romaine lettuce
3 cucumbers
1 pint strawberries
1 bag of baby carrots

... all for $9.79. I would have paid at least $16.00 at my local grocery store.

Anyway, I am very happy to say that I've been part of this site for 2 years and I love it! Thanks to everyone here, you've been a great group of friends.

I weighed in again on Monday and lost another 3.6 pounds, for a total of 32 pounds. I've been floundering with tiny losses for the last two months, so this was AWESOME! I attribute the big loss to starting to work out again.

I've been on a walking kick. I've been to that new park where I do the whole 2.6 mile trail, plus go up and down a HUGE mound of dirt turned hill (man-made for sledding, most likely). Some days, I only go a mile or two, some days I do the whole track. Its really hard to gauge how hard I'm working out though.

So, I have been really wanting to track how much the exercise is benefitting me. I've been itching for a Heart Rate Monitor. I even told my mom over the weekend how much I wanted one, but how expensive they were. Then on the Weight Watchers forums, someone mentioned a really good deal on a HRM at Amazon for $53. AND then I got a $25.00 gift certificate to Amazon in the mail from a rewards program I participate in. It was fate. So I splurged and ordered the HRM tonight. I can't wait til it comes!!

I spent 2 hours at work yesterday before leaving sick. I never should have gone in, but I didn't want to leave my coworkers in the lurch. Unfortunately, I was MUCH sicker than I realized. By the time I got home, I has a 102 degree fever. I had no idea.

So anyway, I'm home sick again today, all my plans down the drain and unless I feel 100% better, I'll be missing Easter with my family. Which sucks, but I don't wish this virus on anyone!

As for Easter, we primarily do gifts for the 7 year old Nephew only. I got him an Easter card for 50 cents from the dollar store and I had planned on giving him some cash towards snacks and fun stuff at his baseball games, but I don't have cash on me right now and I am having a family member stop by to pick up my card for him. So I made up 5 little homemade coupons on index cards. One for a sleepover at a later date and 4 for a walk/bike ride around the new park I went to last week. I think he'd really like it.

Well, its about time for a nap. I am SO tired and feeling just plain yucky. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Every once in a while I like to think about the little frugal things that I do. Mostly because I like to challenge myself to come up with more 

So here’s a few ideas of what I’ve been doing this week.

Programmable thermostat:
65 degrees for work nights, 61 during the day and its been warm enough that the heat hasn’t been going on in the day time. As long as I open the blinds/curtains to let the light in.

And the last two days, I’ve had the heat off all together! Yay!

Hand washing most dishes:
I have a single sink, although I wish I had a double one. To reduce water usage, I’ve been hand washing dishes. I use the dishwasher maybe once every week and a half or so., but hand wash the rest of the time. I have been using a large mixing bowl filled with soapy water. Instead of running each dish under running water, I wash it in the bowl. Then rinse off in clean water. Much less water usage!

Line Drying:
Although the original reason was to not shrink my work clothes, I usually line dry all clothes. I use the dryer for only towels & sheets.

Using Daylight:
I have been utilizing the daylight more. I keep the blinds open until it gets dark and keep the lights off.

Minimizing food costs
I’ve been meal planning and eating at home often. This is also healthier 

I get the bulk of my fruits & veggies from the local Produce Stand. Eggs are much cheaper there too!


Lowering Electric usage:
I unplug any unnecessary items. I use my toaster maybe once or twice a week. No sense in keeping it plugged in.

Entertainment:
I have been utilizing the library for books, movies, magazines & cookbooks.

This week I taped (yes, I still have a VCR) a movie that I love. Its called Haunted Honeymoon, starring Gene Wilder & Gilda Radner. It was the last movie she did before becoming ill. I’ve been considering buying it on DVD, but now I don’t have to. It was on cable, for free, so I taped it.

I plan on enjoying the nice weather and going to a local park. Free, fun exercise! (I actually walked 2.3 miles at a new park. Its really nice, I will definitely be going back!)

Taking advantage of work perks:
I have been compiling Weight Watchers recipes. My work lets us print out personal papers, so what I do is print out a few recipes each week. I have an old binder from college that I reused to hold all the recipes.

Treating myself:
I splurge a little here & there so I don’t feel deprived. I buy the good Weight Watchers ice cream cups. I go see movies in the theatre every once in a while (the matinee). I feed my movie addiction by the library & Redbox. I have soda at work, but I don’t buy it there. I go out to dinner with my family at least once every couple of weeks. It’s the little things that make me happy, so its easy to splurge on myself.

First I want to thank Fern for looking out for me on this topic. I decided to reply to her comment in another post because I think this is SUCH an interesting topic!

I must say that I was completely wrong in not giving all the facts surrounding the closure of those cards.

All of the cards that I closed yesterday were all 3 years old or less.
I closed mainly store cards and tranferred the available credit of one of the major credit cards to another card with the same company prior to closing. All of my older cards remain open. I periodically use them for cash & then pay them off so to keep the accounts active.

I should also state that I work in a financial industry and I completely familiar of the workings of FICO and all three of the credit bureau agencies. I definately understand the impact of closing cards on my credit rating.

I still have several major credit cards, all that are much, much older than the cards that I closed. My score 3 years ago (before I got those cards) was extremely high and it didn't change after I got the cards. I feel confident that it won't change much now, just because of closing them.

As for the utilization ratio: this ratio absolutely plays a HUGE part in your credit score. However, having no credit card debt, the utilization rate that I currently have won't change for me.

Basically, it works like this: If I have $0.00 in debt compared to $35,000 in credit lines on my bureau, it gives me a 0% utilitation or 100% available credit. If I have 0.00 in debt compared to $22,000 in credit lines (which is what I have now), its still 0% utilization and 100% available credit.

Banks and all 3 credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) look at things in terms of straight numbers. 0% utilization is still 0% utilization no matter what.

That being said, if I had any credit card debt, any at all, I would not have closed the accounts until it was paid off, because the closures would definately have negatively affected my score. I was absolutely remiss in not stating that before.

So thanks again Fern for pointing that out. You were absolutely right in saying it would be almost a punishment to my score to close those accounts with credit card debt.

And because I think this is a REALLY great topic, I plan on checking up on my credit score at the end of March. That will be over 30 days from the closure, giving the card companies enough time to update with the credit bureas. I'll post at that time with the resultss.

I'm betting there won't be a noticible difference. In August 2006, my score was 785 from Experian(see my Aug 06 post). October 2007 (the last time I checked), my credit score was 780 from TransUnion. I account for the difference as being due to using two different Credit Bureaus. Each has slightly different information, which is not unusual.

I will check back with my March 2008 with my Experian score. We'll see how it goes. And one more thing...other than the card closures, there has been no change to my credit bureau since I bought my house in 2006.

This should be fun... don't forget to check back!

Awhile ago, on a whim, I sent my resume into a local part-time job. That was like a week and a half ago. I just got a call today. I had completely forgotten that I had even applied!

They called my cellphone at work, which was a bit awkward. They gave me some details about the job, asked a few questions. Its thru a staffing agency, which isn't unusual in the field I was looking for.

They have part time hours on the weekends, which means I'd be working 7 days a week, but since last year I was working 6 days until 8pm, working 7:30 to 4 Mon thru Fri & 7 to 5:30 on Sat & Sun, it won't be so bad.

I'll have to do security and background checks, which won't be an issue, and it won't probably start for 3 or 4 weeks. I figure I can handle 3 months of that kind of schedule, after that we'll just have to work something out with my schedule. I also have a boatload of vacation time at my full time job, so I may take some half days here and there to get some rest in.

I figured it out, if I worked both Sat & Sun for 4 months, it would speed up my Student Loan payoff about 3 months early. So as a temporary solution, I think this job would be good.

We'll see how it goes