Friday Saving Tidbits

I was watching Oprah about a week or so ago, and guests were sharing ways that they saved money. One guest in particular had a very easy tip that's easy to implement. Unplug. When she left her house, she started unplugged devices, and in the first month of doing so her energy bill went from $268, to $91!!!! That's a lot of money for a fairly easy task! Just unplug it! Oh, and when the guest really started unplugged everything, her bill went all the way down to...brace yourself...$60!!! Also, interestingly enough, as I exited the Metro this week, I noticed an energy campaign on the billboards. One of the billboards has a woman saying, "I'll unplug more stuff." So...there you have it, unplug it to save. Yes, it's annoying at first, but I'd love to have that extra money every month and be green at the same time!

And one more tip for all of the shoppers (like me) out there. I found this great website called Sale Habit that features only sale items from various internet sites. The best part is that everythings on sale, so it's pratically guilt free! There are thousands of items on the website, so I recommend searching for what you want. If you know exactly what you're looking for, this site is an excellent resource to see where you can find it! Not really "Money Saving" I suppose, but if you already planning on spending the money, why not get it on sale?! (wink, wink). Happy Shopping.

Is the Library Really a Thing of the Past?

While watching Sex And The City: The Movie this weekend, I realized that Mr. Big teased Carrie for having a library book to which she replied that she liked the way they smelled. And my mind quickly recalled the old library book that was in my room on my dresser. I'm not sure how that thing smelled, but from the looks of it, I wasn't going to find out either.

I've been going to the library since I was very young. And while I abandoned it during college due to schoolwork, I returned after graduation. For a while, I did buy books, but what happens if you don't really like it or don't plan on rereading it? Then you've wasted your money most likely. I mean you could post them on Amazon or sell them for half price on Ebay or one of those book stores, but most likely, you'll do absolutely nothing with it. It'll sit and collect dust. Which is why I am a strong advocate for the public library! Yes...some of the books are dirty looking like someone ate Cheetos while reading, but majority are clean, and it's FREE! F-R-E-E! Yep! Courtesy of hmm.....taxes I'd propose. And you can have this service too for just a mere flash of your license and filling out an application. They even have audio books and you can go online and reserve books without driving out to the library, they'll email or call you when they're ready to be picked up! Fantastic library!!! And best of all....you save that $15-20 you'd pay for a book at Borders or Barnes and Noble. Just a thought...

Budget Challenge Update

So I managed to live off of $60 worth of groceries for two weeks! I have no clue how I did it, but I did it. I've also started to eat healthier because I try to buy foods that will fill me up and aren't pre-processed and full of junk.

I did my budget for this paycheck...yes, I have to roll paycheck to paycheck with my budget, even a month is too difficult to plan for myself at this stage. After saving and shuffling money to various categories...on paper, I have $150 leftover. Good old Dave would say "Find a home for that $150, don't leave it out there in space." So I'm going to put it on my credit card. Slowly but surely...that thang is going down...die cc, DIE! I also rounded each expense up slightly so I probably will have more left over than I currently think but we have to start with baby steps.

All that to say, the challenge is still on! And like everyone else in this heartbreaking economy, I'm trying to pay down my debt as quickly as possible. I also managed to snag a few key fall items to update my wardrobe! Yes, I can do this budget thing...I really can.

Ways to Raise Your Credit Score

Recently, I received a letter that one of my cards was to be closed due to inactivity. I merely brushed this aside and figured, "I'll call them and request that it stay open and it'll be fine." Much to my dismay, when I called, the most likely minimum wage worker informed me that no matter what I did, the account could not be kept open due to the agency trying to close all dormant accounts. I was ticked, needless to say. Mostly because it was $8,000 worth of credit, and I felt that it would lower my credit score because it increases my debt/available credit ratio. I'm not so sure if it's calculated per card, or for all available credit. I'm thinking the latter, which is why I was so ticked off! GRRRR, it makes me angry to think about it!

Anyway, I ran across this tidbit on CNN Money and thought I'd list it here as well in order to keep that from happening to anyone else or me again for that matter. I'm also going to review my credit report and make sure I charge at least one small thing on my cards in order to keep them active.

• 35% Your payment history Pay your bills on time. Automating payments online can help.
• 30% How much you owe Keep balances on credit cards and other revolving accounts below
• 50% of your credit limit (lower is better).
• 15% Length of your credit history Rather than let old cards go dormant, charge a latte a month (then pay it off). No activity lowers your score.
• 10% Your new credit Don't open unnecessary new accounts. And if you're rate shopping for a mortgage or an auto loan, do it within two weeks; multiple requests could ding your score.
• 10% Your mix of loans You can't do much to change this (except get a credit card if you don't have one).

Bonus Request a free copy from each of the three major credit-reporting agencies at annualcreditreport.com. Then tell them about any mistakes you find that are not in your favor. --George Mannes

The Budget Challenge

Per my previous post...oh, about 10 minutes ago. I'm really going to commit to doing a budget for 3 months, since Mr. Ramsey says that's how long it usually takes people to get the hang of it. After which point, I'll review my money and see if I was able to keep a better hold of it. This should be interesting, especially since I get paid 3 times in October, which means if I do this right, I could come out way ahead. I am going to commit to keeping track of what I spend and writing down what I plan to spend and following through with this. So in the words of the older gentleman on the Cosby show, "CHALLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUUUUNNNGGEEEEE!!"

Tune in next payday (October 17th) for updates.