As I’ve detailed some of the gory details of my switch from Time Warner Cable to U-verse, I’ll continue with the bright spot. One of the incentives for switching, besides the better rates, was a $100 visa card. I recently registered, and my card is set to ship around Christmas. (ATT’s website says it will ship on Christmas, but that is pure baloney.)
Since the card won’t arrive until after Christmas, I can’t use it to buy Christmas gifts. So I see a few options available to me. Use the card to buy necessities, like groceries or gas, then use the money I would have spent on those things to pay down my debt. This idea seems pretty smart, but not so much on the fun side. I could, on the other hand, use the card for a little me spending.
I really need want could use some new work clothes. It’s not an absolute necessity, but my wardrobe is getting pretty thin. About 2 years ago, I cleaned out my closet and donated all of my skinny clothes. Then I got sick and lost 50lbs before I was all better. I haven’t gained any of the weight back. I also haven’t been able to afford to replace the items I donated. This seems like a smart and fun way to use the card.
The third option I came up with was to use the card as a fun spending allowance. I would allow myself $10/week to spend on whatever I want. My local used book store would get a lot of business that way. I haven’t really been able to indulge myself in so long that it would be a nice treat. This seems like a mostly fun and only kind of smart way to use the gift card. Although it could have the added bonus of preventing me from spending my money on shopping therapy.
I’m not sure what the best idea is or if I’ve even thought of it. Please let me know if you have an opinion of how I should use my gift card. If you have a better idea, please let me know. I have about a month to figure this out.
Tagged: allowance, gift card, shopping therapy, time warner cable, u verse November 28, 2011
So today is the day to camp out at the stores and rush madly over and through people on a quest to get the $5 TV door-buster. I decided to skip that scene. The idea of being interviewed on the news after being trampled at my local Walmart isn’t really that appealing.
I decided to take a different approach. Yesterday, after I finished gorging myself on a Thanksgiving feast. I rolled drove myself home and proceeded to look at the Christmas lists I had received. I have 8 people to buy for this year, and I had 3.5 lists. My brother managed to get me clothing sizes for my 7 year old niece, but that’s about it.
I considered my options. I’m trying to spread out Christmas buying over as much time as possible to lessen the impact of the spending spree. I thought about camping out at a store for black friday, but I had to work today. The idea of guzzling caffeine at work after plowing through stores as a marauder at 3AM just wasn’t terribly appealing.
Instead, I went for some nice convenient internet shopping. I know I’m supposed to wait for cyber monday, but Amazon was rolling it’s black friday deals already. I picked up gifts for 4 people for under $50, and I had all the items shipped directly to my parents’ place to save precious space in my carry on baggage. The only drawback to that is that I can’t read inspect the purchased items before giving them away.
So now I’m half way through my purchasing list with a month left before the big day. I’ve made a harassing phone call or sent obnoxious text messages to 3/4 people I’m waiting on lists from. I don’t know who the 4th is because the names haven’t been drawn in our family gift exchange. I’m bugging my mom constantly about that so I can begin harassing that person and send whoever gets my name my list.
This is the first time in a long time where I have money available and designated for Christmas. It is so nice to be able to shop for the holidays without worrying about overdrawing my bank account or going over the limit on my credit card. I haven’t even used my credit to buy gifts this year. This Christmas season is starting out great.
Tagged: amazon, black friday, christmas lists, cyber monday, gift exchange, internet shopping, spending spree, walmart November 25, 2011
It’s been a while since I checked in. Things have been moving right along here.
I picked up my new phone along with case, screen protector and car charger for the low low price of $8.96. While doing so, I still managed to cut my cell phone bill by almost $35/mo.
I finished the blankets I decided to make for my nieces for Christmas. I spent about $20 for the fabric and maybe 5 hours of my very valuable time. The blankets are done, and they turned out really cute. No sew ftw!!
I had to call Time Warner Cable again to find out why they were billing me for service dates from 11/11-12/10 when I canceled service on 11/5. The wonderful poorly trained customer service rep informed me that my service hadn’t been cut off at the pole even though she did show my service being cut off on 11/5. That won’t happen until sometime this week if I understood her right. Only then would my final bill be issued. We’ll see how that works out.
I tried something new on my credit card. I made the minimum payment and added extra for the amount that I spent on the card this month. It would be nice if I could pay the balance in full each month, but that’s unrealistic at this point given the balance is 1.5 times my monthly take home pay. Normally I would just make the minimum payment, but I had the cash to cover the amount. That felt great. I was still able to put some cash into savings as well. That felt great.
Tagged: cell phone bill, christmas, credit card, minimum payment, time warner cable November 21, 2011
I lie. You lie. We do it pretty much every single day. Let me tell you when this happens. You walk into work and see your coworker. You tell them good morning, and they ask how you are. You automatically say “Good,” regardless of how you really are without even thinking about it. Have you ever answered with anything other than “Good,” or “Okay?” It’s interesting. People don’t know how to respond. I’m not talking about telling all the gory details of your recent breakup and binge drinking induced hangover. If you just respond with something like, “It could be better,” or “I’ve had better days,” they look at you like a second head is currently sprouting out of your neck.
I’ve often wondered why people respond this way. It doesn’t just happen in the workplace. It happens all over the place with all kinds of people. I think part of the reason is that it is no longer considered a real question. It’s just a piece of etiquette to ask the question when you meet up with someone. When was the last time you asked someone how they were doing with the full expectation of hearing all the details of their life? My guess is that it’s been a while. Usually it’s just a statement made before we get down to business in the conversation. For some people it’s ceased to be a question altogether. I’ve encountered a number of people who respond to the question with the exact same question.
Another reason we don’t truthfully answer this question has to do with perception. We don’t want to be perceived as weak or whiny or a pessimist. We don’t want to be the downer in a group if we’re having a bad day. You don’t want to be “that guy”. We’re very busy promoting ourselves as successful together people who have no problems. This can’t possibly be true all the time. I think it’s strange and psychologically unhealthy that we feel the need to be perfect all the time. The perfect attitude. The perfect life. No problems. No drama. Life is not like that, and I think it’s sad that we have to pretend. Next time someone asks how you’re doing, take a moment to tell the truth and see how it works out.
November 14, 2011
I have come to the conclusion that I need a new job. The biggest reason is that I hate my job. I like the people I work with, but I don’t like what I’m doing. It’s not challenging. I don’t even have to think. The corporate culture stinks. They act like they want improvement ideas, but they don’t. There is no room for improvement or growth. The benefits are good but not amazing. There are some crazy rules that don’t make a lot of sense. My boss has a crappy attitude.
Now I realize that some of these are unavoidable in corporate america, but I don’t want to deal with all of them at the same time. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that I am able to enjoy and take pride in something I spend a large portion of my day doing. I’m not suddenly expecting the perfect job to drop out of the air into my lap. I’m willing to relocate. Nothing is tying me down to my current location. I’m looking for opportunities. I’m trying to be creative. I’m seriously considering the Peace Corps, but I’m not sure if it would be a good fit. The biggest problem is that I don’t know what I want to do.
I have a lot of interests, but I’m not sure how to build them into a career. They are eclectic and mostly impractical. It would be simple if I liked something mainstream like accounting or teaching. Those at least have well defined career paths. I can find any number of how-to manuals for that, but I’m not really sure what to do with my varied interests.
- Reading
- Linguistics
- Calligraphy
- Greek
- History
- Travel
- Rock Climbing
That’s just a short list of my interests, but it covers the basics. None of those immediately suggests a career. For most of them I need more education or more skill to make them work. None of my work experience is in any way related to these things either.
Now I’m trying to change fields completely. I’ve never looked for a new job while still being employed. It’s a new, freeing feeling. It’s also tough to stay motivated. When I’ve looked for a job in the past, it was because I didn’t have one, and I needed one desperately. This is more relaxed and much less stressful and scary. I’m trying to remember that my life doesn’t have to fit the cookie cutter mold. I can change things if I’m willing to take a risk and work for it. Now it’s time to stay motivated and refuse to settle. I already have a “settle” job.
How do you stay motivated? What is your dream job?
Tagged: attitude, calligraphy, corporate america, corporate culture, mainstream, peace corps, work experience November 10, 2011
At the beginning of October I had an opportunity to attend a women’s health conference. I got a lot of neat free stuff in my goody bag, but one thing I got was something I wasn’t expecting. I got an opportunity for a free meeting with a financial advisor. I took advantage of this at the end of October. It was an interesting opportunity. They looked over my retirement portfolio and offered to find out more about my current 401k investment options. We also talked about other employment options. They helped me brainstorm ideas for a new job. They even took it a step further and offered to pass my name and resume around. I was not expecting this at all. I hope something comes of it, but even if it doesn’t, the brainstorming for a new job was a great idea. It spurred me on to really start looking for a new job. I really appreciated the opportunity to talk with a professional. I have no idea if this is what normally happens when you go to a financial advisor, but this was a great experience for me.
Tagged: brainstorming, employment options, investment options, retirement portfolio November 7, 2011
This post was inspired by random tweets with Andrea at So Over Debt after reading her recent post Newsflash: Some Americans Don’t Live in Cities. Check it out first to get some background, then understand that this is just in fun, and humor is sometimes the best only way to deal with some situations.
The Setup
The first thing you have to do is capture the rare KY wild rhino. I have no tips on this, but use your imagination, and your friend’s four-wheeler. As a country person, you shouldn’t have any trouble with this. Then you need to obtain the materials to make your circus tent. I suggest stealing the clothes or sheets off the line. Note: You should wear a mask or some sort of disguise to avoid detection. (This suggestion may lead to incarceration; use at your own risk.) Again, as a country person, you should know how to sew and can probably cobble together a pattern off the internet. Film all steps (well not the sewing).
The Buzz
Make a crazy advertising video detailing your circus plans. Include clips of you capturing the rhino an possibly clips of you running away from angry householders with their sheets and laundry. Distribute this video all over the internet taking advantage of all possible arenas including YouTube, twitter, Facebook, etc. Make sure to create a huge buzz of expectation for the circus. This should also serve the function of driving traffic to your site to increase your existing ad revenue. Con Recruit local high school boys or recent graduates to participate in the rodeo as volunteers. Play it up as a new extreme sport. Talk about their opportunity for fame. Start selling tickets to watch the event live on your site. Note: You will actually have to broadcast the event for this to work. Make sure there is plenty of advertising on the site for your viewers to click on and make you extra cash.
The Event
You will be the ringmaster of this little event. Make sure to stay away from the live, dangerous animals. This is why you aren’t actively participating. Have the dumb boys you got to volunteer attempt to ride the rhinos while others dress up as rodeo clowns. Have the kids sign waivers releasing you from any and all liability. Bribe local authorities to allow this to take place with free tickets, donuts, beer &/or liquor. Blackmail them with all sorts of personal information you have about them since you’ve known them their whole life. Allow Girl Scouts to sell cookies at the even to legitimize it. Please be advised that if you decide to use this model there will be a small licensing fee. Please contact me for details.
November 4, 2011
Today is the first really good rain in a long time. It was a very dry summer and beginning of fall, which is unusual in these parts. I came home and was sitting down to check email, facebook, and twitter before I destroyed hypothetical monsters in my World of Warcraft raid tonight. I was busily discarding emails telling me about ridiculous sales on things I don’t need to buy when I hear the dripping start from the window behind me. It wasn’t just an intermittent drip, but the kind of drip you could use to accurately count seconds. Then it was almost a continuous stream.
This cannot be happening again! I have had maintenance at my apartment fix the leak on this window FOUR times already since I moved in more than 2 years ago. I seriously can’t believe I have to call them again. I have to wait until morning since this doesn’t count as an emergency to them. I could leave a message tonight, but I find that terribly ineffective. I’m the one who has to sit here with it dripping behind me all night long. I feel like it is a major emergency, but I’m just the tenant. I put down a towel to protect their word work and their carpet. I hoped it would deaden the sound of the dripping, but, alas, no. Maybe the 5th time really is the charm.
Tagged: apartment, maintenance, world of warcraft November 2, 2011
So I’ve decided that I’m going to re-visit my goals at the beginning of each month. It seems like a good way to keep the motivation going and update my progress.
Short Term Goals
- Emergency Fund: It hasn’t gone anywhere. I still have $2 and no idea how I’m going to manage to add to it. I spent like a fiend this month. We had a halloween event at work, and I spent way more than I should have. The piece I bought can go in my work wardrobe, but it was still more than I could really afford.
- Christmas Cards: I picked a text and a layout, but when I put it on paper last night I didn’t like it. I haven’t decided if I’m going to nix the idea entirely or if I want to try to tweak it some more.
- TV: So ATT is coming to install my new TV service on the 5th. I will cut Time Warner off at the same time. I posted about my battle with TWC earlier, and I will post an update as soon as the problem is fully resolved. This should cut my bill for cable and internet just about in half.
- XMAS: I am going home for Christmas, but I didn’t buy my ticket. I looked a my finances and determined there was no way on earth I could buy a plane ticket across the country at Christmas. I called home (like I do every week) and told my folks the bad news. They offered to buy me a ticket home for the holidays. I’m so grateful that they were in a position to do this. I haven’t ever missed a Christmas at home, and I don’t intend to start now.
- Extra Money: I applied for a few part-time jobs earlier this month, but it was really a lack-luster effort. I don’t have any better ideas at this point.
Long Term Goals
- Debt: As of 10/31/11 my debt is at $31,591.33. So that’s not a lot of change.
- House: I’ve been keeping an eye on the housing market, but all things considered I’m just not really in a position to buy a house right now. Besides the fact that I have no down payment, my debt to income ratio is terrible. I’m barely keeping my head above water as it is.
- Better Job: I updated my resume, and I’ve started looking for a new job. It’s really interesting looking for a job while I’m employed. There is no financial pressure. I’ve never done it this way before. I feel like I can be more patient and more selective. I’m trying to be more imaginative. I really want to find a job that I like. It has to be possible.
Tagged: beginning, debt to income ratio, emergency fund, Goal, halloween, housing market, part time jobs, progress November 1, 2011
So I’ve gone more than a week without updating. Here’s what’s been going on. I had a house guest, so I was distracted, but that doesn’t really count as I could easily have gotten around that. I also had a meeting with a financial advisor. Great free consultation as a result of a women’s health conference I went to. (Will post more on this later.) I also did a whole lot of nothing. Work has been stressful lately so I just sat down and stared at my tv or blasted pandora for stress relief. Some upcoming posts I’m planning are the one above about the visit with the financial planner, my search for a new job (The one I have is devouring my soul as well as my brain.), an update on the battle with Time Warner Cable, and an update on my goals. Hopefully, I can get most if not all of these up this week. Time Warner won’t be fully resolved until November or so at best.
Tagged: financial planner, lazy bum, pandora, stress relief, time warner cable October 31, 2011
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