mjrube94's Blog

The number of credit card offers I get in the mail each day is mindboggling! One came today with a new twist: They'll give me a 20" Sharp LCD Aquos TV immediately ($850 value). The catch: I'd have to transfer $5000 onto the card (no balance transfer fee), and maintain a $3500 balance for at least 18 months. The rate on the card is 9.99%. So that means I'd be paying at least $575 in interest over the life of the card. If the balance falls below $3500, they hit your card with a one-time fee of $700. I'd be curious to see who signs up for this card...

Not much news today. Had a good first day at work, and we're going out to TGIF's to celebrate.

A wierd thing happened...I got an email with a comment on my $20 challenge, but I don't see the comment listed. Anyway, the person wondered how I was taking advantage of all of these bank bonuses, between direct deposit requirements and whether or not I'd be blacklisted for opening and closing so many.

I'm allowed up to 4 direct deposits by my employer. (I'm sure hubby's company allows multiple ones too, but I haven't needed to look into that). I have just now reached the point where I need to close out an account in order to make room for another. Many of the accounts I open are either savings accounts or checking accounts that don't require DDs, which is how I've been able to manage so many thus far. (I've also done 529 accounts and Sharebuilder, which don't require dds).

Also, I don't always close the accounts right away. Many posters on this site use an envelope system to help them with their expense tracking. I do a similar thing with my accounts. I have a checking account that I use to pay my property taxes, another for my auto insurance, and I'm going to use one of my new ones for my quarterly federal tax payments. Each month I deposit a set amount into each of these accounts, then pay the respective bills from there. I have a savings account dedicated to my $20 challenge, and another for regular savings. So although some accounts certainly do get closed when the waiting period is over, I'd say it's the exception rather than the rule.

Also, to answer another question about bank bonuses that I've seen, I have not yet had a problem with opening too many accounts. I try to keep it to no more than 4 in 3 months, because I've read that that's the magic number, and I've been fine. The biggest problem is that it's an organizational headache...

For those who are looking to increase their challenge totals, this can be a great plan. I made $710 in 2005 opening accounts for myself (and in some cases hubby and the kids) and my goal for 2006 is $900. Good luck!

I'm switching jobs at my company, and tomorrow is my first day. Because I have no work left to do at my old job, my boss is letting me "work from home" today. Kids are in school and the house is quiet!

A few updates - I did sign up for the second 0% credit card. Unfortunately, this included a balance transfer fee, but it will still be well worth it. I won't know how much of the HELOC I can transfer to it for a few weeks, but every bit will help.

I received a bill from my newspaper yesterday for $47.45, due upon receipt. I could've sworn that I already paid it. Sure enough, I looked at a past credit card statement and I paid it in December. I called the company and they saw the payment and told me to throw out the bill. Just goes to show you that you can't accept this stuff at face value.

I paid my mid-month bills and got our budget up to date. I also went through a ton of clothes that my kids have outgrown and separated into "throw out", "donate", and "give to my friend" piles. Of course, I still have the box of really cute outfits that I couldn't part with!

I still have 2 hours before picking up DS at school. My goal is to clean out the massive clutter in my den. If I can get that done, it will be a fantastic day...

I mailed the book for half.com. It cost me $.87 to mail, and I'll be getting $4.10 back. I also signed up for the Chase checking account today, which will get me a $100 bonus.

I need to get creative and think of more ideas for my challenge. The Chase bonus was my third one since Jan 1, and I want to take a break before taking advantage of the next one ($50 from Valley National - expires March 31). I'm not sending anything to ebook until (unless) I get paid for my outstanding orders, so that's on hold. I do have a few things to list on ebay, but I'm going to wait until they have one of their listing deals. In addition (or otherwise) I have a bunch of stuff that I could sell at a garage sale. The only problem is that I don't want to host one! Last year, my sister and her boyfriend had one and asked if we wanted to get rid of anything, but I didn't have my act together in time. Maybe I'll suggest they hold another .

New total: $106.73

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $100 (Citi bonus 1), $100 (Citi bonus 2), $5.08 (ebook), $10.61 (ebook), $2 (Chandon rebate), ebook ($1.97), $4.10 (half.com), $100 (Chase)

I have a bunch of errands to run today...I need to go to the grocery store to pick up some things, go to the post office, go to the bank, and return stuff to the library. Dinner is already in the crockpot and I'm on my 3rd load of laundry. It's shaping up to be a great day.

We committed to rent a house in the OuterBanks with my brother and his family. Our families have been vacationing together for 7 years, and it's great because we both have kids the same age, and the adults all get along well. Last year we included another brother and sister, and while it was still fun, it was a bit too crazy. So we're back to just us this year. I need to send SIL the deposit today. Not great timing with the taxes due, but the bright side is that we won't be paying for it later.

We were approved for the 0% credit card, and were able to transfer $7500 of the HELOC balance. I have another 0% offer that I'm thinking of opening to transfer some of the rest. This month, we paid $125 in interest on the HELOC, so I really want to move as much as I can to the 0% cards instead.

That's about it for now...

I received the rebate from the board games I got for Christmas, and I got the tube of toothpaste from Tom's of Maine. So I'll add the $11.50 to my challenge for a new total of $107.60. Also, I sold a book at half.com for $2+shipping. I'll update that after I mail it out and see what shipping actually costs.

Tomorrow, I'm going to open an account at Chase. A new branch opened up and they're having "double bonus days" through this week. If you open an account with $100, you get a $100 bonus. The account needs to stay open 6 months.

New total: $107.60

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $100 (Citi bonus 1), $100 (Citi bonus 2), $5.08 (ebook), $10.61 (ebook), $2 (Chandon rebate), ebook ($1.97)

I looked back at my last entry and saw that we were expecting 6-12" of snow. Yeah, right. 20 inches was more like it! Fortunately, we have a snowblower (great investment made AFTER the blizzard of 1996!), but the snow was so wet and heavy (and so much) that it still took hubby a long time to do the driveway. The kids loved it, though...

Friday I did pick up the free stuff at Walgreens. Plan is to get the rebate back as a Walgreens gift card and pick up the 10% bonus. (Total=$10 + $1 bonus). The $1 bonus will go toward my challenge, the rest back in my account, as I wouldn't have bought the stuff w/o the rebate. The kids also went for haircuts - $35 total. I've got to check out the local coupons to find a cheaper place.

Saturday, I went to used book sales at two libraries. Given my recent uneasiness with ebookdrop, I decided to just write down all of the ISBNs and not buy anything. The libraries have sales each month, so I figure if I get paid for my outstanding orders between now and then, I'll run the numbers through their site and pick up the books. Otherwise, it was a couple of hours wasted. I'm really bummed about all this. The optimist in me says that it seems like a small outfit and they're really overwhelmed with all of the orders and are just slow in paying out. The pessimist says they're going out of business and won't make good on their outstanding orders. Which is right? Anyway, I'm waiting on a total of $36.62 from them, for which I paid $8.64 so other than a lot of aggravation, at least I won't be out much.

Spent about $130 on groceries, most of which were fresh fish, meat and veggies. I've been overbudget on groceries so far in Feb., but I don't think I need to hit BJs this month, so I can make up for it there.

Love the crockpot...used it once over the weekend and have two more recipes to try out this week. That's about it for now...

One of the area libraries is having their monthly used book sale tomorrow. I went last month, but only had time to look at a handful of books. They have an entire room devoted to the sale, so I'll see what I can pick up for my challenge. A second library also has a sale going on tomorrow. Not sure I'll be able to make both, but I'll try.

Hubby's company has a good deal: Each year, they'll reimburse employees for buying different health-related products (e.g., treadmills, gym memberships, etc.). We've taken advantage of it a few times in the past. Anyway, we bought each other new bikes for Christmas, and it turns out that we'll be reimbursed $225! Also, they'll reimburse $75 for employees to get one massage/year. I need to dig up the bike receipt and submit both of those, and I need to remember to take advantage of this each year!

Finally, I've got a few errands to run today. I want to go to Walgreens and pick up a few FAR items, and the kids need haircuts. Then we're going home and hunkering down for the weekend. 6-12" of snow is expected, and I've got 2 crockpot meals planned!

I have been all-consumed by our taxes. I went through TurboTax again and don't think I missed anything, which means the net we owe between Federal, NY and NJ will be about $7k.

We realized that we (desperately) need to adjust his W4 form to increase the amount that's taken out each month. Years ago, when we bought the house, had the 2 kids, and were making less, he put down 7 exemptions. Since then, we're both making much more, and have refinanced the mortgage twice and are now paying much less interest. (Still have the kids, though ). When I did the calculation on the W4 form, it not only said that we should reduce his exemptions to 0, but that we should have an additional $300/month taken out! Ouch! I know we just need to suck it up and do it, but it's going to be painful.

Hubby's bonus will also be much lower than expected, so we'll need to dip into savings to pay the tax bill. Blah!

Turning to the positive...twice yesterday, I ordered things with expired discount codes and in both cases, the rep I got was extremely nice and honored them anyway. One saved me $4.20, the other saved me $40. It really pays to ask the reps if they can honor them anyway.

Also, taking a cue from Flash, my kids only use Tom's of Maine strawberry toothpaste. I noticed that every tube ends up splitting (and the toothpaste leaks out) before it's used up. So I called the 1-800# today. They explained why, and are sending me a "Tube Rolling Key" and a free tube of toothpaste. Good deal!

I'm changing jobs next Thursday, so my coworkers are taking me to lunch today. We have a quiet weekend planned, so hopefully it will be low-spend...

I picked up some prescriptions at CVS today. Ouch! The cost for regular RXs were raised from $10 to $25 for 2006, and one name brand is $50! And this is with insurance! Luckily, the flexible spending account will reimburse me, but it's still money. Only one of the prescriptions is reoccuring. I need to look into the savings if I do it mail order.

After lunch I need to hit the grocery store. I want to keep it under $20, because I had a pretty big order last Saturday. I also need to return some books to the library before I have to pay a fine on them. Edited to add - Spent $20.87 at the grocery store ($39.10-coupons and bonus club savings). Also had to pay a $4.50 fine for DD at the library for some really overdue books. I really need to get better about this...

The kids need haircuts, but I'm not sure when I can fit them in. That's about it for now...

I got an email from half.com that they'll be depositing $15.75 into my account, and I have $.10 of recycling to add. I also picked up a book at the local library for $.10 that ebook will buy for $1.97. Nothing else new to add today...

New total: $96.10

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $8 (Games Make Great Gifts Rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $100 (Citi bonus 1), $100 (Citi bonus 2), $5.08 (ebook), $10.61 (ebook), $2 (Chandon rebate), ebook ($1.97)

It was a tough weekend financially...First, I did my taxes using Turbo Tax. Upside - it was a piece of cake, really easy and user friendly. Downside, the net result is that we're going to owe about $7000 total. Ouch! I pulled out last year's return and compared some of the big line items. The culprits - fewer donations (we donated a car for 2004 before the rules changed), slightly higher income, slightly lower mortgage interest and higher Alternative Minimum Tax. Blech. I still have to check out one thing that may help - we had losses from a mutual fund sale a few years back that we've been carrying forward. I thought we used the last of it in 2004, but I want to double check. Otherwise, we're stuck with this big painful bite. Thankfully, hubby gets his bonus in April. The only question now is how much of it will be covered.

Onto other things, we got our gas bill in the mail. Over $500 last month (and over $500 the month before too). I'm trying not to flip out too much because we're on the budget billing plan. So even though we're wayyy over now, our actual usage is pretty low come April. I just can't let it get too out of hand.

We also ate out unexpectedly yesterday. The kids were at grandma's for a sleepover, so we went to Church Saturday night and decided to go out afterward. The bill was about $60 (hubby paid $20 cash for drinks at the bar, but that's his problem! ). In light of the looming tax bill it probably wasn't the wisest thing to do, but we did have a great time.

So not a great financial weekend, but I'm ready to put it behind me. I'm the kind that likes to get all the bad news out of the way at once, rather than have it come in dribs and drabs...

Three more things for the challenge: 1) I went grocery shopping yesterday and returned $.45 worth of recyclables (wahoo!). 2) I had $8.50 worth of "keep the change" from BOA in January, where anytime I use my debit card the amount is rounded off to the next dollar and the change is moved to my savings account. 3) I bought my normal brand of champagne, and it had a $2 rebate that I'll mail out tomorrow. (I had to send it to my sister's house because you have to be a NY resident. I'll give her a heads up to look for it, and put up with her busting my chops over saving $2). Also, I received an email from Symantec saying they received my paperwork and are processing it. So far so good...

New total: $80.35

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $8 (Games Make Great Gifts Rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $6.65 (half.com), $100 (Citi bonus 1), $100 (Citi bonus 2), $9.10 (half.com), $5.08 (ebook), $10.61 (ebook), $2 (Chandon rebate)

So we decided to take a stab at the taxes ourselves. The kids are going to grandma's for a sleepover tomorrow, so I'm going to pick up the TurboTax software today after work, and gather all of my documents tonight. Then tomorrow I'll get to it. If it works out, great, if not, we'll suck it up and go to the accountant. It's not like we have anything so complicated, it's just such a tedious process. Hopefully, the software will make it go much more smoothly...As a plus, if I buy the software at OfficeMax, I can get a shredder free after rebate. I've been meaning to pick one up for a while, so might as well do it now.

I need to go grocery shopping later today. We have no more milk, bread, butter or eggs in the house! Yikes.

I also need to update my budget and see how things will look for February. No shortage of things to do...

I'm chugging along with my challenge. Bought the books from the bookstore ($10.61-$4.34 cost) yesterday. I have some more I can pick up on Monday. I also have some recycling to bring to the grocery store today, and Staples sent me an email saying that one of my rebate checks is really in the mail.

New total: $71.40

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $8 (Games Make Great Gifts Rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $6.65 (half.com), $100 (Citi bonus 1), $100 (Citi bonus 2), $9.10 (half.com), $5.08 (ebook), $10.61 (ebook)

I wish it was - I'm really beat today!

I confirmed yesterday that BOA would not let us transfer the HELOC balance onto their 0% credit card, so I didn't apply. I called Chase and tried to get them to waive the $75 balance transfer fee, but they wouldn't budge. Luckily, we received a Citibank 0% credit card offer in the mail yesterday with no balance transfer fee. So I applied today. We're preapproved, so I don't doubt we'll get it, I'm just waiting to see what the credit line will be. The response comes via snail mail, so I'm sure it will take a week or so, then it takes 3-4 weeks to make the transfer.

Went to the used bookstore at lunch. Didn't do great. Four books for a total of $10.69-$4.32(cost) for a net of $6.37. Ah, well, I guess that's why I said an average of $10/week. Some weeks are better, some are worse.

I feel like I'm pretty up-to-date on the daily challenges so far. I'll feel great when the 0% credit card is in place with the balance transferred, and I think my auto insurance is in as good shape as possible. (The one outstanding item for me is to take the defensive driving course with hubby. His company usually offers it at a substantial discount vs. AAA, so we'll wait awhile to see if they offer it. Otherwise, we'll go to AAA).

So far, so good...

Two updates to the challenge: I mailed the half.com book for $2.09, should get $9.10 back, for a net of $6.51. I subtracted the 2.09 below and will add in the $9.10 when I get it. Also, I stopped at the library to pick up the two books for ebook. Paid $1, will get $5.08 back.

New total: $75.74

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $8 (Games Make Great Gifts Rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $6.65 (half.com), $100 (Citi bonus 1), $100 (Citi bonus 2), $9.10 (half.com), $5.08 (ebook).

I really like Jeffrey's daily challenges. The most recent one was to check into increasing auto insurance deductibles, which was on my list of stuff to do in 2006 anyway. With the prodding of the daily challenge, I went ahead and called.

To change both cars from $500-$1000 would save me $212/year. However, the rep told me to check with the lenders, because they may require no higher than $500 deductibles. One did and one didn't (yes, I have two car loans ), so I went ahead and made the change on the one, for an annual savings of $150/year. When I pay off the other, I'll change it as well. My plan is to set aside $500 (difference between current deductible and $1000) so it will be there in case we ever get in an accident.

I also called BOA regarding the 0% credit card they offered. After getting through the entire application, the rep informed me that you can't do a balance transfer from another BOA credit card. I asked her if the same held true from a BOA home equity loc, and she said she wasn't sure. So I cancelled the application, and will go to a branch and find out from someone there, face to face. If not, I have a 0% offer from Chase. The plus side is that the Chase offer is for 15 months, BOA is for 12. The downside is that there's no balance transfer fee from BOA, whereas Chase's is $75. Either way, it's still better than paying the interest to the HELOC each month. (And with the offer from BOA in hand, maybe I can get Chase to reduce or eliminate the fee).

Other financial news: While I was paying off my fine at the library yesterday, I noticed they had a few more books for sale. I only had time to write down a few, but found two that ebook will by for $2.54 ea. (Cost to me $.50 each). So I'll stop by there today on the way to pick up DS from school, and I'll write down the rest while I'm at it. I also should be able to go to the used bookstore by work tomorrow.

That's it for now...

I'm pretty excited. Over the last few days I've received 3 offers for various 0% credit cards. I spoke with hubby about transferring the balance on our home equity line to one of these cards. The balance is currently $23,319, and our rate is 6.74% (and the Fed just raised rates!). Even with the tax deduction, it still works out to about 5%, so switching to a 0% card would be great. We pay in the neighborhood of about $135/month on the interest...I'd love to get rid of that while we pay it off.

Other than that I had a quiet day. I returned overdue library books to the tune of $4.20 (painful!). There was also a bookfair at DD's school, so we bought a few books there. Dinner was in the crockpot at 10 this morning (I love that).

That's it for now...

I received two deposits from ebook, for $26.67 and $25.49. I need to email them re: the $3.81 deposit, as that was mailed out along with the others. At least I got the two bigger deposits!

When I started the challenge, I laid out 5 ways to meet my goal. The end of the month seems like a good time to see if I need to tweak anything.

1) Bank bonuses - My goal for the year was $900. So far, I've applied for Affinity Bank ($75), Citibank ($200), and will do Chase in February ($100), for a total of $375. That's a great start, though I'm sure that I won't be able to keep that pace up going forward.

2) Ebook - Wow I really underestimated this. I was hoping for $30/month. So far, I've gotten $71.12, and again, while I probably won't keep this pace, the $30/month is still totally do-able.

3) Rebates - Again, I underestimated. I planned $120/year ($10/month). So far, I've sent in $98 worth of rebates. It's amazing how many are out there.

4) Recycling - Totally off on this one. I wanted $100/year, but will be lucky to get $35. I'm not too upset given how the other categories are doing.

5) Other - I've had a few half.com sales, and also some referrals for different things that will bring in a few bucks here and there.

So far so good...On to February!

New total: $79.33

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $8 (Games Make Great Gifts Rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $6.65 (half.com), $100 (Citi bonus 1), $100 (Citi bonus 2)

Waiting for my rebates is like watching grass grow, but I finally got one today. It was for the wireless router, but unfortunately was only for $15, not the $20 I thought. But I'll take it! So I can cross an item off of my outstanding list.

New total: $27.17

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $25.49 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $26.67 (ebook), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $8 (Games Make Great Gifts Rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $6.65 (half.com), $100 (Citi bonus 1), $100 (Citi bonus 2)

Had a sale on half.com. I'll update the totals after I mail it out.

Also, in reviewing my last few entries, I'm going to put on hold the bank bonus offer from NVE. Given that I recently opened Affinity for $75, am in the process of opening Citibank ($200) and plan on opening the Chase ($100) in February, I thought that was more than enough. I saved the advertisement, though, so in the future if I decide to do it, I can see if it's still valid.

I'm still waiting for my rebates to come in the mail, and for my ebookdrop deposits. I feel like I'm watching a pot of water boil...

So I made it through the first month of 2006 (which technically doesn't end until tomorrow, but I've accounted for all my income and outgo). Here's how I did:

I was right on the mark with groceries and gas for the car. This is a big deal for me, because I'm usually way over on both of these. The gas is even better than it looks, because I have a $57 credit coming back to me next month thanks to my Shell MC. I was also on track with most of my other categories, which don't usually change.

I was way under on car maintenance ($42 vs $150), clothing ($70 vs. $150) and gifts ($50 vs. $250). That's great, but the downside is that I came up with the estimates thinking that I would be using an envelope system, so the good months would offset the bad months. However, I couldn't get that to fly, so I'll have to see the impact of that as we go through the year.

I was on the wrong side of a few categories as well. "Extracurricular Activities" for the kids was way high- $238 instead of $100 budgeted. I'm not worried about it, as most of it is for their Spring activities, and I won't be incurring $100/month for the next few months. Dining out was slightly high ($123 vs. $100) and hubby's life insurance is up to $69/month from $55.

The biggest bummer for me is that I was only able to put $500 toward the HELOC instead of the $1000 I had hoped for. $350 of the difference was due to an unbudgeted repair. The other $150 went to my brother, who is going through a tough time and needed some help. I'm not expecting to repeat either of these next month, so hopefully I can get back to the $1000. Still, $500 is better than nothing.

Had a quiet weekend otherwise. Nothing really new, and no great financial happenings...

Citibank is offering new banking customers who already have a Citibank credit card this offer: Sign up for a Citibank checking account and receive a $100 bonus, credited within 120 days. Link your Citibank credit card to this new checking account and make a transfer from the checking account to the credit card, and receive another $100 within 90 days.

I signed up for the EZ Checking, which is free with Direct Deposit. There is no minimum initial deposit, no minimum monthly balance, and no fees (because of the direct deposit). You only need to make one transfer, of any dollar amount, to be eligible for the bonus.

Seems like a great deal to me...this is definitely one of the higher bonuses out there! I'm not sure when it expires. You can call (866) 810-9040 if you're interested. Mention offer code MVR3.

New total: $12.17

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $25.49 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $26.67 (ebook), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $20 (Wireless Router Rebate), $8 (Games Make Great Gifts Rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $6.65 (half.com), $100 (Citi bonus 1), $100 (Citi bonus 2)

Stopped at the post office today to mail the book I sold on half.com. It cost me $2.07 to mail the book, and I'll get back $6.65, for a net profit of $4.58.

Also, while reading the local paper, I saw an advertisement from a local bank. Open a free checking account (min $10 to open) with direct deposit and get a $25 bonus. No monthly fees, no minimum balance. I think I'll sign up tomorrow, and use this account to hold the money for my property taxes.

New total: $12.17

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $25.49 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $26.67 (ebook), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $20 (Wireless Router Rebate), $8 (Games Make Great Gifts Rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 (Pepsi rebate), $6.65 (half.com)

I registered DS for kindergarten. Hooray. As excited as I am for him to go, I'm more excited that I only have 3 more preschool bills to pay! The process was painless, though I do need to drop a form at his doctor's office, and another at his preschool, to be filled out.

I took a vacation day today to get this done and run some other errands. I need to mail the half.com book at the post office, we're meeting some other moms for lunch, I need to return some (late) videos to the library, stuff like that.

I started going through my old postings to categorize them. I got through Mar-May 2005. It's interesting to read back on them. I now have a running list of stuff I meant to do and never got around to, that I should get back on my list! I think the categories are great. That way, as I think about different parts of my budget, I can go to other blogs and see their categories right away for helpful hints.

Hubby is away overnight, so I'll try to get some straightening up done tonight. Have a great day!

I'm going to start tracking my 2006 challenge as part of my blog. For those of you who haven't been following the challenge, my goal is to turn my initial $20 into $2000 to fund a November vacation to wine country. I'm planning on using 5 ideas to fund this challenge:
1) Bank bonus offers ($900/year)
2) Selling books ($360/year)
3) Sending in rebates ($120/year)
4) Recycling (Orig. $100/year, now $35)
5) Taking advantage of other ideas from here and other sites ($520)

I received a $10 credit from Direct TV for moving to auto-debit of my bill from my checking account. So:

New total: $14.24

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebook), $25.49 (ebook), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate), $26.67 (ebook), $20 (Norton Security rebate), $20 (Wireless Router Rebate), $8 (Games Make Great Gifts Rebate), $5 (Amazon Rebate - not sure if I'm getting this because I didn't submit the packing slip), $10.57 (ebook), $10 (Kimberly Clark Rebate), $4.58 (ebook), $10 (2nd Kimberly Clark Rebate), $10 Pepsi rebate.

So I called my company to see if we could change our 2006 Dependent Care amount for our flexible spending account. Seems like mine is an unusual circumstance (of course). If I quit altogether, that would definitely be a "qualified change in status". Likewise, if I didn't have a job and got one, that would be a qualified change. But moving from one job to another, and changing hours in the process, which therefore changes my need for dependent care, "does not appear" to be a qualified change. Fortunately I'm working with someone who seems conscientious, and is escalating it to her management. We'll see what happens.

Other than that, I took care of some financial housekeeping. I entered the Staples rebate, faxed some receipts for my flexible spending, and got caught up on some other stuff. I wasn't able to finish January's review last night, but should get to it tonight...

Stopped at Staples today to pick up some markers and pens that are free after rebate. (I won't count this toward my challenge, because I wouldn't have bought them otherwise, but the're always nice to have extras around the house). I love Staples EasyRebates...everything is done online! I also sold a book at half.com. It's usually feast or famine with them, so I'm hoping that another 3 or 4 books will sell over the next few days!

Not a great couple of days for spending...I had fast food for lunch yesterday and today (no excuse) and the kids want Burger King for dinner. That's so tempting because they have CCD until 5, so it beats cooking, and hubby is going out for dinner. We also needed to have our watches serviced, cash only

I think I'm at a point where I can pretty much finish up the January budget, so that's my goal for tonight...

Sold a book for $5 at half.com. I'll update the totals when I ship it out. This just goes to show you the stark difference between half.com and ebook. When I initially checked this book out at ebook, they were going to offer $1.75 for it. Instead of acting immediately, it sat around for a week and when I went back to ebook, it was no longer in demand. So I went ahead and put it on half.com for $5. (Had no idea if it would get that much, but there were only a few copies of them for sale). It sold within 2 days! If that happened everytime it'd be great, alas I usually have books sitting on half.com for months...