Archive results for “May 2010f 2010”

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Time to Check That Credit Score…

I’ve said this before – too many times I’m sure – but consumers are entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the credit reporting agencies. This free report is only available from annualcreditreport.com.

I check my score once every four months from a different reporting agency. This report is a great tool to keep tabs on your information and to make sure no one is taking out credit in your name. Plus, this report provides a clear picture of exactly how much you owe and to who you owe.

If you are following my pattern, the credit report this cycle is coming from Trans Union. I would NOT recommend getting your credit score from this agency. Requests for scores from the report site route you to credit monitoring companies… and we all know how I feel about those!

Posted by Beks on May 6, 2010 at 7:48 PM in Credit Reports/FICO | 1 Comment »
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When You are Desperate for Cash…

As soon as my husband and I received our paychecks a week ago, I wrote a check for $1,000 to Toyota. If I don’t pay this chunk immediately, I miraculously find ways to spend it on anything other than debt reduction.

The VERY NEXT DAY, the electrical went out in our garage. My husband said he was more than willing to prolong repairing it but couldn’t because he thought it was ‘potentially life threatening’ blah, blah, blah.

I offered to avoid the garage area, the open electrical box, and the live wires near the light switch but for some reason, he didn’t trust me to remember not to touch the switch while hungrily running to the garage freezer for a pint of Ben and Jerry’s – plus, there was some mention of a ‘potential fire hazard’.

The cost of the repairs? $150.

The amount of cash in our account? $162.

The amount of food in our fridge? None.

Our grocery budget funded the repairs.

It’s times like these, we are supposed to dive into our emergency fund. Electrical/housing/safety problem definitely qualifies as an EMERGENCY but for some reason, I can’t touch that cash without feeling uneasy.

Instead, I looked around my house for something to sell.

My eyes fell on a lamp, still in the box with a receipt taped to the top, which I purchased 2 weeks ago. The lamp in our living room broke and all we have is a fixture with a bare bulb. I bought a $40 floor lamp from Target to replace it but felt uneasy about spending money so I left it in the box while I debated it.

While I stood in the returns line to get back some cold hard cash for groceries, my sister called. When she asked what I was doing, I told her I was returning a lamp for grocery money.

You know you’ve reached a certain consistent level of crazy when your sister doesn’t hiccup over the above statement and simply says, “Cool. Anyway, are you coming to mom and dad’s today?”

Posted by Beks on May 4, 2010 at 5:00 AM in Saving Money, Spending Money, Ways I Save Money | 15 Comments »
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Moving Up the Career Ladder…

A position has opened in my department at work. Unfortunately, it’s two levels above mine.

I have a healthy fear of rejection. I also have a slightly more than healthy fear of authority. Combine the two and I am destined to push paper for the rest of my life.

I knew about the opening for a week before they made a public announcement and all I could think was…I don’t want to be an admin assistant forever.

Finally, at the end of the week, after six hours of nervous jittering, I loaded myself with fake confidence and marched into my boss’ office. Rather than ask him for consideration for the position, I asked him the ever dangerous, ‘What does my future look like?’

A smile spread across his face and he said, ‘I’ve been waiting for you to ask that question for six months.’

We spent the next half hour reviewing his plans for my future. It was one of the most rewarding conversations I’ve had in a long time. He even encouraged me to throw in my hat for the new position but if I don’t make it, he has another opportunity in mind for me at the beginning of next year.

It’s easy to sit where we are because it’s safe, but sometimes… you’ve got to storm the castle.

Posted by Beks on May 3, 2010 at 5:00 AM in work | 13 Comments »
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Haircutting Thift…

Whew! My week is finally winding down. This morning I woke up early and went for a six mile run. I don’t usually run six miles but I was attempting to see if I could run a 10K in under 70 minutes. It sounded easy until I was three miles from home, tired, and in no mood to run 3 miles back in 35 minutes or less.

Lesson learned. Next time, I’ll run 1,584 laps in my driveway instead. If I feel like quitting at lap 792, I can simply go inside rather than what I did… which was sit in a 7-11 parking lot and consider asking a stranger for a ride home.

But I dragged my feet a bit and started home. Around mile four, I hit a second wind and ran the remaining two miles. Needless to say, thanks to my curbside pit stop and dragging feet, I didn’t make my goal in less than 70 minutes. Maybe next week.

After my run, I went to get a much needed hair cut. I’ve always been a bit of a thrifty nickel when it comes to my hair. I hardly wash it, and when I do, I use shampoo purchased with coupons. One time I bought atrocious children’s bubble gum scented shampoo because it was on sale – and I wasn’t even working to reduce debt at the time.

Thanks to our debt reduction plan and the accountability of this blog, I tend to get an overwhelming since of guilt when spending money on non-necessity items. This has only exaggerated my aversion to expensive hair care.

It should come to no surprise that I met my current stylist at… Super Cuts. Yup, I am the queen of the $13 hair cut.

Before you tell me that only professional pricey stylists understand hair, maybe you should give cheap haircuts a shot. The stylists are often young, hip, and up with the current styles. Sure, you could run the risk of 10 weeks of bad hair days BUT, if you find a good stylist (and trust me, there are some), you could save hundreds of dollars each year.

How much do I spend on haircuts each year? Including tips… $80.

Try it. You’ll like it…well…maybe.

Posted by Beks on May 1, 2010 at 9:32 PM in Ways I Save Money | 14 Comments »
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