Blogging Away Debt

Reader Tip – A Quick “Fix” to a Drafty Spot on a Door

One of my doors is letting in a lot of the cold at the moment. There is an area where a previous application of weatherstripping has broken off. With the temps right now in the negatives and the wind flowing freely, that draft is easily felt and I am sure it is affecting our heating bill.

If we didn’t have to use the door much, I would use good ole duct tape and seal off the door for the winter. But it’s the door we let our dog out of so that wouldn’t work. I need a quick fix that’s cheap and easy until a more permanent solution can be found.

A reader shared that she was using the plastic bags from grocery stores to help seal a draft on her door. I tried it on my door and it is working great!

The plastic bag is thin enough so you can still shut your door with the plastic bag in it. Once your door is closed, take a ruler or some other thin object and stuff the plastic bag into the space that is causing the draft. It’s quick and easy to do and it’s using something you can get for free!

Thanks Jen for the tip! 🙂

End of January Credit Card and Prosper Loan Balances

by Tricia

January was a wonderful month in terms of finance charges paid. It was less than $100. Thinking back to when I first started this blog back in February of 2006, I shudder at the $400+ dollars I was paying every month towards finance charges.

It has been a lot of work to shuffle debt around, but it has been worth it.

Right now, there are three balances that I do not have to worry about changing interest rates (the interest rate is for the life of the balance): CC #1, CC#2 and my Prosper Loan.

CC #7 is a different story. The 0% rate I have on CC #7 will expire in June of this year. June may seem far away, but I am looking for balance transfer offers now instead of waiting to see if anything is available at the last minute.

My “target” debt at the moment is CC #2 since it is at 6.9%. After that I’m not sure what debt I will target next. If I can get a nice balance transfer offer for CC #7 then the next debt to pay off is my Prosper Loan. If I do not have a balance transfer offer, then CC #7 will likely have an interest rate in the 16%+ range, so I will pay that off and then target the Prosper Loan.

The day that I only have to worry about paying one card off is going to be a happy, happy day 🙂