Saturday, January 1, 2011

2010 Ending Balance - Money Market Loan

Remember this one? It was the one I almost forgot about because it was owed to none other than my Money Market account. I let this one slide for almost 3 years before I started paying myself back....mostly with snowflakes from survey income.

At the start of this blog, the balance was $4,711.50

Total Paid: $ 135.13

Balance today: $4,576.37

That's $135.13 more in my EF than I had before I intentionally started sending those small payments to MY account!

Hey Twenty Eleven! Bring it on!

Happy New Year bloggy friends! I've always loved the change of the calendar...whether it's the beginning of a new week, a new month or especially a new year. Hope rings eternal that things can be better even when they're not so bad as they are. I don't think there's anything wrong with striving to excel, goals to be more than you are today. If you've already reached perfection (which we know is impossible), then your name must be Lord. But I think He wants us to use our talents and our gifts to continually improve our lives and the lives of those around us!

I still haven't written down my 2011 Goals. I'm hoping to find some quiet time today to sit down with this article and put my goals in writing.

I did however check on some accounts this morning and was surprised to find that my 401K has reached pre-market meltdown (in late 2008) levels! I'm still nervous about the market. I think there are still too many time bombs waiting on the horizon, but I don't think pulling out and sitting on the sidelines is the answer either. We just have to ride the storms...and hope the country gets back on a better track of creating jobs and reducing the debt. I'm happy that my 401K and IRAs have crossed the $200K mark ($210,000 actually), but I also know that is not nearly enough for a 48 year old with the debt load I'm carrying.

I hope you're feeling as optimistic about the New Year as I am today! 2010 brought many challenges. I'm hoping that I learned alot and gained some wisdom so that I can more effectively deal with whatever 2011 throws my way! I wish all of you good health and peace in the New Year!

Friday, December 31, 2010

Time to close the books on 2010

Although it will probably be a while before I get a true picture of where everything is. I've fallen behind in dealing with all the mounting papers around here and inputting all the bank transactions into my money software.

My gut feeling is that progress was made, but not nearly the progress I was hoping for.

I'm just ready to get on with it. View tomorrow as another fresh start. And keep on keeping on!

I have so many plans rolling around in my head for 2011 -- some financial, many more are "quality of life" goals. I know the experts say that goals should be written, so maybe I need to get them out of my head and type them out. But right now...I gotta get moving. It's a work day for me!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

2010 Ending Balance - Bank Visa

In August, 2009 when I started tracking this fiasco, the balance on this card was $3,575.78.

The bill that arrived today shows a balance of $2,513.02.

WooHoo! Over $1k paid off on this one!!!


Monday, December 27, 2010

we haven't even gotten the gifts put up yet

but I'm already thinking about next Christmas. I did well over half of my shopping this year at Amazon, and was happy to have $35 in Amazon gift cards to use. But I'm bound and determined to end up with more Amazon gift cards for next year.

How? By trying to remember to keep Swagbucks search engine open on my computer and using it every time I need to search for something. I also need to remember to fill out the daily poll every day. That's worth 365 points over the course of a year. It takes 450 points to cash in for a $5 Amazon gift card.

Goal for Christmas 2011: $60 in Amazon gift cards from Swagging.

If you've never tried Swagbucks, click on the picture below. And I might get a few extra points if you start Swagging too!
Search & Win

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Confession - Chase Card #2

If you remember, the balance on this card was transferred to the variable rate portion of the HELOC months ago. I ended up taking a $2,000 draw from this account in the fall to offset some unexpected costs due to the flood damage, our family vacation, and installing an electric fence for our puppy. UGH! I hate backward progress. The one bright spot about this balance is that interest is only 2.75%....an amazing rate as long as prime stays where it is.

Started at: $ 3,620.62
Balance today: $4,485.81

The ticker obviously cannot handle the negative progress. Oh well, hopefully it will catch up and look better SOON!!!!


In case you missed me

I'm still alive. Surviving. Making SLOW SLOW SNAIL-LIKE progress. But telling myself I'll be a better blogger in 2011.

If you neglect the tickers too long, they disappear. So I'll try to get them updated over the next couple of weeks.

only update for today...is the Capital One balance.

Started at: $1,129.26
Total paid: 186.21
Remaining balance : $ 943.05