Sian's Money Matters

I've been paying certain bills monthly and others weekly.

Example:
Timeshare: $85.07/mo balance = $4,855.55
currently I'm on track to pay this off in 7 years. No sooner, no later. Next payment is due on the 27th Apr.

car loan: $194.33/mo. I pay weekly instead $48.58. Looking at the account I am, at this moment the next payment is due 19th Jun.

So instead of it being paid off in Sep 2017 it looks as if it'll be paid off by Jan 2017.

I think it's better to pay something off weekly instead of monthly whenever possible.

So I've played around with an idea for a while for an app. Come to find out that it's already been done. Although I could still make another one just with more info on it.

Now the other app still has potential. Meaning that there are several apps already but they are lacking in the info that they have provided.

The reason I'm not stating more about the product is because I don't want anyone to take me idea LOL.

I will say this. The app with the most info only provided twenty-two (22) items with no audio for $0.99. I plan on have more than twenty-two (22) items for free but for a $0.99 upgrade for audio.

I've read the reviews for the other apps and they pretty much state that it's lacking in items and they have NO audio provided.

Have others made apps and found that it was worth the endeavor?

If this works to my liking then I could have some incoming coming in!

I've been shopping for a new place (hopefully I've found THE place and an apartment will be available when it's time for me to move).

I would LOVE to have my own place and pay less than $400 all inclusive. But alas, it isn't so...

After looking, I've come to the conclusion that it is cheaper in this area to have a roommate.

Now the difficulty is finding a place that someone would like to rent with me since my roommate is moving out.

I figured $500 with their own room and bathroom. It's not furnished but the rest of the place will be. The place I found is a nice place with indoor storage in the apartment as well. And some other perks such as garbage disposal, microwave, A/C, pantry, washer/dryer and dishwasher. Although it doesn't have a gym or pool.

But I still think it's a good deal. Small community (24 apartments total) but very nice place and close to post (which being military is a bonus).

I'm glad I found this place I'm just hoping I can get this place when the time comes.

My lease is up at the end of July and my roommate will be moving out at that time. (I'm lucky enough to have her for the end of the lease). Currently I'm paying around $1000/mo. This includes rent, water, electricity and internet. My roommate gives me $450 for her part.

I'm considering moving to a VERY CHEAP place for at least 6 months. Where I'm currently at I could get rent as low as $250/mo. I've seen places that I'd rent out that cost about $300/mo. With the cost of utilities I could pay approximately $500/mo. This would save me about $500/mo and $3,000 for 6 months. Or I could rent this low for a year and save about $6,000.

With this money I'd like to pay stuff off. At this point I'm just "making payments" and that's no conducive to being debt free.

What are ya'lls thoughts?

It's a new year and a new time to get things started. Of you haven't don't it last year because "things came up" then erase all that.

I excited! There are things I didn't accomplish last year but I will make it a point to accomplish this year. I also want to start the wheels rolling on things that will take a while to accomplish like my degree.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Well I've finally done it. I've taken ALL of my children off of my auto insurance policy LOL.

She's gotten married and has given me a grandchild in the last 6 months. So she's been informed that as of the 6th of Jan she needs to have her own insurance.

My insurance goes down about $30 but that'll get eaten up by something increasing... LOL.

Gotta redo the budget because of this but I'm glad it goes down. I've had my kids on my insurance for nine (9) years now.

YAY ME! j/k lol

This morning at around 4:30am I received a call from a number 473-520-9762 which came up as unavailable. It rang twice then hung up. My being in the military I started assuming that someone was trying to get in touch with me from my unit.

I don't believe that was the case.

I've tried calling the number back and although the music is REALLY up my alley it just keeps stating "please wait for the operator".

Has anyone else received a call from this number?

I have no idea from what and to call at 4:30am is RIDICULOUS.

By the way, I've looked on the internet and some people have stated that the caller ID for them is from Grenada but that is all.

Yes, I have been remiss...

I have not been as diligent concerning my finances as before. Life has gotten in the way and I have not let finances be a part of my life. Well that will be changing this month. Why?

My birthday is on the 18th! Time to realize what changes I want to make and make them. Not only financially but physically and mentally as well as emotionally.

I've even gained weight in the last few months...

So I've started back to being physically active and eating better. (destroyed 3lbs so far).

On a good note the interest rate on my timeshare has FINALLY gone down from 17% to 6%. And they backdated it! They applied a savings of $1,693.68 to my account which means that my principal went from $6,849.48 to $5,155.80. Mind you I got this in Aug 2011 and the principal was $7,618.52. Plus my payments went from $132.80 to $85.07.

So now my objective is to redo my finances and see how to apply the extra amount to my finances.

There is a thrift store on post that I visit from time to time. I just thought about it the other day and mentioned it to a co-worker.

I was thinking of buying certain items from the thrift store and selling them on Ebay.

For instance, I bought a white strapless floor length gown for $13.00. I bought it because every year there is an annual military ball. I also thought that I could give it to my youngest daughter for her wedding gown if she wants it.

But I also thought about selling it on Ebay eventually.

The thrift store also has other items such as books, DVDs, clothes and furniture.

You think this is a good idea?

Just bought baby clothes yesterday for about $30 from a friend's wife. I will also be cruising the yard sale this Saturday because I'm looking for a road bike. I may also purchase more baby clothes.

As for entertainment I will be going to bingo this Saturday. It'll cost at least $17 but I thought I'd give it a try and also there is a chance to win prizes. If I win, I win but my intent is to have a bit of fun.

This month one of my goals is not to spend as much even with my "allowance". There are some things that I want that I'm going to try and find a cheaper price for. Such as a road bike. This weekend there is a yard sale on my post. So I'm going to look there for a bike and baby clothes for the grandchildren.

But other than that, I've only been spending money on things that I need. Which is great but then again it's only the fifth day in LOL!

I have a timeshare... yeah yeah I know... but anyways lol

I have a timeshare with the current rate of APR at 17%. I have sent in paperwork to get my rate down to 6%.

I sent in this paperwork (& it has been received) at least 2 months ago. I actually tried to send it 4 months ago but the person that actually handles that kept stating that she hadn't received it.

Now I know that it has been received but my rate STILL says 17%. I do have an account manager at the timeshare place that is handling it but she can't directly put that information on my account. It is the responsibility of someone else. My account manager has verified that the paperwork has been received and given to the correct person.

But in the meantime I'm still making payments and nothing is happening. I'm getting very frustrated with this. Even if I was informed that the rate would be backdated it's still "blah, blah, blah" for me because IT HASN'T BEEN TAKEN CARE OF.

Do I have a right to be upset? I can't get in touch with the responsible person directly, only my account manager who has helped me out tremendously in the past. I don't blame her at all because it's not her job to update the rate. She was able to confirm the receipt of paperwork but that is about it...

Again, should I be upset about this?

Today I went to pay my rent. I was expecting to pay more because last month I didn't pay for the washer/dryer I'm renting from them because they put it in after we moved in.

'Lo and behold when I got there they stated that the are not charging me for the partial and I just pay the $860. WOW!

I just saved money again! Even if it's about $25 I'm satisfied with that! I really do like my new place. =D

I got off budget for August but I'm still n the green. I'm hoping for a lot better September and will start working hard on the budget of getting my debt down.

I have a possible third roomie that'll stay with me for a month or so but if it happens, I'll go to 1/3rds in the rent amount. So instead of paying $500 it'll go down to about $334!

Let's hope for lower rent!

Since moving I've gone off budget. I haven't really been putting information into my budget so I've had to play catch-up.

I'm getting things in order so that for September I'll be all set again... I have kept up with my spending so that I'm not over-spending on anything but I'm still admonishing myself in the meantime.

It's so easy to get off-budget. Especially since I'm still in the middle of changing banks as well.

A lot has happened in the past few weeks...

I was pretty much kicked out of my apartment. Why you ask? Because they didn't want for me to rent it for the amount that they put on the contract. It was for half of the amount in which they intended. They stated that they sent me an e-mail (which they sent to the wrong address) which only gave me 3 hours to vacate the premises because my current contract was up at noon that day.

I was already at work (I'm military) and didn't have access to any of that information. My parents sent me a text stating that I need to turn in my keys. This was at 11:00am. I didn't get to the apartments at 11:30am. They stated that I had 30 minutes left to vacate.

Mind you, this was almost 2 months after knee surgery and I couldn't carry anything heavy by myself. I had to contact my roommate and she arrived a bit after noon.

The complex then gave me till the close of business to vacate. My roommate and I pretty much moved out by ourselves (with my not really being any help :'( ).

I signed a new contract with a new place and have been VERY satisfied with their service. The new place has given me $1,450 in incentives when I move in. $250 was for the security deposit that I did NOT have to provide. And I'm using the $1,200 to put towards my rent ($100 off monthly).

The only thing I needed was furniture which I now have. I did purchase a bedroom suite which I have divided among my bedroom and living room. I am not purchasing dining room furniture because we're using that area as a home gym.

I feel lucky that I was able to purchase my dream bedroom furniture (except for the platform bed) but whenever I move into my dream home, I'll just put that into the guest bedroom. LOL!

At this point I'm still unpacking and will be going through my things to see what can be donated, sold, or thrown away.

So right now my rent is $960, but with $100 off it's $860. Then my roommate pays half so it's $430. The only utilities that we have are electricity, water, and internet.

Electricity is $57.22 for 16 days. $30 is the activation fee so it's actually $27.22. But I will expect to pay about $80 per month.

Internet is $68.86. This includes a modem rental of $5 per month ($60 annually). I will try to find a modem for less than that so I would no longer have to pay them for the rental. The internet is actually $29.95 the first year then $49.95 after that.

Water bill is $15.27 which is exciting to me.

So all in all for the new place, it costs me $1,101.35 for the first month and I have $100 off every month which equals to $1,001.35. And since I have a roommate we only both pay $500.68. I'm VERY happy with where I am and I'm looking forward to the next 11 months here.

Does anyone use WOW! internet/cable service? If you do can I use you as a referral?

I believe that it may be up to a $100 referral bonus!

Just leave a comment in my comment section, I check on it constantly.

Thanks!

Long story: New Apartment and breaking the lease...

The apartment people finally informed me of the new apartment that I'd be getting. They told me it'd be on the first or second floor if I remain in the same building, but if I want a floor on the second floor then I'd have to move to a different building. They also stated that they didn't have any 2-bedrooms on my current floor because they signed them out to others a "long, long time ago".

So what that means is that I signed that contract in good faith that they'd give me what I promised. A 2-bedroom apartment on my current floor so that when I moved it wouldn't aggravate my knee (ACL surgery) going up and down stairs.

It also means that they lied purposefully as well. They told me that I could move earlier in July if I wanted to be on a different floor, but if I want the same floor then I'd have to wait 'til August. It was a no brainer. Wait 'til August...

If I'm going to move on a different floor/building I may as well move to another apartment complex and a better one at that!

My roommate and I have looked and will look again today. There are only two that are in the running but I believe that we've already made a decision based on the floor plans. One has storage closet on the patio while the other one does not. Storage is pretty big to us because we're both military and we need a place to put our gear.

The new apartment (the one we REALLY like) is a lot bigger than what we currently have and we still have or own rooms/bathrooms. Stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, screen enclosed patio, two linen closets, laundry room, pantry, coat closet, walk-in closets, dining room and a computer desk niche. only responsible for trash but we asked and the tenants normally pay about $100 for water/electricity. I've already done checks for internet and it'd only cost $40/mo for the first year and $60/mo thereafter.

So after doing the math the new complex will cost $1,065 so I'll just say $1,100 but split between two people it'll only cost us $532.50 (current place was $547.50)!

New complex apartment will cost us LESS.

BUT...

Now we need to get furniture. I'll be going to estate sales and craigslist as well as looking at stores.

I almost considered going to a payment place like Aaron's Rent-to-own but after looking at the interest (40%!) it'd actually be cheaper to put it on my credit card LOL. But that'd be a last option.

The only things I'm looking for are bed, sofa, entertainment center and dresser. We found a tall-ish nightstand that's a bit on the wide side for about $40. I'll be purchasing the sofa myself and my own bed.

We've already decided on just getting bar stools and not a dining room set so that the dining room area will be our home-gym area.

The only downsides is that the washer/dryer is an extra $35/mo BUT there is a laundry facility within the complex. Also coming out of the complex is rather difficult depending on the time of day. But that should only be an issue for us during the afternoon rush hour.

It is convenient to the shopping centers and entertainment areas.

There is also one other LARGE issue of breaking the current lease.

I talked to the new apartment people and they stated that if we move by the 31st we'll get $1,000. So what I'll do is go to the current people, and state that I want to go on a month-to-month lease.

This is why:
breaking a lease will require a 60-day notice while a month-to-month lease will only require a 30-day notice.

The plan is to go to month-to-month and put in a 30-day notice. Use the $1,000 to pay rent for one month. Therefore it's not a lot of money out of my pocket on that issue.

I will have to come up with funds for furniture but that's not biggie. I'm more than willing to do that. I won't have to buy ceiling fans but we still want to paint the apartment (just one wall in each room). So that fund is less than it originally was ($110 to $30) but I found my 10% off Lowes coupon! Which ironically is literally down the street from the new apartments!

Last month I made plans to move into a new apartment next month. I'm going from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom.

(I'm literally moving across the walkway at my apartments... LOL)

This will mean less rent but more towards debt freedom!

We're very excited! Today we looked at paint colors because we've decided to paint the walls. Only one wall in each room though (living room, and both bedrooms). This way they is some color without being overwhelmed with trying to paint the whole apartment...

We'll also be putting in ceiling fans which we'll take with us because we won't be compensated if we leave them when we leave the apartment... Go figure...

The fans will cost us $80 each and the paint and supplies will cost $60 all together. Also I have a 10% off coupon at Lowe's which I need to find... UGH!

But at least we've decided on our paint colors today which actually helps a lot. Less pressure to do now instead of days before the move.

I'm hoping that I can gather how much money I'd need to pay if all my student loans were due right now (monthly) and apply it to the debt. (paying the current due minimums and putting the "left over" towards the chosen snowball debt)

I'm looking forward to this and so is my roomie. WHOOHOO!!

So I'm sure that plenty of you have already figured this out. But I've now become part of a new credit union that I'm enjoying, but I've never participated in automatic bill paying.

Here's the setup...

I have a car loan in which I've been able to now pay off two months earlier because I refinanced at 50 months for a 48 month loan.

But I used to pay bi-weekly on the loan which meant that I'd be paying less interest and more principal.

So this is what I'm doing now:

I've currently setup my automatic bill paying for weekly payment. This should pay more towards principal in the long run but I'm not sure if it'll pay it off sooner.

But paying this off now isn't my main objective because this loan has the lowest interest rate. My main objective (the account I want to payoff first) will also be on weekly payments but at the last day of the month (28th), I will make a larger payment to it at that time. (I want to be sure that I have the extra funds needed for that month).

I'm definitely going to start doing this with as many of them as I can (which I've already input into the system).

So here's to paying off my debt with less interest as well as sooner. YAY ME!

A while back one of the LTs let me have their children's old clothes that they were going to give to Goodwill. All the clothes were girl clothes.

I went through them and my mother and I sorted them out. There were a LOT of clothes.

My eldest granddaughter is turning five this week and will be starting kindergarten soon! So my mother was kind enough to send her the clothes for me (I had taken them to my parents when I was on convalescent leave from surgery).

My eldest daughter has thanked me for sending them the clothes because a lot has happened over the past month and they didn't have enough time to get everything they needed for her.

I'm so glad that I was able to help them out. There were clothes for both of the girls (one month and five years old).

This made me feel really good, and I still have some clothes left that I'll send them soon hopefully!

It's about the little things! =D

While I stayed with my parents I have made a major decision.

I had already made the decision to change my MOS (job). Not only due to the injury that I sustained downrange but also to the fact that I'd prefer an MOS that had more mental challenge to it. The field I'm currently in is great if you want to be in construction. And although I actually like construction I'd prefer being a carpenter more than anything else.

I'm listening to my big brother while I make the decision as to what I want to change it to although he thinks I'm not listening (haha).

But my big decision is where to PCS (permanent change of station) to. Meaning where I want to try to change my duty station. This affects me a lot more than usual since they are changing the PCS rules. Before I joined it was two years that you'd stay at your duty station. Then when I joined it changed to three years. Now, it's going to change to FOUR years.

That's a lot of time a one place if you're single and one of the reasons that you joined was the ability to be at different duty stations.

So the big decision is for me to go back home. Meaning going to the post that my parents live at so that I would be staying with them for four years. In doing so, I would not only live with them during that time but pay them rent which would be $300/month.

My rent is currently $779/month (which it'll go down to $550/mo next month) which includes water, electricity, internet and cable. I'd save almost $500/month doing this. Which in turn means that I have an extra $500/month to put towards debt reduction.

What would actually be a bonus is if I was not only able to do that but also go into an MOS that had a bonus. Yes, I realized that it would be taxed but it's better than NOT getting a bonus at all.

Hopefully I can find out more in the next few months. There are a couple of programs that I can inquire about to change my MOS before my re-enlistment comes up or I can just wait until then...

But either way, it'll mean living back at home with my parents.

Maybe I can give them enough money in rent so that they can take a trip to Paris!

My FREE motorcycle class starts tomorrow! I'm excited! I filled up the tank earlier today and it only cost me $10! My current budget is approximately $25/month. I'll have to see if that increases later on.

Unfortunately I've been having an issue of a drained battery but I believe I know what the issue is. One of my neighbors use to have a bike shop so I'm hoping that I can use her assistance. I'm not buying a battery until I figure out the issue. No point in buying a new battery if that get's drained as well. It costs $115 but I can afford it. I have a jump starter that I can use to charge it in the meantime. After it's warmed up it'll start on it's on.

I did have to buy a new helmet. I found out that my helmet should only be a maximum of four years old and it was eight. So I bought one in which I could put a Chatterbox on it later on (Bluetooth) which costs $250. It's not a priority right now so I'm putting that on the back burner.

I did put the tires on my bike and was able to reuse the tubes so no extra costs there.

I did have a good budget for this so I'm not worried about the monies. But I'm glad it's working right now. I'm excited about my class tomorrow. YAY ME!

I think that every small child dreams of one day having their own home. No matter what it is i.e mobile home, apartment etc.

But for me, as a small child I remember dreaming about my dream home. It was a gorgeous two-story stand-alone home with lots of bedrooms and bathrooms. As I got older I realized what my dream home actually was and I still hold that dream to that day.

Folks, my dream home is a duplex!

(I think this comes from the fact that even as a small child I knew you had to pay for a house and I didn't want to pay for it if someone else could. I don't know HOW I made the connection, I just knew I wanted to live there for free!)

But I want my home to look like a single family home from the front. (through research I've actually found the plans for it online).

But I've actually expanded on it as I've gotten older. As a child my dream job was real estate (yes I know that this means I was undoubtedly a weird child in some respects...)

But it wasn't the owning of homes that I really wanted. What I really wanted to do as a child was buy a house and make it "pretty" again. And have the opportunity to let someone live in it (interpret this to keeping it and renting it)

In other words -- RENOVATION!

Again, as I have gotten older this hasn't changed.

But I've also looked at it at different points of views:

Should I buy a house/condo an renovate it and rent it out
Should I buy a move-in ready house/condo and rent it out
Should I buy several houses/condos and rent it out
Should I buy a duplex/multi-plex and rent it out
Should build a duplex/multi-plex and rent it out


These questions are so hard for me to answer over time.

I've already decided that I would either:

purchase several move-in ready condos/a duplex/a multi-plex and rent all out (if I'm still living with my parents)

or

build a duplex/multi-plex and rent it out.


I've found plans for the duplex and multiplex that I'd want to build. I'd just need to see what the cost of construction is and the best area to build it in.

I already know that if I built the multi-plex then I'd hire a property manager to take care of it and probably the same if I go for the duplex depending on the amount of rent I'd get. A property manager instantly eats into your profits but I believe it's worth it if you have multiple properties in the same area.

So this is a goal for myself. A home that pays for itself. Even with the headaches that it can come with, I still believe that the pros outweigh the cons.

I'm not looking for a quick turn-around on these properties. I want to keep them for at least 10 years if not more. This is also part of my retirement plan because after the military I want to keep working. And real estate is a job that is ageless. Someone is always buying, selling or building. And since I've always loved construction and like building I figure it's definitely a good fit for me.

Student loans are loathed and not just by me. I have a lot of student loan debt but I am also using the tuition assistance as well in order to offset the usage of more student loans.

But the past damage is done. So I have to pay it off. I won't start paying it off until I pay off my other debt first.

But after looking at the debt and the fact that the other debt will be paid off, I'm looking at about three years of being able to pay it off!

A total of 7 years until I am completely debt free! And that's the MAXIMUM amount of time it would take.

I'm so excited!

My parents just called me and they informed me that they visited my credit union and refinanced their car with them. Navy Federal still has the special of refinance and get $250. Plus my parents used me as a referral and both of us get $25 each.

Yep, that's how we roll!

I have an app on my phone that lists my debts that are in order from how I entered them to highest interest rate to lowest balance, etc.

It also lists at the top how much I am putting total towards my debt. I have so much debt that if everything that I owed was due this month I wouldn't have enough to cover the minimums...

But fortunately for me most of my debt are student loans.

So I've decided to put in only five accounts. These are the five that I'm currently paying on (basically everything except for the majority of my student loans).

So the five that I have in the list are:

car loan
timeshare
WF student loan
apartment collections
medical collections
Sallie Mae

This app also compares all the different ways I could pay it off and gives me both the amount of total interest that I would pay and the month/year that it would be paid off at.

For instance, if I chose just the minimums then I'd pay $5,143.23 in interest and paid off by Nov 2047. Whereas if I chose highest interest rate first I'd pay $3,786.28 total interest but paid off by Apr 2018.

Right now I'm wanting to do a 5 year debt plan so this latter would actually fit better.

My minimum payments for these debts are $664 and I'm able to put as little as an extra $100 towards them for now and as much as $400.

This isn't including pay raises/promotions or even when I stop paying alimony. I'll adjust it accordingly but those adjustments won't just go directly to my debt payoff plan. They'll also go into my other savings category because I don't want to feel restricted with what I can and cannot do with my money.

My main objective is to pay off my debt within 5 years but to do it so that it's a workable plan. My first promotion will be sometime between August and November so I don't mind the restrictions that I currently have for two to five months. I still have "some" pocket money but I won't be really doing anything for a while.

Right now even looking at my budget, it has several wants that I'm glad that I can budget for such as Christmas and Birthday presents. In the past it's been about a $5 dollar budget for each person (twelve people). I'm ecstatic that I can increase it. Although it'll never go beyond $25 per person (I normally give the couples a gift card so that way they can put it towards whatever they want).

My plan states to pay it off in this order:

car loan
Sallie Mae
timeshare
WF student loan
apartment collections
medical collections

I won't start this until July because I'm still recovering and I just want to set everything up this month. And plus I'm still waiting for the timeshare people to lower my interest rate from 17% to 6%. They have my paperwork but I'm just waiting for it to be applied to my account.

My plan is to put almost $800/month towards debt (including minimums). Which means I'm NOT doing any other money challenges right now. That'll have to come next year at the earliest.

Keep in mind that my goal isn't to pay off the collections. They are at 0% interest and I don't mind giving them a few dollars for the rest of my life which goes directly towards principle.

My idea is that when I've paid off the non-collections, to start chipping away at the rest of my student loans. Maybe I can be completely debt free in four (4) years! Although my goal would be sooner than that!

So I just looked into my account (I only do that in the late evenings since I know I have money to cover expenses) and realized that today I have officially received my state refund (which I applied for in April)...

Wow....

So since I've received a fair amount of funds I'm going to actually boost my savings. So instead of saving monthly for the ones I've prioritize I will actually fund them and free up money for other things.

For some odd reason this feels like a fresh start but I'm enjoying it.

After inputting things into YNAB this is my budget for next month, although my rent will be a little off because of moving from one apartment to the other. So for now I'll keep that as the original amount:

car loan: $194.31 (I plan to at least put an extra $100 towards this debt to pay it off first)
timeshare: $132.80
WF student loan: $108.52
medical collections: $20
apartment: $10

newspaper: $13.95
cell: $143.58 (parents pay $40 for their portion)
cell insurance: $7.49
Netflix: $10.47
auto insurance: $132.29
rent: $779.00 (roommate pay $200 for her portion)
renter's insurance: $19.83
civilian clothing: $10
groceries: $50
health & beauty: $5
household goods: $10
fuel: $225
military clothing: $10
restaurants: $10
salon & spa: $40
spending money: $10
emergency fund: $73
vehicle maintenance: $10
home maintenance: $10
birthdays: $9
Xmas: $40
timeshare fees: $27
property taxes: $10
electronics/games: $5
genealogy: $5

Although now that I look this over some things will change. I'll be changing things during the next month anyways to flow with how I pay things.

Actually I'll be re-doing my YNAB because it's not setup like I want it so my official starting month will be July. I want to be sure that I'll get off to a new start.

I have several money challenges that I want to start participating in so that I can save money and start really putting money in my retirement. But that won't start until next year (although I'll begin participating in my retirement again this year).

So I went to a different bank today in order to open a CD with a good APY. So I went to them in person but I need to open a checking account in order to open a CD. After talking to the representative she asked if I had a car loan. I told her that I JUST refinanced with my current bank and got 7.1%.

So I said sure I'll put in a loan application for a auto loan, what can it hurt and it could be to my benefit.

Well as she put that in the system I signed up for my checking account and low and behold I learn that they are doing referrals and I end up getting $25 in my account and one of my friends accounts. YES! Free money, LOVE IT!

So she comes back and gives me a high five (I just rolled with it), I got refinanced for 4.49%!

AWESOME!

She also informs that since I refinanced I get a $250 to my checking account!

That is now $275 of FREE MONEY!

So from my original loan I have now cut my interest more than half the amount and I'm also now paying abut $20 LESS than I use to!

I'm stoked for the rest of the year! HAHAHA!