Autumn's Personal Finance Blog

I rolled up all the change that I have been collecting while I wasn't doing much else to save. I had some dollars in my change jar and my pocketbook too. I have 15 dollar bills and $38.50 in change.

Previous total: 1244.21
Money today: 53.50
New total: 1297.71

We had to use some of our savings money for some bills that came up. I just kind of gave up after that. I am starting over and my restart total that is in my ING account is $1244.21. My next goal is to get it back up to that $1500 mark.

One more add here before bed. I forgot about the $20 DH's uncle gave him for gas. He spent it but I transferred it our of our bank account. LOL On top of that I rolled $10.50 in quarters and pennies. That brings my total to over $1500.00. I am so happy with that Disney World here we come. LOL

Previous total: 1486.73
Money today: 30.50
New total: 1517.23

I have another 11.35 to add to the challenge. I got paid for two tips I submitted at daytipper.com. $6.00 per tip (minus paypal's fees bla)

Previous total: 1475.38
Money today: 11.35
New total: 1486.73

Don't give up on me yet I am still trying.

First of all I have to say... I don't like the way my blog looks. Maybe I need t get used to it or something, but I liked it much better the other way.

DH took off work today because we have to take DS to the urologist for a checkup on his kidneys. Since he was off he took the opportunity togo this morning and turn in his scrap metal. I added the money he made from that to our savings.

Previous total: 1298.38
Money today: 177.00
New total: 1475.38

I had some dollars I have been saving in my pocketbook. I did have more but like I said I have been slack on my savings.

Previous total: 1289.38
Money today: 9.00
New total: 1298.38

I have been really slack lately about trying to add money to the challenge. I am going to try to get better about it. I did roll some wuarters and pennies today. I have 10.50 to add from that. I am also adding the 3.62 for March's interest paid in my ING account.

Previous total: 1275.26
Money today: 14.12
New total: 1289.38

Cha cha can bite me. I got an email today saying my account had been deactivated for "engaging in frivolous chat." Apparently you aren't allowed to have a conversation with the people who are searching. Even if they want to have one with you.

On top of that, I put in a lot of time and had over $50 worth of searches. They won't even pay me for that. I am furious.

I forgot to add 0.50 for pennies I rolled today

Previous total: 1274.76
Money today: 0.50
New total: 1275.26

I have $20 to add to the challenge from DH's uncle from gas.

I also am making a good bit of money on cha cha as a guide. The more trained you get the more searches you get, and then you make more money. I am up to almost $50.

Previous total: 1254.76
Money today: 20.00
New total: 1274.76

We sold DS's Gameboy Advance on Amazon. Our total profit was 46.35. I transferred that to my ING today

The cha cha thing is going pretty good. I haven't been able to do it much in the oast couple days b/c I am having problems with java on my laptop, but I have made around $33. I am not cashing it out yet though.

Previous total: 1208.41
Money today: 46.35
New total: 1254.76

Here is more detail about what a cha cha guide is for anyone interested.

"Cha Cha is a new search engine. What makes it different from other search engines is that the users have the opportunity to search with a guide. The guide is a real person in real time that communicates with them via chat and finds their results for them. Many times we may perform a search and instead of getting the results most relevant to what we are looking for, we instead get whichever pages hold the keywords and are ranked the highest. Just think, when this happens you can now communicate with a real person who is an expert in the topic you are seeking and have them direct you to the site you are looking for.

I did a few searches with a guide when they first launched and the process is slower than when you do it on your own. However, the results are more relevant so I think it balances out with the time you would spend tweaking your keywords and doing other searches.

A Cha Cha guide gets paid anywhere from $5-$20, or even $30, per hour. You can work whenever you want as much or as little as you like. You can also earn from your "downline," people you invite to also work as Cha Cha guides. You can earn up to 10% of what they make. So, it is like an MLM in that way. And it is a new MLM. New MLM's are good because if you are one of the first, you will have many people working under you.

Don't fret if you are interested but do not know anyone who works as a guide to invite you. I added a Cha Cha section to our new forums just for this purpose (and for Cha Cha guides to shoot the breeze, vent, or what have you). You can also find guides ready to offer you an invite on just about any of the active work at home forums on the web.

Once you have your invite, the process is a little intimidating (or at least it was for me) because you don’t find any information on the job. Instead, you are immediately thrown into the application process. You fill in your personal information, your tax information, and you download an application onto your computer to be used in your work. You also choose three keywords, things you are pretty well versed in, to start out working with. You then fill in your personal profile (should you want to) and you have access into the training section (finally!) where you can watch videos that teach you the ins and outs of working as a guide. Once you reach Master Level Status, you can then invite others and create your downline.

If you haven’t already, visit Cha Cha and try out their guided search!"

www.chacha.com

I have a few invites if anyone is genuinely interested. They don't give out invites much from what I hear.

I have become a cha cha guide to make some extra money for savings. Lots of pranking. Keeps me entertained. What these people don't realize is we get paid whether you have a valid search or not. LOL

I have a 14.00 check from surveyspot.com to add today and 16.00 dollar bills I have been saving this week to add to savings.

Previous total: 1178.41
Money today: 30.00
New total: 1208.41

I messed up transferring money into my ING. I knew it would happen eventually. I put a deposit in the bank and accidentally transferred all of it to my ING which was not my intention. I am just going to leave it that way and be more careful that time. The difference is $51.

Previous total: 1127.41
Money today: 51.00
New total: 1178.41

I found a dollar in a bank envelope in my pocketbook. I am putting it into my challenge money. I will deposit this tomorrow so I can start earning interest on all the money instead of having a bunch of it in an envelope at home.

Previous total: 1127.41
Money today: 1.00
New total: 1128.41

I finally have got my ebay stuff straight. Everything I sold was actually paid for pretty quickly except for one. Still no payment so I reported them to ebay. After shipping fees, paypal fees, and ebay fees I made $38.48. Not too bad considering most of it was stuff I had just lying around. I can't wait until it gets warmer and I can have a yard sale. Then I can get of a bunch more stuff I don't want any more.

DH sold DS's Game Boy SP on amazon also. He discovered he didn't need it any more because the Nintendo DS we got him for Christmas plays Game Boy games. As soon as that gets deposited in our checking account (which takes forever) I will transfer it into ING.

Previous total: 1088.83
Money today: 38.58
New total: 1127.41

I am adding my interest paid from my ING account for February. A whole $1.14. LOL

Previous total: 1087.69
Money today: 1.14
New total: 1088.83

I have a roll of nickels, a roll of dimes, and three dollar bills to add to the challenge money. I wish I knew hoe much changed I had saved up. I can't tell since a lot of it has gone into the bank and been transferred to my ING. I am going to go back though my journal and see if I can figure it out.

Previous total: 1077.69
Money today: 10.00
New total: 1087.69

More money in the mail today from Bellsouth . My DH said we will get $50 more from them and a gift card to Wal Mart but not for a while. I can't believe how much we have saved in just about 2 months!

Previous total: 877.69
Money today: 200.00
New total: 1077.69

Bellsouth sent us a check for $125 for switching our phone service to them. We were paying $130 a month for our cable and internet, and then another $30 a month for our phone service through Vonage. We switched to a package from Bellsouth and DirecTV that will only cost us $100 a month for the three. Not only are we saving $60 a month, but we will be getting close to $500 in rewards from them for switching. I also have $10 to add from the gas money Dh gets weekly.

Previous total: 742.69
Money today: 135.00
New total: 877.69

I am challenging myself to only spend $250 this month on groceries. If I find that its very easy, I will lower it for April. I have been budgeting $100 a week, but I don't need that much. I am going to try to add whatever extra I have left over to the challenge.

I am still around. I have been off work on vacation all week. I have been making tons of new things and learning how to cook from scratch. I have been getting tons of advice at frugalvillage.com. I haven't had much to add to my savings lately. I sold some stuff on ebay and am just waiting for some payments to come in before I transfer that. For today I do have a roll of quarters, two rolls of pennies, and 7 dollar bills.

Previous total: 724.69
Money today: 18.00
New total: 742.69

I just thought of another good deal I got today, We stopped at a gas station to put air in my tire and they had 1 liter Mt Dews 2/1.00. I bought DH 6 of them. He is going to take them to work and bring the empty bottles home. I will wash them out and refill them from Mt Dew from 2 liters we got on sale today for 1.00. This will save us a ton in money he has been spending on canned drinks.

OK on with some of the grocery deals I got today:

Rice-a-Roni and Pasta Roni: 0.50/box
Success Wild Rice Mix: FREE
Nestle Treasure Candy Bars: 0.09/each
Jolly Time Healthy Pop Popcorn: 1.00/box
Keebler E.L. Fudge Cookies .85/pack (I think)
Pop Tarts: 1.00/box
Lipton Tea Bags: FREE
Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup: 0.60/each
Zataran's Mix: 0.35 each (I think)
Right Guard Deoderant: 0.50/each
Hungry Man Dinners: 0.29/each
Split Chicken Breast: .99/lb
Garden Fresh Salad Mix: FREE (I think)
New York Strips: 5.99/lb

Some stuff I might be a little off on. I can see how much it cost on the receipt but can't remember exactly how much the coupon would be.

(If you should happen to read on the frugalvillage boards, this a copy of what I posted there.)

I had the BEST day today. LOL I shopped at two Goodwills and got some pretty good deals.

First store in Mooresville: (This store is brand new and was WAY overpriced on a lot of stuff. Some stuff was the same price or higher than it would be new. And then there cookbooks were $3 each.
- 3 Road Sign Adhesive Hooks. These match the road sign curtains I got at another Goodwill on Monday perfect. I have a pair of curtains I didn't list on ebay that I may hang in my son's room and use these hooks.
- A new with tags t-shirt for me that says "Trust me. I'm a lawyer."
- An Adidas t-shirt for me
- A new with tags shirt for DD with The Beatles on it
- Two more shirts for DD, one from The Children's Place (Other is Sonoma. I think that is Target??)
- A very nice pair of dress shoes for DD
- A like new pair of pants for DS with an adjustable waist and cargo pockets
- A Starter Athletics pullover for DS

Total: $19.22

Second Store in Cornelius:
- Pokemon book for DS
- Book for DD
- A cute set of magnets my DD wanted
- An adorable black and white skirt from Oshkosh for DD
- A really pretty Healthtex shirt for DD
- A Hulk shirt for DS
- A Batman shirt for DS
- A Guinness shirt for DH
- A really funny shirt for myself, looks new. I won't write what it says LOL
- A reed diffuser from Pier 1 (smells so good)
- (SO proud of this!) A BEAUTIFUL Easter dress for my daughter. Nicer than the one I bought at Wal Mart for $20. I will take that one back and put the money in my savings.
- And my favorite thing, a wooden folding TV tray that is the prefect size and height to hold my laptop while I am on the couch

Total: $27.02

On top of these great deals I did great on my grocery shopping. My total was $289.56. With my bonus card and stack of coupons I spent $158.24 (before taxes). I got a TON of stuff too. (I will list in another post some of the deals I got.)

Then as if it could get better (LOL) we had been searching at Goodwill for a nighstand table for my side of the bed. We had just got home and were putting up our groceries when my MIL called and asked us if we wanted a nighstand table she had! It has a magazine holder on one side, a little slide out table, and plenty of room to hold my junk.

Days don't get much better than this one. LOL

Long story short - my DH ordered me flowers for V-Day and I didn't get them. They tried to send them a day late and I refused them. I fought with the floral company for hours until I finally ended up with a free bouquet, and a full refund for what he spent. This was credited to my account today so I am going to send it to savings. The total for that is $74.98.



I also have another $23.16 to add that I transferred from my paypal account to my checking account. This was $19.75 from cashing out from CashDuck, and a few dollars for some pajamas I sold on ebay.

Previous total: 626.55
Money today: 98.14
New total: 724.69 (WOW!)

I had a great mail day today. I got a check for $10 from a research company for sending them a copy of my ID to prove I am 21 and can do cigarette surveys; a $7.15 check from Cash Crate for completing offers; and The Tightwad Gazette III. I orderd I, II, and III on half.com for $4.00 each. And that is with shipping.

I have the two checks to add to the challenge, plus $20 from DH's uncle for gas money, $5 DH gave me leftover from his spending money last week, and 7 dollar bills.

Previous total: 577.40
Money today: 49.15
New total: 626.55

I went through my pocketbook and I had 10 dollar bills and enough change to make another roll of quarters and another roll of pennies.

Previous total: 556.90
Money today: 20.50
New total: 577.40

When I checked my bank account just now there was money transferred into it for a textbook I sold on Amazon. I transferred it into my ING account.

Previous total: 496.10
Money today: 60.80
New total: 556.90

Yay! I made it to $500. Blew right past it in fact. LOL

I spent just about all day listing stuff on ebay today. I started everything at .99 hoping that this will cause more bids, and also this made the insertion fees a little lower. Wish me luck!

My Ebay Auctions

I have $20 to add for DH's gas money from his uncle for this week and last week. (He owes us 6 more.) Then I added up the ones I have saved.

Previous total: 469.10
Money today: 27.00
New total: 496.10

I am getting close to 500. Can't believe it!