I received an email from Starbucks today to sign up for a sample. Here is the link if anyone is interested. http://www.starbucksstore.com/products/via/freesample.asp?CCAID=SBXNWSL217T

( I don't know how to do hyperlinks!)

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I've done some online surveys today from Global Test Market and Your 2 Cents. I requested a check for $10 from Your 2 Cents, since I finally earned the minimum payout amount.

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I also requested a check from Citibank for my rewards in the amount of $68.07. I should probably have that within 1 week...it usually arrives very quickly!

Yesterday was a NSD for me. I didn't go anywhere at all.

I signed in to one of my credit cards and noticed that I received another credit limit increase of $2400. Since November 2008 my limit increased by $3600.

Even though my FICO score dropped 30 points from the previous month, I am still eligible for credit increases. I'm not aware as to why my score fell that much as I have been current on payments for years, no new lines of credit since last month, nothing extravagant charged on existing cards, etc. One of my CC has been closed by the company for lack of usage...maybe that has an effect.

Have a super Monday!

Today I finally paid off this last CC! I paid the balance of $6,560.

I was able to use extra sources of income such as surveys, Ebay/Amazon sales, found $, mystery shopping, refund checks, and Saturday job income solely to come up with $4,067.97 since September 2008. I even surprised myself that I was able to save all of that aside from my full-time job income to apply to this CC.

Anyway, I had to supplement $2,492.03 from my regular savings to come up with the rest of the money to pay this thing off! Not too bad I guess, but now I have to replenish those funds.

I think I am just going to keep a separate savings account for extra income funds like I have been using to save for this CC debt. I will post the amounts and update my sidebar, just like I have been since Sept. That way I will have an extra cushion in addition to my regular savings that is funded with my full-time job income, in case I need it.

Have a great evening everyone!

I'm adding the amount of $103.93 in extra income to my account from the following sources:

$50.00 Continuing Ed Course reimburse
$ 6.16 Amazon book sale profit
$15.38 Rebate checks
$ 3.00 Pinecone survey
$ 1.01 Found money
$ 8.38 December interest on CC savings
$20.00 Discover Cashback


Now I have a grand total of $4067.97 from extra sources of income to apply to the Home Depot CC!

Today I worked, but only until lunchtime. But I am really tired for some reason. I guess it is good that we are staying home tonight, eating some shrimp and snacks, playing board games, etc. I don't know if I'll make it until midnight!

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I got $3 from Pinecone for a survey I completed the end of last week. Then today I got a refund check in the mail from Scrubbing Bubbles TMF offer for $5.19. Earlier this afternoon I signed up for several free samples--coffee, cereal, and eyeglass wipes.


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I was planning on going to Home Depot to pay off my last remaining CC which I thought was due 1/1/09. I decided to access my CC statement online and found out that I have until either the promotion end date or the statement due date, which is 1/6/09, whichever is later. I was so happy! That gives me a few more days to come up with some extra income, so that I have to withdraw less from my regular savings to make my payment. I don't know what difference five days will make, but every little bit adds up.

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I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year!

I'm depositing the following extra funds for the week into my CC savings account:

$240.11.....Saturday job
$230.88.....Christmas bonus
$ 53.97.....Rebate Checks
$ 0.01.....Found money

The total is $524.97.

Have a great day!

It has been 2 weeks since I deposited any money into the CC #3 savings account. I am depositing $490.80 from the following extra sources of income:

$199.12.....Ebay profits
$ 4.00.....Surveys
$ 0.37.....Found money
$193.93.....Saturday job pay
$ 35.00.....Tex. Roadhouse Mys. Shop Reimbursement
$ 58.38.....Rite Aid Rebate Check

I'm over half-way there...just from additional sources of income. I will keep plugging away at it, but I only have a little over a week before the payment is due. I definitely will have to supplement with funds from my regular savings.

Have a great evening!

I am depositing $209.39 into my CC savings for the week:

$148.64....Saturday job
$ 56.19....Ebay sales profits
$ 0.10....Found money
$ 4.46....Coupons sold through refunding
site

Seems like I'm getting there, slowly but surely!

For November I earned $4.66 in interest with my CC savings account. I'm updating the sidebar with that information.

I have less than one month to accumulate over half of the funds to pay off this CC in January '09. I'm trying really hard not to access too much of my regular savings account, and just using "extra" income that I don't really use to compile my budget. Maybe I can get 50% of the way there, but that would be a stretch...I definitely started concentrating on it too late!

Today I didn't spend any money. I stayed in at lunch today (which I usually do) and ate a Lean Cuisine meal, frozen blueberries and red raspberries, and a slice of cheese. Most of the rest of my co-workers went to Chili's for lunch, but I didn't feel like spending $10 for the meal. Besides it was rainy and damp and I just didn't feel like leaving the building.

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Since last week I sold 5 items on Ebay with a profit of $108.80 after deducting fees. I was pleased with that. At least I made a little $ and freed up some more space in the house.

I still have 12 items listed with bids on 5 of them. There are also multiple watchers on many items.

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I am depositing $381.80 into my CC savings account from the following extra sources of income:

$108.80.....Ebay Profits
$145.00.....Escrow overage check
$ .01.....Found $
$ 61.99.....Citibank Cash Rewards
$ 66.00.....Refund Checks

I have updated the sidebar with this information.

I am adding the following extra income for the week to my CC savings account:

$212.40 .......Saturday job
5.50 .......Surveys
25.00 .......Mystery shops
.02 .......Found money
19.50 .......Ebay sales profit
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$262.42 .......Total Deposit


So with this deposit I'm over one-third of the way to tackling this debt!!

Have a nice Sunday!

Today, I received a check for $2.50 from Survey Savvy. Deposits in Paypal from Pinecone for $3 and $10 from doing a mystery shop. Finally, I found another penny at Walmart this evening. I will add all of this to my weekly CC deposit.

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Gas is down to $1.85 in this area. Since yesterday it dropped 0.12/gallon. I saw on the news that it is supposed to keep dropping to well below $2/gallon! Yeah!!

Today I put an additional 3 items on Ebay. Now I have a total of 8 items listed. There are several watchers on many of the items. I have 3 items so far with bids so that isn't too bad.

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Also, I made some beef vegetable soup. I used beef that was frozen from Angel Food Ministries. I had several partial bags of frozen veggies that I added to the crockpot in an effort to make some freezer space. I'm trying to use up some food that we have around here because we will be leaving in a little over a week for Thanksgiving vacation at my sister and BIL's cabin. We have plenty of food that I don't need to go shopping before we go there. Plus, I have to watch my spending because of the CC that I need to pay off by 1/1/09!! Smile.

I am adding the following extra income from this week to my CC Savings Account:

$ 3.00 Pinecone survey
.01 Found money
$366.74 Saturday job income


I will deposit $369.75 into the account. At least I'm about one-third of the way towards my goal of $6560. About $100 more, which I hope to accumulate in the next week or two, will have me well on my way!!

I just checked the items that I have listed on Ebay and noticed that there are 3 watchers on two different items and one actual bidder on another!!

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Yesterday, FedEx dropped off a package that contained an item from Pinecone to test and give feedback based on my opinion of the product. I don't get many sampling surveys to do where you actually get a free product + get compensated after completing the online survey.

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I've decided that since my CC at 0% needs to be paid off by 1/1/09, I am not adding any extra money towards the principal of my new mortgage &/or the car loan for the rest of this year just to be sure I have enough money in my regular savings and do not have to rely on my EF to pay off the $6,560 Home Depot CC. I absolutely will not pay about 21%+ interest on that card, so I need to be extra careful about my spending for the rest of the year!!

I listed four more items on Ebay in an effort to generate some extra money for this CC debt. I have 2 watchers on 2 of the items so hopefully that is a good sign.

The guy that was interested in the item I have listed on Craigslist sent me another email today saying he is definitely interested in buying it. I have a picture listed in the ad. Seems odd that he doesn't want to meet to take a look at it. He says he will mail me a money order on an agreed upon price, then I can ship him the item? I don't know, but I don't have a good feeling already about this one either! I will see what happens though...

Have a great evening!

I'm depositing Rite Aid rebate checks in the amount of $143.64 + 0.25 found money for a total of $143.89 into the CC savings account.

Somehow I think I will be dipping heavily into my regular savings account to come up with the bulk of the amount needed to pay off this last CC.

I'm using all extra funds I receive from Saturday work, surveys, rebate checks, Ebay sales, etc., but it just doesn't seem to be adding up very quickly...guess I should have started funding the account a bit sooner!

With interest earned for October, my CC savings account stands at $1,379.83. I am adding the funds from the following to my savings account for this week:

Refund Check .......... $3.59
Found Money............ .10
Ebay Sales............. $26.22
Walgreens Rebate Check. $19.46
Rite Aid Rebate Check.. $ 4.00
Mystery Shop Reimburse. $13.00
Saturday job...........$130.12
Total............$196.49

So I've added this to the sidebar to reflect the deposit.

Today I got a postcard and an email with information regarding this new promotion with ING. If you have an Electric Orange Debit Card and use to for your next 5 purchases(in November) of at least $10 each,
ING will deposit $20 into your Electric Orange account in December. The link for more information is : http://ingdirect.com/spendwise

I hope this helps those of you with an Electric Orange Debit Card to earn a free $20!!

Last night I did a mystery shop at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I could purchase anything over $8. I spent $11.58 on a organizing container. I will get reimbursed $8 + $5 for the shop fee for a total of $13.

I'm adding the following the my CC #3 savings account for the week:

$295.96 Saturday job income
$ .10 Found money
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$296.06 Total

Have a great weekend!

Today I am having $340.53 deducted from my checking account to pay off CC #2.

So, 2 down and 1 more to go. I think I need to get a little more aggressive saving $ towards CC #3. Since August 2008 I have been setting aside all of my Saturday job income, survey $, rebate checks, found money, etc. If that doesn't accumulate enough by January '09 when my last offer ends...I will just supplement any additional funds needed with $ from my regular savings account.

Have a great day!

I am adding extra income in the amount of $25.95 from this week to my CC #3 savings account:

20.46 Walgreen's Rebate Check
2.48 Spray n Wash Refund Check
.02 Found Money
2.00 Greenfield Surveys
.99 Tums Rebate Check
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25.95

Have a great Friday!

I received $2 from Greenfield via paypal for a survey I completed a few weeks ago. Not as fast as Pinecone, but at least quicker than waiting for a check!

In the mail today I got a rebate check for Spray n Wash in the amount of $2.48.

I will add both of these to my CC savings account.

I'm adding the following money from extra income I received this week:

$ 336.76 Saturday job income (2 weeks)
8.00 Just for Men refund check
.01 Found at gas station
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$ 344.77 Total

The side bar is updated with the new savings information.

Yesterday, I paid off a department store CC that had a 0% offer. It was for some furniture I bought last year. The balance was $1,096.09. I'm glad that one is behind me now!

Have a great evening!

I'm adding $3.41 in interest to update the CC #3 savings account info on the side bar. This is the amount of interest that I earned for September in that account.

Today I didn't spend any money!

I'm updating my CC Savings with some extra money:

$ 21.98 Rite Aid Rebate Check
63.04 Citicard Rewards Check
3.59 Kellogg's Frosted MiniWheats Refund
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$ 88.61

Have a great evening!

Since my last update 2 weeks ago, I am adding the following to my savings for CC #3:

$ 387.04 Saturday job
3.00 Pine Cone
5.00 Consumer Opinion Survey
67.39 Rite Aid Refund Check
.12 Found Money
.89 Interest on savings
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$ 463.44 Total

I still need to figure out the profits from the Ebay items I sold now that all the auctions are over.

Have a pleasant Sunday!

Today I got a refund check from Rite Aid for $67.39 so I will add that to CC savings account. You can't beat getting FAR items and combining them with manufacturers' coupons. It is a good way to try out items new to the market...without risk! Usually I can accumulate much more than my family can use, so generally around the holidays I donate a few bags of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. to Red Cross or another local charity or homeless shelter.

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Earlier this week I picked my daughter up from school for an appointment and found a penny as we were walking to the car. Of course she was embarrassed that her friends may have seen me pick it up!! Oh well!

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I requested another rewards check from my Citibank CC for about $64. The rewards have been adding up quickly as I use my CC for any bill payments that I can...including utilities and medical. Actually the real reason it has been a little overboard in the past few months is because I have recently started to use the CC for attorney costs/fees; however, now that the divorce has been settled...it shouldn't be too out of line now. Anyway, I pay it off every month so Citi doesn't make any $ off of me! Smile

Well...I'm off to work on the finances!

Yeah!! I have $692.77 to add to my CC savings to the left:

$592.72 Saturday job pay for 2 weeks
plus 1 week back pay
80.00 Reimbursement for CE course
20.00 Discover Cashback Bonus
.05 Found $ at work
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$692.77 Total

So now I have accounts #1 and 2 fully funded and just waiting to send the CC payments. I have an additional $123.25 leftover for CC #3. I'm hoping I can achieve this final goal before 1/1/09!