Purple Flower's Finance Blog

I stopped in at Sheetz today while running a few errands. In the parking lot, I found a penny! More to the extra income fund!

Sadly, yesterday at Walmart I left a dime lying on the pedestrian walkway between the store and the parking lot. I didn't see it soon enough and there was so much traffic. I don't think it would have been appreciated for me to stop and pick it up!

Yesterday I had working interview for a possible Saturday position. It seemed to go well. I was comfortable in the new work environment. The employer said that he was very impressed with my performance and interactions with patients.

One thing that does concern me is that I think this office has a bit of a high turnover rate. One of the patients mentioned to him that she really liked how I treated her, but that she gets a different clinician every time she has a Saturday appointment. In addition, the employer expressed to me that he was currently in the process of hiring a receptionist. So I don't know...sounds like there are some staffing issues. If I had to put up with it only 2 Saturdays a month (which is what the position is for), I think I could do that.

Anyway, he said two other candidates are scheduled to do working interviews as well in the next week or so. He told me I should hear back from him by the beginning of February, so we will see. At least I got paid for my time yesterday.

Yesterday I called the car finance company again in an effort to get this principal payment that I made applied correctly. According to the notes in the computer, the CSR stated that everything was in place, it just needed approved by a supervisor. Fine. She asked if I wanted a follow-up call when everything went through. Of course, that would be nice!

Now this morning I check online and everything was applied correctly; however, the automatic debit scheduled to come out of my checking account reflects the $70 I paid towards the principal, not the full amount! I'm beginning to wonder if this is even worth all the bother! What's so difficult about leaving the monthly payment amount the same as it has always been?!?? Ugh!!

Yesterday was a NSD for me. Stayed home most of the day except to go pick up DD from a friend's house.

Today I got $1 from Greenfield online surveys deposited into my Paypal account. So a little extra income there!

I have the following funds to add to the extra income account:

$221.64 Saturday job
$ 2.54 Refund check
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$224.18 Total

I didn't deplete the whole amount in this account since I am using the same one that I used to save to pay off the last CC. So I have $8.39 in there.

I've updated my sidebar with some information and am going to try to meet my goal of $8,000 for 2009 for this type of income.

About a week ago I sent $70 to the car financing company to be applied to the principal on my loan. So I go online to make sure that it was posted correctly to the principal and not as a partial payment. Well, of course, it was not! I wasn't too surprised because I've dealt with this before with various other financing companies. I sent a note with my payment precisely stating that it was to be applied to the principal plus I put it in the memo section on the check, along with my account number.

So on Friday I called and spoke with a CSR at the financing company, explaining the situation I just mentioned. Now since I have my monthly payment automatically debited from my checking account, this causes some issues. She told me that the $70 I sent was applied towards my monthly payment of $297, bringing the amount that will be debited on the 20th of this month to $227. She told me that she would take care of the problem and allocate the funds towards the principal. In the future she said that if I want to make payments towards the principal on the loan, I must sent them to a different address in a completely different state. Ugh! There is no way I would have known this because the only payment address on the statement, of course, is the one that I mailed the check to!

This morning I go online to check to make sure everything was updated like the CSR promised me, and lo and behold it is not. So I guess I will be making yet another call tomorrow in an attempt to get this resolved. I just get so discouraged that I have to continually follow-up on business like this in virtually every aspect of my finances because of employees giving less than average customer service...it frustrates me!!

Have a good Sunday!

Today I got a notice in the mail that the health insurance I purchase for my children will increase beginning 03/01/09. Currently, I am paying $215.01 and the new rate will be $282.36...an increase of 31.32%. This is really an excellent health care plan. I definitely need this one, or one equally as good coverage-wise for DD because she has several medical issues. DS so far doesn't frequent a medical office very often *fingers crossed*, and hopefully it stays that way.

I don't know for sure what to do. I am covered 100% by my employer. I looked into adding them on that plan, but it is about the same rate with higher copays for each category. So that isn't really a better, more cost-effective option.

I looked into the state CHIP health coverage in which all children are covered with no household income limits. I don't qualify for any reduced rates there and the full-cost premium PER child is $163/month. So that one is more expensive also, but does have a SLIGHT reduction of copay amounts.

I'm thinking about shopping around and maybe purchase coverage for DS with a small deductible, say $1200 w/ 100% copay (after the deductible is paid). I'm just not sure yet.

Anyway, it figures I'm saving roughly $70/month by refinancing my mortgage and was planning to allocate that to the principal each month on the car loan (which I most definitely still plan on doing), and now the health insurance premiums increase ~$70/month!

It sure would be thoughtful of my children's father to come forward and pay at least SOMETHING each month towards their care and to support them financially, but I don't know when that will ever happen. I'm just really pessimistic about him not taking any responsibility for his children!! (sorry to rant)

So I have some homework to do here in the next month or so to decide what I should do about their health insurance.

Have a great evening everyone!!

I did a mystery shop a little over a week ago for an oil change at a car dealership. Today I noticed that the reimbursement of $38.64 was deposited into my account. I still am waiting on the shopper's fee. This mystery shopping company pays them separately for whatever reason.

I think this is the quickest I have gotten reimbursed from this company, so it was a nice surprise.

I will add this amount to my weekly deposit for extra income savings account. I need to make a section in my sidebar to keep track of this account now that the CC debt is over with!

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!

In the mail today I got 2 refund checks in the amount of $10.19 total.

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Also, several weeks ago I gave my employer a receipt for a continuing education course that I attended back in October. Usually he conveniently or perhaps legitimately forgets to write a check out to reimburse the costs. I do know that some employees just let it go and don't question it if they don't get paid. Since it is considered a benefit, you better believe it that I'm going to go after anything that is due to me!

I figured I can put this money to my CC debt since I need to pay it by tomorrow. So I went to my employer and inquired about it (guess he misplaced the receipt I had given him) and he wrote me out a check on the spot for the $50 that I had spent on the course! Yay!

At work we have a laundry service that washes our scrubs and jackets. To my surprise, I found a one dollar bill in the pant pocket when I was putting them on. The scrubs are not personalized, so I had no way of knowing who it belonged to.

I'm just adding it to my CC debt!

I earned enough money to request an electronic transfer to my bank account. I will be able to add another $20 from Discover cashback to my CC debt that I plan on paying off tomorrow!

I'm not really sure about that. Even though all of the sites I have visited such as Yahoo Hot Jobs, Kiplingers, etc. include health care careers on their listings, I still have doubts. In fact is ANY job really recession-proof??

According the the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many of the country's fastest-growing careers are those in the health care field...but do these positions actually weather the storm??

Up until yesterday (at my Saturday job) I wasn't too concerned about my job...I felt secure. Just two weeks ago I worked, and since then there has been much news there. Two receptionist/clerical workers have been laid off, the office manager was fired, and one of the doctors is leaving the practice. I don't know any details other than that. I really don't think that any of the items I mentioned other than the first one is related to the economy. I'm speculating that the doctor who is leaving may be going solo or to another group practice.

I feel somewhat better knowing that none of the clinical staff (of which I am one) has been laid off....yet. It is a large practice. The problem is that I was one of the last employees hired and I only work Saturdays.

I would be extremely worried if this whole scenario were the case at my full-time job. But based on previous experiences...the financial status there hasn't been in such good standing long before the problems surfaced with the US economy. The "doctor" owner here has had problems managing his money for years. So far though...no lay-offs. I just hope it stays that way.

I still have a busy schedule at both offices, so hopefully I will be able to hang on to both my full and part time jobs.

Today after getting some fresh fruit at the grocery store, I found a penny on the ground in the vestibule area! I've got to put that towards my CC debt!

Today I didn't spend any money or use any gas! I stayed home all day. It was relaxing...didn't do too much. In fact I wasn't feeling that well. I think it may have been from the shrimp we ate last night. No one else in the family got sick, but I was really nauseous.

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I'm sending $70 towards the principal on my car loan tomorrow, since that is the amount I am saving since refinancing my mortgage. I will continue to send that every month to help eliminate that debt a little quicker.

I have to review my expenses/income a little closer for the last few months. I think I may be able to save more money per month than I currently do. Lately, it seems like the only money I have saved is income from extra sources besides my full-time job income.

Besides it seems like I don't have any goals for 2009 other than eliminating CC #3 and my car loan. I will then most likely begin tackling my student loan, but I don't think I will be able to pay it off in '09 (the balance is over $12,000).

If I don't continue to save any extra income (from Saturday jobs, Ebay, surveys, etc.) and keep it separate from my regular income, I'm concerned that I may be tempted to spend it. I think I should have a savings for both types of income because then if I sign up for a 0% CC promotion offer again, I may not have such a difficult time accumulating the funds at the end of the offer.

I'm open to any ideas that anyone may have to send my way!

Have a great evening!

I wish everyone a prosperous, healthy new year and one in which you reach your goals.

I finally sold a paperback textbook that I had listed on Amazon. I have never listed items on Amazon before and didn't really know how to price the item. I actually didn't expect that it would sell since it is about 8 years old. I wanted to price it so that it would sell and I would be rid of it. I sold it for $10, but after selling fees I made a profit of $6.16...not a lot but at least someone wanted it!

I have 2 other textbooks listed on there that hopefully I will be lucky enough to have someone interested in so that I can make a little $ and declutter my house a bit. We will see what happens.

I earned $8.38 interest for December in the savings account for CC #3, so I will add that to the deposit for the week.

Have a Happy New Year!!

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!

Yesterday I did a mystery shop for an oil change at a dealership on my Honda. I've done these in the past many times on both of my vehicles. I don't often get to "sign-up" for these anymore due to a change in requirements in that they can only be done Monday through Friday. I used to always schedule the assignments on Saturdays since it was conveniently on my way to work. If there was a location near my full-time job (M-F), I would definitely get a chance to do them more frequently again.

Since I had off work yesterday(plus the vehicle was overdue for service), I figured it would be a good opportunity to see if any assignments were available and I was in luck. Fortunately, I was even able to schedule a service appointment at the dealership that was convenient for me also.

Anyway, the cost of the oil change & filter service was over $38, which I think is ridiculous when I normally pay less than $20 at chain oil change retailers. It is fully reimbursable plus I get a $8 shopper fee for completing the online questionnaire. You can't beat that!!

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Starting in January, I need to replenish funds to my savings account that I needed to "borrow" to pay off the 0% CC #3 promotion.

Also, since I am saving $71/month from refinancing my mortgage from 8.5% to 5% and going from a 30-yr to a 15-yr term, I think I will apply that to the principal of my car loan. My payments are automatically debited from my checking account, so probably instead of changing the paperwork to include a principal payment...I will send it by check monthly.

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I guess I will use the extra income sources for now (that I had been saving in a separate account to pay off the 0% CC) to add to my regular savings until it is fully funded again.

Have a great Saturday!

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!

Last week I had an interview for a Saturday only position. The interview went well and I am scheduled to do a working interview one Saturday in January. Currently, I work at two different offices on Saturdays (working 2 Saturdays/month at each). I am interested in finding a replacement job for one of the offices. I'm just tired of being taken advantage of, paid below the current rate for my profession, etc. The employer doesn't give COLA, let alone performance raises unless I address the issue. I feel like since I only work 2 Saturdays each month there that I am not really a part of the team, although I generate a good amount of production while I am there. I am not invited to any social get-to-gethers that are hosted by the employer, such as the holiday parties. I used to get a small bonus there each month, but not even that anymore, at least for me. Maybe the full-time people still have that benefit, I don't know or care for that matter. I guess I just need to be happy to have a supplemental income now in this recession; however, I do know that I don't have to stay there and put up with that treatment when other opportunities are available.

So I will see how the working interview goes and take it from there. It is a bit more of a commute, but if I'm not taken for granted and actually treated like a colleague...that's what I'm looking for in a job. We discussed the pay rate. It will pay several more dollars/hour than my current job. I told him what I was interested in making based on my experience, the location, etc. He agreed to it...no negotiating!

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In contrast to the job I was referring to at the beginning of the blog, my other Saturday job is great. Every employee is considered an asset, no matter how many hours/week you work. I feel appreciated, everyone works well as a team, both co-workers and patients like me, plus it pays me what I feel I am worth.

Anyway, I was actually invited to the Christmas party for this job. No surprise though, but it is in comparing the 2 jobs!
The party was last Saturday evening at a nice seafood restaurant. We exchanged names for gifts with a limit of $25. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone outside of work enjoying themselves. I have only worked at this office since July 2008, and have been at the office previously mentioned since 2006. To my surprise, after dinner and the exchanging of the gifts, my employer distributed the Christmas bonuses. A very nice gesture and to know that EVERY employee is treated relatively the same. Now I'm sure the full-timers got larger bonuses, but rightfully so...they generate more production. I'm just thankful to have gotten something extra as appreciation for the work that I have done for my employer.

Sorry this is so long and a bit of a rant!

Today in the locker room I found a penny.

At lunch time I went to CVS because I was overcharged on an item I purchased yesterday. Near the checkout counter I spotted another penny on the floor. My co-worker was with me. I don't think she appreciated it too much, but I told her that I pick up coins all the time that I find lying around.

Speaking of co-workers...maybe if more of them were frugal, personal finance fanatics like myself, they wouldn't have the financial woes that they speak of so often!!

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!

This past week I got a package from a seller on Ebay. Amidst all the packing material I found a penny!

Yesterday while at McDonalds I found another penny in the parking lot.

I haven't found any money recently, so I was quite surprised and thankful!!

I got an email today with the discount code that Thriftorama posted about recently; however, if you go through the Upromise link you can save an additional 15% towards college.

I never purchased on restaurant.com, but I am thinking about it.

I was off work today. It is the first time in months that I had a Saturday off. Between my full-time job and the 2 Saturday jobs, of course I work 6 days/week. That only leaves me evenings and Sundays to catch up on cleaning, laundry, running errands, etc.

I was really nice to have off today. DD is working and DS is at a friend's house. Usually DD works evenings on weekends too, but she had to fill in for someone today. So I had the day to myself. I decluttered the house a bit and got rid of some junk, cleaned, and did laundry. Also, I did a couple of surveys online. When DD gets off work in about an hour, we are going to make some Christmas cookies.

Yesterday I filled up my gas tank for $13.50. I used my grocery rewards that I had earned on my frequent shopper card and saved $.20/gallon. I paid $1.37/gallon!!

I also stopped at Wal-mart to do some grocery shopping yesterday. I spent about $68 there for mainly all food items. I try to use $1 manufacturer coupons at Wal-mart because the grocery store I generally go to only doubles coupons up to $1. I saved about $10 with coupons.

I need to figure out my Ebay sales profits and come up with the weekly CC savings deposit.

This is going to be a NSD!!

Have a great day!

This morning at work, I found another dime in a hallway between treatment rooms. I've come to realize that my co-workers are really careless about dropping coins in the locker room. I found a quarter in there that was lying on the counter. I didn't pick it up until my shift was nearly over, just to see if anyone claimed it throughout the course of the day. Since no one did, I decided it was mine!

It's crazy to me that these people don't worry about the change they drop. The majority of my co-workers really have problems managing their money from what I see and what they tell me. I'll save that for another post though!

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Tomorrow Ebay is having a 50% off special on listing fees for auction-style listings. I don't have anything more right now to list. I sold 2 items so far this week, and 4 items didn't sell. I'll post profits later this week.

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I received $1.00 deposited into my Paypal account for a survey from Greenfield online.

Have a great night!

Today in the locker room at work I found a dime. I was so happy! What's with all the coins on the ground lately?? Oh well...keep them coming because I'm not ashamed to pick them up. Whenever my DD is with me and I pick up change, she is so embarrassed!

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I received a survey check in the mail today from Global Test Market for $50.75. I had requested this in early November. I was beginning to wonder if I should follow up on it soon, but it states on the website that you should allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of it. Surely not as speedy as Pinecone checks used to be.

I would like the Paypal option for Global Test Market too, but I don't think that is available yet.

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!

Since my last update I have sold 6 more items and after fees I have made $56.19 in sales from Ebay. I will add that amount to my CC savings deposit for the week.

I still have 7 items listed. Two of the auctions end today and both items have bids on them. The other auctions will end later this week and most of them have multiple watchers. I don't know whether I will get any more decluttering done to list anything else before the holidays or not. We will see what happens.


Have a nice Sunday!