All I need is a good scream...

Financial News/General Responsibilities
I have a couple of things that are of a confessional nature, things that are and aren't financially related, but I need to get on top of:

- My license was revoked, and I haven't gotten it reinstated (see this post). I did all the paperwork to do so, but something didn't catch, and it's still revoked. I've been ignoring it for months now. I have to get this done MONDAY. That's not something I can sit on.

- I mentioned that I have a parking ticket that I have to pay in this post. That's not quit true. The ticket went to collections, and I owe $50 to a collection agency. I have to pay that this WEEKEND.

- I didn't get a gift for a friend's wedding two years ago. This is still hanging over my head. I originally started making a quilt for her, but didn't get that done in time, and then just kind of packed it up and said that I would get to it. I never did. I know it's stupidly late, but I still want to make up for it. I think about it every day.

- I have a book from a friend sitting in the back of my car. I'm supposed to edit it. I haven't even cracked it open. For some reason I feel like I won't do it right.

I'm sitting across from my GF at a coffee shop right now. She's absolutely beautiful. Curly black hair, dark blue eyes that are almost gray. Wonderful figure. Small but full lips. Right now she's wearing a multicolored stone necklace I got her. Probably the best piece of jewelry I've ever picked out for someone. She's brilliant-- getting her PhD in political science. I want to be a better person for her. For myself, certainly, but for her. I don't want to have all these stupid crisis hanging over my head. That's part of the reason I'm doing this blog.

This is a financial blog, but the finances are almost a symptom of some underlying problem that I don't quiet understand. I get worried when I think of doing things that require responsibility. I'm terrified of completing things. I'm absolutely terrified of committing to anything. I feel like some generic posterchild for "I can't get my life together." It's not exactly like everything seems hopeless, it just seems... pointless.

I can't really figure my life out right now. I know this. I'm not going to come to some grand epiphany, I don't think I'm going to be able to truly commit to something, right now, because I don't have a base built up to make a decision from. I feel that if I eliminate one of the symptoms, my debt, I'll be better able to attact the underlying problem. The thing itself. I use debt, maybe, as an excuse to languish in my life. I can't do that, I have to much debt. I can't go there, I don't have any money. I can't move, I'll never be able to afford it. Getting rid of debt is a declaration that I want to do something, and I know that's going to take time.

And, a little deeper. Societies funny in that it piles on top of you what you deserve. It's an inherent balance in life. We don't like to admit this, but it's true. I deserve the debt I have, because I tried to muscle ahead in life without building a base. Not just of money. Debt is only a symptom. I'm talking an educational base, an emotional base, a professional base. I APPEAR to have these things. I went to a great school, but I didn't work that hard, or rather, I let things get in the way that I shouldn't have (or, to be a bit lenient, some things rose up in life that I wasn't able to handle at the time--my mother's illness, my father's depression, my family's bancruptcy). I have a good job, but it's a bit of a no-brainer.

So, in trying to eliminate debt, I'm trying to shore up other aspects of my life. They're are several elephants in my room, but my financial situation is a mastodon, and it sort of intimidates my other problems.

This is a blog about hunting mastodons.

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iSleep

Ohhhhhh...I slept 12 hours last night. So much better than sex. I've been in a really bad caffeine=sleeplessness=no excercise=sleeplessness=bad food=.... cycle the last couple of weeks, and I had to break out of it. I spent too much eating out this month, but because I kind-of thought I might do that, I actually budgeted for it. I have $250 to see me through to April 15th. It's not much, but I know I can do that. I know, I know, that leaves me with $0 in my accounts, BUT I've paid off a decent amount of debt, AND I normally add to my credit cards by the end of a month, so this is actually pretty good.

I had an argument with Discover this morning. They said my interest was going up to 10% and I said "Not by the terms of our contract," and it turns out they had the wrong contract on file, but I had called them enough that they were able to piece things back together. But that was only after going through several 'front lines' of defense, the stonewall customer service reps who are only there to tell you to go away. It's pretty maddening. I was so confused I actually called up this blog during the conversation, and I was like: "Look, I'm looking at my financial blog right now, and I KNOW I had this conversation before, because I spent several days getting an iTune and Wallmart account set up so that I could make small purchases every month to keep my APR. It says so right here!"

It's good to have records, even as informal as this.

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Financial Dreams and Google Ads

Dream of Paper Airplanes
I had a dream last night that I was eating lunch at a cafe, and the owner of the cafe was hosting an auction. The auction was for the work of a local artist who made paper sculptures: paper cars, paper boats, paper fetuses, paper rocks. All the sculptures were made of paper that was twirled into tight rolls, like cigarettes, and then sown together using white thread. I was sipping my coffee, watching people bid $20 and $30 for items. It all seemed congenial, until the paper airplane was put on the action block.

It was a biplane with movable parts and the wingspan of a grown man, hands outstretched, one of those planes the Wright Brothers flew, or that you saw in WWI videos. It had and the word Freedom written on the side in block letters, created from small rolls of paper. A woman in an evening gown, trying to act casual as she smoked a long cigarette, bid $20 for the plane. I wanted the plane, however, and immediately bid $50. A man with a tipped cap said $100. It was obvious that we all needed the plane. I thought about the money in my bank account, did some quick calculations, and bid $200, even though I knew it would mean a lean month. The woman bid $500. I thought about my credit cards, and because I have a lot of space on them now, I went to $1,000. The man with the tipped cap grew angry and bid $5,000. The woman in the evening gown started crying and said $10,000. I was desperate. Knowing that I would max out everything, that I wouldn't be able to pay off the debt, knowing that I would be financially trapped for the rest of my life, I stood up and shouted $20,000. The man with the tipped hat and the woman in the evening gown howled, and I howled, as the auctioneer handed me the paper airplane called Freedom.

Then my GF woke me up.

Anyway.

I'm SO amused by the ads that Google has decided to place. The ones I've seen are for an "Are You Gay?" quiz and a "Composting Toilet Blog." Google ads are kind of the modern day fortune teller, a virtual Tarot deck. The idea for the Tarot deck, from a Wiccan angle (I'm not Wiccan, but my scattered reading gives me wide and shallow knowledge), is that a good Tarot reader will get to know their subject a little and try to act as a conduit for their life story. The reader shuffles the cards and lays them out in prescripted patterns, and the cards, each of which has a story, are supposed to reflect a story in the subject’s life. The theory goes that a good Tarot reader will be so in tune with their cards and the subject and the universe and their cat that they will subconsciously guide the cards to accurately reflect the subject’s future. It's actually a very therapeutic exercise, and even if you’re completely secular can be a helpful device to examine your life. The Freudian angle is that your reaction to the cards is what counts: i.e. why, when you saw the FATE card, did you think of your mother dying? Etc.

So, back to Google ads. Google ads are a scientific fortune teller, which tries to understand your Blog from an objective (although strangely spiritual) algorithm, and then spits out an ad (or card), that reflects your life.

Which makes me laugh, because while I'm not gay, I'm certainly not straight, so even though I don’t think I’ve mentioned anything wrt homosexuality, I’m delighted Google has ciphered all my words and come up with the question, “Are You Gay?” It’s okay, Google: whether or not I’m gay, I’m secure, but thanks for asking... And, even more amusing, what does the "Composting Toilet Blog" say about my impressions of this blog???

Thoughts for another day. I'd better get to work.

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Schools and such

Well, I didn't get into Brown, and I was waitlisted at Arizona (AZ is just about my top choice, so it was nice to be waitlisted, at least). I still haven't heard from NYU's writing program. Brown would have given me a stipend, I believe Arizona will too, and I know I should know, but I have no idea what NYU does for funding.

I'm sure NYU has already made decisions, so the best I can hope for is a waitlist, as they probably would have called/emailed if I actually made it. My ego really needs me to have at least been waitlisted at NYU, as I was waitlisted there last year. I don't really want to go to Hamline, deep down, because I really want to leave MN, but that would screw things up with my GF, who has two years to go in her PhD. But Hamline is free if I keep working, which I'd rather not do. Arg. These are the times... etc, etc.

In other news... I just finished a chapter that I've been working on for a couple of weeks. This is the second draft of my novel, and I'm hoping to be done by mid-July. I turn 30 in November, and I want to get it in front of a few publishers by then. My friend, E, told me to send her a few chapters so she can pass them to her agent. I'm a little freaked about that, I realize, but I'm going to do it in two weeks, after my writing group looks over the last few chapters.

Anyway.

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Just Commenting

I've been looking over a lot of people's financial blogs today, and I have to say, in comparison to many, I'm not that bad off. I have a well-paying job. I have a retirement account. I have all my payments set up with Wells Fargo's Bill Pay (if you don't have automatic payments, you need to get them!). My credit debt is bad, but I can get a handle on it. Most of my debt is school debt. which could be worse.
I still need to get ahead, however. I don't have any savings, and I live month-to-month. I often overdraw my account on the last day, forcing it to draw from my credit card. I want to be able to go on trips and enjoy my life. This is so important to me. I'm only getting one go around this life, and I want to enjoy and appreciate what I can in this world.

Not to be gross, but paying off all debt feels like vomiting. Not very pleasant during the process, but I feel better afterwards.

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Retirement and Blog Details

For starters, I'm working on making my blog easier to read. I added a "Starting Debt" and "Current Debt" sidebar, and I consolidated some of my post "labels." I'm getting there!

Also, I should note that I actually have around $20,000 in my 401K. Well, it took a significant hit, recently, so it's down somewhere around $19K, but I'm just leaving it and letting it ride out the stock market burp. I've got plenty of time. I'm investing rather aggresively in real estate, which is supposed to take a hit, but I figure it's going to be worth a lot in a few years (also, it's still out-performing all the other options).

I realize, with this 401K, I'm damn close to actually having a net worth. My car is probably worth about 1K more than I owe, so my assets are about $25K and my debt is $29K. Is it sad that I'm so pleased with this?

My new goal is to achieve net worth. I'm only $4K away!

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Ways to Earn Money

I’m trying to think of ways to make extra cash. Last year, I tried to donate sperm, but I was rejected. It turns out I only have 'normal sperm' and sperm banks need 'super sperm'. Apparently the sperm they're looking for have tiny capes on their backs and are only kept frozen for reasons of public safety. If those sperm thawed and escaped, I was told, they would try to hunt down and fertilize hapless women. I argued that those sperm are probably gay sperm, because what kind of hetero sperm would be caught dead in a cape when it's trying to impress an egg?

No deal.

Actually, the problem was I kept having relations the night before my donation. I was in-between relationships, and every time I was supposed to donate, I apparently sent out some ultra-high-frequency sonar or something that allowed me to attract beautiful women. I think it momentarily confused them. I should have thought of it months ago, because that seemed to be the only thing that was working for me that year. I was WAY too embarrassed to say why I shouldn’t have relations (you have to abstain for a min of 72 hours), so my donations ended up pitifully small the next day.

Anyway, I need a new plan for cash.

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Weekend - final numbers

Okay, so I spent $187.21 this weekend, total. Better than I thought I would do. I spent less on the gifts that I normally would, and I think they were well-recieved anyway. AND (I just realized) I bought an extra gift for my niece that I decided not to give her (it was a book that was too advanced for her age), so I can get $15 reimbursed by returning that over lunch!
SO!
I spent TOO much on my car by $140, but I saved $28 this weekend ($58 if I get $30 from H :), so I'm only behind $112! And given that I based my budget this month on past spending with no cuts made to that spending, I think I can manage...

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Oh, another email to my landlord...

Mr. X,
Please re-read my below email. I was specifically referring to the fact that you engaged in a physical struggle with Y. I was referring to the fact that you started the struggle. I was referring to the fact that I came downstairs because of the commotion and thought that I might end up physically injured because of the struggle that you caused. I am referring to the fact that you pushed Y. You were raising your voice, Ywas not.

I don't want to get in an argument over legal details, however, I happen to know that Y had a legal right to take down that wall because I built similar structures at two previous residences. As long as Y didn't nail the stucture to the house, it's legaly his to do with as he pleases. Y did not nail the structure into the wall--I was with him when he built it. We had a conversation about that very fact. The structure was held in place using small wedges of wood, like doorstops. As I said, I have done this twice in previous residences. It is firmly seated, but it is not nailed in, and it is not permanent. It is legally considered to be "freestanding." Renters often do this.

And again, it was the safety of the household which you disrupted by engaging in a physical struggle with Y.

Whatever Y did and whatever legal struggles you have with him are irrelevant to the fact that you picked a fight with him and in doing so endangered me, Z, Y, and yourself. I'm quit certain if Y told the police you pushed him, you would have been arrested, because pushing people is wrong, and illegal. Your entire email ignored the fact that you caused a dangerous situation. Pat did not run up the stairs and push you. You ran down the stairs and pushed him. Your email evaded all responsibility for your physical actions, and in no way made me feel better about the situation.

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Absinthe

Just a note: K picked up his absinthe (I bought this from Alandia, in Germany). We did a deal in a parking lot in St. Paul. Very cloak and dagger. We laughed. I talked to a good friend from the Iowa Writing Workshop, and he's thinking of coming up and sampling the wares this weekend. That would be fun--I haven't seen L in a while.

That's all. It's late.

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The Weekend Report

I spent $290 on my car this weekend. Mostly getting fluids swapped out at Valvoline (I saved about $20 with coupons I got off their site): oil, radiator, etc. While I did need all this done, I probably should have split this over 2 months. I spent $140 more than I planned. I spent just about $200 this weekend getting in and out of Milwaukee with presents and all, as I scheduled. It was a nice trip. Sister H owes me $30 because I bought my nieces gift for both of us, but I'm not counting that until I get it.

Because the car was only budgeted to $150, I have to make up the remaining $140. IF I get money from H, then I only need $110. I won't plan on that. It'll have to come out of the "eating out" account. I can manage that, though.

I got into HAMLINE!!! Wohooo! Have I mentioned this? If not, this is a GOOD situation for me, because my work will pay for my schooling. Still waiting to hear from NYU, Brown, and Arizona.

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New Month

Okay, so back to the numbers. Here is what's set up to automatically deduct from my account:

$40.00 AMEX
$45.00 Cingular
$50.00 Chase
$55.00 Macalester
$90.00 Car Ins
$100.00 Discover
$120.00 Wells Me
$120.00 Wells Dad
$130.00 Mom
$270.00 Car
$450.00 Rent
$1,470.00 (TOTAL)

Here's the money I currently have:
$90.00 (K owes me for Absinthe purchase--need to deliver Absinthe--K is loaded, no issues)
$90.00 (J payed me for Absinthe --I need to cash her check)
$429.00 Work Account
$2,335.00 Home Account
$2,944.00 TOTAL

And these numbers are obviously off a little, because of difference in payments and interest since last reported, but this is the basic rundown of the debt:

$12634- Wells Fargo (my account)
$3705 - Wells Fargo (my father's account -- money he took out for me that I pay back)
$2063 - Mac Loan (money I borrowed from the school itself)

Car:
$4600 @ 9% APR

Credit Cards:
$0 - Wells Fargo Visa (wohoo!)
$931 @ ($531 @ 29.24%APR & $4,00 @ 3%) - Chase Visa
$3850 @ 0%APR – Discover (expires in April unless I make 3 purchases/mo)
$1778 @ 2% APR - American Express (life of loan)

GRAND TOTAL
$29561

$6609 in credit card debt.
$18402 in school loans
$4600 for my car

I have to go to Milwaukee for my niece's b-day, and I need to buy 2 presents (niece and my sister H, as I missed her b-day in Feb.) Trip, with presents and expenses will probably be about $200.

I spend about $120 a month in gas.

My back is screwed up so I need about 4 chiropractic apts, so $80 in copays.

I've been spending about $200 on groceries, and about $350 at restaurants (YIKES!)

And I accidentally paid $90 to Midphase for a website I no longer keep up. That's just me griping.

I owe $50 for parking tickets.

And probably $150 in car maintenance.

Given other miscellaneous expenses, that comes to:

EXPENSES:
$120 - Gas
$200 - Trip + B-Day Presents
$550 - Food (have to look at this-I think this does include some entertainment)
$50 - Parking tickets
$150 - Car Maintenance
$1070 TOTAL EXPENSES

SO, if my expenses are $1070, my payments are $1470, And my cash on hand is $2944, I have $404 to blow on my Chase. Which is far less than I hoped, but I'm going to deposit that now. And... done.

DRUM ROLL!!!!

Credit Cards:
$0 - Wells Fargo Visa (wohoo!)
$500 @ (@ 29.24%APR) - Chase Visa
$3850 @ 0%APR – Discover (expires in April unless I make 3 purchases/mo)
$1778 @ 2% APR - American Express (life of loan)

That $400 was equal to: well, less than 1% of my OVERALL debt, but OVER 6% of my CC DEBT!!!

Again, I'm still owed $1200 from work for a class, which I should get in 2 months. That goes right to the bottom line, to.

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A little bleary

Wow. So my cousin's band played at the Fineline last night. I'm too old for that stuff :) I'm hung over, and I still can't hear right. Starting VERY slowly this morning.

They did a good job. I was impressed. It was only their second gig, and the Fineline is an impressive joint to get into. They're a rock band, he plays guitar.

That's honestly all I have efforts for. However: I get paid tomorrow so I can blog a little more about my finances. That's good. I'm going to see about taking a big chunk out of my debt again. Hopefully about a grand. I think that shouldn't be a problem.

Also, I'm trying to take my job a little more seriously. I just dropped two loads of dress clothes at the cleaners. I'll try and be a little more clean-cut.

I have to get going on my writing. I'm trying to get my book done in about 17 weeks (this is the second draft).

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An Email To My Landlord

Mr. X,
As I've tried to make clear, I have no intention of getting involved in your dispute with Y. I see this as none of my affair. I am, however, disturbed at the violent and frankly unusual behavior you exhibited yesterday. I am concerned that the police threatened to arrest you for unnecessary 911 calls.

I have, obviously, begun considering discontinuing my stay at your residence, given what I see as highly unusual and highly unnecessary behavior on your part. I am deeply disturbed by your actions. I have never seen a landlord lay hands on a tenant.

It is in never appropriate for you to lay hands on a resident.

If you wanted to keep Y from taking down the partition, you should have told him in writing that you somehow saw the partition (which he constructed??? which wasn't nailed into the wall???) as your property, and you would seek legal action should he remove it. LEGAL action, X, not physical actions.

YOU SHOULD NOT have involved the entire household in a potentially dangerous struggle. You did not need to physically confront Y. You did not need to push him. Please do not tell me you did this because you thought Y was "destroying your house." That was simply your excuse to act in an extremely childish manner. Even if you had some far-fetched legal reason to stop him, you should have taken the safety of MYSELF and the young woman Z into account. You should, frankly, have taken Y's safety into account, even if you dislike him. You did not. You made the WRONG decision.

You have consistently shown that you care more about YOURSELF and YOUR MONEY than you care about the safety and comfort of your residents. Per your below note, I would hope you understand that I am obviously more disturbed about "possible building code violations" than I am disturbed that Y is trying to get his deposit back. Again, I do not care if you and Y have monetary problems. YOUR MONETARY PROBLEMS ARE NOT MY CONCERN.

I have never been so disgusted with the actions of a landlord in my life. I feel like I am living in the house of a slum lord, and I am embarrassed to be there. It makes me look foolish and unprofessional to continue living in such circumstances. Everyone I know has told me to move out.

In conclusion, let me be clear, I am in no way worried about Y or any violence from him. Because of the way you have acted, I am worried about you.

P.S. - Please repair the awnings over the windows - they look horrible and the neighbors are commenting about them.

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Vegetarians, and Landlords

I've tried to pay attention to my diet. I took supplements and ate as much as I could. I tried, honestly, to be a good vegetarian, but I got weaker, and weaker, and weaker. I went to the gym on Friday after work and I could barely lift 120#, which is usually not even a warm up.

Saturday morning, I had a plate of sausage, waffles, and four eggs for breakfast. I am not a vegetarian.

In other news. My landlord and the guy living downstairs are having MAJOR problems. Turns out my landlord might be certifiably crazy. A quick recap:
1.) My landlord (L) turned down the heat too low.
2.) Downstares neighbor (DN) bought space heaters to keep his place at a legitimate temperature.
3.) L tried to charge the DN for the $50 extra in electricity.
4.) DN refused.
5.) On a dark and stormy night, L tries to make DN leave (note-DN is not in any way packed, it's 10 o'clock, it's the biggest blizzard in YEARS).
6.) Lot's of drama ensues.
7.) L takes DN to court (last Friday), and DN, in complete disgust, tells the judge he's planning on moving out at that end of the week. Judge shrugs and says there's no legal issue.
NOTE: L has now spent $250 in court fees. He's hired a lawyer, which had to cost another $500. This is all over a $50 electrical bill.
8.) DN is now angry. Yesterday, he tells L that if he doesn't pay his deposit back, he's calling the fire inspector and telling him that the basement isn't legal to rent (it isn't). DN is a handyman, and he informs L that it will cost him $3,000 to get the place up to code. He tells him this calmly, and then leaves.
9.) Last night, L apparently cracks. He calls the police and tells them to forcibly remove DN. 10.) DN shrugs and shows them the court order telling him he has a right to live on premises for a week.
11.) Police tell L that he can't ask DN to leave. L yells at police. Police yell at L.
12.) Much drama ensues. Police leave in disgust.
13.) This morning, DN starts to take down a partition he made in the basement. L calls police again.
14.) Repeat police drama.
15.) Police ask DN, as a personal favor, to stop taking the wall down until 3PM, when the new shift starts.
16.) DN leaves. He will return at 3:10 PM (45 min) with a circular saw, to take down the wall.

I'm off. Sorry, I'm normally not a drama hound, but I CAN NOT miss this.

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Such a loser...

God. Okay, here's a problem, and it's has EVERYTHING to do with my expenses. I can't get myself to do anything. I've sat at my desk ALL DAY today, and I haven't done anything. Not one thing. I've had a few nice sit-down chats with friends at work, a nice long lunch, but I haven't actually accomplished ANYTHING. I've surfed the Internet, I've done a lot of personal chores, but not one speck, not one iota of actual work has occurred. I think I probably worked about 5 hours this week, and I'm serious. I get stressed out just sitting her, doing nothing. The less I do, the more I get stressed, the harder it is to start. I could at least be working on my writing, but I don't. Nobody checks on me. Nobody asks about my work. Nobody expects anything from me. I can go for months, peform one small task, and everyone will think I'm doing a good job. I'm so stressed about this, but I can't seem to make any connection to my job and my compensation and my approval rating. That's not true, actually. I know that people hate my work ethic. I know I'm a joke. A well regarded joke. A joke people like to hang out with. I'm a joke who people want to be friends with, but a joke nonetheless. A big f-ing joke. I AM A HUGE F-ING JOKE.

My god. What do I expect to happen in life? Is this a sense of entightlement on my part? Am I truly that bored? Is this apathy or laziness or is there a difference? Gen X couldn't give an F? And it's not that I LIKE that I don't do anything. I hate it.

Day's done. I'm going for a run. No lessons learned.

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Vegetarian - Eh

So the vegetarian regimen isn't going to work. I feel like hell. I want out to Target over lunch and got some sushi. Ummm.... I fell into an immediate blissful food coma after I ate it. Feeling a little better, but I think I'm going to have a big salmon steak with all the fixings tonight. I'll still avoid most meats, but I'm bringing fish back into the diet.

And.... wrt the spending. I went out one night and had two drinks, for a total of $24 (w/tip). I was hanging out with an editor-friend and she was reviewing cocktails at a club. I feel like I'm building/sustaining professional contacts when I do this. Any thoughts? (I know, no one reads this, but...) I'm going out and singing karaokee on Friday, which will entail a few cheap drinks. Hopefully less than $15, and that will be my entertainment for the evening.

That's about all. I think I got into Hamline, which would be nice. I didn't get into Michigan. Still waiting on the other (six) schools.

Still need to make some kind of spending plan!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is my goal for Saturday A.M.

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Sold my soul for 89 cents

Okay, I realized the wrongness of my action as soon as I did it, but I bought a song off Walmarts digital store. That puts me over the threshhold of 3 purchases/month on my Discover card for March, but I guess I sold my soul to for that 89 cent purchase. I'll try and find another source next month.

Oh, and if anyone is wondering, I'm doing all this so that I'm set up in the future to quickly go to two online stores. I know my mind, and if I have to search for purchases, this will seem like work :)

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Hmm...

Okay, iTunes bundled my payments, so the three songs only counted as one purchase (I know that might seem obvious, but iTunes has a little popup that states "Your credit card will be immediately charged," so I thought they might go through individually). I called Discover and signed up for card protection, which is something I normally wouldn't do, but it counts as another (automated) payment every month. $3. Now I have to make certain on two seperate days I make one iTune purchase. Or, I need to get one (or two) more small automated payments to the Discover. We'll see.

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Discover Dilemma--Solved?

My Discover interest rate of 0% goes away next month unless I make three purchases a month. I have, therefore, set up an account with iTunes, so that I can buy three songs every month. This way, I only spend $3, I get 3 songs every month, and enjoy the APR. I double-checked with Discover, and this is kosher. I just purchased:
"The Crane Wife pt 3" by The Decemberists
"The Ghost" by I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
"Hurt" by Johny Cash
Thank you 89.3 The Current for introducing me to these songs, and thank you Discover for the interest rate...
I bought these songs seperately today, but I'm going to check with Discover tomorrow and see if they are charged to my card seperately, or if Apple conglomerates their charges at the end of the day.
This is under $36 in purchases a year, which is under a 1% "interest." I know it's not perfect, but I'm satisfied with it as a stop-gap solution...

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$800 less

So I deposited an additional $800 in my Chase account. I'll probably put an additional $400 around the fifteenth, but I'm saving it as a cushion right now. The NEW numbers are:

$12634- Wells Fargo (my account)
$3705 - Wells Fargo (my father's account -- money he took out for me that I pay back)
$2063 - Mac Loan (money I borrowed from the school itself)

Car:
$4600 @ 9% APR

Credit Cards:
$0 - Wells Fargo Visa (wohoo!)
$931 @ ($531 @ 29.24%APR & $4,00 @ 3%) - Chase Visa
$3850 @ 0%APR – Discover (expires in April unless I make 3 purchases/mo)
$1778 @ 2% APR - American Express (life of loan)

GRAND TOTAL
$29561

$6609 in credit card debt.
$18402 in school loans
$4600 for my car

So that 's the rundown. Since the beginning of this blog, I have figured out how much debt I owe, and I have eliminated a roughly 6% of my debt. That's not bad at all.

I also bought an appointment book, to help me get better at making dates, etc. I think I have to make a conscious effort to use it more.

Elephants in the corner:
- No real budget (I've eliminated the wonderful 6% with a bonus)
- No real plans for school (still don't know if I've gotten in)

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$1000 less

I just paid off my Wells Fargo CC, the worst of my interest rates!

I am trying to get better about actually thinking about small portions of money as money, however, and because I have a $50 check in my pocket that I haven't cashed (it's been there for a LONG time), I'm also going to send an additional $50 to American Express right now, and deposit that check this evening. It's hard for me to do that because it doesn't seem to make a difference to the credit balance, but it does make a difference to my daily life. I know that's a bad way of thinking, however.

I just turned in my last application for graduate school. This one was to Hamline. If I get in there, my company will foot the bill.

I have to transfer some money from my employers bank to Wells (my normal bank) and pay off some more of my Chase card this evening. I should be able to take out a big chunk.

In other news, I've decided to go vegetarian. I'm on week 2, and I feel great! Oh, and I guess since this is a financial blog, it's worth noting that I save a lot of money on food, since refried beans and lentils, my new sources of protein, hardly costs anything.

My landlord is trying to evict the guy who lives in the basement (Handyman) . It's been this Grade B melodrama. My landlord is EXTREMELY stingy, illegally so, and Handyman had to put a few space heaters in the basement to keep himself warm, because the heat's set at 60 degrees in the evening, and it's probably colder in the basement. The space heaters raised the electricity bill (far higher than the furnace would have, I think) and my landlord tried to raise Handyman's rent to compensate himself. Handyman, no fool, refused. My landlord then threatened to evict him. Handyman ignored his emails and said he would move out at the end of March. He's staying because he doesn't think he'll get his deposit back, so he's not paying the last month rent to compensate himself. So last night, in the middle of a BLIZZARD, my landlord (who lives in Madison but came into town for this little fiasco) tried to convince Handyman to leave that evening. Please note, we got 14 inches of snow last night. Oh, the drama.

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