Archive for May, 2008

Free Coffee at Dunkin Donuts!

By: Green Panda | Date posted: May 15, 2008 (10:55 am)

I already passed the word to my husband and my co-workers, so I decided to spread the word. Dunkin Donuts is giving away a free 16oz Iced Coffee drink today from 10am-10pm. I am planning on grabbing one after work as I have a lot of work to do tonight.

Our Game Plan for the Economic Stimulus Check

By: Green Panda | Date posted: May 12, 2008 (6:41 pm)

 

It’s not exciting or ‘fun’, but our economic stimulus check will go towards knocking down the car loan. This is the best plan for us as it will eventually lead us to having an extra $235 each month to spend as we please (after the loan is paid for).

I’m so tired of seeing the stupid plans retailers have come up with on the stimulus checks. Some seem ok, while others seem just plain stupid:

  • Sears: They are adding another $10% to your stimulus amount if you convert it to a gift card.
  • Car Dealers: I’ve seen on TV where they are matching part or all of your refund when you buy a new car.
  • Ace Hardware: Their stores will have 20 % off sales on selected merchandise.
  • Kroger: They will convert a tax rebate check for a Kroger gift card, with a 10% bonus.

My opinion: Don’t give Sears your money! Taking your stimulus money and converting it to a gift card here limits your options severely. (Note: I have personal bias against Sears as I’ve seen them charge family members practically 30% a year in interest.) Something like an extra 10% for groceries would actually be useful for many people as we have to eat.

  • If you have high interest debt, use the stimulus to pay down or eliminate it.
  • If you have no savings, put it in a high interest savings account to start your emergency fund.
  • If you have no debt and have savings, looking into depositing the money into an IRA.
  • If all of the above is in place, have fun with the money. Actually you could send it to me. :P

Please, just have a rational plan for your economic stimulus check. Don’t waste this opportunity.

Photo Credit: dbking

College Graduation Parties

By: Green Panda | Date posted: May 11, 2008 (6:24 pm)

 

We got back from a fun weekend. We back to our old place (LOL, it’s only been like 6 weeks) to celebrate the graduations of my brother in law and one of my dear friends. He’s a physical therapy assistant. It’s something that fits him as he’s athletic and loves helping people reach their potential.

My friend is already working in her field by helping out local families with low income or housing issues as an advocate’s assistant. This is a personal passion of hers and I’m happy to say she graduated with no student loan debt!

It’s amazing that these two found majors that they care about and have the talent and drive to succeed in. I wish them the best and much happiness.

It was a fun and tiring weekend! Graduation ceremonies seem much longer when they are not your own!  While waiting for my friend to be called, I was working on Big Brain Academy. I have a B- and my suggested career is doctor. (LOL!) There was tons of food this weekend and I think I’m going to explode. Otherwise I feel great!

We’re back home now, so I should be rested for work tomorrow. I feel energized from having such a good time.

Some more good news: another  good friend started a blog about step families. She’s a good mom and thought a blog sharing the joys, adjustments,headaches, and triumphs of step families would be beneficial to all. It’s called TheStepLife and she’d welcome any feedback and participation. Also if you’re interested in sharing your story in written form, she’ll be happy to accept. It’s hard keeping the family running, working full-time, and starting a new site. I don’t know how she does it. Some recent topics shared included:

I just wanted to share some good news with everyone. I hope you had a great weekend!

Random Rant Abount My Checking Account

By: Green Panda | Date posted: May 08, 2008 (11:00 am)

I went online to make sure my individual checking account transferred the money to my joint account. It did. I then noticed that the balance available seemed off.

My credit card payment was going to be sent tomorrow, so I check my pending bill payments and it didn’t show up. Alarmed, I went into the bill pay system to check it out and sure enough it was there. Why is Wachovia hiding an upcoming withdrawal? It’s like the bank is setting up people to fail.

 

I really appreciate how ING Direct’s Electric Orange account shows you upcoming bill when you select your account. It helps me keep track of my balances. Ok, that’s it for my little vent. How do you feel about your bank’s online system? Is it easy to use? Is it accurate and/or helpful?

If you’re looking for some tips on managing your bank accounts, check these posts out:

  • Simple Banking — Alien Abduction Packet Part 1 from Mrs. Micah.
  • The Simple Dollar presents How To Compare Competing Bank Accounts
  • Get your bank accounts in order from Ramit
  • Gather Little by Little shows you that can Save Money with Wachovia’s Way2Save

    • »crosslinked«

    Welcome Alpha Consumer Readers!

    By: Green Panda | Date posted: May 06, 2008 (5:24 am)

    Photo Credit: by alborzshawn

    Welcome!

    If you’re visiting from US News’ AlphanConsumer, thank you for visiting my blog. The post was inspired by my last 2 apartments.

    Here’s an overview of some of my most popular posts to get started:

    Banking

    Budget & Savings

    Credit Cards

    Debt

    Education

    Life

    Here’s a series describing our struggle to get our money back from a car mechanic’s negligence.

    Car Repairs Gone Bad Series:

    Feel free to subscribe to my site to get the latest delivered to your inbox.

    May 2008: Progress Update

    By: Green Panda | Date posted: May 05, 2008 (10:10 am)

    Photo Credit: ivanx

    A new month means an update of the progress we’ve made on my goals so far this year. I’m hoping that by sharing it, it holds me accountable.

    Let me first review my goals for this year:

    • Income: I would like to earn $37,000 for the year.
    • Spending: I’m going to continue cutting back on eating out to twice a week, including weekends.
    • Investing: I’m going to enroll in my company’s 401(k) and meet the employer match. I’ll also continue to contribute to my Roth IRA.
    • Saving: I will have $2,000 in my emergency fund by September 1, 2008. I would also like to put our income tax return into our house fund toward paying down the car loan.
    • Debt: I would like to pay off my car loan by July 31, 2008. I would like to have my car loan out before I have to start paying student loans.

    Here’s how I’m doing:

    • Income: I am happy with this goal and unless something major happens, I’m good to go on this one.
    • Spending: April took a lot of money out of my budget and I spent my emergency fund getting settled in the new city. I have rebuilt it back up to the pre-move amount.
    • Investing: I’ve been investing n my Roth IRA still. The balance is starting to rise again. I use index funds and they were fluctuating a bit.
    • Saving: I’m glad that I’ve automated my savings. The hectic pace of the move has distracted me on keeping tabs on everything.
    • Debt: I’m still pushing back the car loan pay off to August 31,2008 as this move depleted some money from our savings. Whenever we get the stimulus check, we’ll put it towards the car loan. Any income from the blog is also going to go towards this debt. Thank you for all your support.

    April has definitely been a month of adjustments. My work schedule is 1/2 day on Monday and regular hours Tuesday through Friday. I really my job and I love my coworkers. We went salsa dancing Thursday with some coworkers and had a blast.

    We got the cars registered and I have to get an inspection done on Wednesday. My car failed today due to a sensor light. It should be fine the second time around. I’m hoping May will be a great month for my goals AND just overall.

    I just want to congratulate my brother-in-law who’ll graduate Friday and my best buddy from high school who is graduating Saturday. They’ve both worked hard and I wish them the best. I’m looking forward to celebrating with them.

    How To Rent in a Nice Neighborhood

    By: Green Panda | Date posted: May 03, 2008 (3:25 pm)

    Photo Credit: Bald Eagle89

    The 151st edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Alpha Consumer featured this article.

    Renting a place has a connotation of just trying to find something affordable and safe. It can so much more than that. Renting in a good neighborhood can improve your quality of life, reduce stress, and save you money in the long run.

    Start with Google. It pays to look ahead on some things before considering a move, such as:

    • Crime (look at the amount of crime and the type of crime)
    • Shopping Areas (Are conveniently located?)
    • Libraries, Parks, Attractions, etc. (You’re trying to find places that interest you.)

    If the area doesn’t do well with the above criteria you may just want to skip visiting the location and save yourself time.

    Here are some things to do while going though a potential neighborhood:

    • Visit on a Friday or Saturday night. This visit lets you know if the place is too noisy and rowdy for you or if it’s not exciting enough. My cousin is a city girl, so she needs things to do and happen. (She’s a great salsa dancer.) My sister likes someplace peaceful and quiet at night. Each would have a different opinion of the same neighborhood.
    • Look to see if your bank is located nearby. (This might not be an issue if you’re considering changing your bank.) With banks charging $3 for out of network users, this is something to seriously consider. I wrote some tips on how to cut down the ATM fees.
    • Ask for directions a few times. Try and see if the area is generally friendly or not.
    • See if good public transportation is available. Rising gas prices have made public transportation a consideration. If the area has a great system, then you can save thousands of dollars a year and reduce the stress of sitting in traffic .

    Renting a place is a good opportunity to ‘test drive’ a place that you may considering owning a condo, townhome, or house. What are some tricks and tips you’ve used when looking for an area to rent in?

    This blog uses the cross-linker plugin developed by Jan Hvizdak, owner of Aqua-Fish.Net