PF Under 30

Time for me to get on the bandwagon again. Today is my birthday and there’s plenty of room to look back and see where I’ve come from and start new resolutions. Hence my posting my balances (again) on the 15th.

Here’s how far I’ve come:

• American Express Gold: $0.00
• Citibank Platinum: $10,056.00
• Costco American Express: $8,959
• USAA Amex: $100.00

TOTAL Credit Card: $19,115.00

Auto Loan: $12,809.31

Not bad considering my CC debt was up around $28,000 in September after my Unemployment. And I didn’t get a new job until November, so I can only imagine how high it went. Still - compared to May of last year, I think I’m doing pretty good.

And right now, I’m still on track to be rid of my Costco Amex debt by the end of the year, with significant contributions to my Roth IRA and a $1200 Christmas fund. Not bad. Pretty good actually. Next year will be much better though…

Especially in a recession, where we get our goods and materials is tricky. Because I don’t want to spend my time running around finding stuff, or spend the cost of gas today (just filled up @ $3.51 a gallon) it’s really caused me to focus on my consumption, spending, and what’s wasteful.

I’m starting to trip combine - stopping @ places that are on my way home from work rather than making a separate trip. This is crucial - as lately, once I’m home - I’m not going anywhere!

So here’s the short list of places I love:

• Walmart - groceries, misc items (I used to buy @ Target). They have my $4 prescriptions, and even a good brand of paint. I’m also fond of it because items I buy on Walmart.com get shipped there for FREE.
• Ikea - good products, great price! Also helps to get the interior decorating creativity juices going. They’ve got that “modern but cozy feel” which is definitely my taste.
• Trader Joe’s - I often forget about them, but not today since I found the store that works with my route home. They’ve got creative meals, great wine, a friendly atmosphere, and did I mention great prices? I will be stopping there on my way home.
• Costco - I can wander these isles for hours. And they are my sole supply of bulk items like laundry detergent, dog food, and cleaning supplies. Plus, my membership is free so I feel like I really need to milk it for all it’s worth.
• Apple.com - love to peruse the new and refurbished products. I would love an iPhone or maybe an Apple TV. Hmm.
• Columbia and REIOutlet.com - doesn’t compare to the quarterly REI Garage Sale, but comes close. Check for a Columbia outlet and you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve been thinking about this post for a few days now and thought I would finally take the time to post it. We all have those things that are just readily available to us thru gifts, friends, family, or just the area we live in. There’s a few things that I am just too cheap to pay for (at least right now) that I thought I’d share with you. Some of them are interesting, some are just a good laugh.

1. Shampoo - I’ve collected oodles of small hotel bottles both from my own travels and my father’s (who’s even more frugal than I am). I’ve been using them for a good 6 months without spending a cent on shampoo. I’m talking Neutrogena, Pantene, and everything. I’ve got at-least another 6 months to go before I run out.
2. Costco Membership - My mom works for their corporate office in Issaquah, Washington. They can have 4 additional family members added to their account without cost. I’m one of the stingy who doesn’t want to cough up the $50 annual fee.
3. Lotion - See #1 for background on small hotel bottles. I use lotion every day but haven’t boughten any for a good 6 months. My lotion stock isn’t as big as my shampoo stock, but sticking to sunscreen for the summer (for its sun protection just as much as that Banana Boat good smell) should keep me lathered up for another 6 months.
4. Eggs - my girlfriend has a chicken coup of a dozen hens. This yields close to a dozen eggs a day. As long as I keep living close to her, I’ll never have to buy eggs again.
5. Bank fees - No overdraft fees (I have USAA), no check fees (I have USAA) no ATM fees (again, I have USAA), no online bill pay fees (do I really need to keep bragging?), no balance transfer fees (USAA Amex has none - now I’m just gloating) Oh yeah…. and no more credit card annual fees (I’m canceling my American Express Gold Card) in favor of the no-fee (you guessed it) USAA Amex.
6. Email Account - these you shouldn’t have to pay for. I use Gmail. ‘Nuf said.

The IRS still owes me my $600. I know I’m not scheduled to get it until May 9th (Friday) but they’ve been sending out Direct Deposits early. What’s up with that? I’ve been logging on to USAA.com every day this week and last. No love from the IRS.

They better not have forgotten about me or there will be hell to pay…..

Not putting it toward debt like I had originally planned. I’m either going to buy new tires for my car (mine are almost bald) or pay this month’s boat slip fee.

Oh yeah…. did I tell you I now have a boat slip in San Diego? $600/month is now my bill. We agreed that he would buy the boat and he would pay the rent if I would pay the boat slip fee. It’s our dream, so I’m not particularly sad about it…. but I do hope we have a boat to put in it in the next week or two….

So after 4 weeks of riding around in my car, I finally mailed off the 12 different FICO disputes at the post office last Friday. These were Certified Mail for a grand total of $25. Think it was worth it? Definately!

I have already received a call from one of them - FirstAgain. They said they received my lead from Bankrate.com and wanted to verify that I did actually request thru Bankrate.com. I told them yes, that I was shopping, but did not expect to have my credit pulled 8 times from that one inquiry. They agreed and promptly faxed over a letter to Experian asking for it to be removed.

Checked my American Express CreditSecure today. Sure enough, it was removed. Didn’t raise my score at all, but I expect it to jump as soon as a couple more are shaved off.

In other news, I have not heard a thing from Equifax - my lowest score (720) - and the most irritating. They show 8 open accounts that were previously closed. I’m hoping this one gets resolved quickly.

Stay tuned…. more FICO updates to come.