Amsterdam anyone?

In an effort to keep myself educated on immigration issues in Europe, I regularly read various sites to see what the latest info is on getting residency, citizenship, etc. overseas. In my reading this week I came across a surprising bit of info.

It seems that is it fairly simple to get a residence permit in the Netherlands. And once you have the residence permit, then you can apply for citizenship after 5 consecutive years of living there. The best part - they're in the European Union, so once you get that coveted citizenship, you can move freely about the EU - and that is what I really desire.

Up until this newly discovered information, I thought that Spain was the quickest way to EU citizenship, with an 8 year wait.

Of course, I don't really know much about the Netherlands. Amsterdam and Rotterdam both look nice and are close to Paris (around 4 - 5 hours) which is awesome. Now on the to-do list is to learn some Dutch and make a visit to Amsterdam sometime next year.

Having extra room in your budget

I found out the hard way this week that it is important to have a little play room in your budget for small unexpected expenses. I'm building up an emergency fund, but I view that more for big expenses, not little things that pop up.

I got strep this week, which resulted in a day of missed work, and the cost of a doctors visit and a prescription. Now, what I learned is that I should have a place in my budget for unexpected healthcare needs. Fortunately, I'd been so focused on my alternative income streams that it wasn't something I had to stress about. I made enough in alternative income the day I went to the doctor to cover the strep test ($59), and the medication ($20). At first I went to an urgent care office, where they wanted me to pay $117 for the office visit and an additional $42 for the strep test. I laughed and walked out. Then I drove down the street to CVS where they have a Minute Clinic where I only had to pay for the strep test and then was able to walk around the corner to get the prescription filled. And it only took 15 minutes. I highly recommend this to anyone that has a Minute Clinic near them. They do a lot of stuff and the prices are listed on the website.

a survey on Americans & their finances

An article posted on MSN Money today details the results of a survey on Americans and their finances. There were some things that were surprising to me in the results.

• 40% of Americans have a budget. I would have guessed that this percentage would have been smaller. With this in mind, it would seem that they are the percentage of us not in debt for the most part.
• 40% do not pay the full balance of credit cards each month. Only 40%? It has got to be higher!

looking for lost coins

I don't know about you, but I love finding money. Not mine that I left in a pair of jeans, although that is nice too, but I'm talking about change lying about. It seems that people don't realize that you can spend pennies. Especially people in New York City. I found $0.12 at the Washington Mutual ATM yesterday in Chelsea. All in pennies. And I am not above bending down and picking it up. I found $0.07 at the Mrs. Field's near Macy's. And I found $0.04 on the subway. And it was all pennies that people tossed on the ground.

This penny throwing out is not unique to NYC - I find pennies in the break room at work all the time. What is it with people? The statistics show how many people here in the US are carrying around massive loads of debt, so I can't believe I am shadowing all the people without debt that don't need pennies. But regardless, I'll keep picking them up. They go in my change jar that I count up and roll every few months. And I always seems to have way more rolls of pennies than any other coins.

question and answer

Anonymous asks: Are you focusing on how much a job pays or finding something that you like and can excel at?

I say: Can't you do both? But honestly, I am looking in my field, it's not as if I am seeking out high dollar sales jobs (ick) just because of the money. I want to get paid what I am worth. And I need to make a certain amount to meet my monthly bills. If I end up with anything over that I will be over the moon.

On the flip side, I want to be my own boss someday, which is why I'm toiling away on a business idea in my spare time. The high points of my goals are paying off all my debt and eventually moving overseas - with the move being the end-point on the goal totem pole. And the journey - job hunting, business planning, etc - is all what I'm making up as I go. So, I guess the long answer is I'm looking for a job that helps me complete the journey to reach the end goal.

The job I am at now, which I loathe, I took because the parent company is in London and I was hoping for a transfer after a few years. Imagine my surprise when I learned that my office was one of buyouts (where they bought up a bunch of smaller companies) and they don't take people for the overseas main offices from the buyouts. The lesson here was that I was trying to jump ahead. I mean, I cannot move overseas until the debt is paid off because it would be too much of a burden. I was focused on the wrong thing, but now I'm back on track.

...that's kind of a long, rambling answer...I hope it makes sense....

scary statistics

From the MSN front page today, Do you live paycheck-to-paycheck?

41% say they live paycheck-to-paycheck
20% do not save at all
28% save $100 or less each month
16% save less than $50 per month
25% do not contribute to 401K/IRA/other retirement

Yikes - that is not company that I want to keep.

My job does not offer any type of retirement, so I'm not doing that. Technically, I should be doing an IRA, but I think my debt is really just too overwhelming at this point. But I'm hoping to be in a position to do that by the end of the year.

Paycheck-to-paycheck, yup that's me but I'm trying to break that viscious cycle. How? I'm job hunting, I'm trying to tackle this overwhelming debt and I have an auto-save plan with ING of $10 dollars a week. Yup, it's not a lot. But I think it's better than nothing. And with the super load of debt, I really should be focusing on paying down debt instead of saving. And I've been writing like crazy for Associated Content. Honestly, what I'm writing is a lot of tripe for the most part. But the extra money is great for throwing at the debt and helping to avoid the paycheck-to-pacycheck thing. I've also been selling some ditigal items on ebay using e-junkie, which is a great service by the way. If you're selling digital items it is the way to go. You can learn more about it here if you want. Using it is what has helped me dramatically increase my alternative income! I'm hoping to break $500 by the end of the month now, which is what my out of town trip this weekend will cost.

job hunting update

Well, I'm still in the running for the $30/hr job AND I have an interview on Tuesday afternoon for one that pays $25/hr. Woo hoo!

After weeks of stressing about finding a job that pays all my bills I actually have more than one possibility.

Goals update

Well, I have already met my budgeted amount for food for the month. I guess I need to realize that eating healthy means you cannot save as much money as you might like to. So, I'll have to rework my budget a bit for next month.

My quest for alternative income is going even better that I had imagined. By mid-month I'd already met my goal of $250.

I have a viable business idea, finally. I think it will take till the end of summer to prepare to launch it. Hopefully we can stay focused these next 3 months so that we will be ready to run with it come August.

And, I'm not going to the full-price movie theater again, except for Harry Potter. You see, there is a theater near me that plays older movies and has $1 Tuesdays and $0.50 Thursdays. I've been going to this place whenever I want to see something (Happy Feet just left there). But, last night I went to the AMC at the mall because I had to see the Aqua Teen movie. And I didn't think it would come to the cheapie theater. After spending $17 for the two of us, I realized I probably could have spent that on the DVD when it's released instead. Or used that for a case of Smart Water. Or a credit card payment. Ah, buyer's remorse. At least it was a fun movie.

they don't want you to be debt free

Being Debt Free Isn't Always All It's Cracked Up To Be is an article that I found over at Smart Money.

The point of the article is that you need to carry debt because if you come to a point where you want to take on debt, it will be difficult if you have been living debt free. What a crock. However the most ridiculous part of the article was in reference to the guy that had $40,000 to put towards a house and only need to borrow $25,000 and the mortage company would only do it if he gave them an extra $2,000 as a security deposit. That's insanity.

When I finally get debt free, I hope I never have a need to borrow for anything else ever again.

Send good vibes my way

I got a lead on a job that pays $30/hr and have already had a phone interview. Should find out next week if I get another interview. So, send good vibes my way cause this could really help in the attack on debt. Hopefully my bad credit will not prevent me from getting this job. I have had that happen in the past, so I never rule it out. This job would also help get me on track for my goal of making $100,000 this year - which I really don't think I will accomplish, but I'm gonna get as close as I can!

Alternative income update: I am $50 away from my goal for the month, which means that I will make more than I expected to from alternative income streams. Hooray!

However, I had just had a death in the family, which means I'll be spending money to travel to another state for this. But that is what an emergency fund is for, right?

Hooray for free food!

I love holidays with big family meals because I like free leftovers.

For my family Easter gathering I had to bring some asparagus. Cost = $6.24.
I was given turkey, noodles, mashed potatoes, and loads more, easily enough for 2 meals for the two of us, if not three meals. All for the cost of $6.24. So I guess technically it was not free, but close enough.

I'm still focusing on reigning in my food spending, so this helps a lot. I've also noticed that making things that last a while, like lasagna, is doing wonders for the food budget. Not only does it last a while which saves money, but it makes easy-to-make lunches for work. So, if I can find a few more things like that then my largest food expense will be on Smart Water. hooray!

Quest goals for April & a review of March

For March I wanted to:

*Find a job for now so that I will have some money coming in
*Come up with some business ideas
*Have at least one business idea that I can work on
*Make some money online via things like AdSense
*Sell stuff I don't need on eBay
*Stop buying stuff I don't need
*Minimize dining out and only order water to drink when I do
*Try to pay off at least one credit card
*See how much I need to make to live on each month

Here's what I accomplished:

1. Found a temporary job for now to atleast have some money coming in
2. Had several business ideas, but they all take too much capital up front
3. I made some money online like I wanted
4. Paid off my lowest balance credit card
5. Calculated amount needed for living expenses each month

New goals for April:

• Get a better paying job that is closer to home
• Focus on business ideas with low startup costs
• Make at least $250 in alternative income streams
• Pay off next lowest credit card ($159 balance)
• Reduce dining out/food costs

I have already been doing the job search. I've actually been interviewing like crazy, the problem is these large organizations that do everything by committee so you have to wait eons just to get an interview. For instance, I submitted my resume for a job at a university on 2/18/07 and it is STILL under consideration with the committee. How frustrating.

For business ideas, I actually have a couple that might work, which I plan on fleshing out this weekend and hopefully implementing.

I've been doing quite well on my focus on alternative income streams. I've been using my downtime at work to crank out some articles for Associated Content. Between that and selling some ebooks on eBay, I've already made $58 since April 1st. My goal is to make $250 this month. (I made $56 last month) But I think with a little discipline I can do even better.

I am paid ahead on my car loan through July since I have been paying extra each month on it, so I'm going to stop paying on it this month and instead pay off my lowest balance credit card and put the rest towards a higher balance card. The way I figure it is the car loan has a 10% rate and the credit cards are higher, so that is good. Plus it will eliminate the credit card payment.

As for dining out, I'm pretty much done with that I think. I've had some absolutely terrible restaurant experiences lately, so I'm in no hurry to return to one. Before I that though I decided that I would only dine out once a week and not spend more than $25 for the two of us. On top of that I have a $25 gift card for Red Lobster and a $25 gift card for Chili's that I got from MyPoints, so 2 weeks worth of dining out will be virtually free anyways.

The thing that might kill my budget this month is a trip to NYC to see a friend. I have a credit with Jet Blue, so flying should be free and I am very close to 2 free Hilton nights. That means I will have to buy some HHonors points to bump me up for the 2 free nights, but it will be cheaper than paying for 2 nights outright. Money will be spent on entertainment, but I knew this was coming up, which is why I am working so hardcore on the alternative income. I hope to make enough to cover what is spent on the trip.

I also managed to go grocery shopping without deviating from my list, which might be a first, and it is very exciting. If I can keep that up the rest of the month, I just might be able to get our dining out/grocery expenses close to $300, which is my goal.

The hidden message = get deep into debt

I stumbled upon a story on MSN yesterday about the 20 Things to Get Before You're 40 and was kinda shocked by some of the things on the "list" such as:

• Fancy luggage at $3350
• Big ass TV at $3999 (their choice of words, not mine)
• A serious ride at $78,495 (again, their words)
• a first edition piece of artwork

Now, no one needs a $78,495 Cadillac XLR roadster. Actually, most of the stuff on that silly list isn't needed. No where does it mention that you need to get out of debt or save for retirement.

No wonder people are doing so badly financially. If they have no willpower and then read an article telling them what they NEED to do or buy, well, I guess I'll be seeing them driving around in that Cadillac XLR roadster.

Sue a rogue lender?

I read an interesting article over at The Guardian in regards to new lending regulations that allow people to take lenders to court if they think that the credit was offered on unfair terms. It mentions credit agreements on cars and furniture specifically, but I wonder if they have those predatory paycheck loan places in the UK like we have here in the US. Those would be the people to take to court. At least from what I know about them - I have never been desperate enough to go to one of those places, but from what I have read online they are pretty bad.

new goal

It takes me roughly 45 minutes to get to work and back each day, with afternoon drive time usually running closer to an hour. I drive a Corolla, so it's not terrible when it comes to gas mileage, but with that kind of driving I can fill up the gas on Sunday and need more by Wednesday after work.

Today on my way home I noticed that gas prices went up....twenty cents! In one day! I MUST find a job closer to home. I mean, I'm already job hunting, now I just need to make sure I look for a place close to home.

dining out - why do I do it?

It seems like the universe is conspiring to either help me save money or take away things that were enjoyable.

I'm trying this only dining out once a week thing, which I think will go over just fine. So, last night I go out to my fave restaurant....and it was just horrible. The food took over an hour to get to the table and when it did it was just pitiful. I get almost the same thing every time I'm there, so I know what it's supposed to look/taste like. After that less than edible meal, I declared I was done eating there. A similar situation happened the week before at my 2nd favorite restaurant. And before that I had the coupon fiasco at my other fave restaurant.

So there it is. The 3 places that I go to over and over when dining out - they disgust me now. I so totally see my restaurant spending declining. I just wish I could have back that $19 I spent last night for that horrible meal. That would have been a credit card payment, or a tank of gas (well almost a tank of gas with these blasted prices).

the post office - making life difficult and helping peeps steal my identity, well, kinda

If you've recently tried to make a purchase at the counter at your local post office with a credit card you may have noticed a fairly new policy. All credit cards must be signed, but debit cards do not need a signature.

I do not under any circumstances sign the back of my credit/debit cards. Why give a thief a perfect example of your signature so that they know how to forge it with the utmost perfection? I always put 'check ID' or 'see ID' on my cards. I don't use credit cards much as more as I'm trying to get out of debt. However, I do have an American Express Gold card that I use for my every day purchases because the balance must be paid in full each month. It's one of those cards with an unlimited credit limit - but the catch is that the balance must be paid in full each month. With no credit limit, you can see why I certainly refuse to sign the back of this card! I always use it at the post office. Today, they told me it must be signed, and without asking to see my ID the guy behind the counter handed me a ballpoint men and instructed me to "just sign the back for me ma'am." He didn't even want to check to make sure I had ID proving it was my card! I could have stolen it from someone else and the post office would have taken it if I'd just signed it in their presence. I politely told him that I would do no such thing. For some reason, he got mad and then told me that I could pay be debit card as no signatures were required for those. Of course, I thought to myself, why require a signature on a card that access my checking account, that makes perfect sense (insert sarcasm here). Now, the interesting thing here is that I could have walked over to the automated machine and used my AMEX with no problem. Why do I have to have a signature to use it at the counter, even if I have valid identification, but I can put the card into the machine regardless of it being signed, or even being mine for that matter.

While I'm sure that the good ole USPS thinks they are doing people a great service and are preventing fraud by requiring all credit cards to be signed, they really are being just as incompetent at the rest of our government. Having people sign the backs of credit cards without presenting identification is not only completely irresponsible, it's just plain stupid. And, who would want to steal postage anyway?

Debt roundup #2

March was the first month of tracking spending. But it was a bad month for that as I had out of town visitors 2 weekends out of the month, which really threw a wrench in the whole budget thing.

Debt totals, March 31:

• Car loan = $12,856.82
• Student loans = $154,202.03
• Credit cards = $29,317.62

Total debt = $196,376.47

So, it's not completely bad as some progress was made, just not what I had hoped for. April should be better as

1. there are no scheduled out of town guests
2. I have put a once-a-week limit on dining out
3. I have 2 restuarant gift gards from MyPoints, so I will only be paying for dining out 2 times this month
4. I have some WalMart gift cards from MyPoints that I will use for groceries. It's only $20, but it's something.
5. I'm focused on alternative streams of income like eBay and Associated Content
6. I'm looking for a higher paying job, but going to wrork overtime until I can find one
7. I'm going to try to use food in the pantry before going to the grocery store

I'm contemplating stopping paying on my car loan for the time being - since they don't like when you pay more than the payment they have my next due date as July. I'm thinking of doing this because the interest rate is 10% and I have a credit card that Chase just recently raised to 29.99%, so I'm thinking I could put the money towards it until July. I'm hesitant though because it would not be enough to pay off that Chase card so I'm not sure it's worth it. I guess I could figure up the interest charges and see. If anyone knows of a good online calculator for credit card interest calculation please let me know! thanks :)