personal finance archives

Jumping into Netflix

Years after first hearing about Netflix, I've finally joined up. It will save me money and space.

Posted: December 29, 2007Continue Reading

Iffy Pricing Tactics At The Gas Station

A quiet change in pricing gas (discount for cash) has ruffled feathers in town. It all just seems iffy.

Posted: June 02, 2007Continue Reading

Estimating the Next Paycheck

It’s that time of year again to start looking at the new tax brackets. This year, the adjustments are coming in handy to absorb increases in health and commuting costs to keep me about even.

Posted: December 24, 2006Continue Reading

I Can Use My Favorite Credit Card Again

Hurray. I officially figured out how to stop the vicious credit card interest cycle.

Posted: October 29, 2006Continue Reading

Credit Card Interest is Annoying

After paying credit card interest for the first time, it seems you really need to understand how things work in order to not pay any more interest. Apparently paying the next billed balance by the due date isn’t sufficient.

Posted: October 19, 2006Continue Reading

The New Microsoft Money Budget Tool

The budget tool in Microsoft Money 2007 was overhauled to allow specific savings tracking. Bills were also decoupled from the budget. The groupings were changed to a way that works better for me. The idea I really like was being able to set a spending limit at the category level instead of at the category level. I had to hack my categories before to achieve something similar.

Posted: July 23, 2006Continue Reading

That’s Going to Hurt the Pocketbook

My next service appointment is going to cost a pretty penny but I may be able to save some money on my car insurance thanks to not driving too many miles on a regular basis.

Posted: May 09, 2006Continue Reading

Keeping To The Budget

I've been keeping to a tighter budget for the month, trying to improve on my savings goals. My local supermarket threw me an extra 7% savings for a couple of weekends and I'm happy to report that even with a minor splurge of salsa and cream soda, I stayed within my spending limits.

Posted: April 22, 2006Continue Reading

And The Taxes Are Done...

My taxes are done for year. It's a relatively painless process when using a tax professional. And, I feel better paying someone to fill in the forms than risk paying fees and penalties if I mess up. I was surprised to find out I'll be receiving refunds of a reasonable size which I'll be putting to into a savings account.

Posted: February 26, 2006Continue Reading

Online Bill-Pay Rocks

I don't like writing checks so I've setup online bill payment at my bank. Within the last year more companies have started to participate in the program. Call me excited.

Posted: January 28, 2006Continue Reading

Tax Time Approaches

I'm starting to organize the tax information I have in anticipation of tax season. It's become a New Year ritual for me.

Posted: January 02, 2006Continue Reading

Getting Excited for Month-End

I finally got invovled with online savings accounts that give you higher interest without the account minimums. So now I get excited to see the end of month results. Instead of earning pennies, I'm earning extra pennies.

Posted: December 29, 2005Continue Reading

New Year's Resolution: Invest

My New Year's Resolution is invest my retirement savings. I'm going to try mutual funds since my individual stock choices haven't worked out.

Posted: December 29, 2005Continue Reading

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The personal website and blog of a 20-something web designer that works in a city by day and freelances by night (without a desk - long story). Continue reading