Week #47 - Phoning It In...

Hi guys... I'm sad to say, but willing to admit that even though we are in the final countdown towards the end of the year I am totally phoning it in for this weeks blog. I've had a very stressful last month or so with lots going on and then this past weekend I was really sick so I don't have much to say.

I want to make sure I promote my friends and tell you that I was able to get an advance ticket for the Super Mega Fest (comiccon type thing) that is this weekend from my friends at Rubber Chicken Comics so I'll be at the 'Mega Fest'. Then next weekend the boys at Rubber Chicken are having their annual 'Black Friday Weekend' sale which includes INSANE deals on Black Friday and more great deals on the Saturday and Sunday so check out www.RubberChickenComics.com for more info.

This week I also designed a logo for a friends plumbing company so if you're in the Rhode Island area and you need a plumber I urge you to call either my friend Sarah at www.AnneThePlumber.com or my friend Greg at American Pride Plumbing & Heating (google it). Greg is the one I designed the logo for so hopefully you will see my design on his business card or promotional material soon.

I got a paycheck for $667.21 which is more than usual because I worked a couple of hours overtime last week. $42.79 went to my 401k, but with the exception of my $20.00 vacation transfer that will be the only saving I do this week. I'm going to tuck this check in my checkbook and use it to pay for my Christmas shopping, assuming I can come up with some ideas on what to get people. That's another thing I'm stressing about! Here's the wrap up...

Here is the week 47 wrap up:
$42.79 to my 401K
$20.00 to my vacation fund


Which makes the 2013 totals:
$1655.36 in my 401K
$940.00 in the vacation fund
$109.90 in the piggy bank
$650.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$288.87 in my vet bill savings
$2227.41 in my money market
$1677.40 in my car account

Bonus...

I still have some saving to do to try and meet the goals I had set for each account balance, but I have 2 more checks that are potentially designated for 'saving' so hopefully I can meet those goals.

My mortgage is actually going down a little bit starting next month. I assume its because the insurance went down, but I'm not sure. Anyway, my plan is to continue to pay the same amount each month and have the additional money go toward the principle. It won't be much, but anything that pays down the principle of the loan is good.

I have a very short week next week because at my work we get both Thanksgiving and the day after as holidays. Then I have two weeks of vacation that I need to take before the end of the year. My plan is to take the last 2 weeks of the year (which includes 3 holidays) which should mean I get 19 straight days out of work. My last day will most likely be December 19th and I'll return on January 8th.

My wife recently reminded me that I didn't sell my old iPhone yet. I have no real explanation of it except that I feel like its worth more than I can get and there for I shouldn't sell it which makes NO sense what so ever... I'm crazy!

I've recently felt burned, taken advantage of, taken for granted and just generally treated shitty by some people lately. Its made me appreciate the friends that I have even more and helped me notice the things that may be small to some people, but are actually huge to me that some people actually do for me. So to the good people... thank you. To the shitheads... I may not be there the next time you need someone to use before you step over me.

Week #46 - a recap for new readers!

Since I've gotten a bunch of feedback from new readers and I don't really have that much to talk about this week I'm going to give you a recap on what accounts I have, what they are for and some other back story on the nonsense that is my budget.

First off I'll show you my checkbook... you might say that this is where the magic happens. Wrapped up in this little package is the usual checks and checkbook register, plus some random notes, some bills I need to pay in the next few weeks, my three pens (blue, red and green) and most importantly my budget paper. Ever year I start in January with a sheet of yellow paper and I mark down all of the Fridays (paydays) in each month over the course of the year. Then each week when I get my check I write in the amount the check was for, how many hours I worked and where I deposited the check.

 

In addition to all that nonsense, I also have eight (yes EIGHT) bank accounts. The reason I have so many accounts is because I like to keep all the money separate since its all saved for different things. Here is a run down of what I have for accounts.

 

 

1. A checking account that was shortly after I adopted a cat from an animal shelter. My cat, Beetus is 13 years old and weighs about 20 pounds so it was pointed out that he may end up needing to go to the vet at some point. After that I started putting aside a small amount of money each month in case Beet gets sick. No one wants to deal with a sick animal, but anyone with a pet knows how expensive vet bills can be. I figure having some cash set aside will ease the pain a little.

2. When I was able to pay off the car I currently have I decided that since I was used to making the monthly payment I might as well keep doing it as long as I could. I started a checking account to keep that money separate. I do occasionally dip into it when my car needs a repair, but for the most part that money will be used as a down payment next time I need a new car. I'm glad it will be there for a future purchase, but I really like that it has eased the sticker shock of needing new tires a couple of times over the last few years!

3. Even though I'm crazy, I do have a regular standard old fashioned checking account just like everyone else. This is the one linked to my debit card and the one I use to pay my credit card bill each month. I deposit money into this a few times a month and use it to pay for gas, food, comic books, records and other random things that I buy over the course of a month.

4. When I talk about my 'savings account', that money is actually in a money market account because it gets better interest than most savings accounts. The people at my bank are trying to convince me to put that money into more of an investment account, but I'm not really sure if I want to do that or not. For the most part money goes into this account and it does not come out. I will say that when I bought my house, the down payment came out of this money, but I figure that's what this money is for. Massive emergencies, major planned purchases or just to be saved for the future.

5. When I bought my house the people at the bank talked me into getting a second checking account just to pay the mortgage. Originally I didn't want the additional account, but in hindsight I'm glad that they talked me into it. Each month I deposit at least enough to pay the months mortgage into the account and then I pay the bill online so it comes right out of the account. I try to keep some extra in the account in case something happens or for a possible repair, but for the most part it is used just to pay the mortgage.

6. I used to do a lot of shopping online through eBay and when I did I would use Paypal to pay for things. I always tried to keep myself on a short leash as far as spending money online so I kept a separate savings account that all my Paypal transactions went though. At one point this account had so many transactions per month that the bank told me I was violating some rules and they had to change it to a non-interest bearing account. For the last year or two there has been less than $50 in the account so its not like I'm losing out on any real interest. When I have money that needs to go in the bank temporarily I have been known to use this account as a holding area, but the OCD in me really hates to do it!

7. I have a loan that I pay on four times per year. Its an interest free loan and I pay about $200 every three months towards it. I could easily keep the money in my regular checking, but I'm crazy so why would I do that? I started a savings account that I put money into each month and then once per quarter I take out the $200 and pay the bill. Eventually it will be paid off and this account will just go away... probably!

8. Last, but not least is the vacation account. This is the one that I put $20 per week into by making a transfer from my standard checking account. I have been doing this for quite a while now and recently used it to pay for some of our Disney vacation. I feel like this account is the one that is most comparable to what I hope that some of you guys do. Just put aside a certain amount of money every week so its there for a vacation, for your kids, for a home repair, car tax etc! Just commit to saving the same dollar amount each week and don't dip into it unless its for what you started saving it for in the first place!

In addition to the 8 bank accounts I also have what I call, 'the piggy bank'. I call it that, because that's exactly what it is. When I bought my house I got this bank as a gift from the people at the bank I go to. I use this bank just to keep all the money I get from returning deposit cans and bottles. This is practical free money since all the soda is bought in Rhode Island where there is no bottle deposit and then returned in Massachusetts for .05 cents per can!

Ok... so now that I've recapped my mess and reassured everyone how crazy I am, lets get down to this weeks income.... This week I got a paycheck for $613.84 ($39.12 went to my 401k) and since its the third check of the month most of the money will go toward paying the mortgage this month. Just like last week I will be spreading the money around a little to try and reach my saving goals for the year. $50.00 will be going into the quarterly loan payment account, $100.00 is going into my regular checking account and the remaining $463.84 is going into the mortgage account. I did my standard $20.00 vacation transfer and I was also able to return my deposit cans and bottles this week so I added $13.00 to the piggy bank. Here is the wrap up...

Here is the week 46 wrap up:
$39.12 to my 401K
$50.00 to the quarterly loan payment account
$20.00 to my vacation fund
$13.00 to the piggy bank

Which makes the 2013 totals:
$1612.57 in my 401K
$920.00 in the vacation fund
$109.90 in the piggy bank
$650.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$288.87 in my vet bill savings
$2227.41 in my money market
$1677.40 in my car account

For this weeks added bonus I'm just going to give you another reason to laugh at me. This week when I returned all my deposit cans and bottles I had $12.95 worth. I brought up the tickets to the service desk to get my money and the cashier handed me $13.00. She didn't ask me if I had a nickel (I didn't), she was just being nice to me or being lazy and didn't want to count out the change. Now what you can laugh at is the fact that because of my OCD when it comes out saving, it was actually a struggle to put all $13.00 into the piggy bank since I only had $12.95 worth of cans, but it also would have bothered me to take .05 cents out of the bank. I ended up just putting the whole $13.00 in, but I promise you that I won't forget that there is an extra .05 cents in there!

 

 

 

 

 

If you read the blog last week you saw that I had bought some innersoles for my shoes and even though I really liked them I took advantage of the 'money back gaurantee' and I sent the proof of purchase and receipt to get my money back. Well... I got the check in the mail yesterday so I will be cashing it and then heading to the store to buy a second pair of the innersoles for my other sneakers. Then the struggle is deciding if I try to get my money back a second time!

 

 

 

 

Week #45 - Comiccon & Cash Flow...

hello everyone.... welcome to week #45 of the OCD Savings Blog! I gave you guys the wrap up of my Disney adventure last week so this week I'm gonng give you a review of the Rhode Island Comiccon, which is where I spent most of last weekend.

Friday night I was out kind of late because I went to see a few bands play in an old warehouse building in Providence. If you're a fan of hardcore punk I want to highly recommend you see the band Boston Strangler, but that's another story. I got up kind of early on Saturday and my wife and I headed to Providence for the 2nd annual Rhode Island Comiccon. I had already bought the tickets ($50 on my credit card) in advance so we didn't have to wait in the extra long line and it was a good decision based on how many people were there when we got there.

Once we got inside the convention center we saw rows and rows of vendors and retailers set up selling all sorts of comic book, movie & pop culture stuff from cheap $1 comic books to $1000+ rare collectibles. There were also 3 rows of tables set up featuring B, C and D level celebrities who were all there to sell their autographs and special chances to get photos taken with them. The celebrities ranged from the original Batman & Robin, Adam West & Burt Ward, Billy Dee Williams and Danny Glover to former video vixen Tawny Kitaen, professional wrestler Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka and Larry Kenney who was the voice of Count Chocula and many other childhood favorites.

I went specifically to see 6 people who apeared as different characters from the original Star Wars trilogy. I got autographs from the actors who played Zuckuss, 4-Lom, Admiral Ackbar, Lt. Renz, Greedo and Bossk. It was an expensive day since most actors charge $20+ for their autographs, but I started having Star Wars actors sign a VHS boxset quite awhile ago so now when ever I get the chance to add a signature I take advantage of it. My wife and I hung out for a few hours gawking at 'celebrities' and browsing, but didn't really buy anything else.

Since my wife was going to the Patriots vs Steelers game on Sunday I contacted a friend (www.psychomonkeystudios.com) who was set up selling his art to see if he had an extra pass so I could go back to the comiccon on Sunday. He did and so I spent most of my day sitting with him and helping another friend at his booth (www.RubberChickenComics.com) with intermittent walks to look at the costumes and displays. I ended up getting my picture taken with the original Survivor Richard Hatch and got to talk to him for a few minutes which was cool. I also took photos of myself with some of the cool displays including the Back to the Future Time Machine, the General Lee and a life size Rancor statue. I had a pretty good day and only spent some money on a turkey wrap and some tater-tots for lunch.

 

the photos above show me with Roxy the Rancor, me with the General Lee and me with Richard Hatch from Survivor, all taken at Rhode Island Comiccon.

 

Alright... now that most of you are bored or have stopped reading, I'll get to this weeks income. I got a paycheck for $613.82 ($39.12 went to my 401k). This is the 2nd week of the month so the money will go towards my mortgage payment, but I'm also going to do a few other transactions to try and move towards hitting my savings goals in some of my accounts. I'm putting $50.00 in my loan repayment account, $25.00 in my vet bill account, $100.00 in my regular checking and the remaining $438.82 in my mortgage payment account. I also did my $20.00 vacation transfer, but I didn't get  chance to return my deposit cans this week. So here is the wrap up.....

Here is the week 45 wrap up:
$39.12 to my 401K
$50.00 to the quarterly loan payment account
$25.00 to the vet bill account
$20.00 to my vacation fund

Which makes the 2013 totals:
$1573.45 in my 401K
$900.00 in the vacation fund
$96.90 in the piggy bank
$600.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$288.87 in my vet bill savings
$2227.41 in my money market
$1677.40 in my car account

For this weeks added bonus I'm going to tell you about something a little shady that I just did. I've been having some pain in my feet and someone recommended these insoles that were about $10.00. I bought them because they had a money back guarantee and was shocked that they actually worked! They helped the pain very significantly, but I figured... why not take advantage of the money back guarantee. I waited a few weeks and then wrote a letter, sent the receipt and proof of purchase and now I'm waiting to get my $10 back which I will use to by another pair of inner-soles! Sounds more like a buy 1 get 1 free offer!

Here is a photo of the information I had to send to get my $10 refund.

 

 

 

I got a few messages from people that are new readers, some of which I didn't even know before they messaged me. I wanted to welcome any and all new readers to the blog. I want to remind everyone about the facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/OCDSavings join the group and contribute any savings ideas, coupons, bargains or anything you see. Lastly I just want to stress that when it comes to saving you can start as small as you need to! Just because you see the dollar amounts that I save doesn't mean you need to do the same. Put aside $1 a week, $5 a week, $10 a week... whatever you can and it will add up. You just need to commit to it and make sure you do put aside that amount of money each week and don't dip into it without making a plan first!

Week #44 - Halloween & Disney World

Hello all... Welcome to week #44 of the OCD Savings Blog. As I'm writing this I am back to work and my vacation is over. It was a great time and I had even more fun than I thought I would. We spent 7 days in 'Disney World' and ended up visiting Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Downtown Disney and of course The Magic Kingdom! I think we went on almost every ride in each park minus just a couple here and there and we rode most of them multiple times. We went on Space Mountain 2 times, Thunder Mountain Railroad 3 times and Splash Mountain 3 times. We did Toy Story Midway Mania, Stitch's Great Escape and The Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor 2 times each. We even did the Hall of Presidents 2 times, but the big ones were the Disney Haunted Mansion and Star Tours in Hollywood Studios, I think we did each of those over 10 times each!

We ended up booking during a period of time where we were able to get the Disney Meal Plan for free as part of our package. The meal plan included 1 'quick serve meal', 1 'sit down meal' and 1 'snack' per person, per day. I can tell you that it was a HUGE savings! Each meal was an entree, a drink and a desert and the snack was one item. We kept track of what each meal would have cost and when the week was over the total was over $600 for the two of us. Keep in mind that with the exception of 1-2 meals we ate burgers and sandwiches so its not like were were eating at fancy places. The meals were also so big that we used most of our snack credits to buy things to bring home! I can't recommend the meal plan enough. Even if you can't book your trip during a free meal plan period, it would still probably be worth paying for!

We got a lot of great info from some friends that go to Disney regularly and we got a lot of help from a free service that will pretty much book your entire trip. If you're planning a trip, especially if its your first one check out www.pixieandpiratedestinations.com and have them help you out.

Ok... so we spent a bunch of money on the vacation, but as you see every week, I put aside $20 a week specifically towards a vacation. I have been doing that for the last few years so not only was I able to pay for the trip (my wife paid for the flights and some other stuff), but we also have some money left in that account for whatever our next vacation ends up being. It doesn't take much money to go on a small trip somewhere and if you put aside $10-$20 a week you will barely even notice it. If you're not quite as crazy as me and you can deal with having direct deposit then you can have the $20 taken right from your paycheck and put into a special vacation account and if you do it that way you will most definitely not notice it!

Well as I slowly get back to reality I have to catch up on some bills. Luckily my paycheck this week is for more than usual. At my work when we go on vacation our pay rate for that weeks check is based on the previous years average pay including overtime so my check this week is for $749.48 with $48.34 going to my 401K. This is the first week of November so the entire check will be going into my regular checking account, but I will still be doing my $20 vacation transfer! I might have some cans to return next week so hopefully we can get that 2013 piggy bank total over $100.00! With all that being said lets get on to the weekly wrap up...

Here is the week 44 wrap up:
$48.34 to my 401K
$20.00 to my vacation fund

Which makes the 2013 totals:
$1534.33 in my 401K
$880.00 in the vacation fund
$96.90 in the piggy bank
$550.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$263.87 in my vet bill savings
$2227.41 in my money market
$1677.40 in my car account

As we get into the final count down of the 2013 OCD Savings Blog I'll say that we have only 8 more Fridays this year. That means 8-9 paychecks left to reach my savings goals. I went over my account balances and I've set a goal for each one with and made a note for myself that says how much money needs to go into each of the accounts to reach the goal I set. I'm still hoping to find a new job at some point and I know it will be a big pay cut so reaching my 2013 goals is pretty important since I don't know what the future of my savings hold. So if you take anything from this let it be that you should always try to save when you have the means to save. Even if its just a few dollars a week, it will add up and could act as a nice cushion for a future emergency or planned event!