Rusty@saving's Personal Finance Blog

hey,

getting another 4 day weekend here, i found out today that i am getting payed double time on x-mas for not even going in....such blessings i have received! also, the union dues are always paid out of the last week of the month, so the company is paying the dues for us as well.
gotta love it.

i hope everyone has a great x-mas!

hey all,

last week, i did 20 hours of overtime, and this week i did 9. it was all i could do, and i wanted more.
i know i need to make sure i have time for me and rest, but i want to get going and get out of the hole, you know?

i also got my credit report. i am going to start paying on a couple of no pays i have. i am really stoked, i thought that i had a lot more stuff on there!! i still owe a decent amount(under$1000), but i will get it taken care of in due time.
hope everyone has a good holiday if i don't talk to ya until later!!

hey all,

just got done with doing 20 hours overtime for the week.
we have a $700 credit card bill due to her car breaking down, then my car 2 weeks later...paying $200/month on it is just aggravating as heck, so i am putting in as much overtime as possibly allowed by work to make sure i get it payed off in hopefully a month.
then i will be back at square one, saving all over again.
hope all is well with everyone.

hey all

hope everything is good for everyone. staying warm and safe and everything.
yesterday, our power went out, we packed up everything and went to in-laws to stay for however long. estimates where for 4-5 days. last summer it was 4-5 days too.
just when i was getting to sleep , my wife comes in and tells me that our neighbor called and our power came on!!
so we are back home and everything is good.
i just hope all the ice on the lines will not bring one down(knock on wood) and we are out again.
savings is still coming along just fine, and i am paying off the collection today, so hopefully everything will be takin care of then.

hey,

just wanted to give my well wishes to of you in the storm that is passing through...drive carefully, be safe, stay warm, use common sense(how come they call it "common" sense when it is not so darn common?????).
we got hit pretty good in st Louis, thank GOD the power is still on, but i think it might be off soon. save on that energy bill!!LOL!

i have had a great and very needed 4 days off. i am sooo grateful for everything i have been given, and everything was just great.
we went out to eat on thanksgiving at a REALLY nice place and just stuffed ourselves silly. no stress at all no one getting crazy over the stuffing or turkey....it was perfect.
last night i got a collection notice from a phone service provider i had about 8 years ago when i was in college for $128. i will be able to pay it off with savings, and i refuse to let it bring me down. i am just grateful that i HAVE SAVINGS to do this with.
my wife is less than thrilled with my responsibility issues with $ from the past though. i have not lied to her about $ though, and told her that i was not reponsible in the past from the start.
the only thing that i could think of that the phone bill could be from is that i forgot to cancel service or something when i moved out of my college apartment, or i had long distance fees that i forgot about.
either way, it is still my responsibilty to take care of, and i will pay it off as soon as possible. i will not deispute the bill due to the fact that it is entirely plausible that i owe that $, and there will be no way to prove that i don't owe it. so the hell with it,lol. plus, we will be looking for a house soon, and i DO NOT want a collects on my credit.
even though it is a pain, it could be worse, and in a way i welcome things like that happening and reminding me of just how screwed up i was....it is easy for a person like me to get comfortable with things going well like they are and slip right back into a rut and stop being careful with bills and savings ect ect.
hope everyone had a good holiday!!!

keep your chin up!!

happy thanksgiving everyone!!

every year i remember begging my bosses to work me on the holiday so that i can get time and a half....and still barely make it for the bills.
this year i get a 4 day weekend....2 days of which are payed for...

now i am really thankful, i need the break!!

i think i am going to recommend the justice of the peace method to everyone i know...quick and easy.
so i am married now, and things haven't changed one bit. thank god! everyone i know said that the girl changes and everything goes to hell. 3 weeks in and nothing. maybe it has to do with expectations or something...people not getting what they want, i don't know.
no honeymoon, yet. we are saving up for a house.
i put a thread in about how to raise my credit. i want to get a cc, a walmart one or something, and pay that off on time, i know that will help, but i need to get about 20-50 pts higher for a better rate on the loan within 6-12 months. any ideas?
time to catch up on all the other threads, hope all has been good!

hey all, just a quick note to let you all know that Kohl's is having a heck of a sale this weekend.
first of all, i know i should have written this on thursday when it started, but i have been really busy, and am just now starting to get things together and good to go and caught up(for obvious reasons)(i will write more about the wedding and this last week tomorrow)
anyways, kohl's is having a 30%-70% off sale. i bought my wife a pair of $100 earrings for $26.32.
clothes on sale too, everything on sale.
hopefully this is not too late, and if you need stuff for kids and all that for school or whatever, now is the time to get it.
happy hunting!

well people, the big day is Monday. after looking at our finances, and realizing that we are so strapped, which things are a lot better now than they were when i first came here(A LOT BETTER!), we decided to get married early due to the fact that my fiance's work does not offer insurance.... i just got insurance at my new job.
we pay $200/month for her insurance, and it is just killing us(along with her $300/month car payment). all of the overtime i am working is BARELY covering the insurance(our finaces are right on with my regular time at work, but the overtime was paying just enough to cover the insurance). all of a sudden, work is getting slower and no overtime is available, therefore putting us way below our financial needs.
my insurance is $70/month for me, and $70/month for her. so we will be going from $270 to $140/month, which will give us a lot of breathing room.
of course, this is not ideal, and we are keeping it from a lot of people to not take it away from our wedding in june, but it is either that, or reducing her coverage, and if something does happen, then we will owe a lot more, or her not having coverage at all, either of which is not an option.
i think this is the smartest thing we could do, and the lady at the courthouse says she sees it all the time. we are not having it published until june, and like i said, parents and close families are going to be notified, that is all.
keep us in your thoughts and prayers on monday!
thanks

hey all,

finally an electric bill that is decent!! $75 is alright with me!
i have 1 more month on probation with the new company that i work for, and i have health insurance as of right now, for the first time in 3 years...i will finally have a regular doctor!!

all for now, hope everyone is good to go

alright, those of you out there that love cats already know this, but as i was going through the check out line today, i said what the hell, and bought a $3 laser pointer....
it is the most relaxing and funniest thing i think i have ever seen in my life to see the cat go ape over this red dot she cannot touch or smell....
trust me people....it is HIGHLY theraputic!!!
things are good around here, just saving and saving more, hope all is well with you!

Rusty

i worked 17 hours overtime last week, and really looked forward to this paycheck today....it should have been really good.
but, i had $50 taken out for union initiation fee, and then $45 taken out for union dues in this one check!
soooo....3/4 of my overtime went to that!

oh well, think about how my check would have looked if i had not worked the overtime. that would have put us in a fix for sure.
hope everyone had a good labor day!

this week i did 17 hours of overtime. it is good because it is going to pay off some of the credit cards before they are due.
it is amazing, but my fiance and i are talking about buying a house in the next year, and i am looking into saving $ for retirement. after the last 2 years of having no money and being dirt poor, i am truly grateful for my opportunities.
to all of you out there that are going though hard times, i truly beleive that everything happens for a reason, and that i am a better person having gone through the last couple of years.
keep strong, stay with your goals, and only good things can happen!!!!

oh yeah, and my new favorite saying...."the hell with the Joneses!" make yourself happy, not everyone else.

alright, the brakes are done this last weekend. cost($130) for everything.
fiances insurance is next, , and then we need to start working on the credit cards even more than we are($700). we had a bunch of stuff come up like it always does when you put off the things that need to get done, and then you have $.
it should take about 2 months to pay it off. no biggie.
going to buy a new furnace filter after 2 months, it is filthy already, so that will save $, we just have to make sure that things get payed off.
that is all for this week.

ok, got my 2nd paycheck from the new job, with the 10 hours of overtime.
it was nice....wow. of course, it is almost all gone now though!
1st goal: pay back parents for 1/2 of 6 months of car insurance i didn't have 2 weeks ago($150)(didn't have first paycheck yet)
2nd goal:get new tires($200), i have let a lot of things go the last couple of years just trying to make ends meet, and i am trying to take care of the most serious things first...bald tires, not good!
3rd goal to come: new brakes(brand new everything for brakes)(they are grinding, but it is my fault because i had to cut corners the last time, and it lasted me around 2 years)rotors, calipers and pads. good news? best bud is doing it for free, cost of parts should be around $140, cost at the shop...??i think around $400.
4th goal:fiances health insurance, $200/month, not due for a while, at least not until 2 paychecks from now.
then, after this is taken care of, we look at her car....but it is not in as bad a shape as mine(i let it go...rent and electric is more important than tires and brakes)(until they get real bad,LOL). then make ideas as to when to pay that stuff off, whatever it is.
once this stuff is taken care of, THEN it is time to start saving more.
of course, stuff will come up, but that is what the emergency fund is for, right? gotta get that done,too!!

hey all! time for my weekly blog.
i have made a decision...that i am dropping my class this semester due to the fact that we need to make more $. currently, i am being offered a ton of overtime(26 hours in 3 weeks), and it seems like the end is no where near to it. it is tiring, but i do not want to live like i have been and have the opportunity to end it with hard work.
my class would be at 8am, with me getting off work at 7am...no overtime on monday, wed, and fri. financial aid is a joke...giving me about $100/month(seriously!), and i can make about $400-$500/month extra in overtime.
I had to promise my fiance that i WOULD go back to school, but right now, we are in a crunch, and i beleive it is the best thing for us. priority #1...fiances car getting payed off. it can be done in 6 months if all goes to plan. it probably won't go to plan, BUT, it will get payed off faster than a year.
i really want to get my degree, but some sacrifices need to be made if life is going to get better. this is no longer all about me, 2 of us are together now, and i need to think about our well being now.
now let me read all the other blogs and see how everyone else is doin!

ok....back on a regular schedule again. the only problem with working another shift is getting back on the regular one. then i am tired for a whole other day until i get caught up again.
i missed 2 hours of overtime yesterday due to being unable to stay awake and needing to get caught up.
oh well, i think i will be able to make up the overtime soon.
hope everyone is having a good week!

alright...this is what happened.
i was asked by a co-worker if i could work for them on there shift.
i said yes, and it comes with 2 hours of overtime(i love overtime!)(every little bit helps).
the problem is....i am getting used to a new schedule, and i am going to have to work their shift(they work mine), then i am going to have to race home, crash out for about 5 hours, then get back up and hit my shift again.
nothing like starting the week out tired. everytime i mess up my schedule it takes me about 3 days to get back to sleeping right.
oh well, a lot of people have it worse and work swing shifts. i think i will just be grateful for the overtime, do my duty, see how it goes, and then watch what i agree to next time.

my foreman came up to us at me new job and told all of us that we could have all the over time wanted this week working up to 4 hours over our shift.
i put in 16 hours.
i am tired, but i am grateful for the opportunity to make more money than i have made in a while.
this $ is going to towards my car insurance for this week, instead of asking for help from my parents, then next weeks overtime is going towards repairs on my car that i have put off for quite a while now due to lack of funds.
it is frustrating because i want to save, but i am taking care of the things that need to get done or else there will be a big problem later on.
i start school soon, so my overtime will be limited as to what i can do, BUT i want to get as much done as possible while i can.
time to catch up on everyone's blogs! hope you all are doin good

alright, went to the mall today with the fiance, ended up at "things remembered" to look at possible things to get for the wedding next summer.
turns out they are having a buy 2 get one for free sale(equal or lesser value).
so, we knocked out the guest book, ring bearer pillow and flower girl basket(1 item $60),champagne flutes($60), cake server set($40), present for Mom-in-law(free $20), embroidered throw blanket(free, going to display at reception $20), unity candle set($50 free) rewards club member, -$15.00.
total savings: $105.00
everything needed for wedding, better quality than most places, and cheaper than any bridal shop.
i am sure that a lot of people out there are getting married, know someone getting married, or just like this store(my first time there)so i thought i would pass on this sale.

hey all,

started my new job on monday, i really like it a lot. they are offering all the overtime that you can handle, and i did 10 hours in my first week(how can you say no to $15/hr)!
my fiance got a 2nd job, soooo...after my new job and her 2nd job, we are finally over budget by quite a bit.
i have not been able to do a lot other than work and sleep, so now i am making an entry for you all to keep you up to date.
also, i am not spending any $ what so ever all day, so my savings is gonna grow like crazy.
i ALSO have to see how my other bloggers have faired this last week, i have missed catching up on how everyone is doing, but first....i gotta do some housework(it gets boring late at night!)

i did not blog yesterday because i had orientation for the new job at 1pm-5pm. i work nights, so i got 2 hours sleep for work last night at the last night of my old job. i just cannot not go in when i promised i was gonna be there until my stop date. needless to say, i was dragging BIG time all night and today.
good news from the new job though....there is a plant i would be working at that is 24 miles round trip away...or a plant that is 2 miles round trip away.
i got the plant that is 2 miles away!!
22 miles driving a day saved, times 5 days is 110 miles, divided by 30 miles per gallon is 3.6 gallons times $3/gallon is $10.80 per week saved and $40.20 per month saved!
plus, of course, the amount of time saved in driving and everything like that.
also, through the orientation, i found out that the company i am going to be working for is VERY employee oriented, and does a lot for their employees. it seems like every job i have done is all about companies seeing what they can NOT give their employees, or give them the least amount possible by law.

ok, after bills are payed, i am left with $70 for the week. being a math major, i make that into $10/day(i am a MENSA member).
well, after it is all said and done, i have saved $25, maybe more depending on how i do tonight. this is also with me doig a lot of extra driving for this new job that i wouldn't normally be doing, and filling the tank up again. so i would have saved more $, but the gas will just go into next week.
i am usually sweating wether or not i am going to have push my car into the gas station after i get payed on fri morning, not having the $ to put gas in for 2 days or so.
glad those days are over. for now at least(knock on wood).lol.
i am going to go jump on the bed and wake my fiance up, hopefully not having her injure me in the process(i love it!!!)
hope everyone has a great day!!(jump on the bed of someone you love, entertaining yourself is the key to....something, i forgot)(the hell with it)LOL

i have had the best day in quite a while so far.
first, on my way over to my apartment to check the caller ID(waiting for a job to come through), i turned the corner and 2 electrical trucks were there working on the line!!! we have power again!!!!!
2nd thing that happened. i get inside, and the job i want called!! i called back, and the human resources woman was still there and I got offered a job!!!!
starting next week, i am going to be making 2 times the $ i have been making for almost 2 years now. i have REALLY been struggling financially, and put in a TON of job apps everywhere that i could think of that wasn't hiring, and every place that was hiring. nothing....for a long time.
now it looks like things are finally pulling together.
the next thing my fiance and i need to do is pay off her car($4000), and i need to get a credit report and see where it is that i owe $(little things here and there), and then we are debt free!!
the job is full time, benefits, 401k, the works.
the old job i had just put a cap on the salary at $9.50/hr 6 months before i got the job. there are guys there that have been there 15 years and make $18/hr. i will be starting WAY above the salary cap at the old place.
plus, for the first time in years, i will have SET days off!!! friday and saturday....wow...
don't get me wrong, i still need help from you all, fiance and i still want to get a house in a couple of years, new (to us) cars, and other things, so i still need help.

thanks to all for your well wishes about the power and all your help the last 2 weeks, you have been awesome!
until tomorrow.....

well, today i had to buy a gift for the to be in laws. they have been so great letting us stay here during this power outage(still out).
they are cardinal fans(i am a cub fan)(die hard), and i was at the store, and saw a picture taken from the 1964 world series when the cardinals won.
it cost me $15, it is framed, really nice, and the only thing i have bought that is not a necessity in a long long time.
what better way to spend $ than to say "thank you" to some generous people for letting us stay with them.
of course, i am with their daughter, and i know they would take her in any time, and i come with her, BUT i know we are cramping their style and i want to show appreciation.
by the way, that picture is hard to find, and it is cheap by framed picture standards(probably saved $20).
hope everyone is staying cool, i am gonna drive by the place and see if anything is getting done over there.

thanks for your support and help out someone else today any way you can and be grateful for what you have and show appreciation for it!!

rusty@saving

well, the power still has not been turned on. it could be worse. but the heat is starting to go back up now here in st louis.
luckily we are staying at the future in laws.
i am waiting for a call on a job that would double my income and give me benefits...really hoping that it comes through.
i didn't eat last night at work to save more $, and chowed down when i got home, so i saved at least $2 for the day.
hope everyone out there is doing good, stay cool

well...another huge storm came through st louis yesterday(2 in 2 days), and....we have power out for 2 days now.
it got dark as night, the cat ran behind the washer, and i knew we were in trouble.
we aren't the only ones, 1/2 a million plus out here have the power out. thank God the power went out when it is 80 degrees out right now instead of 100+ like the week before.
we are staying at my finace's parents, who live 2 blocks over and have power, and we are grateful for that!
my budget for gas and food is $10/day after bills, which is a little high, but so far i am saving around 2-5$ per day. and putting it into savings....but then insurance comes up, or brakes, or a higher electric bill or something, so it goes back down, but i am not losing faith!!!(getting frustrated, that is why i am here) i know i can save, i am just keeping at it.

the most important thing is that i am saving and paying for my own things and emergencies that come up now instead of running to other people to ask for $.
all for now, power SHOULD be up by tommorrow(wish us luck).

hey all,

yesterday we had some wicked storms coming through the area. it is 100 degrees outside, and my fiance and i decided that if the power was going to go out, we were going to try and be as comfortable as possible.(luckily it didn't)
i turned the air down from 78 to 73. it took about 1 hour of the air running to get it down to that in our apartment.
here is the thing...our air is on a thermostat(not programmable) and it kicks on about 3 times an hour and runs for about 10 minutes each time that the temp dips 1 degree below what we set it at. running 30-40 minutes an hour.
after the storm had passed, i put the thermo back to 78 and went back to studying.
the air did not turn back on for about 5 hours as the temp climbed BACK to 78!
so my question is this people....running the air for 1 hour to get the air down, then it not running for 5 hours, or letting the thing turn on and off 3-4 times an hour? i know that it uses a lot of juice to get started, so i am trying to cut down on startups.
if anyone knows what would be better, let me know.
also, check those filters every month.
2nd of all, energyhog.com has all of the energy info you will need about appliances. air uses 15% of bill, fridge 15%, freezer 5%, water heater 13%, lights 10%...it all adds up.

all for now, looking forward to some reponses

rusty

hello all,

new here, stumbled across this sight and liking it a lot!!

i have recently moved, and am finding it hard to find a job that pays enough to live comfortably...so, something has to go. i have moved in with my fiance(same rent i had, split in 2), i have replaced all the light bulbs(10) with compact florescent bulbs(800watts used to 124watts used)(why in the heck would no one do this???), replaced the furnace filter(not been changed in 2 years, and would run for 1/2 an hour..i swear!), turned down the fridge(ran all the time), turned down the water heater(just enough, but not too much).
i am shopping at dollar stores for items that are name brand but cheaper(prarie farms milk is in the dollar stores for way less than the regular grocery), replaced the gas cap on my car, it was ALWAYS loose(gas must have been evaporating out), oh yeah, put the hibernation setting on my comp, or shut it down when going to bed.
i am also taking faster showers, turning it off to get soaped up, then rinsing off.
is there anything else i can do?
i have just made all these changes, so we will see how the savings go from here on out!

wish me luck,

rusty