Progress Report - for week ended 10/21/07

1. Sell more things on E-bay - still haven't received my check back from 'i sold it on e-bay'! I didn't get a chance to go in and inquire about it this past week but, I need to this week. I was talking to one of my co-workers who sells things on e-bay and he said that he's made more this month than what he makes at my 1st job - in the future I believe I'll sell things myself and not rely on a sell-for-you E-bay service.
   
2. Make $100 in alternative income - I'm starting to see a little bit more of a return from Google and other sources but it's still under the $10 mark.
   
3. Raise net worth above $8000 (again) - even though the month isn't over yet I don't foresee hitting this goal at all at this point. This is due in large part because after a long conversation with my girlfriend ...I decided to propose, she said 'yes' - and then went out and bought a ring - on credit :( - with her in tow. It hasn't hit me yet but judging by her reaction it definitely hit her - by now she has contacted all of the inhabitants of her native land and then some...I love her though and I can finally tell her about this blog.
   
4. Apply/try out for 3 finance related freelancing jobs -SUCCESS I sent out 3 'feeler' e-mails to different online sites that are accepting freelancers. still no response though.
   
5. Pay off remainder of debt/collection - SUCCESS - I paid this off the other week.

Net Worth over Credit Score

So yesterday,

much to Single Ma's dismay, I decided to take the collection company's offer and took their 'settlement in full' deal. I decided that my Net Worth and getting behind my debt is more important than 'fighting' with the collections company and my temporary credit score.

Yes, the settlement in full will likely negatively affect my credit for a few years to come but, a settlement in full is much better in my opinion than to have it drag on my credit score for a few months while I spend time and energy researching archaic pieces of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and trying to find a loophole out of it.

Honestly, I don't think the damage done will be that bad. When I first discovered the blip on my credit, I noticed that while my score had gone down about 40-60 points, the drop still left me within the 'good credit' zone as my scores ranged from 688 -710. However, I panicked, ran out and got a 0% credit card that wasn't used until this week (to pay off the $200 settlement balance) and this in turn took another 10 pt hit to my lowest score of 688 to 678 - or average.

So now I have average credit but, I'm guessing the settlement of the debt will raise my credit score further - although at a slower pace - and eventually I will be well back into the 700's (good-great) range. Especially when I correct some errors on my credit report about address, employer and even ending balances on accounts.

More important to me right now is raising my net worth as well as my cash flow which is currently pretty low. I don't plan on buying a house for another two years and I'll probably be married by then...which brings up a whole 'nother issue entirely.

I am trying to get engaged in the next 3 months or less and although it may seem small to some that $600 discount/income/whatever will definitely help me shop for a ring faster than sitting, worrying about the debt, and stressing in general over a piddly $1,600, blind-siding collection.

On top of an engagement ring I am planning a benchmark, surprise birthday party for a relative with little help from another relative (i.e., Dobson) - thus far. The birthday party will set me back at least $250 and most likely more as we are planning to pay for the tab.

Ultimately the decision to settle-in-full is one less worry for me. I'd bore you with my other over-stretched obligations (investment club) but I think I've ran long on this post already.

Thanks for reading!Enjoy your weekend.

15 days to go...

So I got paid by my second job today and got a little bit more than I was expecting they are also increasing my hours slightly.

Barring a unexpected termination, Operation Debt-free is in full effect and on schedule.

I have this weird feeling I might just get overconfident to the point of insolence and tell all my bosses ( and I have many layers of bosses) that they can just shove it. I think I'll be able to maintain my cool though.

I picked up a jewelry flyer today while on break at my 2nd job. The prices actually all look pretty decent but I have no money - except credit - in order to pay for anything. The jewelry store offers 'free' financing for 1 year as long as you pay on time - assuming you don't pay on time or you wait over a year to pay it off it immediately goes to a 22% interest rate.

Very tempting but I think it will be so much more gratifying to go into a jewelry store with a wad of 'Benjamin's' in my pocket and just flap them on top the display case.

Expensive engagements & really direct marketing

As I might have mentioned before I have an impending engagement in the next 3-6 Mos give or take. I asked one of my friends who has a knack for making larger-than life impressions about what I might do for an engagement. He promptly e-mailed what this GUY did.

Here's an excerpt from the attached e-mail:

> My friend Rob just got engaged a couple of months
> ago. He told me that God
> was unfolding a vision in his life over the span of
> about a year and then he
> put faith to feet and made it happen. He sent me
> over the slide show today
> and after I watched it I sat here almost in tears.
> Just to give you a brief
> synopsis of what went on (And yes I did get Rob and
> Keisha's permission to
> share this great story with all of you)...Rob and
> Keisha dated for about 4
> years. And he knew that she was the one...but he had
> to save up for all
> that God had prompted him to do for her. So in short
> what you are about to
> see happen on April 28th....he rented out 10 rooms
> in the Ritz Carlton in
> buckhead and invited about 50-60 people to be there
> for this special
> night...Keisha had to go from room to room and in
> each room were people who
> were special to them....his boys...her girls...her
> Bible Study group....his
> parents...her parents..etc. and everybody in each
> room had questions that
> she had to answer to be able to move to the next
> room and before she left
> each room the people there would pray over her....so
> you have to watch each
> room to see how that goes...he chose roses because
> Keisha aunt who passed
> suddenly loved roses and he bought some of the
> dipped in gold because of the
> stories in the Bible about Solomon and how
> everything was dipped in gold and
> the song that you hear playing in the background was
> the same song that was
> played at Keisha aunts funeral, she was like a
> second mom to Keisha.
....
> Here's the video (if the link doesn't word the first
> time, just keep
> refreshing it - it's def worth seeing):
> http://www.spelhouse.com/gray/

Assuming the link works, you'll see a photo slide show of a gentleman and his elaborate proposal for his girlfriend. I'm not sure I've heard of a whole lot of people going above and beyond what this guy did. I'm not sure that I would want to go above and beyond it.When I stop and think of all the expense he went through just to propose - the flowers, the luxury hotel room(s), organizing family & friends etc... I wonder what the wedding will look like? Hopefully they'll live happily ever after.

In other news - Direct marketers are getting better and better at their trade. The following is a picture of a recent offer I got in the mail:

There's nothing particularly odd or wrong about this offer other than the fact that it is for a Chicago Cubs credit card and I LIVE IN OHIO! Coincidentally enough, I do happen to be a Chicago Cubs fan -BUT, this is not something I share on the first or even the 5th time I meet someone. What I am wondering is how in the world did the marketers know so much info about me to know to send a Chicago Cubs card offer to little ole' me sitting here in Ohio. If it were a random mailing, a Cleveland Indians or Cincinatti Reds card offer would have made much more sense - teams that are both 2-3 hours away give or take. The fact that this offer is for a team that is over 450 miles (and/or 6 1/2 hours) away makes me suspect someone at the credit card companies knows a wee bit too much info on me. So much for me slowly letting go of my 'black paranoia'. Oh well.

How I'm getting out of debt, future bills

I believe at the very worst point for me financially my net worth was approximately, -$18,000.00 or possibly less.

Currently, My net worth is hovering around +$4,000 to +$5,000 when you take into account my depreciating car, my 401K and my money market/savings accounts. (wow - that almost looks 'good' for a moment considering the $23,000 difference from where I was and where I am)

The only thing bringing me down is the $2790 (soon to be $2190 if I can help it) in debt that remains on my "0%" interest, temporary rate card which remains 0% until November 2007.
Barring any major life changes in the near future, it will be paid off well before that.


I currently rent my home but, it is on the cheap. But, I figure when you account for PMI, Insurance and other wonderful charges I'm sure to get simply for having a 'darker hue' and not the full 20% down-payment that one should have when buying a house I figure I'm most likely saving money now whereas others may be losing their shirts with ARM' s and God-forbid Balloon Payment mortgages

Besides that, I would actually like to buy a duplex in about 1-2 years and live on one side, rent out the other.

I have given up quite a few things in the last few years as I have dug myself oh so gradually out of debt:

-Definitely don't go out as much (liquor seems to empty the contents of a wallet quicker than anything + I'm getting 'too old' for the club)
-I try and keep my weekly grocery bill at or under $20
-I cancelled the cable TV about a year and half ago - I only miss comedy central occasionally
-I've now realized (in my opinion) it's much better to fill up your gas tank than to pay $5-$10 at a time
-I borrow movies from the library if at all possible instead of 'renting' them
-I always pack my lunch unless it's pay day or a special occasion
-I own my car and if I can help it I'll pay cash in full for my next one
-I keep my credit cards in a safe place: my freezer - cut into tiny bits & pieces
-I have not bought new shoes or clothes really in over a year (yeah , I'm really ready to go on that first shopping spree once the debt is paid - how good it will feel to pay $500-1,000 for clothes and use cash ...I can barely wait)
...I'm sure there are more things but, that's a pretty good list.


There are however expenses that tend to keep my means on the short side:
-Taking my girlfriend out: My girlfriend LOVES to go out to eat, I rarely ask her to pay for a meal out and she rarely offers - I feel bad though because as a condition of me being more 'committed-to-her' (i.e., "I want a ring") I asked that she move out of her foster parents house - I mean she is in her MID-20's! So now she lives on her own and has a fraction of the disposable income she had before - but it's good because this will teach her about the wonderful world or expenses assuming we do get hitched.

-internet & my gym membership: I keep debating in my mind if I want to cut these out temporarily but every time I get close to cutting them I realize I need the gym for mental sanity after a grueling day at my day job. I also love having the in-home internet rather than going to the library where you only have an hour to use it, you can't go to 'R-rated' sites, and on top of all that the librarians no longer police cell phone calls people take at THE LIBRARY!!! so it gets annoying when the library 'patron' next to me talks to their friend Roxie on the phone about the wonderful trip to Wal-Mart they just had while I'm trying to check my hotmail.

-summer trips - this Week me and the girlfriend will be going to a semi-nearby amusement park and Lord knows they'll be selling things such as water for the ridiculously low price of...$3-4!? OR a pretzel for only $7 - we plan to pack but sometimes amusement park food is GOOD.
We'll also be going to visit some of my girlfriend's friends in August - hopefully after the debt is paid. Her friends live on the West Coast - but my girlfriend is apparently getting a deal from a friend whose a flight attendant for about $60 a plane ticket. And the friends offered for us to stay at their place but I'm not sure how down I am staying a week with people I don't know so we might have a hotel room

-ring: after paying off my debt I will most likely start shopping for a expensive piece of jewelry for my girlfriend who keeps hinting she wants one. I've already asked her real dad -who lives overseas - for her hand, he quickly said yes that would be fine BUT, their culture still believes in a dowery/bride price - which is a whole 'nother issue...