Everyone wants something for free. Add me to the list. I'm not in the position where I can look a gift horse in the mouth.
I signed up for a CVS Extra Care card earlier this week to add to my arsenal of rewards cards. I'm still not exactly sure how it works, so I won't go into details that could be wrong.
The deal of the week for CVS was on Revlon beauty tools. Long story short, in theory, if you purchased two basic nail clippers for $2.99 each, you would get $7 in rewards bucks to spend at CVS in the future. In essence, CVS would be paying you to take them.
Of course when I went to CVS on Wednesday to grab a bunch of nail clippers, they were sold out. I wasn't too surprised. After all, I'm not the only savvy shopper in the area.
However, CVS has a rewards kiosk in the store. I scanned my card and got a coupon for $1 off Gold Emblem chips which are priced at.... one dollar.
So, even though I'm not a big chip eater, a free bag of chips is a free bag of chips.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
So, I used to make a decent amount of money...
Then I didn't.
After I graduated from college, the retail job I had was paying me $7.25/hour. My total student debt load was between $17,000 & $18,000. My near (at that time) minimum wage job wasn't going to cover it. Needless to say, I freaked out. I got a degree I didn't really want to use in an industry (journalism) that was failing anyway. Job prospects utilizing my degree were slim. I started to budget, something I had never done before because in my future the money thing was going to take care of itself. But now that the future arrived, I had to grow up with the way I handled money, fast.
Even though I had never budgeted before, I had been decent with money. I just never really kept track of it. Now I had to. I made salary charts, estimating how much money I would make per week and per month based on a certain amount of hours. I had to make every dollar count, had to curb my spending.
A few months later at work, due to my hard work, luck & the right people leaving the company, I earned a managerial position with a starting salary of $26,000. I was suddenly able to cover all my bills, and start paying $125 towards my student loan with every paycheck. Bit by bit, the large debt hanging over my head was shrinking. Eventually the payment rose to $150 per paycheck and finally, when I had enough in my checking account (probably not the best place to have my money but I wanted to be liquid) I paid off the remaining $8,000 in one shot. It felt great because there was no huge debt over my shoulder. My money was now my money.
After a couple yearly raises (and turning down one job offer outside the company) my salary increased to $30,000. I was on a good path... until the store closed.
Now, I know I wasn't exactly in a job I was going to retire in, and in a way I was happy the store finally closed after being on the brink for a couple years. I was the store manager for over five years, and I knew it was coming. In fact, the job was great, except for the depressing aspect of something else, this time closure, hanging over my head.
After that I was on unemployment, which is currently running out. I was unable to find a comparable job and am currently working in a seasonal part-time position which may or may not lead to a permanent position. I have a decent amount of savings to fall back on, if need be, but I do not want to do that. It was time to budget like crazy and become a cheap bastard again.
So, I'm going to use this blog as a way to keep track (without getting too personal) of my finances and my efforts to increase my net worth & total wealth while in this transition period.
What this isn't going to be is a "coupon blog". There are many others for that. This is just my story.
After I graduated from college, the retail job I had was paying me $7.25/hour. My total student debt load was between $17,000 & $18,000. My near (at that time) minimum wage job wasn't going to cover it. Needless to say, I freaked out. I got a degree I didn't really want to use in an industry (journalism) that was failing anyway. Job prospects utilizing my degree were slim. I started to budget, something I had never done before because in my future the money thing was going to take care of itself. But now that the future arrived, I had to grow up with the way I handled money, fast.
Even though I had never budgeted before, I had been decent with money. I just never really kept track of it. Now I had to. I made salary charts, estimating how much money I would make per week and per month based on a certain amount of hours. I had to make every dollar count, had to curb my spending.
A few months later at work, due to my hard work, luck & the right people leaving the company, I earned a managerial position with a starting salary of $26,000. I was suddenly able to cover all my bills, and start paying $125 towards my student loan with every paycheck. Bit by bit, the large debt hanging over my head was shrinking. Eventually the payment rose to $150 per paycheck and finally, when I had enough in my checking account (probably not the best place to have my money but I wanted to be liquid) I paid off the remaining $8,000 in one shot. It felt great because there was no huge debt over my shoulder. My money was now my money.
After a couple yearly raises (and turning down one job offer outside the company) my salary increased to $30,000. I was on a good path... until the store closed.
Now, I know I wasn't exactly in a job I was going to retire in, and in a way I was happy the store finally closed after being on the brink for a couple years. I was the store manager for over five years, and I knew it was coming. In fact, the job was great, except for the depressing aspect of something else, this time closure, hanging over my head.
After that I was on unemployment, which is currently running out. I was unable to find a comparable job and am currently working in a seasonal part-time position which may or may not lead to a permanent position. I have a decent amount of savings to fall back on, if need be, but I do not want to do that. It was time to budget like crazy and become a cheap bastard again.
So, I'm going to use this blog as a way to keep track (without getting too personal) of my finances and my efforts to increase my net worth & total wealth while in this transition period.
What this isn't going to be is a "coupon blog". There are many others for that. This is just my story.
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