The Hustle of Sistah Ant

I was reading Tired of Being Broke’s blog, and it reminded me that I should check to see if any of my credit cards could help me with my July trip.  To be honest, I’ve spent so long worrying about how to pay off the evil credit card bills that I haven’t thought much about the positives of having credit cards.  I was, for the most part, ignorant of the benefits of having my cards outside of the ability to get a high interest loan when I want to buy something. Last night, I found out a few things.

I found out that there are rewards points on two of my three cards, just waiting to be redeemed and put into a savings account or applied against my (nonexistent) credit card balance, or paid to me in cash.  The amount of points I have will go up the more I use the cards.  Hmm… maybe I should be using my cards for more routine expenses, like gas, groceries, bus tokens, etc.  (And paying the entire balance at the end of each month and/or billing period.)

I also found out that one of my cards has a travel service, through which I can book flights, hotels, vacations, cruises, etc.  And it looks like the rates are lower through my credit card site than through the travel sites I’ve looked at thus far.  If I upgraded this particular card, I could even earn rewards points that could pay for some of my travel expenses.  I know now that I have the option to use my card for making travel arrangements, and it could come out cheaper!  One more note on this though - I do intend to upgrade my card, but only after I get my house.  I really don’t want to do anything that will negatively affect my credit score before I buy the house, and upgrading to a better caliber of card would essentially dent my score by lowering the average age of my accounts and making it look like I’m applying for more credit.  I know this not only because it’s commonly mentioned in helpful articles like this one, but also because it’s already happened to me three years ago.

There’s one more thing I found out.  One of my three cards has raised my credit limit by $3,000.00.  It has also lowered my interest rate on purchases by about 7%, without me even having to ask.  I must be doing something right. 

I am not even sure if angst is the right word… but I’m "feeling some type of way" about my spending.  I want to buy my parents (really my Mom) the video game system I have, ‘cause she played with the one Mister Ant and I have and she loves it.  Plus, Mothers’ Day is coming up and I’m thinking that should be the weekend we travel to go see my folks.  But it’s sooooo expensive.  By the time you get finished buying the console and joystick (oops, I’m showing my age) controller, plus another controller (so my Dad can play too) and maybe one more game… sheesh - that’s hundreds of dollars.  I’m supposed to be saving for a house. 

And did I mention yet that I’m going on a trip?  A couple girlfriends and I are planning to hop on a plane and split a room in New Orleans on Fourth of July weekend for a concert series - it’s something I’ve always wanted to do but never did because I was being frugal and couldn’t afford to pay for it outright.  That will run me hundreds of dollars.  And um… I’m supPOSED to be saving for a house.

When Single Ma was saving for her house, she didn’t even fool with Christmas presents.  Here I am wanting to give my mama the world, and fly off into the sunset like I’m making money.  I am making money, but it’s not Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous money.  I’m still in a contracting (read: temp) position. 

Part of me is saying, "Girl, spend it.  Spend it!  You NEVER do anything like this, and you can’t pretend you don’t resent that everybody else gets to travel but you.  Thirty is coming, marriage is coming, babies are coming and you need to have some fun while you still can, and be generous while you can still afford it.  Do it, get it out of your system, have yourself a good time, and then come back to Philly and be a good girl for the rest of the year."

Of course the other part of me is saying, "Girl, DON’T.  Just don’t, because you KNOW better.  You’ve waited all this time, another year ain’t gonna kill you.  You want this house more than anything else and you’ve sacrificed so much to get it.  It’s going to take that much longer before you will be able to afford the house if you don’t give a less expensive gift.  And even though you’ve already committed to the trip, it’s still early enough to back out."

I think both of me are right.  I’m guessing my solution lies somewhere in between.  I’ll likely go on the trip - I just want it and I’m not backing out, period, end of discussion.  But I’ll set an allowance for my expenses - I’m good with allowances.  My mommy can wait on the video game system - she hasn’t even asked me for it so she won’t be disappointed to not get it.  I can figure out something else to get for her and she’ll be none the wiser.  Plus, I have no idea how to match that caliber of gift for my dad for Father’s Day even if I could.

That said, any money that I spend on gifts, or trips, or shoes - anything discretionary - is money that could otherwise have gone to the My Own Home account.  And I’d hate to have buyer’s remorse after everything I spend my money on and think, "that money could have gone towards the house." 

There’s no conflict like internal conflict. 

Picked up a new suit at one of my new favorite stores for $30 to wear to an event I went to on Saturday.  Was the finest woman there, as planned.

And while out shopping I found the cutest creme colored peep toe wedges.  In a store where all the shoes are $21.99.  All of ‘em.  And about 75% of the shoes were at least cute enough to try on.  I am NOT allowed to go back in there. LOL!

Didn’t spend any other money this weekend.  None.  Oh wait, except $20, a contribution to a cause I care about.

My funds are really really low now after stupid bills, dutiful saving, and cute shoes, etc.  Gotta make it through the week now.  One day at a time… 

I put away $1,510.90 for the house this month, not counting the interest that ING will pay me at the end of April.  I received $10.00 for a rebate from my last oil change.  I got $3.00 for a survey I did.  My bank deposited $50.00 into my checking account for referring Sistah Beginner to my bank to open her own new account.  I also increased my IRA balance by $200.00.

Relative to what my ultimate goals are, these amounts aren’t very big.  But these efforts add up.  So I’ll keep on plugging away while I still have the income to even make these kinds of incremental strides.  I’ll do a wrap-up of my net worth for April after I take care of my household expenses.  Looking forward to seeing the new chart!

Thanks so much to you for reading and have a great weekend! 

Mister Ant and I drove to visit his mom, weekend before last.

Within the next month, we’ll go to visit my parents and grandmother.

We’re trying to get it all out of our system before the gas prices go up for Memorial Day.  I might not take another long car trip until after Labor Day.

Doggone gas prices. 

Cel-e-brate good times, come on!

Sistah Beginner will soon be paying off her credit cards and freeing up the money that she would otherwise be paying to her creditors for minimum balances.  After a brief discussion about dedicating a specific and trackable purpose for the extra cash flow created by paying off her cards, we decided to celebrate the fact that now we will both be absolutely free of credit card debt.

She won some free movie passes, so we’re going to go see a free movie to go and celebrate our success.

It is immensely rewarding to see my best friend benefiting from her diligent, hard-fought, and sometimes even Herculean efforts to get more financially healthy (and to know that having me as a sounding board is helping her along the way)!  First of all, I don’t want to be doing great and leave my best friend behind when she deserves everything I’m reaching for and more.  Secondly, because I love her, helping her to get financially healthy by sharing what knowledge I pick up along my journey is the best gift I could ever give her, ‘cause the good habits we’re both building can help us for the rest of our lives.  She has already helped me so much by indulging me - listening to and encouraging my learning process, not resenting me as I become more financially successful.  She is a gem, and as those of you who’ve lost friends as you’ve become more successful know, I have a blessing in Sistah Beginner. 

When we went shopping the other day, as I was backing out of the parking space, she pulled out her check register and receipts and started tallying her new balance.  Right there in the car.  I remember that she didn’t used to do that.  I was so proud.  I looked at her and said, "You know we’re going to be rich one day, right?"  She laughed.  Yet I said, "No, I’m serious.  We are building the habits that will keep us living well for the rest of our lives."

Mark my words, folks.  Our kids, who will play together one day, are going to have generational wealth. 

As a resident of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I had to take yesterday evening to check out my sample ballot and think a little bit about who I’m voting for and why.  Although the presidential primary is big news, there are several other decisions I get to make in the booth today, and I just wanted to make sure I had the information I needed…  I’m going to buy a house here - I’d better put my two cents in on who my representatives and government officials will be!  So I didn’t have time to write a clever little financial blog, or even a non-clever one.  Enjoy the day!

We finally made groceries on Sunday.  The prices of bread, milk, and fruit were noticeably higher.  Anyway, at least now I can take lunch to work again.

Sistah Beginner and I went shopping on Saturday - maternity wear for her and work wear for me.  I picked up some otherwise-expensive-but-outlet-priced makeup, a very nice belt, and a cute skirt suit which was about 50% of its original price because I took advantage of my new favorite outlet store’s sale.  I also got some unmentionables and some slippers - those things I always forget to get for myself even though I need them.  Surprisingly, despite my recent acknowledgment of a burgeoning shoe fetish, I didn’t look too hard for shoes and consequently, I didn’t get any.  My entire shopping trip, including lunch and dinner, came in under my $200 budget.

I contributed 10% of this week’s check to my IRA and paid my bills.  I contributed enough to the my My Own Home savings account to bring the amount saved to $8,000 even.  I still haven’t paid the camera off of my credit card, but that’s because I have to deposit some cash I received from Mister Ant’s mom for her end of Mister Ant’s birthday gift.  Once I do that, the card will be cleared off in time for the end of the month.  Then less than $100 will remain in my checking account to last me until the end of the week when I get my next check.

My next check is already spent.  I have to pay my car note, my share of May’s rent and April’s household expenses, and contribute both to the IRA and the My Own Home accounts.  I am considering giving less to the IRA account because I want to keep my money more liquid since I’m contracting, and because I want my house sooner rather than later.  But I’m trying to remain disciplined.  It’s not like a 401K where I’d be contributing and getting a match without even thinking about it.  If I don’t make the conscious disciplined effort to save, the account won’t grow.  And I’ll have to make catch up payments later on if I want to increase 2008’s tax deduction for contributions - who knows what kind of money I’ll be making on my next gig, or for that matter, how long it will take to get my next gig.  That thought encourages me to contribute and save while I still have the wiggle room to do so.  What do you think?

Anyway, that’s what happened to last week’s check. 

Mister Ant’s mother and I both chipped in to get him a videocamera for his birthday.  Yay!  He is so happy with his gift.  But I put it on my credit card and the end of the month is coming, so I gotta pay it.  I also have to pay my other credit card too - the one that my toll paying service charges when I travel, which is what I did last weekend.  Also, I need to pay my cell phone bill, next month’s car payment, this month’s share of the household expenses, and oh yeah, I want to put some money in my IRA and in my My Own Home savings account.

Everything I just mentioned takes priority over my shopping trip with Sistah Beginner tomorrow.  She is contemplating a move - she was accepted into an affordable housing program which she was just plucked off of the months-long waiting list to receive, but it would require finding new day care for her son, skipping out on the last four months of her lease, putting down about a thousand dollars down payment for the new place (she’s currently $400 short), moving expenses, and May’s rent.  By the end of this month.  And if she could afford to not go shopping with me tomorrow she would, but she has to go to work in suitable clothes that fit, and the baby she’s expecting is stretching her out.  Her issues make mine look miniscule in comparison.  Let’s all pray for Sis, please.  I am actually thinking about financially helping her along the way if necessary if she decides to make this much needed move to a larger apartment with a lower rent.  It’s something she and her children need.  I see how hard she is trying - how seriously she is taking all of this.  If she needs my help, she can have what I can afford to give.

But whether or not I help her out, I’m going to have to be really tight with my money in the coming weeks.  That will be on my mind as I’m out at the mall with her, being tempted by all those things.  Let’s see my attempt to squeeze through the weekend… 

I took the long way home from work yesterday evening.  Fresh off of the heels of hearing that it’s possible that I may be working on my project a little longer than I’d anticipated, I was feeling pretty good in all of the sweet spring-y splendor.  I dipped into a few stores, looking around, hoping I’d find a few nice belts, ‘cause I need some.  But of course, there aren’t many belt stores.  So I found myself looking at pastel windbreakers, cute flats, pretty blouses, and sexy sundresses.  Of everything that I’ve seen, the thing that I was most tempted to buy was shoes!

I picked a few up.  I put them down.  I checked the prices.  I did the math in my head.  I thought about those few more paychecks…

And then I remembered my spending policy.  I don’t really like to spend money unless I have a firm grasp of what my checking account looks like, and yesterday afternoon I wasn’t too sure about how much damage I had done earlier in the day.  The shoes will be there today… and Friday… and over the weekend.  Sistah Beginner and I are supposed to go tax-free outlet shopping over the weekend.  I’m going to do some math, set a shopping budget, and have some fun this Saturday.  I’m hoping to buy a nice spring suit (and maybe matching shoes), since I’ve been invited to go to an afternoon tea later this month.  I might have to pick up Sistah Beginner’s method of taking cash with me so that I don’t overspend, because I am really, REALLY excited!