Saturday, March 22, 2014

Money Money Money

First, some good money things:

  • I was looking at my credit card account (the one I got that I used to buy the appliances with a while back) and saw that there was $135 waiting for me in the rewards section.  Seems this was a cash rewards kind of credit card (which I didn't really know much about or expect) and that was my cash reward for all of the purchases I made on it!  Yippee.  Instead of cashing it out, I will charge the tickets for our Seattle trip then put this extra, unexpected money towards paying it off.  I'm beginning to think that maybe I should use this credit card for all of our monthly spending then pay it off at the end of each month while racking up cash rewards.  The only problem is that I seem to spend more money when I use the card instead of cash so there is that.
  • One of hubby's bowling friends heard that I knew something about computers so he asked if I could set up his printer and router which I did last week.  He offered to pay me at the time and I said no, I just like to help people out and not to worry about it.  After bowling yesterday he and his wife insisted that we go to lunch with them...at a seafood place...where each entree was $30+.  They didn't have to do that but it was a nice lunch and since we never spend that much on a meal (and the days of my expense account lunches are long over) it was a nice surprise.  
  • I finished up processing for my WSOP job and since I worked last year they were very nice about offering me whatever work I wanted.  I got to choose my shift (days), whether I wanted full or part time (full), where I wanted to work (a super busy, low dollar cash cage instead of the slower cage where you are counting out $10,000 per transaction...and doing all of the paperwork associated with such a large transaction) and they even asked me what days I wanted off or if I wanted any special days off like 4th of July (I told them every day was pretty much the same when you are retired so they could work me every single day if they wanted to).  tldr; I want to rack up the cash for our fall trip to Europe and this seems like the best way to do it!

Some great links (about money of course):


And some other stuff:

  • I am looking at crossing off two more of my annual goals--meet up with my family and go to San Francisco--in April.  It is just HOW to do this the cheapest way possible that is the issue.  (Hubby is the other issue, he says he is on vacation everyday so why go anywhere...ugh).  So I have looked at every possible trip configuration--from Megabus to Amtrak to flying to driving--and still haven't decided.  Driving is the cheapest way to go but neither of us wants to sit that long.  Megabus to LA then to San Francisco then flying to Seattle and taking the Amtrak to Portland is another option.  Just flying is the more expensive option because we would have to fly to San Francisco then to Portland then to Seattle then back home and would need a rental car in Portland.  Then we would need hotels at each place plus meals out plus dragging hubby about with me then dealing with my dysfunctional family on top of that...and I can see why hubby would rather just stay home.  Buy I have a couple of elderly aunts that were so thrilled that I set up a family reunion for the first time in 30 years last year that I don't want to disappoint them.  So I will work something out...   

6 comments:

  1. April, Since the beginning of the year, we've actually been using our credit card in the way you are thinking of doing. We use one card for all our groceries and gas. It amounts to about $600-800 a month. Hubby and I each get a weekly allowance of $50 each to spend on whatever we want, and when it's gone, it's gone until the next week. So far this is working out really well and we're making less trips to the supermarket. We pay off the cc every month and get points that we can use for whatever, usually Amazon purchases.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We may give it another shot. Right after I got the credit card I made a few purchases that I probably wouldn't have if I was paying cash but if I can control myself (a big IF) I think using a cash back credit card for all monthly expenses is a great idea!

      Delete
  2. Awesome. While looking at your site about cash only/debt free, I got to see an ad for a credit card. Credibility shattered! Moving on...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meh. It's random Google ads. And if you read through my blog you will see that I used a cash only system to get out of debt but am now occasionally using credit cards for large purchases. I dont hate credit cards but if people are digging themselves into debt with them they should definitely switch to the cash only lifestyle.

      Delete
  3. I set up my brother's new computer recently and asking him for some home made salsa which he was happy to provide! Your terms and conditions of employment for WSOP sound ideal! I spend most of my vacations visiting relatives; I think it's important to make them happy and I always add in some things I want to do.

    ReplyDelete