Well, I took people' advice and recently got an opportunity to work a part time job in the evenings & weekends.

I accepted. The pay will be minimum, but I figure that at this point anything helps.
Either way, I will probably be working only a few hours each week.

I don't believe it will interfere with my current first & full time job.

Well, its all for the best!!.

Well, I guess spring is right around the corner.
I was glad the weather was a lot nicer today that the rest of the week. I guess the temperature being in the 60's beats having had a snow storm this past Monday, which left about a foot of snow on the ground.

I managed to get out for a short walk.
Its the only exercise I really got the whole week.

I am not overweight, but I could definitely tone my body a little.

Anyhow, today we also needed to move our clocks forward. Although I still get up early in the morning, even on the weekends, it never is welcomed.

On the positive side of things, after today, it will still be light at the end of the working day.
I hated leaving work, only to get outside and feel like it was time to go to bed.
Now the sun will still be shinning.

Hooray!!! for the coming spring!!
I can't wait to get outdoors a lot more.

I love traveling in the region.
After having a horrible, we in New England really appreciate the warmer days!!


Happy Sunday to all!!

As I have said before...live can't get any better on my way up!!


http:www.on-my-way-up.com

Its seems to me that as the weeks go by, I haven't made much progress in being able to save anything.

I think regardless of where you stand in the socio-ecnomic ladder, if you don't learn some real financial discipline, you will always be in financial trouble.

I, for example, have the impression that if I earned a little more, could potentially pay of the significant amount of credit cards debt I have a lot faster.

I am working on paying as much as I can each month. I have set the goal of making at least $500 of principal payment each month. For the last three months, it has worked out great.

But changes in life and in circumstances lead me to believe that I should also be attempting to build up a small nest of savings.
I have nothing at the moment, which at times scares me a little.

I am basically living pay check to pay check. Who isn't?

This coming month, I need to revisit my priorities and see where things can be cut.

I, too, need to restructure my finances, but unlike GM or FORD, I can't go bankrupt, otherwise I will end up on the street.

Financial knowledge will definitely be something I will be teaching my baby once he or she grows up.

(I don't yet know if it is a boy or a girls) Its too early.....

Sometimes I think I am working too long without taking some time to get a breath of fresh air.

Its already March 1st, and it feels like December 31 just passed a few days ago.

My point, two months have passed, and I don't think I have done anything productive this year.

My goals: I don't even remember them.

On the positive side: I do consider the next items a great success:

1. I have manged to pay all my bills on time
2. I have managed to pay $500 in principal towards my credit cards as I originally planned.
So far the plan is to stay on scheduled, and eventually my day of debt freedom with come.
4. I still am happy with life...
I think this is worth mentioning...

Everyone needs goals in life and if they aren't worthy ones...there's no real satisfaction with what we actually do..

I have set news goal for myself for this coming month.

1. I am in the process of trying to see if I can get/obtain a part time position during the weekends, and evening during the week, if necessary to ensure that I can start saving some money this year.

2. I also have the intention of applying to a local law school.

This is by far one goal that has come and gone, but I have decided I will shoot for the gold.

It requires me shifting my priorities for the next 4 years, as I plan on pursuing this part time.

I want to ensure I can keep working full time, study part time, and balance my personal life as well.

Its quite a challenge, but I am ready and up for it.

Here we go....to to start working on my personal statement....

Its amazing how time flies. Over the last few days, my wife and I talk about how much we have enjoyed previous summers.
I was just listening to the radio came on.
I remember the great summer of '04 because of it.
2004 doesn't seem that long ago, but in reality its almost five years ago.

I guess I am just going to have to get used to living with time flying by.

Soon, I will have children and they will grow up.

I can't wait.

Hopefully my finances stay in order for me to make ends meet and to ensure that by the time I want to retire there will be money there for me to live on.

I would have to be a burden on my children in the future.

Chico

wwww.on-my-way-up.com

I just wrote a more detailed explanation of ways to negotiate a good price on a car.
You can find it on my web page:

http://www.on-my-way-up.com

Let me know what your thoughts are, and whether I was clear or not.

Thanks for your opinions.

Chico

Happy Valentine's.
No price can buy one's true love.
For me there is no better gift than knowing that the company of my wife brings great happiness to my heart.

Valentine's day is a day that has been commercialized to the fullest.

But for me, true love is priceless.

I wish you all the best, in life, love & happiness.

Happy Valentine's Day.

My wife is very happy with the choice that we made.

We definately agree that this car will give us peace of mind & reliability.

I can do travel to see my uncle who is about 2 hours away about worrying if I can make it back or not.

I can't wait for the summer when I actually do a lot more traveling.

Talk about spending money.



I just spent $18,900.00 on my new Matrix. I needed a new car because my previous one was having mechanical issues.
I didn't want to deal with it anymore and this deal should permit me to live trouble free for a good while.



Talking about finances: I managed to get myself a good deal.

I got 2.9% on a $18,000.00 loan and payed the rest as the "down payment."

The breakdown on my costs are the following:

$18,900.00 purchase price
$945 (5% sales tax)
25 (transfer registration fee)
50 (new title fee)
298(document fee-financing applic. fee)

GRANd TOTAL:

$20,218.00

DOWN PAYMENT IN CASH $2,218.99

LOAN AMOUNT $18,000.00
Special rate financing at 2.9%.

My next 60 monthly payments will be $323.03 each month.

(PLUS INSURANCE).

Hope this gives an insight into the hidden extra fees associated with purchasing a car.

I will discuss "Negotiating the price" momentarity...but believe me...the better prepared you are the better you can handle the situation..with NO SURPRISeS..

I got grilled for a good amount of time before they gave me the price I go..

...I feel like I got a good deal...considering the options in the car.

They were asking $22,259.00 & I got it for $18,900.00; a reduction of $2259.00

Oh well, I am spending a lot of money...and getting in more debt...in the end I am doing it all for Barack Obama.
I am helping stimulate the economy...

...now if I could only stimulate a pay raise soon....

-More to come-

The only good thing about this day is that I can pay my new bills coming up next week.
Car insurance & utilities due dates are right around the corner.

I just can't believe how fast these past few days have gone by.

On the positive side...I am happy...things are good...I am welll...

Well, that just means I can keep working harder.

Better days are ahead..

I am certain of it.


Chico

http://www.on-my-way-up.com

It seems that 2009 just started and I thoug this year would be off to great start, but I was wrong.

To begin, I just had to pay a $200.00 fine (See post below).

Not only that, this month is short, which means my rent money doens't really give me any ability to progress.

Sometimes I feel that we should pay equal amounts of rent for every month except February.
We all deserve a discount sometimes. February just doesn't seem like a fair deal.

On thought of good news: I kinda got a discount back in December.
My landlord was nice enough to take $50.00 off the rent (Kind of like my Christmas Gift).

In these financially strapped days anything helps.

I have a challenge for all of you to help turn our community into a happier one:

May I suggest a random act of kindness from all of you....make someone's day shine with a smile.

Let me know what you guys do...

best of luck

The only reason I look forward to this time is because there's the possibility of me getting about $1,000.00 back.

The only reason this is great it because it will help me stay afloat the coming months.
I recently got a parking ticket for $200.00 and just mailed it in.

Man, I could have taken a lime ride and it would have a little cheaper.
I tend to think in comparable terms and am just kicking myself for not being more careful.

Goal for the rest of the year: 0 Parking tickets.

I work as a real estate paralegal and this past week it work has been crazy.

With last month's interest rate drop, there has been a jump in our business with many people refinancing.

Its a great time if everyone knows what they are doing.

Anyhow, work has kept me off the computer lately.

I, at least, try to do some reading on during my commute.

I read different topics. I have had a some books sitting around my desk, and I finally go to "Chess for Dummies'.

I learned to play chess a few years ago, but never got any good at it.

It has been a while since I played.

I have the game on my blackberry so I decided that I would read it and start to play again.

I know I can play online,..but for me its just to pass time.

It be great if I learn to become a better player.

For all of you out there, board games are fun and entertaining when you can get a group together.

Sure beats paying $20 bucks for two movie tickets verses a game board costing $20 an can be used indefinitely.

Have fun.

Enjoy life.

I love this website. It allowed me to create my very first blog and has became a useful tool to express my thoughts.

I like the idea that it concentrates on savings and has a lot of advice coming from different people through the world.

I ran across a site that gave me the idea to start up my very own website

http://www.on-my-way-up.com


I was excited to get a jump on it.

I have slightly neglected writing more here, but I definitely will continue to write here..but I will also try to continue developing my own personal site.

I have learned a lot over the last few weeks.

Like all of you I work during the week, so the majority of the updates come on week ends.

I am just getting started on my master plan..but eventually I hope to hone in on a topic that will give me a greater traffic.

My objective is to learn to create a website which is not very easy...and to share my knowledge regarding what I know.

I work in the real estate field so I hope to be of help to as many as I can.

Wish me luck.

Hello Everyone, I hope everyone is doing great!!
Best wishes for all your endeavors which you are about to set your sail for.

I haven't been online much, these past few days, but I have learned that I want to learn to create my own personal online web page.

Since I don't have much experience I have spend the last few days just thinking of what I want to do and how to set it up.

I have learned from other people online that if someone wanted to learn something, web page work sounds like a good choice, especially considering all the help that is out there online.

Well, by page is just getting started, but take a look and see it live:

http://www.on-my-way-up.com

By the way, I just managed to squeeze adsense on to it.

It appears that your financially support my effort by just clicking on an add...no buying...no selling...just clicking..

So show your support, visit..and click.

I do wish you all the best for 2009.
May your year begin with a good budge, and it it hasn't, you can't complaint that it is too late to start one.

This year, develop a sustainable budget, live within your means and enjoy life.

Have fun with your friends and family.

See you all soon.

And, thanks for stopping by.

With the year's coming around the corner, now is the perfect time to start considering what accomplishments were were able to complete this year.
For me personally, there are a few things I am very greatfull for. At the same time, there were a few bumps in the road, and unexpected expenses that are leaving me in a small hole I wish I was not in.
Regardless, I am healthy, happy and can continue to enjoy my employment which is the reason I can keep making it on my budget.
So, the great events of this year:

1. I got married, to my beautiful wife!!
2. I am in good health, and living a happy life.
3. I have a steady job that I enjoy doing.


The negatives of this year:
Financially, I am in more debt that I started with. (18K+ right now)
No big financial gains in income :-(
(Negative economy doesn't help me in the job market either...hence my positive review of being happily employed above).

Well, my new year's resolutions are short and swift.
1. I have already prepared my debt reduction plan and have created an amortization schedule for 3 years (36 Monthly payments).
(Not online will I be paying off my debt, but in the next year I will to accumulate some savings simultaneously.)

2. I will probably become a father next year. (Something I am really looking forward too.)

3. Increase in personal aptitude, business knowledge and education.

Well, that's it.

Each week that goes by, I want to increase my personal knowledge in many fields. Personally, I enjoying knowing how things works and how things get done.

One day, my personal knowledge will permit me to success beyond anyone's expectations.

Well, to all of you out there, good luck in your hopes, goals and dreams!!

Never stop, never give up, never give in to pessimism.

Happy New Year!!

We all dream about being a celebrity and having the attention of the world. In our point of view it looks like there's nothing a celebrity needs, or could need considering they are usually able to get anything they want.

We all hear of a movie star making 20 million for one film. I tend to think about how many hours did they really have to work..and no.. I don't take traveling time into account.

It amazed me.
We all dream of making it to riches somehow someday..

I still dream..even though my wife tells me to be more realistic.

I tell her that at least it doesn't cost me anything to dream. We can cut expenses with other things...

Anyhow..i watch Survivor on Thursdays, and I actually worked with Dan for a few months, before he left our firm.

Its amazing that people so close can all of a sudden in the spot light with national attention.

Hopefully you guys have heard of "Survivor".

Well, I'm cheering for my old fried and previous co-worker DAN.

Anyone have celebrity ties?

We have all faced situations where we regret the decisions that we have made, which as a result have let us to where we are.
At one point or another we have all said to ourselves "Had I known what I know now, I would have made a different decision".

We definitively need to keep in mind what we have done in the past, as everything is a learning experience. At the same time, we should not worry so much about what we have already done, but rather think about what we can do. I agree that you should consider what you have done in the past, but do not dwell on it, as it is the past, and can no longer be changed.

Again, my point is think about the future, rather than the past.

The way I see life is that we shall all face great challenges. When we are able to surpass those challenges in front of us, we feel great. We feel that we have accomplished something great. When we fail, we feel horrible.

But do not be disappointed. Failing in one aspect only changes the road that you are traveling, it does not block you from moving forward in life.

So never give up, there is always hope in teh future.

Enjoy what you have and don't take for granted the great conveniences that you have.

Amazing, we are in the middle of another month. For me this means that I have more bills to pay. I am sure that all of you are aware of the dealines associated with the different bills we get.
Today is not a day of smiles as most people have to pay their mortgages of face penalties.
Penalties are free money to lenders for no other reason other than as a fine for not having paid on time.
I sometimes wonder why people who can't pay on time are the first to have to pay more.
At times I wonder why it's not the people that pay early that should be fine. (Aren't lender's making less money since they can't charge interest for a longer term.)

Actually, I advocate for no fees at all.

I am sure most of you are aware that if you pay a credit card late, they charge you anywhere from 15 to 40 dollars as a late fee. (Even if all you owed was $20.00). You should also be aware that credit cards will almost automatically hit you with the highest interest rate possible once you haven't made your payments.

Not only that, if other credit cards know of your default; other credit cards who are getting paid on time can also punish you.

Someone once commented to me that banks no longer make the bulk of their money from interest earned on loans, but rather from the fees they charge people when they pay late, when they default, bounced checks, etc. etc.

The lesson for the delay...STAY INFORMED.

That is the only way to get ahead these days.

I have been working from a very young age. I learned to take care of myself early on. I haven't really made much money during this time, just sufficient to cover my expenses as the years have gone by.
I have also had my struggles at times. During college, each semester I could barely afford my tuition. In order to make it through, I would purchase all by book with a credit card, roughly $400 to $500.00 each semester, and would pay it off gradually during the semester.

Each semester I had two goals. The first was to pay off my credit card, and the second was to save the roughly $3,000.00 to $4,000.00 that I would need to pay out of my pocket for tuition.

I was very lucky to have made it. But I did have to sacrifice a lot of time. I worked roughly 20 to 30 hours each week.
I worked as a bus driver, so at the time my pay was between 8 and 9 dollars.

I did have to sacrifice my free time. Rather than going out to have some fun, I would look for extra hours of work.

There were things I wish I could have changed, but at the same time, had I not had to go through what I did, I wouldn't be the same person.

Not many know that I also took extra classes each semester to take advantage of what I was paying for. Rather than taking the full fours years to graduate, I manages to complete my college education in only three (3) years. I did this by taking a few extra classes each semester and taking two summer session courses.
There was an advantage to this.

I could keep working on campus, and at the same time advance my academic goals.
In the end, in three years exactly, I graduated with a 3.24 GPA with a double major in economics, psychology and a minor in Spanish.

I can't believe it myself. But its all said and done. I still struggled finding work after graduation because in reality no had had taught me to think about the future.
In reality, I thought I would be going to law school. But I was rejected. There is no worst feeling than being rejected.

How did I get where I am, well that's another story for another day.

For most people, Friday is payday. If that's the case for you "Congratulations", but that is not the case for me. I must bear through and survive the remaining six days with only what I have remaining. I am sure many of you are on the by-weekly pay schedule as well. I have never really been able to figure out why companies do the by-weekly payroll thing. My guess, and this is only a guess, is that perhaps they only have to do the work of tallying up hours and printing checks 50% less times than if they had to do it every week. There are 52 weeks in a year, therefore they now only have to do this tallying and payroll processing 26 weeks each year.

I love my paycheck when it comes, I wish I actually received one with the same amount on a weekly basis.

Sometimes I forget that my checks come every two weeks and in my mind it seems I make a lot of money, but let me assure you that is not the case here.

For those of you not thinking about money right now, where's the party at?

I am looking forward to this particular weekend. My nephew is celebrating his birthday. He will be 4 years old. He is so cute.

It's amazing to believe that four years ago he didn't exist, he wasn't part of my life. (It's really weird imagining how this were before someone was born.) It's hard to think backwards in this sense, because when someone asks you to do say a task, you can't really go backwards.

For example, anyone can name places they would love to visit for vacation.
For example, how many examples can you think of when I ask
"Name 5 places you would to vacation at?"

The same is not true, when I ask

"Name 5 places you would never go to for Vacation".

Getting off the subject; for many of each each day is a struggle. Financially and mentality. When facing hard times, there's no better advice than to stay positive. You would be amazed at how easy to remember that everyday life challenges are trivial in the sense of the importance of our lives.

My advice, enjoy the weekend. Have some fun. Do something you enjoy.

If want to find meaning in your life, make someone happy; than in turn will make you feel better and happier too.

I have always taken into account random acts of kindness. While at times the subject disappears, its always nice and amazing what a difference can make doing something really nice that someone else doesn't expect.

Believe me, you can definitely change the world with that thinking.


Party hard, party long, but be responsible and return to work next week.

The day almost slipped by and it almost seemed as if I would not be able to tell you all what exactly I did. It wasn't exactly the most exciting day of the week, but I felt like I accomplished quite a bit.
First of all, I did manage to have a very productive day during work. My work varies throughout the week, but still manage to work only during my 9 to 5 hours on weekdays.

I work as a real estate paralegal. I handle pretty much everything in a purchase or refinance transaction. I did want to mention that today, I really felt I made great progress in clearing up my desk. The work never seems to end.

Anyhow, my day went well. I schedule closing, prepare the closing documents, draft up the loan policies, and while I enjoy researching discharges, there can be at times frustrating and a challenge.

As for the rest of the day, I went down to the local laundromat with my wife to take care of our laundry. There isn't anyone in the work that doesn't need to get their clothes washed on occasion.

By the way, to the left, you will see the great challenges that I am currently facing. Two credit cards with the accumulated debt of about $19,000.00.

I have gradually been paying this off and so far, the current balances are indicated. Its a challenge to be in a hole while trying to keep up with my daily expenditures.

I wish I made more money. (But as many of you may have already realized, more money doesn't necessarily mean less debt.) It has been shown that as we get increases, we then to overshoot when we spend, and hence aren't anywhere better than we were before.

In my case, I was not careless. (Well 50/50). The first half of my debt (1 credit card- debt of $10,000.00- was a bad decision- perhaps one day I will go into it and explain.)
The other has a perfectly good explanation. One worth the challenge.

I may have mentioned it in passing, but I got married recently, MAY 08.

I needed to finance my own weeding and did just that. On the one hand, I got the almost perfect wedding that my wife and I wanted. On the other, there's debt.

My goals are to be debt free within three years. It's a little aggressive and haven't made much movement, but I need to set a goal and will aim for the one just stated.

For those of you that may be in shock about 19K in credit card debt, and wondering what I pay in interest. I have a pretty good deal actually.

My first credit card has an interest rate of 4.99% until I pay the balance off in full. *By the way, I will not be using this credit card any time soon, otherwise charges at a higher rate will kick in. I believe I spend about $45 in interest each month, with an average payment of about 150 being the minimum due.

On the other card, I have the same interest rate of 4.99%, but it is only good through Jan 2009.

I will have to either pay it off very very quickly, or move the money to another card (make a transfer).

I wouldn't recomend transfer unless there is absolute no fee for doing so.
Credit card companies get you with the transfer fees.
Sometimes they are about 3% with a maximum fee. But recently, I have noticed most credit cards have eliminated their maximum fee. Now you will pay 3% regardless of the amount of the transfer.

Sometimes its just not worth the effort.
Remember that the transfer fee is due the following month of the transfer. Its is charged as interest due.

Well I hope you all learned something today.

Time for bed, I will continue with this later....

So today, after work, it was time to go grocery shopping. This is one of the thing hardest to budget for. The reason being we all love to buy new things and every week our needs are different. There have been weeks that we spend about $100.00, and then there are times were all we need can be bough for about $30.00. My average weekly expense is usually around $50.00

I learned to pay attention to what you are buying the hard way.

I had just moved into my new apartment and I had nothing there. I went with my wife to the supermarket and just start adding items to our cart. We are two people, so we know we don't need that much. I was used to going to the supermarket with my mother or father, and since I come from a large family it didn''t surprise me seeing the cart overflow with everything each week.
I was carrying cash in my pocket, since this particular week was a week of expenditures.
Anyhow, once we were done shopping, I eagerly went to the line to pay for my groceries and other household needs. And the total came to almost $200.00, probably around $187.00. The point was since I was not paying attention, this seemed unusually high.

My wife and I were thinking to ourselves that all those small items must just add up. (spices, and other items than come in small boxes yet range between $2 to $5.00.)

My wife had forgotten something so she returned to the supermarket. I stayed in the parking lot and finished loading the items onto the car. I was done, so I started looking though my receipt. Then I came a huge surprise. The second or third item charged was for a loaf of bread and it COST ME $89.00. I couldnt believe it.

I immediate walked back int the store and pointed out the discrepancy to a cashier. They were surprised that the error had occurred. The cashier called a manager, and when he came over, he just giggled. He apparently was aware that had been happening all day. Basically the error was that that the dummy who printed the labels had to issue 1 laber per unit for $.89; but the labels were printed with the quantity of 100; therefore the price was $89.00.

Amazing but true. I found this to be the most expense loaf of french bread that I have ever purchased. Good think i managed to get my refund. I didnt get to keep the bread for free.

I watch closely when I am paying for something. I don't worry about items being on sale or not, but I do try to make sure the cost for items are reasonable.

I would not doubt that all of us have been robbed before at the supermarket.

My recommendation, pay attention. Just by standing right by the cashier, they will too make sure items are coming up correctly.

By the way, today I spend $66.00 on groceries.