Goals I met since set in August...

I reached my goal of raising my monthly income by at least $500. I did this by getting a second part time job working for Hallmark Cards. I am a supervisor in charge of the Hallmark accounts in about 20 Walmart stores. It is an interesting job...and I get to travel! So...so far....its working out well!

Because I met my goal of raising my monthly income I was able to buy a newer vehicle. I got a 1999 GMC Jimmy...and so far....I'm Loving it! I have to travel for work and this is a big improvement from my old faithful ('92 Galant). My old car served me well but it was time to move on!


I was also able to pay off my CompUSA credit card! woohoo! Because of my monthly increase I was able to pay on my card more than once a month. I focused on this credit card first because its interest rate was high and I was able to transfer my other credit cards to a %0 credit card. Now that I have paid this card off I plan on just putting the money I would have put towards my CompUSA card...towards my current debt! This way...I will not add that money back into my budget and I will pay my credit cards down faster.

click image below for larger view

Myth 1: Cancel your credit cards.

Getting out of debt is all the rage. It's easy to fall into and hard to escape, but many millions of us are working on it. Here is one myth to be aware of in the pursuit of financial freedom.

Myth : Cancel your credit cards. By all means, pay off your credit card balance (or balances). If your credit cards have the sweet lure of the Muses and sing to you from your wallet, remove them. Cut them up, freeze them in baggies of water, or seal them in an envelope and give them to your mother. But please, please don't cancel a credit card that is still carrying a balance. If you do, the credit card company you owe money to will very likely consider you a high-risk account, and promptly raise your interest rate. The way they see it, if you cancel your card, you're on the brink of ruin. If you're in the process of repaying your debt, this is not the impression you want to make, especially if it's untrue. A better bet is to stop using the card, pay your bill on time for at least six months, and contact the customer service department directly. Ask them to reduce your interest rate; creditors can be refreshingly flexible and cooperative when they recognize a reliable customer. If you consistently pay more than the minimum and stop adding to the unpaid balance, you will get it paid off eventually. Then you can cancel the card. Or you can leave it in pieces, on ice in your mother's freezer.

Tips for students!

Now that I am finished with college....I can look back and realize how good I had it! There are tons of ways you can save money while in school! Here are a few:

• Buy used textbooks. You’re just going to sell them back at the end of the term. (Or end up wishing you had done so five years from now.) You don’t need new textbooks.

• Skip spring break. Forget the long road trips. You can have a lot of fun for cheap close to campus. (My college used to organize economical group trips; yours probably does, too.) You might be surprised at how fun it can be to stay on campus, too.

• Live without a car. Cars are expensive: gas, maintenance, insurance, registration, parking. Stick close to campus. Learn to use mass transit. Find a friend who has a car.

• Don’t hang out with big spenders. Some kids have parents with deep pockets. Other kids are well down the road to financial trouble. Hanging out with them can lead you to spend more than you can afford.

• Take advantage of campus activities. There’s always something to do. Attend free movie festivals. Pay a few bucks to see the local symphony every month. Support the sports teams. Attend lecture series. Get the most from your student ID!

I got a lot of free meals by attending events with Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship! Check out their website to find one on your campus!

Print on demand books...

I am a writer. I have several books that I want to write. It is not an easy process and takes patience and persistence but I have finally finished my first poetry book! With a lot of help from my sister ( who is a fab graphic designer and photographer : www.adairphotography.com )...it is finally finished! We have been working on Layers for years. It is a compilation of 3 years of my life. They are listed in the book in chronological order so it reads like a poetic autobiography.
front cover back cover

When looking online there are many options for self-publishing. Many of them call for you to pay upfront. And then to also store many copies of your book at your house...and then to also take orders....AND then ship the book when someone orders it. I wanted a simpler route! A friend of mine shared www.lulu.com with me! So far it has worked wonderfully for me! They are a print on demand publishing site. That means that all I do is upload my work...set the price...design my storefront...and they take care of the rest! When someone visits my store...and places an order...lulu then prints a book and ships it to them! I am notified by email! That way I don't have to waste time and money storing them in my house and shipping them!

I am taking orders and have almost reached my goal of 35! This is a local order so I can buy in bulk and save on shipping! This way I will also be able to hand deliver these and thank people for purchasing a book! When I do deliver the books...I am also going to insert a postcard we made for them to hand out to friends who they think might like the book! It will also be a reminder for them or something they can post on their bulletin board! I am also mailing the card out to friends and family!

So if you have a book you have always wanted to write...LULU is a good way to go! It costs me nothing but time to get the book up on my store...and then when someone buys one...they take the cost of printing the book and the rest of it is profit!

Another online $ maker...

I come from a very creative family. We love to make things....design things....be crafty! So my sister came across the perfect online place for us to sell our creations!

www.Etsy.com/phototherapy

Etsy is an ebay for crafters basically! I can post my photography, my books, my photo editing...for sale and people buy directly from my shop! I have sold a few books, a few photographs, and the photo editing is picking up also. It cost $0.20 to post an item for sale. And a percentage of the price you are charging when the item sells. The item stays listed for about 3 months before it expires. What I like to do is...I post an item for sale...then when the order comes in I use another website to print the image or book that will ship the item directly to my client. That way I don't end up paying shipping twice. This saves me time and money! And that is the goal....after making money of course!

Here are my sold orders so far! :

Your sold items (orders)

Your Orders (5 total) quantity price sold on status reserved for nolagurl - New Orleans Stroll - 8x10 to nolagurl 1 $25.00 $0.00 Dec. 09 2007 • details got payment shipped insert person - Photo Retouching by email to QueenColeenz 1 $12.00 $0.00 Nov. 19 2007 • details got payment shipped Photo Retouching by email to QueenColeenz 1 $8.00 $0.00 Nov. 16 2007 • details got payment shipped My Bug Book to sussiesandsuch 2 $15.00 $0.00 Jul. 10 2007 • details got payment shipped My Bug Book to sussiesandsuch 1 $15.00 $0.00 Jun. 30 2007 • details got payment shipped

And here is my bill....what I have had to pay so far:

Monthly Statements / view full list / view current

Month Opening bal. Fees Payments Closing bal. December 2007 --- $1.08 $2.38 N/A (current month) November 2007 $1.40 $1.30 $1.40 $1.30 due by 12/15/07 October 2007 $2.38 $1.40 $2.38 $1.40 due by 11/15/07 September 2007 $2.38 $0.00 $0.00 $2.38 due by 10/15/07 August 2007 $2.38 $0.00 $0.00 $2.38 due by 09/15/07

I have only paid about $6 or $7 and have made far more than that. So...this far it has been a good investment of my time and money.

Check it out and let me know how it works for you!

Some tips.....mark others as your favorites and they will mark you as theirs....and that gets your shop more visitors! Also....TELL your family and friends!

Add the link to your shop as a signature on the bottom of your emails!