Loyalty Programs

I am a firm believer in loyalty programs and other programs that earn free rewards.  I am a member of Delta Skymiles, Marriott rewards, Hilton Honors, e-rewards, Best Buy Reward Zone, Upromise, Wachovia Possibilities debit card. With points earned thru these various programs so far this year I have been able to get:

• 2 airplane tickets to Aruba
• 3 free nights in a Marriott Hotel in Aruba
• 1 free night in a Marriott Hotel NYC
• 1 airplane ticket to Nevada
• 1 airplane ticket to Florida (for a friend)
• 6 free Blockbuster movie rentals
• $10 Blockbuster gift card
• $25 off FTD Flowers
• $15 in Best Buy credits
• 1 year subscription to Wine Spectator magazine

I figure the value of these freebies to be around $3,000.  Not too bad.  It can be cumbersome to keep track all of the programs but it is worth the time and effort.

Fighting my addiction to chocolate

I have a hard core addiction to most every kind of chocolate except for chocolate with mint in it or mocha.  I am thinking about  setting a goal of NOT indulging in any chocolate until after my credit card is paid off.  Just typing that made me go over to a coworker’s desk and get a little Hershey bar out of her candy dish!!!  I am not sure that I am up for such a lofty goal so close to the holidays.  I do know that I don’t like it when my clothes feel too tight though.

My inbox is flooded with shopping deals

I am doing my best to ignore the shopping deals that all the retailers seem to have going on.  Free shipping, 20% off, etc.  I do not want to go overboard and spend needlessly on holiday crap.  I can see how someone with a lack of willpower could get themselves in a heap of trouble with Christmas spending.  I just wish the retailers would be this generous the rest of the year.  Last year I bought my loved ones some very expensive gifts and I am not going to let myself do that again!

My WAMU ATM Card

Well it has been about 10 days since I received my ATM card from WAMU.  Unfortunately, I have not yet received my PIN in the mail.  I called tonight and the customer service representative said that it was sent out on the 14th and takes up to 16 business days to arrive.  Geez!  On Friday my paycheck is going into the WAMU account so that PIN had better show up soon.   As a last resort I can go into a bank branch and get a PIN.  Other than the fact that they are a bit slow in getting my PIN to me, the account is working out fine. 

Back from Paris

and what a whirlwind it was.  The only thing  I bought besides food was 3 postcards.  The exchange rate was even worse than it was back in Septemeber.  Well that is all of the exotic travel that I will be doing for the foreseeable future.  It is always good to be back home again.

Update on January 1, 2007 resolutions

I keep a journal and this morning I looked back and found that my 2007 resolutions were to: 1.) Get out of debt, 2.) Save $5k, and 3.) run a half marathon.  Well as of today I have run 2 half marathons.  I am not out of credit card debt yet but will be by next March and my emergency fund will not be at the $5k mark by the end of the year.  I estimate that by next February I will have saved at least $5k in my emergency fund.  It is nice to look back and see how far I have come.  I may not have met them by December 31 but I will have made significant progress towards them. 

Update on my banking switch

I have now set up my paychecks starting with my next one to be direct deposited to WAMU.  I will be so happy when I don’t have to deal with Wachovia nickel and diming me every month.  I plan to completely close Wachovia next month after everything clears.  Honestly, why should anyone keep large amounts of money or small amounts for that matter in a savings account that earns such a low interest rate that you have to search a while to find the rate on the bank’s website.  I am glad to have finally seen the light.  I am thinking about setting up a second free checking just for my expense reimbursements so they don’t get co-mingled with my paychecks.  That may simplify my life even more. 

Bottled Water

Last month I bought a Brita water pitcher and swore off buying bottled water.  NPR recently had an episode about the plastic water bottles and the environment.  Many of them get recycled (and I did recycle mine) but most do not.  Now I am saving money and helping the environment.  The filters themselves last about two months and cost about $5 a piece.  Now I just need to keep my syes peeled for coupons for the filters.

Market turmoil

The recent stock market turmoil has put my updated goal of $105,000 in net worth by the end of the year in doubt.  Today my net worth is $102,135.  I updated my mutual fund prices this morning for the first time in over a week and my net worth dropped more than $3,000.  Things were flying along just fine and then BAM!  Oh well, what goes down must come up.   I have been remarkably unsurprised an unworried about the stock market lately. The swings seems to have just become a part a life.  I guess if Iwas closer to retirement it might unhinge me a little more.

New wine cooler

I enjoy a good bottle of wine now and then so when I saw a dual zone 21 bottle wine refrigerator on sale at Target.com for $249 with free shipping it was very hard to resist.  Also I received a $25 price reduction on top of the sale price. I have been talking about getting one of them forever.  It arrived yesterday and I duly followed the instructions and set it up.  All seemed to be in working order until I awoke this morning to find the unit not working.  UGH!!!  I have emailed the manufacturer to get this resolved.  I hope this does not turn in to a big hassle because it does look really nice and it would meet my wants perfectly if only it worked!  I will keep you posted on this.