Time for the Net Worth update again

I'll be updating my Feb 07 Net Worth on Thursday or Friday. Paid a couple of bills and I'm waiting for them to come through. I've been averaging taking out about $1000 in debt per month since Dec. I have more money in my Roth IRA and I've been saving at the same time. I'm right on track. Feb will be even more sacraficing because March 1st, I will be moving... I'm headed for LAS VEGAS!! Going to pursue my career as a poker dealer and poker player. Within the next 2 weeks, I will be going out there to find an apartment and find a job. Things are going to get hectic! I can't wait for the challenge.

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Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 39

Day 39

$39 - Savings
$39 - Invest
$39 - Give Away
$130.69 - Silver Club ($50/week)

Eliminated My Last Collection Debt

As I was sorting through my financial statements, I found a collection letter for an old AT&T bill. I owed $129 and as I was reading through the letter, it said I had an option to settle the debt for 50%. $64 and I would clear this debt from collections. I called the 800# and paid with debit over the phone! I am officially clear of all collections now. Another great feeling!! This should improve my credit score once again.

Over the weekend I also discovered a web site called Simpleology. This was recommened by www.ldrj.com and I'm on Day 3 now. Over the weekend I also re-watched The Secret which I highly recommend. I believe these 2 items will help me on my journey to $100k. Check them both out, they may or may not make a difference in your life.

When Everything Seems to Fall Into Place

Has anybody ever researched or know about The Law of Attraction?I've read a couple of articles about the subject and I truly believe in this stuff. Last night I stumbled upon a webpage www.ldrj.com and he was offering free ebooks. Usually when you see free ebooks it's just a rundown version and it's a ploy for you to buy a product. In this case it was different. I downloaded the book "The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles. I read it from beginning to end and I was intrigued. I am going to apply everything in his book and will test it out for myself. If you like to read, have an open mind, or would just like some change in your life, I'd recommend you download and read the book for yourself. It was published back in 1920 and coincides with the move, "The Secret."

I'm on my way to future riches and I'd like to share the wealth. I'm thankful that I've found this information and I hope other people will take advantage of this book. Have a great weekend all! My poker tournament awaits me at 7pm.

Tomorrow Is The Big Poker Tournament

I recently entered a $65 Buy-in tournament at Harrahs on Sunday. It's a 6 day event that started on Sunday and goes through Friday. This is how it's setup. Each day, 250 entrants will play and the top 30 will advance to the final day which is Friday, Jan 26th. The top 30 from each day Sun-Thurs will have a chance to win a prize pool of $50,000. The top 18 out of the 150 will get PAID! Luckily for me, I made it to the Friday Event. So tomorrow is my chance to win up to $16,000 if I place 1st. I also started a new web site www.wsop2k7.com which is basically my poker blog. Check it out if you're interested in poker or would like to follow my poker career. I'll have an update on where on place in the tournament Saturday morning.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!! Superbowl XLI

Colts vs. Bears
Do you believe the Colts will blowout the Bears? Do you think the Bears Defense will prevail? Then put your money where your mouth is!! Bet on Superbowl XLI HERE!!

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 34

Day 34

$34 - Savings
$34 - Invest
$34 - Give Away
$80.69 - Silver Club ($50/week)

Money Spent:
$7.34 Hawaiian BBQ

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 32

Day 32

$32 - Savings
$32 - Invest
$32 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$2.16 McDonalds

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 30

Day 30

$30 - Savings
$30 - Invest
$30 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$0

Credit Score Update

Just got an email from WAMU that said my credit score has changed +/-20. I logged in the web site and to my surprise my credit score has gone from 542 to 579!! Woohoo. Another increase of 37 points in 1 month. In November 2006 my score was at 501 and 2 months later, after paying off alot of my bills and starting this web page, it's gone up 78 points! Things are looking positive...

Financial House Cleaning

Today I went through all my mail from my old place and sorted out all my financial statements. I was shocked to see I had tons of mail that never got forwarded from my previous place and a little disappointed in some areas. I received one collection notice from Nextel. I appearantly had a balance that never got paid off when I switched carriers, so I immediately called them up and made my payment. I went through all my credit card statements and something particular caught my eye. On one of my secured visa cards, it said on the statement I was going to be charged a $45 annual fee on my next bill. My credit limit is $200 and there is no way I was going to pay 25% from a "fee." Again, I called them up and tried to see if there was anything they could do for me. The operator said no and I gladly closed my account. That same credit card also charges a $25 "credit limit increase fee" which I think is ridiculous. I should be getting back my secured deposit within 60 days. I'll just be adding that to one of my savings account. Luckily that is one of the cards that is already paid off with a $0 balance.

I normally don't open up credit card statements because I do everything online, but luckily I took the time to do it today. If I didn't, I would have never saved $45. Check your bills daily! Don't let them pile up and don't be scared to see what you owe. Thats the best advice I can give anybody.

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 27

Day 27

$27 - Savings
$27 - Invest
$27 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$7.20 GoDaddy.com

Poker Table Project COMPLETE!

Woohoo! Finished building my poker table after 6 long hours. Everything went pretty smooth except for wrapping the rail with vinyl. We didn't have the proper staple gun so we had to use the good ole nail and hammer. I am not good with my hands and luckily my 2 uncles and cousin helped me out. Thanks! I'll be calculating the total cost of the table.





Money Spent:
$103.43 Jo-anns
$44.00 Golden House (Lunch)
$12.90 Wal-mart
$90.37 Home Depot
----------
$250.70 Total Cost of Poker Table

I would have spent over $400 if I were to buy a pre-made one. So I did some research and made my own. My 2 uncles are carpenters so that made everything much easier.

Poker Table Project

On Sunday I will begin my poker table project. Hopefully I will be able to finish it by the end of the night, who knows. I'll be sure to post up pictures and total cost. Nothing new going on this weekend. Watched both NFL Football games. I am a Peyton Manning fan because of his technical skills and I'm rooting for the Saints to defeat the Eagles. 24 - 27 Saints with 3:21 in the 4th quarter. Very entertaining game.

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 22

Day 22

$22 - Savings
$22 - Invest
$22 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$2.13 McDonalds Breakfast

Do Get Paid to do Survey's Really Work?

I just stumbled upon a "Get Paid to Do Surveys" website and I was wondering has anybody had any luck with these types of programs? They're free to join so there's no risk involved. I'm trying to earn money any way possible. Here is the ad below.

How would you like to earn good money just for sharing your opinion? It's free to get started. Click here!

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 21

Day 21

$21 - Savings
$21 - Invest
$21 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$0

Thank You Wells Fargo.

Yesterday I found out that I was charged 2 NSF at $34 each because I didn't have enough money to cover my auto-transfers. What I did this morning at 6:45am is call up Wells Fargo and asked them politely, "I checked my account balance yesterday and I saw I had 2 insufficient fund fees, is there anyway you can help me with it?" The customer rep then put me on hold to talk to a supervisor, 3 mins later, she said they were able to credit back one of the $34 charges. Wow. It's really that simple. One phone call can save you money! I've MANY NSF's in my past and I never bothered to call. I think I've read this tip online at many financial web pages, so just to confirm, ITS TRUE!! Thanks Wells Fargo, I hope I never get another NSF ever again.

I Hit Another Road Block...

As I check my bank account balance, I'm surprised and see a -$100.00 balance. Just when I think things are going great, I manage to get 2 insufficient fund fees. I forgot turn off my auto-transfers to my Roth IRA accounts and I got hit with 2 fees. Because of the holidays, I had a lot of days off and I didn't have enough to cover my regular transfers this month. Luckily I have enough in my savings to cover the negative balance. I think this is the first time ever I actually have money to transfer over. Usually, I'd have to wait till payday to fix the problem. So what did I learn here? Make sure you have enough money in your account on a daily basis. -$64 in fees, I will try to call my bank tomorrow to see if they can do anything for me. Hope all goes well, another lesson learned.

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 19

Day 19

$19 - Savings
$19 - Invest
$19 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$23.20 Gas

My Action Play for January

As everything is getting back to normal after the holidays, I am starting on my "Action Plan" for January. I didn't really make any new years resolutions this year. Instead, I will be making an action plan every month and put it into effect asap. This month, my main goal is to get my poker table built. Poker is my main hobby and I plan to pursue a career in poker dealing. I'm already a certified Holdem/Omaha/7 Card Stud dealer. My friends will be helping me build a table from scratch so I can practice dealing at home. I've been doing all my research and within this week, I should have all my materials ready. Hopefully we can get started on the building process soon. It shouldn't take no more then 2 days to complete. I will post up the picture as soon as this project is complete.

As I read through alot of articles, it usually suggests to find something you love to do, and find a way to make money with it. Well, I love poker. Everybody knows you can make money in poker, but not everybody is capable of doing it. Some call it gambling, others call it luck but the dedicated ones call it skill. I plan to be a dealer for 3-5 years, then from there either go semi-pro as a player (If i'm good enough) if not, I will probably go towards becoming a pit boss. I can't find myself doing something other than being inside a casino. I love the atmosphere!

January 2007 Action Plan:
1. Build poker table
2. Practice dealing 3hrs a day
3. Play as much poker as possible
4. Read 1 chapter a day in my poker books

I play online for about 2 hours a day at Pokerstars under the name "orthopak"
Take advantage of their sign-up bonus below. Deposit as little as $50 to start.

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 18

Day 18

$18 - Savings
$18 - Invest
$18 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$1.58 Envelopes

My Newest Metacafe Video, Watch and rate please!

WOW! Cool TORNADO TRICK Done To 4 Popular Web Pages!! - video powered by Metacafe

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 17

Day 17

$17 - Savings
$17 - Invest
$17 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$60 Car parts maintenance

Nothing new here over the weekend. Just stayed home and watched all the playoff games. Can't wait for next week. BEARS vs. Seahawks, rooting for da bears. Also going for the Chargers... Hopefully its BEARS vs. Chargers in the Superbowl. I also started a new chart at www.NCNNetwork.com (No Credit Needed Network) Check it out, lots of other financial bloggers there.

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 15

Day 15

$15 - Savings
$15 - Invest
$15 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$0

FICO Score Improves +41 from November

Good news! I checked my FICO credit score from Transunion and it went from 501 to 542 as of December 1st. I get an update every month from my Providian credit card and it's always great to see it rise. Last year Jan 06, my FICO score was at my all time high at 607. My all time low was in Oct 06 at 486. How did I manage to drop that low? Late payments and non-payments. On top of that, I managed to max out all my credit cards because I was in need of money. In matter of 2 months I went from 486 to 542 and it should only go up as I pay down my debt and keep my payments recent. Your credit score is really important! I repeat, don't take it for granted when you have a high credit score because it only takes a few months to ruin it. Most people already know how to improve their score and the only thing to help is TIME.

I am also signed up at Myfico.com which I pay $4.95/mo for a quarterly credit score, plus if anything changes on my credit report (new accounts, inquiries, collections, etc.) I get notified via email. I recommend you check your credit score at least once a year or have some sort of protection against identity theft (Click here to check out Lifelock).

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 13

Day 13

$13 - Savings
$13 - Invest
$13 - Give Away

Thoughts: Saving $3 a day, is getting easier and easier as the days go by. I find myself getting single dollar bills in advance so I can put one in each stack. Usually when I wake up, my first instinct is to put away the $3 so I won't have to worry about it the rest of the day. At 6am, I already have a sense of accomplishment and it helps me get through my day. I told one of my younger cousins about the Million Dollar Savings Club and he's already got $9 in each category. Good job buddy, he's on his way to making a million at age 18.

Money Spent:
$1.08 McDonalds

What's Your New Year Resolution or Goal?

I found a nice little goal helper at Joes Goals. It'll help you keep track on a daily basis with a point system. I highly recommend it. My goals this year so far is to update my blog daily and to do 25 push-ups a day. I'm starting off small and I'll expand on it as the year goes by. I also keep track of all my money spent at www.joesgoals.com. Has anybody looked into the web site www.43things.com? I haven't fully browsed it yet, but I plan to in the next couple of days. Hope everybody had a fun New Year...


What motivates you?

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 12

Day 12

$12 - Savings
$12 - Invest
$12 - Give Away


Money Spent:
$25 Gas

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 11

Million Dollar Savings Club: Day 11

Day 11
$11 - Savings
$11 - Invest
$11 - Give Away

Auto Savings - $50

Net Worth as of January 1, 2007

Welcome to the New Year. Here is my 1st of the month Net Worth update.

Total Assets: $2,828
Total Debts: -$$25,670
---------------------
Net Worth: -$$22,842

Difference from last month: +$976
Percentage Difference: +4.10%

Click here to see full details.