Almost Vegas Time

Nothing new, just learning my job. So far everything seems cool. I'm learning about review appraisals. Desk reviews and field reviews. Lots to learn. Las Vegas in 2 days.. Friday, woohoo!! I can't wait.

Mentoring Week at Work

Training is officially over and now I start my mentor week. I basically spend the week watching a mentor work and get hands on experience. My first day was Thursday where my mentor let me do all the calling and computer work. On Friday I was just shadowing a co-worker and watched what a typical day at work would be like. Towards the end of the day, they setup my desk and they let me get to work on my own. So far the job is pretty cool and I shouldn't have problems. I'm basically customer service for an appraisal company. I make sure appraisers do their jobs and make sure the lenders get their report on time. I'll also get a better understanding of the real estate world which is my main focus. I'm trying to absorb as much as I can...

Today is my friend Ryan's birthday party slash poker party. $20 tourney and hopefully around 20-25 people show up... I'm going to walk out of that party with extra cash!!! Next weekend is Vegas!

Almost Done With Training At Work

Tomorrow is going to be the last day of training at work. Originally I was just going to work at this job and then begin work at a collections agency in April. Now I'm having second thoughts. I'm currently working at an appraisal company and now I'm thinking about just sticking around and learning about the whole real estate market. I don't plan on becoming an agent or broker, but on being an appraiser. We still have to see how my actual job goes after training so I can see if it's something that will help benefit me in my future. Appraisers will always be needed, even during foreclosures... Training ends Wednesday then I have a one week of mentoring and shadowing. I still have until April to decide what I want to do. Seems like I'm always thrown with new paths and decisions, I just hope I'm walking in the right direction.

New Dating Site For Single Moms

Brand new dating site for Single moms!! Being a single parent myself, I know how hard it is to try and meet new people. Having a kid changes your perspective on life a little and now you can relate with other people who know what you are going through. There’s a new dating site especially made for single moms. Check out the site today and meet your new soul mate!!

Single Moms

Another Job Offer

Just when I thought it was impossible for me to find a job, I got 2 job offers now. While I start my new job tomorrow, today I got another job offer as a collections rep. The pay is $2 less then the 1st job offer however there is commission. I have until April 9th to decide if I want the collections job and I have to weigh my options out. The pros to the collections job is it's 20 miles closer and there is room to make extra money based off the commission IF I am actually good at the job. The con is it's $2 less per hour and I have to work 2 Saturdays a month, but it's only 4 hours. I'm leaning towards the collections job just because of the fact that I can make waaaaay more if I hit my commission. I've never had a problem with commission jobs and I think it helps me stay motivated to work harder. I'll try out the review rep job for now and by April, I should have a firm decision.

Start My New Job Thursday

I finally got hired and I start training for my new job Thursday. What do I do? I don't really know exactly. I'm considered a customer care slash review rep. The good thing is I'm getting paid $1.50 more per hour than my previous job. The bad part is it's 20 miles farther. With gas prices at $3 a gallon, I hope I make more then I spend on gas. Nothing new in my financial world because I won't be receiving a paycheck until I actually start working. I will be going back to Vegas at the end of the month because my cousin turns 21!! I'm going to have to be frugal and figure out a way to spend a little but have tons of fun.

What Are You Spending Your Tax Return On?

It's almost that time. You know, getting your tax refund back and either saving it or spending it on a certain item you've been waiting for all year for. This year I'm getting my largest refund back. What am I going to be spending it on? What else, credit card bills! I'm not buying myself anything this year except putting a little away in my Roth IRA and in my son's account. The rest will go to credit cards and anything I owe money to. What did you spend your tax return on? Hopefully something useful or something that you've always wanted. Next year I'll treat myself to a gadget or something. A toy that can keep me busy but productive at the same time...

Coupon Chief Has All Your Online Deals!

I found a great new site that has all your online coupon needs! Are you an avid online shopper looking for the best deals around? Look no further! Check out www.Couponchief.com they have thousands of merchants with working coupons! They have a wide variety of shops to choose from ranging from electronics to clothing to home appliances. If you’re a smart online shopper, be sure to check their site out first before buying.

One great deal I found at Couponchief is at Target, 10% off any purchase with NO minimum. That’s one of the best deals I recommend. Tons of stuff to buy at Target and with no minimum, it’s a hard deal to pass up. Click here to check out the Target deals.

Are prepaid phones a good option for you?

Are Prepaid phones a good option for you?

I’ve been in the wireless industry for about 4 years and in my own personal experience, I believe prepaid wireless phones are a rip-off. I’ll break down some pros and cons of prepaid and you can judge for yourself.

Pros- The pros to having prepaid is you don’t need good credit. Many of us don’t have perfect credit and we all can’t afford a $250 deposit. This is one of the reasons prepaid was invented.
Another pro to prepaid is no long term contracts. Many wireless users don’t know how long they expect to have their cell phone. Some just need it for a week or two, others only a few months. Now a day, the norm has become 2 year contracts. Break the contract and you pay a $175 cancellation fee.
Control your spending and not running up a high bill. Never get a $500 cell phone bill.
Emergency use only.

Con’s- Since there is no credit check and no deposits for prepaid, the plans and rates are terrible. You will get ripped off in the minute rates. Normally around 10 cents per minute, while if you got a regular contract, you could get around 600 minutes for only $40 plus unlimited nights and weekends. Do the math and you will see how horrible prepaid rates are.
Since there are no long term contracts, you have to buy the phones outright. They used to cost around $100, but now you can find prepaid phones starting at around $30. More affordable however the phones are as basic as a Ford Pinto.
You may control how much you spend, however you can’t control the minutes. Once you run out of minutes you’re FORCED to buy a refill card. You spend more money in the long run.

Is prepaid for everybody? If you truly have no credit and no money to afford a monthly contract, then yes. But why do you need a cell phone if you can’t afford it, why waste your money on talking instead of saving? If you do have the credit and can afford the monthly, I would suggest getting a regular plan with one of the carriers. You save money in the long run, TONS of money. While working at a wireless store, I’ve seen people spend an average of $50 per week on their prepaid and all they wanted to do was save money. They could have spent $50 a month on a contract, but they were fooled in thinking you save money using prepaid. Decide on what your true intentions of a wireless phone is before you buy.

pre-paid cell phones

Pay Per Post

I finally got approved for Pay Per Post so I will be posting some blogs here so I can earn some extra income. I'll see for myself if it's worth my time or not... If you're interested in Pay Per Post, please click on the link under Visit My Sponsors.

Job Interviews

Had 2 job interviews today, one at Sears for a Sales Associate, the other as a collections agent. The Sears went great however they only hire part time and you have to work your way up to a full time position. That's just not going to cut it for me. The collections job is the one I'm hoping to get. I had my 2nd interview today and if all goes well, I will start on Monday. I have 2 more job interviews tomorrow. One for another collections agency and the other at Precision Marketing. I still don't know what kind of job that one is. So the past couple of days, I've been through tons of interviews and what I've learned is they all ask the same type of questions. Mainly, "Give me a time when (input scenario here.)" All they want is examples of past experiences. Since I'm used to these type of interview questions, I always use the same example. I really don't see how they can go by these questions because basically the best bullshitter story teller will win. Luckily I have 5 years experience in "bullshitting."

On Another Job Hunt...

Yesterday was my first day of job hunting. I hit up Monster, hotjobs and career builder. Today the calls started to pour in. I had 1 interview over the phone, and 4 interviews scheduled for the next 2 days. I'm weighing out my options and going to go with the most money potential. I have over 5 years in sales experience and this time around, I think I'm gonna go back to that just to save up money. Commission jobs always pay the most and I haven't done sales since April 06. Hourly jobs just don't cut it for me. The only drawback is most commission jobs require you to work on the weekends, but after lots of consideration, I noticed I don't do anything on weekends anyways except sleep or be bored. Hopefully I start work within 2 weeks so I can get back to savings. I hate the down time.

I Couldn't Help Myself

Yesterday I was approved for a credit card and today I received another credit card offer. Same envelope and all, same company/bank except different brand. Instead of a Visa or MC, it was a Discover Card. I had a Discover Card back in 1999 and they ended up closing on me due to non-payments. Well, I wanted to try my luck again and walla!! I was approved again. I'm not sure of my credit limit, but all I know is there is NO annual fee so things are looking up. Just a couple of years ago, I was actually denied a secured credit card from Wells Fargo. I'll stop with the credit card offers and wait until my credit score goes past 650 before I start doing the arbitrage credit card tricks.

On another side note, I finally received my Google Adsense check. $108!! Woohoo, going to add that money to my savings. Now I'm just waiting on my other affiliate checks.

New Credit Card

I keep receiving credit card offers in the mail and today I finally decided to try my luck. My credit is not the greatest and I am still in my rebuilding stage so I wasn't going to be surprised if I wasn't approved. On the pre-approved credit card letter it said Level Acceptance: HIGH so that gave me a little hope. I did every online and to my surprise I was approved for $300! It may seem like petty change to most of you, but to me, this was great. I recently closed one of my secured credit cards a couple of months ago and this will replace it. It will be used for emergency use only and I will stash it away in a safe. Hopefully one day I'll be able to get a credit limit of something over $1,000.

Net Worth as of March 2, 2007

Here is my 1st of the month Net Worth update.

Total Assets: $2,976
Total Debts: -$24,833
---------------------
Net Worth: -$21,857

Difference from last month: -$526
Percentage Difference: -2.47%

NetWorthIQ Click here to see full details.

Not a good month at all. I was averaging paying off $1,000 a month until now. Originally I was supposed to move to Vegas and I ended up charging moving expenses on my credit cards, plus I lost $200 for my apartment security deposit which was non-refundable. The good news is that I'll be getting a tax refund so I'll be applying it to my debts which will help. I may be getting a new job on March 15th which pays $1 more per hour than my previous job so that will also help. Got to save, save, save!