Saturday, June 12, 2010

Can't get enough of high interest checking

So I have some extra cash sitting around. Right now, it is not earning any interest. While inflation is low, it is still slowly losing its value by not earning interest or returns. I did put some of the extra cash in my IRA, but I'm maxed out for last year and this year for contributions. So I can't stash any more there. I wish I could of course. I also want to keep this liquid and don't really have the stomach to invest it in the market. So I came up with a solution. I already have a high interest checking account through one bank. I earn I think 3.26% on up to 25K. So I found another institution that is offering this type of account where you don't have to be a resident of that bank's state. That's pretty rare, as most of these are limited to residents of the bank's state. I just opened the account on Friday. Now I will gather up my spare cash and deposit it in the account. Then I'll get one of my direct deposits switched to this account. I'll sign up for estatements (of course) and then all I have to do is make 12 signature transactions a month. I already have to make 10 for my other card. That's a lot of transactions. But I'll basically stop using my credit cards and just use these bank cards for all purchases. I try to charge everything anyway so I can keep track of all purchases, so I'm optimistic that I'll earn the interest each month.

Spending all my money

When I first started writing (i think about a year ago now) I never would have envisioned that I would be writing about all the big purchases I am making! That said, I am happy to be doing so. Today I bought bedroom furniture. As the man put it in the store, "big girl furniture."I am so happy that I did so. I've never bought furniture. I have a bed w/out a headboard, a hand me down dresser that I dragged out of my grandmom's attic, an Ikea night stand from college and some sort of canvas tent contraption for an armoire. I've had all of these items since the beginning of time.
So, I'm happy that I was able to buy something nice for myself and that I don't feel guilty about spending the money.

That said, I tried to look for pieces of Craigslist, but got tired of waiting for the specific ones I wanted to come up. So full-price it is. I did open a store credit card and have six months with minimum payments at zero percent interest. I vaguely remember reading that these types of deals are bad for your credit score as they are counted as a cash advance or some such thing, but frankly I don't care. My score is in the 800s. Even if it goes down 100 points, I'll still be fine.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Outstanding Money

Ugh, lately I am a little stressed by all of the money that various parties owe me. The total adds up to more than $6,000 and trying to get paid takes a decent amount of effort and is highly annoying.

First, I have a $4,300 expense report that I need to submit on Monday. I should get paid for that mid-month and I've already compiled the report and the documentation, which is tedious work.

I have another $1,800 and growing outstanding from my health insurance company. It's actually from my company, but I need my insurance company to file the claims first before I can submit. That has been going on since the end of March and all I've managed to get through the system is $200. No clear end in sight on that one and a new $200 piles up every week.

The last one is smaller -- $620. But it annoys me. I lent a friend, for the second time, this money to cover her rent because she had a cash flow problem. She was supposed to pay me back, I think it was like May 25th. She claimed the check was in the mail. It is not and now am I wondering when or if I will see that money again. Ugh.

All of the outstanding money has made my expenses a mess and hard to reconcile, so for the first time in years I haven't analyzed my May spending. It's all too depressing and hard to track.

It's odd to feel stressed about this money, as I don't need it to live on and I am confident I will get it all back eventually. The majority I will have by mid month. But having so much outstanding is stressful anyway.