Women in Red Racers - Northeast Region

[idlecrush]

idlecrush: 4/1/2011 $9300.90 (3/3/2010 $11417.96 NEU129)

Card	3/3/10	3/1/11	4/1/11	Change
CC1	5965.43	5756.66	5698.04	-267.39
CC2	1410.89	0	0	-1410.89
CC3	1947.06	1830.45	1822.61	-124.45
CC4	2094.58	1881.78	1780.25	-314.33
Total	11417.96	9468.89	9300.90	-2117.06

Not a bad month all in all. Job is still up in the air. 10 of 19 people in the office have put in their notice. Not sure what's going to happen here. I've been applying like crazy for jobs but nothing so far.

idlecrush

[lark1964]

Sparkle!

www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/550_canned_unicorn_meat.jpg

;D

[lark1964]

This message has been deleted.

[casey2525]

March Update

Debt

2/28/2011

[/b] [/td] [td] 3/28/2011 [/td] [/tr]
[tr]
[tr] [td] Star (CC # 1) [/td] [td] [/td] [td] 0 [/td] [td] 0 [/td] [/tr]
[tr]
[tr] [td] HSBS (CC # 2) [/td] [td] [/td] [td] 0 [/td] [td] 0 [/td] [/tr]
[tr]
[tr] [td] USAA (CC # 3) [/td] [td] [/td] [td] $2,606.97 [/td] [td] $1,397.87 [/td] [/tr]
[tr]
[tr] [td] Citibank (CC #4) [/td] [td] [/td] [td] 0 [/td] [td] 0 [/td] [/tr]
[tr]
[tr] [td] Totals [/td] [td] [/td] [td] $2,606.97 [/b] [/td] [td] $1,397.87 [/td] [/tr]
[tr]
[/table]

Casey2525 3/28/2011 $1,397.87 (12/31/07 $18,824.55 NE23)


I somewhat regret making a larger payment this month because Congress hasn't passed the FY 2011 budget. Hopefully they will before the 8th. Today I realized when my cell phone bill was due earlier this month, I only made an entry in MS Money and didn't log on to Verizon and pay it lol.

Casey

[rpprt]

Shoutouts through Message #513

Indebt: Thank you for your state info. Unfortunately, Ohio is not part of the Northeast WIRR, it is part of the Midwest WIRR. I have passed your information along to Minnesotagirl & she will get you started over on their thread. Happy Racing! Their thread is located at: notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wir&thread=205&page=68#222975.

Mom2-4Monkeys: Another nice update & congrats on getting your savings started.

IrishMaude: Any news on the closing?

Oceanfire31: I hope that your knee is feeling much better now. Good job getting that SL lower & adding to your “moving” savings – where are you moving to?

Lark1964: Any more news from First NA Bank?

Raven64: Sorry to hear about your dog. Congrats on getting that vehicle paid off-there’s nothing as nice as knowing you never have to send that payment in EVER again! I’m glad it will help you feel less stress each month.

Ronnyanna: Down to your last card – and business reimburseable, too– how do you spell relief? D-E-B-T F-R-E-E!

BushTea28: I’m glad Nidena showed you where to find us, now get her to come back to us-we miss her! Any luck in getting Uncle Sam to want less money from you?

GirlGreen: You are moving in the right direction! Keep up the good work – I love turtles just as much as I do rabbits!

Flatbroke: What a SUPER update! Tables are kinda tricky. I will attempt to add an attachment that may help.

Kristin11: Did your balance transfer go thru yet? Congrats on another month of successful debt reduction!

Crisde2bdebtfree: Any more word on the layoffs at work? You are reducing your debt – that is success. Any chance you could transfer some of those CCs with high interest rates to a promotional rate?

Foxybrown77: WOW! Look at you go! You will be in the under $5500 club real soon. Enjoy your time off with your Mom.

Wudnit: AMAZING! (Your payoff, not your spelling!) Did you know that you can modify your post?

Mom2-4Monkeys: Thank you for your 2 cents (why isn’t there a cent sign on the keyboard?) – every dollar paid is one less owed! (In your case, 85)

Irishsob: Look at you go! You are now over $35K paid in less than 4 years!

Thriftymom[2]: Sorry to hear you owe the IRS. (Thank goodness it wasn’t an audit.) Just wait till you get that remodel done, it will all be worth it.

Munjoyhill: You have made some terrific progress. Are you enjoying the new home? I’m glad you have a savings plan in place – just in case.

Ravenhaired: Excellent update! You are moving full speed ahead. I love to see your progress towards your goals. That EF is looking great.

Idlecrush: Another nice update. I will keep my fingers crossed for your job search success.

Casey2525: What a payoff! As retired military, our family is also hoping the government doesn’t shut down. You and ronnyanna are racing to be the next winner for the Northeast!

[rpprt]

Flatbroke
I know how tricky tables can be here. Pay-no-interest has provided me with the attached table, which I hope can help you. (and anyone else who is having problems with tables)

Attachments:

Proboards Template.xlsx.jpg (11.35 KB)

[lark1964]

OK. So this month, I thought, I'm going to experiment a little, and I added $1 to my Goodyear monthly payment. And then I figured it up. Now, I plan to pay off Goodyear by October, that's a given to me, but in paying them $1 more a month between now and then, that's May, June, July, August, September, October - that extra $1, $6, actually added up to $7.53 with interest - what I would save is $1.53 in interest by October.

Is that a lot? No. But then I thought, "what if I do that with the others? So I looked at a couple more. My student loan (gad, I can't believe I still have one), raising my minimum from 56.91 (their bill) to $57.50 - yes, 69 cents (I don't know where the silly cent symbol is, I think it should be on the keyboard, too!) - will save me over three years, $8.28 actually adds up to $12.72 - $4.44.

This got me thinking - is it REALLY so difficult to add just $1 payment to each bill? And - while it's actually too late because most of them are already "processing" as of yesterday - I think that extra $10 a month, spread over each bill - which I can find, that's a realistic amount - will mean each one of them will go just a little bit faster!

So here's to $1 per bill (or 69 cents!) making a difference! I'll have my update this weekend!

btw... it's my birthday Sunday! And... Saturday the 16th, I'm doing the walk for Parkinson's in Philadelphia, if anyone would like to contribute to my walking team (or wants to walk with me!), send me an email, I'll give you the details!

Anybody got a clue why the board is adding in words? I just had to cut out "second quarter" - which I never typed in ANYWHERE - and "today" - which was just replaced with "TOFU".

OK, Friday weirdness, maybe. rrrpt, I haven't heard word one from anyone since I got that sheaf of paper delivered, so - I'm not going to do anything, like my attorney said it's a piece of paper that says I owe someone money... DUH. It hasn't been approved by the court, yet, that takes time, and even if it ever does go through, I can still fight it, so - I have other debts to consider right now!

[kristin11]

Rpprt - Still no word on the balance transfer. I have been checking my accounts every day and I am getting more hopeless by the minute. When I called HSBC who is the new credit cards account on Monday they told me that the transfer was successful on the 24th and that I should see it reflected on my accounts in 3 to 5 business days ... That was 6 business days ago! I know Target receiving the check might take longer or processing might take some time but I am getting impatient and feeling hopeless that its not going to happen. I am going to give it until Monday before I call them back to see what the heck is going on. If the Target transfer won't work I at least want to know so that I can look into transfering my Discover which is another very high interest rate. So I am still at status quo - Hopefully i'll have another update with good news soon!

[crisde2bdebtfree]

RPPRT--Hi I am hoping and praying everyday that I will not get layed off--I will be Rallying for my job on Monday with my union and fellow Civil service workers--I work for Nassau County if I am lucky enough to keep my job I will have to give back either by lag payrolls or furloughs--I am trying my hardest to get my bills in order I will be paying off my lowes card before May with income tax refund--I am looking to do some Balance Transfers or maybe consolidated the store cards and cancel the accounts--My car loan a non racing debt will be paid off in a few months, so I will have an extra 200.00 a month. I am thinking positive My next update should show improvement. My biggest challange is to get my food budget down.

[rpprt]

Smiley update!!!

=$100, ;D=$500, =$1,000, =$5,000, = $10,000, = $25,000, = $75,000, = $100,000, =$200,000, = Location Needed

**Updated through update #513**

BushTea28: 3/21/11 $14863.06 (2/24/10 $23026 NEU118)
Casey2525 2/25/2011 $2,606.97 (12/31/07 $18,824.55 NE23)
chiver78 2/16/11 $21475.83 (8/20/08 $45152.97 NE266) ;D
CLS 328: 2/18/11 $32,577.75 (12/21/08 $42,189.11 NE 397) ;D
Crisde2bdebtfree: 2/28/11 $15, 912.98 (8/31/2010 16,834 NEU286)
Cushion21[2] 2/12/11 $3,673.58 (5/30/09 $18,818 NE611)
DawnM: 2/28/11 $21,090 (12/31/10, $20,966, NPT2)
Delphinus317 2/25/11 $51,229 (1/19/11 $53,975 NEU4,NPT6) ;D
FitzGal 2/25/11 $34,014.62 (7/29/10, $34,936.92, NEU263) ;D
Flatbroke: 2/06/2011: $29,714.80 (08/12/2007: $58,449.92 N418,N430) ;D
Foxybrown77: 2/23/11 $10,650.68 (07/16/08 $80,213 NE239) ;D
freemen10: 3/8/11 $16,806.70 (1/12/10 $17,814.60 NEU44)
GirlGreen: 2/28/2011 $16991.31 (1/27/10 $22,141.63 NEU75/334)
idlecrush: 3/1/2011 $9468.89 (3/3/2010 $11417.96 NEU129)
irishsob (N20): 2/26/11 $27,909.38 (5/16/07 $62,246.08 N20)
justpayit: 3/12/2011 $21,250 (11/22/2007 $91585 N791,NE329)
Kristin11: 2/28/11 $13,191.50 (12/31/09 $16,567.73 NEU8)
lark_1964 3/1/2011 253,388.91 (1/6/09 $270674.42 NE417)
Maryland Monroe 3/11/11 $7808.41 (2/24/08 $18,435.62 NE 108) ;D
melting_debt 3/6/11:$19,621.68 (1/1/10: $30,844.93 NEU18,NEU37)
mm4nodebt 3/12/11 $28,035.78 (2/23/09 $53,443 NE496,NPT14)
Mom2-4Monkeys $48,434.58 3/3/2011 ( $50,835.43 1/3/2011 NPT3)
Momofg 3/10/11 $50,130.36(6/4/08 $53,106.80 NE207) ;D
Mourningcloak[2]: 3/10/11 $163,181 (1/10/11 $165,413 NPT5)
Munjoyhill: 3/2/2011 $144,700.16 ($155,340.30 6/18/09 NE629,NEU301) ;D
Oceanfire31: 2/24/2011 $11,960.10 (09/07/09 $22,908.15 NE679, NE692)
onmywaynow: 3/4/11 $12,583.41 (12-31-09 $32,333.40 NEU9) ;D
poohbiscit: 3/7/11 10662.10 (12/31/09 $12,277.25 NEU14) ;D
Raven64: 2/18/11: $49,796.23 (1/19/10 $53,326.18 NEU60) ;D
Ravenhaired: 3/15/11 $58,431.58 (12/23/09 $72,190.66 NEU4) ;D
redwagon: 2/25/2011 $25532.81 (7/16/2007 $27323.79 N290) ;D
ronnyanna: 3/20/2011 $2042 (5/19/2007 $37244 N50)
rpprt: 3/17/11 $22,933.92 (7/20/07 $55,547.14 N325) ;D
sbvs4you: 3/3/2011 $12,671.17 (9/10/08 $39,096.98 NE298,NE326)
sparalach: 3/1/11 $14,743 (2/8/10 $20,140 NEU93) ;D
sunshinegal1981: 2/14/2011 $98,422 (10/29/2010 $114,950 NEU326) ;D
thriftymom[2] 3/07/2011 $19378.86 (3/25/10, $18502.12 NEU160)
TPSReport: 3/6/11 $8005.27 (1/2/10 $18228.56 NEU19)
wantanewjob: 3/12/11 $9,793.46 (1/19/10 $19,492.75 NEU60/198) ;D
Wudnit: 3/1/11 $146,844 (1/13/10 $172,190 NEU46) ;D
Congratulations to all of our racers-We are kicking that debt monster!

[rpprt]

North East REGIONAL STATE OF THE UNION:
This message was updated on Thursday, March 31, 2011.
As a region, our active members have eliminated $601,691.07 in debt!!!
Our Active Members are starting the race with $2,149,215.82 in debt.
Counting our Inactive regional members and our Winners - the North East Region has paid off: $3,261,197.23 The North East Region currrently has:
40 ACTIVE members
0 NEW members
28 WINNERS: AdrianBlack, Canadian in the USA, Cushion11, debt_dogma, debtbgone, Gin1984, heatherb1129, heidi66Independent, Heidi66Independent [2], idle_chatter, Inamaze, IOUnomore, IrishMaude, katlab58, LadyV_39, ladyV_39[2], merrythought, momtomimiandnoey, money maam, Mourning Cloak, MP Dunleavy, NewLease, Patchwork150, relax7598, shlinds, silverkitty, thriftymom, tobinikui
2 members who have paid off more than $50,000: foxybrown77, justpayit
7 members who have paid off over $25,000: irishSOB, ronnyanna, flat broke, sbvs4you, rpprt, mm4nodebt, wudnit
12 members who have paid off over $10,000: Cushion21[2], chiver78, Casey2525, onmywaynow, lark_1964, Maryland_Monroe, melting_debt, munjoyhill, oceanfire31, ravenhaired, sunshinegal1981, TPSReport
4 members who have paid off over $5,000 in debt! CLS328, BushTea28, GirlGreen, Wantanewjob
3 members in the $5500 Club: ronnyanna, Casey2525, Cushion21[2]

[Minnesotagirl7]

Please head over to the Midwest thread and congratulate HappyCat on her big win!!!

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wir&thread=205&page=71

[IrishMaude]

Hi all!

Lark: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! You and my amazing father share the same birthday! He's in good company. ;D

Re: The closing. So, we have a projected date to close on April 28. We hear from our mortgage broker it may be sooner. We're ok with either. Taking on a mortgage payment + renovations seems like such a daunting task, but I know it will pay off; we just loose our disposable income for now until we adjust or I happen to magically get a better paying job. Sacrifice all in the name of a roof over our heads.

I have been applying for jobs like mad and haven't heard a thing from anyone. *sigh* I would REALLY like to dive into the field I love and studied, but the more I search for jobs, the more that idea seems unrealistic. Oh well, I'll just keep applying and see if anything comes my way.

Hubby and I started a blog on the adventures surrounding our new home. If anyones looking to kill some time or is bored and wants to read it, I'll post the link. It's still in the beginning stages, but as renovations and DIY projects begin, more will be added.

www.redhousenine.blogspot.com

I hope you're all well.

[IrishMaude]

Ok, so I see the board changed the word A.p.r.i.l to second quarter. *A.p.r.i.l. 28*

[debtheaven]

IrishMaude
Congrats on your new home, it's beautiful!

[Maryland Monroe]

Quick note to let you know: I have decided to go back to posting on the 24th of each month to coincide with my starting date. I didn't want anybody to think I gave up. Since I'm down to only two cards now, all of my payments are on auto-pilot. I'll just check my balances on the 24th of each month and post the results.

[chiver78]

I noticed that the moderator of this board has changed to 'captainredracer'....is that a new thing? anyone hear from coffeegirl lately?

[foxybrown77]

Lark: Happy B-day!!!!

Rppt: Thanks for the shoutout, smileys and SOTU! I'm really shooting for a payoff by the end of June. Keeping my fingers crossed!

IrishMaude: New house....very exciting! Congrats!

[bankergurl]

$100K Club has been updated as of 4/3/11 and you can view it here! $15,224.53 paid off this week!
notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wir&thread=2929&page=1
- 1 New member, motherto2 from the Northeast, WELCOME!
- 1 Leapfrog, Wudnit from the Northeast!
- Congrats to motherto2 from the Northeast for paying off over $5K!
- Congrats to Kelly1977 and flynn11, both from the Midwest for paying off over $20K!
- Congrats to Wudnit from the Northeast for paying off over $30K!

[rpprt]

Question for NE Racers - Please provide your input
Since our move to Proboards, the captains of the regions are debating replacing the MSN starting page numbers for the first Proboards post. It would be easier to look back at the original Proboards post than to look back at the (hopefully) archived MSN threads. Your start date would not change. It would help those who restarted their race on the MSN boards, so they wouldn't have to list them all. So--what do you think? The NE will follow the majority. Either way does not make it harder or easier to update the worksheet.

[Delphinus317]

Creditor	Starting Balance	4/4/11	Total Paid	Current Balance
Capital One (5.99%)	$10,926	$0	$106	$10,820
Citi (0%)	$4,667	$37	$177	$4,490
Chase (0%)	$2,575	$240	$189	$2,764
Littman 1 (0%)	$1,287	$0	$1,287	$0
Littman 2 (0%)	$4,900	$50	$150	$4,750
Fidelity (0%)	$9,070	$100	$300	$8,770
CU Loan (9.9%)	$6,000	$0	$0	$6,000
Auto Loan 1 (3.99%)	$14,550	$234	$688	$13,862
Total	$53,975	$181	$2,519	$51,456

Total percentage paid: 4.7%

UPDATE: Delphinus317 4/4/11 $51,456 (1/19/11 $53,975)

Once again, not making much progress, but every little bit counts I guess. I transferred Auto Loan #2 to the Capital One for lower interest, so I just merged those beginning balances. Chase balance increased because we had to charge some things... Hubby lost his job, but found another one pretty quick that looks promising, so hopefully we can get right back on track. It feels like such a struggle right now. Fidelity card promotional rate is going to end next month, so we're going to have to start hitting that one hard if we're going to make any progress. I hope things start turning around soon as they appear to be.

[lark1964]

Chiver Where "April" became "second quarter", and "today" became "tofu", I really think it was an April fool's thing, someone either as part of MSN was playing around or someone hacking in, playing around, I would expect that's where "captainredracer" came from...?

Anyway, thanks for the birthday wishes! And - I think I should be excused from not updating this past weekend, because - per my birthday - I had a surprise party! I have never in my life had a surprise party! It was cool!

IrishMaude, I dunno if you noticed...? There's few jobs and far-between! Don't give up! You may not find one today, but next week (or next month), you will! Keep pluggin' away!!

Unfortunately, really, that's the job market right now...

Delphinus, good for hubby for finding work so quickly! It's scarey, even for 2-3 days!

[rpprt]

Lark
So-tell us about this surprise party! Did DD plan it for you? There were some "funny" things going on Friday - I believe most were April Fool's jokes.

[Maryland Monroe]

Apr 4, 2011 7:44:36 GMT -5 rpprt said:

Question for NE Racers - Please provide your input
Since our move to Proboards, the captains of the regions are debating replacing the MSN starting page numbers for the first Proboards post. It would be easier to look back at the original Proboards post than to look back at the (hopefully) archived MSN threads. Your start date would not change. It would help those who restarted their race on the MSN boards, so they wouldn't have to list them all. So--what do you think? The NE will follow the majority. Either way does not make it harder or easier to update the worksheet.

Either way works for me. I'll go with whatever the majority thinks.

[kristin11]

Just incase everyone wanted an update on my balance transfer. I just called HSBC for the 6th time to find out what the heck is going on with my balance transfer. Spoke to them last Monday and I was told it was successful on the 24th and that it should reflect on my accounts within 3 to 5 days – Well 7 business days later and nothing has happened. The woman I spoke to today (easier to understand & hopefully not lying to me like the last one) told me that it was denied the 2nd time again and that it happened last Monday. Don't understand what the last person was talking about then that it was successful but thats a whole different story and hopefully the woman that I spoke with today knows what she is talking about. She believes it was denied because my credit limit is $3,350 and the transfer would put the amount used at almost $3,300 and it would take up too much credit. She suggested trying it again but at a lower amount. Now this would be stupid to me because then both Target and the new card would basically have the same balance so I would need to split the payments and it would really get me no where so I decided to transfer over another card instead. My Discover card also has a high interest rate but if I transfer the balance in full it would only take up less than ½ the available credit on my card so we put that through. I was thinking if I transfer a full card I can just move my current payment over to that card and instead of paying off $350 this year it would be basically doubled at least. So now again I have to watch my accounts. She told me I should know what is going on in another 3 to 5 business days but again if I don’t see anything by next Monday I should call – Are balance transfers always so hard?

[ronnyanna]

rpprt - thanks!
crisde: hillbillyhousewife.com for reducing food bills
irishmaude - very nice house of yours! - ours is just a foreclosure and the bid is in, seller rep says there are multiple offers. there are major repairs and our offer is a cash offer. We have to get the septic and well inspections (if we get the bid)
kristen - when doing a balance transfer don't forget the fee (my cards have been saying 3 or 4%) subtract from the available balance before the BT, CC companies get nervous and whack your credit score when too much % of the card is used, some experts say use less than 50%, others less than 80% of the available balance
mourningcloak - For your interested party - I don't have a set of resources for him but I have been trying to get the county to share time on a computer based program called Fast ForWord for my son. He has dyslexic - type, non interest in learning (not ADHD but forgetfulness is the same) but this program I am sold on. We haven't been able to use it because it is cost prohibitive but I have read all the research and it is good. Forget the sales pitch, instead read how they identify children who most benefit from the interventions and relay the data to your interested person so he might see how your son has characteristics like these learners who struggle. Maybe your school has the program already. The city of Philly implemented it about 5 years back. My son has been in special ed.
I believe that children believe in themselves when they do something well. In our house - each child is quicker and better at some things. One child it is cooking (scrambled eggs for a 1st grader, cinnamon rolls for high schoolers,) another it is picking stocks from a short list (7th grader,) another it was student council (11th grade,) another it is weight lifting (11th grade,) stick carving (middle school,) frogs (middle school,) my youngest who has trouble doing homework is the best logical thinker ever. He is quick and right-on to solve problems (he beats his brothers at chess.) Keep trying different things that your child might be able to relax and enjoy. Not all children can do the same this, this and this. We want them to grow but expectations have to be aligned to the child. They need discipline and slack, according to who they are.

[cls328]

Update: 4/5/2011
SL 9,768.29
CC1 0
CC2 11,291.03
CC3 10,228.03
CC4 0.00
31,287.35

CLS 328: 4/5/11 $31,287.35 (12/21/08 $42,189.11) NE 397

I got my Party Hat!!!! It is a modest gain but a gain just the same. For a brief fleeting moment this turtle thought she was a gazelle...now back to turtle mode.

[oceanfire31]

RPPRT - Planning to hopefully move to Vermont, which is where I am from originally. First though we need to save up about 5000 for the move so it is probably not going to happen until the fall. Also wanted to take the time to say thank you for all your work on the lists and such it't fun to see everyone's progress.

[poohbiscit1]

I hope to make my update later this week or early next week. I may have to start going into super total mode (minimum only) as the higher gas prices are starting to take a toll on my budget. Hopefully this will only be a very minor setback that does not last too long.

[GirlGreen]

Well, my big scheduled maintenance for my car was $160 less than they estimated, but I need new tires and an alignment. So I'll still need to save some more money for that.

The turtle-ing continues.