Chicky Finance

Discovering what it takes to say "NO" to spending "YES" to saving

PROGRESS

Hello everyone! Welcome to Chicky Finance! I started this blog in mid January after reading several PF blogs; I got so motivated that I decided to share my "not so smart" mistakes and hope that someone else can learn from my miscalculations at the same time witness my journey of becoming debt free! More

DEBT-O-METER

CC Start 1/12/08: $25,970

CC Debt 11/15/2008:$16,450
Car Loan Start: $27,540
Car Loan 11/15/08: $18,434
IRS: $5000
Current IRS:$4,900
Thanks God no Student Loan!

September Debt Update

Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 comments (8)
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Tomorrow I will be starting my new job. I am excited and at the same time little nervous. I hope I like my work and new colleagues. My last day at work was today. I went to lunch with my close colleagues, they all wished me luck from their heart which was really sweet. Now it is the time to turn a new page in my life. BTW, I am really curious about my next paycheck, in fact I already start dreaming about it. :) Before I lose myself dreaming about my salary, I should summarize the Ugly debt currently I have.
CC#1: Paid Off
CC#2: Paid Off
CC#3: Paid Off
CC#4:$3,200 interest %0 until November. It was $4,000 last month.
Loan: $14,500 interest %8.9 Same as the last month

Total: $17,700

As you can see I am under 18K to be exact $17,700 which is $700 less than last month. I guess I could do better but if you consider all the travel I've been doing since my mom came, I am happy with my performance. In October and November I plan to get rid of CC#4 and pay off around $2,000 towards IRS and start attacking the personal loan ($14,500)...

It's boy: I am Aunt now

Posted on Sunday, September 28, 2008 comments (8)
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Life is unpredictable. This weekend this assumption proved itself true one more time. As I planned to spend time with my sister, my mom and meet with Budget Mama for lunch, instead something else happened. My sister suprisingly delivered her baby 2-3 weeks early. In fact her baby decided to come while I was on the plane so I ended up driving directly to the hospital from the airport and helped her out for 15 hours to deliver the baby. It is a healthy,cute,adorable baby boy. What a miracle! I am very happy but at the same exhausted (I can not even imagine how tried my sister must be), I really dont know how I am going to handle this week. I will have my last 2 days at my current company and start working for a new company as of Oct 1st, Wednesday.

Funny Resignation Letter

Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 comments (1)
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Is my Credit Card debt “good debt”?

Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 comments (7)
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Normally CC debt would be considered “bad debt” but what if you finance your education with credit card? In the beginning of this year I couldn’t believe my eyes when I say almost $26K credit card debt and nothing to show. I thought I must have gone to fancy dinners, vacations and shopping sprees. After going through my past statements I had a shocking reality. I actually financed my education in the US via credit cards..My credit card statements show that I charged my tuitions, books and park fees all on my credit card and paid minimum for 2 years. Apparently I’ve accumulated $26K CC within two years! Eeek..I feel better though just because at least I feel I went into debt for something good. I would not still call it “good debt” but I would call it for good cause. As of September of this year I have $18,500. I know it is still a lot but at least I can see the light to pay it off by the end of 2009 and become debt free. Becoming debt free is a hard process. It takes being persistent and patient. I sometimes feel I am falling off the wagon but then I pull myself together and fight harder. Lately, I’ve been feeling the debt is not going down as fast as I want it to be and it is really frustrating. I just try to keep in mind that as long as I don’t add additional debt and pay thousand something dollars per month, I will become debt free. I am just trying to use simple logic and stick to my plan.

No More Moderate Comments

Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 comments (4)
Just a quick note, I am not going to moderate comments anymore. That means as soon as you comment, it will appear on my blog. Please be nice to me ok? :)

SF trip this weekend..

Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 comments (3)
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As you might remember I was in SF last weekend. I spent quality time with my mom and two sisters but honestly I was exhausted while coming back. This weekend I am flying as well, in fact this time I will meet with Budget Mama and her DS! We will most likely eat lunch together and chit chat about our lives.. Budget Mama probably knows more than most of my friends. :) I am really excited about this blind meeting! After this weekend I need to focus on my new job. Before I know it will be Oct 1st and I will start working. It sucks that I don’t even have one day off between jobs. Also on October 24th-25th Mr. Finance and I will be going camping in Santa Barbara which is already paid for. While I was reading Krystal’s blog I saw that she posted her to do list and I thought I’d better do the same thing otherwise the list getting longer every day.

  • Go to dentist for cleaning
  • Go to optometrist and get more contact lenses
  • Take our female cat to vet to fix her and vaccines
  • Pay car loan
  • Try to reschedule INS biometrics appointment (part of immigration process)
  • Get ready for camping in Santa Barbara
  • Purchase 2 plane tickets to SF for November. I don’t think this time my sister will pay for it.
  • Go to hairdresser for coloring
  • Make a new adjusted budget for my new pay scale
  • Help my friend out to set up her accounting software for her retail store
  • Get ready for tailgate party on Oct 18th for UCLA football game
    And moreeeee……….

No more stressing out myself..

Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 comments (1)
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Life is unpredictable..I just need to accept this fact. After stressing out a couple of days for my new position, I finally gave up. There is nothing I can control at this moment about the US economy. While the congress is making decision, they are not going to ask my opinion. The only thing I can do is to be on top of my own finances and be positive about the whole job thing. If worse comes worse and they draw the offer, so be it. I’ll pick up myself and continue my life stronger.

I am Stressed..

Posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 comments (10)
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Like many, I have been disturbed by the financial turmoil we've been experiencing. I'm also worry about my new job situation. Do you think they might call me and take the offer back? And I become jobless suddenly? I hope they would not do something like that but I am trying to get ready something like that just because I want to be ready for any bad news. At the same time I'm aware that it is not healthy to think the way I do... My first day will be in Oct 1st and I can not wait to start. God please I hope they dont change their mind..

More SF Trips!

Posted on Friday, September 19, 2008 comments (4)
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Today after work I will be leaving for Bay Area. This weekend and following weekend I will be flying there (southwest) because I’d like to spend more time with my two sisters and my mom. I can see your eyes right now rolling and asking me how I can afford to fly SF every other weekend and sometimes every weekend. Thanks to my generous sister..She pays for all my flights. If she didn’t pay for them I could not see my mom and sister as many times past few weeks. She can afford it, I can not and she knows that. Two round trips to SF cost her $350. In the beginning of this year I owed her $700. Slowly I paid that off by writing articles for her new venture but now she is getting me all these trips and she does not want me to worry about the cost, how sweet is that? When I go there I will probably spend not much and I am not going to make the same mistake I did last time about parking at the airport. Mr. Finance is taking me to the airport and picking me up on Sunday which will save me from $45 parking fee, Eeek.

Juicy News about…

Posted on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 comments (22)
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I have great news! I GOT the JOB! The one I went to million interviews. I am really really excited about the whole thing. I think this job will be challenging but at the same time very rewarding for the future of my career. I gave my resignation today and I will be starting the new position on Oct 1st. The exit interview was smooth, my manager was upset because he said he is loosing “valuable, terrific” employee. :)

Let’s talk about money now! My base salary will be $51K + “guaranteed” 8,000 minimum annual bonus! What do ya think? I will be making $19K more than what I am making right now. Yay! I also put together a chart to see my salary progress since I’ve come to USA as an immigrant in 2002 with little to no English. I was making $8/hr working fulltime and going school full time at the same time. Six years later here I am and the whole picture is different. Brighter and happier..I hope that inspires some of you who struggles in life but never give up...

How am I dealing with Google Page Rank Issue?

Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2008 comments (4)
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This is how…I don’t care…Whether my “real” Google PR 2-3 or even higher I don’t care it shows “0” because for me Chicky Finance is just a way of me dealing with consumer debt. Google as many of us know is penalizing “paid blogs” especially PayPerPost related ones. Let me ask you this if I don’t do PPP, is google going to pay me $100 per month (that’s average what I am making every month through PPP)? NO, they will not pay me $100 just because I have a “pure” blog. Having said that almost a year I don’t plan to add Chicky Makes Cents to PPP so, I can see if there is any opportunity cost by having PPP.

Citibank, it is time to separate our ways

Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2008 No Comments
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I had three accounts with Citibank. I decided to close them several months ago and I did. At least I thought I did. A couple days ago I receive a letter from Citibank saying that my account $43.50 overdraft and will be suspended. WTF??? I closed these accounts long time agoooo. It turns out that they’ve only closed 2 of my accounts so one account was still open and $43.50 service fee+overdraft charge (which is caused by service fee). I called their customer service and they assured me they corrected their mistake. After couple of days, I received a voice mail from Citibank saying that my account is still overdraft and will be suspended. Arggg..Called again again and again…They said this time they corrected their mistake for sure! I will still keep eye on them and call within couple of weeks to see everything is ok. Lesson from this experience is always open your mails even if you think they are junk mail. Don’t expect any customer service will be flawless and always FOLLOW UP..

Free Credit Card Machine?

Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2008 comments (1)
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Nowadays seems like almost everybody loves using those plastic cards when it comes to shopping. I personally use my debit card for almost every transaction because at the end of a month I can have a spending report without spending too much time. Whatever shop I go, I just expect to have a credit card machine to swipe my debit card. However do you know how much even that little machine costs? Let’s put it that way a lot. If you are starting a new retail business, I have news for you. I came across http://www.onlinecheck.com/ and they offer free terminal your to keep ($295 value) if you use their credit card processing service. They offer next day merchant funding, you can process orders today-get paid tomorrow. Once you sign up their merchant account, you can accept credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover*and there is No long-term contracts. (I don’t like contracts), Process month to month, 1.59% transaction rate(I am not sure how good this rate is, you need to make your own research on that), There is NO Annual Fee and you can Cancel anytime. Also they offer Free Terminal Replacement Insurance/Warranty – If anything happens to your terminal, they will replace it free of charge. This service is offered for the life of your account with Merchant Advisors. And last, there is 30 day free trial so nothing to lose!

Gym Membership Experiment

Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2008 comments (2)
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I stopped my gym membership several months ago when I started this blog. Just a side note, when I had my gym membership, I was a kind of person who goes to gym ever single day. Nowdays, I feel depressed because I really WANT to start gym again. But this time I dont want it monthly month basis. Instead I 'd like pay 3 months ($99) or yearly membership($299). Yearly membership when you divide 12 costs much less then monthly dues and also I dont have to pay for initiation fee and processing fee. There is only one problem though I dont have $99 to get 24 Hours fitness 3 month membership so I decided to have a little experiment.I will try to make $99 today and tomorrow just using PayPerPost. Can I do it? We shall see!
Gym Experiment:
Goal: Earn $99 this weekend through PayPerPost
Time: Only this weekend

$10 September Donation Goes To....

Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2008 comments (2)
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This month my hard earned $10 donation goes to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Why them? First of all, I find helping animal and kids so awarding because unless we, adults, help them out no one can. In other words they are not capable of helping themselves. The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee was founded in 1995, is the nation's largest natural habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered African and Asian elephants. It operates on 2,700 acres in Hohenwald, Tennessee - 85 miles southwest of Nashville. The Elephant Sanctuary exists for two reasons: to provide a haven for old, sick or needy elephants in a setting of green pastures, old-growth forests, spring-fed ponds and a heated barn for cold winter nights; and to provide education about the crisis facing these social, sensitive, passionately intense, playful, complex, exceedingly intelligent and endangered creatures. These elephants are not required to perform or entertain for the public; instead, they are encouraged to live like elephants. What a great mission statement... They even have live webcam where you can watch these old gals. You can donate to a specific elephant, or to her endowment, or buy her a specific item of food, or to the general fund. In this organization most of elephants had previously spent most of their lives in horrible conditions, cruely confined, beaten to perform, and without proper nutrition or veterinary care.

What about Consolidating debt?

Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2008 comments (1)
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Consolidating debt is one of the hot topics for personal finance bloggers. Some bloggers support it strongly, some oppose it regardless, some says depends. I am probably in the third group. For example, in my situation consolidating debt has made totally sense because I never use credit cards anymore so making one big monthly payment made things simpler. However, I didn’t use any third party counseling, it was more like DYI. There are several debt relief options out there such as; debt consolidation loans, debt management plans or credit counseling, and debt settlement. I came across bills.com. It is one of those websites that is full of information and can really help educate you when it comes to your financial health. The website especially has a great section that will show you how you can consolidate debt so that you have less lenders to worry about. The first step in this process is to find the right loan or credit card to transfer all your existing debt into. They even have a section where they explain DIY debt relief which is exactly what I did. Steps include; Determine how you got into debt, Find your spending triggers, Change your money views, and Make the change permanent. If you want to read more about Bill.com, check them out!

Interview with a small CPA firm

Posted on Thursday, September 11, 2008 comments (1)
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I had an interview with a small firm today. I went there during lunch time so I don’t have to take time off or anything. First part was conversational for half an hour which I am good at, second part was TEST.*sigh* I don’t think I did well. I remembered when I took my current job, I had to take test too which I’ve got A with almost no error. This time around it was really bad. I don’t think I have any chance. However, now I know what I need to review…Sadness…

Peel Ad and Poll

Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 No Comments
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As you can see the poll results for Peel Ad shows that while %66 of people thought it was a great idea, around %33 of people wanted me to remove the peel ad. I will go with majority and continue to have a peel ad with a little twist though. I currently use a company named "Ad Toll" where they provide the script and take part of your revenue which is not profitable at all. I mean they take so much of your revenue that it does not make sense to use them at all. My understanding is whenever you can sell a space from directly to advertisers, it is in fact the best way to make money. Therefore, I will find a free peel ad script and sell my own space instead of using third party service. I’ll keep you updated on that.

Let's Start!

Posted on Tuesday, September 09, 2008 No Comments
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The primary purpose of Chicky Makes Cents will be to reach $3K income through online money making opportunities. I am certain I will learn a lot along this journey so I invite my readers to join me and follow my journey and perhaps follow my footsteps as I become rich! continue...

5th Interview I WANT TO THROW UP!

Posted on Tuesday, September 09, 2008 comments (9)
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5th Interview I WANT TO THROW UP! Seriously why in the hell 5th interview with the same company?My recruiter has just emailed me told me that CEO and CFO wants to meet with me again, eventhough I've met them seperatly. BTW, it turns out I am not the only one they interviewed yesterday. 2 other people they had interviews. I have such a liar recruiter....Argg..
Interviews I've had so far with this company;
1st VP of HR
2nd CEO
3rd CFO-CPA
4th CFO(different entity same company)
5th will be with CEO and CFO together

Link Exchange

Posted on Tuesday, September 09, 2008 comments (7)
I love personal finance blogs. Sometimes it takes a while for me to discover new ones because I try to keep up with the ones I already follow daily basis. If you'd like to exchange links, please leave a comment below or e-mail me. Once I add your blog to my link love, it will be alot easier for me to follow your blog. However, If you haven't updated your blog in 4-5 weeks, I'll probably take you off my link love..

Tennis Classes

Posted on Tuesday, September 09, 2008 No Comments
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You might remember my post about tennis classes I’ve been taking last 2 months. Well, I decided not to take anymore. For a couple of reasons, the class is $60 per month which I can not afford and I have many projects right this moment I am working on so I don’t have time for any class. However, I will still meet with my friends on Thursdays and Fridays to play tennis. (Costs me $32 per month)Mr.Finance and I will also play every Sunday. We decided I will teach him basics and we’ll go from there.

4th Interview and Another Job Opp

Posted on Monday, September 08, 2008 comments (1)
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First, I apologize because I could not write after the interview due to my hectic schedule at work and my managers all over me. Back to the interview, it was a short interview and they didnt make any offer in the spot so I am not sure at this point if I am getting offer or not. I am excited about the position but I know very little about any perks or salary...Also I got an another interview request from a local CPA firm. I will call them tomorrow and set up an interview. After today's interview, I emailed to my recruiter and found out that he is out of office and will be back tomorrow. I believe I will find out the result by Friday if not before. My feelings? I dont know, I really dont know how the interview went. I had a good feeling at the end but at the same time I know I am so not good at guessing when it comes to any interview.

4th interview with the same company

Posted on Sunday, September 07, 2008 comments (7)
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As I mentioned before, I’ve been interviewing with this one company last 2 weeks. I had three interviews and they told me I am in top 3. Last Thursday, I receive an email from my recruiter saying that they want to schedule 4th interview. Holy cow! Therefore, I will be going 4th interview Monday during lunch time. The recruiter told me this is the last interview and they are ONLY interviewing with me at this point no one else. That means either the job is mine or no one else’s. It sounded strange to me since I am in work force only over a year in the States. Anyways, I don’t know how the interview will turn out. Are they going to make offer right on spot? I told the recruiter I would consider seriously anything above $53K which is 13K more than my current salary. I will let you know tomorrow after lunch!

What about $3,000 side income?

Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 comments (8)
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Don’t get excited or jealous too quickly! I am not making $3,000 side income YET. But can I make 3K in addition to my full time job. Isn’t it all about aiming things so that you can reach them? It makes my blood boil (in a good way) when I think about it.. When I say side income, it will include passive income, active online income (writing articles for PPP etc) and small accounting (more like bookkeeping) consulting business. I am starting a new blog named Chicky Makes Cents. Chicky Makes Cents is where you can watch my progress every month and be witness how I will reach 3K side income.

Mom is here!

Posted on Wednesday, September 03, 2008 comments (6)
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My mom came to my place Saturday afternoon since then we have been all over OC. Saturday after I picked her up from airport we went to one of the biggest outlet in Socal. I ended up buying five white towels and couple things for home. Mom got me some clothing. From there we went to Nascar Car racing in California speedway which was great. My mom has never been to one so watching her reaction was fun. I got two Nascar tickets for free. How did that happen? Last February Mr.Finance and I bought two Nascar tickets. When we went to the race on Sunday it was non-stop raining so they postponed the race to following Monday. I ended up not going because of my work. However, Mr. Finance went and had fun. Fast forward to August; apparently Nascar officials decided to give us free tickets for Saturday race due to the inconvenience we’ve experience in the beginning of this year. So I ended up taking my mom to the race for free. She will stay here until September 6th. I have tons of fun things to do with her and It is so hard to concentrate at work while my mom is at home waiting for meee…
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