Update on Savings Plan: Tenant Issues

Part of my savings plan for this year had been counting on the income from my condo being rented out to a family. I was going to be able to save approximately $1,000 per month. In theory.

I am sad now to say that this savings plan can pretty much be ignored since I had the bad luck of getting bad tenants, who apparently had no intention of paying me from the moment that they moved in. I did do the background check, pay history, and they came with glowing references from the previous landlord with whom they were with for nine  years without an incident.

How did it get so bad?

Emergency Fund Update

Emergency Fund March 2013 Update:  $1,040

Due to me being repeatedly sick, I have had quite a substantial pay reduction the last two to three months.

I have not been able to fund the emergency fund as much as I would like but I finally got it up to $1,040. That's where it would probably sit for a while since I have quite a few irregular bills in March and in the next few months.

Side Income: Makeup

Is it crazy to think of doing makeup on people as a side income? Let me rephrase; Is it crazy to think about doing this because I love makeup although there are better side income ideas in the field that I work in?

I am an environmental professional (I don't call myself a scientist because I do not do field research). I know there are side income opportunities that could exist in the environmental field.

However, lately, I really just do not want to deal with work after work hours. I know I need to correct this behavior and keep myself updated on various certifications/qualifications/barf barf.

Instead.....

First Amazon.com Sale!

Selling stuff on Amazon.com:

 

My DVDs and PS3 Games sold on Amazon.com! Finally! I know this may seem like nothing, but I really didn't think anyone would want to buy my crap that I listed on Amazon.com.

Here is my Seller's Storefront if anyone is interested: OC Budget's Storefront  (In HUGE font size, just in case. Ha ha!)

As you can see I do not have that many items listed for sale since except for makeup related items, I really don't possess many things that I don't use or love. I'm going to try and find more things that I can sell since selling used makeup items (which i have too much of) are out of the question.

However, this morning, when I checked my Amazon account:

Credit Score Update

For the longest time, my credit score had been at 780. Over the last year, I knew that the score has fallen although I hadn't checked the score lately.

Why?

I knew that I no longer have an excellent credit score due the following reasons: the recent refinancing of my home loan and opening up three additional credit cards in the last year.

In addition, the refinancing process and the three new credit cards also resulted in five (5) hard credit inquiries, which are going to stay on my credit report for two years.  This also reduces the credit score. However, I have read that there are ways to get rid of the hard credit inquiries within a few months. I will have to look into that.

I figured it is finally time to see what my current credit score is via Credit Karma, a pretty good free website, where it provides the user a free approximate credit score from Transunion as well as a way to monitor whether the score is increasing or decreasing over time. It is free to make an account but of course, the way they make money is to have tons of advertisement and to present you with "opportunities" to save money with their sponsors. It is easy to set up and is user-friendly so, I don't mind using this in the future as well to monitor my credit score's progress. All you really need to give is the social security number, address, and birth date.

What Did I find Out When I Finally Checked My Credit Score Today?

Importance Of Being Healthy

The Importance of Being Healthy has never been more apparent to me now. I have been taking unpaid sick leave since I have gotten sick and it needs to stop now before I get behind on bills and add back the debt I have paid off so far.

On the other hand, coming into work while being feverish is not a smart thing to do either since it delays my recovery time and it is also unfair to my co-workers although I do have my own office and my physical interaction with them is kept to a bare minimum.

I hope things look better soon because since Christmas holidays, I have been pretty much through out. I got sick, then got better, and now, I'm sick again. The same respiratory illness. Vitamin C, nasal rinse, and multi-vitamins haven't been helping much during the non-sick periods.

I hope everyone else is doing good with their health.

Tax Refund: Where Did It Go?

I received approximately $4,000 in tax refund. I was overly joyed. I love seeing a big (big for me at least) amount of money in my checking account. Yes, I know, I just gave the government an interest free loan for a year but let me enjoy this, ok? ;)

That was last Friday. Now, it is gone.

Surgery Ahead!

Bad News Come In Clusters....I am 100% at fault

I have been missing alot of work lately due to health problems and there is a surgery looming ahead, which will take approximately 4-6 weeks to recover.

I have been missing pay due to me being paid hourly and the 4-6 weeks of recovery time from surgery will be unpaid as well.

What does this mean to my goals of Credit Card Debt Payment & Emergency Fund Building?

Well...