Gather around the campfire, everyone - I have a scary story to tell you. *Puts flashlight up to her chin, illuminating only part of her face.*

Imagine for yourselves, a wary traveler. She has spent 7 hours sitting in an airport, because her flight was to leave at 6:30am, and she was leaving from an airport that was far from her home, so it was hard to find a ride there past midnight. Think of this tired traveler, who has not managed to even nap yet.

Picture her tiredly checking her two bags of luggage, after having diligently watched over them all night in the airport lobby. And now, see her taking her backpack and laptop through airport security, and laughing at her travel companion when he has to go through the “special” security line. Oh yes, she laughs now, for she does not know what is coming.

Another two hours pass as the traveler and her companion sit at the gate. They try to access the intertubes, but Buffalo/Niagara International Airport tries to demand a fee of $6.95. The traveler and her companion scoff at the idea of paying for wireless internet in an airport.

Finally, the time comes to board the first of their two long flights. The traveler and her companion settle down into seats 5E and 5F, and as soon as the plane begins to roll along the runway, and the safety video begins to play, the traveler drifts off to sleep.

Content in her rest, the traveler feels safe. Until, suddenly, an announcement comes over the loud speaker.

Oh no! What important airplane announcement must be so loud as to wake our gentle protagonist from her slumber? Have we hit a batch of turbulence? Did we lose an engine? Did we lose an entire wing?

No, my listeners, the horror about to attack our travel was far worse. The announcement over the speaker was… was… was…

An advertisement for a US Airways/Bank of America credit card. You could get 20,000 miles just for signing up! And you’ll also get miles for the flight you’re on right now!

Come back to the fire, my listeners! Do not run away in fright! You are safe here by my blog campfire, the airline mile credit cards cannot get you here. But I must release an important secret I have been hiding from you. Yes, you must know: I was that traveler!

And I don’t appreciate being woken up on an airplane just to be advertised a Visa card. It was a pretty good card, too, with a no-fee 0% balance transfer offer that I could have used. But I decided that because they’d woken me up, they didn’t deserve my business.

P.S. - They did it again on my second flight. Luckily, neither of us were sleeping that time.

Ahoy there, mateys! Welcome aboard me ship! I be but the humble Captain Stephanie, steering me vessel toward untold treasure! Actually, me treasure map came by email from Coinstar, but it be a treasure map none the less!

So hop aboard, and I’ll sail us round the dangerous water of… um… my house. And we’ll dig us up some treasure! You’ll be needin’ yer own copy of the treasure map, if yer ta be my first mate, ya scurvy dog! … Ok, I really can’t do this any more. I’m not as well-versed in “pirate” as I pretend to be. There should really be a Google translator for this. Anyways, here’s the treasure map:

1. Grab your lucky penny, drop it in your jar, and proceed to the front door to begin your hunt.
Take: $0.01

2. 71% of Americans find change in cups, jars and other containers. Leave no cup unturned.
I left no cup unturned… but I didn’t find anything, anyways.
Take: $0.00

3. Don’t forget the most obvious spots - your pockets and handbags are places many accumulate coins.
Take: $0.50 in my jeans from last night, and $2.66 in my change bag in my purse.

4. “Bank” on finding a large portion of your treasure in the most practical places - 50% of you keep you change in a “Piggy” or other kind of bank.
My family is all about the change jars. I have three, and my mom has two. My main change jar is an old glass half-gallon milk jug. I also have a smaller mason jar for quarters, and another mason jar for Canadian change. I’m hoping to fund a trip to Canada entirely out of Canadian change some day! While counting that, I found some British change in there as well - it really threw me off, since they both put the Queen on their money. Dear Canada: Stop confusing me!
My mom also has separate jars for quarters and smaller change.
Take:
Milk jug: $16.90, and $0.21 Canadian
Quarter jar: $0.50
Canada jar: $4.51 Canadian, and $0.26 America (sneaky money!)
Mom’s quarter jar: $31.00 and $0.50 Canadian (which I kindly moved to my Canada jar for her)
Mom’s loose change jar: $5.70 and $0.01 Canadian

5. Don’t give up, 18% of Americans find loose change in random places scattered around their homes.
I even checked under the fridge (ew), but didn’t find a thing.
Take: $0.00

6. Would you have believed that 19% literally sit on their stash every night?
I believe it, but I must be in the other 81% - nothing in the couch.
Take: $0.00

7. You might find more than junk in your drawers, 33% revealed they find spare change hiding there.
My mom just organized our junk drawer, so no change there.
Take: $0.00

8. Among the dryer sheets and lint balls, 36% of us find the cleanest of the coin in the laundry room.
I believe the close proximity of the laundry room to my mom’s room is why I didn’t find any change there!
Take: $0.00

9. Before making your getaway to your local Coinstar Center, sweep the car and you’re boung to find even more treasure.
Yep, I carry the family habit of hoarding change in my car.
Take: $2.60 and $0.01 Canadian

The email this treasure map came with stated that the average household is hoarding about $90 in change - so how did I measure up?
Final take: $60.13 and $5.24 Canadian.

That’s actually far more than I thought I’d find, considering it’s only been a few months since I last rolled up my loose change and took it to the bank. So if you include that money from February, I beat the national average with $101.63.

Hmm… only $5.24 Canadian? I may have to rethink my strategy for saving up for that trip…

So, ye scurvy dogs, do you have what it takes to take this treasure map and hunt in yer own stormy seas? If so, post yer booty in me comments!

Greetings, my fellow debt-fighters. I stand here before you, a general in this War on Debt! Though I only enlisted some four months ago, I have been fighting this war for much longer… since The Debt led a sneak attack against me when I began my university education. But I have joined up, and I’m taking the fight to them! Here are how things have progressed since my “Resolutions are for sissies!” speech:

The Main Objectives

Get a job: I have a part time job now, and this website has become a part-time job on it’s own. I’m also looking for some other income streams, because money is my ammunition, and I need a lot of it.

Sell something on eBay: Ok, I haven’t yet. But I have sold several textbooks and some furniture using other internet sites, so it’s a start. Getting ready for the move to the suburbs is unearthing a lot of items to sell (for ammunition)!

Get rid of all this stuff: I’ve been going through everything in the process of packing. I’m really hoping to get it down to a bare minimum, which really requires going through each box of “stuff” multiple times. I burned a lot of stuff in a bonfire this past weekend (which was awesome).

Make a budget… again: I’ve actually kept on top of my spending and my budget (which is really just a balance sheet) this whole time. It’s a habit now, and I freak out if it gets messed up. Point is, I know exactly how money has flown in and out of my life since the beginning of 2007.

Start a retirement fund… for serious: Nope, haven’t done this. I really don’t think I will until my credit card is paid off, and I’ve started a mini emergency fund.

Go back to school: Currently, it looks like I should be back for the Fall 2007 term. Woot!

Pay off my credit card: I haven’t made as much progress as I would like, but that could change very soon. Now that I have my part time job, I’ll have more ammunition to throw at this Axis of Evil!

Secondary Objectives

Pay off my car: Been making steady progress, but even better, it looks like my loan may be forgiven after this month’s payment. Either my grandmother, who is the one I bought the car from, will just forgive the loan, or my mother will pay the rest off for me (I may, however, have to start making payments to her, if she does that!). If the loan is forgiven, that’s one Enemy Nation of Debt conquered, and I can take all the troops that were fighting there, and direct them at Credit Cardonia and The United Forces of Student Loan.

Get a better job: I’m not gonna lie, I like my new job, and because it’s all online work, I can do it from anywhere (I’ll likely live out half the summer in Los Angeles) and I can continue to do it when I go back to school. Still, I’m on the lookout for additional streams of income, and may even start another business when I go back to school. More ammunition!

Organize a killer garage sale: So far, this has consisted of packing up boxes of stuff to sell. The garage sale will probably take place just before or just after we move (July 1st).

Start up that business I thought of: This really isn’t relevant until I go back to school.

Start up some other business I haven’t thought of yet: No ideas percolating right now, but I’ll let you know.

Try out Prosper: As a lender, I mean. This is probably also a “after I have defeated the credit card” thing.

Start a protest outside a Wal-Mart: Not yet, but it’s always possible!

Final Thoughts

This war may never be truly over. There will be conflicts with The United Forces of Student Loan for a long time yet. And if our imperialist nature brings us to conquering a house of our own, we can expect attacks from Greater Mortgage Payment. However, all is not lost, so long as the interest rates are low, our aim true, and our payments on time.

Oh, School House Rock! A staple of my childhood. Actually, these School House Rock shorts I found about money seem to be newer than the ones I watched “back in my day,” so I’d venture to say they were made in the last ten years. Still, they’re very good, so show them to the youngin’ in your life. Or watch them for yourself - I won’t tell anyone. Just don’t blame me if they get stuck in your head!

Where the Money Goes (Family Budgets)

$7.50 Once a Week (Allowance)

Walkin’ On Wall Street (Investing)

Bash.org, if you’re not familiar with it, is one of those sites that’s “not for anyone under 18… or over 18, for that matter.” It’s a collection of user-submitted quotes from IRC, ranging from “purely stupid” to “stupendously hilarious.” I didn’t expect to find anything personal finance related there, but sometimes even sites like Bash can surprise you.

#743428

culturejammer: you know what pennies are AWESOME for?
culturejammer: throwing at cats
culturejammer: it only costs a single penny
culturejammer: and they’ll either chase it, or get hit by it and look pissed off
culturejammer: i now use that system to value prices of things
culturejammer: for example, a thirty dollar game has to be at least as awesome as three thousand catpennies

I can’t really recommend you throw pennies at cats (although, my brother does it, and it’s pretty friggin funny), but I do recommend you pause and think about money as it passes out of your hand, and whether or not the value of your purchases matches the amount you’re paying for them.

Happy April Fool’s, everyone! I’d try and play a trick on you, but honestly, I didn’t think far enough ahead to plan anything. Instead, I’m going to give you some advice: don’t let anyone fool you into paying for things you don’t need, or even worse, things that don’t exist! Listen to this hilarious recording of a guy trying to trick a young woman with made-up car repairs.

I would hope no one reading this would fall for “headlight fluid” or anything like that, but if you’re worried that you might get ripped off by a mechanic, then simply take a trusted friend who knows a lot about cars with you when you take your car in.

And remember, tires are interchangeable, left to right and front to back!

The following clip from “Family Guy” demonstrates why you simply shouldn’t put yourself in a position to owe money to family members. It also demonstrates why you shouldn’t lend money to family, either. Although in the clip, the money exchange is due to a bet, this really goes for lending money as well.

Warning: Gratuitous, and hilarious, violence, as well as some language.

Both parties end up feeling guilty at the end - Brian for ducking out on the money he owed, and Stewie for causing Brian so much pain while trying to get the money. Also, everybody gets hurt. Even though your brother-in-law might not actually come after you with a flame thrower if you owe him money, he might feel like he wants to.

Simply put, don’t do it. It just causes problems.

The majority of my friends won’t touch a glass of alcohol, in any form, with a ten foot pole. I figured this would change as time went on, but so far, I can only think of two people that crossed the non-drinker line. It hasn’t been much more than a slight annoyance, seeing as I myself have not yet reached the legal drinking age, but now I’m starting to think that my of-age friends should consider changing their tune.

Why? Because drinkers earn 10-14% more than non-drinkers. Cheers!