So I’ve made it back to sunny Southern California, and I have not yet gotten used to the time difference or the giant glowing thing that hovers in the sky. Oh, and the exorbitant prices of everything! One trip to the supermarket is all it takes to remind me that there’s about a 70% markup out here, compared to Rochester. I’ve already refused to buy anything but food – and even on that front, I packed some non-perishables from my cupboard into my suitcase, to cut down on the amount The Fella and I have to buy.
Not to mention the fact that we got a parking ticket within the first 24 hours of me being here.
Still, I feel pretty good about our efforts to save money, despite being in this city of excess. Yesterday we ate lunch at Subway for a total of $8.00, and went grocery shopping… with a list! And didn’t buy anything that wasn’t on it!
Since the two of us are both trying to clean up our finances, I developed a little game that I hope we both stick to. You see, both of us have credit card debt equaling 80% of our credit limit. So the game is this: a race to see who can pay off all their credit card debt and THEN open an ING Orange Savings account with $250 (to get the $25 bonus). I think it’s a pretty fair race, since we both have the same percentage of debt (compared to our line of credit), and even though he makes more than I do (and it will still be more even after I get a job), he has more expenses than I do.
Hopefully, a little friendly competition will kick us both into gear.
That’s actually a really good idea. Not sure how easy a financial competition is to generalize (well other than, “ha ha, I’ve got more money than you”) but it sounds like a good motivator, and since it’s good for you and fun, well, what could go wrong?
Hello,
I just recently pulled my credit report to check my score. When i saw the score 640 – this didn’t make me happy. My dep to ratio is high and i have open credit card accounts with 0 balances. so i’m would like to know if i should close those cards out?
Michelle,
Generally, closing credit cards will hurt your score, not help it. That’s because closing a credit card means it will eventually drop off of your credit report all together, which could shorten your credit history (15% of your score). But more importantly, it could lower your debt-to-available-credit ratio, which is a whopping 35% of your score. You can read more about how your score is calculated and how to improve it in my post You Can Build Good Credit – Here, I’ll Help.