Saving Stargirl

I have become rather addicted to Mylot.com, another earning-money-online site. It’s basically like a big message board, and you earn money for making posts, leaving answers to other people’s questions, starting discussions, and uploading photos. It’s the easiest site I’ve found so far - I’ve only been a member for 2 days, but I’m quite addicted already :) I figure that I spend enough time posting on regular message boards anyway, so why not get paid for it?

Mylot.com - I definitely recommend this one!

This is a good one!! :D

From Wednesday 24-Jan-2007:

American Express credit card: $2,996.92 AUD
Personal loan: $5,125.23

Total: $8,122.15

Since then:

American Express:
+ nothing again!!
- $1,200.00 in repayments !!
Total: $1,796.92

Personal Loan:
- $150.00 (monthly repayment)
Total: $4,975.23

New Total Owing: $6,772.15

I am so thrilled! The money from my housemate cleared, and finally arrived in my Australian bank account today - just in time to send off a payment to American Express before the end-of-month interest hit. In just a few weeks, I have halved my credit card debt, and I should be able to clear it well before my goal date of Easter - hopefully by the beginning of March now! This is a huge relief, as I’ve had debt owing on my American Express card for well over a year now, due to lots of overseas travelling, and it’s nice to finally get a hold on it, and get back in control.

The cheque from my housemate for £600 cleared!! I am so happy. I honestly was beginning to think I would never see that money again, so the fact that I really do have it now is fantastic. I have already transferred it over from the UK to my Australian bank account, which will take about 5 days to do, and then I can put the bulk of it onto my American Express card. I owe my boyfriend some money that he leant me back in October (when we were in the UK), so I can pay him back too.

My credit card debt is getting smaller & smaller every week!
My aim is to have the credit card wiped clean by Easter - it’ll probably be sooner than that since the money from my housemate in the UK came through, but it’s nice to know that the end is getting close. There is a light at the end of it, as my mother said to me the other day. Then I can start chipping away at that personal loan, and finally start saving.

Starboy & I have decided to open a joint savings account, to start saving for our overseas trip next year. We have a goal in mind, and having a joint account that we can both deposit money into will be a great start. It’s our first joint “thing” (eg account, item etc), so it’s rather exciting for that reason too :)

So, I am pretty sure that the money my ex-housemate deposited into my account on Monday has cleared, and all is okay - it’s Day 4 now, and the money is still in there. Last time, when the cheque bounced, it was taken out on Day 3. I’ve just done some Googling, and it seems that I am probably okay to say the money is mine now, but I am going to wait until next Monday (UK time), just to be on the very safe side - I would hate to withdraw the money, and then for it to bounce after all, leaving me with a huge overdraft in my UK account.

But I am very happy that so far, so good — that $1,500 AUD is nearly mine now!

In other news, it is a long weekend for Australia Day today. I went to the library last night, which I absolutely adore - ours has all the latest magazines, books, etc, it is wonderful ♥ I had a few good books on hold, including one I started when I got home: Front Row - about Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of US Vogue magazine. I absolutely adore Vogue - the Australian, UK, and US versions (though don’t worry, I don’t buy them all every month!), and of course the book/movie of The Devil Wears Prada made me all the more fascinated about the US editor. Anyway, I am definitely enjoying this book a lot so far. I have such a bad habit of reading 4 or 5 books at a time - no wonder it takes me ages to finish anything. My boyfriend has wanted me to finish reading American Gods for ages now, so we can discuss it (he leant it to me), but I keep getting distracted…

Today I am just catching up on a few things that need doing - cards written & mailed, website stuff, getting a few things organised - then tonight I’m seeing Starboy and his kids. I love days off from work!

What are your plans for the weekend?

From Wednesday 17-January-2007:

American Express credit card: $3,286.07 AUD
Personal loan: $5,125.23

Total: $8,411.30

Since then:

American Express:
+ $60.85 (sympathy flowers for a friend)
- $350.00 (repayment today)
Total: $2,996.92

Personal Loan: $5,125.23

New Total Owing: $8,122.15

I’m under $3,000 owing on my Amex card now - I’m thrilled! :)