Monday, November 28, 2011

Money Lesson: Be Observant

Last weekend, I needed to do a little shopping so I headed out to Target.  I saw a large package of toilet paper was on sale for $12 so I quickly grabbed one and headed to the checkout line.  The cashier rang up my purchase and called out the total, but as I pulled out my debit card and began to swipe, I paused..."Could you repeat that total?"  Turns out the toilet paper rang up as the original price of $15...


The same night, my fiancĂ© and I decided to go out to eat.  We had great food, a really nice waitress, and everything was going fine...until the bill came.  There was an extra item listed on our receipt and--had I not noticed--we would have been overcharged by about $5!



So, there were mistakes on two separate occasions in the same night that could have cost me money...BUT, by paying attention as the transactions were taking place, I was able to catch these mistakes and save a few dollars.  It may not seem like $3-5 is a lot of money, but considering all the purchases you make every single month, if even a few result in you being overcharged then that $3-5 can add up!  Make sure you observant when making purchases and review all your receipts!


Thursday, November 10, 2011

Guest Blogging Round-up: October

 Every Thursday, I write about all things finance from the young adult’s perspective in a series called Pennies-Nickel-Dollars over at Pretty Natural Divas.  Take a look at my posts from October and be sure to check me out  each and every Thursday! 


Daily Deal Sites: Do's and Don'ts  Tips to make sure you are making the most out of daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social. 


Budgeting 101 + Free Budget Template A beginner's guide to making a budget, with a free template available for download.


Things Retailers Don't Tell You  A discussion of insider retail secrets used to trick shoppers into spending more.  


My Favorite Cheapie Hair Products  A rundown of my favorite hair products priced under $10.









Monday, November 7, 2011

Credit Card Paid Off!


For the first time since 2005, I checked my credit card statement online and saw this:



Woo Hoo!!!

Now I have to decide where to go from here. Originally I had planned to start using my credit card for all my monthly purchases and just pay the balance in full each month. This was due to the maintenance fees and check card fees that Suntrust bank were planning to implement, but now that they have decided not to charge these fees, I don't have a reason to stop using my debit card. I'll figure it out eventually, but for now I'm going to enjoy the feeling of the $0 balance : )