Financial Hack

Chris is back from his whirlwind road trip. I was excited to see him and… excited to sleep.
I don’t sleep well when he’s gone.
I think I’ve slept the last three days solid.
Eight days, a dozen or so states… and he stayed well within his budget. I’m proud of how dedicated he is to [...]

I was reading an article about ‘victimized’ homeowners. It said lenders ‘mostly targeted unsophisticated consumers with high-interest loans stuffed with high cost pitfalls’.
I hate that a lot of borrowers are willing to be called ‘unsophisticated’ – heck, let’s call a spade a spade -borrowers are willing to be called stupid so they can be [...]

When we started looking for a house, we were notified that our only option was a ‘stated income loan’ meaning, we would claim both our salaries, none of his credit history or the debt, and only borrow in my name. And yes, our lender was the one who instructed us how to do it. [...]

The fledging economy, fueled mostly by the housing market, has caused people to point fingers of fault. A good number of those fingers are pointed at mortgage lenders. But the question is… are our borrowing hands clean?
According to the results of a lawsuit in California, I was ‘victimized’ by my mortgage lender. [...]

My husband is leaving for a cross-country trip.
Sure there are dangers…
Weather conditions…
Traffic Safety…
The Occasional Runaway Circus Freak…
BUT
I’m more concerned about my… CREDIT CARD SAFETY!!
He’s traveling with a good friend. Let’s see… two guys, in their 20’s, wife-free?
So. I’m planning on Financial Cyber Stalking.
Thanks to the ‘blessing’ of online banking, my husband [...]

We’ve joined another financial class. OK, so it’s not a new class… it’s actually the same one we took before.
It’s important to keep focus at this stage. Things are getting monotonous.
We’re still five months from our next payoff and time is dragging at an all time slow speed.
At this point, I [...]

1. Do you like Bleu Cheese? When it’s in its proper place… in the trash.
2. Have you ever been drunk? My mother reads this so…. no.
3. Do you own a gun? Just the two attached to my arms.
4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Mom was a health freak. The best I [...]

Now that my car is paid off, I’ve rolled the amount I usually apply toward my car to my credit card.
I’m paying $800 over the minimum payment each month…
$800 could help my fledgling work wardrobe…
$800 could mean eating more than store brand wheat noodles for dinner…
$800 could fix my internet so I would no longer [...]

I never noticed the weight of borrowed money. Payments had become an expected part of my life and I didn’t think I would notice or care if one was gone.
I was wrong.
Ever since I paid off my car, I can’t look at it without smiling. It feels different to drive something I actually [...]

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Enter.
‘You have been locked out of all Company X computers. ’ Popped up in bright red letters across my computer.
‘Candy? Can you log in?’ I squeaked to a co-worker.
‘Yeah, no problems. Why…’ she started to say and stopped suddenly when she saw my screen. ‘I hate to say this but… [...]