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A little info about the BF and how we handle the cash money

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 50 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I don’t talk too much about the BF on my blog, but I’d like to. A lot of you said that you don’t mind that I blog anonymously, but that you’d love it if I shared more information about my life. I’ve never really said too much about the BF, I just tend to throw those letters around, but none of you really know anything about him. So you guys are lucky, today you will learn about him and how we handle our money.

A little information about the BF:

  • The picture above is of him when we went to San Juan last year
  • He’ll be 23 in about 2 weeks (does anyone have any present ideas for him?)
  • He has a new habit pretty much everyday. And he’s obsessive about them. Whether it’s cars, guns, motorcycles, he goes absolutely insane and will read everything about it until I want to run away
  • Before last year, he had NEVER been on an airplane, but I definitely changed that last year once I had time for vacations
  • He comes from a GREAT family, and his family is the best thing ever
  • He’s very clean
  • He’s a workout maniac
  • He loves to drink tons of milk and it makes me want to barf
  • I tend to talk in my sleep (and it tends to scare him) and he will have long conversations with me because he thinks it’s hilarious
  • He eventually wants to graduate and have a career with something involving the environment and scientific sustainability research
  • Hmmm I’m obviously horrible at describing him so now I will resort to the physical (since I obviously don’t show pictures yet, I will describe him). He’s around 6’1″, blonde hair, blue eyes (can’t tell in the picture of course).

Now for some information about our relationship. We’ve been together almost 6 years, and we’ve lived together for almost 5 years. Yes, that means that we moved in together right after high school. We’ve lived in a total of 4 places (I think, I might be forgetting) and we bought our house at the age of 20.

Most would say that we’re crazy. But it worked for us. We also have joint accounts (nothing is separate). This doesn’t bother me though. After all of the problems that money brought in my family, I guess that caused me to not to get upset about money and relationships. And yes, most people will say that we are crazy since we live like this and are not married, but it doesn’t bother me (mainly because I don’t see how being married or not really affects us). This mainly has to do with the way I saw my parent’s marriage shrivel up as I grew up. I hope I don’t offend anyone with my thoughts above.

I’ve made a post on this before, but how does everyone else handle their finances? Joint accounts, separate, separate and joint? What do you think would work best for you? Tell me!

This leads me to the next little fact about us: Our lives are kind of similar to Erika’s. I also have a bigger salary than the BF, and because of the field I’m in, I most likely always will. I don’t see anything wrong with this. And I don’t understand why some people do think there is something wrong with this. We actually have had some people criticize him/us for that.  Do you make more than your significant other? What do you think?

We are not married, we’re not in a rush for that and don’t want to go into debt for a wedding. We do plan on doing that soon (I know, not romantic since we’ve talked about it).  Now don’t get me wrong, I definitely want to get married, but with school and work, I don’t have time to plan a wedding. I actually cannot wait until I can plan my own wedding. I’m having a blast planning my friends wedding. She similar to me and my BF. They’ve been together for 12 years (since they were 14, and yes they are high school sweethearts too), but because of schooling, she has her PhD from an Ivy League school, and so does he, so they never had time until now to get married. Looks like we’ll be on the same path as them 🙂

We’re high school sweethearts (Awwww right?) and I love him a whole lot of course. He’s very wonderful and we have a blast together. He’s someone that I can complain to (even though I know he’s not always listening), he listens about problems with my mom, he is actually nice to my mom, he was there for me when my dad passed, he’s my best friend!

Well, that’s all I can think of for now. Do you have any questions for me?

Work at Home and Online Scams

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 20 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

There are many scams out there. I don’t know if any of you watch the 16 and Pregnant or Teen Mom episodes, but a girl on the show fell for a Western Union scam. She ended up losing $3,000 by cashing the check she was given and giving the guy back the change. Did anyone else hit their head on the wall when she was doing this? Yes I know this episode is from around a year ago, but I still think of how much she was an idiot for that.

The many many types of scams:

  1. Nigeria. Someone from another country needs YOUR help and only you can help. They need help transferring millions and millions of dollars. Easy huh?
    • What you should do: Ignore this, don’t even open it.
  2. Check cashing. They will buy something from you on Craiglist or something and give you a check. This check will be for an amount MUCH higher then the item that you bought and then they will ask you to cash the check and give them back the change. By time you give them the money, the bank will most likely notice a couple of days later that the check was fradulent and you will most likely have to pay.
    • What you should do: Don’t FALL FOR THIS! So many people fall for this every time. Why would anyone write you a check for more than the item is worth?
  3. 900 numbers. You’ll usually sit on the line and rack up tons of charges by waiting.
    • What you should do:  Don’t call 900 numbers. I’m not positive, but don’t they all rack up charges?
  4. Lottery winning. Congrats! You won millions of dollars and you didn’t even have to enter anything and you don’t even know how you won this.
    • What you should do: Don’t open this either!
  5. You have a lost friend who desperately needs your help. They will pretend to be a friend of yours and say they are stuck in another country and that they really need your help. The only way you can help is if you fork over your credit card and some money (well a lot of money).
    • What you should do: If you truly think that this might be a friend of yours, then try calling your friend first and see how they are doing.

Fess up, have you ever fallen for a work at home, online, or phone scam?

 

Extra Monthly Income Update

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 14 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I’m doing an update on the extra monthly income that I talked about in How I plan on increasing my income and therefore my saving and also here.

Back in August and again in October, me and the BF were trying to find ways to add around an extra $1,000 to our monthly income, so that we can pay down our debt faster. Here are the steps that we were talking about doing.

1.  “Do more secret shops.”  I don’t really do these too much anymore, but I am still making around $150 a month. Since I’ve been doing this for a couple of months, I am now able to do easier and better cash making assignments. I’ve gotten tons of free Estee Lauder stuff lately!
2.  “Continuing with my online surveys.” I still don’t do this a ton. I really only do this so that I can be on a research panel. The other day I had cash mailed in an envelope, and that was nice! I make probably around $20-$30 a month from this but I also get lots of free stuff.
3.  “We have a friend moving in with us.” I don’t think this person is moving in anymore. She hasn’t talked about it in forever. Me and the BF aren’t upset though at all because we like having our space. We could lean either way though, oh well. We’re still happy.
4.  “Also, hopefully I can convince the BF to get a second part-time job.”  He’s been getting more hours recently because of the holiday season and will be making around $500 extra a week until around mid-January. This is nice! And he also gets a raise in January and again in June, so that is nice also.
5.  “And then I plan on maybe getting a side job also.” Hahahah I bet you guys are all laughing at this. I still haven’t put any effort whatsoever in this. Maybe one day I will try.
6. I’ve also slowed down with earning Swagbucks but I’m still making a decent amount. Of course this doesn’t count towards income but it’s nice to buy things for free on Amazon. Check out my other easy ways to make money.

So, for the month of  and December we will have about $2,500 in extra income but along with my Christmas bonus and the fact that I get paid 3 times in December and the BF gets paid 5 times in December, we will definitely be waaaay over this $2,500 amount. If only December was EVERY month 🙂

In normal months though, we will only be making around $500 extra a month. That is until this summer when I get a raise and all of my designations from my ASA and MBA.

What have you been doing to make extra income? 

Make Money

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 4 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I talk about extra income a lot. To read my posts about extra income, click here.

Below are my extra income updates:

 

Here are some sites that I use to make extra money. They are relatively easy.

Starting a Blog

 

BestMark Shopping

 

Mr. Rebates

  • Whenever you are about to buy something online, check to see if the company is listed on Mr. Rebates. If it is, then when you buy something, you will get a rebate (can be anywhere from 1% to 40% back).

 

Swagbucks

  • Swagbucks is a search engine (like Google or Yahoo) that offers you the chance to earn “swagbucks” for different things. I mainly just do my normal internet searches through Swagbucks. Then when you accumulate enough, you can go to the prize store and get anything from toys, electronics, and gift cards. Most people buy Amazon gift cards.
  • So far I have made over $200 in Amazon gift cards. It’s super easy to use, so sign up NOW!

 

Ebates

  • With Ebates you just shop like you normally would online. Go to ebates first and then search for the store you are wanting. They have many stores and most likely the store you are wanting to buy your item(s) from will be listed.
  • Then you just click to your online retailer of choice through ebates, and then ebates will give you your percent back! Sometimes you can get 10% to 15% back on your purchase. It’s easy money!
  • This is a free service, click here to sign up.
  • This is a quote from their website: “People often ask: “This sounds too good to be true, how are you able to do it?” It really is quite simple. Just like almost every other online shopping center, we get a commission from the stores when you make a purchase. Instead of keeping that money – like almost all other sites do – we share it with you!”

 

That extra monthly income that I was supposed to be making…

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

 I’m doing an update on the extra monthly income that I talked about in How I plan on increasing my income and therefore my saving.

Back in August, we were trying to find ways to add around an extra $1,000 to our monthly income, so that we can pay down debt faster. Here are the steps that we were talking about doing.

1.  “Do more secret shops.  I have made around $250 so far.  My plan is to make around $150-$200 a month.”

  • I have cut this down quite a bit, as I don’t have time anymore to go to places when they are open.

2.  “Continuing with my online surveys. Probably only around $30 a month.  But this along with Swagbucks will probably be around $50 a month altogether.”

  • This is still going at pretty much the same pace.

3.  “We have a friend moving in with us.  This person is going to pay $300 for rent and utilities altogether.  Our house isn’t huge but we have a finished basement, so altogether our house is around 3,000 square feet. So, with a roommate we still won’t be cramped.”

  • This friend still doesn’t know when she wants to move in, I wish she would have a date so that we can have everything ready for her, so it’s a little aggravating.  At first it was August, then it was the end of August, then it was the beginning of September, then the end of September, and now it’s just in the air.
  • It wouldn’t be as aggravating if we didn’t tell another friend that they could not live with us because the other friend would be moving in soon. So now I think this other person just thinks I’m lying.

4.  “Also, hopefully I can convince the BF to get a second part-time job.  His hours at his current job have been cut (but he’s still making the same amount of money, I have no clue how that worked out), so he has time now.  Now I just need him to be motivated to look.”

  • He got more hours and he makes around $400 extra a month, so not exactly $500 like I wanted, but it’s still an improvement.  And with Christmas coming around, his work hours will increase by a lot, and he’ll be making a couple of extra thousand dollars in November and December.

5.  “And then I plan on maybe getting a side job also.  As many of you know, I have been asking you what you do and pretty much just bugging everyone.  I’m not sure how I will have time for a side job, as I work 50 hours a week and I attend MBA classes full-time as well (12 credits this semester).”

  •  I haven’t looked for a job AT ALL. Me and my friend are thinking about trying to become bartenders, but we haven’t really thought too seriously about it.

So, right now we’re only at about $550 in extra monthly income, which is a little disappointing. BUT, it is better than not making any extra side money, so I’ll of course take it.  I just can’t wait until next summer.  I don’t know if anyone is like me, but I constantly calculate how much money I’ll have in the future, and I get yippy about it.  After I get my licensing/certifications for my job, I’ll probably be making around $10,000 more a year, and then after I get my MBA next year, I’ll be getting another raise.  My work told me that both bumps would be pretty big, and this is all on top of the usual inflationary raise that I get in the summer also.  So, I’m hoping by the end of next summer, I’ll be getting around a $25,000 raise or more.  Here’s to hoping!

What have you been doing to make extra income?

Would you ask for a raise?

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Daily Worth had a great article the other day titled How to Ask for a Raise…And Get It!

I’ve only asked for a raise once in my life (which should not be surprising considering I’ve technically only had 2 jobs). I was underpaid when I was a teenager and my boss took advantage of the fact that I was quiet.  Everyone else who worked with me made more, even though they were horrible workers (the boss even hated some of them, so I’m not sure why they got more raises than me) and worked at the store less than me.

I asked and I received.  She was stunned at first that I asked.  I didn’t get a huge raise, but then again I was only 19 when I asked, so it’s not like the raise would be thousands of dollars.

Here are some tips from How to Ask for a Raise:

  1. How much are others in your field earning? –  This will help you understand what you should be asking for, or if you should even be asking.
  2. How much can you earn? – What do you think you’re worth?
  3. How is your company doing financially? – If your employer is in a bad financial condition, it might not be the best time to ask for a raise.
  4. Prepare your argument – When you talk to your employer, go prepared.  If you’re not prepared, then your case will not be good of course.
  5. What to do if you don’t get the raise? – Think about this before hand.  Are you going to quit your job?
    • “Your answer may depend on what your boss says. For example, has she turned you down because of your performance? If so, ask yourself if her criticisms are valid. If they are, think about what changes you can make. If they aren’t, you may want to go where you are appreciated. If there is some other reason you were turned down, talk to your boss to find out if she expects the situation to change. If she does, find out when you can talk about this again.”
  6. Make an appointment to talk to your employer
  7. Present Your Case – and try not to be nervous!

Daily Worth also had a great poll on their site too. If you were paid more at your current position, would it be your dream job?

Have you ever asked for a raise?  What was the outcome? Any tips?

Being a Landlord

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 8 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Me and the BF are always thinking about what we would do with the house that we have now when we eventually buy a bigger house.  Would we rent it out or sell it?  We are seriously thinking about renting it but we need to know all facets of this.

We have a lot of friends and family who are serious house flippers and landlords.  And they ALL have their scary stores which sway me to not even consider renting.  A lot of people don’t pay and you more than likely can’t get your money if they don’t.  Where I live, you also are not allowed to kick people out (this is probably similar to a lot of places, but I don’t know).

Anyways, if we did rent, there is the potential that we could make a nice profit.  We’ve thought about staying in our house for awhile, but we decided that we want more land.  We live on less than 1 acre right now, and we both want more once we both have higher incomes.  We don’t plan on renting or buying a new house for at least 5 years, as we’ve only lived in our current house for about 2 years.

Related: What You Need To Know About Renting A Room In Your House

What are your experiences with renters and rentals?

 

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