Get $50 Bonus From ING When You Open An IRA In 2012
If you have not already opened an Individual Retirement Account or IRA you now have a chance to get an extra $50 by simply opening a new account with ING.
All you have to do is go to retiremyway.com/50 and open your new account with $500 before 31 January 2012. Once your account is open and funded then you will receive the bonus by 16 February 2012. Of course this bonus will be reported as income for the year and will be listed on your tax documents but the benefit will far outweigh the cost in my opinion.
Christmas 2011 Gifts Are Done!!!
I only planned on giving certain gifts this year long before I lost my job. I just got the LAST Christmas gift taken care of so I am done with the shopping this year.
I did not give expensive gifts but I think the recipients will love what they got because my gifts are very personalized and are things that those people want.
The money for those gifts came out of the Splurge Fund in ING where I had been budgeting and saving money all year round in order to be ready for Christmas.
Monthly Financial Check Up: May 2011
May was a welcome relief to my cash flow after the madness of my April Financial Checkup and I was able to come out $605.24 in the black!!!! I still have a lot to do to make up for the massive shortfall last month but I am sure that I will be able to make it up by spending less over the summer, even with taking some time off to do fun things.
Areas where I remained under budget are
-Home
-Utilities
-Car
Areas where I went over budget are
-Entertainment
-Shopping
My Sinking Fund Accounts
A Sinking Fund account is one where you put money into a savings account to pay for future expenses. I did not know that was what they were called, even though I have been using sinking fund accounts for a long time now.
I still question the use of the word ‘sinking’ because the money is actually growing until you decide to use it but there must be some explanation that I am too lazy to look for right now.
Here are the various sinking fund accounts that I use:
Splurge Fund
Current Funding Process For My Health Savings Account
I have a High Deductible Health Plan which offers a Health Savings Account that can be used to pay for doctor’s office charges, tests and medicines. I currently fund the account by putting in a set amount every month and right now that amount stands at $75. I contribute the same amount every month via automatic transfer from my ING account and it is that $75 that is counted in my zero based budget for the month.
Emergency Fund/Car Fund Alert: New Windshield
So recently the weather has been just TERRIBLE and we had lots of ice everywhere. After the ice melted I noticed that I had a very long crack running across the driver’s side of my windshield.
Tracking My Finances In 2011: February Week 3
I have decided to post my weekly spending for the previous week on Fridays so you know how my cash has been flowing for the week. Please note that I get paid on the last day of the month so my cash flow net effect will usually be negative until the last day of the month.
This does not mean that I am adding to my debt, it just means that the money coming in is less than the money going out because bills are due starting on the first but I don’t get paid until the last day.
ING’s New Debit Card For Electric Orange Checking Accounts
I just received my new debit card from ING for my Electric Orange Checking Account and I was a bit confused at first. I do not use debit cards as I prefer to use my credit cards for all purchases under my zero based budgeting system.
The new card does not look like a regular debit card because there are no numbers on the front. When you flip the card over all your information is on the BACK just like with regular cards. I think the new card looks a bit like a fake card, you know like those fake credit cards you get in those pre-approved offers and I almost put this one in the ‘shred’ pile on the front desk.
