Furniture On Credit

The wife wants new furniture! she wants to open a credit account with Rooms To Go, we swore to each other we would never do this, but we can't seem to save and wait. We want it now, we are looking to spend $2200 on new bedroom furniture. Furniture on credit is never a good idea but I feel like I can handle the debt and pay it off quickly!

I've decided to check with my blog before making any big purchases. Should I finance furniture, same as cash, no interest and no payments for 36 months? I know I can pay this off in 2-3 months. We have money in savings and could use that to pay it off if anything unexpected comes up.

HELP!

HS

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Discover Card

Discover is paid off again! I need to call this company and close the account. I have to admit that this is one credit card that if we keep around we are going to use. I wish we could keep it open but we don't just charge a few things. Every time we use this card we charge over $2,000. We simply cannot afford to keep this card around.

Another reason for closing is their rewards program is not as generous as it used to be. I remember four years ago they use to offer 10% cash back on eating out, I doubt we will see offers like that again. We've made a lot of money using cash back, well over $500 but recently we average 8 dollars a month. I still have to cash in our Cash Back rewards before closing.

Goodbye Discover!

HS

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iPhone Addiction

I am obsessed with the Apple iPhone. I might have some kind of addiction to these tiny electronic devices and now this is starting to cost me money. Just last week the new iPhone 3GS was released and I rushed to get my hands on one. I paid the full unsubsidized price of $599 since I’m a T-mobile customer. The sad part is I can’t even use this device yet since there is no unlock solution for the iPhone 3GS. My wife also has an iPhone, she carries around the 8gb 2g version covered in Ed Hardy bling:



Last week I purchased another iPhone 3g from a friend for $275. Together we now own 4 of these phones! This obsession started back in 2007 with the original iPhone. Last week Apple made a lot of the updates like copy/past and MMS so today I can finally say this is the perfect device for me. I have all my life on this device. Over 120 contacts, all my work email, all my videos, music and pictures. The phone also syncs with my car using Bluetooth so I can talk hands free when I drive. I also have a lot of applications loaded, my favorite one is the free Pandora radio.

If you don’t see my credit card balances drop this week, please blame it on Apple and their iPhone!!

HS

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iPhone 3G S

The new Iphone 3G S will be coming out tomorrow. I will be one of the people waiting on line at the Apple store! I plan on getting a 8gb model and will probably have to pay $599 since I hate AT&T and refuse to pay for their plans. I'm hoping to have the phone unlocked and ready for use on T-mobile!


Where is the money coming from? It's actually coming from Apple! I bought some Apple stock back in March so I've made close to $600 dollars, technically this is a free Iphone! courtesy of Apple, Thanks Steve Jobs and Apple!

Don't worry, Discover is on track to be paid off this month and it will be closed in July. I have $27 dollars in cash back to redeem. I will probably just convert $20 in to a $25 dollar gift card and lose $7 dollars.

Don't forget, pick up your Iphone tomorrow!

HS

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June Spending

I'm home! I was on the road for 2 weeks and I'm ready to come back to reality. I spent 6 nights in New York working with one of our software vendors and learning about their products. I visited Long Island and Manhattan, ate great food and did some shopping. I charged all New York expenses to my American Express Corporate Card. The average cost of eating in New York was $40 per day not counting alcohol. I spent $100 one night having dinner at Mesa Grill on Fifth Avenue, luckily my company picks up the tab! Below is the balance for 6 days in New York:



The day after arriving from New York we flew out to Cancun, Mexico. We stayed at the Excellence Playa Mujeres resort, which is a 5 star hotel 40 minutes north of Cancun. It was all inclusive so we had no expenses, the alcohol was included and the food was outstanding. We spent $100 for tips, transportation and some gifts. This vacation was charged to Discover, I payed down the balance a bit last month but we still owe over $1500!



We also charged some Duty Free alcohol purchases to the Citi Professional Card. This is the card my wife used for her trip to Las Vegas last month, so the balance there is over $1800:



She stayed at the Wynn Resort which is very expensive, the cheapest glass of wine she could find was $15. She also did a little bit of shopping and of course gambling.

Yikes! over $3000 charged in the last 60 days and back in to DEBT! I still think we have spending problems but life happens. The plan is to pay off Discover in June and cancel it. Then we plan to pay Citi in July and put it away. My company will take care of the Amex bill.

HS

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Travel

Quick update: I am traveling from New York City to Mexico this weekend. I will be leaving LaGuardia and heading to Houston. From there I will be going to Mexico. I had a great time in NYC working with our client and learning about their business. Next week I will be in Cancun taking a quick vacation. I will post all my balances when I come back around Thursday or Friday... I've charged a few things on the credit cards :(

Have a good weekend and don't use credit cards!

HS

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American Express Corporate Card

If you carry any type of America Express cards I feel sorry for you. This is a company I used to have a lot of respect for but lately I’m having many doubts. I dumped my Amex Blue card a few months back since they cut back my credit line down to $500. I refuse to do business with any company that lowered my credit line based on where I shop when my credit score is over 700 and never missed any payments or had any negative fees.

My employer forces me to carry an American Express Gold Corporate Card for all my business expenses and reimbursements. Recently Amex decided to add spending limit to the card, so again they cut me back down to $500 dollars. This week I had to book airfare to New York and Hotel expenses. The current balance is over $500 so this whole week the card has been declined 3 times! So thanks to their brainless policies I can’t use my card.

We’ve never had any kind of spending limits at our company so I’m sure this Amex trying to further reduce risks and cut credit lines. Maybe Amex needs to revisit their no pre-set spending limit policies.

HS

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