I spend more money on christmas decorations then I do for gifts for my family, trying to be more sufficent this year.

I’ve just gone for a walk around my local mall and they’ve already strung up all the Christmas decorations and holiday items… in the middle of September! =O

Coincidentally, and almost ironically, I saw it featured in the 6 o’clock news later that night: "It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… in September." It seems that MOST retail outlets and malls are taking advantage of this "Holiday Spending" bonanza… =(

They said it was to augment and help increase the profit for the annual Christmas / Holiday sales.

Personally, I’d be pissed when they do these things so early that it seems ludicrous and out of place… also, if they ever skip Halloween, I would go nuts (Halloween is one of my favourite holidays = candy)!

What’s your opinion on this? Would you do all your holiday shopping now? Does it really save you the money (like they said on the news)?

For all we know… next thing we might see is Christmas in July! =D

A number of things happened this weekend that just annoyed me about my friend and I can’t hardly begin to explain it all, one thing in particular sounds petty but it all adds up! I kept trying to have an open mind and except how she is but when it’s costing me money to hang out with her plus it annoys me I can’t ignore that. She blows thru her money then expects other people to just help her out! I think it’s rude. She said she’s going to tell her family for the 2nd year in a row that her and her husband don’t have the money to "do Christmas!) how rude! Mean while she’s driving a luxury car, buying unnecessary items for the baby she is expecting (because she wants it), and have drinks at starbucks like it’s cheap! I mean if your on a budget this is not how you act and then to cut your families Christmas gifts before buying yourself frivolous things that’s awful! She expects her family to still buy her stuff for her baby, and for all three of them for Christmas even though she apparently can’t afford it! This weekend she borrowed .25 from me while at a yard sale because she didn’t have change then later I mentioned something about it and she was like oh I owe you that…I was like yes then she said oh i’ll have to pay you that then didn’t and we hung out today and she didn’t…i mean i know it seems petty of me but I didn’t loan her money I needed cash for yardsaleing too and she just kept it! She tries this every weekend too! It’s like any little bit of something she can get from me she does! It’s annoying! I have to watch her because it’s so bad! How unkind of her to be that way to a "friend" or anyone for that matter. When she’s at my house she eats everything in site even if it’s the last home baked brownie I made for my husband! She takes granola bars out of my pantry and puts them in her purse for later! & she eats my candy in my candy jar like it’s going out of style. We go to yard sales every weekend together and she never brings change just a bill and expects me to give her my change I went and got to be prepared for yard saleing! It’s so annoying then I go to the next yard sale and she breaks her and doesn’t pay me back! She also does art’s and crafts with me and any bit of supplies she can use of mine she does then doesn’t give me anything in return, we’ll go shopping together for the supplies and she’ll act like she doesn’t need something we are going to use then I pay for it and she uses it! She know’s I have two of something she needs and she’ll hint around that she "needs" it when I’ve told her where she can buy it but she will not buy it because she’s holding out for me to give it to her or something! I try my best to put away things when she comes over so I don’t get put in that situation but that seems like to much work and to much worry for me. I’m expecting my first child as she is and I don’t have the patience to be paying for her things when I need to be doing stuff for my family. Her and her husband are always going broke because they don’t know how to manage money and it’s not effecting my family and we save money and are thrifty so I feel like because I do manage my money why should I help her out when they make double the money we do and blow it. I tried to help her by giving her coupons for grocery’s that I didn’t need and she is using them but I feel like that is just another thing I do for her and I get nothing in return, she has invited me for dinner at her house once and she does drive her car when we go shopping far away because I don’t like highway driving (20 minute trips) but that’s all she has done for me. We’ve been friends for a few months. What do you think? Is she taking advantage of me? Should I keep her around? The thing is I just moved here, and so did she…so neither of us have any other friends here which makes this a hard decision plus we both will have our babies in a couple months.
So today she suggest that she needs to go by the ATM like 4-5 times and says I do owe that .25 to you too. Then she was needing cash and she was like I really need to go to the ATM, I sat there quietly not offering any money to her, knowing she has cash because she hasn’t been anywhere to spend it since this weekend, she leaves to pretend to go to the ATM I know this because she wasn’t gone long enough to get to her ATM…and without getting change she hands me back the .25 then uses her money to buy something she wanted which you couldn’t buy with a charge card. I know the whole thing was to attempt to get out of paying me and get more money from me but I didn’t let her.
I am actually worried about her taking or making use of my babies items when she needs them or even when she doesn’t to save herself the money…this is a BIG reason I’m wondering what to do now while I still have time before the babies get here! I need advice!

I am very interested in becoming a doctor and right now that is my main goal. But I know that I am supposed to have a back up plan. Well I figured that since I love to look at different houses and I wouldnt want to be a real estate agent that I should learn how to construct luxury houses in luxury places. I still want to build/design my home anyway.
If it cost under 1,000,000 build (materials and work) to build but the amenities (such as large kitchen, extra rooms, a theater and sauna, maybe a home gym, etc.) make the house valued well over million, can I sell it for that price. I would love to do that and then I would have made a million when the sale finally went through (I know that it would maybe take a while to sell.
With that money I could use it to build more and more and make lots of many doing something I love.
Is this a realistic alternative to being a doctor?
I would probably need someone to invest but they are almost guaranteed their money back and then some.

I love to hear about other people’s tips on how/where they save money. Even thought I am a full time grad student, I still love working and putting money into my savings account. I would love to expand that amount even more though, so please share with me your tips and tricks for saving.

So far I shop with coupons, check for sales (and combine with coupons), buy used, turn off lights, use redbox (with free movie codes) for entertainment, and cook at home (instead of eating out). I still find myself buying little luxuries now and then though (like a bottle of wine) but hey a girl needs a break once in a while right?

Thanks and start sharing those tips!!!
Oh I also brew my own coffee and bring my own reusable water bottle to class and work.

I was looking for a house to buy. A friend had a house for sale that seemed pretty nice and the friend was struggling financially. We worked it out that I would try to buy the house for a certain price to keep my friend from getting into further financial trouble. The price was below what he owed so I had to work it out with the bank. In the meantime to help him out with the payment, I moved in and paid rent every month. He did not keep up on the payments, he spent the money on everything but the mortgage payment. While I was in the process of negotiations with the broker and mortgage company I found out that the house was going through foreclosure. The bank would not budge on their asking price. I was concerned that I would not be able to come to an agreed upon price for the house, the place would be foreclosed on and I would be out of a place to live so I looked around for other places to buy because it did not look like anything was going to happen with this deal. I found a place that was almost the same as my friend’s place. There was no negotiation with this house. It was nearby and had the most of same things that I was looking for in a house, some things were even nicer than my current place. The market was good, interest rates down, and I made an offer that they accepted. I told my friend and he immediately became mad at me because he said that I had agreed to buy his house and that would keep him from destroying his credit. He became really upset with me and our 15+ year friendship was on the rocks. He decided that he did not even want me around and stopped emailing me and did not call me anymore. He did not invite me to his son’s christening, his son and daughter are my God children!

I am very worked up about this. We have mutual friends and have been friends for a long time. I was only trying to help out a friend but when things were not looking promising, I had to take advantage of the market and what was in front of me.

Do you think that I am wrong to consider this person my friend when he won’t even allow me at his home or children’s events because I did not buy his house?

How can I communicate with him without apologizing? I don’t feel that I did anything wrong.

He keeps saying that we were supposed to be friends and that he can’t understand how I could go and buy something else when he is a friend and going through a hard time. He has a huge house, beautifully furnished, three kids, new cars, toys, trips. He cannot afford the second house because he does not take care of his current financial obligations before taking on luxuries. I just feel that the blame is being placed squarely on my shoulders when I am just a tiny fraction of the entire equation? Am I wrong?

I just want to know what to email him without apologizing. I am not sorry that I was taking care of myself and my family first.
Thanks,
Sandford

Okay so my mother was wondering will it cost money to get Hgtv to decorate her house for her

1. When you pay a bill in full, you are _____. (1 point)
paying it off
defaulting
maximizing profit
zeroing
2. APR stands for _____. (1 point)
annual partial rate
amortized percentage rate
annual percentage rate
amortized partial rate
3. When calculating interest accrued, you should ____. (1 point)
multiply the principal by the APR
multiply the principal by the APR and number of months
multiply the principal by the APR and number of months, then divide by the total number of months in the year
multiply the principal by the APR and the number of months in the year, then divide by the number of months earning interest
4. _____ are used to take money directly from your account. (1 point)
Charge cards
Debit cards
Credit cards
Cash cards
5. A pack of gum would be considered a(n) _____. (1 point)
luxury item
small ticket item
unaccountable expense
necessity
6. Interest rates on used cars are usually ____ when compared to new cars. (1 point)
higher
lower
the same
depending on the used car
7. Interest rates on mortgages are lower because the home is _____. (1 point)
used
secured
collateral
stable
Note: The question below was entered in error. You will receive credit for ANY answer.
8. You have two credit cards. Both have a balance of ,356.00 with one having an interest rate of 6.25% APR and the other a rate of 9.25% APR. What is the difference in the accrued interest after 2 months if you do not pay anything toward the principal? (1 point)
.68
.25
.45
.60
9. You have a mortgage of 5,600.00 at a 4.95% APR. You make a payment of ,500.00 each month. What is your principal balance at the beginning of the third month? (1 point)
2,600.00
3,632.15
3,636.20
2,654.30
Note: The question below was entered in error. You will receive credit for ANY answer.

10. You are purchasing a TV for 5.00 plus 5% sales tax. Your credit card rewards program pays 1% cash back and the debit card rewards program pays 5% cash back. The credit card has a 12.25% APR. How much is your savings if you purchase the TV with your credit card? (1 point)
.85
.34
.25
.74

How would you decorate it and what would you call that room?

Mine would be my very own art studio…lots of windows and white walls, with lots of cupboards and work tables. And naturally, the best stereo that money could buy!

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I live in this really nice 3 story condo with my family and we can’t paint the rooms so my room is white. And it has African paintings on the wall and Native American art. LOTS of candles, and my comforter is Black and red, my floor is tan, I have a TV, a stereo, this thing that I keep my CD’s in, this other thing with all of my dvd’s in. And in my closet a got alot lot of money and alot of shoe boxes full of shoes, pictures and trinkets….Hows your room?

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