jennings rampage

Financial diet update.

Here’s what I’ve done since my 2/21 entry to quit being such a dumbass:

• Cancelled Netflix, Vonage, and GoToMyPC. Installed free version of VNC to replace GoToMyPC. Monthly savings: $60.
• Refinanced car loan. Got a 3.5% interest rate reduction on the same term I had remaining on the old loan. Monthly savings: $43.
• Discovered I was paying way too much for car insurance. Shopped it around a little, got a new policy. Monthly savings: $42.
• In the catch-all/minimize category of “restaurants, bars, entertainment, and convenience food,” I went from $865.01 to $377.13. And that figure includes $115 I spent at a bachelor party, and what did that get me but punched in the face? I’ll do even better next month.
• I invested in a crock pot and a decent set of Tupperware (those semi-disposable plastic containers are terrible), and I’ve cooked a week’s worth of lunches at home on Sunday and froze them for the week. My only regret so far is bratwurst and sauerkraut this week, I’m sick of it.
• Opened a savings account with ING Direct, which offers 4.5% APY. It’s not the best rate out there, but they give a $25 bonus for opening an account with at least $250, and that beats the hell out of any slight difference in interest. If you need to open a high-yield savings account (and you do), drop me a line and I’ll get you a promotional code for the free $25.
• Opened a checking account with ING Direct while I was at it. Their paperless checking account has absolutely no fees, pays 4% APY on your checking balance, has free overdraft protection, and gives you a MasterCard-logoed debit card. If you rarely write paper checks and have all your deposits done via direct deposit, then it totally makes sense to ditch the brick-and-mortar bank. My long Wachovia nightmare is finally over.
• Committed to paying off my credit cards using the debt snowball method. I have about $2000 in credit card debt, and it will be gone by the end of the year.

Basically, I’m exactly as broke as I was at the end of last month, except this month I have a few hundo in savings and a few hundo less credit card debt. So, like, so far, so good.