Money, Love, and Change

**UPDATE: Boomertowne is dead.  They did not cash in any gift cards since the early part of May 2008, and stopped communicating with their users.  Please see this post for more information.

Boomertowne.com is one of the few legitimate sites that I have found that really gives an opportunity to make money (in the form of gift cards). Here’s a breakdown of the site:

You earn points for participating in the Boomertowne community. You can participate via chat rooms, forums, making a profile, playing games, and rating quotes or jokes (just to name a few).

You can earn up to 1,000 points a day, and can have separate accounts for each individual in a household (the limit is 4 people per mailing address).  We currently have 2 accounts (myself and my husband), and I think that this is plenty. It takes me about 30 minutes a day to get 600-650 points for my account, and I do this while either watching tv or chatting on the phone.  I have found that using the Safari browser loads the pages quickly when compared to Firefox or Internet Explorer.

There are a variety of prizes available, but I tend to gravitate towards gift cards or cash. There are $25 gift cards available for Target or Best Buy for 10,000 points. A $50 Visa gift card is 20,100 points. There are more expensive Visa gift cards, but currently there is no discount for saving up points for a higher valued gift card.

So far, we have redeemed our points for a $25 Target card, 2 $25 Best Buy gift cards, and a $50 Visa gift card – the site says it can take 6-8 weeks for delivery. In my experience, it has taken 2-3 weeks for the first two gift cards, and I am currently waiting on the others, which I ordered about a week ago.

I would recommend checking out this site. There is no affiliate program, and I have not been spammed with any e-mail besides the weekly newsletter, which I signed up for. We are saving the Best Buy gift cards for a second Guitar Hero guitar. I used the Target gift card for diapers and wipes, and plan on using the Visa gift card for a new phone. In this case, the gift cards earned are some money saved!

If you do check out this site, please let me know what you think!

I am finally finished! It took 9 years (including my maternity leave and leave of absence), but was well worth it. I guess that I should begin contemplating how to use this Ph.D. to my advantage while still being a stay-at-home mom… Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I will definitely have some more time on my hands now, and intend to add some more quality content in the near future (as soon as I get over my second head cold). I have been visiting sites and receiving traffic via Entrecard, and plan on writing more about this soon. Until then, I hope others checking out this blog are feeling better than I am!

I am so sick (again)!  I could barely talk today, and have to give my talk at 9:30 in the morning.  The talk is done, but I have yet to rehearse, which kind of sucks – looks like I’ll be flying by the seat of my pants.  I did get my thesis printed, however.  I am so glad that I can check this off my list.

I am very lucky that my mom is in town – she came in to see my talk, but she is going to stay at home with the kid instead.  I guess I am a little glad; if my talk is embarrassing, at least there won’t be any family there to see it.

Did I mention I can’t wait for this to be done?

I’m really amazed – I got my second reader’s comments back today for my thesis, and there are almost no changes to make.  I plan on printing it off this weekend (all 8 copies…what a waste of paper!), and then give my talk on Monday.  I need to finish my talk tomorrow, so things may be a little sparse here over the next couple of days.  Wish me luck!

Today, it’s time to focus on my student loans. I was very fortunate to not have to take out any loans for my graduate studies – a small but sufficient graduate stipend combined with my husband’s income helped us out.  However, I spent 5 years completing my undergraduate studies (I am a geek who did a triple major) and my last year was expensive. In total, my federal undergraduate student loans totaled roughly $15000, which included an unsubsidized loan for $1450. I also had to take out a private loan in my last year for $6000.

Even while in school, I have always paid the accrued interest on the unsubsidized loan and the private loan. There is a variable interest rate on the private loan, which is currently at 8.5%. The private loan is the first debt we want to get rid of, since it has the highest interest rate of all the debt we carry. We have considered transferring it to a credit card with a lower interest rate, but it is with the same company that we get our best balance transfer offers with, so it has not been eligible. Also, I have hesitated to transfer this loan since it would be forgiven if I died (isn’t that nice?).

In August of 2003, while consolidating my husband’s student loans, we decided to lock in the low (3.5%) interest rate with my federal student loans as well. Even though I was still a full-time graduate student on deferment, the federal student loan program (Direct Loan Servicing, if you’re interested) allowed for consolidation of my federal loans.

I have been paying down the private loan since starting graduate school in 1999, even if it has meant just paying the accrued interest. The balance on the private loan is currently $3570, and the monthly payments are around $50. I just started paying my federal loans in October (I am not sure why, but the government thinks I graduated last May. Rather than deal with the craptastic registrar’s office to resolve this issue, I decided to start paying them a couple of months early.) I owe $14668, and the monthly payments are just under $150.

Without taking into consideration the opportunity cost of spending 9 years in graduate school (instead of at a real job) as well as some intangibles (for example, you can’t put a price on the sanity I have lost over the past decade), our education has cost us roughly $45000. Certainly this is nothing to take lightly, but it is also not as expensive as some luxury vehicles. Neither of us had family who helped us out financially, so I think that overall we did pretty well.

In closing, here’s our current picture:

student loans at 3.5%: $25,156 (payment per month of $230)

student loans at 8.5%: $ 3,570 (payment per month of $50)

totals:                             $28,726 (obligations per month at $280)

I thought that student loans would be a good place to start documenting our financial journey – as I am bringing my graduate school career to a close, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at what our education cost us.

Today, I will start with my husband’s student loans. Starting off, he had federal undergraduate student loans totaling roughly $18400 (these days, that’s not bad for 4 years at a private college!) which he began paying in September of 2000. In September of 2002, he went to an accredited school for massage therapy, and took out another federal loan for $5800 to help cover the tuition. In August of 2003, at the advice of a friend, we consolidated his undergraduate student loans (which had gone from $18400 to $13000) with his loan from massage school. We owe this friend a big thanks, as we locked in a 3.5% interest rate.

We currently owe $10488 on this account.  Our minimum monthly payment is $176 (on the standard repayment plan), and we used to make $200 payments.  We are currently making the minimum payment so that we can use the extra money for higher interest rate debts, and have 67 payments left to make.  Other than the mortgage and a credit card that we use for monthly expenses and then pay in full each month, this is the only debt that my husband carries in his name.

I often think about whether or not to continue to pay down this debt.  I know that we may be able to defer payments (while interest accumulates) or take a different repayment plan with lower monthly payments, but we don’t want to be sending our child off to college and still be paying our own loans.  Also, there is the psychological aspect of having this debt paid off.  On the other hand, the money we are using to pay off this debt could be doing more for us, even in something as safe as a high-interest checking account.  Decisions, decisions…

As a blogger who is just starting out, I know that I need to increase my content and my traffic.  To date, I have not really been focusing on increasing traffic because I would rather spend my time generating quality content.  However, a recent post by Lazy Man influenced me to check out Entrecard, which is a blog networking site.  There is a great interview with Entrecard’s Graham Langdon on ProBlogger, which talks about how Entrecard was created as well as how it works. 

Since placing the widget on my page a couple of days ago, I’ve gotten 11 cards dropped on me, and 8 ads bought.  I would have to say that I am pretty impressed with how easy it is to start making others aware that I exist, and plan on spending some time over the next couple of weeks really trying to develop some traffic to the site using Entrecard.  There don’t seem to be any negatives to Entrecard yet (other than that it is addicting!), and at this point would highly recommend it to anyone just starting out. 

Alright, it’s been a couple of days since posting.  I am overflowing with ideas, but things are a little busy right now.  I have until the end of the month to finish all of the requirements for my Ph.D. in biochemistry from well-known prestigious university.  After maxing out maternity leave and leave-of-absence time,  it’s time to buck up and get things done.  Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is really refreshing, and I can’t wait to finish.  At the same time, I want to make sure all my ducks are in a row and I finish this out on a good note.  So far, everything is in place… 

I am a little nervous because my husband’s dad will be visiting this weekend, but I need to work on my talk and write a little epilogue, which will require some research.  I am giving myself one more night off because of a stubborn head cold, and then it’s all business.  To cure tonight’s case of insomnia, I am going to proof and print my copyright permissions letter.  I feel sleepy already!

Although the focus of this site is money, it is also important to give back to others. All the money in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t fulfill your personal goals. I mentioned in a previous post that one of my goals was to have a job with a purpose that helps other people directly. After giving it some thought, I think that another one of my goals would be to also increase giving back to others, even if it does not directly involve money (ie. a job).  I do not have the time to begin a nonprofit of my own right now, but I want to at some point in the future.

In the meantime, I would like to bring attention to others who have started worthy causes. I recently stumbled across a lady who is doing some amazing work for others. Sue Thompson started Head Huggers, which knits and sews caps for people who have lost their hair from chemotherapy, brain surgery, or other medical procedures. There are patterns provided on the site to get started, as well as some useful suggestions about what materials are best suited for different types of caps. The hats, once submitted, are delivered directly to nurses who are involved with the patients who have lost their hair. You can even get involved by forming your own local Head Huggers group, and information about local groups is posted on the main website.

This is a wonderful way to get directly involved in helping others when your free time permits, and provides a great incentive to try to learn something new. I have always wanted to learn how to knit, but I never really got started. My local craft store always has a weekly coupon for 40%-50% off a single item. Perhaps it is time to set a couple dollars aside and pick up some knitting needles and yarn!

The most important thing that I have learned about life is that I am in control of it. When I was in high school, I played soccer, and our coach always used to say, “How bad do you want it?” when we were losing. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but I always used to go out and play harder after he asked us this question. Looking back, it’s kind of ridiculous – why did a coach have to remind me of the purpose of playing the game in order for me to try harder?

I think that many people are content to go through life without regularly asking themselves exactly what they want out of it. “How bad do you want it?”, as well as the incentive to work harder, does not really apply for these people because they’re not really sure what they want. This is understandable – in today’s world, it is easy to get caught up in material possessions and the daily routine. However, before they know it, life has passed them by, and they have all of these really nice things. However, they may have missed out on their kids, or quality time with their family, or have lost touch with friends. I think that it is worth the time to sit down and be honest with oneself about their personal goals in life.

Thoreau said, “I know that the most encouraging fact is the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.” I agree with this statement, and use it as a platform to evaluate my life on a regular basis. It’s hard sometimes, but taking a good look at myself and what I want really helps me to realize what is important in my life. When I am unhappy with something, I try to develop a plan (on paper if necessary) to fix it. I try to look ahead and say, “If I do this thing X, what will it mean to me in the future? Will I regret it? Will it matter?”

I don’t mean to preach, but I think that it is so important to really think about what is important in life on a daily basis.  So far, I can honestly say that I have few regrets in life, but it has been a difficult path at times.  I hope that others will also take the initiative to make positive changes in their lives as well – it is up to you!