I’m not known as a lucky person, but I’m thinking positive and I bought a dozen raffle tickets today for a chance to win…

• 2 Colts suite tickets and $50 dinner gift certificate
• 1 night stay at the Conrad hotel and a $50 dinner gift certificate
• 2 Pacers floor seat tickets and a $50 dinner gift certificate

I think if I win, it’ll totally be worth the $10 just for a nice dinner!

As excited as I am for our first holiday season as a married couple, in-laws mean double the gift giving. We’re going to try to keep the presents to small trinkets this year, but there’s only so much you can do to keep the cost down.

Not only are the holidays a financial strain because of gift giving and traveling, utility bills often creep up because of parties and decorations, but I have a solution to that. I’ve purchased LED Christmas lights which are much prettier, more durable, and environmentally friendly.

The bulbs are made from hard plastic instead of glass, which makes them virtually indestructible. LED lights are 80-90% more effective than traiditional Christmas lights, which means your utility bill won’t creep up. The lights also last more than 50,00 hours, so you save money by not having to replaced them as often. Becaus the bulbs are more efficient that means they don’t get as hot, which is a great safety benefit because you always hear horror stories around the holidays about someone’s house burning down becuase the Christmas tree caught fire.

LED Christmas lights are really the best choice to enjoy your holiday season safely and cheaply.

I actually plan on making money on all of today’s expenditures because they are businesses expenses, and I used a cash back credit card.

• $312 signage
• $55 Dairy Queen

Okay, so I’m not exactly racking it in by using a card with 1% cash back, but it’s the beginning of the conference season, and by the time it’s through I should get enough back to make a Sallie Mae payment.

In the past 9 years, I have moved 10 times. All with friends help and using a borrowed truck or SUV. That’s the life of a college student and young professional.

I talk a lot about making a big move with my husband in the next year, but I haven’t touched on the subject of how we are going to make that move, and I think the only reasonable option is to hire movers.

Not only will we be moving across country, we will also be combining two households that are currently 3 hours away. Since this move will require a lot of physical labor and driving, we anticipate it being exensive, but Home Bulletin can help us compare quotes to make the move as cost efficient as possible.

The service is free, so we have nothing to lose but money if we don’t take advantage of it!

For years we’ve all heard that the average American has over $9,000 in credit card debt, but it’s all a lie. Here’s the real stats…

• The majority of U.S. households have no credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances. About a quarter have no credit cards, and an additional 30% or so pay off their balances every month.
• Of the households that do owe money on credit cards, the median balance was $2,200 — meaning half owe more, half less.
• Only 8.3% of households owe $9,000 or more on their cards.

I felt better about my finances when I thought I was an average American and not part of only 8.3%.

I mentioned a few days ago that my opinion on payday loans is starting to change, as long as the person taking out the loan is fully aware of the terms of the transaction. As long as that honesty is taking place, I see no reason why the transaction shouldn’t be as simple as possible, including payday loan no faxing where the entire transaction takes place online. That means that it is a quicker, easier, and more secure way to acquire the finances you need.

So, my tips for payday loans boil down to 1.) know what you’re getting yourself in to 2.) make sure there are no better options 3.) apply online.

Tomorrow is payday, which means checks were written this morning and ready to be mailed.

• $1,075 rent
• $10 Netflix
• $70 NIPSCO
• $53 AT&T
• $300 car

It’s depressing to see 75% of your paycheck go out the window in one sitting. I can’t wait for the day to come when I can write any of those checks at any time because there’s extra money in our account.