My financial New Year’s Resolution is to have another $25 deducted from each paycheck and put straight into savings every two weeks. It’s not a lofty goal, but an extra $50 in savings every month never hurt anyone!

My brand new Palm Centro phone arrived today! After charging and activating the phone, I called #REF to claim our $50 in Visa gift cards for opening a new account, and you’d think I was asking for a free Chrysler 300 accessory! Even though Sprint informed me of the referral reward program and sent me the information to claim our reward, I was told we are ineligible because we have an employee discount plan.

On top of not qualifying for the reward, I was enrolled in the wrong plan even though I had an email confirming that we enrolled in the employee discount plan and I received duplicate bills in the mail before I even placed my first call!

Things are not starting out on the right foot with Sprint.

Quick…you’ve got three days to make tax deductible donations for 2007! A great way to squeeze in that last donation and clean out the garage is by making a car or boat donation to Car Angel.

Car Angel is a non-profit organization that uses the money from car and boat donations to make educational videos with solid morals and ethics for youth. They do all the work associated with the donation, including free vehicle pick-up, making sure you get your IRS tax deduction forms, and handling the title work and repairs.

Take a look at what your donation can help produce…

There isn’t any real estate flipping in my future, but I did have enough money left over after the holidays to pay a few bills and go out to dinner with my sister before she left for New York City.

• $40 gas
• $42 gas
• $55 Target
• $53 AT&T
• $70 Nipsco
• $550 rent (me)
• $575 rent (husband)
• $12 Texas Roadhouse

How awful is it that less than 48 hours after Christmas, I listed presents I couldn’t return on eBay? I listed a Brighton pen I got from my sister-in-law and a Mickey Mouse necklace I got from my mother-in-law. Both are perfectly nice gifts…for someone else. Neither are something I would use or wear, but the money I can get for them can go towards some nice new bedding!

Around this time last year, I was in a car accident that totalled my car. Not long after getting a new (to me) car, I noticed two chips in the front windshield. My car insurance wanted some ridiculous amount to make a claim, so I called a local repair shop and made an appointment.

I was their first customer of the day, and I almost didn’t go in because the shop wasn’t in the best part of town and looked so shady. It took them over an hour to repair the two chips and when I went to pay, the total was $50 more than I was quoted over the phone. No amount of flirting, charming, or arguing was going to bring the price down.

I consider it a lessoned learned, and next time I will go to http://www.glass.net to get quotes from three local auto glass replacement businesses. Not only am I able to compare prices from three local shops, they also supply full contact information, company profile, and customer so I can make an educated decision when choosing a repair shop.

To add insult to injury, I entered in all my vehicle information, and another local repair shop is $95 cheaper than I paid for my repair ($45 cheaper than the price I was quoted on the phone)!

Not much money being spent when visiting family for the holidays. There is food and alcohol everywhere we look!

• $27 gas
• $31 Old Navy
• $4 egg nog