My 2012 Resolution!

I just received a tweet asking me if I’m keen to know the most effective way on how to lose weight. Of course I’m interested! I always am when it comes to dieting and losing weight but having been tricked countless times by diet pills, teas and products that only help temporarily; I am no longer a believer!

Frankly, the only way anyone can lose weight is simply by proper healthy eating habits and exercising. The latter is a little difficult for me. I’ve always hated exercising (hence the forever BD mode) and I find it easier to control my food intake compared to sweating it out in the gym or even in my living room!

Yes there’s a gym right here in my condo building but I’ve yet to take a peek inside and the only form of exercise I get is housecleaning, which I don’t mind doing simply because I am forced to. Who else will clean the house if not yours truly right? Plus, the idea of sweating it out while vacuuming, ironing and mopping really makes me feel good about myself that at least, I do sweat it out naturally once in a while, which is better than not ‘working out’ at all I believe!

So this 2012, my New Year's resolution will not be the unrealistic one that I have almost every year, which is to lose weight. It seems that every time I make that New Year's resolution, it always falls through due to my lack of willpower and my love for yummy fattening food. I have a sweet tooth and dinner is never totally complete until after I had some sort of dessert for the night!

Next year, I only have one major New Year's resolution and this one I think I can pull it off. Being realistic and in acceptance of the whole never-gonna-happen skinny me issue, I am going to focus on the financial aspect of my life. So next year, I am working towards killing off my many credit cards, one by one!

This month marks the third month of me not using my credit cards and the feeling of relief and pride I have is overwhelming. I guess you can’t really understand this whole credit card insanity unless you’re credit card crazy like me. In a way, cutting off my credit cards is similar to me trying to lose weight. It takes a lot of willpower, determination and self-control to refrain myself from getting side-tracked and so far, I have been quite good.

I hope to see and feel some difference in my wallet after the sixth month, so wish me luck people. I am truly sick of being hounded by my credit card woes and if nothing else, I just want to be a little bit free from the choking worries of my credit cards bills.

So how about you guys? What are your New Year’s resolutions? Let’s keep it realistic shall we and name me just ONE of your many resolutions! Here’s to a fantastic 2012!

-FC Scoreboard point for my FIRST commenter-
MONICA

Dreading Mr. Postman

Blomus mailboxes, stainless steel mailboxes or modern mailboxes, they all serve one main purpose and that is to store the important mail and correspondence we receive from or mail to others. Our mail usually gets checked every few days since condo-living means the mail-room is situated on the lower floor and B and I are just too lazy to check our mailbox every day.

Having said that, I do look forward to checking the mailbox because most of my work cheques are delivered to my home address. Unlike full-time workers with fixed income, I don’t get paid every month at a set date so receiving mail is something I actually wait for. Whenever I’m expecting a cheque, I’d definitely be on the lookout for Mr. Postman; counting the days for him to arrive and bring with him my hard-earned cheques.

This month however I am dreading Mr. Postman coming over to deliver my mail simply because my credit card bills are also due to arrive. And this round will be the round of truth where I’ll finally get to see all the purchases I put on my credit cards while shopping and vacationing last month!

Now I’m not saying that I overdid my shopping (though I bet B will beg to differ!) but I did bring three cards with me. Remember the black box I use to store my credit cards when I'm trying to curb my shopaholic ways? Well the three said cards have gone back inside my little black box. And there they will remain until I’ve paid off the amount I splurged in Europe.

Anyway, the bulk of my credit card bills have arrived safe and sound inside my mailbox. I’ve been delaying opening my mail for fear of what is in store for me, bills-wise. I can no longer put off seeing the damage so today’s the moment of truth. So far, I have opened two envelopes and all I can say is Yowzaaa!

-FC Scoreboard points for my first THREE commenters-

CAROLINE
GAGAY
MONICA

Smarter, Simpler Home Loans

At the end of every month, B and I will pool our earnings and I'll start paying our monthly bills and loans. I am in charge of paying the bills and will normally start with the ones that take up a huge chunk of our combined income.

Among the several loans we're tied down to, our 30-year home loan remains our biggest priority. It is due on the first of every month, so by hook or by crook I ensure payment is made before then. If you're currently financing a home loan like us, you can probably understand the burden this plays in your monthly finances. I refer to it as a burden simply because it is the biggest loan amount we are obligated to pay every month; one which does not tolerate default or late payment.

Owning a home is a huge commitment that ties you down for many years to come so it is ideal to find out all the available home loans options before deciding on one that is best suited to your financial capabilities and goals. Today's home loan market is very competitive and if you're new in the neighbourhood; you might find yourself completely lost at first. Worry not however for there are plenty of help online to steer you in the right direction for a low-interest, money-saving mortgage and this is where GetSmart comes in.

A leading online financial marketplace, GetSmart make it their mission to help you compare and secure the lowest mortgage rates from top lenders. All you have to do is fill up a very easy 2-minute form to be instantly matched with up to 4 competing lenders; immediately narrowing your choices to the best out of over 200 lenders in their network. With GetSmart, you can finally own the dream home you've always wanted whilst saving money on mortgage too. Enjoy your dream home the smarter, simpler way with GetSmart!

-FC Scoreboard points for my first THREE commenters-

LADYJAVA
DEBBS
MONICA

Enjoy FREE Credit Report!

I can't wait for the day when I'm finally debt-free! Imagine not having to pay any more bills be it credit cards, housing loan or even an installment plan. Surely I'd live a more relaxed, less stressful life and I can add a bigger chunk to my savings too!

Everyone has debts and big or small; they undeniably play a major role in our lives. If you're like my friend Shyam who's very particular about her finances and promptly pays all her bills in full every month, you need not worry too much. But if you're like me who owns quite a few credit cards and am not sufficiently disciplined to make prompt payment every month, you might need to pay more attention to your finances.

I am actually dreading receiving my credit card bills this month. After my recent vacation and massive spending on perfumes and what not, the moment of truth has arrived and the total amount of our expenses will reach me soon. It's not like we overspent but we did spend a little more than our usual monthly budget and now we have to fork up extra cash to pay for what we enjoyed last month; payback time if you will!

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Credit report is important for so many reasons and this site offers you expert credit advice and the most current information on everything you've always wanted to know about credit. Take advantage of the FREE 30-day trial and free credit score service. Find out all you can about your credibility as a good trusty payer with the ability to pay your bills on time.

Thanks for reading and have a great Wednesday!

-FC Scoreboard points for my first THREE commenters-

MARVIC
SHEMAH
DEBBS

Bills, Bills, Bills!

It's another busy day for me today! Last night, I was supposed to take a cat nap after writing my post. But I ended up sleeping through the night and woke up in a panic this morning. The first thing on my mind was oh no, I overslept and did not do my work! But I was pacified for a moment when I checked my email and my client gave me a few additional days to complete my job so phew!

Since I slept early last night, I was an early bird this morning. This always makes me feel extra productive. I fed my cats, replied important emails and visited important blogs and then I settled down to pay my bills. There was a bunch of them on my desk and I had to open all of them first; sort out the ones that had to be paid in one pile and the not so important ones in another pile. That's just me being organized!

It took me half an hour to sort out my bills, twenty minutes to call up my banks to verify certain things on my bills and another 20 minutes to finish paying off my bills. Mind you all the bills you see above are not solely mine, some of them do belong to B. So I'm still in pretty good shape in the credit department. There's no call for Debt Consolidation or anything drastic just yet!

A little piece of good news for me today is that I called up a bank that I currently have a personal loan with, to check on my outstanding amount. I took a small personal loan several years back and have been suffering paying it every month. The officer in charge told me that I only have less than RM1000 to pay now so YAY! I could have opted to pay the full outstanding amount today so I asked what the rebate was like, for paying in full. It was less than RM100, which I thought was not worth the full payment so I settled another month of my installment instead. This means that I only have one more month to suffer paying off my loan and I'll finally be free starting next month!

It feels wonderful knowing that by this time next month, I will have one less debt to worry about. I'm still in the process of cutting down on my credit card spending though so wish me luck on that mission next!

-FC Scoreboard points await my first THREE commenters-

TURN-U-OFF
SPONTANEOUS INSIGNIFICANCY
MY SWEET ESCAPE