Its Offical - I'm looking for a New Job

I knew this day was coming, every thing had been building up but the explosion happened yesterday. Yesterday, I have officially decided to seek a new job (in Atlanta). Wow -- even typing it for the blog makes it seem more final and more scary.

It's been a really hard decision for a number of reasons but I've weighed all of the pros and cons and have really thought out all of my options and I think this is the course I need to take. So as of yesterday, I'm officially one the job search. I'm going to take things slow thought, primarily because I have a large bonus coming from the project I just completed and it won't be distributed until September 19th. My second reason for taking things slow is that I'm the eternal optimist and I can't help but hope/wish/dream that things will change and I can stay with my current company.

Since deciding that I need to seek a new job I've been trying to think out my action plan so here's what I've got so far:
-By Next Weekend update my resume
- Tuesday, May 20th have dinner with my old mentor to seek guidance
- Start contacting people I know that work for other GC's to feel out their job market
- Talk to my old boss about being a reference and if he has any suggestions of places to look
- Contact people through professional organizations that I'm involved with.

Any other good ideas?

Stimulus Check is HERE --- I think...

Yay! I had almost given up hope on when I'd recieve my stimulas check but I think it will officially hit my account tomorrow.

I logged online to my bank just now in order to schedule payment for my power bill and noticed that my account balance was exactly $600 more than my available balance. When this happens it usually means that there is a direct deposit pending. So yay - I think my rebate check is coming.

For those of you who've not yet received your check you can check on the IRS website for the status of your check, just make sure to enter your exact refund amount and all of your other pertanant details to find out where your check is. The one catch is that the status check only works if your check has already been released per the IRS Schedule.

I hope you all enjoy your stimulus check as much as I am enjoying mine aka my new LCD TV.

Advice for 18 Year Old Future Millionaire

Two of my fellow PFBloggers, Kevin from No Debt Plan and Kristy from Master Your Card recently shared advice they would have given themselves when they were 18. It got me to thinking and reflecting on how my life has shaped up in the years since I was 18 and I decided to join them by posting the advice I would give myself when I turned 18.

I have a few words of wisdom to share to myself at 18 but nothing major. I think every experience I've had from 18 to now has shaped me to become the person I am today and I very content and happy with who I am in general and also financially so I wouldn't want any radical changes.

1. Watch out for that Curb!!! -- My first semester of college I was carrying my freshly laundered clothes back to my dorm from the laundry mat and misstepped on a curb and dislocated my shoulder. Three surgeries and almost a year of physical therapy I was finally back to normal, if I had it to do all over again I'd never pile up so many clothes I couldn't see where I was going.

2. Study Abroad, the Money will work out. -- The summer between my 1st and 2nd year I had the opportunity to Study Abroad in France (to date I've never been out of the country) and after much debate and number crunching I decided against studying abroad because I was concerned that I would not have enough funds to cover that semester with out working and be able to pay tuition the following semester.

3. Stay in touch with your High School Friends. -- This is not a financial advice but good advice none the less. College is a new exciting experience and unfortunately I got distracted with new experiences in college and as the years went by I lost touch with several of my friends from high school. To date I only stay in close contact with one of my high school friends.

4. Negotiate Harder for your salary. -- In my opinion I am well compensated for my job, however I can't help but think about some of the potential I might have given up by not pushing a little harder instead of accepting the first counter offer.

5. Have Fun, Enjoy College, it ends sooner than you think (even thought its well over 4 years). -- I don't really have any regrets, but I do miss the good ole days. :)

What about you? Any good advice for yourself at 18?

Monday's Money Funny - Budgeting

One of the regular features on my blog is "Monday's Money Funny" which are humorous (at least to me) articles/jokes/just about anything that I've discovered over the weekend when I catch up on all my on line reading that spark a need for knowledge. For example the previous Monday Money Funny was a about Americans seeking second jobs.

This week I thought I'd continue the theme of the economy's recession. Heck all of the media are sensationalizing the recession by running daily series like "Surviving" and "Your Daily Cents," so this week's Monday Money Funny is about budgeting.

Lately the City of Atlanta has been having some budgeting issues, that's putting it mildly there's a $141 Million budget deficits that the city was unaware of until recently. In fact they thought there was a surplus and has already spent what they thought was the surplus. To get the budget back in line the city is laying off 441 workers. If you're curious about the back story check out this AJC article.

This week's Monday Money Funny is a video from CNN show casing how the City of Atlanta is spending $300k on toilets despite being in a $141 Million deficit. Talk about mismanagement of funds.

Since obviously the City of Atlanta needs some help figuring out how to budget I thought I'd provide some links for their use (not that the Mayors reads my blog but you never know) and also for those of you who'd like more information about budgeting.

Check out:
About.com's article explaining How to Set Up a Successful Budget
eHow's article explaining How to Budget Wisely
and Jonathan's at Master Your Card post explaining the Basics of Budgeting Money

Stay tuned for next week's Monday's Money Funny. If you run across any Money Funnies please email them to me at future.millionaire.blog@gmail.com and if I use them I will give you credit and link to your blog.

Weekend Round Up!

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mothers out there. This weekend I've caught up on my blog reading from posts this week so I thought I'd share some of the highlights from the PFBloggers world.

Living Almost Large shares a story of how one of her husband's fellow grad students wants to just Add it To Her Tab, and doesn't get the big picture about how much debt she's going to be in.

Penelope @ Our Four Pence Worth reminded us all that the cost of mailing via the USPS is increasing on Monday. Unfortunately I still have stamps from when it only cost 39 cents to mail a letter, looks like when I mail letters I'm going to have a total of 4 stamps (one 39 cent and 3 one cent stamps) on each letter.

Get Rich or Die Trying's JB reminds us all of why to save.

Seb @ Pinching Copper draws paralells between Grand Theft Auto IV and personal finance.

Wide Open Wallet's Mom share's her father's own Millionaire Next Door Story. I love stories like this - it reminds me to keep on my saving path so I can become a Future Millionaire.

Continuing with the Millionaire Theme, Kevin from No Debt Plan shares 10 steps to Avoid Becoming a Millionaire in response to Kristy from Master Your Card shared 10 steps to becoming a Millionaire.

The Little Things Make a Big Difference

I can honestly say this has be one of the worst work weeks I've had in a long time. The sad thing is that I don't clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel, all I see is a small light at the end which is really just a train barely towards me...

Despite the rotten week I did have one bright moment and that way this evening.

A month or so ago when I was at target I received a store coupon attached to my receipt for $2.00 off any two Garnier Fructis Hair Care Products. It just so happens that I typically use Garnier's sleek and shine shampoo and conditioner so I stuck it inside my wallet to save for when I needed to buy the next time I ran out of shampoo and conditioner.

Today on my way home from work I stopped at Target to pick up some toilet paper because Fashinoista and I were our last roll - never a good place to be. While picking up some t.p. I noticed that one of the end caps was displaying Garnier Shampoo and Conditioner on sale for $1.99 (its normally around $3 a bottle). When I see the sale I get all excited, I'm going to get to use my coupon for $2.00 off any two products and essentially get one of my bottles for free - Yay! When I stopped at the end cap to select my type of shampoo and conditioner I discovered that some of the shampoos had instant $1.00 off coupons. Its even more my lucky day for hair care - I take off two of the coupons for instant $1.00 off and grab my shampoo and conditioner and head to the check out line - I'm not quick sure if they'll accept 3 different coupons for my two bottles but it worked!!!! I bought $3.98 worth of products and had 2 each $1.00 coupons and one $2.00 coupon so I actually made money by buying shampoo and conditioner. (Hey two cents is two cents -- plus I now have a stock pile of shampoo and conditioner for when I run out of my current bottles).

I was so happy with myself for the deal I got in fact it was probably the highlight of my week, see coupons pay off.

This time when I checked out attached to my receipt was a $1.00 off any sized Colgate toothpaste. It doesn't expire until June 2 so I'm already mentally trying to figure out where to find additional coupons so that I can get my toothpaste for free too. :)

Ugh!

Ugh...work stinks.

I've had an even crappier day than normal since starting the project from hell so I'm just going to pack it up and go to bed and try and make the day end sooner by sleeping the rest of it away. Sorry there's no real post today, hopefully tomorrow will be a better day and I'll have some insightful personal finance info to share.

In lieu of a post and at the risk of sounding obsessed with my LCD TV purchase...I thought I'd share an article that Fashionista emailed to me yesterday proving that I made a smart decision going ahead and buying the LCD TV now. Isn't she great for looking out for me. :)

Monday's Money Funny - Extra Jobs

One of the regular features on my blog is "Monday's Money Funny" which are humorous (at least to me) articles/jokes/just about anything that I've discovered over the weekend when I catch up on all my on line reading that spark a need for knowledge. For example the previous Monday Money Funny was a "what if" scenario about Americans spending every penny of their tax rebate. (Speaking of tax rebates, mine still has not been direct deposited into my account - has anyone received theirs yet?)

This week I thought I'd share an interesting satirical article which is written from Tiger Wood's perspective. Its an letter to Pine-sol about allowing him to endorse their product, apparently even Tiger is looking for additional sources of income with the rising costs of groceries and gas.

Below are the highlights from the article, click here to read the article in full.

My specially designed Tiger Woods TAG Heuer watch read 11:45 a.m. yesterday when I got back from the practice range. After washing up and shaving with my favorite Tiger Woods Gillette Champions razor and getting in a few rounds of EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, I picked up the copy of Golf Digest on my coffee table—the one with my ad for TLC Laser Eye Centers. What caught my attention, however, was an advertisement on the adjoining page for your product, Pine-Sol.

Call me crazy, but it looks like you're lacking a big-time celebrity endorser. Yes, you have that sassy fat black woman who appears in commercials and print ads, but she's hardly a celebrity. I'm talking about someone with name recognition. Maybe even someone who's won, say, 64 professional golf tournaments, 13 major championships, and has been named PGA Tour Player of the Year nine times? Your lady may be funny, but is she the most marketable athlete in the world with a supermodel wife, a new baby girl, millions in the bank, multiracial appeal, and a great goddamn smile?

No.

[...]

Bottom line, you need me, and I'm ready to break into the domestic-products arena. Despite my work with Accenture, many people still think of me as cold and calculated. A couple of Pine-Sol ads where my mom shows me how easy it is to clean my bathroom ("Oh Mom, you're embarrassing me!"—you know, that kind of crap) and we're all set.

But if you don't move on this fast, tomorrow I'm all over the TV with my new Tiger Woods–strength Lysol Wipes. Think about it.

Plain and simple, I would do an excellent job endorsing Pine-Sol. You know it, I know it, the makers of the all-new Gatorade Tiger most certainly know it. A high quality, all-purpose cleaner such as Pine-Sol deserves an endorser who is an ultra competitor—someone who will go to the mat for you no matter what. No way I'm going to half-ass it like Roger Federer or David Beckham would.

[...]

In the end, this is all very simple. Basically, what you have to ask yourself, Pine-Sol, is do you want to make half a billion dollars today or not? That's it. And if there's still any doubt in your mind, think about this: If I've convinced an entire populace that I drive a fucking Buick, I can sure as shit sell a bottle of Pine-Sol.

Most Monday's Money Funnies promote me to do some research, this time I didn't need to since I have already found a great source for tips on stretching dollars during this current economy with rising costs. The Atlanta Journal Constitution offers some great tips for this current economy's rising costs called "Smart Solutions, Tough Times." Personally my favorite is how to find cheap gas, but even if you're not in Atlanta there's also great tips about making your car last longer and 10 ways to save on groceries.

Stay tuned for next week's Monday's Money Funny. If you run across any Money Funnies please email them to me at future.millionaire.blog@gmail.com and if I use them I will give you credit and link to your blog.

Weekend Round Up

I've had a lovely weekend. I was a single woman this weekend because Mr. Be Mine has been working out of town this week and unfortunately most of the work needed to take place on the weekend. I took full advantage of a very girly weekend. On Friday several of my girl friends and I went to see Marriage of Figaro, Saturday The Councilor was selling her hand made jewelry and coasters at a craft fair and she wanted help so I put on my old retail hat from my high school days and helped work the booth, then today after Church my mom and I went to the dollar theater and saw 27 dresses.

Wow! Just typing it makes me feel tired - but it was a most enjoyable weekend. And now for what you all really want...this weeks highlights from the PF Bloggers. Also don't forget to check out their links over on the left hand side to read all of their posts.

Highlights from this week include:


Johnathon at Master Your Card has started a new series call Life or Debt. For anyone in debt I highly recommend reading, these emotional aspects of being in debt are enough to prevent me form even considering it. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

I appreciated Pinching Copper's Seb reposting his Why We Rent, especially since I'm starting to have doubts about continuing to rent. I'm at least renting for the next year since I just signed a lease with a roommate, but after this year I'm going to have to reevaluate.

Kevin at No Debt Plan shared his cash back stats for Amex Blue Cash Back. I too recommend the Amex Blue Cash Back, so far I have $81.72 in cash back, but unfortunately I think I'll catch up with Kevin since I keep having $50+ weekly grocery bills and the sad thing is I'm not buying anything out of the ordinary.

Mom at Wide Open Wallet shared about how she's able to purchase a Wii in part by selling coupons on Ebay. I've never thought of selling coupons, I appreciate the idea - I'm going to have to try that (first I have to find a little extra time in my life!).

Memberships have their perks

I'm going to share a few quick thoughts since I just got home from work and need to rush and change and get ready for the Opera! Yay!

My one thought for the day is that Memberships have their perks and often times more than pay for themselves.

I have 1/2 of a dual Young Patron Membership to the High Museum of Arts in Atlanta, primarily to take advantage of their foreign film festivals and Friday Night Jazz once a month. Its a great deal, essentially just visiting the museum 5 times more than pays for the membership not to mention the film festivals. But on top of that there's other great perks like discounts at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and for the Atlanta Opera. Tonight I'm able to attend the Atlanta Opera's Marriage of Figaro performance and sit in the Orchestra level seat which normally cost $123 for only $25 a seat. Talk about the membership paying for it self in just one event.

I know not everyone lives in Atlanta or is interested in these types of activities but there are a ton of other similar programs in other cities for various activities - I recommend checking them out if you can.