The Care Credit Card is deducted from the checking account of $842.42, total paid off was $2,800.

Now, on to the next debt.

I guess I should start with the one with the highest interest, but I am also telling myself to tackle Loan No. 1, which will ease up an extra $200/month to put towards another debt.

Hmmm, I really need to figure out which one to pay off next.

Even though I feel like maybe I am strapping myself financially and causing myself stress. It needs to be done.

Went to my Bank yesterday. The one I have been with for 30 years, to apply for a HELOC. It is Chase Bank, the one that just bought out WaMu.

I figured I could tie in all of my debt, around $22,000.00, in a HELOC, at 3% interest, instead of different interest rates ranging from 7.5% to 19.99%.

The loan officer thought that was a great idea. Well, No, today he called and said I was denied. Denied, I said. Why?

I asked if it was my credit score. Remember, WAMU let me have access to my credit score for FREE, which I checked earlier this week and it was 662. He said, no, actually, your credit score is much higher that what you thought it was, by about 60 points. Oh, well, that's nice.

So, what is the problem. Well, underwriting thinks it would be a risky loan and that they don't do much HELOC's these days with the economy, you know. I laughed and said "riskier that what - me not paying you on three credit cards that total around $12,000, if I decide not to." That is funny.

He said, well actually, they said you are approved for refinancing.

Refinancing. I don't want to refinance. Oh, I get it -- it only costs $400 for a HELOC closing costs, while it costs around $5,000 for refinancing closing costs. I think that is dirty banking, if you ask me.

So, I told him, "No, you do not get my mortgage. I am happy where I am at and I already have a low interest mortgage rate." Can you believe that. Denied for a HELOC, but approved for a Refinance.

I did let him know that I was appalled at giving me an ultimatum on how I was going to pay off my debt; and that they would be losing a banking customer. I have four different accounts and three credit cards with them, which are now going to be transferred to my Credit Union.

You see, I also went to the credit union yesterday to do some banking and asked them about HELOC's; and they said that, yes, they are doing HELOC's.

So, Mr. Loan Officer, I am now moving all of my money to the Credit Union. You might want to let your underwriters know that. Bummer, how things backfire.

I am not sure if I am going to do a HELOC, but I am going to start transferring accounts and having my direct deposit redirected to the credit union.

I will keep you all updated.

So, I am going to pay off the rest of the first debt on February 3rd. I am so excited. One down and 4 to go.

I have decided to try to tackle CC2 next: After getting my statement this month and looking it over, I am paying over $100 in interest each month. That is just not acceptable. I want that money. I could be doing so much more if my money wasn't paying interest. I would really like to even close that card, once it is paid off, even though it is the one I have had the longest. It doesn't have any type of rewards with it anymore. It used to be, when I used it, a percentage of what I spent went to St. Judes Hospital, but not anymore. Chase chopped their ties with them, which I don't like either.

I was going to tackle Loan 1 next, but the interest isn't as high. And, I am already paying extra on Loan 1. It will be paid off by the end of the year or earlier, which is my goal.

Also, as I stated previous, my WaMu Visa has been picked up by Chase, which means I have three cards being held by Chase. I really don't think I need to be a servant to Chase anymore. I also got a letter from Chase stating that "I will receive a new Chase card, subject to continuing to meet our credit creteria." Who knows, maybe they are just going to close that card/account, which will really screw with my FICO score.

I wonder if I could get a low interest personal loan to pay off all three Chase credit cards; and then just keep one open. I would keep the Mary Kay Credit Card. I do get rewards for those and it is used for business. I am going to check on that as soon as we get back from Kalahari.

So, I got a letter from one of my credit cards. It, however, has been picked up by another bank. Not surprising.

But, in the letter it stated that after March 1, I would no longer be able to check my FICO score.

Wow, I never even knew they offer this. So I went into that account online; and sure enough, there it was to access.

It is 662, which is down from 697 in July of last year. I really don't get it. I haven't inquired about any loans. I haven't been late on any payments. In fact, I always pay more than the minimum amount on all of my cards and loans. And, I always pay them early. They are not due until the middle or a little later in the month; and they are always paid, electronically, on the 3rd of the month.

It must be the economy, not sure. I guess it is a good thing that I am not looking into refinancing, buying a car or getting any more credit; in any way, shape or form.

It is totally fine with me.

I just redeemed some points and was able to get a $10.00 Panera Bread Gift Card, along with a $15.00 FTD card for using some of my points before January 15, 2009.

I also have on hand:
*Free Cheese Pizza from Buddy's Pizza
*$5.00 gift coupon for Buddy's Pizza
*$8.00 gift card for Papa John's Pizza
*Two Game Works game cards
*Two Dave and Buster game cards
*$100 Gift Card for Home Depot
*Free Appetizer at Red Knapps American Grill
*Free Chips and Salsa at Chili's
*$25.00 gift coupon for the Sherwood Brewing Company

I am armed and ready. Looking forward to more gift cards and cash earned from using points through mypoints.com, winster.com, ebates.com, visa redemption points and my debit card redemption points.

So, one of the Yahoo groups I am on is for the upcoming vacation me and my kids are taking the beginning of February. This just came across the group.


"My husband and I are going thru bankruptcy. It's a long story, but to make it short, our lawyer hasn't yet filed for us, and that gave our bank the ability to take out the money we had allotted in our checking account for our mortgage, 2 of our bills, our groceries for the next week, and our 2nd and 3rd nights at Kalahari. I am hoping to use the money we already paid Kalahari for a one night stay in a suite for 8 people (my husband and I have 6 children), and use it for 2 nights in a 4 person room. Provided we can get 4 wristbands for Wednesday, the 4th of February... anybody have any? We would love to have them donated, but will try to find a way to buy them should someone need the money. Thanks in advance."

Now, why would you just not cancel this trip and use the money say for (food, bills, mortgage, etc.). This is really bothersome and is putting their family at risk for being out on the streets, having no heat or going hungry. Come on people, make responsible decisions. Do you really need to be taking a vacation now; or should you be sitting down with your family and deciding what is a priority.

There is a family that actually has extra wrist bands for this family, but I still feel very sad for them. I am trying not to judge, but I just really think this was a bad decision.

First of all, I love baseball. My youngest son is an all sports guy. He has played baseball since he was 5. He is well-liked and has been approached for playing Federated Ball, which he keeps turning down.

Anyways, he told me that he doesn't want to play baseball this year. Ohhh, okay. He said he would, if I wanted him to. But, I don't want my kids spending thier life doing what everyone else wants. He may change his mind, you never know.

But, in the meantime, this saves me $150 in the Homeschooling costs area.

No. 2: Garbage pickup: Since I compost and recycle my own these days, I usually only have about 1 bag of garbage per week. So, I am not renewing my garbage pickup for this year. It runs out the end of March; at which time, I can take my bag of garbage to work or my husband can put it in one of the dumpsters on one of our jobs.

This will save me $200 a year.

No. 3: Bottled Water: We switched over to using a Brita instead of buying bottled water. After calculating my bottled water purchases, I believe we will save $60 year.

So, a total of $410 can goes towards the debt or saving area.