My credit score for this month went up to 731 from 725 last month. My credit score has been going up steadily the past few months after it went down earlier this year when I used a balance transfer from a credit card to pay down one of my student loans. I don’t plan on using my credit any time soon but having a high credit score can also affect how much you pay for insurance and other things and if I do decide to apply for more credit having a high credit score should make it cheaper . I get my credit score for free with my credit card from WaMu.
Getting Cash Back On My Tuition
For reasons that are still unbeknownst to me not all of my tuition was automatically paid out of my financial aid. This created an inconvenience for me since I now had to pay the remaining balance by cash or check. Since I have several checking accounts but no checks this left me with the option of paying by cash.
I decided to get a little cash back for my inconvenience. I ordered $500 in dollar coins from the U.S. Mint. These coins sell at face value with free shipping. I used my credit card to pay for them earning myself $15 cash back.
The university cashier didn’t seem real pleased to be paid with dollar coins but he accepted them without complaint. The few minutes I spent ordering the coins were well worth the $15 return to me. I’m not sure how long the U.S. Mint is going to be offering this free shipping deal but I’ll probably take advantage of it again.
Living on $700 a Month
Back in January I posted my sample $1000 a month budget. I don’t stay strictly on this budget but it is a fairly accurate representation of my monthly expenses. Frugal Freedom lives on even less and posted her $700 a month budget. Below is her monthly budget. I combined some expenses into categories to make it easier to compare to my monthly budget.
- Food $150
- Transportation $256
- Utilities $149 (electric,internet, and phone)
- Life Insurance $47
- Everything Else $98 (trash,Christmas, property tax)
The main difference in our budgets is that she doesn’t have a rent or mortgage payment in her budget because she lives in an RV. She does have a house with a mortgage but I’m guessing she doesn’t include it here because her renters cover the mortgage payments(?). Other than that our budgets are pretty similar. One difference is that she doesn’t have any money budgeted for entertainment or health insurance. She also spends money on life insurance which I don’t have because I have no need for it.
This does show that you can live on very little money if you plan for it. If anyone else has a low monthly budget they’d like to share I’d like to see it.
I Passed the MPRE
I got some good new this week. When I took the MPRE last month I thought I hadn’t passed it. I got my score report this week though and I received a scaled score of 91 and I only needed an 80 to pass. I must have been doing really good at guessing that day. I know the 80 and 91 numbers don’t represent percentages but I’m not sure what they represent exactly. It doesn’t really matter because the only thing I need to know is that I passed.
I already received my approval letter for my Rule 13 application. This means I can practice law under a supervising attorney. I needed this for the Child & Family services clinic I’m taking at school. I assumed I’d be approved for it but it is still nice to receive. It makes it seem like I’m getting a little closer to actually being an attorney.
Save Money by Buying Gift Cards Online
You can get some serious discount by buying gift cards online. There are several sites where you can buy gift cards at discounts around 15-20% off. They will also buy gift cards from you for about 70% of the face value. It is a much better deal for you as a buyer than a seller. Some of the most popular sites include PlasticJungle.com, GiftCardsAgain.com, SwapaGift.com and CardAvenue.com. You can also find gift cards on eBay and Craigslist.
One example of the deals available is a $100 AMC gift card for $85. This is nice 15% discount which would lower my usual ticket price from $5 to $4.25. I recently saw them being offered for 25% off at $75 but didn’t buy one quick enough and I can’t find them at that price anymore. Even a 15% discount is a good deal since this is for purchases I’ll make anyway.
When using gift cards you do have to be aware that many gift cards have expiration dates or dormancy fees. Some states restrict the fees gift card issuers charge but it is best to use a gift card promptly. I only buy gift cards that I know I’ll use upon receipt. Despite these drawbacks using discounted gift cards is well worth the effort. With a little shopping around you should be able to save 15-20% on your purchases by using discounted gift cards.