Thursday, November 20, 2008

Mystery Shopping Has Made The Difference For My Budget

I read an article online not long ago about how many people just need to earn an extra $100 or $200 a month to make it through the month. That that little amount of money can make the difference between meeting your budget and going further into the hole. Well, I have been doing mystery shopping for three months now, and I just added up the checks I have received thus far. Total: a little over $600, or $200 a month. That has made the difference for me. It has plugged up some of the holes between paychecks and helped me not overdraft. It has been a godsend actually. I can't wait until after the bar exam, when I can go whole hog on it again.

Target Was Like A Ghosttown Tonight

I went to Target tonight to pick up a few things after work, and it was like a ghosttown. Usually, this Target at that time of night is humming. It was almost scary. I bought a slipcover for my sofa and felt like a spendthrift. Everyone else just had food and essentials in their carts.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Maxed Out: The Film

I joined Netflix for the free two-week trial period, and the first movie I watched is Maxed Out. Its prescience in the debt and credit sphere is unbelievable. The movie was made in 2006 and totally foreshadows the mortgage and credit meltdown we are experiencing today. The most memorable moment from the movie is when it is mentioned (to no one's surprise) that the banks make money from those with bad credit and the subprime products. No wonder they kept pushing the products. The saddest moments are when you realize two college students killed themselves because they didn't see anyway to get out of their debt, and an older mother went missing, presumably also a suicide victim for the same reason. So sad. Makes you want to hold them and say, "It is not worth that." Good movie.