PF Under 30

Paying off debt and finding my financial lifestyle

Archive for category Costco

Finding a home for my new Emergency Fund

Oct 3

Posted by kiki in Citibank, Costco, Emergency Fund | No Comments

So everybody knows by now that with my recent layoff, I’ve learned the importance of an Emergency Fund. My goal is $10,000 in a single liquid account. According to my calculators, with direct depositing 10% of my (expected) gross income every 2 weeks, it’s going to take me 1.3 years to complete. I would like to think that somewhere along the way I could add more to do it in a year flat, but if I can’t… I’m OK with that.

My goals right now are 10% gross into my emergency fund, $192 per paycheck to my Roth ($5000 max 2008 contribution limit / 26 paychecks), and of course, credit card debt reduction. Currently I have scheduled 10% of my gross pay to go to one particular card. Minimum payments for the rest are going to have to come out of my everyday spending account. I’m trying to automate as much as possible so that what I have left in my checking account is what I can spend.

Anyway, back on topic. I’ve been looking for new homes for my new E-fund. Look here for a great list of current rates. I looked at the Capital One 5.20APR deal for Costco members, but the minimum is too high for me. Plus, I’m not too fond of opening an account with yet another bank.

But I think I have found the solution. The Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund. Currently yielding a little over 5%, it’s a great solution for me since I already hold all of my retirement funds with them. The only problem is that it has a $3,000 minimum. While I still want to go with them, I can’t until my account meets the $3000 minimum threashold.

So where do I stash my moola up until I reach the $3000? New banks are out of the question! I absolutely hate the idea of setting up another address/phone/social security info with another bank. And the additional website login… the horror! the horror!

So it’s going to be either Citibank, Bank of America, or my local credit union. Well, my local credit union savings account yields .75% APR, plus it would be too easily spendable. BoA has savings accounts, but at not great rates and not without fees. Citi, on the other hand has an Ultimate Savings account yielding 4.75APY. It requires no checking account, and has no fees. And since I’m looking at dropping my Citibank checking account as soon as my last check clears, this is perfect for me!

It’s probably going to take me about 5 months to get to that $3000 threashold, but that’s OK with me.

I’m excited! Even though I don’t have it going yet… I HAVE A PLAN PEOPLE! AN AUTOMATIC PLAN! And once I setup all of these direct deposit pieces, we will surely be in business!

Old Car Loan Paid off!

Jul 13

Posted by kiki in Auto Loans, Costco, Credit and Debt | 2 Comments

Just checked today and the crappy 10.75% loan that I got at the other credit union got paid off by the new one. Now, I can go close my account and they can write me a check for the $55 that is sitting in there.

Good news is – car loan is down to $14,780. A lot less than the $16,400 I started with. Maybe I should include these numbers in my NCN Debt Reduction chart – then I won’t feel so bad!

Anyway, this is just another step in getting my financial house of cards in order. It wasn’t exactly the interest rate I wanted, but they told me if my FICO went up, they could change it without redoing it. But – for $50 more a month – I cut my payments down by 1 year. Sweet!

As for the rest of it, calling AMEX tomorrow to check the status of my application for the Costco American Express business card. At this point, I will switch my Starwood limit over to this card and cancel the Starwood. They also have a promo thats 1.99% on Balance Transfers for the 1st six months. Since I know I’m not going to be paying off that $4700 0% BT by mid August, this seems like the best solution.

Plus, it will also free up my dividends card for me to actually earn dividends on it. Go figure!

I am tired of waiting!!!

Jul 8

Posted by kiki in Auto Loans, Citibank, Costco | No Comments

So yesterday, I posed about putting my auto-refi on hold until my credit score reached a certain threashold. Today, I changed my mind. I ran the online calculator, and the difference between the 6% and 7% loan at 36 months is only $245. Where I am at right now, I will easily pay an extra $245 in interest just waiting for my Experian score to jump 10 points.

So, tomorrow I’m taking the car into the credit union and re-financing it. Ironically, this basically allows me to skip this month’s payment – putting that $423 towards something else – like the Dell account or my Amex Gold. This, in turn, boosts my credit score. LOL.

I’m also cancelling my Starwood Amex and applying for the Costco TrueEarnings Business credit card. No Annual Fee. 5% cash back on gas, 3% on eating out, 2% on travel, and 1% on everything else. Going to use this as my gas, eating out, and Costco spending card. Everything else will still go on the Gold – for now.

3rd step is to upgrade myself to the CitiGold package and refinance my 2nd mortgage into a Home Equity Loan with them. This is all part of the simplification process. Less lenders, less creditors, and more instantaneous transfers to everything. Click! Your mortgage is paid instantly. Click! So is your credit card (have this already.)

Trying to get it down to four – Citibank (everyday banking and credit card), AmEx, Local Credit Union, and Vanguard (investments). I may even get rid of Amex altogether too since Citi now offers Amex cards. However, nothing on the market yet can beat the Costco True Earnings.  

Costco TrueEarnings Cash Rebate

Jun 18

Posted by kiki in Costco, Refunds and Rebates | No Comments

OK – so I changed over my $40 annual fee Starwood Amex to the $0 Annual Fee Costco TrueEarnings Cash Rebate Card. Basically it breaks down like this:

  • 3% back for Eating Out
  • 2% back for Travel
  • 1% for everything else

Rebate comes every February in the form of a voucher redeemable for Cash or Merchandise at Costco – but that works for me!

This isn’t my primary use card, but I think it will become so for my dining out spending. That way I will get a flat – in your face monthly bill for all my eating out. I looked at my annual spending last year and supermarkets only weighed in at $1000 – eating out however weighed in at $2400. Yikes! I obviously eat out more than I stay home!

Anyway – if nothing else – it’s fee free and I just saved $40.