Interesting Week

It has been one interesting week to say the least. The stock market went up and down like a giant roller coaster, cities and countries across the globe were in turmoil, and so much more. I spent most of my week on the road, which is getting to be a little weird for me. I never thought that I would be the traveling salesmen type that lives out of hotels. The sad part is that without the travel I would be bored out of my mind sitting around at home.  Most of my weekends are spent sitting in front of the TV watching a movie or playing a video game. I might work out for a few hours but thats it.

Hopefully this upcoming week will be better since I am going to a conference. Also, I am seriously contemplating getting an iPad but I'm waiting for the iOS 5 to be released first. I hope it will be in September so I can get one before I got to France in October. Speaking of France, I figured that I could have work pay for my trips in that the extra per diem money would eventually pay it off. My goal is going to be to pay off the other cards first, and put a few extra hundred dollars towards the Hilton card each month. I think I would have it taken care of by Christmas.

When dealing with the government, double it

I have been appling for my wife to come to the US and I originally was told that the process would take three months. I checked up on our application last week and found out that it will be five months. The five months is only for the immigration side of it. The state department has another three month processing time. Its all a big pain in the ass.

So, I booked two flights to go to France. One is in October, and the other is over Christmas. I promised Natacha that we would not spend a Christmas apart. The flights cost $2,200 altogether which is not too bad. It will definitely put a hit on my debt reduction for a few months. It will be nice to see my wife and spend some quality time with her. I miss her very much.

As for my debt reduction plan, I am going to pay $1,000 from my first pay check towards a specific credit card (right now its Bank of America). On my second pay check, I will pay $350 towards my American Express and $650 to my HiltonHonors card. That will pay off the Amex, which I want to do every month. In September, I will repeat the process but apply the full $1,000 from the second pay check to my HiltonHonors card. I also have some extra money from my travel for work so that will help. Once the HiltonHonors is zero, I'll put the $1,000 back into the reduction plan, which should be around November.

Debt Busters

About a year ago, I was featured in CNN Money.com "Debt Busters" article for having a unique way of removing debt. I used a 4 bank account system and had really good success with it. Yesterday, I was contacted by the writer, Blake Ellis, for a follow up story. After thinking for a while, I realized that in the past year I have been able to pay off $5,000 in credit card debt. This is all while getting married and moving to a new position across the country. I think thats pretty darn good!

As soon as the new article gets posted, I'll link it to here.

End of the Month

Well, another month comes to a close. July 2011 was a good month for me. I had my visa application accepted, I paid $2,000 towards my credit card debt, and I started a new diet & exercise program. Reviewing the last month, there are a few areas I need to improve upon. Firstly, is my exercise. I have to come up with a way to effectively exercise three times a week and by exercise I mean weight training. I am already running two to three days a week in training for a 5K. Side note, my sister told me about the Bryn Mawr Running Company in Media and how they conduct Saturday morning runs. I might stop by and grab a schedule. With the weight training, it is a little difficult because I travel three days a week and I like a routine when it comes to exercise. I am going to start bringing my TRX system with me so I can exercise in the hotel. Secondly, I have to cut down on my book buying. Borders Book Store is going out of business and I think in the last two weeks I have spent over $300 on books! The plus side is I now have enough reading material to last me for about a year. I can easily polish off a good book (400+ pages) in about two weeks. Thirdly, I eat too much at dinner time. I have noticed that I will eat an appetizer, a full entree, and a dessert at almost every dinner. It is difficult for me because I end up eating out a lot with the traveling. I must eat more salads as my appetizer, smaller portions for the entree, and stick to fruit for dessert.

Goals for August:

1. Start weight training at least two days each week
2. Pay $2,000 towards Bank of America credit card
3. Do not purchase anymore books
4. Lose 5 pounds through better eating habits at dinner

Good News! Good News!

A couple of good things have happened in the last few days, well, more like I learned of some good things. First, since I am now being assigned to travel to Scranton three nights a week for work, I will save almost $300 a month in expenses. I don't have to pay for food four days a week because its covered by per diem and any left over food money is mine to keep. I get $56 a day to eat and I usually only spend about $50 (breakfast is usually free, lunch is $10, and a decent dinner about $30-40). Thats $6/day x 4 days x 4 weeks = $96 in my pocket. Also, because I am not at home, my utility bills are down, my grocery bill is cut in half (down to $25 a week now), and I don't drive as much. This all lowers my expenses another $150-200 for the month. It will be awesome to see the actual totals in a couple of weeks. I should be able to pay off my credit cards all the faster now.

Second good thing. I am staying in a Hilton and I get HiltonHonors points for staying plus I am paying with a HiltonHonors credit card (travel voucher pays it all off every month), which allows me to gain a lot of points each trip. Well I did the math, and I will become Diamond level by New Year's which has many added point accumulation benefits. The even better thing is that after a year, I will have almost 150,000 points which will allow me to pay for my honeymoon! That alone will save me thousands!

Final good thing. I talked with a very experienced immigration agent about Natacha's visa issue. He explained the process to me in depth and basically its all gravy from here. The CA Service Center will approve the application, then its forwarded to Paris, and then the interview. He told me that if for any reason something occurs, to call him and he would straighten it out. In hindsight, he also told me that if he was called, he would have been able to get Natacha out of detention for a couple of weeks when she first got here.

Now I am off to Border;s to take part in their bankruptcy sales!

New Juicer to go with the new diet

I bought a juicer today to help me with my new diet goal of losing 10% of my weight. I also bought a scale. Today I weighed in at 186.9 lbs while wearing cargo shorts. My goal weight would be 170 lbs.

The juice is a Jack LeLane Ultimate that Costco had on sale. I tried a mixture of fruits and veggies for my first go round. I quickly realized that to get 8 oz. of juice I don't need a lot of vegetables. I think I am going to start growing some vegetables for my juicer, like cucumbers, celery, and tomatoes. I think the juicer will give me the sweet cravings I have and still allow me to have good food. I am going to try some more recipes tomorrow.

First Payment made...and I'm fat

I started a debt pay off plan and wrote down every payment I was going to make and on what date I was going to make it. I paid the first payment today ($1,000 towards my Bank of America credit card) and I paid off my CitiBank credit card for the month. It is the first step of many but at least now I have a defined plan that has visual cues for me to follow. Pretty soon I will be debt free!

The other day I was talking with my wife via Skype and she says "I see you haven't lost any weight." It kinda sucks when you have been in good shape all your life and then it all of the sudden becomes difficult to maintain a healthy weight. I have started running two to three days a week and also I started a push-up program. I guess its time to step it up a notch. From today on, I will:

1. Not drink soda or heavily sweet beverages
2. Not eat candy or sweets
3. Exercise 5 days a week
4. Drink 60 ounces of water a day (2 Nalgenes)
5. Eat a high protien, low fat diet

I am going to buy a scale and track my weight for the next 30 days. My goal will be to lose 10% of my body weight in 30 days. I will keep a steady record of the food I eat and the exercise I do. I know I am going to have to build up my weight training to a more appropriate level.