My husband doesn’t listen!

We have an understanding that because our wedding anniversary is 2 days before Valentine’s Day, that we don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day.

I should have known that he was going to do it to me again this year! He told me he was just popping down the road and came back with a beautiful long stemmed rose with a pack of Ferrero rochers tucked in it.

And what did I give him in return? A print out of the insurance quote I got so our two learner drivers will be fully insured when they drive our van. (I only just found out that the other car insurance we had didn’t cover them!)

I think we need to have a chat leading up to Valentine’s Day each year whether we’re going to buy something for each other or not!

Can you see the amounts on the cheques? 49c and 20c Seriously, NAB, it would have cost you more to send these cheques out! But, you know, if hundreds or thousands of people received ridiculous amounts like this, it surely adds up and you’re probably thinking that people won’t bother to deposit them.

So I’m going to! LOL Better in my pocket than yours!

Our car registration now falls in January. So I worked out how much I need to put away weekly to cover the registration and I add it to the amount I put away for Christmas. By the time November comes, and the bank transfers the balance of my Christmas account into my everyday account, I have almost the full amount for the car registration.

It’s a great way to save for other events or purchase at that time of year and you’re less likely to dip into it because of the withdrawal charges.

Works for me!

There will be no big spending spree for us. Tax time also means car rego time for us so our return will be going towards the rego, green slip and new tyres if my mechanic notices my two back tyres…shhh! don’t tell him!

Waiting for my car to come back after being pink-slipped is stressful! It’s like waiting to see if you’ve passed an important exam or something. Seriously, I’d rather be reading weight loss pills reviews that be waiting to see if my car passes for rego this year! LOL

On another note, Bill, Giorgia and Annabelle went for a walk along the lake this afternoon. Now can someone tell me….why do these birds always face the water? The pelicans and seagulls were facing the shore but this type of bird always faces the water.

Now I don’t usually like to post about credit cards on my blog but this caught my attention.

Aussie has recently been calling on banks to lower the interest rates on credit cards. To kick start the process, they have introduced a 9.99% rate card for new applicants this week.

You don’t need to be paying interest rates like these:

If Aussie can charge 10% interest on it’s Mastercard, why can’t the major banks?

The leading financial services group has launched a major promotion to alert Australia’s credit card holders to the high interest rates they could be paying on their cards.

Chairman of Aussie, Mr John Symond, said “We have launched ‘No Rip Off Day’ to draw the attention of card holders to the fact that there are cheaper cards in the market which will save them thousands of dollars in interest payments. If consumers haven’t already switched to a low rate card we urge them to mark the day by cutting up their high rate cards for good.

The majority of credit cards across the country are a rip off with interest rates as high as 20%. That’s more than double our promotional rate and almost double our ongoing purchase rate of 11.74 per cent p.a. Our research shows that the majority of card holders do not even know what interest rate their cards attract.

Credit card holders are wasting thousands of dollars by sticking with multiple or high interest credit and store cards, instead of consolidating their debts into a low rate credit card”, he added.

“Many credit card holders are paying a premium for frequent flyer points and other add-ons which they never use, creating an unnecessary cost and a burden on their financial future.

By cutting up their store cards and other high rate cards, card holders can consolidate their debt and lower their monthly repayments with low interest rate card. Customers need to get the message that a low rate card is preferable to paying a high rate with the frills of rewards schemes and other lures to get their business”, added Mr Symond.

Research shows that more and more people are turning to blogs for suggestions, tips, and advice on the newest trends and products in the marketplace. Blogs have become a business. Companies recognise the potential and importance of bloggers in the market place, and the sphere of influence bloggers have!

I recently came across a site called Paying Post which offers bloggers the opportunity to get paid to blog. I registered to try it out. It took only a day or so to receive an email telling me that my blog was approved and I was now able to reserve and write about any of the opportunities (that my blog qualified for) that appealed to me.

On the other side of the stick, if you’re an advertiser and you already know the importance of advertising on blogs, you might like to also check out payingpost.com

If you’re looking for a way to supplement your income, or make some spending money, you should check out Paying Post.com. You’re able to give detailed instructions on how you want your product to appear. You receive permanent back links. You get unique content reviews and you will reach thousands of people.

If you are an advertiser and you are interested in having me write a review for you, you can Hire Me Direct through payingpost.com

Get your copy of Suze Orman’s latest book, Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan, for free! Offer expires at 11:59 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 15

It means that we have to get some auto insurance quotes that will not only cover Bill and me, but needs to cover young drivers too.

We are into our 2nd year of our current insurance and the conditions are that if you don’t make a claim in 3 consecutive years, you get 10% of your premium back. But because we’re going to have to change insurers, we’re going to miss out on that.

I guess there’s always a catch somewhere!

I’ve also been getting phone calls from an insurance company who keeps wanting to give me a life insurance quote for Bill but I haven’t received the brochure that they said they sent me. The woman I spoke to yesterday said she’ll send another one out but this will be the 2nd time they are doing this.

I’ve now started paying extra for my items that I buy from eBay to be sent via registered mail. That way I need to sign on delivery. As for the other mail, I’m not sure what I should do. I don’t want to have to get a P.O box. Maybe we should put a lock on the mailbox?

Have you experienced your mail or parcels go missing?

Financial services aren’t usually my cup of tea, but this site is so easy to use and so helpful that I couldn’t help but share it! It’s called Mozo.com.au and it’s a new online financial service that allows Australians to compare banking products and providers on everything from interest rates to customer service.

A stand out feature of Mozo is their ‘health check’ tool. You can enter in the details of your credit card, mortgage, or personal loan and Mozo will cross-reference your debt against ALL the other financial providers in Australia. It then shows you how much you can save if you switch banks!

The site is free to use, which is a word we’ll be hearing less and less with the economy the way it is. If you’re up for some free and independent economic advice, then check it out!

www.mozo.com.au