Activity – Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic 0% interest college tuition payment plan in the forum Manage your debt 9 years ago

With one college age child and two headed that way, I am always on the lookout for ways to manage the enormous tuition burden. My goal was to find ways to ease the burden without a lot of time and with guaranteed success. I discovered Tuition Payment Plan – a plan that spreads the payment of yearly tuition over 10 months with NO FEE. The plan d…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Strategy to pay down 0% and higher rate Credit Cards in the forum Manage your debt 9 years ago

With advice from this site and my Sum 180 plan I secured two 0% credit cards and have successfully transferred higher fee balances to these cards. I now have about 50% of my outstanding debt on 0% cards and 50% on higher interest rate cards. How do I allocate my monthly payments? Do I pay the higher rate cards now or do I pay the 0% cards off…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Cutting Monthly Bills in the forum My journey 9 years, 1 month ago

As I continue on my Sum180 journey, I treat cutting monthly bills and debt as a game and each and every time there is a winner and a loser. I have already posted about winning by securing two 0% interest rate cards and this week I won by cutting my AT&T U-Verse bill by more than $100.

First, how did our cable, internet and phone bill get so…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Part 2: Lower credit card interest rates in the forum Manage your debt 9 years, 1 month ago

If you saw my earlier post, I did not have much luck lowering interest rates on my current cards. Meanwhile, I continued to receive 0% interest offers weekly. I started collecting them with the idea that I would see if I could get some credit at 0%. Last week I set aside time to compare offers and make calls. I chose the two cards with the longest…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic Can you talk your credit card company into giving you a lower APR? in the forum Manage your debt 9 years, 1 month ago

I did not have luck asking for a lower rate, but I did have luck with the mail offers at 0%. So don’t ignore the mail and then transfer the higher balances to the lower rates.

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic Scholarships: Find and apply for as many as you can in the forum Grow your savings 9 years, 2 months ago

I am just starting to locate scholarships for my high school senior. I also use the above tool but have also found a site called fastweb. It was started by a group of educators. I receive e mails three times a week with new scholarships available. My experience so far is that it takes time to apply as most ask for essays. My goal is to put lots of…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic Save on your clothing bill by buying clothes that last: 5 tips in the forum Grow your savings 9 years, 2 months ago

As the mother of two teenagers, we have discovered Rent The Runway together. They have rented dresses for dances and once I saw how easy and inexpensive a rental can be I have jumped on the trend. You will save a lot of money on a special dress that would probably spend a lot of time hanging in your closet.

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic Safe driver discounts: Who qualifies? in the forum Grow your savings 9 years, 2 months ago

Yes. If you have children you know that your children’s auto insurance is sky high. While it isn’t easy to save on their insurance right away, consider these tips to save you money:
1. After a year and a clean record call your insurance company and ask for a lower rate. We lowered our bill on both our children after the first year. When my son…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador replied to the topic David Ramsey in the forum Manage your debt 9 years, 2 months ago

I used Dave Ramsey’s envelope spending system for about one week – clearly not a success for me! In theory the system sounds great. Set aside the cash you need for a week into envelopes. $X for groceries, $x for entertainment, $x for gas. That part was easy enough until reality set in. An extra child to feed for dinner. A longer car trip than usu…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Finding money in new and interesting ways in the forum My journey 9 years, 2 months ago

I continue to find new and interesting ways to find money. Last week a friend told me about a site called missingmoney.com. Their mission as stated on their website is “State and Provincial governments working to safeguard and return your lost funds.” The site is easy enough to navigate and in less than 30 seconds I found money in an old Pay…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Saving for college in the forum Grow your savings 9 years, 3 months ago

I have two high school girls and a small 529 account. I was told that putting $$$ into the 529 is not a good idea when you plan to use the money within a few years. Is this true? If so, is there an investment vehicle that you would recommend to save for college on a short (3 year) time horizon?

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Already thinking differently… in the forum Manage your debt 9 years, 4 months ago

My favorite hobby is to try new restaurants. Eating out and exploring new restaurants is something I do frequently and my personal budget shows that. Fresh from my Sum180 interview and faced with the “where should we eat tonight?” question left me considering different alternatives. If we started to explore “off the beaten path” ethnic restaurants…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic My Sum 180 Plan: a user review in the forum Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador 9 years, 4 months ago

There is something about back-to-school. While it has been 25 years since I went “back-to-school”, this time of year gives me renewed energy and focus. I shop alongside my children for new pens and journals. I organize my office and desk. So when I received my Sum 180 plan I viewed it as my “homework.” I printed the 15-page document to focus o…[Read more]

Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador started the topic Thank you, SUM180, my plan is on its way in the forum My journey 9 years, 4 months ago

THANK YOU Sum180. You turned a task I dreaded for a long time into a manageable (dare I say enjoyable?) process. As a busy mom with a full time job, I put off the task of getting control of my finances. I had lots of great reasons to delay but the biggest hurdle was I just didn’t feel comfortable calling an investment advisor. I feared judgment a…[Read more]

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