Hey! It’s time for another financial fitness update! But first I wanted to let you know about a brand new app I came across that you’ll love if you’re an online shopper like me. It’s called Paribus and it’s free. I can’t even remember where I first came across it but I’m so glad I did. It’s basically an app that will refund you money if you purchase an item online that drops in price after you’ve paid for it. (Ahem… Amazon) Amazon is notorious for constantly changing the prices on their website!

Amazon shopping tip: Use camelcamelcamel.com to track the price history on any specific item you choose. This is a great way to know if it’s a good time to buy an item or if it’d be best to wait. You can also opt to receive email notifications about price drops on specific items.

Anyway, I downloaded the app right away to see if it was legit. I shopped online at Walmart the other day to get a few things and then today I received a notification from the app that there was a $5 price drop on one of the items I purchased and that I would be getting a $5 refund! Sweet! It’ll actually be less than $5 because Paribus does take 25% of your refund. I’m perfectly okay with that because getting the refunds are effortless – Paribus does the work for you! (If you don’t get a refund, they take nothing.) Also, 75% of something is better than nothing!

But there is something you should know…

The only major con I’ve been reading about is that Paribus has access to your email. As I understand it, this is how they know what your purchases are so they can do the work behind the scenes for you, but don’t worry, they aren’t just hanging out in your inbox. If that really bothers you you could always set up a new email account that you use for all online shopping orders only. For me personally, I don’t see it as a big deal right now.

The Paribus App: Get Money Back When Prices Drop, Effortlessly

Now it’s just time for me to watch my account to be sure I receive the refund I was promised. I’ve read that it takes up to two billing cycles for your original payment method to get credited.

And now it’s time for another financial fitness update!

Financial Fitness Update #2

Financial Fitness Update 2 - via LiftingMakesMeHappy.com

Money put towards debt last week:

Auto loans: $150
Student loan: $200
Credit cards: $207

Total: $557

I did do some spring/summer clothes shopping with my boys last week which set me back a little but it was in the budget and so it goes. I typically only shop for clothing for my kids twice a year – before school starts and in the spring for warmer weather stuff. My 9-year-old stepdaughter loves Justice (which is expensive if you pay full price) so I buy a lot of her stuff when it goes on sale or is on clearance. For the boys we usually stick to Old Navy and/or Kohl’s. I can usually get 30-40% off or more which helps tremendously.

I feel like this past week has set me back a bit. There have been quite a few other random costs lately including end of the year field trips for school, my wisdom teeth extractions and also sports photo orders.

Currently debating…

At this moment I’m currently debating what to do with my car payment once my car is paid off. I’m debating whether I should put it toward credit card debt or put it towards Roger’s truck payment to get that paid off in about 18 months. (Side note: We will never have 2 vehicle payments at the same time ever again.) He took out a 5 year loan (with a pretty decent interest rate) so getting aggressive and paying it off about 26 months early would be pretty sweet. But, decisions, decisions.

I’m also thinking about making a vision board related to this huge debt-free challenge of mine to help me stay focused and motivated to make it happen!

Until next time…

xo Mindi