Dmontngrey's Personal Finance Blog

I've been really depressed lately thanks to work/home/mother/etc. Bleah, enough already! Just one thing after another. Nothing really earth shattering, but this past week did throw me for a loop. What's the worst thing that can happen? My precious mutt, my tiger cat, got sick!!! One unhappy cat = one VERY unhappy ME! Here she is a few minutes ago - naptime on her elephant! What an improvement over a few days ago!



Long story short: Noticed she wasn't walking well Monday night. Rushed her to the vet Tuesday assuming she was constipated. Turns out she had a HUGE abscess under the base of her tail - most likely caused by a clawed swat on the butt from the other cat. She wouldn't eat, would barely drink, couldn't sit. She just laid on the floor by the heater, mostly lifeless. She got an antibiotic shot (they make these now!!) and by Thursday it still hadn't drained. She was worse. I called to schedule her to go in on Friday, but a couple hours later the floodgates opened. By Friday morning: happier mutt = happier me! She's MUCH happier today and is eating. But EW, heal already! That thing is disgusting! She'll probably have to go in to be checked sometime next week, but we're on the mend for now!

Christmas wasn't as bad as I expected - not many gifts at all. Ok, so where did all my mother's money GO? I blame the boyfriend - blame him in a way that he's not asking her for anything, but she feels obligated to buy him things. Her store card is near maxed out, her bills are all late, and her bank account is negative too often. Quite different from just four months ago when her bills were paid in full and I had shuffled $1400 into savings for her. I had to distance myself from her. To make matters worse, the boyfriend rolled his truck last weekend and now has broken ribs. Oh yeah, and a totalled truck. She only calls me these days if she needs something. All I hear is "I'm having FUN!" How's that working for ya?

I made my own stupid banking mistake this week. NOT like me at all!! I just wasn't paying attention when I scheduled a payment. Ugh, too much stress these days. Thankfully, I found out I have the BEST BANK! I ran off to one ATM to get cash from a different account, then off to this bank to deposit it. By the next morning, they had re-ordered my transactions to post credits first, then debits. Yay, no overdraft! That's the first time I've ever done something like that and you bet it'll never happen again.
I lucked out this time.

What started out as a really stressful week, ended up working itself out ok. Yeah, I'm still stressed and I still brought work home, but my mutt is feeling better, I didn't royally screw up our finances, and not complaining at work is paying off. My boss handed me paperwork to process a $1000 bonus for myself. $730 after taxes/401k - I'll take it! DH's eyes nearly popped out of his head when I told him. Wow, he didn't even ask if he could spend any of it!! I'm not sure what I want to do with it. Just sit on it for now I guess. I did finally order a new filter for one turtle, but this is something I've been procrastinating for months. It didn't have much to do with the extra $$ I'll be getting.

I haven't been blasting away debt lately. Too many expenses. We BOTH needed new tires, plus added gas expenses for our road trips. The electric bill is up - electric heat - and the water/sewer rates are going up soon. Oh yeah, our car/home insurance payments started back up too. I plan on blasting those away by summer like I did last year. I still need to call and discuss insurance options for DH's old car. It's over-insured.

Well, back to working on getting my netbook "workable". I didn't like the Xandros OS, so I installed eeebuntu. Still need to find a program to run the webcam on it. Ah well, it's a learning experience. The good thing about the netbook is that it's small enough that I can work on it AND hold the mutt!

Snow! Lots of it! We did go out earlier and the roads weren't too bad. The crews are doing a good job cleaning them. We were out between 1:30 and 2:30 pm - by the mall and all the shopping plazas, even Walmart. The area is dead for the Sunday before Christmas! Not good for retailers, that's for sure. Good for shoppers though - no crowds at all.

I "needed" to go out so I could get my free after ECB items at CVS - and my free after rewards batteries at Staples. Yeah, necessities! I was also out running errands yesterday morning and stores still weren't as busy as I'd expect them - except for the grocery store. Yikes!!! My bank is in the grocery store and I have never seen the store that busy. I'm thankful I only needed to make a bank deposit and not shop. So glad I have enough food here to feed a small army.

The work crunch has calmed just a bit. Still working a lot and not having fun, but I think the worst of it is over. I'll be glad when the holidays are over, but there are a lot of loose ends to tie up with the health plan changes. Stuff that all falls on me as well as my "no pressure" payroll job. Yup, looking forward to my 3 day New Year's weekend - no plans and loving that!!

Here's a rare moment with the mutts yesterday. I think it's been at least 6 months since I've seen the black cat on the bed. Three out of four of them are there now as I type this. I hear the tiger cat munching away at her food bowl.



My old boy, the lab, took a nasty tumble Friday morning. DH was walking the dogs and let the leash go so he could run around. That dog has quite the energy for a 13 year old!! Well he ran by and DH accidentally stepped on his leash. Dog faceplant with all four legs out from under him. It was FREEZING out and we were trying to convince him to get off the ground and into the house. He finally got up (favoring his back left leg) and went in. Well, what can you do but wait things out? So we've been doing that. He was MUCH better by evening, but he's still having trouble getting up on our high bed. This is causing massive panic attacks and DH and I haven't gotten much sleep the last couple of nights. It hasn't been fun. He's been with us for 3 years now, but was abused prior to coming here. He's hurt, scared, and doesn't understand what's going on right now. If we even raise our voice for any reason, he pees where he's standing. We were getting ready to take them out last night and I yelled at the beagle for something. Next thing I know - dog pee all over the entry way. Ugh! I'm a cat person... We still just have to wait this out for now. Just worried since he's an old, neurotic boy.

Well my other gift I got for myself, a "refurbished" netbook, is FINALLY up and running on my home network as of today! It's an Eee PC 701 that came installed with the Linux Xandros operating system. Apparently there was a conflict between the OS, the wireless card, and secure networks. It connects just fine to an unsecure network. I tried EVERYTHING to resolve this, with no luck. So this morning I installed eeeubuntu on an SD card and created a live boot situation. Online to MY network within just minutes. Ok, now maybe I can begin to learn to use this thing now? Quite the learning process so far. I know nothing about this stuff!!

After the holidays I plan on jumping into a massive payoff on those loans. Still tossing around plan ideas at the moment.

Well, Christmas cards don't address themselves, the vac doesn't self-run, turtle tanks don't self-clean, and the laundry wont fold itself. Perhaps I should get back to work?

There must be!! The car is acting up, go figure. It's nothing overly major, and it's not a safety hazard. I heard a pop near the glovebox and I apparently have blown a blower resistor or something like that. The fan blows normal on 4, not so great on 1-3. It heats fine though, so we wont freeze. And yes, we ARE hitting the road Tuesday night. My car is still under warranty, we just can't get it fixed until at least next week. If it's not covered for some odd reason, it's around $50 for the part and DH can fix it himself. Just bad timing of course. You'd think my car would appreciate the oil change and the new tires it got this weekend! Ingrate.

Well I'm kind of aggravated with the girl I sent that care package too. I just found out she's running around with a married man more than twice her age - and has been involved with him over a YEAR! I never said before how I "knew" (never actually met in person) this girl, but a good friend of mine is in jail after getting her pregnant 4 years ago when HE was twice her age. The baby did not survive. To top it all off, these two guys are practically best friends. Ugh, people really sicken me.

I'm still busy at work, to the point it's making me sick. I told my boss today that I don't care what happens, I am GONE as soon as payroll is processed Tuesday. Can't they just figure everything else out without ME?? I can't work myself sick like I have been.

Speaking of, I have packing to do and pumpkin bread to get out of the oven. I'm in ok shape for the trip if I can just get off my butt and back to work.

We need to run some Christmas gifts by the local program Tuesday before we skip town. Called this weekend to get matched up to two kids. We had a BLAST shopping! A 12 y.o. boy is getting an MP3 player, a remote control jeep, batteries, and a gift card for clothes. A 3 1/2 y.o. boy is getting cars and trucks, coloring books and crayons, a car carrying case, a warm winter jacket, hat, mittens, pants, shirts, and socks. That really was a lot of fun and I'm feeling SLIGHTLY better about Christmas. Still can't help but feel like everyone I know suffers from serious gluttony though.

Speaking of our own gluttony: we hooked up our new tv Friday night. So much for "no cable"! Best kept secret in many cable markets: If you have basic cable (just network channels) and you get a new tv with a QAM tuner, you get the ENTIRE cable lineup. That's correct, it's not currently scrambled and comes across as clear QAM. DH is in heaven now! Yes, I know it wont last forever.

Ok, enough random babbling from me for today.

So... my new mixer arrived last Monday and I finally got a chance to try it out on Saturday. I was feeling a bit down, so I made myself dozens of smiling stegosaurus cookies! Those poor dinosaurs didn't stand a chance with the work day we had today...



Did I mention I LOVE the mixer??

Thanksgiving went ok. I was still glad I kept the trip really short. I just needed that right now. My brother was very appreciative of all the food I brought up. His wife thinks what I do with coupon shopping is kind of strange. She's the type that if she runs out of Coke, she just runs right out and pays $5 for another 12 pack. HUH?? I just don't get it. SHE wasn't overly excited about the food, but my brother happily rearranged their kitchen and got it all put away. He was very happy with everything.

My brother showed up at my mom's house Thursday carrying the tiniest living ball of fur I've ever seen! She's an approximately 3 month old toy poodle. My brother's wife delivers newspapers and supposedly found this white ball of fur by the side of the road in 29 degree weather. They rushed her to the emergency vet and the vet suggested they put her down, she'd never survive. My brother nursed her all night and when they went back the next day, the vet refused to believe it was the same dog! Three weeks later and she is one ridiculously cute ball of fur! He named her Karma.

Ugh, work has been so ridiculous lately! My employer decided to roll out a very different health plan next year - a high deductible plan with a HSA and a wellness plan. Guess who's been taking all the calls? My boss has been on the road all week doing presentations about the health plan, so the calls are just falling on me. I have two choices: I can do my work OR I can answer calls. Doing both isn't working. If I do my work, I don't have time to call people back. If I take the calls, I can't do my work! Stressed just doesn't cover it at the moment. If that wasn't bad enough, my bossed pushed off implementation of an upgraded payroll software because he wanted some things cleaned up in the old software first. Turns out, there would have been less headaches if we just cleaned it up in the new software. "We" is used loosely... I mean ME! I just ran my second payroll with this software - one I had virtually NO training on. Our payroll company showed me all around the software EXCEPT actually payroll entry. The first week of this coincided nicely with getting the open enrollment packets out and that crazy catalina shopping deal I had in my "spare" time. I just don't feel I can properly convey how difficult these past couple of weeks have been for me! DH is happy he only has to work three days this coming week. I told him that would be nice if I didn't feel like I had to do two weeks of work in those three days. Yikes...

In other news: we're spending Thanksgiving with my MOTHER! We're going to try this out and see how it goes. I'm still having major issues with her these days. So, we're driving up late Wednesday night and coming back here Friday morning. Oh darn, DH had prior commitments for the weekend. I think a short trip will be best for everyone. Yes, this does mean we get to meet the roommate/boyfriend I blame for being such a bad influence on all the spending she has done lately. I'm still just sitting back and waiting for that to all come crashing down on her. Not sure what she'll do then.

During the last catalina deal, I asked my brother for a list of things he might like. I'm not sure if he ever went and tried it out himself, but I did tell him he may regret telling me he needed a few things. I've been piling things up for my mother as well. Mom is getting 8 bottles of laundry detergent, tuna fish, mayo, wheat pasta, soup, cereal. Brother is getting a TON of cereal, soup, rice mixes, noodle mixes, hamburger helper, peanut butter, mayo, fruit snacks, etc. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. I had too much fun getting all this stuff and you know I LOVE to share! I have 38.50 left in catalina and I'll be picking up the turkey and fixings tomorrow. I'll just be glad to get this pile out of my house:



This is where the mutt hangs out on the third floor - on her elephant. Who needs a fancy cat bed when you have a huge elephant? The WB Mason boxes in the background have food stashed in them. This is my "pantry" since the cupboards downstairs are all quite full. There's also a ton of cereal and pasta stacked under that turtle tank, and even MORE stacked under the tank to the left. DH says he'd be concerned if so much of this wasn't already scheduled to leave the house. Well... it's not hard to give away FOOD and I have fun getting so much for free.

I updated my sidebar with recent debt totals. I feel kinda stuck paying off my debt "backwards". I'm starting with the smallest/lowest interest because that's credit card debt and who knows where credit cards will go. It does have a "for life" promo rate, but does that really mean anything? I feel like the car has to go next even though that's the middle/middle rate. It's a car and we all know cars are unpredictable. Yeah it's a 2007 Hyundai, but I drive a LOT. I really want that student loan consolidation paid off but it's just so intimidating at the moment! Well, I'm determined and patient. I sent 550.00 to the Citi card the other day and I'll send another 350.00 to it on Monday.

I did put a little bit of money into a "fun money" account for DH. Poor DH... I think steam is going to start pouring out while he figures out how to spend it. So hard to narrow down which of his "wants" to get. I'm thinking it will be a TV. Part of the reason I put that money there is because I've been so "selfish" lately buying things for myself. Well, in my defense this is a FIRST for me. I got tired of catering to everyone else first and finally bought myself a few things I've been wanting. First I ordered a 200+ bulb package. I got those all planted last weekend. By the time I was done, I had myself convinced at least 5000 tulips should come up next year! That's what it felt like I just planted... So, we'll see what spring brings.

I've been wanting a new mixer for a while now. If I don't get one - no more of my famous Christmas cookies! No more anything - my mixer is toast. It rattles when I shake it. The speeds are unpredictable. I splurged on a pretty blue KitchenAid aritisan stand mixer. It should arrive on Monday. I feel I got a really good deal on it. I can't wait to try it out! I've never anything nice like this before.

Well I did splurge on one more thing for myself, but I don't have it yet. I'll save that story for another entry. Let's just say I ordered a teeny tiny netbook for myself two weeks ago. I still don't have a teeny tiny netbook in my hands. I've since learned that customer service where I ordered it is quite lacking. I'll file my complaint with the BBB once I see how this ends up. Yes, it's that bad. I should have had this thing in my hands a week and a half ago.

Well, I'm just getting caught up on some boring household stuff today. On that note - back to the laundry!

I've been out of the loop here for a couple of days. There's another killer catalina deal going on at the grocery store - could I resist? NO! It has taken up most of my time since Friday. I have a lot more food I want to get between now and Thursday. So far, I'm ahead by $41.79. I expect to lose some of that "profit" though, depending on how I can structure the rest of the deals. I think it will be more important to get soup and such to add to the stockpile. My brother has said he'd like some soup and I warned him he may regret saying that!
I still haven't recovered from the last catalina deal, so this time I really might shop til I drop!

Well I updated the sidebar to reflect the now paid off loan.

As a treat for myself for all my coupon shopping (over $3800 saved YTD) and for getting debts paid off, I bought myself a couple of gifts. One is due to arrive tomorrow and the other on Wednesday. I think I will wait to announce them when they get here. Ooh, this is better than Christmas!! I never get myself anything.

My brother contacted me today to let me know he got a message from the girl I sent the care package to. She basically was fishing for ideas on how to show her gratitude. I mentioned it to DH and he got a message from her as well. She knows my brother, but has never met me or DH. She just knows of us and has friended us online. She seems like a great kid from a rough life. Just knowing she appreciated the package is really all I wanted.

It was such a beautiful day here today and I took advantage of the weather to rip up the garden for the winter. I still need to bring in the hose, but I may need it this week. That sure was a lot of work for a teeny tiny area!

On our way back from the grocery store this morning, we stopped at a yard sale. They said the stuff was priced to sell and they weren't kidding! DH picked up a Uniden bearcat scanner for $1.00. It seems to need a new battery since it only wants to run plugged in. He's not sure he wants to replace the battery. He only picked it up because he liked the antenna it had. Worse case scenario is that he'll put this antenna on his scanner. I found this for 25 cents:





Oh yes, I WILL use it if I need a trivet! Cute and functional.

Still not much word from my mother. She sent a Halloween card to a friend of mine and told him I was upset with her. Well yes, but I've calmed down a bit. It's HER that doesn't call, doesn't respond to my emails, in general just doesn't let me know what's going on in her life anymore. She's still spending up a storm and I will not bail her out again. No no NO! Yes, I AM bitter about her spending, especially where I loaned her so much money and she never paid me back. I learned my lesson - never again.

These days - I worry about ME. Everyone else just needs to figure out their own issues. It's so hard though since I'm so giving. Yes, there's a box upstairs for my mother - 8 laundry detergents and 10 cans of tuna fish. It's from my last catalina run. I can't help it since I know it's stuff she could use and I got it for next to nothing. I have boxes started for my mother, my MIL, and my brother. Just can't help it.

Yes, that is correct! I just sent the payoff for Student Loan 1! "WHAT?" you ask? Yeah, me too. Where did that money come from? My only guess is: the money you "can't save" from couponing. I'll be keeping quite the interesting watch on things now, while I tackle that balance transfer. I still need to go downstairs and tell DH! Hee hee.... The payment should clear at the beginning of the week and then I'll be down to just my student loan consolidation. Yes, that one is intimidating.

The giant box arrived at its destination Wednesday as planned, and she picked it up yesterday. Oh boy - I would have like to see her face when she got it!
Glad I warned her about the size of the box. I wasn't exactly thinking in that respect - she's just a petite thing. The friend that lugged it halfway across campus for her scored some cereal and some chex mix. Grateful college students! I'll send her another, perhaps smaller, box in the spring.

One goal this weekend will be to kill off the $63 in catalina I have left for the grocery store. They expire 11/2 - 11/5. We found lots of "fun" things on sale that we'd like to buy as a treat. I think we'll do ok spending the catalina. I was worried at first since we sure don't NEED anything. Giving so much food away didn't make a noticable dent.

Well, I think a celebratory glass of wine is in order - on top of the one I already had!

I'll leave you with the view from my desk last weekend. This is the pond on the other side of the apartments next door. I see just a small portion of it, but it sure is pretty this time of year.

Oh, I have been having way too much fun lately! Too much fun at the grocery store with catalina deals and too much fun at Walgreens with register rewards (RR).

This is what I ended up with on my little catalina binge:

Quantity Item
3 Clorox Wipes
1 Diet 7-up
6 Hartz Crunch N Clean biscuits
2 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest - Penne
7 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest - Rotini
10 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest - Spaghetti
13 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest - Thin Spaghetti
2 Ronzoni Smart Taste - Penne
19 Ronzoni Smart Taste - Rotini
11 Ronzoni Smart Taste - Spaghetti
10 Fiber One cereal
8 Chex Mix
13 Nature Valley granola bars
4 Warm Delights Mini
4 Fiber One yogurt
2 Milkbone dog biscuits
2 Yo+ yogurt
6 Cinnamon Toast Crunch
12 Cascadian Farms granola cereal
7 Gold Medal flour
11 Cheerios
4 Golden Grahams
18 Pillsbury crescent rolls
15 Progresso Soup
16 Pillsbury cinnamon buns
8 Pillsbury Grands
5 Total whole grain cereal
5 Betty crocker fruit snacks

I spent 48.55 and still have 77.00 in catalina. This gives me a 28.45 "profit".

I also got:
4 Nestea for 0.04 profit!
18 Shaws solid white albacore tuna for 4.50.
9 Healthy choice frozen meals for 0.09 profit!

I catalog all my coupon shopping on my facebook page and I get a lot of questions. A young lady I know, who is a freshman in college, commented that I should send her some stuff since she gets hungry studying. I know she was just joking, but I called her out on it. I had her go through the "catalog" and pick out some stuff. She made a nice selection of healthier items and mentioned a couple of things she would like but didn't see pictured: index cards and Pepperidge Farm goldfish.

Oh boy, I ran right out and rolled my Walgreens RR into money maker deals over the past two days. Even with buying 8 bags of goldfish, 3 packs of index cards, several Puffs Plus tissues, and a diecast car for DH - I STILL came out ahead! Between yesterday and today I'm ahead by 5.78. I still can't believe my head hasn't exploded yet!!

Well, this is what I've got so far:



Wont this be a FUN box to get?!?

I've never actually met this girl in person though. We know of each other due to some unfortunate circumstances, and are just "friends" on social networking sites. We come from the same town and know a lot of the same people. I know a lot about her past and she comes from a tough life. Bright kid though - did high school in three years and plans to do college the same. I also remember what it was like going off to college. I bet she'll have no trouble sharing this stash of goodies! There are a lot of things on the lower layer that you can't see: 6 boxes of Puff tissues, 3 boxes of microwave popcorn, 2 bottles of listerine, + more. I'm not posting this on facebook because I want it to be a surprise!

I can ship this to her via UPS using my company's account (for a discount) and paying by credit card. It should cost me around $15 to ship it ground and she'll get it Wednesday.

All this couponing stuff really is like having a part time job - I need a vacation!

In other financial news:
I fired off a $450 payment to Student Loan 1. HA! Take that!! I'll update next week after that payment hits. Not too much longer on this loan.

I'm still slowly watching my mother spiral downwards. There's nothing I can do since she's "just having fun!!" This is what I hear from her. I hardly hear from her anymore - she's too busy with her "new boyfriend". I can't be bothered with her childishness. There's no way to avoid the pain of watching her spiral downward. I hate seeing my mother do this to herself, but she does NOT want to be responsible for anything it seems. Plus - of course I'm still bitter about her spending when she owes so many people money. Yeah, I don't go out of my way to make an effort with her either. I have no choice but to distance myself.

Well, DH brought home a leftover kielbasa dish and is downstairs heating it up. Not sure if I'll like it - but I certainly have learned to be grateful for what's in front of me!

It will be a miracle! My head hurts looking at all these catalina scenarios. I've gone a bit overboard the last few days. Just waiting for DH to put his foot down! Ah well, he "happily" goes along and buys what I tell him to. We spent so much time at the grocery store this morning - I had to take him to BK afterwards to get him to stop pouting! LOL! It was my first trip for this sale and I'm just not that organized on the first trip. I'll have my butt in gear from here on in. I need to check with my mother and brother and put together boxes for them. Then I should plan a trip to a food pantry. I still wont be in danger of starving. However, I need to learn how to get creative with pasta!!

Basically I've spent 30.88 OOP and I have 40.00 remaining in catalina. I'm 9.12 ahead of the game here!! I post pics and details on my facebook page and I get a lot of questions! Can't really get anyone to join me though...

My haul so far:

Quantity Item
3 Clorox Wipes
1 Diet 7-up
6 Hartz Crunch N Clean biscuits
2 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest - Penne
7 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest - Rotini
10 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest - Spaghetti
13 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest - Thin Spaghetti
2 Ronzoni Smart Taste - Penne
19 Ronzoni Smart Taste - Rotini
11 Ronzoni Smart Taste - Spaghetti
6 Fiber One cereal
4 Chex Mix
5 Nature Valley granola bars
2 Warm Delights Mini
4 Fiber One yogurt
2 Milkbone dog biscuits
2 Yo+ yogurt
2 Nestea
2 Cinnamon Toast Crunch
2 Cascadian Farms granola cereal
2 Gold Medal flour

This is absolutely exhausting!

In other news: I'm already flipping that dead printer I grabbed from the trash at work. A little over a month ago, I bought a wireless printer for around $20 (after HP trade-in) just because I had a dead printer begging to be traded in. The retail price on this printer is 179.00. It was "worth" $100 to me if I didn't use it: 50.00 to sell the ink and 50.00 to flip as another trade. I decided it might be worth us having a wireless printer though, so I put it in use. Next thing I know, I have three coworkers asking me to find them a deal like this! Well, one coworker can't be bothered with a trade. This one and another both thought I was crazy when I found the printer for 40.00 after trade and said that wasn't good enough. Well lo and behold, yesterday a deal pops up to get this same printer for under 25.00 after trade. I ordered one just for the ink! One coworker ordered one for herself and the other one told me to keep the ink and she'd buy the printer off of me. Yup, no kidding! I wont be out anything with this deal, I get a set of ink cartridges, AND I'll come out ahead when I trade in the dead cartridges for Staples credit. Three very happy people! The other coworker was out for the day and missed out on this deal.

Well it's getting late and I still don't have more store trips planned out for tomorrow. Plus I need dinner! Pasta it is...

I was ready to come home and get caught up on tidbits from the last few days... only to come home to find news that a classmate had passed away unexpectedly! I remember her as a healthy, energetic person. I can't comprehend her complaining of a headache and chest pains for a few days, and then being found unconscious at her home. We weren't really friends, but my class was relatively small and everyone knew each other. Word spread like wildfire on Facebook. Facebook is funny in that respect, and it IS nice that we can all grieve together if we'd like to. I still have tears in my eyes. To my knowledge, we hadn't lost a classmate yet.

I cleaned a turtle tank to try and get my mind off the news.

I haven't been feeling too good myself the last few days. Sunday, just before dinner, my stomach started bothering me. No clue why. Dinner didn't go over well with an upset tummy. Yesterday and today it just feels like someone punched me in the stomach. Just pain, that's all. Last night I had one of my favorite comfort foods: Campbell's cream of chicken soup. It didn't help like I had hoped. Tonight, another comfort food: Burger King Tendercrisp sandwich. DELICIOUS! I splurged on it for myself. I had to! Tummy still hurts and I still don't feel good. I don't regret getting it though. Worth a shot.

Woo hoo! My most recent payments hit the student loan and the balance is now 1115.65. Soon, very soon.
I think I confused them though. I don't really understand why they recalculated my payment. It was: 80.85 for 11 months, 79.29 for 12 months, 77.86 for 12 months. It's now 53.82, then 52.79, then 51.83. Aw, how nice of them to allow me to pay this off over the next three years. Uh, NO.

Just taking it easy the rest of the evening. I ran a load of laundry for DH earlier. Dishes DESPERATELY need to get done, but that might have to wait. I'm too tired. Work has been really tough the last two days - no boss and no assistant. Just ME! Ah well.

It was a good day at RiteAid today - almost like a treasure hunt. I didn't realize how many goodies they had free after SCRs until we got to the store. We didn't even buy all of them! We ran this up in two transactions and we'll put the 2nd rebate info under my mom's account. The way I see it, it's the equivalent of me just sending the money to my mother - indirectly. Here's what we bought:








Total spent: 55.41
Rebates pending: 63.14
Profit of 7.73 !!
This is the stuff that makes me laugh!

Yes, I realize I don't need Polygrip - but that product alone was a 1.99 money maker. I'll find someone to donate it to.

The best part? I thanked DH for going with me and he said it was FUN! I questioned his reasoning and he said it was fun as long as we were making money. Yippee! Nice having him on board. Well, he's not stupid. He understands that making money on this stuff means 1) We never have to buy it since we have it on hand and 2) It frees up money for other things.

Well, other than that it's been a rather laid back day. So much stuff I SHOULD be doing, but I'm not. I'm on my third load of bedding to be tossed in the dryer, which means the bed has clean bedding on it. Yay! I need to fold and put away laundry, run the vac, get the A/Cs out of the window (A MUST!), and go pull all the tomatoes off the bush. It's supposed to get quite cold tonight last I heard. I'll double check before I go pull them off. Also need to do the dishes and test the water in one of my tanks. Never run out of things to do around here!

I TALKED to my mother earlier - yes, TALKED! She wanted to know the network key for her wireless network, so I had to walk her through finding that on her computer. This would have been a lot easier if I had written it down. Then one more call later to see if I could help get her friend's laptop online. Nope. He'll have to call tech support for that. Laptops can be so fickle. The network is fine since DH and I can both connect when we're there. Eh, life as usual with her and we did NOT discuss our disagreement. This shall be how life goes on. She expressed a few things that I have issue with and I got the canned "I'm having FUN!" reply. Just not my problem anymore. Nope. But we did hold down a conversation just fine.

I think I will go check the weather forecast, then head out to take a pic of the garden spider I saw outside earlier. As long as his web didn't blow away!

It wasn't working last night! You know, it's one of those things you just use so often. As soon as it doesn't sound right - you KNOW. It wasn't filling up with water all of a sudden. Faulty fill valve. Off to the store we went this morning to buy a new one. We could get a basic one for $7.48 or a "water saving" one for $11.48. DH opted to go for the more expensive one in the hopes it would save water over time. We'll see. I wasn't upset AT ALL over the cost. Sure beats hiring a plumber and I am not afraid to try. Who fixed it? ME!!!!!
I still need to figure out the water adjustments, but at least the tank fills now. Standing on your head under the toilet really is not as much fun as it sounds.

We've had a really good day so far. I'm just sitting here with a huge grin on my face. I've been laughing a lot lately, just happy about a lot of things and my frugal ways really make me laugh. I'm listening to some new music I got at a yard sale and I'm VERY happy with my purchase. We spent $5.75 and got: 6 cds (3 each), a diecast car for DH, a Nascar license plate frame for DH, and a new harness for the beagle. The harness was a steal! She's had hers for over 5 years now and it's getting really ratty. It's almost not even blue anymore. We paid $1.00 for this one, it looks brand new, same size, same brand - everything! I think we paid at least $12 for hers when we got it. We got our money's worth for it and it's nice to know this one should last just as long. Still not ready to swap it out, but we have it now.

Went to BK for lunch and got our usual: value fry, value drink, free whopper with coupon on receipt. $2.15 for me, more for DH since he opted for cheese. We had a good laugh over the guy in front of us: dressed in a business suit, punching away on his little electronic toy, making a loud fuss over not having enough money in THAT account to pay for his food. He marched off with his large drink and large meal - after having his buddy pay. We were more than happy with our food purchase and didn't pay anywhere near as much as he did. Oh, and didn't have a problem paying either. I KNOW where my money is.

Then we headed off to Walgreens to kill off the rest of the RR that were expiring tomorrow. A couple weeks ago we spent $31.82 at Walgreens and got back $35.00 in RR. I've been working hard to get these spent but it's HARD! I got 4 boxes of tampons, 1 box of kleenex, 8 candy bars (fillers), vaseline lotion, + some other stuff - and I still have $25.00 in new RR!! I just don't remember picking up this:





After that we stopped at a local church's pumkin patch and picked out two smallish pumpkins. Spent $8 - more than we would have spent at the place we usually buy them. This supported a church though, and I'm always in favor of doing so. Odd, since I'm not religious, but I do still believe in supporting churches. Maybe I'll bake one tomorrow - then time for the annual fight with the beagle for the pumpkin carcass! We're getting that on video this year, that's for sure.

I just updated my sidebar with the new total for Student Loan 1. Looks like interest hit along with all my payments last week. I just made $475.00 in payments for this week and I'll update my sidebar when those payments hit. It would have been more, but I realized my water bill is due around now and I haven't seen it yet. Odd. The water bill is twice a year. I opted to save some money for that bill for now.

We have nothing planned for the rest of the evening and that is just fine. Dinner is even in the crock pot - pork ribs soaking in BBQ sauce. It smells AMAZING!!

Off to just relax the rest of the night - hopefully.

It feels kinda good.
I finally got the courage up to try my EA Sports Active for the Wii again. I bought this at the end of June with high expectations. It looked like it was just what I needed to get active, as strange as that may sound. I don't feel comfortable going to the gym, or running/walking outside even. It's a little weird jogging in place while the "you" on the screen is running around a track, but you get used to it. Anyways, I read that this kicks your butt and they weren't kidding! I loved it! JUST what I expected - well, almost...
I didn't realize my feet were so screwed up, so the fourth time using it I promptly destroyed both feet. Posterior tibial tendinitis - OWIE!!!!!!! Yes, BOTH. I could barely walk and they were swollen like you wouldn't believe. Yup, of course the left was worse than the right and I drive a 5-speed! It took almost a month before I sheepishly hauled myself to the doctor to find out what was wrong. Nothing I could do but sit still really. Yeah, not possible. So today was the first day trying again. I did a nice little cardio boxing/light running workout. I feel slight pain, but it's not bad. At least now I know what the problem is, and I can stretch/rest as needed. I also know exactly which exercise I injured myself with and I wont do that again - ever.

I had to gas up my car today and pick up a few things from the grocery store. There was a catalina deal where if you bought $20 worth of participating items, you'd get a $5 coupon for your next shopping trip. DH needed coffee and I wanted to pick up some flour. Naturally, they were out of flour! He just told me he was almost out of coffee, otherwise I would have picked this stuff up the first day of the sale. Well, it's based on pre-sale prices, so I got two huge canisters of coffee and two cake mixes. I spent $13.98 and got back a $5 catalina. Not too bad. I sure didn't need any more cake mixes though! I'll have to find someone to donate them to. DH will be very pleased with the coffee purchase. Hey, at least he mentioned this before he ran out of coffee and before the sale was over.

I took a Pinecone survey yesterday and got the $3 in my paypal account today. It should transfer to my bank in a couple of days. I've been getting the $3 survey payments every 7-10 days lately. Not bad.

Lastly, guess what arrived in the mail today!



The message on the back of the envelope said "Hope it was a great day! Sorry I forgot to turn the page to October!" Even though we haven't spoken, I do feel a little better now that the card arrived. It's just NOT like her at all to not send a card. I will send a brief email thanking her for the card and telling her about our anniversary dinner and the harbor cruise. Nothing more for now. I think that's best.

is MY treasure! I scored a "dead" HP inkjet printer destined for the trash today. Well, if it wasn't dead before, it is now. We broke it trying to get the two ink cartridges out. Hey - those are worth $3 each in Staples rewards! The printer can be worth $50 towards an HP trade-in. Our IT guy put it in the trash because he was cleaning out his office. I agonized over it all day. I didn't feel comfortable just asking for "trash" and couldn't sneak it out of there. All of a sudden I had an idea!! I went up to him and said "Hey, instead of throwing the printer in the trash - mind if I haul it away for recycling?" Well, I really will be recycling it as a trade-in and the cartridges get recycled at Staples. I wasn't lying!!

Sunday we went into Boston and did a sunset harbor cruise. This is regular $22 a person, but I bought "groupons" a while back for $12 each. First time redeeming a groupon and it was nice and easy. The cruise was GREAT!!! It was very cold out on the water though. They take you out by Old Ironsides as she fires her cannon at sunset! The Queen Mary II was docked in Boston. Uh, large just doesn't describe that boat! It was rather intimidating!

Old Ironsides



Sunset over the Zakim Bridge



On the way home, we stopped at T.G.I. Friday's to use our free burger coupons (Facebook promo). We each ordered a beer and burgers and were out of there for under $20 including tip. The burgers were really good, but I'm not sure if I'd order it again.

Yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it's been that long already. We went out to T.G.I. Friday's, but DH's jaw (sinus infection) was bothering him so he didn't want to use a free burger coupon. I had the free chicken sandwich this time. I liked the chicken more than the burger. Not something I normally would order, but it was really good! I had three more coupons left, so I gave two to a coworker. I saved one so DH could try the chicken sandwich before the promo ends.

I'm feeling kinda bummed today because things are still not resolved with my mother. I still don't feel I did anything wrong. I just didn't agree with her car purchase, so I told her so. Honestly, I'm not sure who's not speaking to who!! I just know it's been almost three weeks since I sent her that email telling her I couldn't manage her finances anymore. Nothing since then. Oh, the reason I'm bummed? My mom ALWAYS sends us an anniversary card. Nothing so far.

The payments hit my student loan, but I'll update that info on Saturday when I go over the finances.

Finally, I know this post has a lot in it, but I just HAVE to share this pic I took while I was writing my last blog entry!! My pain in the butt mutt again!!

Ah, nice rainy Saturday morning to do my normal finance stuff and do some cleaning around the house. I don't mind the rain on days like this.

So I should be sitting in my comfy office chair, but instead I'm stuck with a folding chair. I'm not moving this!



Not a lot going on finance-wise this morning. Everything is running smoothly.

The current balance on Student Loan 1 is 2192.05.
I am sending the following payments from three different accounts:
59.00
225.00
325.00
--------
Total: 609.00
Whoa. I don't see this loan in my future for much longer!!

Not much else to report. I need to make my shopping lists for tomorrow. Later today we're going to check out a new Goodwill store that opened nearby. DH desperately needs "new" clothes.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Another LONG day at work! Thank you TD Bank for making my day just that much more frustrating. People never want to believe their bank is holding up their direct deposit. It HAS to be the payroll department, right? I actually read about the problem here in the blogs while I was at lunch. It explained a lot of phone calls I got today.

Anyways, stopped at Target on the way home to use up another set of coupons for 49 cent Purina One cat food. I have one more set for 49 cents and one for 99 cents that DH and I will use tomorrow. I also got a free 3.75 oz bag of Chex mix (that I just polished off!) with a $1.00 Target printable. I ended up spending a total of $16.40 on the cat food, Chex mix, a polo for DH, a tshirt for me, 6 pairs of dress socks for me, a cami for me. More than I planned on spending, but not bad at all!! I think DH will be thrilled with his $3.00 polo shirt.

I got home to find my $30 Staples ink rewards and a free $40 visa gift card! The gc was for signing up for a free trial of something that I canceled in the first 30 days. EASY gift card! I'm thinking I'd like to spend the Staples rewards towards a new computer monitor. I have six weeks or so before they expire, so plenty of time to wait for the right deal.

So I sat and chuckled over how nice the evening turned out, scarfed down the chex mix, and smiled.

I'm getting antsy to go over the finances this week now that DH's car is paid off! My raise went into effect and I got three weeks retro pay. I want to see how much I can throw towards Student Loan 1. Eh, maybe not tonight. I usually go over this stuff Saturday morning anyways. Just getting antsy!!

Oh, everything worked out ok Wednesday with my brother and the car. It passed inspection - no problem! I paid the $29 for the inspection, topped off the gas tank for about $10, and sent him and his friend back north. It buys him a little more time with the car. Decision time comes again when the insurance renews at the end of December. For now, the car is on loan.

Now I'm just doing some laundry and trying to sit back and relax for a few minutes. Don't get that often!!

I'll leave you with a pic of the two brats sharing a sun spot recently. They hate, hate, HATE each other - so this was unusual.

Ok, more like tossed quite a few text messages back and forth about the car. Hello? September ends tomorrow and with it, the car inspection!

It took a few messages before I was able to determine that 1) he was sorry he hadn't taken care of this sooner, 2) he's really stressed about life, and 3) he wants to fix this as cheap/fast as he can.
Oh boy... it sounds to me like he can't even come up with the $$ to get the car inspected. Well, since DH technically still owns the car, it falls on us to get it legal again. Brother is en route here now as I type this. I emailed my boss to say I'll be in late tomorrow. Not sure how involved I'll need to be. In all this, I didn't even THINK to ask if he has any reason to think it might not pass inspection!! At least we're taking it to a shop that has passed it many times before. I just worry because the exhaust is not "stock". It IS stock, just off a different model. Some places have given us crap for this.

Between my mother, my brother, and sometimes even my dad - could somebody please tell me exactly where *I* came from?!?!? Not this family. No way.

I feel really bad for my brother. I don't think the army was what he expected and now is just not the time to be trying to find a job. He jumped into home ownership while in the army and now what? Yeah, he didn't make all the right decisions - but he's my brother and I still feel REALLY bad for him. A troubled marriage isn't helping the situation.

Eh, on the bright side: the house is a little cleaner now! My inlaws were here a couple weeks ago, so I just needed to vac, change bed, etc.

In other news: I found $200 to send to Student Loan 1 this past week!! I think I'll have that knocked off in no time.

I'll leave you with a pic of the other feline mutt in this house. Uh, I wasn't baiting her - honest!! Ha ha ha... She didn't know what to think and kept looking at me like "WOW, I didn't know we had THIS!"

*Nascar side note* DH just dragged me upstairs because for some reason I needed to see Logano's wreck NOW. With the amount of yelling he was doing - I thought for sure someone was dead. The kid is fine, but how am I supposed to want my own husband to be a race car driver? That car flipped quite a few times. They're quite "safe", but still...

We did a little bit of shopping this weekend and they were successful trips.

Target:
DH found 2 pairs of shorts: 3.24 and 4.24 - good for working at the shop.
We bought 2 bags of Purina One Sensitive for 0.49 each. Stacked 3.50 give-a-bowl coupons with 2.00 Target coupons. I have two more sets of coupons for 0.49 bags and one set to get a 0.99 bag. These are for an elderly friend of ours whose cat only eats this food.

RiteAid:
I was afraid of running out of soap - the one in the dish was the last one! I prefer Irish Spring and RiteAid had 3-packs for 1.49 through yesterday. I picked up two along with a 4 oz box of Wheat Thins and a Clean & Clear face wash. The Wheat Thins were free and the face wash was a money maker with coupons. I only spent 2.63.

Walgreens:
1 Fusion razor: 8.99 - 4.00 q
1 Herbal Essence shampoo: 2.99 - 1.00 q
1 Herbal Essence conditioner: 2.99 - 1.00 q
4 Dentek dental floss: 2.00 each = 8.00
3 Halls Refresh: 1.00 each = 3.00 - 1.00 q
2 Vaseline lotion: 6.99 each = 13.98 - 3.00 q
Total spent: 29.95 + 1.87 tax = 31.82 OOP
I got back 35.00 in register rewards.

I have a few things I'll need to buy in the next couple of weeks, boring personal care items that aren't normally free. Might as well get something for them. I already did a preliminary mapping of the sales and see some things I could use.

I talked with DH a little bit last night about ADHD. Boy, it's great that he seems so willing to openly discuss these things!! I'll take what I can get. I mentioned that I KNOW I'm lucky in some respects - he doesn't toss money around like a lot of folks with ADHD can be prone to doing. He admitted that he does have the temptation sometimes to say "Screw it, I'm buying myself something big". He also admitted to being able to see the "big picture". He wants to move to Indiana and he wants a race car. He really does understand that a big screen tv would slow this down. He said not spending/frugal spending is so ingrained in him now that he doesn't think he could ever go back. YAY!!!!! While he's not thrilled he doesn't have everything he wants - he still appreciates the way things are most of the time. We inadvertently made some right decisions along the way. Not sure how that happened!

Hey, I can't complain: he happily comes along on my coupon trips! He usually wanders aimlessly around the store while I hunt for the items. Then I go find him, hand him what he'll be buying along with the coupons, and off we go. He's not hard to find - he's the one happily singing along to whatever is playing on the music system.

Er... tried to? The mutt was in a MOOD this morning. We had a lengthy discussion over other available sun spots in the house before I finally dragged her upstairs - to the full sun third floor.





When I finally got my desk back, I got caught up on the financials for the week. I have things running so smoothly that I can just do a quick update when I don't have a lot of time. That was last week when my inlaws were in town. This week I wanted to dive into things a little deeper now that DH's car is paid off.

Next up? Student Loan 1 and Citi BT!! Six months?? We'll see. I paid off DH's car in six months, but this is a little bit more to pay off. Well, I updated my sidebar and then scheduled another $125 to Student Loan 1. I still need to take a look at my other bank account and see how much "extra" is there.

There is a down side to having DH's car paid off: he now thinks he can move on to his dream of driving a race car. *SIGH* Is it just me, or is it really more complicated than "buying a race car"? He KNOWS this too!! He volunteers on a pit crew for a Super Late Model car at a local track! To make matters worse: his parents will happily hand over $1000 for him to do this if we'll move back to Indiana. C'mon - who wants to scream with me?!?

Here's a little background: an untreated ADHD mind can destroy your life financially if you're not careful. He's diagnosed, textbook, and currently untreated. His mind isn't currently capable of seeing the impact his decisions can have in the long run. He wants a race car and he wants it NOW. I'm still trying to figure out how to get us working on the same page. He just sadly says our priorities are different.

Here are MY priorities, not quite finalized:
1. Pay off Student Loan 1
2. Pay off Citi BT
3. Build emergency fund - dollar amount TBD
4. Build "baby" fund

Then, I'm really not sure. You can absolutely count on #4 disappearing if we can't work out our differences on the race car issue. No way will I ever be able to explain the costs associated with medical bills, nevermind anything else.

Don't get me wrong: I WANT him to be able to race cars. I just don't see HOW we'll ever be able to afford it.

Well, those are the demons I'm battling today. And here I thought my biggest problem after the car payoff would be to talk him out of a big screen LCD TV...

So Lux is cleaning house?? Guilty. I'm one of the ones being beckoned back. I am here nearly every day reading and commenting, there's just a block when it comes to writing. I see I started an entry July 10th. I wanted to upload a pic and pics weren't working. Never came back to do that.

- How did Lux know?? Just this morning I transferred the money from savings, clicked a few buttons, and as of tomorrow - DH's car is paid off! This is at least three months earlier than anticipated - WITHOUT money from the sale of his old car. The savings account had been named "The XXXXX car payment fund". I transferred the money and renamed it "Yup, I stole it all..." DH hasn't noticed yet... hee hee...

- Paying off the car taught me a bit about the current state of our finances. I'm in REALLY good shape to tackle the next item: Student Loan 1. I need to update my sidebar - WAY out of date. It's nice though - I can see we've made some progress since I last updated it.

- My brother is HOME. Not overseas, not in the army, but HOME. For GOOD. He's actually the reason we never got any money for DH's old car. We had two people lined up to come see it the next day - one was a guaranteed sale. My brother sent me a text saying he needed a car. That was the end of that. We handed over the keys on a paid off, inspected, registered, insured vehicle and told him to figure his life out. Eh, he still hasn't. Inspection is up at the end of September. I told him at the time that I'd need the money by the end of the year to pay off DH's car. I'm glad I didn't immediately need that money and this is something we'll get worked out eventually. I'm just nervous since technically DH owns the car even though we haven't seen it for a couple months and the inspection is about up.

- My mother and I haven't spoken in two weeks due to a couple BAD (in my opinion) financial decisions she made. I'll save that for another entry. This is affecting my current mental state.

- I got a raise! Wow, that's great these days. It's about $20 net each week. Not too bad at all. It's effective 08/31/09, so I'll have to process 3 weeks of retro pay for myself. Yeah, tough being the payroll department.

- I am reading "More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies For Adults with ADHD" by Ari Tuckman. I really like it... but hate it. It says in the intro that it's your book, do what you want, yell at it if you want. I'm more inclined to start beating myself over the head with it. DH is so textbook ADHD and the more I understand about it, the better. He is diagnosed, but currently untreated. I feel he can only pursue treatment if we fully understand what sort of treatment would benefit him. Me reading and understanding is the only way things will get better. It's just a SLOW process. I AM learning a lot though.

- My YTD coupon savings must be over $2500 by now! I'm about a week behind on updating that info in the spreadsheet. I think this has a lot to do with helping us get the car paid off. We hardly buy anything anymore.

- Work has been VERY stressful for me lately. I think this is compounded by the problems with my mother and the problems in my own mind I am trying to sort out. I'm only one person and I'm tired of having to solve the world's problems. Yeah, it probably doesn't help that my boss suspects he has ADHD, but has never pursued this. *sigh* I know from experience that my mind does, but does not, mesh well with the ADHD mind. I'm WORKING ON THAT!

- Since I'm trying so hard to change myself, I'm actually taking more time for myself these days. Well, trying to. No matter what - the household stuff still needs to be done somehow. I'm just trying not to kill myself over it and trying to relax sometimes too.

- I do NOT miss TV!!! I am absolutely loving music again. I'm listening to a station on last.fm right now and this song is good. By Ian McCulloch of Echo and The Bunnymen. I'm learning "new to me" stuff that I missed from years ago. Love it!!! I'll still watch a tv show here and there, but not much. I don't have it on as background noise anymore. DH was even nice enough to notice it has been bothering me and he went upstairs to watch tv tonight. That was a HUGE move for him!

That's about all I can come up with for now. Just taking it easy this evening. MUCH needed these days!!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone! Please remember our veterans and our soldiers who are currently on active duty. Military folks in my life include:

- my paternal grandfather who proudly served in the Air Force. He was shot down over enemy lines in WWII. He just turned 85 a month ago.

- my dad who proudly served in the navy during Vietnam.

- last but not least, my younger brother who proudly serves in the army. He has been in Afghanistan and Iraq. As of this week, he is OUT OF IRAQ!!!! In limbo in Kuwait and expects to be back in the states in two weeks. Most importantly though, OUT OF IRAQ!!

Other going ons this weekend:

Made a trek out to CVS this morning. Lots of good deals! I got all of this for no money out of pocket:



I bought:
nail polish
tampons
2 deoderant
Used 2.00 in coupons, 13.00 in ECBs, and 0.96 on a free gift card I had. Got back 13.98 in ECBs.

DH bought:
10 powerbars
2 bags of dog treats
clearasil
2 boxes of cereal
Used 12.00 in coupons, 10.98 in ECBs (from above), and 1.78 on a free gift card. Got back 8.99 in ECBs.

So we still have a little left on those gift cards that I found laying around the house. Came away with 11.98 in ECBs and no money out of pocket.

So I decided to treat myself to a few plants at Lowes. Just got my meager little garden mostly planted. The irises are in bloom and the peony is about to bloom. Soon, we'll have gladiolas in the back. The trellis (a dumpster find last summer) will have a tomato growing up the left side and blue morning glories up the right side - and anywhere else they decide to go. I'll post pics later on this summer, but wait til you guys see what one of my neighbors does with his morning glories. He's a botanist so he knows a little more than me.



Other than that, things are fairly quiet these days. My mom has gone through a couple thought processes that surprised me. As in: recognizing there wouldn't be enough money to cover a couple purchases made (medications she didn't tell me she needed), then deciding to transfer money from savings and actually doing so. WHOA! She's never had such understanding of money before. Maybe there's still hope? Property taxes are due - no problem! She even had enough money to pay her AAA membership that I didn't know was due, AND money to go away to a church weekend later this summer. She doesn't have to ask for help this year and SHE is paying for it!

Well, I think I'll go see if any fights are going on in the Indy 500.

Yup, that's what I found at the same store I say I ALWAYS find change! DH wants to make sure he gets credit for picking it up when I pointed.

Sad, but we got laughed at for stopping to pick it up. Spoiled teenagers?? This is the same store where I've seen young children walk right past change on the floor. Oh well, I don't care! They don't know me and certainly don't know I pick change up on principle. It's MONEY... and it adds up!

So I headed off to Staples this morning to take advantage of some deals they had. One of the items I bought was a label maker that will be free after rebate. Yes, useful.



Actually, DH really wanted a label maker to label some thing he has. Well my trip nicely took care of my spending bug. It's a good thing that I can take care of this with cheap shopping! I also got some paper that will be $1.00 after rebate.

I updated my sidebar to include a savings ticker. This reflects the savings account that holds the money we will use to (hopefully!) pay off DH's car come next spring. For now we'll pay no less than $100 per month towards the car and dump any extra into this savings account. I'll update the ticker as the account grows and the goal shrinks. Just wanted to share that we ARE putting money towards this. Just saving it for now since the "loan" is at 0%.

I'm mad at myself for throwing away a couple off brand ink cartridges this week! I didn't realize Staples had changed their ink program. They used to only accept name brand ink, but now they accept ANY brand - limit 10 per calendar month. At $3 in staples rewards each, that's not a bad deal for ink cartridges I bought for around $2. I will be taking advantage of this going forward. I actually had 11 ink cartridges for the printer that died last weekend. I have someone coming from Freecycle to pick those up later this week. A family emergency has postponed her picking them up, but I can be understanding with this one.

While we're on the subject of printers, my mom still insists she needs a new one! Well after making her put some thought into it and making it clear that SHE would have to pay for it, I ordered another refurbished Epson like the one I just bought. I like mine so far and it's quite similar to the one she currently has. So we've made progress!! I have to order it since she doesn't have a credit card, but I will have the money as soon as it transfers to her ING and she sends me an echeck. Still got a long way to go here, but this is progress. I also told her when she needs ink I can order it on ebay and she can pay me back.

I'm suffering from Friday night's Wii bowling injuries today. I felt ok Saturday morning but worse as the day progressed. A million times worse today! This rivals the pain I had when I got rearended. Right now I feel like I got rearended by a semi and then run over!! I bowled one game right handed and then one game left handed to even it out. I was only 7 frames in when I was really feeling it in my shoulders. I just need to remember I'm not REALLY throwing a bowling ball! Owie...

Huh, I don't think my ticker is good at math...

My day was fine, but apparently my silly turtle felt the need to shove his head in a kleenex box and stay there! He is one feisty troublemaker when the weather gets warm, but at least I trapped him on the third floor this time! Put a board across so he couldn't get down the stairs. Like I said - troublemaker!



Electronic bad luck struck again and took out my printer yesterday. It's now a malfunctioning Epson that wont recognize color cartridges. Figures - I bought several aftermarket cartridges for it not long ago. A neighbor gave me an old Dell printer, but I really don't like it. I will freecycle that one along with mine (if anyone wants it) and the ink. I found a refurbished all in one direct from Epson for only $29.00 shipped. I like Epson because you can get really cheap ink for it. Good enough for my printing needs. I did have a printer that came with my laptop, new in box still. It doesn't run on Windows 2000, which my desktop is still running. I might just try to sell that one - cheap since I don't like the reviews I read about it. Many of them just don't work straight out of the box? Yuck. I don't want to deal with it. Well, with my "new" AIO, I'll also be able to get rid of my scanner that works half the time. Free up some space around my desk.

I sure did enjoy the weather we had this weekend. I'm a nice shade of pink to prove it! I normally don't go in the sun since I'm so ridiculously pale it's not even funny. It does happen sometimes though. I spent a good portion of the day helping DH clean out and vacuum his old car. I gave him limited choices for the morning: CVS first or car first? He chose CVS then car. See? Worked well there with no other choices. It took us several hours to clean it out, but it looks presentable now. NOW can he list the stupid thing for sale?? My living room is now full of the crap that came out of/off the car - including 4 wheels/tires.

Well I think I will try and find at least one small productive thing to do this evening. Always baby steps around here.

I will end this with my tulips that are currently blooming!

Stopped at one grocery store (on my way home) to pick up a few groceries. I mostly stopped there because they had Arm & Hammer laundry detergent really cheap. 6.99 buy one get one free, -1.00 store coupon for buying two, -1.00 and -1.00 printable manufacturers coupons. 3.99 for two bottles of this is great - especially since they are the larger size bottles! I have two more coupons and I can print another store coupon, so I'll make another trip there tomorrow. I also splurged on some Marie Callendar frozen meals on sale for 2.50 each. Buy "25.00 worth" (based on shelf price) and get two 5.00 catalina coupons. Shelf price was 4.29 so I had to buy six. 15.00 out of pocket and I got back 10.00. Not bad and a nice change of pace for a quick meal.

Off to the other grocery store (just past my house) because that's where my bank is. I had to deposit my FSA check = 323.20 yeah!! Free to apply this to DH's car since these were medical expenses already paid for.

I don't know why, but I almost always find change at this store. I ALWAYS keep my eyes on the ground when I go in there! It's where I found a quarter a few weeks ago. Well sure enough, tonight I found a dime! I was pretty psyched about that!

A couple of weeks ago I got a "coupon mailer" from Proctor & Gamble. Too bad my coupons disappeared and all I got was the front and back cover of the book. So I sent them a quick email telling them how I enjoy their products and I was disappointed that I didn't get to see what they were sending me - tips along with coupons. Today's mail brought me a nice note from them and a replacement coupon book! Great customer service!

DH's birthday gift arrived today - and his birthday isn't for 3 more months! HA HA HA! Any idea how many gift ideas he'll toss at me between now and then? My standard reply is ready: "Sorry, I already bought your gift." It drives him nuts. I really think he'll like what I got him. Just one of those things he would like to have but wouldn't spend the money on. I found a really good deal. I think I'll wrap it and stash it in the closet. I'll probably forget what it is by then!

Ok, dinner is done, so off to do something constructive.

On Saturday I discovered that my beloved mutt has tapeworms! Don't ask, but EWW! Fairly "easy" fix, but I'm nearly $100 poorer after a trip to the vet. Three weeks from now, another $17 for her 2nd dose of pills. At least it's a free tech visit and just the cost of pills. Oh well, this is why I have almost $1000 in my mutt account, right? I usually don't touch that money if there's enough in checking to cover the charge in the first place. So soon enough this smiling face will be worm free!

Here she is helping me with laundry over the weekend.



Well after walking dogs and wrestling a cat into a cat carrier, my evening was over! Just finishing up a yummy salad and relaxing before DH gets home from work. My mutt forgave me for dragging her to the vet, so all is well.

Huh... didn't expect any perks for earth day, so I was quite happy when the Target cashier bagged my stuff in a red, reusable Target bag! I was thinking of going to the other Target nearby and the free bag sold me on it. Picked up a 2nd one at that store. I was only there to check out the 90% off easter stuff! I mostly just picked up a bunch of dog-friendly easter bunnies for 39 cents each.

I thought of everyone here a little while ago when I heard a commercial for cici's pizza. Don't know WHY I heard a commercial - there isn't one anywhere near here! Anyways, they are doing a penny promotion. From their website www.cicispizza.com:

"To reward the Penny Picker uppers of the world, CiCi's is putting a million pennies near their restaurants all over the country. And on the back of thousands of them, we're giving away a free trip to our endless buffet. Plus, every specially marked penny that is brought back to CiCi's will be donated to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America."

Very interested promotion since we know so many folks do not pick up pennies! Rewards the rest of us who do. I stopped and picked up a penny outside of Target last night.

It's a beautiful day out today. My head is still swimming with all the stuff I want to get done and don't feel I have time to do. Well I got the music project done yesterday, so now I want to redo the music on my ipod. I still need to put all my laundry away and tackle the dreaded closet. Well, off to work I go!

I love being resourceful! It's one of the qualities I like most about myself. I'm always looking for another/better way to do things. The other day when I needed an ice pack for my filing cabinet injury I had to improvise. I dumped out a bag of hershey kisses (bought for 12 cents after Christmas), put ice in the bag, used a rubber band to close it, taped a paper towel around it and I was good to go! The trash bags supplied by the cleaning crew don't fit my shredder at work. Rather than buy the special bags, I just empty the shredder bag into another bag and move along. Yes, I can do this without making a mess!

So anyways, I am trying to get the music copied from my desktop to my laptop. My desktop is a dinosaur to say the least, yet still the most used computer in this house! The laptop is shiny and new and compatible with current devices. It also has a card slot on the side. We want to be able to use my laptop to put music on our ipods and on one of the SD cards I just bought. No problem, I'll just use an SD card to transfer the music. Does DH know where he put the card reader?? *SIGH* So I am lacking a card reader for the desktop. Wait... isn't the camcorder technically a "card reader" if I hook it up to the computer? So right now I am "patiently" copying music to an SD card housed in the camcorder. As soon as these folders are done copying, I'll swap out cards and start the process again. That way I can copy to the card on this computer while I'm also copying from the card on the laptop. Yeah, it's a process but it'll be worth it when we're done. Part of this process also involved getting all the music in ONE place.

I did my weekly finance stuff this morning. This is a chore I actually like to do! I paid a lot of boring things plus the following:

$150 to student loan 1
$290.82 for my car payment
$200.00 to post next week on the Citi BT

I also found an "extra" $400 after setting up other credit card payments - ones that are paid in full. I put $100 in the account DH set up to save towards his car payoff. I transferred the other $300 to ING and will probably use it to make my monthly payment on his car. I'll update my sidebar info next week after payments actually post to accounts.

I need to get started on some decluttering around here. I WILL force myself to start today! I WILL!! It's so overwhelming that my head just spins thinking about it. Yes, even just trying to tackle one area is just too much on top of everything else that needs to be done. I've already washed 4 loads of laundry today and need to put away all the clean stuff. I WILL tackly my closet today though - I have to!!

Well I sure feel like spending this week! I'm not beating myself up over it because I do have some discretionary money. I jumped in on a good deal on three 8 gb SDHC cards. I missed the last deal I saw like this so I didn't hesitate on this one. Sold out by the end of the day. I got the cards today and I'll be sending the rebate out tomorrow. The cards will be $6 each after rebate. I'll be putting two with my camcorder and the third will be to go with the present I ordered for DH. His stereo in his old car had an SD card slot and I think he really misses that. I don't know why - it's just too "complicated" for him to use his ipod in the car. Cds don't hold enough music for him. Anyways, found a deal on fatwallet for an FM transmitter that has ipod input, usb, and an SD slot - less than $7.00 shipped. Everyone who has received theirs already doesn't see how the company can sell these so cheap. It's coming from Hong Kong, so it'll be a couple weeks. I actually debated over this for a few days and finally jumped on it. With the 8 gb card I think he'll be very happy!

I made the $336 payment for my crown yesterday. I should be done for a while with dental expenses. I'll file for FSA reimbursement as soon as I get the EOB from my dental insurance. Mostly I just want the crown!

Made a freecycle "swap" yesterday. Technically swapping is not allowed but I wanted what she was offering and I had what she wanted. I got a nice watering can that I needed and she got a little cd player boombox for her sister. Good deal all around I thought!

I updated my sidebar because the payment posted to DH's student loan. Well, one down!

Tonight I'm enjoying some "me time"! Soaking my feet and giving myself a pedicure. Had yummy fried chicken leftovers and a salad for dinner. I'm in an ok mood tonight - that's an improvement!

So I realized I could start a blog entry early in the day and add to it as the day goes along - and I think of things to add!

Started the day off with that deposit posting to my bank account. I scheduled the 952.85 payment to DH's student loan and I will update the sidebar when that posts - hopefully tomorrow. Not much euphoria with this one, but I'll get there when I feel like I'm making a lot of progress.

I had some "extra" money in this account, so I transferred 350.00 to ING. I'll dump some of it into the car payoff account and send the rest to DH for his discover card payment. 175.00 of this money is reimbursement from the car dealer for a repair to his leather seat. I scheduled the payment for Monday so I need to get the money in DH's account by then!

I got to work and about an hour later I was ready to gouge my eyes out! So itchy! Something in the air is bugging me. It's making me feel run down. So... on to the filing cabinet. You know how the top drawer of a 5 drawer cabinet has a door that swings out and up and slides into the cabinet? Well this door is VERY heavy and as I was lifting it up to slide in, I was also coming up with my left hand to pull the drawer out. The door slipped out of my hand and whacked my wrist bone right at the base of the thumb. OWIE!!!!!!!!!! It left a nice mark, but the ice has helped the swelling go down a little. It still hurts very badly and typing isn't helping. Gotta remember not to loop my dog's leash around my wrist like I usually do!!

I was really in the mood for something unhealthy and fried for dinner. I got creative and fried up some onion rings and chicken strips. It was pretty good and I have leftovers! Got that craving out of my system.

Just as I was finishing up dinner, I got a call from my student dentist. FINALLY, after three times in for impressions, the lab work looks good to send out for the crown. Yeah too bad the dental school never bothered to charge me for the crown and now I have to pay before the impression can be sent out. Just another hangup in this long process. I have to call them tomorrow to make a payment over the phone. I refuse to make payments while I'm at the dental school because of one of the cashiers. His smug "I'm better than EVERYONE" attitude has often made me want to jump over the wall and punch him. Funny thing - not that long ago they actually had to restrain a patient from doing just that. Last time I was in there I heard a lady screaming for someone to talk to about the guy at the desk with an attitude problem. This guy is a liability to the dental school!

So, $336 that I have to pay tomorrow. Then I can submit for reimbursement from my FSA. I just put in claims today for around $220. Don't know why I hadn't claimed them before. I didn't even know who the FSA administrator was - it's through DH's work.

Well, my wrist is feeling better this evening so maybe I can get caught up on some email correspondence.