for those who were wondering.
i know it's a lot of money ($142.80). and to anyone else i would say "fight fight fight!!". i know i am being silly in not fighting in the slightest, but i really would rather just pay it and not worry about it right now. what with my grandma just passing away, stepdad sick, stressful work problems and over all feeling slightly depressed, i just want one thing to go away so i don't have to worry about it.

the thing is, i KNEW i owed those fees. i was just avoiding them. and i did know it was over $100. i think this is just one of those (few) times i'm going to admit my mistake and make amends. AND NEVER EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!

so please understand, i know it's stupid to just go along with it and pay it, but i really cannot be bothered with fighting it. if it was over that amount i probably would, but like i said, i know i owed it.

i don't want smoething like that to bite me in the ass later on when we buy property. all because of an overdue dvd (or four...)

I was busy with my mom and sister today I forgot to wish my online mommies a very Happy Mother's day (sorry) Hope everyone enjoyed their day today

Well I took my mom out for dinner to her favorite place Golden Coral, now I wanted to go to a really nice restaurant but she wanted Golden Coral, not complaining but I really wanted to go to a classier place but it was her day so she got to choose
Then my sister and I hit the stores, I bought a pair of pants ($10) and a pair of shoes($13) but the good news is I added $35 to my challenge because I id not see the beautician this week
New total $5701.88

How do I add a TickerFactory ruler to show progress on my side bar?

thx in advance....

Yahoo. I was able to finally get my pre-loaded Visa rebate credit card to go thru!
I was at the grocery store and followed the letter intructions and yes it went thru finally. So I was glad about that.
I really like checks or cash better. Oh well. It worked.

Nothing too new to report. Hope you all had a nice Mothers Day. My mom called to thank me for the flowers I sent her on Saturday so I was glad they made it to her house.

I cut a dead tree down and took out three bushes in the yard on Saturday. I was able to borrow the saw from my neighbor. I am certainly sore today. Makes me feel my age. In two weeks I will be laying down ALOT of mulch. I need to borrow a wheelbarrow from someone as I gave mine to the church a few years to keep. I have lots of buckets so the kids can help dump in spots.

No work on Monday due to that field trip. I am glad as I have lots and lots of little things to do in the AM before I go on the field trip. Today I ran kids all over, sewed and altered dance costumes and steamed them, grocery shopped and did some laundry. I made swiss steak for our dinner and it was so GOOD!! I decided to make a nice treat for us all. I got a lot done today, so it was nice to have a good dinner.

Have a good Monday everyone.

...since I posted last.

Things have certainly changed! BF is here, he actually ended up coming up a day early to surprise me (although he ended up telling me the night before), hehe. We have made the trip back to our home state for my college graduation, and my family had a bonfire party to celebrate, so that was awesome.

My truck has decided to quit starting completely, so thank goodness I've had BF's car to drive to work the last week. It's not starting at all now, so we're not sure if it's still the clutch switch or if it's the starter, battery, etc. Either way, we have to get it fixed soon. We bought some fuel injector cleaner tonight, and we're going to try that before we call to get it towed to the shop. *crosses fingers*

As for the budget... I'm ashamed to say that we haven't even had one written down for this month. Things have been so hectic with trying to close our old bank accounts, rearranging direct deposits and bills, odd expenses, and traveling, that it's been almost impossible.

Along the way, I've figured out that apparently my bi-weekly pay fluctuates according to how many hours I work. Not a big deal, except that I am on "salary". Why do they call it salary if I get paid less for 39 hours compared to 40 hours/week? And for overtime, I only get paid HALF my normal hourly rate. It's odd, but at least now I know to make sure I get in my full 40 hours if I want the exact paycheck.

BF is anxious to begin looking for a job here. Our original plan was for him to get one the week after we came back from my graduation, but that couldn't exactly happen with me having to drive his car to work. Even more reason for us to get my truck fixed soon.

There is a positive side to him being at home though (besides the fact that I get to see him more)... there is a lot less stress about the pup. He doesn't have to stay in his crate all day, and he sleeps pretty well at night. We've come a long way with the house training, the only issue now is that since we share the responsibility, sometimes we both let it slip our minds that he needs to go out. Usually we remember when we see him start circling, but every now and then we end up cleaning up a mess. But definitely alot better.

Since pretty much my whole budget will have to be redone with our new situation, I have alot of updating to do. I'll try to get to the My Budget page, as well as the debt/savings amounts on my sidebar. I'll have to include all of BF's expenses, and calculate about how much he'll need to be bringing in every month to cover the excess. My debts will probably go up a bit from last time, since I put many of my purchases on my Discover Card until I could transfer money from my old checking to my new. I haven't sent that bill in yet, so the balance is still there. I want the updated amount on my sidebar anyway.

Well... guess I'd better get to updating. I've missed reading everyone's blogs and updating my own. Kind of felt out of control when I wasn't posting my daily expenses or recording every small milestone in savings. It's good to be back.

---> Forgot to add... WE FINALLY GOT A COUCH!!! YAY! Actually, we got a matching set of brown leather sofa & loveseat. I feel like we got a pretty good deal too, both for $1000 delivered. We stumbled on a place that was going out of business (they were right beside a Value City Furniture, go figure), and they cut the price down for us nicely. They even threw in four really nice throw pillows that match the leather on the couches. AND now I can mark that as one goal finished on my sidebar. We're thrilled.

What a fantastic Mothers Day weekend.

Yesterday, my mom, DD1 GD and I all spent the day together. We went to a small town festival where people were dressed in civil war clothes..there was a Saturday market...and a dutch oven cookoff...and all the tastings were FREE. We walked around, litened to fiddlers, ate some great food out from the cookoff, let the little ones play in the bubbles from a bubble machine and enjoyed some cotton candy.

After, we went to a new Goodwill that has just been built...I found a Princess House vase for $4 and a couple of books that I had wanted to read. Spent $9.97.

Today, we got to go over to DD2's boyfriends parents house for a bbq. They were very sweet and invited all of the kids, grandbabies and my mom to come to... We have met them before and they are really nice people...during dinner, a surprise announcement...I am going to be a gramma AGAIN. Now I have TWO gradbabies coming this year...which will bring me to FIVE!! by Christmas. DD1 is due in August and now DD2 is due at Thanksgiving...

I wished the kids had gotten married before this..but I know they will both be good parents...and I think they have a good shot at a happy life.

Wow...I do not know how we could have squeezed anything else into this full and happy weekend...I did get two batches of roses...and some wonderful pictures and cards...thank goodness Ive driven home the point with the kids that I dont want or need things...but just really want to spend time with them....and that we did.

I am a happy, blessed mom indeed!

I started a long entry and it didn't stick - I think yesterday. Bummer, was too tired to try again.

In the meantime I probably forgot half of it. But some of it is coming back to me...

I think on our trip we will be gone 4 full days. 2 days spent driving, which will be expensive on the eating out as well.

Anyway, on the way out we were going to stop for a picnic. Today we were told by the fam that we are expected to stop and visit Auntie Nun (the family nun) a good hour north of Disneyland.

At first I Was annoyed. We see her all the time and dh is planning to visit a friend too, which has been a gigantic PITA. So much for the relaxing vacation! As it keeps getting bogged down with "appointments."

Well, today I woke up in a better mood about it and asked dh how far out of the way it was. He feels the same way but thought I might be happy we would get a free meal out of it. The place I worked last actually audited a lot of religious organizations and I have to say I remember they always had good spreads for their priests and nuns. So anyway, today I asked him how far out of the way it was. Since we were considering taking a long cut to avoid some of the traffic (if need be) this was actually more on the way than not. Not far off our long cut. We figured regardless it only added about 40 minutes to our drive. Not so bad. So we decided on our way down we will stop for a picnic lunch and for dinner we will stop for free dinner service with the nuns. She said we could also pick some fresh fruit from the grounds. & don't get me wrong, it will certainly be nice to see where she lives. The kids LOVE her, so all will be well there.

Beyond all that, dh has started loading up on snacks on sale at the store, and got me some bottled water, for the trip.

He also wants to go to the grocery store the night we get there to get some milk for the fridge. Maybe some other perishables.

& sounds like we will have fresh fruit (free) too. We don't plan to eat many meals in the hotel. Since we'll be out so much. But breakfast, certainly. & the snacks are covered.

We also picked up his parent's GPS this weekend, to borrow, since we saw them. Dh went to Florida with them last fall and is now GPS crazy. Every time we go anywhere now and are not 1000% where we are I always say, come on, it's an adventure. He always gripes we need GPS. He got so spoiled on that one short trip. We have talked of getting one around Christmas. What we are planning - one for driving and hiking. But this will be my first time test driving one. I did wonder if it would be fair to get one and how we would fight over it. But he made the point that I probably wouldn't need it for my commute to work every day. Either of us can use it whenever we need it. So yeah - that will be our Christmas gift to each other. Though we may buy sooner if we see a good sale.

Yesterday I took the kids to an art & wine festival and spent way too much money. But we did have fun! I'll have to take a picture of the solar powered art we bought - because there is no describing it.

While walking into the festival a woman walked passed me in the other direction and dropped a wad of cash. IT took me a few seconds to react (both kids in tow) but dh came up from behind, spotted it (of course - he would never miss cash on the ground) and stopped to pick him up. I pointed to the woman just as another lady started to say - "that cash is hers." He handed it back to her. I joked if we were a little slower maybe we would have found $20+. (Not sure how much was in the wad, but was a $20 on the outside). Then again I have the feeling that wouldn't have gone long at all, unnoticed. Particularly since so many people saw her drop it - lucky for her!!

----------------------------------------

In other news, I had an overdraft!!!!!!! Ugh!

In the end it wasn't so bad.

My system is to run checking to $0 and to keep around $1k in my linked savings account (overdraft protection).

This system has always been fine, and even better since using Quicken. This way I don't worry about math errors.

Anyway, for years dh had much of our money in another credit union, and though we had tens of thousands in his linked checking, and he had some sort of "overdraft protection" he couldn't keep track that his checking account had a large minimum. So every time he went under the minimum they charged him $50 overdraft. No kidding. After 2 or 3 of those I had had enough. !!

Which incidentally is one of our biggest fights to this day. HE does not understand in the least why our checking account has no interest. Every time he brings it up I have to roll my eyes. I say, "yeah, that really worked out well for you in the past." LOL. We seem to have this conversation over and over and it drives me nuts. I just don't want to worry about minimums to earn 1%. I like that my checking account minimum is $0. & likewise, any money that is not immediately spent goes into our high yield savings accounts. Considering that this system is simple, and yields no fees, I am much happier with this.

So anyway. I logged onto Quicken and downloaded my data yesterday and was shocked to see the word "overdraft" pop up. Wha?????????

I was relieved to see that my CU charged a mere $3. A small price to pay for my stupidity.

I actually hadn't slept well at all Friday night and was absolutely exhausted. Therefore, it took a long while for my very tired brain to figure it out. I finally realized I had dated a transfer into checking, about a week too early in Quicken. Ugh.

So I made a stupid mistake, but the price was small. Thank goodness for that. They pulled $200 over to cover the overdraft. Since that was going to be my transfer anyway, then it's all even steven.

Well, except down $3. Bummer.

------------------------------------------

Besides all that, today was Mother's Day, of course!

We went to a nice luncheon at dh's grandmother's retirement village.

Oh yes, and last night my parents treated us to dinner at one of my favorite mexican restaurants in the Bay.

Oh yes, I think Friday night I asked BM what his favorite thing of the whole week was. He told me it was "making my Mother's Day present." That was the highlight of my week. How sweet is that?

I also saw something else in Quicken that peeved me Saturday morning. I saw a $3 charge to Trader Joe's. My first thought, was, since when did dh go there???? I made a mental note to ask him about it. But I soon remembered I had heard great things a while back about their frozen gyozas. I had been wanting to try them, but now we got this all-you-can eat Japanese buffet we have been frequenting more. So I have been getting plenty of my share of gyoza!

Anyway, I realized then that was my Mother's Day gift. I often feel bad that dh can sneak little past me since I control all thing finances (just our choice, though this is the one downside). But then I thought about it. $3? Like dh couldn't scrounge $3. Hell, he could have borrowed $3 from the kids' piggy banks and put it back after Mother's Day. But since I had just gone to the ATM for him last week, I knew he had $3.

So, bah!

So we got home around dinner time and I had my gyoza appetizers. & yes, they were actually pretty good. He tried a new dipping sauce, which was okay. I think we will try again though.

I thought this was a GREAT gift. Though I told him this would lead to a bad habit. Though at least not a terribly expensive one. It's just one of those things where you can't eat just one, though.

The kids also wrote me a story. LM's story was about the day I got to meet his friend "Wormy." From my last narrative on wormy, you know how cool this is. That was very sweet. I got to meet him on a flying card ride and sleep in his bed.

BM's story, well not sure what his story was. A lot of nonsense, but about a Crazy Boy and some things he did with his mother. But, he drew a lovely picture of me standing on my head. Now that is priceless!

-------------------------------------

My mom also sent dh $100 for the work he is doing on a relative's wedding (since it is my family and he is doing it as favor to my parents and them, more than anything). More than just a favor now. BEst part was he had discussed it with my mom but didn't bother to tell me. Figured I'd see the check in the mail when it arrived. (I say that sarcastically. Sometimes I stress so much about the budget, I can't believe he didn't tell me about this windfall before it arrived).

Of course, today his mother gave me $100 & his grandma gave me $50. For Mother's Day, though clear it was for our upcoming Disney trip as well. His fam is always way too generous. I am thinking of applying it all to vacation. We'll just see where all this windfall lands. Will save us a trip to the ATM, but we'll deposit the rest into the bank when we get back, and I will probably apply to vacation. Heck this could go a long way to our Yosemite trip.

I know, I keep thinking one of these days that every windfall will just go to retirement. Or more long-term savings. Just, not there yet. Getting there. But not quite yet...

I am now at a $327.17 balance in my $20 Challenge.

May 11th CVS
Trip #1 was a $2.32 profit
I received FREE
2 toothpastes Wal-Mart Value $2 each
2 Calcium Wal-Mart Value $2.00
$8.32

Trip #2
I received FREE
2 toothpastes Wal-Mart Value $2 each
1 Calcium Wal-Mart Value $1.00
$5.00

Trip #3 was an overall savings of $13.87 plus tax
$13.87

Prior balance
$327.17
+$8.32
+$5.00
+$13.87
= $354.36

Sunday 11 May 2008
CVS trip #1
2 Colgate Total Advanced 4oz toothpaste $2.99 each (earns $2 ECB each)
2 Viactive Calcium 60ct $5.49 each (earns $3 ECB each)
Total $16.96 plus tax.
Used
1- coupon $3 on a $15 purchase
2- $1.50 off Colgate Total coupons
2- $2.00 off Viactive coupons
Paid out of Pocket $5.68. & $2.00 in ECB's
Earned $10.00 ECB for a $2.32 profit

CVS trip #2
2 Colgate Total Advanced 4oz toothpaste $2.99 each (earns $2 ECB each)
1 Viactive Multi-vitamin 50ct $5.49 (earns $3 ECB )
1 Reach access flosser $1.99
1 CVS Clearance box of Rasp cookies 12 oz $.50
1 Elmers School Glue (UPromise) $1.79
Total 15.75 plus tax
Used
1- coupon $3 on a $15 purchase
2- $1.50 off Colgate Total coupons
1- $2.00 off Viactive coupons
1- $.50 CVS Cookie coupon Was $1.00 off but they reduced it down.
Paid out of Pocket $1.60 & $6.00 in ECB's
Earned $7.00 ECB, & a Upromise purchase for a overall cost of $.60

CVS trip #3
HP Color Printer cartridge Clearance $18.00 (Wal-mart price $28.87)
Used
1- coupon $3 on a $15 purchase
Paid out of Pocket $4.24 & $11.00 in ECB's
For a overall savings of $13.87 plus tax

I am happy to say that I did not leave the house to visit stores or even eat out. I have the weather to thank for this. Today was an absolutely bad day for going anywhere. The wind was blowing so hard - gusts up to 49mph! There was certainly enough rain with that. I am glad no plans were made.

I did all my running around yesterday after work. Since I knew that the weather was going to be truly lousy on Mother's Day, I decided to buy a few groceries and pick up my prescription before heading home. Fortunately, my SO took me out to dinner Friday afternoon, and then afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble, just across the street from the restaurant.

So, I can thank the weather for keeping me at home and staying out of trouble.

Nephew came this weekend (he comes every 2 weeks) and he had asked sis to buy some stuff to fix our front door... sis did buy the things, but was very skeptical that he'd be able to fix the door...she thought that he'd make it worse and that we'd end up having to call a carpenter...or having to sleep without a front door!
Well, Nephew DID fix the door, and he did a very good job, too!...it cost us only $20 + the stress of having to hear sis yell at him for dismounting the door! - seems he learned some carpentry at one of the last re-hab centers...

It's a first because he's finally taking care of us (at least in some respects), as opposed to us having to take care of him! (I know that sounds awful, but, it's true!)

I started working yesterday for the first time in five months at Tim Hortons. I started out at the sandwich counter which was stressing for me because it has been awhile I haven't went through that much stress but I kept my cool all day and today too. I was surprise that I remember many things at work. I really look like I haven't left at all.

Let's see how much tips I got in these two days. Yesterday, tip was 31$ and today, it was 29$. In total, I got 60$ of tip. The 1$ went into my piggy bank and the 30$ went in my personal spending money for Morocco (I was missing 100$). My 25$ today will go to the Japan trip saving.

Old amount: 205$
New Amount: 230$

The 4$ left will also go to my piggy bank.

From now on, I'll be getting a weekly income which is the tips and bi-weekly another income. I hope to be able to save at least 2000$ this summer by working a lot before and after my Morocco trip and before school start.

So, the 4 Lizzie Borden books I put on Crigslist the other day have sold. All 4 went for just over $28, which works out to $7 each. That's great as far as I am concerned! It is about what they would have sold for in a used bookstore, and about what I paid for some of them.

Adding that to the challenge/my EF. THISCLOSE to $1,000!

Old EF Balance: $944.95
Lizzie Borden books: $28.38
-----------------------------
New EF balance: $973.33

Last week I learned i do indeed have Lyme disease. Not too surprising, given all the outdoor work i've been doing. So i'm entering the 2nd of my 3-week antibiotic regimen. The only symptom i have had is pretty much constant headaches that never really go away. Once i started the meds, they went away, but now they're back, so i think this thing is still very much in my system.

I just feel discouraged as i am very much aware of the high risk of Lyme in my area. When doing yardwork, i tuck my pants into my nearly knee-high boots and when i'm doing lots of heavy duty yardwork, i also spray the boots with Deet (Off). I also put my hair back in a pony tail and when i've done for the day, soak in the tub. And still, i got Lyme.

Been here 13 years and this is the first time for Lyme, 2nd time for a tick-borne disease. (I had erlichiosis 2 years ago.)

I never saw a tick on me or the rash....

Today was a quiet Mother's Day. Had my sister and mother over my place for lunch. Pasta shells with celery, green pepper and sun dried tomatoes with olive oil and a little mayo. Sis brought a salad fresh from her garden. I also made DELICIOUS cheddar Bisquick bisquits.

I was going to take my mom over to the farm ice cream stand but it was just a little cool for that.

Didn't get quite as much done this weekend as i normally would, and even today i came in the house around 6 pm, which is so unlike me. Usually i spend every spare minute outdoors, but i just don't feel energetic. Saturday i did a fair amount, a dump run with some rusty old barbed wire i cut from the property line between me and my neighbor. It's been there for year's, my neighbor's, and i just decided to cut up what i could see and bring it to the "Metal" section at the dump. Also brought another pile of sticks and branches with the usual trash.

Filled up the gas tank at about $3.89 and bought $85 worth of Stop N Shop groceries, a lot for me, but i stocked up on Lean Cuisines, which are half price this week and very convenient for my workday lunches. Also got 3 loaves of Pepperidge Farm German dark wheat bread, also 1/3 off.

My sister gave me some pepper, broccoli and lettuce seedlings, so i planted all those after they left this afternoon.

I spotted a woodchuck in my backyard this weekend, which was very upsetting becus i had believed them to be gone this year and they are terribly destructive, more so than deer. They willl decimate an entire garden in an evening. My small 6 x 6 veggie garden is fenced, but with the flimsy netting and posts that i think will deter deer, but i am sure the woodchuck could dig under it. My only hope is that there is so much ELSE to eat in my yard that he won't be particularly attracted to the garden, but i really don't know. I've put so much work and hope into it already. I'm considering digging a trench around the entire garden and laying plastic fencing vertically, then horizontally, so that he cannot dig under. But that's a lot of work.

Did a focus group one night last week. Went there right after work; it made for a long evening, but it was $100 cash so i felt it was worth it.

I have some freelance work to do, meant to do it this weekend but once i got into the document i realized i needed more info from the client, so will have to wait for a response back before i can begin. Doing it on a weekend is vastly more preferable to me than being tired and forced to work on it after my regular job.

Still waiting to get a price from the contractor about enclosing my screened porch with windows. His daughter was graduating from college last week. I should hear this week.

The yard is beauitful. My neighbor complimented me on it. He even shut off his rider mower to walk over and tell me as i worked in the side yard. He's the guy who loos like Norman Rockwell, tall, thin and usually with a pipe in his mouth.

The dogwoods are in bloom. I have about 4 white ones and only 1 pink one left. The azaelas, fuscia and salmon colored, are in bloom while the big white ones in back are about ready to burst open.

In the coming weeks i'll see the rhododendrons and mountain laurel.

Bluebirds still seem to be occupying the next box. If you keep from walking in the front yard and perhaps just sit on the front stoop, you can see the male hang out, first on the lower branch of the birch, then on the metal pole/support for the clematis, and at times on top of the box itself.

the hummingbird has also returned for the season and has already settled into the routine of sugar water visits about every 10 minutes or so. Also saw a rose-breasted grosbeak at the feeder, so it's certainly worth it to continue feeding them in the summer. You never know what you'll see. One year, it was a blue indigo bunting, even more spectacular than a bluebird, IMO.

As far as i know, i haven't gotten my IRS refund yet. My sister said the IRS site will indicate what week checks are mailing for certain SS numbers, so i will have to check that out.

The personal challenge i have set myself is to make only ONE car trip per weekend. Yes, I can consolidate errandsd as much as i want, but ONLY ONE trip. So that trip was Saturday, and it was on the way back from grocery shopping that i realized i'd meant to stop at the bait shop for meal worms for the bluebirds, but with frozen Lean Cuisines in the car, i was reluctant to stop, so i didn't.

After unloading the groceries at home, i decided what the heck, let's be adventurous, and i got my unused bike from the basement, filled the tires with air and pedaled down to the bait shop, about a 15 minute pedal each way. Not bad at all and i was feeling very satisfied that i saved the gas. Even surprised that the back tire held, cus there was a patch that looked scraped up and i should really replace it when i can.

We'll today it has been 30 days since I started out on my first challenge to generate more income in my family's life then existed before. I set out on a goal to raise $500 and I'm proud to say I was successful in raising $635.



The biggest contributing factor to my success was without a doubt Craigslist. It accounted for 83% of my total extra income and at no cost. If anything by doing this challenge it has opened my eyes to the possibilities of what Craigslist can provide you and publicize.

Along with that is has gotten a lot of useless junk out of our house and provide more storage space for our family. Especially as we prepare to have a new baby!

Below is a list of my streams of income:
1) Craigslist - $525
2) Tax Lien interest - $8.90
3) Ebay - $51.52
4) Amazon books - $51
5) Online Survey - mysurvey.com

Now's it off to Chicago on Wednesday for a family vacation, which we'll spend the majority of my streams of income on! We are going to a Cubs game and hopefully hit a few museums! Hope you enjoyed my challenge.

Let me know if you enjoyed my challenge or having any other ideas!! Thanks for reading!

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Today was a no spender, tomorrow is definately not.

I rescued a kitten yesterday morning. It had been crying in my & my neighbors' back yards for two nights. We couldn't get it, so we were feeding it a little. Its only a few weeks old and was starving.

Well, yesterday, I was able to capture it and now its living in my spare bedroom. Separate from my cat Colbi until I can get her to the vet tomorrow to be sure she's not sick.

So far, I've spent $1.00 for a cat food/water dish. $1.00 for cat litter. $1.00 for cat pan liner bags. $3.49 for a litter box. $4.49 for kitten food. (its WAY too young to eat my cat's adult food.

The kitten's a sweetheart. Tiny, probably only 4-5 weeks old. Its skin & bones and although I didn't want/need a cat, I'm going to keep it. So I have lots of upcoming vet expenses for shots, neutering, and declawing.

I'm going to work something out. In the meantime, I get to enjoy the cuteness of the baby kitty I'll try to take some pictures and post them when I can. He is SO adorable.

There is a walgreens on my block and I spend a ridiculous amount of time there. I am always popping in there for anything from baby products to pens. Why don't they have a savings club or savings card like CVS? I have a CVS card but rarely go in there. Walgreens does have a EasySaver catalog that I just recently looked at. I read another blogger report that she received a check for $30+ in rebates from Walgreens. wow!

I have had some luck with the emails I receive from them. I got 15 free pictures on tax day. I uploaded them to the website and used the code and voila.

So walgreens if you are listening...where's my card?

hi.

I dont have to work for the next two days, but im still very busy. I have a few jobs to do in town, and my dad is coming over to help me with my lawns now we got my mower fixed up.. it was on warranty, so cost me nothing.

Im also tidying my house and trying to make it safe for a toddler, a bigger job than i thought..lol.
Tonight my niece is coming over to stay the night and for dinner. we have to pick her up after she finishes Uni.

My bf is also coming over to stay the ngiht after tea as he is going to the gym first before coming over.

Tomorro i have my sister in law coming over to visit with her new baby (my nephew whom I haven't yet met), hence the reason for the toddler proofing..

busy day for me and hardly any time for a rest...bugger as i need it too, im really tired. well maybe tomorro arvo..lol

Happy mother's day to you all mothers. I couldn't visit me own mom this year but I spoke to her for an hour over the phone. I am sad today.

Now off I go to the grocery to buy food supplies for the week. Seriously thinking of downgrading my cat's food to less expensive brand. She's an ungrateful, swatting b*word that's what she is. Aren't they all? Self-centered little creatures LOL. I wish I lived in a house so I could have a dog. I am more a dog person. I took this cat in because she was going to be homeless and yet she doesn't know how to be grateful. Sheeeeeesh.

Bleh. So, I was excited that the $100 worth of books I listed on Craigs list were going to sell. Turns out she only wants the Lizzie Borden books, not all of them. I was hoping to use that $100 for the new AC.

But, at least I have the money in the EF for the AC. And this $30 I am getting for these books will go towards replacing that $100. I just hope these other ones will sell now, too.

We got our $1,500 tax stimulus deposit on Friday. I just transferred $1,345 to my Roth. That was how much was needed to max it to $5,000, so I'm done with that account for the year. The remaining $155 went into my wife's Roth. That brought her total to $3,470. Another $1,530 and we'll be set for 2008.

Happy mother's day from me, also. I got my first payment slip on the new van yesterday. It is very low interest, so we financed the whole thing. I had too much money set aside in the van envelope, so I can put the rest on the challenge.
Pre. total $9785.00
today 55.00
new total $9840.00

I received my stimulus payment on Friday by direct deposit into my savings account for $1200. Yesterday, I received a check from Walgreen's March Easy Saver Rebate for $33.75 which will go to my checking account.

Earlier in the week, I received the professional license that I applied for last month. This will allow me to work in a larger city in a nearby state at a higher salary. Initially, I plan to just temp an extra Saturday or two a month for extra income. I already have a permanent Saturday job where I work every other Sat.


I got a letter from my attorney regarding the settlement of property with my ex-husband. Even though I have been divorced since July 2007, my attorney bifurcated the actual divorce decree from the financial aspect of the divorce. In April 2008, the Divorce Master sent my ex a recommendation on how she felt the property should be divided based on all the facts. It stated that I should receive the house and he is responsible for paying my attorneys fees/court costs. Since we were only physically living together for 1 1/2 years after we purchased the house, I have been paying on the mortgage for over 5 years with no input from him. Even when we were together, he didn't contribute that much to the mortgage due to his poor work ethics. Anyway, he had 20 days to appeal this recommendation. Now the time has expired, since he didn't take any further action. The letter from my attorney demands that he sign the deed and forward to him a certified check for $4700 in attorney fees. I seriously doubt that I will see that money. He currently is unemployed once again and has not paid any child support that he has been ordered to starting from the end of March 2008. I will just be satisfied with being able to refinance the mortgage to free up some extra money each month. The current mortgage rate is 8.5% on my loan, but I haven't been able to move forward with this since it was marital property.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!!! I am getting more flowers and a box of chocolates- which she loves, as she has flower gardens and munches on candies with her coffee. We got a small storm today- a tree is blocking the road near mom's house, so I had to take the long way around-the nice editor from, The Anderson News, stopped me at the front of the street to let me know- I thought that was nice of him. I thanked him for putting Jason's picture in the paper last week- Jason guarded, "The Wall that Heals", a moving replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. It was at Centre College. I've attached his picture- I'm so proud of him.

I honestly believe that being a mother is a special gift not to be taken lightly.

My son is 16mos and every day I realize how he has made me a better and more responsible person. Every time he says "mama" and reaches for me my heart melts.

Yesterday I sent my mother to the spa and my son and I went to a luncheon. It was our first mother/son outing. I had fun and he had a nice LONG nap when we got home,lol.

Today we are going to brunch with some friends. It sucks that it's raining outside but hopefully it'll brighten up later on.

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers and those of us who mother to children we didn't give birth to.

It looks like the book I listed on Craigslist are going to sell. I am just waiting for a payment ia paypal and for the woman to pick them up. Looks like I will be getting $95 for 4 Lizzie Borden books and 5 Hetty Green books. It is OK for me, but a great deal for them. 2 of the Hetty Green books sell for $60 each in the used bookstore I used to work in. But I know that if I brought them down there I would get store credit for more books (which I so do not need) or %20 in cash, which wouldn't be much, esp considering the hour drive there and back. So, I am selling them at a deep discount, taking a hit, but being happy with the $ anyways.

And, this means that I can use that money to buy our AC instead of taking some out of the EF.

Thank you all for a warm welcome. I guess I am on a right track now.

When I said no debt, I meant there are no major debts but some CC charges which I will pay it in full before the due date. $635.

I went to Trader Joe's for some grocery shopping. $34.76 including a nice bottle of a red wine.

My problem is that I can't seem to save much at the end of the day. I am hoping to change that trend.

I have a major expense coming up during the long weekend of May. Tickets already bought (included in my CC charge above). I need to find ways to cut other expenses during that trip.

Wishing you all moms a very happy mothers day.

Busy week this week I went to the Gold Coast and went up to 78 floor of Q1 building at Surfers Paradise it’s World Tallest Residential tower it’s 322.5 M high 526 Apartments 12660 sq m
You have to pay to go up in it too! After we went another Apartment complex and had lunch at one of restaurant there. I had corn beef and vegetables for a change. This must be my month this year for dining out. I am up to number three and still another few to go. I will need to cut back next month on eating out it can get a bit expensive.

I have been busy making vegetable garden beds, on my lawn. I have just finished doing mixing soil today. I will be planting some vegetable seedling & seeds on Tuesday as I will be going to my son place to work on his garden.

Weekly Main Meals Menu

Sunday ~ Mother’s Day Dinner at a Chinese Restaurant
Monday ~ Curried Sausage & Vegetables
Tuesday ~ leftovers
Wednesday ~ Omelet with salad
Thursday ~ Grilled Sausages with Onions & Grilled Tomato
Friday ~ Pasta with Tuna & Tomato Sauce
Saturday ~ Apricot Chicken with Rice

well.
about a year ago i returned some dvd's late to the store. i didn't give it much thought because i hardly ever rent dvd's. anyway so today i got a letter in the mail from a debt collection agency saying i have 7 days to pay the overdue fees, which amount to $142.80 (???what the!??).

i mean, it's fine, i will pay it. but it is so ridiculous that they didn't even call me or anything. i know that's the way they do it now, they just 'sell' the debt to the agencies and all that. anyway.

hahaha.

i am only laughing about it because it sucks so much that there is nothing else i can do... except laugh!

This is my first posting. I need to be able to be accountable to someone or something, and that is what i am using this blog for. I need to get focused and get my finances in order.
I have the following c/c bills:
Emerge $1,422.87
Dell $1,459.34
Amazon.com $2,493.02
Capital One $985.96
B of A $5,036.77
Discover $3,235.20
Capital One $2500
I am so disgusted with myself. I was debt free (except for mortgage and car payment) only 2 years ago. I don't even remember what I bought with all this debt. I do recognize why I have gotten myself in debt. In the last 2 1/2 years I have been told I can not have any more children due to an extended illness, so I spent money and ate a lot of food. So not only am I in debt, I'm also fat. Plus, my husband and I have not been getting along. He likes to go out to the bars every Saturday night while me and my son stay home. I feel like I have at least figured out the reasons for the spending. Now the solutions: Two weeks ago I started walking, and going to the gym three days a week. And I feel I have come to terms with not being able to have any more children. I'm on the right track, but i need some help to get rid of the debt. So now I am blogging in order to come clean with the debt.