Debt Freedom Fighters

Independence Month 2011

2011-07-16T15:08:00.000-05:00

Ummmmmm......

Well, things didn't go as I had planned from my last post. You know what they say about storm clouds? That came in the form of a February 2011 Blizzard and an injury that kept my husband sidelined for 3 months. I have one thing to say about that, short term disability isn't extremely helpful in budgeting. We did get through it without incurring any new debt, so I will call that a battle won. So what did that mean for our plans? The good news - WE PAID OFF THE MAZDA! The okay news - we've had some altered schedules and smaller paychecks but the budget is still working. The bad news - we skipped our anniversary trip AND I still have that one nagging little debt left. No call to Dave yet.

One lesson to share: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY FUND! YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU'LL NEED TO TAP INTO IT!

Is it just me?
I'm just not finding the incredible deals at the grocery store anymore. I mean, don't get me wrong. My stockpile is still functioning, but I think my DOOMSDAY husband may be right, and an increase to our grocery budget is inevitable. Either that, or I really just have to get back into the mode of planning meals according to sales, and spending more time scouring ads and coupons.

You can maintain it a lot cheaper than buying a new one!
The Hyundai went into the shop for some maintenance. I have to say, $500 is sooo much cheaper than buying a new car!! Going no payments for awhile is just what our budget needs right now. :)

End of Year Round Up

2010-12-27T22:11:00.000-06:00

Almost there
I always spoke of my husband as "Mr. Doomsday". Y2K? Oh, yeah... he expected the world to close down. The Gas Crisis, The Economy is Tanking, Buy Gold, The Banks are all Going to Close Down, I've heard everything. I try to stay positive minded even if it does mean that I'm ignoring the inevitable. I refuse to live in a negative mindset waiting for something bad to happen. Unfortunately, even though the worst hasn't happened - it's the media that can make or break my happy joy joy concept. I'm about a month away from having enough money to pay off my car.... VERY EARLY! Shortly after that, I should have enough to pay off my final debt and that would have me screaming, "I'M DEBT FREE" - but hold the phone. If the economy tanks. If my husband's hours get cut back again like they did on 2008. If. If. If.... we'll need that money to make the ends meet. I'm in a rock and a hard place. Of course, paying the car and that last credit card would free up about $425 a month from our budget, but will that be enough? I'm chomping at the bit. It's every Dave Ramsey follower's dream to make the call to tell Dave that I'm debt free!   Long story short - we're almost there!

Debt Free Christmas
What do you know - we paid cash AGAIN for Christmas this year! We stayed under $1000 for everyone (and that includes my son's 19th birthday which falls in there too) $1000 is probably about $200 more than we spent last year I think, so it felt like we hit the lottery and betcha believe that I used coupons, hit sales, comparison shopped via Internet like you wouldn't believe. My motto - NEVER PAY FULL PRICE!!

Goals for 2011
Oh, I will be debt free this year. That's not even a question. We have our 20th anniversary and we WILL be celebrating that ....with CASH someplace nice, romantic and not HERE!   If all bodes well, I will be well into BS3 by the end of the year.

Baby Steps
Baby Step Four - Retirement.     That one's got a big "YEAH RIGHT" attached to it. We're so far behind in saving for retirement, and with the markets the way they are - I'm not too gung ho for this step at all...
Baby Step Five - College.   My son just decided to go to school. He'll be starting his freshman year at a state college. Very proud of him. Very happy to see that a lot of what money he has been gifted through his life will come close to paying for it, and he will be coming up with the rest. Or such is the game plan currently.

Where do you put this?
Is there a Baby Step Sub Category for this or is it just a budget line. Once this debt is gone, Once BS3 is complete, I want to save money for another car. Husband's car is going on 7 years. Not bad for a Hyundai. It could last for several more years {God willing}, but his inner child went looking at cars and is somehow figuring that 2012 is the death date of the Elantra. We have a difference of opinion on that - but having a nest egg would be nice.

The more things change the more they stay the same
Cash. Coupons. Envelopes. Budgets. - the plan works if you stick to it! Looking back at the debt we've paid off - well over $45k, I'm quite proud of how far we've come, HOWEVER - I don't feel comfortable trusting myself without our plan, without a budget -we'd fail. by allowing the use of credit cards - we'd fail miserably. Stick to the plan, Stan and have a Happy 2011!

Been a long long time ....

2010-11-27T05:59:00.000-06:00

Looks like I haven't posted on my blog in over a year. Wow, that's REALLY good, Wendy! It's been a whirlwind year, that I can promise you. So let's backtrack just a touch. Rewind to July 2010.

YEAR THREE UPDATE:
Gazelle? No. Steady? Yes. We entered our third year of getting out of debt by STILL using envelopes, STILL sticking to a monthly written budget, STILL paying cash, NO new debt and plugging away at that last credit card with the almost 0% for life APR and the loan on the Mazda. Monetarily, life was steadily moving forward. Should we be out of debt by now? Sure. Could we have been? Possibly. Three envelopes got a little extra money than they had in the past: Dining, Grocery and ENTERTAINMENT and the additional money placed in those envelopes could have helped out the debt. To that I add: "ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES WENDY A DULL GIRL"

FAST FORWARD TO PRESENT:
Not the best of news but with a definite silver lining -
Writing on the wall: Felt it coming. Oh boy, did I ever feel it coming. So much so that I was actually relieved to hear the words: "We're going to lay you off, Wendy." It came at a good time. While monetarily everything was working right, so many more aspects of life were not. This time off is giving me the ability to work on getting everything on an even keel. Meanwhile, on DH's workfront - several raises and a promotion since I last posted. Our "storm cloud savings" has us set with a pretty good buffer for my off time. So much so that I could actually pay off the credit card, but with the cloud still looming. I'm waiting it out. Quick thinking had me save for Christmas PRIOR to the layoff, so I had my 3rd Debt Free Christmas.

COUPONING:
Have had a lot more time to play the coupon game a little more, and have been on so many great blogs and message boards so I am back to saving some serious coin on groceries. My stockpile has increased again. It's amazing what a comfort it is having that stockpile. It's like a safety net.

Here's a few of the great places that I've been hanging out lately:

A Full Cup - Message Boards for just about ANY store you'd go to!
Couponers Welcome - Message Boards like above
Jill Cataldo - OMG! She's amazing!

So all in all, would Dave Ramsey be proud of me? Not entirely. He'd probably yank my ear and tell me we're dragging our feet and it shouldn't take this long to become debt free and that doesn't even begin to talk about retirement savings. I'm proud of how far out of the pit we've climbed, but there's always someone to tell me I'm doing it wrong. ;)

End of August - Start of September Update

2009-08-27T13:24:00.002-05:00

What we're doing - How we're doing
Summer is a hard time to stick to the budget. Isn't it? There's always something to do and only so much in the Entertainment Envelope to do it with. What to do when the itch isn't satisfied when the money runs out? We re-established our Netflix account and filled up our queue with movies we missed all summer.

Despite playing catch up with our slow months we had this year, we were able to take a real healthy bite out of the Chase credit card. The 0% teaser rate is over and I was really hoping to have knocked that out before that happened - but I also wanted to throw some of this extra money into the Gifts Fund because alas .... Christmas is coming! Don't shoot the messenger! The remaining balance will be under a grand and I'm hoping that my hours for fall won't change too much that it will accommodate saying "Zippee-dee-doo-da" to the Chase Disney Card AND fun the rest of my Christmas shopping.

Budget Lines that Need Help
We have to sit down and look at the budget really hard. We've been running with a strapped budget and using the extra summertime wealth to try to kill that Chase card. There are a few budget lines that got cut that I really need to start funding....and fast!!! House Maintenance and Vet Fund. I'm down to my last $100 in the House account and although we have a newer house, I'm not too terribly comfortable going into the winter months with a mere hundo in that account! We adopted two kittens (brother and sister) and the entry vet bills are a little more than I had anticipated or planned for. I've got a couple months to come up with Spay and Neuter money before little Miss Nala goes into her first heat!

No Credit Cards
Still no NEW DEBT on the credit cards! The credit card companies have been sending transfer checks like demons. I haven't cancelled any of my cards - but I did find that Sears closed my account due to inactivity. I'm not sure if I got a letter on that or not. I didn't pay attention to it.
I should probably pull my credit report and see what the dealio is with that and other cards. I wonder how that effects the credit score.

Our 2 Year TMMO Anniversary

2009-07-02T12:28:00.003-05:00

July 1st marks our 2nd year of our Total Money Make Over with Dave Ramsey. Those who read my blog knows where I stand now.... but how did this all start for us?

How we got so far in debt - in a nutshell
Two Words: Credit Cards
One Idea: Living WELL past our means
Why?: Keeping up with the Joneses
Frame of Mind: Scared Stupid

It was just too easy to live on credit cards. It wasn't even that we were charging wonderful wardrobes, stereo equipment, vacations, posh furnishings for our house, etc. Because we weren't. Don't get me wrong, we were buying things we didn't really need but the brunt of our debt was basic survival charging: Groceries, Doctor's Visits, Bills, Dining Out, Diapers, Clothes, Gasoline etc. It was insane, but we charged over $1000. a month almost EVERY MONTH! Then there's Christmas, birthdays, weddings, etc. We didn't really see any problem with it as long as we were paying the min balance due every month - we were fine! Oh crack me in the head! It was just too easy to live on credit. The stupid thing (besides the obvious) is I could justify everything. I would cut coupons and save at the grocery store - but use my charge card to pay for it. I kept track of my grocery "savings" and put that money into a vacation fund so we could go to Disney. Stick with me on the thought process.

1. So I was taking money out of our checking account and moving it into a savings account for a Disney trip.
2. I used credit cards for the groceries at like a 12.5 APR.
3. Needed to use the charge card more because the extra cash was sitting in my savings instead of paying for things I needed or at least the groceries I bought!

Worse of all ... I didn't see a problem with this.

Our other survival tactic: The Balance Transfer Check
Can't pay the bill? Transfer the balance to another card! That means we don't have to make a payment this month! I did that often. Too often! Wayyyy too often.

So when Dave Ramsey says, "I've done Stupid." I can nod my head and raise my hand because friends... "I HAVE DONE STUPID!"

When to say when ...
I've attempted several times to throw up the white flag. "We need to cut back our credit card use" "We need to pay some of this stuff down" And we tapered down successfully for a little while... until a birthday or school clothes and supply shopping or Christmas. We were paying about what we were charging and while that was better than what we had been doing - it wasn't getting us anywhere! We were skimming yet we felt triumphant.

Finding the Light called Dave
Purely accidental. I had no idea who he was - this concept or anything about him until I was on a website/message board for coupons, deal hunters and freebie deals. There was a banner ad for Dave on there with comments from the forum regarding it. The banner ad was for Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. I clicked the ad and have followed ever since!

The Cold Hard Truth
How bad is bad? The numbers paint a story. Dave's first lesson is to come to reality with the debt. Add it all up. Get a number. Find out what kind of hurdle you need to leap. Our hurdle was in access of $65k - easy! In fact, I can't find the exact number when we first started but I know it including some very high balances on credit cards that had been surfed there for safe keeping and a car payment. I had read about people committing suicide for being in debt less than that or at the very least filing bankruptcy to try to get rid of it. Embarrassment had kept me out of bankruptcy court at first - Dave has kept me out of it since. My debt. My responsibility.

Not Perfect
Last July there was a moment of weakness and her name is: Golden Sand Mazda 3 to the tone of $325 a month. It is what it is. It's proof that I'm human. It's proof that I am still capable of making bad choices. It's proof that although I have come a long way .. there's still traveling left to do. If I hadn't bought the car I would have had that much more going into the snowball and I'd be that much closer to being debt free.... but instead: I'll be stumbling through Baby Step Two a little longer. So be it. As the snowball works it's magic the car will be paid off in half the time the loan was for.

Happy Anniversary
Here we sit at our second year - a little smarter, a little more secure and a lot more happy!
What an experience!

How sweet it is ...

2009-06-21T16:37:00.002-05:00

Happiness is ....

Realizing that no matter what's been happening .... WE ARE SURVIVING!

It looks as if my husband's job is back to normal swing. My job is at normal swing plus a day. The overtime I worked that I thought was going to kill me -- didn't and I have two really sweet paychecks to show for it.

Through the darkness - we never used a credit card. We never fell behind in payments. We never once felt as if we were strapped or stuck.

With our stashed cash (extra paycheck, tax refund money etc) and overtime check we were able to:

Send an extra $2000.00 to our lowest debt in July.
Pay Extra towards what we owed for Property Taxes due in July
Put aside some Play Money for summer (Summer Fest and Brewer game)
Did all of our annual outside maintenance.

For those still wondering if ENVELOPES are a good idea:
So far this summer we needed -
$200 for lawn repair
$200 for an air conditioner replacement part and labor
$45 for driveway seal coating
All of which came from an account already funded for Household Repairs and such. The only inconvenience I had was transferring the money from my Savings acct to my checking!! Thank goodness for thinking ahead! That would have been $445 on a credit card if we hadn't planned ahead!

I'm truly thankful for the lessons I am learning!

Has it really been that long since an update?

2009-06-07T09:46:00.002-05:00

Hello Wendy! Where have you been?

Looking back - it's been almost two months since my last update. Where the heck have I been? Working for one. Spring means leading the training classes above and beyond my normal work load. With that also comes some nice overtime hours - but less time for other things. More news on the work front - I have been (maybe temporarily) been given an extra day a week. I haven't noticed that so much because with the training, I've been working 6 days a week anyway.

What does this mean for the financial outlook?

We used some of the extra income to re-fund envelopes that had been neglected, did our outside spring maintenance and flowers, put some aside for summer entertainment (you know what they say about ALL WORK AND NO PLAY) and put some aside for our real estate taxes next month as I was a tad short.

My husband's hours are still shortened. They can't seem to make up their minds between 32 and 40 hours. It's been a week to week thing. So my extra hours is also supplementing our regular income when he's not working 40.

I see a light at the end of the tunnel!

It's funny. With the economy being in the shape that it's in - the theme seems to be: Cut back, make concessions, spend less, save more. I've seen so many people struggle with this "new" concept. Since our family has already been doing this, it hasn't phased us. We had the stockpiled groceries to fall back on, stashed cash for a "rainy day" that we haven't needed to use and the knowledge that we needed to stay out of restaurants and bars. You'd be surprised how many people I work with who are complaining - yet go out to drink, eat and I won't even start my rant about those who still smoke with the prices as they are! The truth is the economy nonsense hasn't really touched our business too much. We are still thriving in our tourist town because of the obvious - people will still take day trips even if they can't take week long vacations.

What's next?

As soon as my husband's hours get a little more reliable I will be sending our "stash cash" to debt number one. All our efforts will go to batting that puppy down if not off before the 0% APR special wears off in September. It will be good to get on the "more than mins" wagon and start going gazelle like we were all last year. There is big fun with that! I really miss watching those balances fall.

Attending: Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope

2009-04-15T12:15:00.004-05:00

Marching out of Darkness
If you haven't checked for more locations, check again! I found one extremely close to me so I will be attending this broadcast town hall meeting! I'm very excited to find a positive light and move forward!

April Update
The 40th year has happened to me. Despite the "over the hill" gifts that I was given, I don't feel old or depressed about the landmark birthday. I am going into my 40th year of life with a positive outlook. It's so easy to fall into the negative and point fingers for why you are not happy with your own life. I'm taking control of my own happiness! Sounds like a bit of trouble is in store.

Our financial outlook is still on a teeter totter. My husband's job is a true look at the economy. Some days it looks like things are getting better -- and then it retreats. They hint to the hours coming back to the normal 40 per week, but they make no promises to if it will happen or for how long it will last. In the meantime, my hours are picking up. It's amazing that our budget has withstood this crazy roller coaster ride - but we are still proud to say that we are still a CASH ONLY family! It amazes me when I look back on how dependant we were on credit cards. If you would have told me 3 years ago that I could remotely exist without a credit card I would have laughed in your face! Education is a beautiful thing!

Another 5 paycheck month is upon us too which is always quite helpful in budget making - although we will probably stash it into our Emergency Fund while we watch and wait to see what hubby's job does. I've learned that all is not always what it seems with that place. I'll keep it as a back up plan. I have to say though, when this breaks - there will be a very nice lump sum payment to that lowest debt. I can't even tell you how exciting THAT will be. It's been a long time since I've been able to comfortably do that!

Emotional Roller Coaster

2009-03-23T08:29:00.002-05:00

Do I blame it on midlife crazies?
My fortieth birthday is right around the corner. I think that although I'm looking forward to the benchmark occasion, it's playing hell with me. Some days I'm the same as I always was, some days I'm just a mess of anxiety and other days I just want to bury my head in the sand. I'm forty. I'm still in debt - I don't have much on the lines of retirement savings to speak of- I'm bored but I'm broke. I need to do something ... but what?

Insurance Update
While I can't fully explain it to you because I don't quite understand it myself - the new insurance at my husband's workplace isn't as it was explained to me at first. It's better. I swear when it comes to important things like this they should invite the family in so more than one person hears the story because, love the husband - he only half hears things and if he doesn't like what he's hearing he either quarter hears or mutes all together. :)

Economy in a tourist town
It's not funny, but amazing that even in times of financial struggle that people will come to our tourist town for entertainment. We've had a busy week at work and while sales may be down (like everywhere else) they could be so much worse! I start a training class today (I play teacher for those who are new to my blog). It's a good sign when we are looking through applications to hire a full summer's worth of employees. That means we are planning for a good summer regardless. That helps the budget - and may even jumpstart the snowball. I'm looking forward to it.

When Dave Ramsey's plan gets boring
Man, for awhile there we were hacking away at the debt. So much money towards the snowball, balances were dropping fast and it was FUN! It was mindblowingly fun! We haven't made any extra payments towards anything for awhile because of the cut hours we both sustained and I'm telling you - Dave Ramsey's plan just doesn't have the fire in it that it did when you are acting like mad person just paying down and paying off things! I haven't even listened to his show, or visited his site or even really visit the message boards that I used to live on. I'm just following the motions and making sure that I stick to the budget --- that I stick to cash --- and we don't fall backwards!

Mid-month Update

2009-03-16T10:02:00.003-05:00

Looking up?
Some hours are coming back. My son is back to work. (and working more shifts than normal for this time of year) My hours should start picking up a little bit - training will be starting soon, so it's inevitable. And my husband looks to have picked up a side gig for the summer. We are still holding tight and stashing money until we feel comfortable releasing it against our debt. The budget was so tight there it screamed. A few of our sinking fund envelopes need to be refilled too, so I think I will wind up doing that before I press "GO" on the snowball button.

Insurance Blues
My husband has complained about the cost of health insurance from his company forever - and last week's company meeting made it all the worse as they rolled out the bad word - "DEDUCTABLE". We've never had a deductable, just Co-Pays and a prescription card. The company went away from Co-Pay and Cards to this high deductable plan - which will save us a whole whopping $6.00 a week. Basically, it will be for major medical - because I can't imagine we'd ever hit the deductable. That's going to hit the budget because what went from a $55 sinus infection (co-pay and script card) to a $225.00 sinus infection. (more or less)

Spring .... really? You're not kidding this time?
The midwest has seen one long winter. I'm so thankful to get the car cleaned up and drive with the windows down! The backyard is going to need a little work this spring because we didn't do too much last year because I didn't budget much for flowers, goodies and the grill's propane tank refill. I've got to pull that rabbit out of a hat. :)

Happy Spring Everyone!!

Updates for March -

2009-03-01T08:49:00.002-06:00

Temporary Transfer Rates Bite you in the Butt
I had transferred a balance to a low rate card for a specific time frame that I thought would have been no problem paying off before. Of course, that was prior to the latest changes in our financial situation.

I thought with the hours we were pulling I would have had it paid off in a couple of months. I thought with the extra money coming in that I would have killed off two of the small debts by mid year. What's the lesson learned? Don't think? NO! I guess, it's to plan for the worst case scenario and if you are able to do best case instead at least your backside is covered.

I wound up taking some savings and paying off the smallest credit card of $1,900. The new finance charges were a joke. Here's how the credit card companies get rich (in case you haven't noticed already) - Min payment due: $35.00, Finance charges added to the account: $26.00. Paying $9.00 towards principle will keep that card there FOREVER. Dumb. I can't wait until these cards are paid for!

March Budget - Back to the Basics
I started Dave Ramsey in July of 2007, prior to that I had built a budget - but it was for bills - not for life spending (doctors, clothes, groceries, hair cuts, etc). I found some of my old "budgets" and realized all of what I had learned since I found Dave. I have been credit card free since July of 2007 also as a result.

So my husband and I are on shortened hours. Actually, my husband has been using his vacation days to "fill" the missing hours of his paycheck. Sooner or later that will run out, so I am hoping we get back on track. I have built the March budget to be as lean as lean can be. I'm trying to exhaust all options before I do any panicking. There's discussions of mortgage adjustments and crazy things like 40 year mortgages. I don't want to do anything drastic that doesn't need to be done.

Obviously, we are still on minimum payments on our debts. The Snowball has been stuck on the hill for quite some time now and it's pretty depressing to just see it hover there. It was so much more fun to be paying these down rapidly. Looking at the new numbers monthly was exciting as well as rewarding.

Finding Happiness in a Gloomy Time:
In what would be a depressing time in my life, I have found some perks. I have been reuniting with old friends from a simpler time in my life and while some of them are doing so much better than I am, a bunch are living the same life I am. It's been a good distraction and has kept me from staring at numbers that don't change and beating my head against the wall for things that aren't changing fast enough. Thank God for those minor distractions!

Trudging forward ....

2009-02-03T09:35:00.003-06:00

New Budget for Lean Times
February marked the first budget for the lean times and shortened hours for both husband and myself. Whoa! What a difference that money made in our existence. A lot of needed items were cut from the month to month budget for now and thankfully there's a surplus in the category's sinking fund so I'll be okay - for now. We are already backed to minimums on our debts which is still $600.00 a month and not much left to cut back.

I was able to tuck away my "extra" paycheck for January just in case we run a little short until this mess sorts itself out.

My husband's job happens to think that February will be the leanest month of the year and that things may return to a closer sense of normal in March. They've already done some severe and some shocking lay offs - so they are down to skeleton crew.

The restaurant business in a tourist town is a fickle thing, however the few things I can count on= Winterfest, Spring Break and Summer Kickoff (Memorial Day.) As long as I can keep it together until then, all will be fine. I just keep telling myself that. All will be fine.

Oh, I AM getting a tax refund!
With my son have turned 17 and we no longer get that great discount for having a child - I was a little concerned if we were going to be getting back much of anything. If I could jump on my soap box a moment: How in the world do they consider a 17 year old "not a child" when they are still in high school, not living on their own, and still raiding the pantry, going to to the doctor, dentist etc. I'm still responsible for him - the credit should last until the year he turns 18! ANYWAY, I did my preliminaries on the Tax Cut software to see that despite no credit for him, and the extra income from ChaCha and Mike's blessed overtime, that we are actually getting a refund. For now, I'm going to hold onto it as a monetary security blanket. Once things turn around - out goes our lowest debt. BANG! Right now, I need the security more. That debt costs me $24 a month. I'll ride on that thought.

Stress
How do you cope with stress? Not just money stress - but any stress? I've had some major upheaval in my life lately and the stress is starting to show in different places -- but I'm too broke too drink! ROFL!!!

Another Goodbye To a Faithful Friend
January marked the passing of our second 20 year old kitty, Chelsie Lynn. She was a remarkable cat who I think was in life and will be in death our family's guardian angel. She was such a blessing to us I can't even begin to write in a blog. Much like my other kitty that passed last year - they aren't replaceable. They will forever own my heart.

Happy New Year! (yes I know it's mid January)

2009-01-15T17:07:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year!
I've never been more concerned about a year as I am entering 2009. I refuse to be Henny Penny and cry that the sky is falling, but holy cow! I hope all my blogging buddies are weathering this financial storm okay. All I can say is:

I'm glad that I started Dave Ramsey when I did, so I have a whole lot less credit card debt than I had before which means lower monthly payments.
I should not have purchased that car!

At a Complete Stand Still
Storm clouds all around and doesn't look to be getting any better until this economy shifts. My husband's overtime was such a blessing in helping whack the debt away - however without it it seems like nothing is getting done. No extra money to the snowball, and cutting back on some budget items that we could do without -- temporarily. Good news is -- that despite the lay-offs that have been rocketing through his workplace -- he still has a job.

My son and I work at the same restaurant. We got news that he will most likely get laid off until spring and they look to be cutting everyone's hours - including managers. These short checks really are starting to hurt.

Silver Lining
Having a stockpile is really going to come in handy! The grocery bills have been low and can probably go a little lower if need be (who am I kidding ...there will need be)

Wishing everybody the best!
Hold onto your bootstraps everyone!

Looking towards 2009

2008-11-30T10:14:00.002-06:00

I know it may be a little too soon for anticipating what next year will hold, especially in the economy the way it is now. Truth is, I'm a planner. Even if the plans change, at least there was a plan.

My goals for 2009 are:

STAY EMPLOYED!
Continue to use CASH!
Stay on Budget.
Continue the stockpile and build an area to better organize the stash.
To have the two lowest debts paid off.

December's Budget

2008-11-30T09:30:00.003-06:00

As noted previously, the overtime has ceased at my husband's job. In fact a scattering of layoffs has hit the plant as of last week. We have decided to hold off on the snowball and do mins for a little bit, just to make sure we have some extra money for the holiday and any impending problems we may face.

Debts: 675.00 -- this includes the car and card payments.
Food: 370.00 -- this includes school lunches, groceries and a dining out experience.
Housing: 1465.20 -- this includes mortgage, taxes, insurance, and membership to the heating/cooling repair place.
Medical: 35.00 -- we have a surplus in this envelope to cover medical co-pays and scripts, I just added what I could this month.
Personal: 250.00 -- this includes blow money, life insurance, misc household needs, Netflix subscription, and the hair cut envelope.
Transportation: 452.05 -- this includes insurance, gas, tags and repair sinking fund. (my son pays into this for his car)

Utilities: 530.29 -- this includes phones, cable, electric, gas, and water sinking fund. (my son pays into this for his phone)

My Blizzard Boy's Birthday

2008-11-30T09:18:00.004-06:00

December 2nd will mark my son's seventeenth birthday. And of course, as history continues to repeat itself, the first measurable snowfall is predicted to start today - in a blizzard type fashion. We are expected to get up to 10 inches (thankfully we bought a snow blower- CASH!) Keeping his birthday low key this year. I budgeted a birthday dinner out so we are going out for steak and shrimp at the restaurant where we both work!

Looking back over the past 17 years, I can't believe how fast it went and how much he's grown - physically and emotionally. He's truly amazing and my greatest joy.

Overtime Cut, but Surgery Postponed.

2008-11-11T17:10:00.003-06:00

A little bit of this -- a little bit of that

The economy has caught up with my husband's workplace. At least temporarily. All over time has been cut - which isn't a bad thing considering his knee problem has gotten so much worse. They are on 40 hours a week and not a minute more. Thankfully, we've done so much to get ahead and the stockpile is to a point, that I don't think it will effect us in the least. The snowball just gets stuck on the hill for a little while.

We got the results of the dh's MRI and while the doctor didn't have much to say either optimistically or pessimistically, but we don't have any new answers - however we will have a new doctor. He's transferring us to the University Hospital in Madison. What this ultimately means we bought a little more time before surgery. The nest egg can grow a little more while we wait.

The roller coaster of work is going great for me lately. I've been able to pick up a few extra hours here and there and I'm able to fill my workdays with things that keep me busy. There is nothing worse than not having enough to do to fill your day! It drives me buggy. So while my dh slows down, I'm picking up. It's a good yin and yang that we always seem to have going on.

ChaCha has been going through some growing pains this weekend (which is spreading into the week), but all is good. I'm thankful that I have enough in my ChaCha account to go Christmas shopping without cringing. It's still worth it to me and it's not like I'm not already sitting at my computer anyway, right?

Holiday Shopping - My Thoughts

2008-10-24T22:14:00.006-05:00

Ramblings of a Mad Woman
I've been asked about my holiday budget ideas. Here's my thoughts on budgeting and my thoughts follow what I later heard from Dave Ramsey:

Christmas is not an emergency. You have ample warning 365 days ahead of time for you to get ready for the holiday. It doesn't sneak up on you. Start saving on January first for the next Christmas. It's never too early to start saving! Even if it's a little bit here and there-- it adds up and saves your sanity once the reality of Christmas is right around the corner!

I think I'm a rarity, just because I have only one child. Nothing against those who have a larger family, but I knew our limit ... one. He doesn't get whatever he wants during the year. He's not showered with gifts and huge wardrobes and electronics just because he asks. In fact, the poor kid celebrates his birthday right before Christmas, so any showering of gifts happens in December. I'm a frugal shopper during the year. I watch my budget during the year. I keep up with my bills and making sure their aren't any errors made. Because I watch all of that so closely, I feel I am able to save for a decent Christmas. This leads me to my next thought:

I am in debt. It's something I did. I made the mistakes. I used a credit card repeatedly for things that I can't even tell you. My son didn't sign his name to any of those purchases. In fact, I don't even think he guilted me into any of the purchases. I can't blame anyone else for my debt except myself. It's not his fault, so why would I take the holiday away from him?

Of course, I can say this because I have added Christmas/Gifts to my monthly budget. The idea of a budget is to give every dollar a name and a purpose. When you make a budget you find where your priorities are and plan for them. To some people, the priority is a vacation. To others, blow money for expensive hobbies. I had listed Gift Giving a priority on my budget and I have saved for it all year. It's important to me. So I'm ready for the upcoming holiday.

My other methods of getting through holiday shopping?

Don't pay full price for anything! (except a gift card -- but sometimes there are even perks to buying a gift card)
Make a per person budget and stick to it!
Find things on sale during the course of the year.
Know your prices! After Thanksgiving doesn't always mean the best deals are available then. I've found that some of those "sales" they offer are actually higher than the same item in say, June!
There's no shame in coupons, deals and clearance racks!
All else fails -- get artistic! Make something. Last year was our first Christmas on the Dave Ramsey plan. My dh and I budgeted $40 a piece for shopping for each other. Of course, I am more frugal savvy than my hubby is - but his favorite gift was little coupons for things that he would like during the year: his choice of a homemade meal, a back rub, breakfast in bed etc. They didn't cost me anything, and he was able to enjoy them all year -- in fact he wants more THIS Christmas because he ran out!
It IS the thought that counts - not how much money you spend.

Above all, Christmas is about love and family. We've had our share of lean Christmases and we've had our share of grossly exaggerated Christmases and to tell you the truth I can't tell you that I favored the one that I spent a lot of money on over ones that we were pretty well broke. Over all, when I look through the pictures of Christmas - I'm seeing smiles. I'm seeing happiness. I'm seeing family and I'm seeing love. ... and a Christmas tree that's always somehow a little lopsided. My son can't recall the difference between the two either. He's looked forward to Christmas no matter how many or how much the presents were that were under the tree. Your kids won't either ... in the grand scheme of things wheh they grow up they will remember the traditions and the love.

Gearing up for the Holidays (already) and Updates

2008-10-22T05:22:00.005-05:00

October Updates:
I'm sorry I didn't post my October budget snapshot for everyone. It's much of the same from last month actually. We're still plugging away at the bills - just not as intensely as we were. I guess our gazelles needed a break.

Money Savings:
The stockpile is growing leaps and bounds by the deals I have been getting at Walgreens and Meijer lately. The industrial size shelving unit I bought to put in the basement is nearly full! My freezer is getting full, and my pantry is overloaded! I feel like a squirrel gathering nuts for the winter.

Possible Surgery:
Overtime does take it's toll.... eventually. The dh went to the doctor last week and they are discussing surgery on both of his knees. Thank goodness for disability insurance and an emergency fund! Even if he's out for a bit (which Mr.Stubborn probably won't be) we'll be covered.

Christmas Shopping:
The task has started. My teenage DS's wish list includes an IPOD and not the Shuffle or the Nano. This kid is no slouch! We're talking the iTouch! Thank Goodness for ChaCha! I've got that one covered. As the years go by, I have less gifts to buy -- they just cost more!

November:
I remember last year, November killed my budget. Of course, I forgot to write down what about it killed the budget so I can't remember what needed the extra funding. I have dog-eared the thought so I can set some extra blow money aside for whatever it is that November holds ... especially if November is when dh is out for surgery!

BTW: I finally updated my debt totals to the right and the pie chart is now correct.

Where's Wendy?

2008-09-22T23:52:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since I've posted. Where the heck have I been?

Work is finally settling into it's fall pattern which is nice. I've been working on ChaCha almost nightly now and really having a good time doing that. I'm a late night beast anyway - and there's good money to be made at night.

Budget is still working fine. We've done a little cheating this month - using envelope money for things it wasn't quite intended, however it's still CASH and the we haven't gone over in the budget so all is good!

I have to say the economy is really scaring me lately. Not that I didn't have fair warning about it. Trying to be a forever optimist is the name of the game in my eyes. Yes, the dh is still putting in mad amount of overtime, but with the new car payment and the oral surgery bill - mad amounts of debt aren't dropping as a result of the overtime. Nobody's fault but my own - I'm the one who bought the car. I know.

Time to tighten the bootstraps even more and hope we come out of this okay. I don't recommend anyone who would like to stay optimistic to listen to Glenn Beck. What a depressing human to listen to!

September Updates:

2008-09-02T10:31:00.002-05:00

September Budget
Sha-pow! Look at the debt total grow! Adding on the new car payment and DS's wisdom teeth bill to this total, plus new tires for the DH's car.

We had to dump some more money into the vet bill fund for the winter. We're still struggling with health issues of our older cat - and we are coming up to allergy season for our younger cat. If you haven't been reading for long, we had to bring our younger cat to the Vet ER for what turned out to be an asthma attack! It was scary stuff!!

Grocery Store Victory
My stockpile is growing by leaps, bounds and mountains! I've been very fortunate to be able to save the kind of money I've been saving. Coupons, sales, rebates have been a true blessing getting groceries and stockpiles for next to nothing.

If you haven't checked out HOT COUPON WORLD, I strongly suggest that you do. The scenarios they come up with are beyond amazing!!!

Appreciation Speaks Volumes
What motivates you? Are you a self motivator? What does it mean when someone tells you that they really appreciate what you do?

I'm a self starter at work. I know what I need to do and that's what I do. Every week, I make a list of what I want to/have to accomplish and I cross things off as I go. Sometimes I think the boss has no idea what I do because I just get things done.

This weekend, the managers were brought into the office one and a time the boss talked to us. Don't get me wrong, my boss OFTEN says "Thank you." and "Great Job." but you never know if he from the heart means it or not. This talk you knew without a shadow of a doubt that he meant it. I felt like a kid showing his prized art piece to his mother and the elatedness when she said it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen! It was an amazing feeling to know that even the little extra things I do - he notices and APPRECIATES.

Christmas Shopping
This is the best time to start grocery shopping. I don't care what kind of sales they have after Thanksgiving - if you compared them to the everyday prices now - you won't find much of a difference. What you will find are less people, less traffic and less aggravation. So the answer is "YES". I have started my Christmas shopping. 2 gifts down and several more to go! I'm keeping my eyes peeled for deals and my earned gift cards from places like MyPoints.com, ChaCha and our phone rebate to help pay for it all! Let the fun begin!

Updates of sorts ... aka ramblings.

2008-08-25T11:56:00.004-05:00

We're plugging away. The husband's overtime while a hinderance to our play time, has been very important in our quest to pay down things and keep afloat.

Winter is only a few months away
I just read the latest from the Farmers Almanac and have hit up the Craigslist looking for a snowblower on the cheap. They are predicting over average snowfall for the Great Lakes/Midwest and if it's going to be MORE than last year - we are going to need the help of a machine!

On the Workfront
My busy season at work should be ending by mid-September. We have one more training class starting in a couple weeks so that gives me a little boost in the overtime department. I don't know what it is but my paychecks have been lower than they have been in years. Worse yet, that's even with me not allocating any part of my paycheck to my 401k. CRAZY!

Budgets
The good news is that budget is working for us! We have stayed on course with that for 13 months. We did wind up putting DS's wisdom tooth surgery on the Care Credit and that's the first and only "card" usage we've had in that time too. Not that I'm proud of it - but that price tag hit me for more than I had in the "Medical Fund" envelope.

Working for ChaCha is Working for Me!
They've made some changes over the past month but things are working smoothly! The money I've been making by doing ChaCha will go to help pay for gift shopping this Christmas and through out the year. If you are remotely curious about what ChaCha is you can revisit a previous post about ChaCha ---> HERE <--- If you are interested in joining ChaCha I would LOVE if you would use my email address as a referral. So far I have three gals on my team and there is room for many more!!

If Wisdom Teeth were so Wise ...

2008-08-19T13:22:00.003-05:00

Wouldn't they know we didn't need them??

Welp, I had to know they were coming sometime. Our DS had his wisdom teeth taken out today. And wouldn't you know it - our medical insurance wouldn't cover it. Not even a dime. Add to our debt total another $2600.00.

Is that my kharma biting me back for buying the car? Yeah, probably.

Another bite to the budget happens next month in the tune of new tires for the dh's car. He's been driving on baldies since last winter. He'll need them before the Ice Capades of Wisconsin driving season starts again.

Things happens in threes? My Cahoots's final vet bill, Tires & Wisdom teeth out. Thank goodness the dh is on overtime pay still!

August Budget

2008-08-03T11:09:00.005-05:00

Welcome August - hope I prepared enough for this!

School Registration:
Registration is later this month for my ds's junior year of high school. Nice thing about high school is the school supply list is pretty basic and simple. Paper, Notebooks, Pens, Pencils, Folders, Binders. We don't need 4 glue sticks, 3 packs of crayons, 2 boxes of tissues and what ever else is on those lists that really doesn't NEED to available on the first day of school. (if at all, but I don't want to get in an argument about that) I've been buying supplies on sale with left over grocery money. NICE!

So simple school shopping, a few new pairs of jeans, shoes, funding his lunch account and paying for his woods class projects. That should cover the costs.

Insurance:
You're going to notice some screwy rises in my car insurance. We bought a new car so now we have 3 cars and 3 drivers - so my ds's insurance will go up up up as a full time driver of my old car. So next month you will also see a new car payment in my debt category also.

Out of Debt Date Changes:
So, of course - this is my blog telling my story about how I'm getting out of debt. See how easy it is - even Wendy can do it. Truth is, we threw ourselves a bit deeper into debt by getting the Mazda3 that I have posted previously about. When it comes to the blog, I feel I should be ashamed because 1) I didn't pay cash for it and 2) I didn't wait until I had my credit card debt paid for. However, in the scheme of things in my real life - it was something I felt justified doing. I keep cars for a long time. My last car (which ds will take over on until it's last sputter) I drove for 10 years. 6 of those years with no payments.

Okay, long story short - you will see car payments starting next month.

When your heart breaks does anyone hear it?

2008-07-31T23:24:00.005-05:00

My angel,
My Baby,
My Sunshine,
My Boopans,
My Friend.

Cahoots -
Born 08/06/1988
Died 07/28/2008

Almost 20 years of joy.

People sometimes don't understand that a pet is more than just a cat or a dog or a bird -- they are, indeed, a part of the family - a friend, one who shows you unconditional love.

She's seen me through love, life and tragedy. She's one of my life's greatest blessings. I loved her incredibly and will continue to forever.
She will be missed more than I can even begin to write. My heart breaks. Can you hear it?

What will I ever do with out you, Hoots?

Deals Shopping Summary

2008-07-15T16:44:00.002-05:00

Walmart: Did okay, except I didn't find the .05 or .10 notebooks. I wonder if they were the little memo books??!

Walgreens: Made 4 transactions.
12 tubes Total toothpaste 6oz.
4 boxes of Royal pudding
1 box of Good and Plenty (a weakness - sue me!)
4 bottles of Vive (I got 4 for the price of 1 with the BOGO Walgreens & BOGO coupon)
3 Book Covers for school (would up costing WAYY more than Walmart -- BOO HISS!)

Total OOP: $11.66 (I might return the book covers though)

Finding Unclaimed Money

2008-07-15T16:23:00.002-05:00

Ever wonder if there was some of your money hiding in the system somewhere? Don't pay someone to tell you where your unclaimed money is when you can easily find it yourself.

I found this while blog hopping today, and I thought it was worthwhile sharing - and I hope someone finds some money that was rightfully theirs!

Alabama
State Treasury
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 302520
Montgomery, AL 36130-2520
http://www.treasury.state.al.us
Alaska
Department of Revenue
Tax Division
Unclaimed Property Section
PO Box 110420
Juneau, AK 99811-0420
907-465-3726
http://www.tax.state.ak.us/UnclaimedProperty
Arizona
Department of Revenue
Unclaimed Property Unit
P.O. Box 29026
Phoenix, AZ 85038-9026
http://www.azunclaimed.gov
Arkansas
Unclaimed Property Division
Auditor of State Jim Wood
PO Box 251906
Little Rock, AR 72225-1906
800-CLAIM-IT
http://www.state.ar.us/auditor
California
State Controller Steve Westly
Bureau of Unclaimed Property, Division of Collections
3301 C Street, Suite 712
P.O. Box 942850
Sacramento, CA 94250-5873
916-445-2636
http://www.sco.ca.gov/
STATE STATUTES:
http://www.sco.ca.gov/col/ucp/lawregs/index.shtml
Colorado
Unclaimed Property Division
1580 Logan Street, Suite 500
Denver, CO 80203
800-825-2111
http://www.colorado.gov/apps/treasury/ucp/claims/
Connecticut
Unclaimed Property Division
Office of State Treasurer
55 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106
860-702-3125
http://www.state.ct.us/ott/
Delaware
Bureau of Abandoned Property
P.O. Box 8931
Wilmington, DE 19899
http://revenue.delaware.gov/information/Escheat.shtml
District of Columbia
Office of Finance & Treasury
Unclaimed Property Unit
1275 K Street, NW
Suite 500B
Washington, DC 20005
202-442-8181
http://cfo.washingtondc.gov/cfo/cwp/view,a,1326,q,590614,cfoNav,33208.asp
Florida
Department of Financial Services
Bureau of Unclaimed Property
Post Office Box 1990
Tallahassee, FL 32302-1990
850-413-5555
888-258-2253
CLAIMS Fax: 850-413-3017
funclaim@fldfs.com
http://www.fltreasurehunt.org
Georgia
Georgia Department of Revenue
Local Government Services
Unclaimed Property Program
4245 International Parkway, Suite A
Hapeville, GA 30354-3918
404-968-0490
http://www.etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/adm/taxguide/ucp.aspx
Hawaii
Department of Budget and Finance
Unclaimed Property Program
P.O. Box 150
Honolulu, HI 96810-0150
808-974-4000
http://pahoehoe.ehawaii.gov/lilo/app
Idaho
Idaho State Tax Commission
Unclaimed Property Section
P.O. BOX 70012
Boise, ID 83707-0112
800-972-7660
http://tax.idaho.gov/unclaimed.htm
Illinois
Office of State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
PO Box 19495
Springfield, IL 62794-9495
217-785-6998
http://www.state.il.us/treas
Indiana
Attorney General's Office
Unclaimed Property Division
PO Box 2504
Greenwood, IN 46142
http://www.indianaunclaimed.com
Iowa
Michael L. Fitzgerald, State Treasurer
The Great Iowa Treasure Hunt
Lucas State Office Building
321 East 12th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-5367
http://www.greatiowatreasurehunt.com
Kansas
Unclaimed Property Division
900 Jackson Suite 201
Topeka, KS 66612-1235
785-296-3171
http://www.kansascash.com/prodweb/up/index.php
Kentucky
Office of State Treasurer Jonathan Miller
Unclaimed Property
1050 US Highway 127 South, Suite 100
Frankfort, KY 40601
502-564-4722
http://www.kytreasury.com
Louisiana
John Kennedy, State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 91010
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
225-219-9400
http://www.treasury.state.la.us
Maine
State Treasurer's Office
Unclaimed Property Division
39 State House Station
111 Sewall Street, 3rd FL
Augusta, ME 04333-0039
888-283-2808
http://www.maine.gov/treasurer/unclaimed_property/
Maryland
Unclaimed Property Unit
301 W. Preston Street
Baltimore, MD 21201-2385
888-674-0020
http://www.marylandtaxes.com/default.asp
Massachusetts
Abandoned Property Division
1 Ashburton Place, 12th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
888-344-MASS
http://www.mass.gov/treasury/
Michigan
Department of Treasury
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 30756
Lansing, MI 48909
517-636-5320
http://www.michigan.gov/treasury/0,1607,7-121-44435---,00.html
Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Commerce
Unclaimed Property Division
85 7th Place East, Suite 600
St. Paul, MN 55101-3165
651-296-2568
http://www.state.mn.us/cgi-bin/portal/mn/jsp/content.do?id=-536881373&agency=Commerce
Mississippi
Treasury Department
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 138
Jackson, MS 39205-0138
601-359-3600
http://www.treasury.state.ms.us/Index.asp
Missouri
State Treasurer Sarah Steelman
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 1004
Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-751-0123
http://www.treasurer.mo.gov/mainucp.asp
STATE STATUTES:
http://www.moga.state.mo.us/STATUTES/C447.htm
Montana
Department of Revenue
Unclaimed Property Division
Sam W. Mitchell Bldg.
125 N. Roberts, 3rd Floor
Helena, MT 59604-5805
406-444-6900
http://mt.gov/revenue/programsandservices/unclaimedproperty.asp
Nebraska
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
5800 Cornhusker Highway, Building 2, Suite 4
Lincoln, NE 68507
402-471-8497
http://www.treasurer.org
Nevada
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
555 E Washington Avenue
Suite 4200
Las Vegas, NV 89101-1070
800-521-0019
http://nevadatreasurer.gov/
New Hampshire
Treasury Department
Unclaimed Property Division
25 Capitol Street , Room 205
Concord , NH 03301
800-791-0920
603-271-2619
http://www.nh.gov/treasury/
New Jersey
Department of the Treasury
Unclaimed Property
P.O. Box 214
Trenton, NJ 08695-0214
http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/index.html?updiscl.htm~mainFrame
New Mexico
Taxation & Revenue Department
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 25123
Santa Fe, NM 87504-5123
505-476-1774
https://ec3.state.nm.us/ucp
New York
State Comptroller
New York State Office of Unclaimed Funds
110 State Street, 8th Floor
Albany, NY 12236
800-221-9311
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/
North Carolina
Department of State Treasurer
Unclaimed / Escheats Division
325 N Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27603-1385
http://www.NCCash.com
North Dakota
State Land Department
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 5523
Bismarck, ND 58506-5523
919-508-5176
http://www.land.state.nd.us/
Ohio
Department of Commerce
Division of Unclaimed Funds
77 South High Street - 20th floor
Columbus, OH 43266-0545
http://www.com.state.oh.us/unfd/treasurehunt.asp
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Treasurer's Office
Unclaimed Property Division
4545 North Lincoln Boulevard, Suite 106
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-3413
405-521-4273
http://www.ok.gov/treasurer/Unclaimed_Property/
Oregon
Department of State Lands
Unclaimed Property Division
775 Summer Street NE Suite 100
Salem, OR 97301-1279
503-378-3805
http://www.oregonstatelands.us/
Pennsylvania
State Treasurer Robert P. Casey, Jr.
Unclaimed Property Bureau
P.O. Box 1837
Harrisburg, PA 17105-1837
800-222-2046
http://www.patreasury.org
Rhode Island
Department of Treasury
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 1435
Providence, RI 02901-1435
401-222-6505
http://www.treasury.ri.gov/
South Carolina
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
PO Box 11778
Columbia, SC 29211-1778
803-737-4771
http://treasurer.sc.gov/
South Dakota
Office of the State Treasurer
Vernon L. Larson
500 East Capitol Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501-5070
605-773-3379
866-357-2547
http://www.sdtreasurer.com/
Tennessee
Treasury Department
Unclaimed Property Division
Andrew Jackson Building, 9th Floor
500 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN 37243-0242
615-741-6499
http://www.treasury.state.tn.us/unclaim/
Texas
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 12019
Austin, TX 78711-2019
800-654-3463
http://www.window.state.tx.us/up/
Utah
State Treasurer's Office
Unclaimed Property Division
341 South Main St., 5th Floor
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801-217-1203
888-217-1203
http://www.treasurer.state.ut.us/
Vermont
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
109 State Street, 4th Floor
Montpelier, VT 05609-6901
802-828-2407
800-642-3191
http://www.vermonttreasurer.gov
Virginia
Department of Treasury
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 2478
Richmond, VA 23218-2478
800-468-1088
http://www.trs.virginia.gov
E-mail: ucpmail@trs.virginia.gov
Washington
Department of Revenue
Unclaimed Property Section
PO Box 47477
Olympia, WA 98504-7477
800-435-2429
360-705-6706
http://ucp.dor.wa.gov
West Virginia
Office of State Treasurer
One Players Club Drive
Charleston, WV 25311
800-642-8687
http://www.wvsto.com/
Wisconsin
State Treasurer's Office
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 2114
Madison, WI 53701-2114
608-267-7977
877-699-9211
http://www.ost.state.wi.us
Wyoming
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
2515 Warren Avenue, Suite 502
Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-5590
http://treasurer.state.wy.us/uphome.asp

Courtesy of "live-better-for-less-money.blogspot.com”

A Day off plus Shopping Deals!

2008-07-14T09:50:00.003-05:00

A Day Off
DS was sick on Friday, so I had to take him to the doctor. Not our normal doctor, but I had to drive him about a half hour further than his normal doctor. Why? Too many patients and only one doctor. So needless to say, we both skipped work because of the time of the appointment, getting back home, getting meds etc. I was lucky enough to have Saturday off (again - rest) and watch the box of Kleenex from my ds's room get depleted by the second!

Sunday - back to work. Holy Cow! I need better shoes for this running around! Huge restaurant - seats about 600 and they were ALL sat last night! I'm running laps around the restaurant until all hours.... all on a pair of $8.00 Walmart loafers! LOL

Today - Sales Shopping! It's Savings Mania. Here's my game plan.

Walgreens:
Total Toothpaste - 7 day coupon makes it $1.99, add $1.50 mf coupons plus a ES coupon for $2 off $2 leads to overage. I will have 18 free tubes of Total (but in multiple trips because it is LIMIT 3)

Loreal Vive - This one is a little sketchy. Walgreens has Vive on sale BOGO, plus there was BOGO coupon in Sunday's paper for a certain kind of Vive (something new). So the coupon boards tell me that if they do a split total instead of one $4.99 and one $0.00 I only need to pick up two and they will both be free. Worse comes to worse - I pick up 4 bottles - pay for one and the other 3 will be free.

Walmart:
The Centsible Saywer really hooked me up with deals last week. Today I plan on reeling in some more! If you haven't visited this site - you really should!

Planters: $3.00 off Planters WYB 3 Kraft Products. The suggestion is Koolaid packets - they only cost about .16 a piece. So the OOP is .57 for Planters and 3 Kookaid packets.

::Coupon here::

Toaster Strudels: Was able to print out (2) $1/1 Toaster Strudel Coupons. DS LOVES Toaster Strudels.

Just Bunches: Printed another $2.00 Just Bunches (honey bunches of oats) which makes these less than $1.00 a box.

::Coupon here::

School Supplies: High schoolers need filler paper, folders and notebooks. I hear the notebooks were between .05-.10 a piece! INCREDIBLE!

Meijer:
They have a $20.00 catalina for new or transferred prescriptions in this week's paper. Plus I have $5.00 off $25 coupon from last week. This was my 3rd of this coupon. The first was some lady who checked out before me leaving it in the printer. HELLO! You just threw away a perfectly good $5.00!! Her stupidity, my gain. Whatever!

So in essence - $25.00 free shopping dollars today at Meijer along with some helpful 10/10 deals plus milk and eggs are on sale - mealbox deals on pasta (free), sour cream (cheap) ice cream (cheap) frozen potatoes (cheap).

Hopefully going to find a deal on ds unmentionables and socks for his school clothes list here too.

Kohls: Did this online over the weekend. Was able to pick up 4 pairs of Urban Pipeline jeans for my skinny tushed boy for $19.99 a pair - free shipping. It's part of his school clothes shopping and was glad to have gotten that deal!

Also have to return some shoes that ds wouldn't wear. Ahhh well! I should have known better.

Updates

2008-07-10T00:19:00.008-05:00

A Raise and Increased (and MANDATORY overtime)
For me? Are you kidding?! No, my stallion husband is the work horse in this family! Last week he was given his annual raise. For what he does for the company he deserves far more than they could ever afford to pay him, but he was happy with his raise. This week they had a meeting and not only is there overtime available ... it's now MANDATORY per the company president! No ifs, ands or buts about it. This will go on for the rest of the month and they will "revisit" the idea and see if it can and should continue.

Wendy's learning to Cha Cha!

So can you REALLY make money from home sitting on your computer? The answer is YES! I've been doing this Cha Cha thing for a couple of weeks. (I took off 6 days to enjoy what time I had off from my other job on this busy holiday weekend!) The consensus? Well, I've pulled in a little over $84.00 already! The crazy thing is that it can only get better as I get faster at answering the questions. Most people average about double what I can do. But you know, for sitting on my computer looking up random questions and giving answers - this is a blessing. A stress less atmosphere!

So what's it all about? Go see for yourself - http://www.chacha.com/. Or text a question to 242242 and see how it works for you. Cha Cha doesn't charge you to ask questions, but be aware if you pay per text message with your cell phone provider.

I've started my Cha Cha team. I know, I know.. I just started myself - but I always jump in with both feet! The more learning at the same time the merrier! If you are interested in joining Cha Cha, please use my email address as the one who referred you. That way you will be included on my team and we can work together! The email address (made into a graphic to avoid the spammers) is:

When you join, before you carry onward, please email me and I can work you through the steps and share the things I have learned so far.

What does this all mean?

The overtime will be helpful in getting the ds set up for his junior year of high school and pay extra towards our credit card debt and the Cha Cha will go towards gift buying expenditures. Birthdays on the horizon: My dh, my mother and then my son -- don't blink -- Christmas! I think it will come in handy!!!

A Year in Review - My TMMO Anniversary!

2008-07-01T09:31:00.004-05:00

I thought it was appropriate to take a moment (okay several) and take a peek back at my successful year of climbing the Mountain of Debt. I have tried before to "pay down" the credit cards, but I'd never been successful as this year. I stuck to it! A whole year! I don't think I have stuck to anything this tough for a whole year before!

One year ago: Debt Totals
Chase: $8588.00 (random spending surfed/stored here for a lower rate)
Citibank: $10958.00 (this one too)
Bank of America $16830.00 (this one too)
Discover: $1600.00 (used for purchases)
Citibank 2: $1743.94 (the used card - when the balance got to high it got surfed ... see above)
Car Loan: $5389.00 (which I am proud of. We were 2 years ahead on this car loan)
Emergency Root Canal & Crown: 1505.00

Budget consisted of:
Mortgage/HELOC (creative financing package to eliminate PMI)
Utilities
Groceries (that I never stuck to)
Debt Pay Offs
Taxes
Savings Accounts (Christmas, Vacation, Home Improvements, DS's 529)

The Feeling -- The Fear -- The Failure
My dh tells doomsday stories of the failing economy almost daily. He doesn't handle the bills or the family finances. He never even looks at them. His talk plus our financial situation was making me panic! HARDCORE! The fact that they were talking about raising the minimum due % from 1 - 2% of remaining balance on our credit cards made me SHUTTER! We were going to fall apart and fall apart fast!
I was looking into refinancing the house and hoping I had enough equity to roll some of my large balances into my home loan. I was stressed to the core, yet couldn't talk to the dh about it because the arguments would get ugly. I hate ugly arguments.

Miss guided Priorities
I've always been a pack rat. I've always had a thing for savings. I had savings accounts that I used as sinking funds for everything. I had these long before I heard of the word sinking funds. Congrats to me to have done something right in the last 17 years of marriage! However, my ability to save money for certain things like 2 wonderful Disney vacations means that credit cards were being used to pay for other things while I was tucking away money for the vacations. As you noticed - my budget had wide holes all over it!

July 07- July 08: The Year of the Plan

1. NO credit cards! I don't care how bad you think you NEED something! Either you pay CASH or you don't get it!

2. Prepare a Proper Budget. I have ALWAYS had budget. The problem with my budget is that it was missing the everyday life things: clothes, medical bills, hair cuts, vet bills, dentist visits, dining out, entertainment etc. It always consisted of what bills were due and nothing more than that. That's where the credit card enters the game and takes over. And Stick to It
anything looks good on paper. The matter of having the strength to actually LIVE with the restrictions....NOW THAT was the battle.

3. Rearrange Priorities. Although, being honest - I didn't wipe out all of my savings accounts, but I need close a few accounts and paid off my smaller bills right away. I was paying more in finance charges than I was gaining in interest. That plus with a proper budget, I wouldn't need those accounts anymore.

4. Find Holes in our Budget. The eating out all the time, the random Walmart stops that cost $100 a pop, entertainment every week etc. Plugging the holes in the budget really helped make what money we had coming in HELP our situation!

5. Work a little Harder! My DH is incredible when it comes to working. His work ethic is off the carts and he gobbles up overtime like no body's business. My job doesn't entitle me to a lot of overtime except for the spring training time. I gobble that up. I've been really paying attention to the grocery budget AND STICKING TO IT! I make dinner every night. We only go out once a month or maybe twice a month IF there is money left over from grocery shopping.

6. Debt Payoff - We have successfully paid off over $30k in debt this year - by rearranging priorities, working and having a CD mature for us to throw into it. We are down to our last two debts. Our two biggest.

7. Play Smarter - This works! The lessons I have learned have been so incredibly valuable to me! The stress has died down. We have a handle of our finances. I refinanced the HELOC to be a regular loan with a fixed rate. Now it is a part of the mortgage, the way it was originally was written. We have NOT used a credit card in a year! Okay let me say that again because that is just so amazing - if you knew our family you would agree -- here goes -- WE HAVE NOT USED A CREDIT CARD IN A YEAR!!!

Wow! That felt great!
A beneficial year!
By next July first (or hopefully sooner) you will hear me yell from the rooftops and hopefully the sound of a new car horn from my future Mazda3!

Thanks for hanging out with me!

Updates Abound!

2008-06-30T20:35:00.010-05:00

It's been a few days since I updated my blog. I've been busy playing catch up. Of course, I still haven't planted annuals. I think the few hanging baskets and my lilies are going to be all the floral around my patio this summer.

Here's my Weekly Menu:

This week, I've decided to try a bunch of different recipes from Aldi Menu Planning. That was the store I was going to do most of my shopping - so I thought I would try it out.

Monday: Stuffed Peppers
Tuesday: Tilapia
Wednesday: Sausage Casserole
Thursday: Pork Chops with Apple Mustard Glaze
Friday: 4th of July picnic
Saturday: Cheesy Eggplant Casserole
Sunday: Hubby's on his own aka Leftovers

A Raise and new Supplemental Income

DH had his review today and they graced him with a nice raise! He is now officially making $1 more per hour than me. With that ... and the amount of overtime he has been offered is a great deal for us! Maybe we can finally move this mountain.... oh and I can get a car quicker!!

I found something that I like to do online now. The company is called Cha Cha.

What is Cha Cha:

"ChaCha is a web search engine that’s available online and by mobile phone with information whenever an InfoSeeker needs it…anytime, anywhere. ChaCha harnesses the power of the Internet and provide answers when an InfoSeeker needs them most."

You get paid .20 for every search you complete and you can work as many or as few hours as you want! I got accepted last week and have made $52.60 already! I think this will be a nice way to get a little extra income.

How does it work?

The InfoSeeker texts Cha Cha and it pops up on my Firefox driven dashboard. I search for the answer, validate it and send it! Viola! .2o cents in my account.

I can have 20 people total join my team - so if you are SERIOUS about making some money online please leave your email address in my comment box and I will send you information about Cha Cha. I'm sorry that I have to be a little harsh, but I only get 20 people for my team and I want to fill it with motivated people who are interested in putting the time in to make some money!

Don't forget to visits these sites:

These blogs/message boards sure get a work out! I get grocery tips and strategies from them and I eat them up!! I recommend them highly!

Money Saving Mom

More than Enough

The Centsible Sawyer *new to my blogroll*

HotCouponWorld

Monthly Budget for July

2008-06-22T12:07:00.005-05:00

Credit Cards
Well, technically they are both held with Citibank now. My transfer fee was $99.00, but I will make up for that with my 0% in no time.

Groceries
5 shopping trips this month. Had to allot for that. My stockpile has been incredible, but I still have to look for dinner items and just things we run out of.

Property Taxes & the Water Bill
Both due this month, so I actually will not be adding these things into sinking funds -- they will be paid this month.

Vet Bills
{{knock on wood}} there is plenty in the sinking funds envelope for the kitties this month.

Rearranging the "Blow" Categories
Back to where we were a month ago. There is a MISC fund for Misc Walmart needs (cat litter, water softener salt, misc yard maintenance needs, etc) Hate to say I was right to have them both separated -- but I was!

Hair
All three of us hitting up the sinking fund for hair cuts this month!

Gifts
DH's birthday is next month and Christmas is not that far off ... I'm a little worried. I don't have a whole lot saved up for that yet!

Gas Prices
I've had to add so much extra for the Gasoline costs. Hopefully I have a handle on what we need now.

Screen shot courtesy of my YNAB Software

It's the End of the Training Season ... mini update

2008-06-17T15:43:00.006-05:00

Training Season is Over:
Cueing in REM's Tune "It's the end of the world as I know it"...... "AND I FEEL FINE!"

The last group took their server tests today! Double edged sword though. Yes, training is over and I can breathe - however, the overtime has ceased! So the real sweet paycheck I get on Thursday will be the best I will see for the rest of the year. Ahhh well. Make the best of what you are given.

New Cell Phones:

I don't know why I get so stressed out about buying things sometimes, but this phone thing was driving me batty. This is the third carrier we've tried in hopes of getting better reception in this black hole of a town we live in. Did you know that you don't have to buy phones directly from the carrier? I was pricing around and found that is probably the LAST place to buy phones! The Sprint deals were the worst of the places I looked: Best Buy, Walmart & Radio Shack were okay, but I wound up buying my phones from Let's Talk..... oh wait a minute! Scratch that... THEY WERE FREE! I got my phones FAST and had no problems. I just have to remember that I have to call THEM to make changes to the plan rather than calling Sprint directly. I might actually make $100 on the deal too because two of the phones had Sprint rebates on them as well! More money to the snowball -- that plus the money I had set aside to BUY PHONES!

Weekly Meals

2008-06-17T15:29:00.004-05:00

Weekly Meals - back to having a plan

Thanks to HotCouponWorld, More than Enough & Money Saving Mom - my stockpile has grown enormously! In fact, this week the only things on my grocery list were:

15 boxes of pasta (.16 a piece)
American cheese slices
milk
apples
yogurt
french onion dip (for my sausage casserole dinner)
4 cans of spag sauce
2 cans of diced tomatoes

That's all I needed.... that's all I bought! Suweeeet! (of course, if I forget yeast one more time at the grocery store - I'm going to freak out!!)

Here's my Weekly Menu:

Monday: Tater Tot Casserole (my favorite E-Mealz recipe)
Tuesday: Spaghetti Bake
Wednesday: Brats & Perogies
Thursday: Sausage Casserole
Friday: Tilapia (haven't decided which recipe to try)
Saturday: Homemade Sausage Pizza
Sunday: Hubby's on his own

New Week, More Overtime and an Update

2008-06-09T07:05:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry if I'm a little foggy headed this morning
I worked until almost 2 am this morning and it's now 7am and I have to get ready to go back to work. I played good Samaritan yesterday and helped out a co-worker with restaurant inventory. (the weekly count EVERYTHING in the kitchen) So I officially put in overtime again last week. I'm really tired and it's going to be a long day.

To the basement ya'all ....
Friday and Sunday both I had to evacuate the whole restaurant (staff and guests) to the basement because of a tornado warning. We've had tornado warnings before - but this is the first time I've retreated to the basement. The control you have when the entire place is hanging on your every word. Amazing that I didn't choke on my words. I was never good at public speaking - or crowd control. LOL . We weathered the storm. Some broken trees - but we did okay.

New Phones... finally
I get to order new phones with a new phone plan TOMORROW! We've been waiting for over a month for our contract to end so we wouldn't have to pay the penalty to leave. The reception in my neck of the woods is ridiculous. I'm hoping the new plan and new phones will bring better luck. Cross your fingers for me.

Am I really getting that old?
I went to a concert this week. Bret Michaels (Rock of Love) & Great White played in Waukesha at The Taste of Summer. This should not be confused with the Mega event .... Summerfest which plays in Milwaukee. Without getting into a review of the show (which I enjoyed) let me just tell you about the people we saw. Granted, I'm closing in on forty years old myself, but am I THAT old? I saw some women there that just made me giggle. And some that really made me mad!

Top Ten of "You really shouldn't wear THAT!"

1. Mullets both male and female went out of style a long time ago. Cut it off!

2. Spandex shirts and pants are only good on those with a smaller frame and even then it's questionable.

3. Spiked heels don't work so well at an outdoor venue after a rain. AKA Stuck in Mud.

4. There is an age cut off to being the bleach blonde rock and roll groupie....and honey...you're there!

5. You can put on a cowboy hat ... but you still don't look like Bret Michaels.

6. This isn't a Justin Timerlake concert. The 4 XL Tshirts that looks like you painted in the car on the way to the show that says Bret Michaels "Rock's Your World" just doesn't cut it.

7. Aqua Net ... nuff said.

8. Signs. Much like the T-shirt that says "Bret, You rock my world" a sign won't win you any accolades, however it may make the person standing behind you pretty peeved.

9. That skirt is too short! I mean TOO SHORT!

10. (and my favorite) When going to a concert of an 80's originated band, you are not required to act the part, dress the part or have your ten year old daughter ALSO dressing the part! Big hair, black make up, short skirt, boots and colored hair extensions look ridiculous on you ..... and they look especially ridiculous on your little girl!

Another Good Shopping Week
I love knowing the sales almost a week in advance! It allows me time to gather coupons and make the most of it!

Freebies this week included 7 Chex Mix, 1 toothbrush, 2 envelopes of taco seasoning, 2 Chex Mix plus 4 things from the 10 for $10 and get the eleventh free. I did that 4 times.
If my Meijers doubled coupons I would have done outstanding, but as it stands I saved $120 and spent only $74.

Back to Menu Planning
Of course I've been cooking -- but I haven't been really planning my meals out like I was doing for awhile there. Look for me to be posting weekly menu's again soon. It really helped and saved time when I had a plan. Go figure! LOL

I Can't Swim, but I can Surf!

2008-06-03T07:32:00.003-05:00

Not giving up my money that easily!

My Bank of America 0% teaser rate ended and the remaining balance now incurs a respectable 9.24%. It's not the greatest in the world, but it certainly rocks the pants off 20% or whatever some people are dealing with. This balance is currently the one on the chopping block because of the higher interest rate. (going against the DR grain) I got my first bill with the higher rate and my interest incurred was $92.!! I said to myself (and probably out loud) "Oh hell no! I don't think so!!" I found a low fee transfer for 0% until January 09 which is a month before my proposed payoff date for that card. It's through Citibank - but I've had good service and treatment from Citibank in the past so I'm comfortable with surfing the balance. $92.00 in interest charges! Are you kidding me!!??! Bahh! Not going to happen! Never again!

More Grocery Savings....

2008-05-31T16:48:00.003-05:00

Wow... another fabulous weekend at Walgreens (Friday) and Meijer (Saturday)!

15 boxes of Pierogies = 40.80 after sale and coupons $5.40
a bunch of freebies from Walgreens after sales and coupons
a bunch of almost freebies at Walgreens & Meijer.

There was a mad gathering around the meat section at Meijer today as they had a ton of 40% off stickers on just about anything -- plus .99 per pound on Ground Sirloin. It was gone instantly. One lady - I was impressed had about 20 packages in her cart!

I saved $86 at Walgreens - OOP $11.00 (rounded to the nearest dollar) and $120 at Meijer - OOP $92.00. I went over for the week a touch, but I won't need meat next week so next week I won't need so much grocery money.

We went to Home Depot today to buy a HUGE shelving unit. I needed more space for my stock-ups! Now I have a mission: Fill a 48"H x 24 D 5 shelf storage unit! That can go with my already stocked pantry, linen closet, basement, and closet!!

I can't believe the good fortune I've had shopping lately.

Get your Printer Ready - Coupons on the Web!

2008-05-26T11:34:00.004-05:00

I stumbled upon a great resource for printable coupons!
The web is such a wonderful thing - I really wish this was around (in this state) back when I first got married and had my ds. OH THE MONEY I COULD HAVE SAVED!

A Full Cup - Printables - You'll want to bookmark this one!

Memorial Day -- A Day of Remembering

2008-05-26T10:36:00.007-05:00

A Day of Remembering.....

My dad -- has been gone since 1994. He was only 55 years old and was just starting to take advantage of the "life" he worked so hard for. He always said the restaurant was going to kill him. He was right. Well, that and cigarettes, fatty food and no exercise, I suppose.

My dad and I didn't have the most spectacular of relationships. I spent most of my life fearing him and seeking his approval. It was near the end of his life that we were breaking that wall and getting to understand each other. I have that to hold onto.

My grandparents -- My mother's parents were the most incredible people I have ever met. I can't even get into what a blessing they both were to my life. They were very generous with their time and love. My grandma had a frugal nature that I used to poke fun of, but now live myself. They were both hard working and lived a wholesome life. My dad's dad passed away long before I was ever born. In fact he died while my father was a young boy. I wish with my whole heart that he lived a lot longer, because I feel my dad would have been a whole different person if he had - and in doing so - we would have had a much better relationship from the get go. My dad's mother - I have resentment towards her. She tried - but ultimately I think her well being came before those of her kids and I don't agree with that.

A lost love, Bob -- You never forget your first love. Not that I have a whole whirlwind romance story to tell you about Bob, because I don't. I have just always felt that by something bigger than he and I, that we were destined to have our paths crossed. Even though our lives took turns away from each other, for some reason Memorial Day was a day we would reconnect. I have no idea why. Bob passed away at the age of 24 (in 1992) - and it broke my heart.....into a million little pieces. And because history dictates that I should - I visit his grave every Memorial Day Weekend. To the old times!

Baby Boy -- Anytime a child dies - it breaks your heart. In our neighborhood, a young 2 year old angel of light was killed accidentally by his next door neighbor. My note to everybody: Teach your children to ALWAYS watch for cars -- and ALWAYS make sure your driveway is clear of children when you are backing out (even if you don't have any). SUVs are so high up, she never even saw him.... Any loss of a child would be a shame, but this child was a bright light. His smile was constant and his heart huge! I often said I couldn't wait to see the man he grew to be. Sad.

June Budget

2008-05-25T10:06:00.004-05:00

June Budget

No big changes here except for that mighty fine payment to Bank of America (thanks to some overtime!)

We'll be changing cell phone plans this month and DS will be picking up more of the tab on that.

Looking for a bit more approved overtime in June from my job because of the training season - and then things should level out. My amazing dh, on the otherhand, should be seeing overtime for awhile!

Let the Summer Begin!

Random Updates of Debt and Grocery Shopping

2008-05-25T09:13:00.003-05:00

Keeping up with the Plan

Extra Money
We've been very lucky to have the hours we both do right now - and we've been making the best of it. Our budget goes a month ahead meaning last month's income pays for this month's bills. We changed over to that style budget last year as a part of our BS1. Our hours fluctuate somewhat and I was never quite sure on how much to figure on. (Got off track a little - sorry) We have $940 extra in the budget due to the overtime that was worked which means that the Bank of America will be seeing a little extra money from me. Also means that Bank of America total due will drop under $10K.

Still love the Envelopes
My bank teller ladies are always so nice to me when I come in for my monthly CASH to stuff envelopes with. I always leave a nice little note explaining what and how many bills I need. We are entering Month 11 of our Total Money Makeover and I still get the same rush when I fill my monthly envelopes!

Mazda3
The story of the new car has been put on the back burner on a very low simmer. I'm happy the process came to a halt. I think my stress that week was 100% contributed to my two selves battling -- The Inner Brat and the Responsible Adult. Oh, when those two go at it -- LOOK OUT! The things you can rationalize in your mind when the inner brat is throwing a tantrum is amazing. No wonder so many people are in debt.

All Aboard
So many times when going through a process like this, it's hard to get the husband and wife on the same page of what has to happen. At first when we started this plan, I know my dh was just appeasing me. I have a habit of starting things and not finishing them - so he thought of it as one of my half baked ideas that will last a weekend and he didn't put a whole lot of thought into it.
Eleven months later - he's on board (at least until BS4) and even has the lingo down. I thought I would share a funny conversation we had while watching tv the other night:
There was a commercial on tv about this great new bra that Victoria Secret has out. I said, "Look, honey. Victoria Secret's got a fancy new bra! Do you want me to spend $60 on a pretty new bra?" "As long as you are using your share of the blow money because I don't want to spend my blow money for it!" LOL.

Grocery Store Guru Strikes Again
I don't know if the deals are just getting better lately or if I'm just getting back into the stock up mode - but I've been finding killer deals!

Last week, my pile of FREE things was almost as big as the pile I paid for.
This week, my grocery receipt said SAVINGS: $73.00 and my total out of pocket was only $35.00. I got $108 worth of stuff for only $35.00.

I took advantage of Friday's $5 off $20 at Walgreens and my little rebate card to help out with some deals there.

If you haven't been to HOT COUPON WORLD I strongly you diving into that site and take a poke around. They post deals, sales fliers ahead of time, and scenarios to save the most money. It's incredible!

Needless to say, I need another shelving unit - my stocking up is seriously getting nuts!!!

American Idol 2007....err I mean 2008!

2008-05-21T21:24:00.003-05:00

Randy Jackson checking out! I'll say it for the last time this season... RANDY JACKSON YOU ARE AN IDIOT!

Congrats to David Cook for winning American Idol Season Seven!
After all the criticism last night during the finale performances, I really though the vote would have fallen towards little David.

Now to see what the future has in store for Mr. Cook!
Got to save up some money for a great new album and hopefully a live show next summer!
Whoop! Whoop!

A fun stat I found on Rickey.org

American Idol vs. iTunes Top 20 Quickie:

#3. Billie Jean - David Cook
#7. Imagine - David Archuleta
#8. Always Be My Baby - David Cook
#10. Music of the Night - David Cook
#18. Eleanor Rigby - David Cook
#20. I’m Alive - David Cook
#21. Longer - David Archuleta
#23. Little Sparrow - David Cook
#24. Innocent - David Cook
#25. Hungry Like the Wolf - David Cook
#27. Think of Me - David Archuleta
#30. Angels - David Archuleta

Looks like David Cook fans have the money to support a music career ... they bought more MP3s at Itunes!

American Idol -- Looking to the Finale

2008-05-14T22:26:00.003-05:00

So who is suprised? ANYBODY?
I would imagine Syesha isn't even surprised by the outcome of tonight's announcement of who was in the finale.

The show of David vs David. We've known it for weeks now it was just a matter of going through the motions to get here. I haven't voted up until this point - but I will next week.

My random thoughts:

Randy Jackson has been an idiot this season. Paula is as Paula ever was, but Randy takes the cake for stupid contradictory comments this year. From his comments to Michael Johns about American Idol not being about dreams that it was about finding the best singer although every week someone is mentioning the word DREAMS!! Take THAT, Mr Jackson! Also, with DA singing an R&B hit and having Randy say -- "It's not who you are." Really? How do we know who DA is besides the show puppet of this father and American Idol? And ending with Randy's comments to DC after his performances this week too. Does he even have a clue? Is he worth really having an opinion on this show? Does he even make an impact? At least Paula is entertaining!

Who needs this more?
David Archuletta needs this more than David Cook does. I can see DA being the "Okay kid, stand here... move there... tilt your head this way....that way....." and ultimately, "Go Home kid, your 15 minutes of fame are up." What looked like the second coming of the Beatles in his homecoming video will be replaced by the next new thing because you know what ..... little girls, tweens and young teens change their flavor of the week VERY QUICKLY. God forbid DA turns into an awkward looking adult and not the cute smiley boy -- he's done. Finished. Kaput! We'll see him on WHERE IS HE NOW. David Cook on the other hand, I can see doing a Chris Daughtry. I see him lasting longer than a mere 15 minutes. How much lasting power does he have? I'm not sure because the music industry is (quoting Ben on Lost last week) "a fickle b*tch". That being said, I think his talent and uniqueness will serve him well.

What I'm looking forward to -- THIS SEASON BEING OVER. I really HATE the filler this show has...and even more than that I truly hate the group performances!

I do have to hand it to them, the Ford Focus commercials have been pretty fun this year!

Where did my money go?

2008-05-12T00:57:00.003-05:00

Government Money -- What did I do with it?

The decision has been made --

$1398.00 to Bank of America
$102 paid for 15 pounds of coffee (Zimbabwe Coffee from Z'Cuppa) and 100 vac seal bags from Sweet Pak Attack for coffee and all other bulk freezer purchases. Figured if they were going to raise prices on coffee, I'd better stock up! 15 pounds will last us over 6 months. Vac bags were something I needed and if I'm going to be freezing goodies - and coffee.

The Car Idea Revisted

2008-05-11T23:59:00.005-05:00

Okay, I'm crazy. Plain loco en la cabeza. We went looking at cars. Worse than that....new cars...worse than that... I FELL IN LOVE WITH A NEW CAR!

Here's the dream car -- 2008 Mazda 3 in Ice Blue Metallic.

Did I buy it right then and there?
NO!
Did I want to?
No, not really.
WHY?
Because I really want to pay off AT LEAST the one credit card with the 9.9 APR before I did anything of the sort. Figuring too, that they might drop the price a touch because by the time I'm ready the new 2009 will be out.

DH has been bugging to get me a car and to let my ds buy my Chevy Lumina from me. Of course, the ds has been bugging me to get a new car so he can take my Lumina off me DIRT CHEAP! I've loved my Lumina for the past 11 years. I've never really wanted a new car -- until I test drove that Mazda!

So many of the Dave Ramsey lessons are beating me upside the head right now -

Rich people don't buy NEW cars.
Do you NEED a car?
Loan on a depreciating item is just DUMB!

My game plan --- to kill that Bank of America card as fast as possible so I can get that damn car!

I know, I know!

OVERTIME!

2008-05-11T23:51:00.002-05:00

WENDY
It's time for training! The restaurant in a seasonal tourist town has one big training season and I just started it. Back to back training classes that I not only coordinate, but I also have my normal manager duties to do along with teaching classes and doing the testing. Some of this fun even overlaps! Long story short, May and June are the only months of the year that I see (and am allowed) OVERTIME! So far figuring 3.5 hours this week and probably 8 hours extra next week. Pretty nice considering I'm a 32-35 hour per week employee.

DH
I swear it's a good thing we don't bet what his schedules are going to be like. The talk changes so quickly around his place; I really don't think they have a full clue on what's going on. I guess it's the new owners getting used to the place. We had overtime - they took it away - and now they are giving it back - plus Sunday (with a new perk of DOUBLE TIME). Dh will be working 7 days a week. I don't know how long THAT will last before he blows a gasket - but he couldn't/wouldn't pass up the money. He's going to be a bear. I'll love the money, but this is going to be a tough one.

Never Hurts to Ask -- the story of the dead dryer

2008-05-11T23:39:00.002-05:00

Dryer on the Fritz
We ignored the warning signs. Our digital paneled dryer gave us the "error code E-2" a couple weekends ago -- but we got it to work and cancelled our Sears service call. "Yippee!" We said as we got another week out of it before it happened again. This time, even after taking the dryer apart to clean all the lint from the internal world of the dyer, it was pooped. Done! Nice timing...NOT! You know the service call guys. "Anywhere from noon to 5:00 pm." Yeah, that's reasonable! I decided to try a local guy instead. I thought he could get here faster and fix it cheaper. Welp, neither happened. It took him a couple days to return my calls and he came and looked at it and decided he couldn't fix it.

Of course, Wendy is on the internet and had a pretty good idea what was wrong - but no clue on how to fix it because I don't know a damn thing about electronics to test ohms and stuff. Obviously the local guy didn't either. LOL

Welp, it winds up that one of the neighbors works for Sears or so says the truck parked outside in his driveway. My dh, God love him, walked over there and asked the guy if he wanted to earn a little extra side money and help us figure out the dryer problem. The internet was right, our neighbor was right - the thermister blew. I had to order the part $30 and gave the neighbor $50 for his troubles and our dryer is up and running again.

Found out what Sears may have paid to fix the same thing. Winds up we saved quite a bit of moola right there. I guess it never hurts to ask for help. Nice to know we have someone close by who can help with our Kenmore appliances too!

Amazing Shopping Trip -- Coupon Collecting Pays off

2008-05-06T21:37:00.003-05:00

My best friend works at Jewel Foods and she called me with a deal I couldn't pass up!

Select General Mills Cereal and various GM products were on sale for 10 for $20. With your Jewel card it would go down to 10 for $10 as long as you bought 10. Her store imposed no limit so you know little Wendy got out all of the coupons she had either printed off the Internet or got it the newspaper. I did their little deal twice so 20 for $20 plus I had $10.45 in coupons.

2 boxes of Fruity Cheerios
2 boxes of Cinn Toast Crunch
2 boxes Nature Valley Granola Bars
6 boxes of Trix
4 boxes of Cheerios
1 box of Chocolate Chex
3 boxes of Lucky Charms

Total= 9.55 (forty eight cents a box!)

Next trip = Meijer
Since I signed up on their website I could print coupons on select Meijer brand items.
Some good deals to be had -- since you could print out as many coupons as you wanted.

10 bags of salty food snacks (cheetoes, pretzels, popcorn) ALL FREE after coupons!
Chocolate Baking Chips = .50 a bag
Frozen Potatoes or Veggies = .50 a bag
Graham Crackers (a good deal...can't recall what right now)

Needless to say, I had stocked up on some things and that will help in the long run!

American Idol - The Show of Davids

2008-04-30T08:17:00.002-05:00

I don't think I'm alone here in thinking that this show is over. It's just a matter of the winner will be an Archuleta or a Cook. But rest assured it will be a David winning this thing. It's just a matter of waiting the time to get to the finale. There are no more surprises left. Brooke and Syesha have been playing in the bottom three (and the bottom two for Syesha) for awhile now. They don't have the fan base. Dreads Castro has the fan base, and that's about all he has. If he cut his dreads off and went bald, I'll bet you the fan base would fall out so fast it would make his head spin.

I loved the faster paced show this week. Idol with music and less filler make me VERY happy! Now if we could just do half hour results show and leave out all the filler THERE I would be EXTREMELY happy!

David Cook, “All I Really Need Is You’
David Cook, “I’m Alive”

My dh doesn't agree with me, but I feel David is a lot like Daughtry. A smart powerful voice! At least THIS year they appreciate it more. Thank Mr. Daughtry for opening the doors to THAT!

Brooke White, “I’m a Believer”
Brooke White, “I Am I Said”

I'm a Believer was an embarrassment! I actually felt bad for her! Hey! I have the perfect career move for Brooke: GO WORK IN A PIANO BAR! They seem to really like you behind the piano best. Since you have no stage presence -- it probably isn't a bad idea.

David Archuleta, “Sweet Caroline”
David Archuleta, “America”

Two of my favorite ND songs! Although, I thought he butchered Sweet Caroline, America was AMAZING!! Record labels are going to eat this kid alive -- chew him up and spit him out after his fifteen minutes of fame are over. But he'll have a good run while it lasts.

Syesha Mercado, “Hello Again”
Syesha Mercado, “Thank the Lord for the Nighttime”

Loved the last song. It's too bad her fan base won't cover her. Jason Castro just has to show up and smile on screen and that will get more votes any performance she will ever do -- it's sad. She's actually very good.

Jason Castro, “Forever in Blue Jeans”
Jason Castro, “September Morn”

I didn't mind either of these two songs. I don't understand what the judges wanted from him. He's a laid back musician who will always give you a laid back performance. He is what he always was. I guess they thought they could mold him into something. Kudos to him for sticking with his style......but I stand by my previous comments of him.

Budget Plan for May

2008-04-29T13:44:00.006-05:00

Budget Snapshot courtesy of:

You Need A Budget "YNAB" Software

Budget for May
Why yes, it does look so similar to April. I'm not counting in the government rebate check into this yet. I haven't finalized plans for it. Ideas playing in my head keep changing a little bit. I would love to put it all towards my Bank of America debt, but reality is -- I really want to put some into our pantry stockpile and a little aside for Christmas too.

Also in May ... my hubby and my 17th Anniversary. Right around the corner, actually. We haven't made plans yet on what we are going to do to celebrate our anniversary, but the day before we are going to the Brewer's Game. (hence the blow money is a little inflated)

Car insurance went up, but the ds is paying the difference so that will be manageable.

I think the only thing that I can think of that poses problems is the grocery bit. Seriously, I've been comparing prices between 4 stores and it's truly a riddle I can't solve. Walmart is cheaper on some things - but not all. I really need to start writing a price book.

When Getting out of Debt Gets Boring.

2008-04-25T10:03:00.003-05:00

Now that we have only larger debts left - the pace has slowed down to mere creep. I'm a constant checker. Check to look at the balances. Check to look at the snowball. Check to look at the budget. Things don't change, but I'm constantly looking. I don't know what I'm expecting to have changed.

Don't worry, I'm not jumping ship - but I feel I need to spice this process up a little bit.
I feel bad for you guys too. A blog that was once filled with exciting Debt Fighting action is now just a monthly update of what got paid.

I usually go through a slump in March and I think it's hitting a little late (because of the loooong winter, probably)

What do you do to keep energized?

American Idol - Night on Broadway.. yippee

2008-04-23T10:45:00.004-05:00

Another boring theme night at the American Idol Corral. Ughh... well at least we know who's going home tonight. Try as the judges might, Jason Castro is a force to be reckoned with from the Itunes download totals I read. So I don't care what they tried to do ... Brooke is going home tonight.

David Cook, “Music of the Night” -- sounded wishy-washy in spots - but he was able to put the Cook feel to it in spots.
David Archuleta, “Think of Me” -- had it muted. How was it?
Syesha Mercado, “One Rock and Roll Too Many” -- cute. I agree this is her area and just in the nick of time. Saves her from the bottom three.
Carly Smithson, “Jesus Christ Superstar” -- in her comfort zone, but she's lost her appeal to me.
Jason Castro, “Memory” -- I actually liked it. Suprisingly.
Brooke White, “You Must Love Me” -- Grew bored of her weeks ago. 1 Trick pony.

My votes for the bottom three:
Carly
Jason
Brooke

My thoughts on going home: Easily Brooke (although Mr. Archuletta forgot the words early on and he was safe -- can anybody say DOUBLE STANDARDS)

Weekly Update

2008-04-20T12:16:00.004-05:00

What a Mess!
Day off on Monday! Thank goodness - I really got to get a handle on this clutter!
Paperwork strewn everywhere - a kitchen table I can't even see - my dresser top is loaded with stuff and the computer desk has (barely) a spot for my coffee mug! I have to make a grocery list and sort through my coupons, but my coupon pile has again because a cluster! How does it get this way?

Accountable without excuses
Since my "tag" recently, it's come out that I am a Motley Crue fan. Two sides of myself have now collided. I usually keep the different facets of my self separate but since they merged - they merged. The big announcement last week was for their upcoming tour. Now, any time Crue comes to town I want to see them. I try to talk myself out of it sometimes (as I did last week) - but deep down I have this passion that eats until I get tickets. Well, long story short - I got tickets. 3rd row center. I spent money for them. I spent cash for them. I'm holding myself accountable for it, but I won't make excuses for it. The inner brat won - and this time, I have no problem with it.

Gotta Do List for the Upcoming Week:

Organize my piles of clutter
Make a grocery list
Attack dust bunnies (there's a mutiny -- they are out to get me!)
Bake some desserts for dh's lunches
Organize coupons (again)
Work on 2nd page of blog that has been neglected!
Finalize May budget
Get Envelope Cash from the bank
Re-Organize sinking fund envelopes (stupid move of borrowing from envelopes- I need to pay them back now)
Meet with DS's guidance counselor about "after grad plans"
Write a Weekly Meal Menu.

Sharing a yummy, quick, cheap dessert recipe:

Key Lime Pie

1 sm box of Lime Gelatin Mix
2 regular sized Key Lime yogurt cups

(mix together)

1 small container of Cool Whip

(fold into mixed ingredients)

Graham Cracker Crust

(pour into crust - cover and refrigerate a half hour)

YUUMMMYYYY!
I'm going to try it with Strawberry gelatin and yogurt next!

100th Post Blabber Fest

2008-04-16T08:13:00.005-05:00

This is my 100th post on Debt Freedom Fighters
As I hit the NEW POST on my Blogger Control Panel today, I noticed that low and behold, I snuck up on my 100th post! Of course, a 100th post deserves great things like cake and balloons - however, I'm having morning coffee and the hair is in a funk and I have no make-up on so we'll just have to leave as "Oh Yeah! 100th Post! Whooo Hooo!" There I got that out of my system.

Who would have thought that Mariah Carey week would turn into Boys Night. Hats off to them. I was going to skip the show because I'm not a Mariah Carey fan and my opinion was it was a tactic to move the less talented girls forward another week. Again, I was wrong! This is becoming a habit that I'm not liking too much!

David Cook, “Always Be My Baby” -- Amazing. Thank you Simon for getting your head out of your butt this week! God, when this guy belts it I get goosebumps.
Jason Castro, “I Don’t Wanna Cry” -- It's Jason. Love him or you don't - he is who he is. At least he didn't have his "little guitar"
Carly Smithson, “Without You” -- Is she falling apart after her first trip to the bottom three or what? She's not near as vocally strong as she was early on. I think the eliminations are weighing heavily on her.
David Archuleta, “When You Believe” -- no comment.
Syesha Mercado, “Vanishing” -- good performance, I thought. But does she have the fan base?
Kristy Lee Cook, “Forever” -- After last week's Michael Johns elimination, I will never like another thing this girl does on this show. Her time was up weeks ago. At the start of the song she looked pained -- actually I thought she botched the words or something because her face contorted. LOL Alas, that was musical expression. Who knew?
Brooke White, “Hero” -- Hiding behind the piano again, Brooke? I don't know.... She's good but I don't see her selling a whole lot of albums.

My votes for the bottom three:
Carly, Brooke and Kristy

I'd be happy with any of them leaving....but particularly Kristy

It's just hair
If that was the truth why do women feel the need to spend so much money to look beautiful?
I spend my birthday money from my mom on a salon day. Cut, color, highlight and eyebrow wax. Exciting, huh? I wouldn't have done it without the birthday gift because I don't put that kind of money in an envelope for hair cuts. Truth be told, those little "natural highlights" as Shelley called them aren't being covered by box color for longer than a week. I'm not ready to start showing age yet.

Once I get camera batteries I'll start taking pictures - my camera has been dead since before Thanksgiving. UGHH!

The Big Announcement
Long and Short of the Motley Crue Major Announcement was that they are doing a Cruefest with the other bands on the music label that Nikki just got signed as President for. I don't want to see the other bands on the list - and I'm not much for the "fest" of these concert things. Turns into a long day of dealing with drunks. And if I'm not one of them -- I don't want to deal with them! LOL. Presales for the tour happened yesterday as I was out doing errands. It wasn't until 9:00 last night that I realized I even had a password for presales (without joining the Fan Club) from an email I'd received. At that point, the available seats were well away from the stage and I'm not interested in being anywhere but rows 1-4.

Good news is, the new album will be ready on time! JUNE!

Inner Brat
As you know, I still have the 2 debts left. This is the lowest debt I have had in quite some time, but still nothing to be proud of. It's dirty credit card debt.

My son (with his new driver's license) wants that car! Although, he has given up on my parental need to help fund this new adventure of his - he doesn't have a whole lot saved up. So what kind of car can you get? An old car with a whole lotta miles on it!

This is where my maternal inner brat kicks in. And unlike the child inner brat, I feel this one is worse because you almost feel justified. I started looking at used cars for me so I may be able to give him my old car while he saves up for a better car. My car has a lot of miles and I don't know how many miles she has left - but at least he wouldn't drain his savings to get her on the road. How about that for hair brained ideas?

I keep looking at that debt total and trying to figure out what I can do to eliminate it in like -- A WEEK! LOL

On the Workfront
Let the training begin! I am the coordinator of our training program. We do a major training blitz every spring to get the servers we need to contend with the summer tourist crowd. That means extra days and extra hours and even a touch of overtime which I don't see any other time of the year. Great! My paycheck soars up about $200 or more (bi weekly) I can't wait to see the extra money take down that damn credit card debt! It only lasts until mid June so I have to take advantage of it while it's here.

The dh's work is stable, but under new ownership who isn't quite sure how to get the ball to move in the right direction. There's a lot of side stepping, rethinking and hem-hawing going on over there. All that might lead to an end of his overtime. I'm hoping they rethink some more! LOL

Revolution Money Exchange
I just read that they've extended their free $25.00 offer to sign up until May 15th!
Interested in signing up - click the little box in the right panel. :)
THANKS!

Oh Man! Look at the time!
I have to get ready for work -- make that money!

Saving Money Online - My Favorite Stomping Grounds

2008-04-14T09:42:00.003-05:00

What do you do on the Internet?
I'm not one to play computer games although I do get my fix of pogo.com and NetWinner every once and awhile. What I really do online lately is hunt for new ways to save money and research things.

I've come across a few GREAT blogs lately that I have been traveling to daily. It's amazing these places exist and I wish they were around in the early 90's and I may be sitting in a different situation right now.

Money Saving Mom
The first of my latest fascination is Money Saving Mom. Have you ever said, "I wish I could find deals like that?" This blog is a detailed how to in finding those great deals and the grocery and drug stores! I hit up Walgreens using posted sales/coupons/rebate scenarios and walked out owing little (and getting money back in rebates!) I'm pretty good at finding deals, but having someone wrap them up in a pretty little package is SWEET!

More Than Enough
In the same fashion as Money Saving Mom, the next on the list is: More Than Enough . Again, the nice package with a pretty bow can help you find those money saving scenarios at Target, Walgreens, CVS and other stores. Also gives you tips on finding those great coupons that other savers are finding. Did you know you can call a company and ASK for coupons?

Hot Coupon World
This one isn't a blog, but a website. A lot of hard work goes into this message board as posties post about weekly sales and coupon scenarios, plus has an extensive coupon database. I joined Hot Coupon World a while ago, but didn't get into it until recently. I go there multiple times a week now.

I admit, I do spend a lot of time on the internet - but a lot of it is beneficial time spent.
(yup, I'm going to keep telling myself that)

Oh Man! I forgot about that!

2008-04-14T01:02:00.005-05:00

You know, I've been waiting for weeks for the weather to break. I've been so ready to pack away the ice scraper, snow shovels and my winter jacket. This winter has been brutal on my peace of mind, I'm telling you that! One thing I did forget about with this anticipation of spring .... THE CLEANING!

{{insert loud groan here}}

In assessing the job ahead of me, I noticed that the dust bunnies took advantage of a cold winter. They spent the time multiplying as bunnies do. My windows are atrocious and I'm afraid to empty out the fridge to clean the shelves. It goes without saying that the piles of paper that I have in multiple areas of the house will have to find new homes too (in which case, I will never be able to find them again)

I'd be perfectly happy to welcome in spring from the comfort of my hammock - but I have to attack these dust bunnies before they get me first! If you don't see me post for awhile.......... SEND HELP!

UPDATE: It's amazing what you can find on the internet! I found a website dedicated to HOUSE CLEANING! Amazing that people enjoy enough to build a website to help others along. It looks well laid out and extensive. FLYLADY.NET

Awaiting the 15th

2008-04-12T09:14:00.005-05:00

Wow! What a day Tuesday is going to be:

Revolution Money Exchange - Last Day for $25.00 Sign Up Bonus!
UPDATE: Offer extended until May 15th 2008!

Revolution Money Exchange has been the talk of the internet the last few weeks - popping up on blogs all over the place. As many Paypal users are complaining about their fees - Revolution Money Exchange has been getting an amazing amount of Buzz. Is it because they are offering $25 to sign up or is it because it's offering it's service for free?*

From Their Website:
FREE to register for an account
FREE to add money to your bank account
FREE to send money
FREE to receive money
FREE to request money
FREE to transfer money to your bank account

The only thing that looks different from Paypal is that you are required to have existing funds in your account to use the money. The reason I say this is because they have an Overdraft charge of $35.00. Paypal will use existing funds and sweep needed funds from your joined account.

The Taxman Cometh

There's always a certain amount of stress that day, even when I get a refund back every year.
I haven't filed my ds's return yet - but he gets all of his money back anyway. Next year I will be a little more worried, as the ds will be 17 and we will no longer be able to get that CHILD TAX CREDIT $1,000. I don't know, but I think as long as they are still in school we should be able to get the credit.

Major Announcement will make me OH SO HAPPY!

Ahh, well Vince can't keep a secret to save his life and Nikki has a "thing" for MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS and POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE. Vince already leaked that the Crue has penned a 3 album 3 tour deal although Nikki and the record company have denied it. Vince never lies, he just doesn't keep things under wraps very well. We will see on Tuesday.
My hopes? That I have enough time to save some blow money for KILLER SEATS!

Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

April Goals

2008-04-10T08:40:00.003-05:00

Where's the Desk?
My computer desk is cluttered with everything from internet coupons, my online survey log, my son's taxes that I haven't filed -- hmmm.... even the yellow pages (how long has this been here??)

Educate myself
I bought 3 books (used of course)

The Millionaire Next Door
Money Still Doesn't Grow On Trees
Mutual Funds for Dummies

I hope get into one before the month's end.

Get the Keyboard working:
I started work on my second page entitled: Debt Freedom Fighters BS2
My beginning story is posted, but I have a lot left to tell.

Organize May
Although the budget should stay reasonably the same month after month - I still have to tweek it.

Rebates
I sometimes have a horrible habit of NOT sending in my rebates on time. Probably because of task A on this list. LOL Don't forget to send out your Walgreens Easy Saver for April, Wendy!!

Revolution Money Exchange - Free $25.00 in 2 minutes?

2008-04-09T09:34:00.003-05:00

I've been around the internet for awhile. Paypal wasn't alone in the world of online payments - but they were the BEST and so others came and went and Paypal reigned as online payment of choice. It made Ebay flourish because payments could be immediate and you didn't have to wait for checks to pass through the pony express.

Now there is a new kid on the block: Revolution Money Exchange that wants to take on Paypal as the Online Payment Giant. Who am I to argue? I've seen this around on the web for awhile - and BUY.com was having people sign up to save money. Oh the referral credits they must have received!

Working the same way as Paypal, you have an adjoined account and you fund this online payment program through your checking account. Looks as if the fee schedule isn't as harsh as Paypal in some instances so read the terms carefully if you are looking to replace Paypal all together.

It has an affiliate promotion that anyone who signs up gets $25.00 - and the affiliate will receive $10.00. NOTE: Promo Period Ends April 15th!

It took me 2 minutes to sign up and I already have the $25.00 in my account. I've been reading about people transfering the money back into their checking account with no problem. Free $25.00! I wonder if Ebay will consider taking Revolution funds? LOL

Please comment if you have any experience with Revolution Money Exchange (good or bad)

American Idol - (not so) Inspriational

2008-04-09T08:57:00.005-05:00

What would that make me if I was uninspired by music that inspires others??

David Archuleta, “Angels” -- different sound for him. Nice- but I still want to know what genre HE belongs in HIMSELF.
David Cook, “Innocent” -- his head didn't look in the game. Not pompous as Simon said, but I don't think he was there. Didn't care for the song too much, but I still love his voice!
Jason Castro, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” -- Okay seriously! I'm beginning to wonder about my musical tastes if they thought this was anything but obnoxious! I couldn't wait for it to be over.
Brooke White, “You’ve Got a Friend” -- I liked it. We definitely know what kind of album she would put out there.
Michael Johns, “Dream On” -- Steven Tyler he is not, but yes Randy - American Idol IS about dreams! Idiot! He was an ass last night. Back to Michael Johns. He picked another powerful song to hopefully capture his Queen accolades. Just goes to prove the judges don't know what they want.
Kristy Lee Cook, “Anyway” -- Did a nice job. Did she get over the hump?
Syesha Mercado, “I Believe” -- Very nice song - I liked it better than when Fantasia sang it (but still liked Diana's version better)
Carly Smithson, “The Show Must Go On” -- Angry? I saw it during the chorus, but I do that when I sing too (and it's not a pretty picture vocally or visually! LOL) I think Simon is getting bored with her.

My votes for the Bottom Three:
Carly
Jason - not if the judges flowery spew swayed the votes
David - being honest although I think he is the star of this show -- that song didn't do it for him.

My vote for the one way ticket home:
It should be Jason - by everything good in this world it should be Jason HOWEVER
I think it may be
CARLY.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2008-04-07T00:03:00.003-05:00

YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S IF

You wore a rainbow shirt that was half-sleeves, and the rainbow went up one sleeve, across your chest, and down the other. (nope, never into the rainbow stuff)

You made baby chocolate cakes in your Easy Bake Oven and washed them down with snow cones from your Snoopy Snow Cone Machine. (asked for one for Christmas at least three times and never got one! Boo Hoo! My dh got me an ornament of it one year though! LOL)

You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked. (ahh yes, I played doctor a lot!)

You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it. (Yup! My 7th birthday present!! Don't forget the metal bell too!)

You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels

You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (Admit it!) (I was tv boy crazy!!! Every show had some hottie on it!)

You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.

You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.

You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie," not to mention the "Dorothy Hamil" because your Mom was sick of braiding your hair. People sometimes thought you were a boy. (ALL THE TIME!!!!)

Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession. (still have mine)

You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.

You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon. ( I got the generic version called Einstein. Same thing. Played it for hours!!!!)

You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits. (actually, I had the LP, not the dolls -- but my friend did!)

You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. The swing set tipped over at least once. (next door neighbors house -- we used to have jumping contests all the time!)

You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. (ahhh, yes!)

You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with the hard sole & the buckle! (check! white ones.)

You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson! (I had the box set of books!)

You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink. (isn't that what you DID at the roller rink?)

Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it "pretty" with the comb you kept in your back pocket. (yep, yep!)

You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie. (loved Blueberry Muffin!!)

You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic. (I don't think I had Muppets, but I do remember Scooby Doo)

You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend. (No arguements, I had Bo!)

You had Star Wars action figures, too! (Does GI Joe count??)

It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz" would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!

You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry. Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or Rick Springfield?" (oh the list didn't stop there!!)

You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record album. (Grease for sure!!! Did it get any hotter than John Travolta??)

You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom. (my specialty was yarn crocheted around hangers so your clothes didn't slip off)

You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts! (Ahh, yes. It wouldn't be a birthday without Shrinky Dinks!)

You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker. (Oh, without a doubt!!!)

You couldn't wait to get the free animal poster that came when you ordered books from the Weekly Reader book club. Double score if it was a teddy bear dressed in clothing.

You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books (Are you there God, It's me, Margaret.) (... and don't forget Wifey!)

You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics.

You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs. (ahh yes, Jr. High!)

You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer. (fer sure!)

You had a Big Wheel with a brake on the side, and a Sit-n-Spin. ( I had a Green Machine! Those were even more RAD!)

You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.

You spent all your allowance on smurfs and stickers for your sticker album! (never did the sticker thing....)

I've been Tagged! - 7 Random Things

2008-04-06T10:29:00.004-05:00

I've been tagged by FLORIDACHIC at Debt Smack to list 7 random and/or weird things about myself. Hmmm.... Okay - here goes.

1. I'm a Motley Crue fan since 1983. Yes, THAT Motley Crue -- followed by a Yes, REALLY!
I was able to meet the band in 2003 backstage at the Better Live than Dead tour. It was a mind blowing experience because you were allowed some time (albeit short) to talk to each of the band members, get autographs and took a picture with them. My "man" is Nikki (to the left of me in the picture) but Tommy (to my right) was so incredibly friendly. That whole experience is a story for another day.

2. Going along with #1 - in high school I was a rocker chick! It was the 80's and I was a mix of Joan Jett, Madonna and Glam Metal. Black makeup, big earrings, spiky mullet, even red leather jeans, studded belts and fingerless gloves! ROCK ON!

3. I've been to DisneyWorld twice in the last 10 years. I was like a kid in a candy store the first time. A state of AWE the whole first day. I'm a heavy planner so we had good time and caught a lot of the action!

4. I love hand cranked homemade pasta! My absolute favorite thing is homemade ravioli, but it's such a pan in the butt to make by hand I make it VERY rarely. My pasta machine was my grandmother's and doesn't have the capabilities of attachments (like a ravioli maker) like the new ones do.

5. I've worked in the restaurant business my WHOLE LIFE! Minus a few months working as a teacher's aide in a day care setting right out of high school. My parents owned different sorts of restaurants during my life. A Hot Dog Stand, A Diner similar to Mel's Diner if you remember that show, A Bar, A Sub Shopppe and an Italian restaurant. I worked at all of them except the bar. My dad passed away in 1994 and a year later my mom had to sell our last restaurant. I took a couple months off - and found the job I am working now... a restaurant.

6. My son is named after a comedian's skit that I heard in the 80's. About what a cool guy ____ was. He was everybody's friend and everyone wanted to hang around _____. Much more to the skit, but you get the idea. It stuck with me and I never needed to think of another name.

7. I don't remember meeting my husband for the first time. The story he tells is that he used to come order pizza from our restaurant all the time. I don't remember ever talking to him there. (nice first impression, huh??) I do remember seeing him outside of work and thinking, "My! My!!" though... but not at the restaurant. The story of him asking me out for the first time is a winner. There was a parade going through town and I couldn't get past it because the streets were blocked so I decided to stop at the restaurant for awhile to talk to my dad. He wasn't there, so I stopped in the bar next door to see if he was in there. I had no make-up, no hair done and I believe wearing sweats when this guy who I had crushed on before came up and asked me out. I was flabbergasted because I looked like the Wrath of God and he asked me out anyway. I found out after the fact that he had been crushing on me and that's why he ordered so many pizzas! LOL

I tag:
Kris at Simply Us
JW at Need to Be Debt Free
Jennifer at Finding Financial Peace

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog. Some random, some weird.
3. Tag up to 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Selling Stuff? How about your old books?

2008-04-05T22:49:00.003-05:00

Hmm... here's a strong alternative to selling on ebay. Cash4Books PAYS YOU for your books rather than YOU having to SELL your books on ebay or half.com! Not a bad idea. Definitely a better way to play in my opinion. Here's some basic info from the site:

Get Cash for your Used (or New) Books!
Just Follow These FOUR EASY STEPS:

Step 1. Enter the ISBN(s) from your book(s) into the Cash4Books form above. Type in ISBN(s) by pressing the Enter key after each one. Click 'price my books' to see our offer. If we are buying the book(s), they will be added to your Seller Cart.
Step 2. Go through Checkout and give us your contact information. Please thoroughly read our book condition requirements.
Step 3. Ship your book(s) to us. We pay the shipping. Specific instructions are provided after submitting your books to sell.
Step 4. Get Paid, FAST! For payment, we will mail you a check, or pay you via PayPal, within 3 business days after we receive and process your book(s).

If you have a blog or website they have an affiliate option that allows you to earn $4.00 for each new customer that your unique link brings in. The blog owner that I signed up under had already earned over $70. Get rid of some books and earn extra money too. NICE!

Now to go find all my books and dust them puppies off!

Amazing Shopping Trip

2008-04-05T20:55:00.003-05:00

First off .... this does not happen to me.
I get good deals at the stores from time to time, and to save 50% of my grocery bill is great. Today was just flipping INSANE!

I needed a prescription filled for Chelsie cat's eye drops. Meijer had a deal that if I got a new prescript filled they would give me a coupon for $25. off my next visit. Okay. Well first the bonus that Meijer's cost of the eye drops was $20. cheaper than Walgreens was the last time I filled it. Double bonus. Armed with this coupon (and others) here's my shopping trip.

2 cases of Pepsi products
3 bottles of ERA detergent
3 bottles Ecederin Tension Headache (24 counts)
1 bottle of salad dressing
1 can of Sheba for Chelsie's birthday
1 pork loin (3 meals)
2 eggplants
1 large tub of Ricotta Cheese
2 gallons of milk
2 2L of Sprite
1 bag hot dog buns
1 bag hamburger buns

After coupons total out of pocket -- UNDER FOUR DOLLARS!
I was floored! Completely and utterly! And mind you, I NEEDED the 'script anyway - and saved money on THAT to boot!

Of course, that savings gave us allowance to go out for a Birthday meal that I didn't think we would be able to afford. I went armed with my FREE birthday dinner from Houlihan's and my FREE ice cream from Coldstone Creamery saved us about $30.00. Good news -- I still didn't spend all the money that was in the envelope for this week's groceries! There's still some left!

How cool is THAT??!

American Idol -- Dollywood

2008-04-01T22:12:00.005-05:00

I like Dolly Parton. You have to give her a lot of respect for being in the industry as long as she has and being as successful as she's been! That being said, I really HATE Artist Theme Weeks! And every year the judges are the most critical as they don't enjoy it either. WHY must we do this! Nobody really stood out to me -- but I tell you what. I hope David Cook stood out enough to not get voted off tonight in a sea of "Ehhhh"

David Archuleta - "Appalachian Memories" -- This is one of those vocalists where everything on the album will sound the same.
Syesha Mercado - "I Will Always Love You" -- Ups and downs during the song - but I still had tears. I just knew Simon was going to tear her apart. Nobody could do Whitney.... oh except Mr Archuleta.
Carly Smithson - "Here You Come Again" -- Was what it was. She went through the motions. I agree with Simon. Yes, we know -- you are the one with the tattooed arm. We got it. Can you wear SOMETHING with sleeves already!??
Kristy Lee Cook - "Coat of Many Colors" -- One of my favorite Dolly songs! I liked what she did. Funny thing about her is she takes what works the week before and duplicates it and hopes it works again. Will America buy it?
Ramiele Malubay - "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" -- Can she PLEASE be in the bottom three this week? Enough with the "cutsie" votes already!
Michael Johns - "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right" -- Chills! Loved the ending!!
Jason Castro - "Travelin' Thru" -- Nice job, Hippy. I actually liked this one.
Brooke White - "Jolene" -- Perfect song for her! I liked this one too.
David Cook - "Little Sparrow" -- Glad the judges liked it because I wasn't sold. I still have chills from last week to carry me through though.

My votes for Bottom Three:
Ramiele (for the love of everything!!)
Shyesha (for not being able to be Whitney incarnate. So sorry, Simon.)
Carly Smithson (for her wardrobe inadequacies)

(in denial over here, I WILL NOT PUT HIM IN THE BOTTOM!)

Voted off: Ramiele

Happy April Fool's Day

2008-04-01T09:31:00.005-05:00

Our History of April Fool's Day
Well, 17 years ago today I found out I was pregnant! How about THAT!? We weren't married at the time and can't even think of what was going on in his head when I told him we were PG!
On April Fool's Day! That's okay, I didn't really want to know either!

Truth of the matter is ... 17 years later we are still together and things are good. Now that April Fool's Day miracle has his driver's license and is borrowing my car ... ALL THE TIME! Wish me luck -- this is when the fun part of teenage parenting starts!

Baby Step Two (the beginning)
I've been starting work on my second page Debt Freedom Fighters BS2 that shows our story from the beginning. Yesterday I spent time reviewing the archives of floppy disks and found some of our original budgets and that will tell it's own story. One was from 1995 and one was from 1996. If I had any other budgets saved before that, they would have been on 5.25 floppies (remember those!?!?) and I no longer have a drive for them -- and I think I cut up all those floppies before we moved into the new house. However, the budgets I do have paint the appropriate picture. Stay tuned.

I baked a PIE!
I don't do pies. Oh, well if it's pudding in a store bought graham cracker crust - that I can handle. Pies never really turn out for me. Burnt tops - raw bottoms etc. Well, yesterday I made a recipe I found sometime in my life (I spent Saturday going through clipped recipes and organizing what I should keep and junking those I didn't) called PERFECT APPLE PIE. I figured, if the recipe was "Perfect" the worst I could do with it was "Okay" The voting around the house gave me a "Very Damn Good" (which I believe is somewhere in between) so I'm happy. I can officially bake a pie.

The Countdown Begins
I wonder at what age I will stop caring about my birthday. I mean, seriously now!
I'm going to be 39 in SIX MORE DAYS! And things about my birthday that never change:

My mom calls me and sings the Happy Birthday song... "and manyyyyy more!"
My mom STILL bakes me an incredible chocolate fantasy cake of a recipe she hunts all year for!
My husband needs a list of what I want for my birthday. (at least he remembers the date!)
It's our eldest cat, Chelsie's given birthday too. We are figuring her to be 21. I got her in August 1989 and she wasn't a kitten then. She's amazing and is using every one of the 9 lives she was given. Bless that damn cat! We love her!

Walgreens - FREE INK REFILL 4/2/08

2008-03-30T09:40:00.003-05:00

Check your Sunday Paper
I heard rumor of it - and it's a darn good thing because my black ink is out and color is on it's way.

There is a coupon in today's paper that allows you to get a FREE Ink Refill at participating Walgreens on April 2nd ONLY! I did it last time they offered it and besides not being able to pick it up in an hour which was no big deal for me - it was a heck of a deal!

I lost out on printing coupons last week because I didn't realize the black ink was bone dry -- and you only have one chance at "bricks" coupons and you're done.

Gearing up for April

2008-03-27T22:11:00.010-05:00

April's Budget

Again, courtesy of my You Need a Budget (YNAB) software I present by April budget! (you'll see a pun here shortly)

Changes to the budget this month include a reduction in school lunches. Because of Spring Break, I had left over funds in the lunch account that can roll over until April.

We changed plans for our Budget Billing with the Master Plumbers to include our expensive MicroPowerguard furnace filters.

$6.00 for cell phone? Well, that's because I accidentally paid them twice this month. Oops! Forgot that I had just signed up for autopay. DUH!

Gifts will be a new addition from now on. I've been meaning to put in on here, but this month was a no-brainer because ... IT'LL BE MY 39th BIRTHDAY IN APRIL! Of course, part of that money will reimburse the checking account for by son's Easter present that I forgot to budget for March. OOPS!

The grocery stockpile is growing by leaps and bounds. I've had to rearrange the upper shelf in my closet to help store extra boxes of pasta and other staples that I was able to get a good deal on while I have the extra grocery money. I'll be dipped if we are going to have a flour shortage and I won't have pasta! I won't hear of it!
LOL.

Finding Money
The whole thing about this process is to find money in places you wouldn't be looking normally. Squeeze your budget til it screams - etc.

Today, I decided to try my luck and contact Bank of America to see if I could get a lower APR rate on my credit card. I half expected them to laugh at me because I haven't used the card .. it's just been a storage account for my transferred balance.

Long story short - they lowered my rate from 14.75% to 9.9% without any hassle at all.
That should save me about $300 in finance charges. (if my pay off date goes as planned) NICE!

What's with the UNDER CONSTRUCTION thing there, Wendy?
I thought I may do a BS2 in rewind. Not that what I've done is beyond spectacular, but I thought I would share my story and what I did back in July when I decided to do my TMMO. What I did to get me to where I am now which is halfway between here and there.

BZZZ Agent - BZZ of the Day
So from time to time, I get to try new products and let people know what I thought of them.
I got in the mail today my Glade Wisp Flameless Candle. I was excited to get this because I often light candles and leave them burning unsupervised - especially in the powder room. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson from my gel potpourri incident at the last house. Gel Potpourri burns quick and leaves dense smoke in case you didn't know. Anyway, this new Wisp Flameless Candle holder is much bigger than I was expecting. I was picturing a holder that would hold something similar to a votive. This is much bigger - looks very nice and is easy to turn on and off. Best yet, safe for use in my powder room (or anywhere else that I've left it unattended) It's available in an array of Glades fragrances including my favorite Rainshower! I've got those darn plug ins all over my house too!

Oh is my Mom going to be upset!

Her "secret" recipe for Spaghetti Pie was one of the meals on my Aldi Store Emealz menu list this week! The recipes are very darn similar! And because my mom will never get a computer, I don't mind sharing the recipe because it is sooooo yummy!!!

You can find here in one my previous posts: Spaghetti Pie

American Idol (after the fact)

2008-03-26T22:37:00.003-05:00

Not that anybody has been reading my Idol opinions but ...

I forgot to post what I thought about Tuesday night's performances. Not that I can really VOTE for who was in the bottom three ... but the fact that Ramielle hasn't been in the bottom three yet amazes me.

David Cook, “Billie Jean” -- I don't care whose version it was ... it blew my head off! Although it would be nice if he could have taken full credit for the amazing rendition. Here's Chris Cornell's version -- after listening to that I think David did an exceptional job!!!
Michael Johns, “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” -- amazing - not flawless, but amazing.
Syesha Mercado, “If I Was Your Woman” -- nice. I don't think I would have put her in the bottom three this week.
Carly Smithson, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” -- always loved the song so I didn't have a problem with it.
Ramiele Malubay, “Alone” -- No no No! I just don't get this girl's lasting power. Incredible.
Brooke White, “Every Breath You Take” -- I actually liked this one (and I'm admittedly not a fan of hers)
David Archuleta, “You’re the Voice” -- whatever. You know, I am getting sick of hearing the screaming girls every time this guys face hits the screen.
Chikezie, “If Only for One Night” - Nope, not tonight. There's just better than him here - although it's Kristy's choice of songs that knocked Chikezie out.
Jason Castro, “Fragile” -- thank God! Bottom Three. Wake Up Call! Drop the dime-bag and get with the program!
Kristy Lee Cook, “God Bless the U.S.A.” She sang it really well, and even if she hadn't done a great job - who could vote her out after singing THAT song! I knew it as soon as I heard what she was singing that there was NO WAY she'd be out.

I would have voted Ramiele, Chikeze and Jason in the bottom three ... and Ramiele out.
So I admit I was wrong with my choice.

Like I said, I don't think anyone cares about my opinions - but I felt bad not skipping a week since I started this.

Ramblings .....

2008-03-24T21:18:00.004-05:00

If I didn't care about debt anymore ...
This may be my car. $400 per month payments for a really classy ride with bells and whistles galore! I'd probably need to take a class in order to learn all of what the buttons and knobs did. I didn't check, but I bet the darn car would probably talk to me too! Ahhhh, if I didn't care about my debt at all -- I'd have a really sweet ride.

But the reality is that I DO care - and I DON'T want the $400 monthly payments. My 1997 Lumina has been one heck of a car for me and besides the fact that the air conditioning unit doesn't work anymore ... there isn't a reason to replace her. She has her blemishes, but then again -- so do I. It was fun, however, to build a car online and watching the numbers increase insanely with each gizmo and gadget that I added.

On the Work front
Welp, the storytellers are still keeping the latest script under wraps at my dh's job. We're not being fed contradictory stories this week, so I guess that's okay. It's funny though being and outsider and seeing how things work.

"Whoa! Guys! We are so busy! We can't keep up with all the orders. I can see overtime lasting for {insert long time frame here}." Yippee... overtime for {insert long time frame here}! This is great news! Then two weeks later you hear "Whoa! Guys! No overtime. In fact, we are going to cut some people's hours. If you want to take vacation time ... go ahead and use it now. We don't know when it will pick up." Really? What happened to ALL THOSE ORDERS and the overtime that was going to be lasting so long because we were OH SO BUSY? I learned to take it with a grain of salt but you begin to wonder if the business itself can be bi-polar instead of the bosses that run it. Currently, the overtime is there - and I'm going to milk it for all it's worth!!

Evaluations
On a scale of 1 - 5 what does the staff think of me? This is the question on the block the last two weeks as the staff got manager evaluations to fill out. What they tell me to my face - 5's. I'm aces! The favorite. Truth? Who knows. I don't think we'll even get to see them. It's for the owner and the GM to "review". Why? I dunno. What are the consequences? Probably nothing. Raises? Pshhh! Yeah! Right!!! I can dream, but since we got raises less than a year ago, I'd have to say NO.

De-cluttering
I was blog jumping again this week and I came across an interesting post on another "new to me" blog. This one was from DEBT SMACK and the post was about how those with vacation houses don't have the same clutter clogging it like our everyday houses do. They have the bare essentials that you need and somehow, it's always enough. My comment basically was that I am a sentimental pack-rat. I save things that have value, no value, or may have value someplace down the line. It was an interesting read - and although I would LOVE to simplify my life, I don't know if I could keep my house like a vacation house.

Oops
I put a little bit more to the Bank of America card than I should have this month. I forgot that although I transferred the money to the checkbook to pay for my annual home owners insurance that I forgot to write the check out for it. So THAT'S where all that extra money came from! Ahh well. A little less payment next month. Good thing the insurance isn't actually DUE until May 1st.

Candidates aren't the only ones who FLIP FLOP

2008-03-19T09:04:00.005-05:00

Contradictory News from the Workplace

Who knows whose story to believe or to believe ANY. My dh's workplace is under new ownership and what the story WAS ... isn't what the story IS. Problem is, nobody really knows what the story is... REALLY, because the storytellers aren't talking. An already short story shorter ..... I have a feeling it will effect our DEBT FREE date. Hopefully that's ALL it effects! I can live with that!

We're halfway between here and there (not counting the HELOC that were able to move into BS6) but it's a hard road for the second half of the journey. The only good news there is that our tax refunds and this little tax rebate will hit the Bank of America card before the rate goes up to 15.9. That will help. I'd transfer the balances to another card, but what's owed would have to be split amongst more than one card and the transfer fees aren't as gravy as they used to be. Like I said, hard road now. Time to get creative!

Grocery Shopping and Weekly Menu Update

2008-03-19T08:50:00.003-05:00

Let the stocking up begin! This week I had an extra perk in the grocery budget and I made the best of a good thing! Let's see what I got for FREE this week:

A pouch of cat treats
1/2 gallon of Dean's Ice Cream
2 bags of Steamfresh Corn
4 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats

I hit my Italian grocery for produce and prosciutto ham for my salad on Easter and Hungarian Sausage that was on sale. I then filled my cart at Aldi for a whole $69.00 and most of it was stock up for a later date! LOVE IT! DH finds comfort in an overflowing pantry as well!

No Corned Beef and Cabbage this week since we just had it, and not too adventurous in the meal planning department this week. I switched my Emealz from ANY STORE to the new choice of ALDI. The whole list - should I have needed everything was $62.00 for the 7 days of meals! I was impressed! Decent meal ideas - I'm saving it for next week, I think.

This Week's Meals:

Monday: French Toast Bake
Tuesday: Hungarian Sausage & Pierogies
Wednesday: Monterrey Spaghetti (with Chicken)
Thursday: Kielbasa Soup
Friday: Winging it - pantry pot luck!
Saturday: Italian Easter at my mom's! I can't wait!
Sunday: Boys on their own (I work at night)

American Idol Top 11

2008-03-19T08:26:00.002-05:00

Okay, was it the overkill of Beatles Night Part Two - because there was a lot of so-so performances last night. Little David redeemed himself and Brooke was one daisy chain away from Hippysville. I did enjoy David Cook, but I'm beginning to see that I'm become impartial - as I have him as my "favorite". The rest for me was "Blah, blah, blah!"

David Archuleta, “The Long and Winding Road” - Flawless, but I have to ask the Archuleta fans out there who are voting like mad for this kid -- What kind of album is he going to put out? It's the same thing I asked the Soul Patrol too. What genre does he belong to? He's a great singer - don't get me wrong but I just don't see where he fits in the whole scheme of the record business.
David Cook, “Daytripper” -- I couldn't disagree more with the judges. This guy is Daughtry reincarnate and they'd be wise to see that! Taylor Hicks vs Chris Daughtry -- should I go look up the numbers? Would I buy his album? YES!
Syesha Mercado, “Yesterday” -- Maybe it was me, but her voice sounded close to tears. Was that the point? The last few seconds I caught onto, but other than that -- it fell short in my eyes. I thought she looked fantastic though.
Brooke White, “Here Comes the Sun” -- Okay, she and Jason Castro should go run off and make hippie children together. She's not comfortable on the stage whatsoever UNLESS she's sitting down or hidden behind an instrument. She can record, but she won't be able to tour!
Ramiele Malubay, “I Should’ve Known Better” -- This was a mess. Cute kid, but not good.
Jason Castro, “Michelle” -- His face "sold the perfomance" are you kidding me? How did that happen? He's having fun -- so I'll leave him alone. I must be getting used to him, because I don't even consider him in my bottom three, but he's close!
Carly Smithson, “Blackbird” - Solid. She must have had fun for St. Pat's Day because I noticed a LOT more Irish accent to her speaking voice this week.
Michael Johns, “A Day in the Life” -- I'm starting to agree with the judges. I enjoy this guy, but he's starting to run in the middle of the pack considering I thought he was going to be walking away with this thing.
Amanda Overmyer, “Back in the USSR” -- had it's moments of greatness and it's moments of weakness. I disagree with the judges in their selecting her next song as a ballad because the last time they talked her out of singing her way -- they hated it and she was almost eliminated. Paula, for pete's sake -- Shut up!
Chikezie, “I’ve Just Seen a Face” -- Moments of train wreck and moments of Taylor Hicks - I'll pass... No thanks! Every other week theory in play again.
Kristy Lee Cook, “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” -- you know, I'm still singing that song today - I didn't mind it as much I figured I would. But it's inevitable. Her name is stamped on the stage for the Bottom Three.

My Bottom Three:
Chikezie
Ramielle
Syesha (although I believe Kristy will be sitting here)

Blog Jumping Leads Me To: Finance Gets Personal

2008-03-18T10:31:00.004-05:00

I was doing some blog hopping thing this morning and I found a blog with a lot of good information. This post in particular I wanted to share because, frankly it's worth the read.

From "Finance Gets Personal": Snowflaking: 100 Ways to Come Up with More Money for your Debt Snowball

Recipe Request for Chicken Picatta

2008-03-14T03:08:00.006-05:00

The recipe from E-Mealz may be copyrighted so I don't want to infinge on them -- and this one is more like what I make myself (just too lazy to type it out - or rely on my memory) I'm really bad at writing down how I make something and usually go by tasts and the "add a little of this and a little more of that" rather than measure anything unless I'm running directly from a recipe. I take after my Italian grandma, I guess.

Chicken Picatta from the RecipeZaar -- I'm not real fond of bitter tasting capers so I usually leave them off and instead will do something like mushrooms.

American Idol Top 12

2008-03-12T08:10:00.002-05:00

So was this an ironic day on American Idol. Both boys who have been rumored to already have people writing songs for them for AFTER their stint on Idol did poorly last night. A little bit of reality set in?

1. David Cook, “Eleanor Rigby”: This was great! I was wondering where he was going for a little bit in the beginning, but by the end I had a full idea! Nice to see that he was genuinely thrilled with his performance rather than sitting cool.
2. Brooke White, “Let It Be”: Again, same sound as she's always had. Is she going to be 2008's Carrie Underwood? No stage presence just a pretty face with a very nice voice!
3. Carly Smithson, “Come Together”: Very strong voice! But often plays second fiddle to SOMEBODY!
4. Jason Castro, “If I Fell”: The faces he was making while singing were cracking me up. Again, the hippy will pass another day.
5. Michael Johns, “Across the Universe”: I was hoping for more from him. He's got a solid voice, but after watching some of the performances tonight, he kind of fell short.
6. Amanda Overmyer, “Can’t Do That”: Well, she was all smiles tonight. Makes me wonder MORE of what was eating her last week! Did a nice job.
7. David Archuleta, “We Can Work It Out”: As Simon said after David Cook, "If this was a singing competition instead of a popularity contest you would probably win" Well, here's the thing: Despite him forgetting the words and really floundering with this song, I doubt Lil David will be in the bottom 3 -- EVEN THOUGH it is a FATAL FLAW most of the time.
8. Chikezie, “She’s a Woman”: My favorite performance of the night. Man, he gets into his songs sometimes, doesn't he!? Just amazing energy and full of life on stage!
9. Ramiele Malubay, “In My Life”: So many better than her -- especially after Chikezie. She couldn't hold a candle.
10. Syesha Mercado, “Got To Get You Into My Life”: She's cute. I think she's counting on her acting background and her presence to keep her in. Sooner or later that won't be enough.
11. Kristy Lee Cook, “Eight Days a Week”: Of course, that will be the only song I wind up singing today. Damn her! I hated it. She's trying to hard for something and if it's to please Simon who changes what he wants day to day.... you can just forget about it and hang it up. Which is what I think will happen tonight.
12. David Hernandez, “I Saw Her Standing There”: Are you kidding? This was terrible! How could you DO that, David!

My vote for the bottom 3:
David Hernandez
Kristy Lee Cook
Ramielle Malubay

Who's going home:
Kristy Lee

Who would go home based only on THIS performance and IF this was truly a SINGING competition:
David Archuleta

E-Mealz now offers Vegatarian!

2008-03-11T21:12:00.003-05:00

Veggie-Mealz

I guess you can call me a cave woman -- I gotta have my meat, however this may interest some people out there. E-mealz is introducing something new:

"E-Mealz just got greener! We are introducing this “Veggie-Mealz” plan as a family-friendly dinner menu plan to feed 4 to 6. “Veggie-Mealz” is not for every version of vegetarian diets, but for the broad appeal of a vegetarian diet that allows for eggs and dairy (lacto-ovo). There is enough flexibility in the plan to be of organizational use to anyone on a vegetarian diet. You can easily make adjustments to the meal plan and grocery list to suit your specifications."

$10 E- Certificate to Woman Within

2008-03-11T07:50:00.004-05:00

$10 E-Certificate Offer
Woman Within's Refer a Friend Program is back just in time for spring!
If you are new to Woman Within (plus sizes fashions) and would like a free $10 to put towards your purchase (combine it with coupons, I believe!)

Email me! We both will earn $10. It's time for a spring wardrobe for work!

sbchat101 --- at --- yahoo.com

End of Week Update

2008-03-09T12:28:00.004-05:00

A little extra goes a long way
As stated in an earlier post, I was given a bit more buck for the bang on the grocery budget.
Still keeping my weekly 3 store run for deals, I have been able to restock the pantry, spice cabinet and the empty freezer is getting full! (should have defrosted the freezer while it was empty -- but will a freezer defrost while it's in a garage in the Midwest in winter??)

Important Stockpile Information
I've been watching for "the sale" on pasta that my Italian grocery gets every once and awhile. That's when I typically stock up on pasta to last me for ... quite awhile. Well, I haven't seen a sale on pasta in quite awhile, however what I HAVE seen is the prices going UP!

I guess this little "Grain Shortage" they have been touting lately may actually be true. Because of this, I bought 6 boxes of Aldi Penne Rigate and 3 bags of flour. Take notice in your area if this is one of your staples and stock up so you have what you need.

Small Battles in a Large War
My Citibank statement came in - and although I had noticed the total due and even posted it here - it finally hit me at the small victory that had happened that I hadn't really noticed before. First I have to tell you a little story about my Citibank card.

Back in the good old days when balance transfers were free and the percentage rates were super low FOR LIFE, I decided to throw quite a bit of debt onto this Citibank card. I call it my storage card. "I'll pay for it when I can" because the payments were low and the finance charges were either 0% one balance transfer and 1.99% on the other - there was no urgency. And there wasn't. I've been paying the mins on that card forever!

I started at $17,000 of transferred STUPID debt from other credit cards that were used as my life support because I was living without a plan.

The small victory? It's under $10k!

E-mealz
My friend sent me an email asking what was on my list this week. For those who haven't heard about E-Mealz there are quite a few posts about it on my blog. It's a nice and easy list of meals with recipes and a grocery list. Saves time and money by having a plan BEFORE you walk into the grocery store! I'm on the Any-Store plan and I've been mix and matching meals from previous weeks. (I'm always a rebel) here's a snippet of what's on my Meal List this week from E-Mealz :

Chicken Piccatta (I love lemon!)
Pepper Steak
Baked French Toast (different than my recipe!)
Black Bean & Smoked Sausage Soup

I'm getting into making a soup every week. The boys didn't care for my Greek Lemon Chicken & Rice last week. "Too much lemon!" Ahh, well. MORE FOR ME!

Working at a restaurant has it's perks!

2008-03-08T17:12:00.006-06:00

Holy Ricotta Cheese, Batman!
The owner of the restaurant and I were chatting yesterday and he asked me if I liked Ricotta Cheese. Well, let's see -- An Italian girl living in Wisconsin -- OF COURSE I LIKE RICOTTA CHEESE! What do you make when he says he's going to give you some? Typical lasagna or stuffed shells, most likely. What do you do if he gives you a 5 pound tub of homemade Ricotta cheese? You get creative REALLY FAST!

Not for the faint of heart or the high of cholesterol!
So besides a lasagna made with the BEST Italian sausage from the Italian grocery I go to - and now this homemade ricotta cheese what else do you do with FIVE POUNDS of it?

Here we go!

Ricotta Cheese Cake (I made it with marble cake mix)

Sicilian Cheesecake (I am following the suggestion to omit the cinnamon/salt/orange and will add amaretto instead!)

I'll pack some of this stuff for the freezer as there is NO WAY I'll be able to eat this much this week. Just alone up top here.... 4 pounds of ricotta and 12 eggs!

If my mom wasn't making a Calzone Pie for Easter, I would have made one of those too. (That's another 3 pound ricotta cheese meal! LOL)

American Idol: Girls Night Top 8

2008-03-05T22:03:00.002-06:00

Is it me? I just can't get into the girls this season. I'm just kind of like -- EHHH.
Nothing really blew me away. Suprisingly because LOVE Joan Jett and Pat Benatar and both singers were represented tonight. One awefully - and Amanda just didn't seem like she was particularly thrilled to do the song. Perhaps she was "forced" to perform that song over her own choice? Who knows. Who stays? Who goes? Did Simon push the wrong ones out the door? I don't care what anyone says -- he has HEAVY influence on the voters.

Syesha Mercado, “Saving All My Love For You” -- okay.
Brooke White, “Love Is a Battlefield” -- UGHH! I know I didn't like it. I LOVE Pat Benatar and this was painful - however if she was going for different she wins.
Ramiele Malubay, “Against All Odds” - okay.
Carly Smithson, “I Drove All Night” - She's good. No question.
Asia’h Epperson, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” --seems like the background singers helped her a lot!
Amanda Overmeyer, “I Hate Myself for Loving You” -- Thank God she did this song instead of I love Rock and Roll. I cringed with I heard she was (or anyone was) doing Joan Jett. I liked it.
Kristy Lee Cook, “Faithfully” I liked this too. Country twang not something Steve Perry would do, but it was good.
Kady Malloy, “Who Wants To Live Forever?” Can't catch a break can this girl?

*My* Votes for the Train Ticket Home:
Kady and Brooke

Who I think they will send home:
Kady and Kristy

American Idol -- 8 Men Standing

2008-03-05T08:26:00.003-06:00

I am the 80's -- my whole teenage scene was 100% the 80's. Was excited to see the 80's -- but the guys didn't seem to pick the best featured songs of the 80's. The David Hernandez song was great, but bugged me because it wasn't popular in the 80's -- it was popular in the 90's. It was a remake from a one album commercial flop by a band called Original Sin. So I guess that's why it was a valid song choice - on a technicality. Still a good vocal. I've got to give him credit.

Foreshadowing:
I hope that none of the girls do HEART again! Loved Heart, had enough of with this group of gals already.

Amanda will do Bonnie Tyler, "Making Love out of Nothing at All" or "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (my opinion for a song choice for her- soley NOT a spoiler)

Best of the Night:
David Cook, “Hello” --I hated this song in the 80's. David's version was stellar! LOVED IT! (guitar could have been left out)
Michael Johns, “Don’t You Forget About Me” -- I'm sorry -- I just like this guy!
David Hernandez, “It’s All Coming Back Me to Now” -- blew me away!! HOWEVER as far as I can remember it didn't get fame until 96 when it was recorded by Celine and again in 2006 by Meatloaf.
David Archuleta, “Another Day in Paradise” -- Good as always. Ehhh...

Just Alright, Dawg:
Chikezie, “All the Woman I Need” -- He's on one week, he's off another week. This was his off week.
Danny Noriega, “Tainted Love” -- Liked how he made it current, love HIM and his personality. Not sure if it was strong enough to keep him around.

Sorry - Not Getting it.
Luke Menard, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” To me, this is the last of the dead weight. Once he's gone - the big dogs can play!
Jason Castro, “Hallelujah” - Didn't get why the rave reviews. Pushing for votes for someone else to get voted out is my guess. Of course, I never heard the song before so what do I know.

MY votes for going home:
Luke Menard (finally) & Chikezie

Who I think they will send home:
Luke & (gulp) Danny :(

Organizing - Part Two

2008-03-02T10:22:00.003-06:00

A Quick Story of Cause & Effect
My last post said I was heading shopping with more coupons than I had been because of finally spending the time to organize my coupons. I wound up with coupons and sales saving a little over 50% of my grocery bill! I haven't done that in a while!!!

Raising the bar
My dh decided to give up a little of his blow money so we can restock our freezer and just get more groceries in general. (More junk food in general would be the correct term, but who am I to argue with getting a bump in my grocery fund) I'm not so stretched and it feels good. Of course, now with the coupons in line - you watch I will find it easier to stay within the original dollar amount. LOL

A Story about Potatoes
On my home away from here http://www.llnoe.com/ , there was a question posed about potato recipes from Kris - the fact is we can pick up 5 to 10 pounds of potatoes pretty cheap. What do you do with all of the potatoes? What are your potato recipes? Here's a link to our running conversation about spuds (if you are working to get out of debt - via Dave Ramsey's plan, you'll want to register for this site anyway!)

Spent a little time organizing today ...etc.

2008-03-01T14:18:00.004-06:00

"Hello. My name is Wendy and I'm a pack-rat."
I just spent a good couple of hours purging expired coupon inserts - some dating back as far as September! My store used to take expired coupons and that's why I saved them. I used to be better about organizing though. Every month had their own huge manila envelope so I knew where to begin the hunt for a certain coupon. But alas... I hit a rut and just started throwing them all together -- well not even THAT good. Some were in the car, some were on the table, some were in the trunk with my ALDI box, and some were on the computer table.

Now everything is back together - by month, in envelopes and my recycle bin is FULL of outdated coupons! Whew!

How do I do my coupons?
I cut and paste the coupon database from http://www.couponmom.com/ into a spreadsheet. I can then do a sort for the coupon I need by brand name and I knew what date the insert is in. Typically a flawless idea - unless I used to coupon already -- or the coupon is expired.

Heading to the store --
I hate shopping on Saturdays - however, there are some great ONE DAY ONLY sales today... and now that I have my coupons organized I'll be going with about 20 of them instead of 1 or NONE like I have been doing lately.

Printing --
I printed more envelopes for me to use too. Long and shorts. I use the longs and write my grocery lists on them and store my coupons in there too.

** I heard a rumor that April 1st will be another FREE INK REFILL day at Walgreens. I took advantage of this last time they offered it. You had to wait for a couple of days for it (no one hour) but for free? I can wait.

Back to organizing --
If you could only see my kitchen table -- aka JUNK DRAWER and my computer desk! I guess I can brag because I organized one area... but I've got a LONG way to go!!!

March Budget

2008-02-29T08:30:00.005-06:00

Snapshot of my budget with YNAB program

We made a couple of adjustments - mainly with the food budget for a little while. DH has decided to give up brunt of what was his blow money for the grocery budget. He's "getting it" now, I think.

Included also are allowances for an oil change and a hair cut for dh too.

Extra snowball money will be added to the Bank of America card. *notice all the empty spaces in the debt category?? ALL PAID OFF!!*

American Idol - Top 10 Girls

2008-02-28T08:08:00.003-06:00

I don't know if it's because I was not feeling so well, but I was pretty bored with the whole show. While nobody really stood out for me, I didn't have any strong dislikes either. The truth of the matter ... I wouldn't buy any of these girl's albums at this point. Second truth be told -- the only AI female that I truly supported and bought her album was Kelly Clarkson!

Asia’h Epperson, “All by Myself” -- She's sick? I thought she was going to cry early on, but she pretty well smoked it in the end.
Brooke White, “You’re So Vain” -- Why does it seem like they are pushing this girl along? It wasn't BAD - but she wasn't mind blowing either.
Ramiele Malubay, “Don’t Leave Me This Way” -- adorable.
Carly Smithson, “Crazy on You” -- okay, this rocked. I still don't like her screaming face though. She looks like she's in pain.
Alexandrea Lushington, “If You Leave Me Now” -- I guess last week was a fluke. She was all over the place tonight. And then to make a comment that "I'm the underdog here." Awwee!
Kristy Lee Cook, “You’re No Good” -- Actually liked this best of the night I think. Not saying a whole lot though -- but between her and Carly as my faves of the evening.
Syesha Mercado, “Me and Mr. Jones” -- Didn't make my head snap like last week, but I'm still a fan.
Alaina Whitaker, “Hopelessly Devoted You” I loved Grease! One of my favorite movies -- but I always DREADED this part of the movie as I CANNOT stand this song!!! Her intro blew my mind because my ds is just like her -- down to the fresh fork thing! LOL
Kady Malloy, “Magic Man” -- If I close my eyes I like her. Her voice is nice -- I just can't get past the looks she gives. She just looks like she would be a diva (not in a good way)
Amanda Overmeyer, “Carry On My Wayward Son” -- I'm over her. This was just wrong. Tell her to change it up ... she changes it up a little bit ... and we beg her to go back. She's not really a good singer unless she's doing her Grace Slick/Janis Joplin voice. She can rock it .. no doubt about it -- but she can do that in a small club somewhere. She'd get to the chorus and I was tilting my head back and forth like it was a Barney tune.

Who I think will leave:
Amanda and Alexandrea

Our Weekly Menu

2008-02-27T07:44:00.003-06:00

Well, with everyone in the house with a queazy stomach or worse - I have been saving a fortune in food costs and energy cooking dinner! Want to bet even without eating that I am the only one in this family that WON'T lose weight! LOL

Monday: BRAT DIET (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)
Tuesday: BRAT DIET (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)
Wednesday: BRAT DIET (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)
Thursday: Game Plan is Pan Fried Ravioli (but we'll see who feels like eating)
Friday: Corned Beef and Cabbage ?? (have a feeling we might push this off til next week too)
Saturday: Greek Lemon Chicken Soup with homemade bread
Sunday: Boys on their own for dinner

I didn't post my menu for the last few weeks. Sorry about that. A lot of duplicates from thngs I have made before exccept I did try one of my new E-Mealz recipes from my last week menu list. I have never EVER tried a Tater Tot Casserole before. Just doesn't sound right to me... I dunno. Well I tried their recipe of putting tater tots in a 13x9 baking dish mixing cooked and crumbled ground beef with cream of mushroom soup and an envelope of taco seasoning together and pouring on top of the tater tots and covering with taco cheese and baking. (I made a double batch -- cooked for about an hour) and it tasted REALLY GOOD!

Here's a few meals off of my E-Mealz menu that I got this week.
I have the ANY STORE option.
(I just have to wait to get everyone WELL before I start this.)

Chinese Pot Roast (sounds good - doesn't it?)
Chicken & Cranberry Pan Sauce (oooo I can't wait to try this one!!)
Salsa Sirloin Salad
Ham & Cheese Crescent Roll Ups

I'll keep you updated on how more of these recipes turn out.

American Idol - Top 10 Guys

2008-02-27T07:32:00.002-06:00

Who I liked:
David Archuleta, “Imagine” -- he is so joyful and humble! I love him.
David Cook, “All Right Now” -- awesome job. Learn when to keep your mouth shut, boy! His cockiness will be his demise.
David Hernandez, “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” --hated him last week..loved him this week!
Chikezie, “I Believe” -- He was totally into what he was singing tonight!
Michael Johns, “Go Your Own Way” - Believable and consistent.
Danny Noriega, “Superstar” -- I just love this kid's presence here! He's FUN!

Who I didn't like:
Jason Castro, “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” -- Was that intro a cry for "Lemme outa here!!!" or what? Singing is his thing...stardom isn't.
Jason Yeager, “Long Train Running” -- Shouldn't have made it past last week.
Luke Menard, “Killer Queen” -- I love Queen and although this was a wimped out version of Queen... All Hail Freddy Mercury! LOL
Robbie Carrico, “Hot Blooded” -- Rocker? Anybody who has to talk someone into believing they ARE something....ISN'T something. If you ARE -- everyone will know it! Put Robbie next to David Cook and you can see who the ROCKER is.

My vote for going home:
Jason & Jason

Flu Bug Times Two

2008-02-25T13:12:00.002-06:00

Welp, whadda ya know.
Murphy - the (Irish?) Flu Bug has come to visit the family.
Both DS and DH are home with Influenza A.
Marvelous.
There were able to prescribe Tamiflu for the ds because he's only had it a couple of days. The dh just has to suffer through it.

I did find a lesson in this though. My budget has a "Medical" line on it - I fund it with an office visit, a non-generic prescrip, $25 for dental and $50 for the vet.
I pay it whether I need it or not. Came in handy today with a $40 co-pay for the Urgent Care and $55.00 worth of prescriptions. I pulled out my medical envelope and shelled it out without concern.

What a nice feeling.....that is until I start getting the symptoms.

American Idol - Top 12 Girls - Updated

2008-02-21T08:34:00.007-06:00

A few suprises for me tonight as I watched Idol.
I worked late so I missed a few - but the recaps helped.
But I'll be honest - I like male vocalists better anyway..
so I disagree with the Dawg. The guys smoked it!

Who I missed, and recaps weren't enough for me
Brooke White, “Happy Together” - perfect song for her. Woah...did you catch the makeup? I'll bet she was unfortable. Even if she did win this thing. The LA mongers would eat the poor girl up.
Kristy Lee Cook, “Rescue Me” They said she was sick. Really sick? Well, she did pretty good for being sick - but I didn't get enough even through entertainment week to have an overall opinion of her.

My Personal Faves of the Night
First let me start my saying that my original favorites walking into this are NOT in my faves of the night! I was suprised by how blown away I was with these girls!

Ramiele Malubay, “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” - adorable. I would never have guessed that voice would come from her. Aside from the fact that she reminds me of Jasmine Trias -- she is an amazing vocalist.
Alexandrea Lushington, “Spinning Wheel” -- Holy cow! Who is THIS girl!? {{clap clap}}
Syesha Mercado, “Tobacco Road” - Phil Stacey did this song last year and I loved it. I love this girl! She's amazing. Plus I love the song!
Joanne Borgella, “I Say a Little Prayer” -- She has a different type of vocal, but I really enjoy her voice.

Those I liked -- Okay:
Kady Malloy, “Groovy Kind of Love” - Yikes. Don't turn your back on this one. She's down right spooky! Had a great voice, I thought - but the emotions on her face while receiving criticism was scary. If we were in high school together, I would have taken a different hallway than she was on. YIKES (two times)
Amanda Overmeyer, “Baby, Please Don’t Go” Another one of my original favorites. Perfect song for her, but I guess I'm growing wary of her. She reminds me of Dilana from Rockstar: Supernova. There were just better girls tonight.
Asia’h Epperson, “Piece of My Heart” Another of my early favorites. Maybe just playing the "not as good as game", but there were others better. And Nikki McKibbon did such a job on that song they should have retired it from the American Idol database. (wink)
Alaina Whitaker, “I Love You More Today Than Yesterday” She cute. She reminds me of someone I can't put a finger on. Who is this girl?? Vocals okay - cute as all get up!

Those I could have done without:
Carly Smithson, “The Shadow of Your Smile” My other favorite. I couldn't believe how bad it was. What's with all the yelling? Are you proving that you can sing the high notes? That many times? "Yup, thanks Carly, got it. Again? Okay, Carly...seriously. We got it." I couldn't beleive that Randy and Paula were singing praises. I was wondering if it was just me out of my rocker -- but then Simon shed some new light. His light I agreed with.
Amy Davis, “Where the Boys Are” Creature of no air time. Who is she? I don't know. Here or not...matters not to me. Unlike a few others that were sick, this one was NOTICABLY sick. Poor thing. They just never hyped this girl enough. Perhaps she should have a YES in her name?

My Choice for the plane ticket home:
Kady Malloy, “Groovy Kind of Love”
Amy Davis, “Where the Boys Are”

Voted Off:
Amy Davis, “Where the Boys Are” - had a feeling
Joanne Borgella, “I Say a Little Prayer - Definately didn't see THAT coming!

Wendy's new score: 1/4

American Idol - Top 12 Men - Updated

2008-02-20T04:49:00.007-06:00

What does this have to do with debt reduction? Chalk it up as cheap entertainment, I guess!

I said that I was NOT going to watch another season of American Idol. I said it when Constantine got voted out years ago. I said it again when Chris Daughtry got voted out. I said it again after a lack luster Season 6. But here I am -- watching again. Upset that Josiah didn't make it to the top 24 because I just loved that kid, but moving onward.

Our Top 12 Men sang last night. Some I got - some I didn't. Some blew me away - and some....well they just blew!

Talk about confusion - has anybody realized that there are 3 Davids & 2 Jasons this year!?

Here's my thoughts on the performances last night.

My Personal Faves of the Night:
Michael Johns, “Light My Fire” -- love him since Day 1. I did say this though. Chris Daughtry was hands down - the walk away winner of Season 5 - however he got voted off. Although this guy seems to be the Season's fave male doesn't mean ANYTHING in the world of American Idol.
Danny Noriega, “Jailhouse Rock” -- this is where I hate Simon. He tried shooting this kid apart and discrediting him. This kid has a bunch of personality, and unlike Sanjaya from last year - he's got vocals to back him up. I totally disagreed with Simon because I wasn't expecting this performance from Danny and I was blown away!
David Cook, “Happy Together” -- as always - seems overly confident but good vocals. Is it me or does he look like he's in pain when he's singing?
David Archuleta, “Shop Around” -- could this kid be any more HAPPY! I was giggly for him!
Jason Castro, “Daydream” -- Trippin' Dude! Another one with good vocals that I really knew nothing about going into tonight. But I can totally see him sitting in the back of a VW van at a Grateful Dead concert banging on a hand drum (family friendly blog -- but you know where I was going)

Those I liked -- "okay"
Garrett Haley, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” -- who's this guy except someone I would have had a crush on if it was still the 80's? Good vocals though I agreed with Paula, I was expecting him to start it off slow and then belt it. Sorry -- you got the hair -- I'm expecting a Rebel Yell!
Robbie Carrico, “One” -- Wasn't sure what to think about this guy - reminds me of a mix of Bucky/Bo -- but this song was nice!
Colton Berry, “Suspicious Minds” -- Okay, so I was pretty ticked off at this kid for taking Josiah's spot in the top 24. I put my feelings aside to see that he does sing better than Josiah, but he certainly isn't as cute!

Those I could have done without:
Chikezie, “Yesterday” - lounge singer but I loved the orange suit! REALLY!
David Hernandez, “In the Midnight Hour” I'm probably the only one who just doesn't get this kid. Here or not -- don't really care.
Luke Menard, “Everybody’s Talkin" -- This guy was ALL OVER THE PLACE. Although I think Simon having to get the last word in when Luke's last statement tried to save face was a little uncalled for. Poor kid didn't stand a chance.
Jason Yeager, “Moon River” -- Maybe his kid being there might have saved him, but as soon as I knew it was Moon River that he was done.

My Vote for the Plane Ticket Home:
Luke Menard, “Everybody’s Talkin’”
Jason Yeager, “Moon River”

Voted Off:
Garrett Haley, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do - Lack of airtime? Was he that bad?
Colton Berry, “Suspicious Minds” - either people didn't like HIM or they really resented him taking Josiah's spot!

Wendy's Score 0/2

Winter Blah-dom

2008-02-17T13:45:00.004-06:00

The Storm that Wasn't
The weather people like messing with me I think. Throughout this whole week the forecast has changed dramatically of what was going to happen today. I've heard everything from flash floods, freezing rain to up to 18 inches. Of course, I work the night shift tonight which means I'll be on the road when what is now rain turns to ice driving home. If I'm lucky someone will have thrown some sand down, because I think we are all out of salt. Joyous! Black ice and night driving do not go well together.

A Needed Break
Besides OUR neighboring tourist town there's another BIGGER tourist town north we have plans to visit for the day. A quick rejuv. Of course, everyone and their uncles are thinking the same thing - and the town's hotels are to capacity. You know what THAT means, don't you? Crowded restaurants, crowded stores, crowded, crowded, crowded. Gasp! Why do I keep doing the tourist town stuff?

Glory of Grocery Shopping
My husband found a store in a town not too far away that does DOUBLE COUPONS every day! It's the same chain that I used to shop that did double coupons on Tuesday before the SuperWalmart put them out of business.
This gives me another store choice as I try out my E-Mealz menu list next week. I'll be excited to share my review. I've printed two weeks worth of meals and the recipes look simple and NOT way beyond frugal like '101 ways to eat on beans and rice' like I feared. It's real food! There's meats, there's vegatables and thank GOD -- Pasta and Bread!

Financial Stand-Still
Of course, when you are flying along for what seems to be a mile a minute, sooner or later you have to come to a stand still. And I'm there. I should be picking up soon at work, but the snow, being sick, lack of things to work on.....they all have played hell on my paycheck this winter. My worst winter in the last 5 years!
We've been flying right along that I hadn't even noticed that fact until this weekend when I played the comparison game. I hope to have an incredible spring with extra hours or I will have to go look for a moonlighting job.

UGHH!

What a way to spend Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T07:44:00.003-06:00

All I can say is -- Thank goodness we're celebrating Valentine's Day later in the month. Today's just not good for me. LOL

We both work today, me ... late probably, dh has a fantasy draft online tonight and ds will most likely be on the phone with Miss Caitlin all night. The good news is: I get to spend Valentine's Day with Sawyer!

Lost: 8:00 CST on ABC

Crossed My T's - Dotted My I's

2008-02-13T08:28:00.002-06:00

It's official. We closed on our HELOC refinance last night ... during more snow!
Our rate was a little lower than I was quoted. NICE! So we have officially moved that HELOC to our BS6 plans which leaves us to concentrate on our last two credit cards. My teaser rate is over in April on my largest one - THAT kind of scares me. The Citibank one is kind of like Sally Mae to some people. It's been around so long it's family. THe APR is close to nothing so most of the payment goes to principle and I'm paying probably $5 a month to finance charges.

I'm just worried about the whole "crumbling bank" theory. I want to get them outa here before they turn around and scr.. me.

WEATHER REPORT: MORE SNOW. We're supposed to get whapped by "substancial" snow tommorow night. Thankfully it's sunny right now. We haven't seen a whole lotta sun lately. I'll take it. I know it won't melt any of this, but at least it gives the illusion of being warmer.

E-mealz : I wound up joining & saved money doing it!

2008-02-10T12:58:00.001-06:00

I talked about it last week that I was strongly considering trying the E-mealz because my weekly meals really needed a pick me up. In fact, I haven't even posted my Weekly Menu because it's basically the same things I had already posted. B..O..R..I..N..G!!

I was listening to the Friday Edition of The Dave Ramsey Show and I heard the advertisement for E-Mealz again. I was on my way home from my weekly shopping excursion. I spent $1.04 OVER my weekly budget. I found it ironic because that's what it would cost me a week to join E-mealz with the code: DAVE. No joke.

What is it?
E-Mealz is a menu planning site that not only comes up with a meal plan, it gives you recipes and a shopping list for 7 meals a week.
You can choose between Kroger, Publix or Walmart and your menu plans are built on what is on sale that week. I chose to do the ANY STORE PLAN because I bop between stores so much and although I do have a SuperWalmart close to me - it's not my first choice grocery store.

They also have special needs for families such as LO-CARB, LO-FAT or POINTS SYSTEM for families or ANOTHER plan if you are just cooking for 2.

Although I have a basic outline of my Weekly Menu this week because I went shopping yesterday instead of Tuesday because we are supposed to get "substancial" snow again (man I am so incredibly tired of SNOW), I downloaded my first week's menu.

What's the Menu Look Like?
Sounds pretty good -

Mexican Meatloaf
Spicy Pork Tenderloin
Raspberry Chicken Salad (using rotisserie chicken that I can get FREE at work!)
Sausage Fajitas (using smoked sausage that ALWAYS goes on sale)
Chicken and Rice bake
Cauliflower Cheese Soup
Tater Tot Casserole

And recipes look very easy too. Not that I will do 100% of my weekly meals based on this, but it sure puts a few more options into my boring menu list and doesn't seem to cost an arm & a leg.

I'm sure a brunt of the shopping list may be done at Aldi, but I 'll let you know how I do with the recipes and what the price list comes up to be.

E-MEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families
Enter Code: DAVE for $2.50 off membership! ($12.50 for 3 months)
That's $1.04 a week for weekly meal plan, recipes and organized shopping list.

Hey, Guess what. It's snowing.....AGAIN!

2008-02-06T16:55:00.001-06:00

Oh boy is it ever snowing. Everything is closed -- they are closing highways because the plows can't keep up. No worries. I'm home, hubby's home, the boy is home....we are all snug in the house....and BORED! Well ds not so much...he's got XBOX LIVE. So he's entertained.

So far since the snow started yesterday I've:
Baked Brownies, Beer Bread & Zucchini Bread
Made Spinach Crab Dip, dinner last night, prepped dinner for tonight and set up the crock pot for tommorow night.
OH! And homemade hot cocoa for when the boys came in from shoveling earlier.

I've had it with the kitchen today.

I did had on the tv and started watching Oprah. I don't usually watch daytime tv at all... I save myself for night time sitcoms, Lost and begrudgingly American Idol. Today on Oprah, they were talking about the book: The Secret. I know it got a lot of hubb-bubb last year. I never really catch on to things brand new I guess because although I had heard about it -- I never intended to read it.

Has anyone read The Secret? What did you think about it? Of course, because it was on Oprah today the auctions on ebay closing anytime soon have got bids up the ying yang. Tell me that lady doesn't have power over people! YIKERS!

The Refinance Insurance Policy (update on the refi)

2008-02-01T13:34:00.000-06:00

The rate was locked on Wednesday and my paperwork is all in and accounted for. I just have to wait for our virtual "closing". (closing by phone - sounds like)

We were offered so many choices and so many variations of those choices. I wanted to stay with the bank we are currently doing business with. We might have been given better rates, but I felt more comfortable sticking with the same company.

What we chose to do was:
Keep the original loan at 5.99% -no changes made
Refinance the HELOC and LOCK it at 8.90%
No Appraisal Fee
No Pre Payment Penalty
No Closing Costs.
15 year loan

Basically it's the same APR and monthly payment as I'm paying now but it's over a little longer stretch and it's NOT ON A VARIABLE!

A lot of my options involved refinancing the whole thing together in which either my APR went up plus I had closing costs or the APR went down BY A HAIR and I had closing costs. This might not be the best route for everyone. I felt it was a good insurance policy for us against an uncertain future of the economy. I will sleep better knowing that the $30k is on a fixed rate for the 15 years and that it's being moved into BS6 where it belongs!!!

Sky is a little brighter today

2008-02-01T08:05:00.000-06:00

Despite the 6 inches of snow that got dumped onto us overnight, today is going to be a great day!

As promised, February would be the month of payoffs.

Today, I have written the check that will pay off our 5 year loan with Chase - in only 2 years 7 months! The second auto transfer to Chase knocks out our $7,600 credit card!

The story of our multiple credit card problem is a simple one. When the card you are using gets too close to the limit -- you surf it over to a card with a low APR and a lot of space to hold the loan. Then what? You charge more -- surf it to another card, charge more - surf it to ANOTHER card. NO MORE! We started our Total Money Makeover "OFFICIALLY" in July and we haven't charged since!

So far we've paid off:

My son's emergency root canal and crown
Discover Card
Chase Card (which was a surfed Citibank)
Chase Car Loan
Chase Card (a potent storage card with a teaser APR about to expire)

We are going through with the refinance on the HELOC so as soon as that closes the sky will be even more bright! Then we wage war against the two debts left. B of A (which will be painful because of the APR) and my Citibank with silly incredibly low APR.

Hope everyone has a bright day!

Can this be the answer to my weekly menu doldrums?

2008-01-29T14:35:00.001-06:00

I went grocery shopping yesterday. You've heard me moan and complain about how my shopping trips just aren't as lucrative as they once were. I know the food prices are going up everywhere and it's the truth. I'm not store loyal. I bounce between store to store for whatever deals I can muster. I plan my weekly menu and try to use items I currently have. Frankly, I'm in a rut. I'm eating the same meals over and over (because I know they work into the budget) and I'm BORED .... and BROKE!

There's been a lot of talk about these Meal Planning services. I've been hesitant to join any because I don't see why I would pay someone to do what I already do. HOWEVER, I did find this one that kind of intrigues me. It's inexpensive. It comes with a grocery list and recipe instructions. They say that the shopping list is around $75. which is about what I spend every week. New recipes? Stays within the budget? Shopping List? I can go to any store? I may actually sign up for this one. My Weekly Menu will be a little more interesting .. THAT'S FOR SURE!

$15 every three months = $1.25 a week. I think I may be able to fit that into the grocery budget.

E-MEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families

The Almighty Change Jar

2008-01-29T14:19:00.000-06:00

Who would have thought that you could seriously rack up that kind of money by putting coins in a jar (or in my case - a metal pail) ??

Right now, the change jar has $187.00 since July. I'm about to roll another $5. and should be able to tackle the whole cost by just cashing in my coins! How wild is that?

I thought that since we've been working really hard at our Total Money Makeover that we would empty the change jar and take a mini get-away. A re juice. A "cookie" for a job well done. I had no problem convincing dh and ds to go hit the water park for a couple of days with it. I really could use a break.

Refi Update:
Looks as if we may have solved our refi problem. Not with a huge savings - but MORE security. We're going to refi our HELOC and LOCK it in at the same rate we have now. At least I know that it's not in a variable that's going to go through the roof at some point. It's a LOAN. It's FIXED. NO Closing Costs, NO Appraisal Fees. Same payments as I'm currently making. I think I'm more than okay with that. You may see a huge chunk of pie coming off my little chart to the right. I'm okay with that! If this goes through - the goal date changes to September of 2009. That's because the HELOC is actually a portion of our original mortgage and the only reason I added it to BS2 was because of the variable. Now, I can skip that until BS6. I'm okay with that too!