PNW Mama's Personal Finance Blog

It always seems that way....we were doing real well without spending anything and then BAM....this weekend....my dh was off work (he works every other weekend) and we always tend to spend more when he is home on his weekend off. Ate out too much too. Dh had his transmission fluid changed on Friday to the tune of approx $180.00. DH also bought me a new watch for my b-day...got a great deal on it though, but still...money out.

Good news.....I received a $100 check from my grandmother for my birthday which was the 7th....also received my $20 Proctor & Gamble rebate too....both went directly into the savings acct.

We hosted a birthday gathering at our house on Sunday to celebrate my b-day, sis in law, and niece....it's just too hard to try to do them seperately. I received some gift cards that will come in handy...Bath and Body Works, Barnes & Noble (great for the nook), Walmart, and a 3 mo trial to Blockbuster Online....brother in law works there and I guess the online part of Blockbuster is doing ok. We had a membership for quite a long time and ended up cancelling it when we got Comcast. So, I will use it and then cancel when it is up....already have it on the calendar.


Going to have the taxes done on Friday.....I am a little nervous....I really need to get them done so I can finish FAFSA for dd1. Our income went up due to my going back to work more hours, dh working lots of overtime....plus we don't get that child tax credit any more for dd1 and for 2011 we will lose it since dd2 is turning 16 this year. So, we shall see what happens.

Sent another $400 to the car loan today....it is good to see that balance going down.

Well that's it for now....have an enjoyable evening everyone!

Does anybody have any suggestions on where to purchase coupons off the internet that is safe and reliable? I get the Sunday inserts and my mom usually saves me hers after she goes through it. I am looking to supplement my stash which is pitiful at the moment

Thanks in advance!

Wow, it's been awhile!

Financially, things have been well. I up'd my SEP IRA at work....it makes sense seeing that with dd1 at college, some of our expenses have gone down and we have a little more money in our pockets. DH received his PPA payout....$750.00....it was suppose to be in the form of a prepaid visa but they just did a direct deposit instead....that was fine by us! It went directly into the savings account.

We have been good about not spending money on the house...the only thing we have done so far (which was one of the improvements we wanted to do this year), was get new blinds for the 4th bedroom which is a tv room and also blinds for our master bath. They are nice white wooden blinds that match the rest of the house. Other than that, no spending....I am proud of us!

Food wise, we have been eating out a bit more. Most of it is from soccer. DD2 has games every weekend and they always seem to fall around lunch time.....either right before or right after. She had an overnight soccer tournament in Seattle a few weeks ago and that meant several meals out. We have been trying to use coupons when possible to keep the costs down.

Gas for the cars has gone up slightly....dd has soccer practice 4 nights a week which means a lot of running around. I always try to do errands on my way home from work on my short days....that certainly helps.

Not much else going on....just normal day to day stuff.

On a funny closing note....I work in medical billing and collections for a 4 doctor office......I heard a new excuse on Friday as to why someone hasn't paid their bill.....the dog ate their cash....yep......at least it was original.....I give them that

is how I am feeling lately....but, it is a good boring. Meaning not alot of money spent lately. For the most part, we have really been watching the spending. We had decided not to do any eating out during the week, only once on the weekend. We have been pretty good about this, except for last weekend, we did do dinner out on Friday, and then I ended up talking dh into McD's on Sat....this weekend we have been good.....saw Black Swan on Friday and then cheapy dinner after. Ate in Saturday and tonight. I did have lunch out with my sister today though after we went and saw our 92 year old grandmother. It was cheap, under $5.00 so I am not feeling too bad about it. I consider it a good investment in quality "sister time"

DH has spent a little money on his new fish tank....trying to get the water right....we have lost several fish....well actually all of them except one....he bought two more because he thought the lone one was probably lonley...well....one died so we are down to two.....hope they survive...

Things to do next week include:

Clear dd1's college account and pay spring semester room/board, tuition, and meal plan....this money comes out of a trust for her that was set up by my grandparents when my kids were babies...

Deposit FSA check reimbursement

Cancel a hotel reservation for next Friday...we are only staying Sat night...this is for a soccer tournament in Seattle

Gather tax items

Concussion form for soccer tournament

Start FAFSA....if W2's come in next week

Pay bills and drop them off at post office

Call regarding hospital ER bill.....I received 2 bills....one for a diagnostic study (after the ER visit) which I know is correct...the 2nd one is for all of the ER stuff....no itemization....I need that before I will pay as I am not sure why the balance is what it is.

Annual physical for me tomorrow

Follow up doctor appt for dd2 Tuesday

Soccer practice for dd...M,T,W,TH

I am hoping to accomplish most of this by Tuesday.

Wish me luck!

For once As expected, I received a raise on Thursday....2%, again, about what I expected with the economy and all. I am not complaining at all! DH's bonus came through today and that was immediately transferred to savings.....currently at $19,000 now....very exciting. We also sold a few things on Craigslist....a portable dvd player we bought (off of craigslist) to use on our road trip last summer and also our old entertainment center that was in our 4th bedroom we use as a tv room...so, an extra $140 to savings also.

We were going to sell the tv that we replaced recently but decided to see if dh's mom wanted it....it was a 32 inch and she was using a 19 inch.....she was very happy to have it. She is giving dd1 her 19 inch flat screen to use at college....dd is changing roommates and the one she is changing to doesn't have a tv. She really doesn't have alot of time to watch tv and most of the time she and her friends watch tv in the lounge together but sometimes they just want to "chill out" in their own room

We have had a couple of no spend days recently....a rareity for sure and the bank account definately reflects that.

And that my friends, is a GOOD thing

The owner (Dr) of the clinic I work for came up to my office today with a $50 gift card to my favorite coffee place (no-not Starbucks)! I was so excited....it just made my day! My co-worker and I (we do billing and collections) had our best collection year ever last year and he just wanted to encourage us by starting the year off great. He also joked that he wanted to sabotage us in our office's "Bigest Loser" contest....he was just joking of course

We all did our weigh in today (with a co-worker who is not participating) and set our goals.

My Wii Fit last night told me I was down 1.8lbs...we will see what it says tonight!

Money out today: $125 on cc for dd2's club soccer....only 2 more payments and we will be done paying for Winter/Spring season. They call it Winter because they start practicing right after high school season ends, usually sometime in early Nov...season runs through about April.

Money out Monday: Zero!

Working through my to do list and getting things crossed off. I have a $20 rebate that needs to get in the mail....I have been procrastinating because I haven't felt like filling it all out. Goal tomorrow...get that done!

I am rather annoyed at our dentists office. I received a bill for $45 on Friday. I was thinking they missed a provider write off since our dental plan covers 2 cleanings per year and we shouldn't owe anything. They have "missed" write off's before. So I call today and find out they did x-ray's on my hubby twice last year because "they were watching some teeth". He had a different hygenist both times and the second time he was in, the hygenist took it upon herself (based on the last notes) to do them again. Honestly, who remembers what they had done the previous 6 months? I expressed my annoyance that he wasn't informed prior to them being done. We have been patient's there for 25 plus years and have had the same plan for years. She told me that they would write a letter to the insurance to see if they could get it paid. She also told me should would "as a courtesy" write off 50%. I again expressed my annoyance that we shouldn't have to pay anything at all for a routine exam. She also said they would flag our account so they wouldn't do x-rays more than once a year. That way, if they don't do them and something goes wrong, they are off the hook....ha ha....what a joke. Well I am informing hubby to question next time everything! Also will have to do this for the girls and warn dd1 since she takes herself in there. Anyway, if insurance doesn't pay, I will take it to work and have them pay. They don't offer dental ins to employee's but offer to cover $600 per year for any family member's dental out of pocket. Now that I work enough hours, I have this benefit. So at most it will be $22.50. They better not pull this again or they will really hear about it.

On the upside.....I accomplished almost everything off of my to do list which had about 15 things on it. This included various financial things and appt's. Only a few more to go.

Now off to work out on the Wii....biggest loser challenge starts tomorrow at work! Wish me luck

Money coming in....hopefully a raise for me on Jan 6th. I have my annual review coming up and I expect a raise....not much though...probably 2 to 3%. I have been lucky in the 12 years I have worked at this office, I have always received a raise, unlike my poor hubby who gets an annual review but never guaranteed a raise. However much it is, I will take it. I also found a few weeks ago that I had a ton of pto time. Since we can only carry over 40 hours, I have had to cash in 40 hours. That will be a nice bonus. I think what happened was, I have always worked part time up until about a year ago. When I first started this job, I did negotiate paid holidays and vacations and participation in the SEP IRA. Since I was part time, I only accured one half of what the full time employees accrrued. Now that I work 36 hrs a weeks, I am accuring pto time much faster than I ever have. Plus the fact (knock on wood)I wasn't sick at all last year. So, while the money will be nice, I think I will be a better planner this year and take some much deserved time off! Hubby's bonus should hit our account on Friday. These two "bonus checks" will be immediately transferred to the savings acct. I am getting a good start on my goal of increasing savings. Hubby's pto bonus ($750 prepaid Visa card) won't arrive until the end of Jan. That will be used in Feb for groceries and gas.

Money going out: Gas prices! Yikes, it cost me $42.00 to fill up my tank today. I have a Ford Escape and I was almost on empty. Our state just had an increase in the gas tax. So far gas prices are running about $3.05 to $3.13 in our area. Groceries, personal care items, and a few cleaning items were purchased today. Not too much out though...I did a good stock up last weekend since dd1 was home from college. Now that she has gone back, we should have a little more food in the cupboards and thus, a lower grocery bill each week. My coupon stock is running very low. The last few months I have thought the Sunday paper coupons have not been very good. There wasn't alot of great ones in this weekend's paper either. Still, I saved about $10 which is better than nothing.

So, I am off to make dinner soon, and a menu plan for the coming week.

Have a great evening!

1. Increase savings by $3000 to $5000 (currently at $17,000) Of course, more is always nice!

2. Start a vacation fund for 25th anniversary cruise in 2012.

3. Pay down SUV....current balance $14,000. (our only debt besides mortgage)

4. Menu plan (consistently)!

5. Limit spending on non necessities

6. Do at least 2 home improvement "wants" and pay cash.

7. Commit to a healthier lifestyle (exercise more, eat healthier foods ect)

8. Get back into scrapbooking.....I have tons of pictures and tons of scrapbooking stuff.

9. Become better organized thus, saving more money!

10. Cross an item off my bucket list.

There are more goals, but this represents a nice balance.

Trying to work on some concrete goals for 2011. I told hubby, spend what you want until the end of the year because, come January, we are putting a stop to the non essential spending. Several things will be going up in the new year. Gas for one...our state will be having an increase in the gas tax starting Jan 1. Prices have already started to climb. Also, water/sewer bill will be increasing too.

We had a lovely Christmas. Hubby got me a Nook Color...expensive...yes. I think he wanted to "even" things out since I finally gave in and told him he could get an aquarium. He has been wanting one for years and I finally said yes. I purchased a few things for him for under the tree too. He also got me some of my favorite perfume and a coffee gift card. We each received $100 from my grandmother. She does this every year for Christmas and birthdays. MIL also gave us each $25 gc to Kohl's. My mom and dad got me some kitchen things that I have been needing and my brother and sil gave us a great basket full of food items (soup/cookie/bread mix) type stuff and cookbook too. Yummy! My sister decided not do a gift exchange this year due to finances. Dh' niece and hubby got u a movie gift card which I think we will use this weekend. Our sweet dd1 purchased small things for dh and I also.....dh a ball cap and his favorite candy...me a coffee gift card and my favorite candy. We do not exchange with dh's brother or sister. Bil due to finances and sil just because she chooses not too. She does buy for our girls though.

Our girls were happy with their haul as well.

Typing all of this makes me realize just how lucky we are. We are truly fortunate!

My next post will be about 2011 goals....both financial and personal.

One more day of work and then off for a long weekend....my third in a row. Yahoo!

At our annual Christmas potluck at work on Friday, I received my bonus.....$1400! $200 above last year so I was really happy. This is from the two doctors (husband/wife) that own the clinic. I also received a $300 prepaid mastercard from one of the other doc's in the clinic also. Aside from the husband/wife team, we have two other female doc's in our office who are actually their own business but all of the staff works for them also if that makes any sense...basically they have their own bank accounts an just pay an overhead every month to the two that own the clinic so we are all one big happy family I don't expect anything from the 4th one though which is ok...she is struggling with some previous business stuff and is a bit overwhelmed. A simple thank you will be enough.

I also found out today that dh will be getting a bonus also....it will be equivalent to two weeks pay which we will receive Jan 7th. He will also receive a $750 prepaid visa some time in Jan for not using his sick time. If you go the entire year without calling in sick, you will receive this bonus. Years ago, the company used to just pay you back whatever you hadn't used out of the 80 hours you were allotted for your sick time. They tried changing it around a couple of times (like not giving you anything even if you called in one time) but quickly realized if they weren't going to offer something for not using it, they were going to have alot of people calling in sick even if they weren't!

My bonus went directly into the savings account. I am going to use part of my visa card to purchase myself a Wii Fit. I have wanted one for some time now and several co-workers have it and really enjoy it. Dh's bonus will go into the savings account also. When we receive the $750 card, that will go towards groceries and gas since we will have to actually use it instead of being able to put it into savings.

I am so grateful for all of these extra's!

Have a wonderful day fellow bloggers!

Have been super busy and crazy. 2 1/2 weeks ago, I found myself in the ER with dd2. She wasn't feeling well that day but nothing too bad. By the time she went to bed around 9:15, she was in agony....severe abdominal pain shooting up her right side, hard to breathe, couldn't walk (was doubled over). I figured if I would have called her doctor, they would have told us to go to the ER anyway so we did. After a battery of tests and a ct scan the doctor felt comfortable letting us go home as we finally had a diagnosis. I had to take her for another test and then follow up with a specialist. Luckily she is fine and will just have to be followed for this issue for a while. I am quite curious to see all of the final bills. This is the first time we have ever had a deductible on our plan. We have been so blessed to have excellent insurance (and still do) but the plan changed a bit this year where they added the deductible and co-insurance for out patient serivces. We still just have a co-pay for office visits. I am quite sure with all of the tests ect, we will meet our out of pocket. I am just so thankful for the insurance. I work in insurance billing so I have seen firsthand what medical bills can do to a family. Our older daughter needed orthotics for her shoes from an ankle injury of over a year ago that just hasn't healed. Some of that was applied to her deductible and the rest came off my FSA account which is now officially zero.

In Christmas news, doing pretty well on that....still have a few things to purchase but they should be easy......all gifts have been paid for in cash! I am not hosting this year on either side so I will just be bringing a side dish or two to both gatherings.

Work has been crazy busy and I have come home each day just mentally exhausted. Time to start working on some healthy goals for 2011.

And finally, made a payment to the suv loan....we are now at $14,000 and are going to hit it hard in 2011 to get it paid off (thanks for the motivation creditcard free)!

I am not a black Friday shopper.....I just cannot stand the crowds and the rude pushy people. I would rather just search around and find deals. I find that most stores seem to have a bunch of the same deals, sales, a coupons starting the day after Thanksgiving and they run through Christmas Eve. I am not an online shopper but I still feel I can find a good bargain. I already have a bunch of coupons saved in a pile and some shopping planned.

My DH went to Office Depot about a week ago for some ink cartridges for our printer.....a nice surprise....he came home with a free $15 I Tunes card......that will be a gift for one of the girls.

DD1 was home from college this week. We had a great time with her. Money was spent on some family activities.....we all went to see Harry Potter....tickets x 4....ugh.....but I had a $15 gift card from work so that helped. I used my Regal Rewards card and we have now earned enough points for a free movie ticket. Of course we had to have popcorn....at least we got a refill on the large

We also went downtown to see a Christmas program.....tickets were purchased a while ago but we did go out to dinner after....Red Robin and $60 later....then ice cream.....

I really need to purchase an Entertainment book. My grandmother used to give us one every year at Christmas but didn't last year. I was able to purchase one from a co-worker who's son was selling them for his school...$10.00...can't beat that! But, they are not selling them this year as apparently, many who had a book to show people didn't return them and didn't pay for them. I guess they just don't want to take that risk. I feel they are a good bargain....we definately use our money's worth. We also trade coupons with friends and family who have the book also.

I have a big to do list to write out and start working on for the coming week.

Good night all!

We had a good week last week with hardly any money out for "wants". We have been on a bit of a spending spree since redoing dd2's bathroom and our kitchen. Lucky for us, the rooms are almost done (decorating that is).

Today I headed to the dreaded mall with dd2 and friend in tow. She needed to find a dress for the semi formal winter dance. We have given her a budget for her needs and anything above that, she will have to cover out of her money. We did find her a cute dress at Macy's though I was a bit disappointed that they wouldn't take the coupon I had....dh had found one for 15% off but it was only for sale and clearance items. I suppose if we find a coupon between now and the dance, we may make a run back there to get a price adjustment. But, in the end, it was dd's decision to get the dress. She will have to budget accordingly.

I also hit Costco (another dreaded place) for a few items.

And lastly, I paid our property taxes which are due on the 15th. Yikes....I did pay in full so there was a savings of $104. Lucky (I guess) for us, they only went up about $50 this year.

Didn't accomplish alot so far this weekend so Sunday will be a day of catching up around the house. The weather is raining and icky so it will be nice to stay in and putter around.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

At the REO Speedwagon concert.....wow....what a great time.....those guys really rocked it and put on a fabulous show. Final tally for the weekend...unknown....we hit an outlet mall on our way down and purchased a few things. I have been in desperate need of some warm, long sleeved shirts. I found two and then we hit the North Face store and happened upon a great deal for a fleece for dd2. It was on clearance plus an extra 30% off. This will be one of her Christmas presents. We had lunch with a coupon and then hit a coffee place we had a gift card for and shared a drink. We headed over to the casino and we were able to check in a bit early. We checked the place out and I put $2 in the slot machine...I lost and I was done.....just didn't have the heart to keep throwing our money away. We enjoyed a nice dinner and drinks and then hit the concert. Breakfast in the morning at the buffet which was very tasty. We then headed to another outlet mall and made a few more purchases. I am not a huge fan of outlet malls but I think if things are on clearance combined with a sale a good deal can be found. We then started heading back to meet dd2 for her soccer game. DD1 was going to attend but decided not to as dd2 called us on Friday after practice to inform us she collided with another girl and heard her ankle pop.....just what we needed! Luckily she is ok but didn't play in the game. So we swung by and picked up dd1 and took her out to lunch since we were headed that way anyway....it was fun to see her and visit for a bit. We then went to the game and had to pay $12 to get in and not even watch dd play....oh well, we were there to support the whole team so that was ok. They ended up losing so we are done with the high school season. We had a cheap dinner out since money was pretty much flying out the door. Sunday was hair day and I, as always, am very happy with my hair girl....money well spent in my opinion Finished this spendy weekend with groceries and another fill up on my car.

Hoping this week will be quiet.....at least on the money front!

This weekend that is. DH and I are headed out of town for a quick overnight trip for a belated anniversary "outting". We got concert tickets to see a band from our teenage years....REO Speedwagon....ha ha. The concert is at a casino near the coast. We are going to meander our way down and just take it easy. We will head out for a coffee treat, lunch and maybe some shopping at an outlet mall. We will see about that one. We will splurge on a nice dinner and drinks tonight. The only gambling we will be doing will be pulling a few one armed bandits! We are not gamblers.....heck, I don't even know HOW to play anything which I guess is a good thing . Breakfast in the morning at the lodge and then we will head back. Only we won't be going home right away. DD has first round state soccer playoff's and their game is at 3:00 in a town on our way back. She will be getting a ride there which is so nice for us as we would have to come home and then head back the same way we were coming from. This also means most likely, lunch and dinner out tomorrow. On Sunday, I will be getting my hair cut and colored. This is a treat I allow myself when I went back to work to my "almost" full time status. For years I colored my own hair at home but decided I was going to do something nice for myself. DD also wants to head to the mall on Sunday to start shopping for her Snowball dress. This is a semi formal winter dance at our highschool held the first Sat in Dec. Tickets will be purchased and then the kids usually head out to dinner....somewhere like Olive Garden or such...nothing too terribly fancy. Gas and groceries this weekend will add to the total of this spendy weekend.

Have a good weekend fellow bloggers!

I can't believe it has been so long since my last entry. I have been lurking around a bit but don't really know why I haven't posted. I am busy up and down while posting this handing out candy to trick or treaters.

Not much financial news. Our only debt (other than our house) is the payment on my suv. We have decided to really start hammering this down. We are under $15,000.00 now as I sent a larger payment in October which brought us under 15K. This is a no interest loan but we really want to get it paid off.

We also want to start a seperate vacation savings account. We are planning a big cruise for our 25th anniversary sometime in 2012.(our anniversary is in Oct but since that is hurricane season, we will probably go in April or May) We have been on 2 other cruises and have really enjoyed them. Having a seperate account aside from our regular savings account would be great so we could really "see" that we are attaining our goal of paying for it in full at the time it is booked.

October has been a fairly busy month with our anniversary, dd1's b-day, and soccer. My parents treated us to dinner on our anniversary which was really sweet. DD1 came home from college to spend the weekend at home and also to celebrate her b-day. We had a big family party and it was so nice that everyone was able to make it and see her as some family members haven't seen her since she left at the end of Aug. DD2 has been busy with soccer and school. Without dd1 here to run her around, we find ourselves doing alot more driving this year! We have also been on a big painting kick.....redid dd's bathroom and also the kitchen. Our kitchen has been red for the past 10 years and we were ready for a change. As I mentioned before, we again used Behr paint with primer....one coat to cover a dark red.....VERY worthwhile both in price and time.

Time to sign off now. Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

At least it feels that way. I was hoping the outflow of money would slow down in September. So far it has not.

Part of it is our fault, I must admit. Too much eating out on the weekends and all those "little' things one thinks they must have but probably don't need.....sigh

Other expenses lateley have included:

$39 for school pics...yes....before you throw things at me, I ALWAYS buy school pics...I love getting them and looking at the previous years and seeing how much the kids have grown. I know they are not the best quality ect but these are memories and some day will be fun to look back on.

$30 for soccer socks....new uniforms were paid for out the school "soccer funds" but for some reason not the socks....at least we get to keep them when the season is over.

$25 for beach soccer retreat....a bargain as this is definately not something the school pays for. A mom on the team knows someone with a beach house who is letting them use it for free. The $25 will include gas down (since the coach is not coming, the parents have to drive) and food.

$5 for journalism class.....really I can't believe this...yes...I guess I can...like all the schools, everyone is broke and they have no money for anything....apparently there is hardly any money in the "school newspaper fund" and without it....well I don't know what they would do. Argghhh!

2 cases of donated gatorade for the high school soccer jamboree. We had a concession stand to raise money and since everything is donated, everything sold is profit.

$30 for a can of paint that most likely will not be used. DH bought it to paint DD1's room now that she is at college. Of course, that will always be her room and she will always have a place to stay with us, but we re-did DD2's room over Labor Day weekend (new bedspread/sheets/decorative pillow) and paint for her room. Well the paint ended up being very similar in color and dh didn't want the 2 rooms right next to each other to have the same color (go figure), so he bought some new paint and thought it looked too much like the paint in the hall....go figure....so a waste. The paint was a little on the expensive side, but I have to say, it was the same stuff we used for dd2's room which by the way had a horrible, horrible shade of green which was going to require primer. So Behr makes paint with primer in it so we got that for dd2's room and it worked fabulous! Only 1 coat. I would highly recommend it! But only if you pick the right color the first time so you don't have $30 down the drain for paint you are not going to use.... Sigh...AGAIN.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day....right?!

Since my last post. I had a goal to start posting every day in September but somehow that got away from me

We have been very busy aroud here the past few weeks. DD2 had soccer camp and then soccer tryouts. Now she has soccer practice every day but has four days off for the holdiday weekend. We got DD1 off to college last weekend. It was sad but also excting to see her starting a new chapter in her life. She seems to be adjusting well, making friends and enjoying her classes. It is very strange only having one child around though....that is taking some getting used to. Work for me has also been super busy the past 2 weeks. We have been a bit short staffed and so I had to work away from my desk for several days which has made me a bit cranky and tired. Wasn't feeling up to doing much in the evenings last week and so I was a bit of a slacker

Yesterday, which is my short day at work, I came home to find the house empty! DH took dd2 out to do a little school shopping. So I took advantage of the quiet and got into gear. I wanted to get a bunch of stuff done so I don't have to spend the long weekend doing nothing but housework and laundry. Felt real good when I was done and I got alot accomplished. Today, dd2 and I are off for a bit. We have a bunch of errands to run and a few more school things to get. Have some good coupons so we will see what we can find.

Financially, things are pretty good. I did have to pay $200 down for dd2 club soccer which was due Sept 1st. Other than that, I don't think there will be too many big expenses in September. I paid the mastercard bill at the end of August which was a big one. That had quite a bit of our vacation expenses on it so I am glad that is taken care of. DH bought dd1 a GPS for her birthday coming up late October. I'm not sure if we will give it to her early, or actually wait until her b-day. I would almost rather her have it now so she can start using it. She is only about an hour from home, but she is not familiar with the area she is in (it's not an area we ever frequented) so I would feel better about her having it sooner rather than later. There are a few small things that will need to be taken care of such as soccer socks for dd2. $25 to $30 for 2 pair. They got new high school uniforms but we have to pay for the socks...go figure. A b-day gift for my brother.... a $25 gift card and probably a few other things that will most certainly come up as usual!

Enjoy your day friends!

To dh's car that is! I am so excited! Now we can begin to pay down mine

In other news, money continues to fly out the door....I am really wishing August away....I know I shouldn't but I am hoping once September hits we will be back to a more normal routine.

Trying this week to stay caught up on everything as this coming weekend is going to be busy and we won't be home much. Friday I have a hair cut and then we will spend the rest of the day organizing and packing the cars. We move dd1 to college on Saturday. We are planning on getting up early and going out to breakfast. We hardly ever eat breakfast out except when we are on vacation so this will be a treat. We will spend the day at her college moving her in and attending several seminars for parents. We do receive a free lunch though. Since we will be there until about 5:30, we will probably have dinner out on the way home. Sunday we are going to attend the state fair. We are letting dd2 bring a friend so with parking, admission, and lunch/treats it will be a spendy day...sigh....oh well, September is coming! That is my new mantra

Did pretty well this weekend except for Friday, we went to the zoo....went to the park and ride and took the train about half way to the zoo...it is located on the other side of town and we didn't want to have to fight traffic on the way home...got some popcorn and water to share for a snack and then had dinner out on the way home.......gas for the car, minimal groceries, and minimal school clothes for dd2 on Sunday.....we went to the mall to look around....dd found a couple of things and had some gift cards left over from her birthday in June that she used. I have to say...the fashions this year are awful! We got a few things to get her started but Sept is usually warm around here so she will probably still be wearing summer type clothes for a while. I told her we could go back in a few weeks and check things out. Plus the fact that there are hardly any warm clothes on the rack which is really what we are looking for.

All in all, not bad BUT September is right around the corner

Is flying out the door this month which I pretty much expected.

On a good note, we did pay off dh's car! Since my dh is a huge car buff, I figure we are always going to have a car payment for the rest of my life. It's just one of those things I have come to accept. We bought me a new vehicle in March so we could take that on vacation instead of renting a car. DH didn't trust my car to drive 2000 miles even though I am sure it would have been fine. So the deal I have with hubby is that if we must have a car payment, it will only be 1....well with all of the Spring expenses I mentioned earlier, we did not pay off his car when we bought mine....the only good thing is that there is zero percent financing. I mailed a $600 check on Saturday and then it will be ours free and clear! Now we can work on paying off mine, which also by the way has zero interest also. We also paid off a loan for some furniture we bought on 12 mo deferred interest. We have alway bought furniture like this and have always paid it off before the promotional period has ended. Basically, we take the total and divide by 12....we owed $400 on that and I just sent the full amount...now we are done with it instead of waiting until November....it feels good! Our only debts now are my car and our mortgage!

Soccer and school expenses are what we need to focus on this month. $75 this week to dd2 soccer camp, $150 next week for high school soccer team, and approximately $50 out of pocket for school registration....I have about $46 in my scrip account at the high school which I can use to offset any school expenses (if you don't know what scrip is, let me know and I will be happy to explain).

The biggie is going to be dd2 club soccer.....the cost for the winter team is $950.00....a $200 deposit is due by Sept 1st....they offer a $50 dicount if you pay in full but I am going to hang onto our cash and just make monthly payments or a couple of big payments.

So, all in all, I am hoping to be back on track come early September!

this week. Last week was rather stressful trying to get back in the groove after vacation and getting ready for that darn garage sale.

I have accomplished so much this week! Got all of those little things that I had been putting of done. The main one (which really isn't so little) was clearing dd1's account for college. Luckily I could do it online and it didn't take very long. It was mainly things like her immunization record, waiving health insurance ect...stuff like that. Got her tuition payment mailed off and this form that she had to sign mailed off too. Got dd2 signed up for club soccer tryouts, dd1 signed up for physical therapy for the month (she has an ankle injury from last fall that is still giving her trouble), all the garage sale stuff that didn't sell over to Goodwill, and finally finished my book Also had a meal plan in place so no eating out!

I am holding off on signing dd2 up for her high school soccer camp......any time I have to write a check to the school they take FOREVER to cash it....really.....like 2 months....I hate that! So, that will go out next week since it doesn't even start until the 16th.

Not too much money out this week....$30 for club soccer tryouts (I saved $5 since I did it before the 5th), DD1 will have physical therapy twice a week for the next few weeks....that means a $20 co-payment each time but that will be reimbursed from my flex spend account. DD1 will also have a physical before she leaves which is another $20 co-payment also reimbursed.

Money that will be going out later will be alot more.....$75 for high school soccer camp, $150 for high school soccer fee....not sure about registration for school...we do that through the mail.....I expect to receive that the week of the 16th....should be about $100....this includes an student body card, year book, and student "fee". There may be another small fee depending on which classes she gets into such as art. Luckily we do not need a PE uniform this year. Still have school supplies to buy and some school clothes but dd2 has gift cards left over from her b-day in June which will help offset the cost.

So all in all, I am looking forward to September, the start of a new year and hopefully more money in our pockets....I consider our year to start when school does, not January

Hi everyone! Well I am finally back at it.....posting that is. I was stressed out last week after going back to work after vacation. It's always hard to get back in the groove. Plus, we had our garage sale. I had to spend several evenings over at my mom's getting ready and then Friday afternoon and most of the day Saturday. Didn't feel like I accomplished anything at all during the week! It was really busy on Thursday and Friday at the sale.....Saturday kind of stunk if I do say so myself. It was slower than I thought.....I knew that would probably be the slowest day, but, it was slower than I thought so my sister and I decided we were going to pack it up early.....and I am glad we did. Made a little over $100 which really wasn't bad considering I didn't have much. We had done a big decluttering a few months before....then my mom asked dh if he wanted us to do one with my sister and her....of course he said yes....so.... I had to round up a bunch of stuff...actually came up with more than I thought but it wasn't a whole lot. The girls were happy with some extra money too....dd1 made about $40 and dd2 about $23.

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Spent today catching up on things.....went grocery shopping, did some cleaning, and laundry. Also working on making out my August calendar. Writing everything down keeps me sane! We have alot going on this month. DD2 has club soccer tryouts coming up, high school soccer camp, and then high school tryouts. Also trying to finish up college stuff for dd1. Making lists and taking inventory. And then of course the big move to college on the 28th...sniff sniff..... Also, 2 birthdays this month (dh and my grandmother who will be 92)! Dental cleaning for me and dental appt for dd2.....

We want to try to fit in a quick beach trip but I am not sure that is going to happen. Dh is changing his work schedule and that may be the reason we can't go as our weekends will be limited. He is going back to a schedule he worked before...basically it is a 2 week rotating shift....he has to work every other weekend, but on his weekends off, he gets a 4 day weekend. So, he will work M,T,W then off Th and Fri....work Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, then off Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun. Then it starts all over. It also means going back to a 10 hour work day which he really doesn't mind....he just loves those 4 day weekends....I really don't mind actually....we tend to spend alot more money when he is home!

So, I am going to log off here and start getting ready for the week....

Good night everyone!

At the garage sale that hasn't even started yet. My mom was advertising some styrofoam on Craig's List that she was trying to get rid of as she really didn't want to put it in the trash. A lady and her husband answered the ad and came and got the styrofoam (she makes wedding cakes and wanted it do displays)....of course they noticed the garage full of stuff and asked if they could look around. They bought a bunch of stuff (hoover steam vac, bookcase, and bench w/a lid) from me, a couple of dd1's knick-knack's and something from my mom. They said they may come back as there were other things they were interested it. That is certainly fine by us

From vacation that is. I started this blog and then promptly left.

We had a great family vacation...probably one of the last ones of just the four of us for a while. We are moving dd1 to college on August 28th.

2,000 miles and 5 states! Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. It was alot of fun and we have some great memories. Haven't really totalled everything up just yet. I plan on working on that soon.

Really need to start watching things and getting back on track to a solid plan....the past three months have been super spendy. May brought three b-days on dh's side, mother's day, and dh's nieces college graduation. June brought dd2s b-day, a baby gift, dd1's high school graduation, and two soccer tournaments for dd2. July has brought my sister's b-day, our great nephew's b-day and vacation. It's crazy and never ending it seems. Money is just flying out the door. August is going to bring dh's b-day, my grandmother's b-day, registration for high school, fee for high school soccer and club soccer tryouts, and of course, back to school shopping. Hopefully things will start to calm down in September

Went back to work today....ugh.....wasn't really feeling like going......hard to get back in the groove.

My mom, sister, and I are having a garage sale this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.....my girls will go over and help on Thursday and part of Friday. I will help Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. Weather is looking good so far so we are keeping our fingers crossed....

I guess that's about it for now.....have a great evening!

Yep, I've been doing too much lurking and not enough posting! And too busy spending money!

This past weekend ended up on the spendy side. Some items were necessities (gas and groceries) and others, well, you know how it is.

We are getting ready to go on vacation and I was lacking in the clothing department. Why is it that mom is always the last one to spend money on herself? So, I decided I needed a few things. I ended up at Kohl's, Target, and Fred Meyer. Got some great deals though and I am set for quite a while. Alot of my clothes do double duty for work and play. We are allowed to wear capri's to work as long as they are nice. I now have a pair in black, white, tan, and brown. Also have 2 pairs of jean capri's for casual Friday's at the office (we only work 1/2 day) as long as they are not ripped, torn, frayed ect. Actually, our whole dress code is pretty casual but we can wear jeans on Friday if we like. Also bought a couple of cute "dressy" casual tops and a couple of tank tops for vacation.

Tried not to buy too many groceries as I want us to eat up everything in fridge before we leave.

Paid bills tonight to mail tomorrow. I want to have everything "cleared" before we leave so I can better track our money when we are gone.

I need to fill my gas tank as I am on 1/4 tank. That will last me the rest of the week. We will fill the tank or top it off Friday night before we leave Saturday morning.

Not eating out at all this week, meals are all planned....we will be doing enough eating out on vacation.

That's it for now.....have a great evening!

We had a nice fourth of July weekend. DS seemed interested, not frightened, in the bright fireworks going off all down our street. DD was lighting fireworks this year!(DH helping.) DH had a good friend come to town. We hadn't seen him in two and a half years. He brought his new (dating for over a year) girlfriend, so we got to meet her. She was very nice. Course with his visit we spent money that I didn't think we'd spend for the weekend. Saturday DH had drinks out with his buddy. $60. Sunday they contributed to our BBQ dinner, so no added cost there. DH and DD bought some fireworks. $48. Monday we met for breakfast out, split the check. $40. Sooo $100 over.. Still, it was good to see our friend.
Hope you all had a nice weekend also.

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DH is going to Alaska for a week the first part of September. His boss owns property in Sitka. He is an avid fly fisherman and is building four little cabins that they will rent to vacationers. They have one cabin built already. I've seen pictures and it's so cute and cozy. Anyhow, my DH's boss is taking DH and two of the other guys from work up there to go fishing The boss is providing the round trip flight, accommodations and a glacier cruise. His boss is very generous so I wouldn't be surprised if he pays for other little treats too. The four of them will split the cost of their fishing guide and food. DH has a furnace and AC install job that he will use the profits from to pay for his part. So it is "extra" money, not effecting the budgeted income. I am happy that he goes, but I'd rather save the money. %)

Hello again and thanks everyone for the very warm welcome!

This weekend is shaping up to be a bit on the spendy side. Friday I took DD2 to get some glasses. We have pretty good vision insurance but our out of pocket ended up at $117.00. That is the differnce between what the frames cost and what our insurance allows. We also got the antiglare/antiscratch coating. Insurance pays some on that so we had to pay the rest. I will be submitting this to my flexible spending account next week for reimbursement.

Today, DH spent $140 on some wheels for his car. A couple of his are scratched up and this guy was selling 4 for $150. DH went out and took a look at them and said they were in great shape so he felt he got a good deal.

I spent the morning at my mom's house pricing garage sale stuff. We had done some major purging a few months ago and then my mom decided to have a sale....well I did manage to find some stuff and had the girls go through their rooms to find stuff too. We will be having the sale with my sister also at the end of July. Felt good to get it all done. Went grocery shopping too. I usually get groceries on Sunday after the coupons come out. Since this is a holiday weekend there will probably be few. Plus we are headed out of town tomorrow for the day so we won't be around. Also picked up a prescription for DH at $10 which will also be submitted next week for reimbursement.

Tomorrow shouldn't be too terribly expensive....gas, dinner out, and a treat...probably ice cream for DH and girls and an iced coffee for me.

I hope everyone has a very wonderful and safe 4th of July!

Hi All!

Well, here I am....another long time lurker, first time poster. A bit about me: 40'ish wife and mom living and working in the Pacific NW. I am a wife to DH of 22 1/2 years and mom to to DD's 18 1/2 and 15. I have worked in the medical field my entire working life. Been at my current office 11 1/2 years doing billing and collections. I have been lucky to have worked part time for the past 11 years but recently went back to working an "almost" full time schedule...basically 8 hours M-TH and 5 hours on Friday. Getting ready to send our oldest off to college in a couple of months. Both DH and I grew up in frugal homes and we have been lucky to have made mostly smart decisions in our adult lives. Looking forward to posting and getting to know everyone a bit better!