For dd2:

1) $75 high school soccer camp

2) $175 high school soccer participation fee

3) $25 parking permit

4) $56.80 out of pocket for school registration

a) $45 yearbook
b) $25 senior graduation fee
c) $15 asb card (gets in free to home games)
d) $3 student body fee

$88.00 minus the $31.20 I had in my scrip account left us with the balance of $56.80. I had hoped to do better last year with buying scrip but I wasn't so great with it....oh well...every bit helps!

There will be other related "senior" spending I am sure....cap and gown for sure and probably announcements (we will get a small package for that) I am sure once school starts we will be bombarded!

Until then, I will enjoy the calm

Sent $500 to the suv loan on 8/11/2012....new balance as reflected in the side bar is $3500. We have steadily been paying this down at $500 for quite a while now. We do plan on paying this off in Dec! At that time, we should owe $1500. We will send the regular $500 payment, plus the extra $1000 taken out of savings or with my Christmas bonus...then...it will be paid in full. I should add that this vehicle was purchased in May 2010 and is also a no interest loan.

We plan to hit DH's car loan very hard. I sent $750 on 8/17/2012 and that should take us down to just around $8000. Will need to wait for the statement as the interest rate is about 2% so I am not sure of the exact balance. We plan to sent at least $500 a month. We may possibly send even more as we have the extra cash.

I am excited! It will be nice to only be down to the 1 car loan and mortgage!

Yesterday and this week. We are refinancing our home....for some reason DH thought we would be done this week....he is wrong...it is still going to be another 30 days at least until we sign. They are out approximately 90 days from the start. So here is what it looks like:

Monday: $445 to mortgage company for appraisal and $75 for dd2 soccer camp at high school.

Thursday: $175 to said high school for the privilege of playing soccer

In the next few weeks: school registration...it is all done via mail...not sure what to expect....dd2 will be a senior and I am sure there will be some school costs associated with that (other than things like cap and gown) There will be the studentbody fee, yearbook (which she won't get until NEXT year), and possibly other fee's for classes...on the other hand, I think way back when she was a freshman, I paid $50 for some reason for her senior year....I can't remember but I think there was a credit back for that amount for dd1 when she was a senior. I do have $31 in my scrip account which I can use towards school fee's. Also, dd2 is having her senior pictures done on Wed....I am so excited! It will be 2-3 weeks before the proof's are done and then we will see what she has to offer as far as collections ect. We are not planning on spending a ton, but do want some nice pictures. My brother and sil did dd1's, but due to some family stuff, we aren't speaking right now.

Thankfully the mastercard bill is very low this month and the garbage and water/sewer bill won't be billed until next month (we pay every 2 months).

No big plans for the rest of month except the state fair at the end of the month. DD2 doesn't even start school until the day after Labor Day.

I forgot to add that I also sent $500 to the suv loan on Sat and also stopped at Costco ($225).

DH and I had the past week off. We ended up doing quite a bit, but nothing expensive except an overnight beach stay. Here is what we did:

Sat: Portland Saturday Market (free) and Chinese Classical Gardens (1 free admission and dd2 got a student discount) Also paid $3.50 for parking...much cheaper than taking MAX (our lightrail system)

Sun: Movie....(2) $2.00 off admission coupon

Mon: Portland Rose Garden (free), Japanese Gardens, and Pittock Mansion (2) $2.00 off admission

Tues: College visit...spent $25 for 3 tee-shirts in the campus store and $4.00 for a car sticker.

Wed: DD2 driving test....she PASSED! $9.00 for the test and $60.00 for the license. Coffee with my mom (free...she treated)

Thurs: Beach trip....hotel cost...bought some taffy and a cute starfish ornament....ice cream and coffee treats.

Fri: Home from the beach, dinner out for DH's b-day.

Sat: Family bbq for 3 b-days...movie (free with gift card DH received)

Sun: Pedicure with my sister.

All of these excursions included a meal out. We only ate dinner at home 1 day, and most days included lunch out. We really didn't plan on eating out so much, but that was just the way it worked out. We spent far less though on all of our activities so I think it balanced out ok...after all....we were on vacation. I really didn't want to spend my whole week off cooking and cleaning...that wasn't the point of being on vacation.

So....next week is back to real life, cooking at home and planning for some expenses that are coming up.

Here are a few pictures from our week off...enjoy!

Portland Rose Garden




Chinese Classical Garden



Pittock Mansion



Beach



Japanese Garden

Coffee: $3.00

That's it

Yay!

August 1st:

$3.00 coffee
$582.17 mastercard bill (paid in full)
$7.04 Home Depot (board for fence)
$15.95 (interest charge on equity line)

The last charge really makes me mad....we bought dd2 a car and wrote a check out of our equity line. The reason we did this is we had to wait for reimbursement from her ugtma account. We purchased the car on 7/2 and paid it in full on 7/12. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how and why there was a balance on that account when I looked online. When I called US Bank, they said they charge daily interest. Well that was news to us! If I would have known that, we would have paid for the car with our savings account and then just put the reimbursement check into savings. We haven't used that account in several years so it's possible we had forgotten about the daily interest. Lesson learned for the future!

Haven't felt much like blogging lately....but have been reading and commenting though!

June and July were somewhat spendy....we had money going in and money going out.

Out:
1. Bought dd2 a new bed frame and dresser for her b-day in early June (her bedstand had a broken leg...propped up by a brick and dresser was old and somewhat falling apart) These were unfinished as she wanted them painted black..her room is a pretty blue and her bedcovers are blue, black, white and a bit of silver...throw pillows match bedding...turned out great!

2. Bought a new curio cabinet from an upscale consignment store....bigger than the one we have had for years...not crammed anymore and it looks great on the wall we have it on.

3. DD2's wisdom teeth out ($437.00 our portion)

4. Vet bill for cat (exam and lab work)

5. Gift card for sister for b-day

In:

1. Sold old curio cabinet at upscale consignment store ($75 our proceeds)

2. Sold DD2's old dresser ($20)

3. DH sold 3 wheels off his old car ($100)

4. Reimbursement for wisdom teeth from dental account at work...seperate from flex spend acct($437)

5. Small amount from garage sale...mom, aunt, and sister had one a few weeks ago..we hardly had anything as we cleaned out before our cruise in April....but got rid of everything except 1 thing.

We have several upcoming expenses for Aug...senior pic's for dd2, high school registration, school soccer camp, and high school soccer registration. Also we have a "staycation" next week....have some day trips and an overnight trip to the beach and a family b-day celebration for great-nephew & bil (july b-days) and Dh who's b-day is Aug 10th.

Time to tighten down....Aug is looking very spendy!

DH and I have decided to refinance. We are currently at 4.8% and going down to 3.5% (and to a 15-yay!) with no out of pocket cost, except for a possible appraisal. Since we refinanced about 3 years ago, our mortgage broker said we might get away with an online appraisal for $75 vs $400 for an actual one. We considered going down even further to about 2.8% but that would cost approx $1800 plus the appraisal. Going to 3.5 will save approx $55 a month....going to 2.8 would save about $75. Since we are planning on selling in (hopefully) about 5 years, we think just going with the 3.5 is the best thing. Not sure we could recoup what we would have to pay by buying down points.

Anyway, we are now trying to decide what to do with the "extra" money we are saving.....throw it towards the mortgage? Or up the 401K's? Our mortgage is approximately $127,000

What would you do?

On a side note, if we went down to a 3.5 and a new 30 year mortgage, our payment would be cut almost in half of what it is now....lol. We decided NOT to do that mainly because it could be too tempting to have all that extra money hanging around every month. Sure, we could SAY we would use it wisely by paying down the house or upping the 401K's but it could get real comfortable having that extra cushion around.

Also, we will not throw it at the car loans....my car is now down to $4000 with no interest. DH's care is now down to $9100 with a very low rate (plus we pay extra on the loan every month anyway) and once mine is paid off, we will up his payment even further.

Thanks for your advice and opinions!

Crazy! A facebook friend posted that it cost her $106 to fill her tank the other day! She drives a Suburban because she has 2 kids in sports and has to haul them and all of their stuff around.

To be fair, they probably need more space than a car....I spent many years hauling kids and sports equipment around myself. But....my small suv (Ford Escape) has done us just fine....before that, I had annother small suv...a Mazda Tribute.

They also have a sporting event across town this weekend....at least 30 miles each way and she joked that the tank would probably last the weekend and she would have to fill up again.

No thanks! Even though we have a new car payment with DH's new Focus, I am glad we did it.....it might not make sense now (having a car payment and all), but we are working to pay it off as quickly as we can...that and the fact that it gets 34 miles to the gallon is even better....hopefully within the next few months it will even be better.

So, a few weeks ago, DH and I were visiting with our insurance agent. We had to get a new life insurance policy as our current 20 year term (where does the time go)? policy is expiring. We got all of that set up and then started our annual review.

Our agent (who we really like and trust) brought up umbrella policies. Part of the reason she did, was because we have a teenager and a semi-adult (20 year old who lives with us during the summer since she is in college). She was explaining to us that if something tragic happened, obviously we could be sued. We have $250,000.00 on our homeowners right now and that an umbrella policy of 1 million might be a good idea. She said that people that tend to sue, typically will settle if someone has a 1 mi umbrella policy rather than going to court. If you only have $250K, they are much more likely to go after your other assets like your 401K ect. She also said that an attorney could argue that someone with $650K in assets, and only $250K on your homeowners policy, wasn't doing their due diligence.

So, for about $17/mo we could have this umbrella policy....we can afford this no problem.

Our agent is not pushy or dramatic.....just offering the information up.

So...my question is for all you is....does anyone have this policy? What if any is your experience? Any pro's or con's that you could think of on why we should or shouldn't do it?

Thanks much!

is the big day! We fly out (at long last) for our anniversary cruise we have had planned for a year. So excited! We will fly all day Friday and then spend the night in a hotel and hop on the ship on Saturday.

As I mentioned before, our cruise, flight and excursions are all paid for in full which is a huge relief and a blessing too!

There are a few expenses that have cropped up (cruise related) but not a worry at all.

DH and I have both purchased a few clothing items.....dh needed some new swim trunks and I needed some new sandals. We also both purchased new sunglasses. A few other clothng items purchased to spruce up the wardrobe. Many of these items were paid for with gift cards we have been saving, plus coupon use and some smart shopping, so not alot of outlay of cash.

A few toiletry itmes also...sunscreen, wrinkle release (for clothes), and a prescription for an ear patch for me....I had a little bit of sea sickness on our last trip so I am hoping I will have none this time....we will see how it works.

Lastly....tanning....we both purchased a small tanning package....I am NOT an advocate of using tanning beds and always wear sunscreen outside...however, I am rather fair, and I wanted to get a bit of color on me since we are going very far down south in the Carribean.

And lastly...a surprise for DH.....I ordered a wine basket to be delivered to our room on Saturday....I am hoping it will be there when we check in! For $39 we are getting a bottle of white wine, 4 or 5 different kinds of fruit, cheese and crackers, and nuts....I am hoping he will be super surprised. I ordered it right through Carnival. He is always doing nice things for me and I wanted to do something that will totally surprise him.

We will be eating breakfast, lunch and dinner out on Friday....our flight leaves at 6am so I am not going to get up and make breakfast and dirty up the kitchen....we will probably have lunch during our layover, and then dinner after we get to Florida and check in our hotel....by then we will probably we falling asleep on our feet and ready for bed!

Ugh! Co-worker came back to work yesterday after having Spring Break off....was telling us that over the weekend they received a call from their MasterCard questioning a charge...yep...you guessed it....fraudulent charge.

I guess she pays $8 a month for fraud protection so she was happy (kinda)?? that it acutally paid off to have that protection....on the other hand....I am sure she wasn't thrilled her credit card was hacked either!

I think this kind of thing is only going to get worse....2 people I know in the past week? Yikes!

Ugh! I feel so bad for her....she logged on to her account this morning before work and discovered she was .19 in the hole...she immediately knew something was wrong...she has some auto withdrawls on Friday and knew she had the money set aside in the account for it.

Sometime after she arrived at work, she got a call from her credit union stating it appeared there was fraud activity on her account.

They closed that account and on Friday she has to head over there to get some things straightened out.

She is not sure what is going to happen with the auto withdrawls....if the credit union will pay them or they will reject.

She feels so violated....

Of course, no idea how it happened...probably skimmed or something....will probably never know.

Hoping it all works out for her

Wow! The checking account is looking pretty awesome right now! lol

We plan to throw $1000 towards dh's new car loan and put the rest in savings.

Part of that will go towards paying off the excursions for the cruise we have in April. We have booked 3 and need just 1 more....need to get it done so it will show on the next credit card statement and I can pay it off.

The rest (after car loan/excursions) will just stay in the savings account.

And it is good news.....we are getting approximately $2800 back from federal and approximately $300 to $400 from state.

The reason? Most of it is from the American Opportunity Credit.....for 2010 and 2011 we were eligible for a $2500 credit as our oldest daughter is in college. We also get the $1000 child credit for our youngest.

Per our tax lady....next year it will definately change and we will not be seeing this kind of a refund again for a long time....if ever. We will lose the child credit as our youngest will turn 17 this year. Apparently they will take away the american opportunity credit of $2500 and it will change to the lifetime learning credit which will be $2000. All in all we will lose approximately $1500 in credits for 2012.

She did say our withholdings are right on target though and will re-evaluate next year. We may get a small refund with those changes at least from federal....state is another thing....our state has a state income tax and it just feels like they tax us to death so who knows if any of the above will affect that.

I guess all we can do is wait and see.

It will be nice to have this money though, I have to admit....we were not planning on such a big refund so it is a nice surprise.

More on the plans for that later!

That grocery prices have REALLY gone up? I don't mean just a bit, but like alot! I was shocked when I went to the grocery store on Sunday....this is my usual store for most of our groceries (pantry items) and I just couldn't believe the prices on some of the itmes I regularly buy....they have really jumped!

Add in gas prices these days and it's just crazy!

Boo!

Portland Metro area: $3.50's to $3.75

How about you?

I don't wear alot of dresses....just not my "thing". However, I felt like I needed a dress for my grandma's memorial, and I suppose, it is always good to have a "little black dress" on hand.

I found a dress at Fred Meyer's that was originally $70, marked down to $49.97. It was also on the clearance rack which was 40% off the lowest marked price ($49.97). I also had an additional 20% off making the dress a grand total of $24.00.

Not too shabby if I say so myself.

to the SUV loan! $500 to be exact. We are now sitting at $7000.00 and we have only had the vehicle for 1 1/2 years. Yahoo! I checked their automated system this morning, and found, if we had to, a payment wouldn't have to be made until 3/2013 since we are so far ahead....don't worry....we will keep sending $500 a month as long as we are able.....I want this loan gone

I didn't get a raise. I had my annual review a couple of weeks ago and was told for this year, they are putting a freeze on all salaries. Have to admit I was bummed. I have received a raise every year since I started 13 years ago. I do understand why though. Owners of the clinic are still leary about the economy (even though we are VERY busy). We are looking at getting a whole new computer system here within the next couple of months. That is going to be a huge chunk of money. Plus, we have 2 gals that are expecting (May & July) and we will need to pull some temps in which also cost money. A year and half ago, we did did an addition to our building which was also a huge chunk of money out.

At least they are happy with my work and are very appreciative of all that I do...that does make me feel good.

I love where I work so I am definately not going anywhere

Maybe next year.

Oh wow am I excited!

He sent me an email this morning regarding a bonus...at first I thought it was the PPA payout (if you have 80 hours in your bank at the end of the year, company pays it back to you...this is sick time not vacation time) Thought that wasn't coming until the end of the month.

Upon further reading, I realized there was an attachment...when I opened it, it was talking about a bonus and how hard all the employee's had worked...blah, blah, blah...I quickly realized this was NOT for PPA.

I immediately emailed DH back and asked if he was getting 2....he replied with a big YES!

I am so stoked! This will be paid out on Jan 17th and it also means we can book our excursions for our cruise in April and that the cruise will now be PAID IN FULL!

Any overage will go to the savings account.

That sure brought a smile to my face today

DD2 had a soccer tournament last weekend....such as it is....we were out on the "other side" of town last weekend. That necessitated eating lunch and dinner out on Saturday and lunch on Sunday. Lucky for me, I had some gift cards to use!

I buy gift cards through our scip program at her high school...actually it is district wide, but at the high school level, we get a percentage back that goes into an account that can be used for school fee's.

I used to buy religiously when DD1 was in school and I have kind of slacked off the past couple of years.

I am happy to report I am back on it! I want to build enough so when DD2 is a senior next year, I will have hardly have any out of pocket costs. Freshman and Senior year in our school seem to be the spendy ones. The only thing it can't be used for is driver's ed....bummer for me....I just paid $185 for DD2 to do driver's ed in April.

These gift cards are going to come in handy next weekend....DD2 has a 4 day socer tournament this coming weekend.....1 game a day on Friday, Sat, Sun, and Mon (no school Mon)

I am hoping to find some coupons also to pair with my cards...nothing like saving money when you have to spend money....ha ha....does that make any sense?

Just thinking about a few things I would like to see happen in 2012!

Financial:

1) $25,000 to savings account

2) Continue to pay off SUV loan...currently at $7500....still paying $500/mo.

Personal:

1) Lose 10-12 lbs by April 20th (the big cruise)!

2) Continue to eat healthy and excercise at least 5
times a week.

3) Learn to knit

There's more on my mind but frankly I had another busy day of cleaning and organizing and I am wiped out.....going to go relax in a hot bath with a good book!

Glad to have a 3 day weekend

was wonderful and blessed. Hubby spoiled me as usual even though I asked him not to. He got me a small diamond necklace, $25 to B&N, perfume, new lunch tote, and a pedometer to replace the one I leftin a bathroom stall at Universal Studios in July of 2009

Received a fun foodie gift basket from brother and SIL, a new SnowBaby and some knitting things from my mom and dad....I don't know how to knit but I will be learning (I expressed an interest), and cute reusable tote that my mom made (cc free....you would be impressed) with coffee cups on the front and coffee beans lining the inside. MIL gave gift cards to Kohl's, and SIL (on dh's side(who had my name) gave me a card with a promise for lunch and a mani/pedi....that should be fun! My sister decided last year not to exchange with my brother and me....she doesn't like SIL and doesn't want to buy for her and therefore thought their feelings would be hurt if she exchanged with me. My girls gave me some Tree Hut body scrub and lotion....coconut lime....to get me in the mood for the Carribean! My grandma gives everyone a $100 every year for Christmas and their birthdays.

We headed out to Fred Meyers, Kohl's and Target yesterday...found a few tops at Kohl's and bought a couple of organizing things from Freds...other that than, not much spending.

Had last Thurs and Friday off from work (pto time) and also Monday (holiday) and today (pto time)....spent some time taking down the decorations, organzing, cleaning house, and doing some cooking for freezer meals (another post).

Not really ready to head back to work but it is a short week and next week will be too.

Looking forward to posting some goals for 2012!

I realized this morning (after all of the shopping and wrapping these past few weeks), that I was one gift short for DD2.....we always make sure that the girls have an equal amount of gifts....both number and dollar wise. For some reason, I was thinking about it this morning and quickly did a "count". I am glad I did...would hate to have had any hurt feelings. Stopped by and got a gift card for her which she will enjoy (both the girls got 2 gift cards) plus the wrapped gifts they have under the tree. Stockings are usually most of the same things but in a different color or shape ect.

DH and I headed out and braved Costco....ugh....he had to bribe me with a coffee from Tully's. I didn't need to worry.....it wasn't as packed as it usually is. We were in and out pretty quickly. For some reason, shopping at Costco really stresses me out....any time of the year. My office pays for my membership so it is nice to have it. We usually try to get there when the doors open. We were going to go on Friday but by the time DISH left, it was about 1:30 and I thought by the time we get down there, it would be crazy so I am glad we went today. Now I don't have to go back for about 6 weeks. The line for gas however, was pretty long.....$3.23 for regular unleaded. Not bad!

The doc who gave us $300 visa gift cards last year gave us a gift card today for $325 to Amazon! Pretty cool! I don't shop much online so I am going to have to hop on there and take a look around.

DH has bought some stuff from there and just loves it.

I have absolutely no idea what I want, or really need for that matter, so for now, I am just going to browse and think on it until I find something I really want.

What a blessing!

And....it was $200 more than expected. Amount? $1400. Yipee!

Plans for it? Put it into savings for now. It will be used to pay off the rest of our anniversary cruise coming up in April.

We actually ended up receiving it early. The doc's usually give it to us at the Christmas party but it arrived in the mail yesterday. We have direct deposit but they prefer to give an actual check for the bonus. Payroll company messed up and sent them to everyone's house instead of delivering them to the office. Our office manager was freaking out and calling everyone to check their mail boxes...she didn't want them to sit in case people don't check their mail every day.

Glad it arrived safe and sound.....it is already in the bank!

For my usual Christmas bonus at work. I have been very lucky to receive a bonus every year at my work. Last 2 years has been $1200.00 and I am hoping it will at least be that this year. Of course I am happy to receive anything at all! This bonus is from the 2 doc's that own the clinic. They are such a pleasure to work for and really, really great people.

Also hoping for a bonus from one of the other doc's...she has been very generous the past few years and has given all of the employee's a $300.00 visa gift card. That of course, is very helpful and useful for just about anything.

Not sure what to expect, if anything from our newest doc who started in January. She is such a sweetie and a pleasure to work with. Her schedule is busy but not crazy so it is hard to say if she will do anything.

Not expecting anything from the last doc. She has had financial issues and drama ever since she started. It would be nice to at least receive a card saying thanks for all we do. That is just her and we are used to it. It was surprising a few weeks ago when she decided to buy all of the employee's a coffee drink from the corner cafe....a total surprise! But those are usually the best kind of surprises aren't they? Those totally unexpected ones

Not sure about DH, but I doubt his company will do any kind of a bonus. He considers his PPA payout a bonus. Let me explain.....every employee at his work receives 80 hours of paid personal absence (sick time) which is seperate from vacation. If you don't use your 80 hours by the end of December, they pay it back to you. It's like receiving an extra paycheck. Most guys he works with use their time. DH prefers the money....the only kicker? You have to have ALL of your 80 hours....can't even use 1 day so you hope you don't get sick!

All in all.....hoping for about $1500 but we will see...again....I feel blessed to receive anything at all, especially in these economic times.

Grrr! $60 down the drain. Boo!

Tonight we had to attend dd2's varsity soccer banquet. We have attended many of these over the years with dd1 playing 2 varsity sports all four years of high school and dd2 playing varsity soccer the past 2 years.

Sometimes we have done it in the cafeteria and done potluck or pizza, or like tonight had it at a local country club.

Now I am not completely against the country club. It is a nice atmosphere, but we were completely bummed that it was so expensive this year! $20 per person AND we had to pay for dd. We all kind of thought that the soccer prgram was going to cover the girls but I guess the coach decided not to. And to top it all off it was one of the crappiest dinners ever! 2 kinds of pasta with sauce (the tomato kind)was very soupy and unappetizing, salad, very small slices of bread, lemonade and coffee/tea and very small pieces of tirimisu for dessert. DD took small portions so everyone would get some (it was buffet style) and they never even came back and replaced the food that had been taken.

DD1 came home from college today and I was feeling bad she was going to be on her own for dinner her first night back but I am glad she was not subjected to that yucky food.

Ugh! Next year dd will be a senior so some of the planning will be on us.....I am definately hoping to talk the coach out of doing it there again.

$3200....blech!