As I mentioned in a previous post, DH's work is having a shutdown from the 24th through the 1st. We are not sure what will happen in the first quarter of the year...rumblings are happening that business will be slow.

So, we are preparing a bit for a possible furlough.....my bonus check of $1400 went directly into the savings account. DH's $750 bonus that will come sometime in January will also go into savings.

I have been slowing stocking up on things....mainly toiletries....we do not have a CVS so those awesome deals people get, well, they just don't happen here. However, I have been keeping my eye out for sales and when they happen, if I have a coupon, I am buying things such as bodywash, toothpaste, make-up, toothbruhes and the like. This way, if anything does happen, we will not have to run to the store if we run out of something like that. Spending can be kept to a minimum. I always have a small stockpile of these things, but it will be nice to have a bit extra just in case.

And hey, if it doesn't happen, well, all the better...we will still be able to use that stockpile...it certainly won't go to waste

I blogged a while back about rumors at DH's work. So far, it appears some of it may be true. For the immediate, they are having a shut-down from the 24th through the 1st. DH will be paid for the 24th and 25th, and also the 1st as holiday pay. He is planning on taking only 1 vacation day (the 31st) and unpaid the rest. He wants to hold onto his vacation, in case there are lay-off's...that way they have to pay that out to him if he was let go. There are also rumors of a slow down for the 1st and 2nd quarters of next year. No idea if there will be furlough's and/or lay-off's. For now, we wait. To be honest, I am not too worried at this point. You may wonder why? Well, we have a very healthy emergency fund. We are 2 payments away from paying my car off (Yay!)and we are ahead on payments for DH's car. Plus, he would get unemployment. With my paycheck, we would be just fine.

In other news, our office Christmas party is on Friday...fingers crossed for a bonus! The past 2 years it has been $1200.00....of course, anything is nice.

If DH can make it to the end of year with no sick time, he will receive a bonus sometime in January of $750....this is to reward people for not calling in sick...years ago, if you had all of your 80 hours (different than vacation)saved, you would receive the equivilant of 2 weeks pay...those days are gone, but again, anything extra sure is nice.

For now, these checks will go into savings....if everything ends up ok, DH and I will be planning a trip to Washington DC next year...that money will go towards that, and should help offset the cost.

DD2 had her semi-winter formal this past Saturday night....we gave her a budget of $100....this covered:

$39 dress
$25 tickets
$23 shoes
$8 boutineer
$3 earrings
$2 nail poish

I sprung for the "formal" pics at the highschool...$22 and her boyfriend paid for dinner. Another "last" in our household and I am mourning the days gone by....DH and I also headed out to dinner with another couple who's daughter also attended the dance with her boyfriend.....this girl does not go to our highschool, but is dating one of DD2's and her boyfriends friend....since they live about 30 min from us, they asked if we wanted to have dinner since they were coming out our way....of course we said yes! I've only seen my friend once since club soccer ended in the Spring (that's how we met). The husbands get along well so we had a great time....well worth an evening out.

DH and I also hit Costco to the tune of $183...stuff we all needed...well...except for the M & M's

We also hit Kohl's.....Got DD2 a fragrance set she wanted and I got 2 pairs of much needed jeans....we had a coupon for 20% off and if you spent $100, 25% off....well the total came to $99.73 and Kohl's was nice enough to give us the 25%! We also had $15 in Kohl's cash.

DD2 had her soccer banquet on Sunday night at a local restaurant....MUCH better than last years's AWFUL dinner at the country club....coach paid (out of team funds) for the girl's dinner and beverages and we adults and any other family members had to pay $12, plus our drinks....I spent $14 total for a much better dinner than last year...very well worth it!

We also went shopping at Fred Meyer's for the family my office adopted for Christmas....again had some great coupons....I've talked about the employee discount card my parents have, and that they let me use it whenever I want....Fred Meyer occasionally sends out a pass where you can save like an associate....it is the same discount employee's and retiree's of the company. We were able to get some good deals with the pass and also the coupons they had in the paper....even though the pass is expired now, I am hoping to get my parent's card and head back to get a few more things. It's a great feeling to be able to help a family in need...their greatest wish? Things to stay warm.....our office will definately help this family to have a brighter holiday season!

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.

I had a goal to hit $25,000 for savings and we did it! We are now at $27,000.

Going to update my sidebar to reflect a new goal....$30,000!

Wish us luck!

Funny and frugal....I stopped by Wendy's last night for take out since dd2 was gone and it was just dh and I....had a couple of gift cards but wasn't sure how much was one each one....food came to $9.98....whipped out one of the cards and it was for $10.00....she processed the transaction and said...oh there is 2 cents left on it....want me to just toss it? Uh no.....I'll keep it for a future purchase....ha ha.....I am sure she thought I crazy!

In our quest to save money, we decided to cancel our paper. I tried to cancel and only take the Sunday (since that is our main coupon source) but they don't offer Sunday only....has to be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so I cancelled the whole thing. We will just pick up a Sunday paper sometime on Saturday as I usually have some sort of errand to run and can just get it then. It is worth it to us to still get the Sunday for the coupons as I mentioned before. The main grocery store I shop at (Winco) does not take internet coupons so I need that paper for the inserts. Fred Meyer does take internet coupons so I can certainly use them there.

On another note, looks like our auto insurance will go down a bit too with DH's new car....looks like around $10 a month....doesn't seem like a lot but as we all know, sometimes those little amounts sure add up.

Gas for the cars will be interesting. DH's new car will definately get better gas mileage than his one before but with prices going up, up, up, maybe it will even out in the end.

Still doing well with no home phone and just using cell's.

I love saving money!

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.

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?

from Comcast. As soon as DH turns in the DVR's and cable modem, we should receive a check from Comcast for approx $44.00 in 3 to 4 weeks.

It was interesting....they didn't even try to get us to stay when I called to cancel....they did ask the reason why and I just said it's too expensive.....one rep said "oh, we are the same price as everyone else"....ha ha....I think not. You would think they would have tried to get us to stay with an excellent payment record and all. Not that I would have though

It's official! The land line is GONE! Just have to remember now to keep my cell phone on at all times and not throw it in my purse when I get home

DISH network is up and going and so is FIOS for internet....we estimate this will save $30 to $40 each month.

Next up....getting rid of AOL....still pay $11.99 for AOL....it's kind of like the losing the land line....had it for so long and hoping it will not be a PITA to switch over to something else.

Considering dropping the daily paper.....excpet for the Sunday edition...need those coupons!

Love to see money being saved

That is the one thing I hate about this time of year. Not nearly as many coupons in the inserts around the holidays. There were some in Sunday's paper, but honestly, there was hardly anything in there I needed or would use. Since I live in the land of no doubles or CVS, coupons are precious to me, they really help to keep the budget on track. I would use more internet coupons but Winco will not take them....something about too much fraud. So I use those at Fred Meyer for things I can't get at Winco.

I did manage to save $9.00 between Fred Meyer (Kroger) and Winco this weekend using my coupons.

Bought pizza this weekend with gift cards and saved $5.00 on top of that.

Took DD1 back to college today....DH, DD2, and I stopped for lunch at a favorite deli and saved $5.00 there.

Both coupons came from our Entertainment Book. That book has just about paid for itself already.

Hey there is another goal......tracking down more coupons!

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

You will not be missed.....at all!

About a year and a half ago, we switched to a bundle through Comcast....good price for a year on cable, phone and internet. Almost from the beginning we had problems with them. There was a promotion for a visa gift card for signing up. Everytime we would call we would get a different reason/answer about why we didn't qualify even though THEY sent us the promotion. Finally after about 2 months they finally agreed to give us a credit on the bill equal to the visa card which was $150.

Throughout the time we have had them, the menu guide and drv menu constantly go down or are not accessible. We also find the remote control difficult to use (confusing) and also I don't like how their dvr's work.

Fast forward a year and a half later....I've been bugging DH to call for a while since our contract was only for a year and the bill has shot up quite a bit. He called today to see if they would offer us a better deal. First rep offered $10 off the bill per month and acted like she was doing us a huge favor. Second rep said there were no promotions going on. Third rep told DH we had a 2 year contract. Fourth rep said we were not locked into a contract.

That was enough for DH to get on the phone and call DISH. We had DISH previously and NEVER had a problem. They were more than happy to have us back...so happy they are coming tomorrow and gave us a great rate for a year and several free channels ect. (still have the satelite up) DH also called Frontier to find out about internet. They are coming on the 31st. So after that is connected, I will be calling Comcast and cancelling everything!

We made the decision to drop our land line....kind of scary but definately going to save some money there along with a reduced bill for cable and internet.

Looking forward to starting the New Year with a little less out of our pockets each month

To find that our property taxes went down this year.

Not by a lot...approximately $100 but hey....$100 bucks is $100 bucks right?

Also, if we pay in full, we get a small discount....approximately $100 so we will definately do that....savings account will take the hit for that.

We don't have an escrow, just pay our taxes and homeowners insurance on our own. We are pretty disciplined and save throughout the year, but just the same, it's no fun taking that money out that's for sure!

Taxes are due by Nov 1st.

I was really pleased today with the items I was able to get for free....around here, we do not have a CVS and it is very hard to get really super good deals alot of the time. We only have 1 grocery store that doubles 4 coupons per week which is Safeway but I don't shop there because they are so expensive.

I have a ton of vacation time to use so I took today off. I planned my shopping stops out before I met my sister for lunch. I was able to get all of the items except for 1 which both stores I went to were out of that item.

Here are the items I got:

1 dozen eggs from Target
1 liter of Dr Pepper Ten
1/2 gallon ice cream from Safeway
1 Schick Hydro Razor
1 package Idahoan potatoes
1 travel size body wash from Bath and Body Works

I also took advantage of a promo they were having at Bath and Body Works. They had a buy 3 get 3 free. In addition to the travel size free coupon I had, I also had a coupon for 20% off the entire order, plus a gift card that still had $8.20 on it. I ended up getting 6 full size items for $17.40. Not bad! I am saving 3 of the items for dd2 for Christmas and keeping 3 for myself

Unlike myself who has been extremely fortunate and blessed to receive a raise every year (even 2%), dh's company does not give raises every year. I was happy to hear it was going to be 4%....definately higher than what I thought. I figured 2 or 3%. We will take 2% and add to his 401K. I am thinking we will also add the other 2% to the automatic transfer from checking to savings.

I just realized it's been over 2 weeks since I last posted.

We have been doing really well since we implemented the "low spend". The only money spent (other than regular bills, gas, groceries) has been on a few new clothes. I bought myself 2 new shirts 2 weeks ago. Our local Fred Meyer (Kroger) had a coupon for an extra 20% off clothing, plus I had my rewards coupon for 20% off 2 items of clothing that needed to be used before 4/23. Combined with both items being on sale, I got quite the bargain! Took dd2 2 weeks ago and got 4 shirts at Pac Sun for $42. We headed out today to look for a few more Spring clothing items and ended up at Payless Shoes and Old Navy. Had a 20% off shoes purchase and $10 off if you spent $50 at Old Navy. Was able to purchase dd 2 pairs of sandals and myself 1 pair of shoes (for work) and spent $54.00. Spent $42 at Old Navy on some Spring/Summer shirts for the 2 of us and got 6 items. She needs a few pairs of shorts but after that she should be pretty well set.

Oh, I almost forgot...dh bought new tires for his car and had it aligned. I guess you could call that a necessity He got a $100 rebate which he has already filed. Also received 2 free oil changes as they told him the car would only be there for about 2 hours and it ended up being there almost all day. He wasn't happy about that. He was going to need new tires anyway....I thought he was going to wait until summer but he found a pretty good deal so what could I say....he has to get work

So all in all, I would say we are doing well.

Hopefully we can keep at it!

But definately going to try for a low spend month.

We spent alot of money last month and had a pretty big MasterCard bill. I did pay it off in full though but things are going to be tight this month since we are implementing our "new to us" way of living.

We are going to see how we can work it so we can "live" off of dh's paychecks and put mine towards savings and paying off my suv.

I am going to be more conscience when I go to the store and really think before I buy.

We will also cut out any spending for "stuff"

We will still have an "eating out" and "entertainment" allotment but once it's gone....it's gone!

Let it begin!

DH came up with the brilliant idea. Have no idea where it came from....really out of the blue....but I am on board and willing to try.

He is wondering if we can "live" off of his paychecks and put one and at least part of mine totally to savings and get my vehicle paid off soon.

I think we can do it. But I think it will be harder for him. On his 4 days off in row (every other weekend) we tend to spend money like crazy. He is always wanting to go out and look around ect and we tend to eat out more.....truthfully...I think he gets bored and wants to get out of the house.

So we are going to try it....not exactly sure how yet....still working on budgeting and allocating....like how much to spend each week for eating out/entertainment, groceries each week ect.....I mentioned envelopes....at least for a few categories and pulling out a specified amount of cash each week for groceries.

We are hoping to sit down this weekend and work it all out so we can start this in April.

I will report back with the final verdict!

Ugh....I've been draggin these past couple of weeks....been super busy at work and with the time change and all I will be glad to see this Friday.

Financially things are back and forth....last Friday dh and I hit Costco...$257 later we left......Saturday we took a short road trip to vist dd1 at college...went to an Air/Space Museum but only got to see the Air part....Space part was closed due to a food and wine festival....it was nice though that the admission was discounted since part of it wasn't open but we sprung for the IMAX movie so all in all I am not sure it really saved us any money...had breakfast (just dh and I) and lunch out but used a BOGO coupon on both...for lunch dd and I just split the sandwich and shared the drink.....we are cheap like that We also hit the college student store before we left.....dropped $85 on a couple of sweatshirts (50% off) a t-shirt for me, hat for dh and a couple of bumper stickers. Sunday dh and I went to a movie....had a free movie ticket (Regal rewards) and a coupon for $2 from the Entertainment book for the second ticket.....did spring for popcorn and a water though....absolutely cannot resist the popcorn.....I know.....bad, but oh so good All in all, a very fun weekend alebeit a spendy one.

Work has been crazy busy these past few weeks.....we have been short staffed for various reasons....staff members kids sick...vacations....someone was moving....ect....ugh! I am just exhausted.

I am looking forward to this coming weekend....dd1 will be home from college for Spring Break....I am taking Monday and Tuesday off and am spending it with my girls....we will try to find some free or cheap stuff to do but mainly just spend time together.

My last paycheck was a 9 day one...I hate those...most are 11 days with a 10 or 12 day one thrown in there here and there....I am so glad dh gets paid every other Friday no matter what....mine are the 15th and the last business day of the month...either the 30th or 31st.

I have more to write but at this point I am just ready to sit down and relax...have a nice evening!

Federal tax refund was deposited on Tuesday the 1st....we weren't even expecting it until at least the 4th....that's ok by us.

Also, for some reason, thought the refund was $2000......turns out it was $2600! Woo Hoo! Over to the cruise fund it goes.

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

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

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.