I forgot to add this in my earlier entry...

I got hubby's January paycheck. His life insurance, which he gets through work, went up $14/month!!! He gets x times his salary, so I don't know if they recalculate the total each year and adjust it, or if it's just that he's a year older now, or if they raised the rates on everyone, or a combination of all three, but $225/year is insane! What bums me out even more is that right before the end of the year, I went onto lowermybills.com and checked out 20-year term insurance for him. Turns out it was only about $2/month cheaper than what he had through work. Given that the insurance through work doesn't expire, increases with his salary each year, and doesn't require a separate physical, it was definitely worth staying. I mentioned the increase to him yesterday, and he's reluctant to switch, I think primarily because he doesn't want to take the extra physical and he doesn't like the fact that term insurance expires. I'll call to see what caused the increase, then I'll have to stew about this while I figure out what to do...

On a lesser (but still annoying) note, I got a letter in the mail from our bank. Seems like savings accounts will be charged a $3 monthly fee if the balance falls below $300. This shouldn't be a problem for me, but I'll need to be careful, as this is my "fun money" account and it sometimes falls below that level, also this is the source for the money I use to open other accounts. Hmmm...

I hate to wish my days away, but man am I looking forward to this weekend. I have off on Monday for MLK day, so that means a quiet, 3-day weekend for me! DD has basketball Saturday morning, I'm hoping to go to Church Saturday night, and food shopping (by myself!) on Sunday. THAT's IT!! The rest of the weekend will be spent in PJs, puttering around the house. I still need to put away my Christmas stuff, and straighten up a few things.

Bill-wise, I think I'm staying pretty well on track so far. Hubby and I get paid tomorrow, so I'll write out all of the bills for the month and see where I stand. On paper, it looks like I'll be able to put the $1000 toward my HELOC. I'd be thrilled if I could make this goal each month...I really want this bear paid off by the end of the year.

I'm in NYC today, so I'll hit the bookstore at lunch and see what I come up with. Other than that, a quiet day...

I'm mailing out 2 $10 rebates today. The first is for Del Monte products and the second is for Colgate-Palmolive products. I would have bought the stuff anyway, so I'll include them in my challenge when I receive them. I have another rebate for Unilever in the works. I'm a bit bummed because I didn't think it out as thoroughly as I should have. I'll see what the grand total of the rebate is, and how much I would have bought anyway, and will add that to the total when I get it.

I also cashed in the recyclables at the grocery store for a grand total of...$.65! This is the only part of my plan that I'm rethinking. I notice in my first post, I'm shooting for $100 from recycling for the year. That works out to roughly $2.00/week, which works out to 40 items per week. I'll never come close to this! We just don't drink enough soda, beer, etc. to have the number of cans and bottles needed for this. So I'll continue to do it and add to my total, but I'll need to make up the difference somewhere else...

New total: $9.71

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebookdrop), $25.49 (ebookdrop), $75 (Affinity Bank), $10 (Del Monte Rebate), $10 (Colgate Rebate)

I've never really gone out of my way to take advantage of rebates unless they're right in my face. But as part of my 2006 challenge, I decided to try and take advantage of more rebates, particularly on items I'd be buying anyway, to add to my savings. I checked out the Freebies/Rebates forum on this site (man, does that Kimmie do a good job!), and lucked out with a $10 Del Monte rebate for buying 20 products. It just so happened that during last week's "can can" sale at our grocery store, I bought everything I needed, and still had my receipt. I spent a total of $10.94 for 20 cans of fruit, vegetables, and broth, and will get $10 back. Cool. That inspired me to do the $10 Colgate rebate that's out there. I wasn't going to bother, because I did it last year and must not have sent everything in, because they rejected my request. But last week, I bought 3 of the items I needed to complete the rebate, so it was just a matter of buying 2 tubes of toothpaste ($1.97-$1 coupon each). So for $1.94, I'll be getting back $10 there, too. Thinking I was on a roll, I took advantage of a Unilever rebate. The form I cut out was from a CVS ad, but Eckerd advertised the same rebates. So I went there with my coupons and bought a bunch of stuff. Turned out 1) The form was exclusive to CVS, so I need to make a special trip back to Eckerd to get their form for the stuff; 2) I bought soap and body wash, when the rebate was for soap or body wash; 3) I bought 1 thing of fabric softener instead of 2; and 4) I planned it to get an extra $4 back by buying a certain number of items, but because I messed up #2 and #3, I now have to fix it. Lesson learned: READ THE FINE PRINT and don't buy stuff just for the rebate! I may just go return the whole kit and kaboodle!

The rest of the day was pretty productive. Went to CVS for DD's vitamins and a few other items that will be reimbursed by my FSA. (What a good deal I got on Ibuprofen: 100 Nuprin caplets on sale for $2.15, minus a $2 CVS coupon for a grand total of $.15!). Then I went to Eckerd for that whole rebate mess, spent $33 on groceries, got DS a much needed haircut ($14) and came home.

Total groceries this month: $273/$500.

I took care of my grocery shopping while I did Dad's. No special trip needed, and I was solo, as hubby was at his mom's with the kids. Total spent: $55.55! ShopRite had their "CanCan" sale, with pretty good deals, especially when combined with coupons, many of which were doubled! I'm pretty psyched because I'll definitely come in under my $100 goal for the week. I need to go to the fruit/veggie store tomorrow or Tuesday, but there's not way that will come close to the $45 I have left for the week. Wahoo. I also updated my price book tonight, so I'm keeping up to date with that. Excellent day...

Total groceries this month: $240/$500

I think I'm doing much better with my groceries. My budget is for $500/month (which still seems really high to me, but it's a start). That means I can spend $100/week at the grocery store and $100/month at BJS. My BJs bill yesterday was $94.13 and my grocery store trip last week was $90.xx. So far so good. I've planned my menu for the week, and wrote out my grocery list for this week, and I should be able to stay under $100 again (although that needs to include the grocery store and the fruit/veggie store). I also started updating my price book again and it's already paid off, as there were a few deals in this week's sale paper that I normally would have thought were good deals and now see they're not.

I went to Toys R Us yesterday, and brought gifts for 4 birthdays this month. I had some gift cards, so the total out of pocket was about $35.xx. No other expenses, as expected. Today I'm going to dad's, he'll spring for dinner...

Hubby has a fractured toe. We thought he just stubbed it really badly, but it's been about a week and not getting much better, so he went to the Orthopedist. $20 copay covered by FSA, but at least now it's taped and will be getting better eventually...

I filled up the car today. I'm really digging this Shell Mastercard. My first statement came and I received over $57 in credits that will be applied against my next bill. Most of this came from the 15% rebate on Shell gas (3% on everything else - 1st 60 days) so while it won't last forever, I'll be happy for whatever I get.

I also filled out the reimbursement form for my parking. When I work in NYC, it costs me $20/day to park. I now have the money taken out of my paycheck pre-tax, then file the claim with them to be reimbursed. I haven't figured out yet how I get my money (I think it shows up in my next paycheck?). Painless process, all done online. Good deal.

Other money spent today: $4 on lunch, $10 dues for a local club, and $100 for DD's softball registration. The big hit will come after work today when I stop by BJs. I haven't been for a while, and could stand to stock up on a few things. I'll be thrilled if I can keep it under $150. I also need to hit ToysRUs for 3 birthday presents. I have some gift cards, though, so cash out-of-pocket should be minimal.

This weekend should be pretty low-spend, too. The cleaning lady is coming tomorrow (thank goodness!) but that should be the only cash out. We're going to dinner at our friend's house tomorrow night, but we already have a bottle of wine to bring. Sunday, I'm heading to my dad's to do his shopping and have dinner with him. So other than gas/tolls, that should be no-spend, too. Have a great weekend everyone...

I stopped back at the library on my way to pick up DS from preschool yesterday. I found one paperback there that ebookdrop would buy for $1.30 (cost to me $.10). So I bought it, added it to a couple of others in the house, for a total of $3.81. Cool. Then today I stopped by the bookstore at work. Found 8 books that I can sell for $18.66 (profit of $9.98).

I've spent some unnecessary cash over the last few days. Went out with some friends last night for drinks ($13), and got Chinese food for lunch today ($7.05). Both came out of my allowance for the week, so I don't feel too bad about it.

I still need to submit some remaining 2005 medical expenses to my FSA, as well as to take care of some other housekeeping type issues. Hoping for a quiet rest of the day...

I'm off to a good start on the challenge: My local library was having a sale of about 75 books. I looked through all of the hardcovers, and 2/3 of the paperbacks. Ebookdrop was willing to buy 1 paperback for $1.30 (cost to me = $.10). When I went home to place the order, I found 3 other books I had lying around that ebook would buy. I had been holding off on them because the $ offered was so low, but they've been on half.com for a while now without any movement, so I decided to add them as well. Net profit: $3.81-$.10=$3.71. I'll subtract the $.10 here and add the $3.81 when I receive it.

Today, I went to the bookstore by work. I checked out 6 shelves of books and found 8 that ebook will buy. $18.66-$8.68(cost) = $9.98 profit. Again, I'll take the $8.68 away here and add the $18.66 when I get it.

Finally, I called Affinity Bank, the first of my 2006 bank offers. My kids have accounts there (great deal - 10% interest up to $500. Highly recommend it). Anyway, in one of their statements was an offer to open up a free checking account and get a $75 bonus. (I think this is open to everyone, if you ask). I need to open the account by mail, because it's in California, and I'm in NJ. So I filled out the paperwork today and mailed it out. Not sure how long it will take to get the bonus, because after my account is open I need to set up direct deposit, but hopefully within the next two months.

So that's it for now. New totals:
Opening balance: $20.00
Debits: $8.78 (books)
Closing balance: $11.22

Outstanding Items: $3.81 (Ebookdrop), $18.66 (Ebookdrop), $75 (Affinity Bank)

Good news for me...I found the sheet of ISBNs that I wrote down before Christmas but forgot to go to the bookstore and pick up the books. Anyway, ebookdrop is still accepting the 6 books I had, for a total of $15.23-$6.51=$8.72. I won't forget to pick the books up today!

I picked up the used books today after work. I wasn't able to find all of the books, but found some. I spent an additional $2.16 beyond what I listed above, and I'll make an extra $6.83 in profit.

So my new total is $9.06.

Outstanding items: $3.81 (ebookdrop), $25.49 (ebookdrop), $75 (Affinity Bank).

I finally got my $25 bonus from PNC bank. I opened up a checking account with them in late October. I was supposed to get a $10 Best Buy gift card on the spot (which I did) and a $25 BP gift card 6-8 weeks later. I never got the BP card, so I called the branch, and they told me that they can't get BP cards anymore, but he'll send me a $25 Best Buy card instead. Never got that either. When I called back last Wednesday, the rep told me that he would give me a $25 Visa gift card instead, and leave it with the tellers for me to pick up on Friday. I never made it to the bank on Friday, and when I went there today, the tellers couldn't find it (of course) and he was out to lunch and not answering his cell phone. Ugh! When I finally spoke with him at 3:00, he said they just added the $25 to my account, and it already posted. So the end result was great, but the hassle was a bummer. Of all the bank opening offers I've taken advantage of, this is the only one that I've had any problems with. But at least I got it.

I also finally got the oil changed on the car. I went to Jiffy Lube. I had a $5 coupon from my Shell Mastercard (apparently Shell and Jiffy Lube are connected), and I also get a 15% rebate by using the Shell credit card. I tried to get DS's hair cut, but the place we usually go to was locked up. I wonder if they went out of business, though there weren't any signs to that effect. I'd be bummed if it did, because it was pretty cheap and really convenient.

I took the kids to the library after school. The library was coincidentally having a "fire sale" where they were selling paperbacks for $.10 and hardcovers for $.25. I checked out the dozen or so hardcovers at ebookdrop, but they weren't buying any. There were a few dozen paperbacks, which usually don't sell as well, and also usually get less money, so I didn't bother going through them all today. If they're still there next week, I'll test them out.

Aside from the oil change, the only other money spent was for Oriole-Yankees tickets for a game in June. Hubby and I went to Baltimore last year for a game, and it was great so we decided to do it again. I'll check out the Marriott over the next few days...he should have enough points to get a free night, and I need to book it before the tickets go on sale to the general public so they don't sell out. That's about it for today...

So far so good...I went grocery shopping today (without the kids) and spent a total of $90.xx. My budget for the month is $500, so that's pretty good. I saved my receipts, and need to update my price book with the purchases. No other spending today. Tomorrow I need to take the second car for an oil change (never did that last week). I'm drawing a blank, but I think that should be it. I was also happy to see the payment from the three ebookdrop orders I sent in December for the used books. For some reason (holidays?) they all were paid today. So it's cool that it worked, and I'll be back in the city on Thursday to pick up the next round. I also got some organizing done today - cleaned out a few closets (one per day is my goal).

I love the new year...I like the feeling of a "clean slate". I spent yesterday and this morning finishing up my 2005 recordkeeping. As I've experienced each month, I like looking at my net worth more than my day to day finances, because stuff like 401ks really help out.

I'm going to spend most of today doing laundry and straightening up the house. Our company left yesterday, and my house looks like 5 tornados have swept through! I don't think I need to go out at all today (or tomorrow!) so it will be a quiet day to finish gearing up for the new year!