mjrube94's Blog

Finally!

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:35:54 PST

I FINALLY got out of the house today and got something accomplished!

I went back to the library to pick up the rest of those books from the book sale. The bad news is that of the 18 I was looking for, I could only find 13, and in the week and a half that passed since I initially...

Lost week / Good read

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:13:21 PST

Not a lost week financially, but health wise. I had both kids home Monday with what I thought was strep. Turns out only DS had strep. Doctor said DD's strep test came back negative, and it's just a cough. So DD went to school yesterday, and was home today after being up from 1-5am...

Successful Day

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:36:16 PST

Today was successful because I had both kids home sick and still managed to be productive!

Took DD to the doctor and he said her strep test came back negative - it's just a cold. They told DS the same thing before the overnight strep test came back positive, so we're waiting to...

Now it's strep

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:16:49 PST

DS's doctor called this morning. They gave him a quick strep test in the office on Friday and it came back negative. She called today to say the "real strep test" (when they send it out to the lab) came back positive, and she called in an antibiotic (only $5). The good news is that...

Down for the Count

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:20:53 PST

Well, almost. DS came down with a terrible cough Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Anytime he gets sick this happens - a barking cough like a seal. We give him the nebulizer, but other than that, there's not much to do but wait for it to pass. No fever, no aches (thank goodness),...

Back to the Well

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:43:55 PST

On Monday, I blogged about hitting a local library's used book sale. I found 7 books that I could sell for $16.61 (-$3 to buy them) and I was quite pleased with myself.

Last night, while surfing the forums, I came across a post about selling used books to Powells Books online....

Feels like a Monday

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:22:44 PST

What a crummy day. 50 degrees, damp, rainy. I would have done anything to stay in bed for a few more hours, but I had to get the kids to school and me to work. Blah...

I had a terrific day yesterday. Ran all my errands. I closed out a checking account I had at Citibank and...

Prepping for the week

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:29:58 PST

Well, Monday at least. Hubby is travelling for a few days, so I'm working from home tomorrow. I'm REALLY looking forward to not commuting!

I have a number of things to get done:
1) Go to dad's bank and deposit checks for him.
2) Go to my bank and cash check
3) Close citibank...

Challenge Update

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:24:50 PST

I received the full credit of $13.38 from Cash4books. It was deposited into my Paypal account today. Not bad. Took just over 2 weeks. So that's $13.38 more for the challenge, bringing me up to a whopping $49.39. I may have to scrounge around the house for some change to get it...

Another $11.75 for Challenge

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:28:08 PST

I was pretty productive today. Here goes:

(X) Sign kids up for Basketball and Indoor Soccer ($350 ouch).
(X) Update credit cards / budget spreadsheet.
(X) Contact Caregivers Marketplace re rebate
(X) Contact Staples re Easy Rewards
(X) Mail dad's credit card bill

I emailed...

Health Plans & Dentist

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:25:14 PST

I managed to do everything on my list yesterday, except for 2 small things: 1) I deposited the checks at the bank but didn't schedule the xfer to the emergency fund. 2) I picked up the grocery gift cards, but didn't drop them off to the person who needs them. I'll take care of...

Class Trips, To-Dos and $11

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:08:51 PST

I'm inspired by everyone cranking through their "to-do" lists, so I'm going to try posting my top 5 to-dos on my blog to keep me accountable. So here they are:

1) Complete the paperwork to be reimbursed for my kids' dentist visits.

2) Deposit check at the bank and set up transfer...

Good deals at the store

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:35:04 PST

I went grocery shopping today and scored a few good deals: Pert shampoo on sale for $1.99. I bought 3, and had $3.50 in coupons, so I got 3 for $2.50. I bought a 2-pack of Hot Pockets on sale for $1.99 with a $.75 coupon doubled = $.50. 12-pack of Rayovac AA batteries for $.99...

More books gone

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:38:29 PST

I had 4 more books claimed on paperback swap so I have to get them to the post office.

We're going to a concert tonight. Bought the tickets before I got back on the frugal bandwagon. We're having dinner at home before we go so it should be an inexpensive evening. The weekend...

Decluttering Books

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:17:37 PST

I put a bunch of kids books on Paperback swap last week. 4 were claimed right away, as customers had them on their "wish list" so as soon as they were posted they went. Four more books were claimed over the last few days, which will go out in the post office tomorrow. I also received...

Money Angel, Money Devil

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:31:18 PST

I sometimes feel like I've got a money angel on one shoulder and a money devil on the other shoulder.

Money angel made me stop at the Target on my way to Dad's house to return DS's pants that I bought last week. $14.99 credit on my card. Bought dish detergent at the store with...

Busy Day

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:25:58 PST

DD had a soccer tournament today. First game was 9:45, second game was 4:30. In between, we went to Applebees with the team for a team lunch. One of those bonding things that's tough to get out of. I was pretty pleased, though. We had a fabulous lunch for $54 (4 people). I was...

Two Feet in the Pool

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:50:54 PST

When I decide to do something, I usually obsess and focus on it non-stop (except losing weight! lol). I've been so focused on getting my finances back in order that I didn't do a stitch of laundry this week. Until today, when hubby and DS informed me that they have no more socks....

Trip to the Post Office

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:43:48 PST

I signed up for an account on cash4books and sold 6 books for a total of $12.99, plus a 3% Paypal Bonus = $13.38. I'll box them up and get them to the post office tomorrow, and add that to my $20 challenge when I get the money.

I also signed up for an account on second spin and...

$20 challenge update - Books & DVDs

mjrube94@hotmail.com (mjrube) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:13:59 PST

I logged most of my books into Cash4books.net. I can sell 5 for about $10 (but one of them I want to read again before I sell, so I'm going to make good use of my long commute tomorrow, then process them tomorrow night).

I cross checked the books on ebookdrop.com, but they weren't...