mjrube94's Blog

The kids are off from school this week, so we headed down to my brother's house in NC. 80+ weather for the last 3 days...a big change from NJ, where it's only in the 50s. It's been a pretty cheap vacation. Aside from gas to get down here, and a trip to the local museum today, we're not spending any money.

When I get back this weekend, I need to finish my taxes. (Ignore my previous posts from January and February, when I talk about getting a jump on them and not waiting until the last minute!).

I sold another book on half.com. Another $2.00 for the old savings account! More importantly, one less piece of clutter in the house. I'm going to check out paperback swap.com. I have a ton of paperbacks that I'll never read again, and they don't sell well on half. Maybe I can trade them in for something else I'm interested in...

April is a big month for us financially. Aside from taxes that are due, hubby gets his bonus this month. I also (finally) submitted the estimate for repairing the bathroom to the insurance company, so I should be getting that check back as well. The goal is to pay off the money we just transferred to the HELOC when the 0% cc promotion ended. That'll be great.

So that's it now...I'm off to enjoy the rest of vacation!

Ah, it's that time of year. Softball and Tball are starting up. Unfortunately, it meant a bit of an investment, as the kids both needed new cleats, a new bat, a glove for DS, etc. Fortunately I had a 10% coupon for Modells which made it a little more bearable.

The bigger expense yesterday was a new mattress. We've had ours for 12 years and it's shot. I think we got a decent deal (though it's so hard to tell from those ads!). We did get 0% financing for 12 months, and I'm good about paying them off in time.

I'm back in the saddle with my "diet" and exercise. I walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes Saturday and Sunday, and will be on again this afternoon. I had my oatmeal for breakfast and fruit and nuts for lunch so, so far so good. I know I'm being totally shallow here, but on Friday, 2 people at work asked me if I lost weight. I had definitely fallen into the "I don't feel like doing this anymore" trap, so when they asked the question, it perked me right back up and now I'm motivated again.

Made out great at Walgreens today, taking advantage of their March rebate specials.

Right Guard Body Spray $4.99 far
Fructis Hair Spray $3.99 far - $1 coupon
Listerine Tooth Defense Mouthwash $3.49 far
Crest Toothpaste $2.99 far - $1 coupon
Reach Toothbrush $2.99 far
Kotex pads $10.78-$1 coup=$9.78 $10 WAG giftcard after rebate
Listerine Cool Blue kids mouthwash $3.99-$1coupon - $2.50 rebate = $.50.

So I paid $29.22 and I'll get back $33.05 in WAG giftcards, plus I got a bunch of stuff I can use. A successful day...

since my last post. I need to get better about posting. It's not like anything out of the ordinary has been going on, other than life itself (which is never ordinary, I guess)!

I must admit that I've been pretty lax with the financial side of things. Not necessarily overspending, just not keeping as close an eye on it as I'd like. The kids are pretty busy in school (it's sad how much they make 2nd graders do!). Plus DD is making her 1st Communion on May 6, so we have that to prepare for. Hubby's been travelling quite a bit, and my job has been hectic and crazy.

Financially, our net taxes due are likely to be in the $1500-$2000 range. Not horrible relative to last year, but I'm not happy about it. Hubby's bonus comes in April, but we're not sure exactly how much it will be. The plan is to pay off the HELOC (we switched about $6800 to it when the 0% cc ran out). I'll have a much better picture of where we stand at the end of April when these variables (and others) are taken care of.

Still working on the reimbursement from the insurance company for DS's speech therapy. And (unbelievably) waiting for the school to schedule his sessions. My final (I hope) meeting with the therapist at school is next Wednesday. The bureaucracy is killing me.

I've slacked off a bit on the diet and exercise but not terribly. I'm maintaining (which is better than gaining, not as good as losing). I need to get motivated to get back on the horse.

So that's been my deal. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone's blogs and start blogging again myself a little more regularly. Until then...

I did pretty well taking advantage of some sales today. First stop was Walgreens, where there March rebate program started. I got 2 packs of maxi pads, Fructis shampoo, deoderant, and a toothbrush. Spent $21.17 out of pocket, and will get $23.20 back on my WAG gift card.

Next stop was ShopRite. Bought 10 bottles of Pepsi for $10.18, and I got a coupon for $10 on my next order. I also bought 5 Lysol products for $8.15 and got a $5 coupon back. 10 Eggo Waffles for $16.67-$10 coupon back, and 6 Motts applesauce 6 packs - $5 coupon back. We use all of this stuff all the time, so it was a great deal for me. In fact, I'm thinking of going back for more soda tomorrow, to stock up for the spring/summer.

I figured my February net worth. Not as big a hit as I thought, with the stock market tanking. It's always a good exercise, even though most of my savings are long term (college, retirement), so day to day changes don't really matter.

Speaking of exercising, I'm back in the saddle. Went on the treadmill today and will meet my goal for the week. Also tried to eat pretty well today.

So all in all, things are going pretty well...

I went onto Mypoints for the first time in months, and realized that I'm REALLY close to getting a $25 gift card somewhere. I've been getting their emails, but have been too busy, tired, distracted to even click on them. I finally went on to check my balance today and was pleasantly surprised to see that I had 3190, and need either 3250 or 3500 for most $25 gift cards. So my goal over the next week is to see if I can boost that total up and cash them in!

I also placed another order with PeaPod today (home grocery delivery). I haven't been doing it regularly because I've been pretty fanatical about checking the weekly sale ads at the local stores, which I'll still do, but I'm coming to the realization that I actually spend less money with the home delivery! My total order today was $62.15 (no meat or veggies). I don't need the meat (have plenty in the freezer that I should be using up anyway), and I get the veggies from the farm stand. I'm sure if I were in the store it would be much higher. So those will be delivered tomorrow morning!

I have a few hours to myself this afternoon while hubby and the kids are at grandmas. I need to go fill an RX at CVS and go to the veggie store. We're going to hit church tonight so tomorrow will be a total pajama day. They're the best kind...

Posting once a week just isn't cutting it...I need to get on here more often. So what's been up?

First, the 2007 Weight Loss Challenge is progressing nicely. As of Monday I'm down a solid 7 lbs from the beginning of the year. I'm doing 40 minutes on the treadmill 4-5 times per week, and I'm still excited about it. So wahoo there!
Speaking of the challenge, PricePlus, are you out there lurking? Haven't seen a post from you for a while, and wanted to make sure you're doing ok...

Second, it's been rebate-central at my house these last few weeks. In addition to the $4 or $5 ones I've been due, I just got back 2 $50 rebates from Verizon for new cell phones we got for Christmas, and I got a check for $375 from my credit card company for rewards that I cashed in. Although February has been a great month financially, I'm still making up for the blows I took in January (brakes for the car, water softener leak), so the extra money will definitely come in handy.

Haven't been inspired to revisit the taxes since my first go-round last week. I need to, though, just so they don't continue to hang over my head.

Did I mention in a previous post that the insurance company is not covering DS's speech therapy yet? Turns out that the diagnosis code used was too vague, so the therapist needs to give me a new one that will be covered. That will be a nice check if/when I ever get it, but until then, it's a hefty chunk of change to lay out. (Also met with the school today regarding the therapy they're going to start giving him. Can the bureaucracy be any worse? It'll be another 2-3 weeks before the next and final(?) meeting, then he can start. Ugh...)

So that's the deal here. Hope everyone is doind well...

We're all wearing them. It's snowing, with a possible 3-6" by tomorrow morning. I'm planning on working from home anyway, so I'd LOVE a snow day for the kids!

Took the first stab at my taxes last night. Looks like I'll owe about $2000 Federal. This is much better than last year, when we owed $7200! I usually get about $1800 back from NY, but I have to look at Turbo Tax to figure out what's wrong. It looks like they double count our income (we get W2s for NY and NJ). Once I figure out how to stop the double counting, I'll see what I'm due back from NY. So it looks like I'll need to up the amount of our estimated tax payments, but at least we won't have to deplete our emergency fund like last year...

I held steady during my weigh in on Monday. Not bad, considering I was only on the treadmill 4 days last week, and went overboard eating rotten food on Saturday. So all-in-all I'm happy just not to have gained anything. And I'm back in the saddle this week.

It's been a really quiet week, money-wise. I ended up buying lunch at work one day, my first since the beginning of the year. Other than that, I've brought breakfast and lunch from home each day.

Haven't had any unexpected financial surprises, which is great after the ones we had in January! I'm still going back and forth with the insurance company. Turns out the speech therapists put down a diagnosis that's too general, so the insurance co. won't pay it. Now I need to get new invoices from the doctors with a more specific diagnosis and resubmit. Oxford has 30 days to act on claims (and apparently uses every last minute!), so my money won't be reunited with me for a while.

Trying to see the glass half-full, I figure that we're getting by fine paying all of this out-of-pocket, so if/when the check finally comes back, it will be like a windfall. Nothing more frustrating then just waiting...

The diet/exercise thing is still going strong (amazingly). I'm still walking on the treadmill most days, and I'm eating better. As of last Monday I'm down 5 lbs from January 1st, so I'm pretty excited about that, though because I see myself all the time, I don't really notice a change yet. Slow and steady wins the race.

I need to get motivated to do my taxes. Perhaps this week when hubby is away on business. We always get a big chunck back from NY, and usually owe something to Federal. But instead of mailing in NY's early and using that check to pay Federal, I wait until April 15th to mail it all. Not this year...I need to get them done this week.

So nothing too exciting, which is good...

I was all set to write about my January successes, but I was too lazy to gather all of the info! Thankfully I read Jodi's blog about the cost of laziness, so I figured I'd opine on that.

Laziness costs me a ton of money. ATM fees when I'm too lazy to go to my bank's ATM; library fines when I'm too lazy to drop off my books on time; takeout when I'm too lazy to cook dinner; I could go on, but I'm too lazy !

I'll have more exact figures next time, but overall January was pretty good. Groceries were down, but not as much as I'd like, gas was down, I exercised and ate well, and life moved along pretty smoothly. A few major things got in the way (new brakes and tires for the car, the flood from the water softener) so it wasn't a great month financially. I'm not going to sweat it too badly, though, as both of those things were pretty much out of my control.

Weigh in tomorrow. On to February!

Inspired by Nance (on PricePlus's blog), I want to start a 2007 weight loss challenge. Similar to the regular 2007 money challenge that we participate in...everyone sets their own goals and approaches it differently, but we post here so we can see our progress and encourage each other. My goal is to get enough people to join and succeed that by December, we can collectively "lose a person" (180 pounds?)

(Given the financial nature of this site, we can also tie it back to the financial implications associated with getting healthy...gym memberships, fewer meds, etc.).

So jump on board if you're interested. Here's my starting point (as of 1/1/07):

1. My "Kick in the Pants" was when...I went to the doctor for a checkup in December and my cholesterol was 263! It's usually around 212, and both the total and the bad cholesterol levels were up. She told me I had 6 months to lose weight and start exercising to get it down, or she would recommend that I go on medecine. That's all I needed to hear.

2. Goals:
Long-Term Goal (Dec.) - Lose 10% of my weight (17.6lbs).
Medium-Term Goal (Jun) - Get my cholesterol back under 215.
Short-Term Goal - Lose an average of 1/2 lb. per week, not sweating it if I lose 1 lb one week and nothing the next.

3. Age: 36
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 176 (on 1/1, 172 now)

4. My plan: Rather than follow a traditional plan (Atkins, Weight Watchers, etc.), my doctor told me to eat between 1600-1800 calories per day. I like the flexibility that provides, and it forces me to make good choices, because it's really not that much when you get right down to it.

5. Exercise: Walk on the treadmill at least 5x/week. I started the first week of January walking 20 minutes at 3 mph. Each week I increase it by 1 minute (and I lost track one week), so I'm now up to 25 minutes per day. My plan is to continue increasing 1 minute per week until I get to 40, then increase the speed.

6. Financial impact so far: +$35. Last year I averaged $35/month eating breakfast and lunch at work. This month, I've brought it from home every day and have spent nothing (with 1 day to go).

Join me. Let's see if together we can lose a person!

WooHoo! I put up my first 3 auctions ever on Ebay. 1 didn't sell, 1 sold for $1.25+ shipping, and 1 sold for a whopping $23.57+shipping. When I tell you that this last thing was a gift that I received that I never had any use for, and it's been sitting in my closet for literally the last 10 years, that $23.57 feels like $100 to me! This will be the first deposit into my $20 challenge (minus the ebay and paypal fees, of course).

Meeting with the school today to see how they'll handle son's speech therapy needs. I'll post an update later.

I'm going to try another order with Peapod tonight. Also have to stop by CVS to get some of their freebie deals...

I'm on this site at least twice a day, and could have sworn that I posted an entry at some point since the 18th, but I guess not...

Maybe I was subconsciously feeling guilty for going out to a (too) expensive dinner Saturday night. We were supposed to go to a housewarming party that was cancelled. The kids were already scheduled for a sleepover at Grandma's, so we decided to go out to dinner. Instead of going to a local pub-type place, we opted for the really nice Italian place by hubby's work. It was fantastic, but instead of buying a small housewarming gift ($10-$15), or a relatively inexpensive dinner, we broke the bank. I have total buyer's remorse too, because as good as it was, it wasn't worth it...

Other than that, life's on autopilot (which is not a bad thing). Still walking on the treadmill, still watching what I eat (I'm down 5 lbs total from the beginning of the year), still not buying breakfast/lunch at work. So far so good.

I listed 3 things on Ebay during the $.20 listing sale (my first ever). I have watchers on all of them, and have had questions for 2 of them, but no bids. I have a few days left, so I'm hoping I'll get something. Even if not, it was worth it just for the experience!

Tax-related stuff has been dribbling in. As soon as I get my W-2s, I should be ready to do a rough estimate. Hoping (desperately) that I don't owe...usually wishful thinking.

OK, Christmas stuff is down, holiday dishes put away, etc. (The boxes are all in my living room...I'm going to have hubby bring them downstairs when he gets home!). Big sense of accomplishment there.

I sent in for a Musselman's rebate. It wasn't actually a rebate, instead I got a $3 check good toward my cell phone bill (?!). Sent it in and saw that it was applied to my account today, so that's progress.

I also had to follow up with Chase. I got an offer in our local Val-Pak (coupons) for a $10 check if I paid 3 bills online. So I did that back in September but still haven't received the check. They're researching it and will get back to me.

The other big financial thing is my ongoing battle (may be too strong a word) with Oxford, our health care company. My son is getting speech therapy. I paid $350 for the initial evaluation to a doctor still listed as in-network (so it should only have cost $20). Now, he goes for weekly therapy, with an out-of-network doctor (that they approved at in-network rates, because they don't have a doctor in-network that can do it). She charges me $100/half-hour, and I'll need to submit her invoices to be reimbursed. Again, it should only be my $20 copay, but I don't know if they consider $100 Reasonable and Customary, so I have to see what the deal is there...I hope they resolve it soon, because it's costing me big $$.

So that's the deal for the day.

Halfway through the month and things are going "pretty, pretty, pretty good" (any Curb Your Enthusiasm fans out there?).

I am on track for the whole "workout/eat better" resolution. I've been on the treadmill 5x/week both weeks, and have eaten 1600-1800 calories per day. My reward: I'm down 4 pounds. I'm trying to let Baselle's words of wisdom temper my excitement, but it's not working. (I'll have to save it for the week I don't lose anything (or worse, gain!!!)). A side benefit: I haven't spent a dime at the cafeteria at work. Last month I averaged $35/month. So far, nada. I am going to lunch with a colleague on Friday, but it shouldn't be more than $3 or $4.

Along the financial front, I got my gas bill and it was great. My actual use was about $60 less than my budget billing, which is amazing for December (though it was unusually warm). My only concern is that it says Estimate, but it should be actual because they put a thing on the meter to be able to read it from the street. If it is actual, that would be a really great start to the winter heating season.

I've also been taking advantage of the monthly rebates at Walgreens, RiteAid, and CVS, which is allowing me to stockpile some stuff, much of which is free or close to it.

The indoor Christmas stuff is coming down tomorrow. That'll help me along the whole organizational front, because I have decorations all over the place. I'm ready to move on to the rest of the year!

I just discovered Peapod for at-home grocery delivery. They are affiliated with Stop&Shop in my area, and I never really considered it before, because I thought it would be so much more expensive than going to the store. But a friend of mine used them and raved about it, so I gave it a try.

First off, the pricing follows the Stop & Shop circular, so you get all of their weekly deals. They also accept manufacturers' coupons, and double up to $.99, just like in the store. You place your order online, indicate whether or not you'll accept substitutions, pay by credit card and set your delivery date. Mine will come tomorrow from 5-7 p.m. My friend had a problem with some raspberries she ordered. She called up customer service and they credited her account right away.

Delivery charges are $9.95 under $100, or $6.95 over $100. I had a $10 coupon for my first order, and my friend said that they send you 4 $5 coupons for your next 4 orders, making delivery close to free.

The best part is that I only ordered exactly what I needed (no walking down the aisles picking up stuff I didn't come in for), I don't need to take the kids with me (saves me a boatload right there), and I don't have to use my precious weekend time with the family to go grocery shopping. Wow, I hope this really works out...

Well, one way to meet my goal of being more organized is to have a flood in the basement force you to clean everything out.

Our water softener overflowed, and we don't have a pipe to catch the overflow because we don't have a floor drain, so all the water spilled out onto the basement floor. It happened sometime between 4:30-6:30 Sunday, and by the time we got to it, there was about 3/4" of water on the floor.

Once again, we're thankful that we noticed it before severe damage was done. (Could you imagine if we were away on vacation?). Also, the water level did not reach the bottom of the appliances, so our washer, dryer, and extra refrigerator and freezer are safe.

However, it was more water than hubby could clean up on his own, so we called the company that cleaned up after the bathroom flood. $400, but they were done in an hour. So my goal over the next few days is to go through everything down there and see what boxes got wet, rebox stuff we want to keep and THROW OUT stuff that should have been gone years ago.

Other than the plumbing, all is well here. Took advantage of the beautiful weekend to get the Christmas lights down, haven't spent a dime eating at work (which was another one of my resolutions) and have been exercising and eating better. So far, so good in 2007.

So far so good in the new year. A bit of a setback, as I just checked our credit card balances and between leftover Christmas stuff and the big car maintenance bill from the end of December, it'll be a big hit. But I haven't been spending anything not budgeted, so I just have to hang in until February.

Still doing well with the exercising and eating decently. I'm just waiting for it to become routine, instead of a big deal!

I'm going to revisit some book-selling sites. I did a Google search on ebookdrop to see if I could get a feel for whether or not they were paying out (seems that they are), and it brought me to a site called bookthink.com, which lists about 10 different sites that buy books back. I'm going to create a spreadsheet with all the ISBNs I have and run them through the various sites to see if I can get any money for them. This will meet my dual goal of making money for the $20 challenge and organizing my house!

Speaking of $20 challenges, Chase sent me two coupons for people to receive $50 if they open an account. If anyone read my $20 challenge last year, I made about $750 receiving money for opening new bank accounts. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll send the coupon along...

So that's about it for today...

Little successes, but they add up. Went on the treadmill again for 20 minutes. Ate pretty well. Transferred music from our cds to my cell phone and hubby's ipod. (We've been meaning to do that for a while, so it was a big accomplishment to get it done). Spent money, but none that was unbudgeted, so I'm still on track after Day 2! Wahoo...

Today went pretty well, resolution-wise. Not perfect, but pretty well. Walked for 20 minutes on the tread mill, and drank 32oz of water, which is big for me because I hate water! Had unexpected company, so I put out some cheese and crackers and we ordered pizza, both of which I ate, but not as much as usual . Also, hubby paid for the pizza out of his allowance.

I'm off tomorrow, looking forward to a relaxing day to recharge after the holidays!

What a great day. We cleaned out the closet that is at the center of all of our disorganizational woes. (btw, after catching up on some other blogs, is December 31st the official day to clean out closets, or what?!)

It's the kind of closet where, if we could just get it cleaned out, it would make room for stuff from other rooms, which would make room for other stuff, which would eventually get us to the point where the whole house is organized. That's the plan at least.

So we made progress. The closet is cleaned out, and I was able to start organizing some kitchen cabinets by moving things from there into the now cleaned out closet. Slow and steady wins the race.

So while I started the "organization" resolution early, of course I'm holding off the "healthy eating/lose weight" resolution until 12:01...Not quite THAT bad, but I'm sure not skimping on anything, including the gnocchi we had for dinner (in a light cream sauce)...wahoo...

Looking forward to a fantastic 2007...hope everyone has an enjoyable evening, and a happy, healthy year!

The 2006 year-end numbers are in. They formed the basis for my resolutions (listed earlier), and they look like this:

1. My highest monthly expense is Federal Taxes. No action items here...We max out our 401(k)s, take advantage of FSAs, and have started paying quarterly estimates so we don't have a huge hit in April.

2. Mortgage is next. No action items here, either. We refinanced a few years ago, to a 15-year fixed at 4 5/8%. We have about 11 years left, so it'll be paid off before we're 50. We also put an extra $100/month toward principle.

3. 401(k) contributions are next. We already max them out, and will increase our contributions next year to meet the higher limit. I do need to check into whether or not we can write a check for the few hundred dollars between what comes out of our check and the maximum.

4. NYS taxes are next. No action items here. I could increase the 529 contributions to the kids' college funds. NYS lets you deduct up to $10k from your state taxes, and we only contribute $6k. Unfortunately, we have some debt that needs to be taken care of first.

5. We have 2 car payments. One is 4.25% and one is 3.99%. Not much I can do here, although I am able to apply rewards from my Citibank credit card toward a car payment, so I can use that to help pay it down a little earlier.

6. Fed OASDI/EE taxes are next on the list. I don't even know what these are, so I'm assuming there's not much I can do to reduce them!

7. Property Taxes - Got reassessed in 2006. Now they top $10k per year. I do need to set up autodraft from my checking account this year.

8. Groceries - Here's where the rubber hits the road. Averaged $635/month in 2006. My new goal is $575 Jan-June and $500 July-December 07. How to do it? Let me count the ways...

9. We went vacation crazy last year. In 2007, we have one week in NC planned for July 4th week. We may or may not do anything else...

10. Kids' college fund came in at $500/month. That'll probably stay the same in 2007.

So those are my top 10 expenses. Groceries and vacations are the big ones to target here. 11-20 coming up.

Apologies in advance for this being so long...I have a lot to improve!

1. Lose 2 lbs per month. Should be doable, that's only 1/2 lb per week. Even moderate exercise combined with planning and executing meals a little better should do it. Wow, that sounds easy.

2. Get my house organzied. Anyone who reads my blog knows how tough this is for me. My goal is to do 1 thing per day. One drawer, or one closet, or one cabinet. Keep it small and it should be doable. Try the whole EBAY thing, and keep my half.com listings up to date.

Even though these two aren't explicitly financial, both impact my finances, and I definitely need support for them, so they made the list. On to real "financial" goals, in no particular order:

1. Spent $35/month eating breakfast and/or lunch at work. That's less than $2/day, so it never seems like a big deal at the time, but it adds up. My goal is to limit it to no more than $10/month, by eating breakfast at home and bringing lunch. Save $300/year in the process.

2. Compare life insurance and auto rates for hubby and me. I do this every year, and as long as they're competitive, I'll stick with what I have. Always like to go through the exercise, though.

3. Revisit homeowner insurance coverage to make sure I'm properly covered, and move scheduled items from my old insurance company to the new one.

4. Reduce my phone bill by using my cell phone and phone cards for long distance calliing. Should be able to save $10/month by doing this.

5. Take the defensive driver class from AAA to reduce my auto insurance bill by $120/year. Been meaning to do this for a while and never got around to it. Also call the insurance company to let them know I'm not using the car to commute anymore, and decide what we want to do about our third car now that I'm no longer driving to work.

6. Reduce my grocery bill by planning my meals better and making better use of leftovers.

7. Reduce my dry cleaning bill by only going on Wed/Sun when they have deals, or when I have a coupon.

8. Unplug 2nd fridge now that the holidays are over to cut down electric bill.

9. Check out every organization, credit card, etc. that I belong to, to see what benefits I could be taking advantage of. This is a big one for me, because I know there's more out there.

10. Re-categorize my entries, becuase I don't like the categories I've chosen, and I don't think they're doing much for me.

As I go through the December and year-end numbers, I'll try to come up with a few more. The tough thing, as I've mentioned previously, is that my biggest expenses are either fixed, or I've already taken advantage of opportunities to cut. So now I really need to get creative. I think I can, I think I can...

I need to keep my recent happenings separate from the whole "2007 resolution" thing, otherwise the entry would be 5 pages long!

Went shopping with my SIL. Made out great and was really proud of myself. 1st stop Target. Bought wrapping paper and Christmas cards for next year and a few chotchkas at 75% off. Spent about $20, but I had a gift card, so no cash out of hand there.

At Christmas Tree Shoppe, bought a housewarming gift for a party we're going to next week ($10) and a few more Christmas chotchkas for 50% off. Spent a total of $16.

Finally, at Bath & Body Works, made out great. They had their semi-annual sale. Pretty much bought out all of the American Girl lotions, body wash, etc. that was on sale. DD8 and her friends are totally into both American Girl and frilly stuff for the bathroom, so it's a great combination. I got enough to make 5 baskets for the next 5 birthday parties we go to. Cheap, cheap, cheap!

My brother and SIL are leaving today, which gives us a night to relax until MIL comes back tomorrow for new year's eve. Even that should be pretty low-key, as it will be just the three of us. I'm looking forward to finally winding down after a fun, but hectic few weeks.

The big goal today is to do about 6 loads of laundry, as well as do some cooking to use up leftovers from the week.

Took advantage of the week off to put our car in for new brakes and tires. (Of course I also needed transmission work and a new belt). Rather than charging it and paying it next month, like I'd normally do, I'll write a check this month, thanks to a year-end bonus. I really want to start 2007 with a clean slate.

I've also managed to go through the December numbers, and have come up with goals and resolutions for 2007. That'll have to wait for the next entry, though, as dinner is on the stove!

That's what we all are here. I think it's the culmination of too many weeks burning the candle at both ends (and in the middle)! Fortunately, the two kids and I each happened to have our annual checkups this week, so I saved $75 in copays by not making a separate trip. Even better, the three different doctors told us the same thing: they'll write us prescriptions for various medecines in case we don't get better over the holiday, but they're generally against knee-jerk RXs for stuff like amoxicillin, so other than a prescription cough medecine, we're taking all otc stuff. I'm really hoping we can kick it by tomorrow, because we have Christmas dinner here, followed by my brother's family for 5 days, and my kids will be on overdrive with his kids.

As for Christmas, I officially, finally, finished my shopping yesterday. Hubby has one bottle of liquor to get today. That's it. Done. I'll tally up the damage later on, but I think I did ok. Either way, I get my bonus from work in the 12/31 paycheck, so I'll get all the bills paid then so I can start the new year off at the right spot !

I do have to finalize the menu for Christmas dinner, and do the grocery shopping. Hopefully today, if not tomorrow (I'm running out of time!). MIL brings the antipasti and lasagna, and other guests are bringing dessert and wine, so I pretty much need to cover just the main meal and veggies. I have a 20% off coupon from Shoprite from a promotion they ran last month, so I'll be applying that for sure. I also have to wrap every single gift in my house...

On the savings front, I'm still trying to wrap up the 2006 numbers and set my goals for 2007. As long as I get to it by 12/31, I guess I'm ok there.

One cool thing I just found out: We have a Citibank Drivers Edge credit card, that gives you 2% credit on everything you buy. I thought you could only redeem the rewards on a new or used car. Turns out that you can also apply it toward car payments. So I'm excited to that, because the rewards expire after 3 years, and I'm not in the market to buy anytime soon, but I do have car payments, unfortunately. This reminds me of one New Year's resolution, which is to (again) go through every credit card, affiliation, organization, etc. that we belong to, and understand the benefits we get from each. There are often things you can take advantage of right under your nose, but you never seem to look...

So that's been my week. We're off to friends' house tonight and home alone (with mil) for a quiet Christmas Eve tomorrow. If I don't post before then, I hope all my Saving Advice friends have a wonderful Christmas and a happy, healthy 2007!

I'm totally swamped, but it's all good.

We had our big blowout Christmas party/open house on Sunday. 20 adults and 23 kids over at my house. Sounds scary, but it was 58 degrees out, so they were outside most of the time, and the house came away unscathed. We're already booking a day for next year, and I have a ton of food leftover that I was able to freeze.

All my focus for the last week was on the party. Now I'm in "1 day at a time" mode. DD's birthday is tomorrow. (8 years...can't believe it!), so I had to make cupcakes for her class, wrap her present, etc. I still have some last minute gifts to get, parties/dinner with friends on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, then Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So it's all busy but it's all great!

Money-wise, I'm just trying to wrap up the year, update the budgets and lay out some goals for next year. I'm really looking forward (as always) to a clean slate and quiet start to the new year.

Not much happening here...

We went into NYC on Sunday. It was totally congested (100 times worse than normal, which is pretty bad), but fortunately travel in and out was smooth.

Went to the American Girl store, so DD could spend some of her birthday money. The marketing people at that company are geniuses. If you're familiar with American Girls, you'll know what I mean. If you're not, consider yourself lucky...

Made some more progress on Christmas shopping. I only have a handful of things left. I can't wait to compare this year vs. last year's gift total, because I think it should be alot better.

Speaking of comparing, I'm starting to analyze where I ended the year and set goals for next year. Hopefully they'll be ready to post before 12/31!

I must have misread my last bill. I got a letter today from the gas company saying that my monthly payment will drop from $319 to $241/month! Well that's more like it. They revisit it every 6 months, and of course with the winter here I'll need to be really diligent about trying to keep it down so it doesn't go right back up again...Yeehaw!

I also got the Bullet Train today, so I'm anxious to sit down with that and a glass of wine tonight .

I had a question about my Direct TV bill, so I called up a rep. Turns out I'm an "A-List Customer" (oh yeah!), so I'm entitled to $15/month off my bill for the next 6 months, as well as a new DVR receiver (read TIVO) to replace one of my existing receivers. The cost of the receiver and the installation is free with a 1-year commitment. Well that's a no-brainer...I just scored a $15 discount for 6 months, and hubby would NEVER give up Direct TV, if for the football package alone! So they're coming the day after Christmas to install my new receiver.

So that's 2 bills reduced (Direct TV and PSE&G gas), and 1 bill (electric) staying the same.

Finalized November numbers and got up-to-date on December, so I can start looking at how the year is shaking out and plan my goals for 2007. I'll have to go back and reread some of my entries from this past January to see how I've done.