mjrube94's Blog

I was inspired by Bob B's blog (say that 10 times fast), so I counted out the change in my piggy bank. $40.77, which was accumulated over most of 2011. Not too shabby. I'll bring it to the bank next week, along with any other change I scrounge around the house between now and then, and make it my first 2012 payment to the HELOC.

I spent the day cleaning the house and grocery shopping. We're having friends over for dinner tonight. Very low key, which is what I like best for New Year's. Tomorrow I'm making sauce and meatballs for the freezer so we'll be less tempted to eat out. I'm also planning on foraging through my refrigerator and freezer over the next few days and using up what I have in the house. Between Christmas and New Years, we bought a lot of food, and I'm not entirely sure what all is left. So a few flexible, potluck dinners coming up!

I hope you all have a great, safe evening! Happy 2012!

Labor Day and New Years are my two favorite times of the year. I feel like they both offer me an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start fresh (Labor Day because the kiddies go back to school and I can get my life back in order after an unstructured summer and New Years because, well, it's a new year).

I usually update my blog at year end to look back on the year that was and look ahead to the next. This year has been challenging. Dad pinched his sciatic nerve in June and was in the hospital/rehab until the end of July. He didn't fully recover until after Labor Day, then spent the fall trying to pack on the weight he had lost. Fortunately, he has great insurance (the bills were insane). It really made me appreciate what those without insurance must go through.

I've paid my Christmas and other bills and am ready to start January fresh, using cash whenever possible. I also have my envelope system set up. I am determined to track and follow my budget, and hopefully pay down my ever-present HELOC. I'll update the totals on the right and track my progress.

I just finalized my 2012 celebrity death bet picks. Barring some unanticipated event over the next 36 hours, I'm poised to win the 2011 contest, thanks to Jane Russell (where did I pull that one out of?!), Steve Jobs and Kim Jong-Il (another long shot that panned out). Apologies to any readers who are offended at this. At the same time, I know that my picking them on this list did not in any way contribute to their demise, so I'm still sleeping soundly at night.

I'm looking forward to the new year. Although I haven't posted in ages, I stay in touch with many SAers through Facebook, and lurk on the blogs pretty regularly. I'm always excited to read about the progress everyone is making on their goals! I hope you all have a happy, healthy 2012!

As always, part of my year-end planning is getting on my blog, wrapping up the current year and looking forward to the next. My two favorite times of year are Labor Day and New Years. For me, they signal opportunities to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. (Labor Day because of the kids going back to school and my life getting back into some semblance of a routine after a structure-free summer and New Years because, well, it's a new year).

Just finished getting my 2012 celebrity death bet list finalized. Barring any surprises over the next 36 hours I'm poised to win the 2011 contest. I'm winning this year with Jane Russell (how I picked her I'll never know), Steve Jobs and Kim Jong-Il (another longshot that panned out). Apologies to any readers out there who may be offended. Then again, I know that my putting them on a list had no impact on their ultimate demise, so I'm still sleeping pretty soundly at night...

I've paid all of the Christmas and other bills, and am ready to start the New Year on a cash basis. I've got an envelope system set up, and am determined to stay on budget, and hopefully pay down the ever-present HELOC. I'll update my totals and see what kind of progress I can make.

On the home front, spent a lot of time with dad this year, due to his nerve problem in June. He pretty much rebounded by Labor Day, then spent the fall trying to pack on the pounds that he lost. He seems to be back to where he was, so I'm relieved about that. I can't believe how expensive it was. Thankfully, he has great insurance, but it makes me appreciate how tough it must be for people who don't. Hubby and the kids are doing well, and work is busy, but can't complain.

Although I haven't posted in ages, I see several SAers on Facebook, and lurk on the blogs pretty regularly. I'm always impressed at the progress everyone is making, and love catching up...

I hope you have a Happy, Healthy 2012!

I haven't posted for almost a month! Lots of things going on. Dad is in the hospital. He pinched a nerve and was in tremendous pain. He was in the hospital for a week and has since moved to a rehab center. I've been consumed with making sure that he is being taken care of and is getting the help he needs. Fortunately, I have a strong support system and several people helping me out. It's amazing how draining it is even though I'm not doing any of the work!

He still has a ways to go, but at least he's on the right track. The big financial impact on me has been the amount of food I've had to toss because I wasn't home to cook it! Minor in the grand scheme of things.

I have one week left before our annual vacation in NC. I'm looking forward to a much needed rest! Looking forward to spending the weekend catching up with everyone's blogs and getting back on this site.

After two crazy weeks, I have a day with absolutely nothing to do (besides grocery shopping, but I don't count that).

I am caught up on the May finances. Turned out Citibank only dinged me for the interest on the late payment, not the late payment fee, so I avoided $35 there. I'm no putting the due dates in my calendar so I don't forget them again! DH got a ticket this month ($87, but it's the points I'm worried about). This is the first time either of us have ever gotten a ticket, and I think our auto insurance company has a forgiveness policy on the first one, so I'm hoping it doesn't hurt us too much. Our rates are already through the roof just because we're in NJ. And I paid SIL for the 2nd half of the beach house payment, so our vacation is all paid for. Woohoo - 6 more weeks!

We're closing on the mortgage refi tomorrow. That was the smoothest process ever (so far).

On the extra income front, things have definitely come to a screeching halt. I haven't been on Swagbux in forever (no time), so no $5 amazon cards. I also haven't sold anything on half .com for a while. I do have a book for paperback swap .com to get in the mail. No money for this, but a credit I can use to get another book. I'll have to check the kids' summer reading list.

Finally, things seem to be calming down a bit. Hopefully that'll get me on this site more often.

I've heard about this show, and today watched a few episodes for the first time. (Taking advantage of a really rainy day). Wow! On the one hand, I'm totally impressed; these people regularly save 90% of their bill through careful planning and great organization. I'm also impressed that in some of the cases, it was driven by people being resourceful in response to tough family circumstances like layoffs, illnesses, etc. On the other hand, it seems like some of these people are treading a fine line between good money management and sickness. I don't care how upset your stomach gets, can you REALLY use 75 bottles of Maalox before they expire? (note that these and other things do not appear to be donated; instead, they're taking up every nook and cranny of their house). I spent the whole episode going back and forth thinking, "wow, I should try to do this" and "uh, maybe I'm ok with my couple of coupons each week". Interesting, anyway.

I balanced my checkbook today. I have to pay SIL for our portion of the vacation house we rent. Also planning for nephew's confirmation next weekend, which requires a card, gift, and something for DS to wear (I assume sweats don't count!).

I tried Peapod again for groceries. My reverse psychology is that when I go into the stores, I always get tempted to buy stuff that's not on my list, and my bill is always higher than it should be. Alternatively, when I order online, I only order what I need. Peapod is affiliated with StopNShop, so we get those sale prices, and they do accept coupons. If the order is $100+, delivery is $5.95 + gas surcharge, and they often send coupon codes for free delivery. Anyway, I placed an order yesterday for delivery this morning from 7-9. It was absolutely POURING out, and it was SO NICE to have the guy bring all of the groceries right into my kitchen. Worth every dime, for sure. I'm going to stick with this again next week and see how it goes.

After months of nothing new with my finances (not that I'm complaining, mind you), I finally have news to report: I just refinanced my mortgage with Chase.

My current mortgage with Chase has 7.5 years left on a 15-year fixed, at 4.625%. They offered me a no fee refinance to a 10-year fixed at 3.875%! My monthly payment drops from $2005 to $1433. My concern was that I'd be adding 2.5 years on to the term, but there's no prepayment penalty, so I arranged to continue having the $2005 automatically withdrawn from checking each month, which will result in my paying the loan off 2 months sooner than I currently would, and save $4k in interest. Also, because the payments are automatically withdrawn, they give me a 1% bonus each year which they apply toward the principle, which is another $175 or so. Wahoo! I know it's not much, but I'll take it!

Not much on tap this weekend. I got paid today, so I have some bookkeeping to do. Weather is supposed to be crummy, so maybe we'll do some clean-up projects in the house...

Happy Mother's Day to all my SA mom friends. I was able to sleep late, until about 10:00, which is an incredible treat! Hubby and the kids are making me breakfast burritos (thanks to many leftovers from last night's cinco de mayo party), and coffee in bed. DD has a soccer game today, followed by dinner with MIL. A quiet, relaxing day for sure.

On the financial front, I had no luck with Citibank waiving the late fee for last month's late payment. To be expected, as I did the same thing not so long ago. I get on the credit card companies for a lot of things, but this one was 100% my fault.

May is shaping up to be an expensive month. I owe SIL the second half of our beach house payment, which will be about $1000. Also, I bought much-needed new clothes and shoes for me and the kids. (As an aside, let me tell you how depressing it is to go shorts shopping for tweens. I can't believe how short these shorts are! It took us forever to find ones that were long enough).

There's not much going on financially this week. I'm learning my lesson from last month and putting all of my due dates in my calendar! Other than that, looking forward to a slow week...

Can someone please tell me where my time goes? How is it that 1/3 of the year is over, and I remember New Year's Eve as if it was yesterday? I feel like March and April came and went in the blink of an eye.

The financial repurcussion of losing track of time: I missed the deadline for my credit card payment. It was due on 4/28 and I just paid it today. This is super frustrating because I have no excuse beyond my own disorganization. And I can't even call up and have them take pity on me, because I did the same thing at the end of last year when I completely stopped tracking my spending. The finance charges shouldn't be too bad because I paid it in full today, but I'm sure the late payment fee is in the neighborhood of $35. An expensive lesson in organization...

Wow, that's a bummer.

Needless to say, I'll spend some part of the weekend paying the rest of the month-end bills...

I am definitely going through one of those phases where I'm so busy with life that I'm not focusing on my finances as much as I should. Which means that I need to make it a point to get here and post more regularly to keep me on track.

I made a decision to back off of couponing for a while. I was keeping all of the coupons that come out, in case opportunities to match them to great sales came along. Keeping it all organized is sapping me of energy, and I'm not sure that I'm getting the most bang for my buck (no pun intended), so I'm going to take a break. I'll keep coupons that I know I'll definitely use, but other than that, I'll let them go. I can always go back to it again.

I received the PediaSure rebate and a small deposit from half .com. I also got an email from ebay that I can list 50 items for free. I haven't yet gone down this road, so I'm going to see when the offer expires and try to post some items.

I need to go out today to get some items for the kids' Easter baskets. Nothing major; they're both old enough to know about the Easter Bunny, but I'll get them a few small things. Easter dinner will be at MILs, which means no cooking and cleaning for me, and plenty of leftovers .

I hope everyone who celebrates has a great day! That didn't come out right...even if you don't celebrate Easter, I hope you have a great day too!

An unlikely combination, but I got both over the weekend. The friends who came for dinner on Saturday got a high-end (SUPER high end) dishwasher when they remodeled the kitchen. Apparently, the manufacturer recommends Electrasol, so they gave us the Cascade they had on hand. 2 big bottles of liquid, and a box of powder! This will last me for months!

So that was the savings. On the spending side, I went to Kohls on Sunday to buy clothes for ME!! I rarely by clothes for myself, and needed them desparately so I don't feel at all bad about it. Everything was on sale, I had a 20% off coupon, and I used a discounted gift card. I still ended up spending about $250, but got everything I needed.

The only other discretionary spending was for the new Harry Potter movie. It's technically a birthday present for DH. We pre-ordered it over the weekend from Best Buy, and they had the Blu-Ray for $24.99. We're watching it now. I'm not a huge fan, but hubby and the kids dig it, so it's a good family movie night...

We had friends for dinner last night. I was going to try a new recipe that required kaffir lime leaves. I've never used them before, but apparently they're popular in Thai restaurants, and they can be found in Asian markets. I don't know if we have any around us, so I stopped in a farmers market in the next town over. Couldn't find the lime leaves, but what a find otherwise! Everything was SO CHEAP relative to what I usually pay, with a huge selection, and everything looked so fresh. Here's a sampling of what I got, and what I normally pay at the regular veggie store:

yellow onions 2lb bag - $.99 ($1.98)
thyme and chives - $1.00ea ($2.00ea)
basil bunch - $1.59 ($1.99)
red onion - $.79/lb ($.99)
scallions - $.33ea ($.42 ea)
pears - $1.29/lb ($1.69/lb)
lemons - 4/$1.00 (3/$1.00)

I walked out with thiese and other things for $28.00. It easily would have cost $40 at the other place. I'm so excited! I'll be going here each week. (And the meal was great, too).

So now I have a clean house, leftovers to nibble on, and I'm going to dad's for dinner tonight, while DH and the kids are at grandma's. Before I go to dad's, I'm going to have a cup of coffee and catch up on my finances, but I had to post this find first!

I'm not quite sure why I have it, but I do! It's only in the upper 50s, but sunny, and after all of the miserable weather lately, I'll take it. It also felt like a summer Friday at work. A lot of people were out or left early - a total ghost town. I took advantage of the quiet to get organized at work (I'm on a kick there too), and it's left me totally inspired.

I paid a few of Those bills today - you know, the ones you don't really remember until they're due? I signed the kids up for religious ed next year ($145), and signed DD up for a week of camp at the end of June ($125). Didn't have either of those planned, even though I should have known.

Hubby is going out with the guys tonight, so I'll look at the finances and plan out the rest of the month.

It's hubby's birthday today, which meant dinner down at MIL's, and a super-sickeningly sweet chocolate cake. (It's his favorite). The kids and I got him 2 dvds, including a pre-order for Harry Potter 7 that comes out tomorrow. All in all, an enjoyable way to celebrate the day.

On the financial front, I paid our estimated taxes today. That's the killer - it's bad enough taxes are due April but to have to pay estimated tax for next year is tough! I get paid tomorrow, so I'll need catch up on our finances this weekend.

I'm reading a book called Getting Things Done. It's a time/organization management book. I'm hoping that it helps me get on track. I'm looking forward to continuing the decluttering the I started with all of the book/dvd sales.

We're having friends over for dinner on Saturday, so I need to plan the menu, hopefully without breaking the budget. I always wait until the last minute (hence the need to get organized!). Then Sunday will be dinner with my dad. Should be a good weekend.

Full disclaimer - I drive a gas guzzling SUV and it was absolutely on fumes. But still, $76.00 for gas? I've been driving for 23 years and have never paid that much! I don't have the receipt handy, but believe it was $2.69/gallon. Ouch. And this is one of those tough categories to reduce. I could probably do a better job combining trips, and maybe walk to the train station instead of drive (once the weather is nicer), but it's not like I go driving through the countryside for hours at a time just for the view. I'll have to give this some more thought and get creative.

I finally made it to the post office on Friday. The one book should have gone out Monday or Tuesday. I sent it first class, so I'm hoping it gets to the person quickly enough that I don't get bad feedback on half ,com. I have another sale to get out today, along with two books I'm getting rid of through paperbackswap .com.

I've got some shopping to do today. I got 2 Barnes & Noble groupon deals a while back that end on Monday. ($20 credit for $10). I'll take the kids to get some new books, and maybe pick up one for myself . I also have a gift card from Kohls that I bought discounted online, and I need to pick up a few things for myself there.

Speaking of discounted gift cards, I need to go online and pick up a Petsmart gift card, and a JC Penney gift card so I can do some spring clothes shopping for the kids in the next week or two.

The rest of the weekend will be all about cleaning the house and doing the laundry. My dog ripped apart one of his stuffed animals and I have stuffing everywhere!! DD has a soccer game tomorrow too, so her uniform will be in the first load.

It's been a quiet start to the month. I got my RiteAid rebate for about $18, and my Theraflu rebate. Both of those will go into the bank. I desperately need to get to the post office to get 2 dvds and a book out in the mail. I've been procrastinating all week and one is really late.

We got the taxes back from the accountant. Ugh! It was a much bigger hit than expected. He primed us for the Federal tax due, but we also have NJ due, and estimated federal and state due for next year (also due 4/18). And his bill. And a SEP IRA contribution. All in all it's a boatload of money. We have it, fortunately, but it's definitely a lesson learned for next year. We need to save for taxes as we go.

I'm meeting my sisters for lunch tomorrow, so that'll be cash out of pocket. And a much needed haircut to cover those grays!

I don't usually post on this site on April Fools Day, thanks to a prank pulled by Jeffrey several years ago, but it's been a few days since I posted last, so I had to do it. Escaped the day without falling victim to any pranks, but I did do a double-take when I read Ima's blog before I said, "nah, can't be"!

OK...I wrapped up my March financials. Made it through another month, though April will be a tough one.

I was only able to put $48.16 toward my HELOC. This was a big drop from January and February, due to slower half .com sales. My total ytd was $596.85, so I tossed in the extra $3.15 to make it an even $600 ytd. If I could do $200/month, that'd be $2,400/year, which I'd be pretty thrilled with. I need to come up with some new alternatives for bringing in money.

I also tossed in $70 to bring my emergency fund up to $5,000. This is where it usually is, but I had to tap into it last fall, so I'm glad that it's back where it belongs. Going forward, I'll put $250/month in. I'd feel more comfortable with it up around $10k.

Beyond that, bills are paid and I'm ready to take on April.

Newsflash: Rutgers University is paying $32k to Snooki to speak?! This is a state university...is this really what my tax dollars are paying for? Toni Morrison, award winning writer, is being offered $2k less from whatever school she's speaking at. Incredible...

I made an oven stuffer roaster yesterday, shaved off all of the extra meat, then threw the carcass in the crockpot overnight with some carrots and onions to make soup. I've been meaning to try the chicken enchilada recipe that was posted at the beginning of the month, but I can't find the link. (Was it Robin, or Frugal Foodie)? Anyway, it sounded really good when I reat their post, and it would be the perfect way to use up some of this meat, so if anyone knows where I can find the link, let me know. Thanks!

I balanced the checkbook and looked out through the rest of the month. I haven't gotten my 3/31 pay stub yet, so I'm not sure what the exact outcome will be, but I'm in good shape.

I'm off to dad's later to do some grocery shopping for him. Thanks to Shoprite's dollar days from a few weeks ago, along with some other catalina coupons, I have $43 to spend for us. Hubby is travelling again this week, which means I'll be able to keep the total pretty low. The kids and I will be able to eat out of the fridge, freezer and pantry pretty easily, so aside from milk, bread, and a few other items, it should be a cheap week.

I got another half .com deposit last week, for $6.64, which I transferred to my HELOC. I need to update my sidebar, but the totals are SLOWLY going down...

After a slow few weeks with Swagbucks, I got enough points for 2 more $5 Amazon gift cards. That brings me up to $55 or $60 so far this year. At this rate, I'm hoping that I'll be able to use them for most of my Christmas shopping.

The accountant got back to us with a few questions, including one on the cost basis of a mutual fund that I need to look into this week. We'll shoot to get him what he needs by Monday so we can see what our damage is. I should also be able to wrap up most of our month end bills this weekend, and see where I stand.

I went to the post office today and mailed off 2 more half .com dvds. Sales have been slow but trickling in. Most importantly (or at least as importantly) I'm doing some serious decluttering. Since the beginning of the year, I've sold 40 books/dvds through half, and another dozen or so dvds and cds through secondspin .com. I still have many dozens to go, but at least I'm getting paid for them!

Other than that, it should be a pretty quiet weekend. The kids have a few games, and I'm due for a trip down to dad's. Nothing more exciting than that (thankfully)!

I started this thinking I would do 6 lookbacks, 1 for each year I've been at SA. I guess technically I have an extra because of Fern, but I'll leave it as is and make this my final one.

Contrary 1 had a really interesting blog. From what I gather, she lived on a farm (and posted about the dead cow next door as landscaping - LOL!!), and took care of foster children, including an autistic child. She was always an active participant in the challenges, and her posts were always down to earth and relevant. She stopped posting in October 2007 after close to 2 years of regular posting, at a point when she seemed to be dealing with medical issues in her family and the death of her dog.

One other thing about her - she lived in the Pacific NW. It's not always clear where people on this site live, but it seems like we have a bunch of bloggers from up that way...

Any memories of Contrary1?

Also, who did I miss? I thought about DivaJen, who seems to have her own successful site going at Divatribe, and Kashi, whom I'm friends with on Facebook. I thought about BA but he's still lurking, and hopefully he'll start back up. Others?

I didn't know what to expect when I started these entries and am thrilled with the response that it's gotten from everyone. I'm glad that I was able to bring back some good memories!

I love all my picks, but am particularly excited about this one. First, Fern threw me for a loop by renaming her blog "Wild Blue Yonder". Took me some time to make the connection, but as I read through the past entries, it made me realize why I thought of her for this look back.

She originally posted about daily financial life, interspersed with great stories and pix of her cats. After she lost her job, she turned her focus toward issues and challenges for the unemployed, many of which are financial of course, but also a lot of writing about the psychology of the unemployed (e.g., having all of this unstrucutred time on your hands). Really well written, interesting reads.

She was also well known for kicking off the "No Heat Challenge". For 3 years running, in September, she'd invite everyone to keep their heat off as long as possible into the fall/winter. I personally never participated (I'm always cold!) but the reaction she got was fantastic. She wrote a post in late 2009 about which of her entries got the most feedback, and decided the no heat challenge was top of the list. Others agreed that it's much easier and more fun to rally around a money saving idea in a group setting.

She proposed establishing monthly challenges, but left the boards before they got off the grounds. What do you all think? We had CCF's No spend month challenge for March. Does anyone have an idea for April? What else did I miss about Fern?

Before I get into this, it's been a CRAZY week! Worked like a dog, and missed my opportunity to meet Boo in person, which totally bums me out! Also, had stuff to do every night after work, so I'm totally beat.

Lots of little things going on the financial front. I got my 3/15 paycheck. It was higher than usual due to my 2011 raise, which was retroactive to Jan 1st, so the extra $ hit with this pay. Much needed because we had several big expense items, some expected, some not. My checkbook is balanced and I'm all caught up on bills.

The half .com sales have definitely slowed down. I have one book to get to the post office today, and another two books for paperbackswap .com to mail off. My March half .com deposit was $11.15, much less than January and February but I'll take it and put it toward the HELOC. I'll have to start thinking of some new sources of extra income though. I also have 2 rebates to get out in the mail.

OK, so today's look back is at Koppur's Moo-nay blog. Koppur posted from mid-2006 through mid-2009, with her final entry in 2010. There are two things I love about her blog:

1) When you read her sidebar, she and I on the surface have absolutely nothing in common. She is a tarot reader, interested in witchcraft, likes heavy metal, etc. If I met her in real life, we likely would never engage and get to know each other. Yet I could have written any one of her blogs; they're about the same things that I write about. I love that we all come from such different backgrounds, situations, etc., yet that's all invisible when we start posting.

2) The second thing I noticed when I was reviewing some of her entries is that she started blogging because she wanted to get rid of her $9,300 in debt. It reminded me of an exchange on one of the current blogs last week. You can't compare yourself to others. Whether you have $9,300 in debt or $93,000, or whether you make $10,000/year or $100,000/year, we're all trying to do the best with what we have. It's a great message.

For newer bloggers who may not be aware, Koppur also posted about AngelFood Ministries, where you can buy a box of food for a low set price. In comments, others (Retire@50 maybe?) priced out the box against Aldi's and found it to be slightly less. As I'm writing this I'm watching the news with a report that the price of groceries is going up. (Really? Newsflash!). So if you're looking to cut food costs and haven't checked it out, you may want to.

The basement is drying out...

Today's look back is at Lux Living Frugalis. She posted regularly from 2006-2009, then sporadically through 2010. She blogged about all sorts of things, and was a very easy read. But the reason she makes my list of 6 is because she epitomizes what I love about my fellow SA bloggers:

I had been posting pretty regularly since I started at SA 6 years ago TODAY!!! But life got the better of me, with 2 small kids, a full time job, etc., and I started posting more sporadically in 2008. I was never far away, but would go a few months without posting. In 2009, after a 6 month hiatus, I got an email from Lux checking in on me, letting me know she missed me and telling me to get back on the boards. On my first post back that day, I got 10 comments on my post, from CeeJay, CCF, Ima, KIF, Homebody, and Boo welcoming me back to the site, and from several others letting me know that Lux gave them the same kick in the pants.

I love that I have such great friends on this site (none of whom I've met in "real life") that keep tabs on me, care about how I'm doing and are so welcoming. Ima did the same thing last week, wondering where BA has been. Everyone here is SO supportive, which is what sets it apart (imho) from other sites like it.

As a matter of fact, I think I owe Lux a kick in the pants...

I have to take a break from my trip down memory lane for a night to get back to reality. With all of the rain that north NJ has gotten, we had a few inches of water in the basement. Our hot water heater also died, which happened during another flood (to the tune of $1200). We called in "the guy" to look at it, and turns out that the pilot light needed to be relit. There was enough water to cover the air vents, so there was not enough oxygen to keep it lit. $55 for the fix, but considering that I was expecting $1200, I'm pretty happy.

With that problem resolved, we had a bit of cleanup to do today. Mostly sucking all of the water up with a pump. It'll take some time to completely dry out, but we're not expecting rain for the next several days. We've also vowed to actually throw out all of the junk downstairs that should have been tossed long ago!

Went out to dinner unexpectedly tonight. DD had her basketball finals and a big soccer game today, and she did great at both! They lost the soccer game 1-0, but she absolutely played the game of her life. I'm so proud of her. I told her to really soak in the way it feels to know she did the very best she could, and leave it all out on the floor because win or lose, that's what matters. I can honestly say that in 12 years, I don't think I've ever seen her rise to the occasion like she did tonight. The game ended late (8:00) and so we went out to dinner to celebrate. Worth every dime...

Back to my list tomorrow, along with a trip to dad's.

I just spent the better part of the evening scrolling through PricePlus's blog. And I see by the comments in his entries that there are many, many people who will remember him.

His deal was that he was trying to be frugal and pay off debt with a less than supportive spouse (which may be the understatement of the year). If there are any newbies or lurkers reading this that are faced with that challenge, Paul's blog is a must read. Spousal support (or lack thereof) is a hot topic - you wouldn't believe the number of comments for some of his entries (he had over 60 on one post), and several of them were in the same boat.

What I loved most about him is the perseverance he had. Every time he thought he was done paying off a credit card, his wife would find a way to spend more. Yet he put his head down and kept plugging forward in a very matter-of-fact way. He was all about "not breaking the $20 in his wallet".

As you read through his entries you could practically feel the emotions jump off the page. The frustration with the debt, the jubilation when it was paid off, the pride when he spoke of his daughter. To me, it's a sign of a great blog when all of those feelings come across.

I also liked the fact that he's a guy. I always appreciated him, BA, and the other men who blog here, because it's a different perspective from most of the bloggers on the site.

Although he stopped posting regularly, he continues to pop in with a "check-in" post every few months. Any other "Price Plus" memories out there?

Many of you may not remember Flash. She stopped blogging regularly in July 06, with a brief stint back for 6 months in 2009.

I was new to SA and learned so much from her. She was a whiz with coupons - had great advice on all of the different ways to find them, which companies came through when you called, etc. She coordinated coupon trains and helped ensure that they were stocked with coupons we all needed. In fact, I think she was one of the original editors of the Grocery Coupon Guide site. Many of her nuggets of wisdom can still be found on that site.

In addition to coupons, Flash was a whiz at stacking deals. Combining shopping rebate sites like ebates, to shop at stores like drugstore .com, which gives you 5% credit on purchases, and pay with a rewards cc that gives an additional 5%, and take advantage of free shipping deals (of course), it was amazing the deals she came away with! I never buy a thing on line without thinking about all the ways I can maximize the discounts.

And she had a knack for finding free or reduced giftcards. I took advantage of many of the offers she highlighted, mostly with those deals that pop up at the end of some internet check-outs, where you can buy discounted gift cards.

And she shared all of the advice and kept it all together while going through some personal and family challenges that would make the average person throw caution to the wind and spend away!

Any other bloggers remember Flash? Did you learn something from her that I'm missing?

My head is all over the place tonight. First, a totally non-financial story that warmed my heart today...

DS plays basketball. He's not great, by any stretch, but he has fun and really likes it (which is the whole point). There's a kid on his team who is an absolutely great player. At Saturday's game, this kid was making a concerted effort to pass DS the ball so he could try to get a basket. I thought at the time that it was a great thing for him to do, but I said nothing. Last night, DS and I were talking about basketball. He said, "it was really nice of X to keep passing me the ball to help me get a basket".

I'm Facebook friends with this kid's mom, so I sent her a message, relaying DS's comments, and my own thoughts from the game. I told her she should be proud that she's raising such a great sport, as well as a great athlete. I almost didn't send it, because I thought it sounded corny, but went ahead and sent it anyway.

She wrote me back this morning to thank me for the email. Seems that X was going through some issues with his friends, so she and he had a conversation yesterday about what it means to be a friend, etc. She said my email came at the perfect time, and thanks for sharing it with her. All I could think of was that good goes round. Here I was thanking her for her son's kind actions, and my email meant just as much to her in the moment. It made my day.

Onto random thoughts...My blogoversary is coming up - 6 years on the 14th! (I read my first post. I was only 34!!) I love how Ray was calling out the lurkers on her blog, because I was a lurker way back then who decided to take the plunge, and I'm so much better for it.

I also love CCF's post about her best financial advice. But in honor of my 6th anniversary, I want to take a different twist on it. I want to take a look at 6 people on the site who have really inspired me, and pull out the tidbit or two from them that have really stuck with me. Particularly the ones who don't post anymore, as some of the newbies on this site may not be aware of all of their great advice. (I'm thinking of Flash and Lux specifically). I think it'll be hard to keep it to 6, so I'll just have to keep posting and stick around for a 7th year!

...when you're working like a dog! I worked until 9:00 tonight. We had a late meeting, and they brought in sandwhiches, so free dinner for me! Hubby made the kids dinner (and didn't go out for fast food) so I'm really proud of him. DS waited up for me, so I got a quick snuggle in to boot! Bonus!

Crock pot dinner tomorrow will be a pulled pork tenderloin, with some butternut squash on the side. I still have about $20 in free coupons for Shoprite, and a coupon for a free gallon of milk, so I'll have to get there before the week's out.

I took a new approach to cleaning the house today. I allotted a half hour in each room. I took however long I needed to clean, then spent the remaining time decluttering. Even if I only had time for one drawer, it was a start. I like this approach. If all I did was clean, I'd never get around to the decluttering (which is how my house got like this in the first place). And if I have a large block of time, the last thing I'm going to do is spend it on decluttering. This "little bit at a time" approach may work for me.

It helped that it's been pouring rain today, so I had no incentive to do anything outside the house. I did make it to the dry cleaner. I also absolutely splurged by going to the fruit store/fish market/butcher (all the same place). I got some awesome looking seafood for tonight's dinner, and some great meat for next weekend. (I already have meals planned for tomorrow and Tuesday, and hubby's away Wed-Fri). Pricey, but worth every penny...

What a great way to end an excellent weekend...

I got through my crazy week, but realize that I haven't posted for a few days. When I'm stressed I'm a "put my head down and plow through it" kind of girl, knowing that it will end eventually and things will look up. And so they did.

I had a great night last night. I made an awesome veal dish in the crockpot. I've noticed more pre-made spice packs in the grocery store, specifically for crock pots. I added veal, mushrooms, an onion, a can of tomatoes and this packet and I was done. Made some pasta to go with it and it was great. I used one of those crock-pot liners (worth every penny!) so there was no mess to clean up. We enjoyed a fire in the fireplace, and played cards with the kids. Really great night...

The kids have games today and tomorrow, and I need to fit in my two most hated things - cleaning and tax prep - into the mix. We have an accountant do our taxes and I think I've waited about as long as I possibly can to pull it all together.

Spend-wise, today is the last day of Shoprites big Buy x get $12 back sale. I've gone through the ad and my coupons again, and will be going back for the money maker deals and the good deals on stuff I use all of the time. I also need to go to the bank and the dry cleaner.

So that's it for me...hope everyone has a great weekend!