mjrube94's Blog

Spent some time today taking advantage of deals at Rite Aid and CVS. I think Rite Aid is my new favorite store! They started a program similar to CVS ECBs, and they still do their monthly rebates. In addition, they've been running these "Buy $100/Get $20" promotions. Unfortunately, they count your totals after coupons and discounts, but still a good deal.

I like the CVS program also, especially since the Extra Care Bucks started printing out immediately. My problem with both of these stores is when they run out of the sale merchandise. Toms Toothpaste is the only kind my kids like, and there are deals for it all over this week. They were out of stock at the first CVS and Rite Aid I went to. At least I was able to pick up a tube at the second Rite Aid I was at.

I need to pull together the CDs and book I sold over the weekend so they can go out in the mail tomorrow. I also have to work up the energy to do a load or two of laundry. Hats/gloves in particular. It's going to snow/sleet AGAIN!! Ugh!

We got together tonight with a family in town whom we haven't seen in ages. I spoke with them on Thursday and suggested we get together, but it wasn't final until this morning. My original plan was to make (cheap) chili, but it was too late for the crock pot, and I was going to be in and out at sports all day, and so couldn't leave the stove on. Ended up deciding to order out for pizza/italian, and it cost $70 for 8 people. (I do have a ton of leftovers for tomorrow, but still). That doesn't include an additional $25 or so for chips, dip, soda, etc.

This is covered in the budget under "Entertainment", so I'm not going to sweat it, but it is a LOT more than I think we should be spending for an informal get together with friends To be prepared: Should have planned on the visitors earlier and gone with the crock pot option. *sigh*

Aside from that, 3 more sales at half .com, which will go out on Tuesday. Also got a $25 gift card at Drugstore .com for $10 through the perks club at work. Keep racking it up!

Grrr! I haven't logged onto Paypal in ages. When I try to sign on, it asks me 2 security questions to verify my identity. In one case, they give me the last 4 digits of my checking account number, and ask me to verify the entire account. In the second case, they give me the last 4 digits of my cc, and ask me to verify the entire account. Problem is, that credit card was lost/account closed long ago, and I no longer have the card on me. (I could probably go digging through old files, which looks like what I'll need to do, but I'm trying to avoid it).

Anyway, I've tried every "contact us" option on the site and they either 1) make me answer the security questions before I can get any farther (!) or 2) give me the automated chat agent, who can only ask me basic questions. Can't get a phone number or email address either. SO Frustrated!

In other news, I received a $3 Rite Aid rebate from December. I'll deposit that and transfer it to the HELOC. Other than that, tonight is all about balancing my checkbook and paying the mid-month bills...

Today was the polar opposite of yesterday. Hectic from the minute I got up until now. It was a low-spend day, except for the (planned) fast food for dinner, and $7.50 for something I needed to get for DS's classroom.

I heard back from Second Spin regarding my first sale. I submitted $14.50 worth of dvds, but they didn't accept 2 because they were heavily scratched, so I'm coming away with $11.50. I'll take it. I also sold another cd on half. com, so I'll need to drop that in the mail tomorrow. And finally, someone ordered a book from my paperbackswap .com account, so that'll go out tomorrow too. Love all of this decluttering!

I'm off to bed now. I've got to get a good night's sleep!

I had one of those rare nights without a ton of stuff to do, so I rented the documentary Maxed Out. It's all about the predatory practices of credit card companies and the crushing debt that people have found themselves in. Wow! I found it really interesting. I went in with the mindset of "let the buyer beware" and people need to take responsibility for their own choices and all of that. Clearly in some of the cases they highlighted, the people were in no position to understand the impact of what they were doing, and were sold a bill of goods. And the debt collection guys (and girls) could not have come across as bigger sleazebags. Amazing that people do this for a living. I'd have to come home and shower after work!

I've been wanting to watch it for awhile. I ended getting it for free. I received a $5 credit for Amazon on demand thanks to some DVDs I ordered from there as Christmas. It cost $2.99 for a 48-hour rental, so I still have enough for another movie.

It was a really quiet day. Snow day for the kids, so we were inside, I got some laundry done, made a great dinner, and just hung out and puttered. My favorite kind of day...

I was inspired by Laura's post about her bank fees. My main checking account is at Bank of America and last month, a $14 monthly maintenance fee was charged to my account. I didn't take the time to pursue it, until today. I called the customer service rep and inquired about it. She changed my account from Regular Checking to MyAccess checking and as long as I have a direct deposit (which I do), there won't be a fee. She also credited me the $14.00, which I promptly transferred to my HELOC principal, bringing the balance UNDER $45K!!! Thanks Laura! I probably would've forgotten about it if not for your post.

I also moved $300 into the emergency fund. I received a $300 reimbursement from my dental insurance for the kids' checkup last fall. Because the bill has long since been paid, I figured I'd move the money into the emergency fund. I have $75 from the FSA coming back from last year as well which will also go to it. The goal is to get it to $5k by the end of the month. (I'll take whatever I need from my 1/31 check to get it there).

So I have about $400 left from my 2010 FSA. I can apply 2011 charges to it through 3/15. That'll inspire me to make appointments with all of my doctors (which I'm so bad about), then DH can get his contacts and I'll get prescription sunglasses to use the rest of it up.

I ran all of my errands today and am set for the snow. Just got a call that school is cancelled for tomorrow, and I'm working from home. I went to the A&P ($92.50 in groceries for $54.30, after bonus card and coupons). Also made it to the bank, post office, and Staples (had to fax something for dad). It feels good to be all set...

Found my first change of 2011 - $.01 on the streets of New York City! I'll keep track of the money I find this year. I can only hope to be as successful at Baselle at this - she's a change magnet! I never seem to find any!

I went ahead and sold the cds to secondspin .com. 9 cds for a total of $47.25. I won't count it until I get paid, and will get them out in the mail today. Also sold 2 cds on half .com, along with a number of dvds.

Went to 2 different CVSs yesterday to take advantage of their ECB deals and they were sold out of so much. I hate that. At the second one, I managed to get some of what I want, still at a good deal, so that's better than nothing. I need to stop at the A&P today for a few things. It's going to be mobbed! We're supposed to get 8+ inches of snow tonight into tomorrow morning, which sends everyone into a panic. I for one am excited about the snow. I'll work from home, the kids will be off from school, so we'll have a no-spend pajama day. Woohoo!

I keep checking to see if my 1/15 pay stub is posted but it's not up yet. Curious to see what changes will take place with my take home pay, given changes in taxes and the like. Quiet day all around...

The coupons in the Sunday paper were so good, I actually went back to the 7-11 and bought 6 more. I only intended to get 3 @ $1.50 each, but they package them as "2/$2 - Double the Coupons!" so I picked up 6. Will more than get my money's worth. They have the $5 off Maalox (moneymaker at CVS, plus DH uses the stuff regularly), Ensure coupons (dad drinks 3/day and it is expensive!) and some others that I'll definitely make use of. I was dying to ask the guy what they do with their unsold papers at the end of the night, hoping I could convince him to save the inserts for me, but I didn't have the nerve. (I'm not a regular customer, and there were others in line behind me). I'll have to work up to it.

In book and dvd news...I listed close to 80 CDs on half .com and secondspin .com. I can sell 9 for $47.50. I'll put through the transaction tomorrow. I also sold 2 more dvds on half .com, so continuing to make progress there. Next step is to list a bunch of the kids' books. They don't typically do as well, but I'll get them up there anyway just in case.

Big plans for the week include getting to the post office, returning a dvd to FYE, and taking advantage of some deals at CVS and the grocery stores. I also have to take down the Christmas decorations. A little each night will be the approach there...

Woohoo! I received my first half.com deposit for a whopping $6.21! Of that $1.56 was for shipping costs, leaving me with a profit of $4.65. I included it in my $20 Challenge, and moved it immediately to pay down my HELOC. I'm tracking both on my sidebar. I'm so thrilled...that HELOC has been sitting out there untouched for years, and I'm tired of looking at it. My goal for the year is to throw anything I make through the challenge towards it.

Off to do my first load of laundry for the day!

This was a tough week! Hard to get back into the swing of work, school and activities for the kids after the holiday break. Plus I was getting the house in order after Christmas week guests, and going to the post office daily to mail my dvds. Very hectic.

To top the week off, I had to issue a refund for one of the DVDs I sold. Apparently it didn't arrive in the envelope. I had absolutely no problem refunding the money, but I could have done without the lecture about my poor packaging skills. I read the email thinking, "I bet someone lives with you and has to listen to this every day!". One thing I can't stand is people who take themselves too seriously.

I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend. A few sports for the kids but that's it. I have tons of laundry to do, sprucing up the house, and finding more stuff to declutter and sell. The tree and decorations need to come down as well.

All in all, I'm in great spirits as I finish the first week of the year. Tracked all of my spending, stayed within budget, and made a few extra bucks to boot. 51 more weeks to go...

No entry yesterday. I had a bad day at work, ended up staying late, and ordering pizza for dinner. (Cooking the chicken I had out was SO unappealing, and my DH let me choose the pizza topping to make me feel better)! Anyway, I had no interest in getting on the computer at all.

Today was much better, though. I sold another dvd on half. com, and won two gift card offers through my work's corporate perks program. The first was $25 off a $50 Foot Locker gift card, and the second was $25 off a $50 Walmart online order. I'm in the running for 2 more tonigh - a $50/$100 Home Depot and a $50/$100 Amazon. They're tough to win, but I'll try.

One bummer - a half .com member wrote me and said she received an empty envelope that she thinks had one of my DVDs and was looking for a refund. She's going to confirm my address, and if it's mine I'll give the refund. Bummer, but I don't want my rating to take a hit.

I didn't make it to the post office (again) today. But it's on the agenda for first thing tomorrow, before we get buried in the snow. I have 2 half .com dvds, a paperbackswap .com book, and dvds for secondspin .com. I also need to check into SEPs for DH. Busy, busy...

I returned the modem to Cablevision (we switched to Verizon Triple Pay). They'll credit my account for the $100 equipment fee, which will leave me with a $17 credit. Unfortunately, that will take up to a month to receive. I'm also waiting on a $133 credit from Direct TV - same deal - up to 30 days.

I also went to the post office to mail 2 more DVDs, and sold 2 more which will go out tomorrow. This decluttering thing is working well for me. I'll have to find stuff to list on Ebay when the books and dvds dry up.

Bonus - Got a $3 coupon from Petsmart for my dog's birthday this month. Totally unexpected, so that's pretty cool. (Doesn't come close to covering the cost of this dog - he lives better than I do, but he's worth every cent!)

I'm slowly working through my financial to-do list. On the docket for tomorrow, along with another trip to the post office: Return a dvd to FYE that we ended up not giving as a gift, make sure my old long distance is cancelled as a result of the move to Verizon, and pickup RX from CVS and submit to FSA. It feels so great to be making progress...

I sold another dvd on half .com today. That makes a total of 6 dvds for $24.25. I also had the sale at secondspin .com for another $14.50. Pretty good way to start the 2011 $20 challenge!

I got a $25 Lowes gift card for $15 in the mail today. My company offers a shopping program to employees (% of at various merchants). Each day they offer "outrageous offers", which are like black Friday deals every day. They're usually really good (like the $25 gift card for $15), but they're hard to get (e.g., open only to the first x hundred that claim them). In addition to this one, I got a $50 Best Buy credit for $25. My plan is to go for these deals throughout the year and use those credits / gift cards for birthday and Christmas gifts.

Other than that, I've been battling with our flexible spending provider at work. No matter how I fill out my claim form, there's always some problem. It's killing me. I have $411 left from my 2010 allocation, and I have until March 15th to use it up. Looks like new Rx sunglasses for me and contacts for hubby, along with visits to all of my medical professionals! Fortunately, I scaled way back this year, to only $600 for the year. I heard that next year, which will be a biggie (DS will need braces), they're lowering the total from $5,000/family to only $2,500. Bummer.

I also have to battle with Cablevision. We switched to FIOS, and haven't sent the modem back yet, and they tried to charge me a $100 equipment fee. Ouch. That will be going in the mail tomorrow! I'm NOT paying that...

So that's it. Just keeping things tracked and organized, and making slow and steady progress.

I sold 2 more dvds on half.com, one for $2 and one for $3.75, so I'll package them up and get them out tomorrow. I also listed a bunch of books on half, which I didn't have a chance to do a few days ago. I still have a load of kids' books to add, so that will be my goal over the next week.

Took advantage of a great deal at Rite Aid. They had a program during the holidays, get $20 if you spend $100. They also have a wellness card, and I had a 10% coupon from that. I do all of the grocery shopping for my elderly father, and so I go to Rite Aid for a lot of his toiletries. Anyway, I spent $89.29 and ended up paying $57.54. He pays that bill, but the amount (actually $59.32 for some reason) is being applied to their next $20/$100 promotion. So I'm in good shape to get that as well.

I'm shooting to clean, do laundry, and declutter today. It's my dog's first birthday, so we'll be celebrating that too! Have a great day everyone!

I'm rarin' to go for 2011. My new year actually started yesterday, when I got my year-end pay stub. I paid all of the bills and am starting 2011 completely fresh. Moving to a mostly cash / envelope system. Even though I pay off the cc bills each month, I'm always astounded at how high the balance is, so I figure using cash will make me more aware of what I'm spending.

I had two great accomplishments today. I went to the grocery store for this week's food. My goal was to be under $100, and I spent $92.35. It'll be a stretch to keep it at $100 going forward, because I'm benefitting from a lot of leftovers and stuff in the freezer, but I'll do my best.

My second great accomplishment was going through my old books and dvds. I am getting rid of 5 books through paperback swap .com (and two more on the way), I sold a dvd on 1/2 .com for $4.50, and sold 5 dvds through second spin .com for $14.50. So I'll mail all of those out Monday, will count $19 toward my 2011 $20 challenge, and will pay the $19 to my home equity line.

So I'm off to a good start. Quiet night at home tonight watching the ball drop with hubby and the kids. Then back at it tomorrow.

Happy New Year everyone!

Unfortunately, I totally let the finances go. No big issues, I just didn't pay attention to any of it! I need to get back on the wagon now. I'm frugal by nature, and am very uncomfortable not knowing exactly where my money goes.

So...I drafted up a budget for 2011, that I have every intention of sticking to. I plan to get back to blogging more regularly to help keep me accountable.

I'm in pretty good shape debt-wise. Just my mortgage and home equity loan. The goal is to put $1000/month plus any extra, unexpected income toward the HELOC. (Balance is $45k). If I can do that and stick to my budget, I'll be set.

Despite my lack of posts, I've been lurking on the site, as always, and am so proud of my "frugal friends". You guys are doing great and inspire me every day. Here's to a great 2011!

I made it to the CVS and Shoprite this morning all by myself. I was able to get my hands on a few good deals.

I had a $5/$30 ECB. CVS ran a promotion if you buy $25 worth of Proctor & Gamble you'd get $10 ECB back. I got a 12-pack of Bounty paper towels and 13 Puff tissues. I also got a tube of Clearasil normally $4.99 for $1.99, thanks to a CVS coupon and a mfr coupon, and a pack of envelopes to mail books, which was $3.99. Altogether, spent $34.84, minus the $5/$30 and the $3 Clearasil coupons. Got it down to $26.84. I used a $10 gift card I got from Mypoints, and $8 in ECBs, for a total out of pocket of $8.84 + tax. And I got the $10 in ECBs from the Proctor and Gamble stuff to use next time.

Then I headed to Shoprite. I got a free Smart Balance sour cream ($.99-$.50 coupon doubled). That was the only freebie, but I got some good deals. Cherries are in season, $2.29/lb. A whole watermelon was $3.99. And I had a $1.50 coupon for Buitoni pasta, so I bought Angel Hair for $1.99, which I ended up getting for $.49. But here's the kicker: I got $.95 for recycling bottles and cans (had plastic too, but the line for that machine was too long, so that'll have to wait until next time), and I got $.20 for using canvas bags. So that was an extra $1.15. I want to get in the habit of this more, because it's free money and there's absolutely no reason not to take advantage of it.

Planned the menu for the week, mostly using things we already had around the house. It's a start...

Ouch...My daughter had a soccer tournament this weekend and it was absolutely beautiful out! Unfortunately, I'm still not in sunscreen mode (usually don't get there until mid-June or so), and by the time I put some on it was a bit late. I'm now a shade of reddish-purple that will last for two days, be replaced by peeling, then I'll be back to my super-white self. Will I never learn?

Aside from the money I saved on sunburn (which I'll spend on aloe), we saved some money this weekend. It wasn't really "savings", more "cost avoidance". We were originally going to put the pup in the kennel, but they're closed Sunday and Monday, so we would have had him in there for 5 days @ $25/day. We really only needed him in there for 2, so that would have been a huge waste (and I would've missed him terribly). So a friend of mine who walks dogs took care of him Saturday ($20), and Grandma took him today. So I avoided $105.

The tournament is about 1.5 hours from the house. We normally stay in a hotel close by on Friday and Saturday but because of the pup, we stayed home and drove (really early in the morning!). So I avoided $125/night for the hotel, plus dinner out on Friday night, for an avoidance of about $300.

It wasn't a totally free weekend, though. We paid gas and tolls, breakfast out each morning, and lunch with the team today. (Oh, and a tournament t-shirt, which I got at the end of the last day so it was marked down to $12 from $18),

And I found 2 quarters over the course of the day, so I was excited about that.

Tomorrow will be a slow day. Sleeping late, then hitting the grocery stores for ONLY the really really good sale items (that means no hubby, no kids with me ).

I've been following the $1/day challenge on grocerycouponguide.com. Wow, it's amazing that he's been able to get through an entire month eating on $1/day. And not just getting by, but really eating (though I think I'd be sick of salsa by day 6)! It's really interesting, if anyone hasn't already seen it.

Financially, this was a challenging month, but we're getting by. We had the second payment for our summer vacation house, along with a few annual big ticket items. (I intended to do the envelope system this year, where I'd be setting aside money each month for the annual bills but it didn't fly). One piece of good news: The kids went to their dentist, which is out of network. However, our insurance still pays 100% reasonable & customary for preventative work, so even though we had to shell it out ($450 total!), we just got the checks back on Friday.

After many months of going through the motions without being terribly careful with our finances, it's time to start cracking down. Nothing extreme, just some simple things that quickly go by the wayside if I'm not paying attention. First is the eating out. We enjoy eating out, and I don't mind paying for it if it's a special treat. But if I take out pork for dinner and the family "doesn't feel like pork tonight" (or chicken, or veal, or...), then we shouldn't be rushing to get pizza, fast food or Chinese. This hit home when I checked the credit card bill and saw a $52 charge for a local sushi place. I totally forgot about it until I saw the bill, and hubby didn't even remember it then! That's $52 down the drain. And there were a number of others just like it. So...we'll crack down and see if we can make some progress over the next few months.

I spent the better part of the day working on a few money-related tasks. First thing was to fill out the claim forms for the kids' dentist bill. He's out of network, but my plan still covers preventative 100%, subject to reasonable & customary prices. The total bill for the two of them was $450, so I need to get reimbursement from the insurance company, and put the rest through my flexible spending account. The claim forms will go out tomorrow.

Then I spent some time working on my grocery list for the week. I love reading the $1/day grocery challenge. I don't think I could ever do that, especially with hubby and the kids, but it inspired me to take another look at the old grocery bill (which is, of course, through the roof). A friend of mine mentioned the grocery game. I logged on for the 4-week free trial (I WILL remember to cancel before they charge me!). It was great to see all the deals in one place, but I'm not sure that it's any better than looking through the sale ad and my coupon envelope myself. My problem isn't finding the deals, it's avoiding all of the other stuff that I see along the way that's not on my list! So anyway, I checked the sale ads for the two stores I go to, and matched them up with coupons, and hopefully can make it out of both for under $100. That sounds good to me, and I'd be happy with that, except that it doesn't include veggies/fruit (which we get elsewhere) and it doesn't include meat, beyond some ground beef (we have everything else in the freezer). I'm going to stick with the grocery game through the free trial and see if I like it better but otherwise, not sure it's worth it.

Then I took some time going through all of my books, checking what would sell on Powells and Cash4Books, and updating my Paperbackswap list. This was one of those chores that really needed to be done, because I haven't updated the PBS list in months and I've been getting requests for books that I've given away through other channels. Plus, I found a bunch of books that were never listed in the first place! The net result is that I found about 10 books that I can sell to Powells for $9.00 (all cheapies - children's scholastic type books), but I'll take it. I also got 8 requests for new books I listed on Paperbackswap.

So all in all a pretty decent day, financially. Tomorrow I'm off to the grocery store and see if I can stick to the list!

Wow! I've been absent from posting for a month and a half or so (maybe longer?). Haven't even had time to lurk so this is the first time I'm back and WOW! The site looks great! I LOVE the new layout. Also love that some of my old favorites are back (I'm talking to you Lux and Retire@50), along with the old standards who never seem to get sidetracked from posting on this site (FrugalinTexas and Ima). I envy your dedication!

Our big news from the past 2 months: We got a dog!! He's awesome! Part golden retriever and part lab. Cute as a button, friendly as can be. MAN, I love this pup! He's putting quite a dent into our finances, as we have had to bring him to the vet 3 times since we got him to get him up to date on all of his shots, and we'll have to get him neutered in 2 months (cha-ching). Add the trips to Petsmart for the food (and all the cool toys to get him - it's like shopping for a baby!), but it's worth every penny...

Aside from that, it's just life as normal. Hubby is still working from his home at his own consulting business. It's going well, but slow and erratic as far as the income goes. I'm more convinced than ever that you spend what you make, because our income was cut pretty substantially when he went out on his own and we've adjusted pretty well, cutting back without totally depriving ourselves, so that's been great.

Booked the house in Outerbanks for the annual summer trip with my brother. And I just got a letter from Liberty Mutual that my homeowners insurance will be reduced by about $10/month. I'll take it. Haven't been doing anything agressive to save money / reduce costs. Just a matter of not having the time to focus on it like I should. I'll try to get back to it...

So glad to be back here again. Time to catch up on everyone's blogs...

I finished up the February books and everything went well. Moving into March...I just bought new sneakers for the kids. Tempted to buy myself a new pair, which I really need, but they didn't have my size in clearance, and no good sales, so I'll wait.

I also took them for haircuts. I was pretty shocked that DD's was $28! It was a place like Supercuts (walk in, no appointment, take any chair). She did get a wash, cut and blow dry, but I still thought it'd be a little less. Wow.

We went to Wendy's for late lunch/early dinner while we were running our errands. I had $3+ on a gift card, and $10 out of pocket. That's the big splurge of the day...

I found $.02 yesterday, one on the Subway and one on the street. $.31 so far this year.

I need to find my tax stuff for the accountant. No idea where last year's return is! That's the goal for the evening...

We are blanketed in snow in Northern NJ. Woowee. We had about 14" two weeks ago. That was just about gone when we got hit with another foot or so yesterday/today. The upside: Kids got out of school early yesterday and are off today, for a 3 1/2 day weekend. I'm working from home today, I already went grocery shopping, so we're hunkered down for the duration. It's actually quite beautiful, as long as my power doesn't go out.

I finalized my February numbers and ended the month $40 under where I thought I'd be. I'm pretty pleased with that. My goal for this weekend is to firm up the March numbers and make sure we're still on the right track. I also have to dig up all my tax information because it's that time of the year again. I'm much less stressed about it this year, because since hubby started his own business we have his accountant do both. That's a relief!

I have a few rebates that I've been procrastinating on. I need to get the receipts together and get them out in the mail. It won't be big bucks, but definitely better than nothing.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

I'm still around, working hard and trying to watch myself. I'm just about 2 months through the year and am happy to report that I am sticking to the budget! Woohoo! Some categories are up, but they've been offset by others that are down, so overall, it's good.

I didn't forget about my $20 challenge, though I haven't been able to do much for it. I did open a new checking account at Chase, and it came with a $125 bonus! Not too shabby. That'll go right to the old challenge. This is going to serve as my Freedom Account. I wanted to open it at the beginning of the year, but there were no good bonuses, so I held off. Boy, am I glad I did...

I need to tackle the book sales again...

The snow is falling! Started overnight, we easily have 10" on the ground, and it's not expected to end until 9:00 or so tonight. So we are SNOWED IN! The schools are closed today (and I'm hoping tomorrow), and I'm working from home, but it's a really light day because so many people didn't make it into the office.

I'm taking advantage and getting caught up. I finalized my January financial books, and got caught up for February. I'm updating my blog here and I'm on my 3rd load of laundry, with more to go.

So here's what's been happening in finance-land:

I need to get 2 rebates out today, one for shampoo and one for Caregivers Marketplace. I don't think I've paid for shampoo in ages! There are always rebates out there.

I found $.26 last week, bringing my total to $.29 for the year.

Haven't hit any book sales because I've been absolutely swamped! Hoping to get back to those so I can keep my $20 challenge going.

I'm looking forward to getting caught up on everyone's blogs. Hope all is going well!

A big component for my 2010 challenge was going to be the use of the Caregivers Marketplace rebates. If you buy certain items geared toward old/young people (e.g., diapers, denture products), you would get some money back for each item. I shop for my dad each month, and he drinks a ton of Ensure ($1 rebate each). He also uses Polident, which was another $.75 or so. I was making over $10/month on this last year.

Well Ensure and Polident are not participating for 2010. I'm totally bummed. That's $120 I'll have to make up some other way to meet my goal. Hmmm....

Well that's frustrating. I timed out after writing tonight's entry and it didn't take. Ugh.

Not much to report. Things are slow and steady, just plugging along, trying to stay on track. I did call the auto insurance company about my rate increase and was told it was across the board. I need to get my checkbook balanced and up to date. I've been swamped at work so I haven't been paying as much attention as I should. That's the goal for the next few days.

I also need to concentrate on the $20 challenge, by submitting a few rebates and checking out some book sales. I did find $.03 on the street over the past few days, so that's a start...

Boy, there's no easing into the New Year. After the kids being off for 10 days and me spending a quiet week at work, I thought I could ease back into the craziness that is my life. No such luck, two feet in the pool!

I'm doing well with the spending plan so far. The one glitch is that we got the final bill from the landscaper from last fall and it's legitimate, but higher than I thought it would be. I really want to get off on the right foot with the Freedom Account, so I don't want to start borrowing money from one account to pay that bill. I'll have to think about that one a bit.

I received the checks for the two book sales, as well as the $5 Rite Aid rebate and a total of $11.50 in CVS ECBs, for a total of $53.66 to be added to my $20 Challenge, bringing me up to $94.00 so far this month. I have a few rebates to get in the mail over the next few days.

I need to call our auto insurance company. It looks like my rate is going up $150/year, and I'm not sure why (no tickets or accidents). I'm really disappointed about this, and am sure they'll say it's an across the board increase, but I'll make the call anyway.

I should be able to see my 1/15 pay stub any day now, which will give me an idea of what my new taxes and take home will be. I'll spend some time over the next day or so getting my checkbook in order and making sure everything's up to date.

That's about it for now...

I went grocery shopping today, to CVS and ShopRite. I'm applying some of my coupon savings toward my 2010 challenge:

I had 3 CVS ECB coupons, for $10/$50, $10/$50, and $5/$25. I also had a $5 ECB coupon and a coupon for a free 6-pack of Ensure ($8.99). I planned it out really well, buying stuff I would buy anyway, matching sales and coupons. I picked up Ensure for my dad too, which he goes through like water.

At Shoprite, I turned in recyclables for $1.10, and used canvas grocery bags, which saved me $.25.

Grand total to Challenge: $40.34, which I've already transferred over to my HELOC. Off to a great start!

Ok, I know it's 2 days and not 2 months, but I'll take it.

We spent some money today, all budgeted:
1) Cleaning lady - $100
2) Coaches gifts - $20
3) Misc food & stuff at soccer tournament - $20
4) Allowance for next week - $80 ($60 hubby, $20 me).

The cleaning lady is going away after next week. We usually have her every 2 weeks, and she needs to go back to her home country for an unknown amount of time (a few months?) to take care of a sick relative. This woman has been with us for almost 9 years. I told her that if/when she was able to come back to give us a call and we'd be happy to hire her again.

I always thought the cleaning lady would be the last bit of disposable income I would give up. Between working, the kids, my dad, it's just such a help to me to have someone come in every 2 weeks and do a thorough cleaning. When she first told me she was leaving, we figured we'd hire an agency to come in and do it until she comes back, but now, I think we're going to give it a go ourselves and see if we can save the $200/month. Hubby is committed to helping, and I'd certainly like to save the dough, so we'll give it the old college try.

I submitted a $5 rebate for Rite Aid today, planned out our menu for the week, and the grocery list. I'll be going out tomorrow morning to get that out of the way, then spend the rest of the day watching football.

It is FREEZING cold and REALLY windy. We have more than a few trees that we're really concerned about, and hope that none of them come down in this weather.