Turns out I didn't by Colgate Total, but instead bought a different kind of Colgate, so I was denied the rebate. Oh well, these things happen, and it's a lesson to me to be more careful next time. Fortunately, I had double coupons for the toothpaste that made them practically free, and the other items I bought were hubby's deoderant, which I would have bought anyway.

Today was gorgeous...high of 72! We spent a few hours in the park after school, and are planning on going bike riding tomorrow. I also have a bunch of errands to do tomorrow, including dropping off stuff at the dry cleaner, depositing two checks in the bank, going back to ShopRite for a credit. (The cashier forgot to scan my club card, which resulted in me missing about $6 in savings!). Then I'm off to BJs for the big hit. I also desperately need to do some clothes shopping for me, the kids and hubby. Fortunately I have some gift cards and coupons, so I'm hoping the cash out of pocket won't be too bad. That's about it for tonight...

Unfortunately, no coupons attached to it, but it's $10 into my challenge, nonetheless. I stopped at Walgreens and picked up one more FAR item, and stopped at Rite Aid for their new rebate circular. I also signed up for 3 more gift cards from Flash's email. Wahoo.

Had an interesting conversation at Dad's this weekend. I was telling two of my sisters about the challenge, my bank bonuses, rebates, etc. One of them (who retired early and is incredibly great financial shape) thought it was great and wanted me to start sending really good deals her way. The other sister (who does fine, but doesn't plan much and kind of lives for today) thought I was out of my mind. She said she just didn't see herself spending the time it takes to do these things. I tried explaining that 1) it doesn't take THAT much time, 2) I tend to do a lot of this while I'm doing other things (watching tv), and 3) yeah, each $2 or $3 thing isn't any great shake, but when you add it all up at the end of the year and it's $1000 or $1500 or more, that's pretty good. I may as well have spoken to a brick wall...

So that's it for today. I need to update my price book this week, and take care of a few administrative things...

Wow, this weekend was crazy! Friday I took DS to the doctor ($20 copay that will be reimbursed via FSA). Then we all went to see Zethura. The HS soccer team does a fundraiser twice a month in the winter where they'll show a movie for $4 pp. We spent $20 for tickets and snacks and had a good time (though the movie was a bit scary).

Saturday, DD went to a chess tournament ($21 for entry fee and lunch). Then we went to the grocery store and spent about $75, and the liquor store. Friends came for dinner Saturday night.

Today, we're going to my dad's to celebrate his birthday, then to another friend's house for dinner.

Somewhere in there, I need to do some laundry and finish up some paperwork.

My husband thinks I'm nuts, but my favorite thing to do on Saturday morning is to get the Sunday ads (we get them on Sats.) and a hot cup of coffee and plan my shopping and meals for the week. This looks like a banner week for rebates/coupons: Rebate for $10 in coupons for Barber foods (Dad uses these), $5 rebate for Green Giant (he uses these two), Hot Pocket Subs free (thanks to deal in freebie section), Walgreens has a boatload of stuff for this month's rebate, and it seems like Eckerd has a few things in their rebate catalog that I could stock up on (plus I have coupons for a lot of it, too, making it even better). I'll do the shopping tomorrow and see how I make out.

I spent a bit of money yesterday. I took the day off, and DS and I went to lunch ($27). I paid $1.80 in library fines and hit some clearance sales at Kohls (about $60 spent, including pjs and shirts for DS for next winter). We also ordered Chinese takeout ($21) because we needed a fast meal and I didn't plan ahead...

Today, I need to go to the fruit/veggie store. I think we'll rent Madagascar, too. I'm going to check to see if the library has it first...

Tomorrow will be grocery shopping for dad and running my own errands. Here's to a quiet weekend...

I added up a few categories to see how I'm doing so far this month. I'm right on track with gas for the car ($214/$300). I think I'll come in under for groceries - a first($367/$500), with only one more trip this weekend. The downer for the month is eating out. I only budget $100/month, and although I haven't actually added it up, I know I'm way over (about $175 so far). Ouch. I'll also be over next month, as hubby and I go to an annual fundraiser for $200, in addition to any regular eating out we'll do. Hmmm.

I'm expecting a pretty quiet week. I'm taking Friday off, so it will be a 3-day week for me. Hubby has a few dinner meetings, which will give me some time alone after the kids go to sleep. One of my goals is to see other options for selling used books besides half.com and amazon. I want to look into Swapbooks and ecampus, so if anyone has any experience with either of these, please let me know. Thanks!

I signed up for the $2 phone card from Shell (listed in the freebies forum) and got it already! Wow, that was fast. I'll be adding the $2 to my challenge.

I finally got whatever stomach thing the rest of the family had last week. It came at 11:00 Friday night and lasted just about 24 hours. All I could do Saturday was take a bath and sleep on the couch. We did manage to go to dinner at a friend's house (previously planned) because I was starting to feel a bit better. We bought dessert, but no money out of pocket.

Today we're planning on seeing Curious George, then going for pizza for dinner. We're all off tomorrow, and the kids are off from school Tuesday but hubby and I have to work, so they're going to grandmas tomorrow.

That's about it...it's been a really quiet weekend.

The number of credit card offers I get in the mail each day is mindboggling! One came today with a new twist: They'll give me a 20" Sharp LCD Aquos TV immediately ($850 value). The catch: I'd have to transfer $5000 onto the card (no balance transfer fee), and maintain a $3500 balance for at least 18 months. The rate on the card is 9.99%. So that means I'd be paying at least $575 in interest over the life of the card. If the balance falls below $3500, they hit your card with a one-time fee of $700. I'd be curious to see who signs up for this card...

Not much news today. Had a good first day at work, and we're going out to TGIF's to celebrate.

I'm switching jobs at my company, and tomorrow is my first day. Because I have no work left to do at my old job, my boss is letting me "work from home" today. Kids are in school and the house is quiet!

A few updates - I did sign up for the second 0% credit card. Unfortunately, this included a balance transfer fee, but it will still be well worth it. I won't know how much of the HELOC I can transfer to it for a few weeks, but every bit will help.

I received a bill from my newspaper yesterday for $47.45, due upon receipt. I could've sworn that I already paid it. Sure enough, I looked at a past credit card statement and I paid it in December. I called the company and they saw the payment and told me to throw out the bill. Just goes to show you that you can't accept this stuff at face value.

I paid my mid-month bills and got our budget up to date. I also went through a ton of clothes that my kids have outgrown and separated into "throw out", "donate", and "give to my friend" piles. Of course, I still have the box of really cute outfits that I couldn't part with!

I still have 2 hours before picking up DS at school. My goal is to clean out the massive clutter in my den. If I can get that done, it will be a fantastic day...

I have a bunch of errands to run today...I need to go to the grocery store to pick up some things, go to the post office, go to the bank, and return stuff to the library. Dinner is already in the crockpot and I'm on my 3rd load of laundry. It's shaping up to be a great day.

We committed to rent a house in the OuterBanks with my brother and his family. Our families have been vacationing together for 7 years, and it's great because we both have kids the same age, and the adults all get along well. Last year we included another brother and sister, and while it was still fun, it was a bit too crazy. So we're back to just us this year. I need to send SIL the deposit today. Not great timing with the taxes due, but the bright side is that we won't be paying for it later.

We were approved for the 0% credit card, and were able to transfer $7500 of the HELOC balance. I have another 0% offer that I'm thinking of opening to transfer some of the rest. This month, we paid $125 in interest on the HELOC, so I really want to move as much as I can to the 0% cards instead.

That's about it for now...

I looked back at my last entry and saw that we were expecting 6-12" of snow. Yeah, right. 20 inches was more like it! Fortunately, we have a snowblower (great investment made AFTER the blizzard of 1996!), but the snow was so wet and heavy (and so much) that it still took hubby a long time to do the driveway. The kids loved it, though...

Friday I did pick up the free stuff at Walgreens. Plan is to get the rebate back as a Walgreens gift card and pick up the 10% bonus. (Total=$10 + $1 bonus). The $1 bonus will go toward my challenge, the rest back in my account, as I wouldn't have bought the stuff w/o the rebate. The kids also went for haircuts - $35 total. I've got to check out the local coupons to find a cheaper place.

Saturday, I went to used book sales at two libraries. Given my recent uneasiness with ebookdrop, I decided to just write down all of the ISBNs and not buy anything. The libraries have sales each month, so I figure if I get paid for my outstanding orders between now and then, I'll run the numbers through their site and pick up the books. Otherwise, it was a couple of hours wasted. I'm really bummed about all this. The optimist in me says that it seems like a small outfit and they're really overwhelmed with all of the orders and are just slow in paying out. The pessimist says they're going out of business and won't make good on their outstanding orders. Which is right? Anyway, I'm waiting on a total of $36.62 from them, for which I paid $8.64 so other than a lot of aggravation, at least I won't be out much.

Spent about $130 on groceries, most of which were fresh fish, meat and veggies. I've been overbudget on groceries so far in Feb., but I don't think I need to hit BJs this month, so I can make up for it there.

Love the crockpot...used it once over the weekend and have two more recipes to try out this week. That's about it for now...

One of the area libraries is having their monthly used book sale tomorrow. I went last month, but only had time to look at a handful of books. They have an entire room devoted to the sale, so I'll see what I can pick up for my challenge. A second library also has a sale going on tomorrow. Not sure I'll be able to make both, but I'll try.

Hubby's company has a good deal: Each year, they'll reimburse employees for buying different health-related products (e.g., treadmills, gym memberships, etc.). We've taken advantage of it a few times in the past. Anyway, we bought each other new bikes for Christmas, and it turns out that we'll be reimbursed $225! Also, they'll reimburse $75 for employees to get one massage/year. I need to dig up the bike receipt and submit both of those, and I need to remember to take advantage of this each year!

Finally, I've got a few errands to run today. I want to go to Walgreens and pick up a few FAR items, and the kids need haircuts. Then we're going home and hunkering down for the weekend. 6-12" of snow is expected, and I've got 2 crockpot meals planned!

I have been all-consumed by our taxes. I went through TurboTax again and don't think I missed anything, which means the net we owe between Federal, NY and NJ will be about $7k.

We realized that we (desperately) need to adjust his W4 form to increase the amount that's taken out each month. Years ago, when we bought the house, had the 2 kids, and were making less, he put down 7 exemptions. Since then, we're both making much more, and have refinanced the mortgage twice and are now paying much less interest. (Still have the kids, though ). When I did the calculation on the W4 form, it not only said that we should reduce his exemptions to 0, but that we should have an additional $300/month taken out! Ouch! I know we just need to suck it up and do it, but it's going to be painful.

Hubby's bonus will also be much lower than expected, so we'll need to dip into savings to pay the tax bill. Blah!

Turning to the positive...twice yesterday, I ordered things with expired discount codes and in both cases, the rep I got was extremely nice and honored them anyway. One saved me $4.20, the other saved me $40. It really pays to ask the reps if they can honor them anyway.

Also, taking a cue from Flash, my kids only use Tom's of Maine strawberry toothpaste. I noticed that every tube ends up splitting (and the toothpaste leaks out) before it's used up. So I called the 1-800# today. They explained why, and are sending me a "Tube Rolling Key" and a free tube of toothpaste. Good deal!

I'm changing jobs next Thursday, so my coworkers are taking me to lunch today. We have a quiet weekend planned, so hopefully it will be low-spend...

So we decided to take a stab at the taxes ourselves. The kids are going to grandma's for a sleepover tomorrow, so I'm going to pick up the TurboTax software today after work, and gather all of my documents tonight. Then tomorrow I'll get to it. If it works out, great, if not, we'll suck it up and go to the accountant. It's not like we have anything so complicated, it's just such a tedious process. Hopefully, the software will make it go much more smoothly...As a plus, if I buy the software at OfficeMax, I can get a shredder free after rebate. I've been meaning to pick one up for a while, so might as well do it now.

I need to go grocery shopping later today. We have no more milk, bread, butter or eggs in the house! Yikes.

I also need to update my budget and see how things will look for February. No shortage of things to do...

I registered DS for kindergarten. Hooray. As excited as I am for him to go, I'm more excited that I only have 3 more preschool bills to pay! The process was painless, though I do need to drop a form at his doctor's office, and another at his preschool, to be filled out.

I took a vacation day today to get this done and run some other errands. I need to mail the half.com book at the post office, we're meeting some other moms for lunch, I need to return some (late) videos to the library, stuff like that.

I started going through my old postings to categorize them. I got through Mar-May 2005. It's interesting to read back on them. I now have a running list of stuff I meant to do and never got around to, that I should get back on my list! I think the categories are great. That way, as I think about different parts of my budget, I can go to other blogs and see their categories right away for helpful hints.

Hubby is away overnight, so I'll try to get some straightening up done tonight. Have a great day!

So I called my company to see if we could change our 2006 Dependent Care amount for our flexible spending account. Seems like mine is an unusual circumstance (of course). If I quit altogether, that would definitely be a "qualified change in status". Likewise, if I didn't have a job and got one, that would be a qualified change. But moving from one job to another, and changing hours in the process, which therefore changes my need for dependent care, "does not appear" to be a qualified change. Fortunately I'm working with someone who seems conscientious, and is escalating it to her management. We'll see what happens.

Other than that, I took care of some financial housekeeping. I entered the Staples rebate, faxed some receipts for my flexible spending, and got caught up on some other stuff. I wasn't able to finish January's review last night, but should get to it tonight...

After feeling not that great all week because of my car troubles, I finally got over myself, and am looking forward to a great weekend! Hubby is leaving tomorrow on a business trip, so tonight will be spent getting caught up on laundry and doing other errands to prepare for his trip, but at least they'll be done and out of my way.

Tomorrow, I need to go to Dad's to take care of his grocery shopping and other errands he needs done. My sister is taking the kids so I can do all of these in peace. Then, I'm picking up my kids and her son and taking them to my brother's house for my niece's high school graduation party (wow that's a lot of relatives!). We'll stay a few hours there and then return to my sister's for a sleepover. Although I'll miss my hubby while he's away, sleepovers at my sister's are the kind of fun things that I can do while he's away. We'll have a fantastic time...

Then on Sunday the kids have a birthday party to go to, at a new place that I've been meaning to check out for a while. Then we're going back to the friend's house for a barbeque. So it should be a great weekend. I anticipate some spending, all budgeted: 1) $$ for graduation present, 2) birthday present for this kid and one next week using Toys R Us gift cards, 3) Big bottle of wine for sister's house. Not bad for a weekend of fun...

I'm starting to give my budget another look now that things have settled down from my last round of changes. One positive is the electric bill. I mentioned that I'm on budget billing, where they charge me the same amount each month. I currently pay $133/month for the budget, plus an additional $30 or so to make up for the overrun I had last year. Well the good news is that June is the last month to pay the overrun, so the bill should drop from $163 to $133 next month. Also, the $133 is budgeted. Since November, I've actually spent $196.48 less than they've charged me. I'm hoping I can keep this up, so that in November, when they review my account, they drop the monthly charge to less than $133, and I'll have a credit balance to pay for the first month or two. So far, I haven't used the air conditioning, except to try it out, and don't intend to until at least next weekend.

Other than that, I'm not sure where I'll focus next. I think I'll tackle the phone bill. I used to have the unlimited everything plan, advertised for $39.99/mo, but really costing $56.95 by the time they added all of the taxes and fees. I decided that was way too much, so I dropped down to unlimited local ($21.95/mo) and got my regional and long distance from Pioneer Telephone at some ridiculously low rate that I don't even remember. But between the two, my phone bills over the last few months have still been around $50-$52. Not exactly the great savings I was hoping for. The biggest problem is that neither of us is all that disciplined about using our cell phone exclusively after 9:00 and on weekends, when it's free. (Or during the day for that matter, since we usually have spare peak minutes at the end of the month). I'm going to make a concerted effort in June to only use the cell phone. If I can do it, then I can start working on hubby. If I can't do it, there's no way he'll do it, and I'll need to find another option...

Even though it's not the end of the month, it's close enough for me to figure out where I stand. I was able to put $904.67 toward the home equity line. Not the $1680 I was hoping for (which would have gotten the balance below $30k), but better than nothing. The big area of disappointments this month were groceries ($562) and eating out ($205). We can do a lot better than that! The grocery total is a bit high because I usually charge my groceries to get my credit card points, then pay it off the next month. But when I lost my credit cards earlier this month, I had to write checks for groceries, which means that the $562 actually reflects all of my April groceries that I charged, as well as about $130 of May groceries that I wrote a check for. So I expect that June's total will by WAY lower. The eating out total is a whole other thing. I usually only budget for hubby and dd's weekly trip to TGIFridays. But in addition to that, we've gone out a few times, and we've ordered out a bunch. Luckily, school ends in 4 weeks, so the weekly trips will end. I also need to get better about meal planning and grocery shopping to rein this in...

Looking forward to June, I'm going to pick up the budget again and look through it to see where I can save some more. This weekend, I'm going to program the thermostat for the AC to make sure it only goes on when it's 76 and hubby is expected to be home! Other than that, we have a quiet Memorial Day weekend. I have a much needed haircut tomorrow, and DD's Tball game at 1. Then a birthday party Sunday afternoon, and a couple coming for a barbeque on Monday. That's it!! Should be a quiet weekend...

This weather is ridiculous! The high today is going to be 53 degrees. 53!!! June 1st is in 6 days! Unbelievable. Things my way are going fine. Yesterday was my at home day, and a pretty productive one at that. DS had a friend over for about 1 1/2 hours, so I was able to straighten up, do some laundry, and read the paper! After the friend left, we pretty much just bummed around the house and played. We picked up dd from school and went to a park with some friends, but it was sooo cold and sooo windy, that we only stayed for about 30 minutes. She was supposed to have T-Ball at 6:00 last night, and I was hoping all day that it would be rained out, but no such luck. So we stayed home anyway. I'm not usually into doing that - the whole team commitment thing - but then again, she's 6, it was cold and damp, and the last thing I need is sick kids! So a spend-free day for me!

I need to go back to ShopRite, because they made a $7+ error on my bill from Monday. I was going to go yesterday but just didn't feel like leaving the house, so I'll get there tomorrow or Friday. How inconvenient. When updating my price book last night, I found another error from a receipt from last month, this time in my favor, when they rang up the same item for .89 and 1.79. (Both should have been 1.79). The point is that I need to get better about 1) watching stuff as they ring it up and 2) checking my receipt as soon as I get home. My problem is that I really need to find a way to avoid shopping with my kids, because 1) it's impossible to watch the register when I'm also watching them (act up) and 2) they add money to my bill each week!

I also called Oxford yesterday to see if her trip to the eye doctor would be covered. No such luck. The bill was $95 and I already paid the $15 copay, which means a bill for $80 should be heading my way soon. It will be reimbursed by our FSA, so I guess that's a little (not much) consolation. I also needed to order ink for our printer. What a racket Dell has. Apparently, you can't buy their ink from anyone but them. A black ink and a color ink cartridge cost me over $60! I need to start cracking down on the kids printing so much stuff out. They go through ink like water!

The rest of the day should be fun. DS has a birthday party after school and hubby is due back around dinner time. I'll check out the American Idol final tonight (this is the first season I've watched, and now I follow it pretty closely). No spider solitaire for me tonight...

My Main Street Savings cards are in hand. Hooray. I'm so glad this is on the up-and-up, and am looking forward to getting a few more. Seems like a great deal to me!

Also, called the Board of Elections lady again and got one of her colleagues. She took my info and will pass it along. Training is only one 90-minute class, about 20 minutes away from my house, and they're scheduled for June 4 or June 6, right in time for the primary election. How great would it be if I could work that?

I'm home free starting tomorrow afternoon, with a pretty clear weekend. Today, though, I need to stop at the grocery store and pick up food for dinner tonight, and I need to pick up a gift for tomorrow's party (again, waiting til the last minute)! Have a great weekend everyone...

It's great to re-read old posts. I mentioned the check from the escrow account that I received ($1721) and how I planned to put 1000 toward the HELOC and the other $721 to my new Chase account. Well it turns out that hubby hired a landscaper to do some (pretty necessary) work and the tab will be about $2000. So the money will go to paying that instead. The best laid plans of mice and men...

Also, I need to follow up with the woman from the Board of Elections. I got myself all psyched up about the idea of working an election and making a few hundred bucks, and then she never called me back. It's been a week, so I think I can call her without being a nag.

I'm hoping to keep my momentum going and get a bunch of things done this weekend. On Friday, I go for a massage (Mother's Day gift from hubby - can't wait!). Then on Saturday, DD has a Tball game and DS has a birthday party, but they should both be over by 1:00, which leaves the whole afternoon for playing outside and getting the rest of my gardening done. On Sunday, hubby leaves for a business trip through next Wednesday, so we'll just be hanging around the house. Plenty of time for me to take care of some laundry, organizing, etc. It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend!

I made some progress this weekend. It didn't start out that great, because I was running around like a nut on Saturday. I left the house at 10:00 to buy a birthday gift for the 11:00 party (way to wait for the last minute!). The party was 11:00-1:00, then I had to run back out to the store to get a gift for hubby's cousin (we exchange with him). I ended up getting a shirt for him that hubby really liked and kept for himself! Then we went to DD's T-ball game at 3:00. Hubby dropped the kids at MIL's for a sleepover. When he got home, we went clothes shopping for him (and got cousin a different gift!), then went to Chili's for dinner. Both the shopping and the dinner out were totally unplanned, though I have to say that it was great to spend the time with each other. We don't usually get to go out and do stuff like that alone very much.

I spent a lot less on Sunday (thankfully!). The weather was beautiful (I need a job where I can be wrong 75% of the time - the weatherman predicted rain). We were able to get a bunch of yardwork done, and I planted a lot of my flowers. I also did my grocery shopping (with a 20% off coupon, thanks to a great ShopRite promotion, and plenty of coupons). I also managed to get through about 5 loads of laundry, which is always a help.

Today went well. Hubby went on a business trip through Wednesday, so I found myself with time to organize after the kids went to sleep. I went ahead and listed 15 books and 2 CDs on half.com. I've never done this before, and was really surprised at how easy it was. Now hopefully they'll sell!

Tomorrow is my at-home day. I'm planning on coffee (at home) with a friend after drop-off for school. Then I need to buckle down and do a few things:
1) 3 more loads of laundry
2) Mail out clothes to my friend (leftover from my list last week)
3) Finish planting flowers and veggies
4) Return overdue library books
5) Deposit check at bank

My house is a mess, but I'll start here. Hopefully it will be a fairly inexpensive day...

Ok, it's been a great day!!! Anyone who's been keeping up with my posts know that I got a letter in the mail from Chase a few months back offering a $50 bonus if you signed up for free checking, with a $100 deposit. The account had to stay open for 6 months. I had every intention of doing it, but never got around to it. So then, on fatwallet.com, I came across a thread with all different bank offers, including a new one for Chase for a $75 bonus, same terms, expires 6/1. So I went to my local branch (that just opened up in my town two weeks ago) all set to open one up. Well it turns out that their "Grand Opening Party" is tomorrow morning, and they're giving away a $100 bonus, same terms as before, just for Saturday. The rep told me that she'd enter my information after 4:00 today, so I'd be eligible for the $100. Wahoo.

I also finally signed up for Main Street Savings today. The deal there is that for $9.95/month, you can buy gift cards from certain companies for 20% off. You get the first month free, a free $25 gift card for joining, and you can cancel anytime. I've been searching on a bunch of different frugal threads, and it seems on the up-and-up. Companies include Home Depot, Lowes, Toys R Us, Target, Circuit City, JC Penney, Kohls, Barnes & Noble, etc. You can get up to $500 per company per year. My plan is to buy up what I need over the next 3-4 months, then cancel. I ordered some today, and I'll see how it goes from there.

Other than that, had a pretty quiet day today. I was able to pick up the present for today's party, as well as an outfit for a new baby gift yesterday, but that was it. I need to go out tomorrow morning to get tomorrow's birthday gift. I should be able to make up some ground this weekend. The kids are going to MIL's for a sleepover tomorrow night, so I'll have Saturday and Sunday to do stuff around the house. I don't think the weather is supposed to be great, but I should be able to get some things done...

Got a card in the mail from our county's board of elections, asking if I was interested in being a "Board Worker" during elections. The hours are from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm, with one hour for lunch and a half-hour for dinner. The salary for the day is $200 (just over $14/hr). You can also work during school board elections (which are held on different days), though they are usually shorter hours and, presumably, less money. A training class (not sure of the duration) is mandatory. I'm going to call tomorrow to get more information and if there's nothing more to it than this, I'm going to sign up. It's only a couple of times a year, but I'm usually home on Tuesdays (election days), and even if I'm working, it would be worth it for me to take a paid vacation day and get the cash. Funny thing is that hubby and I just voted in our local school board election last month, and wondered what those people were paid and how they got the job... I'll fill in the details after I speak with them tomorrow.

I guess this makes up for all the other things I DIDN"T DO today!!! It was almost 80 degrees, sunny and gorgeous outside! I picked up the kids from school and headed to the park with some friends until 5:00. By the time I got home, got dinner ready, got the kids ready for bed and watched American Idol, it was 9:30 and I didn't do one thing on the list!!! Well, that's not exactly true. I figured out how to allocate hubby's 401(k), and got his agreement, so I will definitely be making that change before my next post tomorrow. And I also stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things (8 2-liters of soda @$.75 each minus a $6 mail-in rebate = free!!! just in time for summer). Also, blueberries were buy one get one free. Even with that deal they were still ridiculously priced, but dd loves them and it's been months since we had them...

I'll try to get my to do list done tomorrow. I'm trying to stay positive, but I'm not sure how practical it is, given that I'm working until 2:00, picking the kids up from school, then dinner and T-ball at 6:00. I also need to go to the store to get bday presents for the parties on Friday and Saturday. Yipes!

I'm having a pretty good week so far. Hubby went to the dentist for his checkup last night. No cavities, and we're allowed 2 checkups each per year, so not out-of-pocket either! I managed to plant another bunch of string beans on Monday afternoon, about 2 weeks after the last bunch. I still have more spinach and sugar snap peas to do today. I think the rest of the veggies will need to wait a week or two, as it still gets down to the 45-50 range at night and that's pretty cold.

I notice that I haven't been doing a lot of stuff on my "to do" list lately, so I'm going to list it here and try to hold myself accountable for it:

1) Increase hubby's 401(k) contribution
2) 3 loads of laundry
3) Open up a checking acct at Chase - $75 bonus
4) Box up kids clothes for my friend
5) Finish planting spinach and peas

I have a ton more to do, but I don't want to intimidate myself by listing it all knowing there's no way I can get to everything. So I'll start here and see how I do...

I find if I don't write in this journal every day, I have a hard time thinking back to what happened a few days ago. Pretty sad.

Friday was great. I took a v-day from work and went to the "Mother's Day Tea" in my daughter's kindergarten class. Very sweet. The kids read a poem and sang two songs, and we all wrote journals with our kids, talking about what we like best about each other and what we like to do together. It was a fun time. Then I zipped to the flower store and picked up the flowers for MIL for Mother's Day, flats of flowers and veggies for her, and flowers and veggies for us (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplant). I didn't go overboard like usual - just got stuff that I needed. I still need to pick up herbs, but am all set other than that. Now if only the weather would cooperate. It's supposed to get up to 70 this week, so I'll try to get it done by Friday.

Saturday, Hubby went to the Communion with MIL, and I was home with the two kids. (Daughter had a Tball game, and son was coughing quite a bit overnight, so we thought we'd keep him home instead of infecting all the kids at the party). Luckily it seems like a fluky thing - he's been better since then. I took the kids out to Fridays for lunch after the game. I had a coupon for a free appetizer (my meal) and the rest was paid with a gift card, so no cash out of pocket. Hubby got home late from the party, and we ended up ordering a pizza for dinner

Sunday, I was able to sleep late (9:45) and got coffee in bed and french toast for breakfast! After lollygagging around for the morning, we headed down to MIL's for dinner. She cooked and hubby did some stuff around the house so it was no great shakes, but pretty relaxing.

This week is going to be crazy! I need to go into work tomorrow (usually my at-home day), so I'm going to be pressed to fit in grocery shopping, laundry, etc. that I usually do on Tuesdays. Hubby has a dentist appointment tomorrow night, daughter has a tball game on Thursday and Saturday, as well as birthday parties on Friday and Saturday. For some reason, we are inundated with parties this month. Between daughter and son, we have 5 birthday parties for kids in their classes (and no EBAY Discovery Store gift cards, which means I'm going to need to be really creative to keep the cost down). I also need to pick up a bday present for hubby's cousin, whom we exchange gifts with. Wow, this is shaping up to be an expensive week Luckily, both hubby and I both get paid on Friday, so I'll be able to take a first look at where exactly we stand for the month.

Hope everyone had a good Mother's Day...

So I finalized the menu for our dinner Satruday, went shopping, and was almost all done with the preparation when I sliced my thumb on the mandoline (slicer). This happened at 4:45, company was coming at 6:00. It took me 1/2 hour to realize that it wasn't going to stop bleeding, so I had to go to the emergency room while hubby managed the two kids, final touches (setting the table, etc.) and entertaining the company for two hours until I got back. Thankfully, the wife of the couple is an awesome cook, so she pretty much took over and prepared everything! In the meantime, my thumb has this big, bulky bandage on it, and I had to get a tetnus shot to boot My arm is still killing me -- I'm such a baby!

Spent a lot on food for Saturday, but the food was great, and it was still cheaper than going out. Sunday, as expected, was a no-spend day. I'm looking forward to a pretty frugal week, except for tomorrow. I need to go down to my dad's to do the grocery shopping for him, and while I'm there, I want to stop by a local farm to pick up some flowers/veggies for planting. Also need to pick up two hanging baskets for mil for mother's day. Even though this expense is planned, I usually end up going over, because I get so excited at the prospect of gardening and planting. I'll try to keep it at bay.

I'll piggyback on my trip to the store for dad to pick up a few things that I need. Other than that, I'm having leftovers from Saturday and using up pantry stuff this week. Hopefully it will be a cheap week...

I'm really looking forward to a quiet afternoon/evening with hubby and the kids. The kids were a bit out of sorts this morning. They've been going to bed later than usual the last few days, and I think they're both just totally wiped. I'm hoping to get them to bed early tonight. Hubby and I were so beat last night we both fell asleep on the couch, which almost never happens! So we could stand a quiet night, too.

As part of my "clean out the fridge" challenge, I'm shooting for a pot-luck dinner tonight. I have a bunch of veggies that I need to use up because we'll have company tomorrow (still haven't planned the menu!) and we're going to a friend's house on Sunday. DD has T-Ball at 9:00 tomorrow (if it doesn't rain), then hubby is taking them to MIL's house so I can clean and get ready for dinner. Should be a good time.

OK, after 3 days of absolutely tearing up my house looking for my two lost credit cards, I finally had to admit defeat and cancel them this morning. I had the option of having new ones sent to me overnight, but someone would need to be home all day tomorrow to sign for them. Alas, I work on Thursdays, so nobody is around, and now I need to wait 7-10 days for them. Oh well, I guess that means I won't be charging a lot over the next week or two! As soon as I get them, I'm going to cancel the third one that I lost last summer. Then, I'm going to vow to become more organized!

Went to the library on Monday to return the way overdue video. Total fines: $2.65. Again not alot, but really annoying. I'm really going to make an effort to get better about this.

Yesterday was a pretty good day, financially. I went to the post office to send some clothes to a friend of mine. Spent about $6. Other than that, it was a no-spend day, because I blew off grocery shopping until today. I was also able to plant string beans, sugar snap peas, and spinach. We've had good luck with the beans in the past; the other two are new to us this year. I hope it works out well. If so, we can plant a new batch every three weeks or so for a continuous supply. I love gardening - I find it so relaxing!

Today is MIL's birthday. We'll be heading down to her place for dinner tonight. The rest of the week should be pretty spend-free (except for the groceries). We have friends coming for dinner on Saturday, so I need to plan the menu, hopefully with something great that won't break the bank. Then Sunday we're going to see friends for the afternoon so no money there.

I'm looking forward to month-end so I can transfer some money to the home equity line. I think it was a pretty good month...

This was one of the best weekends we've had in a while. How great it was for the four of us (me, DH, and DKs) to hang out together with no place to go and nothing to do. It was heaven! Friday night we stayed in and watched a movie from the library. On Saturday, DD's T-ball game was cancelled due to rain, so we went to see the movie Robots, then when out to a burger place for dinner. Finally, on Sunday we went to church, played outside and rode bikes. What a great weekend!

I'm back on my "cost of disorganization" kick! First of all, got a notice from the library that a video was due on 3/27 and we haven't returned it yet! I forgot that we took the video to grandma's and left it there. So I have it now and will return it later today. (Fine is $.05/day, plus I think I have fines on my account from the last time I dropped stuff off). I think I single-handedly support the library with all of the fines I pay. And I know it's not a ton of money, but it still burns me up.

Then, continuing on my disorganization kick, I lost the registration and insurance card for my car. I got the car inspected about a month ago, and distinctly remember the guy handing it back to me, with the sheet of paper saying the car passed. Haven't seen it since, and have been praying that I don't get pulled over, seen as I haven't bothered to get replacements. Need to take care of that today!

On top of all that (can it get worse?) I misplaced my credit cards! I have 3 cards that I use regularly (to rack up points - we pay them in full each month). I misplaced one last summer (that's right), but didn't cancel it because I know it wasn't stolen - I think I threw it out by accident. Anyway, hubby still has his, and I figured when it expired (later this year), they'd send me a new one and I'd be set. Well now I've misplaced the other two. I used one last Tuesday and the other last Wednesday, and haven't seen either since. I checked online and there's been no unusual activity on the account so, again, I'm sure they're just misplaced. However, I've looked high and low and can't find them ANYWHERE! Now I'm in a pickle, because I have every bill possible hitting these accounts each month (phone, cell phone, direct tv, ezpass, etc, etc.). To cancel them now would be a total pain in the neck, because I'd need to wait for my replacements, then go to each of these companies to change the cc #. I'm going to keep looking around today, then cancel tomorrow if I haven't found them. Ugh.

I blame this disorganization on pregnancy-related hormones! Before I had dd I was the most organized, detail-oriented person around. Now I'm lucky if I can tie my shoes in the morning! It really drives me nuts!

Why do I have a happy face icon next to the title of "hotel mix-up"? Because it was in my favor!!! Hubby's birthday was last Thursday, and I bought tickets to see the Yankees in Baltimore on Saturday afternoon. MIL watched the kids, so we were looking forward to a great, relaxing trip. Anyway, we booked the Hyatt Regency 2 months ago. It was the only hotel not already sold out when we booked, and ended up costing $300 for the night. So we get down there at 2:15 for a 4:30 game (check-in was supposed to be 4:00 but we had requested early check-in). The clerk informed us that due to circumstances beyond her control, the hotel was overbooked and they needed to relocate us to a Holiday Inn at the BWI airport (about 20 minutes away).

Now this is a sign that I'm growing up, becuase the old me would have absolutely pitched a fit on this poor woman. But the new, calm, serene me (probably because I didn't have my kids with me lol) just listened to her explain that they were going to put us up for free, and pay our parking at the Hyatt (we had already dropped off our car) and give us cab vouchers to get to and from the other hotel, and give us a voucher good for 1 free night at any Hyatt worldwide, for our inconvenience. Well, all right!!! The inconvenience was minimal, and instead of spending $300, I spent nothing and have a voucher for a free night! Love when that happens! Drove back Sunday morning and, other than breakfast, had a spend-free day. WooHoo.

I think I'm up to the "gifts" category on my budget. I've made one big change to get my spending down here, and that's to buy gift cards on ebay for everything. For Birthday presents, I tend to get Discovery Store cards, as I can regularly get them for 30% off face value. So instead of spending $20 I spend $14, which is much more reasonable for all the school birthday parties we go to. For baby showers/bridal showers I get Toys R Us/Babies R Us/Linens N things, or wherever they may be registered. Combined with some coupons I can usually do ok. The 2 areas I'm still having trouble with are "cash events". In my husband's family especially, people tend to give cash for a lot of events (weddings, graduations, communions, etc.). I haven't thought of a way around this. Where I'd be happy buying a $17 gift instead of a $20 gift, I'd feel weird giving a check for $17. Kwim? The second problem area are unplanned gifts, like housewarmings, sympathy gifts, etc. They usually come up last minute so the gift card thing doesn't work. I need to work on this.

Have a great day...