Looking Forward's Personal Finance Blog

Signed DH up for a BofA card with a $100 bonus a couple weeks back. Will get that redeemed as soon as the card closes. Then I'll cancel that card.
Told him he can use that as spending money in Hawaii!

I was offered a $15 gift card for Starbucks if I used my visa card to pay at least one utility bill before April 31. I'm in! Two clicks to sign up.
What an easy way to get a few free treats!

Cashed in $26 from Chase.

Forgot that we sold the old pedestal sink and light fixture on C.List.
$1170
-$ 35
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$1135 OOP bathroom renovation cost

And that OOP cost was covered by extra side income. No deductions to the savings account or additions to the cc balance.

Rounded up all my receipts for the bathroom.

Receipts
$ 70 - drywall, Hardibacker, screws, tax (Home Depot)
$276 - Tile for shower (Home Depot)
$101 - Grout, thinset, spacers, sealer, tax for above (Home Depot)
$133 - showerhead, tub spout, handles, drain (Amazon)
$ 59 - shower curtain & liner (Bed, Bath & Beyond)
$ 89 - curved curtain rod, rollerball curtain hooks (Signature Hardware)
$ 42 - paint, primer, paint tray, roller, tax (Home Depot)
$126 - Tile for floor (Home Depot)
$ 84 - Hardibacker, more thinset, tax (Home Depot)
$ 68 - caulk, tile drillbit, tax (Home Depot)
$634 - Vanity cabinet, granite top, backsplash, sidesplash, sink (Signature Hardware)
$140 - faucet and drain set (Signature Hardware)
$221 - toilet (Amazon)
$ 40 - toilet seat (Amazon)
$ 23 - misc. supplies (wax ring, plastic pipe, razor blades, etc..) tax
(OSH/ Home Depot)
$ 49 - light fixture, bulbs, tax (Lowe's)
$ 15 - Oil Rubbed Bronze knobs (Amazon)
$127 - towel bar, towel ring, tp holder, robe hook (Amazon)
$ 16 - Lather/Rinse and Clean/Fun prints (Amazon)
$ 41 - frames and mats, tax (Aaron Brothers)
$ 26 - Two each bath towels, hand towels, wash clothes, tax (Costco)
$ 16 - memory foam bathmat, tax (Costco)
$ 0 - labor
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$2337 - Total


Adjustments
-$400 - Visa gift cards Christmas gift from DH's bosses.
-$200 - Home Depot g.c.Christmas gift from MIL
-$ 75 - Home Depot gift card
-$ 25 - Home Depot gift card
-$ 31 - Returns
-$ 40 - Returns
-$ 5 - saved by using discount gift card from Plastic Jungle
-$213 - CC reward gift cards sold to Plastic Jungle
-$ 28 - 5% cash back on Amazon purchases
-$150 - city water rebate for HE toilet
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$1170 Actual OOP cost

I was aiming for $1k which I think is pretty frugal for a bathroom overhaul. By having a smaller bathroom we saved a bit on floor tile and only having space for a 24" vanity, but pretty much the other costs would have been the same.

PICTURES!

**Before**


**After**

My co-worker wanted the day off, so I am working for her. That bathroom reno post will have to wait a few more hours..

I had the day off on Thursday, which is a half day, so working today will give back those hours. I like that. Thursday was a lot of running around and spending money. Pharmacy: $10. Grocery: $190. KMart: $32. TraderJoe's: $38. Re-ordered checks: $23. DD's school band is playing at a SF Giants game. Tickets for her and DH for the game: $60.

Last night I stopped at Costco and really stocked up esp. on meat, fruit and spices. $240.

And I bought gas. $4.19/gal! $73!

Yesterday we received our federal refund. (We received our state refund last week.) Both checks went straight into savings because they are earmarked for the new roof.

So here is what really bugs me - we got a 1099 in the mail Thursday! It was postmarked Feb. 27. Isn't that wrong? Don't you have to have all your tax stuff sent out by Feb. 1?

This is the 1099 I was waiting and waiting for and just ended up filing on Feb. 12 when we never got it. Now I'm going to have to file an amendment. *Grrr*

March?!? Wow!

This past week just flew by.
I had my BFF and her hubby come for an overnight visit last weekend. Then just busy the past days with work and family.

Today I have the day off because of a scheduled power outage on the street where our office is. It actually doesn't feel much like a day off because of all the little chores I have listed for myself. I want to be able to get my list all checked off.
It took me 45 minutes this morning to get my prescription refilled - Ugh! That was a big time set back. Then I went grocery shopping. Came home and got everything put away. Now DS is napping before we have to run over and pick up DD. Then the music store, the post office, band practice, Costco, start dinner, stop at the bank, and more...

The other big news: our bathroom is done!
A big post with pics and costs is on my to do list for today also, but that might have to wait until Saturday.

My pday check.
DH's pday check.
Cat sitting check from this past week.
Plastic Jungle check.
State tax refund check.


The cat sitting check and the refund check both went into the EF (for now).
The tax refunds have been earmarked for the new roof.
The cat sitting check was $245 and I think I'll split it between savings and an extra cc payment.

DD had an eye exam on Tuesday and she is going to need glasses. Her eyesight is only slightly bad at 20/40. She is really upset about having to wear glasses. I remember being her age and not wanting to wear glasses either, but my eyesight was way worse so I *had* to wear them.

We do not have vision coverage, so we pay out of pocket. Which is really fine with me. Most vision plans don't really cover squat anyway.

Her visit was $160. Planning to purchase the glasses thru Costco.

She has a dental appointment next week. $25 co-pay.
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DH's visit to the doc last week will be costing us about $340 without the xrays. Haven't gotten a bill for those yet. His medical coverage is catastrophe type; $5000/yr deductible, so little check-up stuff is all out of pocket.

He called his doctor again yesterday because he has a really harsh, painful chest cold/cough. She didn't need to see him again. Just prescriptions for antibiotics and a new inhaler at Costco for $43.
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I have a dental cleaning next week, I think?
That will be a $25 co-pay.
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Have a $370 bill sitting at home that's from DS's last visit and vaccinations.

Geesh! I am trying to save money here!!

Last Friday I made payments to the credit cards.
Previous balance $20,204.
Current balance $19,408.

I am at work today, but it is pretty quiet. I think many people just assume that everywhere is closed. DH has the day off and is doing the stay-at-home-dad thing today. I am happy about that. Lots of good one on one with the kids. That and everyone is a bit sick, so it's good that they can all be at home resting.

So, last month I signed up for a Gold AmEx to earn 25,000 worth of points. My plan all along was to use this "free money" to help offset the bathroom remodel costs. AmEx has a feature where you can pay with points directly to Amazon. I also figured I could redeem for Home Depot cards as well.

Trouble is/was that I couldn't get the points posted to the account fast enought to help with any Home Depot spending. And the Amazon thing equals $1 to every 14.2 points. Which would mean that my 26,209 points would get me only $184.57.

I checked into using the points to book our rental car for Maui. Which would be a $1 = 10 points transaction. But, the rentals were thru a more expensive rental company so I really didn't feel like that was the best (highest yielding) option either.

Redeeming for a cash gift card would be $1 = 20 points. Even worse!

Here is what I ended up doing:
The Old Navy GC were a straight up conversion at $1 = 10 points. I bought five $50 cards and one $10 card. The $50 cards I sold to Plastic Jungle for $212. The $10 I will use myself in the store or give to DD as a special gift, or something like that.

The Chase card I'm using to purchase the items from Amazon is giving 5% back.

After all the calculations my "free money" works out like this:
$212 - cash from Plastic Jungle
$ 10 - gift card
$ 13 - 5% Chase reward
$235 total,
which is a "loss" of $25 if I could have just cashed out the 26,000 points to $260. But that's better than the $185 I would've gotten if I had just used the points directly for Amazon.

Some of you may remember that my payday recently changed from bi-monthly to every Friday. My DH gets paid every Friday also. Well this new way is working out great! For whatever reason it's making budgeting and bill paying much easier.

For example, last week I made payments to all the ccards at the same time on the same day. In the past I would have to stagger them out to match up with my pday or a Friday for DH's pday.

The other exciting part about getting two checks rolling in every Friday is the five Friday months. Next month, March, has five Fridays. That means we will have $1300-$1700 more income than a "regular" month! WhooHoo!

Doing some preliminary planning for the Hawaii trip.
I still am kind of in disbelief about the whole idea of going on vaca in six-ish weeks.

Checked rental car prices thru Costco and we could get one for as low as $219. Or $370 for a Mustang convertible (DH's preference).

DH also wants to go out sport fishing. Average cost $170/pp/for an 8 hour day.

We both would like to go snorkeling. And it looks like there are plenty of options for that. Maybe just set something up one we're there?

It also looks like we won't be spending as much to eat. DH was told that because this is a "work" related trip his regional sales rep will be treating us to a nice dinner. There is also a cocktail reception on the first night. All breakfasts are included in the hotel package.

I started browsing the web for a sundress, and maybe a new swimsuit? Yikes - think I'll need a spray tan before I go. I am a very white girl! lol!

I plan to use paid vacation time for while I'm gone, so no loss in income. Actually, because we'll have family staying and watching the kids/pets/house we will be saving money on childcare.

OMGosh DH called me about an hour ago and I could tell he had something up his sleeve...
His bosses are passing a trip to Hawaii on to us!

Neither DH or I have ever been.

The trip is paid for by a corporation that they buy their HVAC equipment from. This is a trip they give to their higher grossing clients (something along those lines). Well, DH's bosses (hubby & wife) already have a big trip to Hawaii planned for two weeks after this trip so instead of going twice they asked DH if we'd like to go in thier place.

Five nights in Maui. Hotel and airfare for $0.
We will need to pay for food and maybe a rental car. Everyone says it's good to have a car to drive around.

Wow! I am SO excited!

The new potty came yesterday and DH set it up last night.

Works well thus far and is nice and quiet. I am really happy about that since the bathroom is right off our bedroom.

Pics of the complete remodel coming soon. Just waiting for the towel bar, TP holder etc. and it will be 100%.

Yesterday I ended up having the day off because it was so slow at work. I was glad because Monday I started feeling not-so-hot. Scratchy throat, headache, that sort of thing. Anyhow, I thought "Great! I'll spend Tuesday resting and try to kick this bug."

Well DH calls me while I'm out for my Tuesday morning walk with some girlfriends and tells me he's having like chest pain. (I wasn't too worried, but I was concerned.) As quick as I can walk I get back to my friend's house where my car is. Then I drive over to hubby's work and run him to our family doctor.

DS and I waited for a bit over an hour while the doctor did an EKG. Everything was fine with his heart. *Phew*
Then over to the lab for some blood work.
Then to get chest xrays about 10 miles up the road. Which was about two miles from my work. (So much for not having to drive my usual commute.)

His blood tests were fine. His chest films were normal. Doctor thinks he was having a bad bout of heartburn/acid reflux. Thankful for that news. Not surprised that everything was normal, but thankful all the same.

I joked with him that because it was Valentines Day his heart was full of love it felt like it was going to burst.

We stopped at Costco on the way home and picked up the acid reducer his doctor recommended, a few other items and filled up with fuel. $3.59/gal.

Finally ended up back at home about 2:30pm.

To celebrate V-Day we exchanged cards and each got a card for DD. I also bought peanut butter hearts for DH and DD at $3.50/each and their cards were $1.99/each.

DH made dinner. Fettuccini w/homemade Alfredo, breadsticks, roasted mushrooms, steak for him, lobster for me and DD. (DS got surf & turf. Lucky toddler!) A little champagne. Éclairs for dessert.
It was wonderful.
$61 for everything and we have two steaks leftover that he'll BBQ tonight.

And DH is feeling fine today and I feel better than I did Monday.

Quiet morning here.
Woke up to some heavy fog so we all slept in a little because it was so dim outside. The fog burned off quickly to a pretty, sunny morning.

We went to a fancy champagne brunch at 10:30am. Stuffed myself on shrimp, chocolate dipped strawberries and champagne.

Used a 2-for-1 coupon and gift cards from Christmas. Our total ended up at $0.06!
DH left a $10 to cover the bill and tip.
$72 brunch for $10.
This is EXACTLLY how I like to do things!

Afterward, we walked to a park across the street and the kids played for about 30 minutes. Lovely sunshine-y day. As I sat on the bench I reflected on how much I like the city we live in. It really feels more like a cozy small town, but has so many city conveniences.

In a few hours I am going to run over to Safeway to use my $10 reward coupon. Today is the last day to use it. Not sure what to buy with it because we don't "need" anything right now.
Boy, that's a nice problem to have, isn't it?
Probably buy fresh veggies.


Here's the lamp I splurged on from Etsy. Perfect next to my bedside.

Still no new toilet for the bathroom! Ugh!!!
Sharing one potty is stating to get old...

It seems the supply house that DH ordered the toilet thru didn't order the toilet.
Come on - How hard is it to order ONE toilet?!

Anyhow, I had seen the toilet on Amazon.. yeah, really.. and so we told the supply house "Nevermind."

No sales tax or shipping thru Amazon. Plus, I'll get 5% back from using the Chase card. So, that is actually a better deal.

Should have a new toilet by next weekend. *fingers crossed*

CraigsList came thru for us on Friday. We sold a little jet ski we had been given several years back. It needed some carburetor work, but otherwise was in good shape. It's just been sitting and didn't look like it was going to get fixed anytime soon. I posted it to CL for $100 and within about 10 minutes we had five buyers! The first guy who called picked it up Friday night and was thrilled.

I like that everybody goes home happy; he got a deal and we got rid of it.
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MIL sent us a check for the $600 she borrowed. They received their tax refund.

Yeah, and they bought a new car. Not that they needed one. Both of their other cars were running fine. (They did sell one.)

No savings, but let's take on a car payment.
Good lesson on how NOT to be....
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In two days we have our auto transfer so I'm adding that in now.

Current EF balance: $2825

Vanity:
Last week (Tuesday) the vanity set I ordered online arrived. Well packed. No damage.

It is beautiful!
The granite top is really beautiful!

I am so happy I found it. Much better quality than anything I saw at the home improvement stores. Much less expensive than anything at the specialty remodel stores.

This is a pic from the website. Mine has a different granite top and faucet.

Toilet:
Last Tuesday DH ordered the toilet I picked out. He would have had it within two days, but it is on backorder.
Hopefully we get it this week.
We will pay more than the water rebate of $150. This model cost $220.

Towels:
I have been looking at buying a new set of towels to complete the "new" bathroom. Last time I bought towels was about eight years ago. So I was looking at Macy's, Kohl’s, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target etc.. etc.. My friend (ex coworker) works at Macy's so I could get her discount. I was looking at spending between $50 and $70 for a six piece set (pair of towels, washcloths and hand towels).

Then I went to Costco for a few things and *blam* towels.
Never paid much notice to the towels at Costco, but I bought a set with two washcloths and two hand towels for $9.99 and two bath towels at $6.99/ea.
Yay! Six piece set for $24.

I have been casually looking for a new bedside table lamp. Something pretty and inexpensive. Then I saw this lamp on Etsy..


I kept going back to look at it. I couldn't find anything I liked half as much for the same price.
I finally sent the seller a message and offered $35 less than her listed price. She accepted the offer. So I splurged.

Yesterday DH took out the toilet and sink in the bathroom. Then he ripped up all the old floor.

Last night I washed the walls and primed them. It took almost two hours from start to finish.

This morning I worked in the bathroom for close to four hours. I washed the ceiling and then painted it with a fresh coat of ultra-pure white. After I finished that I cleaned up my brush and roller and painted the walls a silvery blue color called "Silver Strand". Then I cleaned everything up again.

Glad I am done. The fresh paint looks so nice!

And I finally found an upside to having a tiny bathroom.


DH has started laying the new tile floor.

Let me start with saying I have had lots of good luck with CL. Maybe better than average. No flakes. Nice people. Quick sales.

This past week I posted two items to CL.

One is a sheet metal brake (a piece of equipment that bends sheet metal). Obviously this is a specific item that will need a specific buyer.
I have posted this on and off for several months.
We had one interested guy back in October (I think?) Our brake just wasn't the size he needed or he would have bought it.

And this week DH had a guy who sounded very, very interested. He set up a day and window of time to come see it, and then never called to confirm.
Ugh! Why be so rude?! If you're not interested anymore call and say so!

Anyhow, DH calls him and the guy says,
"Oh, gee, well the price seems high."
DH says "Do you know what this brake costs new?"
And the guy was like, "Well, uh, no, I haven't checked that out."
DH said, "Well, maybe you do that and then call me and make me an offer."

Grrrr... What a dumba$$!

The second item is a pair of Coach knee-high, leather boots with a small heel. I have had them in my closet for several years. I wore them three times I think. I bought them on clearance with a Macy's gift card I had been given for Christmas. If I worked in an office I would probably wear these often, but I don't. So why not sell them?
They've attracted two interested buyers. I have called the numbers they left and haven't gotten any calls back.

Why bother saying you're interested when you obviously are not. You waste my time and your time.
Blah!

The upside is that I may be able to get a good price on the boots at a local used clothing store. I am going to take them there next week if they don't sell.

Two more tax forms rolled in. Our mortgage statement and DH's W2. Now we are waiting for a 1099 and then I can file. Looking like a bit bigger refund than I was guessing. One thing was we maxed out our childcare credit this year; getting the full $1200.

*The* shower curtain arrived yesterday too. It's pretty. A bit more golden tone than brown, but I think I will be keeping it all the same. It looks good up against the tile.

Had the "Water Wise" house call Tuesday morning. The toilet in each bathroom qualifies for the rebate. I'm not surprised. Old water-hog toilets.

DH is going to order a new potty from one of the supply houses he uses. Wholesale pricing.

Going to do some painting in the bathroom this weekend. As well as tearing up the floor so DH can lay new tile. Our goal is to have the bathroom wrapped up by next weekend. All the major stuff anyway. I won't have the towel bars, hook, etc. or new door pulls for the vanity until after I get my AmEx Gold card rewards.

Well...*sigh*...my 49ers lost last night.

I did transfer $10 to the EF because we made it so far in the playoffs and the game last night stretched into overtime.
New EF balance: $2080.
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It rained like crazy over the weekend, especially late last night. It really came down. I am glad, we really needed rain.

The weather has cleared now and we are supposed to have a week of clear, mild days.

We only had one *tiny* leak around the last old (yet to be replaced) window in the house. Phew!

The plan is to use the tax refund to get the new roof this spring/summer.
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Oh, last night I ordered the shower curtain and liner. I used the gift card code from Plastic Jungle which worked out just fine. I was going to try a coupon code for 20% off, but I couldn't find anywhere on the checkout to enter it!?

Bathroom renovation cost so far: $868.

Last night I used Plastic Jungle and bought a $50 Bed, Bath and Beyond gift card for $45. That way in a roundabout way I will save on my shipping.
($7 to ship a shower curtain. Grrrr!)
Could not find any free shipping or %/off coupons that were valid online either.

Thanks mjrube94 for commenting about doing this. I have never done it this way before, but have thought how it would be a good way to save.
(Usually I think "I should have bought a discounted GC." after I make a purchase! )

I don't have the gift card code yet. Plastic Jungle says it takes them about 24 hours to process. I have the curtain and liner all picked out.
Hope I love it.
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Going to run over to the grocery store now. As predicted we need milk. We also need butter and eggs. I will try very hard to only pick up those things and no extra on sale items.
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More football playoffs today.

GO NINERS!!!

After they win today they'll be in the Super Bowl!

I bought Quicken Deluxe at Costco Thursday. After the coupon it cost $20.

I was thinking I would get the Home/Business edition because I have a little dream of having a side business here at home someday. I figured I should just buy Quicken once and have all the options. But, Costco was out of that one. (I suppose I could order it from them online...)

Do you ever buy an upgraded product in anticipation of using a feature "someday"? Or do you just re-buy the upgraded product when you end up needing it?
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Getting paid every Friday is pretty nice. DH gets paid every Friday too, so it makes for a large influx of cash weekly.

There has been some discussion about whether or not more taxes gets taken from your paycheck if you get paid weekly, bi-monthly or monthly. I don't know. Seems like it would all work out to the same amount in a year. Anybody know?
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Speaking of taxes, I have the childcare total from DD's afterschool program. $1168. I plugged it into our return I'm working on at FreeTaxUSA.com. I also plugged in the 1099-G. I wish I could get the remaining info I need so I can complete and file. Just like to get rolling on our return.

It's FINALLY raining! Yippee!
It's been so dry for so long I am so glad to see and hear the rain.

Of course ask me how I like it after it's been raining for three weeks straight. I'll be feeling differently then.
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Today I orderd the bathroom vanity, complete with countertop and sink, and a curved shower rod with cool little roller-ball curtain rings in oil-rubbed bronze.

I looked at a lot of vanities in person and online. The ones I saw in person were either cheap crap particleboard at the home improvement stores. Or high end soild wood at the nice kitchen & bath remodel stores. The place I ordered from online has excellent reviews so I am crossing my fingers.

It is solid wood and comes completely assembled. (Like a nice piece should.) None of that flat box, you assemble type thing. The set (vanity, granite top, backsplash and bowl sink) cost about as much (or less) as many of the vanity only options I saw elsewhere. If the quality is as good as it is described on the website I will be getting a great deal.

I have never made such a big purchase online, especially without seeing the product in person.

I also really hope that the granite color I picked looks like it does on the computer.

Used $400 in Visa gift cards that DH was given as a Christmas bonus to pay for most of the order. The remaining $323 came from a bit of DH's side work.

We loaned $600 from our EF to MIL. I drove to her bank on my lunch to deposit a check into their account. She talked to DH, so I have no idea why they needed the money. I think it's just to get them through until the 1st. DH said we'd be paid back then. I don't really mind lending the money. She has asked before and always paid us back when she said. When we've needed a little money to get us through in the past MIL has always helped us.

Although, I think the last time was maybe seven years ago and she kind of kicked up a fuss about when she was going to get repaid...
(We always paid her back quickly BTW.)

Anyhow, for now the current EF balance is $2,070.
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Got to call my bank and rattle a few cages. HeHe.
They had a little promo where if you tried the bill pay they would credit your account $10.
Okay, for $10 I tried it, but I hadn't gotten my credit. I called once about two weeks after I did the bill pay thing and the CS rep said to give them about 6 weeks. They had two months now, so it was time to call again.
No problem. Now I'm $10 richer.
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Oh, the cell phone company is charging us for two plans!

When DH bought his iPhone the guy changed his plan, but left my phone on the old plan. The past two billing cycles they've charged us for both family plans. I told DH about this after I saw the first "new" bill at the end of December. He is the one who is the account holder of the cell phone account. I love my hubby, but dealing with things like this is his weak point. He still hasn't contacted them. Now we've gotten the second bill. I haven't paid either bill and I'm not going to until they fix the account.

I figured when they turned off his phone he'd hop to taking care of things. We'll that plan backfired a little today - They turned off my phone! His phone still kept working totally fine! Well my phone getting turned off did jump him into action. He called and was on the phone for close to an hour. I was surprised he really had to fight to get things straightened out. I overheard part of the conversation and it was getting pretty heated. He had to ask for a supervisor like three times.

I figured it would be simple.
Call. Explain situation. Charges removed. The end.
I mean who carries two share plans in the same family, but doesn't share them?

It seems DH has won the battle. The old plan was removed and credited back. And, he asked for his "upgrade fee" be credited back and I believe he got that too in the end.

I want to see all the credits post to our account before I pay.
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I have been searching for a bathroom vanity, shower rod and shower curtain. I have narrowed down what vanity and rod I want, but not a curtain yet. I think I have looked at 500 shower curtains.
Why am I so picky?!

There is one at B, B and Beyond that I like, but I can only buy it online and they want to charge $6 S&H. Phooey!

I'll keep looking.

This morning was the coldest morning of the year for our area. It was 22F. There was only a little covering of frost because it's been so very dry here. We are way below normal for rainfall and it's just been day after day of beautiful sunshine. I was almost ready to water my lawn! Thankfully it looks like the rain is coming starting Thursday.
I am happy to see the rain coming our way! (As long as our roof can hold up for us one more season!)

I picked up my year-end statement from DS's daycare lady last night. $7,430 for the year.
No wonder I can't max out the ROTHs!

Nah, he is worth every penny.

I am chomping at the bit to get all our tax paperwork and get to working on our return. I entered in my W-2 this morning along with DS's childcare amount and if that was all there was I would get $6k back.
Too bad that's not what's going to happen. LOL.
Still have to enter DH's income (W-2 and 1099's), mortgage statement, DD's childcare and misc. receipts.

For the past several years I have used FreeTaxUSA.com to do our taxes. Very user friendly and has been great for us. It costs us $10.
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This is a picture I took a few months back to share. Then I forgot I had it on the memory card.

This is a tree next to my work just before it dropped the last of it's leaves.

The 49ers won!
The game was uber exciting yesterday. I think it will end up being the most exciting post-season game this year. What a nail-biter!

Transferred $20 to the EF.
Current balance $2670

Today I'm watching the other two playoff games. Not really rooting for anyone in particular. I do like Green Bay, but am hoping that New York will win so SF can play next weekend at home.
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DH and DD are working together on replacing a furnace for my boss today.

DS and I went grocery shopping this morning. $142. We should be all set for two weeks. The only thing we might need before then will be milk.

I also need to pack away the Christmas stuff. Of course everything is down. But it's all piled up and needs to be organized into the storage totes and then packed into the garage loft. I expect that will take me about an hour.

I have some laundry to wash and fold today too.
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Friday I was finally was able to set up the "Water Wise House call" with the city water company. This is the first step in order to qualify for the $150 toilet rebate.
That would mean a new toilet for FREE!
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Thinking about buying Quicken. Costco has a $20 off coupon for it every year at this time. I was thinking the Home & Business edition because it has the most features. With the coupon it would be $45. Advice?
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Here is the new tub/shower trim set. I hope we can find a way to make them easier to turn.

This morning we went out for breakfast at our favorite hole-in-the-wall cafe. $46.
DH loves their ham and cheese omelets. They have the best Eggs Benedict out of all the places I've been. Their coffee is very good also and the service is excellent.
It was a great way to start the weekend.
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I just applied, and was approved, for another credit card. This is the AmEx that is offering $250 in gift cards after $1k of spending in three months. I am hoping I can find enough places that I routinely use that will take the AmEx. Costco will, hopefully Safeway too. Just couldn't pass up $250 reward.

If I can I will get gift cards for Home Depot, Macy's or Amazon. That way I can use the "free" money for stuff for the bathroom. Towels, towel bars, sink faucet, etc..
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The new shower hardware came yesterday. Fast shipping! It only took three days! DH put it all in this morning and it does look very nice. However, we aren't sure how well the handles are going to work out. You have to turn them off very tightly, otherwise it drips water. Really tightly; like it hurts my hand to try to turn them.

Disappointed about that.

DH is going to call a plumber friend and find out what our options are to correct that.

Such a pain that we didn't know that we should have changed the valves to a single control before we closed up the wall and tiled. Blah!

There is a two handled Kohler set I REALLY like.
Unfortunately -
1. It does not come in oil rubbed bronze.
2. It's about $450.
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The 49ers play the Saints today in about an hour. The afternoon will be spent watching football.
When the 49ers win I will add $20 to the EF.

Go niners!