Looking Forward's Personal Finance Blog

Added $25 to the EF.
New total: $2649

Paid $300 toward the cc debt today also.

Still trying to get an appointment with the city water company so we can get rolling on the toilet rebate. In the past seven days I've left two voice mails and an email. What will it take for an appointment??

Just purchased a tub/shower faucet kit on Amazon. Boy, it was next to impossible to find something for an older style two handled shower. Almost everything is the big one-handle style. Today I found out that is because it is now illegal to build a house with separate hot/cold handles for the shower. The government doesn't want you to scald yourself I guess.

Oil rubbed bronze spout, two handles, shower head and flange, overflow cover and drain cover. $133 total.
Used a $5 gift code I had and the Chase card that will give 5% back on Amazon purchases in Q1.

Bathroom remodel cost thus far: $493

I have today off again. Nothing much going on at the office. Tomorrow there is a bunch of appointments and several surgical procedures. Then the boss is going to be gone Thursday and Friday. I will work a nice quiet half day on Thursday and have Friday off. Nice for me, but not so great for my paycheck.
That is the other news; I am going to be getting paid weekly starting this week. The boss wants to try a weekly pay schedule. I don't have much opinion about it either way. We'll see how it goes.
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Anyhow, about this past weekend....

Friday afternoon my mom came down. She brought a huge, delicious veggie lasagna for dinner. It was all ready to eat as soon as I walked in the door from work.

On Saturday my family, along with my sister, her boyfriend and my mom, spent the day in San Francisco. We live about one hour from the city. We rode the ferry so we didn't have to drive and park.

DH and I had bought six round-trip ferry passes at DD's school fundraiser awhile back. We bought them in a silent auction and paid $25. Each ferry ride costs $8.75/one-way. We were thrilled to be able to use them and save so much money for everyone.

The Saturday farmer's market was in full swing at the Ferry Building when we got there. It was fun to check that out. Several of the booths had vendors from our town. I would have bought some produce or cheese, but we would have had to pack it around all day, so I had to pass.
The Ferry Building. Pier 1.


My DH did the ventalation work on this restaurant inside the Ferry Building. (see the huge hood on the left and a round duct across the upper part of the pic.)



We walked up the Embarcadero to Pier 39. The weather was beautiful. Blue skies and sunshine. Not typical SF weather.

DD and DS rode the carousel on the pier. $5.


At 1:30pm we all went to Alcatraz.
I had pre-purchased the tickets for DH and I (DS was free and my sister paid for DD) on-line for $26/pp. $52 total.


I had gone about 14 years ago; no one else had ever been to Alcatraz before. It was interesting and more of the island was open on this trip. DS was wonderful. We let him out of the stroller to walk along the parade grounds and paths.
Beautiful views of the city and bay.

The Golden Gate from Alcatraz Island.

Our group split up and DH, DS and I walked back down the Embarcadero to catch the earlier ferry so we could get DS home close to his regular bedtime. The sun was setting as we walked. It was lovely.

The Bay Bridge from the Ferry Building.


The rest of the group went to dinner on pier 39. DH, DD and I stopped at a local brewpub/restaurant on the drive home for dinner. DH loves their Kilt Lifter ale. I had a Pomegranate wheat. $60 for dinner, dessert, beers, tip.

On Sunday evening DH and I went for dinner and a movie. My mom stayed an extra night so we could go out. We used gift cards for the restaurant. Paid the tip with cash. We used two of the free passes I had for Sherlock Holmes 2. We both enjoyed the movie.

It was really nice to go out as a couple for a "date night". It was doubly nice to go out and only spend about $20!

A great weekend from start to finish.

A very funny email I received! I thought I'd pass it along if you'd like a good laugh.

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"Hi Everyone...I usually don't send these types of messages but had to because I was laughing so hard I was crying! Some of it is a little raunchy so I hope I do not offend anyone. If you have a minute it is worth reading."

Before:




After:






We spent about $70 in prep supplies like cement board, drywall, mortar, special screws etc.

We paid OOP $188 for the tile and supplies (grout, spacers, etc). The rest was paid with a gift card and money from MIL. (The tile was my Christmas gift and I couldn't be happier about that! )

Free labor from DH and FIL!

DH needs to finish trimming out the window with a new sill. I need to buy a shower curtain and rod.
At some point we will replace the fixtures - the shiny cheap chrome stuff does not match AT ALL!

Bathroom reno cost thus far: $360

I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions, but setting some goals and tracking progress is a great idea. So here goes....

2012 Goals

*Pay down credit card debt to under 13k.
Starting balance: $20,434

*Grow EF to $7k.
Starting balance $2,624

*Replace roof.

Those are the biggies. Then I have several other items I'll post in my sidebar.

*Weight loss. Baby will be TWO years old this year. Time to get some of that baby weight off.
*Consult on Lasik for my horrible eyesight.
*Is this the year for braces for DD??
*Get a trust set up.
*Life insurance.
*Re-home one of the horses to save money.
It's very hard for me to do this, but it needs to be done. We're not riding or enjoying them like we should. Finding her a new home would save us $150/month for board, plus the extra in vet visits, wormer etc.. Not an easy decision, but a financially wise thing to do.

Long Term....

*Pre-payments to mortgage.
*Save for preschool.
*Save for an extended family vacation.

I have the afternoon off today. Right now I just finished watching a movie with DD. DS is napping. Going to get some To Do stuff done today. So far I've...

- I cleared the cash out of my purse and deposited $40 to the EF.

- I added DH as a second card holder to my Wells Fargo CC. By doing that I am hoping I'll be able to transfer the points he earned with his debit card to the credit card's point total. They discontinued the points program for the debit card about August and he has enough points to redeem for about $40 worth of gift cards, but there will be points left over. I would really like to combine the two point balances so we don't lose out on any points.

- Cancelled HBO. Our special deal ended. Not paying $10/mo to keep it. I will try to get another deal on it in a few months when "Game of Thrones" season starts.

- Paid mortgage. $1776.

Still need to...

- Buy some TP! Yikes, we're out!
- Donate some pet food I have to the animal shelter.
- Donate two bags of DD's old clothes and my old plate set.
- Un-decorate the tree and remove from the house.
- Call the city water department and set up a "water audit" thing. First step in qualifying for a $150 credit for a new toilet.
- Dishes.
- Wash all the new clothes DS got for Christmas.
- Take a picture of the new tile for you all to see.

Happy 2012 everyone!
May we all accomplish what we need to this year. I'll be cheering us all on.
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I am at work today, although it is not very busy, I would much rather be at home. I might get to stay home tomorrow because so far there is only one appointment and my boss is leaving early. It would be nice to get a few "To Do" things crossed off my list tomorrow.
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The 49ers won their game on Sunday!
I will need to add $10 to the EF. They won 13 games this season. That was $130 to the EF!
Now let's see what they can do in the play-offs.

We were blessed enough to have another lovely Christmas here in our home with family.

I hope all of you had a blessed holiday also.

Not much drama from the in-laws. Or my family either.

DH and FIL tiled the shower. It looks AWESOME! Pictures to follow.

I made out with plenty of really nice/useful gifts. Everyone seemed very satisfied with their "haul". DS still has a few gifts he hasn't opened yet. He opens a gift and then wants to play with it right then. So it's taking a little more time to get thru his stack.

The food has been amazing all this weekend. I am sure I've put a few pounds on.
DH handled most of the cooking.
Christmas dinner last night was sooo delish. Prime rib, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, fruit salad, dinner rolls, deviled eggs..

Okay, now I'm hungry. Gotta go eat some leftovers!

We've been busy bees here. Trying to make up the lost days we had from being sick.

We went to Costco first thing yesterday morning and I picked up our Christmas cards. $15 for 50 photo cards and envelopes. They turned out very cute.

We stopped at Home Depot and bought all the tile for me and DH's bathroom.

Getting the bathroom tiled was on my Christmas wish list.

DH is planning to start working on it on the 23rd with his dad. At first I thought that might be kind of crazy, but I'll be at work all day so what do I care.

The total for the tile and materials was less than what I expected. Then we had a $75 gift card and MIL chipped in $200 (Christmas gift). Making the out-of-pocket cost for us $188.

I hope it turns out as well as I picture it in my head.

When we got back home a did all the Christmas cards then took them to the post office and mailed them out. I had planned to this on Thursday, but was sick that day. Oh well, I think everyone will still get their card before Christmas.

Mailed 27 and have about 10 that we will pass out personally.

Getting the photo cards made up with the personalized message makes doing cards very easy. I address the envelope and stuff in the card. Stamp the return address. Stamp with postage. Easy.

I like getting Christmas cards.

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Today we've been cleaning, catching up on laundry and putting to final touches on the decorations.

I need to wrap gifts tonight. DH has wrapped several, but I haven't wrapped a single one - yet...

Not to be graphic...

We all ended up with DD's "stomach bug". Blah!

Little DS threw up right after I picked him from childcare Wednesday night.
It's heartbreaking to see a toddler wretching.
Thankfully, he seemed to recover the quickest. Only a few hours of the "bug" and then he had a full night's sleep.

I was sick from midnight until about 7am Thursday.

DH stayed home from work with me yesterday. He was having some milder symptoms and thought it would be best to stay home and rest. Maybe not get as sick as the rest of us. Well, early this morning the "bug" hit him hard so he is home again today. Poor guy!

It really sucked because you feel so bad that nothing gets done even though you're home all day. I feel like I've lost two days worth of time. I needed to get things done.

On the bright side - I am very thankful that we did not get this over Christmas. That would have been WAY worse.

The 49ers lost their game on Sunday by two points. Blah!

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Our tree looks wonderful! DD picked it out this year and it's the tallest one I think we've ever had. I put the tape measure on it and it was 7.5 feet. Very full and dark green. Two out of three strings of tree lights were dead this year.
(They were working just fine when I packed them away last year. I hate that!)
Made a run to the hardware store for some new sets. About $36 for three 50' sets.

DH hasn't had any time (daylight time) to put lights up on the house yet. We also have an inflatable Santa, bought on clearance, that we are going to put in the yard this year. He did put our green bulb in the light post light so we've got a bit (wee bit!) of festive color out there.

I really love when we get the decorations up. Things look so merry and colorful. I have always enjoyed decorating for Christmas.

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Had a 20% off coupon for Kohl's. It ended on Sunday so when I bought lights I stopped in there and did a quick look around. When I didn't find anything worth standing in line for I gave my coupon to a lady with a cart load of stuff. Merry Christmas!

Yesterday I got another 20% off coupon in the mail.

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My order from Amazon is trickling in a few boxes at a time. I ordered eight items and I think only four of them are being shipped together. I ordered last Tuesday. $112 total. Gifts for multiple people. DD's boots, DS's fire truck board book, calendar for co-worker, etc...

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Getting set to order my Christmas cards. I use Costco and plug in pictures of the kids and dogs. $14.95 for 50 cards/envelopes. Going to try to finalize the card online tonight so I can pick them up Thursday or Friday. I want to have them all mailed off by Saturday 17th.

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Poor DD is home sick today. Vomiting last night.
She has her class Christmas play tonight. We are all hoping she will feel up to that.
And, we are all hoping we don't get what she has!

We bought our tree this morning at Home Depot. $43.

Once the 49er game is over (currently half-time) DH is going to pull out the Christmas totes from the garage loft and we'll decorate our tree.

DH had a side job this morning and while he was gone I hosed down the front of the garage and house. Now the house is ready for DH to hang the outdoor lights. Which might happen this afternoon...
*fingers crossed*.

I cashed out my rewards from the two new cards.
Chase - $157
B of A - $122.
Add that to the $250 from my other card last month and that is $529 in the last 30 days.

I drove DD to and from a field trip today. While everyone was eating lunch on the field trip I noticed one of the girls had an iPhone. She had it out just looking at it and wiping off the screen, kind of flashing it around. REALLY?! A fifth grader, a 10 year-old, with an iPhone?

I guess a case of more money than brains?

I was standing and talking to another mom and she knows the girl pretty well and she said the girl's dad would buy her anything she asked for.

Can't imagine raising my kids that way regardless of income.

I can see getting a child a cell phone for safety reasons. But, there are plenty of plain vanilla phones that call and text. What's wrong with that?

Speaking of safety - What if someone saw that phone and wanted to steal it? I mean what could be easier than to rob a 60lb 10 year-old?

The 49ers won on Sunday. Yay!
Added $10 to the EF.
New balance $2126.

I am not going to make my $5k EF goal this year. *sigh* I'm slightly disappointed, but hey I've got next year, right?

I checked the amount I deposited to the EF in the past year and the total was $7302! Used cash out of the EF for car repairs and dental work and car insurance. If we could have kept the money in there I would have met my goal and then some, so I know it's do-able.

Sure, he has run into burning buildings, cut open mangled cars and has performed CPR. BUT, today he headed to the mall on a Sunday in December AND he took both of the kids with him!!!

For THAT I give him the brave badge.
LOL!

Such a nice break for me. I am watching the 49er game and having a nice fresh cup of coffee with eggnog mixed in. Yum.

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Last night DD and I ran all over town searching for a pair of solid red tights to go with a black and red dress she has. We searched about 12 of the outlet stores before we went to Kohl's. There we found one pair and it was lying on the floor kind of under another rack. We grabbed them for $9. Kinda pricey, but supply and demand I guess.

Afterward she and I went to Safeway. They are doing the buy $75 get $10 off next purchase deal again. I didn't know that ahead of time or I would have split my basket into two transactions. The total was $210. Well at least I earned one -$10. I will need to go back in before the 14th(?) to use it.

The splurge item I bought was lobster tails. On sale for $5/tail. I have had them before and they are pretty darn good. Better than some restaurants and for $5 how could I pass it up??? DH boils them a few minutes then grills them on the BBQ. He doesn't care much for lobster, so more for me and DD.

Steak and lobster for dinner tonight with rolls and corn. $27 total for "fancy" dinner makes me .

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This morning we went to a friend's house to see Santa. She has her dad dress up so she doesn't have to take her children to a mall Santa. I think it's because of the germ factor. It's pretty cool that she invited several families over. Free pictures with Santa!

When we got back home I spent about 1.5 hours cleaning up the backyard. Poop patrol, cleaned the hen house, cleared out the garden box and swept the patio. DD raked up a bunch of leaves. It's another gorgeous day with beautiful clear blue skies. A bit cooler; about 60F right now, but so mild. This type of weather makes it easy to be outside doing things.

I have been doing a TON of online shopping, but before you get the wrong idea I have not done much buying...yet...

This year more of the gifts we're getting will be from online. And those that I have not or will not buy online I have LOOKED at online. You know reading reviews, comparing prices that sort of thing.

One example is DS's Santa gift. After searching and looking at a 100 different toys DH and I decided on a battery powered ride-on quad that I found on WalMart's site for $50. Amazon had one in stock for $62. Nobody had it for less. In fact some non-battery types (sit and scoot) are selling for more. Naturally, Wally's website was out of stock, but they showed my local store had a "limited number".
Forced me to go to the store to buy it. It was more expensive in the store. $60.
I went ahead and picked it up because I was there and they had only two. I'm keeping an eye out for any sale on it so I can get a price adjustment.

Here's the kicker: When I was on Amazon just now they have them priced at $125 and up!!!
Is this the hot toy for little boys this year?

DD's Santa present is a new pair of boots that she can wear when riding motorcycles. That's another Santa-ish gift she's getting - a little dirt bike! DH and in-laws bought it from a family friend for $300. It's in excellent condition and is valued at $1200+ so I guess that was a good buy.
Anyway, I think I have picked out a great pair of boots for $40. I have looked at about 400 pairs of boots over the past three days. That's the good thing and bad thing about online shopping - You get a lot of choices!

I have a running wish list on Amazon of gifts for family and when I'm done changing it I will put it in the cart and click the BUY button. I plan to that by Monday or Tuesday.

I ordered a pair of earrings for my coworker online last night. $19.44.

I'm going to put the computer down now for a little while. But I'll be back soon.

I paid our auto insurance policy for the year today. $618 for both vehicles for one year. This is the second year I've been able to do that and it feels great!
By paying in full I am saving the $7/mo "statement fee" or the $3/mo "auto-bill fee".

December is also when our homeowner’s policy is due. That will also be paid in full; paid thru our impound account. $611 for one year.

I find it funny that the amount of these two policies was basically the same.

Here it is - DECEMBER!
I can't believe it's really December because it is such a beautiful, sunny day here in Sonoma County. It's 70F! Can you believe that?
How's everyone else's weather?

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I have been meaning to post about a person on Suze's show on the 'Can I Afford It' segment. (This was two weeks ago I think??)
He was asking if they could buy a round-trip private plane flight from Boston to Chicago for $20k. Their son is hyperactive and doesn't travel well.
His income was $20k+/mo. Personnel management?? His wife was a SAHM.

Which made me think: how do I get a job like his?

No really - I COULD DO THAT!!!

Did any of you see that episode?
Did he really need to call into Suze?

Boy, how fast three days can fly by!
We had a delicious T-Day dinner at my mom and dad's with my in-laws. My mom is a fabulous cook and baker, so no one went away disappointed or hungry.

We were staying with the in-laws so after dinner we drove there and watched the 49er game. Unfortunately the niners lost.

DH, DD and MIL went to the 10pm sale at WalMart. MIL bought the $188 32" TV at Midnight. DH bought a little food processor/chopper for $2.88 and a few other small items.

Black Friday DH and FIL went off shopping at 6am. They do this every year and it's pretty funny because they are such unlikely Black Friday shoppers. I don't know if you could give me such a good deal that I would be tempted to shop in such craziness. Sure I look thru the ads and if I see something worthwhile I ask DH to try to pick it up. But, rarely is there anything that tempting to me.

DH did buy an early Christmas gift for himself; an iPhone for $100.
I can see the allure, all those "smart phones" do really cool things, I know. But now our monthly cell phone bill is going to be higher. DH and I have already had a "discussion" about that, but the phone is still staying. We very rarely argue about money. I just think having to upgrade the cell plan is a stupid waste; he feels it's very important to his happiness.

Other than the phone, DH did score some good deals on a few needed items (shoes) and on a few Christmas gifts (me and the kids). All the money he spent was cash from a side job he did last weekend. No household money spent for Black Friday. Something to be happy about.

While DH was shopping I drove up to see my grandma with DD, my BFF, my mom and dad. It was a long day. We started out about 8am and came back to the in-laws just after 9pm.

Grandma is doing better! Hard to see her just laying there in the hospital bed, but she was very talkative with all her visitors. She was really happy we drove up to see her. The doctors plan to release her to an assisted living/rehab facility on Tuesday. She is expected to be there about three weeks before she can return to her home. Hoping and praying it will all go as easy as that.

On Saturday DD and I checked in at the ranch where our horses live. They were great. I miss riding so much. We brought out carrots, apples and crunchy oat horse cookies. I also bought two 50lb bags of senior horse feed. $40. They'll be getting that daily as a special treat, plus they need the additional calories as the weather gets colder.

Saturday evening we drove home. Ahh, so good to sleep in my own bed last night!

Our Thanksgiving trip cost $157. That was for two fill-ups (gas for $3.49/gal) and the horse feed.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone.

My 85-year-old grandma is in the hospital.
She went in on emergency because of a serious GI bleed. She is now in the ICU. The doctors have her feeling much better after giving her several units of whole blood, plasma and fluids. They still have not found where she is bleeding from and last night she had another bad bleed. They are not allowing her to eat anything either.

She is about 7 hours (driving) from my house so we are not able to visit her.

Today I ordered her a Red Poinsettia basket and a balloon from a florist near her hospital. Total $52. Yes, pricey, but I wanted her to have something that will brighten up her room and let her know we are thinking of her. It's a living plant that she'll be able to take home when that time comes. I did use a $10 off coupon, but delivery is more expensive the next few days because of Thanksgiving.

If the weather is cooperative I will drive up to see her Friday or Saturday. We will already be half way there because we're having T-Day with my parents and staying over with the in-laws.

The sleepover went very well. Everyone had a good time. Nobody needed to call home (actually I don't think any kid who has stayed at our house has ever wanted to go home! ) There wasn't any fighting or squabbles either. Yay!

At one point when I was driving five loud, sugared-up, pre-teen girls home from the movie I thought to myself, "Oh what the hell did I get myself into?!?" LOL! It was raining and they were all wound-up practically shouting at each other all within the cab of our truck. **OH My Ears..**

But, once we got home they all settled pretty quickly and DD opened her gifts and we all had dinner. They all loved the "color me" t-shirts I had picked up on clearance from Kohl's. DH and I retreated to our room about 10:30pm and they were pretty quiet. Enough so that I fell asleep easily.
They were still up and going at 1:40am when I woke up and checked on them.
DS woke me at 5:30am because he had his covers off and was cold. All the girls were asleep by then.
It was pouring rain at that time. Just pounding. It was nice to snug back in bed and listen to it. I love to listen to the rain.
By 8am we were all up and DH made chocolate chip pancakes. They were awesome!
Everyone was picked up by 10am.

I did spend a bit more than planned.
- I bought a veggie pizza and a pepperoni pizza instead of two pepperoni pizzas. That was $3 more.
- Ended up running to the store for a package of plastic cups and some cupcakes. It would've taken too much time and been too late for the girls to bake the cupcakes themselves. That was $10 more.
I don't feel bad about the pizza because the gourmet veggie is my fav and I had a coupon that saved $3.
I should have baked the cupcakes myself and then they would've been ready for the girls. I had everything I needed in the pantry. Oh well..

I used the Chase card at the theater for the 5% back.

The movie was very cute and the 3D was pretty good. I enjoyed it and so did the girls.

Tonight DD is having her belated birthday party. A sleepover with four of her friends.

*Please keep me in your thoughts tonight! LOL!

I am going to take them to see "Puss In Boots" in 3D this evening while the ticket prices are still low. Then we'll come home and they'll mix up and bake cupcakes. We'll have take'n bake pizza for dinner and then they can decorate the cupcakes and eat them for dessert.

This will cost about $50.

This was sent to me as an email.

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Remember, not only did you contribute to Social Security but your employer did too. It totaled 15% of your income before taxes. If you averaged only $30K over your working life, that's close to $220,500.

If you calculate the future value of $4,500 per year (yours & your employer's contribution) at a simple 5% (less than what the govt. pays on the money that it borrows), after 49 years of working you'd have
$892,919.98.

If you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $26,787.60 per year and it would last better than 30 years (until you're 95 if you retire at age 65)
and that's with no interest paid on that final amount on deposit!
If you bought an annuity and it paid 4% per year, you'd have a lifetime income of $2,976.40 per month.

The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madhoff ever had.

Congressional benefits = free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days; now that's welfare. And they have the nerve to call my social
security retirement entitlements?

We're "broke" and can't help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless.

They call Social Security and Medicare an entitlement even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives and now when it’s time for
us to collect, the government is running out of money.

Sad isn't it?

*THE ONLY THING WRONG WITH THIS CALCULATION IS THEY FORGOT TO FIGURE IN THE PEOPLE WHO DIED BEFORE THEY COLLECTED THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY! WHERE DID THAT MONEY GO?
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What do you think?

Some recent expenses and EF additions.

- $285
Eye doctor exam and six pairs of monthly disposable contact lenses. I don't have vision insurance. My last eye exam was two years ago. I usually wear my disposable contacts much longer than a month. (More like four months at a time.) I will make six lenses last me awhile.

- $125
Baby DS's 18 month-old doctor visit. Self-pay.

- $46
Christmas gift shopping. Three BE makeup gift sets.

- $230
Costco. Chicken meatballs, two tri tips, two pork loins, 2.5lbs dry-cured bacon, two dozen eggs, 1800+ Q-Tips, 36pk Pepsi, 28pk V8, gallon Orange Mango juice, 3pk Boursin cheese, 10lb Krusteaz pancake mix, Copenhagen (DH's bad habit), 2lb roasted almonds, 52pk razors, two pack chocolate Cheerios, 18pk Uncrustable sandwiches, (I'm missing something???) and dinner for four at the food court.

- $64.
Costco gas. $3.64/gal.

+ $25
Regular EF auto transfer.

+ $10
49er win this past Sunday

Yup, DH now has a fishing boat.

It did not cost us anything because...
his bosses bought it for him!

One of their clients was selling it for a really low price ($1k). DH tried to talk me into us buying it so we could re-sell it at a profit. I was not going to even go there because of the "What If's".
What if he loved it and couldn't part with it.
What if we couldn't find a buyer? Etc..

His bosses (husband & wife) bought it for him because of all the fond family memories they, and the client selling the boat, have of fishing with their children. It was given as a "Thanks for all you do" gift. Really quite generous.

Hubby picked up the boat which is a 2004 15' aluminum Klamath with an outboard motor, bass seats, (2) fish finders, depth finder, on a very nice trailer. He was also given all the paperwork/manuals/receipts on everything. The seller had bought everything new and paid over $8k.

DH has talked with his dad and several friends and this set up could sell for $4k to $5k pretty easily.

DARN!
Now I wish I would've let him talk me into buying it just to sell it. lol!
Could not sell it now that it's a gift.

Looking over the prior boat and trailer registration it will cost $14/two years for the boat and $25/five years for the trailer.

My co-worker has taken to calling DH "Ken" now. As in Ken and Barbie, because Ken has all these "accessories".
**shaking my head**

Just redeemed points on my WF card for a $250 account credit.
Yay!

We are having chili for dinner tonight. When I make it I do it up in our big 5.5 quart crockpot and then we can have chili for days. Usually I'll freeze some too.

Well last night I realized I needed an onion. I had used the last one making enchiladas last weekend.

Then this morning I realized I had forgotten to set out meat to thaw. Oops!

Okay, now I needed some ground meat and an onion.

I went to Safeway and was thinking about their $10 off coupon promo they were running. Figuring I would take a page from Retire@50 and buy a gift card in order to earn the coupon. I pulled out my $10 coupon I earned last week only to discover that TODAY was the last day I would be able to redeem!

I was SO glad I needed to go and get that onion TODAY or I would've missed out on my $10 and I would have been so angry with myself.

Oh, and that $10 paid for what I needed for my chili.