Looking Forward's Personal Finance Blog

So yesterday DH came home with a hand wood planer which was only $20. Instead of spending the $80+ that I thought it would be. (I was thinking he was going to buy an electric one.) Very glad about that.

DH and FIL fitted all the doors and drilled the handle holes. They ran out of time to paint anything yesterday evening and it was pretty cool and windy anyway. They re-hung the most important doors: the bedrooms and the main bathroom.

This morning it was heavily misting when we got up. It rained while we went out to breakfast. By the time we were home and watching the football game it had stopped, but was grey, cool and moist out. I really kept hoping that the sun would come out so FIL would be able to help DH with spraying the doors and getting them all hung. Unfortunately that didn't happen. The new doors look so NICE and I just really want the door project to be DONE.

The sun is out now. Of Course.
Naturally we've had high heat the past week and this coming week it's supposed to be very warm again, but it couldn't be warm earlier today!

MIL gave us a $75 Home Depot gift card and gave DH $100 for his birthday which is in a couple weeks. She also made three trips for dinner items, some bread and other food/drinks that they wanted. So as usual she spent money on us. Thanks MIL! AND as a bonus they didn't drive me crazy at ALL.

My DH and FIL are replacing the interior doors in our house this weekend. And just like any project that involves two men, moving parts, measuring; it's hitting a few snags.

I'm just kidding. It's not their fault, it's more the house's fault. Each door frame is slightly askew. Not square or plumb. So each replacement door slab must be carefully fitted and trimmed. DH just headed out to buy a planer in order to shape the doors to fit in the best way. That'll be about $80. I bought paint last night and hinges. $71. We bought new handle sets a few at a time over the past few months at $29/set. $150 total for those.

Yeah, the home improvement stores are making money off us. Plus, I'll be buying tile soon.

The real kicker is they planned to use the paint sprayer my FIL brought to paint the doors tomorrow, and now the weatherman says it's going to rain!

Cross your fingers we'll have doors up soon so we'll have some privacy in the bathrooms!

My inlaws are coming to visit this weekend. My FIL will be helping DH change out and paint the interior doors. I plan to repaint the door jambs while the doors are off.

I am very appreciative of their help, but they can both drive me a bit crazy.

MIL especially, hehe, I guess that's pretty typical, right? Thankfully we all get along better than a lot of families. Still I'll be glad when the weekend is over I can have my house back.

Gotta get back to cleaning the house.

I had an email this morning from our bank that they did an overdraft transfer to our checking account. I was a bit panicked because I knew we had money in checking; DH deposited his paycheck Friday. On Saturday I had transferred money and set up some bills to be paid and updated the checkbook. So I was worried that somehow there was a mistake, or worse, someone had gotten access to our account!

Well, neither happened. I am such a dork! I set up a $300 payment to CC3 and totally forgot about it. So of course I thought I had $300 more than we actually did. This stupid mistake will cost me $15-$20 for the OD fee. Hopefully no more. *groan*

I get paid today, so our account will be well in the black by the end of the day.

I am feeling very foolish.

DD's school has a ton of fundraisers for the PTA and other projects at school. There is hardly a week that goes by when there isn't something. One of the usual money raising things is called "Dine and Donate" where on a set date one of the local restaurants will donate a percentage of your bill to the school. You bring a flier from the school and the restaurant takes care of the rest.

On Friday there was a "Dine and Donate" fundraiser at a frozen yogurt shop in town. We treated ourselves to an after dinner treat for $13.45 and 35% was donated to DD's school. It's an effective way to fundraise. I think each time they do this type of thing (really, like weekly) the school makes $150 to $350. My DH's volunteer fire department does this a few times a year also.

Does anybody else's school or non-profit do this?

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Yesterday my mom and dad came down to take DD, DS and I to a renaissance faire fundraiser. DH didn't go because he had other things he wanted to get done. This is a big fundraiser that Sebastopol City Schools puts on. Very family friendly. Excellent location in a park in the middle of town. Great vendors and very tasty food! My mom paid for our admission. $10/adults and $5 for DD ??. DS was free. DD made soap, lip balm and a chainmail bracelet. She also spoke with "Queen Elizabeth" (there's an actors guild all dressed up roaming around) and won a prize catapulting rats (fake, stuffed rats). I spent $28 on food, games, crafts and a souvenir glass stein filled with hard pear cider.

Afterwards we went for ice cream at Screamin' Mimi's, a local ice cream parlor that makes all their own ice cream and sorbets. Their fresh local strawberry is killer!

September is another wonderful month with five Fridays. That makes five paydays for DH!

This fifth paycheck will cover the cost of tile for the bathroom with some to spare.

I think November has a fifth Friday too. Just in time for holiday expenses.

I noticed this quote on a mug we have here at work and I thought I'd share:

"Bread and water can so easily become toast and tea."

How about that for positive spin?
I like it!

Ended up buying DD a trumpet.
We have a young man working with us two half days at work and I asked him last week if he or his siblings ever played any instruments. He said he had played trumpet and he still had two at home.
He brought them to my work on Monday to look at. I bought the nicer one for $120. Our local music store rental was $30/month, so in four months I'll be money ahead. Plus, the least expensive trumpet I saw on Craigslist was $150.
I spent an additional $36 at the music store for her music book, metal stand and valve oil.
DD is very excited to play her new horn.

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Twice yearly (Fall & Spring) DD's school has after-school enrichment classes. They do have a fee and run once weekly for four to six weeks. She is interested in the Fused Glass ($50), Cooking ($35), Golf ($60), Lego Robots ($35) and Pottery ($45) classes this session. We will choose one or two and have an alternate in case her first choice is taken. It used to be that all the classes had the same cost. Now you write a separate check for each choice in case you don't get in the class the PTA doesn't have to issue a bunch of refund checks. It is inconvenient, but I can understand how it makes their bookkeeping easier.

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Used the last of my 30% cash-back-credit at Diapers.com last week. I bought a ton of "squeezy pouch" food and meals (Happy Tot)- $54 worth of food for $17.70! What a thrill, hehe. And we are well stocked on diapers. I bought so much while on the cash-back program because I wanted to "max out" on the credit.

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Our water bill was emailed to me this morning. Highest it's ever been. $102. Blah! DH will need to cut back on his lawn watering. He re-seeded a few spots and has really been babying the lawns. It also seems like we've been doing nonstop laundry. That doesn't help either.

What will help is when we replace the toilets. I want to go with a dual flush. It's a toilet that has one lower water flush for urine and a regular water flush for #2. I think they may be eligible for a rebate thru our city. Water saving incentive thing.

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I have pretty much nailed down the tile I want for our master bath. Just deciding on the shade of the accent tile. Darker? or Lighter? Hmmm.

I got an estimate of $675 to install the tile. Great guy. Excellent work. But, we can't afford that and the cost of tile.

I took a Home Depot tile workshop Saturday and I really think I can do it. Especially with a little help from DH who has done floor tile before. Plus it was fun.

'Course I used to think painting was fun until I painted the interior of our house. :P

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My mom came for a visit this past weekend. We bought Chinese food for Saturday night dinner. It's a place we hadn't ordered from before and they had left their menu and COUPONS on our doorstep last week. They totally hooked me with their coupons and their menu prices are on the lower side. We ordered crab & cream cheese wantons, pork pot stickers, fried rice, veggie chow main, sweet/sour prawns, orange chicken and broccoli beef. $48.

Now I'm hungry and it's bedtime...

We are tiling our tub/shower surround in me and DH's bathroom. DH had to tear into the wall (and tear out the old tile) to reposition the bathroom window. The previous owners replaced the window, but installed it incorrectly AND five inches lower than the other bathroom window! The windows are side by side and face the street. It was so shoddy looking. The window looks GREAT now. Normal.

Anyway, I have a very loose idea about what I want. And that's the problem; too many choices! Over the next several months to year we will remodel this bathroom bit by bit. No way to afford everything at once. But, I pretty much need to decide on what I want now because each item ties into the other. I don't want to pick something that will look outdated in several years if we decide to sell. Or pick something that looks cheap.

My goal for the whole bathroom:
something that appeals to most people
high quality look for low cost
neutral color for the 'permanent' stuff

I am leaning toward the browns/beiges. I want to go pretty light because the bathroom is small. 5' X 7'. White or Grey is not out of the running yet either.

Some examples I'm considering:

(A) Subway, glossy white tile with glass accents.

(is glossy tile cheap looking?)

(B) Keeping tile and accent pieces in the same color and in a usual arrangement.

(Too much of the same color?)

(C) Stone looking ceramic tile with mixed mosaic accent tile.

(Too "fad"ish?)

I've spent ALOT of time looking at tile the past several days. I think I'm going cross-eyed!

Now that DD is in 5th grade she can play a musical instrument if she wants. And she does of course.
The trumpet. *giggle*

This should be interesting.

She had to sign an agreement that she would stick with this for the entire school year. Now I need to find her a trumpet. We could buy a used one or rent one. Renting looks to be about $19-$28/month. Buying as low as $150.

I'm leaning toward buying. I could re-sell it at the end of the school year if she decides not to keep playing. Renting: 9 months X $20 = $180

Any suggestions?

DH has been so motivated this weekend to get things done. Yay him!
He cleared out and organized the pantry and Lazy Susan.
Yard work in the front and backyard.
Folded a ton of laundry.
Loading the dishwasher.
Cooking all the meals so far.
And a few other things.

I'm a lucky girl.

Me? I've been watching the baby, watching TV, surfing the web for tile ideas (more about that later), sorting laundry and I bagged up a bunch of too small baby clothes.

About 30 minutes ago DH decided he finally wanted to get rid of his "project". An old horse trailer he wanted to convert to a heavy-duty utility trailer. He decided we should just get rid of it ASAP. I snapped a few pics and posted it for free on Craigslist. It's gone! (Well will be soon as it's picked up.) I think it's funny it took me twice as long to post it as to get rid of it.

Lovely Sunday. Lots of stuff got done (Thank You DH) and dinner is almost ready - BBQ babyback ribs, corn and rolls.

Oh yeah, tile.. Going to finally tile our bathroom soon. It's only been 11 months since DH tore the wall down to start the remodel process.

We needed a new set of bed sheets because our usual set got a little tear. I should have patched it right away because DH caught his toe in it and tore a huge hole. It was my favorite set too - dark blue damask stripe. I found them on sale at K-Mart when I didn't need sheets, but I bought them anyway because they were so pretty and thick and $35. Suprisingly, K-Mart seems to have very nice sheets at great sale prices. The Jacalyn Smith brand.

DH thought he'd be helpful last weekend and he bought a set at the Linen Warehouse going-out-of-business sale. Non-returnable. $54. 600 thread count, but thin. I didn't like them, but would only be able to return for store credit. I looked and they didn't have anything I would want to exchange for. Blah. Stuck with them. They're okay, but I wonder how long they'll last. Sheets seem so pricey for what you get.

I did check at K-Mart, but they didn't have the same set as before. All we need is the fitted sheet anyway. I should check on-line..hmm.

I was rear ended this morning on my way to work. We (DS & I) were in very heavy stop-and-go traffic and a younger woman bumped into my car. Thankfully we were going very slowly so it wasn't a big impact. Nobody was hurt. Her car's hood was slightly dented and the paint was rubbed. My bumper is "bumped" in a bit more than it was from the last time it was hit. Oy! (What is it with my car's rearend?!?)

The girl is insured thru her parents and she was a bit shaken up and kept apologizing. I told her accidents happen. Thankfully we were all fine and our cars were still drivable so we could get on with our day.

As a real reminder of that - there was a four car accident about two miles up the highway. Serious. Like fully smashed cars.

I am thankful.

And it looks like I'll be getting a new bumper.

I was given a $10 Kohl's cash coupon last week when DD and I stopped in to buy her some socks and a new pair of jeans. Last night I used it and bought myself a six pack of socks and DH a six pack of socks all for $11. I am proud that I used the coupon for a need and not the other things I saw that I wanted.

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My check engine light came on again last week. Today I stopped in at the mechanic and thankfully it just had to do with a burnt fuse. Hopefully it won't happen again or it might mean an electrical problem. Our mechanic took about 20 minutes checking everything over and didn't charge me anything! Yay! I was happy about that; last month he got $1796 from us.

Just perusing Zillow because I've seen several houses "moved into" recently. There have been two on our street, both foreclosures.
One three doors down for $225k on July 15.
The second at the other end of street for $219k on July 27.
Both sold for lower than we paid and much lower than other houses on our street sold in the past year.

Not so good for our house value. *sigh*
Zillow has our estimated value at the lowest it's ever been. I know it's not really important except on a certain emotional level. Thankfully we don't need to sell. It's just I had a more positive feeling when our house had more value.

On the flip side there are still $800k to $1M+ houses that have recently sold in our zip code. (I don't think the upper end has lost much ground??)

Anybody else looking at Zillow for your area?

Only after DH made a trip into Staples and had a long discussion with the Asst. Manager and Manager did they get moving on providing us with a solution to our laptop issues. It took until last week, but they gave us $300 worth of store credit. Basically what we've paid the past 10 months in repairs plus a little more. Our new laptop is a Toshiba and was on sale; we paid $140 total. I was pretty pleased with that. DH did remind me that we had really paid full price, we just did it over time.


I am feeling stressed about money, bills, wants, needs. *sigh* Hoping that now that DD is back in school and summer is "over" we can fall back into a more normal routine. Plus, having a computer again will help with my budgeting. Still, just feeling like so much is out of reach...

On a positive note:
I did read all the Song of Ice and Fire(Game of Thrones) books while we didn't have internet in the house.
Such a good read! I'm looking so forward to the new season on HBO and the next two books.

Hoping everyone here is well. I will try to do some catching up tonight.

Making a quick post here at work because our laptop is still at Staples while they try to see if they can get it fixed for free. I'm not holding my breath, but if they can get their third party repair center to cover the cost I'm all for that.

On my walk this morning I was telling my friend all about the problems we'd been having with the computer. She told me that they know a great computer tech/repairman.. Gee, would've liked to have known that six months ago! If Staples can't get the darn screen to work then I very well might try this repair guy. I can't say I'm not looking at buying a new laptop either. I've been looking thru ads and checking them out whenever I've been shopping in stores. I might start looking online if I get time here at work. I don't want to spend the money, but you get so used to the convenience of internet at home... Still it's a WANT not a NEED..

I think one of the main reasons I haven't missed the laptop too much is because I'm doing so much reading. Any free time and my nose is in the Game of Thrones books. Currently I'm a quarter way into the fourth book. Awesome reading, I'm really enjoying them. However, my family is complaining that I'm not spending time with them because I'm always reading!

I've been told unfortunate things happen in threes. Well I guess Murphy (as many of you call it) has come to visit; and now that the damage is done he can GO..

1) DH's dentist bill. $1065
We knew we were going to have to do this, but it didn't make it any better.

2) Car repairs. $1600 (est)
More work needed to be done than just what was damaged in the fender-bender. This cost will be off-set by the $760 from the woman who backed into the Pathfinder.

3) Laptop not working. $70 (so far)
The screen like goes to sleep when you open it regularly. It flashes the desktop and then the screen goes blank. If you open it in Safe Mode it works fine. The computer is currently at Staples. The $70 was for diagnostic tests, which it passed, and they called to tell me it must be a short to the screen.. However, that doesn't explain how the screen works fine in Safe Mode. Yeah they couldn't answer that. So I think we're looking at taking it to somebody else who hopefully knows what they're doing or buying a new laptop.

Ugh!

'Course in the grand scheme of life this is nothing, but indulge me in a small complaint

As you might remember my car was backed into two weeks ago. Well today I had it checked out at the mechanic's shop because I've been smelling gas. The time/cost to diagnose the problem will be 2hrs/$235. To fix it? As of now, unknown. Tomorrow I am going to call the elderly lady and see how she wants to pay for all this. To top it off the car's registration is due this month and I think it's due for a smog. But, I haven't gotten a notice from DMV yet and I'm not even going to try for a smog until this gas odor is dealt with. I heard that California is not sending the renewal notices out with as much notice as in the past. 'Course I'm sure you can't pay any later than usual!
Ugh!!!
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My paycheck on July 5th didn't have my raise on it. The raise was effective starting June 1st. I had it on the last paycheck. What the heck bookkeeper?! I told the boss and he sent the bookkeeper an email, but when will I see the money?
Really thinking that I will set the raise money aside for my ROTH. That would be about $50-$60/mo.
Should I split it with DH's ROTH?
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Giants had a few wins so I added $6 to the EF.
New balance is $3795.

But in a moment I will transfer $1k to the cc to cover DH's dental bill from this afternoon.
Newest EF balance $2795.

I guess -
Easy come. Easy go.
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McDonalds has a promo going until next week for their new smoothie flavor, Pineapple and Mango, 12oz(a small) for $1. The smoothie is very tasty, I tried one Monday.

I stopped by there today to pick two up and they were out. I asked it they would sell another flavor for the same price? They said "No", so I said thanks anyway and drove off thru the drive thru. Too bad for them because I was thinking of also getting nuggets and fries. Good for me because they saved me money. I came home and made a smoothie and ate food I already had.

I finished Suze's The Money Class book over the weekend. I want to share an online resource with you, plus if I post it here then I can always find it easily myself.

For special tools and resources for readers of The Money Class:

On her homepage (suzeorman.com) there is an icon labeled
The Classroom
Enter the passcode: 999 999 999

1. Get to the gym three times weekly?
Currently 1x/weekly.
Summertime weather makes it hard to go into the gym. My exercise: walking Tuesday mornings and going to Zumba at the gym on Wednesday nights. Our gym has a nice pool, we need to try to use it.

2. Apply any "extra" money from regular paychecks to debt.
Unfortunately, No.
I'm thinking about applying my recent raise income to my ROTH. Hmmm...

3. Weekly budget amount for food and household and etc. spending cut to $175/week.
Honestly haven't kept track lately.

4. Add $2 to savings for each SF Giants win.
This has been great. Very easy to do.

We are staying at home and BBQing up some ribs.
Funny story about that..
When DH bought the ribs the grocery checkout girl wouldn't touch them. She even made a comment to him about how she couldn't stand meat eaters! He couldn't believe how he was treated just for buying meat. So stunned he didn't even say anything to her. He said the bag boy made a joke about it and kind of laughed off her behavior. But come on, you work in a grocery store! If it clashes with your beliefs that much you need to work somewhere else.

So, staying home today BBQing, watching baseball, reading, relaxing. Then tonight we'll watch the city fireworks from our front lawn and set off a few ourselves.

Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July!

On July 1st our state sales tax decreased by 1%. Our state is in a financial crunch and they lower the sales tax? I told DH I would rather keep paying the same if it meant they wouldn't have to deeply cut teachers, firefighters, elder care, state parks, etc.. Of course we're not planning any large purchases where we would be saving a bunch with the lower tax rate. I am assuming by this time next year the sales tax will be back up?

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Gas prices have been going down in our area. It was $3.65/gal at Costco on Thursday. Maybe even lower now. How about in your area?

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Another thing I've meant to post - My Pathfinder was backed into last week at work. One of our elderly clients. Not really much damage to my car, bumper mostly. Her car had a big crunch in it. She told me she, or insurance, would pay for any repairs. On Thursday I took my car in for it's first estimate, it is $515. I am wondering if I should have her pay or just let it go. I am also thinking she could pay me and I could add the money to the EF or toward the cc. Would that be very wrong?

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Next week DH has a big dentist appointment. Fillings and a 3/4 crown. Looking like our portion will be $1k. Ouch! I can split up payments if I want, but that's not really an issue, as most all of the cost will come from the EF.

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The Giants won last night. EF balance now $3789.


Okay, back to reading and playing with baby DS (who is walking pretty well now, by the way) DD is at a birthday pool party, DH is catching up on some office work. It's 90F so far today. I've got the AC on.

On July 1st our state sales tax decreased by 1%. Our state is in a financial crunch and they lower the sales tax? I told DH I would rather keep paying the same if it meant they wouldn't have to deeply cut teachers, firefighters, elder care, state parks, etc.. I am assuming by this time next year the sales tax will be back up?

Gas prices have been going down in our area. It was $3.65/gal at Costco on Thursday. Maybe even lower now. How about in your area?

Another thing I've meant to post - My Pathfinder was backed into last week at work. One of our elderly clients. Not really much damage to my car, bumper mostly. Her car had a big crunch in it. She told me she, or insurance, would pay for any repairs. On Thursday I took my car in for it's first estimate, it is $515. I am wondering if I should have her pay or just let it go. I am also thinking she could pay me and I could add the money to the EF or toward the cc. Would that be very wrong?

Next week DH has a big dentist appointment. Fillings and a 3/4 crown. Looking like our portion will be $1k. Ouch! I can split up payments if I want, but that's not really an issue, as most all of the cost will come from the EF.

The Giants won last night. EF balance now $3789.

Okay, back to reading and playing with baby DS (who is walking pretty well, now by the way) DD is at a birthday party, DH is catching up on some office work. It's 90F so far today. I've got the AC on.

Last weekend our alarm clock died. I thought DH and bought it when we first got together, but he said I already had it. That means it lasted for over 11.5 years! I think that's great for a cheapie little clock. It was a dual alarm and I'm pretty sure it was $8 at WalMart when I bought it. Anyhow, I stopped in at Target and they had squat as far as alarm clocks go. So I went home and shopped on Amazon. I didn't want a really loud buzzer. We have a spare alarm clock and it is so loud I want to smash it when it goes off! On Amazon I found a nice dual alarm Sony with reviews that stated it had a quiet buzzer. Plus this alarm clock has a radio, the old one didn't. It cost $15.67 and had free shipping. We received it Wednesday and so far it's perfect. Let’s see if this one will last us 10+ years.

Thinking about the alarm clock makes me think about other small, but necessary things around the house. How much do all those things add up to? (quite a chunk of money when you start adding it all up)
How long do they last? (Sometimes you really get your money's worth)

I also got my books from Amazon on Thursday. This weekend I will finish up Suze's book and start The Game of Thrones.

Rained like crazy yesterday, well crazy for a June almost July day. Today the sun is just starting to peek out. Like Monkey Mama we're getting the same crazy weather; 67F today, 95F by Saturday.

Monday and Tuesday we had digital radiology installed at work! This is really going to help me. Having digital xray is so much faster than standard xray. It's as easy and quick as taking a picture with a digital camera. No time needed to develop the film. Just take the xray and about 3 seconds later the picture pops up on the screen. And then, once the radiograph is shot, you can manipulate the image to help see things better. Zoom in, change the contrast, flip the image..so cool. Such a nice upgrade to have in our office.

It's a slow day here at work. Maybe the weather or the upcoming holiday weekend or it's the end of the month so nobody has any money. Last week we were slammed every day.

Today I brought my Labrador in and took radiographs of his hips. My boss and I were eager to use our new "toy", and also to see if we could remember how to use it! My lab is getting older, 8.5yrs, and is starting to slow down a bit. I wanted to see if there were any problems. Nothing remarkable - a very slight indication of a bit of arthritis in the left hip. I also brought our 7yr sheltie in and I cleaned her teeth. No cost for anything.

More perks from work - we get two free lunches out this week. (Did I mention how I'm not losing any weight?) Yesterday we had gourmet pizza and salad courtesy of our digital xray instructor and tomorrow we're all going out to an upscale Italian restaurant courtesy of our dog/cat food salesman.

The Giants won both games of their double-header yesterday. $4 to EF.
And,
I removed a $5/mo data plan from DH's phone.
He tried using the web maybe once from it and it was sooo slow it was ridiculous. I think I will add that $5/mo to the EF now.
See, I'm catching on to this saving thing!
Current balance $3787.

The fair was lovely yesterday. I think the day topped out at 82F with a very slight breeze. Beautiful! DD and her friend had a great time. I can remember how much fun I used to have with my friends at fair time. This is the first time she's been able to cruise the fair unaccompanied. I had them meet me at a set meeting place every 60-90 minutes. My (first) baby is growing up!

Both girls had $20 to spend. They ended up pooling their money and bought food, a few carnival games and one fuzzy hat shaped like a dog, with long ears that have hand pockets. I guess their plan is to "share custody" of this hat. Switching off every time they see each other. We'll see how that goes..

I spent $4 on a huge corndog and $5 on a basket of sweet potato fries that I shared with baby DS. We left about 8:30pm and I took myself and the girls to McDonalds for $12.

I continued spending on myself last night at Amazon when I bought the four book set of Game of Thrones. I so enjoyed the first season on HBO I feel like I can't wait a year for the next episode. Plus the books will have a whole lot more going on. I also bought a board book for DS so I could get the free shipping. Total was $26.

Meanwhile, I am reading Suze's new book, The Money Class. I had been on the waiting list at the library and my turn finally came up. It took a bit over two months and truthfully I had forgotten until I got the phone message that it was on hold for me. So it looks like in the coming week I'll be going from reality to fantasy, literally!

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The Giants won yesterday. Plus $2 to the EF. Balance now $3778.

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Now I'm going to do some reading, while the girls are selling lemonade out front and the baby takes his nap. Looks like a NSD today.

Our fair is in town this week. The thing I find the best about our fair is they charge one price at that gate to cover admission and unlimited carnival rides. So you’re paying $15 total instead of $7 admission and then $20 for a rides wristband or worse $0.25/ride ticket. But, even better for us, we won't have to pay at all... One of our friends has "connections" and we all get in for free. The money saved on admissions will go toward all that tasty fair food.

This year DD has a friend coming along with us and she will be staying the night. I'm trying to prepare for a day and night of giggling girls.

DH won't be coming with us to the fair because he is working. He has three 12 hour shifts with his volunteer fire department out at Infineon Raceway for the NASCAR races this weekend. The extra cool thing is he gets paid for being there. His weekend work should bring in about $700.

His side job last week added $1k to the EF and the Giants won three games this week. $6. New EF balance is $3776.

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There wasn't any spending this week, except the grocery trip I made. $180. I will need gas sometime this weekend if I end up driving DD's friend home. Usually Thursday is my fill-up day, but I didn't need to stop 'cause I still had plenty. Not doing as much driving in the summer because I'm not dropping DD at school each morning.

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I think one of my beefsteak tomato plants might die.. It was looking like it had a fungal infection and in my attempt to help I might have hurt it more...we shall see.. What doesn't kill only makes stronger.

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Got to get the house tidied up before our guest arrives and get ready to head to the fair in a few hours. Will be about 85F., beautiful summer weather to be out and about.

Transferred $6 to savings for three Giants wins.
Current balance in EF is $2770.

I paid $300 toward CC#3 bringing that balance to $13,093.

Yeah, excellent proof why CC debt sucks..Blah!

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Today DH is working and will clear $1k to add the EF. He paid off his motorcycle purchase, so now this extra money is being directed back to where it belongs! . Will be a really nice boost and he's got a few more projects on the horizon to boot.

This evening we will be trekking up to the inlaw's house. An unplanned trip, but their A/C has some problem so DH will fix it for them. It will be nice because we'll be seeing both his dad and mine for Father's Day and eating for free for the rest of the weekend. Downside is the cost of fuel, but thankfully it's come down a bit in price. I haven't gotten DH anything yet...Hmm??
For our dads I picked up really cute bottle openers from Yosemite. $7 each. They are shaped like a bear with the mouth wide open for the bottle top to fit in. And they're magnets too. Cute and usable.

Have a great Father's Day weekend everyone!

When I first started getting reward points on my credit card 100 points redeemed as $1. As time has gone on I noticed they had changed the redemption value for some of the lower $5-$10 rewards; you needed 650 points for $5 cash or giftcard. That didn't really bother me, I figured that was good motivation to save up your points.

Then they started doing that to the $50 cash reward. You need 6,500 points.
And now I see it takes 12,000 points to get $100.

Arg..

But I did learn something new while cruising thru the webpages. If I shop online thru the links on the rewards home page I can earn 3 to 8 times the points. Hmmm.. I'll try to keep that in mind since now I need to earn 25,000 points to redeem for $250. And not just redeeming at the $100 mark like I have been doing.

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I bought DS his new carseat from Diapers.com. I also bought some Happy Tot squeezy pouches of food, shampoo, lotion, baby wipes, DH's body wash and deoderant. Some of the items were buy one get one half off and I had a $10 account credit. The grand total was $290.

I had my co-worker sign up at diapers.com so she (I) could take advantage of their new customer promotion where she (I) get 30% back on all diaper purchases for three months. So far she (I) received $58 in account credit with a bit over one month left to earn more cash back. Her (my) plan is to have earned enough credit to pay for two cases of diapers or max out their credit "limit", which I think is $100. Hehe.

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Some more Yosemite...

One of the fireplaces inside the Ahwahnee Hotel.


The Ahwahnee dining room where we had lunch. Huge windows.


Outside the dining room. The smaller window on the left is the one in the pic above.