Looking Forward's Personal Finance Blog

The troubles at my house in the past week..

* DD's trumpet was stolen out of my car.
It was sitting on the backseat. Seriously we do not live in a high crime town. Argh!
Pretty $h!tty when someone steals a child's musical instrument. A big negative in the Karma Bank!
After much searching, talking about renting and looking at used trumpets we ended up buying a new one for $220. DD will play in 7th grade and likely 8th grade, so renting doesn't make sense in the long run and the used ones that were worthwile were close to $300.

* Leaking pipe discovered in the wall between our bathrooms.
DH happened to be outside in front of our house when he noticed that when I turned the hot water on in our shower that steam was coming out from under the house. So he poked around and yes, when the hot water is turned on the in-going pipe leaks.

The options to get to this is tear out a plastic shower surround in the front bathroom or tear out some of the tile in our bath. *banging head*

Once there is money and time I think we'll opt to take out the plastic surround to make the repairs. Until then we will shower in the front bathroom.

* DH's work has been very slow.
This means less money coming in. Remember the "Yay, five payday month" I was chanting?
Last week his paycheck was $300 short. Phooey!


It is all manageable, it has to be. And in the big picture other people have much worse problems; we are blessed in so many things and ways.
Still..
Please Murphy, let me show you to the door...

It has been a wonderful weekend. The weather has been very nice and mild. We have been enjoying "hang out" time as a family both indoors and out. I have even had plenty of quiet time to read this weekend. Not much got done yesterday..*shrug*..who cares?!

Today it's laundry, dishes, general pick-up. DD and DH are getting the garage organized for a garage sale next weekend.

I'll be starting the corned beef soon. I'm going to make soda bread tonight because I have not had that in years. It is very easy to make - flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt.

After dinner I am going to a girlfriend's for dessert and a chick-flick with her and another girlfriend. Very likely I'll go over in my PJ and be comfy.

------
My coworker got her check replaced in cash before anything effected her checking account (her account never went negative.)

I think that my check cleared because: (A) I put in the bank first or
(B) because he instructed his personal banker to pay my check before any other.

I asked the boss about doing direct deposit. He told me he pays the rent that way and if the account is empty the direct deposit is declined so that would not be a solution.

I know with certainty that our withholdings are okay. All our insurance and such is covered. He pays IRS like he should. Thankfully he does conduct his business legally. Unfortunately he sucks big time with money management, budgeting and so on.

When my coworker was talking to him about things she said he told her "the kids really *need* their cell phones nowadays" among other things..

She told him she wasn't going to work this Saturday. She just didn't want to be there. A bit of payback, I think, because he had to have his family work with him.

I don't know if he really can't say "No" or he can't figure out what to do. It's frustrating!

Hey! It just occurred to me that I should duct tape him to a chair and have him watch a Suze marathon!

It was 78F here today. Tomorrow is supposed to be 80F. Wow!

Both DH and I were off work early today. He has been busy, busy working outside. He is widening our driveway by about 18" using free cement he got from a job. He's been moving dirt and using it to fill dips and uneven spots in the lawn.

I think we might start our garden early this year. Maybe as soon as next weekend even.

We also are planning to pick out some baby chicks soon. New laying hens to "freshen" our flock.

------
Now the not so sunny part:

My co-worker's payroll check bounced. Our boss told her this morning that it had been returned. He told her he will pay all the fees associated of course, but the hassle? Blah! She was so upset.

He can't give her the money until tomorrow...

Just to further prove our boss totally sucks with his money.

It would be different if they were scraping by at home. That isn't the case. There are cell phones, premium cable, gym memberships, ice skating lessons, ski weekends and on and on...
The business gets treated like an ATM.

I have had many conversations with him saying how when times get tight you have to cut out the non-essentials.

Why would that be so hard?

A big reason (or maybe the whole reason) is both he and his DW don't want to "deprive" their children of anything (the "kids" are 24, 22, 20 now). Add to that a healthy dose of "we-make-plenty-of-money" keeping up with the Joneses mindset.

Very frustrating.
Plus worrisome when it gets so bad it affects payroll.

How is everyone doing with the time change?

The time change has been a little rough on me this go around. It doesn't help that it is dark AND foggy when our alarm goes off in the morning. Plus, little DS has been running a low-grade fever that started Sunday night and the guy just wants to sleep until his "normal" wake-up time. I feel bad that I have to get him up when he could really use that extra sleep.

I don't think I have much problem when we fall back, but the spring forward has me dragging a$$ for the first 90 minutes of my day.

Of course the flip side is that I feel like I am slipping out of work early. And the weather here is absolutely gorgeous! The afternoons are full of sun and fresh springtime air.

So much so that I am thinking about starting on our garden boxes early. Several of our clients have been thinking the same thing too. I was talking to a few this morning and it seems there is widespread Spring Fever.

------
We had *fabulous* BBQd chicken Sunday night for dinner. Super juicy.

Saturday night I opened the package by mistake so I put the boneless, skinless breasts in a glass dish. Sprinkled them with a bit of black pepper. Then I slivered three cloves of garlic and layered it among the chicken. Then I took some oranges (4) and lemons (2) that were getting squishy, cut them in half, and hand-squeezed the juice over the breast until they were all covered. Tight plastic wrap on the bowl and refrigerated them. Sunday evening DH BBQd them with our regular sauce and they were awesome.
Great use for citrus fruit that isn't bad, but is getting too soft to really peel and eat.

------
EDIT:
I was mistaken about Ting's credit - with the referral credit *YOU* still get $25 off, while *I* get the bonus double credit until 3/15.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Still it's a great way to save money - so give it a try.

My DH took our truck in for its smog test and to have a tire repaired. $65. The yearly registration for the truck is due the end of this month.

-----
I got a comment on my blog that someone used my referral code. I checked my Ting account and it was a $50 credit! They are running a promotion until March 15 were I get a double credit for each one.

Two more months of free cell service!

I am going to snowflake that money to a cc payment.

-----
The weather is beautiful. We had some rain on Tuesday night, but the system passed through quickly. We really need more rain, but it's hard to complain about the sun, 70F days and lovely sunsets.

-----
Just wanted to say again how much I love using Quicken. It is so useful for tracking, but also so useful for planning.

I worked a system out months ago where I input income and expenses a month ahead at a time. It makes it so great for planning because I can see which week might be tight or flush. I can change a payment amount and, without doing any work myself, see how that impacts the rest of my month.
And categorizing expenses is so easy; I love the colored pie chart.

If you are on the fence about trying it - do it. I wish I started sooner.

Lost this post the first time, so here is a less detailed post.

We received a $13 credit by reducing our gas usage compared to last year.
DH turned our water heater down. But the savings might also be because we didn't host Christmas (see below).

Our natural gas doesn't really cost us all that much considering we have gas water heater, stove/oven and furnace. In winter it's about $2 per day up to $5 on some weekend days. In the summer our gas costs us $0.25 per day.

Electricity is pretty steady throughout the year except for the hot days in the summer when we run the AC.

Our water bill was 65% lower this December-January compared with last year. That is about 4400 gallons of water less and over $20 in savings. I figure it is because we didn't host Christmas this year. No extra people in the house and no extra dishwasher loads. Our bill (water & sewer) runs about $85/month on average.

Garbage is $43 every three months.

Cell phones are $16/mo for me (Ting) and $85/mo for DH (Sprint).

Internet/Home Phone/Cable runs us $150/mo.

The market is pretty strong in my county right now. I started looking at houses and prices about two weeks ago. A friend is house shopping and my co-worker and I have been perusing the listings. It's been interesting because prices are climbing steadily and inventory is tight. If a house is nice and priced right it isn't for sale long.

I looked at my neighborhood (about a five block radius) and in the past four months there have been four sales all about $300k. Currently there is a house listed for $325k one street over from ours. It is a slightly smaller house, smaller lot and only a single car garage.

Zillow has our house estimated at $285k. If comparable houses are selling at $300k I think it is more reasonable to say our market value is $300k. It's rather exciting to gain value even when it really doesn't matter for us right now.

There are still plenty of foreclosures. I know some people just walked away because they didn't *want* to pay the inflated mortgage when the house lost value. Of course there are also people who couldn't afford such a huge payment anymore. At the height of the bubble our house sold for $506k.

Is the market gaining steam in your area too?

DH and I are both paid on Fridays. A few months each year have five Fridays, thereby giving us an "extra" payday. March is the first for 2013.

I am laying out a plan for all the "extra" payday months here and now. This will keep me accountable to sticking to my plan and keep the money from "evaporating" into the usual monthly money flow.

March

$300 Truck Registration
$500 EF
$500 CC Payment

Actual: $1223
$300 Truck
$500 EF
$423 CC


May

$1300 Roof Replacement


August

$500 Summer Camps/Classes/Activities for Kids
$800 Vehicle Repairs/EF


November

$500 EF
$800 Christmas Spending

I am glad it's March, but *wow* I had a rough day to start the month.

This morning on my drive to work I nearly ended up in a four vehicle accident on the highway. It was scary. Somehow I managed to steer to the left toward the median to avoid the accident. Then steer to the right to avoid the cement divider. There was a CHP officer behind me and he told me I did a great job of driving. He could've ended up in the crash too if I hadn't maneuvered out of it. I am so very thankful and relieved nothing happened to me and DS. (The other drivers didn't seem hurt, just smashed up cars, but it would have been worse had I plowed into them.)

At work it was very busy - pretty much non-stop all day. I know my nerves were frayed from the morning and that just wore me down. I was so glad to end the day and look forward to the weekend.

I was thinking all day about maybe changing my work schedule to four days. That way I would save myself a day of commuting. Right now I work two half days. Tuesday I could work all day and then drop Thursday. Although, I don't know who will work Thursday morning. I could give my boss a two month notice on not working Thursday and for the next few months I would be making that extra money from the extra hours - and that wouldn't be so bad...

My cell phone case came today. It was $9.90 and had near perfect reviews. It is just what I have been wanting - not bulky and a simple blue glitter color. Even though it is thin I think it would have protected my phone if I had it when it fell last week.

I ordered my DH some work gloves at the same time so I could get free shipping. Then when I was checking out I saw I had $16 available Amazon credit on the Discover cc. I used that and paid $12 for both items.

February seemed to fly by! The weather has been so mild for most of the month. This past weekend we took a drive to one of the neighboring towns to buy DD some beekeeping supplies. The drive was beautiful. Our area is very pastoral and with the sun shining, blue sky, green grass and trees blooming it's especially lovely. To be fair most of the year it is pretty here for one reason or another. My drive to and from work is highway driving, but alongside it are dairy cows in pastures and vineyards and great sunsets to look at.

We had a major *fail* in the grocery spending this month. $915. Plus another $120 in dining out.

The grocery spending was a lot of deals I didn't pass up on. We have a full pantry and freezer. I do not expect to buy much this weekend - I am going to stick strictly to my list. And I am going to work at being extra attentive to March spending.

The eating out was MIL's birthday visit, breakfast out when my mom came for a visit and a few fast food lunches (DH). It will be less this month by not having any birthday meals out.

Gas is now over $4/gal here. I paid $4.06/gal today when I filled up. Some stations have prices upwards of $4.30/gal. Ouch!

I spent $439 for gas this past month. Blah!

Last night I dropped my purse upside down on the pavement in front of my house.

This morning I noticed I smashed the corner of my very nice phone when the purse fell. Now there is a crack across the upper right portion of the phone and the corner is a bit crushed.

The phone and camera and all work totally fine. *Phew*

I just ordered a jelly skin for it on Amazon. It will cover the smushed part and hopefully prevent any further damage. Oh but I wish I would've done that sooner.

Our roof needs to be replaced. It is original to the house which was built in 1955. We have gotten a few estimates and they have all averaged about $6500. We've had to limp our current roof along with patch jobs and last month a tarp across a particularly bad spot. I have focused our extra money on debt pay down and not making much of a plan for the roof. If DH had a large side job or two he could make enough to pay for it in cash, but he hasn't had any large jobs for awhile.

(Back story: About two years ago he had a big job and used the profit to buy a motorcycle. Made me so very angry that he chose that over the roof! Now he has been having to live with the results of that choice. At this point I hope he has learned from this. (I don't even want to talk about - sure way to start a fight.) When it comes to money he really needs to "grow-up". He has got to realize he can't buy every toy or thing he *wants*.)

I know because of these events surrounding the roof I am happy to *dump* the problem on DH and let him worry about it. I feel like I am saying "Yeah Honey it could've been done already, but you made your bed now lay in it." Without verbally saying anything.

Alright, on the real reason for the post.

About two weeks ago DH and I were talking about the plans for the "extra paycheck" months. He told me that he thinks he is just going to have to replace the roof himself. He has had offers from a few friends to help him do it. Some with prior experience and others just handy, so he wouldn't be doing it completely alone.

Then last weekend he was helping a buddy out with his furnace and the roof subject came up. This friend, B, replaced our windows a few years back and has general contracting experience. He told DH he has all the tools needed for roof replacement and has done it a few times. They discussed trading services; HVAC work for roofing work.

What this all boils down to is that we would buy materials and labor would cost us beer and pizza for 4 or 5 guys over a weekend or two.

This could be very good. Maybe it can all come together this summer.

Last night DH and I redeemed the $25 dinner coupon and free movie tickets. My mom had stayed with us for the long weekend so she watched the kids for us.

We went to an upscale Italian restaurant that we hadn't been to in about three years. It is very quaint and cozy located downtown within easy walking distance of the movie theater. We each had a drink (I had their champagne mojito), shared an appetizer (bruschetta w/roasted garlic), each a main course (I had the Chef's risotto) and a dessert (Tiramisu). We paid $60 including the tip.

Not quite as cheap as I was going for, but it was because we did splurge and went for everything.

We didn't spend anything at the movie theater where we finally saw "Django". Quite a movie! The acting was superb. It was long, but there weren't any slow spots and the story was very engaging. It didn't disappoint.

It was a nice evening out. And at $60 I'm not beating myself up about doing it either.

My gift to myself and my DH was to finalize and e-file our taxes.

Just finished..

This is my sixth return I have filed using FreeTaxUSA.com. It costs us $10.

The only trouble with our taxes was me. lol.
Last week I was wondering where the heck our forms from our mortgage were. Then I felt silly when I realized I just needed to go to the website and look at them right there. I think several months back they may have asked if I wanted them online vs. paper copy. SO that was easy.

DH's EMT class got us an American Opportunity credit that I was totally not expecting at all. Cool!

All in all we are getting a small refund.
I am fine anytime "small" and "taxes" are in the same sentence.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all.
Tonight we'll celebrate with cupcakes!

It's a quiet afternoon here at the office. My coworker has left for the afternoon because it is so slow. My boss is out to lunch now.

The weather is beautiful and I would have been the one to leave early, but I need to take care of my cat sitting cats tonight. They live very close to my work and I live in a different town about 20 minutes away. Plus, as much as I'd rather be at home on the internet I might as well be here at work on the computer and getting paid for what I'd be doing at home anyway.

Using some of the down time to check some little To Do's off.

The first was to log in and renew the library books my children have. In addition I paid the overdue fines that we seem to get just about every time we check something out. It is never a lot at one time, but $0.10 here $0.50 there and it accumulates. We (I) must get better about remembering the due dates.

Maybe writing them up on the white board we keep in the kitchen?
I literally had never thought of that until just now. Doh!

The fines were $10. I am happy I can pay it online with a cc and it takes about 60 seconds. Now it's done.


The second thing is tracking down the insurance payment for my root canal in December. If you read my post back then I was figuring I'd be due to get a $500 refund. Well I've been waiting for my claim's statement to show up in the mail. And waiting. And waiting. Today I created online access for my dental insurance company and searched my recent claims.

The only claim that showed for the last 90 days was my crown and that has been submitted and paid already. No pending or paid claim for my root canal.

Called the endodontists office and she was surprised that they hadn't been paid. According to her the claim had been submitted on the same day as treatment

She called the insurance company and resubmitted the claim.

And, yes I will be getting a check from the dentist for $502 once they receive the payment from insurance. Yay!


The third was transferring a $1 balance on a Starbucks gift card to the gift card I have registered. That was easy to do online.


DH and I opted to pass on DD's big school fundraising dinner this year. It would have been $70 for dinner and we would end up spending more if we wanted to bid on any auction items or buy raffle tickets. Just better to forgo completely. I did donate $25. I just put the check in the collection envelope the PTA sent home for the dinner ticket purchase. I felt very good about doing that. We saved and the school didn't lose out (much).

I called AmEx to cancel the card and the CSR told me if I'd like to keep the card he was happy to waive (refund) the yearly membership fee.

I figured what the heck I'd go ahead and keep it. It is the only cc that we can use at Costco - where I fill up at the gas station at least weekly and shop in the warehouse about every six weeks. If I didn't use this card I would have to use our debit card and I wouldn't "earn" any reward points. We always pay this card in full every month so it is not costing us anything to keep it. Quite the opposite when I can redeem points for free dinner or clothes.

Speaking of gas prices, they've been steadily climbing here. My last visit to the pump it was $3.82/gal. Many of the big name stations I pass each day are pushing $4/gal.
Diesel is well over $4/gal - $4.25/gal the last I looked?

Not liking this steady increase especially when we are still months away from the usual summer increase.

It is a beautiful, sunny, blue sky day here.
I am sick and pretty much staying inside trying to rest up. I started coming down with it on Tuesday, it is not the flu or really bad, but I want to kick it as fast as possible.

This weekend I am going to finish updating my cc information with the last few auto-pay accounts. I am also going to call AmEx to cancel. I should call to see if two other cards can give me a better APR now that they have adjusted up from 0%.

DD has a friend staying over tonight. They are going to cook dinner for us (and maybe dessert too). Cheese stuffed turkey meatballs, tomato sauce, noodles, French bread. DH just left to run them to the store - needed breadcrumbs and pasta sauce for this dinner. Milk, bananas, tomatoes needed for the week and I wanted more ice cream.

DH was instructed to keep it under $80 because I know he and DD will buy more than what was on the list I sent them with. This is fine because they need stuff for their lunches and what they pick out they will use up.

Well, well, we find ourselves in February now.
Just flip a page and here we are 32 days past the New Year. Hu?!

------
My main cc that I use for every auto pay/online billing account expired this month. I just looked at my email and I have about four or five "friendly reminders" to update my card information. There are a few others who haven't emailed me that I will also need to update.

I have the new card at home. I am just going to have to sit down and do it, but it feels like such a time suck when there are other things I'd much rather do online.

I say "Phooey!" What is the point of the expiration date anyway?

------
Did a bit of socializing this past week, which was good. You tend, or at least I do, to forget how nice it is to catch up with friends. I'm thinking of hosting a potluck BBQ and invite as many people as we can manage. Just having it be a low-key deal and visit and such.

Last Friday we met with a couple we hadn't seen in 2+ years at a large chain restaurant. We offset the cost by using a gift card we had bought in December. The OOP for DH, myself and the kids after the gc was $35.

Saturday we saw my BFF and her DH and baby girl. We ate a home cooked meal at my parent's house. (That was budget friendly. )

We did spend a few bucks ($80) going out without the kids to a casino and for beer tasting at a brewery. It was so fun to hang with the BFF, plus her hubby and my hubby get-a-long great too.

Tomorrow my inlaws are coming for a visit. My MIL's birthday is coming up and she wanted to see her grandkids. The plan is to go out for dinner and I am going to guess that we will split the check with FIL. They are staying overnight in a hotel and leaving Sunday morning.

Sunday we will be staying home. Watching the Superbowl and having homemade nachos complete with fresh made guacamole and salsa.
Go Niners!!

Last night I met my DH at the shoe store and he picked out two pairs of shoes (work and gym) and the total came to $71. I had a $10 coupon from taking a survey on a previous visit and if I want I can earn another $10 coupon by taking the survey for last night's visit.

------
Tomorrow I start taking care of two elderly kitties for two weeks. I will make just over $500. This will all go to a cc payment. I wish I could make this much extra money more often. I have thought of making up a flier or business cards for pet sitting, but I don't know how much I can realistically take on with family and work responsibilities. However, making a chunk of cash like this makes me think...

------
I signed myself up with a data collection company who wants information about the flea and heartworm preventative products we use at work. (How many units we have in stock, order and sell each month.)
I will get a check for $20 each month I provide the data sheets. It should only take me about 15 minutes to put the info together each month.

------
Can't believe it is almost February! Wow, where did January go??

Next month the AmEx card I opened for the $250 rewards last year will be up for it's annual renewal. The first year had the membership fee waived. If I chose to keep the card it would be $125/yr. Of course I will not be keeping it.
We had a good run, but now it's time to say goodbye.

I was just on their site and redeemed points for a $50 card to the Cheesecake Factory (never been) and a $50 card for V. Secrets (bras for me!! Yay!). I still have a bit over 500 points and I am hoping that I can redeem the points I've "earned" this month right before I cancel the card. I should have enough for a $15 reward, I'm thinking Old Navy and use it as a gift for DD.

I am really looking forward to surprising DH with a dinner out to the restaurant either for V. Day or when we go for a SF Giants game in a few months.

Last night I checked my Ting account to look at my usage and *surprise* I had another $25 referral credit posted!

So, to who ever out there used it - Thank You!

Two credits equal three months of paid cell service. I am thrilled!

------

Today is a quiet day at home watching both playoff games.
(**GO NINERS!**)

We have $1.30 in our checking account right now.

I cannot remember the last time our checking was scraped away to nothing.
I did say it was a tight month.

Tomorrow night I will deposit paychecks and the rest of the month will be much smoother sailing. I only have a daycare payment and two cc payments due before February 1st.

Halfway through January and I finally feel as if we are getting back into the regular routine. One big thing that helps is getting DD off vacation and back to school. That, and getting new episodes of all our favorite TV shows.

Last week all my family was sick with a stomach bug. Thank goodness I didn't come down with it because I had to take care of them. That set back our "getting back to normal" by about five days. DD and DH missed two days of school/work. Unfortunately that means that DH's paycheck this Friday will be short and it's already a tight month. *groan*

Not much otherwise. We've been having cold, frosty weather. Not nearly as cold as some of our other SA friends, but 27F temps mean running the heat more for sure.

------
This morning I had a run in with the gal operating the Starbucks drive-thru window. She gave me the wrong drink, which meant she overcharged my gift card because it was the wrong order. She didn't apologize for the mistake, in fact it seemed like she wished I would've taken the wrong drink and kept going. When I asked if she could credit back the difference she lied and told me what she charged was less than the drink I ordered! (I checked the price later and it was $1.05 difference.) At the time I didn't have a price list in front of me so I didn't call her a liar, but I asked for a free drink coupon since I had to wait while my drink was made. That really seemed to aggravate her, but she gave me one.

I was super annoyed that I even had to ask!

It doesn't bother me that I got the wrong order, or I had to wait, or even that she was bitchy. BUT I cannot stand the lie - GRRRR!
At this point I am just really happy I asked for the free drink. Normally I would not have been pushy about getting one, but in this case getting it is the only thing that makes me feel better.

A few cool, small, money saving events have happened recently that I wanted to share.

First, someone used my Ting referral code. I have no idea *who* it was, but a huge "Thanks!" to you.
By using my code I received a $25 account credit and didn't have to pay my phone bill. Next month I only need to pay $5. $25 almost pays for two months of service for me.

Second, we had a very nice man who helped us when DD had her eye exam. He asked me if we had an AAA membership (we do) and it saved me $20!
I *never* think to ask about that discount unless I'm making travel arrangements. I thought it was really nice of him to ask.

Third, I have a Starbucks gift card that I registered. I will get a free drink for my birthday and a free drink every three to four months (every 12th drink is free).

Fourth, I had an expired $10 reward coupon for Safeway and the checker honored it anyway.

I love those "little things". It makes me smile.

So we ended 2012 with $4008 in our EF.
By the middle of this month we will be down to $200.

The breakdown:
- $2356 for DS's ER visit (ER, doctor, ambulance)
- $ 248 for DD's first pair of eye glasses
- $ 647 for annual auto insurance policy
- $ 250 for root canal
- $ 338 for equine vet and disposal truck

The silver lining is we have that money, so it's not going on a cc or being borrowed.
That takes a little bit of the sting of wiping out the EF. (Just a little..)

Happy New Year! May 2013 be a lucky one for all of us!

I was reflecting on 2012's goals. Some our family did achieve. (Yay!) A bunch of things that we didn't. Some we got close on. A few never got a start.

Isn't interesting that most of us feel like January 1st is a fresh start to everything? In reality you could make a fresh start on any date.
But, here we are in January with our fresh list of what *will be* accomplished this year.

My goals for 2013 are much the same as my 2012 goals. Pay down debt, build savings, lose weight, get trust set up, home improvement items... See sidebar for the details.

Recapping some of the financial goals of 2012.

$7k EF?
Unfortunately, no. On 12/31/12 the EF balance was $4008. Started at $2624 on 1/1/12.

$2k car savings?
No. $275.

CC debt to $13k?
No. (I was feeling a bit bummed about this until I looked up last January's number for comparison.)
Decreased from $20,434 to $15,300.

Replaced roof?
Not yet....

Increased ROTH contribution?
Yes.

Trust? Life insurance?
No, and halfway done with application.

May each one of you have a very Merry Christmas with all the blessings of the season!

Just a lazy chore day here at home. DH is out at his work putting together the kids' bikes for Santa.
I have the holiday music playing on the TV.
Once I finish here I will light some of my very favorite holiday scented candles and listen to the Christmas music while I get the following done.
General tidying up.
Finish up the gifts that still need wrapping or gift bagged.
Laundry.
Dishes.
Vacuuming.
Lazing around with the computer or a book and coffee.
There may be pie or cookie eating involved also.

My root canal Wednesday went fine. I really don't have any fear of the dentist (or doctors) so I know that works in favor by keeping my stress level down a lot. I've never been through a root canal before; it was an interesting exerpienece. There was zero pain or feeling for the whole thing. The endodontist was really good with the Novocain injections, I didn't even feel the needle. It's a strange sensation to get your head jiggled around, know what they're doing to you and not feel anything. He was worried that the tooth had a deeper crack and that it would actually need extraction. But when he used a special stain and a fluoroscopic light to check it out and it was fine. I was very happy about that!

They tell you that you'll have some sensitivity for several days afterward. The roots get inflamed from all that jiggling. I think they downplay the discomfort level, 'cause my tooth is very sore now. I can't chew on it or really bump it with my tongue. Which is a terrible irony because it didn't hurt before.

When I checked in at the front counter the office gal presented me with the written estimate and my expected portion of payment. $766. I told her I didn't think that amount was correct because back in August I was going to get the procedure and was told my portion, as I remembered, close to $250.

The office gal wasn't sure how the first estimate could've been that low because the numbers all jived on this estimate and set insurance benefit remaining etc..etc.. I said well I'm here and I'm going to get this done so if it's $766 then that's that.

As I was sitting in the chair letting the Novocain set in I got to thinking that if this endodontist was a "preferred provider" with my insurance than my benefit maximum is increased by $500. Meaning my portion *is* $266.

And afterward I asked the office gal if that was the case and it was, so major mystery solved. *Phew!* I was really getting concerned about how I was going to cover that unexpected $500. I will be looking at my statement from insurance very carefully when it comes to be sure that they increased the allowance by that $500.

Lots of rain today.
Okay, back to work.

Great news: DH had his final exam tonight for his EMT class and he passed the class with a B+. He had an A average all semester, but the final test tonight was really tough and brought his average down. Still, plenty good enough IMO! Now he has to schedule and sit for the national board exam to actually become an EMT again.

Okay news: I am getting my root canal tomorrow. Our OOP will be about $200. I'm not nervous, but I will be happy to get it over with.

Darn IT news: I bought DD a full length mirror for her bedroom as a Christmas gift. I had it in the back of my SUV and this morning the puppy (the nearly 80lb puppy) jumped on it. Totally my fault. It is shattered right in the middle. Argh! Bright side was it cost $15 from Target. Down side is (1) I have to go back to Target and (2) spend another $15.

Sad news: One of our horses will need to be euthanized soon. We've known for a few months that she has a slow growing tumor in her left sinus. She was a rescue horse from a not-so-great home (not a horrible abusive place, just a somewhat neglectful, we-don't-want-this-responsibility type home). The last eight or so years we have done our best to give her a comfortable, pampered, lazy life. I feel good about that because it's been 100% better than what she had before.