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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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).

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

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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?

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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!!

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.

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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.

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.

Keeping busy with Christmas preparations, work and lazy time.

We got our tree up and decorated last Sunday and it's beautiful. I love having a fresh smelling tree in the house. The rest of the decorations are very slowly coming out.

Once DD and DH come home this afternoon all of the gift shopping will be done. They are out picking up gifts for two kids off the giving tree. A 10 year old boy and a 12 year old girl.

A few gifts I am waiting to get from online shopping, but all are set to arrive by Friday.

I sent off five boxes of little goodies to family yesterday afternoon. It took about 30 minutes to weigh, tape and address the group of packages. That made me question *why* I didn't just buy gift baskets and have them shipped as I have done in past years. The answer was this year I could put goodies made here in our town, favorites of ours, and in larger quantities than a premade gift pack. Didn't save time, but I did spend a bit less and did have more gifts.

While at the post office DD found a sheet of stamps. I would have been happy to give them to their rightful owner, but no one came in to ask about them while we were there. I don't use many stamps so 20 might last all year. I already sent out our Christmas cards earlier this week, so can't use them for that - Darn.

Went grocery shopping this morning. Bought a bone in ham for $0.88/lb. Now I need to figure out how I want to cut it up. Some we'll eat right away and another chunk and the bone I want to freeze for later.

Lastly, hug and kiss everyone you love every chance you get.

First, DS is doing fine. A bit of a runny nose and a bit of a cough, but full of energy.

Today is a bit of a lazy day and clean up the house day.
I am going to alternate cleaning, reading, computer time and laundry. (So far I've just been on the computer. )
I plan to call the cable company to negotiate a lower rate or reduce our service to save some dollars.

Sunday morning we are getting our tree.
I'll put a roast in the crockpot for dinner.
My mom is coming for an overnight visit. She is bringing her carpet shampooer for me to use on our area rugs.
We'll watch the 49er game in the afternoon.
Decorate the tree in the evening.
Pretty low-key plan.

How about your weekend? Crazy or Lazy?

Last month I got a special offer to buy an online game from a site I've used before and get "dinner and a movie".

I bought a game for $2.99 and got a $25 Dining Dough certificate for dinner and two movie tickets from Fandango! Pretty sweet deal.

DH and I will make a date night out of it and use the dinner card at a rather fancy downtown restaurant we haven't been to in many years. We will end up spending about $25 out of our pocket because dinner at this place will be more than the gift card will cover. Still a great deal and some thing we are looking forward to doing as a couple.

Update on DS - I stayed home with him today. He had a very restless night, but no fever, and this morning seemed to be feeling much better. At nap time he was restless and sweaty. He is starting to sound a bit raspy, but still no fever. Very relieved about that.


Now, to finish that Saturday post...

Happy December to you all!

Keeping busy the past few weeks. Most of my computer time recently has been shopping for Christmas and reading reviews of girls' bikes.

We had a very nice, relaxing Thanksgiving at the inlaw's. I hope all my SA family enjoyed their holiday time too.

My DH, DD and FIL shopped Black Friday. The best deal my DH came away with?
$0.99 Poinsettias from HomeDepot.




I designed and ordered our Christmas cards from Costco. Just pictures of the kids and the kids with the puppy. I picked them up last Sunday so I could use a $5 off coupon. That meant I spent $11 for 50 personalized cards.

After much searching for the best item and price I ordered the tricycle for DS online. I was willing to buy used and I kept checking CraigsList. There was only a pink one for sale near me and only $10 less than new. It's interesting to watch prices fluctuate near Christmas. I've been shopping this trike for several weeks and have watched prices drop and now climb. Same with the ride-on toy we bought last year. I was lucky to buy at the right time. I feel good about this year too. Some online sites are charging $20 to $35 more than I paid for this trike.



The bike I ended up choosing for DD was out of stock when I tried to order it, so I had to restart my search. I ended up ordering a cute Schwinn from ToysRUs for $140 & free shipping. I was surprised when I saw the same bike was $120 MORE on Amazon!

By using 30% off plus $20 credit I bought DH a $35 handheld "stick" blender for $4.70.
I scored a $13 "Disney Cars" book for DS for $7 and four "Gallagher Girls" books for DD for less than $20.

The kids and DH are set except for a few small candy items for the stockings. I have a few gift cards to purchase for my sister, DS's daycare lady and our niece and nephew. I heard something about Safeway doing a "buy $100 in GC and get a $10 grocery coupon". Need to look into that.

First, thank you all for your kind comments on my last post.

Last Friday I bought DD and DS each a book from DD's school bookfair. $9.

Saturday my mom came for a visit. She stayed until Tuesday morning. It was fun and low-key. The unfortunate thing was DH, DS and I were all sick. Runny noses, sore throats, coughing - that sort of thing. Somehow DD never got anything worse than a scratchy throat. Lucky her.

I *finally* feel pretty normal today.

DD had a sleepover and she and her friend held a yardsale on Sunday. They cleared out some stuff from the shed and made $55. DD gave $5 to the boy next door for helping set stuff out and split the $50 with her gal pal.

I saved some of the better items for another sale and the rest I hauled off to the Goodwill.

We went out to dinner Tuesday night. "Memorial dinner" in Maxx's honor. $75.
This is our one and only meal out for the month.

DH is trying hard to sell a big tool/machine he has. We have it listed on CL for $800. Some of the money he wants to use towards his hobby project he is building and the other half will go to EF or CC. He has had three interested people. One flaked. The other two came and saw it and one totally lowballed DH ($400) and the other said he'd need to think about it.

I am going to repost it and an old motorcycle today. Try to get some extra cash in and some stuff out.

The next few days are supposed to be warm, around 80F. It feels like spring.

Two weekends back I cleaned up a lot of the plants in our garden. When I pulled up all the corn stalks I saved them and we used them to decorate for Halloween. We tied them around the light post and put a blacklight bulb in. It looked really neat and spooky too.

I left the tomato plants, the zucchini, the summer squash and the green beans. I am getting ripe tomatoes still and there is squash & zucchini that is ready to be picked anytime. I've been lazy about getting the beans picked so I know there is a bunch of them. Some of the beans might not be very good now that I left them so long and they'll end up being chicken or puppy snacks. I really should plant some more spinach this weekend. The warm weather would really sprout those seeds. Maybe beets too? I need to look at the seeds and see what is good for a winter crop for our area.

This week I had a cat care gig. I made $140. I put $40 toward cc payment and $100 to the EF. I will be taking care of these cats again for a few days late this month too. I'll make less because it's less days, maybe $70? But I'm happy with whatever extra I can pull in.

Here in California we have been seeing plenty of video and photos from areas hit by Sandy. Lots of flooding in areas where that type of thing "never" happens.

Whenever they show the map and the storm passing over I think about our SA friends in that area. (Such a strong storm to move so far inland too!)

I hope everyone is safe and clean up is quick.

We did get a pretty steady rain that started Sunday night. It rained sporadically through Monday and was windy too.

We lost power at work for over an hour when someone had a car accident and hit a pole. We lost power right when I was going to have lunch. That meant I couldn't heat my food up in the microwave and it wasn't something you would eat cold..Blah. So, I went out for lunch yesterday. I picked up soup and a cannoli from a local grocery store near my office. $6. They have the best cannolis and I really got lucky yesterday because the pastry counter man gave me a $1 off.

Last night it rained too. Not as hard as Sunday night, but still a second night of rain.
I think fall has finally arrived.

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I paid DH's cell bill today. $61. There was a credit from my phone line being cancelled and downgrading his plan. Too bad I can't expect a $61/mo bill for his phone. It will be more like $84/mo.

Thanks to FrugalTexan I don't have to pay my cell bill this month. She used my referral code and I have a credit on my account. Whoopee!

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Last night was so cozy inside our house while it was raining. We ate a tasty dinner while we watched the SF Giants win the final championship game and move on to the World Series! WooHoo!

Tuesday night DD had her first 4H beekeeping project meeting. Before the meeting she was telling me that she wasn't sure she was interested. I had originally urged her to check it out because I would like to have bees in the backyard someday. She agreed that she would see how she liked it after going to the meeting.

Well she must have really liked what was presented because when I picked her up she was waiting in front of the barn with a complete bee box (hive) setup. Luckily, the club had a bunch of used equipment donated for the kids. The project leader is the nicest older lady and she said come early spring the club will collect unwanted swarms so no one should have to buy any bees.

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This afternoon DH and I had lunch together at a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich place we had wanted to try. I was able to print an online coupon for a free soda - we shared. Total spent $12.

It had been a really long time since we had gotten to have lunch together. We both decided it's something we need to do more often.

I told DH that next month I'd like to go see the new 007 movie with him and maybe do dinner or dessert. I still have free movie passes from my girlfriend to use.

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Filled up this afternoon and the price had dropped a bit to $4.32/gal. Even still it cost $84 to fill up.

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Tonight is a big sports night for me. I have to flip channels back and forth from the SF Giants playoff game to the SF 49er/Seattle game.

Come on guys!!!

I took the day off work so I could drive DD to and from a school field trip. It is to a close regional park for a fall festival. Her school does not have buses, so if they take a big trip they have to rent them. That means at her school most field trips require parent drivers. I don't have the increased coverage needed to drive other kids, but I can drive DD.

This worked out great for today. Thursdays are a half-day at work and I was able to be home to see the SF Giants win their playoff game. Whoot!

Our pot roast was so tasty last night. Little DS really ate a lot of the meat.

I agree that the slow-cooker is great all year round, as many of you commented. It's especially nice to use when it's hot during the summer and you don't want to use the oven or stove. I haven't made any desserts in mine, so that's something to try one of these days.

This morning I scheduled payments for the rest of the month. Unfortunately, our cc balance increased this month. There is no avoiding it. These were the charges from last month when DH went to Alaska and he wasn't home earning money. There was also a medical bill I had paid finally.

I am really feeling discouraged. This year will be over in a blink and so much I had hoped we'd accomplish has not been done. This increase in the debt sucks. The somewhat silver lining is it is on a 0% card.

The past few days have been so busy! I was happy to get back to work today just so I could rest from the weekend.

The weather has been fabulous here. Last week we had some near record heat. It was crazy! Now the last few days have been beautiful, sunny, mild days. I wish you all could visit my area right now - it's just wonderful!

My parents came for a visit starting on Saturday. It was DH's birthday. I went grocery shopping, cleaned the house and did some laundry. DD participated in a charity walk in the evening.

On Sunday, DH worked a pancake breakfast fundraiser for the fire department. My mom treated us to breakfast there. Afterward we drove to a family farm and picked apples (and a pumpkin). The apples were organic and huge (think softball sized). My mom purchased the farm share and the apples, I bought the pumpkin for DD to carve. $16. Yes, more than I was wanting to spend for sure. I took a bit of comfort knowing the money was going right to the family who owned the farm. (Father and son would cut the pumpkin you picked, sister and niece helped in the apple orchard and mom collected payment.)

I stopped for gas and paid $4.39/gal. Supposedly a fuel shortage here in Cali.
Then we rushed home for the 49er game. They won!

Tonight my sister and her boyfriend stopped in to have dinner. DH BBQd some of his catch from Alaska, salmon and halibut, and my mom made the sides and a fresh apple cobbler.

My challenge for October is to make it a *Needs Only* month.
I am aiming for 100% needs only spending.

Anyone else have a challenge planned for themselves this month?

For fun I thought I'd show my "Cell Phone Evolution".





The only phone not pictured is my first phone which was just a non-flip, grey Ericson. I might still have it somewhere, maybe the bottom of the toy box or something. I think I got that first phone early 2002. It was on AT&T and I think it was $45/mo taxes and all.

The second phone is that Nextel on the left. My DH had that phone before me and when he got a new phone that was mine. It's a brick. HaHa! It's been dropped at least 100 times.

But, seriously they do not make phones that sturdy anymore. This is the phone that I was using for the past five weeks while I was waiting to get my newest phone. The old thing had been in a drawer for two years (since the last time I used it as a stop-gap-phone) I charged the battery and it fired right up.

The middle two phones are Nextel/Sprint phones also. Both lasted me almost exactly two years each. The same length as the contract. Coincidence? I think not! All some great conspiracy I'm sure!!!

I can't quite remember what the Nextel bills were in the beginning. It ranged between $45/mo/phone (taxes & all) up to $120/mo/shared plan (taxes & all). Last year I was so thrilled because I got it down to the bare-bones plan and it was $80/mo/shared plan including taxes, etc.

Then hubby got his iPhone and we *had* to have a more fancy plan. BOO!
That plan has been running $150/mo/shared including taxes & all.

But, NOW my new phone on the far right is with Ting and my monthly bill is $16/mo including taxes and fees.

What it really boils down to is that now I'm paying less for the newest phone instead of paying a premium for the cheapest phone.

I reduced DH's plan with Sprint to the lowest plan he could get with his blasted iPhone. It will be close to $80/mo. Our usage is pretty much the same and both phones run on the Sprint network, but the cost difference is.. well.. amazing.

DH really likes his phone and he is in a contract until next December. I am *praying* he will be ready to switch come next year as you can see how much we would be saving.

I l-o-v-e my new phone, but I really L-O-V-E the low bill!

Jeez, halfway through the month already.

"No Eating Out Challenge": We ordered pizza and a family salad last night for dinner. We had planned to do this because the 49ers played in the Sunday Night football game. It was a special meal deal from one of our favorite local places. $30 total with delivery and tip. That makes this the first 'eating out' for this month. Very likely the only time this month too.

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I fell and twisted my ankle this morning. I was carrying DD's trumpet and when I fell I broke the corner of the case. Trumpet is fine. Phew! I am really thankful we own this trumpet. I guess we'd have to buy a new case if we were renting?

The ankle is a little swollen, but it hasn't been too busy here at work so I've been mostly sitting and sitting helps. When I get home I hope to get a little sympathy from the family and I'll get to put my feet up for the evening.

DH is coming home this evening. I am planning to make the hash brown quiche that everyone loves so much. I'll add either a fruit or green salad on the side.

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I paid DD her new higher allowance today. $20/two weeks and $5 for mowing the front and back yard.

I also set DD up with her own email address. She was thrilled.

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I went to the grocery store this morning. $157. I bought five boxes of cereal because they were $2 each and I had a $2 off 5 boxes coupon. I like cereal, it's good for breakfast, snacks and sometimes dinner. I don't plan to go shopping again for two weeks.
Going to get that grocery spending down this month.

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My BFF had her baby girl this morning!

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The weather has been fabulous here the past week. Mild. I haven't had to use heat or AC. I love that!
Right now it is 80F and just beautiful.

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I checked my $1k that I invested in my ROTH a few weeks back and it is up $14.

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Getting excited about all our favorite shows as the new season starts up. I so enjoy curling up on the couch on cool fall nights and watching TV.

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Had some corn from our garden two nights ago. It was not quite ready, but still very good. I've also been getting lots of green beans and I need to pick more today. Getting plenty of zucchini and summer squash. Enough for us and anyone we know. DD's pumpkins are thriving. I bought more spinach seeds so I can replant that area. I've had several lemon cucumbers and a bell pepper. The tomatoes are really taking their sweet time getting red. I've picked one red one and the puppy pulled one off and the chickens ate two almost red ones. There are *tons* of green ones.

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The Amazon seller that we ordered DH's book from offered to refund my shipping *IF* I change my feedback (3 stars). The shipping was $7. I don't know if I want to change the rating; they should do a better job. Still, $7 back in my pocket.....

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Off to watch the second half of the 49er game. When it ends it'll be time to switch to the SF Giants game.

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday!

It's a very low key Labor Day here with just me and the kids. Doing laundry, washing all the bedding and doing some general pick up are the only things happening today. For dinner tonight I am going to fix spaghetti noodles to go with our leftover sauce.

DS is coming down with a little cold. He has a runny nose that bothers him at night and wakes him up. Hopefully it clears up soon because we both get cranky when our sleep gets interrupted.

My mom and dad are coming Wednesday for a visit and to help me out by watching DS and picking DD up from school. The kids and I are looking forward to them visiting and helping out.

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Just before DH left, he and I agreed to give DD an allowance raise. We added poop scooping to her daily chores, something we had been paying for based on amount picked up. We increased her pay from $5/week to $10/week. She was totally jazzed.

She wants to open a checking account soon. I think middle school might be a good time for that. I am going to check what, if any, age requirements there might be so we can plan based on those.

I had my first checking account when I was a high school freshman. When did you get yours?

My MIL is visiting until tomorrow. So far the visit has been very pleasant and low-key.

This morning we went to a neighboring town and walked through the main street shops. I bought a birthday gift and card for our neighbor's son for $7. DD and DS are in the bouncy house at his party right now.
I bought two board books on sale for DS for $8.
I bought a pair of handmade copper hoop earrings for myself for $27. Which I thought was a very good price when compared to similar pieces in the same store, made by other artists/jewelers, were priced at $48 and $56.
And, I treated all of us to ice cream (the place that makes all it's own flavors) for $13.

Looking back in Quicken at August we spent $830 in groceries. My goal for September is to be as low-spend as possible in every category, but especially to work on the food spending. Our pantry and fridge are very full, so I do have something to show for that spending at least. September, October and November are usually pretty good as we settle into the school routine and just stick close to home.

Speaking of sticking close to home; how's the gas prices in your area? Ours have shot up. Like $.50/gal in the past three weeks. When I fueled up a few days ago it was $4.09/gal. Blah!!!

Last night DH and I had a big date night. We had dinner at The Melting Pot as a belated anniversary celebration. We had the four course dinner, so it was a two hour adventure.

After dinner we went to the SF Giants game. The weather was mild. Lucky for us because we had forgotten our jackets at home - Doh! They played the Braves and won 3-5. (Sorry Ima.) We spent $11 on two cups of hot coco; our usual seventh inning tradition and $30 for parking. Everything gets so pricey; one game a year is a splurge.

We got back home about midnight. It was a really fun night out!

This afternoon we will be cheering on our town's Little League team as they play for the US championship title! Our town is so proud of them!