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Home > Archive: May, 2007

Archive for May, 2007

Sunday 5/27/07

May 27th, 2007 at 02:27 pm

The deck was finally finished yesterday. Now I just have to wait two days for it to dry so that I can put down the sealer. I can do this myself if my brothers do not return. My front door also got a good sanding and a coat of high gloss polyurethane. The house is starting to look like its old self again.

On another note I have to really start getting serious about my weight. It started going down in Jan. and now I have gained the 4lbs. that I had lost. I really need to lose 20 lbs by the end of August. I am starting to take it seriously as of today. No more goodies for me and a lot more exercise.

I have to cash in some bottle returns today. And clean the inside of my house. I may go to the office for a little while to catch up on some paper work.

Long Term Goals

May 26th, 2007 at 03:54 pm

With all the projects going on around here, I still have been able to save some money. This obviously makes me very happy. We are pretty much putting the savings towards retirement. The only big purchases that we forsee in the future are to develope our land in PA. We would like to put a nice sized cabin on the property. My DH would also use a portion of the cabin as business space. He would like to set up a fly fishing office. He would take customers out on the Delaware River to fly fish, have fly tying lessons and casting lessons. He would also be writing his own books on his experiences on fly fishing the different enviroments he has fished in his many years as a fly fisherman. The property faces the Delaware river. We purchased it several years ago and have been waiting for the kids to finish college before we started to break ground.

The other purchase would be to buy a town house on Amelia Island in Jacksonville FL.. This area is so beautiful and the weather is so great. The only thing is that the real estate there is still so very expensive. I don't think that they are facing the same housing problems as the rest of the USA. Any way my thoughts on this are to buy something soon and to rent it out for the next 10 years or so. Until I am ready to live there on a part time basis. This way hopefully the mortgage will be paid.

My time frame for both of these projects are over the next 10-12 years. This is what is driving my frugal ways. It may turn out that I will never have the property in FL. but that is ok too. I have also considered the possiblity of renting when I'm ready for 6 months of the year.

So, getting the two properies and having enough money to live comfortably on are my driving forces. So when I see something that I want at the store I ask myself do I really want to waste my money on it or do I want to save it and get what I really want.

The Things That Are Making Me Happy Lately

May 25th, 2007 at 06:40 pm

The deck is still a work in progress. I was hoping to have it finished for this weekend but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

Work is getting better everyday. The new girls are working out just great! I was so afraid of the change but it turned out to be a really good thing for us. The girl that had quit, worked for us for a very long time and had taken advantage of that fact and of us. The whole situation is so much better for us now.

DD did fantastic in school this past semester and now has two jobs for the summer. Yipee! The other plus is that both jobs will look great on her resume when she applies to graduate school.

The weather is just gorgeous in my neck of the woods. We live about 5 minutes from the ocean and everyone that is off today is heading for the beaches.

I planted tomatoe,pepper and eggplant starters two weeks ago and they are really taking off. I hope that the bugs dont' get to them before I do. I'm really looking forward to my own tomatoes.

Have a great holiday weekend!

My Deck

May 17th, 2007 at 07:47 pm

Well I kind of new that if I got my brothers involved in any type of project it would a) cost me big bucks
b) take forever to complete
c) be filled with aggravation
I love my brothers dearly and I would rather give them the job rather than a stranger. I know that they could really use the money.
But I don't get treated the same way by them as they would treat a stranger. For a stranger they would have the job done as promised but b/c I'm their sister they are very lax. This happens all the time and I am getting fed up. I have to run out and buy the supplies. Be ready to help and also watch their kids. Supply them with food,drinks,etc.. The deck is pretty much sanded at this point, I know I could finish the rest on my own. I just need to do a little more sanding then stain and seal it.
The good news about the deck is that it should last about 10 more years not the three that I originally estimated. Once the wood was sanded down it was found to be in great shape except for the planks that were replace due to water damage. And that was only 6 planks.
One word of advice...Never, Ever, paint a deck. Just stain it and keep repeating the sealer once a year. It is such a big job getting the paint up. I will never do it again...

Roof Repair

May 12th, 2007 at 04:04 pm

I had a very good experience with the roof being repaired. I have a 3800 sq. foot house and the roof and gutters were repaired in two days. The guys were neat and professional and worked their tails off the whole time they were here. So, now no more leaks. And I tick off two items on my to do list. Today I will be working on the deck in the back of my house with my two brothers. I hope that this will only be a weekend project. Sometimes with my brothers it can go on for quite some time before it is actually finished.

On the savings front, I was able to save 80% of my pay this week. Next week there will not be any savings b/c I want to pay off my CC balance in full.

My puppy is all better. She didn't have any repeat episodes of last week.

To all the moms out here, Happy Mothers Day!

Some Savings/Some Spending

May 6th, 2007 at 10:17 pm

Went food shopping yesterday and today. Saved 37.00 with in store savings and coupons. DD is finally getting the hang of making her own sandwiches and bringing them to school to save herself some money.

DD and I went out to dinner last night to an Argentinian rest. and then went to the movies. Total was 65.00 but we hadn't done that in a while and it was a lot of fun.

Yesterday, brought a lot of yard work. Planted some nice baskets and sanded and spray painted the lawn furniture. Filled in some wholes with some top soil that I purchased on sale. Sometimes my doggies are a real pain in the neck with their digging.

Tonight I plan on making some steaks that I purchased on sale yesterday, potatoe and salad.

Did a bunch of laundry today and a whole lot of ironing. Vacuumed and washed the floors. Time to relax now. Have to rest up for work tomorrow.

May 5th-A Week in Review

May 5th, 2007 at 02:02 pm

I received my state refund yesterday. This money will be earmarked for my 2007 IRA contribution. It will sit in my WAMU account earning 5% until next year and then April 2008 it will go to the IRA. This refund will not be added to the 20.00 savings since it is already earmarked but I will put the interest earned after the year is up into the 20.00 challenge. I saved 100% of my paycheck this week. I am doing fairly well in reaching my goals. I hope to be right on target by the end of this year. The only place I did not put any money into was the savings bonds. I don't think I will until they offer a better return. I ususally by I bonds but I do have some EE bonds. Right now the savings account is at %5 and I am happy with that. There is an online bank which I read in a post by my money that is offering 6%. I don't have that much money held in my savings for one extra percentage to make any difference to me. If I have mega bucks then it would.

I have only one CC right now that is carrying a balance at 0% for 875.00. I didn't even list it on the side b/c I will being paying it off in full by the end of this month.

I bought a bike yesterday. It is my attempt at decreasing the amount of fuel I use going to the local stores to pick up things on a daily basis. I plan on putting several baskets on the bike so that I may ride up to the local food stores and CVS. I could also ride into town which is only a few miles away. The gas prices are up to 3.25 and the summer is only a few weeks away. I do beleive that gas will be 4.00 by June or towards the end of June. Not only am I attempting to save on fuel but also help the enviroment and my health.

I had to bring my dog into the vet on Tuesday. She was vomitting alot and on the last episode she vomitted blood . I really got scared and rushed her to the vet.. They didn't know what was wrong with her so they sent me over to the emergency center, where they examined her and took blood from her. They didn't have a diagnosis for her and told me to take her home and observe her and if she continued to vomit to bring her back and they would do an ultra sound on her. She didn't vomit again. Thankfully, I didn't have to bring her back. I got the bill from both vets. yesterday, 500.00. I couldn't believe how expensive it was. I am so happy nothing is wrong with her and that she is back to her old self. But WOW it costs more to take care of the dog than myself???