Layout:
Home > Archive: June, 2007

Archive for June, 2007

4th of July Plans

June 28th, 2007 at 10:10 pm

For the 4th of July hubby and I decided to go upstate again and try to speak to someone about the log cabin. This time we actually have an appointment on a Saturday afternoon. We will spend a few days up there and we also decided to take a quick trip to Montreal.

Montreal happens to be one of my favorite cities. The people are friendly and it is very clean and well cared for. Their public transportation system is excellent. My daughter also loves it there, she will be going in Sept. to see a concert and staying over night.

With regards to this trip, last night I was trying to find a good rate on a room. I didn't want to spend a lot of money since I really don't spend much time in the room(just to sleep). I tried Hotwire.com. It was kind of strange. This was my first time using this site. You select which grade of room you would be interested in and the price, without knowing the hotel name or it's exact location. They tell you the ammenties and its general location and that is all the information you get until you pay. After you pay they give you the name of the hotel, the address and then you are able to access the hotel's website directly. I was afraid to submit payment. I had my daughter telling me not to and my husband saying what the heck go ahead and try it out. After submitting payment, I found out that I was given the Omni hotel in downtown Montreal which is a 5 star hotel for 103.00/night plus tax. Wow I couldn't believe my good luck. Now I just have to wait and see the room. My daughter is still warning me. She said that they will be booking me in the broom closet. We will see. I will let you know how it worked out when I get back.

Today was pay day and I am happy to report that I was able to put most of it away into savings. Hubby and I picked our 2 DRIPS for the month.

Summer is moving along so fast...My tomatoe plants have sprouted tomatoes in the last two days(sooo cute). I sure hope they taste good.

My Weekend

June 25th, 2007 at 02:45 pm

Windham was great the weather couldn't have been more beautiful. At night it got kind of chilly but it was great sleeping weather. The trip didn't cost too much, a couple of dinners out and gas.

Hubby and I went over to the log home builder, which is why we went upstate in the first place but they were closed on Sunday. It figures. Anyway we got to look around at some of their models and we have narrowed it down to two. We would need some modifications on both but now the deciding factors are if the modifactions can be done and how much to have it built and be in turn key condition. We already own the land. Today DH will make a phone call and set up an appointment to speak to someone. We are set to go up there in about two weeks. Someone from the area also told us that if we wanted to start breaking ground for next year now is the time to get the ball rolling. So, we shall see what the next few weeks bring us.

This Weekend

June 22nd, 2007 at 01:34 pm

Pay day was yesterday. I was able to save 100% of it.

Not doing too well in the weight department. Haven't lost an ounce. Very discouraging.

Still deciding which DRIP I will participate in this month. Most likely will be GE.

Will be going to Windham this weekend and then heading over to PA to check out the property and to find out infromation about purchasing a log cabin to place on the property. Hope we will be able to swing it.

Trying to be Green

June 20th, 2007 at 09:17 pm

Put $85.00 into the $20.00 challenge today. This money consisted of rolled coin(from returning bottles), a dividend check and some cash that wasn't spent from my pocket money. Today I am walking around with 0.00 in my wallet. Tomorrow is pay day. I feel that I am on track.

I went to Home Depot today to see if I could find some energy saving devices. They didn't have the CFL's I was looking for and they didn't have a low flow shower head either. I left there and went to Lowes and it was the same story there. Totally frustrated. My daughter had complained to my husband this morning that the toilet wasn't working, so he took the lid off and the both of them had this look on their face when they came out with the filled plastic bottle I had put there, the day before, to conserve water. I think they think that I am going too far with my conservation. I don't. There are so many things that can be changed in my house to make it much more efficient. My wish list is an attice fan, a programable thermostat and a new front door. Oh well with everything else in the works I guess I'll have to wait.

I got some great looking steaks on sale today. So guess what's for dinner. Steak, some onions and mushrooms, mashed potatoes and veggie.

Back onTrack

June 16th, 2007 at 09:23 pm

All my changes to both my IRA and the set up of my sharebuilder account have gone through with out any problems. Hopefully, now I will see and improvement in my returns.
I was able to save all of my paycheck this week. Which is good b/c I haven't been able to save too much lately b/c of the repairs and bills. Anyway I hope that I am back on track.

Steamed and Ready to Boil

June 14th, 2007 at 10:54 pm

My husband has me so steamed right now. He is one of those guy's that don't believe in doing too much. Everything is such an effort for him. Mind you he has absolutely no health issues at the present time or has he ever. He does nothing around the house inside or out. That is left for me or outside help. When outside help comes he is never home, he always schedules the appointments on days when he will not be around. But then he has the nerve to complain about everything and anything. I was the one who found the roofers and hired them. I'm the one that made the arrangements to get my deck done. I'm the one that got the trees taken down in the backyard. I was the one that was home yesterday when the pool guys came to check the filter. And today it is my fault that the pool is not up and running. Can you believe it????

My biggest peeve that I have with him right now is that I had purchased a boat for him. A really nice 19 ft. Sea Ray a few years ago b/c he was interested in boating. I got a great deal on a 2 year old. I bought it, he used it a few times and then just let it sit in the boat yard. Now b/c he hasn't kept up the payments on the rental space for the last few years. The people at the boat yard have let the boat deteriorate. There was a cover on the boat(shrink wrapped) but not anymore. There is a hole in the hull. And the whole thing looks like such a mess that I want to cry. When we left it there a few years ago it looked brand new. Anyway, I asked him to please resolve the boat issue. I got a song and a dance b/c he did not want to go down there and speak to the person. Finally he went and when he came home he said that I wouldn't get much for it b/c it was old and it wasn't in such great shape anymore and that it was too small that people are buying bigger boats these days. I went online and checked the book value of the boat and it was valued at 15-18,000.00. So, I don't know who he spoke to b/c he also told me that I would probaly wind up having to give the boat yard about 4,000.00. I got so pissed at him that I told him to just pay the fee and to get the boat out of there and take it home and I will keep it, sell it or give it away. I am so sorry that I ever ask him to do anything...Do any of you have a husband like mine???? LAZY,LAZY,LAZY.

Investing, One for the bottom line and one for the soul

June 10th, 2007 at 11:16 pm

I have done a lot of frugal and unfrugal things this past week. So I guess that means that I broke even.

Yesterday, it was raining here most of the day so I was checking out share builder through COSTCO and decided to open an account. I already have an IRA as noted in my previous entry but there were a few other funds that I found interesting but ING did not offer these ETFS. So I thought that I would open an account get what I wanted and use the dollar cost averaging approach. It was a very easy process and COSTCO gives you a sign up bonus. I was feeling so good after my purchase that I finally committed to the KIVA site, instead of just visiting it. I fininshed off three people's loans( people who are close to the totals on what they are requesting) and also made a donation to KIVA itself. The amount of my loans totaled 300.00. It went to women who were seeking to improve their business thereby increasing their income. As I have mentioned it is a loan. But in the impoverished countries that these people are from there is a good chance that the loan may not get repaid. I realized this an thought that it was an acceptable risk.

So, for me there were two kinds of investing going on here yesterday. One for the bottom line and one for the soul.

Changes in my ING Account

June 6th, 2007 at 10:16 pm

Just finished getting off the phone with ING. They hold my traditional IRA account. One of the funds in that account will mature on June 15th. I had to make a decison on what to do with the funds. Since it really didn't make to much of a gain since inception(2002)I have decided to invest the 15,000.00 in that fund into a new fund. The new fund that I chose was the Fidelity Contrafund. Morning star rated it pretty highly with a fairly good outlook. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that it does well. There were other funds in my porfolio that just weren't living up to expectations, so, I reallocated them as well. So, Fidelity Contra fund starts on June 15th and the new funds start after 6pm tonight. The money for these two new funds came from a Money Market account inside my IRA that was performing so poorly at 0.4%. This was established back in 2002 by the banks finacial advisor. Now that I am more knowledgeable. I can't believe that the advisor put me in such poor funds. As of today I do not have any of the original funds that I had started with. And the only time I hear from this advisor is when she is trying to sell me something with a huge upfront load. No thanks!

Happy June 1st

June 2nd, 2007 at 01:10 am

Most of my projects are completed at this point. In September I will start the floors. The deck came out beautiful and I am very happy with it. Total cost including materials $1500.00. Not bad. It is a very large deck, it runs the width of our house.

I didn't save anything this week b/c I had to replace what I took out of savings for the deck. I didn't charge any of it.

The stock market is doing well this week and I just checked on my IRA and it is doing great.

I think that I am on target with most of my goals that I set in January. Now that today is June 1st and pretty much the half way mark. I think I will have accomplished most of what I set out to do by December. Hopefully the weight issue as well.

All in all it has been a very good and productive week.