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Bills,Bills and More Bills!

September 15th, 2007 at 03:11 pm

Nothing special going on in the savings department. A lot of bills this month. More than the basic bills I pay every month. Professional license fees ,DD's Life Insurance, Malprctice insurance,Upstates schools taxes and so on. It certainly has not been a good month for savings. On top of the huge financial gift we gave to my husband's daughter for her wedding. It is time to play some serious catch up. I also have to pay my brothers something for all the work they did on my house while we were away. The end of this month is the end of the third quarter for this year already and I think we are way behind last year in our savings. I know right off the bat we are 16,000.00 behind instead of ahead. Hopefully we will be able to recoup that and then some by the end of the year. Here's to hoping!

Fell off the Frugal Wagon

July 19th, 2007 at 06:06 pm

Frugal things I have been doing this week:
Went to the library,took out a few books on saving money b/c i have been very bad these past two months. So , I thought that I needed a refresher. Took out a cookbook Favorite recipes from around the world. Haven't had any dinners out this week. I also rented childrens books in Spanish. I am trying to refresh my high school spanish so that I can understand some of our clients a little better. Returned bottles. Rented from Red Box instead of big name place. I also self treated my dog for his dermatitis condition and avoided a big vet bill. And guess what it worked. My dog is doing so much better.

Today I have to go to Lord and Taylor and pay off the full balance on the card. My daughter and I needed new dresses to wear to my step daughter's wedding in August. Being that I have to pay off the entire balance so that I do not incur a finance charge there will be little left to save this week.

On another note, I received my 55.00 sign on bonus with Share
Builder today. That was a nice surprise. It's strange that they don't dispurse the money into already selected funds, instead they open a money market account and the money is placed there.

My Week

April 5th, 2007 at 11:20 pm

Oh, I am so glad that the layout the other day was just an April Fools Day joke. I got scared b/c the colors were making my eyes bug out and I couldn't read it.

On the financial's, everything is pretty much status quo. I have been buying little of anything... except for food shopping. This weekend may change all that. I have to buy a few things for the house to help with the spring cleanning. I just had to lay out a bundle for my car again. The mechanics tell me my car should last a life time now. I don't believe them. I just hope she lasts a few more years. I have two people coming to give me roof estimates this week. I hope that their prices are reasonable.

My accountant is finished with my taxes for this past year and will be submitting this week. I will be getting something back not sure exactly how much. Doesn't really matter since it will be going towards the improvements that I have to make to the house.

I was able to save about 30% of my pay this week, the rest went to the usual bills.

I will be hosting Easter Sunday at my house and I am looking forward to this. I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter.

Automatic Bill Pay

February 21st, 2007 at 02:31 pm

Not much happening on the finacial front. It has been quiet around here. Not to much spending, just on food items. Will be paying a few bills the end of this week. I'm trying to get most of them onto my banks bill pay site. So far I have been lucky. The site is extremely easy to use and it saves me on stamps. I did call the companies to verify that the funds were received and that they were on time. They were. I was skeptical about paying bills this way, otherwise I would have used this service much sooner. I just wanted to wait a little to make sure all the kinks were worked out.

Emergency Fund, I call it My Stash

December 1st, 2006 at 06:14 pm

Received the car repair bill,$1,049.00. I knew it would be expensive but I didn't think it would be that much. Luckily, I do have an emergency fund to be able to pay for this expense.

Ever since I started working at the age of 12, I always had a special spot where I would keep some additional "just in case money". My grandmother taught me to do that. She didn't have any formal training with money but was very good with it. She could follow her expenses and savings down to the last penny. She always believed that a women needed a little stash. She lost her husband very early in her marriage and had to raise two sons in the post depression era. She had to get a job to keep the roof over their heads and food on the table. My grandmother continued to work after her sons were adults and when she became older she would babysit just to keep her stash going. Even though my grandmother isn't with us anymore her life lesons still inspire me.

Talking about inspiration...Yesterday I had lunch at Wendy's(.99 menu)and while I was there I met this friendly and energetic older women who was an employee of that Wendy's. She was cleanning tables and greeting the customers. I had over heard her saying that she would be 84 in March and that she loves to come to work b/c it gets her out of the house and gives her something to do. I was in awe of her. I was also in admiration of the Wendy's company for hiring someone of her age. I don't think there are too many institutions out there that would take the risk in hiring that frisky older women. Thank you Wendy's.

With that in mind I think of all the people who cry about not having any money and in the same breath will tell you that working at a place like Wendy's is beneath them. I don't know, let me see... laying on the couch zero dollars...working at Wendy's minimum wage at least and health benefits if you are full time. Hmmm....

Where'd It Go?

November 30th, 2006 at 10:27 pm

No savings for me this week. Today was payday and it is all gone.
Checking Account #1:
My CC # 1 $330.00 PIF
My CC #2 65.00 PIF
DD's CC#1 115.79 PIF
DD's CC # 2 113.70PIF
Condo Maint. 247.00
__________________________________________
Total $871.89

Checking Account #2:
DD's Roth Ira $150.00
DD's Emigrant Savings $ 50.00
__________________________________________
Total $200.00

I still have not received the bill for my car repair yet. I know it will be a doozy.
I have been increasingly making more meals at home.
Other than paying the bills, today has been a no spend day.

The Cost of Healthcare

October 5th, 2006 at 09:22 pm

Yesterday, I went to the dentist and had the usual check up with 4 x-rays and a cleanning. Lucky for me there weren't any problems noted. Doctor said I had beautiful teeth and to keep up with whatever I was doing because it was working. For not having any problems my bill came to $150.00 and that is with a professional discount. Needless to say I was shocked. I don't remember it being so expensive the last time I was in. Now here's the kicker, although I have nice teeth, my gums aren't as good. I have to see a periodentist 3 times a year for cleannings and exams. Her fee isn't too bad, she usually charges about 85.00 per visit and that is with x-rays. Now your probably wondering why don't I have dental insurance...I had dental insurance several years ago and found it to be worthless. I had to go to someone on the plan and then I still had to pay out of pocket. It really wasn't saving me anything because money was taken out of my pay check for the insurance and then I had to pay almost the full price at the office. Some procedures weren't even covered by the insurance. So, for dental I just pay out of pocket and it sure is getting expensive. Thank goodness I don't require major work at this point.

On another note. I have a gripe with my medical insurance carrier. The year isn't even up and they sent me a letter increasing my payment every month by $75.00. I didn't think that it was legal since we signed our contract in the beginning of the year. That means this January the price of our medical insurance is going to sky rocket (this years increased rate and the new rate for next year). I'm am going to have to investigate other alternatives. We already had to change doctors once this year because our regular physician no longer accepted our insurance. I would hate to switch again. Why does this have to be so complicated? Or maybe it's just me?

Trying a Few New Things

October 2nd, 2006 at 01:42 pm

Happy October!
I wasn't able to save anything this week...Underestimated my bills by a long shot. Had to borrow from savings which I hate doing.Frown
Maybe I will be able to make up for it this week.Smile
I'm trying to use the gas in my car a little more efficiently. I'm trying to make it last a week or more. This week has been a good week.
In this vein I signed up for Joe's goals this week(very cute and easy to use site).One of my goals listed is a no spend day. Hey, if it helps, why not?
I also signed up for a trial of The Grocery Game. In additon I signed up for Saving dinner mega menu mailer. I'll let you know how both go. Right now I am having trouble signing in to the menu site and I am waiting for customer service to get back to me.
Went to Walmarts free sample site and ordered a few things. Sometimes the samples aren't worth the effort and other times they're great! It's free so what the heck!