Coupon addict gets REAL!

I have a large rock I would call a boulder in my yard, and three large rocks. The three rocks could be moved with a bobcat, not so sure on the boulder one.

We wanted to make a pretty landscape with the rocks, but now I just want them gone. I plan to put an ad online to offer them to someone doing landscaping.

I am wondering if I would get a larger call volume if I offered them for FREE or if I listed them Cheap (like $5). I need to get rid of them before it snows or it will have to wait until summer when the ground is hard again. I have a silly fear that if I wait too long they will build behind my house and then the person removing the rock is going to have to drive the equiptment on my grass instead of the empty lot.

The reason I say it is a silly fear, is the empty lot is very long and narrow. The back end has a wierd easement to it because the last 1/3 is like a water catch incase the water tower floods. Anyway the lot is priced by overall size and not by usable space and I am not sure how you would put a house on the lot and still meet city border rules.

Every year my work throws a halloween party for the children of the employees. At one of the office building locations the staff dresses up and the offices and hallways are done up.

I received this years photo, one of the things they do is set up a professional photographer and they take pictures of the children (and families if you want). It is free, everything is free.

Every year more and more children come; this year they believe 200 children went through.

I have all five years of photos on my computer at work. It is amazing how much my little guy has changed. Year one he was two years old and his costume was a 101 dalmations sweatsuit with cute ears on the hood. Can you say cute and frugle? The next year he was three and man he looked so much older, last year looking at his face he really looked like me.

This year he looks like his daddy. He sure has grown up. Truthfully this is my favorite event we do for halloween, hopefully I can get him to go next year. This year it was much more dark than it has been in the past, but I wonder if that had to do with the children getting older. Oh well I noticed alot more scared children this year than last year so maybe next year they will ton it down. The offices get to pick the theme and they have a contest for the best theme.

Oh well maybe next year I will have to take him just for the picture and he can decide if he wants to just have the yummy popcorn and drink they offer and than leave.

This is what I sent him as an example of what I was looking for, even though the article by dave ramsey did have an example, knowing DH he got frustrated and never go past the first paragraph of the article. I did tell him these were not mine just an example of what I was looking for.

MY EXAMPLE TO HIM.

Short term Goals (one year or less)
* 3 Month Expenses Emergency Fund
* New Tires
* New Bed
* Finish Basement

Mid Term
* 6 Months Expenses Emergency Fund
* Build Deck
* NEW 2010 Camero
* World Wide Cruise Vacation
* Build a Storage Shed

Long Term
* 12 Month Expense Emergency Fund
* Mortgage Paid off early 2033
* Retirement funds (15,000 yearly to live off of once retired)
* Retirement AGE 65
* College Account SON
* NEW BMW Convertible

What I got back from him:

wow, that looks great. lets go with that. just joking. i have never really thought about this, so here are some things. i do agree with a few of your things so i left them in.

Short term Goals (one year or less)
* 3 Month Expenses Emergency Fund
* school
* New Bed
* Finish Basement
* a set of weights for the basement (free weights or a cable system)
* computer building business, probably be able to start for 300$ or less.
* buy a smoker.


Mid Term
* 6 Months Expenses Emergency Fund
* school
* NEW 2010 Camero
* trip to europe or australia
* Build a Storage Shed
* Build Deck
* start a garden
* finish garage (cabinets, workbench, air compressor, Refrigerator)


Long Term
* 12 Month Expense Emergency Fund
* a nicer house
* finish school, possibly go for masters in computer science.
* Retirement AGE 65
* College Account Son
* fishing boat or canoe


** I have made a spreadsheet combining ALL of both of our goals and leaving them in the time lines they are in. Now to figure out how to get DH to work so he can help make these goals happen.

I put the list in order by what I would like to see them accomplished and sent it to him to ask him to put the list in his order. We will see if the Camaro stays the second to last on the list of mid term goals or if it gets moved above retirement savings.

I had 2 20K NEW cars on the bottom of my long term list but it has been changed to one 20K new car for Me on the bottom of the long term goals and the 2010 Camaro for DH second to bottom of the mid term goals. Why is the 2010 Camaro second to bottom? Because I value a car more than a vacation to Europe or Australia. A Car can take you to work and the grocery store. Besides If I was picking the Vacation it would be something like a Cruise or Hawaii, But I would place a Vacation as a long term goal not a mid term goal.

I also have NO idea what he means by a nicer house; We have a house assesed at a replacement value of 209K that is less than 3 year old that was custom built and the average house in this city cost 171K. It is a four bed 2 3/4 bath. I am really stumped by that one but I asked him to explain.

I talked to DH, he is now at a new location and do to medical issues he maybe coming home early. Yeah that means a loss of income sooner so we will see.

Any way while talking to him he finally got around to figuring out HIS financial goals. He sent it to my work email so I will find out how we match up on Monday.

One thing he said really made me go "WHAT???". He says after living paycheck to paycheck for so long it is SO HARD for him to think in terms of goals since he just figured he be poor forever. Sure he would be poor forever if he keeps staying under employed like he does now.

We have not been poor in five years; we have spent over 88K on things over 5 years including.

3K student loans (DH)
600 Entertainment Center
400 TV
8K Car loan payoff (DH)
40K House Down payment
1,500 Used Truck
1K table and Chairs
1,400 Washer and Dryer
4K three laptop computers
1K Desktop computer parts
3K Bedroom Set
1,200 Car Body work
15K+ Finish Basement/Garage
600 Stove
9K Special Assessment/Taxes

Note this list does not include small stuff like kitchenaid Mixers, XBox 360 machines, Games etc.

Now at any time one or more of these things could have been not purchased or paid more slowly if we were truly POOR, as my DH thinks we are.

Over the last three years (not five but you get the picture). I have really started feeling the need to save for retirement as the health of DH is going down hill, and we have saved 44K in retirement funds.

If you add 44k to the 88k spent that is 132K; which over the course of 5 years is 26K a YEAR. How is spending/saving 26K a year with no debt living paycheck to paycheck???

Okay maybe it has nothing to do with that, but this morning DS was hungry and I gave him lunch options. The clock said 10:13 but it was really only 9:13am.

DS has sadly been really chowing down on candy. He got a bunch of stuff again this year. He got four packs of fruit snack which will be repurposed as filler for his cold lunches. He also got three juice drinks (Which is his favorite thing to get).

I need to fix his costume, as we were stepping off the curb at my aunts to get in the car to go home, DS tripped and he came down on one knee and his hand. So there is a tiny hole in the knee. He was talking of wearing it again next year. I got it last year after Halloween for 50% off. It was still $12.50 but it is a cool nascar driver costume.

One thing I like about getting the costume the year before is some of the costumes are only available that year and so next year you are one of a kind instead of one of twelve of the same.

I know growing up I used to love playing dress up, with girls they sell play clothes in the toy depatment yearly; but for boys the best time to get them is holloween. The weeks after halloween to be exact. Two years ago I got like 6 costumes for $1 each. and four costumes for $3 each. I had purchased two of the $3 ones to give as gifts for my cousins son who loves to dress up but he had already got them; I sold one of the $3 ones last year before halloween for $5; and the other one when to the play clothes box when the duplicate because to dirty to be worn. Man that fabric doesnt clean well.

Well I am trying to following a Dave Ramsey type program. But I am breaking down my baby steps into short term, mid term and long term goals. I could do the minimum on the steps and keep moving to step #7; but I need to keep increasing our Emergency fund as our jobs become less guaranteed as we get older. I also need to hit the retirement saving hard as we only have 24 years left until DH reaches age sixty five. DH has medical problems so I cant see him working much past age 65. I just hope he is able to hold out that long before he decides just to have me support him and put off my retirement indefinitely.

I have decided that since our income is about to drop again soon; March? or MUCH MUCH Sooner it is time to break my goals into short term, mid term, and long term goals so I can come up with a game plan that will work for me.

At this time I am not sure what length of time it will take for the mid term goals because that will be determined by how much DH decides he wants to work with me and hopefully be gainfully employed instead of under employed and watch TV and play Xbox 360.

Short Term Goals = 1 year or less
Baby Step #3 3 Month Emergency Fund 9,222
$2,000 saved for household repairs that currently need to be done
Baby Step #4 Max Roth IRA’s for 2010
Baby Step #5 6 Month College for Son 5280
$3,000 Braces fund for Son

Mid Term Goals
Baby Step #3 6 Month Emergency Fund 18,444
$5,000 Saved for future house repairs
Build a Deck
Replace Front Steps
Landscaping

Long Term Goals
Baby Step #3 12 Month Emergency Fund $36,888
Baby Step #4 Max Retirement deposits
Goal 645K for DH to retire @65 (Sept 2033)
Goal 525K for DH to retire @ 73; Me @ 65 (Nov 2042)
Baby Step #5 4 Years College Son = 20,217.76+ (need June 2021)
Baby Step #6 Pay off Mortgage at least 4 years early ($43,200 in principle) (no early = 2037)
Reward: New Cars 20K X 2 = 40K

Today the 5 things I want to knock out are:

1. CVS shopping; DH called and he needs gas-x, we also need 9 voit batteries to replace in the fire alarms, and finally they have the razor DH uses FREE after ECB and manufacter coupon that I have.

2. Clean DS bedroom

3. Clean Master bathroom

4. Clean Kitchen: Load dishwasher, wipe counters and sink, and take out garbage

5. Get Cash to pay DS his allowance.

I got my computer back from the company. They replaced the hard drive. Now I am resetting all my favorites after loading my printer and internet.

I went into one of my personal email accounts and low and behold I found the email to myslef from my work email reminding me to order Microsoft Office Standard 2007. I want it and it does not come on my new laptop.

I can get 1 copy for $49.99 (per account) until the 31st of Dec. One copy can be loaded on two computers. I have a desktop computer and a laptop and my husband has a desktop and laptop so technically we have a need for atleast two copies. DH is not totally crazy about having to have Office on his computers so I am pretty sure I will save a usage for the computer DH will be building DS once he gets home. Since DS is in school I think it will be a good thing for him.

I went and ordered a copy under my account and a few work uniform items then logged into DH's account and ordered a copy under that account. There was not a limit when this deal was first sent out but I guess copies have been showing up on ebay and it is against the policy to buy from this site for purpose of resale. I wish I would have acted sooner since we are a BIG computer family and would have liked to be able to put it on all the computers.

$49.99 for two application is 24.99 for each computer which is totally awesome. Of course that is $100 spent.

+++++
On a side note I have been thinking of Christmas.
I want:
A small handvac (dyson)
2 Wii Games (biggest loser & Jillian 2010)
Laptop case
Small printer

I also want to find:
Digital Camera for DS (Kodak under $50)
Leapter2 Game for DS

The handvac would be nice for my stairs, I have a canister vac and since the only carpet in my house is on the stairs something smaller would be great. The small printer I think I will be buying with the assistance of Staples ink rewards.

I am proud of myself. I finally got around to filing that small box of to be filed STUFF. I am using the file box that I set up when I was reading the financial freedom book by ????. Anyway while I was doing that guess what I found.

I will say I did look in this box while trying to find my CC for that laptop repair call. I found a total of 3 credit cards not including the store card I had also found when looking before. I totally forgot I even had the Wells Fargo Cards, they are for the overdraft of DHs checking account. I think I may have canceled them but I am not 100% sure. I think I need to call and find out.

While cleaning my table, still working on it, I came across a staples rebate check for $3, and a $4 instore credit check for Menards. My Kitchen table where papers go to stay. Sadly is also found some coupons that were mailed to me from the manufacter, sadly they expired the 31st of July. They included a coupon for a free bottle of ketchup. I really need to do something with the paper clutter in my life.

Oh well I am taking one step at a time, and made good progress so far.

I am about to start step 3 of dave ramsey s plan.

It is to have 3 to 6 monthes expenses in savings incase of emergency such as unemployment, etc. I wonder what your thoughts are on figuring out what your personal magic amount is. With the economy the way it is it seems like most fiancial advisors are pushing a 12 month cushion (atleast it seems that way to me).

I would love to have a 12 month cushion but on the other hand I would also like to be able to start putting money into, funding college for DS, paying off my house and the other steps.

I currently have a great job. I have a one year contract locked in.

The down side, one of my credit cards is trying to start charging me an annual fee so I will be canceling it. I used to feel that in an emergency I could always charge it and then pay it off in a few days etc when the funds where in hand, now I am not so sure. So I am second guessing myself. I also see a major household change on the horrizon and that causes me worry also.

How much do you have saved for Emergency and how did you come to that amount?

Today is payday, I checked and the money is in the accounts so I wrote the checks to the City! (My Baby Step #2 is done!!!!) $8380.81 was the debt total!

I need to write a check for one more bill and get that mailed. DH refuses to let my automate it because of fears once they have the account number they could try to pull more than allowed.

I also pulled $350 from prior baby step 3 savings; so I could pay off that credit card which is going to start charging me a $29 annual fee if I dont cancel it. Once I know the payment has cleared then I will be going to call them and tell them I want the card cancelled IF they are going to charge me an annual fee!

I have a work card for work only expenses and one other personal card so I think cancelling would not be that big of deal.

I used my other personal credit card yesterday, but I will pay that off in full once the bill comes. I bought a heart rate monitor/calorie counter to help with my weight loss efforts. This is one of those got to spend money to make money moments since I must make weight and fitness goals to continue my job. I also bought the wiper blades for my car, my wiper blades have atleast a two inch loose piece on each end, so safety first.

Oh and I got a deal on the heart rate monitor, The plastic package was opened because someone tried on the watch; but they did not start it, so I got $10 off. It was the last one of that style so I would have paid full price but he was real quick to offer a discount.

I am so excited! I cant wait to pay off my special assessments. Then on to baby step #3.

I need to buy some clorox or wet one wipes for DS to bring to his classes as his teacher requested. I also need to buy new wiper blades for my car. I have been super good about not spending money, just need to keep it up until the 1st. I stopped at the grocery store yesterday since I had to buy soymilk, bread and lunch meat. I used my $3 off Sara Lee lunch meat for being a FACEBOOK Fan of Sara Lee. I was able to get a 10 oz pack of Ham for $.99. Not bad, I need to buy him Ham as that is what he will eat. No point in buying something cheaper that he will not eat and just waste.

DH called and of course he NEEDS money here soon so he can mail some of his stuff home since the airplane is limiting how many bags they are allowed to bring. He also sent me a email saying I should hire someone to finish the sheetrock; how did I know after he said he would do it that he would end up asking me to hire someone.

___My To Do List__

I still need to call the repairman for the washer. I also need to pay off the one credit card as soon as possible so that I can cancel. I am kinda sad to cancel it as my available credit line by canceling the card is going to go down by $19,000 so my debt to available credit will increase.

Today is a work holiday for me, not DS so I dropped DS off at School and while driving there I realized much to my dismay that it is VERY icy under the light snow.

I hate slipping and sliding. Anyway saw way to many near miss accidents and a few nonmisses that I am not going to be doing the errands I was planning to do today.

If the weather warms up and the roads melt off, I will do them this afternoon. No point in messing with Murphy when I already have a washer needing fixing.

I came home and shoveled snow, I will finish folding and putting away laundry and adding a few more things to my car trunk to drop off at the thrift store for donation (hopefully this afternoon).

This morning while sitting with DS while he was drinking his medicine and eatting breakfast I openned some mail on my table. What was it a note from the CC that expired on the 30th of September that I never recieved. They plan on adding a $29 per year annual fee. Well I guess it is time for me to pay off that card and cancel. I have until December so I will pay it in full here either the 15th or the 1st and then call and cancel.

The last time I called to cancel a credit card with an annual fee they told me they also offered one without an annual fee, I wonder if that is going to happen this time. If so I will keep the card as I like having two cards plus my debit card. But if not oh well bye bye Bank of America.

My Washer that I bought in April of 2007 (Out of warranty), will not drain.

Silly me (okay I am using another s word at the thought of a repair man). I opened it mid cycle (was going to add am item). And I guess that comfused it so now it is giving me a F01 Error code, and according to the wonderfully internet I am reading that means my CCU is fried. Hope replacing the CCU is not expensive. Not sure what a CCU is but I think it is like the motherboard in a computer except in a washer.

I priced a new washer so I know when a repair is no longer worth it, $1000 and sadly I paid $1400 for BOTH my washer and drier in 2007. What is up with that I thought the economy was supposedly bringing costs down. Will call tomorrow and hopefully get something scheduled for Monday.

I am really sad about having to pay for a washer repair while trying to pay off my special assessments before the 28th of the month.

S word here, I was going to say I hope they take credit cards so I could hold off paying until the 1st but off course I dont have a cc at this time because CC1 did not send me my new card, and I could not find CC2 when I went looking for it when I was trying to fix my laptop.

F F F (ARRRRRRGGG)

Sorry for the foul language but I am really upset.

Today I started by packing up my new laptop and dropped it off at Fedex.

I then spent a while recording and packing up stuff to drop off for donation on Monday. It is a Holiday for me but a school day for DS so I can run errands and such without the child tag along which tends to slow things down.

I then watched a movie with DS, and finished a book I was reading.

Finally installed the hot water heater blanket, then took a shower. I am still a little itchy but that will stop as I think it is just mental at this time. Kind of like how your heat starts ti itch every time someone says the word LICE!!

Is your head itchy??? LOL

It is so close I am going a little crazy wanting to reach the finish line.

I got my Newest Special Assessment Payment receipt. It noted that I have until the 28th of this month to pay off my Specials if I do not want them to be combined with my taxes. The last note said the 15th but this one said the 28th which is awesome.

The receipt had a note that went into detail about what my bill amount would be if I did not make another payment before the 28th and what the bill amount would be if I made payments after the 28th but before the bill was paid by Mortgage Company. I can tell they figured out I plan to get this taken care of as soon as possible, and if I keep going at the rate I was going the specials would be taken care of before the Mortgage Company paid the bill but after the bill by the city was cut.

I do not want the City combined my special assessments with my taxes because I want my escrow account amount to go down. $1000 a year was going to escrow to just cover the specials partial payment. By knocking this out before the tax statement goes out my monthly mortgage amount will DECREASE by $83.

Why is step #3 moving backwards, because I have my mortgage payment on auto pay. I have it in a separate savings account; I had a little over 3 months of cushion in that account so I would not worry. Well I took out enough money out of that account to pay the specials. I did not take all the money (which would not have paid off the specials in full); I just took enough so that when I get paid on the 15th the leftover money from the 15th will go to paying the specials in full.

The extra paycheck for the first of November will then go back to step #3 and to pay my CC. I need to check when my CC’s are due but I am thinking for one month I am going to cheat and just pay the minimum so that I can free myself from that ballooned escrow payment.

I requested transfer from my online account today, so once I see the money in my checking account I will cut a check to the City and will be knocking out one special and will be down to one left to pay in full with the 15th paycheck.

Yesterday I got a NEW pair of work boots. Yes they are brand new!! We have about six members of the full time crew relocating for a year. The two that have offices across the main hall from mine were cleaning out their offices and tossing stuff in a big waste can. Today the offices even got more cleared out as the furniture was removed from the rooms so that the carpets could be shampooed before the furniture got put back in.

Anyway yesterday I am walking down the main hall and what is on top of the big garbage can, a NEW pair of work boots. I took them, no point in a NEW $50 pair of boots going to the dump. They are half a size bigger than I wear, so I will be replacing the insole with a thicker insole and that should make them fit. If after replacing the insoles they still feel to big, I will be taking them to my favorite resale shop for $$$$$. I will be lucky if I get $5 or $7 for the boots but hay they were FREE and I kept them out of the landfill.

My NEW HP laptop bought July 9 of this year will not boot up,

First they dont package bootup disks anymore. You have to see the fine print on a piece of paper and it says that they recommend you follow the following steps to create your own incase the f11 option thing does not work.

Well my problem was not just my lack of bootup disks. Seems my hard drive is bad. They will send me a hard drive right now if I give them a credit card number as collateral that I will send them the broken hard drive. Well guess what...The credit card I have been using expired on the 30th of September. I dont think they sent me a new card.

I thought my other credit card was in my office which is why my office is now cleaner, had to look for it even though I was 99% sure of where it was...Nope, had to order a new one which I will get in three to five days.

I have a debit card but heck no am I giving them that number. I dont even know what the amount that would be charged if they never recieved the hard drive.

So they will send me a box and I send in my whole computer they will fix it and mail it back. Actually since the guy on the phone was saying it could be more than the hard drive that is wrong why would I want to send them the hard drive then get a new hard drive and it still not work then need to mail then something else.

Whatever...I got the office a little cleaner out of the deal.

Now I need to call credit card # 1 and find out what the deal is with the credit card I dont think I got in the mail, and I want to cancel one of my store cards. It is not worth having and i wish I could cancel all my store cards but the remaining card does offer great savings even if I can never get their online bill pay to work and end up going into the store to pay rather than mail a bill and chance it getting lost.

Tiday is my day off and last night instead of coming home and tackling my to do list, a relaxed and read a book. So today I tackled:

1. Pretreated my winter coat for stains, I may have to just break down and buy a new coat,
2. Scraped lawn mower
3. Spray out lawn mower
4. Spray out lawn mower basket
5. Move BBQ to back wall
6. Move Smoker to back wall
7. Move weed eater to back wall
8. Move small snow blower to front
9. Move Large snow blower to front
10. Made space for Garbage Can in garage
11. Cleaned and organized 75% of the STUFF in the garage
12. Box up Razor scooter

It snowed last night but not much, their was a little snow on the roof tops and on cars that parked on the street, a few yards had a light dusting of snow when I went to drop DS off at school, but nothing I needed to shovel. I dont like shoveling and after this springs flooding I an hoping for a light snow year.

All that is really left in the garage is the area in front of the two cars, the third stall is organized and pretty. Most of the clutter is the tools that need to be organized and stored nicely. I may deside to work on that little bits at a time over the next few weeks since the rest of the garage looks so nice.

It is suppose to snow tonight at 6pm. Actually Snow has been in the forecast since friday afternoon but because I had to work this weekend I was hoping that would not happen. SO now I must get these things done. I am thinking of going home for lunch just so I can knock a few things off the list during my lunch hour.

1. Empty Ball Valve in Underground box, open last drain out – Sprinkler System - DONE @ Lunch
2. Scrape lawn mower
3. Spray out lawn mower
4. Spray out lawn mower basket
5. Move BBQ to back wall
6. Move Smoker to back wall
7. Move weed eater to back wall
8. Move small snow blower to front
9. Move Large snow blower to front
10. Move Garbage can into garage
11. Move Truck on the driveway closer to the road to allow more clearance for snow blowers and garbage to go in and out of garage
12. Cut back Roses- DONE @ Lunch
13. Cover Roses- DONE @ Lunch
14. Disconnect hose- DONE @ Lunch
15. Box up Razor scooter
16. Close the Garage Attic Access (why does this seem to always pop open/ajar the first cold snap of the yard?)
17. Install Bike Hooks in garage ceiling
18. Hang DH Bike
19. Hang DS Bike
20. Move Chemicals into house (do not want to run garage heater until DH returns home)- DONE @ Lunch

I was thinking that my check would be larger this payday because of my reduced retirement savings but the big increase will go into effect on the pay check on the fifteenth.

Oh well I need to call an found out the exact balance on the special with the highest interest. I want to make sure that I send enough to pay it in full and then a seperate check for the next highest interest so that they pay them off highest interest first, instead of lowest balance first.

After todays call (I have the telephone number written down at the office), I will have one more special paid off and be down to two different specials left. Sadly if my check had been as big as I was thinking I could have knocked out two of them and been down to one left.

Oh well I am excited to be getting close to paying these off, just need to keep positive about what progress I am making.

I am wondering as we get closer to Christmas, less than 90 days away, what to do about gifts. I already bought a Christmas present for my husband ($135 clearance) and he will get that once he gets home in late January. He mentioned another item which I will either try to get him for Valentines Day or our anniversary. It should be about $30 I expect; I am just not sure where to look for it.

I always go crazy spending easily $200 per person and that is including the step children. Well this year I got NO response what so ever from the Birthday gifts I mailed so I have decided that they will not miss receiving a Christmas package. If they say anything then my husband can send them a LATE Christmas Check once he gets home. Of course it will be my money, since he will then be underemployed again etc but it will be signed from him so it will be like he got it done when he was able to.

I am trying to come up with a list for our Son, I do not want him to have any more legos since we went through a point when he would start building a set, not finish it and leave it on the floor and not put them away even when I asked. So I have a huge bag of legos hidden away that I picked up and he will get them when he grows up and starts taking better care of his toys.

He has shown an interest in a Camera and I am hoping to get him one on Black Friday for cheap. Last Year I was able to snag a Kodak 10megapixal 4.5 inch screen camera for his stepsister for $35.00 at CVS after ECB rebates and Overage from there Black Friday Deals. I would LOVE to be able to pull a deal similar this year; but since looking the closest I have seen is an off brand for $49.00. I will be watching the clearance section until black Friday and looking for a deal on that day also. I found him a cheap $19.00 one but it did not take SD cards and it did not have an autofocus, with I have learned are much needed. The $19 camera would lose all the photos when the batteries went dead or the battery latch was opened. So that got returned.

I plan to get him one game for his Leapster 2. Not sure which one yet but I have plenty of time and I am sure he will change his mind twelve times before then. We bought him a leapster2 last Christmas even though he had a vSmile (which I will be trying to sell here shortly to reduce his vast toy collection and increase debt payoff money). He is on this wanting a Nintendo DS kick but he is not going to be getting one. I will get him a new game for his Leapster2 but I will not spend $200 to get him a Nintendo DS and all the small add on and games. He needs to show me he will take better care of his toys first.

I find it so hard to wait until the last minute to find out what he will be asking Santa for but that may actually be the cheapest way to go. I could get him the camera and Leapster2 game and I already have a Free DVD, a Small Lego Bianicle set for his stocking. I am going to buy some Fruit Snacks or snack packs to fill out the rest of the stocking which will be set aside for use in his Cold Lunches. Then getting him two items from Santa, one as a present and one for his stocking.

Last year I started shopping early like I always do and when it came time to wrap presents I was amazed at how much I had hidden away for DS and DH. This year I will keep it super small and easy. This year I just have to remember not to buy anything early (before Black Friday) unless it is a super deal on a clearance camera.

Wash Laundry- Done
Dry Laundry-Done

Clean Livingroom by Front entry - Done
* this meant taking the boxes that were moved from the office when we were putting the floor down back to the office, I had been slowly going through the boxes of paperwork and tossing/shreding and condensing!! So happy to have it down to three boxes! Because the office is over run with items I need to track so I can donate these three boxes had to be placed in the back area of the family room where I have the ceiling sheetrook and insolation.

Clean front hall closet-done
Mopped livingroom - done
Fixed curtain rod bracket in livingroom - done

replace burnt out light in kitchen - done
Clean Kitchen - done
Unload dishwasher - done
Load dishwasher - done

Mow Grass -done
Fill low spot by green utilite poles with dirt - done
Use up remainder of open grass seed bag on bare spot in backyard - done

Not Done!!!
Clean Garage
Fold Laundry (8-10 loads)
Clean off Kitchen Table
Clean Master bedroom
Clean living room by exterior wall
Deposit rebate checks


*I really dont want to do anything with this day off I just want to sit and relax and read a book today. (no-school so had to take day off since son is only enrolled in an afterschool program) So I am thinking putting it on my blog may help me keep going!

After reading another bloggers post on the issues she is having due to her husband having ADHD. I am wondering...

Is DHs problem his ADHD, or is it his PTSD or is it both? DH always had a problem with White Lies, promising he would do stuff then never doing it, and needing to spend money. But since he was dignosed with PTSD the inability to see the results of his actions has been a major issue with me.

Do you think it is the PTSD or is it the combination of the two that is making it so bad. I just am so at the end of my rope and this is just another light bulb moment that might explain alot.

I have been thinking lately of talking with a counseler because every day I am noticing I am less and less able to cope with the stressers in my life.

Prior to DH leaving for out of state work, I would ask him to do things around the house since he was home and I was working full time. He could never get to it because he was too busy making time to play xbox 360 and on the computer. My husband wanted me to send him something as he burned through the $1200 blow money that I gave him to last the year in 32 days. I have finally gotten around to doing it because I have been busy taking care of our home and the housework, working full time and being a full time care giver to our son who is extremely needy lately. I think he asked like weekly for a month; I so wanted to tell him "Hay hows it feel to ask and ask for someone to do something and they dont do it because they are BUSY!" Of course my busy and his busy are also two major different things.

Of course I have not said it, but I am wondering if it would be healthier to just come out and say it so that he knows I am not going to tolerate that when he comes home from work.

I am going over my baby steps and realize before I start paying down the mortgage in step 6 I need to set up a few budget items.

I am currently not really on a budget, I just spend as little as I can and push all the extra to the debts; but I do need to save up for DHs first semester back at school (June 2010). We need to have $500. He prepays $500 then if his grades are good enough his employer repays him and pays off the remainder of the tuition which was sort of in a hold type status, then we use the refund to prepay the next semester and the cycle continues until he has a semester break.

I also know when DH gets back from this job he has BIG spending plans. I am thinking of setting aside $1000. I know this will upset him as too low but I am tired of having debt over my head and I am the primary bread winner because he is underemployed and only works full time once every three years or so; and then during that time I am left to work fulltime plus take care of all the household stuff. Not that I dont do all the household stuff when he is home because he is too busy playing XBOX 360. His school day is 1.5 hours three days a week so please do not feel I expect too much by wanting him to bring in more than 20 hr per week income also.

When he gets back he wants to go on three big vacations like two week each vacations to California, Oregon, and Alaska. He also wants to buy two flat high def big screen TVs and a theater system. How much is reasonable as this could easily add up to $10,000+

We have no debt but the special taxes which a portion of is paid yearly as part of our escrow account on our mortgage (interest amount added each month to the balance is $150.00) and of course the mortgage. The sad thing about the specials is it is one of those things that if you only pay what is paid by the escrow it will take like 10 years to make a dent. We are also trying to finish our basement which could be hired out at this point for maybe 5K or we could do it ourselves and spend maybe $500 more in supplies.

How much would you set aside for vacations and big screen tvs?

I finally broke down and bought the GPS I have wanted to buy for a while; it was going to have it be a reward for my job contract being extended back in JUNE of this year; so I have been holding back.

I found out I was going to go on a work trip so I did a little online research and found a great deal at Wal-Mart.com. I took a printout to Staples and had them price match it. I got a $245 staples retail; $179 on sale that week for $145 (Wal-Mart price). I then bought a carry case for it and the total after tax and all was $178.00. I saved $10.40 in shipping because to get it before my trip I would not have been able to do the FREE ship to store and still get it before I left for the trip.

Well I found out today my trip is being canceled. I am happy as this will save me money on my daycare and out of pocket cash. I want the GPS and it is an awesome deal, I just know myself and wonder if I will end up returning it before the end of the week now that my trip is not happening.
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I was stressing this morning of all the things I wanted to get done before the trip and now since I will not be going I can relax. I cancelled all three of my coupon trains for the next two weeks and now that I know my trip has been canceled I do not plan to change the cancel I will just let myself have a little break. It will be good for my mind.

This morning I was bugging out thinking it was Thursday and thinking of all the things I needed to do tonight for Friday and this weekend. I am so happy I don’t have to go; I just am not handling everything in my lap very well at this time.
-----------------------------------------Now I realized I burned all my ECBs from CVS for nothing. By burned I mean I spent them on something I did not really need that did not produce ECBs so I have no ECBs left for CVS. I bought some of DSs medication to pack for the sitter during the trip (incase she needed it). I also bought a clearance backpack for DS for next year $3.99 regular price $14.99, a lunch box with coupons in it for $1.99 regular price $7.99 and a two pack of water bottles on clearance for $1.69. I also bought DS a Spiderman car made out of knex. It was something totally cool and worth the $7.99. The items I bought were a great price and I will need them in the future and truthfully CVS deals have not been that great lately that I an kind of glad to be done shopping CVS for a while, no need to figure out how to spend my ECBs without wasting them so they don’t expire.
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For now I am going to be grocery shopping, and paying off my specials and figuring out Christmas and that is it. What a weight off my shoulders. No more trying to save money by looking for deals, I am just going to create some NO SPEND time except for grocery items and paying off my specials early. For Christmas I already have two items for DSs stocking, one is part of a subscription I bought from Lego Masters they send small legos and a magazine every two months. I am saving the toy for the stocking and the magazine DS gets when it comes. I also got a FREE fisher price DVD sample so that is going in there also. Last year for Christmas I bought my stepdaughter a camera from CVS it was Kodak and a great deal after ECBs extra, I figure my actual cost for it was about $39. I am hoping to be able to get a deal like that for DS. He wants a camera, he does not need a great one but I do want one that is digital and uses an SD card. That is my Black Friday goal (But DS will be with me…Humm I may need to figure out a solution to that hiccup). I also need to figure out what I want to get him, I had a list but I don’t want to get him toys as I am tried of him not listening to me when I say no toys in the living room and pick them up. So I have been very slowly taking any I have to pick up and not giving them back to him. Until he can take care of them nicely and listen I don’t want to buy him any toys (but mainly no legos).

What do you do when the stress of life beats you in the back off the head until you want to cry?

this is the link to the pictures of the before and after shots of my summer spent putting down dirt and grass seed.

http://couponaddict.savingadvice.com/2009/08/21/landscaping-pictures-and-total-_53088/


now that it has been a month I wanted to show you the finished pictures. By finished I mean good enough for now, I had to get two sprinkler heads replaced so there is a area that is not growing and two spots where I need to put down more seed. But here is my pretty sight today after I mowed the grass.



And one mid project one incase you did not want to go back.

I got the new statement from the city on how they applied my payment from the paycheck from the 15th.

They did not do it according to largest interest rate first. That way it would have knocked out about 3 lines and the largest rate.

Well my statement shows they knocked out 5 and part of a sixth. They went in pay off balance smallest to largest order.

Oh well this will get me motivated to be done with this. They included a note that payments made before the 15th of October will be reflected in this years tax statement amount. So I want to knock out the highest interest $421.73 remaining then work on the next largest. I will make sure now that I have three accounts only that I note the code # on the check and write seperate checks. I will also have to call and get the exact amount of the highest interest rate one after I get back from my trip as these balances are only until the 30th of September.

The good news is I should be able to knock out another sizable chuck before the 30th and since my overall balance will be down, come the first of the year my house payment should go down because my escrow amount will not need to be as big.

Also I priced checked some GPS, walmart online has one for super good deal, and it can be shipped to the store for FREE, the down side is if I do that I risk not getting it before my trip. I printed out the price and am taking it to staples as they have some in stock and told me they would match... I have my fingers crossed, if they will not I will pay the extra $11 shipping for 2-3 day delivery.

Well I am going out of town for work. Right before i get my next pay check.

I will be leaving at oh dark thirty in the morning to catch the red eye. This means DH will be with my (second favorite daycare provider) for 24 hours a day for 8 days at $2 per hour which is $384 (which actually is not much more than the $100 I had planned for my extra shifts of work that weekend). *** Wait when he is not in school so I will need to refactor that! $281.00 plus or minus

I will be getting a rental vehicle (on my employer) but since I HATE not knowing where I am going and it TOTALLY stresses me out; I need to break down and buy that GPS that I was going to buy this summer as a reward to myself for working super hard to met my job requirement to get my contract renewed. $200 ish

Then I need cash for food, and taxi to from airport etc. Food will be per diem after the fact and taxi will be refunded by employer.

So $500 or so of what would of been going to my debt snowball to pay down my specials (city taxes) will be spent and the GPS will be charged to the credit card I have not used since July?? and paid when I get back from the trip.

Now the other set back, I have been dieting and exercising; I must get to 155 or less pounds by the 1st of December, I am currently at 165 pounds so totally possible. What concerns me is what may or may not be available to eat. I am hoping that I will be able to have breakfast (cereal and milk) and the hotel, than Subway or similar for lunch and dinner. A fridge/freezer in my room would be awesome if they have a public microwave as I would do frozen healthy choice meals. (I have learned to take my coupons along to these sort of things).

It will all depend on what my hours of work will be and what is available. If I have to work at 5am and the breakfast is not served until 7am, etc.. THE Worest thing would be to have to eat on site and have FRIED JUNK as the only option with no way of knowing what the calorie count is.

Wish me luck, You may be thinking if I have to charge a GPS ($200ish) my budget is too tight, I would like you to know that is how it works for me, if I really push myself then it works out if I slack and give myself huge cushions then somehow it gets spent, but if it is not there I cant spend it.

Today is payday. I need to mail off one bill and then I will also be mailing the next specials check.

I am going to be able to pay much more than I was thinking, the payoff date is now projected for the 1st of November instead of the 15th.

I also found the reciepts for the office depot rebates so that needs to be mailed.

Love seeing the sidebar progress, step by step.

I have not mailed the checks yet but know how much I will be sending tomorrow so I will update it with tomorrows date.

Yeah!!