Got the biggest of the hospital bills today - boy, this hospital is faster than the one we used last November. Have the money set aside for it, at least.

Was going to try to hang the laundry that I washed before leaving for work this morning on the line outside, but a bank of dark clouds is moving in quickly from the southwest.

Wednesday is a busy night with the girls all heading to church , but at different times. So crockpot spaghetti is on the menu for an early dinner at 5pm. (We still eat all together - we just move the time around as needed.)

I was catching up the checkbook yesterday, and was sort of panicking, because it seemed that I had a lot of debit card receipts and checks to log in. (Probably could tell my panic by my long, rambling entry yesterday!) So I marked them all down, and sat back feeling a little silly. I only spent as we had planned and budgeted for, except for a small amount at Target (something we needed, just vague as to when.) I shared this with my husband, and we had to laugh at being out of the practice of spending our money that it seemed we were being quite reckless. May we remain so out of practice!

(Ok, I have to share what I got...bath towels. I happened on a clearance of better quality, cheaper than what I was pricing, AND in the color I wanted! Our old ones were very well-used. This is my third set of towels since my husband and I got married in 1984 - yup, very well-used old towels, very appreciated new ones. It is quite simple to make me happy! Hey, and I got some new towels to replenish the rag bag - oh, yay!!)

Hey, and it's not so bad looking to the SW, maybe I'll try the clothesline yet! Better get to it. Take care!!

...when you're having fun!

Actually, life hasn't been too bad lately, just plain busy. The couple times I tried to make a new entry, I couldn't log in, so I'm glad it's working out for me today.

We had a fun long Easter weekend. My third daughter came home from her school trip on Thurday night, feeling very successful (no tearful calls home from a homesick girl!), tired and with lots of stories of her adventures. On Friday, everyone got up early to do yardwork in our beautiful summery Spring weather. Afterwards, we had moved into the house to clean and generally spruce up the interior. On Easter day, we had my husband's parents over for noon dinner, and later went to visit my mom at the nursing home (she's still in a wheelchair for her December hip break, and we would not have been able to get her to our door even, plus her stage of Alzheimer's makes it so hard to take her anywhere anymore - she gets so unsettled and anxious, and just wants to go back home. Can you tell I feel bad about this? This is the first Easter dinner without her. I know there is nothing to be done, but to do what's best for her. It just takes a bit of getting used to, I guess.) We took her dog along for the visit - she loves that old dog! It was a nice visit with my mom - the dog and girls always bring my mom a lot of attention, so she had fun being at the center of it all.

So it was back to work and school for us all today. I work extra this week - the last session of Kindergarten Connection. I also said yes to working a two-week session in August to get the kids ready and raring to go to Kindergarten in September. I'm off in the summer, and by August a bit of paycheck will be welcome.

We've seen online all that the insurance will pay toward my oldest's hospital stay in March, so will be prepared for the bills when they are sent out. We have the money set aside.

I'm getting a little edgy about upcoming expenses. Hospital charges - ok. Ongoing medical appointments - 25-75 per week - have been managing, but have been putting off the more non-pressing medical appts, and that can't go on too much longer. (Still saying to myself - be thankful that there is insurance!!)

My two middle girls are going to our church's camp in Wisconsin in June. My oldest is going on a mission trip to Wyoming in July. Between the girls' savings and work (at the pool and babysitting) and youth accounts at the church, I'm estimating that the amount I'll pay out to be $200-300, or so altogether.

We are camping over Memorial weekend - paid for! Just the gas (no small expense anymore!) to get there and we bring along food. We try to camp a couple other times over the summer - we'll have to see how we stabilize after paying off the hopsital and manage the ongoing medical expenses, once I'm not getting a paycheck.

Also, we got notice that my second daughter was recommended for a school trip to Wahington DC next Fall as an 8th grader. Her older sister did the trip, and we thought it was a wonderful experience. My oldest paid for over a third of the trip by working at the pool as a water safety aide in lessons. My second is applying for an aide position in our commnuity ed program over the summer - that would really be great news in making this trip a reality.

Well, enough for this entry - not the best at short and sweet! It's a beautiful day here in Minnesota, one that you dream about at Winter's darkest. I definitely need to find some puttering to do outside! Take care!

The pace of last week seems to be continuing into this weekend.

Early Saurday morning, I took my two youngest to run errands, while the rest of the house (family and guests) slept in. We went to the PO to get postage for the state taxes owed and some postcards for my third daughter while she's away next week for the 5th grade trip up north. We went to the bank to deposit a check and withdraw some cash for daughter's spending money for the trip. We headed to good old Target for a few remaining items for the trip (disposable cameras and underclothes) and some HH and health/beauty items. Then we went to our library to pick up our holds and some new books for the week. Everyone at home was at least up when we got back (won't say how energetic they were!) Then we puttered the rest of Saturday away with cleaning, washing laundry, cooking and making excuses to be outside in our gorgeous Spring weather.

Today is Palm Sunday, and our church has a Palm Procession with the younger kids which includes my youngest, and serves a youth fundraiser pancake breakfast, which involves my three oldest. I just have to get them there (we're the third house from our church, so not too hard) dressed appropriately (a little harder) and oh yeah, attend the service and breakfast!

Our fun plans for later in the day include helping my daughter get packed, get gas and groceries, and go to Petco for the seven beasties. Sunday is not my favorite day to grocery shop, but I have my list ready and will go right after the first church service, so it shouldn't be as bad as later (there seems to be a greater number of recreational shoppers on Sundays, which doesn't mesh well with my 'get in, get out' approach to shopping.)

Here's to hoping for a quieter week! Take care!!

...and more than you want to know!

I went to lunch after work today with a friend. I offered to use a gift certificate that I got at Christmas time from one of my preschool students. The sandwich shop is adorable and has great food, but a little pricey. It was great for free though!

Otherwise, my husband got paid, and there was a small bonus based on last year's company revenues. Not big, but surely much better than nothing!

We paid the van repair bills. Online, we were able to figure how much we'll expect the hospital to bill for my daughter's recent stay, and we have that ready to pay out.

After my daughter's medical visit yesterday, it was recommended to try a different direction in treatment, including more testing. I'm trying to stay positive. I keep praying that the drs know what they are doing, that the insurance and our finances will hold out as needed, and that I can keep it all sane and stable for the whole family.

And you know what's funny? While those 'big things' seem to have a permanent loop in my mind, I have some wonderfully demanding 'distractions'. Tonight was crazy, but very normal for here. My oldest spent some time with grandma, took a shower, and went to a friend's. My second brought a friend over after school, IMd their friends on the computer, and spent way too much time in the bathroom preparing for a 7th grade event at the youth center. My third took a bike ride, played in the yard, changed clothes, and went to a youth event at our church. My youngest played outside with the neighbor boy, brought him over for dinner (hey, I managed to feed everyone but the oldest!)and they dragged my tired husband to the playground, where they played baseball, 4-square and some sort of running game. Daddy is really tired now. I took advantage of the lull to clean up around here (yeah, I know two seconds after everyone is back, little evidence of the cleaning will remain.) ....ok, I'm feeling better now! Take care!

I just got back from my 1st Aid training renewal course. I passed the test (the preschool kids all continue to be safe in my care!) Plus I got paid time for the training. My husband and three of the girls stayed home sick today, but all are on the mend - just wiped out.

Since those who are sick are not feeling like eating much, I've been pulling out the frozen leftovers from the freezer. Today I brought some yellow split pea soup to work for lunch. My healthy daughter and I will have it for dinner too. The last few days we've had beef and gravy served over baked potatoes and another minestrone I tried previously (not as good as my current recipe, but tasted great as I didn't have to do anything more than heat it up!) As others here have mentioned, it's great to be using up the frozen food supply.
Nothing going to waste is nice.

The three younger girls and I are now off for Spring break through next week. My oldest in high school has a couple more days of school and then is off. My husband is taking off a couple days next week, so we can do some family activities. Otherwise, we'll be relaxing, playing, having friends over, going to dr and dentist appts (oh, yay!) and my personal favorite (ha!) - cleaning up around here (clutter and dirt are not our friends - it just looks like it lately!) So little paycheck, but time to get some projects done, or not. Time shall tell.

Tomorrow I have all four girls' school conferences, as well as my mom's care conference (she's in a nursing home with Alzheimer's Disease, and I'm her POA and manage her health care.)

Busy, busy. No time to be bored, that's for sure. Take care!

Wow, did we get socked with a snowstorm. But, hey, it's March in MN.

I called in to say I couldn't come in to work because my two youngest were sick. I knew many from outer lying areas weren't coming in, but with combining classes, it sounded ok. Then my husband came home sick. I called in to my school to see how they were set - they wanted me in! I ended up staying the whole day. So extra hours for my check! Tomorrow I have a first aid renewal class to take (no preschool classes in session.) I came home to find out that my husband had to get daughter #2 from school due to a sore throat. There are more sick than healthy at our house - I'm disinfecting everything!

Yesterday there was no snow left on the ground, today there is heavy, deep snow everywhere! Snow is so hard to take in March...at least it doesn't last too long this time of year. Take care!

The girls' band concert at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis went great last night. There were 431 kids performing. When they played en masse 5th - 12th grade, they filled the orhestra stage, were in the first set of balconies on either side of the stage and on the floor in front of the first row of seats. We didn't get home until after 10pm (my two youngest are usually in bed by 8:30.) Very tired girls - and parents too!

My three youngest girls auditioned, and got parts in the community ed children's theatre. The audition was on Monday, with the performances will be on Friday and Saturday nights. (It's a traveling theatre group in our state that does these week-long residencies in school districts. My girls have done these for years and absolutely love them. It's a nice way to do theatre, without having a month and a half of rehearsals - though we do those too.) Anyway, they'll need bag lunches for their dinner break this week.

I need to do a little baking this afternoon for the lunches, and the bag dinners too. It's so darn gloomy around here today, it will be nice to have something warm and tasty in the oven. Otherwise, the groceries are holding out well. I should be able to go as planned this weekend.

Gas usage is going to be up, with the trip into Mpls last night, the orthodontist tomorrow, my daughter's medical appt on Thursday, as well as the extra running back and forth to school for the play this week.

Hope your day is great! Take care!!

After our incredibly busy last week, the weekend chose to continue in the same manner!

My third daughter had her 1st Commnunion yesterday. I got her a cross necklace with amethyst-like stones (her birthstone.) She's my quieter and shyer girl and was very nervous, even with the whole family up front with her for communion. She did good, though.

The reason I avoid going to Target is because money gets spent - fast. Along with the necklace, I ended up getting my third girl a swimsuit for gym class - they're having a swim unit. She grew out of everything we had (my youngest is very well set!) She's also outgrew the girls department sizing. I was quickly getting sick at the $50 price tags and the revealing looks, until I found a rack of sport suits in the yoga/sports clothing area. $20!! (after $50, the $20 didn't seem too bad, but am missing the girls dept. prices.) There was a nice variety of covers-everything tank suits - yay!!

My second daughter convinced me to stop at Plato's Closet, a resale shop geared to teens. She is my daughter who especially enjoys fashion and good bargains. I told her we'd do a little look. Glad we did, as we hit a clearance sale. For $16, we brought home 4 jeans, a hat and 5 shirts for three of my daughters. We're done for clothes shopping for a while!

Yesterday we did my husband's receipts to turn in for reimbursement for his out-of-town time, as well as his timesheet.

Today my three younger girls are trying out for a community ed theatre production after school. Then, the family heads to the cities for my middle two daughters' all-school band concert at the Orchestra Hall (our school received a grant to work with our MN Orchestra, including a collaboration in creating a special piece of music.) The schools have been working up to this for over a year, so it's exciting, though busy too. I'll pack some sandwiches and water for the car ride - no time even to stop for fast food (oh darn, I'll have to save the money- ha!) We can collapse when we get home!

Besides doing my regular work, I'll watch a training video today. Then I'll get everything together that we need for our afternoon and evening. Then, it's Ready, Set, GO!! Take care!

It's Friday! Got through this very long week, and am looking forward to the weekend. I just heard from my husband - he finished his training, and is now driving the six hours back to home.

With my husband out of town, the girls and I have been very laid back with our dinners. Last night, we lucked out and went to a community meeting with a potluck. There were pizzas from Domino's, subs from Subway, as well as the best of potluck dishes and incredible desserts. They were looking for a good turnout, including kids. So the girls and I happily obliged! It was very fun to catch up with everyone in our small town.

Worked extra hours today, swapping out books and curriculum items from our preschool room. Straightened up room, and more on the paycheck! I also have some training sessions that are coming up - these are paid hours and also take care of the state requirements for ceu's.

Plans for the weekend:

My third daughter has her 1st Communion on Sunday. She has her retreat for it on Saturday, followed by a dinner with the kids and their families (no cost, hosted by the church. Yay, another meal I'm not cooking!) I want to get her a necklace with a cross, to commemorate the occasion - not too expensive, but nice. I'll do that tomorrow.

We may try to do a family outing (free, except for gas) on Sunday after church - maybe, maybe not. We'll see how we feel about it then... Definitely, doing some downtime - it has been a wildly busy week.

Otherwise, no spending, other than the necklace and the weekly gas fill-up, is planned.

Have a nice weekend! Take care!!

How can it be the end of February?!! My husband is out of town for the week for training for work. I think somehow he knew when to leave, as this week is crazy.

For her birthday, I got my MIL some flowers and a giftcard for a local coffee place they like to visit, often with their friends. My inlaws, as well as us and everybody it seems, are constantly battling clutter and are trying to rid their house of things, so I opted for a gc rather than some thing.

Got my husband packed and out the door. The girls have been helpful around the house, and especially in keeping on top of homework and other projects. The Girl Scout cookies and youth group pizzas have been delivered (still waiting on some of the money, though.)

Visited my mom after work today. She has been off her physical therapy for two weeks due to sores on her feet. They are healing, but she is stuck to using a wheelchair, until her pt is reinstated and completed. My brother got the bill for her new level of care - oww! Not sure how long her money will hold out at this rate. She's losing more cognitive capabilities, as well as the physical abilities from her hip break in December. It's been a hard winter for her.

A little later today, I'll help the two youngest set up their displays in the school gym that they've done on their favorite books. They both worked so hard, but boy, what projects they ended up being! Tonight, I'll bring all four girls to work at our incoming Kindergarten meeting - they'll help with childcare. Extra hours for me, my kids are unpayed labor, but very appreciated by my boss.

Tomorrow, my oldest gets her braces off after 2 1/2 years. She can hardly wait to bite into an apple!

Thursday, I'm having my hair done by a friend - cut and color for cheap. I am looking haggard and worn-out, so I've been saving for this and looking forward to it too! Then I take my oldest to her weekly medical appt. In the evening, the youngest has her Girl Scout meeting.

I'd normally look forward to the weekend, but it's a busy one. My third daughter has her 1st Communion on Sunday. On Saturday, she'll attend a retreat with our pastor and her sunday school classmates. Afterwards, there is a dinner at the church for the kids and their families.

Moneywise - I grocery shopped last Saturday for the next two weeks - did very well. I had a few moments last evening after homework to look over February's totals. In general, the totals were about the same (though some like groceries had extra expenses of two parties.) But I had two expense lines that increased - to savings and to the cc debt. And we're still money ahead - banking it for our last month of the huge hosp and dr bills from last year.
Some successes, so feeling pretty optimistic for March.

So goals for next month include:

* Continue to watch and reduce our grocery bill (includes all food except dining out, health/beauty, hh cleaning and paper) by $150

* Continue same amounts to savings and cc (though increases would be acceptable, if there is overtime!)

* Plan some fun and free things to do over our Spring break (nope, we won't be flying to Fla., Mexico or the Caribbeans - can you tell the sort of area we live in??) We have a week and a half off, so we'll intermingle lazy in pj days, with some activites around the Twin Cities.

Thank you for letting me ramble on and on... Did I mention my husband is out of town?? (Yes, he is a saint, and definitely needed a break - even if it is training for work.) Take care!

Today ended up being a fairly busy day. The preschool kids were wild! We took them outside for a longer playtime, then sent them home - yay! Worked a little extra after class exchanging the toys in our room. Too many fire trucks crashing around the room - though we may have replaced them with even crazier toys (other types of vehicles - we reserve the option to remove any troublesome toys - darn, not kids, though.) Next week I work extra for our upcoming Kindergarten registration and info night (our program organizes this because we're better suited for caring for all the children.)

Next week also my husband leaves for some training for work. He'll have the travel and motel paid, but will have to provide money for meals (will be reimbursed.) We knew this was coming, so are set for him, except that he would like a new swimsuit for the pool. His was so old the waistband elastic crackled, but didn't stretch back - not a good shape for a suit to be in!

Planning ahead -

Starting to make out a grocery list and plan meals (for the two weeks.)

Need to fill the van again.

The older three girls are working at a youth group fundraiser at our church on Sat.

I need to shop for that above mentioned swimsuit and a birthday gift for MIL.

Bring MIL her gift on Sun.

Go to the library.

Clean up a bit around here.

Help my husband get packed.

...well, I'm glad I enjoyed last weekend's quiet... Take care!

The girls and I had the day off. We slept in! The older two headed off to friends' houses. The younger two girls played the rest of the day and didn't get dressed until 4 in the afternoon, and only because one had to go to a church class and the other had to come with me to pick up our Girl Scout cookies. The cookies are all sorted and ready to be delivered.

Puttered a bit around the house. A couple things accomplished, but not a whole lot. Then made some homemade split pea soup, that simmered away the afternoon. It tasted great on our lazy day. There's even some leftover for tomorrow's lunch. After all the activity of the previous few days, I think we needed some do-nothing time. I excelled at that today!! Take care!

Happy Valentine's Day! Yesterday and today, I celebrated with our preschool classes. I think the kids were fed candy hearts for breakfast. By the end of the day, the teachers felt like running around the room screaming, right along side the kids!

After work, I headed over to the nursing home - much, much quieter. Mom was eager to see me. I brought her an azalea plant and a soft stuffed dog to hold, as well as some cards from my husband and I and the girls. I usually go for more homemade food sorts of gifts for the family, but she's on a restricted diet now(and it's a pain to get it all approved and written down on her chart.) I got her the dog, because I'm learning the importance of holding soft items for older people. She seemed to be thrilled with it, and kept petting the stuffed dog.

I made valentines for my husband and girls using construction paper and glue and markers - I know, I'm stuck at the preschool level. I collected a bit of candy kisses and hearts into little bags too. We'll celebrate when we're all together at dinner tonight.

Moneywise, we're maintaining what we started in January. I did spend a little on Mom for today, but spent less on groceries for the two weeks. I went ahead and shopped for two weeks, which was cheaper per week, as I expected. I'll try the two week grocery shopping for this month. I mailed out the federal taxes yesterday - we'll get back just over $2200. We owe MN $85, but April is soon enough for that.

Happy Heart day to you all! Take care!

It seems that February just started, and here it is the 8th already.

I've been working a little extra here and there. Tomorrow and Friday are Parent Days at my preschool, so I worked some extra time today tidying the room up a bit, and cleaning paint from pretty much everywhere (I'm still thoroughly amazed how far the kids get it away from the painting areas of the room.) I'll be putting in extra hours for an event on Saturday, called Super Saturday, where all of our rooms will be open, with activities for the under-5 set and their families. Set-up is Friday afternoon and I'll work the event and help with clean-up. Mas dinero towards our hospital and dr bills - yay!

Worked on the taxes. Federal is all done, and we get back just under $2300. This is good, though I'd rather not have such a big amount as this. Still trying to figure out how many withholdings to claim on our w-4, so as to reduce our refund amount. It's on my to-do list! Our state taxes came out fine - we owe $85, so our withholdings are right for state. I just need to check over the state form a final time and everything will be ready to send out.

After I'm totally done with the taxes, I'm going to go over how we spent in January. I especially want to focus on the grocery amount, to see if what we did different in January made a difference. I feel like a lot of people here are far more on top of knowing how they are doing with expenses for their month than I am. But sooner or later, I'll get there! And next month there won't be taxes to contend with.

Oh well, as has been said on this site often - bit by bit, changes for the better (my better!) will be made!

Take care!

It feels like I've spent a fortune lately. But when I actually did the checkbook, it wasn't too bad.. I guess it just feels that way because our spending has been only the absolutely necessary lately.

Went to the grocery store and it's back to ugh again. $145. I think I'll look over the total for the month of January. I'm sure it was less than normal, but I want to get a better idea of how much I'm saving or not. Then I'll be able to tell whether the $145 is really an ugh. Gas was $36 for the week. That is another ugh!

The three younger girls, my husband and I went to the school's fundraiser, the Funfest. Spent $22 - not too bad, but my head is pounding from the noise. Not my favorite activity, but the girls love it.

Cleaned the house yesterday. Finally got the last bit of info needed to do the taxes, so that is on the to-do list for this weekend (I have mostly completed them except for inserting this info.) Sleep!! Yes, that's on the list. Otherwise, two of the girls are going to a church youth group event tomorrow (it's free and fun!) So the weekend is shaping up to being a quiet, relaxing one again - my favorite sort!

Have a great weekend...take care!

when I find that there is a bit extra in the account, I should not say anything out loud about it! So here's today's damage...

I came home from work, and my husband was home doing some work at home on the computer. We decided to go out for lunch - it's not so very often that there are no kids around! It was a nice treat.

Next I picked up my oldest from school for her medical appt, and payed the planned co-pay. But then, since we were (too!) close to Target, we stopped by to get a couple of things we needed. Hah, when will I learn to go alone? Oh, well, the clearance rack yielded some great deals. Oh, yeah, we also got the original 'couple of things' too.

Well, compared to times in the past, this day wasn't the worst, but it's definitely back to the saving grindstone for us! Take care!!

It's Wed, and worked this morning. Worked extra hours last night. I also offered to work extra this month, and my boss is happy to let me. Every bit will help on the hospital and dr bills.

I went over the bills and checkbook yesterday, and found we are making great progress in reducing our costs. There was a surplus in the checking account. Well, not for long...transferring more to the savings for building up the emergency fund, as well as paying extra toward the cc bill. Our goal is that after we pay off the hospital and dr bills from last year, we'll increase what we pay to the cc. I give a lot of credit to everyone here for openly sharing their stories and ideas - you all are quite the inspirations!

Some upcoming expenses include a PTO fundraising 'FunFest' at the school on Sat. It's not so much fun to spend money for this. But my younger girls are excited about it - pretty sure it's the constant mention at school by staff and students. We were able to limit how much we spent last year, and will do that again this year. My oldest girl has another payment toward her mission trip this summer - she's working at the pool, but we'll help pay half. She is on her own for this Friday's dance. I bought her the dress. She bought the boutoniere, and will pay for the tickets (it's a Sadies dance - girls ask the boys.) As far as dinner, I told her she could fix something at our house (the rest of us will stay out of the way,) but we'll have to see what she'll think she can afford. (Back when we had a Sadies dance, it was a very dress-down thing - jeans, flannel shirts, overalls, cowboy hats. Ok, it was the mid-70s - but it was sure a lot cheaper back then!)

Dinner is in the crockpot again - a new recipe using some turkey I froze after the holidays.

Take care!

Today I got paid. Worked a little extra - the licensing people are coming into work tomorrow, so all the rooms need to be looking their best. Still no 1099 from the bank - they are waiting until the end!

Visited Mom today. She started getting pressure sores on her heels, so is wearing huge foam boots. She doesn't understand what they are for, and is not enjoying her new fashion at all. She is looking good otherwise.

This is our first whole week of school in a while, so I'm thinking it's feeling long already. Yeah, I know - how rough we have it! We're on our second week of all taking lunches to school - still working out well, and is going to be something we continue. I bought ground beef at a good price the last time I went to the grocery store. I'll cook it all up with some onion, and bag it into 1lb. bags and freeze. I'll keep out 1lb. for use in tonight's tacos - a big favorite at our house.

We got our electric bill and it was almost $20 higher than normal - ugh! We're doing as others have mentioned here - shutting down and unplugging things. My husband is still trying to figure out our computers. I guess they are on a battery back-up thing that needs to stay plugged in or beeps and switches to the battery if unplugged. Needs?!! Well, I'm working on this (him!) The rates went up also. Oh well, the ups and downs of keeping money in our hands...

Take care!

Fast!! Ok, that's a little dramatic, I know. We got my husband's check yesterday (mine comes on Monday)and there it starts to go...

Went to the bread outlet store. With my oldest two girls taking their lunches to school (yay, they are!), I have been letting them take bagels. Last week they were on sale at our regular grocery store, but still pretty high for using too often. The last time I went to the bread store, a 6-pk of bagels was $.65, and on Wed and Sat there is a 15% discount. So I stocked up on a month's worth of bagels - there was even whole grain wheat. They are in the freezer awaiting lunch duty.
Bread store - $7.96 (including several loaves of bread.)

Next I got gas and a wash for the Voyager. We usually wash our vehicles at home from spring into fall, but in the winter about every two to four weeks we go through the carwash (clean off all that road salt we love to use in MN.) With the 5 cents off per gallon coupon from our grocery for the gas and using the stamp card for each gas purchase towards money off for the wash, the total was $27.85. We're driving extra for my daughter's medical appts. - probably using twice as much gas as we normally do.

Did the grocery shopping today. Well, I didn't come in at those wonderful $90 of the last two weeks. Hardly...It came to $156.23! My excuse is that I had to re-stock the paper products and cleaning goods, as well as a few pantry goods. I will, however, still take it as a guarded success. It is lower than my usual weekly average of $170. And I don't buy paper and cleaning items every week. So my goal in the next week (or two or three!) is to be closer to the $90 mark. I feel like this is something I can do.

Still no 1099 from the bank. I called on Friday, and they said they have until the 31st. I said that's fine (I kept the grumbles to myself) - I just wanted to make sure I didn't not receive it or had misplaced it. Patience is a virtue!

Otherwise, just a quiet weekend for us all here. We seem to be needing a lot of rest lately - no illness, but maybe preventing it if we take it easy. We all cleaned up the house yesterday - nice! I'll do some baking either later today or tomorrow. I'm not even sure what dinner will be...maybe something very easy like scrambled eggs and toasted english muffins. Boy, am I having a lazy Saturday, or what?!

Hope others are enjoying their Saturday in the way they wish...take care!

Worked my usual hours yesterday, then took my oldest to her madical appt ($25 co-pay.)

No school today, and my husband took off today as vacation. We're slowly making appearances this morning - I guess we all needed the sleep.

No definite plans for today, but we may use our Historical Society membership to visit one of the fun museums in the Twin Cities. We switch off memberships year to year to get a variety of experiences. Or, with our weather so warm and gorgeous, maybe we'll head over to the free zoo and conservatory in St. Paul. The day is open... (and that's the best of all!)

My husband got his paycheck today, and I'll get mine on Monday. The money is all planned out, and waiting for bills and/or transfers to savings.

Will be making my grocery list and meal plan for the week - hoping to continue at the new reduced amount that has been happening the last couple weeks.

Cleaned out the freezer in the kitchen last night (already did this to our chest freezer.) Threw out some mangled and old stuff, but mostly did an inventory of what is in there, and organized it more logically. When the door was opened items would skid across the kitchen floor, if they didn't thud onto your toes. (I wish to point that I myself am very organized, but I live with others who AREN'T!!) Oh well, I'll enjoy my organized freezer while it lasts.

Have a great day...take care!

Got a little done yesterday. No 1099 in the mail on Sat. - I'm anxious to get going on my taxes.

Baked oatmeal raisin cookies - you can imagine how much hanging out in the kitchen there was! I managed to pack up and freeze several snack bags worth for lunches and snacks.

Talked to my oldest two about school lunches, and the oldest grumbled a bit. The thing is is that they'll have to bring lunches this week, because they ran their accounts so low, and I don't have the money to replenish them. Really!! (This is not just mom-talk, and trying to introduce a new idea - they went through the money far quicker than they should have and we don't get paid 'til next Fri.) So we'll try it out for the week, out of necessity. I put aside some bagels and cream cheese (a treat for them!) they can take, as well as those squirreled-away cookies. Not much suffering on their part, I don't think!

I ended up getting gas for the Voyager again. I usually do this every two weeks, but we had extra driving from last weekend, and I have one longer drive this week for a medical appt for my oldest. I was just under half, and in the winter (even as warm as this one) I don't like to have the tank so empty. Gas - $26

The grocery store went well again this week. I created a list, and the total came to $91. Last week it was $90. I'm liking this trend - hope to make it continue!

I have church in a bit, and plan to do some serious straightening around here. Dinner will be chicken and rice/wild rice. And, definitely some relaxing....take care!

Pretty good day today. I worked preschool in the morning, and then intermediate school in the afternoon. I was greeted by a few people who want to take advantage of my afternoon availability for subbing- I say yes! (February bills beware!)

The minestrone was wonderful last night - my family all loved it, and there was only one bowl left for my lunch today. Definitely a keeper crockpot recipe. Next soup I want to try is the lentil one mentioned in the food forum. Tonight we had homemade pizza - no leftovers either. It helps that I limit the girls on their afternoon snack - sometimes even eliminating it altogether if we're having an early supper. They eat more dinner, that's for sure.

Not much money-wise to report, except that it was a no spend day, while being a good earning day. Tomorrow I plan to add up receipts for tax time, and remind my husband to check on his pension from his former employer (I do most money matters at our house, but once in a while I come across an account that will only speak to the owner - no problem, except to get him to do it...)

I'll visit my mom too tomorrow. She broke a hip in early Dec, so I'll have to check with the nurses as to how her latest followup dr visit went (she has Alzheimer's and won't remember going to the dr, or even that she broke the hip - she very much lives in the moment.) I also received her newest med insurance card, so need to get the nursing home a copy of the card.

This evening still holds spelling lists study for two daughters, folding the laundry and thinking what we'll have for dinner tomorrow (hmmm - maybe another crockpot meal - I have the makings of a creamy mushroom swiss steak recipe.) My two youngest girls both have their girl scout meetings from late afternoon to after dinner, so a quick dinner is in order. My oldest will be coming home soon from confirmation, and will NEED the computer. And then slowly, one by one the girls will go to bed, followed soon by their parents!

Well, whew!....take care!

Yesterday, I went with my two oldest daughters to find a dress for an upcoming dance my oldest will attend. She had success at JCPenney, with a sale to boot. She found a pretty black, spaghetti strap dress on sale and a black, beaded shawl on clearance (70% off!) Picked up some hose not on sale and a delicate necklace and earring set on sale at Claire's (lucklily she has some strappy black heels that will complete the outfit.) I was pleased with cost, and it's a dress that can be worn in the future!

Today we had a medical co-pay to pay out for one of my daughters. One from last week and for today - so $50 total for today. The $25 co-pay will go on weekly for a while. Not a fun way to spend money, but very necessary. I'm thankful that our insurance pays what it does towards this care, and that we able to afford our part.

Otherwise, the only other spending was toward Valentine's for the kids and myself to hand out in our classes. We like to buy early and have a better selection. $7 bought 2 bags of individual candy heart treat packs and cards enough for my two younger daughters classmates and my two preschool classes at work, as well as candy enough for the older two to hand out candy to their friends, if they wish.

Dinner is a turkey we got as part of doing our normal shopping over the Fall ( it's been thawing for a few days in the frig - am glad to be cooking it up!) Typical turkey sidedishes for tonight, and then I'll have the remainder of the meat for a couple days of sandwiches and some to freeze for stirfry or other quick to put together meals.

Have a good evening, all....take care!

In an effort to be more accountable for 'where the money goes' ....well, here goes....

I transferred some money over to the savings from the checking. I was going to do a smaller amount, but in one of the forum discussions, someone mentioned to try 10% off the top. Now, we already have about 14% taken out into retirement funds automatically off our gross wages. But, since it's taken out before we receive our checks, we don't even notice it gone. Our savings cushion has been harder to achieve, because we need to get the money transferred on our own. So, long story short (yay, right) I am trying to take the 10% off our takehome pay. We need to build a cushion for next month's expenses, and if we don't use it, it'll become our hidden cushion (or buffer as some use.) So, this act felt good, very good.

Other spending today - went to the discount bread store, and spent $10.39 for a month's supply for our family. I even found several items with whole grains (my mission is to integrate cheaper, but healthier food to the whole family & not just wayward me!) This is about $5 - 10 less than I usually spend.

Still need to get gas for our smaller van, as well as groceries, and maybe the dress for my daughter, if we find a bargain. 'Tis all for now....Take care!

That make you crazy!!! I did the amended property tax forms - so we owe back some funds for two past years = just under $100 (my dumb mistake - though the letter from the state did imply it was a common error.) Mailing that out tomorrow.

Our city sewer system inspection went well, and we passed and will get the reduced amount on our water and sewer bill, but when they compared the inside to the outside water usage meter, the outside one was off by 24,000 gallons. Oops, it must have broken sometime over the years - how would you like to get caught up, ma'am? Hmm, can I pick never?? To remain the law-abiding citizens we are, we'll pay the $200 charge - oh, yay!

Now, this morning seemed to be fairly normal. I started my usual load of laundry as the girls and I got ready for school and work. The machine filled up nicely, and I went about my morning business. Hmm, that machine seems a bit quiet down in the basement. I check and it's not agitating. Turn the machine off and then back on, check that it is plugged in, flip the breaker. Well, the laundry is doing a long soak, til my husband gets home. He's really looking forward to this evening activity! I'm hoping it's an easy fix.

Wow - I think I need this week to end, before anything else happens!

Back to work for me and back to school for the girls. Sleeping in and pretty much being lazy over the break made for a rude awakening yesterday morning, but we all survived and are back on track.

My husband checked out our Ford conversion van and lucky us, I didn't do damage to the transmission - whew! Just an easy brake line for him to install. This allows us to delay any big decision about what to do with this poor vehicle. We have had the front end welded a couple of times, but it's again starting to come apart. This is the van that we use when we go camping. Picture a van stuffed to bursting, plus the excess tied to the top in several carriers (a la Ma and Pa Kettle, for those old enough to remember those old movies.) At the campsite, we open the doors and things just spring out the door, as well as the four girls. After the tent and site setup, we are settle down pretty well, much to the neighboring sites' relief. We also use the old van for going to the beach in the summer, and we can bring along a blownup tube or air mattress for everyone (we usually bring along friends.) And the van is so old I don't worry about dings on the door, sand in the carpet, spills, etc. Yes, I love this old van, troubles and all...

Finally got the pin for one of my husband's old retirement accounts - will try to access online & find out if it could be rollovered to something (still need to research where to put combined funds.) Need to call the clinic to have new 3-month prescriptions wriiten up, due to our medical insurance changing on January 1. Already printed the forms needed for mail-in prescriptions.

Need to talk to my mom's insurance, due to receiving a bill from a hospital she wasn't at - my brother talked to the nursing home and they don't know what it is. When he tried calling the hospital, they wouldn't talk to him without filling out a ton of paperwork, even though we have all the legal papers including POA, and it was billed to HIM! Oh well, just when you think you have it all in order and figured out, it either changes or is just handled differently. It keeps you on your toes, that's for sure!

Well, my to-do list grows by the second, so now must do some crossing off of the list. Take care!

Having a lazy morning - make that afternoon already! After purchasing some snacks yesterday, we stayed home with the girls and played board games and watched movies. At about 11:30, we watched Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve and the ball drop in NYC. The girls were re-energized at midnight, while my husband and I were practically snoring. We all slept in this morning. So, a good start to the new year.

On the money front (and it IS starting to feel like a battle of wills - those who want our money and us trying to keep it and, as you'll see, a bit of who's side am I on)...

Minimal spending since Winter break started, since we are needing to pay those medical bills over the next few months. Our treat (planned) was to go see Narnia. We don't see many films in the theatre and it was great. Otherwise we're hanging out, sledding, playing games and enjoying what we got for Christmas and some downtime before we head back to work and school.

On a not so fun note - yesterday's mail had a letter from the State of MN property tax department. It was a bulk sent out letter saying that property tax refunds were audited for years 2003 & 2004 and that many contained mistakes on claiming tax deferred income. I thought I did it right, but I'll check them over. Even if we owe back some funds, we never receive a large refund, so it wouldn't be horrible to have to pay back, just not particularly fun. The other event to happen involves our older van (93 Ford conversion.) The brake line blew out during our recent bout of snow while I was heading down an icy steep driveway and dummy me panicked and shifted into park so as to not go into the ditch and hit a tree. I saved us from the menacing ditch and tree, but my husband is still checking out the damage. Dumb, dumb dumb! On the good side (because that's the kind of person I am,) we usually use our 95 Plymouth Voyager for most of our driving due to getting twice the gas mileage the Ford does - so at least I wasn't in the Plymouth when I wasn't using my brain. Plus the Ford has some other big repair issues that we've been putting off making decisions on - well, maybe, just maybe I've made those decisions a tad bit easier. Still very dumb, but 'tis life...

Today, I'll head for the grocery store. I find it invaluable taking a few minutes to look at our week, the sales circular for the store we visit and plan out meals for the week, sometimes two. I keep a running list on the frig and finalize it before I go to the store. I've already done that, so I just need to go. Otherwise, just another low-key, just the way we like it, sort of day. Take care!

Something happened so that I couldn't login, but thanks to Jeffrey I can now. I wrote up another entry tonight, but it didn't get posted, so the score is 2-2 (2 that got posted and 2 that didn't - well, I like a good challenge!)

Yesterday I worked on getting the checkbook caught up and several bills paid. We both get paid on Friday and it will be none too soon. I arranged for payments with no interest for the hospital (over 3 months) and the doctor (over 4 months.) I also tried to access my husband's pension account from his previous employer, but couldn't locate the pin, so asked to have it sent out to us.

Today I had an early morning care conference for my mom, who has early-onset Alzheimer's Disease and is in a nursing home - I'm POA for her along with my youngest brother. The I headed into work. School is out for the winter break, but I also do the bulk mailing for our program and had the Spring brochure to get ready and send out. These few hours will be welcome on the check that reflects the time off for this break. I also spent quality time cleaning up the house with the girls, because tomorrow will be a friends over day (and it was getting a bit too messy for me!)

Tomorrow I want to collect together the other retirement account papers and start researching if we want to rollover into an existing account or create another to collect these loose-end funds. I'll also take time to play in the snow with the girls and their friends in our balmy MN weather (before the snow all melts!) I have a number of snowcats decorating my front and backyards, but I would like a snowman/woman and/or kid or two.

Take care!

I've been browsing this web site for a few months and have loved reading everyone's journals and the forums. Now I want to take the plunge. I'm not the most computer-literate, but I find that muddling through things works fairly well most times. So here it goes....