As I was hanging my laundry out on the line this morning, I noticed the relentless thrumming of the cicadas. Yikes! August is here, and that sound always sets me on edge about summer's end.

Did we get enough swimming time in, enough camping, and playing outside? Is our skin freckled and tanned, our hair naturally highlighted by the sun? Have I even heard one of the girls say she was bored yet this summer?! Still enjoying the summer....

Yet, I'm feeling compelled to create endlessly long lists of what chores should get done while the weather is still warm. Get to those back to school sales, outfit those girls! Gulp - check on the snow gear, because it's in the stores now, and on sale. Going through the closets, checking on what we need, donating what we don't.

Stupid, stupid cicadas, you came too early! I'm NOT listening...

So, how does this relate financially?? Well, I may not like thinking about the dumb cicada, and what their constant buzzing means, but I can't really ignore it. The season will change, the cold weather will arrive. Will I be ready??

Sometimes financially waiting things out is good, but other times situations warrant being prepared. As I store up warm weather memories, I must be practical and start in on that long chore list, bit by bit. I'll be in a panic if the sumac starts turning red, and I haven't made a little dent in the list. Take care!

I managed to accomplish a bit on Sunday. I went through all the bills and balanced the checkbook. Papers got filed!

I charted our meds, after finding the price had changed since the last time I looked at the online Rx cost calculator for my insurance. Some meds are cheaper to buy monthly at our local pharmacy, and some are cheaper to do through mail order. We're up to eight meds being filled, but it was getting to be a muddled mess. So now, I have a better handle on it all. And it turns outs that I will pay a slight bit less by filling one med locally.

Getting a handle on things helps with the finances so many times. Lots of loose ends taken care of - very nice to cross off my to-do list. Take care!

Hanging out the laundry again. Recuperating after my youngest's birthday sleepover with her friends Friday night, and then having the extended family birthday bbq for three of the girls. Their birthdays are within a six week period, which we call our 'birthday season'. We survived!

Financially, we're maintaining a steady course. Not anything too interesting to write about, though. Well, no complaints on my part - everyone's pretty happy, and we're all enjoying our summer (lots of free, fun things to do!)

Enjoy the rest of the weekend...take care!

Got the two middle girls off to our church camp in Wisconsin. Second daughter was an old pro at this, and third daughter linked up with a girl from our church very readily. They went off to explore the camp so quickly, that I almost missed a goodbye hug and kiss (almost - I tracked her down!) I feel better about it all, and think they'll have a great time.

The rest of us ate out cheaply as planned on the way home. Then after dropping me off at home, my husband and the two girls headed down to help his parents drop off their van for repair work. (It must be the week for this!)

Today was for sleeping in - accomplished (not my husband - I sent him off to work.) Laundry - another nice day to hang it out on the line. Bills and checkbook - need to catch that up and look ahead at expenses.

We are reaching the limit on medical visits for my oldest, so we are taking on the cost of one visit a week at full cost, and not putting it through the insurance, to help carry her more expensive visits a few more weeks longer. We're working on an appeal, but I'm not sure if it will work.

Between my oldest's visits, and now my third daughter's starting up, plus our medicine copays, we're paying on the equivalent of two brand-new vehicle loans. My husband and I laugh, because we never thought we could afford one, let alone two, new vehicles. I guess, as it turns out, it's a good thing we didn't, as we wouldn't have the money for all the medical expenses we have at the moment. And while it hasn't been easy, I am amazed and thankful how much play our income has ended up having. It's wild how 'little' money it seemed we had before, compared to how much we've been required to accomodate lately (25% of our income for medical.) And, so far, I am proud to say, our emergency fund is still intact, with plans to keep it that way. I can hardly wait until we get through with some this medical stuff - not only for my daughters and my family, but just to see what we will do financially. Life is looking good today.

Wow, enough for now...take care!

Rainy, rainy. Slept in a little this morning. Went to my second daughter's band competition - her Mozart duet went well. She'll find out her score from her band teacher at school on Monday. The two youngest are still at the Grandma tea. They were all dressed up in pretty dresses, and my youngest had on a hot pink straw hat to crown her ensemble. They brought two of my china teacups for the tea. I hope they have a fun time with Grandma.

The rest of the day has involved laundry, cleaning and baking for the week. I know, what an exciting life I lead!

Going over the finances, and I'm thinking I may not have to take from the savings to cover the first $1000 bill of my oldest's recent hospital stay. A little tightening up on the spending, and we can cover it. We still have the meds, lab, dr and emergency room fees from the stay, but they look pretty manageable. Having a reserve of funds has helped us!

I find it funny that I keep thinking we have made all the changes in an area of spending than we can, only to revisit it and find that yes, we can do better. Hope is everpresent!

In our situation, part of this fact can be attributed to season changes - utility charges reflect this. I also think change happens bit by bit, and the small successes spur us on to try out even more ideas.

Hmmm...quite the philosophical waxing amid all the practical cleaning around the house! Back to action! Take care!!

It seems all I've been doing is running around crazy each day and crashing into bed each night.

I've been working extra this week, every day so far. Monday was our 1st Kindergarten Connection night for kids starting Kindergarten next Fall. Busy, but always fun to see the newest crew so excited to be at the 'big school'. Tuesday was a planning day for the rest of our preschool classes for this school year. And today I filled in for a sick co-worker and for another who had a planning meeting. Whew - the extra hours are always nice on the paycheck.

Family-wise, for my oldest, we had a medical appt, as well as a meeting at her school for some accomodations requests. All went well, and my worries are lessening a bit each day. My youngest came home early from school today with a headache (think it may be allergy caused.) Another medical appt tomorrow for the oldest, with more info of what will be ahead for us. And trying to calm the nerves of my third as she prepares for a school trip to an environmental learning center in northern MN next week. She has always been a homebody and slow to even sleeping over at friends' houses. She is excited to go, and we're spending a lot of time reassuring her and talking things over. A mom's work is truly never done!

Money-wise, I'm happy to say that with a little vigilance and planning, my grocery budget is still where I like having it. We're spending about $100-110 a week for 6 people and 7 pets, as well as paper, cleaning and health/beauty (not including presciptions and co-pays.) And this is good with another round of medical bills coming at us and repairs on both of our vans. Gosh, when it rains, it downpours (it's April, I guess - hoping for some good May 'flowers'!)

Thinking ahead - I'll work until the end of May, maybe into the first week of June with room cleanup. Summers I'm off with my girls. While most of our summer days are low-key and no-cost, there are those other days. Summer money plans include one oldest going on a mission trip, and two middle going to our church camp in Wis. Swim lessons for the youngest two. We are camping and canoeing over Memorial weekend, and would like to camp at least two more times over the summer. Then there is getting ready for next year's school year. With this Spring's medical bills, we'll have to either revise some plans for the summer or keep tabs on the spending while working whatever extra we can. Feeling pretty hopeful - the difference a year makes when there is a better handle on the money.

Wow, what a long-winded entry! Take care!

Ran around yesterday doing the normal Saturday errands. I got gas for the van. Went to the bread store and grocery store, and shopped for two weeks. Did really well, though that's because we ate out a couple times last week and still had the makings of meals that will be made during these two next weeks. Will do some baking today for the lunches and snacks for the week.

I woke up early this morning - just couldn't sleep in - and worked on getting my annual credit report (I got the email reminder last week.) I looked the info over, and read up in the forums what everyone had to say. I decided since last year I got all three sent out at once for both my husband and I (last time we'd seen it was when we got our mortgage over 9 years ago) that we'll do one every four months. I picked Equifax, mostly because it was at the top of the list. I really debated whether to pay extra to get the FICO score. I'm curious, but still cheap. Since we're not planning any purchases, and everything looks very good, it didn't seem necessary. I'll try one of those free FICO score calculators.

Otherwise, the girls did great in their play performances on Friday and Saturday nights. Today we are going to head into Minneapolis to the Marshall-Fields Spring Flower Display. It's free, except for parking, but very beautiful. We've had some warm temps and even a glimmer of sun here and there. But we have to get Spring in March in Minnesota where we can get it (usually indoors!)

Enjoy your day! 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!

but eventually I catch up! I finally got around to calculating totals for what we spent money on for the month of January. I know, I know, it's practically the end of Feb...I'm not the quickest with this. Can I blame it on my family, house, pets, work, and general lack of time??

It doesn't help that I'm doing it via the very old-fashioned method of pencil, paper and calculator. I do know how to find Excel on my computer, but that is all I can do.

So in an effort to get a start on February, I've started to fill in my sheet on expenses so far this month that have been paid and are done for the month. I took a preliminary gander at the grocery amount, and I'm pretty pleased. Considering we had my daughter's birthday party with her friends, as well as a big extended family dinner, well... ta-da! We're coming in at less than we did in January. I can hardly wait to see how March goes with our new grocery shopping measures (no birthdays or large gatherings planned, so a better indicator.)

A few things were revealed in my January spreadsheet of sorts. Medical was our most expensive category - we're paying off a hospital and dr bill from November, paying for weekly medical appt for one of my girls, and mail-ordered 90-day supplies of 3 expensive prescriptions. The next expense was our grocery expenses - working hard on reducing this! Third is our mortgage. Hmm, more to think about AND act on - I like what has been written about it being nice to think and write (and read!) about money matters, but it's the action that really makes the difference. Take care,all!

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!

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!

I worked extra hours again today. I can't believe how the extra hours have magically become available all of a sudden, especially when I am so open to working them (and need them so much for the extra bills we are currently paying off!)

It's church night tonight so I'm again using my trusty crockpot - ham and scalloped potatoes.

My husband had some potential good news. The company he's with has good record in keeping employees for a long time. He's been there 13 years, and is still considered the 'new guy'. So one of the 'older' guys has decided to take an early retirement, and try out a businees on his own. So my husband's bosses asked if he would like to move up into his position, which would include a pay raise (also an increase in stress.) If it seems worth it, both pay- and stress-wise, maybe he'll take them up on the offer. We shall see...

Now a question on this new blog format - how do you know what categories to choose for an entry? I haven't set up any yet, so maybe the answer is in the setup. I feel like my entries end up being more like a journal of our day, and not too easy to put under one category. But I feel like a slug, leaving everything under 'uncategorized'.

Anyway...take care!

After having a bit of trouble starting up my blog back in December when I first joined, I hope that I'm doing this right.

Anyway, I worked extra hours at work - our school is making some space usage changes, and we're due to be inspected at the month's end. So I went through each classroom, checking that we have all the correct safety & emergency signage. Kind of a funny way to earn money, but I'm game for it! (All the extra hours lately will be a big help on the paycheck, and those upcoming hopital and dr bills in Feb. I'm very thankful.)

Still no 1099 - this is a lesson in patience. Knowing that we'll get a refund makes me anxious to get it to us. Plus I want to refigure our withholdings again, so as to not to get such a big refund. We are a family of six. I have no taxes taken out of my check (being part-time, as well as working only school-year, my check isn't all that big anyway.) When I fill out the w-4 form withholding calculations, well, it just seems like too much. I mean we get 6, obviously. When I figured it out, the form said 12! So I divided the difference and took 9. Still we get around $2600 (no exact figure 'til I get that 1099!) For state, I left us at 6, and we hover around owing $50 to getting $50 back. This is exactly where I like us to be. Oh well, each year I get us a smaller refund, and gives me a challenge to work on, so I don't get bored, I guess.

Have a good evening...take care!

Yesterday I was able to do a conference call with my husband to the office that manages his old job's pension. We now have the amount it's worth, if paid out lump-sum. Now the dilemma is, do we roll it over into an IRA or into his current 401K account? Or do we leave it, and hopefully it will still be available for a monthly payout (he can start receiving at age 55)? 55 is still 12 years away, and a lot of his co-workers are feeling uneasy with the old employer and have taken the lump-sum. My gut feeling is to take the lump-sum and set up an IRA account for it, then we are in control of it (well, except for what the market does to it!) He has a retirement annuity from an even more previous employer that has been not going anywhere, so I will look at rolling that over too. I think I could get a handle on our retirement accounts - his 401K, my public employee account, and a single account like an IRA for the rest - yay!

Yesterday I also did some preliminary figuring of our taxes (just need one more 1099.) We will again get a refund on our fed taxes. Every year I keep fiddling with our withholdings, and I have the state taking just the right amount. But the federal is another matter. At least compared to last year, I'm heading in the right direction. Oh well, it's back to the w-4 again. The last 1099 wasn't in today's mail, but as soon as I receive it, I'm ready to write up the forms and get them sent in.

Well, going over the budget stuff, I've concluded we're doing pretty well for our fixed expenses (including things like insurance, vehicle expenses, etc.) I guess it's more our discretionary spending is where we could use a little work (ha - a lightbulb moment or what!)

Food, including dining out - We eat most meals at home. Depending on our finances, we eat out once every two or four weeks. We all eat breakfast at home. My husband packs a lunch for work and the two younger girls take lunches and snacks to school and the older two eat lunches at their schools. I usually come home for lunch, or I bring a lunch. Dinners are at home, usually with everyone (we eat early or late depending on the activities.) Our grocery list is usually basic foods - I stock a pantry and freezer, rather than shop for meals. I shop only once a week. I used to shop every two weeks, and even for a time, monthly (we had milk home delivered then.) We're incorporating more fresh vegetables, fruits, protein and higher quality carbs into our diet, so I find weekly works better for that (though I find it is a bit more expensive the more often I shop.) I keep a running list on the frig of what we run out of. I look over the sale flyer to see what bargains and coupons are offered for the week. Then I make my list, sticking to it for the most part. With a combination of pantry and freezer items and newly bought groceries I create our meals.

Part of what I include in our 'food' budget is health, beauty and cleaning supplies, plus food and supplies for our pets (we have 6 - a dog, 3 cats, a guinea pig and a hampster.) We aren't star consumers in this area - using the store brands of cleaning items, the 99cent shampoos, generic pain relievers, etc. The pets get more than their share of the budget...but somehow we've acquired these animals and we'll see to their good care - though we have a current restriction on allowing any more of them at our house.

For a budget amount, I took an average and came up with $170 a week. And that is about what I spend most weeks between groceries, the occasional dinner out and pet store stop, though the range can be $70 - 200. Sometimes I feel that since I say it's a certain amount, I somehow make sure it is that amount. Still, I don't think there is much I can do about the pets (just no more new ones!) And the cleaning/health/beauty amounts are probably fine - though I'll keep tabs on amounts used, and use what is minimally necessary. The dining out is not an outrageous part of our budget.

So what's left is my two oldest's use of school lunches, and the food portion of the grocery bill. Hmm, I guess a talk is in order for the girls. And I'll go over the meal plans. I cook mostly from scratch, and we aren't having steak every night (actually that's only twice a year - on father's day and my husband's birthday - he loves steak!) I like what some journalists were doing with figuring out the costs of some of their meals. Maybe my meals cost more than I am realizing? I guess I'll have to think some more on this area. As a kind of initial goal, I'm trying to spend closer to an average of $130 a week. I need to come up with better figures of our absolute minimum amount to keep us and the pets going. But I'll try a $40 dollar a week reduction, and see where that gets me.

That's all for now...take care!

Today was pajama day at preschool - the kids always laugh at us teachers in our gear. I even had wild hair that looked like bedhead, though that was not intentional. Visited Mom and she is now allowed full weight on her healing hip - yay! Her physical therapist stopped by to chat, and was proud to announce that Mom walked with her walker this morning for the first time since the accident. Our goal was to get her out of the wheelchair and back to her walker, and she is getting there!

Moneywise news - trying to look over our budgeted expenses some more.

Garbage - We have a city collector, with a reduced charge negotiated with the city. Over the 16-17 years we've had this service, the cost has risen very little. The city added a recycling charge, and probably two price increases for a total of about $2-3 more monthly in all that time - not bad. One of the journalists mentioned cutting their service. We'd still have to pay the recycling charge. While we recycle everything we can (we have curbside pickup every 2 weeks) and compost, I'm not sure what we'd do with the rest of the garbage. But maybe, we can increase our effort to reduce our container size (though the savings for using the smallest one is not much of an incentive - though the environmental incentive is always a good motivator.)

Phone - We have landline and internet service from our local company. I keep talking to my husband about our 'need' for DSL service - but he's not budging. We have basic phone service (the cheapest) and haven't felt a need to have all of the extras that are offered. We have a phone with an answering machine, and it works for us. My husband has a cell from his work, and they pay all expenses (and it's used for work only, though he may carry it for emergency use occasionally - never have used it so far though.) I have a cell phone with a limited plan my husband gets through being on the voluntary police reserve in out town. I like the convenience it offers me for the school to reach me about sick kids and for the nursing home staff who care for my mom to be able to reach me, wherever I am during the day (I switch schools during the day many times for work.) I don't use it to have long conversations, but for those quick calls. My two oldest daughters have pay-as-you-go phones from their aunt (she graciously supplies the phone cards too.) I looked into that kind of service for me, but found for the usage I have each month, I'd pay double what I am now. I do use those phones to call to my brother and family in Alaska. We email each other regularly, but make an occasional call, and that's the cheapest way for us to call there.

Today's mail brought more w-2s, so on to more tax compiling...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!

Went to work, then came home to work on my to-do list. Today I got a bit accomplished...some of those things that aren't a lot of fun to do, but are wonderful to cross off the list!

We have new medical and dental insurance as of Jan 1, so I had to have the clinic we go to write up 7 new prescriptions for mail-order (90-day supply with 3 refills.) I received those in the mail at the end of last week, only to find out that after trying to calculate the costs for the mail-order forms that one drug isn't on the formulary and one is actually cheaper filling it monthly at our local pharmacy. (I'm glad for the cheaper price, but do like the convenience of the mail-order.) We need to talk to my husband's dr about an alternative and mine for a new script for monthly. Today, I sent out 3 prescriptions for $150. The rest will go in on next pay period. (While I'm thankful for the good insurance we had/have, I dream of having the same medical insurance for more than a year at a time. I'm not sure how I would spend those first few weeks in Jan, if that were to happen!)

I also caught my bills and checkbook up for this week. (Part of my unwritten goals for this year - keep on top of that checkbook, so I know where we're at.) I also reconciled the checkbook to the latest bank statement. Over the holidays, I sort of piled my paid bills and statements, rather than file them. So I filed what needed to be, pulled out papers to be shredded from the cabinet, and gathered together the receipts to add up for tax time. Just waiting on a couple more items for tax time - oh, yeah!

I also arranged some extra hours at work over the next few weeks - I work in two preschool classes for our school district, but our early childhood program has a lot of events coming up, so I'll take as many hours as I can get. I also got a call from our intermediate school, and will work there in the special ed dept - one of my favorite places to sub. So more hours... all for a good cause - improving our financial picture bit by bit! With our hospital and dr bills from Nov, this will be welcome, that's for sure.

I started dinner this morning in the crockpot- a new recipe for minestrone. It smells wonderful! There is a little leftover lasagne from a couple days ago (not enough to freeze for another meal) and a salad and bread.

Good evening to you 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!

Another week zooming by! In my attempt to look at where the money goes and see where the budget could be tweaked - well, here goes...

Electric - Fluorescent bulbs in all fixtures as I can tolerate (maybe it's just my cheap ones, but do all give off that blue, harsh light? I know grow lights have a warmer looking light, but are there bulbs available for house lamps and ceiling fixtures? If there aren't, one lamp in the living room and the one on my side of bed will remain with the more-expensive-to-use regular lightbulbs.) Our house mantra is turn off any lights we don't need on. And we're using the many candles I received from my students at Christmas, when we're not needing light for reading or other such activities. After reading some of the threads in the forums, I'm encouraging my electronics-loving husband to the possibility of unplugging a few of the currently not being used items (baby steps are okay, dear.) I remember this from years ago, but whew, do we get lax (ok, I can blame this one on my husband - electricity is his passion.)

Natural Gas - We heat with gas, as well as have a gas water heater, dryer and oven. We have a 1200 sq ft old (as in not as insulated as it could be) house, but keep the temp down to 60 from about 10pm until 5 or 6pm. For about 4 hours in the evening we turn the temp up to 65. If someone is home sick we turn the temp up, and if the temps are sub-zero, we turn it up also. Generally, we like a cooler home, though not cold, and encourage the use of sweaters and sweatshirts and slippers. We open the blinds on our south side to let in the sun during the day. As you can imagine, with six of us, there is high use of our shower. We only have one, and it works having only that one. My husband takes a daily shower, while the rest of us usually do every other day (with what my mom called a spit bath in between, lest you wonder of our cleanliness!) We all suffer dry skin and showering every other day helps a lot with that. Again with the six, I wash every day (rather than save for a whole day once or twice a week.) I do one to two loads daily ( yes, I am one of those who will throw everything into one load! I wash in cold water - have forever- and for the most part, our clothes have been washed many, many previous times and I haven't had any of the problems that the detergent commercials like to list - dingey whites, washed out colors, etc. I wash new items, lights with lights and darks with darks, until I think we're past where it matters. Also the majority of the clothes are hand-me-downs from girl to girl, and also from lots of friends - it's so nice to have friends who buy good quality clothes and pass along. I've gotten things used and they go through all four of my girls and then I pass it all along. Amazing!) As far, as the oven, I tend to use my crockpot a few times a week, with the rest of the meals done in and on top of the stove. When I use the stove, I usually try to make extra to freeze or plan several items that can go in at the same time if there is room. I also leave the door open afterwards, to make use of the residual heat, now that my girls are older. Our gas bill is on the budget plan and is only $20 more a month than last year (and I think it will go down when they reevaluate it in Feb - they like to start us out high, and we always use less than they think we will.)

Water/Sewer - I guess some of the above also applies here. The shower/bath use is above. With a 15yo and a 13yo, I've said the rule of our house is only one shower OR bath per day! Only occasionally does it get a bit out of hand. The laundry use is above, with a few extra loads on the weekend (towels and sheets.) January through March sets our sewage amount, based on our water use. The town's thinking is that these months represent typical usage. Then in the summer months, with gardening and lawn and pools using water, the sewer rate is based on the Jan - Mar rate, and your water is your actual use. So my thinking is reduce our use during these months! Well, as much as you can with a family of six.


Well, that's all for now...take care!

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!

Wow, I was so impressed that my first entry worked that I posted a long 2nd entry telling a bit about myself and some goals, but alas, it didn't get added after I pressed the add entry button. As I said in the first entry, I am not computer-literate, but I won't take this as defeat. I can be persisent!

The lost entry was a slightly lenghty account of myself and our financial picture. Maybe I'll try short and sweet. I'm married (21 years) with 4 daughters (15, 13, 10, & 8.) We live in an older house with a small mortgage and own free and clear two older vans. We just finished paying off braces for d15, but will be starting up again for d13 in the next few months. We have a few medical bills and hospital stay for d15 from November. When it all happened, I called the insurance and was told how much our portion would be. Just got the bill from the hospital at the end of last week, and surprise, it's not even close to the that amount. Several hours talking to many people resulted in "oops, it your problem." Oh well, not fun to pay, but at least we are not in a panic about it. We will make use of the hospital's 'make payments for three months at no interest' plan. Our most unfortunate financial entity is our cc. It's at about $11,000. I wish I could say it was for fun and/or toys, because then I could say Hey! this is where we need to cut back. Nope, it was for very mundane things through the years, such as big van repairs (my husband does the maintenance and a lot of repairs to keep those vans running, but occasionally we've needed to have some big repairs done by others - our theory is it is still cheaper than making car payments, though each year makes that debatable.) The other thing we've used the cc for is medical expenses and large household repairs. We try to pay more than the required minimum most months, but some like December get the minimum.

The other side of our picture is that we have retirement accounts with levels set at company matches. Our regular savings....well, that is the making of a goal for the coming year. In general, we live paycheck to paycheck. My husband works as an installer of security and fire alarms, and we are very lucky he has use of a company van that he can come home in (can't be used privately, but that's not a problem.) I was a sahm for 11 years and started working again in 2001. I work not even two blocks from my house for the local school district's early childhood program as a teaching assistant in preschool. We horde money for the summer (I have the school calendar work schedule and am not working in the summer) as well as for the bigger things that come up (such as the initial costs of braces, summer camping trips, Christmas...) So as you can probably deduce, we can live with our normal expenses and do a little extra beyond (pick one- Fun like camping and Christmas or Obligations like repairs and braces or Paying down the cc.)

Some goals that I'd like to work on initially include building a bigger savings cushion for those inevitable car and home and whatever costs. We always manage (better now than a while ago,) but I'd like to get that cc balance down if not soon gone. And now, it's either pay for repairs, etc with minimum payments to the cc. And after 21 years, I should and do know that stuff always happens...and it usually costs. Another thing that I'd like to do is consolidate our various retirement accounts. I've always been a public employee in some way and form, with one account through the years, all in one easy place. My husband, who does stay at jobs long-term, has several different vested accounts, due to company sell-outs, etc. I, who likes the checking account balanced to the last penny, find it hard to keep tabs on it all. (I like diversity in our funds, but this is too much!) Last, I think we get complacent on what we spend our money on. It seems like we are pretty frugal, but I know it's easier to just sit back and assume we're doing our best effort. I would like to look at where the money goes, and see if that's what we want to be doing.

Btw, I'm lucky in that I can say 'we' over and aver. While my husband does NOT keep the checkbook to the last penny (not his strength at all,) he is definitely a great partner for this. He is game to try out new things and different ways. Most of all, he and I have similar ideas of wants, needs and goals, so again I know I'm lucky (yup, he is too!) Now, our daughters on the other hand....well, at least, they are understand that not all wealth is monetary. Though they would hardly be opposed to some more of that monetary wealth coming their way!

Ok, not so short and sweet, though if you saw the lost entry... you would see that this one is.

Next time, I'd like to be more specific on how to achieve the following goals:

Goal 1 - increase our savings cushion

Goal 2 - consolidate or get on top of the several retirement and investment accts

Goal 3 - analyze our spending and see if it's in the way we want

That's all for now....take care!