...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!

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!

It's no April Fool's joke that I'm quite ready to start a new month.

In mid-March, our family had an emergency requiring a hospital stay for my oldest. All is now better. Though we still have the forthcoming bills to address. Luckily March saw the final payment from November's hospital stay. We are very thankful for having pretty decent health insurance, though it is always stressful dealing with a new company, as well as for the reason of the hospital stay. Life keeps marching on at our house, and April definitely has a sunnier outlook for us.

A difference in our two hospital experiences is that we are in a better financial state this time. We have the money set aside, or the bulk of it, when the bills arrive. There are medicine changes, as well as increased medical visits (some weeks will have three with co-pays.) All I can say is that by straightening up our money picture, this is all a lot less scary to be facing (while leaving the majority of our focus free to just plain handle this all.) Not sure that made sense, but it's just nice to not have the bills weighing so heavy on us, when there are far more important things to be dealing with right now. Anyway, I guess I want to give credit to this site and all of the creators and contributors for the wonderful ideas and help I've gleaned from here. Thank you!

Since I'm having trouble creating very coherent sentences and paragraphs, and well, I won't even mention the run-on sentences..oh my.. it's time to be done. 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!

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!

It's seems forever since I last made an entry. And let me just say, making daily entries kept me on the straight and narrow!

The good - We're entering our second week of the two-week grocery shopping and we're still okfood-wise. My daughter is now really 11, and we celebrated her birthday over the weekend. On Friday, she and her friends participated in our family's standard party - the 'attend the open swim time at the school's pool, homemade pizza, and sleepover' party. Very fun, very inexpensive. We did great with the favors even, hitting the Target dollar spot with clearances after Valentine's Day (not planned, but very welcome.)

The bad - The above mentioned birthday party also had a family party on Saturday night. Gosh, it's been a while since we've had a crew over! The lasagne dinner with a bit of wine and fancy beer was fun, but hardly inexpensive.

The ugly - My daughter brought home her science class project - a goldfish. I admit to saying ok, but I should have checked out the cost of setting up a small tank before I said yes. Lesson learned in dollars. We're pet suckers here.

We also spent money on going to the MN Zoo, not the free one in our area. I did a household membership pass, because it'd cost us more just to pay admission and parking for all of us. We will make good use of this pass, though I probably should have waited until next month. And then there was the gas for the week... Next week will be better!!

Take care!

I feel like all I've been doing is working lately. But I know the extra hours won't last forever, so I'll keep doing them while they are still available. Got back a bit ago from working our preschool's Super Saturday - several hundred kids and adults came. It took a bit to get the rooms back to normal, but it was fun to see everyone having a good time.

My husband got paid yesterday, and my check will be in the account on the 15th. All our OT and extra hours have made it possible to keep up with the interest free payments to the hospital and doctor. Just one more payment to the hospital and two more to the dr - yay! I will be so glad to not have them hanging over our heads.

Our next goal is to then funnel the extra money in paying off the cc debt. We haven't used the card in a long time, and now we are serious about getting it paid off.

Need to send off two more mail-order prescriptions. Got gas for the car - $41. Need to go to the grocery store - am thinking of trying to bump it up to two weeks. I spend a bigger amount, but when averaged over two weeks, the total is quite a bit less. Need to finish the shopping list.

A trip to Target is planned this weekend. My 3rd daughter turns 11 soon, and will have a swim, pizza and sleepover party next Friday. We swim at the school's pool for very cheap. Then we head home for homemade pizza and cake. The girls watch movies (that we own) and hardly sleep. We hand out party favors, but make it cheap. Being it's so close to Valentine's Day, I saw cute little heart decorated tin pails at the $ spot at Target, and we'll add a fun trinket or two, and a little candy. At our house, it's the birthday party down to a science. We've done this one over and over through the years, and the girls don't tire of it.

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!

Sent the two oldest off with lunches, and I think it wasn't too bad for them (except that we'll try to pack them the night before - mornings are too crazy!) Still no 1099 - I know we'll receive it before the end of the month, but I'm ready to do up those taxes. I worked extra hours today, so that will be nice on the paycheck. Dinner is in the crockpot - another batch of the minestrone recipe I tried last week. Everyone wanted it again, so I put that together quickly this morning. I have some paid training to go to tonight with a meal provided by my boss. Hopefully the family will save a bowl of the minestrone for my lunch tomorrow. My daughter has to get on the computer, so this is it for now....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!

I mulled over what we're spending on our grocery, etc. bill weekly, and came up with a plan to help reduce it.

Lunches and snacks:

- Look for a cheaper source of hot cocoa/coffee - I was buying the cheapest of this at the grocery store we go to, but have looked up some homemade mixes that might give us a little savings

- Talk to my two oldest girls about bringing lunches to school

- Talk to my youngest girl about some charges on her lunch account - she brings lunch each day, but it turns out that she was still thirsty after drinking what I was sending, so we will make sure there is an extra container with water packed (she came up with the idea!)

- Determine the costs of the individual items packed into the lunches & figure out a max price I'm willing to pay to have an item in the lunch - started to do this and found that some of what I was thinking was cheap wasn't as cheap as it could be (mostly I plan to eliminate the really expensive few items, but still offer a variety of cheaper alternatives over the course of the week.)

- Make a concerted effort to bake and freeze more of the treat and snack items (so often it's cheaper to make than buy, plus having control of what's put in)

- Relating to the above is to prebag portions of snacks and homemade treats so as to easily pull together for snacks and lunches (do this already, but could improve - between my husband and the girls, they could eat whole packages and everything I bake fresh in one session - not good for the budget or waistline) - maybe what I need to do is find better hiding places

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!

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!

After a very long evening of repair last night, my husband was able to fix the washer - yay! It's a very well-used appliance at our house, and would be sorely missed. Note to those looking for partners in life - it's absolutely wonderful having someone who is a jack-of-all-trades sort of person, because there is a good chance s/he can fix a great many things around the home and garage. His next project - replace the brake line in our old Ford van this weekend. Oh joy!!

We both received our checks today, and there were OT hours. So our first month of payments for November's ambulance, doctor and hospital bills were paid with a bit of breathing room. I'm putting some aside in our savings to have as backup for next month's payment, as well as, paying out the majority of our monthly bills (mortgage and utilities...) Hey, we can even get groceries (just kidding, though occasionally it does feel that short funds-wise.)

This weekend, I'll head to the discount bread store and buy a month's worth (most goes into the freezer.) I will make a trip to the grocery store, though except for some dairy and produce, we're not in too bad of shape, so it should be on the lower end of cost. I'll start to gather up everything for tax time, and can begin preliminary figuring (have to wait for the w-2s & 1099s to come before I can get too far into the forms.)

My oldest is attending her first semi-formal high school dance early in February, so we'll start looking at dresses this weekend. It should be fun, but she knows our limitations (so we're hoping for something cheap and gorgeous, while being a dress she'll wear again - is that a tall order, or what?!) I have a price in mind, and she could use some of her money for something more, but she is putting her earnings toward a mission trip with our church this summer. She's a pretty practical girl, so I think she'll find something great in my price range. (The lot of a mom - I'm very excited for her, being nostalgic from my high school days and the fun she'll have...but still, I'm in shock as to how we got here! Wasn't she just a little one in my arms in her ruffly pink dresses not all that long ago?? Hmm, pretty sure she won't go that route now!) Have a great weekend....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!

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!