Just wanted to give an example of some frugal fun (if you are 2)...ds1 found a pile of sawdust where we cut wood. He and my niece played there for about an hour. I love the ability to find something where others see nothing

Here's my to-do list from yesterday and my progress:
-clean, clean, clean - got this mostly done - have a little more dusting to do in our bedroom and need to vacuum two rooms.
-do a market analysis for a client - done!
-start my third online course - get at least two lessons done - done - did three lessons!
-get my pictures in my albums - going to do this next
-cancel the three trial memberships that I have gotten gift cards from already - I cancelled two, but I am not sure which one the third set of gift cards came from. DH opened the envelope and says it was from Great Fun, but it was a Circuit City gift card, which was supposed to come from the Buyers Advantage program. SInce I have only had then open two weeks, I am going to wait another two weeks before cancelling in case I have anything else on the way.

Tomorrow: Another day at home with no plans. I will continue cleaning and maybe even get ready to paint ds1's room. DH found some mistinted blue paint at Lowe's this morning for $7 (gallon). We did have some blue paint...but the puppy punctured the top when we left him alone in the mud room (thankfully this was NOT in the house). We came home to blue footprints ALL OVER the floor, on both doors, up the wall...it was a mess. Luckily it came off with just a little scrubbing, but we had to get more paint
Anyway, ds1's room has a red carpet. We are going to go chalkboard paint either on half of one wall, or maybe the two doors. Then we are going to paint either the moulding blue, or maybe do blue vertical stripes on two walls. Does that sound weird? The room would be really dark if we did the walls all blue, plus I am not sure how it would look with the carpet. DH wants to do Yankee pinstripes, but I don't think we have the talent or the patience for it! But I would like his room to have more of a boy feel. After we get this done, we plan to move ds2 in with him. Wish us luck with THAT endeavor! (they are 1 and 2).
I did write my compliment letter to Winkflash and got a nice response thanking me for taking the time to write. It was nice to write to tell someone how good they are doing - I always plan to do it more often, but never get around to it. I also wrote a follow-up letter to Nextel to thank them for finally taking the time to listen and address my concerns, as well as tell them that the Better Business Bureau complaint was satisfied. I did check my account and the $50 credit was there WOO HOO! I feel vindicated

I feel like I have been on the go all day. My first appointment of the day was 45 minutes away, then I drove back to the office for our staff meeting, worked for about an hour then took some personal time to go show some houses, again 45 minutes away (I got a "maybe" on one of them!), then to my financial planning appt. Finally made it home, but the kids were playing outside and I didn't have the heart to make them come in on such a nice day...so I spent an hour and a half running around outside with them (not that I am complaining about THAT!). Dinner, dishes, some online education - 10 pm and it's MY time!
The financial planning session was actually pretty good - it made DH and I feel pretty good about our position. While we still have too much debt for me to be comfortable with (of course, I would rather have NO debt at all), it's almost all student debt and the planner advised us not to pay it all off since we were making more with our money elsewhere, and since it is deductible. Not sure I agree with that, although I can certainly see how it makes sense. I would just love to not owe any money, period. But I think we are ahead of the game in retirement for our ages (about $24k saved - we are both 28), and we have no cc debt and only a small car loan ($2800). He told us to keep doing what we are doing. The only change he suggested, and it wasn't even a strong suggestion, was to look at mutual funds over straight stock purchases, which is what we have now. I have heard a lot about this on here and have been thinking about it myself. I do NOT tolerate risk well, and it seems the mutual funds are much less riskier than holding the 8-10 stocks we now have. But DH is adamant that the potential for growth is so much better. He says we are making about 20% on our current investments. So I think we will probably leave things as they are for now, but when we start to really accumulate more retirement savings (when he is out of school), I definitely want to put at least 25-50% in funds. Then I will feel a little more secure. But the planner said we are actually doing fine and he wouldn't recommend anything different. A mental pat on the back for us
I withdrew my complaint from the Better Business Bureau today. Still have to write to Winkflash to pat them on the back. I'll put that on my to-do list for tomorrow, along with:
-clean, clean, clean (DH has the day off from school - we are going to get busy!)
-do a market analysis for a client
-start my third online course - get at least two lessons done
-get my pictures in my albums
-cancel the three trial memberships that I have gotten gift cards from already.
Busy, busy.

I thought I was making so much progress on getting my real estate continuing education done - I had just finished my 7.5 hours course. HOWEVER...there is a time minimum that you must spend taking the course - 6.5 hours, I think. When I finished my last test questions, I was expecting a big CONGRATS! but instead I got a screen telling me how much additional time I needed to spend in each part of the course in order to get credit for it. Nearly 2 more hours total. I guess it doesn't pay to be a fast reader...
The good news: Nextel wrote me a very nice letter with an apology (all I really wanted) and a credit - $50 - when I had originally only asked for a $20 one. A very nice surprise. Now I will contact the Better Business Bureau to withdraw my complaint. All I really wanted was someone to listen to me and acknowledge that I was given false information and treated poorly. Now I am happy
Other good stuff: my pictures from Winkflash arrived today. That was super fast. I plan to write a little letter of praise to them. I am trying to point out all the good things I see in companies rather than just focus on the negative.
News on the money front...I have a one hour financial consultation tomorrow through my union - free. I don't think they sell stuff, so I am hoping it does not turn into someone puching whole life insurance on me (like the last one I went to). I have a questionnaire I have to print out and complete. In fact, I forgot about it until just now. Better get cracking!

I just finished ordering my pictures from Winkflash. 151 pictures for a grand total of $19.11. If I had been using my old film camera, I would have spent approximately $30 on the film, and then at least that much more on developing. Sure, I probably took more pictures with my digital than I would have with film, but I still think this is much cheaper. Plus I got to crop and edit out the red eye. It sounds like a ton of pictures, but it's for 3-4 months. I maintain my regular photo album, then a small one for each child, plus my scrapbooking. I enjoy it, and there certainly are things I could spent a lot more money on, so it's a guilt free expenditure for me.
I also got the bathroom cleaned top to bottom today - it needed it so badly. What a dummy I was too - I cleaned the toilet with a product containing bleach, then wiped down the outside with a product containing ammonia. Then I had to freak out because I didn't know if mixing them caused the toxic fumes, or if just using them in the same area could cause the fumes. I looked it up online, and it seemed that you would have to mix them together to create hazardous gases. So I guess we're in the clear. I'm okay, and the house hasn't blown up I tend to get a little paranoid at times!
Got to get online to do some more of my continuing education. Ick.

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Being as that DH will be in school until December (and not working), I will continue to do these little things to save. Ah, who am I kidding - I would do them no matter what our circumstances are! it's one of those things that is just ingrained in me. Such a mindset...when you get into it, it never leaves you. DH really surprised me the other day when we got a invitation for a high school reunion for a high school he did not attend - they enclosed a stamped return envelope. Since the invite was not intended for us, we obviously were not going, so DH said to reuse the stamp! Sure, he may have been half joking, but the other half of him wasn't! he is not the type to think frugal, but lately he has been coming up with little things that really surprise me... I do love that man. He really could care less, but I think he understands that it makes me happy to save money and pay off our debts.
Accomplishments for today:
1. Cleaned out and defrosted the freezer (finally). Took several hours - there was SO much ice build up that quite a few things were immovable until the ice melted.
2. Organized, fixed (cropped, removed red eye, etc), and labeled all my digital pics online from Nov-Feb. I have them all downloaded (uploaded? whatever) to Winkflash except Feb, which I will do tomorrow. Then I can order the prints I want and get them into my albums.
3. Took three books back to the library BEFORE they were due. I still have The Millionaire Next Door audiotape out - only on tape 3 out of 8, but they won't let me renew it anymore. I am going to return it tomorrow, then sign it back out again if I can. I have to admit, I am a little disappointed so far. I was expecting great things of this book, but so far, all they have done is say the same thing 50 different ways. Ok, I get the point that most millionaires are not the flashy spendthrifts that most people think they are - but I already knew this before reading the book. Does there have to be a chapter on how millionaires spend less on clothes, and how millionaires spend less on cars, how they spend less on everything...can someone tell me if the whole book is like this before I keep listening? The reason it is taking me so long is that I have found National Public Radio to be more interesting (I only listen to radio/books while in my car), so I never get to the tapes!
Man, can I ever just say something without getting off on a tangent??

Anyway, I feel quite accomplished for the day

...eating my sandwich while EVERYONE else (except Jim, my office mate) was enjoying a manicotti, meatball, garlic knots, and salad dinner (Jim and I agreed to skip the $6 lunch and bring our own to the staff meeting). We got quite a few stares and even some comments when we pulled out our sandwiches. Everyone assumed I was doing it for health reasons, though, since I have recently lost quite a bit of weight. I did feel really self-conscious though. I will have to get over that. I do feel good about the extra $6 in my pocket
During the staff meeting someone asked about fund-raising for a developmentally disabled person who wants to take a vacation - she can pay her way, but somehow the staff who need to go with her need to have their way paid. Now, I am not opposed to fund-rasing (well, acutally I am a little opposed to making kids hawk overpriced items to people who don't really want them (no offense intended here - I know it's a way of life for schools/clubs), but that's another rant...and I might just have to suck it up when my kids get old enough!) - but then someone suggested that "why don't we just do something like an early Christmas collection to help her!" So now we are going to have a Christmas collection in July and another one in December? After the meeting Jim (a fellow cheapskate of sorts) and I went back to the office to complain. Not specifically about this, but there is always SOMETHING at the office to contribute to. There are always fundraisers (right now there is a box of candy, an order form for food, and a sign-up sheet to sponsor someone for a walk-a-thon). There are always "parties" (Pampered Chef, jewelry, candles, etc), and there is always the collection for baby/birthday/retirement etc. Not to mention our regular birthday club to which you have to pay $1 per pay period to belong to and which you are looked at as a grouch if you don't participate. Jim did not want to participate, but they celebrated his birthday anyway, so now he feels obligated to contribute. Sorry, had to rant a little. I get so tired of having to say no all the time...
Other than that, a good day - had my teeth cleaned at the dentist ($85 for cleaning and exam - I will get about $40 back from insurance) - I have to go back next month for a teeny cavity but I did get a toothbrush from the deal, and the hygienist slipped in two toothbrushes for my kids too
Made a good taco casserole tonight - found the recipe on recipezaar.com, the best site ever for recipes, IMO. I used the shells, seasoning, and salsa from a kit - browned the beef with onion, then added the seasoning and a little tomato sauce. Then you layer the crushed shells with the meat, and cottage cheese/sour cream mixture, and shredded cheese. Yummy. I have already added the recipe to my keeper pile and will definitely make it again. I got the taco kit for about $1 on sale too, so it was pretty cheap.
No work tomorrow...plan to catch up on my pictures. If I can get them labeled and ordered from Winkflash, I will feel accomplished I have a backlog to order from November. I try to order 3-4 months at a time as their shipping is only $.99 no matter the size. I would like to get all my pics in order by the end of the month.

I got my coupon for free dog food today - after all the trouble I had registering on the site. Free cat food, too. And now that we have the new puppy, we will use it (the dog food, that is)
Also got some deodorant...I was never really into the freebies much, but it is very easy to get hooked. However, I do have to scroll through about 50 to find one I would use...oh well. Can't complain about free stuff.
Mot much to report today - big car payment went out in the mail. I decided to bring my lunch to work tomorrow rather than kick in for a manicotti lunch at out staff meeting. At least my office mate agreed with me, so he's brown-bagging it too (I would feel a little weird being the only one). Maybe we'll just eat lunch before the meeting and not eat during...
Busy day tomorrow...work, dentist, back to work, home.

A technical post rather than my usual rambling...
Money in:
tax refund (federal) - yeah!!!
$100 on it's way from cashing out my cc reward. I looked over all the gift card options which I could have used to get a $25 gc for redeeming $20 worth of points, but there really was nothing I needed or wanted. I already have a wallet full of gift cards that I never use because I rarely buy things new. So what do I need more for? I took the cash!
I also cashed out my BOA cc rewards - a $50 credit to my account. After I ordered it, it said it would be credited within 4-6 weeks. I was so mad that I called Customer Service and asked them to cancel it, but they couldn't. I assumed it would be credited immediately (and it did not say otherwise) and I wanted to close the account soon. But anyway, the credit showed up within 3 days I wonder if my phone call had anything to do with that, or if it was just dumb luck.

Money out: $1419 balance paid on my BOA cc.
$3000 car payment being sent out tomorrow - $2860 left. Not too bad for taking out a $7500 loan 14 months ago. I'll be glad when this is gone and we can focus on the student loans.

Still left to pay: one cc - it still has temporary authorizations on it, so I don't know the final amount yet. Should be paid off by the end of the week (app. $270).

Remaining debts: car loan
my student loan - app. $6800
DH's student loan - app. $15000 (and will probably grow by about $6k more). UGH.
Luckily, no mortgage debt.
Still need to contribute $2000 more to my IRA. DH doesn't think he can contribute to his this year since he has no earned income - anyone know anything about this?

I am showing a house tomorrow, 45 minutes away, at 8 am. On a Saturday. UGH. But it's a promising prospect, an investor I work with who buys a lot of beat-up places to renovate and rent out. This place, on the market for a hefty $27,500, already has an offer on it, but the agent is letting us get a look too before the seller decides. We were going to meet at noon, but we decided speed was of the essence. I hope he wants to put in an offer. It would be a cash deal and a quick closing - would only net me about $370, but I would take it!! I have decided to attack the car loan and student loan whole-heartedly, so every bit helps.
I resisted the urge to order out this afternoon at work and ate my humble little lunch at my desk. Since I ate out three times last week, I decided to limit myself this week. I haven't eaten out yet, but might have to tomorrow due to work (I won't be at a place I can easily bring a lunch to). We'll see - actually, I might be able to get home in time for lunch, which would be the best option. Tomorrow night we are putting on a Irish dinner (with some non-Irish dishes too) for my family. DH is making a Bailey's cake - YUM!
I deposited nearly $1000 in the bank today and noticed that my tax refund was there - credit cards, begone. I will still have a few thousand to play around with and will probably put toward the car loan. We always pay off the cc every month, so we never pay finance charges...but I am always worrying about when payments are due and missing one (did this a few months ago to the tune of $40!), so I decided NO MORE. DH actually agreed to go along with it. The problem we both have is that we take our debit card out of our wallets for one reason or another, then find ourselves out of gas, or with a cart of groceries, and have to whip out the cc to take care of it. So a little organization will help. Carrying cash just is not an option for us. DH is too careless with his wallet. Although, I must say, it has come back to him every time. The last time he left it at a supermarket. The funniest time was when he lost it in the ocean...didn't even realze it until someone came walking down the beach calling his name. Unbelievable. The man has great karma. But not a chance I am willing to take with a walletful of cash. So we are going to make an attempt to be more aware.

I want to try this out too...this is one of the few pics I can find recently of my boys together - on my 1 year old's first birthday

finally got my letters out to past clients to ask for referral business. I sent them a small gift too (either a Super Certificate or a Dine-A-Mate type book, depending on where they lived). I have only been talking about doing this for a few months now...next I want to send a few letters out to people who did not buy a house from me, but did look...some of them stopped looking due to circumstances and may be in the market again soon. Never hurts to remind them I'm alive
I have made some decent from-the-freezer-to-the-crockpot meals this past week. Feels good to get the freezer cleaned out a little, although now I am seeing that we have about 30 bags of corn (my parents grow and freeze their own) and 20 cartons of frozen strawberries (my mom picks and freezes tons every summer). I love being creative and seeing what I can make out of nothing. And this is a good time to do it too, because DH and I have just been shopping way too many times this month - probably at least twice every week. We have to go again tomorrow because we have invited the family out Sat. for a corned beef/roast beef dinner (not too many of them like corned beef). I already bought the corned beef and we got the roast out of the freezer, but there are a few other things we need to get. I don't mind though, spending money to entertain. I like making a good meal for people and watching them enjoy it.
I signed up for a few more trial memberships last night - now just to remember to cancel them! I was careful to write down the information about each, esp. the date. As soon as I receive the g.c., I am going to make the calls. There were two offers that made no mention of a g.c. anywhere on the sight, so I guess the promotion must have ended. I skipped those.
Working a short day tomorrow since I have to go in for a few hours on Saturday. I plan to stop at the bank and post office after I get out - got to get my letters in the mail. Then tomorrow night either DH or I are going to pick up my parents at the airport. They have been on a cruise for 11 days. I always hated being alone in the house with two toddlers (give me some adult conversation please!), but this last week and a half has been kinda nice. But it will be nice to have some more activity around the house again.

Another reason to hate this online education I am taking...it failed to save my spot when I stopped, so now I have to take half the lesson all over again.
Today was a pretty laid back day. After I dropped ds1 off at preschool, I took ds2 out for breakfast. We had a nice time - he flirted with everyone in the restaurant (he's 1). Then we went grocery shopping and spent about $45. A big chunk of it was for the corned beef we are going to cook on Friday, and my splurge on two cartons of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (2/$5). The bad news though - they rolled out of the bag and under the seats while I was driving - directly on top of the heat vent. They were mush when I unpacked them. They are frozen again, but I don't know if the taste or texture will be affected. I am going to be really ticked if I can't enjoy these! Speaking of which...isn't it time for dessert?
I finalized my insurance choice yesterday - stayed with Liberty Mutual. I took the higher liability, but did cancel the rental coverage and upped my deductible. The cost was $1223 for two cars, both with collision. Definitely better than the $1343 I paid last year with the same company, so I think my time on the phone paid off. The best part is that it will be automatically deducted from my paycheck with no installment fees, so I don't have to pay it all now. I can use that money toward other things without having to pay any more over the long run. YEAH!
I am going to take a good look at the money situation tonight, so I can decide whether I want to pay off the car loan, student loan, or something else when I get my tax refund. I was gung-ho on getting rid of the car loan, but I think I may pay off the cc first (currently at 0% interest), and then pay off about half the car loan. I have to run the numbers to see...

I just ordered my online real estate continuing education classes. I tried out a sample class first and liked the speed of it - but now that I have paid for 22.5 hours of classes and started them, it is S--L--O--W! I don't know how I am going to get through these hours at this pace! Probably with savingadvice.com on my other browser for convenient flipping! Anyway, I did it again - I waited until the month before my license is up for renewal to cram all my hours in. If I spend just an hour a night, I'll be done by the end of the month...license doesn't need to be renewed until 4/16, so I will get it done. It's still better than sitting in class all week!
I got a few free samples this past week - deodorant, shampoo and conditioners. Nice. I like to see little things trickling in. I also signed up for one of the free trials - greatfun.com. I am supposed to be getting a link for an Exxon card, I think - but nothing so far on my e-mail. I have gotten two e-mails from them to confirm my membership, but no gift card mentioned anywhere. Can anyone who's done this tell me how long it took for them to get the e-mail? It's been 2 or 3 days now...I always screw these offers up somehow!
I stayed up too late reading Dave Ramsey last night. Have to decide which of his principals I want to attempt. It just goes against my frugal sense to pay off my 0% cc before my car loan, but since it is such a small balance, Dave says to do it...and I do think it would make me feel better to have it gone!

if I finish this milkshake. If my typing starts to deteriorate, you will know why. I decided after driving my Arby's on my home from bowling that I wanted a jamocha milkshake, but didn't want to spend the $$ for it. When DH and I got home, I got out the blender and some old, old mocha chip ice cream that we were saving for this purpose. A little milk, and a bit of Baileys on a whim...but whoa, it's a little strong! YUM. But these little Bailey's bottles have been sitting around too long (I rarely have a drink anymore), as was the ice cream...so I can pat myself on the back for using them up
I signed up for the free trial of myfico last night. Got my score (789) and DH's (774). I just had to rub it in his face slightly that mine was higher, I imagine due to his extra $10k in new student loans, since all our other credit accounts are the same. I was surprised to see some of my old credit cards still on there - anyone know how long they will stick around for? Some have been closed 4-5 years now, I think.
$2 on pizza for lunch today (had to show houses at lunchtime) - still berating myself for not waiting until I got home to eat, but the thought of pizza was so tempting...then I had to stop at the store for milk and ended up getting some grapes out of the bargain produce bin ($6 spent). And $15 for the babysitter tonight. Nothing extraordinary, but little things that add up. I am showing another house tomorrow after work - maybe this will be the one they want
I already made my lunch for tomorrow - I ended up eating lunch out at work twice last week due to poor planning. I just have to remember to pack it at night as I never have time in the morning. Just another example of how poor planning costs you money...

Finally, a break in the cold. DH and I spent some time outside with the boys today - took them to a local playground. My older son had a ball, but the younger one didn't really know what to do. He just wandered around, but still had a good time. Best free entertainment around.
We stopped at Lowe's first. Finally bought the chalkboard paint for ds1's room (but who knows when we'll get around to painting it!). We are going to do one half of one wall. DH and I were awfully tempted by the magnetic primer, but decided the $20 price tag was a little much. We also look at moulding for his room - right now there is some really cheap, ugly plastic moulding - but were a little sticker shocked at the prices. Nearly $1 a foot. Doesn't sound so bad, but if we are to do the ceiling, corners, and around the windows, we will need 175 feet. Ouch. So we are going to see if we can do without the moulding on the windows - we have to take down the old stuff to see what it looks like.
I also ran into Big Lots quick to grab ds1's current obsession - Sesame Street fruit snacks (or Elmo snacks, if you ask him). $1.69/pack. Not the most frugal, but they are more expensive at the grocery store. While I was there I snagged three boxes of Kashi cereal for $1.99. Lovin' the Big Lots tonight.
I have to get my insurance resolved here soon - renewal is due 3/20. Hopefully I will have it figured out by Monday. I'm pretty sure I will stay with Liberty Mutual at this point - just a matter of figuring out my exact coverage. The good news would be that I wouldn't need to pay the entire balance at once. Liberty Mutual won't charge installment fees if I have it direct debited from my paycheck, so I won't pay any more whether I pay it up front or in installments.
I have about $500 extra in my checking account - plus another check to deposit for $300. Hmmm...what to do with it. Emergency fund is full, all cc's are paid off except my 0% interest (which I just paid another $200 on today)...but maybe I will add it to the cc just the same. It feels like I have been scrambling the past three months between Christmas, annual fees (real estate associaton, MLS), and DH's tuition ($2700). Now that most of that is paid off, I have some wiggle room again!

and my little peanut of a boy (18.5 lbs at one year) ate five of them tonight. Usually he can't wait to get down from the table after two bites, but tonight he ate all the fish sticks, some yogurt, and a ton of broccoli. Maybe he's planning to start growing soon! Anyway, I figured he'd eat two, maybe three, and then I could steal the rest (not exactly South Beach friendly, but I don't count the leftovers I eat off my kid's plates!) - but I got nothing!
Speaking of eating off my kids plates... I decided tonight to stop doing this. I will tend to clean up their plates after they are done (dry foods, nothing they've slobbered over) whether I want it or not (if it's not enough to save for lunch tomorrow). I feel like I am wasting money if I just throw it away. But really, what's the difference between eating something I don't want and throwing it away? Added calories, that's all - and I don't need them. So no more guilt. I have to realize that sometimes, it's okay to let things go.

Please don't anyone take this as a knock - because we have probably all been there - but I am so glad for my emergency fund. I was reading someone else's blog about having to set aside bills as there was not enough money left to pay them, and I just had to think about how far DH and I have come since those days. I might hold on to a bill for a week or two so I can pay it out of my checking account instead of my savings, but there are no bills I receive that I could not pay out of my emergency savings account if I needed to. And it feels so nice. Plus there are the other benefits of being able to pay bills in full rather than pay installment charges (saving $5 a month for my car insurance, or a $100 discount for payment in full with another company I checked out). So to everyone out there struggling to make it paycheck to paycheck - these semmingly little changes DO add up and DO make a difference - if you really want to make it work. Just think ahead to the future and push on. That's my speech for the night

I got online tonight and filed my complaint with the Better Business Bureau over a CERTAIN cell phone company that has given my a hard time. I feel like I should just be letting this go, but it still irritates me to no end. If they had just said in their letter (from the corporate office) that they were SORRY for my inconveniences (several hours worth of phone calls), then that would have been the end of it. But they said they would "look into the discrepancies" and told me that we never made the request for our numbers to be ported...oohhh, that got me a little upset, to shift the blame back to me. So now I'm going for their throats...
Wow, I sound vindictive!! But not so - just have a warped sense of justice. And a stubborn streak.
Went thrifting today - finally. I got two new pairs of pants (size 10!!), a shirt, and a cook for Ds's Easter basket - $20 spent. Then I felt bad about being gone so long while my SIL watched the boys (although I shouldn't because we watch her dd two full days a week), so I stopped to get a pizza for dinner for all of us. $10.99. But it did feed four adults and three kids, so I guess it wasn't that bad.
Found a house today that my buyers liked...however, when I told them what the monthly payments would be, they said it was too much. They were preapproved for $175k, wanted to buy in the $130-150k range, but apparently never figured out the payments. I have tried to bring this up with them a few times previously, but they kept telling me that they were all set with their bank. So I guess I assumed the bank had explained this to them - really, I should have pushed a little harder to make sure they really were all set. Now we may have to limit their search a little more. I feel like we have wasted some time now. Live and learn.
I did get my filing done last night - took about ten minutes. Yet it's been sitting on my floor for a few months. Got to get my priorities in order here. Oh yeah, I guess I should get my butt off the computer then too.

I was feeling a little queasy last night, but chalked it up to being overly hungry and had a snack - seemed to do the trick. But then I woke up with an upset stomach this morning at 5 am. Ick. I spent a little too much time getting personal with my toilet. It must have been something I ate - I did have lunch at a fast food place yesterday (tacos) - that's the only thing I can think of. But anyway, it went away nearly as fast as it came. I tried to call in to work this morning and get someone to cover a meeting for me, but my boss called me at home to see if I would reschedule it instead because she "felt strongly" that I should attend. There were about 10 people coming to this meeting, plus a family member from out of town - I was not going to reschedule on two hours notice, so I went in. But I did get to spend the morning in my pjs watching tv
No spending today - yeah. Actually, nothing really noteworthy to report. The kids were both in bed by 8pm, so I rewarded myself with extra computer time. I am so bad at trying to limit this!
A few things on my to-do list:
Cancel my current car insurance and sign up with One Beacon, my old company, that gave me a better rate.
Get my paperwork together for a free financial consultation through my union later this month.
File about three months of paperwork sitting on my bedroom floor (tonight's goal).
Win some Coca-Cola! I just read that post about their instant win. I should have been e-mailed my codes by now, so I am off to log-in.

Healthy Harvest spaghetti - 3/$1! I thought it was a great deal when I found it for $1 a box (I usually pay about $1.50 per box), so I was over the moon when I saw this ad for Eckerd's. I bought 5 boxes today...ought to last us for a few months. I also got Bumblebee tuna - 2/$1, and 75% Valentine's candy (going in Easter baskets. So what if it's heart shaped? I love my kids!).
I have had an awful case on the spends lately. Luckily my cure for this is thrift shopping, so I can usually get over it without breaking the bank. But I haven't had a lot of time to thrift lately, so this urge to shop seems to be hanging on. I did pick up a few ties at the Salvation Army for DH (he wears them to observe in the classroom and will need them to student teach) for $2 each. I found a few that were not priced and they refused to sell them to me! I even asked for a manager, but their policy is no price tag, no sale. Bummer. I told them the policy stunk and they just lost $6 in sales, because I was at a store 45 minutes away and would not come back. Then Dh and I went out to dinner last week and stopped in Marshalls - he picked up another tie and a pair of pants for $5! But still...I think my need to shop is due to my pants fitting a little looser (yeah!) - I relaly need to get a few new pairs that I am not pulling up all the time.
Tonight I decided to make use of the massive value pack of hamburger I bought two days ago. I cooked most of it up and divided it into three parts - one for chili tonight in the crock pot for tomorrow, two to go in the freezer for chili later. Then I cooked up the veggies (peppers, onions, celery) and will put those in the same baggies. Chili kits! All I will need to do is add tomatoes, beans, and spices.
I've been pretty proud of my shopping lately. I neglected to mention my last shopping trip - about $120 down to $70. Pretty good when two months ago I was only saving $5-10 per trip and using no coupons. Dh is even getting into it - today he called me at work to tell me to stop at Eckerd's for Healthy Harvest! I never thought I would see the day he searched through the sales.
I am going to ease up on this board for a bit...sadly. I have this somewhat addictive personality when it comes to bulletin boards and blogs. I just can't stop, to the detriment of my sleep. I had to quit parents.com cold turkey because I just could not pull myself away. I am going to try limiting my time here - I think twice a week, or maybe 30 minutes a day. Otherwise I get so into reading blogs and posts that I look up and 2 hours have passed. There are just so many things that I need (and want) to do besides read this, even though I consider it a great source of entertainment and definitely a huge asset in the fight against consumerism! So I will be around, but posting less...and definitely reading less...but hopefully getting more done!

I had almost forgotten to revisit my Feb. goals. Here they are, followed by my progress:

-Start advertising for real estate. By the end of this month, I want to have my magnet sign for my car, have advertisements posted in three local establishments, and have one ad in the Sunday paper -> I have the sign for my car made, but have not yet picked it up. I still need to get my posters made, but since I am clueless on how to begin, I need to schedule a time to meet with out office secretary. My broker is working on putting the ads together, so they should be in sometime this month.

-Finish tax returns early -> done

-Maintain weight loss -> done - and I lost 1.5 pounds to boot.

-Get organized - one project at a time. Right now it's kids' clothes -> Done, more or less. I have all the clothes in boxes, but I need to get a few more boxes with lids from work before storing them.

Goals for March:
-Continue to work on real estate advertising, including looking into sites such as housevalues.com. Get at least one ad in the paper. Use my car magnet sign everyday while driving.
-Use tax refund plus savings to pay off car loan ($5800). Will save $200 in payments per month that we can use for other debt and IRA contributions.
-Maintain weight loss - currently at 141.
-Sorting goal: get all my pictures back into albums. I had this done, but tore my albums apart during my recent scrapbooking weekend, leaving a lot of holes in my albums. I want to get this fixed.

I think there's probably more, but both my boys just woke from na856p90 (courtesy of ds2 walking on the keyboard trying to get to the screen) naps. Gotta run...

Ok, I just reda a magazine article about a woman who has really taken to writing letters to compliment/complain when something goes really wrong or really right. She has gotten some amazing responses, like phone calls from the president of a company. It really struck home. So often we let things go when we shouldn't, or fail to recognize those who should be applauded. So today I finished another letter to Nextel (they denied me a credit after my first letter and basically called me a liar), which I am also sending to the Better Business Bureau, and I wrote a quick e-mail to Leapfrog. I have five Leapfrog toys - two are great, two are broken, and one uses batteries so fast that I just stopped using it. So it will be interesting to see if these go anywhere.
I also am bidding on E-bay for a few things I need. I won a lot of scrapbooking items for $6 total - probably would have cost $15-20 at a store. And I am also bidding on a lot of 3 boy's pajamas. I need to get some 3T two-piece jammies for ds1 now that he is getting better at using the bathroom at night. They are about $10 a piece new, so if I can get them for $3-4 used I will feel good about it.
That's all for now - my mom is watching the kids tonight so DH and I can go out to dinner, so I thought I would write a quick entry now. We are going to stop at Lowe's to get some things to redo ds1's room (chalkboard paint, molding). It's been on our to-do list for a few months now, so maybe we'll actually get around to it soon. Have a great night everyone!

Thanks, Amy752, for the info on how to post pictures. Let's see if this works.

We have decided to keep the brown one and have found a home for the black one. We don't have a name for him yet, though...any suggestions????

Oh wow, that came out huge...well, I guess it will do for now, since I don't know how to fix it!

Let's see how I did this month...here were my goals, followed by my actual expense:
Groceries: 290 -> 196.28!! We've been eating out of the freezer a lot this month, plus I just went today and spent $70, which doesn't count for Feb.
Household: 165 -> 300, my share of utilities plus $100 for cell phone
Car: 250 -> 320.02, ouch - $55 was for car inspection and repairs
Medical: 345 -> 173.94
Clothes: 20 -> 0
Loans: 300.36 -> 100.36 (forgot to get the car payment in before the end of the month - means I will have two in March)
Entertainment: 150 -> 193.72 - we prepaid bowling for 7 weeks, so that's an extra $100 than we would have normally spent for the month.
Gifts: 30 -> 60.13 (bought an early gift for BIL)
Miscellaneous: 150 -> 229.45 (will be getting $50 back in rebates)
Real estate: 150 -> 146.73
School: 50 -> 321.99 (DH had to pay $264 for some certification tests he has to take)
Total expenses: $1900.36 -> 2042.62
Estimated income: $2592 -> 2924.72
Our income got a little boost this month by $150 from half.com (unfortunately DH is out of textbooks- they all sold within a few days), a $60 rebate from my contacts, and two mileage checks. If I take out the $342 in cash withdrawals, we still came out $540 ahead for the month

And for next month...
Groceries: 275
Household/Cell: 265
Car: 250
Medical: 100 (a dentist and pediatrician appt)
Clothes: 20
Loans: 5800 (I plan to pay off car loan with tax refund and a little from savings)
Entertainment: 150
Gifts: 30 (one birthday)
Miscellaneous: 150
Real estate: 150 (advertising)
School: 50 (preschool tuition) + 50 in miscellaneous expenses for DH
New category, this month only: car insurance - 1180, to be paid in full in order to receive discount.
Total expenses: $8470
Estimated income: $6930 not a surprise, I knew we'd have to take from savings to get rid of the car payment. But once that loan is gone, we will have an extra $200 per month to put back into savings.