Jodi's Blog

DH went on an interview today, was offered the job, and accepted!!!!!!!!!!! (those of you who follow this blog at all will understand why I had to use to many exclamation points!). It's a Teacher's Assistant position in our local district (no commute ). Granted, with a Master's degree, he's a bit overqualified, but at least it's an "in" for a better job in the future. It seems all the teacher's with "ins" were getting hired over him, either because they were already TAs or their parents were teachers at the school or because they were already established teachers elsewhere. But if he doesn't get a better position, we'll still be okay. We don't need a lot of money, only benefits!

And now that we have benefits, I'll be able to leave my job in, say, nine or ten months

My husband's grandfather passed away peacefully this morning after a relatively long period without food or water. He was surrounded by family for the last week - all of his children and most of his grandchildren were there for various amounts of time. DH will be heading out of town tomorrow and I will follow Friday for the services. We are having my parents bring my kids to the calling hours - ds1 is now 4 years old and has asked questions about death, cemeteries, and the like. We have explained to him what happened and he's unphased. I think he will handle it fine, plus I know it will be nice for my MIL to see him, even under the circumstances. Ds2 is only 2 and we had planned not to bring him, but my parents are watching him and do not have anywhere to leave him, so he will come. One adult can always wait outside with him if it turns out to be inappropriate. Neither will come to the funeral. Everyone seems to be coping rather well, given the length of time we had to prepare. He was 89.
The wasps are gone from our room - the brightest spot in this week! One less thing to worry about. And, my dad did it on his own. I will admit, I certainly had doubts...but he did it. I will have to think of a nice way to say thanks.
Lastly, my mouth is on the mend after having my wisdom teeth removed. I have been out of work for a week now, but tomorrow is the day I plan to return. I'm functioning at about 75% of my old self, but I am still relying on the pain medication, esp. at night. I never imagined it would take this long to heal, but given my age (29!) and the difficulty of the extractions, the oral surgeon said this is normal. My mom has been a lifesaver, watching the kids for me for the better part of a week while DH was out of town. My parents are talking of going out of town in a week or two, so I think I will get them a hotel stay or nice dinner, once I know where they are heading.
Moneywise, still not much to report. It's not been a priority lately. Net worth is over $22k - our retirement alone is nearly $35k (I need to update my sidebar!). No major bills due and still two paychecks to deposit, so things are going fine.

I was looking up the difference between wasps and bees yesterday, and gave myself quite a scare when I say the picture of the honeybee. I had always pictured it fuzzier (more like a bumblebee), but it looked remarkably like the creatures we have in the walls. However, we took one to the local Cooperative Extension and they identified it as a wasp. Phew. That means there is no dripping honey in my walls to attract all kinds of rodents. They advised to plug all holes and let 'em die, or call an exterminator. I'm all for plugging the holes, if we knew exactly where they were! My dad is going to go at them again with some foam he found at the hardware yesterday. It's supposed to spread, unlike the spray, which only kills the ones it comes in contact with. I haven't been up there today, but my mom was, and she thinks the buzzing has quieted a bit.
And on the teeth front - I'm not in pain, which is good (thanks, vicadin!), but half of my mouth is numb and the other half is swollen. When I say swollen, I mean SWOLLEN. It literally looks like I have a golf ball in my cheek. I can't chew yet because it's hard to get my jaw closed enough to chew. So I've eaten soup, pudding, applesauce, and smoothies for two days. And I'm getting rather sick of it! But I'll take it over being in pain. The only worrisome part is that one of my teeth was close to a nerve. The surgeon didn't think he hit it, but the numbness from the Novacaine would have cleared up by now. So, the nerve must be causing the numbness - which could last weeks, months, or even permanently. Yikes.
DH has returned to Binghamton. Grandpa has left the hospital and returned to the nursing home - not because he is improving, but because there is nothing more they can do for him at the hospital. I hope to be able to join him later today.

The update on the yellowjackets (I think that's what they are): they are still in the walls, and my father steadfastly, stubbornly refuses to let me call the exterminator because he does not think it's worth $275. Personally, I have to sleep in that room, and I would gladly pay more to have my walls stop buzzing and wasps landing on my pillow! I love my father dearly, but he is incredibly stubborn and set in his ways. He is a do-it-yourself-er, for all of his 73 years. He sprayed wasp spray into the hole and taped it over, which greatly maddened the wasps (judging by the very audible increase in buzzing) and may have killed a handful, but they are most definitely still there. I read online that spray is ineffective against a large nest (which could have several thousand wasps), as it only kills those it comes into contact with. I went been to the hardware store, who had nothing different (no dusts or poisons). When I told my father, he replied that there are more hardware stores and he will check them out tomorrow. Ugh. I have enlisted the help of my mother to try to talk him out of his stubbornness, although she just shrugged her shoulders and said "You know how he is!". I do. And he would be hurt and/or offended if I called the exterminator behind his back. Double Ugh.
Tomorrow I have my wisdom teeth out. Definitely not looking forward to that. I just had my last good solid food for a few days. I can't eat after midnight tonight, and I don't think I will be able to eat tomorrow after the surgery either. Looks like milkshakes and smoothies for a few days.
The update on DH's grandfather: he still is refusing a feeding tube, but has asked for pain medication. The doctor is giving him 5-7 days, most likely, unless something drastic changes for the better or worse. Still not able to swallow, in and out of sleep. Dh just returned after being there a few days - going back tomorrow or Friday to spend a few more days there. No word on the application yet that he submitted for the job. It's been a busy few days, and it's only going to get worse before it gets better...finance-wise, all things are in order, so at least we have no worries there.

Not only do I have thoughts of DH's grandfather running through my head (see previous post), I also have buzzing...but not in my head. It's in my walls. And my bedroom. In fact, they like to land on my pillow. Our bedroom walls are infested with yellowjackets (or hornets...can't tell the little b*stards apart). I decided to leave the room tonight after I killed the 5th one, and after I could hear the buzzing in the walls which really FREAKED me out. All I can picture is that poor women down in Texas who had a major infestation of bees in her house and had to literally take chunks of the house apart to get them out (in the news a few weeks ago). Far as we can tell, they got into the walls through a hole drilled for a cable wire that we no longer use - basically a direct line from the outside in. We covered up the inside, thinking we would be all set, but they continued to go into the hole and worm their way through the walls (without our knowledge and certainly not our permission!). They then started to enter our room through a crack where the wall meets the floor (old house), which DH taped up. Then all was fine for about 2 weeks...until they started to show up in our room again. It's very hard to tell where they are coming in this time - it's taken me three days, but I think I finally know where. There used to be an electric heater on one wall that was removed. The hole is covered, but there must be a gap. I am seeing a lot of dead yellowjackets under this, so I think that must be where they are entering my room. Unfortunately, this in on a separate wall than where they were previously coming in, which means they have turned the corner and are now in two walls.
DH read up on them and they were SUPPOSED to be dormant at night, but apparently our crew does not seem to know this. Tomorrow, I call the exterminator and pray that he does not have to disassemble the house. I have no problem with stinging creatures - really - when they stay outside where the belong. When they invade my territory - specifically, my bedroom - it's war, baby. All out war.

I'm sleeping on the couch tonight, if I ever get to sleep.

DH just took off for Binghamton. His grandfather has been ill for some time. He just received a call that he is having difficulty swallowing, but has refused a feeding tube. His family has seen this coming for some time now, but it certainly doesn't make it any easier. I will probably be heading down in a day or so myself. The hardest part will be telling his grandmother (they have been married over 65 years). Unfortunately, she is showing signs of dementia and has to be reminded often where Grandpa is. I fear that my MIL will have to retell her everyday what happened to Grandpa when the inevitable comes. A small consolation, but we are glad that he is able to speak his mind still and let his wishes be known, as sad as they are. I think he is tired of fighting, tired of hurting.
A change of subject, not to be insensitive but to focus on the positive for a moment (it helps). DH just put in an application for a teacher's assistant position in our local district. I had given up hope of him getting a secure job with benefits before next fall, when they start hiring teachers again. However, if he can get this position, he will have steady, FT employment with benefits plus a foot in the door for next year.
Not much else to report - I think it might be a good night to snuggle in bed with a book and get lost for a little bit in a story. Good night to all.

I'm not sure yet...I keep using mine up! Tonight I made chicken cacciatore (kind of) in the crock pot with frozen chicken breasts, leftover frozen tomato sauce (from meatballs at a party last month), free peppers from a relative who owns a greenhouse, and a half leftover nearly-bad-but-not-there-yet onion from the crisper drawer. It was served over leftover pasta from last nights dinner. And that's just the beginning...

because tomorrow we are having chicken chili for lunch. Here's the recipe (although I doubt it's one anyone can duplicate *exactly* at home!):
-leftover chicken cacciatore (which, mind you, was concocted of leftovers itself)
-leftover spaghetti sauce (was frozen then thawed for last nights dinner)
-celery, corn, onion
-leftover stewed tomatoes (we canned them, but didn't have enough to fill another jar)
-cumin, chili powder, garlic powder
-two cans of beans
-quarter jar of leftover salsa
-one leftover potato (kinds weird, I know, but I found the basis for this recipe online and they said to throw in one potato)
Just checked it and it smells wonderful! It will simmer in the crockpot all night and be ready for DH's lunch in the morning.
To-do list for tomorrow: new batch of granola, snacks for tomorrow's Bunco night (I think I might try tomatillo salsa since we have some in the garden), clean up a bit around the house. DH is taking the kids to his mother's house tomorrow evening, so I will be without them all night and a good chunk of Saturday. I usually look forward to this time alone, but then find myself wandering around aimlessly without the little ones underfoot Nevertheless, I should be able to get some things done with weekend.

Wow, it's been two weeks since my last post. I've gotten quite bad at this. So what's been going on?
1. Net worth passed $21k today after the stock market surge
2. We have no cc debt except a small Discover balance (we use it for gas and get 5% back) and our Lowe's card at 0% for another 9 months (about $2k for bathroom remodel).
3. I have one real estate deal in the works - will net me about $900 in a month or so.
4. DH has not yet found a FT job, but has been subbing every day for the past two weeks. We haven't gotten his first paycheck yet, but will soon.
5. I'm looking into daycare two days a week for my youngest to give my mom a break and use up the money in my dependent care account (which was free to me from my employer!). I have to use $500 by the end of the year. I am taking him tomorrow to one family day care to see if we like it.
6. My older son now has two weeks of pre-school under his belt and seems to be liking it!
7. My garden sucks this year, but I was just given two boxes of tomatoes by my cousin, who runs a greenhouse. I plan to can tomatoes and salsa tomorrow, as well as make a batch of jalapeno jelly. YUM!
8. Life is good...very good
(and news on the secret baby plan...our timing got all gummed up. I have to get my wisdom teeth out at the end of this month, so things *may* be pushed back a month, which stinks! We wanted to plan this baby for the end of June, when DH is done with school for the summer. Might be July now...might not be, depending on how soon I get off the meds from my surgery...

It just passed $20k. Un-freaking-believable, considering it was negative at the beginning of this year, when DH was not working and we had just put $5k of tuition on the cc.
Our debt: app. $19k of student loans, $2k at 0% for a year from our bathroom remodel, and $100 on Discover (paid off every month).
Assets: $6k in EF, app. $33k in our IRAs, $1900 in checking/savings.
It's amazing how fast things can turn around, when they get moving finally in the right direction. I've worked my tail off this summer in real estate, and it's so nice to see the rewards.
Still no job for DH. He might get some sub work soon as the teacher he subbed for last year might have jury duty, but no long-term prospects yet. I guess we'll have to just keep hanging in here.

Ack - I just realized that I am three months behind on tallying up the monthly expenses. What have I been doing all summer? And where am I going to find the time, much less the motivation, to do it? Who am I kidding about the motivation - I love this stuff. Now, where did all that time go?
Tomorrow I am meeting with a couple who flew in from England to look for houses. They are hoping to relocate here in a few months. I have committed to working with them almost everyday for the next 10 days, until we find the perfect house. I hope I can find them what they are looking for! Another note on the real estate front - I have another closing tomorrow, which means about $3k coming into my pocket. I think I will pay off the Lowe's cc (0% for a year) that we put the bathroom remodel and new grill on. The rest can go into our Roths.
DH still is jobless. The one school that kept stringing him along gave the job to someone else. He called them today to check in on other openings and they again "dangled" a possible job in front of him (either as a long-term sub again or a permanent job as a teacher's assistant). Pardon my lack of excitement, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Once bitten, twice shy.
The reason I am so anxious for him to get a job is...shhh, this is the secret...we want to have another baby soon. Like in June, when he is done with school and can stay home all summer. Meaning...we have to start soon. But ideally, I want to stay home, which we can't do without him being able to get us health insurance, which he can't get without the aforementioned JOB. Hmph. I don't like my plans to be on hold But something will come along!
(Was that secret worth reading through all my other random thoughts for? Wish us luck!)

...and I don't care! HAHAHAHA I'm getting a cell phone with a 2 megapixel camera and an MP3 player! I am, for the first time in my life, not taking the phone that comes free. I am spending $175 to get a phone that I have been drooling over for a week now (retails for over $400, so I don't feel quite so bad over it).
Seriously, I have been having quite the case of technology envy after returning from vacation and seeing everyone around me with their cute little slim phones and cameras, while I have a big bulge in my back pocket from my Nextel i710 and three year old camera model. I tried to get a slim little Samsung, but I couldn't with my rate plan. The phone I'm getting is still a little clunky, but who cares if it has all that with it. As for my camera, I'm content with it. I'll get a new one when something goes wrong with this one. It's a Sony cybershot 5 megapixel and it's been very good to me. Besides, if I every REALLY need a little camera, I can just borrow my dads

Well, I think it's happened. I'm getting older (I'll be 30 in a few months!). I took my oldest son (age 4) to his first amusement park today. I LOVE rides and roller coasters and water slides...I mean really love them. But I spent the first few hours watching him go on all his rides. Then I snuck away to go on an adult water slide and realized that it wasn't nearly as much fun without him on my lap. Is this the point at which I start to get more enjoyment from seeing my child smiling in glee than by going myself? Am I only a few years away from watching at the bottom of the water slide and not going at all? Sigh. It was a really, really great day though.
We had a wonderful time on a budget. Two of the tickets were free through our town (DH was a chaperone), and mine was only $15. Parking was free. We brought our own drinks and refilled the bottles from the water fountain. I gently steered both DH and my son away from the games, spending only $1.50 on one game and the candy crane. Our only expense was lunch and ice cream, about $20 total, and $4 for the locker. By the way, if anyone wants to know about a great little place to go, check out Sea Breeze in Rochester, NY. We never waited in line for more than 10 minutes, and very often, there were no lines at all. We decided to get a season's pass next year, as it is only an hour away.

A cute note: On the way there, ds told me that he saw a John Deere sign. When I asked him what that was, he told me it was a yellow sign with a deer on (deer xing). Everything for ds is related back to tractors!

I've been a busy bee shopping these past few days. In addition to scoring a greal cell phone deal, I...
1. bought checks online. I was going to order through my bank, but the cost was $27 for 150 checks. Instead, I found an online company that gave me 600 checks for less than $20, with a promotional code.
2. bought a wedding gift for a friend off Target.com. A quick google for 'target coupon codes' netted me a code with 10% off any order - savings $4.
3. ordered pictures at my favorite site, Winkflash. $.99 flat shipping for 4x6 prints, no matter how many. I usually order two or three times a year, several hundred at a time. Today I logged on and they had a banner for $.06 prints (half off the regular price) with a code (JC53YR73). However, because I used the promotion, I didn't get the flat shipping rate. Still, I saved $11.22 on my pics, but only paid $3.50 more in shipping. SCORE!

Wow, almost a month since my last post...I'm certainly slipping, and it's showing in my cc bills! But on to the point -
I called Nextel, my current cell phone provider, to find out when my billing cycle ended as I was switching to Verizon (they offer a 19% discount to government employees). When my current provider asked me why I wanted to switch, I told them. They, of course, asked me to stay, and offered me a 19% discount. I hemmed and hawed, because I really wanted to get on the Verizon network that most of my family and friends are on. Then my provider told me about a plan they had where I could pick any three numbers to make free calls to. As I was still uncertain, they made me an offer I could not refuse - 800 minutes for $32.99/mo. (I currently get 500 for $36.99) - with the additional 19% off. SOLD! (Later when I called back to accept the deal, they couldn't find a way to give me 19%, so they bumped it up to 20%).
800 minutes for $26! Plus free calls to the three numbers I call most!!!! I am loving this. The moral of the story: if you are no longer under contract and thinking of switching providers, give your old provider a call first. They may be desperate enough to keep you to make you a heck of an offer. I don't think this will work, though, if you are still on a contract - there's no incentive there for the company. The rate I received was an unadvertised rate available only through the customer service line - not to the general public.

I also inquired about a new phone. I was offered one that retailed at over $500 for $170 with no activation fee. Never hurts to ask...

I got my cell phone bill today...and boy, was I stupid. I have been so busy lately with real estate (currently 4 deals waiting to close) that I completely ignored my minutes. $250!! My bill is usually about $47. But I have no one to blame but myself. I'll have to be more careful this month. I'm already at 250 minutes (out of 500) and only a week in.
When things like this happen, I am always reminded just how important it is to have a little extra cash around. A $200 increase in a monthly bill could really have set me back, but I have the cash to pay it without sacrificing. And that, my friends, is my wish for all of you as well - to have the security and peace of mind of an EF!

I sold a house today! It was the easiest deal I have done in a long, long time. Cash offer, no contingencies, only a few grand under the asking price - and the seller's accepted it as is, with no negotiation. Whew. That brings me to four deals this summer, one already closed and the next three to close within a month. Yeah!

Just a quick note on what I whipped up for dinner tonight (cause I just love to talk about food!). My mom brought home some nice crusty rolls. I took some salami out of the freezer (bought in bulk for about $1-2/lb.) along with some cheese from the freezer (bought after the expiration date for $1 - Sargento mozzarella and asiago cheese with garlic) and made sandwiches with roasted red peppers from the fridge. I broiled them to melt the cheese...so good. Paired with zucchini and squash (I don't have any yet, but my brother does in his garden - and he's sharing) sauteed with herbs and butter, and leftover potatoes mashed with sour cream and chives. A tasty meal without being a slave to the stove - ready in about ten minutes.
Walked with a friend today - we decided to try a challenge being given by a local county department to exercise 30 minutes every day for 30 days. If you send in your calendar at the end, they send you a gift card to a grocery store and a 30 day gym membership. We took ds2 in the stroller and he was asleep in 5 minutes. These wonderful summer days just tire my kids out

to hear about DH's job. They gave him the runaround for about a month - every day they told him to check back in a day or two, that it was down to him and one other person. Finally they told him last week that they are going to canvas for more candidates because they don't feel "his heart is in 8th grade" (the position they are hiring for), but that he might still get it if they don't find anyone better. Now we need to wait until July 24th to hear for sure. I am so tired of this - particularly because he was told that he would be getting one of the two jobs he applied for, but I guess you can't believe anything you hear until it's in writing. He did find a new job listing in the paper today that he would be great for. He's planning to put his resume in this week. Otherwise, it looks like he'll have to sub again next year since most of the hiring has already been done.
We took on a major remodeling job this week. After a month or so of shopping around, we found a good deal at Lowe's - 10% off your entire purchase with a new cc as well as 12 months interest free. We saved about $180 buying a new shower and tub, vanity and sink, two faucets, lighting, flooring, and paint. Phew. DH and my father have the bathroom completely torn apart and are working on updating the plumbing. Tomorrow they hope to get the subfloor in, then I can paint. After that, we can put down the floor and move the fixtures in. We have been wanting to do this for a long time, but finally got the push we needed when the ceiling downstairs started to leak from the shower!
Moneywise, things are okay. We did pay off the 0% cc that we put DH's tuition on last year, without ever paying a dime of interest. If we had used student loans for it, we would still be paying it off for the next 10 years. It was a little gamble that we would be able to pay it off in time, but I felt comfortable doing it since we had enough of an EF to cover it if we needed to. However, I have racked up $1500 on the Discover this month (we have to pay for DH's summer class - $1500 - plus a ton of other expenses since DH lost BOTH of our debit cards). We had all our money sitting still in checking (since we didn't have any way to spend it!), so we've been paying off the Discover as we go...but that tuition bill put us back again. We'll have it paid off before the month is up though. Thank goodness this is his LAST class. He'll have his Masters in August.
So much to catch up on...I've been too busy to write lately. Real estate has been keeping me hopping. One deal closed, and my other two deals are moving along smoothly. Plus, I have two buyers who are looking to buy immediately. We have an offer in for one, and I am writing an offer tomorrow for the other. It's a father and daughter. I sold the daughter's house, where the father had been staying since his wife passed away a few years ago, so now they both need new places.
I have back to back vacations coming up soon - but not soon enough! DH and I had planned our annual camping trip for the end of July - and then by friend invited me to South Carolina for a week in her company condo! All I had to pay for was air fare. I'll spend 4 days there, then fly to Binghamton to join DH for a week of camping. Two more weeks...just two more weeks

Well, the job DH was supposed to be getting an answer about by Friday was never answered. They told him to keep waiting, that the principal of the school was waiting to talk to someone (so what does that mean? Is that good or bad?). Meanwhile, they hired someone for the other open position. He was *told* that he would be getting one position or the other, but I just don't know what to think. I LOATHE waiting. Ugh.
DH and I shopped an entire outlet mall today. We bought a few things for Ds1's b-day next month (less than $10), some clothes for my niece's bday party tomorrow ($20), a gift for my brother's bday next week ($9), and some clothes for ourselves ($30). We walked the entire length of the place - at least 100 stores - and that was all we could find to buy. I love not "wanting" for anything! Once you begin to weigh your purchases so carefully, you realize just how much stuff you don't need. Liberating.

I have been so utterly depressed over the state of my garden this year. A while back, I mentioned that the dirt that was dug out for my brother's new house was thrown on top of my garden, and then in an effort to smooth it with the tractor bucket, it was subsequently compacted by the weight of the tractor, so I didn't have a great start. Then I spent (er, wasted) way too much time laying the newspapers down and putting maybe an inch of dirt on top (as everything I read told me to do) to combat the weeds. As of yesterday, I had teeny little plants which were wilting and lots of grass growing on top of my freaking newspaper. I really was so depressed, until...
a GLORIOUS thunderstorm yesterday. It was wonderful. And then today, it seemed as though my tomatoes were straighter, my peppers were taller, and lo and behold, when I weeded the garden, there were a lot more beets and chard than I had thought under all those weeds. I'm feeling a lot better about the state of my garden today. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

On the real estate front, we have gotten by the home inspection for the house I sold last week - only one problem noted by the buyers and my seller has already taken care of it. I LOVE having a good seller to work with, one who works with the buyers instead of against them. My other deal has progressed so smoothly that the bank is actually ready to close - although we have to get all the legal work done still. We're not scheduled to close for another month. My third deal should be scheduled to close with a week

DH gets paid Friday and with that check, we are either going to pay off that darn lingering Am Ex ($1k left at 0% for another month or so) or the newly charged up Discover ($1500 - DH's summer class tuition). That should put us in really good shape for the summer, where we'll be back to one income. DH has been *told* that he has a job for next year at the school where he is subbing, but until we get the actual *offer*...we're not counting on anything. We'll know Friday!!

A bit to talk about on the money front...my seller signed an offer on the house I have had listed for 6 months - home inspection tomorrow. I hope it goes well. I think it's a solid house, so I am hoping for the best. It would put about $3k in my pocket in two months if everything works out. I have two other deals in the works now - one should close in about two weeks, and the other at the end of July. When all is said and done, the three deals will net me about $5k, enough to fund one of our Roths for the year plus a little to pay off Dh's tuition.
DH has had three teaching interviews so far. Two were for our school district, which he didn't get. We're a little disappointed, but okay with it because he really wants to teach at the school he is subbing at now. He has had one interview at that school and has another tomorrow. He was *told* that they will have a position for him there, but until we get the actual offer...we're not getting too excited. We should know tomorrow for sure. We have a lot to hope for over the next few days.
I went to a new credit union that opened up down the street from my job. I haven't had any problems with BOA, but I am going to switch back to a credit union anyway. I don't like having to watch my accounts to make sure I don't get charged, or pay $4+ when I have to use another bank's ATM. I miss my credit union. I'm going back. The only downside is that I have all my accounts set up on my BOA page (through Yodlee or something similar). My new credit union doesn't offer this. I'm sure I can find the service elsewhere, but I like the fact that BOA has my history for the last year. Plus, I don't think I can link my new account to it. I'll have to check into it more.
Paid off $1300 in cc's over the weekend. We had to put another $1500 on the Discover for DH's summer class (hopefully his last one - he'll have his Masters after this one). We have the old tuition bill (on the 0% card) down to $1000 from over $5k. I've got until the end of July to pay the new bill off though, so I know we can do it before any interest kicks in.

Don’t Ever Buy Trinkets
Don’t Expand Belongings Too much
Discover Every Benefit To simplicity
Divide Envelopes for Budgeting Things
Don’t Exhaust Borrowing Terms
Develop Emergency fund for Bad Times


(This took way more time than I am willing to admit to!)

It's been a busy weekend - I can't remember the last time I wrote two offers in one weekend (if ever!). Yesterday I showed a house for a colleague who was out of town. The buyers seemed to really love it - so much that we went back 3 hours later to see it again and write the offer. They had been looking on and off for 4 years and they said this was the first one they really considered. It was a cream puff offer - cash, no contingencies, only a few thousand below the asking price. However, the sellers counteroffered, and the buyers refused as they CHANGED THEIR MIND in three hours time. What's worse is that they decided to stay in their current home and not look anymore. As bad as it was for me wasting an entire day, I feel even worse for my colleague who has spent several years showing houses to these folks. It's a tough business when you can work your behind off and never see a dime from it. So it goes.
I showed another house this afternoon to a couple in our bowling league. They had been looking for a few months but not found anything. They liked this one and we wrote up the offer tonight. Again, it's a decent offer, if not a touch low. We'll see how it goes. We should know by tomorrow afternoon.
Even if it doesn't go through, it's encouraging to be so busy lately.
Today we went to a fundraiser for the daughter of a friend of my SIL, someone we had met a few times. The daughter is about 4 and is battling cancer for the second time. Heartbreaking. As a parent, I cannot even allow my thoughts to imagine what that must be like. Anyway, we met my MIL and SILs there today. It was at an Irish bar and had some really wonderful Irish bands playing (my DH's family is VERY Irish! I'm a Mc- by marriage). We dropped about $50 for admission (donation), hot dogs, and drinks - an amount which normally would make me shudder, but thinking what that family must be going through, I consider it money well spent. The little girl's name is Fiona - keep her in your prayers.
I mentioned a while back that I had asked for bathroom fixtures on Freecycle and received an offer of a sink and shower in great shape. I've tried to contact the offerer three times since mid-May to make arrangements with no response. Methinks I'm getting the blow-off. Guess it's time to hit the stores again to get some prices.
Back to work tomorrow - where did the weekend go???

I just had a week off from work, mostly so I could get caught up with some organizational tasks, but the house is a mess. An absolute mess. Why is it that I can either be organized but messy, or have a clean house with totally disorganized closets, desks, etc? Why are these two things to hard to obtain together???
On the bright side, I did clear out a totally congested closet. It took two days, if that tells you how bad it truely was. It was the closet I keep all my baby items and clothes in. Every time my boys outgrow clothes or toys, it goes into the closet to await the next kid. Since my youngest is two and a half, and we have not yet started to even plan for the next baby, much less have one, there was 2.5 years of junk thrown in there. I think I have a more organized system for next time. Maybe.
I tried to finish up the garden tonight, but ended up too frustrated. We generally have a nice garden in the same spot every year, but this year there was a ton of dirt dumped on the spot after the excavation of my brother's basement (he's building a house behind ours). That meant a lot of rocks and lumpy dirt. My father tried to fix it with the tractor, but I think the tractor just compacted the dirt more. It's pretty unmanagable. I'm not sure what to do, especially since I already have half of the garden planted. Ugh.

I am trying a new method of planting the garden and, gosh darnit all, it better be worth it because it takes about four times as long! Last year I heard about using newspapers to control weed growth so this year I researched a little more and decided to give it a try, since DH conveniently calls it "our garden" yet never steps foot back into it after he helps me plant (leaving little ol' me with all the weeding). If it will make my life easier, I'm willing to try.
Maybe I'm making this harder than it is, but this is the way I figured to do it. Since each newspaper is supposed to have several inches of soil on top of it, I raked a few inches of dirt back, planted my seeds or plants, then put the paper down. I held the paper down with rocks (windy day) while I watered it, then covered it up with dirt and watered it again. Then I moved on the next row. It seemed to take forever. I got two hills of squash done and three rows of seeds. I have one row left, then all the tomatoes and peppers (which I haven't even bought yet).
Of course, half of the problem was that we recycled every single newspaper in the house yesterday, which left me scrambling today. I was pulling things out of the Sunday paper, finding newspapers tucked away in the bathroom (the crossword puzzlers of the house take them in), and generally ransacking the house for anything I could use. I even went to the neighbors (my brother and SIL) to see what they had laying around. I was about to use some brown paper grocery bags, but then my SIL came home and pointed me to their stash. Geesh! Bad timing on our part. I hope to finish tomorrow...I would love a nice cool, windless day.
Here's the rundown on what we are planting:
Zucchini
Yellow squash
green and yellow beans
beets
spinach, swiss chard, and mesclun mix
brussel sprouts and cabbage
tomatoes, grape tomatoes
green peppers, jalapenos, and banana
peppers
cukes
broccoli
PHEW! A real pain now, but I will be loving it in a month or two.

10. Expensive shampoos, soap, and lotions. How many bottles do you have sitting half full on your dresser/shower shelf, etc? Too many. Plain old shampoo and soap work as well as anything else I have tried.

9. Home parties. I used to attend these - Candle Lite, Home Interiors, etc. I have more candles than I could ever burn. I have no room to decorate. The prices on the Tastefully Simple brochures leave my aghast (why, I can make that myself for a quarter of the price!). I finally just stopped - I respectfully told everyone who invited me to one that I just do not attend them.

8. Guilt toys. My kids have a lot of toys. They are gifted to by many members of our family. Yet I do succumb to the guilt buys. DH wants to provide them with memorable holidays. My friends convince me to buy the latest gadget, Dora toy, or similar item. I should be able to stand up and say "Enough!", but at times I cannot.

7. Puffkins. Yikes. Remember Beanie Babies? Of course you do. Puffkins were their littel known descendants which we were convinced would be the next big thing. At $5 a pop, I did spend a small fortune in 1995 money on these little balls of fluff that are now gathering dust in the back of my closet. Anyone want to buy a nice Puffkin collection? I'm sure a lot of us could tell similar stories about the latest fads.

6. New clothes. I shudder to add up what I spent in clothes in my previous life (pre-frugal). Now I buy most everything secondhand. I fess up to buying my undergarments and swimsuits new, as well as the occasional basic wardrobe piece that I might not be able to find used. But 95% of what I buy is used. I still get sticker shock when I walk into department stores and see what the prices are. On the occasions that I do buy new, I inevitably spill or shrink the item by the third wearing. I prefer to go with an item that has already been pre-shrunk, wears well, and I won't feel guilty about if I get a stain on it. Plus, you can redonate the items when you are done and probably get a tax break close to what you paid for it. Win - win.

5. In the same vein - kid's clothes. They outgrow them so fast and really don't care what they wear, at least for a good many years. I got the majority of my kids clothes from the Thrifty Shopper's 2/$1 table. I did buy a few new pieces, but they weren't any better or gave me any more satisfaction than secondhand pieces.

4. Books. "What???" you say, "Someone is actually saying not to buy books?" Yes, I am. I have shelves of books (luckily, most bought second hand) that I feel obliged to keep because I might want to reread them someday. Yet, I can get nearly any book I want from my local library, and I seldom do reread any of those books on my shelf. (I make an exception for children's books, which can be found very cheaply at thrift stores and garage sales and have value above and beyond the space they occupy in encouraging our kids to read).

3. Kitchen gadgets. A rice cooker. A wok. A quesadilla maker. All of these things sound great, but take up TONS of SPACE and are seldom used. I have learned how to cook my rice in the oven or stove, to stir-fry in a frying pan...well, I have kept the quesadilla maker because it's just so neato, but I know that for as much as I use it, I should ditch it as well.

2. A private college education. It's so easy to just take out more loans when you are going to school, until you find yourself graduated, with a job making $15,500/year, and $15k in student loans. I wish someone had told me that it was okay to attend the community college for a few years after graduating, then transfer, but being salutatorian of my school, I never felt that it was even an option. I was *expected* to go to a four-year school. At least I met my Dh there, which makes it worth every penny

1. A new car. Ugh. After calculating that I had worked a year (half-time) to pay for DH's new car - the only new car we have ever bought - I decided that I never again will buy new. There are so many slightly used cars out there that are a much better value.

A quick tally of some of my bigger - and smaller - mistakes. Maybe some of these will ring true with others. Maybe I will have to follow up with my top 10 frugal purchases

although it was hotter than h*ll here today. I wish we could have a nice, warm day here in upstate NY, but we vary from 50 degrees to 90, with little in between. Sigh.
I kept the kids busy by putting a kiddie pool out with some cold water and plastic cups. The occupied themselves for the better part of the afternoon dumping water all over the driveway and immersing themselves when it got too unbearable. I also took the three kids, ages 4,3 and 2 (the two youngest being mine, the other was my niece) out grocery shopping today. Call me a wimp, but I'm often hesitant to take MY two out by myself, much less take all three of them! My boys don't have a lot of patience for anything more than 30 minutes, but they all did great today. I went to our local Mennonite/seconds store and, as always, found some great deals. One good find was a jar of tomato basil pasta sauce for $.50. I threw it in the crockpot tonight with a jar of plain tomato sauce, leftover peppers and onions from our sausage dinner last night, and a bag of frozen chicken tenders I had found a few months ago at the same store. Total cost: about $5. I seved it over pasta with a salad (leftover from my mom's lunch out today - I just added two more leaves of lettuce to stretch it). It fed four adults, three very hungry kids, and I still have 2-3 servings left over. Yum.
Speaking of the kids...they both fell asleep at the dinner table tonight and are already tucked into bed. Every so often, they crash early to make up for those busy summer days. Gosh, I love the summertime.
DH got his first "real" paycheck today as a long-term sub. It was $1200, but his next one will be about $1600 for two weeks. Neither of us has ever made that much money before. Yes, it's been a very good day

-Just finished my second Pinecone survey for $5! I love it - so much better than those survey savvy ones that I never seemed to qualify for.
-I was invited yesterday to go to Myrtle Beach for a week in July with a friend who gets a condo there through work. She and a bunch of her girlfriends are going - only one of whom I know, but I think it will be a lot of fun. The upside? All I have to pay for is airfare (or gas, in the unlikely event that I decide to make the 13 hour trip). The downside? It is the week before our camping trip, so I won't go for the entire week (I can't stomach two weeks away from home). I think I'll go for 4 days or so. I can't decide if I want to go for the first part of the week, then have a few days to recover at home before camping, or if I should go at the end of the week and head right to the cabin from the airport. Either way, it will be a lot of fun and I already have DH's blessing, as well as my mom's (who will watch the kids while DH works and I'm gone). Airfare looks to be about $300. Any of you South Carolinians care to suggest any attractions near Myrtle Beach (although there is a good possibility that we won't even leave the beach...)
-Dh should be getting his first large paycheck in two days!!! He has one interview already for a FT permanent position next school year, and he has been "strongly encouraged" by the head of the special education department to apply at the school he is currently at, which would be his first choice. The problem is that if he is offered a position at school #1, he will have to make a decision before he knows anything about school #2, since they haven't even posted for the open position yet.
-We have a rather large cc bill to pay off thanks to DH's generosity in Mother's Day gifts - three gift certificates for a massage and lunch at a very upscale day spa for me, my mom, and MIL. Should be fun...but it did take me a few days to stop hyperventilating over the cost ($150 each). I guess I can relax now and start to enjoy some of the things we have worked for. I also have an outing planned for next month with my SIL, MIL, and several other members of DH's family for a hair cut/style, highlights, etc. at a new salon - we are going two days before DH's cousin's wedding. I have never had highlights before, so I'm anxious to see how they turn out. I'm afraid I might like them and want to get them more often - dang, they are expensive!
Seems like I had more to write, but this is getting long enough...

I don't know how to say this...and I don't know if it is a good or bad thing...but I just never get to this site much anymore. On one hand, I am feeling infinitely better over our financial situation than I was a year ago, or even 3 months ago! DH has steady work and a few great propects for a permanent teaching job next year. Our net worth has gone from negative to nearly $11k in three months time. We have enough money to not worry about where every penny is going. We continue to pay off our cc balances every month, while maintaining a sizable EF.
But, I am spending money that I wouldn't have considered spending a few months ago. Our entertainment budget is out the window. I only get to this site once a week or so. Am I becoming too complacent? Or am I just at a spot where I can let my hair down without being consumed with worry? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
This site was a lifesaver for me over the past two years, from a difficult decision to live on my PT income while DH returned to school, to making those ends meet through all those months. Most of all, it was just nice to know that I wasn't alone in my attempts to save money wherever possible, to make things from scratch, to not buy new when used would do. But now I find myself visiting less and less - and it's certainly not because I am any less interested in the wonderful people I have met here. It just seems as though life keeps getting in the way. There is always so much to do in these warmer months. At the same time, I feel as though I have less financial stuff to blog about. It seems less relevant for me to blog about making ends meet when we are meeting them, with extra! I don't know...I'm rambling, just trying to figure what I'm doing here and if I should keep trying to maintain this blog.

Budget for April:
Groceries: 225 -> 267.22
Household/Cell: 45 -> 0 (oops - forgot to pay the cell phone bill - I paid a double bill in May)
Car: 175 -> 372.52 (about $30 of this was for maintenance - the rest for gas. Ouch!)
Medical: 200 -> 416 (AHHH pinkeye!)
Clothes: 0 -> 29.56
Loans: 300.36 -> 300.36
Entertainment: 100 -> 804.13 (subtract $646 for two cabins for summer vacation - one which we are being paid back for - and the real total is $158.13)
Gifts: 50 -> 16.19
Miscellaneous: 100 -> 136.81
Real estate: 75 -> 0
School/Day care: 200 -> 0
Investment: 3500 from March surplus, 500 from April -> 4000
Cash withdrawals: 100 with no fees -> 180, no fees
Total income: 3600 -> 5029.88
Total expenses: 1920.36 -> 6522.79

We met our goal of putting $4k into DH's Roth by 4/15. One thing that is pretty obvious is that I have NO idea of our income from month to month with DH being a substitute teacher, although we did just find out that he will be making $188 per day as a long-term sub, with steady work through the end of the year Now maybe we can plan a little better.
We had some big expenses already as we booked our summer vacation cabin. We also had some big unexpected expenses with the pinkeye outbreak (which morphed into two ear infections for my boys), which consisted of four separate doctor's appts, two trips to the pharmacy for five different medications, and a new pair of glasses for me (unintended side effect as I had to wear my glasses for a week while recovering). Throw in a trip to the dentist for me and DH and we have a lot of medical expenses for the month. And don't get my started on the gas prices...ugh.

May budget
Budget for April:
Groceries: 225
Household/Cell: 415 (320 to my mom for monthly expenses, 160/month times two months - we are starting to catch up for some past months where she told us not to worry about it. I have also included two months of cell payments since I forgot to pay last months bill!)
Car: 250
Medical: 50 (two scripts, one medical appt. co-pay)
Clothes: 50 (I need summer clothes desperately and have already spent about $30 on clothes this month)
Loans: 300.36
Entertainment: 100
Gifts: 500 (I never would have estimated it this high at the beginning of the month, but DH surprised me, my mother, and my MIL with gift certificates to a very upscale spa - total $450!)
Miscellaneous: 100
Real estate: 50
School/Day care: 200 (certification fee for DH's teaching)
Investment: 0 until we get the AmEx paid off
Cash withdrawals: 100 with no fees
Total income: 3000
Total expenses: 2340.36
Looks like we should be able to knock another chunk off the cc this month. The balance is down to $2k, from over $5k.