My family is getting a Wii for Christmas. I purchased the console when the price dropped to $199. But...I hear you need additional remotes. And, of course, games!

It comes with Wii Sports (I think). But, any thoughts/advice on which other game or games I should get?

I'm thinking maybe two, maybe just one, additional games initially. Those will give us plenty to play with over the holidays.

I've also heard you can buy games used, as well as rent them from the video store.

I'd love to hear what you think my initial investment should be. We will get the girls a few stocking stuffers, but the Wii is our gift this year.

My parents gave us each $100 for our birthdays. Yipee! I love cash gifts.

My sister gave us beer glasses and beer (for DH), a stainless steel water bottle and yoga pants(for me).

I feel very blessed! Basically, the cash will help offset our own birthday costs. I still don't know what DH has spent on my birthday, but I'm sure it's over $50, but less than $100.

I'm still waiting to look at our bank accounts. It's pure torture!

Oh my gosh what a crazy day! I went to a gym with two neighbors that aren't currently gym goers. We ALL signed up for memberships. I even signed my husband up, even though he has not visited!! What am I doing?

Actually, we are all really excited. In fact, we are going back up to actually work out!! Can you tell we like to be together and are excited?!

I paid an upfront membership fee of $79 for my husband and I to have a metro membership. This means we can visit other locations, including one with a running track, sauna and pool! I don't pay anything again until January 1st! I think our rate is $69/month. This seems a little high, but we are getting some extras with the ability to go to mulitple locations. I also can adjust my membership anytime to single...like when you know who gets deployed. Nice of them to work with us.

So excited!!

It's payday! I do always love me a payday. I know. Incorrect grammer. Anyway, there are decisions to be made and they are not directly related to payday.

I bought a pair of pants and a top from JC Penney a few days ago. We thought we were attending a baptism this weekend. Turns out the date has changed and we can't attend on the rescheduled date. I rarely dress up, so I need to decide whether to return the items or not. I paid $34.22 with tax for the two items. It is possible that something will come up in the next several weeks where dressy could be nice, but not necessary. So, I need to decide. Thoughts?

I'm going with two neighbor ladies to check out a gym this morning. Our membership expired this week, so I'm in the market for a new one. I will need to decide on that soon.

I have been told not to look at our bank accounts until my birthday. My husband has been shopping and doesn't want me know the amount spent or where he shopped. Ugh! Do you know how hard it is NOT to look at your bank account? It is hard!! It's even harder when it is payday and I should be paying bills. Help. I think I'm going to go crazy.

We are traveling this weekend and expect to spend a few dollars. Oh...but we are celebrating our birthday's with extended family, so cash and gifts will be exchanged. Yipee!!

I hope your payday is more fun than mine. I'm sure it will be since you can actually look at your bank account!! Enjoy.

The home equity loan should be paid off in February or March of 2010. I'm really looking forward to it, primarily because of our new plan!

We will start funding our girls college accounts again after a little more than a year off. The remaining extra funds will go to increase our emergency fund by $5000. I expect to complete that by the end of May 2010.

Once, the EF hits $15,000 I'm going to divide our extra funds towards paying off our van loan (did you know I had one?), adding smaller amounts to the emergency fund and saving for a truck!

I'll be giving you lots more information about these goals as they are happen. I know you like that kind of thing!

Deployment is getting closer. As a result there will be some extra government cash to help us realize those goals. Yipee for that. Of course, that's the ONLY positive thing about deployment. Emotionally it is a huge drag.

My daughter's have concerts (vocal and band) next week for school where they need to dress nice. My youngest has a dress, pants and a shirt that will work, but she needs shoes. My older daughter needs everything!

Last night, we went to the mall and hit JC Penney's. My older daughter found pants for $12.99 and a shirt for $14.99. With tax, I spent less than $30!! I'm thrilled that we were able to find items quickly and at great prices.

We attempted one shoe store last night, but did not come up with anything that would work. We will go again this weekend.

In addition to dress clothes and shoes, my daughter's need snow gloves and boots. They both WANT new snow pants, but they don't NEED them, so they are last on the list. I'd like to find the snow pants used, if possible.

I need new clothes, too!! For some reason, I'm always on the last of the list. Well, it's probably because I don't work outside the home.

My daughter's rodents all passed away in October. The hamster died first. Then exactly two weeks later one mouse died. Our oldest mouse, who was getting thin and arthritic, died two days later.

Cause: unknown

They are all buried by one of the trees in our yard. They each had a private ceremony. A simple unmarked rock identifies each grave.

We all grieved in our own ways. Someone wanted to get a bird. Someone had tears. A couple of us felt relief from the costs and time involved in caring for them. They are missed. Even the cats seem lost!

Financially: no bedding, food, cleaning supplies to buy. The cages and accessories are up for sale on craigslist.

I'm a planner. I plan ahead. Ocassionally, too far ahead. Two weeks ago I bought a large bag of candy for our trick or treaters. I told the family: have a couple pieces and save the rest.

A day later, my husband realizes he can't resist the candy, so buys another bag for us to eat. A big bag. Fine. I guess I could eat a few pieces of chocolate. Who am I to argue!

He mixes the new bag of candy with the first bag! What? Why do that? Here's the confession: over the course of a week we eat both bags of candy. Both bags. Large bags of chocolate candy. Now that can't be healthy. I'm sure that was nearly $20 worth of candy.

I bought another large bag on Sunday. Yes, I had a couple pieces again! But that bag is ready for the beggars tonight.

Yes. Tonight. October 30th. Our town among others in this state trick or treat the night before Halloween. Oh! And you have to tell a joke at the door.

Joke: What do witches put in their hair?
Scare spray!

Have a great Halloween! I hope I can stay out of my daughter's candy. Well wish me luck anyway.

Yep...but not for us!

One is for a woman who lived in this house prior to us. The debt seems to be in her maiden name. The company only leaves messages. If I do answer the phone, then I hear the same recorded message.

The second collection call is for my brother in law!! He lives in another state. I denied knowing him...which my husband said was okay. I don't know his situation exactly. But collectors are relentless and I don't want to get involved. That time it was a live person and she said she would remove our phone number. Good!

My BIL actually has always worked for his older brother (another BIL). He doesn't have his GED and does handyman type work for rental properties. I just found out the older BIL had to file bankruptcy. As a result not as much income/work for the brother in law we are getting collection calls for. Ugh! I'm so sorry things are not going well for either of them. It is just very sad.

As a precaution, I'm going to pull our credit reports today. I don't expect to find anything. If I find something...I'm sure you'll be one of the first to know.

My daughter has been home since Friday with what started out as a sore throat and no fever. I kept her out of school as a precaution.

Over the weekend her temperature was never over 100. She began coughing and was low on energy. She had a stuffy nose. She was still able to play games and make believe on the floor with her sister. She did not sleep extra.

Sunday night we thought she would be ready for school on Monday. Monday she looked run down and felt that way. So she stayed home and has been home everyday since because in the afternoon she will spike a fever over 100 degrees. As a result have to keep her home for another 24 hours.

Yesterday, we visited the doctor who said this is most likely the H1N1 influenza. I was shocked. I just thought she had a cold!!

Luckily tonight she is not running a fever at all. She will go back to school tomorrow. In fact, she has been catching up on homework all day. Unfortunately, the cough still remains for now.

We hardly ever get the flu and rarely have vaccinated for it. I'm glad that my daughter's experience has been mild. I have heard it has been the same with other children in our area. She now will have immunity for the H1N1 this season.

I have read some articles online that are cautioning us about getting two influenza vaccines in one season. It has never been done before. The older people in our society have some immunity to this H1N1 strain because they were exposed to it in the past, not because they received a vaccine. It is just something to think about, especially if you are healthy and have not generally come down with the flu in the past.

I wish everyone good health!!

My family started taking probiotics this summer. I first bought them at the local health food store. A package of 30 capsules was about $18. That is $0.60 per capsule. We all shared a couple packs with in a matter of weeks.

I decided if we wanted to continue to take them they needed to be less expensive. I found the brand we liked at Amazon.com! The packages were 90 capsules for $18.60! That is $0.21 per capsule. A savings of $0.39 per capsule.

I signed up for Amazon's Subscribe and Save plan which locks in the price for all future orders AND provides free shipping. I now get three packages of 90 capsules every 90 days. Originally, I signed up for four, but my husband keeps forgetting to take his...so I adjusted the order amount. I can change it later if needed.

To reduce the amount I pay every 90 days I use my swagbuck earnings towards Amazon gift cards. I earn them in $5 increments. Since the last order I earned $20 in gift cards!! I also had $2.60 left from another order.

Here's the breakdown of our current probiotic shipment:

3 90 capsule probiotic packages = $51.36
(price dropped to $17.12 per pkg)
Amazon gift certificates applied = $22.60
Total out of pocket = $28.76
Price per capsule = $0.11

The savings over local store for the three of us is $0.49 per capsule. Or $132.30 every 3 months. Or $529.20 per year!! Geez.

I'm going to keep earning swagbucks just to help keep the cost savings down. Works for me!

My youngest daughter has been home since Friday with a cold virus. The fever is mild, but just won't go away. There is coughing, too. No aching, so I don't think its the flu. She's been up and around everyday, but feels low on energy. So...tomorrow we are going to the doctor.

I'm hoping for an antibiotic. I don't usually like them, but this thing is holding on too long. I guess I'm impatient! What me?

The good news: I have one bid on an ebay items and some watchers on a couple others. I priced low and with exact shipping, so my items are attactive for bids!!

I'm also glad the stock market had an UP day. Here's to more of those to come.

A woman picked up a couple Barbie cars this morning for $5. That was a craigslist posting from last week. Nice to start the weekend with a sale.

My youngest daughter has decided to use a costume we already have or her dance costume from last year for Halloween. That means I don't need to buy anything!! Love it. (The older daughter is done with the trick or treating.)

I think I'm going to get some items up on ebay this weekend. Craigslist works, but it is slower.

My sister and her husband have debt. There is a loan for windows, a couple credit cards and student loans. My sister is a teacher and will get her Master's Degree this semester. Yipee!

There was a time where they felt out of control. They made less money. They didn't have an emergency fund. That time is no more!

They now have $2K in their emergency fund and have a plan to pay off all the debt. In about 2 years. I'm so proud of them.

My sister mentioned that she liked an online snowball calculator I sent her awhile back. I don't exactly use it myself, but it looked like a good one. It's called PowerPay. Here is the link if you are interested. You do have to sign up, but it is free!

Keep up the good work, sis!

DH is off work for the next four days due to the Columbus Day holiday. The kids still have school, so I get extra time with my honey.

These longer weekends often result in extra spending. I think we may skip a sit down lunch and hit fast food instead. We want to window shop a bit.

We also need to do a little winter weatherizing. Caulk and a little insulation shouldn't set us back too much.

I think the local orchard needs a visit from us for their yummy cider and a couple pumpkins.

Happy Fall!

I've noticed that I really need to exercise daily to help my stress levels. It makes a HUGE difference.

I usually try to get to the gym on the days the girls are in school. I'm hit and miss on the weekends. I didn't do anything yesterday because my husband was working. He is working again today and i really needed a workout. So what to do?

We made our own workout here at home. We had six stations which we hit for a minute each. Every minute we changed stations for 30 minutes. Our stations included: sit ups, push ups, trampoline, jumping jacks, stairs and a hand weight station. We worked up a sweat and I feel much better! Some stations needed revision as we went along...because I can't do push ups for a minute!! I did try, but as a result I can barely type this.

I'm thrilled to have exercised and involved the kids. Even better it was free!

The weekend has been great as far as keeping spending to a minimum. We have $32 left in the checking account and payday is Tuesday. I completely expect tomorrow to be a no spend day!! I must say it feels good to be in control of the money.

Yesterday, we picked up $17 worth of items at Walmart. Only $8 of that was an unnessary eyeglass case for our youngest daughter. It is a hard case with a magnetic closure and she'll have it for a long time. The free one given with the eyeglasses is soft and has a open side. Not the best kind for a child!

Today, I ran to SuperTarget and bought minimum groceries to get us through the next two days. Much of it will cover lunches for the remainder of the week, too! I spent $18.

On Tuesday...I will make a much bigger grocery run. I think I will aim for buying for about 10 days. I guess I need to start writing a meal plan and grocery list!

Right now, I'm off to make mini loaves of banana bread and jello in case the kids need a snack! After that, I'm thinking about finding some items to list on ebay. I'm dreading that though.

It's been a spendy few days. On Friday, we switched cell phone providers. It is somewhat of a forced move, since our previous provider was ending their service. My phone was free. My husband wanted a slight upgrade. His cell phone was $92 with tax, but we will receive a $50 rebate in a few weeks.

We went out of town for one night to visit family. We bought gas, food, snacks, beer, and wine! Too bad these visits just can't be free. Oh, but I did get some KFC for free....since I waited over 30 minutes to get our food. I don't think I will ever go there again. Ever.

Today, instead of buying a kitchen sink and faucet, we went to the zoo for just under $20. That was a good move. We stopped by a state park with a lunch packed from home for a picnic. Also another good move. We had a great conversation with the kids...love those!

My husband took the van to be washed...and lost our rear windshield wiper blade!! The part is only made by Honda since our van is less than 2 years old. That will be an expense for later this week.

I've bought the groceries for the week and wrote a check for my youngest daughter's school pictures. Here's crossing my fingers that there are a few no spend days ahead!

Officially, I'm not going to participate in my daughter's school fund raisers. It's not the money. I'm just tired of the same stuff! And I don't even need the stuff.

I'm actually helping both PTO's with teacher appreciation meals throughout the year. That is something I feel good about giving.

If I feel guilty later for skipping the fundraisers, I can always cut a check straight to the PTO. I did that at least once last year.

It feels good to know where I stand...before the order forms come home. I will let the girls know the plan, too!

Tomorrow's the big day: braces for my oldest daughter. Most of the money is coming from our emergency fund. We hope to have the money paid back by the end of October or sooner.

And we get to hit the emergency fund for more than planned because we have to pay my husbands government credit card for an airline ticket he didn't use! It is going to get credited back, according to the travel agency...but not for another two months! Ugh. The government is slow!! So, we have to pay the card by the due date of September 5th. I am going to wait until the last day to pay it in case the credit comes in sooner!! Please. I hope it does. Eventually, we will get the money back, but I really have no idea when or how long that process will take.

There's something about the kids going back to school on Monday that makes me want to go shopping! I know. Crazy.

So, instead of thinking of the things I want to shop for I need to refocus. I'm going to focus on free tasks that I can do around the house.

Honestly, I have a fair amount of cleaning and tidying up around the house I could do. Here's a few things that come to mind:

clean kitchen cupboards (inside & out)
clean refrigerator
dust all blinds in house
pull out bush on side of house
make tote bags out of fabric remnants
clean bathroom drawers
put pool away for winter
sweep out garage & organize
scrounge for items to sell or donate
weed out file cabinent
wash windows (inside & out)
clean clothes washer
good cleaning of dryer vent
caulk windows, if I have extra caulk

Okay, that's enough...I'm tired just thinking about it. I really plan to get myself back to the gym and work on free projects around the house. They need to be done at some point, might as well do them while it's nice. Since, I won't be in the stores, I should save some money!!

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I did get that rodent bedding returned today. Only spent $11 to get my youngest daughter's hair cut...she needed it!

Here's a cute one! My husband called this afternoon, but hung up before I could get to the phone. I waited for him to call back. So, I called him. He was calling to see if he could spend money on a snack! He knows I'm trying to save as many pennies as possible with the braces looming up ahead. He hung up because he decided he wasn't really hungry. Of course, if he is really hungry he should get some food, right? I don't want my man starving!!

My daughter had an appointment at the orthodontist today. (Braces are a week from Friday.) Since, I plan to pay in full, I wanted to know what the procedure is if we move. Moving is always a possibility as a military family!

They will figure where she is at in treatment and refund accordingly. Of course, most of the cost is upfront! This makes sense. The woman stated it is usually not very much that is returned...whatever that means. I'm just glad to know there is a possibility of a refund if we move. I'm sure we would need some of those funds at any new orthodontist, right?

The other question I'm asking today concerns my husbands government credit card. The statement arrived today for $644, for an airline ticket for a trip he did not take in July. The money is due September 5th. So, the important question is "Honey, what are you going to do about this?".

Yep, life keeps getting in the way. My husband called from work at 8:45pm last night, with a dead car battery. He works 30 minutes away, but we bailed him out anyway!

The battery was only 1.5 years old, so we get a credit on that. While he's getting the new battery, he decides the car does need an oil change and the transmission fluid flushed (this alone is $150!). I haven't heard the total yet.

As Boo commented on my last post, sometimes it is best just to focus on getting rid of the debt rather than within a set period of time. So, here is the new plan.

I will pay for my daughter's braces on August 28th in full. This saves us $189.05. The total is $3,591.95! I currently have $953. Of course, this is going to be less after the above mentioned car maintenence. Ugh!! The remaining money will come from our emergency fund. I know...it's not a true emergency, but I don't want to add more debt. Luckily the US Army provides my husband a stable job, so no worries there.

Since, the money is coming from the emergency fund, our first priority is paying this money back to ourselves. I hope to have this completed by the end of October. But if it happens later...so be it, right Boo?

Once we have paid ourselves back, we will turn our focus back to the home equity loan. I can't wait! Even though I've estimated when I think we can pay it off, I'm going to let the chips fall where they may.

While on this journey, I'm going to increase my focus on things I can sell on ebay or consignment stores. I'm going to do as many surveys as possible. I'm going to reign the spending in as well. We do pretty good with the spending...but I'm going to make an extra effort!!

That's the plan. I guess it's time for another ticker!

I made our regular payment to our home equity loan. With $79.21 going towards principal, our new balance is $6,342.05!!

A little history:

The loan balance was $13,999 at the beginning of January. My original goal was to pay off half. That we did!! At some point, much earlier this year, we changed the goal to pay it all off.

But then, we decided to go to Disney World for vacation at the last minute with cash. It's not something I regret, as we expect my husband to be deployed early in 2010.

Although not unexpected, we are facing costs for our oldest daughters braces to the tune of $3781 if we pay over time. But we could also pay in full, on August 28th, and save $189.

Can you see a lack of focus here?

I tell all of this to explain how and why our goals and priorities are changing. It may have been a bit too ambitious to pay the full loan in 12 months time, particularly knowing the braces were on the horizon. However, it's really the trip that could, maybe should, have been skipped. But again, I do not regret it. It just will take us a few months longer to pay off the home equity loan.

Honestly, I think we have done an amazing job. Our debt load in total is less than the beginning of the year. We increased the amount we invest in our retirement. We paid for a big vacation in cash. We will also pay for my daughter's braces in cash. So, I'm giving us a pat on the back for accomplishing what we have.

Tomorrow, I will post about the plan for the braces, as well as give a few more details on my goals for the HEL. So, check back in!!

I'm back from the grocery store.

I made it out of there paying $101.37. This is our food for the week. I will shop again next Sunday. My total includes a 24 pack of diet coke, plus the deposit, and kitty litter. So I would estimate that $85 is actual food products!

The kitty litter was good deal. It was on sale for $9.99. I had a store coupon for $2 off and a manufacturer coupon for $1 off. Final price for me $6.99!! The stuff retails for just under $12. I already have kitty litter on hand, but this deal was too good to pass up.

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Tomorrow, I'm making Apricot Orange Pork Chops in the crock pot. I haven't made this particular recipe before, but it sounds good. It's from this website. The woman has a book coming out in October, but the website has 365 free crockpot recipes. I think I'll skip the book!

We did shopped for eyeglasses today. We ended up purchasing frames and lenses from JC Penney Optical.

They are having a great deal on glasses for kids. Just $49 for a complete pair! This includes polycarbonate lenses and free warranty that covers breakage and scratches. This offer is good for kids 16 and under. My coupon, which I didn't need states the deal is good through September 12th.

It seems in our state there is no sales tax on glasses, so we escaped with two pairs for $98!! That I can handle.

Pearle Vision stated their glases were $159 for kids frames and lenses. I think they were having a Buy 1, Get 1 Family sale. Turns out my kids didn't like their frames. Good for my pocket book.

The girls had eye exams today. My oldest daughter already has eye glasses. I was expecting her to need a new prescription. However, it turns out my youngest needs them now, too.

Lucky girls. They inherited my near sightedness!

The eye exams were covered by our insurance, but the glasses will be out of our own pocket. We didn't pick them out today, because we had to get back home to prepare for a slumber party!

I'm going to see if any of the stores are having some good deals.

My daughter is having a slumber party on Friday with three friends. This is her birthday party. Her birthday was actually last month. We celebrated at Epcot in Disney World!

So, this week we are getting ready for the party. I made fabric drawstring bags out of fabric I already had. These will be used for party favors. They are going to hunt for their favors in the back yard, after dark, with flashlights. I still need to purchase the favors. This is what I'm thinking about getting: jolly ranchers, glow bracelets, microwave popcorn, chips, gum or toothpaste, and lotion.

I don't want to spend a lot or send them home with too much candy or junk. My daughter used her own money to purchase the three girls a Mickey Mouse pin, so they will get that, too!

We are buying them pizza for dinner. I will put out simple vegetables. They can eat their popcorn and chips. In the morning, we'll put out donuts and fruit. I think I'll skip the pop, but offer milk, koolaid and water for drinks. Oh, and cupcakes!! Ugh...it sounds like too much junk.

I'll total up the costs after the party and see how we did!

I called the orthodontist today to inquire about a discount for paying in full. They have one. It's 5% on the balance after the insurance makes their payment.

In our case, we would get 5% off $3,781. That's $189.05.

I can't decide what to do. I really wanted to focus on the home equity loan. It has an interest rate of 7.25%. My goal of finishing this by the end of the year is stressing me out. My plan puts us on a very tight budget, especially when I put payments to the orthodontist in the mix.

I can afford to pay the regular payments to the home equity loan and orthodontist with no problem. For that I am extremely grateful. It's when I start making a plan for paying them off early, even by the end of the year that I start getting very anxious.

I need to come up with a plan that will make me less anxious, but still bring progress to our goals.

I took my daughter to her orthodontist appointment today. She's going to have braces put on in 2.5 weeks. We're both very excited!!

Okay, I was less excited after they handed me the bill. But, while we waited for the total, I told my daughter we were getting braces regardless of the cost. It is simply that important. In the long term, it is actually a good investment in her health. She was pleased.

I know you want the details, so here they are:

Total $4800.00
Insurance $1020.00
Our Total $3780.00

I have to pay $780 at the end of this month when we have the braces put on. The remaining $3000, will be paid in monthly installments of $125 for 24 months!

Our insurance has a lifetime maximum of $1500 for orthodontic treatment and we used the $380 towards the headgear. I'm just realizing if she needs a retainer after the braces, that cost will be all ours.

I know I can manage the $125/month, so that is good. Of course, knowing me I will pay it off early!!

I didn't think to ask about a discount for payment in full. I don't really want to pay in full, but it would be nice to know if that were an option and how much it might save me!