I wrote this post last night and saved as a draft, but I see that now that I posted it it shows as though I posted it last night...so this is just little bump!

July was a spectacular month for accumulated snowflakes. And really there were some snowballs in there to help! Those credit card rewards were key to making this month so great. I was proud to actually get a few things on Ebay and earn a little more cash towards this new goal. Total snowflake earnings for July.....$748.39!!!!



All snowflakes are going directly to pay down principal on our mortgage. I sent in just an extra $56 last month. This month I have already sent in the $250 check from Citi Thank You Rewards. And today, I'm sending in the remaining snowflakes $498.39. I think I should actually just round it up to an even $500. I think I can swing the extra $1.61 from my own pocket. Don't you?

My Snowflakes for Equity ticker shows a goal of $1000. I think I might need to revise the goal, since I'm almost there! I didn't quite expect all the credit card rewards when I made the goal. I'll have to really think through what I think we can accomplish before the end of the year.

It was asked in my last post about our mortgage pay down progress. Before today's extra principal payment I think we have paid a total of $5000 from the principal balance. That is a bit of a guess. I will work on getting more details for my next post. This is something I've been needing to do so that I'm tracking our progress a little better.

So, how do you think we did for July? Did I accumulate enough snowflakes?

July was a spectacular month for accumulated snowflakes. And really there were some snowballs in there to help! Those credit card rewards were key to making this month so great. I was proud to actually get a few things on Ebay and earn a little more cash towards this new goal. Total snowflake earnings for July.....$748.39!!!!



All snowflakes are going directly to pay down principal on our mortgage. I sent in just an extra $56 last month. This month I have already sent in the $250 check from Citi Thank You Rewards. And today, I'm sending in the remaining snowflakes $498.39. I think I should actually just round it up to an even $500. I think I can swing the extra $1.61 from my own pocket. Don't you?

My Snowflakes for Equity ticker shows a goal of $1000. I think I might need to revise the goal, since I'm almost there! I didn't quite expect all the credit card rewards when I made the goal. I'll have to really think through what I think we can accomplish before the end of the year.

It was asked in my last post about our mortgage pay down progress. Before today's extra principal payment I think we have paid a total of $5000 from the principal balance. That is a bit of a guess. I will work on getting more details for my next post. This is something I've been needing to do so that I'm tracking our progress a little better.

So, how do you think we did for July? Did I accumulate enough snowflakes?

I decided to pay my Ebay fees and withdraw the proceeds from the sales that have been paid. I want to send them in with my BIG principal mortgage payment. The proceeds thus far were $37.31. I'm still waiting for payment on one item. I have one item that will sell today. I will add those proceeds to my August snowflakes.

I will update my Snowflakes for Equity tomorrow. It has definitely been my best month EVER for snowflakes thanks to the credit card rewards.

Here are some future expected snowflakes that I'm waiting on that have been earned but not received:
$25 Paypal cash from Swagbucks
$3 Pinecone survey payment
$5+ Ebay proceeds
$150 American Express reward
$76 Capital One 360 Savings reward
$100 Capital One 360 checking reward
and we are working on earning that Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card reward of $500. I think we have only spent $500 of the $2000 minimum at this point.

Stay tuned for the July Snowflakes for Equity update...schedule to appear tomorrow!

I mentioned in my last post that my husband will be traveling for work. I guess one of the trips is cancelled...due to funding. So likely less savings if he is only gone one week.

I sold two items on Ebay last night. One person has paid. Waiting on the other. I also have one item with a bid that should end tomorrow. It's all moving along.

Today I need to get bills paid. I keep putting it off! Surprising, since I usually like to do it. I think it is just that I have other projects that are getting my attention. That bathroom painting has put my interest back on some improvements around the house and I would like to get a few things sewn and mailed to my sister. But I will pay the bills so I get work on the fun stuff!

We attended a free concert in a local park last night. Our daughter played with a flute choir ensemble prior to the city's municipal band concert. It was very good music and a cool beautiful evening free of bugs. Now I want to go to another one!!

Does your city have free music you can attend either indoor or outdoors?

My husband will be doing more travel in the coming month. I always miss him when he is away, but financially I'm looking forward to it. His expenses usually are covered by the Army...unless he splurges at a steak place. And that does happen. Sometimes we make a little money on the deal. Just a little.

What I really like is that the grocery and gas spending drop here at home. He has more 'needs' (read as wants) than I do, or allow the girls to have. Thus we eat simply and stay home a little more. I hope to set aside about $400 while he is away. It really will just go to savings, so not too exciting, but I like the idea of really working towards it to make it happen. Once he leaves I will start tracking our expenses.

I have one item with a bid on Ebay. Six of the auctions end tomorrow. I hope to see a little more activity before they end and sell another one or two. Once the other items end on Tuesday, I will pay my fees and withdraw the proceeds so I can send those in with my BIG August mortgage principal payment.

I'm also looking forward to payday so I can replenish the saving account. Remember I had to pull some money out to cover that accidental EXTRA mortgage payment I made? It has all worked out just fine, but I'd like that money back in my savings account. I did remember to cancel my automatic payments so we don't end up making an August payment when one isn't due.

I think I'll head outside to get some exercise in. It is so much cooler here today. It feels like fall. What kind of weather are you having where you live?

I was checking on some of the credit cards we have been using. Double checking that they are at zero balance. I requested the first one I opened to be canceled. I then looked at the Citi card and realized there were 2110 points. I looked around on the site, but wasn't interested in any CDs that could be redeemed for 600 points. I did notice that I can link my card to my Amazon.com account and use my points for Amazon purchases. My 2110 Thank You points are equal to $16.88. My only other problem is that I don't have anything I need to buy! I will wait to close this card until I have used the final points and then get it closed. I'm sure something will come up that we can purchase on Amazon. They have EVERYTHING!

Today I returned a rug I bought earlier in the week. Another $16 back in our pocket. I also found out that DH was paid from the Army for a trip he made last week. He drove his own car and thus was paid mileage. We made money (about $160)since his out of pocket expenses were less. Of course this is to cover the cost of operating the vehicle and depreciation. I think I will save it towards some upcoming vehicle maintenance. Oil changes are about due, and I know they will be checking the brakes, since we might be due for new pads. Of course, we'll charge them on the Southwest card to help get us to our $2000 spending minimum.

It looks to be more gorgeous weather this weekend. I hope we can get out and be active. We are keeping the windows closed and the air on because allergies. We all seem to get congestion when we have the windows open. Hopefully not too much spending!

Will your weekend be a spendy one or frugal?

The painting did get done yesterday and it looks so much better. The girls wanted the same color that their bathroom was painted in our last house. A light blue, specifically Pale Flowers by Valspar available at Lowe's. I did not buy their primer based paint becdause it so expensive and not necessary for this paint job. Saved myself $10-$15 by making this choice.


The towels and shower curtain are the same too. The decorative mirror in the picture was purchased at an art fair for $25. I thought the message was worth the price for two teen girls. I hope to find a few cube shelves for above the toilet. I see they are available on Amazon for about $15, but I'll look for locally first and even consider a used set.

Sorry I don't have any before pictures. Although I probably do somewhere; from last year when we moved in. Just imagine builder white. Although most of our walls and ceiling are a buff cream color.

I sold another item on Ebay, likely netting about $8. I will put that in the mail today. I also was able to redeem Swagbucks for another $25 deposit in my PayPal account. I will add that to the Snowflakes for Equity once I have it in my account.

Do you know how to paint? Do you paint often or infrequently? Any one not know how to paint a room?

I sold two of the CDs I listed on Ebay yeterday afternoon. They are already at the post office. Not sure the net, the gross sales of the two together was $13.62. This money goes to the Snowflakes for Equity, of course!

I got some motivation with this cooler weather to paint my daughter's bathroom. They have been asking and mentioning it for months! With paint and cool weather means open windows and no air conditioning. Might see how long we can keep them open, but allergies could become an issue.

A little spending because of the paint and trip an hour away, but it is all good! Trying to keep up with the Swagbucks codes today, but so far have two...oh well, I'll get goal done after the painting is done!

Pinecone Research is looking for new members to take surveys. I've been a member for several years and they have some of the most interesting and easy surveys to take. You even get to try samples sometimes!

Sign up

here. And thank you LuckyRobin for finding a link that will work! In the past they paid $5 per survey, now they give you 300 points, which you can redeem for $3. I have my $3 sent to my PayPal account, when I redeem my points. I probably make less than $100 per year, but those three dollars add up when you are snowflaking towards a goal. I do NOT getting anything for referring you, but I hope you sign up anyway...for your own benefit!

I redeemed 3700 points at MyPoints today for a $25 Applebee's gift card. This will be part of my mother in law's Christmas gift. Another snowflake!!

Do you participate in a program to earn gift cards or cash? Do you have a referral link you would like to share with me? I'm always interested in new opportunities that others have found success with.

The Citi Thank You award of $250 was received by our mortgage company, Wells Fargo, and applied correctly as a principal payment. Worked perfect!

I look forward to sending in another nice big principal payment later this month. All the July snowflakes, minus the reward above, total over $450. And I still have some Ebay proceeds to include, too!

I did put more items up on Ebay Sunday and will put some CDs up today. There are several CDs that are just not worth anything...either rejected by secondspin or only offered $0.05. Those will go to Goodwill.

Did anyone make an extra payment on debt this month? Tell me about it!