Wow! I wasn't expecting it to actually happen, but one of the commanders actually reimbursed my husband for refreshments purchased on his behalf nearly two months ago. The outgoing commander still owes us $75 and that was mentioned to him yesterday.

I have deposited the check, and will make a payment in the same amount to the Wells Fargo Amex card where we just put the tire and brake purchase. It's true I could call it a snowflake, but I think we are good on that goal and this is money we wouldn't have spent if given the choice. Fingers crossed we get the $75.

I did discuss with my husband that these commanders should pay up front for costs of their own refreshments. It isn't right for lower ranking officers or soldiers to pay and wait to be reimbursed. He agreed and may do a better job handling it in the future!

I was able to eliminate quite a few things in my To File pile yesterday. Some recycled, most shredded. The rest needs to be put away in our main filing cabinet. That should take less than 10 minutes to complete later today.

One blog I'm following indicated today was the day to purge nail polish. I only wear it on my toes in the summer, so I have two bottles I trade between. Both were good last I used them. So that task can be considered complete!

Are you purging anything this fall? Are you donating or selling? Do you often have to wait for reimbursements? Do you have a way of keeping your paper files in check?

I called both providers of services today. Target Optical simply had an error on their end. They did get paid. Why it showed up this late, I have no idea! But at least there is no bill to pay there.

The dentist was aware the claim was denied. They have been paid in the past from our insurance company, so we expect they will pay. They are in the process of calling and getting more information. I simply let them know if they needed anything from me to let me know. I expect to owe nothing or very little.

It was an interesting day of phone calls, which I rarely have to do. We ordered a service cap for my husband but apparently they don't have his size. The offered a size up, but I wasn't sure. Turns out he borrowed the larger size today and it was too loose, so that will be a no go. The company indicated it could be two to three months before one is available! I guess we will wait, as we can't seem to find another reliable option online. We also are not near any clothing sales store.

Overall good news, just some waiting on the dental insurance to pay and to get the item we ordered!

The $250 Citi Thank You reward check was applied to our mortgage late last week! Today, I also sent in another $18 in extra funds (snowflakes) to reduce the balance even further. That money was from one Pinecone Survey check and three $5 Target gift cards.

The mortgage balance is now $X16,512.76. This means just $1,512.76 left to pay down before the end of the year to meet our goal. We are right on track or even ahead of schedule.

Once we meet the actual goal amount, I will stop sending snowflakes to the mortgage. I will need to use these to offset some big purchases of late, primarily car maintenance. And there's that flute we still need to purchase. We have also been buying some new uniform items for my husband due to his promotion. Just last night I ordered a new service cap to go with his ASU (dress uniform) to the tune of $105! This stuff adds up, so I need to get some of this cash back into the bank.

I have a bid on one item on eBay, so another small snowflake will arrive before the end of the month, although I may count it towards November. I also redeemed MyPoints for a Panera Bread gift card. If I use that for an outing with friends, I will match it with mortgage funds.

If you have the Discover card, remember that online purchases for the quarter earn 5% cash back. I luckily remembered this when I ordered the service cap and some vitamins online yesterday?

What is your most recent snowflake? Are you using a cash back card for your online purchases? Are you nearing a goal you made at the beginning of the year

I've got a new post at

I received some mail today, one was a bill for an eye exam my daughter received last November! It shows the claim being denied with an invoice of $79 due upon receipt. It also states it is over 60 days due which implies we should have received an invoice prior. I will be calling and getting this straightened out before next months appointment.

The other piece of mail was from our dental provider indicating they are denying our claim of services in August because the dentist is not a network provider. This I did know. However, the dentist office said our insurance company is still paying claims at the old negotiated rate. I know the insurance will still cover at a certain rate, and at a minimum I will owe the difference. I need to call the dentist office to see what they know. I may need to file our own claim, which I do not look forward to.

I don't like getting bills for services I expected to be covered!

The flute refund now shows on our Amex credit card, so that is a relief that it all worked out. I didn't get a refund of shipping of course, but that I do understand.

I can finally see my husband's pay stub for the month of October. It all looks correct for the pay adjustment for the Sept 1 promotion. I look forward to seeing the one in November, as that will be even more clear!

I have a bid on an item that I listed yesterday on eBay. I actually hope it sells for a little more than the starting bid. The last one like it I sold did, but you never know with this item.

I received a $3 Pinecone payment.

See? All good news! What is your good news for today?

The flute we bought on eBay has been returned, received and payment refunded. However, it doesn't yet show on my credit card. On PayPal, it says it could take up to 30 day! Wow, that is a really long time. Luckily, there is no interest accruing on the card I used. It may show up in another day or two, at least that is what I hope!

I claimed my third $5 gift card at Target this week for purchasing $15 worth of personal care products. In all I bought six packages of feminine products (two types), two tubes of toothpaste, two deodorant sticks, and two cans of shaving cream. I think we are stocked up through the end of the year! Two gift cards have been used, the third will be used tomorrow when I get a few more items for our guests. All gift cards will be matched with a principal payment to the mortgage.

I've been doing some

I just signed up and learned of a new community where you can get free samples to try and then review them. It's called

I 'earned' a $5 gift card at Target Sunday for purchasing $15 worth of personal care items. I really should go back and get more, as it is a good price once the gift card is figured in.

Today I bought more groceries at Target, which should get us through the rest of the week. I made sure to use the $5 gift card. I will count this as a snowflake and send that amount in to the mortgage!

I have enough points with MyPoints to redeem for a $10 gift card, but I can't decide which one to get! It's free money! I just need to pick something. I will let you know what I decide!

I bought two cards at the store today. I made sure to find the $0.99 ones. One is for my friend grieving her mom. I already sent the sympathy card, but wanted to reach out again. We have been talking a lot, so I think that helps, but good mail is welcome, too. The other card is for Halloween for my foster niece. I will put a $5 bill in it, since we don't live close enough for her to come trick or treating.

Have you 'earned' or received any gift cards? Have you spent any? Do you give them as gifts?

The Thank You points check from my Citi card arrived today. The check is made out to our mortgage company for $250. I have put it in an envelope to be mailed in tomorrow! Soon to have less debt.

We are in the process of getting new tires for our truck. We were told they would need to be replaced a week ago when we where in. And now one of them is not holding air too well. They need to be ordered and hopefully we will have them this week. Not excited about paying for them, but we want to be safe and have working tires! We are also getting rear brakes replaced at the same time.

In the not too distant future, I expect I will also be getting new tires for our van and maybe brakes (can't remember if those were a need yet). So once I meet the mortgage goal, all extra money through the end of the year is going to help pay for these expenses. Specifically, replenishing the funds we will use to pay for them.

Once the Citi check arrives at our mortgage company I will let you know! I expect it to go off without a hitch.

I have a new post up at

I usually save these updates for the end or beginning of the month, but I'm excited about about where we are! The goal since January has been to pay down our mortgage by $13,993 to bring the balance to $X15,000. An even amount. We numbers geeks like even numbers, right?

Since January, we have paid off $12,212.23!! We have just $1,780.76 left to pay off. And because I know where most of that money is coming from I'm even more excited. Here's where I expect the money to come from:

$250 Citi Thank You Reward
$476 Approx November Regular Principal
$379 Planned Extra Principal November
$478 Approx December Regular Principal
$104 Planned Extra Principal December

All of those expected planned payments equal $1,687. That is $93.76 short of the goal. I also expect there will be other snowflakes to easily meet the extra $93+ needed. If there are more snowflakes I will reduce the extra principal I send in at least until January comes around again.

I feel strongly that if I didn't make this goal in January, we wouldn't be were we are now. Always make a goal! It's worth it.

I had $12.66 in rewards on the US Bank Cash+ Visa that I redeemed the other day. These are primarily the result of getting 5% cash back on our cell phone bill. I didn't remember to match those, so now will need to make another mortgage payment to pay down some more principal!

The bills are paid. I have paid all but one credit card in full. No interest is being charged, and now that we finally got the back pay for promotion we can starting doing good things with the extra funds. I won't have all that figured out likely until the next paycheck at the beginning of November. Something to look forward to.

I made a donation to a charity last night for a walk we are participating in. We will need gas to travel and some cash for lunch while we are there. I feel good about that cause.

I also need to pick up the senior pictures! I have $50 deposit down right now, but need to pay another $100 to pick up the proofs and take them home. I could just look in the studio, but that seems like too much pressure.

Any snowflakes (extra money) come your way recently?

The flute I mentioned in yesterday's post has been mailed back. I don't expect to have a problem with a refund at this point, since I have been in communication with the seller. Worse case scenario, I file a complaint with the credit card company. I don't expect it will come to that.

I met a friend halfway between where we both live. We started with latte's and muffins, browsed lots of stores and stocked up on cards through the end of the year (3 for me) and then had lunch together at a place that service local foods (yummy!!). In the end we didn't get separate checks for lunch, so she paid. I will pay her back at some point and in some way.

It's payday, but I haven't had time yet to get everything current. I expect I will do that tomorrow. So more from me then possibly.

I finally decided to redeem the $200 bonus from the Citi Thank You card. For awhile, I was thinking of redeeming the reward for a Lowe's gift card so we could put it towards the purchase of a fridge. That is on hold for now.

I ended up redeeming the bonus plus other points for a $250 check made out to our mortgage company. I would guess I will have it in a week. It came really fast last time. Once I have it, I will send it to Wells Fargo to reduce the principal on our mortgage balance! That was the whole point of getting the bonus anyway, so I'm pleased with making that happen.

I made an extra payment full of various snowflakes (extra money) today in the amount of $82.28. Less debt, we know I like that! It really is amazing how small amounts of money here and there add up.

In other news, the flute we purchased is being returned. It is actually in really great shape and easily worth the money we paid. Except, the embouchure isn't the right size for my daughter. She has a hard time blowing air through it. I thought since it was the same model my oldest daughter has it would work...but my younger daughter has different lips and it doesn't work for her! Our lesson teacher advised it be returned, so I'm in the works with that since I bought it on eBay. We will now buy local and give her lots of options to test out for the right fit. Luckily, she wasn't too disappointed by it all.

I am waiting for the seller to respond, and I'm slightly concerned they will deny a refund. The seller has a 100% feedback score, but seems to have something about 72 hours to request refund...and today is 72 hours. Of course, then there is another place on their site that say 14 days. My plan is to return it, insurance priority, maybe with signature and hope a refund would still be provided. At that point, I think I could contact the credit card company for a refund, showing I returned the item to them. Any thoughts? I know I could also get eBay involved if needed. I probably shouldn't jump to send back to quickly. Worse case, I could actually resell it.

Have you had to return anything you purchased lately? Do you have less debt than you had yesterday?

The stock market has been going down this month. I'm not going to look. It makes me feel nervous emotionally. Logically, I know that it will go back up and that we don't need the money for another 25+ years. I also know that the shares we purchase can be considered 'on sale'. We will get more shares for the same investment dollars. And I do like a sale!

We will keep our investments the same as always. We invest automatically the same amount at the same time of the month.

Will you look? Will you keep your investment purchases the same or invest even more with prices low?