My goal this week was to finish our Christmas shopping. I didn't make it...but I was close.

I finished for everyone on the list except our two daughters. Of course, we are buying the most for them. The main reason I didn't finish is because I need to add up how much I have spent on each of them.

I really want to stay within the budget, so I had to take a break for the weekend to evaluate where I am. Maybe I'm done, maybe I'm not.

Here's my entry into the Holiday Decorating Contest. I'm sure hoping for first prize! Hey, what is the prize?

Here's the tree...I made the tree skirt when I was a newlywed. It's like a quilt and the cats like to lay under the tree until the presents arrive.

Here's the stocking hung with care. Oops, forgot that DD2 added her sock to the holder! That is for her hamster Melanie.

Top of the piano holds vintage ornaments from my grandparents. The two figurines were also handed down by them. They are collector's items...could be sold on ebay for several pennies if I ever so desired.

Finally, the outdoor decor. Not sure if one can tell how good it looks in the picture. Hey, who turned off the lights on the railing!! At least the snow is right...thank you mother nature!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I'm supposing most people know what a white elephant gift is. It is an item that is no longer useful to the owner, but could still be useful to someone else. It comes from your own home...you do not buy it. At least this is my definition of a white elephant.

Edit: Actually dictionary.com refers to a white elephant as a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of

My in laws have decided that the adults will do a white elephant exchange this year rather than drawing names for new store bought gifts. This saves me about $30!

However, I have a little problem. I have sold almost everything on ebay that I don't use on a regular basis! What do I give? How about helping me out, what would you give from your home if you had to give a white elephant gift? Maybe your ideas will help me find something...two somethings actually. My husband and I each have to give a gift.

Thanks!!

I took my oldest cat to the vet today for her distemper and rabies vaccines. Total vet bill $40! Each vaccine was $15 and the exam was $10.

Turns out my cat is overweight by about 3 pounds. I wonder if this has anything to do with the table scraps my husband feeds the cats? Yes, the vet thinks so. He said it would be okay to trim the dry cat food back.

I needed to get the rabies vaccine in order to have her licensed for 2009. The license is $3 for one year. I will pay these this week for both cats...just $6 in all.

On a side note, my cat meowed very loudly all the way there and back. I think she HATES the car. I'm so glad the vet is only one mile away!

Layoffs!

My husband works full time for the US Army Reserves, also known as, The Government. I'm usually not a big fan of government, but in this case when it comes to his job security I'm thrilled!

In fact, he is scheduled to get a raise, of 3.9% courtesy of Congress. Any one else out there getting a raise this year?
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If you have been laid off, I wish you god speed in locating that perfect (or less than perfect) source of income. You might even look into working for the government!

I'm going to try to get all my Christmas shopping done this week. I crossed 4 people off my list yesterday when I shopped at Sears with my Land's End gift card. $0 out of pocket!!

I will be out again today to finish up a few more. I have to wait until at least Thursday to finish the kids. I'm going to a Scholastic warehouse sale on Thursday so I can get some good deals on books they want. You might check their

Yesterday, we decorated our home for Christmas. Of course, we don't buy new decorations every year!! Some years we need more lights or more garland depending on where we are living at the time.

This years total for decor: $3!

I buy new red bows to hang from the outdoor light fixtures. Only needed three and they were $1 each.

After the holidays, I will try to pick up a few of those on clearance so I don't need to buy at full price. Clearanced lights aren't a bad idea either since there always seems to be a string that goes bad!

We were also blessed with snow while decorating!! Just perfect...and free, too.

My oldest daughter lost her glasses after swimming class on Friday. They looked everywhere at school, but they could not be found. I brought her a spare pair and she has been wearing them since.

She has asked the secretary the last two days if they have been turned in...they have not. She can't see the board very well at school, so after school we went to JC Penney's optical to order a new pair.

The lost pair was only $49 back in August. This same pair was $79 today. Obviously, the sale was not as good. We also tacked on an additional $10 to get them by Friday of this week. Of course, it was not money I wanted to spend, but was necessary.

If the glasses are found...we will have a duplicate spare pair. The two older ones we have could then be donated. I'll let you know if we ever find them.

Money spent today: $89.00
We ate dinner at home. We had french toast and juice, but it was so tempting to pick something up since we were out running the glasses errand around dinner. I did good!!

Yesterday, I took my parents, sis and kids to a very cute antique store here in town. My daughter's just love the store. My DD1 has an apron on her Christmas list. We decided while at the store that she could pick one out for her gift...but that she doesn't get it until Christmas. It was marked at $12, but with their "Pop a Balloon" Sale, I got it for $9! My ballon had a 25% off slip of paper.

Here's what she picked:

The family was in town to celebrate my birthday which is tomorrow. We visited the botanical garden...free admission for all of us with our membership. Lunch at botanical garden, paid by my parents. They also treated us to bowling! Unfortunately, my score was the lowest ever. I had a 28!! My daughters had higher scores because they had the bumbers up! LOL! I did better the second game with a 78! Can you tell I'm not a professional? I was just having an off day.

DH is still out of town for another 5 days. This is not the first time he's been away on my day, but I'm a big girl and can handle it. Tomorrow I'll share what I purchased for myself!

I treated them all to Apricot Chicken in the crockpot from this

At the beginning of the week, I had $60.10 in our checking account to last until payday on Friday. We are doing great. There has been some spending...here let me tell you about it.

I already mentioned in a previous post that I bought DD a coat for $20.94. Checking balance now equals $39.16 and remains there. But, I've spent more.

I had $6.00 in my wallet. I used $1.50 to buy a cookie mix for girl scout snacks on Monday. Yesterday, I spent $4.12 at the grocery store for cilantro, 2 cans black beans and feta cheese. My parents were in town and I didn't think two cans of soup were going to cut it for dinner. Remaining cash $0.38.

Today, I turned in cans for my deposit refund and received $3.15. Cash now in my wallet: $3.53. I then bought hot chocolate packets on sale for the kids with a coupon. I spent $1.58 (20 packets). Cash remaining $1.95.

Oh, actually I have more cash in my wallet because my parents reimbursed my for a book I purchased for my sister on their behalf. Add in another $13.23. Cash now in my wallet: $15.18!

I went on a Walgreen's shopping spree today, too. I had a gift card with a $28.60 balance. I left with a balance of $10.90. I spent $17.70 on the items below after sales, coupons and tax. Can you tell I'm thinking ahead to the holidays?



I'm thrilled to be doing so well. It does help that DH is out of town, but I feel like I've done well to stay within some limits this week. I do have motivation...that extra checking account money will be going to my Christmas Fund. I guess the cash that remains will, too!

DH is out of town this week. This means I tend to make simple meals for the girls and I. I went looking in the cupboards to come up with some meals for the week. This is what we are having for dinner:

Sunday - BBQ Chicken & Broccoli
Monday - Cheese Pizza, carrots & apples
Tuesday - canned soup, cresent rolls
Wednesday- Spaghetti & Frozen veggies
Thursday - Microwaveable meals
Friday - Bean tacos
Saturday - Eggs or Pancakes, applesauce

Obviously, I splurged on the microwaveable meals. I spent $5.37 on these alone. The total grocery bill was $44.99. I did have quite a few things on hand, particularly for the dinners. The rest was two boxes of cereal for breakfast, and items to fill the girls lunches for the week. Of course, there are some snacks in there.

Last night, I bought DD an outfit and shoes. Total at Kohl's was $69.74. I'm not thrilled with that price at all. She is happy and the shoes should last her quite awhile. She also found some items that no longer fit...so I will get those up on ebay soon, to help offset the cost.

I still have $60.10 until Friday's payday. I hope to have most of that left to put towards the Christmas fund.

Payday will be this coming Friday. We have $200 left in our checking account that is within our budget.

Things we need to buy:
Dress shoes for DD1 (band concert Tues)
Pants for DD1 (if we can find a deal)
Groceries for 5 days

I think we will be okay. It will get a little tight at the end. DH will be out of town next week, so the grocery budget can be a little slimmer!! I'd love to end the week with some left over so that I can add it to my Christmas cash.

I did a quick budget to see how much cash I would need for the holidays...about $750!! I have been saving since September and have accumulated about $450 so far. Here's where the money has come from:

1) Garage sale proceeds $60

2) Craigslist proceeds $10

3) Ebay sales $237

4) Debit card rewards $50

5) Target gift card $10

6) Survey points redeemed $30

7) Money market interest $35

8) Misc cash $18
I pulled a few dollars here and there from my purse and DH's wallet.

Now I still need another $300. I am trying to find this money outside our regular budget when possible. Last night I found several more high quality items to sell on ebay. Those will be up and running on Sunday.

If I can't accumulate it outside our regular budget...I will dip in, but I'm sure not ready to dip in yet!! I'm also going to be looking for bargains...maybe I won't need to spend $750. That would make me very happy!!

Just felt like sharing this little tidbit.

My oldest daughter's school voted for President today in a mock election. My daughter was a poll worker for one half hour, too.

The result...Obama beat McCain by 12 votes. Talk about close!!

cookies and wrapping paper? Just kidding!!

My youngest daughter came home from school with two fundraisers on Friday. Sally Foster wrapping paper and gifts, as well as, Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough. The school has already done one...I bought an Entertainment book for $20. This time I just can't decide if I should really put any more money out there.

This year the fundraisers are even more important, because school districts in our state can no longer ask parents to pay a fee for field trips. So, if I want my child and other children to still be able to participate I need to support the fund raising.

The school does allow one to donate any amount directly to the school without participating in the fund raisers. I like the idea, but seem to fall for the gimmicks!! Last year, I even had the idea of donating a set amount and then treating my child to an item or two at the dollar store..or even give them the cash as a way to compensate them for the trinket they get if they make a sale or two. So, far I haven't used that idea.

I think I will skip the wrapping paper, since I'm looking forward to a great deal at Walgreen's in a couple of weeks with my gift card. I will probably buy at least one container of cookie dough for $15 , maybe two. These could come in handy for gifts or just a holiday gathering...not the cheapest route to go, but it does help the school!

Even as I finish writing this I still feel torn about which way to go...maybe it is because I like the cookies so well. Help?!!

For some reason unknown to me, this crazy town of ours has Trick or Treating the day before Halloween! Can you imagine?

So, tonight I will walk the Emmy Award and the Devil around the neighborhood begging for treats while DH stays home and "man's" the door. It is also popular to have the kids tell a joke before they get the candy. Some of those kids have some funny ones!!

Anyone have any good Halloween jokes for my kids tonight? I hope you all enjoy your Halloween....tomorrow!

Spent Saturday cleaning for company, buying free cleaning supplies and candy at Walgreen's, baking bread (banana and pumpkin), and going to a pumpkin patch. Such beautiful warm weather...the a/c is actually on because it is also a tad too humid!

Today we took company to the local orchard...two blocks away. We bought a gallon of cider and a peck of apples which we split. It just smelled wonderful inside the building!!

Clipped more coupons, did laundry and cooked a homemade meal for dinner. Girls are ready for school and sending DH off on a travel trip. Always seem to save money when he's out of town. Weather will be getting cooler this week...he would want the heat on, but I can hold out and the girls will as well.

Here's to a good week...a rebound in the markets or at least a little saving on your own homefront.

I made this tote bag for my older daughter. I'm just excited to have made something with my own two hands.



I spent exactly $9.00 for 1/2 yard each of two cotton fabrics, 1 yard of cotton flannel for facing and a spool of thread. All the fabric was on sale and I had a 40% coupon off the thread. Of course, there is still some smaller pieces of fabric leftover and more flannel for another tote bag. Not to bad in the cost department.

My husband is a diet coke addict. I had been selling mycokerewards on ebay a while back, but that is no longer allowed. So, I decided to start accumulating them with no expectation of redeeming them.

After browsing the rewards, I noticed that magazine subscriptions are available. I picked Better Homes and Gardens. Nice side benefit to his bad habit!!

I may order DH Popular Mechanics, too. The dilemma is that DD brought home her school fundraiser...magazine sales!!! So, do I purchase Popular Mechanics to help the school? I could still redeem it free through mycokerewards, and pick something else for the girls...maybe American Girl magazine. I will be weighing my options.

Today is much cooler, but the windows will have to stay closed because it is raining. I'm pretty sure the air will not kick on today, so it is close to being off.

I see several warm days in our future, so for now the a/c challenge is over. We managed to make it 8.5 days without air conditioning during the month of August. I guess we could say 9.5 since it won't run today...that's almost a third of the month!

My kids are back at school today with my oldest starting 6th grade at the middle school. The youngest is still in elementary. They will be riding different buses and leaving and arriving at different times. It seems strange already. Cost of the first day of school...$5.28 to go to breakfast with the neighborhood mom's.

Organizing and decluttering, that is. It just kind of goes with this time of year for me. With school starting, it is important to go through all the clothes and shoes from last year.

I need to file some papers that are piling up in my "to file" pile. I'm sure half of these don't even need to be kept.

I'm also trying to come up with a new way to keep school papers organized for myself and the kids. Last year, I used a large magnetic clip for each child on the fridge for current papers that needed to be acted on. Then on a cabinet that sat next to the fridge I used file folders on a stand up rack. I just didn't like having that much paper out...so I'm still thinking what will work without losing track of everything. Any good ideas?

I also think I need to install decorative hooks by the front door for backpacks. It could double as a place for guest coats when not used for backpacks...see I would probably toss backpacks in coat closet when company comes.

Our house is pretty paired down when it comes to clutter, but I'm just trying to make sure we are using our space most efficiently. Like with like and things available near where we use them...rather than all spread out. I'm also thinking cleaning supplies are needed upstairs for the two bathrooms there, rather than all in the laundry/bath that is on the first level.

I recently acquired a over the door shoe holder. I have put it on the door to our basement...right next to the family room and on the way to the garage. Right now, it has bug spray, sunscreen, and extra school supplies. I'm on the lookout for things that would go well here. I guess it is okay if it is not FULL!!

Here's to an organized school year!!

We are still getting ready for the first day of school, just over a week away. Last week we made it to the orthodontist for head gear, eye exams for both girls and bought new sneakers.

At the orthodontist, I made the first of four payments on oldest daughters head gear. Each payment is $100. Dental insurance will pay 50%.

Eye exams for both daughters are covered in full by our insurance. Only one daughter has glasses. She did need a new prescription. We ended up getting frames at JCPenney's optical center for only $49!! This includes a warranty on the frames, too. I think I spent at least $150 last year on glasses, so I feel thrilled with this.

I'm sure I could have done better on shoes, by going to Payless shoes, but we ended up at Famous Footwear. I did get the 2nd pair at 1/2 price...but a total of $80 was spent on two pairs of sneakers. They should last most of the school year depending on growth. A side note here...my oldest daughter now has the same size feet as I do. We can share some shoes!! That will be a savings at times.

I also bought the girls each a new shirt. So far that is all the clothes that I have bought. I expect they have enough to wear for a few weeks before the weather gets cooler. I could be wrong about the weather though. It is already cool here. Only 80 degrees the last few days and expected for the next week, too. Yes, my a/c is OFF!!

Happy saving!

...about $20! My neighbor taught me to cut hair today. We cut both of my daughter's hair in preparation for school.

Both girls have pretty simple cuts...straight and no bangs. She had several good tools that made things easier. She has also cut her daughters hair for a few years now, so she has learned some tricks.

I already own scissors for hair, but need some clips, another type of scissors. She had a plastic cape, which would be nice, but a towel works, too!

I do own clippers so I could do my husbands hair, but those Army guys are a little particular on hair at times!!

What could you learn to save you money?

Many Friday nights our family loves to eat pizza. The kids love cheese or pepperoni. DH & I like lots of meat, mushrooms and onions. We often have a glass of wine or two.

There is just something about pizza that signals that it is the weekend. I even look forward to these in the summer, but much more during the school year.

Pizza ordered in or eaten out can be quite expensive. On the occasions that we do eat out...we use a coupon to lessen the expense.

But the usual for us is homemade pizza. Yes, I use prepackaged crust...just adding the water at home. We buy the cheese on sale and often in bulk. A little ground beef and an onion. The cost is generally less than $8 for two pizzas. Even with a bottle of wine we are around $15.

We love our homemade pizza better than almost any take out. We can adjust the music, the lighting, the temperature and the entertainment to our liking. What could be better?

Have a fabulous Friday night!

So, I've been looking through the Sunday ads. School supplies are available already! My kids still have six weeks of summer left.

The good deals I noticed are:

Office Depot

12pk eraser caps $0.01
protractor $0.01
2 pocket paper folder $0.01
ruler $0.01
1 inch 3 ring binder $0.99
6pk highlighters $0.99

Walmart

70 sheet spiral notebook $0.05
4oz Elmer's glue $0.22
2pk Elmer's glue sticks $0.22
24 count Crayola crayons $0.22

Talk about cheap!! Those are some very basic items almost every child needs. There are deals out there, so keep your eyes peeled!

I know my kids are going to need new sneakers for school and a few other basic clothes. I don't usually buy too many clothes before school, unless they are a really great deal. It's still hot for at least the first 6 weeks of school...so I can get the fall clothes on clearance when the time comes.

One daughter will need new underwear and additional socks are also good to stock up on this time of year.

I'm thinking of investing in better backpacks this year, too. I usually buy the $10 backpacks at Target every year, but by the end you can see light through the bottom. These then just get tossed in the landfill! It might be better to spend and extra $20 more to get quality backpacks that could last several years. What do the rest of you do in this area?

Yep, I'm kicking the home equity loan with another $12.00. This is interest from our money market account for this month. Can't wait until rates go back up!!

I also sent away for another $10 mysurvey check. It will be here in a few weeks. It will also go to the loan payoff.

My daughter turns 8 on Saturday. This means a $1 increase to her monthly allowance. The girls receive $1 for every year old they are. So, starting this month I pay out $19.00 instead of $18.00! I should teach them to save their increases...hmm, I wonder if that would go over?

Airfare: $0
Gas: $60.00
Tickets for 4: $120.00
Food: unknown
Lodging: free

Total cost to enjoy the Olympic spirit:
$180 plus food

I've loved the Olympics ever since I went as a kid. I went when they were held in Los Angelos in 1984. It was so fun. You could just feel the competitive, yet unifying, spirit in the air.

All four of us get to see the U.S. swimming trials next week. We don't know which events or which swimmers we will see, but we sure hope to see someone advance to the final team!

This is held here in the US, not Beijing! Hence, the reason we are able to go so inexpensively!!

I did go to Aldi for my first time yesterday. I took my girls. They loved that you had to put a quarter in to get a cart. We didn't actually get a cart, but the liked the idea. My daughter even brought her own quarter to use!

We picked up 3 things. Baby carrots, bag of red onions and ice cream bars for the girls. My total was $4.29. The woman ahead of me had a cart full of groceries. Her total was $79! I was very impressed with many of the prices. I'm sure I will be back.

This morning we traveled to our downtown farmers market. We bought 1 quart of strawberries for $5, a quart of sugar snap peas for $4 (later saw these for $2 at another stand), a dutch letter for the girls to share for $1.50, and romaine lettuce for $2. Parking was free as was the poetry reading, the music, the view of the river that is finally beginning to recede but is still higher than normal. We saw a three month old puppy, cool art, and many pretty flowers.

I really would love to make this a regular Saturday event for my family. It is just a good time. I think I need to go just a bit earlier next time, so that it is cooler and the crowd is not as thick.

We received $25 rewards from my debit card the other day. This is the extra money that I sent off to the home equity loan payoff. I expect to get a little interest on our money market account and some funds from ebay sales...all will go the home equity payoff.

Today was the sign up for dance and tumbling classes. I paid for the year in full in cash...$730. One daughter decided not to take dance because we expect she might be a bit busier in middle school with homework. This saved me from spending another $300. Love that!! I will hold on to it, in case we did to make a payment towards braces.

I reworked out escrow account today, too. I decided to start saving for dance classes for next year. Turns out instead of my previous monthly amount of $124, the new amount will be $200. I will split this evenly between the two checks we receive each month.

It was a good money day. Tomorrow I must grocery shop because my dearest soldier husband is coming home from three weeks of training. Can't wait to see him.!!

If you don't know what ETE is...read my post from yesterday. I did great with it today!

At Christmas time, I made some peanut butter candies that required whipping cream. I was unable to find the small container I needed, so ended up with a larger container and more than I needed.

I froze the remainder. I recently realized that this could be used to make homemade butter. So, I set it in the fridge to thaw for a couple of days.

Today, the girls and I shook that whipping cream for about 20 minutes. Eventually, it turned clumpy and we drained off the buttermilk. We added a little salt for taste. What do you know? It did taste like the butter I love!

It feels great to have found something unique for my girls to do, as well as, having found a use for the extra whipping cream!

I hope I can find a few more things for them to do this summer that are just laying around our house ready to be discovered!! Any thoughts or ideas?

to my sister. She's a year younger and married. Her husband recently changed jobs and their term insurance was up. So they scheduled an appointment with a friend of a friend.

Long story short the agent tried to sell them a variable annuity for her DH to roll his 401k into. The fund had an expense ratio of 1.75%!! He also suggested whole life insurance again.

She called me before and after the meeting. I gave her some questions to ask. Turns out based on my advise she was ticked at the agent for seeming to not take their best interests to heart.

My suggestion was for her husband to simply roll the 401k over to Fidelity IRA where she currently has hers. The expense ratios are significantly less and there are no surrender charges. The don't need the death benefit that the annuity provides because they have term insurance and no kids.

So for now they are leaving their term the same and rolling the 401k to Fidelity. She really wants to start learning more about basic investing decisions. She joked that she should check out some kind of book for dummies. So, today I picked up Personal Finance for Dummies at the library to see what I think about it's basic information.

It's nice that she feels comfortable enough to call me. I do have more experience since I worked at a mutual fund company for a time and was registered with my series 6 license.

How many of you use a professional advisor?