My youngest daughter(10th grade) started her new high school today. I'm nervous right along with her. She was going to take the bus, but there didn't seem to be anyone at our stop, so I drove her. Which is fine, I have no problem with that at all. It just added to the nerves of the day.

I'm more nervous for her than my college daughter! I guess because high school can be so tough. She is already involved with the marching bad, so may have seen a few familiar faces once she was there. It's a big high school of nearly 2000 kids. She had a hard transition last time we moved, although didn't really know the full extent at the time. I'm just hoping this is better and easier!! This school is used to lots of new kids in all grades because we are near a military post. I'm crossing my fingers that is a positive thing!!

Financially, we spent a lot more money again yesterday. My college daughter bought $160 in art supplies for one class! I paid her back. I also ordered two more things on Amazon for her, which cost $37.

Later in the day, I took my youngest clothes shopping. We spent $82 during that trip. I ordered a pair of shoes online for $55, and then a used scientific calculator for $70!

Did you add that up? $374. In one day! The money is flowing out. I'm trying really hard not to find other reasons of my own to spend. With a new home to live in, it is so tempting. So far so good though!

My daughter and I talked today on the phone. She finally has internet access in her room, and wireless access all over campus. It was a hard week without it, but she made it. Class start Monday, so she is all set now.

Since she could log in online she took a look at her billing statement. Tuition, fees, room and board for the first semester AFTER scholarships is $7,198.55. Scholarships amounted to $10,000. Room and board is the largest portion at $5,145.55. The tuition/fees for 18 hours came $2,044. Living ON campus is required for Freshman under the age of 19.

The bill hasn't actually been generated yet. The first bill is due September 12. I can pay in full with a debit card or check for no additional fees. If I use a credit card they add a 2.75% convenience charge. I can also make three payments, but need to sign up each semester for a $20 fee.

It's tempting to do payments, but I'm not sure it is absolutely necessary. I will be using her college funds to pay at least $5K. I would like to pay the remainder out of some of our savings and cash flow the remaining. It's the willingness to cash flow some of it that makes me interested in making payments.

I haven't thought it through much more than what I've written here. I will take a look at balances and see what I can do by September 12. I'm grateful for the scholarships and ability to pay this bill without student loans. So grateful!

Anyone else sending a child to college this semester? How much is your first semester bill?

I'm back from taking my daughter to college. It was emotional. I was more sad initially, then it was her turn. She did turn a corner though and seemed pretty good when I left. She made the marching band!!! She is now super busy the next several days with that, which makes it hard to figure out getting her computer and phone set up on the University's WiFi. She thought she was connected last night then said it didn't seem so this morning.

She already has a bit of homework. Needs to find time to practice for her concert band audition next Tuesday. Luckily she did practice nearly everyday this summer. She is busy, which is probably better than being bored.

I know I spent nearly $100 at the bookstore for new t shirts and sweatshirts for our family. The books she rented were $190. I guess one was purchased, since it was available for rent. There may be cheaper options in the future, but this time we just went with the local bookstore. Luckily I checked the receipt before we left. Originally it said books needed to be returned Oct 23...before the semester is over. It was a cashier error. Now they are all due back December 18. We would have been charged the difference and then would have owned those books! Glad it happened as it was a good lesson for my daughter to witness.

I know I probably spent another $300-350 once we were in town on dorm needs. It sure adds up! Hopefully, many of these things can be used over and over in the coming years. I know I still had dorm items when my girls were younger! I maybe still do.

I need to get back on track with bill paying. There was a payday since I was out of town. I have many emails from credit cards about statements being available. My goal for today is to get that completed.

There's more to write about, but for now I need to keep getting the important things done!

We have quite a few credit cards that we now use for various types of rewards. Specifically I have balances on ten, ranging from $13.43 to $1,549.07. The total balance of those ten all together is $4,155.65. These are all current and not charging us any interest. And you might notice that is less than the last time I reported our total.

Today I made a list of the balances of each card in order of due date. I usually don't pay much attention because I just pay off the balances when we get paid. If you are paying on current charges twice a month you are always ahead of the statement closing. That's why I haven't paid attention.

As I said in the other post about our credit card debt, I plan to pay all of these off without any interest. But I also want to keep as much in savings as I can. So I'm going to aware of the due date so I'm paying the debts due first FIRST with current paycheck money rather than those due a month out or the next paycheck.

This probably isn't a big relation to anyone, or me for that matter, but I'm just taking a different approach for a bit. A little more awareness to get on an even footing again and hopefully with a nice healthy savings account.

Of course, there is the college expenses. I'm going to try to cash flow as much as I can. However, whatever I can't can be paid with funds saved for college. At least for this year. We have tuition mostly covered, but the dorm will be our biggest expense. Along with some miscellaneous band expenses which seems to be extra time in the dorm and food before the housing contract starts. Next year, I will plan to save up for this little extra cost.

Are you aware of your debt due dates, or do you pay more attention to which paycheck you pay your debt from?

Eek! We are just days away from flying my daughter to college. We have a big list of things to buy when we arrive, but need to pack here first. Suitcases are lining the hallway. We have the next few days to get things packed. If it gets to be too much to take with checked bags, then we may need to mail some things. We sent a few things with family that just left today.

It's pretty overwhelming for all of us it seems. Today we are getting her meningitis vaccination taken care of and likely a little clothes shopping. Tomorrow more packing since we need to know by Wednesday morning if we need to mail anything.

In other news, I redeemed Pinecone Points for $15 Paypal cash. I think I will have that tomorrow if I remember right.

I'm guessing I won't be posting much in the next week with all the activity, but eventually I'll get back to my regular updates about our goals.

Our trip to Universal Orlando did cost a bit more than I expected, but I have no regrets. We had a very good time with plenty of memories!

Here's the approximate breakdown of costs:
Airline Fees $144
Park Tickets $604
Hotel Cost $695
Hotel Parking $52
Rental Car $191
Food/Gas/Souvenirs $668
Airport Parking $42

Grand Total $2396

We did Early Bird Check in for Southwest on both legs of the trip, which added $100 to our cost. It was worth it leaving, but on the way home our flight probably only had 60 people, so need for it. But you don't know that ahead of time.

Hotel costs could have been much less, however, we did get Express Passes included to cover all three days for four people even though we only stay two nights for that cost. (Third night at different hotel was paid with reward points) If we had purchased Express Passes (Unlimited version) for three days for four people it would have cost us over $1400! That is not a typo. There is no way I would have paid that, which is why staying on site is such a deal even though the cost of the hotel seems pricey it isn't for what you get.

I mentioned the rental car issue in yesterday's post. Originally I though I was getting a rental car 'free' with reward points.

Of course, we could have limited souvenirs, of which there really were only six or seven items. My husband had some pricey beer. We did eat Clif Bars in our hotel room each morning so that saved us a bit, but if we wanted food in the parks we ate it. I tried Earl Grey and Lavender ice cream, which was yummy! With it being so hot, water was probably our biggest expense. I didn't have time to do enough research, but we could have refilled our water bottles with water at the Coke Freestyle machines for FREE! Oops. Lesson learned for next time!

So it's all good. I'm using a little bit of our house proceeds and army reimbursements to pay for the trip.

Transportation on our trip was more than planned. It seems I thought I had reserved a rental car using Southwest Rapid Reward points. However, when I went to double check all of our reservations I couldn't find the rental car, only an email stating I had redeemed a reward. It seems the reward I redeemed is a voucher for Dollar Rent a Car that was mailed to me (well mailed to my old address). I still have yet to receive it.

So less than 24 hours before we needed a rental car I was on the hunt, using every rental car company and coupon codes I could come up with to find the least expensive option for us. We really wanted to pick up our car at the airport rather than a shuttle (this does increase the cost). We also wanted a reliable company (some companies have terrible reviews). We went through USAA and got a mid size car for $191 prepaid with Budget. It was definitely more than I wanted to pay. Later my husband asked about other options to get to the resort since we barely needed the car. Shuttle service or Luxury Town car round trip for four people would have been at least $144. It turns out we did leave the hotel resort area one night for dinner and stopped to get something at Walgreen's. We also used the car to get to our hotel for our third night's stay closer to the airport. This stay was at a Fairfield Inn and we used reward points. Staying at the resort would have cost us over $300 for a third night. Oh, and we also ate at a restaurant on our last night and we drove there.

So the rental car wasn't a bad deal considering how we used it to save us a little money. It just cost me much more because I originally thought I was getting a rental car for free! Well, I am getting a 'free' rental car but not for this trip.

We paid $20 per night to park on site at our resort hotel. That fee was expected since I was planning on a rental car. We would have saved that fee had we not rented a car.

And finally, we parked at the airport for $12 a day. Our parking tab was $42. Again, we could reduced that amount in half if we had parked off site. We ran into backed up traffic on our way to the airport and decided it was better to just pay the higher cost of parking than be late for our flight.

So it is what it is! I think in the end it worked out fine for why we rented a car and what the alternatives would have been. At least the airline tickets didn't cost us anything out of pocket!

We are still spending. This time we went to Kohl's and bought some clothes. I needed another pair of shorts for our trip, I bought three because I couldn't decide. However, I will return two after the trip. My husband needed two pairs as did one of my daughter's. My husband also needed a couple shirts. And then since we had a 25% off coupon and a $10 off coupon it seemed the right time to buy a new kitchen pan. My husband has been complaining about ours sticking. He's already used it and very happy!

That trip was not frugal, but we all found things there in one trip so that was really good. But spending $178 is tough! Again, I do plan to return two of the shorts I bought, which we probably be about a $32 credit, bring the bill to under $150. A bit better, but boy things are expensive and thus why we usually get by with less clothing. On vacation we don't want to spend our time washing and drying to get things clean. And we will be in Florida, thus the clothes are going to be filthy after sweating in them all day. No wearing again. Although I actually might try that with one pair of shorts. Wash in the sink and hang to dry. Then I could return all three pairs of shorts!!

Our first water bill arrived today. It was for just 7 days. It included a $20 turn on charge. The actual water with taxes was 7.60. I set the bill to pay next Monday from our checking account and requested future bills to be sent by email.

I'm going to enjoy the trip and plan to pay all the bills when we return this weekend.

I found out that we can pay tuition with a credit card, BUT there is a 2.75% convenience fee charged to the payment. I think I'll avoid this and just use our checking account when it comes time to make payments.

I need my daughter to grant me access to pay her tuition as a first step, otherwise it will all be on her. I'm guessing she will have no problem with granting the access.

I'm not sure exactly what the amounts billed will be yet or when the are due. I should have enough cash on hand at any time to make payments. I will likely reimburse us from her college savings after I know the amounts and they have been paid.

We booked airline tickets for our entire family to go to Florida next week for three nights. The tickets were just $44.80 after using Southwest Rapids Rewards points and the companion pass I earned from last year. We also used points to get a rental car, which was free compared to taking a taxi or a shuttle service from the airport.

We are going to the Universal theme parks for three days. My youngest daughter is a BIG Harry Potter fan, thus she has been wanting to go for awhile. I did tell her it was possible this summer. I suddenly realized summer was winding down and her sister would be off to college. It was time to squeeze this trip in!

Our three day tickets for four people to park hop at Universal will be $604 with our military discount. We are saving $216 off gate admission with this benefit.

We are staying one night at a Fairfield Inn using Marriott points. The other two nights are going to be VERY pricey, but the benefits will be well worth the cost to our family. We are staying on site at one of the Deluxe resorts which will provide us early admission to the parks as well as an unlimited Express Pass for each of us for all three days. This will save us from waiting in some very long lines. So two nights for four people will cost us $695!! Yes. It is crazy. But since we are saving in so many other areas with reward points this money out of pocket will be in line with what we are willing to pay for this quick trip. A trip I know our girls will remember for a long time.

We will have some parking fees at the airport and on site at Universal. But the other big expense is going to be food. I'm going to look at some menu prices to see if I can get idea on that cost. It will be in the hundreds of dollars since it is theme park food!!

I made all these crazy plans before I told my girls. But at dinner I said I was working on a surprise and told them the trip plan! They were both excited and did remember I said we would probably go this summer. I'm glad I remembered to make it happen.

Anyone been to the Universal theme parks? Tips for us?

I'm taking my daughter to college in less than a month. We are flying! We just booked our tickets with Citi Thank You Rewards for a total out of pocket cost to us of $36.

These Citi Thank You Rewards were earned with our Citi Thank You Premiere card that we applied and received in May. We spent the required amount (I believe $3K) and earned 50,000 bonus points on our last statement. With points earned for the purchases as well, we had over 55K points which was just short by $36 for covering our tickets. One is a one way ticket and the other is a round trip ticket. It's going to be sad to leave her, but I know she will end up doing just fine.

We charged all of our travel to our new home, the first half of our temporary housing rent and just regular everyday spending to meet the $3K. It's nice to know we did get a benefit from it. This is the first time we have used credit card rewards for flights. We usually use them for cash or gift cards. These airline tickets were definitely the better deal! These tickets would have cost us nearly $700.

We still have over 78K of Southwest Rapids Rewards points to use...maybe for flights. Just haven't decided on the best use for those yet.

If you have credit card rewards, do you use them for airline tickets?

All of our items arrived at our rental home on Monday. I've nearly unpacked all boxes inside the home. I will need to find a cool morning for the few in the garage. We were even able to unpack quite a few boxes while the movers were on a break waiting for a second truck to arrive. That means they already hauled away all the boxes and papers we unpacked then. Actually kind of nice!

Unfortunately, not all of our items made it halfway across the country in good condition. I've seen a broken plate, broken (in half) candle holder, grease and debris on several of the mattresses, a hole chewed in the corner of our big wood desk (a mouse while in storage?), a broken bike reflector, damage to the bottom of our entertainment center that seems to have been already repaired using two stains and wax (and not in a good way)...and some other minor dings that I will live with and avoid mentioning.

It's payday! We also received a payment for the items we moved in our van. That payment is taxable, so the net amount was $734.51. I haven't logged on to see the rest of the details for how much the total was and how much was withheld for taxes. I think they withhold 25%! We'll get that back early 2016 when we file our taxes. Now we are just waiting for one more payment...the one that is for the temporary lodging. Maybe two more weeks at least on that one.

That's it for now. More details later when I have more time. I want to get back to the unpacking. Although I did appreciate the few minutes it took to write this post to get off my feet. Moving is tiring!

We visited the local Botanical Garden in our new city. It was very nice...although super hot at 10am this morning when we visited. With our military discount, admission was $36 for four of us. I think we were there an hour outside. We decided we would visit again and decided to purchase a membership for the year. It was $75, we were able to apply our original admission to the membership. Total spent was $75, but will cover many new adventures at the Botanical Garden.

I can't wait to go back when it is cooler! Do you have a botanical garden in your town?

Wow! Our cats are actually doing REALLY well in the car on our trip east. They have been in the car about 6 hours all together. One we barely hear a peep from, the other who is super loud anytime she is in the car is so much quieter and even sleeping!

I'm guessing the anti anxiety medicine the vet prescribed is really working! It's a transdermal med (specifically called Amitriptyline) that I rub on the skin in their ear each day. They are on day five or six now. I think I paid $12 for each of them. So worth it!!

The vet also gave me Feliway wipe samples. I wipe those on their kennel each morning. So that could be making a difference too.

We left their kennels out for the last several weeks with the doors off and installed a piece of carpet in the bottom. They have spent time in them off and on. And over the two previous days they hung out in them in our bathroom while movers were packing and loading. I think they have come to see them as a safe place.

So it's all good and peaceful on our trip and I couldn't ask for a better experience for them as far as the car ride goes.

As for the hotel, one cat just has to hide. Currently she is under a recliner chair in our hotel room. The other cat is sitting on the window ledge looking down from our eight floor hotel room. I feel bad the one seems so afraid, but she did eat some tuna I offered earlier so she is likely fine and will settle in once we are at our corporate apartment in a couple days.

I'm pretty sure I will be sending an email to our vet to let him know that his advice and care for our cats during our trip was spot on!

It's been a month since our purchase agreement with the buyers. They had their inspection nearly two weeks ago and our fingers are crossed they will finally agree to our offer on those repairs tonight. Unfortunately, their agent had a baby a week after their purchase agreement and is really not helping them at all. I do feel bad for them and really it's affecting all of us.

I was actually given permission to contact them about an issue and they responded very favorably to my email. I think prior they weren't getting the information our agent provided to their agent. We even decided to instruct them to call our agent if they had questions since their agent is not available. I do know our agent knows our wants and desires and was definitely working for us, simply communicating on our behalf with them. I think it helped us move mountains today in terms of progress.

Just today our agent decided to check on their loan and specifically the appraisal which we have not heard about yet. The person who wrote their preapproval letter three days after the purchase agreement had not yet received their purchase agreement or started their loan process!! The buyer was notified and thought their agent (who had the baby) had taken care of it. This actually may delay our closing. I'm not sure the buyers are aware of this yet.

We are leaving the same day regardless. At least that is the plan now. My husband has a specific day he needs to return to work and we need several days to travel.

It definitely feels like our days here are numbered. There are plenty of things to accomplish including a few meet ups with friends. It is interesting the impact you have on people even if only in their lives a little bit for a short period of time. I've always known and felt that we have an impact on more people than we realize. We have gifts, talents, points of views, and maybe just genuine love that comes across and impacts people. People notice and appreciate authentic humans in their lives. Be you. Be authentic. Be true. It's good for you, but also for others. The more I move around, the more I notice this and I actually feel blessed to come into contact with more people than I might if I stayed in one place.

It's been a month since our purchase agreement with the buyers. They had their inspection nearly two weeks ago and our fingers are crossed they will finally agree to our offer on those repairs tonight. Unfortunately, their agent had a baby a week after their purchase agreement and is really not helping them at all. I do feel bad for them and really it's affecting all of us.

I was actually given permission to contact them about an issue and they responded very favorably to my email. I think prior they weren't getting the information our agent provided to their agent. We even decided to instruct them to call our agent if they had questions since their agent is not available. I do know our agent knows our wants and desires and was definitely working for us, simply communicating on our behalf with them. I think it helped us move mountains today in terms of progress.

Just today our agent decided to check on their loan and specifically the appraisal which we have not heard about yet. The person who wrote their preapproval letter three days after the purchase agreement had not yet received their purchase agreement or started their loan process!! The buyer was notified and thought their agent (who had the baby) had taken care of it. This actually may delay our closing. I'm not sure the buyers are aware of this yet.

We are leaving the same day regardless. At least that is the plan now. My husband has a specific day he needs to return to work and we need several days to travel.

It definitely feels like our days here are numbered. There are plenty of things to accomplish including a few meet ups with friends. It is interesting the impact you have on people even if only in their lives a little bit for a short period of time. I've always known and felt that we have an impact on more people than we realize. We have gifts, talents, points of views, and maybe just genuine love that comes across and impacts people. People notice and appreciate authentic humans in their lives. Be you. Be authentic. Be true. It's good for you, but also for others. The more I move around, the more I notice this and I actually feel blessed to come into contact with more people than I might if I stayed in one place.

I moved $7,500 from our money market account to the savings account at Navy Federal CU which finally posted today. I applied online for the CD this morning. I guess that doesn't mean it is open earning interest quite yet, but very close! We now have more than have of our EF money at NFCU earning anywhere from 3.5-5% interest. Pretty good in this environment of super low interest rates. If I could put more money in I would!

My husband arrives home today (and about 10 hours earlier because he got on an early flight this morning)! Graduation is tomorrow for our oldest daughter. He will be here the remaining time before we move (he has a lot of vacation to use up before Sept 30 or he will lose it). We will be busy, but we are excited to be back together!

Have a super Memorial Day weekend! Don't spend too much...there will always be another sale.

I took our oldest cat to the vet today. I went primarily to get her rabies vaccination since we could need it as we move into another state. I also wanted to ask them why she wasn't sitting anymore. I was pretty sure it was because she is overweight, but wanted to make sure. Yep, our kitty (who is 10 years old) has put on at least 2 pounds! She was overweight before those pounds.

I think a somewhat recent food change is the result unfortunately. And I know that it is hard for cats to lose weight, but I think we'll try our best to assist her. My vet suggested cutting the food amount in half, supplementing with tuna and green beans(if she would eat them). He said the hardest part is going to be tolerating her when she is hungry! I know exactly what he means. Cats are relentless. It will probably be feeding her small amounts but more frequently.

He also prescribed a transdermal gel called Amitriptyline for 10 days. We are to give it the five days before the move, each day we are traveling and finish up once we arrive to our new destination. Cost was $12 per cat. The also gave me free samples of Feliway wipes to wipe on their cages each day. I guess some sort of calming pheromone.

In total I spent $72 at the vet today. I have another appointment for our other cat to get vaccinated for rabies next week. So a little more money needed for that.

What tips do you have to keep a cat calm in the car? Anyone ever heard of a cat losing weight? My vet said he hasn't.

I just completed a Pinecone survey. This should bring me to 1500 points to redeem for $15 tomorrow. A May snowflake!

Our water bill arrived and it was under budget by $20.52. I do count that as a snowflake, too. I will apply this to my Citi credit card balace.

Wrote a $348 check for a plumbing and drywall repair on our home. It's a long story, but that was money well spent! I get to paint the drywall tomorrow. Luckily I believe I have enough paint, so no additional costs.

My daughter sold a piece of art that she did in less than an hour. Her profit is $20. She sold it to a friend of mine. She has a real hard time placing value on her art and charging people for it. However, I'm happy she sold something. She puts things up on her art Facebook page just to share. My friend asked if she could purchase, so it was a bit unexpected.

And for those with cats: I'm looking for a collapsible carrier to take with us on our trip east. We have hard carriers but those are really going to take up a lot of space in our already cramped van. Does anyone think

Our buyer's have cold feet. They are walking away after having the home inspection yesterday and a radon test done. The excuse they are giving is a small roof leak that we have had repaired and are in the middle of having drywall replaced.

Our agent is going above and beyond to get them to even try to agree to any repairs. Apparently, these buyers have walked away from another home previously. So we are cutting ties with them and moving forward. We will return earnest money after they provide us with full inspection report and radon test report. At least that is what we are asking for. Keeping their money could cause us not to take another offer.

Luckily, our agent has some leads for other interested buyers! Send good thoughts.

My husband purchased a one way plane ticket home, the day before graduation for $320. He also bought travel insurance for $21. Not really happy about that. He also put it on our Discover card, but our I think our Citi card would have offered better rewards for an airline ticket. He gets so confused by all the rewards, so I just have to let it go. I'm looking forward to seeing him so that's the best part. He will be off work until our household goods are packed on the moving truck. We will all drive east together mid June!

I've requested that our Wells Fargo Propel Amex card be cancelled. I sent a secure email message. I need it cancelled before mid May to avoid being charged their hefty $175 annual fee. I did get that final reward of $25 and it just credited yesterday making the balance on the card $0! It was zero, but I accidentally make a charge to that card. All good now.

We have been having $500 deposited to a US Bank checking account each month from my husband's pay. I originally set this up to earn a $200 reward for opening the account. I'm pretty sure I'm going to cancel the account, but the first step was to get the deposit from happening. I made that request on the military pay site. It should be effectively stopped on May 1. So a cancel request will happen after that. The only other thought is to keep the account until after closing. Since there is a local branch our proceeds could just be deposited there, rather than a wire to our online bank (which often can cost $50!). A detail to look into and decide about.

It will feel good to lessen the number of credit cards and accounts we have open. Have you done a financial clean up lately?

My dad has been getting creative with his numbers in the past for birthday's giving us $100.40 to represent our fortieth year. My parents have gifted us every year for our anniversary also. It has almost always been $100. This year the check was written for $119.19 for our 19th wedding anniversary. He's getting a little more generous!

Our anniversary was last Sunday. We were actually together that day. It didn't really feel to special as we were looking a rental properties in our new state. But we were together and that always feels better!

The check was given to us just before my trip to the east. I tucked it into a drawer knowing we would be having showings for our home. Until last night I had completely forgotten about it which I knew was a possibility when I did it. Luckily, I happened upon it last night. I will deposit it this morning.

For the sake of simplicity and to make some more debt payoff progress I'm counting it as a snowflake. It will further reduce the debt we have on the Citi card, which is a good thing. The beginning balance on the card was $686.27. This snowflake will bring beginning year balance to $337.59.

What do you think of my dad's creativity with his gift?

I have signed the listing agreement with our realtor today. My husband will have to electronically sign after work. His work email has such high security levels that he can't sign from work.

There will be a sign in the yard tomorrow, but because of the late signing by my husband today, the listing will not be live until Monday. There is a chance a showing or two could happen as a house across the street is having an open house on Sunday. I'll be leaving those showings for my mom to prepare while I'm out of town. Lucky for me, I know she will handle it fine and is very willing to help.

We will have one open house a week from Sunday. My realtor says she has a pretty good track record for finding buyers during open houses. We'll see. I'm not usually a fan, but I'll give her a 1.5 hours to try it out.

Boy it feels real when you sign! Send your best wishes, prayers and good vibes for the right buyer at the right price.

I just activated our Discover Rewards for this quarter to earn 5% cash back on restaurants and movies. I wish I would have done this before the weekend because I had a couple restaurant charges. I do expect more in the coming months with the house on the market and the moving process. We might as well get a little back from those purchases.

I moved $4000 from our money market account to our checking account. It's time for a bigger accessible buffer since we may be putting up a deposit for a rental home. I expect to put this all back after we move, or before if it seems it won't be needed.

I haven't been doing Swagbucks or Bing with much gusto lately. I'm just to busy and have my mind in other places. I have done a little, and expect to have a reward before the month ends at least.

Our auto insurance was billed to our credit card today. Just $385 for two drivers for six months with a $1000 deductible to include comprehensive and collision. Not bad. I have the money set aside to pay the bill and will do so when it is no longer posting as a pending transaction.

My daughter is applying for a couple more scholarships. Not sure of the odds of these, but they were relatively simple to work on so she was willing. Every dollar earned is worth it to me!

Our water bill was under budget this month by over $17. I will be counting that as a snowflake and sending that difference to the Citi card balance.

I ordered cat food online through Petsmart late last week. And it just arrived this morning. I was able to get two large bags for $48.41 shipped. I easily spend $40 for one bag when I buy in the store. I think the food was on sale, plus I made sure to buy an discounted gift card through

Pay should be pending in our bank account this morning, but the entire banking portion of our bank is down! It's really not fun to see no money when you log into your bank. Thank goodness there was notification at the top of the page or I would be in a panic!

I'm about to send off our $638 we owe to the IRS. I saved up each week since the beginning of January to accumulate the cash. I'm glad I did because it makes it so much easier to write that check. The will clear up $105 each paycheck going forward.

I ordered another part for our dishwasher since over time it doesn't seem the first part worked. It is a motor assembly this time, so more expensive, but less than having a repair man out to do it, plus the part would be inflated. I'll be doing this one all by myself, but I've already taken it apart once and put back together. I was checking to see if something was stuck in there causing the noise. If this part doesn't work, I can return it at my expense. If doesn't work, I honestly don't know what else it could be...there really isn't much to a dishwasher and I've taken the whole thing apart! I ordered the part yesterday and it should be here today...and that was with their basic shipping charge of $6.95.

I also have a handyman coming over to look at my roof. I found to shingles on the driveway yesterday and can see one still on the roof that isn't attached. It had been pretty windy the day prior. He expects it to cost right at $100. Money well spent likely. Super glad he can come today as we are expecting a lot of rain tomorrow night!

Pictures for our listing will be taken tomorrow afternoon. I really have put nearly everything away. A few landscape pictures remain, but I have take down decor to make it just seem as neutral as possible. I think it will help it show well in the pictures. I did tell the girls they could get somethings back out after pictures if needed or wanted. And after we have an offer they can get more out to keep it like our home until we move.

My last post was about the generous scholarships my daughter is getting for attending the university she has chosen. I thought I'd detail the costs a bit more.

Tuition for 15 credit hours, two semesters (this is a public institution)
In state $6,480
Out of state $20,400

Fees (same for both)
$1,690

Housing (required the first year)
$9,961

Total $32,051 (for out of state)

At this point she has $20,000 in scholarships for the first year! So we are paying fees and housing/food and of course books. Her current investments for education equal $24,606. So we have the money to cover those costs. She will eventually use some of my husband's Post 911 GI Bill benefits, which will cover two years in state tuition and housing. We will give the other two years of benefits to her sister.

We are definitely feeling very blessed knowing that our daughter has earned such great scholarships based on her hard work and talent, that our investments have helped take some of the financial burdens off the costs, and humbled by the offer of financial benefits for our children by the American people for the sacrifices we have made to protect this country. It's not a small thing and we appreciate it all.

My daughter is raking in the scholarships for her first year at the university. The best one she received is for four years totalling $56,000! This helps reduce the cost of the out of state tuition to just under in state tuition. Her 4.0 GPA and and high ACT score of 31 help qualify her for that one.

She is getting $500 from the Honors Program, and $1000 from an alumni assocation as a Leadership scholarship. Just today she received a letter in the mail from the art department offering $4500! The art department noted that her 'digital drawing skills show a sophistication that is unot usually evident so early on. The work shows a strength in print and graphic design.' How cool is that?!

At this point I think that leaves only $2100 for tuition plus room and board (which is just under $10K). I'm amazed and thrilled to say the least. I'm not sure how the veterans benefits would work if she has all these scholarships...would we get a refund and just stock pile the money for another year. If not, I guess it would be better to just wait to claim those at another time. I will be checking on this.

She will be double majoring in Art and Music. Freshman can only receive one scholarship from one department. This means no music scholarship, but there could still be a department scholarship, which both art and music are a part of. If we switch her major to Music as primary then the art scholarship would not be possible. My daughter did feel that her art is probably more scholarship worthy than her music audition...although I know the professor seemed impressed and happy with how she did.

I'm kind of on cloud nine with all this money flowing in!! It helps some of the outflows happening lately not seem like a big deal.

I made another eBay sale. Item was $32.95, so my proceeds will be less than that. We also found a toy in my daughter bedroom to list online. I hope to make at least $10 on it. I might also have two skirts I could sell as well. I haven't decided on those yet though.

I took advantage of a couple Target offers this week that provided $5 gift cards. There is an offer to spend $20 on various health care type items, such as hair care, razor blades, lotion, sun care, soap, deodorant and more. Over two days I bought $40 worth of items, using $13.50 in coupons and received $15 in gift cards. In the end all the items cost me $21.50, and actually probaly even less since I used my Target Red card for the 5% off. I love it when deals, sales and coupons align!

My husband has been fully reimbursed for his portion of the move. We received one payment for the actual travel entitlements which amounted to $628.29. I used about $128 to reimburse cash taken out of our savings account, the remaining $500 went to cover some of the clothing purchased for my husband, gas for travel, and the one night in a hotel.

We received a second travel payment which was for moving some of our household goods. It was primarily all of his clothes and army equipment. It is a taxable payment and was reduced by 25% for withholding. The net amount was $365.90. I will also use this money to pay off some more money we have recently put on credit cards in the last couple weeks.

I feel better when money is flowing in!

My daughters and I all need glasses. I actually wear contacts. I went to the eye doctor on Friday while they were still in school. They each have appointments on different days this week during spring break.

The basic exam is covered by our insurance but there is no other vision insurance to cover contact lens exams, contacts or glasses. In other words we pay for these out of pocket. I paid $60 for my contact exam. My contacts are on order for about $180. I think one time I was able to order online for about $90 for the pair, unless I was only buying one...which is a possibility. The doctor won't write me a prescription until he sees how these lenes work, which means I will have already purchased them. I do get a refund if they don't. The thing is I've been wearing these contacts since I was in high school. I'm pretty sure they will work!

The girls will not have contacts to purchase just glasses. We did get glasses online one time and that worked really well. We will likely look around for the right frame and price before we commit. I generally like to spread these costs out, but decided that since all of us were overdue for an exam, I wanted to get them done now before the move.

So the point of my post is we will be able to see clearly, but it is going to cost us...which means more money flowing out. I think my 52 Week Challenge money is going to cover these costs. I have $285 right now, which covers the cost I just incurred. I will use savings to pay for the girls glasses, but pay myself back using the 52 Week Challenge money which is $57 twice per month. It may take me four months to pay myself back, but at least the money is figured out.

I remember at one time thinking I should save about $800 to $1000 year to cover vision costs. I haven't set it up. Part of the 52 Week Challenge money could be our vision fund. Maybe the remainder should be our vet fund, or oil changes in our vehicles. Something I will be considering. Really I can usually cash flow this stuff, but the spending lately is sky high!

Do you have vision insurance? What is covered? Do you save for your vision expenses?

My husband made it to our new hometown late yesterday. He is on the east coast and made it ahead of all the storm stuff brewing out there! I feel less stressed now that he is there safely. He is now MORE stressed that he is there because of needing to acclimate to new surroundings and people. We will survive.

I haven't checked on his expenses yet. It was one night in a hotel, gas and food. I know he took cash out in case of tolls also. The good news on those expenses they will get reimbursed. Hopefully quickly!!

I had lunch with another soldiers wife yesterday. Spent nearly $20 on lunch and tip, but we hung out at the restaurant for nearly 3 hours! I always love a nice social lunch.

I have an eBay buyer wanting to return an items. They weren't the size she thought they were. It's not clothing and I don't think I had measurements on the listing, but she didn't ask before buying either. I have offered to take them back, she pays shipping and I refund purchase price only. Personally, she would be ahead to try to list them herself for sale. If she returns them to me at her expense, she is out nearly $20 in shipping! And she only paid $11 for the item. We will see what she does!

How is the weather on the east coast for those of you that way? Are you expecting any reimbursements? Have you returned a purchase to an eBay seller before?