Creditcardfree's Personal Finance Blog

I'm hanging in there with this cold. It sure feels like a virus. I was cold earlier today. I feel run down when I do too much. I've been sleeping pretty well and drinking lots of fluids. I expect tomorrow I will feel quite a bit better. I hope at least!

I did my extra store run today. I spent $21 for flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, 3 lbs of ground chuck, 1/2 gallon of milk, two small jars of peanut butter, and 3 lbs of clementine oranges. Pretty good in my opinion.

That right there took a lot out of me. I get to spend the day with my husband tomorrow for Veteran's Day. We are going to lunch with another one of his coworkers to take advantage of some free meals. We have yet to decide which restaurant. We also hope to get some free coffee at Starbucks and a free yogurt at Orange Leaf. Yummy!

I used the self serve postal kiosk at the post office today. I ended up getting 10 Spiderman stamps that I didn't pay for. I just grabbed the items I thought were receipts...one of them wasn't! Luckily me I guess. Sorry for someone who left their postage behind.

Have you ended up with a freebie that you didn't expect? Anyone else taking advantage of veteran deals tomorrow?

I feel a bit better today than yesterday energy wise. I still have a lot of sinus pressure, but warm drinks do help!

I had enough energy to get to the grocery store. I spent $130 for the week. I do have to make a small run to another store tomorrow for a few things on sale.

I helped my daughter box up some of her artwork that she is donating to an organization that will use the art as a perk for donating. In the process, I came across a piece of art that I know one of our nephews was very interested in back in June. He's now getting that for Christmas! It's perfect. My daughter is happy about it too.

I also decided we would give two of our snow toys (block form and snowball thrower) to our nieces and nephew who are getting the state park permit. The gift will cost me nothing, but they would probably get use out of them. I will check with their mom first. If she doesn't think they want them, I have another person I think would.

I listed two items on eBay. Hope for quick sales!!

I hope you are all healthy! Wash your hands and cover your mouth when you sneeze.

My girls had colds earlier this week. I did my best to keep hands washed and avoided picking up any used tissues. Unfortunately, I got the cold. I did sleep in the morning, and have had two cups of warm tea. I don't feel to run down, but just annoyed with the symptoms.

We have to make a run to the music store today to return the flute we borrowed. There is an issue they may need to fix or see if there is another one before we go ahead on the purchase.

I may make one stop at Target for some sale items. I can't remember what they are, so maybe it doesn't even matter!

The rest of they day will consist of fluids and rest, which sounds much better than going on into the cold, windy weather we are having!

Do you have a go to treatment for colds? I tend to go for a decongestant, but this cold isn't like that, more of the scratchy throat variety.

Southwest Airlines has brought back their credit card bonus offers of 50,000 miles for making $2000 worth of purchases in 3 months. The cards have annual fees.

Here is the link I found, so you can read the fine print and get all the details.

I'm going to apply for the Plus card, as I have already had the Premier card. I made the mistake of cancelling the card before I redeemed all my points for gift cards, so I will have those in my pocket soon. We will have no issue putting $2K of spending on the card, especially with the holidays! And we can easily pay it off, too.

Do you fly Southwest? Have you taken advantage of these offers before? Will you again?

I did a little more online shopping for Christmas. Both daughter's want some specialty t shirts. Not sure that is exactly the right description. But let's say if your are a fan of Spiderman, you might want a Spiderman t shirt. Basically, they are fan girls of certain books and so forth.

I bought two t shirts tonight. I also found a couple more I'm considering. I also bought a pair of Smartwool socks from L.L. Bean. I had a $10 coupon in the catalog that arrived yesterday. Free shipping. The socks ended up being $9.95 after the coupon. Very good deal on Smartwool socks. I will give these to my mom in her Christmas stocking!

I'm progressing on other Christmas planning tasks this week, too. I wrote about them on

Your Organized Friend. I may actually address Christmas cards tomorrow. Maybe...

Do you still send Christmas cards by mail? How many do you send?

I just discussed gifts for my youngest nieces and nephews with my sister in law. She said they just aren't that into stuff! Not a bad thing, huh? The plan is to buy their family a state park permit for the 2015 year. That will cost me $26. That is inexpensive for four young kids and their parents! I can order online or pick up when I back for Thanksgiving.

I'm a fan of experience gifts. I don't get to give them very often, but have received them and they are always appreciated!

What experience gifts have you given or received? Or do you have one you would like to receive?

I've posted everyday this week, but I have kept myself pretty busy so I'm surprised that I even did. I've accomplished quite a few tasks, and none of them too spendy.

Monday was full of cleaning and various tasks around the house. I did go to the store for some cleaning supplies and bought my foster niece a birthday gift. The gift is now wrapped even, and I won't be seeing her until Thanksgiving!

Tuesday was a quick errand to Kohl's to spend $20 worth of Kohl's cash/Yes Rewards. I purchased a new fleece jacket and a needed pair of black tights for my daughter. I spent less than $5 out of pocket. I also began doing some Christmas planning. I know it's early but the intention is to get a few things out of the way in November to make the season relaxing and enjoyable.

Today, I went to meet a friend and her daughter for a little shopping and lunch before they had an appointment. They live out of town so it was a treat to visit. I paid $8.50 for my lunch, and paid $10 for another fleece (which my husband will add to my birthday gift). I turned in our bottles and had $2.50 back, so I used the money towards 10 stamps and only paid another $2.40 out of pocket. I had figured out how many stamps I needed yesterday, so buying those takes another item off my list.

I also stopped at Hobby Lobby and spent $5.60 for some artificial berries for the tomato cage tree I made last year. I believe this will be my only decor purchase this year. I don't need more. While I was there I noticed that all Christmas items were 50% off. This included stockings. I was going to make one for my foster niece but realized at those prices one could be bought! Since it was for my Mom's house I called her with my change of plan, she bought one for $5 that sounds really nice compared to what I would have spent time making, and I would have likely spent far more out of pocket. I guess it's good to know when to fold an idea! I also saved myself some money.

How has your week been? Are you doing any Christmas planning? Did you get any deals or find a way not to spend money?

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It is always good to know where you stand, right? I do get a bonus if six or more people sign up for the free service. Please use my link if you are at all interested. I will not receive any of your personal information. Thanks!

The goal for the entire year is to pay down $13,993 in principal on our mortgage. Novembers payment, and a scheduled extra payment have been applied. We are less than $1000 away from our goal. Specifically, we have $915.16 left to meet the goal.

I actually thought there was an error because I was seeing that $x15XXX! But alas, it was as right as right can be. Yippee.

I did just make a little payment of $16.40 with some snowflake money that has trickled in since the end of October. That amount is included in the numbers above.

I feel really good about meeting the goal!

A few of you have asked if I will continue this goal in 2015. The answer is a little mixed, but yes I will make a goal to pay off a certain dollar amount for the first six months of the year. It will be more conservative. The odds are really pretty high that we will move. I hope we can sell FSBO, but part of paying the mortgage down was to help cover realtor costs. When you have plenty of equity in the home, it helps it not seem like a big deal. If we can sell FSBO, we will have more cash out than if we had not paid down on the mortgage.

Snowflakes and extra funds will be used to pay ourselves back for tires, vehicle maintenance, daughter's flute, senior pictures, college expenses, eye glasses and other expenses that are eating into some of our savings. It shouldn't take too long to recover, but it is important to take that step as we prepare for another move.

So again, I'm super excited about the goal and getting so close to the finish line! How are your goals for 2014 coming along? Have you thought about your 2015 goals yet?

In the month of October we paid off $1,239.30 in principal on our mortgage. All snowflakes earned this month are included in the above figure. The remainder was from our regular income.

The goal since January has been to pay off $13,993 in principal in 2014. We have now paid off $12,480.23 and have just $1,512.77 left to pay.

I know we will meet the goal. I know this because I expect this money are to be applied before the end of the year:

Nov Regular Principal $476
Nov Extra Principal $103 (11/1)
Nov Extra Principal $275 (11/15)
Dec Regular Principal $478
Dec Extra Principal $103 (12/1)

This leaves just $78 needed to make it to goal. I know of two checking rewards that will equal $250 that I should earn by the end of December...so that is more than enough. That doesn't include my normal ways of accumulating some extra funds! I would prefer not to make that $275 principal payment in November at all. I may not if it looks like I can make the goal without it.

It's fun to see a goal come to fruition. I will be very happy when is actually here!! How are your goals coming along for 2014?

I didn't do too bad accumulating snowflakes (extra money) for the month of October. It helps that I redeemed the bonus rewards for opening the Citi Thank You credit card. The total for October was $385.94

Here's the breakdown:



I was able to make some sales on Ebay this month. They weren't big sales, but they did add up to nearly $50. It does help to have multiple ways to accumulate cash! And if you have a goal, boy, it does make you motivated to work them.

I exceeded the $4,000 snowflake goal last month, and with October snowflakes the new balance accumulated this year is $4,620.35. It would be nice to end the year with more over $5K in extra funds earned. Just two months to make that happen with about $380. I think it's possible!!

How did you do earning extra funds for your goal?

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

Your Organized Friend, with a little more decluttering I got done yesterday.

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

fall tasks and purging a few areas of the house. I wrote all about it over at Your Organized Friend, my other blog.

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

Smiley360. I don't know a lot about it yet. Anyone heard of it? Once I get a mission and know more I will be sure to check back in and let you all know about it.

I also discovered ePantry. I'm not yet sure this is the direction I want to go with my purchases, but it seems interesting if you are really into purchasing sustainable products. And shipping is just $2.99!

It's interesting to see and hear about new companies and ways of doing business! Have you heard of any new business or website lately that you want to share?

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

Your Organized Friend about some decluttering I did.

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?

It has been a busy weekend, primarily with band and family visiting. I don't think we really overspent. I did buy about $100 in food on Thursday, which did cover all we need. There is still food to eat. No gas was purchased. Tickets were accounted for. We took out an extra $20 cash. I think we only bought three sodas, a hot dog, and one caramel corn popcorn at the two band events. I find that pretty reasonable.

I made two eBay sales. Sales total $30.98. I'm still waiting for payment, but no rush for tonight since tomorrow is Columbus Day and there will be no mail service. I relisted one item that had ended on Friday. I dropped the price, since the item seems to get a lot of people looking but no buyers.

I will spend tomorrow working out, talking with my friend who's mom died last week, hanging with my husband on his day off. I'd like to get more done, but taking care of myself and supporting others is nothing to be taken for granted.

Forever grateful for this life. How about you?

We purchased a used flute on eBay yesterday. It wasn't really that used though, might have been a demonstration model. It actually looks pretty new. We figured we saved over $400 by buying this one rather than new from our local music store.

This flute will be for our youngest daughter and it is the same model as her sister's, which we did buy new. It has been a great flute for her, thus why we wanted the same one and as close to new as we could get.

Our daughter will pay 10% of the cost. We don't really NEED the money from her, but we did make her sister pay the same amount when we upgraded the flute. I think it is gives them a little ownership and knowledge about the cost of things. And sure, I don't mind paying a little less on my end!

I completed two Pinecone surveys in the last 24 hours. I have two items with bids on eBay. I claimed some Bing rewards for Swagbucks, which will help me redeem for two Amazon gift cards on Swagbucks when the code arrives. Little snowflakes on their way!

I'm getting ready for guests AGAIN. More food will need to be purchased. My parents will take me for lunch tomorrow, so that is one less meal I need to purchase. I also have all that soup, chili and bread from our party a couple weeks ago that I will be using up.

I've been trying to do better with workouts and food. I skipped two days of working out, but I'm determined to go today (right after I post this). Did really great tracking food up until last Saturday when we were watching football and my husband kept getting out more snacks! At the days following have been better, but not under my goal. Keep trying, right?

My very good friend from high school learned yesterday that her mother died suddenly. It was likely a heart attack. She was 63. My heart just breaks for my friend and her whole family. I know they will miss her so much.

The good news is financial. My husband's pay increase and back pay since September 1 for his promotion seem to have been processed. The check next week is much much bigger than usual. Unfortunately, I won't be able to see the specifics on the pay stub for two weeks, since their is only one pay stub per month.

I also have one bid on an item I relisted. And someone is watching another item. Would love them both to sell!

I did get magazines decluttered yesterday, but no new posts have been written on Your Organized Friend. I pull three recipes from the magazines and recycled them. I still have three I'm holding on to, since they have a lot of recipes I'm interested in. The blogs I'm following for the challenge indicate the the junk drawer and car should be decluttered for today. I might just be able to get those done.

Any tips on how to support a very good friend while she processes the death of her mother? I'm hours away. I expect likely lots of talking over the next days, weeks and months to come.

I took my daughter for senior pictures today. She is relieved to have them done and have that item off her senior list of things to complete. Senior year is stressful!!

I paid $50 to secure the spot when I called. They waived the sitting fee when we arrived and stated the fee I paid would go towards the picture balance and 16 free wallets are included if we buy a package.

I think we will have lots of nice photos to choose from. Of course, we will try our best not to overspend. Anyone with recent graduates know how much you spent on senior photos?

I sold an item on eBay over the weekend. The net profit was $23.79. Two of the items listed didn't sell, so they have been relisted and I added another one.

I really want to be decluttering this month, but I did only get to the entry way last week. I wrote a little more about the topic and some areas I may consider on

Your Organized Friend.

We are busy this month with band events and guests. It is quite enough to keep up with that, but I will do my best to dig in and find some things we no longer need. Maybe there will be more items to list on eBay!

The biggest thing I need to remind myself is that looking for things to purge only takes a few minutes each day. I'm sure I can find 10 minutes even if I have all these guests and things to get done.

In other financial news, our mortgage payment for October had $474.64 in principal reduction. Plus, we automatically send in $103.72 towards principal each month as well.

Have you sold anything recently? Do you consider October a good month to purge and declutter? I'd love to hear about any decluttering or purging you do, and even how long it took you!