Creditcardfree's Personal Finance Blog

I woke up thinking about this, so my thoughts may be a bit random. I was thinking how some people make do well financially and others do not. Now, I realize there are more factors involved, but knowing how to say no is actually important. I think Dave Ramsey has mentioned this a few times, too.

So many people say, yes, I want that and then buy the item they want. It seems in no regard to whether it fits into their financial plan. My husbands coworker rode on a motorcycle for the first time on Wednesday, spent Thursday looking online at bikes and purchased one that same night. Really? She didn't even know she wanted a bike until the day before? She doesn't have a license to drive it yet, but of course, she did. I don't know if she bought it with cash or credit. If she did buy it with cash, great. However, was that the best use for the cash?

We don't buy everything we want because we have other goals, such as keeping our emergency fund funded, saving for college and of course retirement!

I think back to when we were first married and given $1000 from my parents as a gift. It was very generous. Did we go out and buy something with it? No. We honestly didn't need anything after all the other things we received. We saved it. And having that money there was the very beginning of our savings. Over time it just felt good to have the money set aside just in case, so we kept it there.

My husband just interrupted my writing to talk to me about a video he was watching on rational thought and emotional thought. Yes!! This is exactly it. Some people, like the woman mentioned above, make decisions based on emotions. They don't ever look at if those emotional choices are rational. Does the emotional choice make sense towards your financial goals?

I realize making rational decisions is likely somewhat built in for some of us, but I think it is everyone's capacity to learn that skill. All it takes is a few extra moments of thought. The woman above could have done all the looking and riding she wanted, and then taken some time to think about the numbers and how spending that money could impact her other goals. Would she rather spend it on a vacation, has she put enough away for retirement, if she financed it will the payment cause a problem paying other bills.

The truth is the purchase may have been on a whim for her, but it might actually be a wise and rational choice. It likely will save her gas money to drive the motorcycle rather than her SUV.

The ability to use our rational thought and say no at times helps keep us focused on our financial goals. I'm thankful that my husband and I have practiced using our rational thought in making financial decisions.

Have you noticed if your finances are guided by your emotional or rational thoughts? Do you use both?

Don't miss my lastest post on

Your Organized Friend, about the three in, three out rule. You know that one don't you?

I made a large principal payment on our mortgage debt yesterday. My plan this entire year is to send $275 each time we are paid on the 15th of the month. So far I have been able to do this every month this year. I added $18.86 to that payment, which is money I have accumulated in snowflakes this month. Not much, but it adds up!

We made a purchase on Craigslist last night. I have wanted an entertainment center for our basement television since we moved in almost two years ago. We have tried many different pieces of furniture we own and currently have the tv on a too small cart. It works, it is free, but it isn't quite right.

We purchased this upgraded entertainment center for $125. It is only six months old according to the previous owners. It is not solid wood, but for our needs it is perfect. I'm not even bothered by the little water damage on the top. All other entertainment centers I've been interested in were over $300 so this is a significant savings. Once we are feeling better we will make the switch.

Despite being sick, earlier this week, and still recovering today, I have been able to stay a little organized. I wrote about this on

Your Organized Friend yesterday.

Did you make an extra payment to your mortgage this month? Do you sell on more on craigslist or buy?

My husband's paycheck is pending in our account this morning. Tomorrow is payday since the 15th falls on the weekend. I like earlier paydays, but this just means the money for the next pay period has to stretch a little farther.

I will likely start making payments on the credit cards for bills later today, if I still have the energy. I'm feeling better today, but I can tell I'm not back to 100%.

We know we will find out on June 17th about my husband's promotion. Last year it would have been a bonus to get promoted early. This year he is on track to be promoted and it won't be a good thing if he doesn't. I'd like to think the new pay will show up as of July 1, but I think July 15 is more likely. It should be back dated all the way to June 17.

Does your direct deposit show pending in your account before payday? Do you still get a paper check for pay? Are you depositing at the bank or online?

I am under the weather. It started Monday night with a scratchy throat, and now lots of congestion and just plain out of energy. Even after sleeping 12 hours. I think my daughter had the same thing last week. She is still coughing.

Last night I texted my husband (on my new smart phone) to get 'pkts of vitamin c' at the store after he worked out. Darn auto correct changed 'pkts' to 'lots'. Instead of one box he came home with two. The two boxes both had smaller boxes of 10 pkts attached. The smart phone that is suppose to save me money just cost me money! We will use them all at some point, but I didn't need that many right now!

I sold a book on Ebay last night. I officially have zero items listed right now. If I get my energy back by Sunday I hope to get some more things listed!

That is all for now...I will check back in when I'm completely recovered. Right now it is time for an afternoon nap.

We rarely dry clean anything. Nearly everything we own is washable, with some exceptions. My husband's dress uniform is the most common to go in for cleaning, but that is less than once a year.

A few months ago, I realized my daughter's have wool coats. And they have never been cleaned. One is only a year old. The other might be three or more years old. Oops!

I made a reminder on my calendar for the beginning of June to get them dry cleaned in preparation for winter. The reminder worked like a charm. I remembered to take them in and pick them up. Oh, I also took in my husband's dress overcoat, too.

Eek! The bill for dry cleaning three coats with tax was over $48! I could have bought a coat for that. I did look for coupons in advance and could even see that this particular store hasn't offered coupons for coats in the past. I am glad I had it done, but in hindsight, I might have waited on the newer coat.

I tried to charge it on my new Wells Fargo Amex card, but the card reader the associate used, had a handwritten sign that read, Do Not Take American Express. I had to point it out to her when it beeped and she went to swipe it again. I ended up using the Southwest Rapids Rewards card instead.

Do you get anything dry cleaned? Where do you find the best prices or coupons? Do you avoid dry clean only clothing? Have you been unable to use your American Express card recently?

I spent 35 minutes of my morning watching the video I linked below about the four individuals in middle class incomes struggling within the current banking system.

Spent: Looking for Change

What did you think?

My personal retirement account is closing in on $100K!! I'm at over $96K. For a little perspective, I had just $6,034 in my Roth IRA in May 2003. Compounding interest along with contributions make a difference!!

The markets are finally moving up a little faster the last few weeks. Of course we are still contributing, too. I will contribute $5,500 to my Roth this year, which is the maximum allowed.

My husband has the same amount go into his Roth and also contributes to the TSP with 8% of his base pay. His balances total over $190K.

This also means that at some point, and I'm hoping this year, we will top $300K in retirement funds. Sometimes that seems like a lot of money and other times not nearly enough.

We still expect my husband to put in 20 full time years with the Army. That earned paycheck he will receive from that point forward will definitely supplement our retirement income. There is always the possibility he will not complete the 20 years, which is the whole reason we are saving for retirement outside the retirement pension. The resulting paycheck would be lower and not available until after he turns 65.

Anyway...I look forward to dancing around about my $100K milestone and our combined $300K milestone in the near future. What retirement milestone are you looking forward to meeting next?

I checked the spending progress on our Wells Fargo American Express card, we have spent over $2200 of the $3000 requirement. I like that this card actually tracks the progress for you on the promotion. I was not able to use the card for a couple of our regular bills. They process Visa, Mastercard and Discover, but not American Express. Boo. However, I'm not too worried about meeting the requirement. My husband has travel this month and we expect to buy a new or used Apple Mac for my artist daughter. She will also be getting Photoshop.

Once we get to $3K on the American Express, we will start using the Southwest Rapids Rewards Visa. That should be arriving very soon. I'm glad I decided to apply when I did, as the timing will be perfect.

How are those of you doing with your new Wells Fargo spending requirements? Has anyone received their reward yet?

I'm going to talk about my friend. I know some of us write these type of posts from time to time. I do feel a little guilty writing about this. I also don't want it to come across that I'm all high and mighty and know everything. I don't. I do know a lot and I have different habits than my friend.

My friend is moving from one state to another. Texas specifically. This move is happening pretty fast for them. It is with the friend's husband's same company. It is a pretty big promotion for him. They listed their home and sold it in 7 days. They are still going through the process of inspections and so forth.

I think they are happy with the sale, and the price but I don't think they will get much proceeds from the sale. They bought it over 12 years ago for $109K with zero down. It was a VA loan. The sold it for $127K. You would think there were be lots of equity there, but she has told me they refinanced at least two times to refinance debt. And I know the first time she told me about refinancing I was vocal about being against that. She had many justifications.

They have been to their new city recently looking at houses. The market there is hopping and homes don't stay listed for long and sell for at or slightly above list price. Their realtor says sellers are not accepting contingent offers (offers based on complete sale of their own home), this upsets my friend. But she is really upset that she has to put 1% down in earnest money when making an offer. For the homes they are looking at this may amount to $1700. I don't know for sure if she has it or not, but she seems to be acting like she doesn't.

Ugh. I feel bad, but I'm more frustrated at her behavior over the years and how it has lead only to buying more stuff and she never seems to get ahead. One time she said if she saved money, she would just be tempted spend it all. Umm...so you don't save, but then you still spend it all.

She told me that her brother was a little concerned about this move, telling her that more money isn't everything. He even said, 'You know, the more you make the more you spend." I'm sure he meant that in the literal sense. She really does that. However she has the illusion they will be able to pay off lots of bills and get ahead. That is the main reason they are moving it is a promotion and a significant increase in salary. It is enough that she may not work. Although I think she will find a way to get a job somewhere, since she has never not worked. The truth is more money doesn't solve excess spending behaviors.

I'm starting to relate to her brother's opinion, that this may not be a great move financially. She doesn't have $1700 or any down payment, how can you expect to get a home in that case. They are still eligible for another VA loan so that helps with the down payment part. I did hear her mention apartment, so we will see if that ends up being the better choice.

Alright it is the end of my rant. I'm just frustrated after years of talking with her that she isn't in a better place.

Today is my last day at home by myself. My oldest doesn't need to go tomorrow unless she has to make up a final. She does not. The youngest will go but gets out four hours early.

Our summers are pretty casual overall. We might get out to visit a museum, travel back to see family, and swim once or twice. I know there will be visits to the library. We also like to get some hikes in local parks in as well. The girls will have flute lessons and a informal recital. The oldest has several marching band events that we will need to work around.

We also need to visit two colleges in our state. I realize summer isn't the best time to visit, but we figure we can go back in the fall if the school seems more of a possibility.

Summer is also the time we get some annual appointments in. One daughter needs an eye appointment. One needs to have an initial visit with a oral surgeon, and they both need to see the orthodontist.

I personally like summer because it is a time to get a little creative with projects. My daughter has a latch hook rug she completed in the fall that she wants turned into a pillow. She also has a two latch hook rugs she is working on. My older daughter spends even more time drawing during the summer. It is always fun to see what they create.

I wrote an post on

Your Organized Friend about managing the end of school chaos that comes home. It can be pretty stressful when all their school supplies come home if you don't have a plan.

Are your kids out of school? Do you have a busy summer planned or is it more relaxed?

I have accumulated a few snowflakes for June already!! Pinecone deposited $6 into my PayPal account. And I received two $5 Amazon.com gift cards from Swagbucks (one of those was accumulated with Bing rewards).

Today has been productive! I ran errands and worked out at the gym. I first went to the laundromat and put a comforter in one of the big washers and then left while it was still washing. I figured no one can get it out while it is running since it is locked. I knew what time to be back. I left to drop off three winter coats at the dry cleaner. I then went to Goodwill to drop off some more items left over from the garage sale. After that I stopped to put fuel in my van. At this point it was time to get back to the laundromat. I waited a few minutes while the cycle completed and then moved it to a dryer. I walked to a store to buy an item and return to wait for the dryer, which was just another 15 minutes.

After all those errands, it was time for the workout. But since I have been home, I have run two loads of laundry, cut up fruits and vegetables for dinner, and started cleaning my oven (I'm doing it in stages).

I sure enjoy productive days AND snowflakes! Has your day been productive? Have you accumulated any June snowflakes yet?

I received an offer from US Bank to open a checking account with direct deposit of at least $500 and receive $200. There are a lot of details and deadlines. For example if I don't open the account by the end of this month the offer drops to $150.

I might actually do this offer because I think that increased income that will come with promotion could easily be the direct deposit! For now, I'm going to wait until promotion comes through and I hear when the new pay actually starts. This may mean I miss out on $50. I don't have to keep the account open very long either, so it would be in just long enough to get the bonus money.

Our mortgage payment for June posted. Our principal portion was $464.60. We also include $103.72 towards principal. The number is odd, but the whole payment is even! We have now surpassed paying down more than 50% of our $13,992 goal for 2014, with $7,425.45 paid towards principal. It is nice to see the plan working!

Have you dipped in for a checking or savings account offer recently? How much debt have you already paid in June? Are you exceeding a financial goal you have for the year?

I wrote about my plans for running errands on

Your Organized Friend, but make sure you read the comments on that one, too! Tomorrow I will have a post about getting organized as school winds down for the year. Remember you can sign up to get email updates for my blog at anytime!

I closed my Capital One credit card. This is the one which was upgraded to Quicksilver offering 1.5% rewards and no annual fee. In an effort to reduce our open lines of credit, we decided to close my account and leave my husband's open. I am an authorized user on it, so we each have a card. Right now we aren't using the card since we are working on obtaining the bonus reward with the Wells Fargo American Express Propel World card. But it is a good 'go to' card for earning rewards. I like that I don't always have to track the 5% categories like some cards.

I'm also going to look into closing my husband's Chase Freedom account. We only have one card for it and I don't think we have used it since he received his bonus reward months and months ago. It may have 0% interest, but I don't think we need to keep it open even with that offer! Hopefully you saw my previous post about a limited time offer to open a Chase Freedom account to get a $200 bonus for spending $500. Best return I think I've ever seen!

Have you reduce any of your credit cards lately? Did you open an account lately?

I have several new posts on

Your Organized Friend if you are interested.

I can't partake in this offer as we both already have the Chase Freedom card. For a limited time, you can open the account, spend $500 and get $200!! That is a 40% return. I have never seen an offer that high for the low spending threshold.

I read about the deal on My Money Blog, you can look into it

here.

It came to me while I was out driving today. A reason for saving with the 52 Week Savings Challenge. I've been saving $57 twice per month toward an unknown goal. But today, that goal hit me!

I will use the money to pay for my oldest daughter's band trip that will happen in March 2015. We have been told at this point the estimate for the trip is $1599. Interesting number, huh? I have sent the required deposit of $200. This means we will have at the most $1399 left to pay. We have participated in some fund raising for the last two years towards this trip. The student has been credited with 25% of the sale. I highly doubt we have even $50 in our account. We will get this information at some point.

The 52 Week Savings Challenge should end up with $1378, which conveniently is nearly the amount I will need to pay! I'm not clear yet if we can pay with a credit card or they want cash for the whole trip. If I can use a credit card to receive a bonus award I will do that and then pay off with the challenge money. Otherwise, I will just follow their payment schedule and send cash from the challenge as it comes due.

Our current balance, including the June 1 deposit is 694. I started this in early December if I remember correctly thus I'm pretty much at the half way mark. It feels good to know what I'm doing with the money!

How is your 52 Week Savings Challenge going?

I applied last night for the Southwest Rapids Rewards card. My husband has applied and received bonuses for two of their cards. Now it is my turn. I was approved for $23K limit. The card has crazy high limits!

The offer is for spending $2K in 3 months to receive 50,000 bonus points, which is equal to $500 in gift cards if one doesn't use the rewards for airline tickets, which we likely won't. There is a $99 fee, which will be refunded if we close the account within the first two months.

We are still working on the Wells Fargo Propel Amex card. We have already spent over $1800 of the $3,000 needed for the $400 reward. I decided this time of year is our most expensive and expect it won't take much longer to reach that spending requirement. It will work out well to have the Southwest card on its way now, so it is ready to go when we meet the Amex spending. My husband has some travel this next month and that alone will help us meet both of these goals.

I'm about to close my Capital One Quicksilver. My husband will keep his open. I'm trying to make sure we don't have more cards open then we really need. I have been keeping cards open with 0% interest just in case. Probably not necessary since we don't really need it.

In other news, I now have my first smart phone. It has been quite amusing trying to get used to something new. It feels really foreign. I did figure out how to download My Fitness Pal so I can track my calories away from home. I might have to find one of the apps that lets me make money while I stay fit.

Did you apply for the Southwest card? Are you close to meeting the Amex requirement? Any tips for a first time smart phone user?

I have mentioned before that one of our goals this year is to pay down our mortgage debt by over $14K. Specifically, I have a plan to pay off $13,992 which will bring our mortgage balance to an even number.

This month I sent all snowflakes I accumulated to the mortgage, our regular mortgage payment, and two different principal payments that were planned. One of those additional payments is added on at the beginning of the month to our regular payment. The other one happens mid month when my husband is paid again.

Here's the specific breakdown:
_$461.58 Regular Principal Payment
_$103.72 Extra Principal Payment
_$275.00 Extra Principal Payment (mid month)
_$478.01 Snowflakes toward Principal
$1318.31

That extra money sent to the mortgage means we have now paid $6857.13 towards our mortgage pay down goal! That is 49% of the goal in just five months. We are ahead of schedule which feel really nice.

If you want to see where I found over $475 in snowflakes, just check out my previous post. I'm still blogging some over at

Your Organized Friend, including a few recent posts! And remember you can sign up by email to get notified when I put up a new post over there. I also love comments!!

Are you ahead or behind on any of your financial goals?

I'm closing the books on the May snowflakes. I don't expect anymore to arrive before Saturday and if they do I will add them to June.

In all we accumulated $478.01 in snowflake money from many, many sources. Rewards from our normal spending on credit cards has made a difference in how fast we accumulate funds. All snowflakes were sent to pay down the mortgage, so this means less debt, which I love!!



Year to date, I have accumulated $2,964.96 in snowflakes!! My goal is $4,000. Clearly I'm ahead on this goal. I suppose a revised goal may be in order. I will decide that later.

Are you tracking your snowflakes still? Do you apply your extra funds toward a savings or debt pay down goal? Do you use your snowflakes to help with everyday spending?

Spending seems to be high for us right now. Band expenses, getting new phones, items for the yard, and a few spring clothing items.

I want to go looking for curtain rods for our bedroom and maybe new curtains. (I thought our old ones would work, but they are not wide enough...should have left them with the old house I guess). I also wouldn't mind some spring clothes for this smaller body I seem to be getting with losing weight. I decided that for this week, just this week, I can wait on those items. We have really already spent all the money we set aside to spend this month. I don't feel those items are worth using our savings for.

Instead, I have decided to work on things at home that don't cost any money. Already this morning I pulled out previously purchased paint and put one coat on one wall of our bedroom (it is an accent color). I will do the other coat in a little while. I will spend some time working out, which is free or already paid for. I have some organizing tasks I want to complete, which also require no spending. And I have an item I previously purchased at Target I need to get price adjusted, as well as return an item to Lowe's.

I think I have enough things to keep me busy this week and out of the stores buying things. I will still likely buy the items, but just wait until we have spending money again on the first of June. It doesn't hurt to wait.

In other updates, I sold a book on Ebay. And I have another Pinecone survey payment coming in. So a few more snowflakes to end the month of May!

Has your spending been higher than it was a few months ago? Do you find spring and summer to be more expensive than other months? Are you waiting to make any purchases?

It's been over three years since we upgraded our cell phones and the truth is they still work. Although my husband's smart phone doesn't hold a charge too long. We have waited awhile to upgrade because my husband has had the grandfathered unlimited data plan with Verizon and he loves to stream radio while he is at work. His habits will be changing with our new plan.

Now I suppose some may wonder why we didn't switch to Ting or Republic Wireless. Trust me, I wanted to try it. In the end however, my husband travels EVERYWHERE and we needed a phone and plan that will give him the service he needs to do his job while away from home. It also seems that the Sprint network those companies use doesn't get very good reviews or service in our current area. It turns out we are willing to pay the premium for the service Verizon will provide.

In the end we signed a two year contract, and picked 'free' smartphones for all four of us. We tried to purchase at the store. However, the free phones weren't free at the stores. We left and came home to upgrade our phones online. For right now our out of pocket cost was $120 plus tax, since each phone had an upgrade fee of $30. We were aware of and expecting that fee.

We have picked a data package of only 4GB for now. We can switch it at anytime if we need more data. I checked with my sister and her husband and they used 1.7GB last month with two adults. The phones will try to switch to wifi when available, so I expect when we are at home they will be running of our internet connection which will keep our costs down. We do get a 15% discount on the price of data because of my husband's military affiliation.

So for now our cell phone bill is increasing by $70 a month, which is a result of adding three smartphones to our plan. I'm sure many of you on Ting are dropping your jaws. I know I completely get it. It is a lot of money. I know we can afford the costs, so I'm not worried. I'm hoping in two years, there will be new options for us that make better sense then the premium service we are paying for with Verizon. I will say we have had super service, rarely a dropped call or inability to connect when and where we want.

Oh, if you are curious we ended up with three LG G2 phones, and one Moto X. We have 14 days to try them and switch if needed and they should arrive on Thursday.

Do you think we made a big mistake? When did you last change your cell phone plan? Do you have a smart phone?

We expect my husband will be promoted sometime in the next four weeks, likely three. It had been awhile since I had figured our net paycheck for the new pay rate. As it turns out we will net an additional $1043 per month. And I don't really know what we are going to do with it. And I realize this is a good problem to have.

I do know that we will have our oldest daughter in college in the fall 2015. We do have money saved, but it will not be enough for the entire degree program.

I feel like I want to just squirrel it away for some known goal, to avoid the money getting spent without any thought. I talked to my husband about it this morning and his first thought was just to save it,too. Nice to be on the same page!

Although a new fridge would be nice...not a need at all, but an upgrade to the stainless steel is appealing. I sure wouldn't mind some new family room furniture. See I can definitely find things to buy, but I don't want to just buy to buy. My husband said something about replacing our two vehicles, but since they are Honda's with 80k and 60k miles on them and run great, I'm pretty sure that is not a good use of our hard earned cash.

Just to recap, we have a $20K emergency fund, we save nearly 17%+ for retirement, save $4000 towards college per year (currently have $37K+ saved), we have a mortgage of over $200K which we are paying down by $14K this year. We also have my husband's Post 911 GI Bill that can be used to cover up to 36 months of college education. This can be split between all four of us in any way if we choose. We expect to be moving AGAIN next summer.

There are some things we will want to buy in the next year. An Apple Mac, with Photoshop, for our daughter to take to college. An intermediate flute for our youngest daughter. We are also going to be paying for lessons for our youngest daughter, which is a new $80 expense for us. Maybe a car IF our oldest daughter decides to start driving. There are a few other possible expense, but all of them would be within our current salary capabilities.

It seems strange to be at a place where we will have excess money that we have no particular plans or needs for. What would you do with an extra $1K per month? Any better ideas for us, on what we should do with the money?

In the last four days expenses have popped up, one I was aware of and two I was not. Marching band expenses to be specific.

First, band camp is $50 and covers various things. I knew this one was coming...although I was forgetting about it truthfully. This fee is due June 6.

The second expense is a result of my daughter being chosen as a section leader for band. She is required to attend a leadership conference in July as a result. This is $55 and due May 30.

And finally, the big band trip for spring break 2015 has been announced. They are going to Walt Disney World. A deposit of $200 is due June 2. The entire trip is estimated to be $1,599, with fundraising opportunities available. We also have a little money, likely less than $50, in her account from past fundraisers that will be applied.

Ack! That is $305, which I had nearly zero advance warning about. A little irritated. I have the money, but what about parents who might have an issue with the short notice. I suppose they may make accommodations.

Have you had any big unexpected expenses pop up this week? Are you expenses due soon? Did you go on a trip when you were in school?

Although the challenge is 52 Weeks, I am participating by saving $57 every pay period. For us that is twice per month. I have made deposits that cover weeks 1-15 and weeks 42-52. If I'm calculating correctly that puts us halfway to the goal! I did start in December so that seems right.

Our balance is $637. Well, I have a $20 referral in the account and some interest so the true balance is $657.79. We are keeping our 52 Week Savings Challenge money in our Capital One 360 account, which earns interest of 0.75% and there is no minimum balance.

You too can put your money there. Capital One 360 offers bonuses for opening different accounts. I like having it separate so we don't accidentally spend. I also like that I set up our deposits to automatically deduct each pay period so I don't forget. Makes it easy!

How is your 52 Week Challenge coming along? Are you still on track? How about your other financial goals?

I was reading my old posts and found

this one still applies. I posted it March 14, 2008. It's just a reminder that financial security and goals are a journey.

I recently went to my local indoor botanical garden. That experience made me think that gardening has many aspects that relate to money, budgeting and investing.

1. All plants start small...a seed.

It's okay to start saving with small amounts, because one day those savings will bloom.

2. A garden requires maintenance.

Just like pulling weeds to help the plants to grow, a budget needs to be tweaked to cut expenses or increase savings. Money maintenance comes in all forms, including reading your bills, bank and investment statements. Investments need to be rebalanced from time to time to keep your portfolio diversified.

3. A garden doesn't grow overnight.

Paying off debt or saving for retirement take time and patience. Little by little the garden flourishes.

4. A garden requires more than seeds.

A flower needs soil, water and sunlight. For money to work well in our lives, we need to have the right spending attitudes, cash flow, communication with our partner as well as the ability to know what our goals are.

5. Flowers and vegetables can be shared with others.

Some of your money is available to be given away. The smile and appreciation of others is worth the effort.

What else does a garden teach you about money and your budget? Do you have an old post that still applies today?

I finally got around to paying bills last night. When I paid off the credit cards I used the rewards available on the Capital One cards. Between the two cards, we had $31.89 in cash. I had the rewards applied to the accounts as credits.

I had a non paying bidder on one item last week on Ebay. It has now been relisted. Profits last week were $10.68 on one item. I also had $6 from Pinecone, with another $3 being deposited today.

I added those proceeds and garage sale profits of $141.25 to our regularly planned extra mortgage payment of $275. That is an extra payment of $464.82! Yea. I like less debt. In fact, including our regular payment we have paid down $1,238.21 on our mortgage debt since May 1!

We did spend some of our Lowe's gift cards yesterday. About $65 worth. I plan to match that money spent with an extra payment to the mortgage, too. We bought trash bags, lawn bags, a wheeled cart, four bags of salt and three furnace filters, a pop and a water. I may not need that cart. I have to decide if it is worth the $25 we paid.

Any big snowflakes for you recently? How much debt have you paid down so far this month?

I'm considering the garage sale a success!! We were open for about 5 hours and brought in about $185. Several big items left our home and plenty of little ones as well. My profit is only $140, since I did sell some items for a friend.

Traffic dropped off significantly after 1 pm, so we closed early by about three hours. Very worth it to me to get cleaned up and then be able to spend some time with my family today. We also dropped our garage sale leftovers at Habitat for Humanity ReStore and Goodwill...most of the clutter is gone!

I have not come up with a plan for the sale profits. I'm hoping the money will go to some new furniture, but it may just get thrown to the mortgage so it doesn't melt before I get the furniture!

I planned to pay bills on Friday, but I didn't get it done since I was setting up the garage sale. It will be a priority for Sunday.

Did you sell anything this weekend? Do you still have bills to pay? Did you buy anything at a garage sale?

The Chase Southwest Credit Card is again offering 50,000 bonus points for spending $2,000 in three months. I read about the offer on

My Money Blog written by Jonathan Ping. Those points equal $500 in gift cards if you aren't interested in apply the points to airfare.

I likely will apply for the card within the next week. My husband has had both cards Southwest offers, but I have not yet applied for any. I should review our spending plans first to make sure we can meet the requirement at the same time we are working on the Wells Fargo American Express card. I will skip it if it doesn't seem possible. It would be a waste to apply if we can't spend that much in three months.

I need to pay bills today and get some of those most current charges on the cards we have used recently paid off.

I have a new post on

Your Organized Friend about making lists. And remember, you can get updates from my blog by email. I can't see your email address, so it is secure.

I have a picture that I love, but I have come to dislike, strongly, the original frame. The mat around the picture has also become discolored over time as well.

I inherited a frame last fall when my parent were downsizing their belongings that is just the right size. It even came with a mat that I was sure would work. But as it turns out it didn't.

When I took the original picture and frame apart it turned out the picture was mounted to a board. With the mat removed it was clear there had been some discoloration around the picture where the mat was. It seemed like any basic size mat would do, but that was not the case. It was a custom cut. If I used a basic cut, then part of the picture or specifically the artist name at the bottom would only partially show.

On Monday, I went to Michael's craft store to see about having a mat board cut down to the correct size. I wanted to use one I already owned. The woman stated they don't cut them unless purchased by the store, so they can't be responsible if something happens to an usual mat. The mat I wanted to use was free to me, so I was willing to take the risk. Still no go. So we talked about order a mat and having it cut to size. Cost just about knocked me to the ground. TWENTY FOUR dollars. But get this...if I purchased the mat and had them mount my picture and frame with it I would get a discount and it would be $21.

I only paid $30 for the picture about 8 years ago. So I left without buying the mat. I came home and eventually decided to try something daring figuring I had nothing to lose. I decided to paint the original mat that was discolored!

And as it turns out, it cost me nothing and is much improved. Sorry I don't have an original picture of the photo and frame. The frame was like a metallic gold color and sort of ornate looking. I think the original mat was off white or cream, but had come to have a pink tinge to it. Definitely not looking to good!

I will still need to find a piece of foam board to put behind this picture and frame to keep it in place, but that cost is minimal. Actually, as I write this I'm realizing I might have some large thin piece of styrofoam that could be put behind it. Even better, since that would be free, too!

Have you upcycled anything recently? Have you ever painted a picture mat to update it?

I did get paid for one of my Ebay sales yesterday. I have already mailed it off. I still have one more that I'm waiting payment on. I really do try to be patient with these buyers, but it is hard to wait. I want the money and I want the item gone!!

I did send in a $131+ snowflake to the mortgage on Monday. Mid month is when I normally send another $275 to knock off more principal. Right now I plan to do that, but I do need to pay bills and see where we really stand and if that payment still works. It seems there has been quite a bit of spending lately!

I am prepping for the garage sale on Saturday. I will haul everything I have priced that is in the basement up to the garage today. I likely will not set up until Friday, since I have a trip planned for tomorrow. If you want to see my garage sale piles or the mess that it is making in my basement I have pictures posted

here.

It seems I know many people moving and packing right now. And that always leads to people decluttering. I think that is why I have really been able to dig deep this time and pull out a lot of things we don't use. Clutter comes in all forms too. In fact after reading another blog post I was inspired to do some decluttering that would not have come up in preparing for the garage sale. I have a post on Your Organized Friend today about that!

This is my second post today. I did an update about the Wells Fargo Amex card in my previous post. I also keep thinking there is some else financial to share, but it is not staying with me. If it comes to me, expect to see a third post!!

As I stated before, I wanted to check in with Wells Fargo to make sure we would still be eligible for the rewards offer even though we already have an American Express credit card and have earned a reward through them. I do not have an official statement from them, but I did see these two screens on the Wells Fargo Rewards site for our account.





In my opinion this confirms the offer stands and should be honored if we meet the requirements stated. This is Wells Fargos program not American Express, thus the difference some people may have experienced not getting more than one reward bonus with American Express.

As soon as I hear anything else from Wells Fargo I will let you know.