This post is about both kinds of snowflakes, the found money variety and the frozen variety. It just began snowing here this afternoon. We are expecting at least six inches and it will come down fast. School decided it was worth dismissing early on their first day back from break. With the amount of snow and expected drop in temperatures, I'm not sure they will have school tomorrow or even Wednesday. But right now I just need my husband to get home safe!

I sold an item on eBay last night. My proceeds were just a little over $20. I did get it into the mail earlier today. I relisted three others that didn't sell. I usually relist a few times, sometimes adjusting prices, and if they don't sell they get donated. I don't want to hold on to everything!

I redeemed Bing Rewards for 500 Swagbucks, which I received right away. I was also able to redeem Swagbucks for $25 PayPal cash this weekend. It arrived really fast last time, but it isn't here yet.

Are you getting any snowflakes, of either variety?

First, I'm a little slow on my 2015 goals, just like The Deacon's Wife. I will get there. Officially the first paycheck for 2015 isn't until mid month for us, so we have time.

Yesterday our only spending was $5 at the gas station, but we used a gift card to pay for that little soda splurge. We needed a pick me up during our filing cabinet purging. I have a post on that at

Your Organized Friend.

Today we expect to get haircuts and shop for a calendar for my youngest daughter. I want a calendar too, but not sure if it is a need. I do use it to notice when dates are but tend to record most things on my online calendar.

We also plan to go to the music store today or this weekend. We have a credit with them after purchasing the most recent flute. It is $157. Equal to 10% of our purchase price. It must be used in January. It going to be a shopping spree at the music store! Some of it will go to purchasing music we know we need, but the rest is up for grabs. I'll let you know what we end up with.

I'm close to getting enough Swagbucks to redeem for $25 in PayPal cash. I decided to go for the cash for awhile, so I can put that money directly toward two credit cards we are paying off. The each have about an $800 balance (no worries, no interest accruing). I should have them paid off in a few short months, or tomorrow if I decide to just use cash on hand!

The CD we have with NFCU is 5% interest on our $5000 balance. We earned almost as much interest on that money last month, as we did on nearly $35K in our money market. I do regret I didn't get some of that money invested into a CD two years ago. With an upcoming move, and the intention of using some of it towards the next down payment I will wait to do anything.

Do you use a wall or other paper calendar? Or just digital? Do you have paper to purge? What is the highest interest rate you are earning on your savings?

December was a pretty lucrative month for snowflakes/found money, since I finally was able to get US Bank to credit my account for the $200 bonus they offered us to open a checking account. Rebates were helpful too! The one from USSA was nearly $70. Snowflakes for December accumulated to $441.43, so it was a great month for snowflakes.

Here's where December's snowflakes hailed from:


*****Designates where the snowflakes stopped going to mortgage payoff.

Really it was a super, super year for snowflakes. The best one yet! And we made them all count, by sending all but the last several to our mortgage to help pay down our balance. Less debt by snowflakes!!

Are you ready for the final tally? For 2014, our accumulated snowflakes (found money) came to $5,218.60!! The goal was $4,000, so we far exceeded the goal. So very thankful and happy to have made it this far. I didn't have much doubt, but it is nice to know we made it!

To see my Google spreadsheet of all snowflakes for 2014, you can click

here. It's just way to big to post here.

I plan to track snowflakes again in 2015! I have yet to make a goal, but I will. Do you want to join in and track your found money next year? I'm definitely up for some competition!

My youngest daughter asked me a couple days ago if it was too late to ask for a Wii game for Christmas. I said it might be. I was pretty sure I was done with all my shopping.

Quite a few of her gifts, primarily T shirts, were still to arrive in the mail. Yesterday, the last package arrived. And then I began wondering if I had semi equivalent gifts for my girls. I made a list of what I had and what I spent. I even had to open some gifts I had already wrapped! It turns out I had spent $175 on my oldest and $110 on my youngest. I budget for about $150 each. I was within budget, but a little off on the equality.

In the end I found two Wii games for about $15 each. One at Target. And the other on eBay that should arrive on Wednesday.

I think she will be pleased with a couple of new games. And I'm glad it came up so I could reevaluate what she was getting.

Today I will wrap and rewrap the gifts I opened! I did end up needing to buy a roll of wrapping paper. I used up all the leftover wrapping we had left.

Other money tidbits: I did get the $200 bonus from US Bank, my PayPal money from Swagbucks arrived quickly, I tried my Bing reward code again and it worked!

Have you realized at the last minute you were low on gifts for a child?

I've been writing over at

Your Organized Friend this past month about holiday preparations and making lists. Please come check it out, and don't forget you can sign up for updates by email. I don't get or see that information, so you are anonymous!

We had new brakes installed on my van today. I thought we were getting new pads on the rear, and then thought my husband said both front and back. In the end we just got front end brakes! Cost about $197.

I did get a call from US Bank's Customer Care today confirming I was eligible for the $200 reward. It was not credited automatically from their end because my account did not have the promotion code on it. They do know I was offered the promotion and I had offered the code in my original email. In the end I will be credited the reward by the end of business tomorrow!

The brake cost is offset by the reward! Basically a wash. I like it when that happens.

Our youngest cat seems to have a UTI. It's not confirmed, but you can all guess the problems with that. The vet was not in his office, and our cat was in for a similar issue soon after we moved. They prescribed an antibiotic for the next 7 days. If not better by then she will go in for a recheck, otherwise at least another seven days of antibiotics after that. Cash out the door today was just over $20.

I took a Pinecone survey today. Another $3 coming my way soon. I also redeemed Bing Rewards for a Swag code this morning. It was sent pretty quickly but when I went to enter it in on the Swagbucks site it shows as invalid!! I did sent a help request to Bing about it. Hopefully it is fixed fast!

I redeemed Swagbucks yesterday for $25 in Paypal cash. I guess that could be considered a help to cash I'm sending my mother in law for Christmas.

We are giving the flute teacher a gift of a $10 Panera gift card (earned through MyPoints), a lotion bought on clearance last year, and a few candies. Last lessons of the year today!

I found a penny on my basement floor and a nickel in a parking lot yesterday. It does help to look down to find such things!

I was notified by Citi about their Price Rewind program that pays you back if they find a lower price. This got me to think about our flute purchase we made last month. I haven't found a lower price, but I came across a rebate! It is $50, so I filled it out and put in the mail this morning. I remember seeing it at the store, but the employees made no mention that the one we bought qualified. I also didn't think to ask, just glad I came upon it now!

The tires and flute purchased in the last couple months are being carried on two different zero interest credit cards right now. We do have the cash to pay, but I've been waiting for the cash flow from the raise to catch up and help. With payday yesterday the tires are paid off after a $708 payment! I paid $307 towards the flute.

I completed our 52 Week Savings Challenge at the beginning of December. I had been stashing that money in our Capital One 360 Savings account. Most that money has been used to pay for my daughter's band trip this spring. I ended up with an extra $423 in the account, which I'm going to use to pay towards the flute. After I apply that payment later this week, we will owe just $806.

I have made sure to set aside some cash in our checking account to pay for the $250 admission fee to the University my is choosing to attend. I also set aside the balance we will owe for senior pictures, $210. Both of these will be charged on a credit card for points, but it is nice to have the money set aside to pay for them when due.

I did end up return a few items bought for potential gifts. I returned a pair of slippers, a spa kit, a makeup kit and two pairs of men's socks (one had hot dogs on them!). I did keep the four rugs after realizing I paid less than $1.25 each. I'll probably use one myself! Or two!! The returns netted me just under $20, but I consider it less clutter and offset for three pairs of slippers (of a different kind) that I bought for friends that will need to be mailed.

Lots of money activity here! Have you found any money? Have you returned anything you purchased recently? Have you redeemed any Swagbucks or MyPoints?

I opened a joint checking account with US Bank back in September to earn a $200 bonus. We easily met the requirements over a month ago, which was a direct deposit of $500 each month. I emailed once and didn't get a response...at all.

I decided to try once more before I went to the branch. What can I say, I'd rather deal with things online! Luckily this time someone responded. They confirmed I was offered the bonus promotion, based on the number I had given them and signed up with. The email indicated they could confirm I met the requirement. The next step was for them to forward it to their Customer Care Unit, which will further review the account. I should expect a credit or at least email response in 2-3 business days.

I hope the wait is nearly over. I haven't been impressed with the ability to connect with the bank online that is for sure. Otherwise, we have had no issues with our transactions and so forth. I expect to keep this bank account at least through the move next year, since it can be helpful to have a local bank branch during a home sale transaction.

Did anyone else get a US Bank Checking account offer? Was your promotion applied timely?

I was just notified by USAA that we should expect our annual subscriber distribution tomorrow. It will be $69.19. I don't know why I look forward to this expected, but not always promised source of funds.

USAA also reimbursed us for ATM fees last month in the amount of $6.45. There was also a whopping $0.03 of interest.

When I add those snowflakes/extra funds to a recent rebate received ($8), Pinecone survey payments ($9), and a used up $5 Target gift card, I have more than enough cash to make the final extra payment on the mortgage for the year.

This means we have met the goal!! Our mortgage balance will be just under $X15,000 after I make a payment of $97.67 tomorrow.

I'm so excited to have met the goal I set out to reach at the beginning of the year. It always seemed possible, but there was definitely work involved. It paid off!

All snowflakes we accumulate through the end of the year will be applied to our savings account. We spent nearly $3K recently on tires, brakes, new timing belt and a flute. That money came from savings. It is time to pay ourselves back. I will still track the snowflakes until year end for a grand total number.

Later this month, I will flush out new goals for 2015. I'm sure some goal will include the need to track snowflakes!

Did you think we would do it? Are you surprised or not?

I received one of the two outstanding rebate checks in the mail today. It was for $8. I deposited it on my mobile phone while I was waiting for my daughter. I also ripped up more than half the mail and piled it into one envelope for recycling. Easier to have the mail head straight there than make a pile!

There is another $18 rebate I sent in, but I would guess I won't see that one until January. It would be nice to see it before year end, so I could apply it to the mortgage.

I had to make a mini store run this evening because I was out of yeast to make pizza dough. I had enough for one crust, or two thin crusts which the girls don't really like because they are to crunchy. While I was getting the yeast, I picked up three microwave meals for my husbands lunch this week. I figured this would keep him from eating out or driving 30 minutes round trip to come home for lunch (although I do like to see him).

I thought about wandering around the store to find stocking stuffers, but decided that would take too long and likely end up in more spending. I need to have a plan for what to buy for stocking stuffers first!

Have you received any rebates this year? Does anyone know of a source for yeast in larger quantities than the basic little jar? Do you plan stocking stuffers or just wing those?

We are getting so close to meeting the goal of getting our mortgage paid down to $X15,000. I just made a principal payment of $53.88, which was from one eBay sale and $25 worth of Target gift earned and used for groceries.

We now only have $97.36 to go meet the goal. I know it will happen. There are lots of sources that will come to fruition before the end of the year that will be applied to the goal.

As you go to make your goals for next year, think big! Stretch your goals and then make a plan to make them happen. The journey this year to accumulate found money/snowflakes is just proof you can find money in all sorts of places to help you meet your goals.

When I was making the goal for 2014, I knew some debt would be eliminated just by making our regular payment. I figured out where that would put us without any extra cash. I then subtracted my $4K snowflake goal. After that I looked at what extra income I could apply. I know some of it was from my husband's raise last year. Based on all of that information, I was able to come up with end goal of where I wanted our mortgage balance to be at year end.

Tracking and reporting where we were on the goal each month was helpful to know that we were on track or if we were behind. If we were behind, it often motivated me to look for more cash offers, list something on eBay, or work a little harder to earn some gift cards with Bing and Swagbucks. Everything little thing added up to get us to the goal.

So, again make your goal BIG. Stretch yourself to make it happen. I will say one goal is usually easier to work on than multiple goals. So if you don't have an emergency fund established that might be the perfect place to start. If there is that one credit card or loan hanging over your shoulder, then make a plan to pay it off or way way down. You won't regret it! And as always, I will cheer you on!

Do you have a big goal you accomplished this year? Do you have a big goal for next year?

It's nearly too warm here for real snowflakes. But I have done three Pinecone surveys in the last two days, so another $9 will be on its way to the mortgage shortly.

I'm planning to do my Super Target grocery run today. I will use up $25 worth of earned gift cards while I'm there and will consider these snowflakes/extra money as well to send to the mortgage.

We used our Amex cards last week on Small Business Saturday. Our credits have posted. It seemed to take longer than I remembered from last year. One of the places we went was a Botanical Garden. Admission was $10 each, we each purchased two admissions, expecting $10 back on each of our cards. Turns out I was only charged $10 rather than $20, a mistake at the museum that I didn't catch. So together they charged us $30, but with the two $10 Amex credits we only paid $10 to get in. Nice!

It does always amaze me the deals you can find this time of year. I have a $10 Reward from JC Penney. I need to just purchase over $10 worth of items, so I'm sure I could pick up something in the store for nearly free! Although, I do need to remember that I received the reward because we spent nearly $100 there recently on clothing. But even so, there seem to be coupons and offers all over the place that can really reduce the amount spent out of pocket.

Did you get your American Express Small Business credits? Do you have any extra money coming to you? Or a reward that could get you something for nearly zero out of pocket?

I made two sales yesterday! One was for a book I listed on Half.com back in August. I made $1.19. The other was an item I had listed on eBay. I think the profit on that is just under $30.

That money will go to the mortgage of course. I realized an extra payment I made to the mortgage didn't get applied correctly, well it didn't get applied at all! I must not have checked the principal box. I sent an email to have it corrected.

I hope to get at least two items listed on eBay today. I want more cash to put toward the final mortgage goal!

Have you sold anything recently? Do you have plans to sell anything before the end of the year?

The goal for 2014 has been to pay down $13,993 in principal on our mortgage (our only debt). In November we were able to knock off $738.02 from that balance. The principal portion of our regular payment was $477.48, extra found money (snowflakes) totaled $156.82 and the remaining amount, $103.72 was extra we chose to add to our regular payment to help meet the goal.

We have now paid off $13,218.25 of our 2014 goal. We have just $774.75 left to pay to meet the goal. I expect the principal portion to be about $480. Our regular payment will also include an extra principal payment of $103.72 sent in at the same time. This leaves approximately $191.03 left to meet goal.

I already have a $40 payment to make towards that goal, so that means another $151.03 left to figure out. We have the cash to meet the goal if needed, but I'd like to find some snowflakes to round out the final amount. I expect this will not be too hard as I was able to accumulate that much in November!

Did you have a debt pay off goal this year? Are you close to meeting your goal? Will you make a goal for next year?

The month of November was relatively slow for extra money at least in comparison of other months this year. And I'm not going to complain either. An extra $156.82 is definitely a good thing!

Here is where the money came from:



The two highest sources were from my Discover Checking account bonus and a few eBay sales. After that it was the travel money my husband received that was in excess of his expenses. It seems that never happens.

The goal this year was to earn $4000 in extra income from various sources. I did exceed that goal a little while ago. As of the end of November, I have accumulated $4,777.17. (I like all those 7's! ) All of that money has been sent to our mortgage to pay down the principal. I had a goal for that this year, too. I will update that in my next post. We are getting extremely close!

Did you keep track of your snowflakes/extra money this year? How much did you accumulate? What did you do with your extra funds?

I had to go back to the grocery store because when we purchased wine on Sunday, they only rang up 11 of the bottles. I needed that 12 one to show on a receipt so I could redeem a rebate worth $18. Luckily they were cool about it, and rang up another bottle, and gave me the additional discount for another 6 bottles. I paid another $1.93 after that so that I can get the $18 back! Well worth it.

We have been notified by Wells Fargo that we are short in our escrow account. This is because our property taxes increased by $306. The shortage is just $244.67. We have the option to pay in full before Jan 1, or have the amount spread across the next year. Normally, I would be inclined to pay the shortage up front. However, I really expect we will be moving, thus sending in more money a larger refund check later just doesn't appeal to me. I will have the amount spread across the next 12 months this time. Because of increased taxes and the shortage, our new payment will increase by $43.78. I think we can handle that change.

We may be changing our upcoming travel plans do to weather. I'm not a fan of anyone driving when roads are snow and ice packed. It is just not safe and not worth the risk of an accident.

It looks like we will make a little money from my husband's last travel trip. A whopping $25.81. Seems like a snowflake to me! I will add that amount with the $6 I have from a refund and a Pinecone survey and send to the mortgage to meet that goal by year end.

Have a super Thanksgiving! Stay safe and enjoy those you love and care about.

Finally. My husband's promotion was in September. The pay took a few weeks to catch up and thus had back pay. I finally know what each paycheck will look like. I can start making some plans on how to allocate the money. That makes this math geek happy!

We have $500 deposited to US Bank once a month. It was a requirement of their checking account bonus offer. We should meet the requirement soon and get $200. Once that money is firm, I will cancel the $500 deposit. I don't need money going into all sorts of accounts for no reason! (Although, I'm remembering that it might be nice to have a bank branch when we go to sell the house...I'll ponder that before I make changes.)

I've done some more Christmas tasks and decluttering this weekend. I've written about it over on

Your Organized Friend. Remember to scroll down and read any posts you may have missed.

I sent $27.32 to the mortgage today to pay down some more principal. I do all my extra mortgage payments online by the way. So easy!The money was profit from that latest eBay sale and a Pinecone survey check. I love extra funds!!

I also sent $40 to savings that would normally be spent on flute lessons, since they are not having a lesson next week. I'm paying us back for the new purchases of tires and a flute.

I did spend money today, but only on groceries. About $48 at Super Target. I made sure to buy $50 worth so I could use the coupon to receive a $10 gift card. My total was less because I used their Cartwheel app, and my Red Card. I bought items for dinners through next week and a few things I need to take for Thanksgiving. I still have a few more things to purchase, so I will go back again tomorrow and see if I can reach $50 again and use coupon I had sent to my phone. That will mean another $10 gift card! I will likely use the gift cards for other holiday expenses, either a gift or food.

I also sent a $300 check with my daughter to make a payment towards her spring band trip. I took the money from the 52 Week Savings Challenge funds I have accumulated. It seems I will have an extra $300 saved. I expect to use that to pay ourselves back for those tires and flute as well. I will get that squared up before the end of the year.

I can't say much about it since it isn't a done deal, but a job possibility for my husband is in the works. It does require a move and he would likely move ahead of us relatively soon if he is chosen. As always is the case with these military moves, I have mixed feelings.

That's the news from here. Getting so close to meeting that mortgage goal for the year!! Did you spend money today, or pay off debt?

I sold an item on eBay and made a profit of $24.32! Once I have the money in hand I will send it in (to the mortgage of course) with the recent Pinecone Survey payment I received.

I ordered Senior Pictures today for my daughter. I was happy I didn't need to put down another deposit. I simply need to pay when they are ready for pick up, which is in about eight weeks. That will give me a little time to stash some cash away!

I bought another gift for Christmas. A pair of socks! It is a bit of a tradition among some of us to give socks to one another. And we really look forward to it. These were $7.99 at Kohl's. I used my $5 coupon and 30% off coupon. I only spent $2.24!

Did you score a deal recently, or find any snowflake money for your goal?

I received the $50 cash bonus for opening the Discover Checking account. I wrote one check for $25 (to a non profit) that hasn't cleared yet, otherwise I would be closing the account.

I will end up sending that $50 to the mortgage, since it is officially extra money/snowflake!

Did anyone else do the Discover Checking offer? I received our offer in the mail. I think you have to have the Discover card to be eligible.

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 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?

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.

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 '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?

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?

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?