We have another band competition to attend today. It is so cold and windy here, I'm not really looking forward to it. My phone's weather app thinks it is snowing, but it is dry and sunny. Strange.

We will spend $19 to get in. The admission is a fundraiser for our band program so taht makes me feel better about it. I have the cash already to go and accounted for.

I did hit Target yesterday for groceries and a few needed items like coffee, toilet paper and dishwasher detergent. My bill was around $60, which seemed like way to much, but I really didn't buy anything more than needs. I might have spent a little less if our guests in town for tonight weren't coming, but I did refrain from lots of extras.

I did get one post up on

Your Organized Friend about decluttering the Entry Way. The blog I'm following indicates Mail and the Living Room are the next two areas to cover. With our plans today, I will not get to those until at least tomorrow.

What is the weather in your area of the country? Are you running your heat like I am?

I'm attempting to track our spending for this pay period. I try to keep our basic spending to $1000 for groceries, gas, entertainment, flute lessons, and miscellaneous for each half of the month. I'm trying to determine if this is realistic. It seems it should be, but I'm using October to see how we do.

If I include two flute lessons that haven't yet happened and admission to quite a few band events for the next 10 days, we have spent $445 out of the $1000. This doesn't make me feel too great to already be at that point, but I will do the best we can to stay around that mark.

I will do the same thing again later in October as well. There are at least two birthdays I need to buy for late in the month, two road trips, two oil changes, and who knows what else!

I will be going to the store to get food for the weekend. We're having guests, but I think I have a good simple food plan for the two meals they will eat with us. I need to get toilet paper, dish detergent, and coffee also.

We were given two family movies on DVDs that we can watch for entertainment this weekend, so hopefully no Amazon rentals needed. I think we can avoid food at the band event based on the time of day. If my youngest thinks she will want something, I will have her bring her own money or at least a snack from the cupboard. I think we will stay in on Saturday night and watch our home football team play. We still have beer left from last weekend.

I think I'm going to start blogging over at

Your Organized Friend this month, as there is a series called 31 Days to a Clutter Free home on the LivingWellSpendingLess website. I will just follow along with it. I'm two days behind, but I think I can commit to checking most days off the list. It seems like a good time of year to declutter BEFORE the holidays. It still often needs to be done after too, but if I do some before it will help lesson the need in January.

Do you check in on your true spending habits occasionally? Are you keeping your spending down right now for a particular goal? Are you interested in decluttering this month, before the holidays?

The party on Friday was a success! We had a really great time and I think the guests did too. We ended up with a lot of food leftover. The good thing is I was able to freeze the soup leftovers and have a plan for using them when a round of visitors comes to our home in less than two weeks. I was able to return a package of plates and some serving utensils to Target, so $8 less spent. We also have quite a bit of alcohol, which will last awhile and give us an excuse for another smaller gathering.

Since payday is around the corner, I decided to send off cash from our last paycheck to pay off some of the charges from the last two weeks. The big payment was $475 on our Target Red card. Ugh. I also finally transferred money from our savings account to pay our the gym membership we charged in May. Luckily no interest, but I was tired of seeing the balance on the Wells Fargo Amex.

Even when one doesn't pay interest it does feel so good not to owe anyone anything! Once pay day rolls around I have a couple more small charges I want to complete and I will feel even better.

I hope to make the next couple weeks as low spend as possible. I will need to mention this to DH and see what he can do to reign in some of his spending. He is starting back on a diet, so it might all work out anyway! I'm also going to get back on my exercise bandwagon and counting calories. I need to get the routine down before the dead of winter really hits hard.

How was your weekend? Are you more in the midst of spending or saving?

We are entertaining my husband's coworkers and family members this weekend to celebrate his promotion. We don't entertain much, although I'd really like to do it more often.

We are keeping it casual by making a lentil soup, and chili with toppings. I will make corn and beer bread, in addition to a lettuce salad. I probably make some chocolate chip bars, too.

There will be alcohol, which is likely the biggest expense. I also need to have a few snack items if the party goes late. And since there may be children as young as two, I will whip up a cheese pizza or macaroni. I have apples and carrots that can be cut up to add to those options as well.

I purchased the paper goods last week. I think I will get most of the alcohol and ingredients tomorrow for the food. I will hold off on the lettuce and some of the vegetables until Thursday. Ice will need to be purchased just before the party. I think I will put my husband on that duty!

I'm looking forward to the socializing! I'm not as excited about spending the money.

We have big expenses coming up. I've known they were coming for the most part. I haven't specifically put money aside for them, since I figured we could cash flow them. But I'm starting to doubt that reality. I will probably have to pull from savings. I hate doing that! I like my savings to just grow, ya know?!

Here's what we are looking at:
Tires for van $700
Timing belt and more for van $775
Tires for truck $750
Flute for youngest daughter $1530+
Refrigerator $750

My tires actually seem pretty good most of the time. It's when we are taking off on an incline and the surface is wet that we notice spinning. It seems to not be an issue if we take off a little slower though, so it might be user error! They are 80,000 mile tires with 45K on them, so they really should still be good. We also never have an issue stopping with the tires.

The truck tires are visually look more worn and are the original tires. The truck is a 2007 with probably 65K miles (not sure on that). It seems they might need to be done before the van.

The timing belt on the van is routine maintenance for at 90K miles, we are at 85.5K miles. We really should do it on time. I would hate to have that lack of maintenance do in our vehicle.

The flute? She has one, but it is a beginner flute and according to older daughter it is much harder to blow air through and the sound isn't as good. We bought the older daughter one when she was a sophomore after the flute teacher recommended a change. It has been well worth it, with her improvements in playing. We want the same for younger daughter. This could probably be put off until the first of the year. Our daughter is not complaining in the slightest, but if you don't know what your missing why would you?! I did just see there is one like it on eBay for $1200, so I could save some money going slightly used. A tad risky, but the seller does have good feedback.

And finally the fridge. Completely a want that I have mentioned here before. I can make the case that it is a need to help with house resale. Our current one is almond, and the other appliances that came new with the house are the stainless steel variety, which is what is 'in' right now. If we buy the lower end of stainless steel, we would be willing to sell it with the house to make it even more appealing. I have points with Southwest Rapids Rewards and Citi Thank You that could be redeemed for $425 in gift cards to Lowe's, where we can also get a 10% military discount. In the end we could get a stainless steel side by side fridge for about $520 out of pocket. I looked at Gift Card Granny and can buy Lowe's gift cards at an 11% discount. I suppose it is possible to sell our old fridge to offset the cost too.

I'm most excited about the fridge and the flute. Vehicle repairs have to be done of course, and do seem like the priority. I'm just not looking forward to big expenses and especially pulling money out of savings...but that is what some of it is there for. I'm just needing to come to terms with that, instead of panicking.

Do you have big expenses coming up? Do you panic about using your savings? Do you make the effort to buy discounted gift cards for purchases? How would you prioritize my list?

We went to see Garth Brooks in concert on Saturday in Chicago. It was fabulous!!!!

Now I'm playing catch up on everything needing to be done here at home along with paying bills since today is payday. I'm also trying to estimate my husband's travel reimbursements for a couple of recent trips. He actually worked Saturday and Sunday morning in Chicago, so our transportation, hotel and some food were covered! This made the cost of the trip far less expensive. The work part wasn't even originally planned for the date we chose to go to the concert.

I just wrote a check for $55.11 for my daughter's high school graduation cap, gown and tassel (and maybe a stole?). They get to keep everything! When I graduated, we only kept the cap and tassel. The gowns were rented and turned back in right after graduation. We are skipping the fancy announcements since she doesn't care for them. We will likely make our own...although as I write that I'm really wondering if we should just get 25 of them. Those would cost $28.75. Although, then I'm realizing those wouldn't have her name on them, and to get the name cards adds even more ($18+). Now I'm back to making our own. Since ALL of our family is out of town, we really don't expect too many of them to make the trip for the ceremony. She also isn't into the open house party thing either. So...we'll keep it simple and frugal.

I had over $31 from Chase Rewards that I redeemed and matched with an extra mortgage payment. Included in that payment was a recent purchase made with Amazon gift cards and our US Bank rewards. This all means $57.12 in snowflakes and less mortgage debt. I like that!!

I have earned more than $5 from Ibotta and should be able to cash out now. I just need to make that request. I completed a Pinecone survey last night and received credit this morning, so claimed my cash!

I went shopping for groceries today and spent under $90! It seems like forever since my bill was so low. I did try to make our meal plan using things we already had on hand. Tonight I made egg casserole because I had the milk, eggs and bread on hand. I did buy mushrooms, sausage and cheese for it. Would have been cheaper to just do eggs and toast, but I will use the extra cheddar cheese for tacos later in the week and extra sausage on our pizza. I made sure to use my Target Cartwheel app for savings, as well as a few printed coupons. I always love a successful trip at the grocery store!

Now I need a nap! It's been a tiring few days. How was your weekend? Did anyone else see Garth Brooks?

Our cell phone bill is $246. This is with Verizon. I'm sure those of you with Ting are sitting there with your mouth hanging open!!

We have been using our US Bank Cash+ card to charge our cell phone bill so that we can get 5% off each month. This month that was a discount/reward of $12.30.

Once the statement closes, I apply the reward to the statement balance and then pay the remainder. Today that meant $233.80 out of pocket.

It appears I can pick this same 5% discount on cell phone services for next quarter, too. So I'm signing up again.

Someday, I may get Ting or a similar service. But for now, I'm happy with the additional 5% discount offered by my US Bank credit card.

Since I recently made a large purchase of tissues, I thought I'd at least make a note of the purchase and the total number of tissue boxes in our home as of this date.

On September 5, 2014 I purchased 24 boxes of Puffs Ultra Soft tissues for $21.68. This was purchased with an Amazon gift card obtain from Southwest Rapids Rewards Visa. Shipping was included or free with our Amazon Prime membership.

Prior to this purchase I already had 7 unopened boxes of tissues being stored in our home, along with several opened boxes of tissues. One of those recently was used up and discarded.

The current tissue status is as follows:
5 opened boxes of tissues
30 boxes of unopened tissues



I have stored 6 boxes in my new laundry cabinets, 10 boxes in the linen closet near my daughter's bathroom, 6 boxes in the garage entry closet, 7 boxes in my bathroom under the counter, and one box in the basement bathroom.

The tracking begins! What I really want to know is when we finish the last box of tissues, or at least no longer have 30 boxes stored. This will give me an idea of the average amount of tissues we use in a given period of time.

Did you see that ad for Net Neutrality? I put it up there to give awareness to the issue today. Please contact your state representatives!

In other news, I went shopping yesterday but didn't buy anything. I do expect to buy a couple new items, but I just didn't find the right items at the right prices. I did notice a lot of items 90% off a Kohl's. So tempting to buy some things for Christmas! So far I refrained.

I think our two new checking accounts are now open and the $5000 transferred from our money market. I hope to get the CD opened by the end of the week.

I bought 24 boxes of Puffs tissues last week on Amazon. I believe they arrive tomorrow. I'm interested to see how big of a box that is!!

Last night, I finally remembered to reorder my daughter's allergy medicine. Generic Zyrtec, 365 pills for $17.25 shipped in two days with our Prime Membership. I hate to admit but her bottle we bought quite awhile back expired in May! It seemed to still be working, but I'd like her to get the full effect of unexpired medicine.

Those purchases were made with Amazon gift cards that were redeemed with points on our Southwest Rapids Rewards Visa. So since it was free to us on purchases anyway, I made an equal payment to our mortgage. The amount was $38.93. Less debt!!

Have you ever purchased 24 boxes of tissues at one time?!

Check out the junk I got rid of at

Your Organized Friend.

I'm going to limit my time on the computer today. I get the pleasure of mowing our yard today. It seems to have grown a lot in one week, likely due to all the rain and fertilizer we put down last week. I'd like to get to it right away, but it is chilly out there!!

Is it also okay to call shopping work? The girls need new jackets. Both of them had the zipper break on their's in the last couple months. I hoping for decent prices, but if we end up at a sporting goods store, that may mean more cash out of pocket. However, those are likely higher quality than the last ones we bought.

Those are the working goals. There are other work tasks to complete too, but I won't bore you with all those details. Have a frugal weekend!!

I did make progress yesterday in establishing our new Navy Federal Credit Union accounts. I need to get the $5000 in there before I can open the CD. Or at least that seems the easiest way to do that. The transfer is in process and likely will not be completed until next week. This is the first time I have taken money from our money market account since 2011!!

I also opened a US Bank Checking account. I received a mailed offer to open one for $200. It does require a direct deposits of $500 in a month and I think for just one month, but since we now have extra money that we are just planning to save, I will direct deposit those funds long enough to get the bonus. US Bank indicated they will let me know when my account is ready to use. Once it is, I will log on to my husband's My Pay account and direct the deposit. Should be pretty easy!

I still want to open the Discover checking account for the $50, but I have some time (end of the month) and I want to get the other accounts going first.

Our vehicle registrations are due in October and both vehicles will cost us less than last year! This is simply because the vehicles are older. The van went from $329 per year to $251. Savings $78. The truck went from $150 to $120. I save for these all year, so this means I will have some extra funds and should adjust how much I save each month going forward.

Have you opened a new bank account lately? Did you get a bonus? Have you had any bills come due that were lower than expected?

This post will be all over the place...although I think financially centered!

Our electric bill is lower by $16.97 because it is a co-op and they have return some of our capital credits. Our auto insurance went down to under $400 for the next six months. That saves about $35 I think.

All my eBay listings have ended. The only other thing I sold was my daughter's Nook. She gets the profits of $34.12 since she originally paid for it herself. I have some chives plants I pulled from our landscape beds that I hope to sell if even for $1 each. I have five I need to list on Craigslist. I may also put the unsold items back on eBay on Sunday. My selling is SLOW!

I plan to open a bank account with Navy Federal Credit Union to take advantage of the 5% CD, which is only for $5,000 max, but that is an easy $250. I still need to open the account with US Bank for at least a bonus of $150. I also have an offer of $50 for opening a Discover bank account.

My daughter applied to three colleges over the weekend. As of this morning, she has been accepted to all three. Application fees came to $125 for all three. She paid with her debit card and we will reimburse her. I wanted her to have the experience of paying with her own card and handling it all on her own. The only thing she needed from me was to confirm her social security number. She does actually have it memorized at this point!

My husband's unit is getting a new commander this weekend. It's common for the commander to have a little reception after the ceremony. They are to pay for it out of their own pocket. He isn't responding to my husband's email, so my husband has taken it upon himself to order the cake, drinks, flowers and purchase napkins and plates. He took $160 out of our bank account. Praying we end up getting reimbursed!! It seems we never do for these things. Sometimes my husband is just too nice.

My husband was also asked by a coworker if we had any cell phones we weren't using. Yep. Four to be exact. We are selling for cheap, or even giving her one if she'll accept it. She is just downgrading from her smartphone, which is costing her too much time and money. We have kept our old phones simply as backup since they aren't worth anything to sell.

My girls started back with flute lessons last night. Twenty dollars per half hour for each of them once a week adds up to $160 to $200 a month. No small change really. They have both benefited greatly though, so it is worth it.

It just came to me yesterday that I should find out if there is an age limit for contributing to our Coverdell Educational Savings accounts. Yes there is. It is 18. Since my oldest daughter turns 18 in March, I need to try to get her full 2015 contribution into her account before that date. I will likely just change amounts for our Roth's and younger daughter to compensate for larger contributions during the first three months of 2015. I'm just glad I know ahead of time!

My youngest daughter is selling magazines for school. I'm pretty sure we are skipping the entire thing. I don't need any magazines and I'm really tired of asking others if they need any. They are way over priced because it is a fundraiser, too.

My 52 Week Savings Challenge account held at Capital One 360 now has a balance of $1,098. Those $57 deposits twice a month do add up!

Okay, I think you are caught up with the financial happenings here. Did you know there was an age limit on Coverdell Savings accounts? Are you taking advantage of any bonus offers from banks or credit cards right now?

I'm back blogging over at Your Organized Friend again. I basically took the summer off. It is a bit difficult to be engaged with your kids, diving in to big projects and photographing and writing about them when they are at home a majority of the time.

Today's post is about our new laundry cabinets. We installed them on Friday and it really went well getting them mounted up on the wall.

The cabinets cost us just under $400. I think the knobs were another $16. We ended up renting a compound miter saw for $17 (for four hours...only needed it for one) to cut the crown moulding. We did attempt to use our plastic miter box, but it was too flexible to make the cuts precise. We also attempted to tack the moulding with nails and hammer, but the wood is so hard that it took a lot of pounding and too many bent nails. We bought a brad nailer and nails for $32, after our military discount at Lowe's.

Considering that the only storage in this laundry room was a cabinet under the sink, we think the expense of less than $500 makes a big difference in the functionality of the laundry room. It is true we could have put up shelving for far less, but for this type of home, the cabinets made the most sense. They match the kitchen cabinets that are in the next room. I may even use a little bit of the space to store some kitchen items that currently don't have a place in my kitchen.

Our weekend was a little spendy even in addition to the tools we purchased/rented. My husband and I rewarded ourselves with lunch out on Friday when we successfully hung the cabinets. We traveled 5+ hours back to our home state to meet our foster niece. We went our for ice cream during our visit, and purchased pizza and bread sticks for nine people. Obviously, we needed fuel for the van, which did result in a couple snack purchases. There was also one lunch on the road, too.

We proceeded to buy more pizza on our return home, since we didn't have much food in the house or the energy to grocery shop until yesterday. The groceries, including toilet paper, contact solution, batteries, and deodorant, were $155. I also made a shopping trip to get workout capri's since I was done to one pair. I spent $32 on those.

So...not our best weekend from a money standpoint, but it was good to visit family, meet the cutest 8 year old girl, and get some projects and tasks completed.

Did you save or spend this holiday weekend? What was the best part of your weekend?

We received notification that the budget billing amount for our gas utility is being lowered from $60 to $42 a month. Our amount had increased this spring to adjust for high gas bills this winter. It's nice to go back to the regular amount.

I also noticed that I can pick 5% back on cell phone bills again next quarter on our US Bank Cash + credit card. I plan to do this again, as that is a significant savings on our large bill. If it becomes a regular options, I plan to stick with it!!

Really hoping to keep spending at a minimum this week. I don't expect much, unless school needs more money. I already have $20 in my wallet for the football game admission on Friday night. I might be able to save that if it ends up raining. I probably wouldn't go if that is the case. Is it bad to wish for rain to save money?!

I'll wrap up my eBay sale results tomorrow. Nothing too spectacular unfortunately. I think there is a lull in sales with school starting and Labor Day coming up this weekend. But I'm grateful for small amounts.

I will also admit I want to go shopping! There is a new Home Goods store in our town. I want to go. I probably can be strong and visit without spending. I also NEED workout pants...which I will buy if I actually find some that work. Today, I will stay in as it is raining and I have a headache.

Do you use budget billing for any of your utilities? Do you use a credit card to get cash back on a specific category?

The only money spent today at our house was for groceries and gas. Husband just went to fill up his truck, so I'll say around $60 to fill it up. The groceries were from Target. I had three physical coupons, used Target's cartwheel app for other discounts, and redeemed two $5 gift cards I obtained a few days ago. The charge to my Target Red card was $113.05.

I started using the Ibotta app for additional rebates on things I buy. I earned a little cash for buying ground beef and bread today. The other day I earned a rebate for buying Kleenex tissues. I'm up to a whole $2! It will add up over time though.

I also started using Two Grand app for tracking food. It is all based on pictures, rather than counting calories. I need something new to keep my interest so I'm going to give it a try. Eating too much food is my problem right now. If I eat I'm getting some exercise, although I need more. I've had more water today because of the app, so that is a plus.

I also harvested some herbs today. Specifically, oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary. My mom purchased and planted them, but then sent them with me when they were out of town for nearly two weeks. I tried to send them back last time I visited, but she said they weren't doing as well as they were here. So I was to keep them. I used them fresh only once or twice. Today, I set most of them up to dry in bags and the basil to freeze. I will find out if she wants them now. If not, I got free herbs!

How was your spending this weekend? Have you started any new apps that you like? Do you use herbs in your cooking or baking? Do you have a favorite?

So tired this morning. I had to pick my husband up from another airport that is nearly 2 hours away. He plan landed just before 11pm last night. So glad he was awake enough to drive back. I told him to ask for mileage reimbursement from the Army because that just isn't right that I needed to drive to get him. If it had been a school night or winter driving, I would have insisted on him getting a rental car.

I completed a Pinecone survey last week, so I expect another $3 next week in my PayPal account.

I sold three items on eBay this past week. One was an auction and the buyer has not paid. Boo. The other two were small sales, but I will have that money to throw at the mortgage.

I made another Target run yesterday, as another couple school supply requests were needed by my daughters. While I was there I stocked up on Kleenex, and vitamins which earned me two $5 Target gift cards. I used the one I earned from the previous day towards the purchase. My out of pocket expense was $53. So easy to drop big money sometimes. I used a $0.75 coupon on each of the three Kleenex bundled packages and was able to earn one of those $5 gift cards. I figured out that each box came to $0.77!

I did return two clothing items to Target that I purchased last weekend. That put $30 back in my pocket before that purchase above, so it does offset some of my new spending.

My youngest daughter and I got a free hotdog and soda from our school's booster club when we went to view the end of marching band showcase. I think they should have given them to the marching band kids after. It was so hot for them.

And it seems I have now been tagged in the Ice Bucket Challenge as well by my sister. My daughter still has not done hers, so now our whole family needs to get it done. My sister did point out that

SMA is similar to ALS only in babies. Her friend's daughter died as a result and she was less than 2 years old. She's donating to both causes. I may do that as well.

Hoping the weekend can be a little less spendy! But groceries will need to be bought.

We had run out of a few items recently, so I started a list. Today, I went to our Super Target to purchase items on the list. I wandered nearly the entire store, just for fun and to see if any bargains caught my eye. I'm happy to say I arrived home with only the items on my list...well except I bought another soda! I'm being honest in hopes that I will stop my soda habit again and can be accountable here.

I purchased two conditioners, and one shampoo. Pantene brand, used $5.50 in coupons, and received a $5 gift cards. Effectively it ended up being nearly buy one, get two free. Good deal in the end.

I picked up cooking spray, yeast, a feminine product for which I had a coupon, and four packages of Clif bars, which I received 10% off when I used my Target cartwheel.

I also bought the 10 packages of Kraft macaroni, that after the promotion and discount cost me $0.43 a box. I plan to donate to school later this fall when they do a food drive.

With all those items I still spent $50! I was tempted to stock up on Kleenex, too. I may go back, since the effective cost after coupons and gift cards would make each box of tissues just $0.77. That is a pretty good deal.

I think I need to buy one daughter a new mouse to use with her computer, too. She's missing some part that makes it work. I think I will use an Amazon gift card to get this item! Otherwise, I really hope that is all I need to purchase today.

Did you make any purchases this week that earned you a Target gift card? Do you stock up on toiletries, or buy them one at a time when you need them?

School started today and with that plenty of forms came home. There are also things we need to buy, although a few are wants.

First was another pad lock needed for my daughter to lock up her ceramics projects in a locker each day. The lock was $3.41 at Target. And I bought another soda while I was there!! Ack. Same daughter needs to pay the art supply fee of $10.50. I took out cash to pay for that. At least, I lucked out and don't have to pay the fee for the younger daughter's art class. Apparently that school has done away with the fee.

I also wrote a check for pictures for the younger daughter. I bought the same package I always do that gives me an 8x10, two 5x7 for the grandparents, four 3x5 that we give to the aunts, and the rest are those little exchange style size that we give to anyone else that might want one or to give to friends. This was $23.50. I paid with the credit card. This is technically a want, but a little bit of a need since we do traditionally buy the school photos. Ours actually turn out really good and it makes the grandparents happy.

The next check I wrote was for $36. I bought three short sleeve band t shirts with this years theme on them. We will wear these to the football games, marching band competitions, and pep band performances. Of course, later we use them to work out in or just wear around. Again, this is a want. We did skip them the first year, but enjoyed having them last year, so we are in again this year.

My youngest daughter was challenged by a friend to do the #icebucketchallenge for ALS. She will do the challenge, but I also plan to make a small donation since that is the point of the challenge in the end. More money out!

I'm sure there will be some other unsuspecting expenses popping up. It just makes me glad I didn't fall for a home decor item at Target that was 50% off for $17.48. That was enough for to cover one t shirt and then some!

Tomorrow, I need to run to Target to get some things we have run out of. I would have picked up today, but I didn't have some of the coupons with me. I need yeast, butter spray (want?), and shampoo for the girls. I noticed Kraft macaroni is on sale this week, so I may pick up some boxes to donate to school later this fall when they do their food drive. I'm trying to think ahead when I can.

Any big school expenses for you? How was your spending today? Did you not spend, when you wanted to? Have you heard of or taken the Ice Bucket Challenge?

I'd like to say I've been super good at not spending money since my last post, but soon after on that very day I wrote the post I stopped for gas to put in my van. What I didn't need to do for the budget or the waistline was stop for a soda and three candy bars. Oh, two of those candy bars went to the kids! I only ate one. That was $5 spent that was so not worth it.

The gas was needed as we drove 200 miles round trip today to visit another college. Great visit, but because students are moving in, we didn't get the housing tour or the free lunch in the dining hall. We were on our own for lunch and spent nearly $20 at Subway. I also bought a water for $1 later in the day. I did plan ahead and made three PB&J sandwiches because we weren't going to have time to stop for dinner. We rushed to the school open house straight from our out of town trip. We did all later eat a little more at home. It could have been worse on the spending so I'm not too upset with how it turned out.

After the school open house, we realized the need to purchase a couple more 3 ring binders and a graph paper style composition notebook. Another $9 spent at Target which included soda my daughter asked for...which I now regret getting. At least I'm aware and will work to do better. My kids rarely have pop, so when she asked I felt like treating her.

I'm trying to remember if I purchased some clothing items at Target before or after my last post. I think it was before. I had purchased three of Target's $5 t-shirts and a pair of workout capri's. This was about $40 worth of clothes. The capri's don't fit (yet), but I'm tempted to keep for when they do. One t-shirt doesn't fit right so it's going back. I expect to keep two of them. If I return one and the carpri's, I will have about $30 to put back in our budget.

Looking back, I wished I had skipped buying all the soda and candy bars, and planned a lunch from our food stores at home rather than buying Subway. Savings would have been about $27. I don't really regret the clothes, as I rarely buy any for myself and sometimes you just need a few things!!

I'm going to keep trying to keep the extraneous spending to a minimum. Luckily the art supply of $10 no longer applies, but we are required to buy a $36 music software subscription.

Ha. I just typed that title in reference to money, but unfortunately it also applies to my figure! I did just get back from a walk, I guess that is where my brain still is.

While Laura, writer of Wife of the Deacon, and Klarose are watching their pennies, I am beginning to feel the need to do this as well.

My parents want us to take a vacation together before my daughter goes to college next year. Because of school schedules and the potential move in the summer after high school graduation, we have determined that Christmas break would be the best for all involved. Now we are trying to determine where. I prefer to drive, but not more than 8 hours away. I was asked about flying, but only if there is a great deal on tickets. Unfortunately, this trip was mentioned until about three weeks ago. I do not trips that are planned at the last minute (well, what feels like the last minute), since it is hard to save for.

The other factor that is coming in to play is needing to buy new tires for both vehicles this fall, including new timing belt for the van, easily $1500+ for all of those. I've known about these, but figured those could just be cash flowed. And that is still true, but that takes away the cash from upcoming checks and doesn't leave a lot for a trip. Of course, it also doesn't help that my husband's promotion order has not been cut, and therefore no pay increase yet.

I also want to get my youngest daughter a new flute this year. I was hoping sooner than later, too. That alone is about $1500.

It feels even more important to tighten any extraneous spending if we can. And I'm hoping we can. I will definitely be looking in the pantry to try to stretch a few meals. And if I keep the slim down mantra in mind, maybe I can lose a few pounds at the same time!

Are you cutting back on anything to reach a goal? If you had to slim down your spending, what would you start with?

The Citi Thank You Preferred credit card arrived in the mail yesterday. I activated them today. We need to spend $1500 in 3 months to receive 20,000 points which is equal to $200 in gift cards and cash equivalents.

Each time we get a new card, I have to swap out the one we have been using. This time we pulled our Wells Fargo American Express cards out. I instructed my husband to use it for everything except gas since we are using the Chase Freedom card for 5% back on gas stations through the end of September. He will also use the Target Red Card if he buys anything at Target. He is such a good sport to play along with the credit card game. He does sometimes forget which card to use and ends up using the wrong one, but overall it isn't a big deal. As long as I keep the debt we carry to zero from month to month, he's happy!

In other news, I washed my silk wedding dress in cold water and woolite this morning. I cleaned out our basement bathtub first and did three rinses with cold water. Now the dress is drying over the tub. I don't expect it to shrink since it won't be in the dryer. As I wrote earlier in the week, it will get mailed to Helping Hands to be made into angel gowns.

My husband has been using our credit cards for when he travels...that means we can accumulate more rewards! He had a trip last week and was already reimbursed for expenses. Unfortunately, he spent more than what he is reimbursed for. Only by $30. Probably, a few too many beers at the sports bar.

I paid $832.43 to the Wells Fargo American Express and $78.59 to the Chase Freedom card. It feels good to make payments and see the balances go back down. We do have balances on the cards, but no interest is accruing because I'm paying the balance in full before the due date. We also have 0% on the Amex, so a few of our bigger expenses are still there because honestly I like having my cash in my account, too. It will all get paid and I have no worries that we are spending more than we can handle.

I'm waiting for the Citi Thank You card to arrive. All new charges will go on that card to get the award of $200 in gift cards (or a check to our mortgage) after spending $1,500.

Tomorrow we are traveling to look at a college for our oldest daughter. She's not keen on this college, but I think it is good to look at several before completely deciding! I think I only looked at one. And then I transferred after two years.

Are you waiting for a credit card to arrive, or maybe a check payable to you? Do you charge work expenses and then get reimbursed? How many colleges did you visit when you were looking?

I have sold three items recently on eBay and have net $27.18 after fees and shipping. Snowflake! I still have six items listed and I'm moving two to Half.com since there wasn't much interest on eBay this week. Those items may get donated at some point. I should note that I actually listed five new items yesterday. There are still more to list, but a little at a time works best for me!

We rented two instant watch movies on Amazon last week and used our Amazon.com credits I received from Bing Rewards and Swagbucks. That spending was $5.98. Snowflake!

I really don't like shopping at Walmart, but they have the kinds of things we normally buy (just usually at Target). Today, in the parking, lot there were police and sheriff vehicles and someone standing in handcuffs. This store backs up to Target and their parking lots are like night and day of each other! I didn't feel unsafe, although depending on what it was all about I probably would have left if it had started while I was there.

I bought 6 boxes of tissues and very large bottle of hand sanitizer for my sister who teaches kindergarten. I will give those to her later this fall. I also stocked my husband up on soap, deodorant, and shaving cream. And finally, I bought two bags of mulch since I realized quite a bit washed away last month in the rain. This shopping trip was about $35, but with other spending over the last week, we have used up two $50 gift cards at Walmart. Snowflake!

Right after I submit this post, I will make a $133.16 payment to our mortgage with this snowflake money. Less debt!

Can you say you have less debt today then you did yesterday? Do you give the teachers in your life extra supplies?

Wow! That was super fast. The Southwest Rapids Rewards points I redeemed for gift cards on Monday arrived in the mail today.



I ended up redeeming 30K points for $300 worth of gift cards. I ordered $150 for Walmart, and $50 each for Lowe's, Kohl's and Amazon. It is a little ironic that I just spent $35 at Walmart yesterday! Could have used one of the gift cards if I had waited or they arrived earlier.

I still have $20K points I can redeem, but I'm still deciding whether to save for an airline ticket or cash in for another $200 in gift cards.

I am counting the gift cards as snowflakes. As I use the gift cards on items I would have spent cash on, I will send the cash to the mortgage.

Which gift card would you use first if these were yours? And what would you buy?

I applied for the Citi Thank You Preferred Visa today and was approved. After we spend $1500 we will get points that can be redeemed for gift cards or as I did in the past (and I hope is still available) a check made out to our mortgage company.

I registered the girls for school today. Paid $130, plus bought a geometer ($4). I skipped buying the family activity pass, as I think we likely didn't get our money's worth last year. We will just pay as we go this year.

I also did a little spending at Walmart this morning. The main reason was to buy painter's tape (because I'm painting my laundry room tomorrow). But I also got two packages of underwear for the girls marked at less than $7 for 8 pairs, a pair of workout carpi's for me, and a package of sheet protectors that was on one daughter's school supply list. I think I spent about $35 there, but all on needs!

Do your public schools charge a registration fee? Do you know what a geometer is? Does school starting remind you to buy undergarments?

I did end up redeeming $300 worth of gift cards with my Southwest Rapids Rewards. I can't remember the breakdown, but I got gift cards for Amazon, Walmart, Lowe's and Kohl's. I have another 20K+ points I can redeem for an airline ticket or gift cards, but I'm waiting to decide if I do want to use them for an airline ticket or not.

I also requested cancellation of my Southwest Visa from Chase. I had a negative balance on the card of just over $119, which was from a trip my husband took and had the charges reversed. (There's a blog post about it if you are really interested in those details.) Of course, I requested the funds be return to me, in addition to the annual fee.

I expect I will get a check and the gift cards in about a week or so. The check will get cash and then use the funds towards payment on another card. As I use the gift cards I will match the money that would have been spent with a payment to the mortgage.

I don't have any card rewards we are currently working on, so I expect I will apply for the Citi Thank You Preferred card I mentioned a little while back. My mailed offer is for 20,000 points after charging $1500 . The points are redeemable for gift cards and in the past I was able to redeem for a check made payable to our mortgage company, which is what I would prefer to do again today.

Today, I'm taking the girls shopping for school supplies. The needs for high school are not nearly as extensive as elementary in my opinion. Folders, paper, pens and pencils usually covers it. I will try to find a deal on tissues as those are a constant need it seems.

Are you school shopping for supplies or clothes yet? Have you applied for a new rewards credit card? Or redeemed any credit card rewards?

I love mail days with checks!!

We received three separate checks from Wells Fargo Rewards today adding up to $450. I deposited them online using my phone. Easy!!

That was quick. I think I requested those this past Sunday. I will make a extra principal payment to our Wells Fargo mortgage for the same $450.

In other news, we are splurging on Garth Brooks tickets. We had a misunderstanding this morning so I wasn't online buying them when they went on sale. As a result we are buying from Stub Hub, and at a price OVER the face value. But the seats are pretty good and if the tickets were that price direct I would likely have paid it. I've always wanted to go and missed my chance the first time around. My husband and I are going with his coworker and his wife. Should be fun!!

Have you received a credit card reward recently? The Wells Fargo reward? Are you a Garth Brooks fan? Are you going to a concert this summer?

I seemed to have several updates today, so I'll just throw them all into one post.

Swagbucks posted my most recent $5 Amazon gift card. The points were actually accumulated through Bing Rewards. We just used $4.99 in Amazon gift cards this weekend. So with the new gift card that posted we are back to $10.01 in Amazon credit. That gift card money used does count as a snowflake!!

Yesterday, I requested a refund on my husband's government card, since we had a negative balance of $35.47. He overpaid the card over a month ago. I thought he would get it corrected but he forgot and paid the same amount he charged thus we still had money owed to us. It looks like it will go to our bank account, rather than a check.

I have made over $95 in various charges to our Southwest Rapids Rewards card in the last several days. I thought we had met the requirement for spending, but when my husband had a hotel charge reversed we were short by about $95. The statement closes around the 26th of the month, so we are now set to met the requirement and I expect be rewarded our 50,000 bonus points (equal to $500 in gift cards). I plan to close the card after I redeem the points. At the time of closing we will have a negative balance of over $100 because of the reversed hotel charge. I expect Southwest will mail the money along with a return of the $99 annual fee.

I did end up redeeming our Wells Fargo American Express Propel World card points in the form of checks. I expect those will arrive quickly! I will then deposit them to our account and make an extra mortgage payment. This is likely far quicker than the 4-6 weeks predicted to credit the points to our Wells Fargo mortgage directly.

I can feel that summer is winding down, and school preparations are ramping up. Registration materials have arrived along with bus schedule and school supply lists. We will owe $130 in registration fees next week. I hope to get a clear list of the items we need to buy for supplies in the next day or two. There are already great sales out there! We do check our stash and reuse items when we can. I know backpacks, lunch bags, padlocks, pencils, pens and even paper are covered. I plan to buy hand sanitizer and tissues to give to my sister who teaches kindergarten.

I have not listed anything new for sale on Craigslist or eBay yet. I did have a couple things on Craigslist earlier this month but was getting a lot of spam replies, so I pulled things down. I have things for eBay but honestly have not been motivated. I also don't like to list things and have them end when I'm out of town, which is a possibility soon. It will all happen eventually!

Are you already getting ready for kids to return to school? Have you redeemed any Swagbucks or listed on eBay? Have you earned any credit card rewards?

We completed our landscaping project this weekend. We felt like it was a pretty fast improvement. It involved removing grass (primarily dead) from four areas around the sides of our home, adding landscaping edging, landscape fabric and then rock. This cost us about $250, but it is a good improvement for the home.

We expect to add some shrubs and other shade plants, but will look for them on clearance closer to fall. I will be moving some coral bells that are in the sun to the backyard shade. I have a couple other items from the front bed that may get moved to the back as well. We are having very warm humid weather now and transplanting plants this time of year isn't the best. So that part of the project will wait.

The other home improvement spending was to special order two 33 inch wall cabinets for our laundry room. The cabinets will match our kitchen cabinets that are in the room right next to the laundry. The stain will match, too! These will be installed by us when they arrive above the washer and dryer. Our laundry room only has one base cabinet under the sink for storage. We decided cabinets were better than a basic wire shelf for this price point of home. They will provide nearby storage for kitchen items, too. We spent $392 with tax for these. We paid half now and the rest will be charged before they are delivered. I have about three weeks to get my laundry room painted!

We are back to running our air conditioner after at least a week without. It was nice to have a week of cool weather in July. It will be interesting to see what our bill is next month!

What kind of storage do you have in your laundry room? Did you do any work in your yard this weekend? Were you able to have keep your air conditioner off at all this month?