It's nice that I check the Money Saving Mom website today. First I found that deal on haircuts for kids (see previous post) and

I have received $6 in Pinecone survey money this month and accumulated over 1700 Swagbucks so far. So the snowflakes are coming along!

I haven't been blogging as much because school activities are ramping up as the school year is set to begin this week. School shopping, orientations, band camp and parent meetings definitely take some time!

The finances are a bit of a mess, but the cash is there and will be cleaned up soon. We are still waiting on a payment from the government for our hotel stay. Fingers crossed it is finally approved and paid this week!

We received all of our new utility bills. The phone, internet, basic tv is the worst. It is a combined bill and includes installation and activation fees. It is also prorated for the first month and then the full amount for August. It's nearly $300! It looks like monthly it is about $110, which still seems a bit crazy. We have never paid for 'cable' before. We are a much more rural this time and wanted to make sure we had at least basic reception...which is about $30 a month.

The water was better at about $80. It includes trash, water, sewer and sewer debt (of $18). I would rather pay $18 a month for sewer lines than to do without!!

And the electric bill was not for a full month and it was during the hottest month ever. Well it sure felt like it! It came in at $98.

Now it's time to pay them. And figure out which paycheck I should/can pay them from going forward. Time to budget!!

We purchased two ceiling fans online to match some that were installed in our house. The girls feel a little stuffy in their room without fans. It's pretty typical for us to have to add them in all the homes we have been in. I've even installed one all by myself before!

I attempted to use ShopatHome, but there was not rebate with them for the site I was using. I used Ebates for the first time. I used a coupon for 12% off, and then ebates offered $5 for a sign up bonus and a rebate of 5%. I also used our Chase card that will give another 1% back. On what have been a nearly $300 purchase, I saved $56.49!!

I will add the rebate money to our Christmas fund. I'm expecting $75 today when we sell our moving boxes to a craigslist buyer. I'll add that to the fund as well.

Do you use Ebates or ShopatHome for your online purchases? What is your best online saving tip for shopping?

We purchased two ceiling fans online to match some that were installed in our house. The girls feel a little stuffy in their room without fans. It's pretty typical for us to have to add them in all the homes we have been in. I've even installed one all by myself before!

I attempted to use ShopatHome, but there was not rebate with them for the site I was using. I used Ebates for the first time. I used a coupon for 12% off, and then ebates offered $5 for a sign up bonus and a rebate of 5%. I also used our Chase card that will give another 1% back. On what have been a nearly $300 purchase, I saved $56.49!!

I will add the rebate money to our Christmas fund. I'm expecting $75 today when we sell our moving boxes to a craigslist buyer. I'll add that to the fund as well.

Do you use Ebates or ShopatHome for your online purchases? What is your best online saving tip for shopping?

Well, no mortgage payment is due this month since we closed at the beginning of last month. We already paid the interest that was due when we closed. Next month our mortgage payment will be about $1300.

If I was smart and thought it would work I'd make an extra principal payment, but it seems when you move there are so many things to buy! I'd rather hold on to that cash for now.

So far we have purchased blinds, paint, queen mattress and bedding (for guests), a drill, and a high speed router. Tomorrow we have a water softener being intalled. We will rent that, since don't know if we could recoup the upfront cost while we live here. I dislike the extra payment, but I'm sure I can set up on billpay and not think too much more about it!

For now I'll just enjoy the lack of paying a bank for another month! What would you do? Make a payment, partial payment or enjoy a mortgage free month?

As a way to help our girls adjust to our new home we promised to paint their rooms. I did one yesterday and the other is half done at this point. One daughter picked the same color she had in the last house, which does remind us of the old house. The other picked a bold aqua color!

We needed to buy two gallons for each room. After the first room we did end up with half gallon left over. I expect the same for the second room. We always do two coats, but this paint from Lowe's seems to be covering pretty well after one. But since we bought it and can't return it we are using the second gallon. Lesson learned with this paint, we might just need one coat in future rooms! Sure saves time and money.

Do you do your own painting? Or do you hire it out? Or do you decorate in another way?

The guest room was put together pretty quickly, but we think it turned out great for a first time visit. After all we just moved in just over two weeks ago!

Here are the pictures:







We bought the bed, sheets, bedskirt, gray blanket, comforter, two pillows and shams all new. Cost was nearly $1,000. The bookcase and items on it, lamps, black dresser, sheet as a curtain, knick knacks, cedar chest with blanket and white blanket also on bed were from our current stash of things.

My parents enjoyed their visit and said the bed was terrific. Firm, just like they like and apparently better than their current bed.

My parents love to visit us. Unfortunately, at our last house we didn't have a guest room. They often slept on the girls twin beds and the girls would sleep on the floor. The girls didn't mind at all. My parents always felt bad about displacing them.

At our new home we have a fourth bedroom in the basement right next to a full bathroom. It will be a perfect place for guests. However, we needed a bed for our guests.

We purchased a queen mattress and boxspring Monday night, which is being delivered for free today! We did splurge a bit to get a firm mattress with extra padding. Total cost was just under $800 with tax, bed frame and a mattress cover. I expect we will have it for many many years!

Of course, I will need a set of sheets and a comforter or quilt too. The sheets I need as soon as possible, but I have blankets and pillows that can work until I find something I like!

What kinds of amenities do you appreciate in a guest bedroom at someone's house? Extra blankets, a place to sit, a mirror? Tell me about it. I want to make this a relaxing and welcoming place to stay!

We put our Roth IRA and college fund investments on hold while DH was living in another state. We did fund our Roth IRA's in full for 2011, but have not started on 2012 yet.

I just set the investments up to begin auto withdrawing from our checking account again. It feels good to get this back on track. Right now we are six months behind if I want to fund everything by December 31st.

I may end up making a few lump sum payments to get us caught up, but I will determine that in the next month or two. We are still waiting on travel money from the Army, but I expect it in the next couple weeks. It also seems we will have to get a water softener for this house. The water is VERY hard. We can rent that, but may also buy one outright since it would be good to have one to leave with the house for resale purposes. I'll keep you posted!

How are your investment deposits going this year? Behind, on track or ahead?

We are in our new home. Our beds and household goods arrived on Thursday. And I have to say that sleeping in our own bed after more than three weeks was bliss!

We have unpacked all but about 6 boxes. However, things are not organized in the least. I'm trying to figure out how to store the same stuff in fewer cabinets and closets. We do have a large storage room that I'm sure I will have to use!

Spending is at an all time high. I don't have meals planned. Our dryer isn't working since the move. And with a new home there are little things to buy, like shower curtain rods. We will be ordering blinds today for a majority of our windows. I expect to get a pretty good deal online for those.

There is still an inflow of cash to arrive. We expect to receive around $2000 because we used a Homes for Hereos realtor. Participating realtors discount their commissions for buyer and sellers. And then there is the travel money we expect to receive from the governmnet. Some of that money will reimburse us for 10 days of hotel expenses. Fingers crossed that travel voucher doesn't get rejected.

Cat lovers will appreciate knowing that our cats have adjusted well to the new home. They are finding new places to hide and enjoying our wide window sills where they can hang out.

Any great tips for moving into a new home? How did you get organized? How long did it take? Any money saving tips that go along with the move?

We are scheduled to close at 2pm today! It should go smoothly, but as of this moment we are still waiting on the VA to approve our HUD settlement statement.

Once they do I will know the amount we need to bring to closing. Since we bank online, I need to authorize a wire transfer with our bank. This is going to cost us $20. We had the proceeds from the house we sold wired to our account as well. That wire cost us over $50!

It does make me question whether we should have a local bank. However, even if I had a local bank, I would have already moved and wouldn't be in town to get a cashier's check from that bank. So that doesn't really work either, unless I'm missing something.

Can't wait to get in the house! The cats will move in today, but our household goods are not arriving until later in the week, so we are doing a couple more nights at the hotel.

I was able to snag another $5 Amazon gift card for the month of June from Swagbucks. This extra time in the hotel is worth something!

I used some of my free time to call all the utilities and services we will have at our new home. I actually have to put a deposit down with our city for water. They require this for all new customers. It will get credited/refunded back after 12 months of on time payments. A little irritating considering we are always on time with our bills. But it tends to be part of the moving process.

DH submitted his travel voucher with the Army. Fingers crossed he submitted it correctly. He wasn't too confident unfortunately. Hopefully, that money will arrive soon.

We definitely have lots of things we want to buy as we establish ourselves in our new home. We will just go all out and get it all done right away or try to cash flow it a bit. Undecided on that part. We just need to keep our heads out of the sand and make good financial decisions.

Closing on our home is Monday!! Everything seems to be on track for that to happen just as originally scheduled. The movers may not bring our things until after the holiday. It will all work out. We are definitely ready to be in our new home!

Our appraisal was done yesterday. It was a bit of a surprise. I did not realize it had been scheduled. I'm not even sure that it was, but it was being done right at the same time I called my agent.

We have our walk through scheduled this afternoon. The builder and his agent will be there, as well as our agent. As of yesterday he still had not replaced the dead sod. It could be he is waiting to install closer to our closing.

Not clear yet if closing is on Friday or Monday. I hope to get this cleared up today, so I can contact our movers and get all the utilities going as soon as possible.

I received our last water bill from our previous home. It was about $40 over budget. I think it is a result of my husband watering our entire lawn several times in the last month. We had been really dry and were trying to keep the lawn somewhat green for the new owners. I guess I'll need to get used to larger water bills until the lawn is established at the new house, too.

We booked a nice hotel that will allow our cats to be with us. It has a kitchette with refrigerator, two burners and a microwave...and dishes!!

We get internet, newspapers, acess to pool and workout room, breakfast daily and manager's receptions four nights a week.

I think we will make this 11 day stay in a hotel mangagable. The Army should cover most of the stay if not all if we manage our money right!

Less than a week before they pack up our belongings. It's really hard to believe and there is so much to do still. At least we finally went to the grocery store and should have enough food for most of the time we are here with a refrigerator.

We now have a deal on our new home. It's new construction. The neighborhood is very close to being filled in. A ranch, three bedrooms and two full bathrooms upstairs, finished basement with large storage area, another bedroom and full bathroom. Three car garage. It's a very nice layout. We are all excited.

We are attempting to close in about three weeks. It may not happen, but the seller had another deal fall through, so some of the abstract paperwork is ahead of schedule. Our lender is definitely on top of getting our loan paperwork submitted as soon as possible. Fingers crossed it could actually happen.

We want in as soon as we can since we will already have time in a hotel regardless. Right now we are trying to decide if we board our cats or keep them with us in a hotel. We like being with them, but I want them to be less stressed too. We could likely visit too. Any thoughts or experience with this?

In less than a week, our movers should be packing up our belongings and loading them on a truck. In the meantime, we are going to paint the caulked areas on the outside of our house, throw a birthday sleepover for our youngest daughter, and try to seperate out the items that we don't want packed!!

Remember that the buyers were wanting repairs done before closing and we were having trouble getting a contractor arranged in time, as well as, finding a good price?

We left it with the contractor we hired that the repair work was to be under $800. If the work was not finished once the limit was reached, we would complete the remainder.

The contractor arrived yesterday and completed the work in four hours rather than the 20 hours estimated. The cost was $274.40. Now that's more like it.

I think the company is losing business because they can't estimate the work well. We would have had more done, such as repairing a door and painting the nails they caulked over. Instead the door remains as is, and we are going to be up on a ladder painting.

I'm just glad our cost was less than we were expecting!!

We are making an offer on a home in our new locale. It's a new construction home and nearly complete. Just some light fixtures, switches and closet doors and shelves.

Fingers crossed we can make a deal happen!

I'm still waiting for one buyer to make their payment for an Ebay purchase. I just want to get it mailed and have that cash in my account. Maybe it will be paid by the time I wake up!

We went looking at schools and houses in our new city. It was a lot of information to take in, but it was all good. We haven't decided on a house and will need to look again.

Our trip to visit included an overnight at a hotel and meals out. I'm sure we spent over $300 with the hotel, meals and fuel. We didn't plan very well. But it is done and not all of our visits will include an overnight, but it was needed to make all the school visits and appointments.

I sold two more items on Ebay yesterday. I don't have the net proceeds yet. I'm still waiting for payment. I will add the proceeds to my Christmas funds. I expect the amount to be about $12.

We are school and house hunting in our new town tomorrow. We will spend one night in a hotel. We have already received a partial advance for DH travel expenses and the dislocation allowance. The money will sure help with the moving expenses. It is all the little things that seem to add up with a move.

I called three contractors yesterday and all were booked and not able to get to any repairs in the next three weeks. Yikes. My realtor then calls a contractor she might use to build her home. They were able to come today and provide an estimate. If we agree they will start work next week.

The estimate is for resetting about 20% of the nails, caulk, and labor for painting. It also is for resecuring the deck to the home and replacing an interior door in the master bathrooom. Total $2333!!!!!!!!

I'm annoyed beyond belief. The deck is the cheapest at just $79. The door is nearly $600. It is a hollow door that has a nickel size whole on the interior of the master bathroom near the upper hinge. I could buy one myself for about $70, but the staining isn't something I have experience with. The nails and caulk are cheap. It is all the labor that is becoming the issue with me.

The buyers are insisting that the work be done by a licensed contractor. It seems to make these requests seem so big. Ugh!

The buyers had their home inspection completed yesterday. According to my agent, they found the deck to be pulling away from the house. I can see what they found and it should be an easy fix. The deck is only 2 feet off the ground, so not a major safety issue, but could be a problem at some point. I never noticed it before!

We have more than 25 nails that are protruding from the siding. They will need to be replaced with the correct nail and repainted.

We will likely hire a handyman service to do the work. Easier on us and we can show that the work was done by a professional. Hopefully, the cost won't be too much either.

We applied for a VA loan and were approved about two weeks ago. My husband needs a certificate of eligibility to complete the loan. We received a copy of it by email today, so we are good to go.

We may reapply for a conventional loan now that we have sold our home and likely won't close on another home until after we complete our current sale. That would mean we would have a much bigger down payment since we would have the equity out of this house.

Decisions, decisions! I guess I need to run some numbers. Fun!!

Has anyone else used there VA home loan benefits? What did you think about it...good or bad?

We have been down to just one garage door opener for about two years. It has been no problem since both of our vehicles have the ability to sync with the opener.

Unfortunately I made a mistake with the remaining opener recently. I took it outside with me while I did some work in our far back yard. I wanted the garage door closed, but a quick way to get back in. Instead of keeping it with me I set it on my van hood near the windshield wiper.

Many days later, its raining and while I'm driving my daughter home from school something flies off the hood. I did think of the remote, but I was positive I had put it back in the house.

I didn't think to check when I returned home and now several days later I went to use the remote again and it is missing from its regular spot. Ugh!! No remotes now. And...we are selling the house and they need to be included.

I went to Sears and was quickly ushered to the remotes and told which ones would work since they no longer carry the original. They were $45 each!!! I paid. The computer froze up during the transaction and I paid again. Yep, I see two pending transactions. They said it might happen and one would drop off. Fingers crossed it will.

In the meantime, I did more research at home and found I could buy the original ones on ebay. I paid $45 for two new remotes...which included Priority shipping. Just saved $45 on a purchase I didn't want to make in the first place.

Do you have an 'I lost my mind' story that cost you money?

The major road behind our house has recently closed in order to widen the street to four lanes. As a result my detour is very inconvenient and starting today requires waiting for oncoming traffic to pass before being allowed to pass on a one lane road.

As a result, I didn't feel like making a separate trip to the grocery store tonight. I decided instead to make soup and breadsticks with items I already had on hand. I'm going to do the same tomorrow too. I turns out I do have some things I should start using up in preparation for the move. Tomorrow is grilled cheese for the girls and salmon that I found in the freezer for me! Yum.

I'm also going through all cupoards and closets looking for things that need to be tossed or donated before the move. I'm pretty pared down, but I'm checking expiration dates and outgrown shoes. There is always something that one no longer needs it seems.

Do you have any unusual ways to keep from spending? Do you have a lot of construction in your area?

We decided just yesterday to have DH fly home one more time before his class is out at the end of May. We looked at flights yesterday for the weekend he can get away and the cheapest ticket was $489.

This morning I checked one site and saw $689. Yikes. I thought Tuesday was the day to buy tickets! I actually I read that 3pm eastern was the time the tickets were repriced by the airlines. Anyway, I went off to the gym, did a few things around the house and it was now late morning.

After clearing all my cookies from the computer, I check again. The price for the ticket we wanted was $342.20. Talk about a savings! I have yet to get a ticket for this route for less than that.

What is the best deal you have grabbed on an airline ticket in recent months?

I set aside $155 each month for DH's utilities. After paying one, I had $95. Last night he paid the second one in the amount of $65. That left $30!! I guess the weather is mild there, too.

I have put the $30 into the emergency fund. Some of the emergency fund money might go to handle moving expenses or towards a down payment, if we go that route. Our goal is to stash aside as much cash as possible. This just helps that goal.

How were your utilities this month? Better or worse?

I redeemed more points at Swagbucks for a $5 Amazon gift card yesterday. I think I'm maxed out the $5 ones for this month!! Now to save for something else.

Our house has been listed on market for 11 days and we have had 9 showings. All neutral feedback, nothing negative. Apparently, those 9 just aren't interested in this house. The showings have slowed down as we have approached the holiday weekend. It's kind of nice, since I can relax a bit and not have to keep things quite so orderly for a couple days.

I see many of you are tracking your daily expenses. I've had to opt out of that one. It's too much to track for me right now. It seems the spending here has slowed a bit though. I like that!!

Enjoy the holiday!

I went to Home Depot and purchased two sets of 8 pack annuals. Pansies in burgandy and violas in purple(these smell sooo good!). I was able to fill four pots with last years potting soil. One pot on the front porch, one on the back deck, and the two smaller pots on the side of the house that can be seen from the street. Nice pop of spring color!

I also bought fertilizer. This is way earlier than I normally would do this, but with recent rains weeds are already showing up. And of course, a green yard sells better than a brown one!

I spent about $20 for a spring spruce up. I expect we will actually get out and mow tomorrow evening, so that that yard looks trimmed up in our marketing photos. It all seems to be going according to plan!!

You can purchase a $10 Amazon.com gift card from their new