Jen's Blog

I sent the check to Toyota and am looking forward to seeing what the new balance is once the check clears. DH and I were talking last night about what to do with the car payment once we no longer have a car payment. He asked if I was thinking about sending it to the mortgage. I said that I hadn't been, but now I'm giving it some thought. We have a little over 16 years left on the mortgage. Sending an extra $200 a month would take about 30 months of payments off the mortgage. So instead of having it paid off in the neighborhood of April, 2023, we're looking instead at October, 2020. Sending an extra $300 each month would shave off 41 months of payments, with a payoff around November, 2019. Looking at the numbers like this is inspiring. Even at $300 extra a month, we still have money leftover from the payments we're currently making for the car. Of course, none of this is going to happen until the car is paid off, and that is still about 18 months out. Still, it's fun to look at the numbers and picture a time when we own this house free and clear.

I've been home today with my daughter, who's sick. Trying to get her to rest has been the challenge of the day! I have to keep reminding her to settle down and let her body heal. She's got a pretty bad cough, and I'm hoping she'll be on the mend by tomorrow.

It has made for a no-spend day, as we haven't even left the house. I've been doing some laundry, watching movies with DD and just hanging out with her. She got a

magic garden kit for her birthday so we got that started today, and it is pretty neat. The trees have started "blooming" already.

DH made some fresh-squeezed orange juice this morning for DD with oranges from our tree, and I told her I'd make her some more this afternoon. I'm trying to keep her hydrated, so it's been OJ, water and soup much of the day.

Even now, as she moves about the house, she's trying to sneak in some pirouettes when she thinks I'm not looking! "You need to sit down and rest, honey." This is what I keep reminding her.

We finally sold our old car this week. Tomorrow, I'm mailing a check to Toyota that will basically cut our loan in half. That, combined with now sending an extra $100 each month, brings our payoff date to about 18 months. It will be nice to have the car paid off as soon as possible and start making other plans for that money each month.

In other news, yesterday was my daughter's 7th birthday. We had a small party here and it was a nice day all around. Later today we're going to a matinee ballet performance, and we'll go somewhere for lunch beforehand. This is a double birthday celebration, as mine is in a few weeks. It's going to be a wonderful day. Can't imagine things being much better, and it's nice to have the extra money available to do something that will be so enriching.

I used to have an account at ING that I called my "challenge" account. I've renamed it my "Vacation" account because that sounds a whole lot more fun! I added up a few miscellaneous sources of income from this month (surveys, gift cards, etc.). I rounded the total off to $30 and moved that money over to the vacation account. If by some miracle my food categories ever come in under budget in any given month, I'll move the difference there over as well. Same goes for other expenses that are somewhat under my control - gas, utilities and so forth.

I'm not feeling real gung ho about the challenge this year, but I can move little bits of savings and extra income here and there once a month.

I literally lost sleep last night, worrying about retirement savings. (Did I ever mention that I have a somewhat obsessive analytical personality?) Dh and I need to put our heads together, look at our current situation and figure out once and for all what our exact retirement goals are, both in terms of time and money.

In mundane news there's been no spending on my part today. I thought about going out to lunch with DD after school but instead we came home and I made us grilled cheese sandwiches. It was the better choice, when all was said and done.

Our oranges survived all the cold weather and we have more than we can eat. Our church works with a community of homeless people that have a tent community set up. I'm going to take in a couple of bags of oranges to church to take over to them. Seems a small thing, but at least the oranges will be put to good use.

Still plugging away over here, doing pretty well with the budget and basically having days and days where I don't spend any money outside of paying for planned expenses/bills. Our credit card cycle closes today, and even with the $700 or so on there for tile, the overall bill is still lower than usual. This is one of those months where none of us goes to the doctor or dentist, and none of the pets go to the vet.

I was reading through the last chapter of Your Money or Your Life last night, learning about their stance on bonds. It also clued me into a way to add investment income to my spreadsheet, so I'm going to fiddle around with that again this week. (Basically, I'm going to look at how much we have put away for retirement and figure out what the interest income would be today if it were in a liquid account. This isn't exactly right on, but it's close enough to give me some numbers to play with.)

Not much else to add, really

In the entry below this one, in the comments, I ask a question about how to include investment income from IRAs, 401ks, etc on a graph that shows income, expenses and investment income. I'd love to get some input on this. Otherwise, my investment income graph is ridiculous, as the bulk of our saving efforts go towards longterm goals (retirement, college). But the whole point of the retirement investments is so that we *can* be financially independent someday. I just don't know how to work that into a graph.

Thanks in advance.

Not much going on around here these days. Halfway through the month, we've spent about $119 on groceries and about $25 on dining and entertainment (excluding Netflix). We went to a potluck on Saturday evening, and I pulled together a dish with things I had on hand. Brought home essentially an empty dish, so I'd say it was a success. We went out to breakfast last weekend using a gift certificate, so the three of us had a pleasant, sit-down breakfast for a total of a $12.

Our tile should be in next Monday. I think we're going to buy paint and start on the house this weekend. DD's birthday is in a couple of weeks, and it would be nice to have the painting outside done and the tiling in the bathroom done as well before family comes over to celebrate. If it isn't done, that's fine too, but it's a worthy goal to aim for.

When I first read Your Money or Your Life, I wanted to make a chart like they suggest showing income and expenses and the path towards becoming financially independent. I never did it. I created our savings spreadsheet, showing our savings balances each month, and that is helpful to me in providing feedback about how well we're meeting (or not meeting) our savings goals. It also helps me see how quickly we manage to rebound from big expenses (for example, our dog's surgeries). Now I'm thinking of making the income/expenses chart, as well as an investment income chart (or maybe show that as a separate line?). Might be interesting to see.

We ordered our tile this morning for the bathroom. It came in just under $700, and that includes a nice inset of 1"x1" glass tiles to give it a little extra something. We need to get grout, but other than that I think we're set. It wasn't as much as I thought it would be, which is nice.

DH is picking up some groceries right now, with a short list from me. We actually had more at home than I thought, but needed a few things to round out some meals. I spent about $17.50 yesterday on snacks. I'm tired of not bringing something to work and then being hungry, so I stocked up on things that can stay in the bottom drawer of my desk. It'll be handy for the days DD goes straight to ballet from school, too. I need to have food available. Not having it sets me up for weird scarcity/binging thoughts.

DH set up a couple of ING savings accounts for the money from his raise. One is a vacation account and one is a gifts account. So part of his raise is going towards those things, and part of it is going towards paying extra on the car loan. Seems like a good balance, to me.

DD and I browsed in the dancewear shop this morning while we're out, but left empty-handed. Sometimes it's juts fun to look. I still want to add a second class a week for myself but haven't taken any concrete steps towards finding out times, locations, etc. and then making a plan to make it happen. I enjoy my one class so much. I'm very glad I started taking it.

Spending this month continues to stay under tight control, with nearly every dollar spent a planned expenditure. (The unplanned spending included floor cleaner and shampoo and conditioner that I got for a dollar per bottle.) Grocery spending is still at $57 for the month, although I need to go get milk for DD as well as for me and DH, so that's a good $12 right there. We could use some other things too, but it's been a good challenge to try and eat at home, cooking whatever we have on hand, trying to stretch out the time between trips to the grocery store. Aside from the surprise windfall and trip out to dinner, there hasn't been any other dining out, including snacks or stops for coffee. Every time I've been tempted, I think about it and decide that the fact is, I'd rather not go.

Home improvements: we need to buy tile for the walls around our tub/shower in our bathroom so that we can finish that project. I'm pretty sure we'll pick out the tile Saturday. Once the tile is in place, we can paint. We're going to turn the old shower stall into a storage cupboard, so that will be a job unto itself, but at least we'll have a fully functioning bathroom again soon and can stop cramming all three of us into our tiny guest bathroom. We'll cram ourselves into our slightly less tiny main bathroom.

We also need to buy exterior paint, prime all the spots where the insulation was blown into the walls and then patched and then paint. Paint is relatively cheap, thankfully. It's the time involved that I'm not looking forward to, having painted the house ourselves once before, 6 or so years ago.

In saving news, I increased the automatic transfer to DD's 529 plan today by $25. It isn't so much that it will feel like a big chunk out of the monthly budget, but it's an extra $300 a year that we might not have saved otherwise for college.

Financial news of late... I was looking at a gift I got for my birthday last year and inside the box, I found some birthday money I must have tucked away. $70! I also got $10 last Sunday, unexpectedly, from someone reimbursing me for something (I'd basically written it off). So I took DH and DD out for dinner Sunday night with some of the money and have the rest put away for a couple of planned purchases - a craft purchase and a garden purchase. I also have a $15 B&N gift card from Christmas that I haven't used yet.

Not much else to report. Haven't done any unplanned spending since I last wrote. Groceries are still at $57. The only dining out has been Sunday night, and that was paid for with found money.

There are plenty of things I want, but ultimately I'm having a hard time justifying buying them, given my other desire to save money and rebuild our savings. I'd like a coffee pot with a time on it, but our current coffee maker works just fine. I'd like a small salad spinner, but I may ask for one for my birthday. I like a cookie press to make cookies, but again, that would make a nice gift item. I could really use a new robe, as the one I have was a gift from DH the first Christmas we were dating, 11 years ago.

Want, want, want. Aside from the repairs that need to be done at home, I'd like to get a new front door and re-do the kitchen counters. That really needs to be done sooner than later, as we have a gaping hole behind the kitchen faucet from where the plumbing work was done. That is connected to the backsplash, which is connected to the counters...

I do need to get new glasses and contacts. I'd given up wearing contacts because my eyes are so dry, but now I'm wearing them once a week to my ballet class, and I'm down to my last pair. We do have vision insurance, so at least one set of lenses (glasses or contacts) is covered this year. The rest can be reimbursed through the medical reimbursement plan.

All these big expenses, all these wants. I plod along, trying to save here and there, spending on the things I value most instead of frittering it away on junk.

Did I mention I haven't gone out for coffee since 2006? Doesn't mean I won't go this month, but it does mean I haven't gone so far. A couple of dollars here and there isn't going to pay for a new door or a new fence.

As part of my save money on food goal, I made some muffins yesterday. I used the Tightwad Gazette 'formula' and put together pretty good muffins from what I had on hand. I stocked up on a few different grains and such from the Bob's Red Mill line last time I was at the bread outlet, so I had some variety there to choose from, and for Christmas my grandparents sent us some dried fruits and nuts, so that gave me more to work with. I ended up using some white flour along with 7-grain cereal, with golden raisins mixed in. They turned out great. Between muffins, hot cereal and five or so boxes of cold cereal, plus pancakes and scones that I could make, breakfast is well-covered this month. I even have plenty of coffee on hand.

I talked to DH about really wanting to come in under budget this month on food, just to prove to ourselves that we really can do it if we et our minds to it, and he's in agreement. We've both been creative with dinners this week, and DD has been liking being in the kitchen more. She made popovers almost entirely by herself a couple of nights ago! We've spent about $57 so far this month on groceries, and none on dining out.

Our savings took a big hit last month with home repair stuff. It's hard to see those numbers go down so quickly and not really be able to enjoy the spending. We'll build the savings back up, though. We always seem to manage to get back to where we were.

I wrote a check today for our lodging in Mammoth. DH's company sponsors a trip for employees and their friends and family. Lodging (three nights) and lift tickets (2 days) for the three of will be about $600. We'll bring food and eat at the condo or pack along a lunch. We learned the first year that eating out in Mammoth is expensive (obviously) and not all that tasty, either. Friends are coming with us this year, which will be fun. The trip isn't for a couple more months; we're hoping for some good snow between now and then! This has been our only real vacation the last two years. It's fun.

My family and I received a gift of homemade treats in the mail, completely unexpectedly! Isn't that nice? I was genuinely touched by the gesture.

Our gifts here are just about all wrapped. We need to bring out our stockings, and we still need to send out cards. Those are just going to have to be late this year.

My parents get into town today around noon, and DH's brother and sister-in-law get in later this afternoon. We'll all be going to DD's later performance this evening - should be fun! She did great last night, from what I could see from the wings.

I need to go chop some celery and onions and get things organized for the open house. I have to leave here around 12:30 and won't be back until around 7:45, so I'm getting things organized and my mom's putting it all into crock pots for me. Good to work as a team.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Did I mention we're having issues with our washing machine? In particular, we're having issues with the drainage. It's been quite a December for us. DD and I went to the laundromat this morning to do 4 loads of laundry. Eight dollars. I haven't done laundry at a laundromat in a very long time. While it was nice to get it all done at once (well, not all of it, but at least four loads of it) it is expensive. I still need to do towels and sheets, and DD has more clothes to do (but that isn't a full load so it will have to wait). I may go back tomorrow to do a few more loads while DD is off making and decorating cookies with her cousin and grandma. I'm doing the last of my shopping tomorrow too (Santa shopping) and wrapping gifts while DD is gone.

I finished the lap afghan for the nursing home. Now I need to call over there and see if they will in fact accept it for one of their residents. If not, I'll find somewhere else to donate it.

DD has her first stage rehearsal this evening for Nutcracker and I'm helping out with ironing and steaming costumes. We stopped by the store to pick up a case of bottled water for the girls.

We got our Christmas tree this afternoon, finally, and now it's lit up and decorated, looking beautiful. We have LED lights inside and out now, and I feel good about that.

My daughter had her musical at church this morning and it was fantastic! And that's not just a biased mom talking - it really was quite entertaining, and the kids did an excellent job. We did hear some compliments about DD in particular, which made my heart swell with pride. Now on to Nutcracker this week, and then the big performances will be over for a while.

My mom tried kashi's snickers fudge recipe. She said it was a pain to make, but I'm betting it's well worth the trouble. I'll find out next weekend! kashi - thanks again for sharing your recipe.

My daughter and I went shopping for toys yesterday. My husband truly wants very little for Christmas, so DD and I decided to take some of the money we might have spent on DH for Christmas and instead by toys to give to children in need of some holiday cheer. All in all we bought 12 or 13 toys. We're going to write DH a letter and take a picture of all the toys, then wrap that up and give it to him on Christmas. I think he will like that very much.

A week or so ago we went caroling at a nursing care facility. The residents there seemed happy to have the visitors, and I'm thinking now of using up some of my yarn stash to make small lap afghans for them.

We have so much, and there are so many who are in need.

Last December I wrote out the following goals for myself/my family this year:

*Increase 401k contribution by at least 1-2%. We did this.

*Increase ING monthly transfers by $25 (went in and increased by $10 for January) Did this.

*Keep dining out expenses under $160/month on average - move any money saved to ING each month This looks like it was about $175 per month so far this year.

*Keep grocery spending under $300/month on average - move any money saved to ING each month This looks about $360 per month so far. **

*Launch new business by 4/1/06 done

*Increase tutoring and homeschooling adsense revenues - need more new content and link exchanges done

*Update advertising options at DivaTribe - better bang for the buck for advertisers, steadier revenue stream for DT
done

So the food continues to be a goal to work on. I love the irony that someone who once dealt with an eating disorder continues to deal with food in a somewhat confrontational way. Maybe it's not all that ironic, I don't know.

**I think some of the grocery spending is skewed because in Quicken, if it was a Vons or Trader Joe's purchase, I categorize it as "grocery" even if it had household items, dog food, etc. I've been more careful the last few months about breaking down my receipts, so next year my figures ought to be more accurate.

Ultimately, I need to look at net worth 12/31/05 and 12/31/06 and see where we're at. I know we'll be doing better retirement-wise. It's the liquid and semi-liquid savings I'll be looking at.

Dinner last night was a treat from our friends, so we got to enjoy a nice evening out with friends for free. We went to a restaurant with plenty of vegetarian and vegan offerings, along with other healthy meat-based entrees, so there was plenty to choose from for all of us.

Dinner tonight was pizza along with some fresh produce, and since the oven's already hot DD and I made some chocolate chip cookies too (they're in the oven as I type).

Tomorrow night is soup and some baked potatoes. I'm trying to use up fresh things before we go out of town for the holiday. I wonder if I could make oven fries and then freeze them. I bet I could, and I'll have an extra potato or two to deal with.

I made a trip to the bread thrift store today. For about $15, I got...

2 loaves of Milton's bread
8 whole wheat hamburger buns
8 egg hamburger buns
2 bags of Bob's Red Mill veggie soup mix
1 bag Bob's Red Mill 5 grain cereal
1 bag Bob's Red Mill polenta
1 Entenmann's butter loaf cake
4 blueberry mini-loaves
1 package of fig newton-type cookies

Three of the items were free (loyalty card plus spending at least $10) and all of the Bob's products are 10% off this month. A good haul when all is said and done.

I had plannd on making some gifts this year (knitting and/or crocheting), and this past weekend I got started. I finished one project and have started this evening on a cabled scarf. I already had all the yarn, so I really just needed to get my act together and get STARTED on these projects. The first scarf went quickly - the yarn has a nice texture and color, so I didn't need a fancy pattern. This cabled one is going to go much more slowly, but I think it will be nice when it's done.

I also have fabric to make a Halloween costume for myself. I've had it all since last October, when everything was marked waaaayyyyy down. Have I done anything with it since then? Hmmm.... Guess I have some work to do this weekend. Saving money is only a savings if I actually do something with the fabric. Otherwise, it's just a waste, sitting in my cupboard.

...that humdrum was appealing to people. Your comments brightened my day!

Sometimes I think my blog must be incredibly boring because basically, there is no drama in my life when it comes to money. I have little challenges here and there, but by and large, things are in balance and we're moving forward on our goals. I guess I continue to write for my own weird satisfaction.

Anyway, not much to say really. Stopped for gas on the way home - spent about $22 on that. Haven't spent any other money so far. There's about $91 left for groceries and about $127 left for dining and entertainment. I know we're going out Saturday night, and I know we need milk for us and for DD. Trader Joe's still has the best price around on organic milk. They beat Vons' sale prices any day. Too bad Vons is a mile away and TJ's is across town. The convenience of Vons wins out too often. Planning - the key, as always, for me to stick to a budget.

My haul today:

1 loaf of Milton's bread
2 loaves of Orowheat bread
1 Boboli pizza crust
1 package of Bob's Red Mill pancake mix
1 package of Bob's Red Mill veggie soup mix
1 package of apple cinnamon English muffins
1 Ent. butter loaf cake

Total spent: $14.66

The last two items were freebies for spending over ten dollars. I also filled up my loyalty card (Mondays are double stamp days!) so I'll get something free next time. I'm so glad I've found this place to be worthwhile, as it does require a special trip to go there.

In other news, our library - for the third time - has said we didn't return a book when I know that we did. For the third time, I've gone there and found the book on the shelf. I think from now on I'm asking for some sort of receipt when I return books. It's irritating to go out of my way to clear up someone else's error. If there's one thing I'm diligent about, it's returning all books on time.

I received my Starbucks gift card prize in the mail today, along with some good coupons for all kinds of organic/healthy brands. Thank you!

I got my cat/dog coupon prize package today. As a result, I also found Nutro's web site and signed up for their frequent buyer club and $20 in coupons: www.nutroproducts.com.

I emailed Fresh Express earlier in the week, as I had thrown out a bag of spinach in response to the current e. coli scare and wanted to find out what they were doing for customers. I received a very nice reply by email and a letter in the mail today with a coupon for a free item as well as a 55 cents off coupon. Good customer service.

I finished my online trffic school and now have to go to a UPS store to take the test. Please cross your fingers for me that I have not waited too long and that the test will get processed in time. Procrastination is a bad, bad thing.

We had a picnic dinner last night and splurged on Starbucks lattes this morning. A relaxing start to the weekend. I need to make a grocery list and get out to the store this weekend. Such fun.

Today our last two kitties go to their new home. It will be a sad afternoon, but they are going together and going to a loving home, so it's good in the end.

For those of you who did a free gas trial offer where you submit claims for $10 once a quarter, I thought I'd post an update. I cancelled long ago, but I have gotten all of the rebates that I've submitted. So it seems worth it to send in the form every three months! I have one left.

I also got a Colgate rebate of $2.69 today, a free sample and a coupon. Good mail day.

I'm calling this entry a $20 challenge entry, because even though I'm no longer doing the challenge, it came from a trial offer that I learned about via the challenge.

I got a tube of Aquafresh toothpaste today that will cost me 30 cents after I get the rebate. If only I'd had a coupon...then I would have MADE money on the deal. Oh well... I could have waited, I suppose. But 30 cents for toothpaste is still pretty good.

I also sent in a form for a ten dolalar rebate on gas, from one of those trial memberships. I'm no longer a member, so it's a 39 cent experiment to see if I get a check or not.

I spent $6.12 at Rite Aid today, with $3.69 coming back in rebates, for a total spent of $2.43. Picked up some degree deodorant, some softsoap shower gel and some colgate total toothpaste. That comes out to an average of 81 cents per item, which isn't too bad. I have a rebate for the Colgate and used a coupon as well, so I'll come out $1 ahead on that.

Slowly but surely I'm learning how to do this coupon/rebate thing.