Jen's Blog

Spending coming up this week: $12 for camping Saturday night, $15 copay Thursday for a dr's visit for DD, and I need to order replacement air filters (don't know what they'll cost).

8/1/05 - 8/21/05:
Groceries: $181.13
Dining: $73.39
Starbucks: $15.55
Total: $270.07 ($12.86/day)

Picked up a cute top today for 50 cents for DD at a garage sale down the street. Went out to breakfast - love to do that! Had to go to Green Thumb and buy some natural pest repellant and a sprayer, in an effort to get the fleas under control outside. Our poor dog is really suffering this year, and he own't let us put drops on him, so the best we can do is give him Program tablets, bathe him, wash his bedding, sweep and shake out throw rugs regularly, and try to mitigate the problem outside. This is the first time we've ever had a problem this bad with fleas on him, poor buddy.

Took DD to a skating birthday party yesterday. Everything for her waspaid for, but I had to pay $6.50 to skate. Turns out I could have gotten away with not paying - they didn't stamp my hand or do anything to indicate I'd paid. Oh well - what goes around comes around, and I'm an honest person. I did get to try out the skates DD got me for Christmas, which was fun.

I've made about $9 this week from books at half.com. I have two grocery bags full of books listed there, and it would be great if they all sold. Did some spending yesterday - birthday gift for one of DD's friends, gas for the car, and coffee, chocolate milk and bagel at a coffeehouse near DD's school (bought those so I could test out their free wifi and make sure I could actually use it, which I can ).

We're meeting some friends today at a park, so I'll pack a lunch to bring along. Then it's the birthday party later this afternoon. Busy day.

8/1/05 - 8/18/05:
Groceries: $173.85
Dining: $63.39
Starbucks: $15.55
Total: $252.79 ($14.04/day)

Went to the farmer's market today and spent $10 on fresh produce, including some basil to go with dinner tonight - pasta, salad and mozz/tomato/basil slices. Yummy.

8/1/05 - 8/16/05:
Groceries: $151.84
Dining: $63.39
Starbucks: $15.55
Total: $230.78 ($14.42/day)

A few weeks back, I had a bad razor blade. It was dull from the get-go. In the past, I would have tossed it and been annoyed, but done nothing about it. This time around, however, I decided to write the company and let them know about it. I did, and they replied. Included with their reply was a $10 coupon for my next purchase. I was so pleased! I've been using this razor brand for years, and it's the first time I've ever had a problem. By sending me that coupon, they kept my business for quite a long time more, I'm sure. Pretty cool.

DD and I need to get a birthday gift for a friend of her who is turning six. The party is this Friday afternoon. It's a friend from ballet, so perhaps we'll get something ballet-themed. We'll see. Groovy Girls have made good presents in the past, both for DD and for her friends, so tat's always an option.

I haven't done any more research on 529 plans and other education investment vehicles, but I haven't forgotten about it either. Just been out of town and then getting caught up here around the house.

DD will get to be in the Nutcracker this year. I don't know what the fee will be for the performance. For the spring show it was $37, and that covered two shows. I suspect this will be a bit more, as there are three performances and the two lowest levels of classes do not particiapte in them.


8/1/05 - 8/14/05:
Groceries: $132.87
Dining: $63.39

Current food totals -

8/1/05 - 8/11/05:
Groceries: $132.87
Dining: $0.00
Starbucks: $15.55
Total: $148.42 ($13.49/day)

I'm back from my trip, and it will take some time to get caught up on things. I have some yarn to return, as I bought more than I needed. I can return some scissors as well, as I didn't need them and they are still in the packaging.

DH put in the new kitchen floor while I was gone and it looks GREAT. Really super. Cost about $400 altogether, maybe a little less. New coutners and a new sink, some fresh paint, and we'll be DONE.

I'll write again later - need to go pick up DD from Spanish.

OK.

I got that yarn and the scissors returned today. Bought enough yarn for two more ponchos for about $14, including some ribbon 'yarn', which I have never worked with.

I was able to deposit a big chunk of money today. The largest portion was from DH's side business, from all the work he's been doing lately. We'll earn more interest on it in one of our personal accounts (as opposed to the business account). The rest came in the form of medical and prescription reimbursements, some tutoring income from DH, and some income from DivaTribe. It's good to see the account balances going up, up, up.

DD and I went to a park down at the beach today for about an hour. It was sunny, but windy. I hate wind, but it was nice to be at the beach and have it actually be somewhat sunny for a change.

Spendy day.

$50+ at michaels on yarn, patterns and a new pair of bamboo circular knitting needles.
$20 at the drugstore on a pedometer and a case to hold my pills on my trip
$10 on a puzzle, a paper dolls book and toothpaste
$75+ on books - a gift for FIL's birthday and some science and math books for DD
$14.50 on pizza

Phew.

I have a simple spreadsheet that shows our total savings balance and total college savings balance, along with a simple graph. I like having the visual summation of how much money we have on the first of each month. (It does not include any retirement accounts.) Our savings total took a big dip in July as a result of paying for DD's tuition for the year in one fell swoop, but I was pleased to see that as of 8/1/05, we had already recouped about $700. DH has been working many, many extra hours doing freelance work, as well as a bit of tutoring again, and it's good to see some of that money starting to roll in. If I can do my part to help keep our spending down and get my own tutoring back up once school starts up again, we'll be doing alright.

I've started thinking about DD's college funds, and how to best invest them over the next 12-13 years. I need to look up the account the bulk of her money is in right now and see what its rate of return is, so that I can compare it to other investment options. I was just looking at California's 529 options. The age-based ones didn't have very good rates, from what I could tell. The socially responsible option had negative return rates for recent periods, but I don't know what the long-term returns have been. I obviously have a lot more research to do, but I'm ready to delve into it all. I think I'll try to turn my research and findings into an article for DivaTribe - two birds with one stone and all that.

Links folks here have already suggested (thank you ) -
http://www.savingforcollege.com/
http://clarkhoward.com/topics/529_plans.html

DD and I head out of town on Thursday for five days. While we're gone DH is going to redo the kitchen floor. For a variety of reasons, including the possibility of mastic with asbestos in it, we're putting Pergo or something similar over what's already in there. I'm not quite sure what it's going to cost, but doing it ourselves will be cheaper than hiring someone else.

8/1 - 8/2:
Groceries: $47.30
Dining: $0
Sbux: $15.55 (added money to my sbux debit card today)
Total: $62.85 ($31.43/day)
($295 budgeted for groceries and $157 for dining out)

What a crazy month. Lots of dining out, although last night DH's parents treated us to dinner out, which was night.

7/1 - 7/31:
Groceries: $239.47
Dining: $179.75
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $440.52 (about $14.21/day)

Jan = $486.55 (326 + 131 + 29.55)
Feb = $495.51 (351.33 + 100.28 + 43.90)
Mar = $713.33 (415.81 + 292.02 + 5.50)
Apr = $516.21 (310.72 + 151.05 + 54.44)
May = $493.98 (277.11 + 182.32 + 34.55)
June = $460.48

I'm not one to procrastinate too much, but I still need to get a gift for the party that is now 3 hours away. :O I'm heading out to our local indie children's bookstore with DD soon to choose something.

The dinner party/going away party last night was fun - Indian food. Yummy. DH let the business pay for us, so our personal finances won't show it as a meal out. I know, money's money, but whatever.

I finished DD leg warmers and they fit. Yea! She likes them.


7/1 - 7/29:
Groceries: $226.49
Dining: $176.00

I need to get a birthday gift for a friend of DD's - party is Saturday. We're also going to a going away dinner tomorrow night for a friend and her daughter. It's at a restaurant, and we're paying for our own meals, so I don't think a gift is expected in addition to that. I could be wrong, but I think a couple of nice cards will suffice. Actually, I think I'll have DD make a card for the daughter, and I'll buy one for the mother.

I talked myself out of going out for coffee this morning, so that's a bit of savings for the day.

Neither DH nor I has to be anywhere tonight, so aside from work that needs to be done in the freelance department, we'll all be home together this evening. Don't know yet what we'll do for dinner, but our pantry, frig and freezer are all far from bare, so we'll get something figured out.

Today I wore one of the bracelets that I made and received a compliment on it. It was from a friend, so I didn't try to sell it to her.

7/1 - 7/27:
Groceries: $226.49
Dining: $147.31
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $395.10 (about $14.63/day)

I was just taking a look at how many points DH and I have accrued on our reward card. We have enough to buy one airline ticket within our zone, almost enough to buy one ticket anywhere in the 48 contiguous states, and over half the amount needed for a ticket to Hawaii! The first points earned are good through 12/31/08, so we have time to accrue some more and then have some fun with them. It will feel so good to take a vacation and know that we got some of it for free. We would never do this if we didn't already pay off the cc each month, but since we do, it seemed like a good idea.

I listed a new

Bought DD a new Hello Kitty backpack and a pair of shoes today, to the tune of about $32. I thought that was a pretty good deal. I passed up a top for myself, thinking about needs and not wants.

Dinner tonight will be just me and DD, as DH is going out to dinner with a group of childhood friends. I don't know what we'll have for dinner, but it'll be something here at home.

I also picked up a bottle of melatonin, as a friend who also gets migraines swears by it. Says she hasn't had one in the three months she's been taking it. I looked it up for possible interactions with what I already take, and everything looks OK. I bought a bottle that will last me two months. That ought to be enough time to get a sense of whether or not it is going to help.

This month's credit card cycle ends today and the total is a good one. We had those big prescriptions go on it, but much of that gets reimbursed, so the net out of pocket isn't so bad.

7/1 - 7/25:
Groceries: $226.49
Dining: $129.21
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $377.00 (about $15.08/day)

I'm going to take DD to a nearby ocean museum/center today. We have a membership, so unless I have to pay for parking somewhere, the cost to us to day is nothing. (Well, it'll use some gas to get there, but that's already been paid for.) I'll bring along water and some sandwiches or snacks.

Other than, DD has dance later this afternoon, and we'll have dinner at home. Pretty mellow day.

--later--

Broke down and bought DD and I some ice cream while we were out.

Spent $3.26 mailing books to a couple of people. But the big spend for the day - $353.80 on prescriptions. $80 of that covers three months worth of two different prescriptions. Of the other $273.80, I should get back all but $40 (and they will hopefully last me at least two months - they're for meds I use as needed for my migraines). So it's money spent today, but ultimately I'm only out $120 altogether.

I also set up my ING account to pull over some money each month from my checking account. It's not much, but I figured if I took a small amount (a) I wouldn't even notice it being gone from my checking account, and (b) earning interest on even a small amount is better than earning no interest on it while it sits in checking. I figure I can use the money I accrue in the ING account for Christmas gifts.

I didn't go to the bead store yesterday...but I did go to the yarn store. I picked up a skein of super soft pink yarn for leg warmers for DD and started knitting them up last night. Hopefully I will do a good job on them. For something so seemingly simple, I know I can manage to mess them up.

I didn't work on my skirt at all yesterday, aside from getting it all cut out. Maybe I'll work on it some today.

I was looking over my credit card statement and saw that DH and I have already had 8 no spend days for July. Given that we use it for the vast majority of our spending, that's a good sign.

This month has been the best month so far for sales in my store. Things had really been slowing down during the spring, so July has been a welcome change. I've been running some targeted Adwords ads, and I think that is helping.

Not much else to say. Dealing with a brewing headache this morning.

7/1 - 7/20:
Groceries: $226.49 (inlcudes household stuff too if I get it at the grocery store)
Dining: $72.03
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $319.82 (about $15.99/day)

--later--

I got much of that skirt done today. I need to tack down the facing, sew on a hook and eye, and put in a hem and it will be done. The zipper looks decent - not perfect, but better than the last one I tried to put in.

I'm about halfway done with one of the leg warmers. It looks like I'll need to buy another skein of yarn but will have some leftover (probably). I love this yarn - it's

I ended up spending some money last night after all. I subscribed last night to 6 months worth of vegetarian menus from savingdinner.com. It cost me about $13.50, but if the vegetarian meals are good and the planning is already done, it will be worth every penny. I subscribed once before to the regular menus, but trying to adjust everything to vegetarian wasn't working out as well as I hoped. Some recipes adapt well; others just aren't designed to be meatless or cooked with some sort of meat substitute.

No big plans today. I'll probably go price head pins at the bead store while DD is at ballet. I can't remember what silver head pins cost, but they look so much nicer.

I started cutting out a skirt for myself out of some fabric that I have had for almost two years now. It's a faux ultrasuede in chocolate brown. I have some in a light tan color as well. It's gorgeous fabric and feels nice - it's high time I did something with it instead of letting it just sit on a shelf in my sewing room. Hurts my hand to cut the fabric, however. And I'm still not very proficient at putting in zippers. I dread it every time I have to do it.

DD and I are listening to the Swan Lake CD right now. Between watching it on video at least five times and listening to the CD too many times to count, she is humming along with the music while she works on a puzzle on the floor next to me. Won't be long before the Nutcracker looms on our horizon once again, and this year I believe she'll get to dance in it in some small way. I could be wrong about that, but I think the level she is in participates in the performance. We'll find out, I guess.

No spending today. Our current credit card cycle ends in about a week, and if we can really mind our spending between now and then, we'll have done well for the past cycle. Barring unforeseen expenses, we should be able to do just that.

I had some time today to myself while DD was at a friend's house. I considered going to the bead store for some head pins to rework a bracelet I made about a year ago. I was looking at it yesterday and realized that my skills have improved and that I could do a much better job with it. Instead, however, I came home and got some things done around here that needed to be done.

7/1 - 7/18:
Groceries: $184.44
Dining: $72.03
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $277.77 (about $15.43/day)

A nice dinner out the other night and a $100+ trip to Trader Joe's today brings my food spending totals up quite a bit.

7/1 - 7/17:
Groceries: $184.44
Dining: $72.03
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $277.77 (about $16.34/day)

Still working out my book review idea, trying to think about how I want to structure it and what kind of budget I have for it. I know what kind of budget I have for it - not much at all. Sigh.

All this talk about AdSense has been bringing me down. I can't believe there are new'ish blogs and sites bringing in $3-$4 a day and more. It depresses me. I need to adjust my attitude.

I'm contemplating a way to pay people for their book reviews and/or share in the profits that come from amazon sales for books they review. At this point, I don't have it figured out (I was thinking about it around midnight last night, trying to fall asleep). If anyone here likes to write, has a good command of the English language (though I would be available for editing as needed) and would like to be kept informed of this if/when I develop my plan, email me: jen(at)divatribe.com

In other news, I added a Google search to DivaTribe's homepage. We'll see if it brings in any extra revenue.

DH landed that new job, and the client asked to be invoiced for the first $1500. Two more small jobs have come our way in the past day or two as well - couple hundred dollars each. We will be BUSY, but the universe has heard our call for ways to earn back our savings. My online tutoring client has used 25 of his 60 minutes. It's been intersting working with him, and his communication has been great, which makes the whole process of tutoring at a distance that much easier.

I spent $12.60 at Starbucks today - $2.60 on a latte and $10 to load up my debit card there.

I made coffee cake yesterday, with help from DD, and it turned out great. Easy to make, and tasty too. We had scrambled eggs for dinner, just as an excuse to have some of the coffee cake.

7/1 - 7/15:
Groceries: $81.02
Dining: $23.27
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $125.59 (about $8.37/day)

Dh didn't tutor last night, but he did submit a statement of work to a potential new client this morning. It looks like a $2500-$3000 job, so it would be great if he lands it. That's more than half the tuition we paid right there.

I continue to work on necklace #2 for the $20/$5000 challenge. I hope I can sell them. They're fun to work on.

...later...
I bought printer ink online, trying to save money, and it didn't work. I mailed it back today for a refund. What a hassle.

We went out to dinner last night, so I'm updating yesterday's food totals.

7/1 - 7/13:
Groceries: $81.02
Dining: $23.27
Starbucks: $8.70

Total: $112.99 (about $8.69/day)

So far today has been a day of only planned spending - paid the bottled water bill and sent a gift to my cousin who recently graduated from high school. I got a new advertiser at DivaTribe today, and DH is tutoring tonight, so we've had some money coming in today as well.


7/1 - 7/13:
Groceries: $81.02
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $8.70

Total: $89.72 (about $6.90/day)

Dh and I both have quite a few inquiries lately that have or may lead to extra income. It's funny - we pay for DD's tuition and wonder about ways to build those savings back up, and business starts to increase. I had my first person ever pay for a half hour of distance tutoring. I've been helping someone in Illinois this morning do inductive proofs. Fun And I get paid for it. I've had two or three advertising inquiries over the past few days for DivaTribe, and several new designers to add to the store, plus new items from current designers. I am feeling optimisitc today about our finances and our ability - with many hours of working overtime - to earn back the money we spent for tuition.

Make that an hour of tutoring - I got another PayPal payment while I was gone. And I get to exercise my brain a little bit in the process, which makes me happy.


7/1 - 7/12:
Groceries: $81.02
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $8.70

Total: $89.72 (about $7.68/day)

Yesterday we bought new glasses for DH, so we have another receipt to turn in for medical reimbursement. I have a couple of copays to go with it, and another one coming up this week. After that, I'll gather them together for DH to take to work.

I need to go to the grocery store, and also to the library. I'm going to aim to keep the grocery bill down to $85 or less. Tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday are going to be fairly busy days, so today is the day to take care of these kinds of tasks.

Sales in the store have been pretty good the past couple of weeks. It's not paying the mortgage yet though. It would be nice to have DivaTribe bring in enough money to pay for its costs, pay for its own promotions/ads and still leave enough for a draw for me. Someday, someday....

later...

Didn't get to the grocery store or the library today. Oh well. I also didn't spend any money, and I finished a necklace as part of my $20/$5000 challenge plan.


7/1 - 7/11:
Groceries: $44.18
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $8.70

Total: $52.88 (about $4.80/day)

We're going to a potluck this evening, and I have a peach cobbler in the oven. My mom brought me a big bag of fresh peaches she picked herself, so I figured that would be a good use of them. Of course, it hardly made a dent in the bag, but that's OK. I hope the cobbler is good. It's nice to go out without having to spend money to do so.

Thought maybe I had more to say, but I guess I don't. If anyone has any good peach recipes to share, I'd love to hear them.


7/1 - 7/9:
Groceries: $44.18
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $8.70 (including treating a friend today)

Total: $52.88 (about $5.88/day)